Week Two of CSA and Chinese Greens

Wondering what to do with Chinese Greens? Lots of us have tried Boc Choi in stirfry or Nappa Cabbage in Kim Chee, but what about the hundreds of others? One of our staff here is very fond of chinese greens and so we planted some for her this year. I hadn't tried Shungiku, Mizuna, or Oracle Greens before and I didn't even know what the plants would look like. But we have been pleasantly surprised by the way that they are growing in our garden. Whether or not you received some in this week's box, chances are you will sometime this season. Or stop around your local Oriental Grocer and see what they have in stock.

Here is a VERY informational website to give more specific information concerning Mizuna and the like:

http://www.specialtyproduce.com

Please comment as to how you used or would consider using chinese greens.

First Week of CSA

Hooray! It's finally time to send out our first week's boxes. We have been preparing for the last few weeks: labeling boxes, weeding lettuces, planting herbs. And even with all that work we still had a few start-up hick-ups, but we're proud to send to you this week:

Leafy Greens - Spring Mix, Spinach, Lettuces

Herbs - Mint or Chives (please enjoy the flowers of the chives, beautiful and scrumptious)

Mushrooms

Asparagus

Spring Onions

Pink Beauty and French Breakfast Radishes

and some lucky boxes will have Strawberries this week!

If you didn't receive Strawberries, never fear the season is off to a good start and you should be receiving them next week. Let's hope for sunny days to keep them coming on strong. Share a recipe for the Chive flowers or a new Radish Salad like this one from The Victory Garden Cookbook

Radish Top Soup

6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 cup chopped onions or white leek portions
8 cups loosely packed radish leaves
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
6 cups water, stock or combination
Salt
1/2 cup heavy cream (optional)
Freshly ground pepper

Melt 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan, add onions, and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in radish tops, cover, and cook over low heat until wilted, 8-10 minutes. Meanwhile, cook potatoes until soft in water or stock with 1 teaspoon salt. Combine with radish tops and cook, covered, 5 minutes to mingle flavors. Puree in food processor or blender. Add cream and remaining butter, if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot. (Note: To serve cold, omit butter enrichment.) Makes 4-6 servings.

Tomato Planting Party

Are you ready for juicy, flavorful tomatoes? We are! Just a few weeks ago these plants were tiny seeds, saved from last year's tomatoes. We transplanted them on Tuesday and now we'll wait for a few more weeks to plant them out. Do you want to come help us? May 29th we'll be planting tomato, pepper, eggplant, squash, melon, and herb plants. The party will start at 10am and run until 2 pm. As usual, we'll have a potluck lunch and enjoy working alongside our favorite people - YOU! We love meeting you and spending time working together to make the CSA possible. Let us know if you want to come... See you soon!

Herb Plants for Sale

Thought of having a small herb garden? Maybe just a pot on the backstep with chives and mint? Fresh herbs are one of the best parts of gardening. They make eggplants and onions come alive and give so many variations on the ways we enjoy our favorite veggies! We have a wide variety of herb plants for sale at the farm through this spring season. Let us know if you'd like to order just a few plants or a whole flat!

What's in Season?

Today at JHU someone asked me, "How do I know what veggies will be in season throughout the season?" Of course there are many more veggies than those listed here, but this is a great start:

http://www.marylandsbest.net/in_season.php

The beans and peas planted by some of the youngest friends of Calvert Farm CSA during our "Pea and Potato Party" are growing! The black raspberries look great, the peas in the field are coming up, and the cabbage seeds are sprouting too! Hope you all remember this day fondly and will consider coming to our next planting party - Saturday, May 29th. Let's hope for a beautiful day to plant Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant, and Basil plants!

Can you guess what I'm picking off this piece of newspaper? If you guessed tomato seeds you're correct! These are the seeds that we saved from the 2009 CSA season - now ready to be planted and grow up into yummy tomatoes for this year! We started seeds on this past Friday and look forward to watching them grow... But we'd like your help!

On May 29th we're having a Tomato, Pepper, Basil, and Eggplant Party. We'll set out these delicious plants from 10 till 2. The same routine as the spring party, with a tour of the farm from Pam, a few hours of work with other CSA members and volunteers and then a pot luck lunch. Any one not too stuffed from lunch can help finish up and water in the plants.

Please RSVP via e-mail, phone, or blog post. Hope to see you there!