May 29th, 2023 Newsletter

Box Contents:
 
1 bu Carrots
 
1 bu Red Beets

2 hds Iceberg Lettuce

1 bu Red Leaf

.50 lb Braising Mix

1 lb Shelling Peas

1 bu Tokyo Turnips

CSA Notes:

Egg subscriptions will be closing for the year in mid-June!

May into June normally feels a lot hotter around here!  We are grateful for what we hope continues to be an extended spring harvest. We are yet to see a day into the 100s and have had few over 95! Despite the relatively mild weather, our pea season is fast drawing to a close. We were only able to hit two, of our normal four, pea plantings this past winter, due to those persistent and inundating rains.  

Likewise cabbage is just now re-appearing in late May. We should have started in early to mid April but we were still transplanting, again due to such a wet Winter. Due to the wildly wet winter and late planting of Summer crops we planted broccoli, braising and cabbages later than usual, gambling on a cooler than usual June.  Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and melons are on there way, but are delayed, think late June. While we had some late April frost, which is to be expected here, we did not see the crazy May frost we had last year.
 

To balance this we do have knee high sweet corn, as we transplanted it for he first time ever.  It looks gorgeous so far and we hope to harvest by late June! Asparagus has been a staple of our spring veggie boxes for the past twenty years, but sadly we had to disc under most of our 'gras (asparagus) for lack of water to keep it alive through the summer of 2022.  See how the fates treat us this year but we hope to replant next winter, which translates to first light harvests in summer of 2026 and full harvest in summer of 2027. Farming is not for the feint of heart.  Enjoy the ride, we do our best to!

 
-Riverdog Tim

Upcoming dates to keep in mind:

 

This coming Sunday, June 4th is Bacon Fest. This event will feature some of our pasture-raised pork meat. All of our pigs have free-range access to pasture and wallows. They are rotated through the 50 acres to prevent manure build-up and soil erosion. Black Walnut and Oak trees provide both shade and contribute to a tasty all-organic diet of black walnuts, acorns, the farm's delicious produce leftovers, Cowgirl Creamery whey, grasses, farm-grown grains, and organic feed.

Another important event: Mid June our egg subscriptions will be closing! We will not open egg subscriptions again until next year. Our hens are heat and daylight sensitive. Now that their prime season of laying (March and April) have passed, and soon the 100 degree days will be here - we're looking at a big loss in the amount of egg laying. Subscriptions will open up again sometime early late winter or next spring of 2024! Please sign up now to get jumbo'd in.

Carrots – You can "eat the rainbow" here at Riverdog with the variety of carrots we grow. Quick- which varieties do we grow here at Riverdog- we have Red carrots, Red Dragon carrots, Nantes (orange) carrots, Yellow Carrots, Deep Purple carrots, and White carrots. Every time I'm around these carrots I find it's necessary to do research, and eat one of each. Check out what the Spruce Eats has to say about the different carrots here. Carrots can be stored in the refrigerator for one to two weeks, remove carrot greens first.

Red Beets –Beets savory, beets sweet, beets juiced, and the 26++++ delicious ways to cook with beets. We love our precious deep red roots. With the greens attached to the roots, it's really a two in one. The greens are like a salty chard, easy to stir fry, and deliciously hearty. The beets, like most root vegetables, can last a long time if store correctly. If the beets get soft, no worries, these are still delicious roasted.  Separate the roots from the greens for best storage and store both in plastic bags in the refrigerator. The beets, like most root vegetables, can last a long time if stored correctly.

Iceberg Lettuce –Iceberg lettuce is your classic household name lettuce. Also known as crisphead lettuce, it's known for its mild flavor and crunchy leaves, high in water content and grows in the shape of cabbage. It is truly a lettuce for everyone, you might be able to persuade a veggie hesitant child (or adult) with a salad dressing rich iceberg wedge salad. You can saute it, stir fry it, use as leaves in a burger or sandwich, or leave out the bun entirely and replace with iceberg lettuce leaves. For storage, will keep in the refrigerator for sometime. You can either transfer to a plastic bag, or put in plastic, to avoid wilting.
 

Red Leaf Lettuce – At Riverdog we grow more lettuce varieties than I ever thought possible. One of my favorite games to play with the students I teach is guess which variety. What are the subtle differences between each lettuce variety? Red leaf lettuce is mild with a slightly bitter undertone. The redder the lettuce, the more bitter, sort of like the mustard of the lettuces. Because of its curly crimson red leaves, red leaf lettuce makes for a beautiful base to a salad such as this Roasted Carrot and Red Leaf salad with buttermilk herb dressing. For storage, you can either transfer to a plastic bag, or put in plastic, to avoid wilting.

Braising Mix –  Riverdog owner Tim Mueller writes, "braising mix is a bit of a misnomer as my family mostly eats it raw as salad, it definitely does not need to be cooked, although it’s delicious cooked as well!" This is the last of our braising mix for the year. Enjoy and delight in its many flavors and textures, however you prepare it. You can store the braising mix in a perforated bag in the refrigerator for a couple of days.

Shelling Peas – It blew my mind to find out that these are the same peas that my mother would force me to eat when I was younger. I did not know they could taste this good! Unlike sugar snap peas or snow peas, the fibrous pods of English peas cannot be eaten. Instead use them for your veggie stock. It's recommended that you shell English peas immediately before cooking them. After shelling your English peas, you can boil them, and add salt and pepper, puree them into soup, mash them into a spread, process them to flavor doughs, or craft a salad recipe around them. Place peas in a perforated plastic bag or airtight container in the vegetable crisper section of the refrigerator.

Tokyo Turnips – Tokyo turnips are a favorite here in the Capay Valley. They’re sweet and enjoyable raw, but can be cooked in numerous other ways as well (roasted, sautéed, glazed, and even pickled)! Don’t forget to eat your greens! The greens of your turnips are tender with a mild taste, you can use them anywhere that you would use arugula. For storage, remove the green tops from the roots and store in separate bags since the roots last longer than the greens.
 

-Maya, CSA Manager