Last week I said the crops looked good despite the ample amounts of rain. This week I am sorry to say things are not looking as good. The first three inches we received caused things to start growing, but the next four inches were too much. This stressor coupled with a week of 85 degree temps has caused some plants to bolt and some to yellow and generally look unhealthy. The rains packed down the soils into hard bricks. It is disheartening. There may be a few more of the spring veggies here and there, but for the most part they are done for the season. Then again we can always be surprised—I like surprises!
We will be moving into the Chinese mustard called Tokyo Bekana (pictured above), lettuce, red romaine, escarole, endive, the first broccoli, and kohlrabi this coming week. There will be some joi choi for spice, red or green kale, and perhaps tatsoi, if they look nice enough to put into the boxes. Use the Vegetable Identification pages on the website if you need more help identifying any of these vegetables! Everything all mixed together still makes for a fantastic, fresh salad.
The kohrabi may be new for some CSA Members. As you can see above the kohlrabi sits on top of the soil. We grow both green and purple varieties. Kohlrabi is a delightful vegetable which looks in the garden like a fleet of ships just arrived from outer space! It can be peeled like an apple, sliced, and eaten raw–or added to a salad or sauteed and served–you will need to sauté these leaves a bit longer than some veggies.
To store kohlrabi, cut off the edible leaves about one inch ABOVE the top because when stored in the refrigerator the leafy greens will draw the moisture from the root greatly reducing the flavor and, eventually, causing the veggie to which they are attached to become rubbery. Of course, it is much better to eat than to store your CSA veggies! Read more about the unique kohlrabi in the Recipes. You will need to scroll down past the beets to find it.
Robert planted sweet potatoes this weekend. The starts look very healthy. And the regular potatoes (far right above) are looking good on top–too bad all of the potatoes will have to grow in compacted soil. We are drip irrigating this weekend. I know this sounds crazy after I just told you we had gotten too much rain; but that was a week ago!
Sweet potato starts arrive by UPS. And check out the mud on the tailpipe of the truck!
Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 