Have you had a chance to try any of our Swiss chard yet? We’re growing a mix of different varieties which means each bunch has a rainbow of different colored stems! This leafy green is a great sub for spinach as the leaves have a similar flavor and are in the same family. Both the tender leaves and crunchy stems can be used in recipes. For an easy side dish, saute chopped Swiss chard stems and garlic in olive oil until the stems are tender, then add the chopped leaves and cook until just wilted. Season with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of grated parmesan.

We are planting seeds in the last 3 empty beds in the high tunnel this week. We will be seeding additional rounds of carrots, arugula, radishes, and turnips along with some spinach. Once these seeds are in the ground, the high tunnel will be fully planted! Since we’ve been planting a lot of quicker growing crops in the high tunnel, we’ve been able to regularly harvest delicious veggies like turnips and radishes.

Our carrots in the high tunnel are coming along nicely but they aren’t quite ready for harvesting. We’re hopeful that we will be able to make the first harvest within the next 2-3 weeks! Since carrots are a community favorite, we like to plant several successions of them throughout the cooler growing seasons. This allows us to lengthen the amount of time they’re available for you and helps lessen or eliminate any gaps in their availability.

In Season: Broccoli, Cilantro, Dill, Collard Greens, Cauliflower (limited), Curly Kale, Red Russian Kale, Tuscan Kale, Bok Choy, Lettuce Heads, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Hakurei Turnips, Amara Mustard Greens, Wasabina Mustard Greens, Radishes, Spring Onions, Lunchbox Peppers, and Bell Peppers

We are harvesting the very first bunches of Swiss chard this week and will have a limited amount available in the Grab-and-Go coolers! This leafy green is in the same family as beets and spinach and has a flavor that tastes like a blend of the two. The variety we’re harvesting has vibrant red stems and veins which makes for a very colorful addition to your plate! Swiss chard can be enjoyed on its own as a side dish with a little garlic or added to soups, stews, and pasta dishes. We recommend trying it in this white bean chicken soup or this lemon Swiss chard pasta. 

Have you had a chance to try any of our Hakurei turnips yet? This beloved root vegetable is a farmer favorite due to its succulent crunchy texture and mild, sweet flavor with fruity notes. Unlike the larger turnips you often see at the grocery store, Hakurei turnips can be enjoyed raw. They work really really well in salads and slaws, especially with our arugula. When cooked, Hakurei turnips become incredibly tender. If you want an easy and flavorful side dish, try these braised Hakurei turnips with maple, miso, and ginger. 

In order to make sure you have plenty of variety on your plate this fall, we’ve been seeding new varieties in the greenhouse every week. This week we planted mizuna and Tokyo bekana. Mizuna is a Japanese mustard green with a mild flavor that works well in both salads and stir-fries. Tokyo bekana is a loose leaf cabbage variety with super tender leaves that make a great salad green.

Last but not least, we want to extend a big thank you to the volunteers that showed up for our Orchard Beautification Day this past Saturday! With your help we were able to plant thornless blackberries and perennials for our native pollinator bed. Keep an eye out for more events like this in the future! 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Swiss Chard (limited), Arugula, Hakurei Turnips, Baby Mustard Greens, Radishes, Scallions, Okra, Lunchbox Peppers, Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Basil (Italian, Lemon, Thai, and Tulsi), and Flower Bouquets

We celebrated the arrival of fall this week by planting another round of delicious fall crops! This round includes favorites like broccoli, kale, and Swiss chard. Though it will be a while before you see broccoli make it to the Farm Stand due to its longer harvesting window, you can expect to see the first kale and Swiss chard in about a month! If you’re a kale connoisseur, you’ll be pleased to know that we are growing a couple of different varieties including the ever-popular dino kale. We can’t wait to share it with you!

