After a teaser last week, we are excited to share that we harvested the first Napa cabbages of the season this week! This quicker growing cabbage variety is often called “Chinese cabbage”. It has an oblong shape, crinkly leaves, and a mild sweet flavor. It makes a great salad green when finely chopped and is perfect for using in a batch of kimchi. It can also be roasted, sauteed, and grilled for a delicious and easy side dish. If you aren’t sure where to start, we recommend trying this melting Napa cabbage recipe or this Napa wedge salad with apples and buttermilk dressing. 

Did you know that we have two different mustard green varieties available in the Grab-and-Go coolers? Wasabina mustard greens (below left) have frilly leaves that are tender with a spicy and pungent flavor similar to wasabi. We love adding them to a stir-fry along with bok choy, peppers, and Hakurei turnips. They can also be combined with our lettuce and arugula for a spicy salad mix. Amara mustard greens (below right) have darker green leaves that are tender with a nutty and garlicky flavor that is more mild than Wasabina. We love adding Amara to stir-fries as well but it is also delicious in soups and stews.

As summer crops are phased out and the beds are flipped and prepared, we’ve been able to plant more cool season crops. This week, we planted a round of collard greens and cilantro. Both of these crops will thrive in the cooler temperatures and be ready for harvesting towards the end of this month or the beginning of December. While collard greens are members of the large Brassica family, cilantro is actually a member of the same family as carrots, fennel, and celery.

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

We’ll have two new fall veggies for you at the Farm Stand this weekend: Hakurei turnips and a baby mustard green mix! Hakurei turnips, also called salad turnips, are sweet and crisp and are perfect for eating raw in salads or sandwiches. They can also be roasted or added to soups and stews (like this potato chowder). Our baby mustard mix is similar to arugula in terms of tenderness and peppery flavor. They’re a great salad green and pair really well with a sweet vinaigrette! You can find both Hakurei turnips and baby mustard mix in the Grab-and-Go coolers. 

In case you missed it last week, our Orchard Beautification Day is coming up on Saturday, October 18th, from 9am-12pm! This volunteer opportunity is a great way to meet your neighbors and fellow community members while beautifying our orchard space. We’ll be weeding and mulching our fruit trees in addition to planting some thornless blackberries. We’ll also be planting a native pollinator bed in order to add beauty to the farm while supplying our local pollinators with a food source. This event is open to the public and is a great way to leave your mark on the community. Please sign up here if you plan to attend! 

Fall’s cooler temperatures make it perfect for growing so many different leafy greens. This week we planted baby bok choy, Wasabina mustard greens, and Amara mustard greens. All of these varieties grow fairly quickly and will make their debut at the Farm Stand before you know it! As we move deeper into the fall season, you’ll see more fall crops come into season each week while summer ones are phased out. We highly recommend tuning in every Friday so you know what’s in stock in the Grab-and-Go coolers! 

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

Our first Farm Tour of the fall season is this Saturday, October 12th, at 10:30am! This tour will be an exciting one as it coincides with the first harvest of our fall crops. You’ll have the opportunity to see (and taste!) the new crops we’re harvesting and get a sneak peek at all of the delicious varieties that will be making their way to the Farm Stand this season. And, you’ll get the opportunity to see how our fall tomatoes are doing! Our Farm Tours are open to the public, free of charge, and suitable for the whole family. We would love to see you there! 

We’ll have a few new veggies for you at the Farm Stand this weekend! Whether you choose our grab-and-go option or come see us on Saturday morning, you’ll be able to try the first komatsuna, Amara mustard greens, and collard greens of the season. Komatsuna (above), sometimes called “Asian spinach” has a fresh and mildly sweet cabbage flavor with tender leaves and crunchy stems. It’s great for sautéing, stir-frying, and adding to soups. Amara mustard greens (below), sometimes called Ethiopian kale or Highland kale, have tender leaves with a rich, savory flavor. Try mixing them with your favorite salads green or making a simple sauté seasoned with garlic, salt, and pepper.

No planting is complete without a lovely layer of compost! Compost is an essential part of our bed preparation process throughout every season. Before planting new crops, we apply a thin layer of compost to the top of each bed (below). The biology-rich matter in compost recharges the life in the soil and gives our crops a good start. The compost we applied this week will carry us through winter, keeping the soil healthy and active.  

In Season at the Farm Stand: Komatsuna, Collard Greens, Amara Mustard Greens, Baby Butternuts, Korean Melons, Asian Eggplant, Roselle Greens, Okra, and Long Beans.

Coming Soon: Arugula, Radishes, Salad Mix, and Hakurei Turnips

Don’t forget to join us this Saturday, November 4th from 9am-12pm for the Live Well Health and Fitness Expo! This event takes place on the farm and is hosted in partnership with the Jordan Ranch Lifestyle Team. We’ll be joined by local vendors and food trucks and there will be live music and activities for all ages to enjoy. In addition to the beautiful produce at our Farm Stand, we’ll be offering special veggie kits and recipes to inspire you in the kitchen. This event is free of charge and open to the public so we hope to see you there!

Remember the Desperado green beans we planted back in September? We’re just beginning to harvest from our plants which means you can pop by the Farm Stand for some delicious green beans! These beans have a mildly sweet flavor and great texture. Though they can technically be eaten raw, we recommend cooking them first. Farmer Anna loves to stir-fry them with honey, garlic, chili oil, and soy sauce for a super simple and delicious side dish. Make sure to enjoy them while they’re in season! 

