Maybe partly sunny tomorrow? I”ll try to put a positve face on this weather. If we are in a searing drought next year we will look back fondly on this cold, dreary, drizzly fall.
I think the last couple of nights may have been enough to sweeten the brussels sprouts. I will try to get some picked off for you tomorrow, but since spinach, arugola, and salad mix have higher priority and are very time consuming, brussels sprouts may be an easy u-pick. Broccoli is in short supply. This is not a management mistake on my part – it is and has been well weeded, watered, etc. The only explanation that seems at all obvious is that there is a lot (for me at least) alternaria leaf spot on the kale/collards/broccoli/cabbage family. Maybe it is stressing the plants enough to make really small heads. Usually fall broccoli is huge and glorious. Last year I had second shoots in November that were larger and more plentiful than these first heads are this year. I picked green savoy, red savoy, Jersey green, red, and Napa cabbage for you to choose from. I have lots so if we have run out of the one you want we can easily go cut you more. I just put bok choy on my list of things to pick tomorrow.
Another new item for tomorrow is celeriac. This is a crisp bulb that tastes like celery. It can be julienned for a snack, put in stir fries, used in soups, etc. The leaves are still on them and can be used for celery flavoring also. The bulbs have a lot of small roots on them that I may not get time to get off, but I did give them a good scrub/rinse this afternoon, though there is still some dirt among the knobs and roots. Sunshine would really help the psyche when I have my hands in cold water at this time of year. Did I mention is is supposed to be partly sunny tomorrow? Though I love things natural, and love wool, I am extremely greatful for a good supply of fleece tops and pants, and their stretchiness that makes layering comfortable.
You will have your choice of the golden Satina potato or Elba white potato, dug tomorrow for you. I pulled golden and red beets today for you. In the kales, there is a selection of Winterbor, Lacinato/black, and Siberian. The chard is loving the moisture, but could use a little more warmth.
I harvested full-size lettuce, well mostly teenage size, yesterday to be safe with the cold predicted. Lettuce is quite cold hardy and will survive light freezes, but it gets cosmetic “tip burn” and begins to look less desirable as it is repeatedly frozen hard. What stayed out made it through last night fine. The spinach in the hoophouse is small, but delectable. I have salad mix-sized lettuce and a little of the Asian greens to mix in, arugula, and bought some of Fledging Crow’s spicy mix since you like it so well. Also got some of their winter squash for you. I hope the sweet potatoes are curing well. The only place I could fit them is in the hoophouse and it gets MUCH cooler in their than the recommended curing temps.
When you come tomorrow you will see strips of white in the field. That is “row cover” over the salad mix. The material is spun polyester, like interfacing used in sewing. I got it on hurriedly yesterday afternoon, and need to put more supports under it and more weights to hold it down. If anyone wants little lettuce plants to put in a coldframe at home, I need to thin some and you are welcome to them.
Have a good morning. Look forward to seeing you in the afternoon.
