CSA Pickups -- Week 1 -- Kale

Roots Farm CSA Week 1: May 3 & 6

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This Week:
-Sweet Charlie & Chandler Strawberries
-Sweet Onions (“Vidalia-type Yellow Granex)
-Swiss Chard or Kale
-Braising Mix
-Broccoli Raab
-Tatsoi
-Hakurei Turnips, Easter Egg Radishes, French Breakfast Radishes
-Lettuce -- Red or Green Heads
-Arugula
-Cilantro
-Summer Squash: Zephyr, Yellow Zucchini

On the Farm . . .
Wow--it’s Summer CSA time. The grass is getting tall, but the breezes are still nice and the temperatures remain below 90 degrees generally--it’s a great time to be out. The fields are full of lettuces, greens, and root veggies to be harvested and there are rows and rows of summer goodies on the way--baby plants of corn, okra, summer squash, cucumbers, melons, pole beans. We’re beginning to trellis tomatoes that are two feet tall in the hoop houses, and our first round of pepper and eggplant seedlings are ready to be transplanted. Now is the time when the weekly schedule looks something like this: direct seed, transplant, irrigate, weed, trellis, harvest, distribute, repeat. Busy times. Welcome to summer.

Newsletter
And welcome to the newsletter. Each week, we craft up one of these puppies for you to peruse at your leisure online. They’ll usually be posed by Tuesday night of each week and generally include: a list of what is being harvested for the CSA baskets this week (all of which may or may not appear in your baskets depending on the share size you chose), farm news, announcements, events, and recipes for a featured veggie of the week. We’ve got a whole backlog of recipes from 5 years worth of newsletters online via our website www.RootsFarm.org, arranged alphabetically by veggie. Dive in and explore a new way to cook.

Speaking of cooking, if you’re not familiar with CSA-style eating, here are some tips: when you get your veggies for the week, consult a CSA cookbook (we’ve got some for sale), recipes online, or the index of your other favorite cookbooks for ideas on how to utilize what you’ve got at hand. Most greens can be substituted for one another in recipes, and roots like radishes and turnips are easily interchangeable. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Taste it raw, grate it, steam it, sautee it, boil it, bake it, roast it, grill it. There’s most likely a recipe out there for every vegetable in every manifestation -- appetizer, beverage, soup, salad, main course, and dessert. If you’ve got questions, please ask and we’ll help direct you in the right direction, Get ready to expand your horizons with what’s in season, because here it comes :).

May Weekend Workday -- Saturday, May 14
Yep, we’re at it again--another weekend workday full of on-farm fun. Mark your calendars now and come join us on Saturday, May 14 from 9am-noon. We’ll be preparing beds, direct seeding, transplanting, mulching, trellising, weeding, and who knows what all more. It should be a beautiful day out and we’d love to have you come join us and get your hands dirty growing the food that’s gracing your table. It’s a great way to connect and really get to see and experience where your food is coming from. Plus us farmers aren’t too shabby for company, either. So come join us! As always, following the all the work there’ll be a farm fresh BRUNCH to eat . . .

Veggies in Your Basket . . .
This week, some neat produce is appearing for you: we’ve got broccoli raab as well as tatsoi coming out. What are they? Broccoli raab is much like broccoli, but with small florets and more greens. Cook the greens like you would broccoli greens or kale and use the florets like broccoli. The stems are also edible until the lowest point where they get woody (but can still be peeled even then!). Tatsoi is like bok choi, an Asian green. It’s great in stir-fries (like my lunch today) and can be substituted for most greens, especially Asian greens. I’ve heard of folks making kimchee with it with some success, and I’m tempted to experiment. You’ll be getting A LOT of greens this week, which is usual for this time in the season. Never fear--greens cook down quite a bit quantity-wise. I’ve got some recipes to help you out below.

