In the Horsham EC, EWOs are in the grape arbor bed and you'll know them as soon as you see them!  Ours have been "walking" around the bed for a few years.  The plants have a wild look about them; long, green, hollow stems reaching almost 2 feet above the soil.  At the top of the stem you'll see a bulblet, many with small, sprouting rootlets.  As the bulblet matures it grows heavier.  At some point, the main stem is no longer strong enough to support the bulblet and the stem bends, resting the bulblet on the soil. Once on the soil, the sprouting rootlets take hold, securing the plant in the soil.  This growing and bending reminds me of a slinky and is what allows the plant to "walk".

EWOs are also known as topset onions because the bulblets are formed at the top of the stem, rather than at the base of the plant.  The entire plant is edible - stems can be harvested and used as you would chives or scallions, the underground bulb can be used as an onion or shallot and the bulblets can be eaten out of hand or pickled.  The EWO has it's own website!  Check out this link for an indepth look at this very cool Plant of the Week!

Visitors to the EC this week feasted on sugar snap peas.  The pea plants are laden with sweet, little pods and each bite tastes like summer!  Several kids learned the "two-handed" pea picking method.  It is so tempting to grab a pea pod and pull, but the pea plant is fragile and even a slight yank can result in damage, or death, to the plant.  Instead of the grab and go method, kids learned to grasp the pod in one hand and place the other hand on the stem, just above the spot where the pea attaches. Gently snap the pod from the stem.  This method protects the plant from unnecessary stress.  Give it a try and have a few peas before they're all gone!

The blueberries and currants look great and the birds have yet to find them.  Several folks have asked why I don't cover the plants with netting to prevent the birds from pillaging.  The simple answer is that last summer (my first at the farm), I didn't see any birds on the plants and we had bumper crops of both berries.  So why aren't the bird interested in these great looking berries?  My knee-jerk response is that there is too much activity by and near the plants.  The blueberries and currants are planted along the farm-lane sides of the EC and during the season, there is a steady stream of foot traffic and farm machinery passing by on the land.  I think this constant activity keeps the birds at bay.

A quick note about this coming week, I will not be in the EC on Wednesday and Friday; however, please feel free to come in and look around.  Check out the Plant of the Week, the tadpoles and have a few pea pods (pls use the two-handed picking method).

Have a good week.