It is our fifth week of CSA pick ups and at this point Rushton Farm members may have noticed the diversity of vegetables that are included in your share. While we have had a lot of greens in this cooler than average spring we are about to enter the "eclectic" time of the season with the greens and spring vegetables transitioning to summer crops. While some items may be more familiar like turnips, lettuce and beets, other items may be a little less familiar like kale, Joi Choi and garlic scapes.  

At Rushton Farm we grow over 150 varieties of fruit and vegetables, some more common than others, but all of them chosen for their flavor and nutritive qualities. Our goal is to inform and educate our members about all the vegetables grown. In every "Wild Carrot" CSA member Mary Smith is providing recipes and information to help guide members in vegetable preparation. The Rushton Farm CSA Manual (there is a link to it in the column to the left) also has some general guidelines to preparation and storage of farm vegetables.

Being part of a CSA is learning about seasonality and appreciating the variety of fruits and vegetables as they are harvested throughout the season. As we continue through the season we will occasionally feature a vegetable in The Wild Carrot and explain why we grow it and how to prepare it. Please feel free to talk to or email the staff with any questions you may have about any of the other produce grown at the farm.

 

With the celebration of summer solstice comes a chance to take a breather and evaluate the season to this point. We are finally over the spring push where every day feels like a mad dash to till the fields, seed in the greenhouse, plant in the field and harvest. The planting of the winter squash this week will signify the last of the major plantings and we are in the process of shutting down the greenhouse for the season.

 

 

First came the rain, and with it real pain . . . . . 

 . . . . . now comes the sun, with great fun!   

 

Crop production to this point has been solid with wet, cool weather helping some crops and hurting others. Rain, hail and insect pressure took its toll on the peas (near total crop failure) but the spring weather helped the broccoli and cabbage reach record size. Summer crops are moving slowly but they look healthy. Root vegetables are coming on strong with carrots coming in next week after good production of beets and turnips.

 

The first tomato should arrive soon and with it the start of the summer harvest. Crossed fingers, knock on wood- let's hope for continued good weather, sun, heat and no hail!

-Rushton Farm Staff

Fennel 

Fennel is wildly versatile serving as both as an herb, as well as a vegetable. Cultures have long used it for both culinary and medicinal purposes. Fennel is known to relieve a variety of indigestion issues; flatulence, bloating, and constipation, and is commonly used around the world in mouth fresheners and toothpastes.

The fronds serve as an ideal aromatic finish to salads and soups and the stalk with its slightly sweet and licorice flavor can be shredded into salads, cooked down like an onion or roasted. Here are two of my favorite preparations.