Leffler Family Farms’ Weekly Update, May 6th
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Julie planting Leeks and Anthony pushing Earthway planter
Golden beet seed in the Earthway single row planter
We are very pleased to report that the first round of seed (planted in the field) went in on April 30th. We were blessed with a 12 hour window right before Wednesday’s snow storm where it was dry enough from the previous moisture to work the soil and plant some seed. Everything got a real nice watering-in the natural way, and the ground is still a little wet. Today is the first day to get back out there, and more onion and leek sets are being planted. In a few weeks we will transplant tomatoes, eggplant and peppers from the greenhouse. Harvest from this first round will go primarily to CSA members with any extra being sold at market (beginning May 18th and 19th).
Following is a list of the seed planted April 30th:
Gourmet Lettuce Mix, Spinach, Evergreen and Deep Purple Bunching Onions, Cilantro, Dill, Sorrel, Cress, Mesclun Mix, Mustard, Napa Cabbage, Pak Choi, Midori Giant and Envy Edamame, Dragon’s Tongue and Haricot Vert Green Beans, Green Garbanzo Beans, Easter Egg/Zalata/French Breakfast and Daikon Radish, Fava Beans, Guatemalan Purple Fava Beans, Garlic, Yellow/Purple and White Onion, Leeks, Deep Purple/Atomic Red/Dragon/Scarlet Nantes/Cosmic Purple and Rainbow Carrots, Chioogia/Golden and Red Beets.
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Farmer’s Market Starts Soon
The Larimer County Farmer’s Market in Old Town Ft. Collins begins Saturday, May 18th and runs from 8-12 and the Old South Pearl Street Farmer’s Market in Denver starts Sunday, May 19th and runs from 9-1. We will mostly have available a large variety of bedding plants including lots heirloom tomatoes-many from LFF’s regionally adapted seed stock. Hope to see you there! We will also have some of the world’s hottest pepper plants available: Trinidad Scorpion Pepper, Butch T Scorpion Pepper, Bhut Jolokia Ghost Pepper, Yellow Ghost Pepper, Chocolate Ghost Pepper, Caribbean Red Habanero, and White Lightning Habanero.
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Last Week’s Farm Pics
Greenhouse full of salad mix and bedding plants.
Greenhouse #2 is unheated and will be used to acclimate starter plants to cooler night temperatures.
Bells of Ireland started in the greenhouse
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Local Motion CSA News…
Eggs
There are still five dozen eggs available to Extended Season CSA members. In a couple weeks, any left will be offered to Regular Season Members.
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Spotlight: Pea Shoots
Pea shoots are great little snacks raw. We just ate them sauteed in olive oil with mushrooms and thought they were great cooked as well. I added mine to a toasted bun with mayo and bacon and had a delicious lunch!
Please enjoy the following article about Pea Shoots taken from the Huffpost Taste…
Pea shoots have long been prominent in Asian cuisine, but they’re one of the newer ingredients showing up in U.S. farmer’s markets and CSA boxes. Their soft leaves, curly-cue tendrils and watery stems hold the promise of spring peas to come. But even better than that, they hold the flavor of them, too.
One of the reasons they’re so appealing to gardeners and farmers is that they offer the flavor of the pea, but can be harvested in a quarter of the time. And one of the reasons home cooks are taking to them (apart from their flavor) is because they’re rich in nutrients. But how do you cook with something that quite literally looks like a plant (more so than any other produce you may have)?
Turns out, you can very easily just swap them in for any soft, leafy green in a recipe. Much like watercress, the stems are edible — and the tendrils are just delicious. It cooks very similar to baby spinach and is versatile, too. You can eat pea shoots raw in a fresh salad; they can take the place of the more traditional lettuce or simply enhance it with pea shoot’s spring flavor. You can stir fry them with sesame oil and garlic, as has long been done in Asian cooking. These greens can also brighten up a spring pasta dish, contributing a fresh, soft taste.
To prepare and store pea shoots, there are just a couple of things to know. Since they are a delicate green, it’s best to eat them within one to two days of purchase. They should be stored in the fridge like you would lettuce; and when ready to eat, coarse or yellow stems should be removed.
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Have a wonderful week!
Anthony and Sarah Zamora
Leffler Family Farms
Local Motion CSA
970-689-2355
(f) 970-454-3588
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