December 3, 2017
Here's December
By Derek McGeehan

The fresh salad greens inside the structures are now mature enough to continuously cut, adding a delicate treat to shares for the foreseeable future. The lettuce mix salads our family enjoyed over the past week were truly delicious. Flavor seems to be enhanced this time of year, a combination of the cooler weather, our ability to control water content, and probably also from the absence of salads in our diet for a few weeks prior.

This coming week we also plan to begin harvesting two dark red varieties of mizuna that are simply pleasing to look at but also taste mild and sweet. Young and winter hardy tatsoi will also be added to the greens mix. Spinach, shown in the foreground above, will probably be harvested during weeks #5 and #6.

The balance we try to achieve with these greens is: harvest them when they're big enough and roots are well established but small enough that they'll regrow in a month or so and we won't remove too much of their available nutrients and ability to regrow. If they get too big they'll compete with each other for light, some leaves will deteriorate, and they'll be more susceptible to deep cold.

We also need to be mindful of spreading out the harvest, an attempt to have fresh salad greens every week for another 13 weeks (including the Winter CSA). Now that we're growing in 4 structures (high tunnel, hoop house, hoop tunnel, and green house; total of 8,300 square feet) we're more confident in our ability to provide fresh greens throughout the fall and winter months. Thank you for your support!