Harvest #6 (Week B) should include romaine lettuce, kale, lettuce mix, swiss chard, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, kohlrabi, radicchio, head lettuce, cilantro, dill, escarole, and garlic scapes. Zucchini is just starting in small quantities (don't worry, you'll be inundated soon hopefully). Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, snow peas (lots), and strawberries (fewer).

So far, so good. Shares have been plentiful, crop growth is healthy and robust, pests and diseases have been at a minimum. Of course, we're only entering harvest week #6, with 22 more to go afterwards. But farm work and field prep wise we're a solid 40% of the way through the growing season and thus far things have been good. It's been very dry, yes, but we're able to irrigate (not everything though). Other than the drought, the late frost, and the wildfire smoke, the weather has been fairly kind. We're desperately hoping for a nice soaking rainfall this Monday and I plan to stay positive until then. We're not quite at peak produce just yet (that comes in July or August) but some crops have already shown their full potential. Strawberries have been particularly plentiful this season; snow pea vines are the tallest I've ever seen (which hopefully translates to lots of fruit); lettuces and chicories have been large, crisp, and bolt-resistant. Spring spinach was simply harvested, a miracle, for just about two weeks. Overall only the tiniest amount of spring crops had to be regarded as pure fertilizer, such as the first outdoor planting of arugula, which went to seed too quickly. A portion of the second outdoor bok choy did the same. But other than those, it's been a complete harvest. I'm satisfied.

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

We are starting to see the transition from spring to summer with the changing of the crops. Here are a few tips on new and recent additions to the pick up room.

Kohlrabi - a member of the cabbage (crucifer or mustard) family. The part we eat is the enlarged stem from which the leaves develop. Kohlrabi may be white, green or purple in color. The taste and texture of kohlrabi are similar to those of a broccoli stem or cabbage heart, but milder and sweeter, with a higher ratio of flesh to skin. Kohlrabi is a great source of vitamin C and potassium. They store for a long time in the crisper drawer of the fridge. I like to eat them raw - sliced thin and added to salads, they are nice and crunchy, or as a healthy snack alone or with your favorite dip. I also like it sliced julienne and added to cole slaw. It is delicious sauteed along with greens as in the Sauteed Kohlrabi and Greens recipe on this site.

Garlic scapes - flower stalks found on all members of the Allium family (onions, leeks, chives, and garlic). If the scape is left on the plant it will harden and transform from green to the familiar opaque white/beige color of garlic peel. Keeping the shoot attached will curtail growth of the bulb. So, in an effort to allow the garlic to keep growing, the farmer picks the scape off the plant and we benefit with a wonderful mild tasting garlic. When cooking with it, add it at the end of the recipe so you don't use the taste. It is great raw, as in Garlic Scape Pesto and Garlic Scape and White Bean Dip.

Endive/Escarole - Endive has two forms, narrow-leaved endive called curly endive and the broad-leaved endive which is often called escarole. The outside leaves of an endive head are green and somewhat bitter. The inner leaves of the endive head are light green to creamy-white and milder flavored. Endive is rich in many vitamins and minerals, especially in folate and vitamin A and K, and is high in fiber. Endive is one of those wonderful greens that can be enjoyed raw or cooked. I like to add a few leaves to my mixed green salads to add textural and taste variety. It is also delicious chopped up and sauteed with garlic, white beans and chili flakes or a hot pepper. As with other greens, don't let it sit in water or it will quickly rot.

Radicchio - is part of the chicory family. "Chioggia," the most common variety of this intensely flavored vegetable, grows in heads of wine-red leaves with bright white veins. Treviso is a type of radicchio that grows in elongated, rather than round, heads. Like all chicories, radicchio has a structural sturdiness and a distinct bitterness that balances the sweeter, more delicate lettuces with which it is often combined. Radicchio mellows considerably when roasted, grilled or sautéed in olive oil and tossed with pasta. It is also great with cheese, salami, nuts and dried fruit and citrus. I am looking forward to trying it in this salad Chopped Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette, Feta and Dill. Change it up with whatever veggies you have from the farm.

Hope everyone is enjoying your harvest as much as we are! Please share your dishes with membership by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. Please put Anchor Run in Subject line so I can find your email. Here are a few things I have recently made.

Green garlic, dill - made a white wine, garlic, butter sauce and drizzled it over grilled clams - so delicious we had it twice in a week!

Swiss chard, green garlic, turnip, cilantro - cooked up homemade eggrolls with leftover pulled pork. The veggie part of the dish used lots of farm veggies. Enjoyed with a dipping sauce that included cilantro.

Bok Choy - Grilled the bok choy (one of my favorite ways) and made an Asian dipping sauce to drizzle over it.

Kale - enjoyed a Kale Caesar Salad. There is something soothing about massaging the kale to make the leaves tender!

Maybe you are a new member, maybe you’ve been a member for a while. Either way – this workshop is for you!

In the barn, everything made sense while you were putting your share into your bags to bring home. At home, it suddenly became very overwhelming once you began unpacking! We have all been there; it is part of the CSA learning curve.

Let us help you make the most of your farm share!

Being a member of a CSA opens the door to so many topics!

- Resources: books, websites, Anchor Run CSA website (Recipes and Veggies 202 – it has pictures)

- How to keep your veggies as fresh as possible once they are in your refrigerator.

- The pros and cons of different preservation techniques (freezing, fermenting, canning, dehydrating).

- “Tools of the trade”, which I find invaluable.

- Before you compost: radish greens are edible!

- Composting, composting at the farm; what and what not to include in a compost pile, vermicomposting.

- Solar Cooking.

Pestos - don’t limit yourself to Basil. What to do with all those greens? Veggie Hash! The list goes on!

This is a casual, enlightening event that will enhance your experience of the CSA.

Hope to see you there!

Join Amanda Crooke of Locust Light Farm for a medicinal tour of our herb garden. Amanda will walk you through the herbs, demonstrate how to harvest them, describe their medicinal qualities, and give you tips for storing and using them. You'll leave feeling inspired to visit the herb garden at every pickup! Amanda is an engaging speaker, host to an incredible wealth of knowledge of all things herbal. We are fortunate to have her share her wisdom and hope you'll join us for this fun and enriching event!

Note #1: Feel free to bring a friend! The public is welcome.

Note #2: This is a demonstration event and not a harvesting event. You may harvest herbs as part of your share allotment.

1 hour tour

Members: $10 - sign up here
Non-members: $15 - sign up here