- Onions ( seeded in August 2021, transplanted in October , harvested last week of May)
- Chinese broccoli (this is a very vegetable – make sure to use one of the included recipes, don’t let this one go to waste)
- Lettuce
- Radishes (french breakfast – special request from long time subscriber Jo Whitsel)
- Beets or kohlrabi
- Kale
- Chard or spinach
- Herb (cilantro or dill or parsley)
- Sugar snap peas?? Just starting, the first greenhouse is about three weeks ahead of the remaining 3 rows, so just a preview of what is to come)
I am finding it impossible to ignore the horrors of this week. I am sure all of you have thought about the mass shooting of this week and read about the number of school shootings that happen in this country on a regular basis. Here is how I took action today, consider making a donation and writing to your elected officials: https://www.everytown.org/ at this site you can do both. Reading Amanda Gorman also gave me strength:
Schools scared to death.
The truth is, one education under desks,
Stooped low from bullets;
That plunge when we ask
Where our children
Shall live
& how
& if
I also took time to watch this About our Oregon dreamers, powerful reality : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul8uhB9L6uU&ab_channel=BienestarOR
Here is what is going on at the farm:
This has been a big week for transplanting and weeding. We got closer to completing the summer planting last Sunday with getting 120 cherry tomato plants in the ground. Thanks to Dee, Dan and Max for helping us get that done in short order. Juvencio and I planted our first sweet potatoes which we hope to harvest at the end of the summer and have some held over for winter. We have grown one or two sweet potato plants in the past and they were extremely productive but they also seem to be a favorite food of the Gopher. This is the first time we will share with our subscribers. The tomatoes have had their first pruning and will soon be staked and ready to set fruit. Our goal is always mid July but this year all bets are off.
I am writing this as I head to the farmers market with 3/4 of an inch of rain predicted today it is hard to know how it will go. I remain hopeful that people will want to get their gardens planted tomorrow so hopefully they’ll show up today to buy their plants. Polly and I with the help of Luna and sometimes Kody seed every single week to have fresh beautiful starts available for our customers. We select varieties that we know have the extra flavor that you expect from a home garden as well as from CSA vegetables. We have a wide variety from exotic cherry tomatoes to heirloom tomatoes, crunchy cabbage and delicious celery. We always look forward to conversations that help people select the perfect cucumber for their home garden and the perfect plant for that extra 1 foot space. The best time to order is on Friday afternoon as Polly has just updated the inventory. I can gather your plants for you and have them at La Finquita for pick up on Sunday or Wednesday. Here is our website again: https://pumpkinridgegardens.square.site/
Flowers this week are glorious. Some of the very early spring planted flowers are starting to bloom as are the perennials. Sweet William is amazing. I have a hot pink variety of red and white variety and a light pink variety. I can’t wait to arrange flowers with these beauties. I have columbine and foxglove, figwart and viburnum. It seems like the end of the ranunculus although we were promised six weeks it seems like we’re going to get 3 to 4. Hopefully they will have more blooms to share in the upcoming weeks. I it seems like this week nation built on slave labor is disintegrating. We are becoming numb to gun violence our children are not safe in schools or at home.
Here are some tips on beets from Sue Kass. Don’t get excited, we have not conquered the curse of the beet yet, but we are trying. “If I am roasting/baking something on high temp (400-450) I put beets in a Dutch oven with a few Tbs water—or you can wrap them tightly in foil—and roast til a knife pierces easily. Once they cool the skins slip off, then I cut them into slices or chunks and put in a tupperware with a crushed clove of garlic and a splash or two of vinegar. I keep these barely pickled beets in the fridge to toss in salads. Our favorite is chunks of these beets, a handful of toasted nuts and some crumbled feta or goat cheese sprinkled with a little EVOO —yum!!!
This not only has a recipe but is full of handy tips on how to roast beets, how to get beet stains out of things, etc:
Zaatar Spiced Beet Dip:
https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/zaatar-spiced-beet-dip-goat-cheese-and-hazelnuts
Here are some recipes for this week featuring Chinese Broccoli.
Do this one with the chines broccoli—definitely better the longer it marinated
https://cookswithoutborders.com/chinese-broccoli-in-ginger-sauce
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023044-pad-kee-mao-drunken-noodles?smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share