As of today every one of our CSA Members has received their first veggie box of the 2023 Harvest Season! Remember it takes us two weeks to start up using the every-other-week pickup schedule. As the days passed, we added tatsoi and green or red kale to the Joi Choi, Ching Chang, Black Summer, Asian Delight, and the “Rosies” or purple choi. Next week will include all of the above in the CSA Box!
If you have been considering joining a CSA, now is the time! We do have CSA Farm Shares available! We always plan for those “late joiners” who have not yet thrown their hat into our Seasonal Gourmet Vegetable ring of veggie lovers. If you are enjoying our farm fresh veggies, please spread the word about our small, Fairview family farm. Oh, and just for your perspective, each of these rows is 180 foot in length.
Now an update on the gardens! Last weekend Robert expanded the seven-foot deer fence to enclose everything except the potatoes and winter squash–which the deer do not seem to like! Last year a Mamma Doe taught her twins to eat our tomatoes! Not the tomato plants–they actually ate the little tomatoes off of the plants! It took us a while to figure out this was happening as this was a first for us in 2022, but we learned the lesson and we have a good memory. This will not happen again.
It has been dry in May so we have been using our underground drip irrigation system. The weatherman says we may get about three inches of rain this weekend. Robert believes the soil is so dry that will absorb it all. The plants always prefer rain from the Heavens over drip irrigation! Below is one of our three broccoli varieties. As you can see the heads are beginning to form! Yay!!
The kohlrabi are also growing to the point when I can photograph them. If you have never had kohlrabi before, we think you will enjoy this unusual, crunchy vegetable! More on this later . . . they need to grow a bit before they can be harvested. They grow right on top of the soil and look a bit like little “space ships” that have landed in the garden.
Joi Choi like all of the Asian greens are hearty enough that you can add braised beef tips, or chicken strips, etc. to the top of your salads if you like. The ends will have the highest possibility of containing soil. When you cut the ends off, you can prevent some of the silt in your wash water by first rinsing these ends separately.
Do you have an Instant Pot? I was late to the game when it came to purchasing this kitchen tool as I am not one to buy gadgets. I like my big chef’s knife and cutting board and stainless steel cookware. However, I did finally buy an Instant Pot last March and I will say that I have used it every single day since! Robert likes sauteed Tatsoi for example, and we have discovered that pressure cooking it for “zero” minutes with a quick release gives perfectly sauteed Tatsoi (or any other green, for that matter). Of course, you can do the same in your large skillet with a lid!
We trust you are enjoying your first box/bag of veggies. There will be more to come! And then one day they will be gone until next spring. So enjoy these nutritious greens while you can!!
Cane Creek Asparagus & Company CSA 