Winter CSA #18

March 11th

A very cold morning to mark our last Winter Csa for the 2016-2017 season! Hope you enjoyed!
The next few months will have Rick and I working separately as i gear up for my annual Heirloom plant sale and get all the seedlings for the farm going. Rick has quite a few farm projects to keep him busy as well as harvesting for market. It is a very busy time.  We are not planning to run the store and our produce will only be available at the market.

It's been a wild ride with getting the greenhouse built around our winter garden with some very cold weather than set in early this year but we got it done!  We've had a few wind storms just to test us out a little! While we are happy with how things turned out this year we expect next year to be even better.  We'll be in touch with details for our next winter CSA this summer.


In your baskets today:

Chez Nous salad mix
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Kale with kale Buds
Napa with bud also

greens extra: Swiss Chard and Mustard

Just a note about the flower stalks on the kale and Napa.  They are similar to prepare as you would asparagus, bending the stalk to see where it cracks...the top is tender and can be cooked without and stringiness and the bottom will be tougher.  Last weeks Napa stalk was more tender than this weeks as it was harvested earlier.

Rainbow and Green Dinosaur Kales have been the first to send up their stalks.

Scarlet Kale (purple) also up with the Red Russian styles behind seem to be next.  Green Siberian, Laurels Frilly and Madeley Kales have yet to bud.  

 

Mizpoona in full bloom

 

Arugula also in flower mode.  There is a lot of these in your salad mix this week.  The stalks are sweet and the buds spicy!

Baby Kale buds for the salad mix

All kinds of treasures

 

I will miss this bold mix this summer.

Bowl of flowers in a big bowl of salad mix.  Topped every salad bag with a bud or two.

 

We are grateful for all that was provided by this greenhouse this winter but really anxious to revamp! The beds need to be remade and covered with landscape fabric and all the necessary equipment to tie tomatoes need to be hung. Lots of work!

 Thank you so much for your business!

Shirley and Rick
Chez Nous Farms

 

Winter CSA #17

Good morning

These cold nights as spring approaches always cause me a little worry.  While we don't have baby chicks to think about anymore we do have all the hot crops for our greenhouse out there as well as new beds planted in both greenhouses.  To lose them would really set us back. There's also the produce ready for market and the CSA baskets in the store to think about before settling down at night.  I must admit I feel really guilty in warm pyjamas by the fire as my husbands always tends to these things. The extent of my night duties are checking the nursery a few steps from the house and i still cringe at the 2 seconds of cold i will endure as i dash for the garage door.  I bet you Rick would build me a tunnel if he could, awww....such a lucky farm girl I am.

In your baskets this week:

Chez Nous Salad Mix
Kale
Whole Napa with bud
Pea Shoots
Sunflower Shoots

X-tra Greens: Spinach and Swiss Chard

Here's a link to a  delicious soup i made this week. ( i used the sunflower seeds) : French lentil stew

These plants are massive and check out all the buds!  The inner core is fully edible. However,  the  few inches at bottom need to have the outer skin peeled...but so worth it.

While we usually bring all the "ugly vegetables" into the house these guys were top notch!  They were from the napa we used to make the salad mix.  I was struck by the contrast as i saw my husband walking away, the mud and then these lovely Napa flowers.

So, so yummy!

The nursery is filling up and so the garden greens must go....all in this weeks salad.

Spicy Arugula Buds...in the salad mix

In next weeks basket, the last Winter CSA basket,  should contain Kale Buds.

Have a great week!

Shirley