With summer swiftly on its way, planting for the next few months will focus solely on crops that can withstand the heat. That means planting successions of varietals like eggplant, okra, long beans, bitter melon, luffa, and summer greens. Unlike the familiar kale and collard greens, summer greens can tolerate the heat without incurring that bitter taste or immediately bolting. Here are some of the summer greens we’ll be growing this year: roselle, Molokhia (pictured above), Malabar spinach, and amaranth, which you can read more about below!

We’ll be harvesting amaranth leaves this week, the first of our summer greens! We’re growing two different varieties, one with green leaves with tinges of maroon in the center and one with burgundy leaves edged with green. Amaranth is a delicious summer alternative to spinach that cooks up quickly and retains its beautiful colors once cooked. You can use it just as you would spinach or kale, substituting it into your favorite recipes. Here’s a quick and flavorful recipe for an amaranth leaf stir-fry.

In addition to amaranth, we’re harvesting the first of our winter squashes this week! We have two different varieties for you: spaghetti and delicata. Spaghetti squash is oblong and yellow and gets its name from the fact that once its flesh is cooked, it becomes stringy like noodles. The best way to enjoy it is to cut it in half lengthwise, then roast the halves cut-side down until tender. Once cooked you can scrape the flesh out with a fork. Delicata is golden yellow with longitudinal green stripes. Since the skin is thin, there’s no need to peel it before cooking. Simply eat the skin with the flesh! Since both of these are storage squashes, you don’t need to eat them right away. They can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 2-3 months.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Amaranth Greens, Delicata Squashes, Spaghetti Squashes, Green Beans, Zucchini, Cousa Squash, Cucumbers (pickling & slicers), Tomatoes (slicers & cherries), Carrots, Beets, Scallions, Leeks, Bulb Onions, Collard Greens, Kale, Basil, and Flower Bouquets

June 24th, 2021

It’s officially summer on the farm! That means tomatoes will be making their way out of season in the next couple of weeks and we will be focused only on crops that can thrive in our hot and humid summer weather. We were able to transplant more of our summer greens this week and we’re pretty excited about the variety that we’ll be able to offer. We’ll be growing purslane, red amaranth, Malabar spinach, and Tetragonia (New Zealand spinach). If you’re curious what some of these crops look like, the red amaranth can be seen above and the Tetragonia can be seen below.

In order to make way for more summer crops, we’ve been focused on preparing our vacant beds for planting. Since we farm predominantly with a no-till method in order to keep the soil food web intact, bed preparation always starts with a broadfork to help aerate the soil. Once we broadfork our beds and add amendments like compost and organic fertilizer, we’ll be transplanting more successions of summer crops like peppers, okra, squash, and luffa.

Have you had a chance to make it out to our farm stand yet? The farm stand (located right on the farm) is open on Wednesdays from 4-6pm and Saturdays from 10am-12pm. It provides a sustainable option within the community as you’re able to get the produce directly us which greatly reduces fossil fuel consumption. A tomato from us travels less than 50 feet before it gets to you while a tomato at a grocery store may have traveled a thousand or more miles. Also, the closest grocery store to our location is approximately 8 miles away by car! This Saturday, we’ll have the following for you at the farm stand: cherry tomatoes, slicer tomatoes, cucumbers, green bell peppers, long beans, okra, eggplant, basil, and fresh cut flower bouquets.

May 20th, 2021

All of our tomatoes are coming into season and we’re now harvesting cherry, slicing, and paste varieties. Cherries are perfect for salads and snacking, slicers are great on sandwiches or burgers, and pastes are ideal for making sauces and tomato paste. If you’ve been wanting to jar some sauce, now's the time to take advantage and come see us at the farm stand on Saturday! If you can’t make it on Saturday, we’ll be adding farm stand hours every Wednesday afternoon from 4-6pm beginning this Wednesday, May 26th. We have an abundance of tomatoes that will be available in addition to summer squashes, cucumbers, green beans, and basil. 

We were pleasantly surprised to see our Ouachita blackberries in the orchard covered with ripe fruit this week! We’re happy to report that these berries are large and sweet and only just starting to ripen (which means they’ll be in season for a few weeks). Ouachita is a thornless blackberry that makes harvesting a breeze. We’ll have these delicious berries at the farm stand this Saturday in limited quantities so we highly recommend stopping by to snag some.

While cool season greens like chard are making their way out of season, summer greens are being planted in the high tunnel. We’re planting a mix of heat-loving purslane, amaranth, and tetragonia (also called New Zealand spinach). Purslane has succulent leaves with a slight lemony taste. Amaranth leaves have a taste similar to spinach and depending on the variety can be green, burgundy, or a combination of the two like you see in the photo below. Tetragonia also has succulent leaves but with a mild spinach taste. 

If you’re out and about this weekend and what to support restaurants and Chefs using our beautiful produce, check out the following: Theodore Rex, Better Luck Tomorrow, Nancy’s Hustle, Bludorn, Squable, Ostia, UB Preserv, 93 ‘Til, Hidden Omakase, and Tobiuo Sushi.