- Purple Sprouting Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Leeks
- Micro Mix
- Yellow Onions
- Cebollitas
- Purple Potatoes
- Spring Raab
- Spinach
- Hakurei Turnips
- Autumn Frost Winter Squash
Let's hear it for LEEKS! Never, ever before have we found ourselves still harvesting leeks in April. Normally by now they've all bolted, but thanks to this frigid winter and spring we've had a record-breaking six month leek streak! (Silver linings are everywhere....ahem, not that I wouldn't pay a million dollars for a week of sunshine right about now). If you are one of those people who wonders, "what do you do with a leek?!" my answer is always: "whatever you would do with an onion!" Perhaps with the exception of slicing it raw onto a burger. Besides that, leeks are as versatile as their bulbous, more common cousin, the onion, and so delicious. I like it when they get crispy-roasted on a sheet pan alongside wedges of cabbage, or cauliflower, or purple sprouting broccoli. Or sautee them in a pan as the start to pretty much any meal. Fabulous in soup. Plus they store almost forever in your fridge, so if you have a 7 week pile-up of leeks in the bottom drawer right now, no worries!
What else this week? Cebollitas! The tender little tops of all of onion and shallot seedlings that are growing big and strong in greenhouse trays right now. We start all of our Allia from seed and give them periodic haircuts to encourage them to bulk up ahead of transplanting. This is their very first haircut, which like all good mothers, we put in a plastic bag - but rather than putting it in the freezer and losing it under all the apple cider and frozen peas for 30 years - we share them with you so you can eat them like chives this week. (Wait, is that what all mothers do, or just mine? Doesn't everyone have their first whacked off blond braid somewhere in a ziploc at the bottom of their chest freezer?)
Also, spinach, and lots of it! This crop is a labor of love, and one that I question growing every single year. But you all love it so much, and I mean unanimously love it - which is a rare thing when you manage a CSA, where feelings about vegetables run hot. We spend hours crouched over this crop, picking it leaf by leaf, then washing it leaf by leaf, because we know it will make you happy. Who cares about being profitable when your CSA members are smiling!?!
And finally, Hakurei turnips. There is no turnip better than the first Hakurei turnip of the season, and here they are, tender, buttery and sweet. Please eat them raw, whole or sliced up on a heap of spinach.
Announcements!
Announcement #1: We have a few CSA shares left for the 2023 season!
I love it when we get to say this, because it means no one has missed out yet, destined to spend an impatient year sitting on our waiting list. Instead, instant CSA gratification is available to a few more folks for the 2023 season. Sign up info is on our website. Pay with SNAP and get matching funds through Double Up Food Bucks! Or take advantage of our sliding scale, which is there to make Valley Flora food as accessible to the entire community as possible.
Announcement #2: In a Landscape at Valley Flora on September 6th!
Get your tickets for a very special evening at the farm: Hunter Noack will be pulling in with his grand piano and treating us all to a live concert on the farm. In a Landscape tickets tend to sell out, so don't delay.
Announcement #3: Please Make an Offering to the Sun Deities so that We Can Get Some Transplanting Done!!!
