Planting for the New Season

People often wonder why we can't get spinach or kale in the summer (if you're eating local and it's grown in your area) or why melons and tomatoes (some growers actually have figured out how to do that) generally don't last through the winter months.  I used to wonder those things myself until we started gardening.

I'm crazy about kale and LOVE the Tuscan Kale Salad we make at the farm. I grew lovely kale and found it quite distressing as I would watch it start to bolt. My answer to that problem was to simply call one of my favorite nurseries and go by more kale starts. 

"Kale isn't in season anymore and it doesn't grow now - it's too hot"....was the answer to my request for more starts.  To be honest, it was my first 'awakening' as to this 'growing in season' thing.

Spring into summer crops are all those fruits and vegetables that are full of water - things like tomatoes, watermelon, eggplant, okra, cucumbers, zucchini and melons. They grow in hot seasons and when we eat them in the hot season it helps to hydrate us.

On the flip side -we're getting ready for the next season - the cooler one (I can't wait) and what we'll grow are all those lovely greens and root vegetables like the kales, chards, beets, turnips, radishes and carrots.  They grow well then and we eat them then because they have incredible benefits to aide in fighting colds and flues that tend to float around during those cold season months.  So, eating food in its season has some pretty smart health benefits.

So, what are we getting ready to plant and what starts (not root vegetables) we will have available for you to purchase? Here's a partial list and each one has several gourmet and heirloom varieties:

Kale 

Chard

Beets

Carrots

Mustard Greens

Bok Choy

Arugula

Mizuna

Spinach

Radishes

Onions

Leeks

Turnips

Broccoli

and all kinds of herbs: French Sorrel, French Chervil, Parsley, Basil, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, and a ton more.

A word on tomatoes - there are some growers who have this great ability to grow tomatoes here in winter months and we totally applaud them.  That being said - we're trying to do that as well and we'll keep you posted as to how it goes.

A New Farm Market Go-Er Picks Her Own Herbs

Can you name these herbs?

A new face showed up at the farm this morning with her little guy. After giving them a little tour and offering a sampling of our gourmet herbs she took one of our silver plates, a pair of scissors and headed to a few herb garden spots to snip her own fresh herbs.  Now, how cool is that?

Enhancing Your Life with Aromatic Herbs and Essential Oils

When I saw Anita's copy of Fragrant Herbal - I knew I needed a copy. It's one of those books that you linger through its pages with a second or third copy of tea or coffee. 

I was captured by such things as: Moroccan Mint Tea (we grow tons of different kinds of mint here at the farm) and Monastery Gardens . . . 'the eternal popularity of the cloistered garden reflects a widespread appreciation of secluded tranquility . . .'  

Who, today, is not longing for that peace - that sense of secluded tranquility?

 and the fennel pictured in a monastery in Germany (lately, I have been compelled to grow fennel).

The pages of descriptions and pictures and usages of culinary herbs caused me to slow down . . .basil, chervil, chives, dill, parsley, tarragon - (all are growing fresh here at the farm) with eggs (...our farm fresh eggs) and cheese (my husband's chevre').

Romantic Herbs & Oils . . . 'the unbidden smile . . . these scents are gentle and relaxing, as they generate a smile of well-being and openness; they are the light-floral and sweet-green scents . . . ' and the subsequent pictures of roses, peony, orange  blossoms all within a French garden.  

We have just planted our French garden at the farm - which I love showing to and describe what its beauty will look like as herbs and lettuces, peas and beans grow up and when we plant a pair of those delicate climbing English roses this month.

. . . a lovely book for a day when you just need to slow down because life is going by too fast. 

Our New Herb Potager . . .

. . .  over here.

Lemon custard using lemon verbena (an herb)

I am crazy about lemon custard and have a wonderful recipe here on La Maison et le Jardin my personal blog.  While scouting around for more uses of lemon and specifically lemon verbena (an herb that grows well in my potager) I found this fantastic looking recipe of Bon Apetite which says, "Often used to make herb tea and liquers in Provence, the fragrant herb lemon verbena gives a nice lift to these rich, silky lemon custards.  Look for fresh lemon verbena at farmers' markets (that'd be us - The Simple Farm)

The recipe for Pots de creme au citron et a la Verveine can be found here.