After two long months in the greenhouse, the day has finally come to plant our high tunnel tomatoes! With wind gusts up to 18 mph on plating day, we are thankful for our protected growing space that allows plants to thrive in optimal conditions with warmer soil, wind breaks, and controlled watering. This head start to tomato season should keep us on track to harvest our first cherry tomatoes by early to mid April!

Despite a drop in temperatures again, our newly planted summer squash fared well and should have gained cold tolerance in anticipation for any more cool weather. Our first round of slicing cucumbers is also ready to be planted this week. Similar to tomatoes, they are destined for the high tunnel where a trellis system is installed for these plants to climb to extraordinary heights! Stay tuned for crop updates as we share trellising tips and ways you can successfully grow Spring plants in your backyard garden!

While Spring planting is in full swing, our winter crops are still producing in abundance. Newly seeded carrots and spinach have germinated well, while scallion and fennel seedlings are growing quickly with warmer days. Our last kohlrabi crop for this season is ready for harvest! This unique veggie has a taste akin to broccoli, yet grows in a bulbous shape above ground making it great for chopping and roasting or shredding into salads or slaws. You can find it in the Grab-n-Go cooler or at the Farm Stand this weekend!

In Season: Carrots, Kohlrabi, Celery, Fennel, Green Onions, Parsley, Collard Greens, Curly Kale, Cilantro, and Dill

We spent a large part of the end of last week preparing for the hard freeze. In addition to covering some of our rows with frost cloth, we did a lot of bulk harvesting, especially with our storage crops, to mitigate potential frost damage. A lot of winter crops like carrots, cabbages, and broccoli are meant for storing which means their freshness and quality can be maintained for longer periods in our cooler. Due to all of the bulk harvesting, the coolers are packed to the brim with delicious produce so we highly encourage you to don your warmest coat and stop by!

During bulk harvesting we made the decision to go ahead and harvest both kohlrabi and fennel in their baby stage. You can now find bunches of petite fennel and kohlrabi in the coolers! Fennel (above) has a mellow anise flavor that makes a great base for soups, stews, and tomato sauces. It can also be thinly sliced and added to leafy green salads. Kohlrabi (below) has a mildly sweet flavor similar to a broccoli stem. It can be enjoyed raw in salads, pickled, or paired with your favorite veggies for a simple sheet pan veggie roast.

We sowed the first round of tomato and pepper seeds in the greenhouse and they’re already starting to germinate! Most of this first round will be transplanted in the high tunnel since its more controlled environment allows us to plant more vulnerable varieties earlier than in the field. Among the tomato varieties we planted are the highly popular Sungold and Cherry Bomb cherry tomato varieties along with Big Beef slicers. We also planted a mix of sweet and hot peppers including shishito, poblano, and lunchbox sweet snacking peppers.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Baby Kohlrabi, Baby Fennel, Dino Kale, Curly Kale, Collards, Komatsuna (Asian Spinach), Bok Choy, Swiss Chard, Mustard Greens, Cone Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Scallions, Romaine Lettuce, Butter Lettuce, Little Gem Lettuce, Cilantro, Carrots, Salad Mix, Arugula, Cherry Tomatoes, and Early Girl Tomatoes

We were able to squeeze in a round of planting over the weekend before the storms arrived! Some of our vacant beds were planted with a round of late winter crops that will be able to make the transition into spring. In addition to the Swiss chard you can see in the photo above, we planted Song cauliflower, kohlrabi, and lettuce. Our remaining vacant beds will eventually be prepared for the first spring crops in a few weeks.

Our high tunnel was sown with a few different quick-growing crops. We direct-seeded radishes, arugula, and salad mix and transplanted heads of Salanova lettuce (above). We’re focusing on quick-growing crops to ensure we have plenty of space for our tomatoes! A radish can go from seed to harvest in just about a month which will give us plenty of time to prepare for the first tomato planting.

You can find the first kohlrabi of the season at the Farm Stand! Kohlrabi (above) is a member of the Brassica family along with other winter favorites like cabbage, broccoli, and kale. It has a mildly sweet broccoli flavor with a crunchy texture and can be eaten raw or cooked. To use kohlrabi, trim away the greens (you can prepare them as you would kale or collards) then carefully cut away and discard the outer skin. You can see what a prepared kohlrabi looks like below! Farmer Anna loves adding it to salads while Farmer Reuben prefers to grill thick slices of it.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Brussels Sprouts, Kohlrabi, Swiss Chard, Kale, Salad Mix, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Turnips, and Watermelon Radishes. 

