This spring we have seen a tremendous amount of bug pressure, especially on our quick brassica crops (hakurei, radish, mustard, arugula, yu choy, bok choy, Asian cut greens), which you will see a lot of this week. Flea beetle is usually not an issue for us; but this spring they abound along with our more usual spring pests: brassica root maggot, harlequin bugs, leaf hoppers, and cucumber beetle. The bug pressure combined with extremely dry conditions has led a lot of these crops to be a bit stressed, with holey leaves and a less attractive appearance. This can lead to shorter storability, so some of the greens need to be used more quickly. In contrast, until it got super hot, the lettuce crops loved the dry (controlled watering) and temperate conditions. Each vegetable family has slightly different needs, making our diversity of crops so important in producing a consistent amount of food throughout each season. And now, now we finally got some rain and I can say there is vast difference in the landscape on our farm. Everything is deeper green and now we will see the weed pressure blow up. Luckily we have been managing a lot of our crops better than ever, but those few carrot and herb beds we haven’t had a chance to get to, are now an emergency.
The share is going to be quite big this week and we are beginning to see a shift towards some summer crops, even with this strange cool dip in the weather over the weekend. It is a rare year when we have Sugar Snap peas, let alone at the same time as cucumbers. This is a great share for venturing into stir-fries, hand making salad rolls (find some mint, use that lettuce, and some tofu or shrimp), and playing around with Thai salad recipes. Check out the recipes below and enjoy the share…..Brian and Autumn
Mustard Greens with Mooli | Daikon Radish with Mustard Greens
Yam Khai Dao (Fried egg salad) – Pok Pok by Andy Ricker
You must find some thai chiles, celery leaf (meadowacre), and carrot; This recipe is soooo delicious, a must try!
Stir-Fried Baby Turnips With Spring Onions, Green Garlic and Tofu
Smashed Cucumber and Sugar Snap Pea Salad With Jerk Vinaigrette