Spring CSA #3 2013

Spring CSA #3

Hi everybody!

Week number 3 and we’re still running green! I love green and can't get enough. Funny cause 4 years ago when we first started a customer asked me if we grew Kale...I didn't know what it was! Spinach was my "green" and now kale is old news cause this year I'm onto mustards...I cook out the spicy taste for my family but every once in a while the taste comes through and i think yum...I'm ready for more of a kick!  Today, i was drawn into the Arugula harvest for the salad mix...it smelled so good! I don't know where you  are on your green likes and dislikes but for me it's been a process of loving the mild like spinach to craving the peppery Arugula. I just hope you don't give up and keep trying, they say sometimes you need to try something 12 times before you develop a taste for it.
 It’s an overly busy week and we are being pulled in all directions of our life- not my thing really... But we all go through it you know when there is just too much -it makes my head spin.  Usually I am done all harvesting and packing by now and CSA morning merely consist of packing individual bins, but tomorrow morning I will be harvesting one more thing and then packing up the bins.

Greens in the greenhouse are still doing well but once the heat sets in for good they will all be replaced with heat loving plants.  We have lots seeded in the field and are focused on sticking to our schedule which was put together in winter- don’t know what I would do without that schedule now! The cold weather was beneficial to the greens and the rain kept seeded beds moist for germination.  Unfortunately, all the rain made the weeds grow and now we’ll need to get to those as soon as possible. We have some trellising to do and some crops to cover with row covers and soon lots and lots of planting!

Last week, I was not happy with the microgreens…those little buggers always end up with some little pieces of yellow or soft leaves that just make everything not so nice. That is why this week I have added a little extra.

In your basket you will find:

1 bunch of Kale

1 bunch of green garlic- use like a leek, white parts and all tender green parts

1 Stir Fry mix

1 bag of Lettuce mix

1 bag of Chez Nous salad mix

1 bag of Mustard Mix with lots of tender flower stalks...we always eat the stems also ( I see so many recipes say to remove them...they're the best part!)

1 small bunch of radishes

New this week:

Pea shoots which are grown in trays- found in Chez Nous salad mix and the stir-fry mix

Spinach

Harvesting Kale to then have easier access at my lettuces- these two have been a stunning mix growing together.

I have always struggled with how to market head lettuce as opposed to baby leaf for salad mix. Selling lettuce heads in the store was hit and miss. Pricing was tricky since they are all different sizes. Keeping them frsh was only possible if they were bagged and once bagged it was hard to tell how gorgeous they were. Finally, I stopped growing them. This year I tried again and decided that i would strictly bag the large leaves and sell them as a mix.  Now i can enjoy the beauty and wonderful vast world of heirloom lettuces, some of these leaves are bigger than my hand!

 Yukina Savoy before flowering above and Tatsoi flowering below. These broccoli like flowers are delicious!

 Tokyo Bekana and it's flower.

 Some items harvested for the Stir-Fry Mix. The Kale for the mix was harvested from the outside field it has a much firmer texture than the greenhouse grown Kale. Also chive buds, spinach, Red Komatsuna, Swiss Chard and all kinds of Asian Greens.

 Green Garlic Harvest, now for the cleaning...peeling off all the old clove, trimming the roots and tops.

All clean but that water sure was cold....


This weeks Chez Nous salad mix was jam pack with so many items: lettuces, kale, Swiss Chard, Parsley, Basil, Asian Greens, Arugula, Spinach, Pea shoots, Mache...

Sorry can't seem to turn this picture!  Do you know which green these are that re found in your Chez Nous Mix?
Top-Tatsoi, Yukina Savoy, Bietina Swiss Chard, Python Spinach and Tyee Spinach

I also thought i would add a link to freezing greens- this you tube video show how to blanch before freezing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC8Ir3hp3Uk

And last, we will have some plants for sale this weekend if you are interested!



Thanks and have a great week!
Shirley and Rick