EverGreen Farm

CSA: Week 3

In your share this week:

• Salad Mix
• Arugula - sadly, the last of the season because it's already bolting
• Pea Shoots - unwashed
• Collard Microgreens - unwashed
• Radishes
• Japanese Turnips

Another busy, busy week here on the farm.  We are planting, and planting, and weeding so we can plant some more.  I'm happy to say that the project list for each day continually gets accomplished, the weekly project lists too.  This means we are making good progress.  Every year is a little different and causes some challenges, this year it's how the weather switched to mostly warm so quickly and the weeds grew ... like weeds!  The challenge is we need to clear all the places before we can plant, and ideally we'd make it back to weed those areas as the croops come in to help them grow just a little better.  But since we are in full on planting mode, the follow up weeding isn't getting done.  You wouldn't know from the foods you are getting each week, because we do a good job of cleaning things up, but sometimes it's a jungle out there.  A little embarrasing too.  We will get it under control eventually.  We usually do.  And weeds is the sure fire way of knowing we are an "organic farm".  :)

Japanese Turnips

This is our first harvest of Japanese turnips - a favorite of everyone who tastes them!  Just a small bunch in the CSA share this week, but there is more to come.  

Have a great week and ENJOY your veggies!

Tara

 

CSA: Week 2

In your share this week:

• Radishes
• Salad Mix - 2 big bags
• Arugula
• Sunflower Shoots - unwashed, contains seed hulls*
• Mustard Greens Microgreens

It's been a very busy week for us.  Eli's graduation.  Family in town for the celebrations.  The usual CSA harvest.  And a LOT of planting.  Please forgive the short newsletter and the missing CSA share photo that I forgot to take.

*Sunflower shoots are grown from black oil sunflower seeds (but not the bird feed variety).  The young plants gradually shed their black seed hulls as they mature, but you will still notice many hulls that are still attached.  They can simply be picked off.  Shain's very favorite greens for his daily smoothie is two generous handfulls of sunflower shoots.  Since we use a Vitamix, he does not bother to pick out the seed hulls because they get pulverized and are "another source of fiber".  :)  Other ways we enjoy sunflower shoots, aka "sunnies", is as a salad or addition to a salad, or on sandwhiches.  Sunflower shoots taste great and are super nutritious - sometimes refered to as a complete food they are high in protein, many essential nutrients, and vitamins. 

Have a great week and ENJOY your veggies!

Tara

 

CSA: Week 1

 

A little tribute to our son Eli who graduates from high school in a few days.

In your share this week:

• Salad Mix
• Pea Shoots (*unwashed)
• Radishes
• Red Russian Kale Microgreens (*unwashed)

Over the last 6 months, I have been learning the art of growing microgreens.  It's been a lot of trial and effort, sometimes with great results and sometimes not so great.  It's been a real treat to be able to eat fresh greens all winter.  Now I'm sharing what I've learned with you by growing a few microgreens for the CSA shares while we wait for our outdoor crops to catch up from a cold spring.  Microgreens (and pea shoots and sunflower shoots) are absolutely delicious!  They are also some of the most nutritious foods you can eat.  Mircrogreens are researched to be 4 to 40 times more nutritious than the fully grown plant!  And did I mention they taste amazing!

Pea Shoot Superpowers:

• 1 cup = 30 calories, 0 grams of fat, 2 grams of protein, 2 grams of fiber.
• 1 cup - 8% of your Daily Value Caloric need for Fiber, 35% Vitamin C, 2 % Calcium, 14% Vitamin A, 8% Folate, and 6% Iron.
• Fresh pea shoots are similar to eating raw, whole snap or snow peas, with the same amount of fiber, protein, and Vitamin A.
• Pea shoots compare equally to kale in amount of calories, protein, and iron.
• Pea shoots have more protein than spinach and are equal in Vitamin C and Iron.

Some of our favorite ways to enjoy microgreens/shoots:

• Shain loves to make a simple salad with microgreens, fruit, and a healthy dressing.  They are also a great addition to salad greens or a salad kit. Pea shoots make a great Asian salad/slaw.
• Microgreens are often used as a garnish on a wide variety of dishes, for show and for taste.
• I LOVE them on a sandwhich!
• Pea shoots can be wilted with other veggies to make a great stirfry dish.  I also put them inside spring rolls.
• Or, I've been know to just take the handful and eat them as a snack.

We are busy, busy now that the weather is improving.  While many gardeners don't even begin to plant until Memorial Day, we have at least one crop planted in all of our greenhouses.  Some greenhouses are half full.  Nothing planted outside yet, but soon.  We take it one row at a time, and projects keep getting checked off the list.  We have a great crew of Workshares here helping every week and together we are getting a lot accomplished. 

I did my best to have everything in place for your first produce pickup.  If you have any questions or notice anything that can be improved, please let me know.

Have a great week and enjoy your veggies!

Tara

*In all my research and experience, microgreen have a much longer shelf life if left mostly dry (unwashed) and in a sealed bag/container until the time of consumption.  These greens are young, tender, grown indoors in organic potting mix, and have very minimal human contact.  You can choose to wash or not.  I have washed some microgreens and dried them well in a salad spinner and they stored fine for several days.  Excess moisture will cause them to break down and die.  Also, leaving them exposed to air will cause them to wilt more quickly.