Your favorite summer crops are still around for now but that will change over the coming weeks as cooler weather eventually returns and we begin harvesting fall crops. Members of the nightshade and cucurbit families make up a significant portion of our summer crops and are suited for growing in the warmer months rather than cooler ones. In order to prioritize the current growing season, we’ll begin phasing them out and replacing them with cool weather crops. We highly recommend enjoying the following items over the coming weeks before they make their way out of season: zucchini, summer squash, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, basil, and okra.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Scallions, Summer Squash, Okra, Eggplant, Zucchini, Cucumbers, Lunchbox Peppers, Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Basil (Italian, Lemon, Thai, and Tulsi), and Flower Bouquets and Stems

Fall crops are really hitting their stride as we have not one but three new crops for you this week at the Farm Stand: beets, Swiss chard, and roselle pods! You’ll be able to find bunches of red beets at the Farm Stand with their beautiful leafy greens attached. Both the root and leaves of beets are edible and have a distinctly earthy flavor. While beets can be eaten raw, we prefer to either roast, steam, or pickle them. If you’re not sure where to start, try this roasted garlic beet hummus or this beet salad with goat cheese and balsamic. 

Even though Swiss chard is called a leafy “green”, its stalks and veins come in a rainbow of colors like red, orange, yellow, and pink. If you compare the leaves of Swiss chard (above) to the leafy greens of the beets in the first photo, you might notice that they have a similar appearance. This is due to the fact that they share the same genus and species (Beta vulgaris) but have different cultivar groups. Both the colorful stems and leaves of chard are edible and have a subtle earthy and mildly sweet flavor. You can try giving them a quick sauté with garlic, olive oil, and chili flakes for a quick side dish. Or, try Swiss chard in this lemony pasta dish. 

Our roselle pods are finally ready for harvesting! You’ve been able to enjoy their tangy leafy greens all summer long and now you can try the beautiful red pods. The red portion of each pod is called the calyx and it has a tart cranberry-like flavor that can be used to make teas, syrups, and jams. We like to think of roselle pods as our locally available substitute for cranberries! Try them in this roselle apple compote or follow this tutorial for some iced roselle hibiscus tea. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: French Breakfast Radishes, Red Beets, Hakurei Turnips, Roselle Pods, Roselle Greens, Baby Bok Choy, Komatsuna, Curly Kale, Dinosaur Kale, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Napa Cabbage, Rainbow Swiss Chard, Korean Melons, Okra, Long Beans, and Asian Eggplant

We hope you’re as excited about our next Farm Tour as we are! Join us this Saturday, October 21st at 10:30am for an educational stroll around the farm. You’ll be able to see a preview of all of our fall crops in the field as well as in the greenhouse. And, you’ll get to experience the first Swiss chard harvest of the season! Farmer Reuben is especially excited to talk about our new electric fencing system because it has been really effective in reducing pest damage from rabbits. Our Farm Tours are open to the public and free of charge. We would love to see you there!

Did you know that our self-serve Farm Stand is available to you 24/7? In addition to our in-person Farm Stand every Saturday from 9am-noon, you have the self-serve option available to you all day, every day! Simply walk or drive over, select the produce you need, and check yourself out on the IPad located just to the left of the coolers. We have instructions posted above the IPad just in case! If you are stopping by when we are not on site, we request that you pay with a credit card, otherwise, you are welcome to pay with cash. Here’s what is currently in season at the Farm Stand: Swiss chard (new!), baby bok choy, arugula, radishes, eggplant, and okra.

If you’re able to make it to the Farm Stand this weekend, you’ll be able to snag the very first Swiss chard of the season! This cool season leafy green is in the same family as beets and spinach. The leaves are tender while the stems have a lovely crunch. If you’d like to keep it simple, try sautéeing the chopped leaves and stems with some olive oil and garlic. Enjoy this as a side dish or as a topping for pizza or pasta. You can learn more about Swiss chard here. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Bok Choy, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Radishes, Eggplant, and Okra

Coming Soon: Bush Beans, Kale, and Turnips. 

