Fall is moving along quickly now and we are getting ready for the colder weather to set in. Since we grow so many crops for winter, this means thinking about crop protection from cold and wind as well as from deer and other varmints. Over the past two weeks we have seen the deer pressure increasing exponentially. Although it suddenly feels very wet and cool, the elongated drought and hot weather throughout September meant a lack of growth in the woods and pasture. Even though everything is turning green now, the shortening day length and cool temperatures mean we will have little growth for forage for all the woodland creatures until early spring. Instead they move onto our land and look for easy buffet treats. November is when we begin large harvests of storage crops that are ready to be harvested and covering of other crops for protection and to increase warmth and in turn growth. We hate covering crops, for a number of reasons, but mainly because it means moving a lot of heavy bags filled with soil. It’s a labor intensive process of setting wire hoops into the ground, hauling bags, rolling out row cover and if we are being diligent uncovering frequently to provide ventilation and help dry out the beds a bit. Our heavy clay soil keeps in the moisture and with a warm covered environment can cause mold and other fungal growth. We have stages of crops we cover to match the increasing cold and level of varmint attraction, beginning with delicate and cold sensitive greens. Early crops to cover are yu choy, bok choy, cut greens, herbs, lettuce, mustards, swiss chard, and broccoli raab, as the greens can be damaged from first frosts. We also cover radicchio and chicories as they are the deer’s preferred crop to eat and try to get fennel harvested and stored as a solid frost can damage layers of the larger mature bulbs. Later crops to cover, once we get into the mid-twenties are collard greens, kale, cauliflower, broccoli, romanesco, scallions, beets, turnips, and winter radishes to minimize green damage, so they will continue growing. Certain crops can stay uncovered until we get to temperatures in the teens, as long as they are not being eaten, like spinach, parsnips, carrots, sorrel and claytonia.
This is the final Asian inspired share and hence the last of the peppers and chilies. We have added a lot of recipes below to use the peppers, chilies, and radishes so you should not be at a loss. Our go to quick recipe for the winter radishes is to grate, salt, dress with a little sesame oil, rice vinegar, pinch of sugar, scallion, and herb of choice and add to a bed of greens for a great salad. Check out the preserved yu choy dish, it looks wonderful….Enjoy the share, Autumn and Brian
Oven-Baked Beef Meatballs (kale & radish)
Steamed Choy Sum with Sweet Shallot Vinaigrette
Preserved Yu Choy Green Dip (Nam Phrik Nam Phak)
Philippine Sour Shrimp Stew (Sinigang na Hipon) (radish & yu choy)