OUR CROPS

Introducing our 2025 crops

This page details some of the varieties of  produce we have planned for the 2025 season.

I have consolidated my "putting food by" notes in here as well.






I have also added preparation tips.  These may be found under the general crop type headings, and the individual crop headings.  For example, you will find info for carrots under "Roots" and "Carrots".

If there is anything that you think I should add, let me know.

This page is organized in the following way:


Beans and Peas;
Leaves;
Fruits, Tubers, and Bulbs;
Roots;
Flowers;
Herbs.


 

New 2025:  Last season (2024), I introduced a few new varieties, and for the most part, I was satisfied with them.  I'll go with what worked well last year, and added a few new items that looked interesting.

I tried growing  jalapeno peppers last year for the first time.  The yield was underwhelming, but the changes to my field work plan and a new growing location for them should provide improvement.  I was surprised by the amount of interest, so I have purchased more seed this season and will grow more of this crop.



 Beans and Peas



Snow Pea:  We grow Norli snow peas at the start of each season.  A crop I like so much that I have to leave harvesting it until after lunch.  Best steamed. 

Shell Peas:  We trialed these two years ago and will be growing a small amount this season; available as an extra purchase only.  

Snap peas:  We have some surplus Cascadia snap peas left from two years ago that I want to use up.  Cascadia is technically a string pea, though the seed house suggests that if picked early, the string does not have to be removed.



Green Bean:  A much anticipated crop every year.  We grow a couple of varieties that are suited to different times of the season.  Essential source of protein, and an important crop for building soil fertility.

Cooking requires a minimal amount of steaming or boiling until tender.  Also used in casseroles and curries.

Easy to put by - just clean, chop, and blanch for about three minutes.  Plunge into cold water until the heat is gone, pack into freezer bags and freeze.

Maxibel Green Bean:  French slicing green bean - typically more slender than other green beans.  exceptional flavour.

Jade:  A green bean that tolerates shorter days at the end of summer.  New variety for me, not sure how it's flavour compares to other beans.

Gold Rush Wax Bean:  2024 was the first season I grew yellow beans and was pleased with the yield and flavour.  Planning to grow a little more than last year..

 

Dragon Langerie Romano:  Comparable to wax beans.  I started growing these three years ago by request, and they have turned out to be one of my best tasting beans.  Yellow and purple, though the color fades with cooking.  Prepare as green beans. I also tried these as a dry bean in 2018 but the results were not favorable.

Forester:  Purchased last year for our summer heat trials.  I was impressed by the flavour - it seems to be true that the best tasting beans are Romanos.  


  

Light Red Kidney:  More versatile in the kitchen than dark red kidney, better for bean salad and good for slow cooking or frying.

I deliver these dry and cured in the pod.  They may be left like this until being used, but much more space efficient to shuck for storing.  

When shucking, remove beans that are obviously moldy or have started to sprout.  Some will have a light dusting of surface mold, this can be rinsed off without compromising the flavour.

Some beans may have a black mottling on the surface, I think this is a bean virus and not of any concern.  

Best stored in an opaque jar that is dry or may breathe.  Do not expose to moisture, temperature fluctuation, and ideally out of direct sun.  Will last up to 6 months, though I have had some last for well over a year.

You will find that using dry beans instead of canned immeasurably improves flavor.  I have had several customers over the past few years who have noted the extraordinary taste of these light red kidneys.

 



Leaves 

Oxygen is one of the most potent free radicals a living cell will encounter - think about the time you lit a match next to an oxygen tank!  Oxygen is produced by green plants during photosynthesis.  As the oxygen exits the leaf, it may cause damage to plant tissues and chromosomes.  Plants produce an array of anti oxidants to protect themselves.  These antioxidants remain useful when the plant is eaten, providing protection to the herbivore from other free radicals.  No matter what their color, leaves are loaded with antioxidants.

 



As part of the harvesting and cooling of the crop, leaves are rinsed at least once at the farm. However, you should give them another rinse before using.  To be extra-sure your leaves are clean, taste a piece.  If it tastes gritty, soak and swish one more time.  Especially important for savoyed leaves such as some of our chard and kale varieties.

