Plant Power: Farm Update

Welcome summer!

You can dig into the flower gardens with ​fresh eyes thanks to​ new signage researched and created by Carolyn Filippi. The perennials feature ecological notes such as which plants are beneficial as food sources for birds or pollinators for insects. The annual flowers include details on which have edible flowers, if they dry well, and vase life notes.

In addition to being a top notch mom and neighbor, Carolyn is a Master Gardener with Cornell Cooperative Extension and keeps up a fabulous list of resources in their Gardens and Grounds page. ​All hail plant life!
 

We’re adding essential organic matter to the gardens this year with a concerted mulching effort. With our sandy soil, covering the soil also holds in moisture while reducing weeding. Great job to everyone who has pitched into the mulching in the past couple weeks including Sarah, Cole, Gabs, Morgan, Maggie, Emma and Hannah.

 

As ever, the Free Choice Share includes flowers. Any blooming flowers are available for harvest. An amble around the Front Range and perennial fields yields little bursts of color. New flowers will continue to reveal themselves in the coming weeks, with a boom of diversity in July. August should bring a riot of sunflowers, we have plantings in three locations with the mass of them in the upper section of Front Range at the far ending of the bed walking towards Duchess field.

Produce that is recently available includes both green garlic and garlic scapes, plus bulb fennel and basil. If you have not yet tried roasting or grilling whole garlic scapes, this weekend is your chance! Find a few other recipes and notes on scapes on the farm website.
 
Crops that will be available to shareholders in the near future include the first spring carrots, beets, and snow peas!
 
Crops Available
* marks new this week
Vegetables
  • Arugula
  • Fennel bulb*
  • Green garlic (immature garlic)*
  • Garlic scapes*
  • Head lettuce
  • Kale
  • Mixed lettuce greens
  • Radicchio
  • Rainbow Chard
  • Rhubarb
  • Scallions
  • Spicy mixed greens
  • Spinach
Herbs
  • Basil*
  • Chamomile *
  • Cilantro
  • Dill*
  • Fennel fronds/greens
  • Lemon balm
  • Oregano
  • Parsley*
  • Thyme​

Any blooming flowers

For the longest blooming, chamomile plants should be continually picked. Visit the patch to harvest your next cup of tea!

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