LETTUCE (F/P) 1 head for everyone. Hopefully we’ll get a few more weeks from the lettuce patch before the heat gets to be too much for them.
GREEN ONIONS (F/P) The bulbs are beginning to fill out now that the daylight is longer.
KOHLRABI (F) The first of the spaceship-shaped vegetables. Just peel them and eat them raw or lightly steamed.
BEETS OR HAKUREI TURNIPS (F) The first from the beet patch and a few more yummy Hakureis. Check Farmer Tom’s blog for a buttery mashed turnip recipe.
BROCCOLI OR SUMMER SQUASH (F/P) The broccoli is trying its best to make up for its chilly start this spring. Some heads are a little wacky looking but they taste just fine.
HERB CHOICE (F/P) Thai basil, tarragon, garlic scapes or a dried herb.

Also this week: Parker Farms delivery

Next week: More peas, lettuces, broccoli, carrots, kohlrabi and summer squash.

Weather: A couple more inches of rain fell this week. It is muddy but we are not flooded. The crops seem to be handling the moisture so far. The sun and heat are doing a good job at drying things out quickly. We are hopeful for a dry stretch of days so we can run our tools through the ground to knock down the weeds.

The Fields: The mulch spreading continues. This week it was time for the leeks, celeriac and okra. The Saturday work crew did half of the job after the harvesting was done. Mulching conserves moisture, prevents weeds from growing, provides good cover to the soil life and protects the soil from the pounding rain.

We also started the first of the fall crops in the shade tents. The shade keeps the seeds cool enough to sprout and protects the growing plants from pests.

Links: While we farm our rolling hills of vegetables in the quiet countryside, city folks are reclaiming urban areas for food production. Many hands are at work in back yards, reclaimed abandoned spaces and school grounds to grow food in the city. The Kansas City Center for Urban Agriculture has organized a tour of the many green spaces cropping up in the metro for June 28th. Tom and I plan to lend a hand that day at one stop on the tour, Fairview Church Garden, a ‘church supported agriculture’ farm headed by our 07-08 farm apprentice, Jeff Hunter and his wife Stacey Schulz. For all the details on the week of urban farming activities and the tour itself, visit http://urbanfarmstourkc.com/ Also, Emily has a very nice description of her own involvement in the Urban Farms & Gardens tour at ‘Everything begins with an E’ (see our blog roll).