 


 Lettuce:  Aside from August, I try to provide lettuce with every delivery.  With hundreds of varieties to choose from, I select a range of diferent types:  Green and red romaines, buttercrunch (Boston), green and red leaf lettuce, and oakleafs.

I try to harvest my lettuces a little early so as to ensure the leaves are tender or crisp and not tough, particularly in the summer.

A typical delivery (full shares) will a couple different types of lettuce, for example, a pair of mini oakleafs, a head lettuce, and a mini romaine or two.  

Ideally, I want about a pound of lettuce for the full shares, and about half that for half shares.

Lettuce crop planning is tricky, but you can count on a variety through most o the season.

Freckles:  Our most frequently grown lettuce, freckles is a fun variety with green leaves speckled red.  The leaves are flat, making it idea for burgers and sandwiches.





Chard: Cooks similar to Spinach or Beet greens.  Can use chard like any other green, as a side dish by itself or mixed into casseroles, etc.  The beet flavored leaves are much thicker than spinach and take slightly longer to cook, up to 5 or 10 minutes depending on the leaf size and how you like it done.  The stems are tougher, so slice or tear the leaves entirely off the central ribs and cook the stems a little earlier than the leaf.   




This crop is available through the season, so I can usually take requests to have some added individually as a free extra for weeks that it is not included in the basket delivery.

Our favorite method for chard is in omelets and frittata’s – a quick and easy to prepare work lunch that I have taken to calling “Chardge!”

Some folks have requested baby leaf. I have tried this and found that it is too time consuming to harvest.

Fordhook Giant:  Usually, large chard leaves are tougher than small leaves, but Fordhook is an exception.  I trialed this fall 2018 and was impressed by the yield.

Silverado: Dark green leaves and broad white stalks.  

Flamingo Pink:  Just to add a little fun to the basket, a bright pink stem to brighten the day.   Not available for 2025.

 

Spinach:   Variety TBD, probably full size bunches for spring production.

 

 

Kale:  A crop that can be intolerant to summer heat; thrives in cool weather and can continue to be harvested after the snow starts.  We use these interchangeably with chard in omelets, though my favourite method is steaming the leaves lightly and adding a little lemon juice and pepper.

The stems are inedible, so the leaves must be peeled away. 

Black kale:  This kale type can be grated fine for eating raw in salads – not all kales are suitable for this as they are too tough.



Russian kale:  This type is more cold tolerant than black kale.  I grow some of this from time to time just for a change.  Some folks suggest it tastes better than black kale, though it is not as versatile in the kitchen as black kale - it must be cooked or steamed.

 

Arugula:  Pleasant salad green, though I find that the types I grow tend to be a bit spicy.  Generally used as a salad, though I had a customer who cleaned their leaves, set them in the bottom of a colander, then dumped hot pasta into the colander to drain, allowing the arugula leaves to flash cook in the pasta’s heat.  Add butter and pepper, stir and serve.

Tokyo Bekana:  In addition to arugula, I grow another mustard green –Tokyo Bekana, which is a loftier and milder relative of arugula.  You receive these mixed together for your delivery.

Cabbage:  I grow a hybrid Asian variety called Bilko.  It sets fairly tight hearts with looser outer leaves.  Milder flavour than round cabbage – and easier to grow successfully in our climate.  Very good storage crop.

New for 2025 - Hon Tsai Tai Flowering Broccoli: I tried this on a limited basis late last season.  The leaves, stems and flowerets all have the distinctive broccoli flavour.  Available in spring and fall.

 

Amaranth:  I recommend cooking this leaf, as I tend to harvest them a little too late for salad sized leaves.  Prepare as you would cook spinach – lightly steamed for a couple of minutes.  Their taste is somewhat bland; they tend to take on the flavour of what they are cooked with.  Amaranth (and it’s wild cousin Pigweed, and it’s cultivated flower Love Lies Bleeding) are some of the most nutritious leaves you can eat. 