In addition to green beans, curly kale and mustard greens also made their way back into season this week. Even though both of these leafy greens are members of the Brassica family, they have distinctly different flavors. Kale has an earthy and vegetal taste while mustard greens are sharp and peppery. Both are great for adding to soups and stews but they can also stand alone in a side dish when sauteed or braised. You can find both of these leafy greens at the Farm Stand. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Green Beans, Dill, Kale, Mustard Greens, Arugula, Swiss Chard, Bok Choy, Radish, and Eggplant. 

Coming Soon: Hakurei Turnips and Napa Cabbage

November 11th, 2021

‘Tis the season for all things green on the farm! We currently have 9 different leafy greens in season at the moment, including the newest on our harvesting list, gai lan (pictured below). Gai lan, also called Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale, yields thick bluish-green leaves with thick stems. If you look at the image above, you’ll see all of these leafy greens laid out. Here are the varieties from left to right: collard greens, arugula, Tokyo bekana, gai lan, kale, tatsoi, baby bok choy, mustard greens, and lettuce.

Our slicing tomato varieties are just starting to yield mature fruits which means both slicing and cherry varieties are in season. Tomatoes can easily be preserved for enjoyment during the winter months through canning or the more simple route, freezing. When preparing them for freezing, you can either cook them down into a paste or sauce first, or roast them until caramelized. We highly recommend picking up extras at the next farm stand because they won’t be in season for much longer depending on how low our overnight temperatures get!

Our fall succession of snap peas is coming right along. Snap peas are yet another crop we can plant in both spring and fall in our growing climate. As you can see in the photo, the snap pea plants have just reached the bottom of the trellis. At this point, they’ll continue their vertical climb up the trellis using their tendrils. We expect them to start flowering within the next week or two!

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

August 18th, 2021

Fall preparations are underway on the farm! Though it’s still pretty warm out, we’re beginning to plant brassica seeds to get a jumpstart on the next season. We direct-seeded a mix of arugula, Wasabina mustard greens, and mizuna into one of our beds. We are pleasantly surprised at how quickly this mix germinated! If all goes well, we should be harvesting this delicious mix of leafy greens in no time.

The first succession of brassica seeds were planted in the greenhouse as well. This first succession is focused on varieties that are meant to be more heat tolerant. Among the varieties planted were Monty broccoli and Green Glaze collard greens. Monty produces well-domed, bright green heads of broccoli and is purported to have excellent heat tolerance. Green Glaze is a collard variety with smooth, bright green leaves. It is recommended for warm coastal states so we’re hopeful it will do incredibly well in this first planting!

Each crop comes with a list of potential pests and when it comes to summer and winter squashes, squash vine borers are right at the top. Adult squash vine borers are black and orange moths that lay their eggs at the base of susceptible plants, i.e. squash plants. Once the larvae hatch, they bore into the center of the stems which ends up preventing the flow of water to the rest of the plant. Eventually, the plant wilts and dies. Our recent succession of zucchini seems to be the most affected by squash vine borers. They appear to be leaving our JWS butternut squashes alone, most likely due to the fact that Cucurbita moschata (their species) stems are woodier and less hollow. These plants are covered in fruit and are doing very well. You can see a baby butternut in the photo below.

April 7th, 2021

Our potatoes have put on a lot of above-ground growth and some are even beginning to flower which means it’s time to hill them up. Once the vegetation of the potatoes gets to about 6-8 inches above the soil surface, we “hill” or build up soil around the vegetation so that only the top leaves are left sticking out. Though this might seem odd, this process encourages the potato tubers to grow deep and wide and even allows more space for new potatoes to grow on top of more mature potatoes. The varieties we have growing are Red Norland which has a smooth red skin and white flesh, and Adirondack Red which has red skin and red flesh.

Remember all of the crops we interplanted with our tomatoes in order to maximize our growing space? Some of those crops are already reaching harvesting maturity! We’ll be harvesting the baby kale and baby mustard greens from our tomato row for the farm stand this weekend. Baby kale and mustards are harvested when in the young “baby” phase which means they are often more tender and suitable for enjoying raw than their mature counterparts. They can be enjoyed in salads, sandwiches, tacos, or a batch of pesto.

The first succession of summer squashes we planted are just beginning to set fruit. Summer squashes produce both male and female flowers. Pollen from the male flowers must pollinate the female flowers in order to yield a fruit. This process is helped along by pollinators like bees and wasps. You can easily tell male from female flowers because the females always have a tiny version of the squash attached to the base of their stem (like you see in this photo of a patty pan squash). We’re hoping to make the first summer squash harvest in the next couple of weeks!

If you’re out and about and want to support restaurants that are using our produce, we delivered spring onions, rainbow chard, green garlic, snap peas, spinach, and arugula to Ostia. We also delivered Hinona Kabu turnips, green garlic, and snap peas to UB Preserv.

The leaves of the tendergreen mustard have a mild, peppery flavor and as their name suggests, are perfect for eating raw in salads. They’re high in Vitamins A and C and are a great option to change up your typical salad situation. Try this holiday-inspired salad as a side or top it with your favorite protein for a more complete meal.