We are excited to share that we harvested the first broccoli of the season for you this week! It is a variety of “bunching broccoli” which means the plants grow a smaller central head along with many small side shoots. We love this tender broccoli for its flavor and ease of prep in the kitchen. Since there are several smaller shoots bunched together, there’s minimal cutting involved! You can find bunching broccoli along with all of our other fall crops in the Grab-and-Go coolers. 

What have you been loving recently from the Farm Stand? Farmer Sarah has really been enjoying the Tuscan kale! She loves to blend it into a smoothie along with bananas, frozen blueberries, peanut butter, almond milk, and protein powder. Farmer Mary loves the spring onions because they’re super versatile. She enjoys using them as a garnish for most of her meals, especially egg tacos. Curious what else is in season this week? Check out the list at the end of the post! 

Planting continued this week with a round of fennel and celery. Both of these cool season crops are members of the Apiaceae family along with other favorites like carrots, cilantro, and dill. Members of this family are characterized by the umbrella-like shape of their flowers, though we typically harvest them before they reach the flowering stage! Fennel takes just about two months to go from seed to petite harvesting size while celery takes a little longer at about three months. 

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

Come join us this Saturday, March 16th, at 10:30am for our next Farm Tour! We are so excited to share what we’ve been planting over the past couple of weeks for the spring season. One of the highlights of our tour this month will be our high tunnel (above). In addition to our cheery row of marigolds, you’ll be able to see newly planted crops like scallions, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and basil. As always, our tours are open to the public, free of charge, and suitable for all ages. We hope to see you there!

We are pleased to report that all of our tomatoes have been planted! We have them split between the field and the high tunnel as we’ve done in years past. While checking our trellis system in the high tunnel this week, we spotted the very first baby tomatoes (below)! Here’s a closer look at the varieties we’ll be growing this year: Sun Gold (super sweet orange cherry tomato), Cherry Bomb (classic red cherry tomato), Valencia (orange slicing tomato), Clementine (sweet-tart orange cocktail tomato), and Galahad (red beefsteak tomato).

Tender and sweet spring onions are back in season at the Farm Stand. Spring onions (below) are an immature bulb onion with a sweet, mellow flavor and tender texture. They’re harvested in the process of thinning our bulb onions which allows space for the remaining bulbs to develop and grow. These onions can be enjoyed raw as a garnish or cooked. We recommend trying them with some of our chard and dill in an omelet or frittata this weekend!

In Season at the Farm Stand: Spring Onions, Salad Mix, Arugula, Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard, Kohlrabi, Fennel, Dill, and Marigold Bouquets

Coming Soon: Cucumbers, Zucchini, and Summer Squashes

In order to get a jump on spring, we transplanted the first tomatoes and cucumbers in the high tunnel. The warmth provided by the high tunnel allows us to extend the season of crops that are more temperature sensitive. Tomatoes are one of Farmer Alex’s favorite crops to grow so we are super excited to have the first ones in the ground. If all goes well, we’ll be able to share the first tomato and cucumber harvest with you in the next couple of months!

If you love tomatoes as much as we do and want to have some in your own garden this spring, make sure you stop by the farm stand on Saturday! We’ll have tomato transplants for sale along with our produce. Tomatoes can be planted as soon as you bring them home, just make sure you’re able to protect them and keep them warm in the event that the temperature drops to freezing. Next week, we’ll be adding more transplants for you like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Swiss chard.

We harvested a couple of new things for you this week: spring onions and radishes. Spring onions are simply bulb onions that have been harvested while they are young. We harvested a mix of 1015 yellow onions and red Southern Belle onions. They have a beautiful delicate flavor that is also a bit sweet. You can get both radishes and spring onions at the farm stand this weekend. We hope you enjoy them!

In Season: Spring Onions, Radishes, Carrots, Spinach, Cabbage, Sprouting Broccoli, Kale, and Brussels Sprouts