At press time we're grateful for rain Monday night. We planted sweet potatoes, turnips and kohlrabi on Saturday, and they appreciate the moisture. It will be sticky fieldwork, accompanied by ducks, until the fields dry up a bit again.
One of the imperatives of our farm is to train farmers. We count ourselves in on that. Every year we're learning how to farm better. How to best take care of the soil and the plants and fruit it yields. In addition, we've got a staff member coming to work with us in a couple of weeks. And, there's many Workshares, Woofers and volunteers who come out to get a taste of farm life.
A hallmark of the market garden we run is we are constantly seeding and planting new crops from now until August, as we aim to have supply of food for our table and members shares all the way through until December. While many gardeners put in a garden May 24 weekend and then look forward to a harvest after some water and weeding, a market garden is in a constant state of renewal, one crop replacing another in the bed space available (we use 40 and 60' beds). Now we have to add in the tasks of weeding and harvesting while keeping up the planting schedule.
A vegetable which may be new to you is the black radish, schwartzer runder, a.k.a. the eastern European healing radish. It has quite a bite raw, but once roasted or cooked into a dish reveals a wonderful flavour. You may also try a little raw, zested into a salad, soup or sandwich.
May your interaction with the earth increase as you munch the fruits which came in your share.
