Finally we’ve gotten through the last of the cold weather. (We hope!) It’s been really crazy this season already with the up and down temperatures. For some plants it’s no big deal, but for others the temperature swings can inhibit growth or cause the plants to bolt prematurely. So we hope for nice constant temperatures, but of course we never get what we order in that respect. But it does seem safe to plant all the crops that will bring us our summer bounty. The peppers, eggplant, basil, field tomatoes, sweet corn, and green beans will go in the ground as fast as our hands can plant them.
The strawberries are still coming in well this week. There will be quite a few at market, now is the time to make jam or freeze some for later. The first of the over-wintering onions are ready to harvest. Those onions were a real struggle this year. The ultra cold temperatures over the winter killed many of our favorite onion varieties. We replanted with some untested varieties, some of which have started to bolt. They are still usable for “spring onions”, but won’t make a nice bulb to store. Others are bulbing, they are just on the small side.
The boxes we use for the CSA shares are waxed and are not recyclable, but we do reuse them. So PLEASE remember to BRING THEM BACK next week.
Lettuces, Zinnias, Lettuces, Flowers, Sunflowers needing a little weeding. Hilled potatoes looking great. Some young summer squash plants a couple of weeks away from fruit. Sugar snap peas on a trellis, all those little white flowers will become peas!
Ideas for Cooking
We really enjoy a raw kale salad. The Black kale is great. De stem it and rip it into smaller pieces. Place in bowl and kneed in with a little olive oil and vinegar (apple cider or other). Add a little salt and grate in some parma cheese. The key is to really kneed it to soften it up a bit.
Bok Choi is great in a stir fry or in a sesame noodle type dish.