More fall crops are making their way to the farm stand this week as we harvest the first collard greens and Swiss chard of the season! These leafy green crops are what we call “cut-and-come-again” since we’re able to remove just the older outer leaves rather than the entire plant each time we make a harvest. That means that we should have them in season over the next several weeks! Collard greens (pictured above) are great for braising, adding to soups, and as a wrap for sandwiches and burgers. Swiss chard (pictured below) has soft-textured leaves and crunchy stems are great for sautéeing and adding to soups and pastas.

Fall planting continued this week as we direct-seeded the section you see in the photo below. This section is planted with quicker-growing crops like arugula, radishes, and Hakurei turnips and something completely new to the farm: rutabaga! Rutabagas are root vegetables that are members of the vast Brassica family along with radishes, turnips, broccoli, and kale. They have a mildly sweet and peppery flavor similar to turnips. We’re excited to grow this new-to-us crop and can’t wait to share them with you!

Remember the Autumn Frost squashes that we planted back in August? We were able to finally harvest a small amount of these beauties! Autumn Frost (pictured below) is a specialty butternut with sweet and earthy tasting flesh. The prolonged drought followed by an excessively wet couple of weeks this summer led to a much smaller harvest than we were anticipating. But, we’re excited to be able to offer you some nonetheless! Due to their limited availability, we will only have Autumn Frost squashes at our Saturday farm stands from 9am-noon. Make sure to pop by then if you’d like to try one!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Radishes, Winter Squashes (only available at the Saturday farm stand), Cucumbers, Okra, Eggplants, Sweet Peppers, Roselle Greens, and Zinnia and Marigold Bouquets.

Upcoming Events: Harvest Market on Saturday, November 5th from 9am-noon at the farm

December 22nd, 2021

The high tunnel is yielding two beautiful new veggies: Li Ren Choi and Black Summer. Li Ren Choi (pictured above) is a variety of baby Bok Choy with tender leaves and crunchy stems. Due to its smaller stature, it requires minimal prep in the kitchen and can be simply halved or quartered before cooking. Black Summer is a variety of Bok Choy with dark green leaves and light green stems. Both the stems and leaves are edible and are perfect for stir-fries and soups.

We absolutely love Swiss chard, from the crunchy rainbow-colored stems to the tender leaves. We’ve noticed that this leafy green doesn’t seem to be a popular choice at the farm stand so we figured it deserved some time in the spotlight! Chard leaves (pictured above) are a great swap for spinach in recipes but they’re also equally delicious as a stand-alone side dish. Try sautéeing them with olive oil, garlic, and a pinch of red chili flakes. As for the stems, pickling them is a great option to add interest to winter salads (recipe here!). If you’re a smoothie drinker, try tossing a few leaves into your next batch for a dose of vitamins A, C, and K.

As we approach the holidays, we wanted to let you know that our farm stand will be self-serve for the remainder of the year. The coolers will be stocked and ready to supply all of your holiday meals! Simply pick up what you need and check yourself out with your credit card on the I-pad adjacent to the coolers. You can stop by anytime that is convenient for you throughout the week. If you’re curious what we have available, check out our list below.

Currently In Season: Carrots, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Spinach, Li Ren Choi (Baby Bok Choy), Arugula, Salad Mix, Tatsoi, Lettuce Heads, Kale, Swiss Chard, Napa Cabbage, Hakurei Turnips, Fennel, and Slicer Tomatoes

December 9th, 2021

The farm is looking mighty green this week especially with the addition of the Little Gem lettuces and Barese chard that we planted! Little Gem (pictured here) produces heads of lettuce with a sweet flavor and buttery texture. We’ll be harvesting this lettuce variety as mature heads rather than younger leaves like we do with our salad mixes. Barese is a variety of Swiss chard that produces glossy dark green leaves and thick white stalks. The leaves are smaller than standard Swiss chard.

We planted a couple of different kale varieties this week that we plan on overwintering. When it comes to plants, overwintering simply means to live through the winter. Since our overwintered kale will be in the ground longer than our earlier plantings (ideally until spring), we space each plant slightly farther apart to provide more space for each to grow. Here’s to plenty of delicious kale this winter!

