First Harvest Photos and Recipes!

I really don't think it gets any better than radish, arugula, and kale.  (Unless, of course, you've got some Sun Golds.... but those'll come later.)  I lucked out with the most beautiful day for harvest today, and I think it's a good omen for the rest of the season.  This is going to be fun!

First CSA Box:  Radish, Arugula, Kale

Kale as always is delicious steamed or braised with a little water and tamari.  For a different twist, add a little balsamic instead, or a touch of cream for creamed kale.  Kale salad is also good:  Massage the kale for a while to soften it up, then add some olive oil, agave, and lemon juice.  Cutting the kale with spinach can bulk it up or add some daintiness.

Arugula is good in everything: salads, sandwiches, pizza.  Put it at the bottom of a bowl loaded with rice or pasta and it'll wilt really nicely.  I'm going to include my favorite simple spicy salad recipe:

Arugula
Radish
Pumpkin Seeds
Dressing:  xvoo, rice wine vinegar, dijon mustard, coarse sea salt, and pepper.  Mix all the ingredients in a small bowl, dress your salad, and enjoy!

Getting Ready for the First Harvest

IT'S FINALLY HERE!  The first harvest of the season!  Since this is my first year taking on the responsibility of running my own CSA, I've learned quite a bit about how much to freak out versus how much to let nature take care of her wards.  There really is a fine balance:  yes, I needed to resow beets; no, I shouldn't have worried so much about the peas- they're flowering despite my fears.

In an effort to give credit where credit is due, here are some photos of Niles and Dirk making boxes to load veggies into for weekly shares.  Below there is also a little peak at some of the glory to come later this summer.

Harvest day is Thursday.   I'll certainly post a little reminder that morning of when and where to meet me!

Farm within a farm

Thank you, thank you, one thousand times thank you to Melanie Plies, farmer at Backyard Bounty.  She has generous loaned me 240 square feet to further my farm dreams.   In return I give her my willing labor: a small price to pay to be around her boisterous spirit and eat her delicious farm lunches.

My little row sits just east of a gorgeous wall of flowering brassica.  In front you see bulbing fennel followed by arugula.  The long rows of green in the back are new radishes that I just finished thinning.  (More detailed photos to come!)

Backyard Bounty has been a wonderful inspiration to me and I'm so grateful that I get to work there again this year.  Working out there has taught me the wonderful lesson that we all have the power to manifest our dreams.  You can visit Melanie's website at backyardbountypdx.wordpress.com.

Taking Advantage of a Nice Day

There is so much work to be done in April- row and bed prep, transplanting, clearing, digging.  It's hard to motivate during this last month of cold and rain, so using these sporadic nice days is an intrinsic part of farming.
After repotting kale, broccoli, and cabbage seedlings, and hardening them off, they're ready to go in the ground.  This feels like such a triumph!  Weeks of coddling and checking on them result in a tender transplant and then they're left to their own devices.  (Insert metaphor of a parent sending a child off to college here.)  Beets, chard, radishes, and carrots also got direct sown this past week.  Hopefully the rain will keep up enough to wet them down, but not drown them.

  I'm dreaming of the days when I'll don my sun hat....

Poop!

Getting ready for Spring!  Dirk helped me load up this horse manure.  We got it for free from some stables in deepest Gresham.

Nettles!

Thistle Top Farm will also be providing wildcrafted and foraged herbs, greens, and fruit whenever possible!  February celebrates one of the first new edible plants:  Nettles!  I suggest the simplest recipe: nettle tea with mint or ginger.  Enjoy!

First Sowing!

On February 17th, I sowed kale, arugula, lettuce, broccoli, red and yellow onions, and cabbage.  These will be transplanted in late March and hopefully will be ready for harvest in May.  They'll comprise the first  CSA boxes which will also include peas, radish, mustard greens, and possibly chard which will all be sown directly into the soil.  Hopefully my lettuce will soon look like this: