Quick thoughts

So much accomplished in the past couple of weeks.  Another four new beds built and brought under production.  Germinating corn.  Windblown weather station.  Territorial Red Wing Black Birds.  Tomato plants coming back to life.  The arrival of the Colorado Potato Beetle.  The arrival of  Assassin Beetles.  The onions beginning to set their bulbs.  The days getting shorter...

I have enjoyed the feedback that I have received thus far. Feel free to provide critiques as well – I was interested to hear that some of the Red Leaf Lettuce fom the June 22nd harvest did not last long. This particular variety "New Red Fire" is new for the farm this year. I thought it tasted great, but had some trouble producing it. I’ll try it again in the fall to see if the cool weather makes a difference.

There are hundreds of varities of lettuce and all have very different characteristics - tolerate heat, tolerate cold, short shelf life, exceptional flavour, brittle leaves... 

The Red Leaf this week is a variety I grew last year - "Red Sails".  You will notice it has brittle ribs, which render it commercially unappealing for shipping purposes.  This variety is often grown  for the local restaurant market for it's exceptional lettuce flavour, the cripsness of the leaf, and its fine color.

The Greens have not been easy to produce this year, partly due (I suspect) to the wide fluctuations in temperature over the past three months (remember early May?). I had hoped to offer more choices on a weekly basis. The most recent setback was a 25’ long bed – three rows of spinach and 1 row of four different radish varieties. It produced two very fine bunches of spinach and a couple of radishes.

For the Culinarily adventurous, I have some Chrysanthemum Flowers (Shinginku) for the next harvest or two. Let me know if you want some. These are somewhat bitter, and so would be best with a main dish or a peppery salad.

Thyme and Dill are available. Let me know what quantities you want and I will include it in your basket. Sage is on the way, I expect to harvest a small quantity by mid to late July. The Basil is growing slowly. Not sure when it will be ready. So much to look forward to…so much to do in the meantime.

I am still a bit concerned about getting the quantities right. PLEASE – let me know if I am providing too much or too little. I can alter the quantities either way a bit to accommodate your needs. This feedback will also help my planning for next year.

A new "Curious Food" post is on the way.  Check it out in the next week or so.

Bob