In Your Box:

• Broccoli shoots or spinach
• Garlic Scapes
• Head lettuce, “Pirat”
• Komatsuna
• Radishes
• Salad mix
• Scallions
• Strawberries

Farm News

For the first time this growing season, I can’t complain about the weather! We’ve finally been blessed with moderation in rainfall after picking up 8” of rain in a week. We’ve had abundant sunshine, and the crops are really responding well and taking off. And with cooler temperatures and low humidity, it’s been very pleasant to be outside pulling weeds.

We’ve never had many snakes on the farm, but so far this year is shaping up to be the year of the snake. Last week I spooked a large garter snake while walking into the spinach bed. After watching it slither away I bent to start cutting spinach, but a smaller snake was hiding under the exact spinach plant I was about to cut! After my heart rate came back down I resumed harvesting and I can promise there will be no snakes in today’s box. The next day I was moving a 50’ length of fire hose that we use to weigh down tarps, when a snake crawled out of the end of it. An excellent hiding place, I must admit.

With the 4th of July holiday approaching, I’ll be here celebrating with the snakes. I’ll still deliver boxes as usual (including Thursday’s boxes on the 4th itself), so let me know if you aren’t able to pick up your box over the holiday. The only week we won’t have a delivery this summer is August 12th through 16th, when I’ll be vacationing with my family.

This week’s box

This is the last week of strawberry season, and thankfully the plants have handled the flooding much better than I had anticipated. Special thanks to my wife Nina for picking all of our strawberries this year! Nina picked strawberries on a farm near Northfield for a high school job. Who knew that that part-time job would lead to a practical vocation experience!

Komatsuna originated in Japan and is a welcome alternative to bok choy in a stir-fry. Its dark green leaves are packed with nutrition and have similar utility to spinach. 

This year we’re partnering in an experiment with the University of Minnesota to trial some different varieties of sprouting broccoli. Regular heading broccoli has become more difficult to grow in Minnesota due to the changing climate, so the researchers I’m working with want to know if this alternative might be better adapted. Instead of a massive central head, sprouting broccoli (“broccolini”) sends up smaller shoots over the course of a couple months. I’m already noticing that it handles cabbage loopers (green caterpillar pests) better than regular broccoli. And it’s delicious! Some of the sprouts have started to flower, but the flowers are completely edible and taste great. The stalks are more tender than heading broccoli and can be enjoyed as well.

Komatsuna Soup

Ingredients:

• Komatsuna (1 bunch)
• Small onion or bunch of scallions
• Potatoes (2-4)
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water
• Butter (1 tbsp)
• Chicken bouillon (1 cube)
• Bay leaf
• Salt and black pepper (to taste)
  How to make it:
  
  (1) Cut the komatsuna into 1 inch long pieces; slice the potato and onion thinly.
  (2) Melt the butter in a pan; sauté the onion until tender, then add the komatsuna and cook a little longer. Add the potato and stir until the butter has coated all the ingredients. Add the water, bouillon and bay leaf and bring to a low simmer.
  (3) When the potato is tender, remove the bay leaf and mix in a blender until smooth. (Mixing well produces better results).
  (4) Return the soup to the pan, add milk, salt and pepper. Serve hot.
  
  * For a richer, creamier soup, add a little cream after turning off the flame in step 4.
  

Coming up

 We are expecting baby bok choy, garlic scapes, scallions, head lettuce, radishes, salad mix, kale and peas. Zucchini and red currants should be ready shortly as well.