We’re gearing up for our Community Market and Farm Tour this Saturday! Our Community Market will be held alongside our farm stand from 9am-noon on Saturday, February 11th. You’ll be able to shop our delicious produce in addition to items like baked goods, pickles, and jams from vendors in our Jordan Ranch community. And, several vendors will have specialty items for Valentine’s Day! At 10:30am, we’ll be leading our monthly Farm Tour so that you can see what’s growing on the farm and ask us any questions you might have. Both the market and tour are open to the public so we hope to see you there!

We’ll have the first kohlrabi of the season for you at the farm stand this weekend! This space-age looking vegetable is a member of the Brassica family and is one of our absolute favorites to enjoy! Both the bulb and leaves of kohlrabi are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. Kohlrabi has a crisp and crunchy texture with a flavor that tastes like a combination of broccoli and apples. Farmer Alex recommends shredding it and making a slaw with a citrusy vinegar-based dressing.

Our peppers are already germinating in the greenhouse which means spring isn’t too far over the horizon! Like tomatoes, peppers are a warm season crop. Our plan is to transplant them in the field and high tunnel in March. So far, we’ve focused on sweet/mild peppers like Carmen (an Italian frying pepper), Bangles (bite-sized snacking peppers), and Olympus (a red bell pepper). One variety that we’re particularly excited about is “Islander” because it yields purple bell peppers with pale yellow flesh.

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

Our first farm program of the year will be a Farm Tour this Saturday, January 14th, at 10:30am! Join us for an exciting and informative look at what we’re currently growing and harvesting on the farm. Farmers Alex and Anna will lead a walk from our farm stand through our main vegetable field and orchard to explore all of our crops. And, you’ll even get to taste some in a true farm-to-mouth experience! This tour is free of charge and open to all ages but we ask that children be accompanied by an adult. We hope to see you there and stay tuned for more farm programs and events for this winter and spring season!

Who’s ready for some tender and delicious baby arugula?! The arugula we seeded in the high tunnel just before the freeze has reached the baby phase and is ready for harvesting. That means you’ll be able to score the first arugula of 2023 at the farm stand this weekend! Farmers Alex and Anna can’t get enough of this arugula’s tender, buttery texture and mild spice. Farmer Alex recommends using it to make a winter salad with citrus, toasted walnuts, and goat cheese.

The warmer weather and sunshine we’ve had over the past week has been incredibly beneficial in helping our crops bounce back from the freeze. Though we did lose some of our crops, we’ve been working diligently to plant all of the remaining beds with winter veggies, like this kohlrabi! Kohlrabi is one of our favorite crops due to its unique flavor and satisfying crunch. While this kohlrabi won’t be ready for a couple of months, the first succession we planted before the freeze should be ready for harvesting in the next 3-4 weeks. We can’t wait to share it with you!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Arugula (new!), Scallions (new!), Lettuce, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Kale, Purple Broccoli, Cauliflower, Beets, Turnips, Watermelon Radishes, and Cilantro.

If you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit the farm in all its spring glory, come join us next Thursday, April 7th from 5-8pm for Sunset Market! This is an evening artisan market hosted by Sylvia and the Jordan Ranch's Lifestyle Team that will feature local vendors, food trucks, and our awesome produce. This event is free to attend, open to the public, and pet and family friendly. We just ask that if you do bring your pet, you keep them on a leash. We hope to see you there!

We harvested a couple of new veggies for you this week! First up is kohlrabi, a space-age looking vegetable that is a member of the Brassica family. Both the bulb and leaves of kohlrabi are edible. The bulbs can be eaten raw or cooked and have a flavor reminiscent of a cross between broccoli stems and apple. The leaves are similar in taste to collards and kale and can be prepared in the same way. Farmer Alex loves keeping it simple with the first kohlrabi of the season and recommends cutting the bulb into wedges and dipping it into hummus.

In addition to the kohlrabi, we harvested the first of our leeks! We’re calling these baby leeks since we harvested them at a younger age and smaller size. Just like our spring onions and scallions, leeks are a member of the genus Allium. They have a milder and sweeter flavor than an onion that can also be a bit buttery as well. When preparing your leeks, make sure to use just the white and lighter green portions for the best flavor and texture in your recipes. We recommend trying our leeks out in this creamy potato leek soup or in this frittata with parmesan cheese.

In Season: Kohlrabi, Baby Leeks, Arugula, Salad Mix, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Spring Onions, Radicchio, Swiss Chard, Kale, Cauliflower, Spinach, Romaine Lettuce Heads and Mini Bibb Lettuce Heads along with Cucumber and Tomato transplants for your garden