Even though recently our temperatures have been a little bit below normal and some nights have been particularly chilly, the field is growing and thriving. The tomatillo and tomato plants have grown a lot since we started transplanting them weeks ago. So it was time to get posts in the ground and start trellising the plants.
We place posts every two plants then using baling twine we tie our plants utilizing a method called the Florida weave. As our plants grow and reach for the sky we will continue to tie them until they reach the top of the 5 foot posts this creates a trellis for the plants. This method allows for good airflow around the plant, makes for easy harvesting, and once you get the hang out of it you can typically tie a 100 foot row in less than 20 minutes.
We are in the midst of the short but wonderful garlic scape season. Many folks ask us what do you do with garlic scapes? Well you can use scapes as a replacement for garlic cloves in recipes, about 2 scapes equal 1 clove. You can make garlic scape pesto, an internet search will provide you with a ton of recipes. We like to use it as just another vegetable, we grill them whole like green onions and serve them at cookouts. During their short season you will find them chopped up and mixed with other vegetables in our Seasonal Veggie Taco at the farmers market. Real garlic lovers will prepare them like asparagus or green beans and eat them as a side dish with any meal. We estimate we only have about 2 weeks left so don’t wait to get your fill of this deliciously garlic vegetable.
The greenhouse is still jam packed with seedlings but we are starting to sell out of a few crops for the season particularly cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and peppers. Once they are gone that will be it until next year, so to snag the last few, place your order before Thursday at 8pm to pick up at the Saturday farmers market.
Thanks to everyone that came out to the market this past Memorial Day weekend. We brought tons of food to feed a crowd and the crowd showed up. But we did sell out of pico de gallo and ceviche pretty fast. If you don’t place an order ahead of time for our take home items we recommend getting to the market before 10am to snag a pint. This week’s special will be our Cochinita Taco which is shredded pork served with pickled red onions on a warm corn tortilla. We hope to see you on Saturday!