One of our favorite fall crops has made its way back into season: Hakurei turnips! Often called a “salad turnip” due to their smaller size, Hakureis have a distinctive sweet flavor. These turnips can be enjoyed both raw and cooked. We love thinly slicing them and adding them to salads but they’re also great roasted or braised. Make sure to pop by the Farm Stand this weekend so you can pick up a bunch or two to enjoy!

We are happy to report that the high tunnel is fully planted with a delicious mix of fall crops. Last week we transplanted green oak leaf lettuce, Tokyo Bekana, and another succession of Bok Choy. These are all quick growers and should be available in the next couple of weeks! We also direct-seeded scallions, beets, salad mix, and watermelon radishes. All of these crops align with the HVF (high velocity farming) system that we’re implementing in the high tunnel. Each of these varieties will ideally be ready for harvesting in about 50 days or less.

Mark your calendar for our next Farm Tour on Saturday, November 18th at 10:30am! This tour will feature the new HVF cropping system in our high tunnel. We’ll also discuss all of our new and upcoming fall crops, including our favorite Hakurei turnips. Since we think you’ll love them as much as we do, attendees will be able to enjoy turnip samples along with some other delicious fall crops. Our Farm Tours are open to the public and completely free of charge. We hope you’ll join us! 

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

Coming Soon: Napa Cabbage, Lettuce, and Tokyo Bekana

Since we know how much our community loves tomatoes, how about an update?! The tomatoes in the high tunnel are swiftly growing and covered in fruit. Farmer Alex estimates that it will be about 2 more weeks before we make the first cherry tomato harvest and 3-4 weeks until we harvest the first of the slicing varieties. Even though the tomatoes we planted in the field are a few weeks behind those in the high tunnel, the Sungolds are already fruiting. It looks like it’s going to be an incredibly delicious tomato season this year!

While we wait anxiously on tomatoes, one of our favorite root crops just came back into season: Hakurei turnips! Often referred to as a “salad turnip”, Hakureis can be enjoyed raw or cooked. They have a crisp yet tender texture with a flavor that is mild compared to other turnips. Hakureis are sweet and almost fruity, especially when eaten raw. Try pairing them with our kohlrabi and spring onions in this breakfast hash recipe.

Our zucchini crop is already flowering and producing fruit. Upon closer inspection, we’re pretty confident that we’ll be making the first harvest for you next week! You might notice in the photo that the zucchini has a blossom attached to the end of it. That’s because zucchini plants produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. Once pollen from the male flowers pollinates the females, the zucchini fruit begins to grow and swell until we can harvest it at about 6-8 inches in length.

In Season: Hakurei Turnips, Kohlrabi, Baby Leeks, Arugula, Bok Choy, Cabbage, Spring Onions, Radicchio, Swiss Chard, Kale, Spinach, Romaine Lettuce Heads and Mini Bibb Lettuce Heads along with Cucumber and Tomato transplants for your garden

October 14th, 2021

We braved the rain yesterday to get four of our beds transplanted. We planted a mix of veggies, herbs, and flowers for fall. Here are the veggies we planted: Napa cabbage, Minuet Chinese cabbage, Merlot cabbage, Red Giant mustard greens, Green Wave mustard greens, Wasabina mustard greens, lettuce, and fennel. We also planted Thai basil, marigolds, and zinnias. Our goal for the fall is to not only grow delicious veggies and herbs for you but to be able to offer beautiful seasonal flower bouquets as well!

One of our favorite root veggies just made its way back into season: Hakurei turnips! The Hakurei turnip is a quick grower, taking just over a month to reach maturity after germination. Often referred to as a “salad turnip”, Hakureis can be eaten raw as well as cooked. They have a crisp yet tender texture with a flavor that is mild compared to other turnips. The flavor of a Hakurei is sweet and almost fruity, especially when eaten raw. If you’re craving something warm, you can easily add these turnips to soups or stews, or create an easy side dish by roasting them or braising them.

In addition to Hakurei turnips, yellow crookneck squash just made its way back into season as well. This great thing about this tender and sweet summer squash is that it can be used in both sweet and savory recipes! Try shredding it up and using it in place of zucchini in a warmly spiced zucchini bread recipe or in a batch of fritters spiced with curry powder and topped with a dollop of tangy yogurt. You’ll be able to pick yellow crookneck squash and Hakurei turnips at our next farm stand on Saturday from 10am-noon. We hope to see you there!

It’s not just potatoes that are fit for mashing! Turnips make a delicious and beautifully-hued mash when paired with a few simple ingredients and topped with a sprinkle of crispy shallots. Though they have a somewhat humble appearance, turnips are a great source of Vitamin C, potassium, and calcium. So grab some turnips and let’s get mashing!