A previous customer chopped these up and added them to the filling of somosa's. 

 



Mini Pac Choi:  Mei Quing variety, small heads harvested as they are more tender.  Nice addition to stir fries, also does well when steamed.

Coriander:  I decided to grow this after seeing how customers reacted in the specialty produce store I used to work at when the fresh product arrived on the shelf.  It’s a crop I am less familiar with, though it is much appreciated by customers when I do grow it. 

Like beets, there is a chemical compound in Coriander that some folks are genetically unable to taste.  Those that can taste it describe the flavour as “like soap”.  So if someone in your family will not eat this, blame their ancestors.

Indispensable with curry, this crop adds a savory flavor to soups, stews, vegetable stuffing and patties. By the way, if you prefer the Italian or French name for this crop, say Cilantro.  It is the same thing.  If that is not confusing enough, some also call it Chinese Parsley.



Parsley:  Most folks seem to consider this crop as dispensable. Parsley is an outstanding addition to soups, stews, and salads. It’s distinct (yet mild) flavor blends well with boiled or mashed potatoes, risotto or pilaf rice dishes, on fish, chicken, lamb or goose, steaks, meat or vegetable stews. It is a primary ingredient in carrot salads, and many middle eastern dishes such as tabbouleh.

Persillade is a mixture of chopped garlic and chopped parsley in French cuisine. Gremolata is a traditional accompaniment to the Italian veal stew, osso buco alla milanese, a mixture of parsley, garlic, and lemon zest. Considering its versatility, I am amazed that there are so few requests for it…I often munch on it while working in the field, and it usually winds up in my lunch salad at the farm.

When cleaning, grab the bunch by the stems and swish the leaves around in a bowl (or sink, or pot) of water, keeping the stems together.  Parsley can have a lot of soil on it, so repeat this step as many times as necessary.  Dry it in a salad spinner or with a tea towel, and proceed with your recipe.  For ease of cleaning, I typically chose a flat leaf variety such as this season's "Giant of Italy".  

The aroma of very fresh parsley is excruciatingly good - plan on consuming it soon when it arrives with your delivery.

 

Fruits, Tubers and Bulbs

 

Aliums:  Another crop valuable to the farmer in that the plants of this family tend to ward off a lot of insects (the following crop planted in the same bed benefits from this).

Green onions, green garlic and scapes are easy to put by - clean, chop, and freeze.  Garlic bulbs may be stored this way as well, though you have to separate the cloves and remove the paper.    I find that frozen garlic cloves thaw in under five minutes.

 

 


 

Garlic Scapes:  These arrive in mid June.  These may be eaten raw (in a salad or sprinkled onto soup or casseroles), or cooked.

Green Garlic:  These arrive in early to mid June.  The entire plant should be edible – the leaves, stalk, and mini bulb may be cooked lightly or eaten raw.  Though test first, some portions of stem may be too tough.

After the bulbs are cured in mid august, delivery of the bulbs commences.

 



We are growing six varieties this year, with a range of flavor, oil, and heat.  Our new farm in Lanark is well suited for garlic growing - the previous owners production peaked at almost 1600 bulbs.

Garlic varieties respond differently to various soil and climate conditions.  So much so, that two bulbs of the same variety can express very different characteristics when grown only a few miles apart.  Generally, here is what to expect:

 


Porcelain Types:  These are the most suited to growing in the Ontario climate.  Porcelains tend to be hotter and less oily than other types.  I find they are best for cooking.  Typically, they store for 7-8 months.

 

Fish Lake:  A variety developed by ‘The Fish Lake Garlic Farmer’ in Prince Edward County, and is very suited to Eastern Ontario climate - usually the first to emerge in the spring here. 

 





Yugoslavian:  Among our first garlic’s to trial, it has remained on our menu due to its consistent yield.

 

Susan Delafield:  A heritage variety that is known for its intense flavor and heat.  It can store for 7-9 months. 

 

Purple Stripe,  Marble Purple Stripe, Glazed Purple Stripe:  Considered the oldest garlic type.  It tends to mature later in the season.  Bulbs have several small cloves, with outstanding flavour, neither too hot nor too oily.