Our next succession of broccoli is coming right along! This variety is Green Magic and as you can see it has already begun forming heads. As for our cauliflower, the first succession is nearly ready for harvest. We might be able to get away with harvesting the first heads just in time for the farm stand this Saturday but we should definitely have some for you next week! To make sure we can provide a relatively steady supply of both of these crops, we’ll be regularly planting successions of them throughout the winter.

Currently In Season: Carrots (limited), Slicer Tomatoes, Eggplant, Dill, Cilantro, Fennel, Kale, Green Leaf Lettuce Heads, Salad Mix, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Mustard Greens, Napa Cabbage, Turnips, Icicle Radishes, and Fresh Cut Flower Bouquets

December 2nd, 2021

Our carrots are getting mighty close to the first harvest of the season! The easiest way for us to check on their growth status is to pull one out of the ground. That way, we can check for both size and flavor to get an idea for how much longer they might need. As you can see in the photo, these are still just a tad too small. We expect that they should be ready for harvesting in about two weeks.

The time has come to bid farewell to our cherry tomatoes until next year! Since their production is beginning to slow down, we’ll be removing them next week. Before we remove them, we’ll be offering a you-pick at our farm stand on Saturday from 10am-noon. You’ll be able to pick as many cherry tomatoes as you like and each pint you pick will be $3. This is a great opportunity to preserve some tomatoes for winter, whether you can them, dry them, or prepare them for the freezer.

Swiss chard just made its way back into season to join our diverse lineup of leafy greens. Swiss chard is a tender green with crunchy stems that come in a rainbow of different colors depending on the specific variety (which is why it’s often referred to as “Rainbow chard”). Chard stems can range from white to yellow to red in color. Both the leaves and stems of chard are edible and can be used in place of spinach in your favorite recipes. For a quick and tasty side dish, sauté the chopped leaves and stems with garlic and toasted pine nuts.

Currently In Season: Cherry and Slicer Tomatoes, Eggplant, Dill, Cilantro, Kale, Green Leaf Lettuce Heads, Salad Mix, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Mustard Greens, Napa Cabbage, Turnips, Icicle Radishes, and Fresh Cut Flowers.

November 18th, 2021

We’re adding three more leafy greens to our verdant lineup this week: curly kale, Lacinato kale, and rainbow chard. And, we hope to harvest the first Napa cabbages next week! We’ve been working hard to increase the diversity of crops on the farm so it feels great to be able to harvest twelve different varieties of greens. Each leafy green variety differs in terms of taste and texture. We hope you’ll try them all so that you can expand your palate and perhaps find a new favorite! Here’s a handy guide featuring all of the varieties we’re currently harvesting:

• Kales (Lacinato, Curly, & Red Russian) -- earthy and vegetal taste; baby leaves are tender and perfect for salads; adult leaves are sturdier and perfect for sautéeing.
• Rainbow Chard -- mildly sweet and earthy taste; the soft-textured leaves and crunchy stems are great for sautéeing and adding to soups.
• Tokyo Bekana -- mild cabbage-like flavor; the buttery soft leaves can be used as a salad green or added to soups and stir-fries
• Arugula -- mild peppery flavor; the tender leaves are great for adding to salads, sandwiches, or a batch of pesto.
• Lettuces -- mild vegetal flavor; the tender leaves are great for adding to salads and sandwiches.
• Gai Lan -- earthy and sweet taste; both the leaves and stems are great for adding to stir-fries and soups. 
• Tatsoi -- mild spinach-like flavor; the tender leaves can be added to a salad mix or sautéed.
• Bok Choy -- fresh and grassy flavor; the leaves and stems can be added to stir-fries, soups, or used for a batch of kimchi.
• Collard Greens -- earthy and alkaline flavor; the leaves and stems are great for braising, adding to soups, and as a wrap for sandwiches and burgers. 
• Mustard Greens -- sharp and peppery flavor (this mellows when cooked); the leaves are great for braising, sautéeing, and adding to soups. 

