During the Spring season intentional planning and field time is devoted to trellising a variety of warm-season crops that need extra support to maintain quick growth and heavy fruit set. Plants like tomatoes and cucumbers grow as vines and enjoy climbing vertical structures like the trellis line pictured below. Peppers and eggplant tend to branch out and can be weighed down by heavy fruits, so placing wooden stakes with twine woven throughout the row can help keep them upright. If you’re a home gardener, simple bamboo stakes and metal tomato cages work great for these plants in small spaces!

Many of our Spring crops are beginning to produce their first fruits! We harvested a small flush of yellow squash and zucchini this week, and are looking forward to more once the plants recover from the recent cold snap. Crops in the high tunnel were protected from low temperatures and have continued flourishing in this warmer environment. We are patiently waiting for our cherry tomatoes to begin blushing - the first change of color for ripening fruits with an imminent harvest!

Although we are slowly phasing out wintertime plants, crops like carrots, leafy greens, and lettuce continue producing abundant harvests. This week we stocked the cooler with grapefruit-sized kohlrabi and multiple varieties of head lettuce to make delicious salads and slaws! Stop by the Farm Stand this Saturday from 9am - 12pm or visit the Grab-n-Go coolers open 24/7 for your convenience!

In Season : Yellow Squash (limited), Zucchini (limited), Carrots, Chard, Collards, Kale, Kohlrabi, Lettuce, Celery, Parsley, Green Onion, and Fennel

Are sunny Spring days and wildflowers in bloom beckoning you outdoors? Consider volunteering at your neighborhood Sunset Farm to experience nature in a new light! Volunteers will have an opportunity to take part in daily farm activities like harvesting vegetables, planting new crops, and tending to our fruit trees and flower patch. While working alongside our experienced farmers, you can gain gardening knowledge and cultivate goodness in your local community! Email jordanranch@agmenity.com to join our volunteer program!

After planting our field tomatoes this week, we have officially wrapped up tomato planting for the season and are now looking ahead to harvest days! In the meantime, for all of the home gardeners we will be selling our farm grown tomato plants at the Farm Stand on Saturday morning from 9am - 12pm, until supplies last! If you are planning a Spring garden, these tried and true tomato varieties would be a great addition. Farmer Sarah is also available to answer any questions about tomato care!

Springtime is nature’s invitation to get outside and relish in the beauty and bounty this season has to offer. In the coming weeks we plan to have more new crops ready for field planting like eggplant, peppers, flowers, and more cucumbers! If you are unable to make it out to volunteer or stop by the Saturday Farm Stand, our Grab-n-Go coolers are a great alternative to remain rooted in your local farm and enjoy fresh vegetables year round!

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

The warmth of a promising start to Spring has hastened the growth of our greenhouse seedlings, allowing us to plant our first Spring crop of summer squash in the field! We are hopeful for an earlier harvest of these fruits this season, which will be closely followed by cherry tomatoes. In the coming weeks, we will be making room in the field and high tunnel to plant our peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and flowers! We are especially pleased with high germination yields of our flowers, as many varieties need very specific growing conditions like light exposure to the seed and precise soil temperature.

With the changing of seasons, our new seedlings aren’t the only thing eager to experience new life. Both cool and warm-season weeds are breaking through the ground in response to plentiful rain and sunshine. Our goal is to keep these weeds at bay before we settle into our true Spring and Summer season when weeds are even more keen to consume beautifully prepared bare soil. Though weeding can seem like a chore, it is a necessary part of growing food when the farmer chooses to work alongside nature rather than against it.

If you too are looking to enjoy the outdoors this weekend, please stop by our Farm Stand from 9am - 12pm. There will be an array of freshly harvested veggies, versatile enough to prepare a refreshing salad or a warm and hearty soup! Farmer Sarah will be there to answer any questions you may have about starting a Spring garden of your own too!

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

This week our time and energy spent farming was truly rewarded when one of our loyal customers shared that their children would only eat vegetables grown at Sunset Farm! Their weekly ritual of purchasing produce from the Grab-n-Go cooler not only provides healthier food for their family, but also creates an opportunity of joy to encounter nature and agriculture up close. Food is much more than simple fuel for the body when it is rooted in connection and relationship. As Spring approaches, we are inspired to continue providing nutritious vegetables to the neighborhood and cultivate a space for more memories to be made!

Following suit of our up-potted tomato plants, this week we are transferring all pepper varieties to larger growing cells. This also allows them to increase in size and stature before planting them in the field and high tunnel. With these Spring plants in mind, we have started preparing our soil to welcome new crops. After terminating the cover crop which added plant matter back into the soil, we will add a thick layer of compost and a sprinkle of fertilizer. This should create a fertile space for plant roots and soil microbes to flourish throughout the Spring season!