 

Persian Star:  Great appearance grows well at Whitsend.  Fairly hot. 

 

Crème de la Rasa was an offspring from a rocambole type that mutated into a marbled purple stripe garlic.  It has most of the marbled characteristics with a rich rocambole flavor.  It stores for 6-8 months.  From one of our seed suppliers, Rasa Creek Farm.

 

Rocambole Types:  This type of garlic is fussy about growing conditions, and does poorly in wet weather.  Generally speaking, it does not take well to our climate, so I have ceased to grow it.  However, Creme de la Rasa (below) has several similarities to Rocamboles.  

These tend to have a milder flavour and more oil, some mild enough to eat raw, and therefore good for salads or light cooking such as in a milk or cream sauce like alfredo; or roasting whole cloves.  Rocambole garlic stores 4-5 months. 

 

Green Onions:  I usually grow Parade variety, and deliver about 4 times a season.  This year, I am adding some Red Beard variety to try out, the distinctive color was intriguing.




Bulb Onions: Our farm soil is ideal for onions.  We have five varieties this year.

Red Marble: This is a cippolini onion.  Best used in salads, though I have used them as cooking onions and they browned up nicely for a stock pot stew. Fairly long shelf life as cippolinis go.  Expect these mid August.   

(NEW for 2025!) Borrettana:  A yellow heirloom cippolini that I was able to source for this season.  




Blush:  Red cooking onion with a pinkish hue inside.  Much prized in middle eastern cuisine.  Limited quantity this season.


Rossa de Milano:  Red cooking onion with very long storage life and unusual shape. This is an extraordinary cooking onion.  Mild, almost sweet, and very long lasting.  First place at McD's Crnrs Ag Fair, 2024.

 (NEW for 2025!) Long Red of Tropea:  I am growing a limited variety of this specialty onion this year out of curiosity.  This is a fresh use onion (short storage life) that can be cooked lightly or eaten raw; the stalks can also be used as a green onion.  

 

 Fruit

I call them fruits as that is what they are...the fleshy reproductive organ that produces and contains seed.  



 Tomatoes

The easiest way to put tomatoes by is by freezing.  We stew ours in a slow cooker - often with some oregano and a few chopped green and hot peppers.  The most efficient way to pack then into the freezer is with freezer bags, I find these take up less space than hard plastic containers. 

 

 

 


Moskvich:  Extremely flavourful, short season Siberian heirloom.  It is quite seedy and acidic, and tends to crack easily due to uneven moisture.  It is cold tolerant, allowing harvest to extend into September, though it tends to shut down sooner than other tomatoes during very high temperatures.  Very flavourful.

New 2024 - Prudens Purple:  I first experienced Prudens  at Elmtree and can assure you that the flavour is outrageously good.  Their maturity dates are almost 2 weeks more than moskvich, so I am hoping on a warm spring to give these fruits an extra early head start.

Grightmires Pride:   (Cancelled for 2025, we will return to this when there is enough space to do a preserving tomato)  Another flavourful, short season heirloom, this one has few seeds, lots of pulp, and low acidity.  An ox heart shaped tomato variety, something you don't often see anymore.  

This is a good choice for folks who have trouble with the acidity of tomatoes.

Flavorful enough for sandwiches or burgers, the high amount of pulp makes it a good choice for stewing. 

For canning, add ascorbic acid to ensure pH is high enough.

 Cherokee Purple and Cherokee Carbon hybrid:  Trialed last year, cancelled for this one.



Gardeners Delight:   A prolific cherry tomato that that has been dependable for us for several years.

For genuine tomato taste in the winter months, cover a lightly oiled baking pan slice with a layer of these cherry tomatoes sliced in half and roast on light heat about 45 minutes or until moisture has evaporated (if they have a lot of moisture, drain it off).  Bag, freeze, and use as needed. 




 

Peppers:  Green peppers start in July, the colored peppers will be ready for August.  Customers will receive a mix of both throughout the season.  Easy to put by - clean, chop, freeze.

