A storm rolled through here yesterday afternoon that dropped over 4 inches of torrential rain and a little hail in just under two hours.  When we went out to pick this morning, most of the tender leaf lettuces were badly damaged.  Several weeks' and hundreds of dollars worth of lettuces, gone in an hour.  I'm not sure right now whether or not they'll make it through for next week, but the sturdier romaine lettuces looked fine.  We picked the rest of the romaine today.  That was a lot of romaine lettuce.  Caesar salad, anyone?

In addition to a slew of romaine lettuces, we have plenty of cabbages for slaw to complement your holiday cook-outs.  A mountain on broccoli and cauliflower, plenty of beets, bushels of sugar snap peas, even yellow squash and zucchini!

I blinked sometime late last week, and suddenly found myself surrounded by an incredible bounty of produce ready to harvest!  What's new this week?  Summer squash, Chioggia beets, cabbage, and cauliflower.  The sugar snap peas are in full swing, and given all this wet weather, it should be another great week for the spring crops.  And by the end of this week there might be more - in late spring, what doesn't look quite ready to cut on Monday often surprises me with a huge burst of growth by Friday.  Carrots, celery, sweet onions, and new potatoes are just around the corner.  Likely just a few more weeks for spinach, whole head lettuces, and collard greens before they're all pushed to bolting by the long warm days of June.

Last chance this week for tomato and pepper plants!  It is getting a bit late for planting tomatoes, but if you can sneak a few more plants in now (we got our late tomatoes in the ground this morning, just before the next downpour), you'll likely get a  large second crop for late August and September when your earlier tomatoes are winding down.  All plants are $2 - that's half-price 'maters!

It's amazing what a few days of warmth and sunshine can do.  We've been running in circles chasing after the weeds lately, following several weeks of consistently wet weather that hasn't allowed for cultivation.  Rain is good, but sunshine's necessary for good growth as well.  Hey there and hello again, sunshine!!  Give a pea vine a little sun, and it grows twelve inches in just three days!  The sugar snap peas aren't quite ready for mid-week sales, but we will be picking the first of them for sure by the end of the week for weekend sales.  You all often ask me how we cook sugar snap peas.  We don't.  We usually eat them straight off the vine while we pick (quality control is important!), and they rarely make it into the kitchen.  I hear they're also good sauteed in a little sweet butter, and they make for fabulous raw snacks with a bit of your favorite dip or hummus.

We also have a huge planting of broccoli heading up this week, as well as bulb fennel and beets.  We're still over-run with salad greens at the moment, so both head lettuces and spinach are on sale again - and probably for the next few weeks, until their season is over.  Head lettuces are $3 each, or 2 for $5;  as for spinach if you buy two bags, you'll get one free.  Yes, these spring crops come and go in the blink of an eye.  Throw some in the freezer now, because by early June, you won't see spinach again until December! 

We still have quite a few tomato, basil and pepper plants for sale, but we are running low on a few varieties.  Check the website for updates on quantities.  If you haven't gotten your garden in, get those plants in soon - we will only offer plants for two more weeks.

It's been a challenging spring so far, to say the least.  We've always had peas by the first week of May.  Always.  Every year.  I planted peas at the same time as usual, but March felt like January - and the pea seedlings just sat there sulking.  April was alright, but so far May feels like March, and I know you're right there with me, wondering if the sun will ever shine again.  But the peas are finally blooming.  We could have peas by next weekend?  I hope?  Beets, carrots, fennel, broccoli & more are also just around the corner,.  Bear with us and the weather.  I have a feeling that when the weather changes, it will change drastically (and so will the harvests) - but do keep your greens-cooking skillets on the stove-top just a bit longer.

What loves three inches of rain followed by a meager four hours per week of sunshine?  You guessed it.  Greens!  In particular we're overrun with lettuce and spinach right now - both seem to be growing an inch an hour.  All four varieties of head lettuces are on sale this week at 2 for $5.  And we have spinach on sale, buy 2 bags and get a 3rd bag for free.  You could eat like Popeye this week, or you can easily tuck some in your freezer.  Spinach season is typically over by the end of May.  If you love your spinach, now's the time to put some up.  Sauteed spinach freezes very well, as does steamed or blanched spinach.  If you prefer to juice your greens, go ahead and juice a few bags of spinach, then freeze the juice in the portions you normally use for your favorite juice or smoothie recipes.  Andrew bragged the other day that he can pick spinach faster than I can - let's put his claims to the test! 

Something new and unusual for you this week: arugula blossoms!  Despite the chilly wet weather, all of our arugula bolted last week.  The pretty white blossoms are edible, and have the same slightly nutty, slightly spicy flavor as the leaves do.  Now isn't that a cool way to dress up your salads!?  These will most likely only be around for a week or two.  They are fairly fragile, so you'll want to use them within a few days after buying them.  These will come in bunches about the same size as bunched herbs.  Store the bunch in a glass of water at room temperature, just like a flower bouquet.  Click on the recipe link to the right for more ideas on how to use arugula blossoms in your kitchen!

We still have quite a few tomato, basil and pepper plants for sale, but we are running low on a few varieties.  Check the website for updates on quantities.  If you haven't gotten your garden in, get those plants in soon.  And yes, it's warm enough to plant!  This cooler, overcast weather is actually ideal for transplanting!