We hope you had a lovely New Year! As we look forward into 2026, one of our biggest goals for the farm is to increase community engagement through events as well as volunteer opportunities. We’re currently hammering out the details for our spring events so stay tuned! Though we plan on having more volunteer events like we did with our orchard in the fall, we also welcome volunteers that would like to help us with farm tasks every week! If you’re interested in volunteering with us and would like more details, please reach out to our Farm Team at JordanRanch@Agmenity.com

Celery is officially in season! We’ve been harvesting bunches of it over the past couple of weeks for the Grab-and-Go coolers and it’s really hitting its stride. Our celery is incredibly flavorful and makes a great addition to a multitude of recipes from salads to soups and beyond. You can use the leafy green tops like an herb and the slim stalks in any recipe that calls for celery. While celery is often used as a base ingredient, this celery salad with blood oranges, dates, and walnuts puts it front and center.

The arrival of January means it’s already time to start our tomato seeds! We planted the first round of tomato seeds this week that will eventually be transplanted into the high tunnel. Since the high tunnel offers protection from the elements as well as a warmer environment, we always plant seeds for these varieties before those that will be planted in the field. Here’s what we planted: Black Cherry, Cherry Bomb, Sun Gold, and Cherokee Purple tomatoes. 

In Season: Baby Carrots (limited), Spinach, Celery, Fennel, Green Onions, Green Cabbage, Parsley, Cilantro, Dill, Collard Greens, Curly Kale, Red Russian Kale, Tuscan Kale, Romaine Lettuce Heads, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Hakurei Turnips, and Radishes

We are excited to share that we harvested the first broccoli of the season for you this week! It is a variety of “bunching broccoli” which means the plants grow a smaller central head along with many small side shoots. We love this tender broccoli for its flavor and ease of prep in the kitchen. Since there are several smaller shoots bunched together, there’s minimal cutting involved! You can find bunching broccoli along with all of our other fall crops in the Grab-and-Go coolers. 

What have you been loving recently from the Farm Stand? Farmer Sarah has really been enjoying the Tuscan kale! She loves to blend it into a smoothie along with bananas, frozen blueberries, peanut butter, almond milk, and protein powder. Farmer Mary loves the spring onions because they’re super versatile. She enjoys using them as a garnish for most of her meals, especially egg tacos. Curious what else is in season this week? Check out the list at the end of the post! 

Planting continued this week with a round of fennel and celery. Both of these cool season crops are members of the Apiaceae family along with other favorites like carrots, cilantro, and dill. Members of this family are characterized by the umbrella-like shape of their flowers, though we typically harvest them before they reach the flowering stage! Fennel takes just about two months to go from seed to petite harvesting size while celery takes a little longer at about three months. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Collard Greens, Bunching Broccoli, Red Russian Kale, Tuscan Kale, Bok Choy, Lettuce Heads, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Hakurei Turnips, Amara Mustard Greens, Wasabina Mustard Greens, Radishes, Spring Onions, Okra, and Bell Peppers.

We seeded the first succession of peppers and eggplants in the greenhouse! They haven’t started germinating yet but we have a feeling it will happen very soon. We planted a mix of sweet and hot peppers including jalapeños, lunchbox, shishitos, and bell peppers. Two different types of eggplant were also planted: classic Italian and a beautiful purple and white striped variety. These plants will spend a few weeks in the warmth of the greenhouse before they are transplanted in the tunnel and field.

Our newly transplanted celery (above) was covered with frost cloth before the winter storm hit and despite the extremely cold temperatures, it survived. While these plants are still very young, they appear to be doing well and are starting to put on new growth. Since celery prefers cool temperatures and takes longer to reach maturity than a lot of our other crops, we have to plant it early in the year. This will allow time for a spring harvest before the days grow too warm. We’re hopeful we can share some with you early this spring!

Now that we’ve had time to observe our crops post-freeze, it appears that most of what was covered is beginning to bounce back and will allow for future harvesting. Our produce availability will stay fairly consistent over the next couple of weeks with a lull expected in mid-February as we wait on newer plantings to reach maturity. The full list of what is currently available in the Grab-and-Go coolers can be found below. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Carrots, Salad Mix, Butter Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Komatsuna, Cone Cabbage, Bok Choy, Kale, Collard Greens, Cilantro, Scallions, Fennel, Kohlrabi, and Broccoli (limited)

Our first volunteer weekend was super productive! The crew helped us set up for our weekly in-person Farm Stand in addition to installing hoops and frost cover for some of our field crops. There was also some weeding and general farm tidying involved. Our volunteer program takes place every Saturday from 8:30-11am and is a great way to help keep Sunset Farm a thriving part of the Jordan Ranch community. If you’re interested, we encourage you to reach out to our Farm Team at JordanRanch@Agmenity.com! 

