Harvesting Molokhia and Tackling Nutsedge
Even though we just transplanted our Molokhia a couple of weeks ago, it’s ready for the first harvest! You’ll be able to find Molokhia at the farm stand starting this weekend. Molokhia, or Egyptian spinach as it is sometimes referred to here in the states, is a plant in the mallow family that produces edible leaves. Since it does incredibly well in hot climates, we’re growing it on the farm as one of our summer greens. Molokhia has a taste similar to spinach and can be used in much the same way. Farmer Alex recommends sauteeing the leaves first then adding it to pasta or lasagna.
In an effort to diversify our summer offerings, we’re growing bitter melon this year! Bitter melon (sometimes referred to as bitter gourd) is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family along with cucumbers, watermelons, and squashes. It has a distinct warty looking exterior and an oblong shape which you can see in the photo below. Since it grows in a vining habit, we have it trellised both for support and for ease of harvesting. We noticed this week that it’s just beginning to set fruit! Hopefully we’ll have the first bitter melons for you to try within the next couple of weeks.
Remember the cover crop of cowpeas we planted last week? One of our goals with this cover crop is to crowd out the nutsedge, a very resilient and pesky weed. Since we are an early stage farm, one of the biggest challenges we face is managing the weed population. Nutsedge (the grassy looking plant between the two small basil plants in the photo below) has proven to be one of the most prominent weeds on the farm, requiring special attention. In addition to cover cropping, we’ve also been intensively hoeing in order to remove it by hand. It’s also been incredibly helpful that it has been a relatively dry year as nutsedge thrives in wet environments. Slowly but surely we’re tackling this weedy nemesis!
In Season at the Farm Stand: Molokhia, Long Beans, Tomatillos, Jalapenos, Sweet Peppers, Tomatoes (last week for these!), Spaghetti Squash, Delicata Squash, Cucumbers, Amaranth Greens, Zucchini, Cousa Squash, Carrots, Beets, and Scallions.
