Growing a lot of varieties of produce, each year is a puzzle. Some pieces like brussels sprouts stick around forever – until the bitter end of the season really as one of the last crops in the field – whereas others make a quick appearance, and, poof, they’re gone. Think of a radish crop. Some are harvested over and over like kale and others like kohlrabi are a one and done, so this puzzle of a season gets complicated as we clear beds and plant new ones over 5 months.
For me, when I’m running out of time like in August, clearing some crops takes enough effort that I dread doing them. One this time of year is garlic. It all gets harvested at once and it typically takes more time than I like. We also can have challenges with the heads not coming out of the ground well if they are too mature and the stems break off. So, I was super stoked when some nearby beginning farmers from Wadena came by together with our own Emily Reno and volunteered to make something happen. “What do you think about harvesting garlic?” was the first thing out of my mouth. The easiest garlic harvest ever – and with massive heads and good timing – one of the best! Thanks to Brittney, Nona, Luna, and Emily 🙂
In the box:
- Purple cabbage
- Allure sweet corn
- Alisa Craig sweet onions
- Satina yellow potatoes
- Kale: I’ve not made this, but I can see it really working with the potatoes and using the sweet onions in the box (substitute for green onions – ok to use onion greens) – https://withfoodandlove.com/kale-potato-salad/
- Tomato mix:
- Green pepper
- Islander purple pepper: This is a deceiving pepper. It’s purple but tastes like a green. Some elect to use in a salad to retain its color since it will lose the purple if cooked.
- Beets: I wish there were more and bigger, but these guys have been struggling a bit.
- A cucumber or two: Sorry , I know that these have been in the last 5 boxes, but the cukes are going strong and it’s a staple.
Lida Farm 