Kale
The veggie in the spotlight this week is one of the ones cultivated earliest by us homo sapiens. Widely popular in ancient Rome, Scotland, and Ireland, it remains a European staple. Compare it to collards for us Southern folks and you’ll get the idea. Nutritionally, kale (as well as most leafy greens) are powerhouses full of vitamins A and C, some B vitemins, and the mineral calcium to name a few. Believe it or not, there’s also some protein in there. Cool, huh? So eat your greens. Now this is a statement coming from a girl who was never much into eating her greens, despite familial encouragement. But these days I’ve found ways of preparing them that make them more palatable for me.

Storage: Wrap your kale in a damp towel and store it in the hydrator drawer of the fridge for up to one week. Air is your enemy when it comes to leafy greens and if you let it invade, you’ll be left with a limp pile of unappetizing stuff. I always keep mine in a CLOSED plastic bag. The towel is a good idea, though, since you want some moisture, but not sogginess for optimal storage. If your greens do get wilty, just soak them in cold water for a while to revive them--it works wonders. Eat them sooner for greatest nutrition and flavor. Usage: Many. There’s the classic, which I enjoy: boil them for 10-15 minutes and eat them with salt and pepper and hot pepper vinegar or hot sauce. There’s also steaming, sauteeing, adding to stir fries, to soups, and to salads. Slightly more unconventional are ideas like massaged chard/kale, which is a delicious raw dish and kale chips--a baked delight that will make them absolutely disappear. There is the Simple Greens Soup, which I made last week that was delightful, and much, much more! Click here for more kale recipes.

RECIPES
Kale Chips
1 bunch kale (de-stemmed)
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a cookie sheet or pan with a light layer of olive oil. Place kale leaves in a single layer on the pan and drizzle with a little more oil. Bake for 12 minutes. Salt to taste and enjoy! Makes 2-3 servings. Jane tells us these are as good as potato chips. I've had them and I'd have to agree that they're pretty yummy. As well as an easy way to use up a bunch of greens in a pinch. Yum!

Sesame Kale Salad
1 lb fresh kale (or other greens)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp honey (or other sweetner)
dash of black or ground red pepper

Separate kale leaves from stems. Chop stems and greens. Steam stems a couple of minutes, then add the greens and steam until just tender. Drain; let kale cool enough to handle it. Squeeze out as much water as possible. Place in serving bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients in another bowl; add to greens. Mix, chill, and serve. Makes 4-6 servings.

OR you can take this recipe and go RAW -- just omit the stems, cut the leaves into bite-size pieces, and put all the ingredients in a container with a tight fitting lid--then SHAKE the container every way you can for 3-4 minutes and refrigerate it for a couple of hours, then serve. It’s delicious--I know from experience.

Kale & Potato Tarragon Salad
2 lbs small potatoes, scrubbed
7 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 bunch kale, large stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4— 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
salt & pepper to taste

Steam or boil potatoes until fork-tender. Drain, cut into large bite-size pieces, place in large bowl, and cover to keep warm. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add onions; saute until translucent. Add kale and garlic; cook until kale is tender, about 5 minutes more (you can cover pan to help wilt kale). Combine vinegar, lemon juice, 1/4 tsp tarragon, remaining 6 Tbsp olive oil, and salt and pepper. Add kale mixture to potatoes and pour dressing over everything. (It’s important to toss the dressing while the mixture is hot, to soak in the flavors.) Add more salt, pepper, or tarragon if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 6 servings. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

