Peas, please! Like so many other spring crops, peas have a fleetingly short season of just three to four weeks. It seems most years we go from wintry weather, to a few short but sweet weeks of what's actually "spring-like" weather, right into summer heat. Spring crops can be tricky in our area because those seeds need to be started in winter, early enough to hit that magical month of mild weather. Wait too long, until it feels like more reasonable planting weather, and we're trying to nurse delicate salad greens and peas along through 90-degree weather. And sometimes that happens anyway.
And when the summery heat kicks in, it can get difficult to pin down what we're going to be harvesting for the week. What doesn't look ready on Monday morning can be full-sized and ready to eat by Friday; what looks good today can sometimes bolt and go well past its prime by the weekend. Even now, some part of me is still stuck on winter's slow harvest schedule, where we have a good month or two to get those greens cut and sold. Now that window can be one or two days, and it takes me a bit to wrap my head around the explosive growth we're starting to see on the farm. Not a bad problem to have!
The cauliflower started heading up late last week, and looks beautiful despite the summery temperatures. The broccoli rabe is trying to go to seed faster than I can keep it cut back; this is likely the last week for rabe; might be gone for good by late in the week. Next week is likely the end of our asparagus season - after cutting the spears for 7-8 weeks, it's time to let the ferns grow. We grow baby lettuce mix a good part of the year, but May is always a treat because it's the season for big tender head lettuces. The lettuce mix is easier to prep and use in your kitchen, but those full-sized mature heads of lettuce have so much more flavor and character.
The fresh herbs are also at their loveliest right now. With the exception of parsley and basil, we do not cut fresh herbs in bulk for the farmers markets. Our more 'unusual' herbs do not sell very well, and we end up seeing most of it go to waste. If you'd like any herbs, please send me an email with what you'd like, and I'm more than happy to spend some time in heady, aromatic herb beds cutting them to order for you.
The warm, sunny weather is pushing on many of our other crops incredibly fast: beets, fennel, and cabbage are likely next week. The carrots are sizing up nicely; the onions and potatoes are beginning to fatten up. The squash, zucchini, and cucumbers are unbelievably starting to bloom; and some of the tomato vines are already waist-high!
This will be the last week we offer tomato plants for sale. Our stock is running low, the plants are getting a little too big for their containers, and if you want ripe tomatoes out of your back yard before summer's end, now is the time to get them in. We will probably still have peppers through the following week. Check over here for the varieties still available; I try to update the list throughout the week as we sell out or get low on specific varieties.
Thank you all so much for your business, and have a great week!
And when the summery heat kicks in, it can get difficult to pin down what we're going to be harvesting for the week. What doesn't look ready on Monday morning can be full-sized and ready to eat by Friday; what looks good today can sometimes bolt and go well past its prime by the weekend. Even now, some part of me is still stuck on winter's slow harvest schedule, where we have a good month or two to get those greens cut and sold. Now that window can be one or two days, and it takes me a bit to wrap my head around the explosive growth we're starting to see on the farm. Not a bad problem to have!
The cauliflower started heading up late last week, and looks beautiful despite the summery temperatures. The broccoli rabe is trying to go to seed faster than I can keep it cut back; this is likely the last week for rabe; might be gone for good by late in the week. Next week is likely the end of our asparagus season - after cutting the spears for 7-8 weeks, it's time to let the ferns grow. We grow baby lettuce mix a good part of the year, but May is always a treat because it's the season for big tender head lettuces. The lettuce mix is easier to prep and use in your kitchen, but those full-sized mature heads of lettuce have so much more flavor and character.
The fresh herbs are also at their loveliest right now. With the exception of parsley and basil, we do not cut fresh herbs in bulk for the farmers markets. Our more 'unusual' herbs do not sell very well, and we end up seeing most of it go to waste. If you'd like any herbs, please send me an email with what you'd like, and I'm more than happy to spend some time in heady, aromatic herb beds cutting them to order for you.
The warm, sunny weather is pushing on many of our other crops incredibly fast: beets, fennel, and cabbage are likely next week. The carrots are sizing up nicely; the onions and potatoes are beginning to fatten up. The squash, zucchini, and cucumbers are unbelievably starting to bloom; and some of the tomato vines are already waist-high!
This will be the last week we offer tomato plants for sale. Our stock is running low, the plants are getting a little too big for their containers, and if you want ripe tomatoes out of your back yard before summer's end, now is the time to get them in. We will probably still have peppers through the following week. Check over here for the varieties still available; I try to update the list throughout the week as we sell out or get low on specific varieties.
Thank you all so much for your business, and have a great week!
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