Harvest week dos!!!

Ahhhhh the sun.Suddenly things are growing at an incredible clip.Hard to remember last week, feeling like a cold wet fish.Things are growing so fast,I'm wondering what the hell I put in the soil.Maybe it's just farmer paranoia , but I sometimes seem to hear the veggies sniggering behind my back.There are times when nobody else is out in the field, the morning mist dissapating from the nascent sunlight,the greens, purples and reds of early summer croppage make me have to sit and watch as another appalachian day dawns.That is my favorite time,the animals getting their grazing in before the heat and the flies drive them under the cover of the russian olive trees.All the summer crops that we planted out have begun their greening process and the beans planted not five days ago have emerged for another round of Bean Belly.Taters need hilling , their foliage is thick and bright healthy green,as they suck off the cover crop we incorporated this spring.We had a surprise lamb this week.Cocoa,one of our oldest ewes we had held back from breeding seemed quite fat when I went to shear her, but then I forgot all about it.Well,two days ago, she gave birth to a jumpy white male(are'nt all white males a little jumpy?).Eustace as the girls christened him.The sheep have been great this year,no lamb losses.Shearing went great, the last being Sonny our 300 lb. ram.Always somewhat magical to slowly peel his incredible fleeceoff,the grass waving all around,he somewhat perplexed at being hog tied on the ground.

Things are shaping up nicely, you should be looking for broccoli,fennel,beets ,peas and other goodies in the weeks to come.Here's a list of goodies for this week.

arugula

choi

greens

head lettuce

green onions

garlic 'scapes

turnips

radish

Now is the time to get Asian in the kitchen, some Choi,thinly sliced turnip,garlic scapes ,ginger,soy,fish sauce(or not)chili pepper and a touch of citrus.Rice noodle or rice.Also kale loves the same treatment.Go all out.Eat well!!!!!

peace

gaelan