Happy Almost Halloween!
We just began harvesting our storage carrots since the temperatures have dropped enough to give them that sweet, sweet frost kiss. They are unbeatable! They also make great Halloween handouts...
Asian Greens Demystified
In the cooler months, we tend to grow a lot of Asian greens. For us, those are Tatsoi, Komatsuna, Bok Choi and baby mustard salad greens (green and purple mizuna and tatsoi). We do this because they are extremely cold hardy, they grow very quickly, they taste much milder and sweeter in cold temps than they do in the summer, when they can be alarmingly bitter or spicy to the uninitiated.
- Tatsoi (the variety we grow is Koji from Johnny's) is an upright growing heading green that has a crisp, juicy stem and round spinach-like leaves.
- Komatsuna (we grow Carlton from Johnny's) is an even more upright, tightly closed heading green that has long stems and is the sweetest of the bunch any time of year.
- Bok Choi (we grow Black Summer from Johnny's) has very thick stems and thin leaves that melt when cooked.
- Baby Mustard Salad Greens is a mix we created that has a mild but peppery flavor, good crunch, stunning appearance, and good cold tolerance. They are best eaten raw.
All of the greens are interchangeable in any recipe that calls for Asian greens, bok choi, or even kale, chard or spinach. Eaten raw, they make excellent salads or crudites (especially Carlton, which is great for dipping!). When cooked, the greens tend to melt and get silky like spinach. We use them in stir fries, omeletes, salads, herb purees or pesto and soups. Try them all!
Have a fun and safe Halloween,
Katherine, Spencer and Crew
This is High Tunnel 1, after removing the row cover (shown in the picture above). Happy plants after a night at 18F!
