Cover Cropping and Harvesting Cucumbers
October 7th, 2021
The beds on the far end of the farm are being planted with another round of cover crops this week in order to get them ready for spring planting. Over the summer we noticed that these beds weren’t quite as productive as the others. We did a little investigating and noticed that these beds have a higher clay content which means they aren’t draining as well as the others and are a little more compacted. Cover crops to the rescue! We’re seeding these beds with a mix of buckwheat (to mow down and use as green manure), clover (to fix beneficial nitrogen to the soil), and purple top turnips (to help with breaking up compaction).
We’ll have another new leafy green for you at the farm stand this Saturday: baby bok choy! These miniature versions of bok choy have tender leaves with a flavor sweeter than their mature counterparts. Baby bok choy can be stir-fried whole (like in this recipe) or chopped and added to salads. Bok choy is a member of the vast Brassica family that makes up a large portion of the crops we’ll be growing this fall and winter. Other delicious members of the Brassica family include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, and cabbage.
Our most recent succession of Tsuyataro cucumbers is incredibly productive. They’re so productive in fact that we were able to harvest over sixty pounds of them this week! To celebrate this cucumber bounty, we’ll be running a special at the farm stand on Saturday: buy one pound of cucumbers and get one free. Here are a few of our favorite ways to enjoy cucumbers:
- Cucumber Basil Soda
- Japanese Pickled Cucumbers
- Cucumber Soup with Bacon Gremolata
- Roasted Cucumbers with Cream and Horseradish