Olympus: A fairly standard green to red bell pepper.  

Orange Picnic:  Picnic peppers are small, ideal for 1 or two sandwiches or burgers, or throwing into a salad.  Very sweet as peppers go.

New 2025 Red Picnic:  I liked the orange picnics so much, I thought I'd try the red ones this year, about a 50/50 mix with the orange.

Carmen: A sweet Italian frying pepper (I think this is what some folks refer to as a ‘Shepherds Pepper’).  2023 1st prize at the McDonalds Corners Fair.   These were extraordinary!

King of the North:  An heirloom that is well suited to short, cooler seasons.  Standard green to red bell pepper.

Cayenne, Red Ember:  A somewhat hot cayenne that I am trying for the first time.  

Jalapeno, Campeon:  I purchased these after a customer requested them last season.  Limited quantity, enough for everyone though not everyone will receive these each week they are harvested.  First harvest date will depend on when they have turned color.

Anaheim Pepper, Charger:  Anaheim's are shaped like cayenne's, except wider.  This variety has thick walls, so ideal for stuffing.  Mild heat

 

Potato plants emerging with leaves.

Potatoes:   We are growing at least five types of potato this season.  All of our seed potatoes are purchased from Ellenberger organic Farm in Coe Hill, Ontario.  I continue to increase our percentage of Whitsend seed potatoes as well.

French Red Fingerling: Our seed potato supplier suggested we try fingerlings in 2016, and I am so glad he did.  This crop rewarded us with terrific per plant yields.  These taste so good that kids return for seconds.

Onaway:  White potato, more information to be forthcoming.  Arrives mid July.

Red Chieftain: Medium to large red skin, white flesh potato.  Late fall delivery.  Excellent shelf life.  Best boiled for mashing, salads, or with butter and pepper.  Tend to get a bit knobby as they size up.  Very thin skin, don’t bother peeling.

Blue Steel (New 2024): Limited availability 2025.  Taste and yield are good, and the blue color remains after cooking.  However, it is very difficult to determine if there is any greening in the flesh.

New for 2025 - Y38:  Limited trial run.  An all red potato - even the flesh is red, tough it turns a light pink when cooked.  Ordinarily, I would not have chosen this type due to the name, but Henry recommended it for its growing and taste quality.

German Butterball:  Yellow flesh variety that has a taste rivaling fingerlings.  The tubers tend to be a bit small, though I expect a small improvement this season as I am growing then is a better location.


 Winter Squash

All winter squashes should be stored in a cool, dark place with low moisture and air movement to prevent mold.  Ideally somewhere you will be able to check on them easily.  If any bad spots appear on the rind, cut off the spots and use as soon as possible.

Another way to store is to cook the squash (steam, bake, etc.), then puree the pulp and freeze in a zip lock  bag.

 Squash seeds are very nutritious.  Reserve after cleaning the squash, rinse, sprinkle on some oil, and roast in a pan, stirring a couple of times.



Butterscotch Mini Butternut:  I grew these starting in 2016 while experimenting with single serving sized fruits.  I was quite impressed with both the flavour and the overall size of fruits that developed, larger than what I would call ‘single serving’.  These have a very creamy flesh ideal for soups, stews, and pies.  Rivals delicata and dumpling squash for flavour.


 

Sweet Jade:  New 2024, this kabocha squash has an extremely long shelf life AND a decent flavour.  This crop produces 1-2 Lb fruits.  

As of early January 2025, we still have this in stock and the frits show no sign of degrading.







Celery:  This is a crop I have improved over the years.  I grow mine fairly close together, so the heads are a little small.  Easy to put by - chop and freeze.  Although it is a minor ingredient in tomato based sauces, I find some really enhances the flavor.











Fennel:   One of my absolute favorite foods; partly for the taste, and partly for the challenge of placing this licorice-like flavor in a suitable dish.  Bulbs may be eaten raw in a salad, roasted, baked with fish, or grilled (try it in kebabs!)

