Salad fixings are here!

This past Tuesday was noteworthy not only because it brought some much needed rain, but we also harvested some of our first salad greens of the season! Cut lettuce mix was available in the store on Tuesday, and for Thursday we plan to harvest arugula, red Russian kale and French breakfast radishes as well! Saturday we may even see an appearance from head lettuce. We'll also still have asparagus, rhubarb and Pete and Jen's eggs.

The store is still self-serve this week and probably next week as well, so unless you happen to catch one of us around the store, we unfortunately won't be able to make change for purchases. If, like me, you often don't have exact change on hand, think about joining our Barrett's Bucks program! Barrett's Bucks members buy farm stand credit early on in the season, and then each time you shop at the store, your purchase is deducted from your credit. It makes your shopping trips easy - no cash is necessary.

We are looking forward to seeing many of you again once the store is fully staffed in June!

Rhubarb and Recipes

We're now harvesting rhubarb, which means it's time to make rhubarb sauce and rhubarb desserts! See the recipes below for some ideas. We also wanted to share a recipe that one of our members passed along for asparagus and eggs. It looks delicious and it's a great way to use some of Pete & Jen's eggs, which are now available in the store. Visit www.elizabethminchilliinrome.com/2015/04/asparagus-and-eggs for the recipe.

Rhubarb Crisp (from “Uncommon Gourmet All-Occasion” Cookbook)

Rhubarb mixture:

• 6 cups rhubarb, cut into 1-inch pieces
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup finely diced crystallized candied ginger

Crumb Topping

• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine above ingredients and put in 2-quart casserole. Mix crumb topping ingredients until crumbly and spread over rhubarb mixture. Bake for 50 minutes until golden. Serve warm.

Rhubarb Sauce (from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)

1. Combine 3 cups rhubarb cut in 1 inch pieces, 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, and 1/4 cup water.  

2. Bring to boiling; cover and cook slowly till tender, about 5 minutes (or until desired consistency).  

Makes 2 cups. Can be eaten like applesauce or served on top of yogurt or ice cream.

Asparagus season has begun!

We will be harvesting asparagus throughout the rest of May  and will have bunches available in our farm stand during regular farm stand hours (Tuesdays & Thursday 11am - 6pm and Saturdays 10am - 4pm). The asparagus harvest starts small and varies with temperature and rainfall, so we will try to keep our Facebook page updated to let folks know when we sell out. We sold out in 45 minutes this morning, but we are anticipating having more available this Saturday starting at 10am!

We're also excited to be able to start offering eggs from Pete and Jen's Backyard Birds this season. I'm getting ready to make some eggs Benedict with grilled asparagus this weekend!

Spring planting is well under way

Lise and Rachel space out kohlrabi transplants for planting

Since plowing our fields in mid April, we've quickly filled them up with our earliest plantings. Carrots, beets, peas, spinach, potatoes, onions, leeks, lettuce, greens, radishes, salad turnips, napa cabbage, kohlrabi and next year's strawberries have all gone into the ground over the last two weeks. Some of these crops, like potatoes, onions, and leeks, are a one-time planting. We plant multiple varieties that will mature at different points in order to have a more continuous supply during their regular season. Other crops, like lettuce and greens, are planted in many successions over the course of the season. Lettuce is probably our most frequently planted crop, as we will put in a new planting every week until September!

Once crops have been seeded and transplants planted, we cover many of them with a floating white row cover. It may seem like a shame to cover up such beautiful new green plantings, but this row cover is very important for the health of many of our crops. Not only does it keep our plants a little warmer (and thus speeds up their growth), but it also protects them from certain pests. Basically, it helps give our plants the best start possible. Plus, it's always exciting to take the row cover off a few weeks later and see their amazing progress. It won't be long before the farm will be looking less like a white moonscape and more like a lush green wonderland!

Next on the docket for us: more plowing so we can do even more planting!

Preparing for planting!

Lise plows a stretch of field.

For those of you who drive or walk past the farm on a daily basis, our recent big news is clear. Over 3 acres of land is now plowed! Our fields dried out over the weekend and Monday we had the ideal spring day to begin our major tilling for the season. We used our three-bottom plow to flip the soil into neat rows, flattening out rough areas and creating the basis for what are to be smooth beds for planting.  The first areas plowed are for our first crops to go in the ground: onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, and peas. We create our crop plans over the winter which detail where we will plant each crop, how much, and what varieties. That way, when spring arrives we simply look for our windows of weather to provide the right level of soil moisture and off we go!  

Another change around the farm this week will be cold frames set up outside our greenhouse.  The greenhouse is now full so it’s time for some of our most mature plants to head outside. They aren’t quite ready to brave all weather, so we will keep them covered at night with plastic for protection.  Keep a lookout for our onions and leeks as they spend the daytime out in the sun and wind getting accustomed to the wider world!