In just a glimpse of this moment in time on the farm, our vegetables are telling a story of love from seed to plate. So if your family is craving something meaningful, make it a part of your week to stop by Sunset Farm to fuel body and soul! Farmer Sarah will be hosting a Farm Stand this Saturday from 9am - 12pm, and if you can’t make it the Grab-n-Go cooler is always open!

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

Okra just made its way back into season this week! Okra’s arrival often signifies the official transition from cool season to warm season crops. It thrives in the heat of summer and produces reliably throughout the season, typically into early fall. Since we just started harvesting from our plants, there will be a limited amount available in the Grab-and-Go coolers this weekend. We have a mix of red and green varieties that are tender and perfect for grilling, roasting, frying, pickling, or adding to soups and stews.

Have you tried our newest eggplant variety Nigral? It’s more of a traditional blackish-purple Italian variety with an oblong shape. Smaller than the globe eggplants that are commonly available in grocery stores, Nigral has a sweeter flavor and becomes incredibly tender and creamy once cooked. It is perfect for classic Italian recipes like caponata, pasta alla Norma, and eggplant parmesan. Farmer Anne highly recommends this recipe for eggplant parmesan if you’d like to try it! You can find the eggplant, tomatoes, and basil for it at the Grab-and-Go coolers. 

After much anticipation, our two sweet pepper varieties have made it to the Farm Stand! Cornito peppers (below left) are oblong and have a sweet flavor that is great for snacking, grilling, roasting, or stir-frying. Lunchbox peppers (below right) are small in stature with a sweet flavor that is ideal for snacking on raw in salads, sandwiches, or paired with your favorite dip. You can now find both of these pepper varieties in the Grab-and-Go coolers along with our jalapenos, shishitos, poblanos, and bell peppers. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Okra, Cherry and Slicing Tomatoes, Pickling and Slicing Cucumbers, Zucchini, Eggplants, Jalapenos, Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Cornito Peppers, Lunchbox Peppers, Carrots, and Basil

Peppers are back in season at the Farm Stand! We’re currently harvesting four different varieties: jalapeno, poblano, shishito, and bell peppers. We’re also growing sweet cornito peppers (below) but they aren’t quite ready yet. Farmer Anne used the bell peppers to make this stuffed pepper recipe and highly recommends trying it. Jalapenos are almost always our go-to for adding to salsas. Poblanos are also great for salsas or stuffing. As for the shishito peppers, we recommend blistering them for an easy side dish or appetizer. Here’s a recipe if you’d like to try it. 

The cantaloupes we planted a few weeks back are covered in flowers and small fruits! The watermelons are also blooming but haven’t started setting fruit yet. Melons are members of the Cucurbit family along with other summer favorites like cucumbers and summer squashes. They thrive during the warmer months and grow in a vining pattern. Since the cantaloupes (below) are still fairly small, we estimate that it will take another month for them to mature to ideal harvesting size. We’ll let you know as soon as this beloved summer fruit makes its way to the Farm Stand! 

We’re in the middle of transitioning from cool season crops to those that thrive during the warmer months. Leafy greens like kale and salad greens are officially out of season until cooler days return in late fall. Root veggies like carrots and beets are still available in the coolers but we highly recommend enjoying them as much as possible before they make their way out of season as well. The good news is that this makes way for the return of summertime favorites like cucumbers and peppers! Over the coming weeks, we’ll see the return of okra, long beans, and melons. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Cherry and Slicing Tomatoes, Pickling and Slicing Cucumbers, Zucchini, Eggplant, Jalapenos, Green Bell Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Red and Golden Beets, Carrots, Basil, and Flowers. 

We planted several different warm season crops this week that will take us into late spring and early summer. This round includes the next succession of zucchini and cucumbers, basil, and the first successions of cantaloupe and butternut squashes. We expect to be able to start harvesting the basil within the next couple of weeks once it sizes up which should be right around the time tomatoes begin making their way to the Farm Stand! As for the cantaloupe and butternut squashes, you won’t see these for about 2 months as they have a much longer growing period until they are ready for harvesting. 

Our peppers are beginning to flower and set fruit! Peppers are in the same family as tomatoes so it should be no surprise that they also have self-pollinating flowers (below). Once pollinated, the flowers will wilt and eventually drop as the small pepper fruits begin to develop and grow. Depending on the weather and the pepper variety, it can take anywhere from 3-5 weeks for the pepper to reach harvesting size once it is successfully pollinated. Since we are just starting to see the first fruits, you can expect to see peppers make their way to the Farm Stand within the next month. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Carrots, Beets, Fennel, Scallions, Curly Kale, Dino Kale, Salad Mix, Butter Lettuce, and Swiss Chard

Coming Soon: Zucchini, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Peppers

We planted several different varieties of peppers in the field and high tunnel at the end of last week. As you can see in the photo above, our peppers are planted in beds covered in weed fabric. This will minimize time spent weeding while also keeping the soil warmer and allowing the plants to grow quicker. Here are the varieties we planted: King Arthur (bell pepper), Lunchbox (snacking pepper), Cornito (sweet roasting or frying pepper), Baron (poblano), Shishito, and Jalafuego (jalapeno). 

