In the share this week: 2 kohlrabi bulbs 1 bunch turnips 1 bag sugar snap peas 1 bunch green onions 1 red butterhead lettuce 1 bunch kale 1 bag salad mix Thoughts from Farmer Anna: We are really close to shifting gears into the first of the hefty summer crops. The zucchini and yellow squash are putting on some good growth and should be producing by next week. The broccoli plants are throwing heads and those should be sizing up for next week (see pic of a baby head starting to form above). We have some beautiful cabbage that is coming on. The cucumbers and sweet onions aren't too far off either. This week's share feels like the last 'spring' share full of greens. I know you've probably had your fill of greens at the moment and are anxiously awaiting the coming crops of summer. You can always blanch and freeze your kale to be used in a hearty soup sometime this winter. You have a good amount of lettuce with the salad mix and red butterhead, so plan to have some meal sized salads this week. We've really been enjoying our salads with a mix of grain (like brown rice or quinoa) and hummus along with whatever tasty salad toppings you have on hand (the turnips are perfect for this and the green onions and kohlrabi would make delicious additions too). Combine with your favorite salad dressing for a very filling, tasty and nutritious meal. It seems a little odd to mix in the hummus with everything, but trust me when I say the results are fantastic. Kohlrabi is new for this week, along with the green onions. If you are a new member and haven't had it yet, kohlrabi is a really tasty vegetable with a flavor somewhere between broccoli and turnip. I love to roast kohlrabi and may include some roasted kohlrabi and turnips on one of my salads this week. It's best to peel the skin of the bulb before chopping and cooking because it can be a little tough (similar to broccoli stem). Kohlrabi is also great raw dipped in hummus or ranch, or on your salad. You could sub kohlrabi is certain kinds of broccoli recipes too. If you want something warm and creamy and comforting on a rainy day this week, here's a yummy-looking recipe that includes kale and kohlrabi: https://tuckerfarmsga.com/creamy-baked-kohlrabi-kale/ There is a bunch of rain in the forecast for this week, so we'll have to time up our farm work so that we can continue to get some field work done and crops planted. Luckily today wasn't terribly wet, so we were able to get a second succession of cucumbers planted, along with a seeding of roma beans just before it starting raining mid-afternoon! The tarps we use on the farm to cover beds and turn crops and weeds into the soil, also help keep beds dry so that we're able to work them with the tractor when we couldn't do work in uncovered areas. Sweet potato slips are set to arrive on Wednesday and we prepped the beds they will be planted into last week, so they will be easy to get into the ground as soon as they arrive. I was hoping to get some summer cover crops planted in two of our fields, but that may not happen if it stays too wet. We prepped those beds last week and are allowing the weeds to germinate for at least 10 days before we seed the cover crops. I will then kill the small weed seedlings by flame weeding. This involves taking a 4-torch, 30 inch wide flame weeder over the bed to essentially melt the cells of the newly germinating plants. Then your crop can germinate in a mostly weed-free bed. It's a great tool to have on an organic farm! Hope you all have a wonderful week!