Leaves add a nice accent to salads.  Stems may be chopped and used interchangeably with celery, so long as it is cooked.  They will have a mild anise flavor. 





Pictured here is a fairly typical store bought fennel, similar in appearance to one of the two types I grow.  The bottom of the bulb and the stalks have been chopped off in preparation for making a fennel and apple salad.  

The other fennel I sometimes grow, an heirloom finocchio type - has a narrow bulb - less quantity and more quality.  These taste much better, and have the added attribute that it is open pollinated, one I can save seeds from.

Zucchini:  Two types – a standard European zucchini and a limited quantity of Lebanese zucchinis.  I'm unsure how these will play out on harvest weeks - customers will get at least two deliveries of these crops, possibly more.

We sometimes have extra large zucchinis appear from under the foliage, so I offer these by request sometimes.

Unless I add a few slices to a cooked sandwich, the only place I use zucchini is in casseroles to provide a bit of moisture to the texture (which it does very well).  Otherwise, I don't mind if customers take them all...

 

 Roots

In most cases, the best way to prepare roots is by roasting.  Boiling tends to leach out flavor and nutrients.  They also work well in casseroles, soups, and stews.  Many of these roots will make pasta sauces much more interesting.  Most will make great salads.  And if you are at a loss, throw them all together in a roasting pot and make ratatouille.  Or (pictured below) Root vegetable gratin.

 


If your roots dry out and get a bit soft, placing them in water in the fridge for 24 to 48 hours will firm them up somewhat.

Root crops tend to taste better after exposure to cold, I try to leave the parsnips and the last round of carrots  in the ground until they have 'frosted'.  The carbohydrates in the roots shorten from exposure to cold, which we sense as sweet.

 Pictured is baked Celeriac gratin.

 



 

Carrots:  Our customers love ‘Napoli’ variety carrots, particularly after they are frosted in the fall.  These are our workhorse carrots, but I also grow ‘Yellowstone’ and ‘White Satin’ for the middle of the season.  As of this writing, I still am searching for a red variety that is satisfactory in flavour and yield - most red varieties I try either yield below average or have a strong flavor.  I may grow a few this year to see how they respond to the soil on our new farm.

Carrots are relatively easy to put by.  Clean and chop, set in boiling water for about 5 minutes, and then plunge into cold water until cool.  Drain.  Package in a zip lock bag and freeze.



We find it easier to have two stock pots (one boiling water over the stove, and one full of cold water.  It also helps to have a metal colander.

Place the carrots in a metal colander and suspend in the boiling water, and then lift out to place in cold water.

 

If you have a decent cold cellar, slightly warmed garage, or very cool corner of the basement, the most cost effective means of storing carrots is in damp sand.  The trick seems to be finding a food safe supply of sand.  We were going to try this last fall with our cold cellar, but Cayley found our sand pile and "used it" before I could pack the sand into tubs...we now use commercial sand box sand.

I am experimenting next year with storing carrots and other roots in damp wood chips.  According to some locals who store root crops that way, it is easier to manage and less expensive.


Parsnip:  If I can get this to germinate, it usually does OK.   2023 produced some of the best parsnips that I have ever grown.  Albion is a new variety for us, less prone to scabs and cankers than other types.

 

Celeriac:  Cancelled for 2025.  Indispensable if you are fortunate enough to have a root cellar; these last for a long time.  They will also last for a considerable time in the fridge.  Similar to parsnips in flavour.  

Both parsnip and celeriac are very nice roasted.  I find that dicing them into quarter inch segments, placing one layer deep in a shallow pan, add some oil and seasoning (whatever your cook book suggests for carrots - I like cumin) and roast for about 30 minutes at 350, stirring two or three times. 

For those of you trying to avoid complex carbs (starch) celeriac is a good replacement for potatoes.

Beets:  A crop I have struggled with to get a consistent yield with.  I’ll try Kestral this year.  Can be eaten raw, though some folks may find a bitter aftertaste.  The compound that some of us we sense as "like soil" is destroyed by cooking. 

