5/6/26 Fully Rolling into Summer Production
We had a grand moment yesterday afternoon when we planted our last tomato plant on the farm!! 🍅♥️
To give you an idea why this is big, this year we have:
290 Cherry Tomato Plants
(80 of which are early in a hoop house)
425 Heirloom Tomato Plants
145 Red Slicer Plants
80 San Marzano Paste Plants
80 High Producing hoop house Tomato Plants
1020 Total Tomato Plants
Every one of the 17 beds with tomatoes has had two interplants (sometimes three) of mostly lettuce but some bok choi and scallions! The two beds of indoor, hoop house plants have had several rounds of pruning and trellising. Our outdoor tomatoes are getting their first trellising this week!
Outside of Tomatoes, we are thrilled to meet our annual goal of Summer Squash to CSA by May 1st. We’ve met this goal every year since 2015 with one exception. Families had it last week and Classics today. Our indoor hoop house beds are rocking with the first and soon second successions and we just direct seeded our first outdoor beds this week. Outdoor squash plants are so much bigger, healthier and more vigorous than indoor, but the early season May before other CSAs are even started are worth so much!
Our first round of Cucumbers 🥒 that had a big boon due to the early heat waves is taking a break right now. We’re giving it a little added love this week with some extra pruning and fish emulsion. Our second round is about ready to be trellised and our third round is germinated in the greenhouse. We hope to have more regularly in the CSA soon.
Most of our Peppers and all of our Eggplant are planted!
Our first round of Sweet Corn 🌽is 4” tall!!
Our first succession of Basil is coming in hoop houses and the second getting ready to be planted soon.
With all of these Summer plants in the ground, now is time to tending them and harvesting them. Plus we’re thinking beyond. We sowed our first Winter Squash plants last week with a succession of Delicata, Honeynut and Butternut now germinating in the Greenhouse.
And here’s where a farmer’s life is living in the present: harvesting spring Brassicas including Kohlrabi, Cabbage. Living in the near future: looking forward to our first Broccoli and Cauliflower soon. Looking into the future: all of these summer crops! And looking into the far future: Winter Squash and seeding Brussels Sprouts in a couple weeks!
Thanks for joining us on this seasonal journey!
Box Stickers
With our new and far more efficient box pack system we have one consequence of it being more confusing on the member side. To decrease confusions, this week we’re implementing box stickers. We don’t love the extra stickers and we’re trying to get them smaller but we’d love your input. Please look for the box WITH YOUR NAME on it. And send us any feedback.
This Week’s Box
Lettuce: Panisse (SR) OR Red Butter (WC)
Kolibri Lettuce
Kale: Red Russian (SR) OR Toscano (WC)
Kohlrabi
Raw Rolled Oats (SRJC)
Summer Squash (Classic) OR Cabbage (Family)
Herb: Oregano (Classic) OR Mint (Family)
Family: Summer Squash, Hakurei Turnips
Note on Rotations
We have a busy week of rotations… check out the rainbow in This Week’s Box. Blue vs Green are splits between Santa Rosa and West County members. Most often this type of rotation is of two similar crops (lettuces and kales today) so that we can keep a diversity of different lettuces and kales for you but that will also extend to other groups. Yellow vs Red splits are Classic vs Family boxes. Often Families will get an item first because we have less of it the first week and then we don’t want to give it two weeks in a row. Family had Summer Squash last week, now the rest. Likewise they’re getting Cabbage this week as the crop is just coming in and Classics will have next week.
Overall, the rotations help us keep harvests coming to you of the freshest most diverse items. It is true that Family boxes have more diversity than Classic and Weekly has a little more than bi-weekly. Family and weekly are both smaller groups so it’s easier but also more invested in the farm.
Produce Notes & Recipes
Multiple times through the year we like to supplement our box with goods you won’t get from us from local growers that we know and trust. We do this most in Winter to bring some weight to your boxes but spring, right now we often have too many greens so this diversifies things.
This week we have Fresh and Raw Oats from the SRJC Shone Farm, milled at Mendocino Granery. These are grown Certified Organic but the milling site is not certified so they are not labeled. No sprays were used on them.
Raw Oats should be kept in the fridge and not eaten raw. And they are amazing tasting. We will continue to have these in our add-on store if you’d like more. Harvesting them drying them raw preserves their natural oils and exceptional flavor. Creamy and flavorful these oats will give you everything you want out of your morning meal - they also make amazing cookies! Most rolled oats have been post-harvest processed, they've been steamed and dried.
Because they are raw, it is recommended not to consume without cooking. If you want them cold, we recommend doing overnight oats: soaking them in water, milk or yogurt. Cooking them, they cook a similar amount of time as store bought thick oats.
Our first big spring Brassicas are coming into the box this week. The Kohlrabi are big, fresh and delicious! We grow this variety (Kossak Kohlrabi) because they get big without getting fibrous super quick. If you don’t know them they look like a sputnik.
If new to you, the important thing to know is you have to peel it. The skin is just TOO fibrous. This is why we like big ones, more meat in the middle. Yes, you can use the leaves, they are like a very hefty kale leaf. I like to think of Kohlrabi tasting like a cross between Jicama, Broccoli Stem and Apple. It’s super crunchy and can be very sweet and refreshing raw. Being a Brassica it’s also super healthy
Here are some of our favorite ways to eat Kohlrabi:
Cut into sticks with hummus, other dips or just some salt.
Grated onto the top of a salad, I love it with a light lettuce like Panisse or Red Butter with a mild dressing.
Grated and make a coleslaw either with apple or carrots or add to Cabbage (see recipe below).
Quick sauté with garlic, butter or olive oil until just tender.
Roast wedges or cubes at high heat until caramelized.
Make kohlrabi “fries” or chips in the oven or air fryer.
Add to soups — either creamy blended soups or chunky vegetable soups.
Stir into curries or coconut milk based dishes. G
Use the leaves like kale or collards — sautéed, added to soups, or blended into pesto.
Kohlrabi Apple Slaw with Lemon & Mint
1 large kohlrabi, peeled
1 apple (sweet-tart is ideal)
2–3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs olive oil
1–2 Tbs chopped fresh mint
Salt & Black pepper
Variation: 1 tsp finely chopped fresh oregano plus parmesan or feta.
Peel kohlrabi thickly until all fibrous outer layer is removed. Julienne, grate, or shave thinly.
Thinly slice or grate apple. Toss immediately with lemon juice.
Add olive oil, mint, salt and pepper. Toss well and let sit 5–10 min to soften slightly and meld flavors.
Taste and adjust lemon/salt. Add optional toppings if desired.
Families today have a very large Cabbage. We don’t usually get them this big. If you don’t use it all right away, Cabbage is a great storer in the fridge. The German in me loves this sautéed slowly until edges caramelize in butter and broth with onions.
Oregano is in most boxes today, there’s a write up on April 15th. All our newsletters are on our blog with a link in our Wednesday email. Quickly: it’s super nutrient dense and great added to eggs, breads, chicken…
Generally I recommend storing all our herbs like a little bouquet on your kitchen skin, cut the base and put in a small mason jar. You’ll be much more likely to use it ad hoc in your cooking to increase flavor and nutrition. With Oregano, however I often let it dry, crumble into a jar and use it the rest of the year.
Extra Shares
Flowers: More Spring Flower Fun 🌸
Lettuce Share: Lettuce Leaf Mix 🥬
Bunching Greens: 🌈 Rainbow Chard
Herb Share: Cilantro 🌿
Egg Share: 🥚