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 harvested the first kale and bok choy of the season this week! Both of these crops are members of the vast Brassica family along with other cool season favorites like broccoli and cabbage. Kale (above) is incredibly versatile and can be enjoyed raw in salads, smoothies, and juices but it’s also just as delicious in soups, stir-fries, and pasta dishes. Boy choy (below) has tender leaves and crunchy stems that are perfect for stir-fries, soups, and grilling. You can find both of these leafy greens in the Grab-and-Go coolers! 

It’s an exciting time on the farm as we’re harvesting something new nearly every week. In the next week or two, we’ll be harvesting the first heads of Chinese (Napa) cabbage! As you can see below, our plants are huge and have already started to form heads. Once the heads size up to harvesting size over the next couple of weeks, you’ll start to see them trickle into the Farm Stand. We can’t wait to share them with you! 

With the arrival of cooler weather, our remaining summer crops will start to slow down and eventually be completely phased out. While okra can grow until the first frost, our peppers are more sensitive to cold weather along with basil and a lot of our flowers. We highly recommend taking advantage of our Italian basil and flower bouquets because they won’t be around much longer! Make sure to snag a bouquet this weekend to add a little seasonal farm beauty to your home. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Kale (limited), Bok Choy, Lettuce Heads (limited), Swiss Chard, Arugula, Hakurei Turnips, Amara Mustard Greens, Wasabina Mustard Greens, Radishes, Scallions, Okra, Lunchbox Peppers, Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Basil, and Flower Bouquets

Do you want a sneak peek of our newly-germinated carrots or baby cauliflower? If the answer is yes, you should join us for our next Farm Tour this Saturday, November 18th at 10:30am! In addition to an exclusive sneak peek at our upcoming fall crops, you’ll be able to sample our incredibly delicious Hakurei turnips. Feel free to bring any questions you might have about year-round farming and make sure to wear shoes you don’t mind getting a little muddy. Our Farm Tours are open to the public and free of charge. Come join us!

Collard Greens have made their way back into season! These leafy green members of the brassica family are perfect for holiday meals. We love that they’re just as delicious after a long braise as they are in a quick stir-fry. Farmer Anna loves using collards in her coleslaw and highly recommends giving it a try. You can find collard greens and many other fall veggies at the Farm Stand. 

In addition to collard greens, Napa cabbages have returned to the Farm Stand! Napa is a Chinese cabbage with an oblong shape and crinkly leaves. It has a mild, sweet flavor and can be enjoyed both raw and cooked. Farmer Anna loves using it to make a grilled Caesar salad or a batch of kimchi. The leaves are also perfect for making cabbage rolls! Make sure to pick up a head of Napa cabbage at the Farm Stand this weekend and let us know your favorite way to enjoy it.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Collard Greens, Napa Cabbage, Mustard Greens, Curly Kale, Dino Kale, Swiss Chard, Tokyo Bekana, Hakurei Turnips, Green Beans, and Dill

Coming Soon: Bok Choy, Radishes, and Lettuce Heads

The cool front and recent fall planting has us especially excited for our next Farm Tour on Saturday, October 21st at 10:30am! This Farm Tour will feature our new cropping system in the High Tunnel called High Velocity Farming (HVF). A crop planted in an HVF system is one that is ready for harvesting in under 50 days. So far we’ve been able to grow and harvest arugula and radishes using this system. Next up will be baby bok choy! If you want to learn more about the fall crops we’ll be growing here, we encourage you to join us. Our Farm Tours are open to the public and free of charge.

Remember the bush beans and Napa cabbage we planted for fall a couple of weeks ago? Both of them have put on amazing growth which has us really excited for fall. You can see how big the Napa has gotten in the photo above! In order to finish out that prepared block, we planted mustard greens, dill, regular cabbage, and broccoli earlier this week. Farmer Anna is especially excited for the broccoli. This succession is a heat-tolerant variety called Green Magic. We hope to be harvesting it for you by mid-November!

If you stop by the farm, you might notice that this newly planted block has a short fence around it. This is our new electric fencing meant to deter the local rabbit population from chowing down on our crops. This fence is not meant to harm the rabbits but will alarm them if they come in contact with it. The fence will be on except for Tuesday through Saturday from 7am-4pm while we are on site. You can see what the fence looks like in the photo below if you’re curious. Though we have warning signs installed, we ask that you use caution around this area of the farm!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Arugula, Radishes, Eggplant, Long Beans, Okra, Malabar Spinach, and Korean Melons.

Coming Soon: Baby Bok Choy, Bush Beans, and Swiss Chard

Remember the beds we were preparing for fall crops last week? We’re beginning to plant them this week! Our very first crop to be transplanted in these beds is our fall succession of bush beans (pictured above). This variety is called Desperado and it produces green beans with a mildly sweet flavor and beautiful snap. Once they germinate, these beans take about 55 days until the first harvest. Since we started these in the greenhouse and they are already about two weeks old, we hope to be able to share them with you in early November! 

The second fall crop we’ll be transplanting in the field this week is Napa cabbage. We have both a standard green variety (pictured above) along with a beautiful purple one. Since this variety of cabbage has a higher heat tolerance than a lot of our other fall crops, we’re able to get it in the field a bit earlier. Farmer Anna is incredibly excited to plant Napa cabbage because she absolutely loves making kimchi! Since Napa cabbage has a similar amount of days to maturity as our bush beans, you can expect to see them around the same time. 

Have you been able to enjoy any of our late summer veggies from the Farm Stand? Our volunteer Shanaz absolutely loves the okra! Her favorite dish to make with it is bamia, an Iranian okra stew that often includes lamb and tomatoes. If you’d like to make some, try this recipe. For a quick and tasty snack, Shanaz recommends seasoning okra simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then cooking it in an air fryer. If you’d like to try either of these delicious recipes, make sure to pop by the Farm Stand this weekend for some okra!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Long Beans, Malabar Spinach, Armenian Cucumbers, Eggplants, and Okra. 

We’re gearing up for our special Harvest Market on Saturday, November 5th! This fall market is a collaboration with The Informal Grub, the team behind the Rice Village and Heights Mercantile Farmers Markets. Our Harvest Market will take place on the farm on November 5th from 9am-noon and will include over 20 different vendors with an assortment of locally made or grown goods like eggs, meat, prepared foods, and flowers. This market is free to attend and is open to the public. We hope to see you there!

The first Napa cabbages are ready for harvest! This variety is a purple one and you can see how vibrant the color is in the photo below. Napa cabbages, sometimes called Chinese cabbages, have an oblong shape, crinkled leaves, and a mild sweet taste. They can be eaten raw in slaws or salads, cooked in a variety of methods, or made into a classic kimchi and other fermented dishes. If you’re interested in making kimchi, don’t forget that we also have icicle (mini Daikon) radishes at the farm stand, too!

After much anticipation, the rows of carrots we seeded (pictured below) have germinated! Overall we’re seeing great germination which bodes well for an abundant carrot season. We have orange, yellow, and purple varieties planted so that we can offer you rainbow bundles of these tasty root veggies. If you’re curious when you’ll be able to enjoy them, Farmer Alex thinks they should reach the baby stage by the end of November.

In Season at the Farm Stand: Napa Cabbage, Tromboncino Squash, Kale, Mustard Greens, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, Arugula, Cilantro, Dill, Radishes, Cucumbers, Okra, Eggplants, Sweet Peppers, and Marigold and Sunflower Bouquets.

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