In the share this week: 2 mini romaine lettuce heads 2 baby pac choi 1 bunch turnips 1 bunch kale (curly or lacinato) 1 bunch red spring onions 1 bag arugula (pictured below) or spinach Thoughts from Farmer Anna: Whew, the heat is on this week! Our bodies are slowly adjusting to this summer-like heat and humidity. We are hoping that the crops are adjusting as well. So far, everything is looking pretty good and we had a nice rain last Monday that kept things in good shape until this weekend. Now we are watering everything until we get rain again - hopefully Tuesday night or Wednesday. Then it looks like temperatures will drop back down into a much more comfortable range for the next week or so. We were happy to be able to get a second cutting off of the arugula today (the first cutting went into the spicy salad mix in share 1). Lately, we've had trouble with arugula regrowing nicely due to some kind of fungal disease. We are trying a new biological control to help with this issue. It's supposed to have broad spectrum fungal control properties and it's a bacteria that can colonize plant tissues and help to fight off fungal organisms. It's interesting that bacteria and fungi seem to have a bit of a microscopic war going on. Many of our best antibiotics come from fungus and bacteria produce compounds too fight fungal colonization. As organic farmers we are always trying to use nature's ability to balance itself. Thursday and Saturday shares will get spinach instead of arugula. I'm hoping the spinach will hold on for a little while longer. It definitely doesn't appreciate the hot weather and has a tendency to bolt quickly. The mini romaine lettuces are looking lovely this week and will make a beautiful salad. You can add your arugula or spinach to the mix for more flavor and texture. Next week we should have lots of lettuce - butterhead + salad mix. Usually our field salad mix would be ready this week, but it's been slower than usual, likely due to the cooler temperature in April and early May. It's week three of turnips and hopefully you have found lots of ways you enjoy to eat them. Remember, that they'll keep well in a container with their leaves cut off. They are a spring and fall treat, so if you save some you can enjoy them in your summer salads in a few weeks. When it gets hot we do start making so many salads. Recipes Ideas this week: If you cooked your pac choi last week, try it in a fresh salad this week: https://www.culinaryhill.com/baby-bok-choy-with-sesame-dressing/ The kale is incredibly tender this week and would be good mixed with the baby romaine in a salad: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018035-kale-romaine-caesar-salad Or if you need a crunchy snack for Memorial Day weekend festivities, you could make 'chips' out of your kale or your turnips sliced thin with a mandolin: https://www.farmfreshtoyou.com/recipes/549/purple-top-turnip-and-parmesan-chips Have a great week!
