Main Season Harvest #1 (Week A) should include kale, lettuce, green garlic, chives, radishes, pea shoots, bok choy, arugula, greens mix, broccoli raab, romaine, radicchio, spinach, and hakurei turnips. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include perennial herbs from the herb garden. Herbs ready for harvest should include mint, thyme, oregano, lemon balm, catnip, sorrel, and anise hyssop.

Please note that due to the weather there may be more variability in what we list here compared to what is actually available in the pick up room. It will match pretty closely but may not be 100% the same (could be more like 88.2% the same).

Hooray! Maybe the rain is finally over! Five inches were received last week, more than a typical month's worth. The crops - and farmers - will be happy to dry out a bit, hopefully with some sun and wind this week. Amazingly most of the crops seem to have tolerated the cool and moist weather and perpetually wet feet. Raised beds are a must these days. Amidst this auspicious time of harvest commencements we're not immune to extreme weather events though and there will most likely be some adverse effects that will reveal themselves. Certain crops are more sensitive to excess moisture than others, such as spinach.

Okay, enough with the weather - how about a 'hooray' for the start of the harvest season? This week officially begins the 2018 harvest season, the 15th season of Anchor Run CSA, our 10th here. We're excited to finally begin retrieving lots and lots of tasty spring crops from the fields. Specialties like green garlic, pea shoots, chives, radicchio compliment staples like kale, spinach, lettuce, radishes, and turnips. Some items are really bursting with growth and water and hopefully flavor.

Once the ground dries out just enough we have a busy week of cultivating, weeding, and transplanting crops such as basil, dill, cilantro, scallions, winter squash, sweet corn, eggplant, edamame, and lettuce. Last week we spent a lot of time push mowing, weed wacking, potting up, and weeding carrots. We worked outside when we could and inside when we had to. The farm's in good shape overall. See you soon!

Workshifts scheduled for this week:

Workshift sign-up instructions may be found here.

Workshifts typically meet under the large red maple just outside of the pick up room. Please wear appropriate clothes and footwear for working outside and bring your own gloves and water.

Thank you!

The 2018 main season commences this week - telling us it is truly and finally spring! Welcome (back) to the farm. For new members, this is the place to watch for storage and preparation information on the produce we receive each week from the farm. Starting next week, I will have a weekly column called "How I enjoyed my Harvest", which is meant to provide ideas to you on how to incorporate the delicious veggies into your meals. My sections of the newsletter are meant to be collaborative and I encourage members to email me with ideas, recipes and questions about the harvests we receive. Please email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the subject line so I can find your email.

For this week's harvest, we have a couple of items you may not be very familiar with: pea shoots, green garlic, fresh chives.

Pea shoots are a lot of fun to use - they have a mild pea flavor and look really pretty in any dish. Add them to the lettuce in your salads - the best way to taste the freshness is to dress very lightly - a little fresh squeezed lemon juice and mild flavored oil, salt and pepper is all you need (this is also true with the early lettuce we receive). Another option is to gently stir fry the pea shoots. A very simple method - slice the green garlic and a chili pepper or red pepper flakes if desired, swirl it around in the oil for a few seconds. Ginger can also be put into the pan at this point. Add the pea shoots and swirl them around until barely wilted - don't cook for long because you don't want to destroy the delicate flavor. Remove from heat and drizzle a little soy sauce or sesame oil and fresh ground pepper, mix and enjoy.

Green garlic - I am excited to receive this item this year! The immature garlic bulbs and edible green stalks/leaves have a nutty-oniony flavor that is great fresh or cooked. Substitute green garlic in recipes for onions, scallions or leeks. The young, tender cloves don't need to be peeled before chopping. Slice and use in potato salad or mince and stir into salad dressings. Toss some in a stir-fry, on a pizza, or in soups. The light garlicky flavor enhances dishes without overpowering. Flavor-wise, one stalk and bulb of spring garlic is equivalent to a small onion, or a leek and one clove of mature garlic. Refrigerate.

Chives - these can be eaten in salads or cooked in any dish that calls for a member of the allium family (onion, leek, garlic). The purple flower is a bit more pungent than the green stalk/leaf.

Enjoy the first harvest!

Hershberger Heritage Farm will be at Anchor Run Farm 1-5pm on Thursdays during the harvest season to sell their organic and pastured poultry, meat, and other land proteins. Peruse their website for more information.