Bean & Kale Minestra
1/2 lb kale (~4 cups chopped)
4 large garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 Tbsp olive oil
6 cups cooked cannellini beans or cranberry beans
4-5 cups vegetable stock or water
2 heaping Tbsp tomato paste
6 fresh sage leaves (1/2 tsp dried)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely ground cornmeal (optional)
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Remove the stems from the kale and coarsely chop the leaves. Soak the leaves in a bowl of cold water while you prepare the soup. In a soup pot, saute the garlic in the olive oil for just half a minute. Add about half of the cooked beans and part of the water or stock to the pot. Puree the rest of the beans and stock in a blender or food processor along with the tomato paste and sage. Stir the pureed beans into the soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain the kale. Mix into the soup and simmer for at least half an hour, until tender. Mix the cornmeal with the lemon juice and enough water to make one cup. Pour this paste slowly into the simmering soup while stirring constantly to prevent lumps from forming. Simmer the soup for another 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Use a heat diffuser, if necessary, to prevent scorching. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust the seasonings. Serve the soup immediately, topped with freshly grated Parmesan. Makes 6-8 servings. From the Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant cookbook.

CSA Pickups -- Week 3 -- Radishes!

Roots Farm CSA Week 3: April 26

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This Week:
-Sweet Charlie & Chandler Strawberries
-Sweet Onions (“Vidalia-type Yellow Granex)
-Swiss Chard or Kale
-Braising Mix
-Hakurei Turnips, Easter Egg Radishes, French Breakfast Radishes
-Lettuce Mix
-Arugula

On the Farm . . .
Wow--I go away for one week and everything just explodes into growth out here! The plants have doubled in size! And my goodness, the weeds are beginning to make their presence known. Wow. I’m just so impressed how things grow and grow. Next week our Summer CSA starts, so we’re gearing up for the full swing of summer. If we weren’t busy little bees before, we’re about to become them now.

Radishes
Storage: remove the greens from the roots and store separately in plastic bags. Like all greens, radish greens will wilt with air exposure. The roots should keep well for a week or more, but are best-tasting and most nutritious the fresher they are. Usage: radishes and young turnips are somewhat interchangeable in recipes. Both can be eaten raw, steamed, sauteed, boiled, baked, roasted, and probably grilled, though I haven’t tried that one yet. They also make good pickles. You can slice them thinly and eat them with butter, grate them into salads, add them to stir-fries. The possibilities continue. Don’t be afraid to experiment with cooking them--their texture turns from crunchy to smooth and delicious. Have fun!

RECIPES
Mediterranean Bean & Radish Salad
1 cup dried baby lima beans (1/2 lb)
1 cup peeled diced cucumber
1/2 cup sliced and quartered radishes
2 Tbsp coarsely chopped fresh dill
10-15 kalamata olives
1 medium red onion, coarsely chopped
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp oregano
salt, to taste

Soak and boil lima beans according to package directions (about 30-45 minutes). They should be cooked but firm. In a medium-size serving bowl, combine beans, cucumber, radishes, dill, olives, and onion. In a small jar, shake together olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and salt. Pour over salad and toss. Serve at room temperature or cold. Makes 4 servings. From The Food and Wine of Greece.

Sauteed Radishes with Radish Greens and/or Arugula
1/4 c. butter
1 lb radishes
4 c. radish greens or arugula
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (1 small lemon)
salt & fresh ground black pepper

Radish greens and arugula both have a peppery bitterness that mellows slightly when they are cooked. You can use either radish greens or arugula, or both, for this recipe.

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the radishes; cook, stirring constantly, until tender but still crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cook. Return skillet to stove. Put the green or arugula in the skillet with the wash water still clinging to the leaves. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, just until wilting, 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat. Add lemon juice and radishes to the skillet; stir until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

Radish & Potato au Gratin
1 lb potatoes
1/2 lb radishes
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
3 oz cheddar cheese
3 oz monterey jack cheese
2 cups whole milk
salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 cup baking dish (I did 2, 8-inch glass pie dishes). Wash and slice potatoes and radishes into 1/2 inch thick slices. Boil until fork-tender. Drain and set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter, stir in flour, and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and cook until thick, about 4-6 minutes (sauce will coat the back of the spoon). Add salt and pepper. Take off heat. Toss potatoes and radishes with salt and pepper and fold in cream sauce. Pour into baking dish(es) and sprinkle the top with cheese. Bake until brown and bubbly, about 8-10 minutes.

