May 15, 2008

      Hello everyone!

     Hope you are enjoying this beautiful weather. Can you believe we are supposed to be up in the 90's this weekend? I just wish it would stay warm. I am in the Arctic over here in Smith Valley and we will continue to freeze until the middle of June. I just groan at missing out on all of this good growing weather.
      Well, with a little confusion, we made it through our first week. There is always a little bit of "mix up" the first couple of weeks. Thank you for your patience.
     This week we have 2 bags of lettuce, some spinach, tarragon, some of you have asparagus, green garlic, carrots, and we have included 2 extra yummy treats this week: Homemade Hearts of Gold jam and some incredibly yummy kiwi. The jam is made from Lattin Farms Hearts of Gold melons. I gave you some recipes.
      B Ann makes it right on their farm in the bakery. We decided last fall that it would be fun to include some in the spring basket. We also wanted to give you a treat of fresh kiwi, and these come from a farm right over the hill in Auburn. Many of you know Tim, the grower, from the farmers markets. We will enjoy some of his rhubarb in the next couple of weeks and, later on, his beautiful blackberries.
      I always say we are in the Arctic, but Rick is in the "Banana Belt.” He has been planting like crazy this past week. The first planting of corn is just beginning to pop through. He has planted ten thousand melon plants, peppers, tomatoes, artichokes (he is giving them a try), the first zucchini and cucumbers, broccoli, and cabbage. Let's cross our fingers and hope most of it will produce. Broccoli and artichokes will be a special treat if they make it, but they are more difficult to grow.
     I want to apologize for the potatoes last week. We have been eating potatoes all winter; we just pull them from the bins, come straight home and cook them. But we pulled them a couple of days before we delivered and they had a chance to warm up. They picked up the smell of the potato box and then some. They also became soft. Talk about live and learn—sorry!
      The rest of you should be able to enjoy asparagus this week. Sorry we have to take turns. They are so good, but when hot weather hits, the asparagus will come to a halt. Next week, hopefully you will have more of a variety of greens. The radishes and arugula you were to have right now froze so hard our last hard frost that the plants just dried up and blew away in the last hard wind. But, on the bright side, the kale and chard have almost gotten tall enough to harvest. Let's hope for the best next week.
     Remember that the best way to handle your greens is to dump them into a sink full of water right away, wash them well and store in the bag. That way they freshen up and stay fresh. Just to let you know, wash the lettuce well—the little yellow and purple moths have been flying around, and you know what that means!!! Add those delicious kiwis to your salads this week. They are so good!