It’s hard to tell who likes our flower rows more, us or the pollinators! These flowers serve a dual purpose: they provide a source of food for our local pollinators and they bring a bit of farm beauty to your home in the form of cut flower bouquets. In addition to all of the delicious veggies we’ll have at the farm stand this weekend (list below), we’ll also have the following cut flowers for you to craft your own bouquets: marigolds, zinnias, and sunflowers.

As a reminder, our farm stand takes place on the farm every Saturday from 10am-noon and every Wednesday from 4-6pm. We’re the perfect option for your holiday meal-planning and shopping and would love to see you there!

Currently In Season: Cherry Tomatoes, Slicer Tomatoes, Kale, Rainbow Chard, Tokyo Bekana, Arugula, Lettuce Mix, Tatsoi, Baby Bok Choy, Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Gai Lan, Hakurei Turnips, White Icicle Radishes, Shishito Peppers, and Eggplant.

March 17th, 2021

Our tomatoes are beginning to grow up the trellis, set blooms, and we’ve even spotted the first fruits! Tomato flowers are self-pollinating which means they contain both male and female parts. While the flowers are capable of self-pollination, factors like wind and insects can help the process along. Now that we’re starting to see the first fruits, we’ll be eagerly watching their progress as they swell and eventually mature. The first to mature (and thus be harvested) will be our smaller varieties like Sun Gold (an orange cherry tomato) and Candyland Red (a red currant tomato).

In addition to our tomatoes, our snap peas are beginning to flower. Snap peas have a very short window of time between blooming and harvesting. Typically the pods will be ready for harvesting within five to seven days after the flower blooms. Once the plants hit their stride and begin to bloom regularly, we’ll be harvesting almost every other day to keep up. Like snow peas, the entire pod of the snap pea is edible and can be enjoyed raw or cooked. It’s possible we’ll have the first harvest as early as next weekend so we will make sure to keep you posted!

Spring planting continued this week with cucumbers, peppers, and eggplant. We decided to interplant our Rosa Bianca eggplant with marigolds in a continuing effort to incorporate more flowers on the farm and maximize the use of our growing space. As for the rest of our crops, we’ll have a couple of different vegetables coming into season this week and next, namely our rainbow chard that has recovered beautifully from the freeze and baby arugula.

If you’re out and about and want to support restaurants that are using our produce, we delivered iceberg lettuce to Chef Justin Yu at Better Luck Tomorrow and frisée and beets to Chef Kaitlin Steets of Littlefoot, a pop-up concept with a French tasting menu.

February 3rd, 2021

The first row of tomatoes has been transplanted in the high tunnel! Since the high tunnel provides a warmer, temperature-controlled environment than the rest of the farm, we’ll be using it to get a jump-start on some of our summer crops. The first tomato variety planted in the high tunnel is Edox, a red cherry tomato that performed well for us last summer.

Outside of the high tunnel, Swiss Chard was transplanted in anticipation of spring. You might notice in the photos that we’re implementing a straw layer on top of these beds. The straw acts as a natural weed deterrent and will naturally biodegrade into the soil over time. Swiss Chard is a tender green with stems that come in a rainbow of different colors depending on the specific variety (which is why it’s often referred to as “Rainbow Chard”). Swiss Chard is closely related to beets so you might notice that their leaves look and taste similar. Both the leaves and stems of chard are edible and can be subbed in place of spinach in recipes.

Our lettuce has been very popular at the farmstand over the past couple of weeks! Joining the lettuce harvest this week will be our Coastal Star romaine. The leaves of this lettuce variety are crisp and sweet and make the perfect salad base. Since romaine lettuce is not quite as tender as butter or leaf lettuces, it can withstand being grilled. Farmer Josh’s favorite way to eat this romaine is to grill wedges of it or to create a simple chopped salad topped with a creamy dressing. If you’d like to try some, make sure to stop by the farm on Saturday from 10am-noon so that you can pick some up from our farm stand.