Cone cabbage is in season at the Farm Stand! As you can see in the photo above, this cabbage variety has a unique conical shape. It has a more mild taste than standard round-headed cabbages with a more pronounced sweetness. The sweetness of cone cabbage makes it perfect for enjoying raw in salads or slaws but it’s also equally delicious roasted or grilled. We recommend trying this grilled cone cabbage with miso sauce for a delicious side dish! 

Several weeks ago we started an experimental round of celery in the greenhouse (below). We are happy to report that our celery seedlings are doing really well! Celery is a slower growing crop that prefers cooler temperatures in addition to consistently moist soil. It doesn’t tolerate high temperatures well which can make it a challenge to grow in our climate. Our plan is to transplant our celery seedlings in January in order to yield a springtime harvest.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Romaine Lettuce, Kale, Collard Greens, Komatsuna, Bok Choy, Swiss Chard, Mustard Greens, Napa Cabbage, Cone Cabbage, Broccoli Rabe, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Scallions, Beets, Hakurei Turnips, Radishes, Salad Mix, Arugula, Little Gem Lettuce, Tomatoes, Eggplant, and Roselle Pods. 

We’re harvesting two new crops for you that we’re incredibly excited about: broccoli rabe and celery! This is the first time we’ve grown either of these veggies on the farm so we are thrilled to be able to share them with you at the farm stand. Broccoli rabe, also called rapini, is a member of the Brassica family along with crops like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower. It produces edible leaves, stems, and buds that have a somewhat bitter and nutty flavor. Our broccoli rabe is more tender and leafy than what you’ll find in the store, not to mention much tastier! Farmer Alex recommends braising it with some garlic and finishing it with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Just like our broccoli rabe, our celery is much more flavorful than its grocery store counterparts. You’ll notice that the stalks are smaller and the leafy greens are attached. You can use the stalks just as you would regular celery and the leaves like parsley. The possibilities are endless when it comes to using celery since it frequently forms the flavor base of so many recipes! Farmer Anna recommends adding some chopped celery to a batch of chicken salad for a delicious crunchy texture. Make sure to pick up a bunch to try at the farm stand this weekend!

We planted seeds for the first succession of squashes and cucumbers in the greenhouse last week. Since both of these crops are frost sensitive, we’ll be planting them in the field in March once we’ve passed our last frost date. We’ll be starting multiple rounds of these crops throughout the warmer months to help ensure a steady supply. Here are the varieties we just planted: Bristol (a slicing cucumber), Max Pack (a smaller pickling cucumber), Zephyr (a yellow summer squash with a light green blossom end), and Dark Green (a standard zucchini).

In Season at the Farm Stand: Broccoli Rabe, Kohlrabi, Celery, Scallions, Sugar Snap Peas, Beets, Radishes, Turnips, Kale, Collards, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, and Cilantro.

There are two new veggies that are coming soon to the farm stand: Hakurei turnips (pictured above) and head lettuce (pictured below). Hakureis, often referred to as “salad turnips”, can be eaten raw or cooked. They have a crisp and tender texture with a mild sweet flavor. Try adding thinly sliced Hakurei to a salad made with our chopped head lettuce and dill. Or, you can create a simple side dish by braising them in a flavorful stock like in this recipe.

We planted the first spinach of the season (pictured below)! Spinach is a cool season crop due to its ability to withstand temperatures in the upper 20s. It’s also one of the few crops that we grow during this time of the year that is not in the Brassica family. Spinach is a member of the Amaranth family along with Swiss chard, beets, and quinoa. Though it can be enjoyed in its baby stage, we’ll be harvesting it once it has matured a bit more.

It’s always an exciting moment when we plant something for the very first time on the farm. Last week, we planted celery (pictured below)! This will be the first celery grown on the farm so we are looking forward to seeing how it does. Celery is a slow grower so it will be a couple of months before we’re able to make the first harvest. We’ll make sure to keep you updated in the meantime!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Hakurei Turnips, Beets, Salad Radishes, Watermelon Radishes, Broccoli, Cauliflower (limited), Dragon’s Tongue Beans (limited), Scallions, Roselle, Head Lettuce, Bok Choy, Kale, Cabbage, Napa Cabbage, Collard Greens, Salad Mix, Arugula, Sweet Peppers, Eggplant, Cilantro, and Dill.