The tomatoes we planted last week are swiftly growing which means it’s time to get them trellised! Since tomatoes have a vining growth habit, they need support as they grow. In the high tunnel, we use a method that employs an overhead system of roller hooks and string (above). A string is suspended above each plant so that as the tomatoes grow, we can gently wind the main stem around the string. This keeps our plants supported while also allowing us to take advantage of the available vertical growing space. 

If you’re curious about growing your own tomatoes and other spring crops at home, we recommend joining Farmer Matt for our Seasonal Gardening Class on Saturday, March 22nd from 10:30-11:30am! This beginner level gardening class will cover the basics of starting your home garden from choosing which varieties to plant to how to care for and eventually harvest them. Each attendee will get to choose some of our potted tomato plants to take home in order to kick start their own garden. This class is open to the public but there is a special discount for Jordan Ranch residents (email us for the code at JordanRanch@Agmenity.com). Tickets can be purchased here. 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Curly Kale, Dino Kale, Collards, Scallions, Green Butter Lettuce, Red and Gold Beets, Swiss Chard, Cilantro, Cone Cabbage, Salad Mix, Carrots, and Red Romaine

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)

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 have three new pepper varieties making their way to the Farm Stand this weekend: banana peppers, aji rico peppers, and sweet Italian peppers. Banana peppers have a sweet, mild flavor that is incredibly versatile in all manner of dishes. Farmer Matt loves these pickled! Aji rico peppers have a sweet, fruity flavor and a medium heat level. They are great for adding to stir-fries or salsas. Sweet Italian peppers are perfect for snacking and pairing with your favorite dip. We also recommend roasting them and using them to make a batch of sweet pepper romesco (recipe here). 

Our recent planting of cucurbits is doing really well and should begin producing very soon. One of the varieties we’re excited about in this succession is tromboncino, an Italian heirloom squash that can be harvested young like a summer squash or mature as a tougher-skinned winter squash. Tromboncino squash has a unique appearance similar to a butternut but with a longer neck that is often curved. We plan to harvest our tromboncinos young so that you can enjoy them just like you would zucchini. We’ll let you know as soon as they make their way to the Farm Stand! 

Did you know that we use kaolin clay as a natural “sunscreen” for some of our newly planted crops during the summer months? The leaf structure of our cucurbits (cucumbers and squashes) is more delicate so these plants benefit from a dusting of kaolin clay before being transplanted. The clay provides sun protection while also disguising the plant’s scent which detracts pests. As you can see above, our newly planted cucumbers are benefitting from this natural sunscreen! 

In Season at the Farm Stand: Long Beans, Okra, Roselle Greens, Slicing Cucumbers, Bitter Melon, Jalapenos, Serranos, Baby Poblanos, Banana Peppers, Aji Rico Peppers, and Sweet Peppers.

We invite you to join us for our next Farm Tour on Saturday, June 15th at 10:30am! This month we’ll be focusing on the transition to the summer season and what that looks like on the farm. You’ll get a sneak peek at our upcoming summer crops along with the newly installed shade cloths on both the high tunnel and greenhouse. As always, attendees will be able to sample seasonal crops like cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. Our Farm Tours are open to the public and suitable for all ages. We hope to see you there!

We harvested a small amount of butternut squashes with more to follow in the coming weeks. This variety is called “Butterbaby” and it yields small, personal sized squashes. As you can see in the photo above, butternuts are a lighter cream color before the skin toughens up and they turn the tan color you see below. After harvesting, our butternuts will undergo the curing process in the greenhouse. This allows the skins to toughen up and the natural sugars to concentrate leading to a longer storage life and a better flavor. You can expect to see these baby butternuts at the Farm Stand in a couple of weeks! 

Poblano peppers made their way into season this week! These dark green peppers have a bright, fresh flavor and mild to medium heat. They are great for roasting, stuffing, pickling, and incorporating into sauces. Farmer Reuben’s favorite way to enjoy poblano peppers is in chile relleno. He prefers a stuffing made with ground beef but you can also use cheese or a vegetarian meat alternative depending on your preference. Here’s a recipe if you’d like to make your own version at home this weekend. Make sure to stop by the Farm Stand to stock up on peppers first!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Eggplant, Slicing Tomatoes, Cherry Tomatoes, Slicing Cucumbers, Pickling Cucumbers, Serrano Peppers, Jalapeno Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Poblano Peppers, Okra, Kale, Basil, and Cut Flowers (limited)

Coming Soon: Zucchini, Long Beans, and Korean Melons