And it is spring again…. This cooler weather has been a nice break, much easier to work in.
Things are really starting to ramp up. The tomatoes have more and more fruit on them everyday. We got the last of the peppers and eggplants in and are seeding our second successions of cucumbers, summer squash, beans, and greens. I’ve given up on the front carrot bed. It has gotten tiring watching every carrot that germinates get dessimated by slugs. We decided to switch things up and are planting the majority of carrots down below and the rest of the summer squash and cukes in their place.
We are experimenting with a variety of summer cover crops and those all went in today. Cover crops are planted for a variety of reasons. They are generally non-edible crops that are grown to feed the soil. Once mature, they are mowed and tilled back into the beds to incorporate organic matter and nitrogen. There is a huge variety to choose from and all have varying levels of maintenance and “ease of incorporation”. We are experimenting this summer with:
Sudan Grass- A large grass that you can mow and is killed by frost. It provides a great mulch over winter and because it is not actively growing over the winter you can generally get in and work the soil pretty early in the spring.
Japanese Millet- A grass that is well adapted to cooler damper areas and good at smothering weeds. We have actually never grown this or seen it grown but are very excited to try it out.
Cowpeas- Are great at fixing nitrogen, increasing organic matter, and smothering weeds. They are also very cool looking!
If you’re curious where things are planted and want to learn more about cover crops in your yard, ask away!
This week your share includes:
head lettuce- a variety of new types to try including trouts back, red romaine, crisp mint, marvel of four seasons, and batavian.
arugula- a bit of a spicier batch than last time. in the past month we’ve tossed it with hot pasta, added it to salads, put it on burgers, and made it into pesto….the possibilities are endless.
sugar snap peas- i think these are best straight into your mouth, pod and all. if you feel very inspired to cook with them try one of these delicious sounding recipes
broccoli- we’d hoped for larger heads but the suprisingly hot weather jolted the broccoli into thinking it was time to go to seed. luckily, broccoli plants continue sharing the harvest with succulent side shoots. they can be eaten as you would normal broccoli. when we prepare it we eat it stem, leaves, and all.
garlic scapes- these are great in eggs! use as you would garlic or scallions.
a cooking green (kale, collards, or chard)
fennel- chop up in salads or saute in butter until golden….great with pasta!
cilantro- someone mentioned cilantro butter on corn…we’ve still been enjoying it in salads, quesadillas, and chopped up on beans.
basil- just enough to sprinkle on some pasta.
and guest additions from a friend’s abundant garden:
favas- we tried these tonight tossed in olive oil and salt and pepper and then broiled until very dark. the beans slip right out of the pod and are almost like edamame.
