This month we warmly welcomed Meghan Williams, who just moved back to the Houston area to continue her farming journey at Sunset Farm. Meghan has a natural gift for stewarding the land and understanding agriculture, though she claims farming found her through a lifetime search for an unconventional career. Even more than her love for the outdoors, she is driven by serving others and believes in making an impact on lives through environmental education. Be sure to stop by the Farm Stand on Saturday to say hello to Farmer Meghan, and meet the heart behind our veggies grown with love!

Although our first fruits of Spring have just begun to produce, preparations for summer vegetables are already underway! This week we planted our first round of okra and direct seeded long beans. These crops thrive in the heat of summer and will be harvested from May to September! In the meantime, we are enjoying our first ripe Sungold cherry tomatoes! This vegetable is Farmer Meghan's absolute favorite and she claims the best way to eat it is right off the vine once it has been warmed by the midday sun.

In advance of summer, we also seeded a round of Buckwheat cover crop! This will allow the growing space to rest and replenish nutrients back into the soil after supporting healthy plants and harvesting rounds of nutrient-dense vegetables. Buckwheat is a quick-growing plant that produces beautiful white flowers to attract a variety of pollinators. Feel free to take a walk through the farm to check out our new plantings and the beautiful Spring landscape!

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

This week at Sunset Farm we were able to uncover many happy surprises! After assessing the field after the hard freeze, we were pleasantly surprised that many of our crops covered by frost cloth still seemed to be full of life. Our plants in the high tunnel and seedlings in the greenhouse were also unphased! Not as a surprise, crops left uncovered are showing signs of wilting and frost burn. However, with such a drastic drop in temperature compared to a relatively warm winter season this year, we can’t help but be filled with a sense of gratitude for the resiliency of nature!

As we are still expecting freezing weather this weekend, our crops will remain covered until we are in the clear. Until then, we also find ourselves keeping warm in the greenhouse as we continue to prepare for the dawning of Spring! This week we are seeding our first rounds of squash, zucchini, eggplant, and flowers. Many of these crops will make their home in our high tunnel as we slowly phase out winter vegetables. Farmer Sarah is particularly excited to bring back the flower patch and all of the bees and butterflies that drop in for a sweet, sappy snack!

Although plants can show signs of stress later in their life after prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures, we are optimistic that our crops will continue producing beautiful produce. In anticipation of another cold spell, Farmer Sarah will not be hosting the Farm Stand this Saturday. However, she plans to stock the Grab-n-Go coolers so you can come at your convenience. Stay tuned next week to get updates on Spring preparation and seedlings we will be planting post-freeze!

In Season: Baby Carrots, Spinach, Celery, Fennel, Green Onions, Green Cabbage, Parsley, Collard Greens, Curly Kale, Tuscan Kale, Swiss Chard, Arugula, and Radishes

We’re harvesting two new crops for you that we’re incredibly excited about: broccoli rabe and celery! This is the first time we’ve grown either of these veggies on the farm so we are thrilled to be able to share them with you at the farm stand. Broccoli rabe, also called rapini, is a member of the Brassica family along with crops like broccoli, kale, and cauliflower. It produces edible leaves, stems, and buds that have a somewhat bitter and nutty flavor. Our broccoli rabe is more tender and leafy than what you’ll find in the store, not to mention much tastier! Farmer Alex recommends braising it with some garlic and finishing it with a squeeze of lemon juice.

Just like our broccoli rabe, our celery is much more flavorful than its grocery store counterparts. You’ll notice that the stalks are smaller and the leafy greens are attached. You can use the stalks just as you would regular celery and the leaves like parsley. The possibilities are endless when it comes to using celery since it frequently forms the flavor base of so many recipes! Farmer Anna recommends adding some chopped celery to a batch of chicken salad for a delicious crunchy texture. Make sure to pick up a bunch to try at the farm stand this weekend!

We planted seeds for the first succession of squashes and cucumbers in the greenhouse last week. Since both of these crops are frost sensitive, we’ll be planting them in the field in March once we’ve passed our last frost date. We’ll be starting multiple rounds of these crops throughout the warmer months to help ensure a steady supply. Here are the varieties we just planted: Bristol (a slicing cucumber), Max Pack (a smaller pickling cucumber), Zephyr (a yellow summer squash with a light green blossom end), and Dark Green (a standard zucchini).

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

Fall is my favorite of the seasons. The leaves begin to flirt with color changes and the wind smells different, crisper somehow. My favorite way to bring a little fall into whatever season I’m in is with spices. I’ve paired chai spices with sweet and earthy winter squash for a delicious and thick butter. You can use any winter squash here but my favorites are butternut and red kuri. Eat it like you would apple butter, smeared over toast, swirled into yogurt, or on top of your morning oatmeal.

When the weather begins to finally start backing away from the 100 degree mark, I ready my store of fall and winter recipes. Soups are pretty prevalent among my favorites for fall. This version relies heavily on the sweet and earthy flavors of roasted butternut squash. To make the soup extra comforting and filling, it’s topped off with homemade herb croutons.