April 2024: Spring Growth 🌱
Online Farm Store 🦋 Signs of the Season 🌱 Recipe Share 🌎 Kid's Activity
I found this photo in my digital library as I sat down to write this email. It was taken on March 30, 2021. This was my first year of farming. The area where I laid my no-till beds was barely a 1/10 of an acre. I had about 30 - 15 foot beds that were 30 inches wide. I started building more beds to the left of the area captured in the photo to slowly expand to 40 or 45 beds by the time the season was over.
As I move into year 4 of farming, I’m growing on about an acre. I’m actually expanding to 2 new patches this spring as soon as the ground dries up that measure 80’x90’.
I might not be moving or growing as fast as another farm (or as fast as I often wish I was) - but I am growing. I have grown significantly and this photo is serious proof.
Isn’t the saying, “we all bloom in our own time”?
Spring couldn’t be a better visual reminder that we all do bloom when we are ready - when the conditions of sun, temperature, rain, and wind are just right - for us.
Whether you’ve been a friend of the farm since 2021, or you’ve recently found us - thank you for being a part of my farm’s continued, organic growth. You’ve helped make it possible.
NEW — Online Farm Store
This season, you’ll be able to order vegetables, herbs, and flowers “a la carte” style & pick up at the farm.
The Online Farm Store will be open weekly from late June – late October, with special holiday offerings between November – May.
To order, join the Farm Store Email list or visit our Online Farm Store between Sundays at 6:00AM EST – Tuesdays at 6:00AM EST to select your produce. Payments will be taken online with your credit/debit card.
Pick up of orders will be Wednesdays, between 5:00-7:00pm at the farm (5340 Cambria Road, Sanborn NY 14132).
The list of available veggies, herbs, and flowers changes from week to week, based on the season. To view the full listing of the veggies and herbs we grow, use my Crop Calendar to see when you can expect to see each variety in the Online Farm Store.
Signs of the Season
I spent Monday adding new compost to many of the crop beds. Robins poked in the compost looking for worms and other bugs to eat. Frogs bathed in the sunshine around the pond. Despite the cool temperatures, with the sunshine and light wind, the day was warm and it felt like spring.
One thing I look forward to each month is listening to a new episode of As the Seasons Turns; a 30-minute podcast that is a guide to what to look out for in the month ahead - from the sky above to the land below. While the podcast is based in England, the episodes reflect many of the same turnings of the season we might notice in Western New York - from the list of vegetables being harvested from the garden to the stories and myths associated with each month or season (this month’s talks about Ursa Major and Ursa Minor - the Big Dipper and Little Dipper constellations).
Recipe Share: Raab/Rabe
A digital index card with in-season, too-good-not-to-pass-along recipes.
The flush of spring brings “raab” or “rabe” into the farmers market. I just brought a large harvest to the Lewiston Artisan Farmers Market on March 30, actually!
Often confused with broccoli rabe or rapini, raab or rabe (both are correct) is a tender spring delicacy.
Like blooming spring ephemerals (tulips, daffodil, crocus) who quickly bloom and then disappear, raab/rabe is a vegetable ephemeral that quickly emerges in the spring, but isn’t found again until the following year.
Raab/rabe is the spring flowering of any brassica (aka: cabbage family) that survived winter. You often find arugula raab, kale raab, tatsoi raab — all members of the hardy brassica (cabbage) family.
With raab/rabe, the leaves, stems, and florets are all edible - but unlike their summer and fall versions, they should be a cooked green.
Tomato-Braised Lentils with Raab (45 minutes)
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 medium onion (or shallots), finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups green French lentils
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 cups stock (chicken or vegetable), plus some extra if needed
1 large bunch (or 2 small bunches) raab
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 to 2 tablespoons butter
Handful fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Sweat the onions over low heat for about 8 minutes until translucent, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add the minced garlic and cook another minute. Add the lentils, tomato paste and a splash of the stock. Increase heat to medium and stir occasionally until stock has been absorbed. Continue adding stock and stirring occasionally until the lentils are just tender, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of water to boil and prepare a large ice bath. Drop the raab in the boiling water and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove with tongs and immediately place into ice bath until cool. Drain and pat dry. In a separate pan or skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sliced garlic clove and the raab. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the chopped tomato to the lentils and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the cream and butter, and taste for seasoning when warm. Stir in the basil leaves, then serve immediately with the sautéed raab on top.
Earth Stewardship
I know many of you have children home this week from school and April is Earth Month, so I thought I’d share this kid-friendly, 30-minute craft tutorial for making No-Sew DIY T-Shirt Tote Bags (who doesn’t have an old but loved t-shirts lying around waiting for new life beyond the donation pile?). In my previous job, I supported the creation of thousands of these bags during student volunteer events and their distribution to area non-profit organizations and local food pantries, so I can attest that they are simple to make! It’s DIY bag is great for carrying home your farmers market haul!
