The News from Windflower Farm
Happy summer solstice from the Windflower Farm team. With the official start of summer comes the summer’s first heat wave. We are expecting temperatures in the mid-90s, which is unusual for this time of year. To make your greens last longer in these conditions, rewash them at home in cold water, then gently shake dry and place them in a plastic bag or another air-tight container in the refrigerator.
What’s in the share?
- Summer squash or zucchini
- Cucumbers
- Kohlrabi
- Romaine lettuce (2 heads)
- Kale
- Spring turnips
- Onions
The fruit share will be strawberries from Yonder Farm. Pete at Yonder Farm told me that it was likely the heavy rains that preceded last week’s berry harvest that produced the spoilage that some of you reported. Our sincere apologies. The current harvest looks much better.
The first maple and grain share distributions are this week. If you ordered maple and/or grain shares, please pick them up.
What’s new on the farm?
Warm temperatures are the on switch for summer squashes and zucchinis. We had a pretty good haul this week. Cucumbers are getting started, too. With respect to heat, however, there can be too much of a good thing: the temperature threshold above which pollen viability in squashes and cukes begins to decline is 90 degrees. And if pollination is reduced, fruit set and yield will also be reduced.
Are you wondering what to do with some of these weird spring vegetables? In our kitchen, kohlrabi is used mostly as a salad topper: we grate them and toss them on the top of any garden salad. But they are also good sliced and dipped into hummus, etc. Keep them in your refrigerator’s crisper drawer.
Happy Rich is a mini-headed broccoli that results when a Chinese kale (Gai Lan) is crossed with a broccoli. I find it to be sweeter and more tender than broccoli. The stems are good to eat and the flowers are edible, too. We are trying to figure out how to harvest it. We’ve been told that it can be managed as a cut-and-come-again with a long harvest window. These will begin showing up soon, as will regular broccoli. Store it cold and in a plastic wrap or air-tight container.
The variety of spring or salad turnips that we grow is called ‘Hakurei.’ Slice them like a radish or grate them and add them to any salad – they do not need to be cooked. They are not your grandmother’s turnips – they are milder and sweeter. In my view, their sweet mild flavor comes out best when sautéed with garlic and onions. Last night, I left the stems on, halved the root, and sauteed them on high in grapeseed oil. I then added onions, and, after a few minutes, a handful of Happy Rich florets. Good stuff. Store cold and in an air-tight container.
The week ahead: Having finished trellising the cucumbers and planting the winter squashes, we are now up to our eyeballs in weeds in the onions. And when we’ve finished that task, we’ll be on to another round of tomato trellising.
Next week’s share will likely contain the following: cucumbers, zucchinis, spring turnips, yellow onions, kale or chard, lettuce and possibly more kohlrabi.
Have a great week, Ted
Central Brooklyn CSA 