One exception to the "don't boil roots" rule is Borsht - soup with beets (ideally with potato as well), with a sprinkling of parsley and a spoonful of sour cream.  This soup is equally good served cold or hot.

One traditional recipe calls for the soup to be allowed to cool and then a hot, boiled potato  plunked into the bowl just before serving.

Two other beet varieties I am trying this season:  Touchstone Gold, which was our best producer at the old farm, when I was able to source the seed.  Shiraz is another beet variety that I am trying out this year.  

 

Cabbage Family Roots

 

Rutabaga:  These are the best rutabaga I have ever tasted.  I grow two varieties:  ‘Joan’, and ‘Helenore’.  I planted these earlier than usual in 2015 and was rewarded with some huge roots.  Typically, these taste better when planted later and get some frost exposure before harvest, though the roots are usually smaller.  I'll probably decide at the last possible minute which date I will choose for sowing these this season. 

Farm grown rutabagas are one crop that is easily superior to the agro-factory alternative.   Essential for Thanksgiving.

Helenore and Joan were not available, so I purchased a variety called Teviot for 2025.

 

Turnip:  I typically grow purple top varieties.  This season's variety is called Milano.   I harvest them young enough to eat raw, so they tend to be a bit small.  

Cherry Belle Radish:  Standard red radish.  I’ll be planning on growing a fall crop to augment the spring crop this season.

French Breakfast:  A cylindrical type with exceptional flavour. 


Lobo Daikon:  Specialty crop by request only.  An alternative to rutabaga for some customers.  This variety is called 'Lobo' or 'Myshiage'.  Ours tend to be a little slimmer.


Watermelon Radish:    For customers who do not eat turnip, we offer this mild mannered snack with bright color.  Limited quantity grown, so be sure to request early.

Kohlrabi:  Cancelled for 2025.  We have tried this in the past, and likely will grow it again.  However, with so many brassica family plants in our fields, finding space for them is challenging.  







Flowers

It is unlikely that I will be offering cut flowers this season, though if there is room in the car and enough time to snip some stems, I'll try to add some cut flowers to the deliveries this year.  CSA customers who pick up at the farm gate store may have more opportunity for this complimentary gift.


Place these in a vase with a bit of water and enjoy the instant atmosphere.



Zinnias:  Zinnias are always a favorite addition to the table for our customers.  Ever restless, I started growing Dianthus last year and was pleased, though two thirds of the seedlings were killed by the nursery.  

I’ll continue to grow marigolds as well, to help promote the health of the tomatoes, and snip a few flowers for the customers.






 Herbs

We have yet to finish building our herb beds, and rehabilitating the herb beds that the previous owners had here.  I hope to have some herbs available in the next year or two.  

Savoury is one herb that I grew a limited quantity of in the past and found that it readily self seeded.  I expect that it will be one of the first perennial herbs we grow when the herb beds are ready...maybe 2025?

Basil is one that I have not grown recently, though as our nursery space expands, this will likely return to the CSA menu.  Like the leaf crop parsley, very fresh basil is extraordinary.  Note to gardeners out there:  I have no idea why gardening books suggest interplanting basil with tomatoes.  Try it if you want, but remember that tomatoes have a high water demand and too much water turns basil yellow.  Or causes it to become moldy.  Another one of my early attempts at interplanting that went straight to the compost.

Purslane:  I'm not sure how to categorize this rarely grown crop.  Gold Purslane is one of the cultivated varieties of an otherwise common weed.  

Purslane has golden stems and large, succulent, light green leaves that are packed with Omega 3 fatty acids. Individual leaves are oval to round and thick, about the size of a teaspoon. Tangy flavor.  

I have grown this on a limited basis because I like it, and our summers are usually dry enough for this crop.   Rainy weather and especially cool, rainy weather, will mold the leaves effortlessly.

Can be eaten as a salad, but works best with other foods.  One customer suggested that it's oil content makes purslane good for transporting flavors into other foods.  Chop the purslane fine, mix with your favorite seasonings, and spread over fish or other meat to take the flavor into the interior.

Apparently, this (and it's lawn weed relative) is one of the healthiest foods you can consume.