CSA Pickups --- Week 2 --- Braising Mix

Roots Farm CSA Week 2: April 19

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This Week:
-Sweet Charlie & Chandler Strawberries
-Sweet Onions (“Vidalia-type Yellow Granex)
-Swiss Chard or Kale
-Braising Mix
-Hakurei Turnips
-Easter Egg Radishes
-Lettuce Mix
-Herbs: Dill, Rosemary

On the Farm . . .
Things are really growing out here. We’re excited to have turnips or radishes in the basket this week. If you don’t like turnips, still gives these little white ones a try--they’re different. Sweet, tender, and delicious, I eat them raw in salads and love them . . . and I don’t really love turnips all that much, but these . . . Also, the young, tender Braising Mix is coming out--a delightful, mildly spicy medley. I recommend adding some to your salad mix to give it some kick. Or lightly saute them, as in some of the recipes below. Either way, your greens are good for you, so try them out!

RECIPES
Simple Greens Soup
2 Tbsp butter or oil
1 small yellow onion, medium-diced
1 lb root vegetables, medium-diced
4 cups water or vegetable broth
1 bunch greens (1/2-1 lb) washed and chopped
½ cup heavy cream (optional)

Heat butter or oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onions; cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until they are translucent (don’t let them brown). Add the root vegetables and water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft when pierced with a fork, approximately 15 minutes. Add the greens and cook them until they wilt, about 3 minutes. Puree the soup with an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender or food processor) until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. For a creamy version, add heavy cream at the end and heat through. Makes 4 servings. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

Asian-Style Green Sautee
2 Tbsp sesame oil
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
½ lb mixed greens, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp vinegar
2 Tbsp tamari
freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in wok or large skillet to moderate heat. Add garlic and sautee 2 minutes. Remove garlic and set aside. Sautee the greens until just wilted. Remove from heat, and stir in vinegar, tamari, pepper, and garlic. Serve immediately. Great as a side dish or with rice. Makes 2-4 servings. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

Greens & Taters Fry-Up
1Tbsp butter
1 tsp chili oil or vegetable oil with some crushed red pepper
1 baking potato or 3-4 small red potatoes, thin-sliced
1 leek or small onion, finely chopped
salt and pepper
½ lb greens, washed
½ tsp dried ground thyme
¾ cup cooked sweet corn
3 sprigs fresh oregano, torn up (or other fresh herbs except mint)
½ tsp paprika
grated Parmesan (optional)

Heat butter and chili oil in large nonstick skillet over medium flame. Add potatoes and leeks or onions, and season well with salt and pepper. (You may also partially cook the potatoes first in salted water until nearly tender before frying them.) Let the potatoes brown lightly in the pan on one side for several minutes. Toss potatoes, season with more salt and pepper, and let them brown lightly again. When potatoes are almost tender, toss in greens and thyme, then add a little less than ¼ cup water, cover the pan, and raise to high heat. Let steam until greens are nearly done, 1-2 minutes. Uncover, add corn, oregano, and paprika, and allow potatoes to finish cooking and browning. Season to taste and top with Parmesan, if desired. Serve with fried eggs if you like. Makes 2-4 servings. From the From Asparagus to Zucchini cookbook.

CSA Pickups -- Week 1 -- Chard!

Roots Farm CSA Week 1: April 12

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This Week:
-Swiss Chard
-Sweet Charlie Strawberries

-Sweet Onions (“Vidalia-type Yellow Granex) -Green Scallions-Astro Arugula
-Lettuce Mix-Herbs: Dill

-Carrots
Roots Newsletters . . . Welcome to the Roots Blog, home of our weekly CSA newsletter, workday announcements, and various farm musings. Newsletters generally upload on Monday or Tuesday of each week and include announcements of what you may find in your baskets this week, photos, recipes, farm news, events announcements, and more. RECIPES will always be at the end of the blog, so scroll down if that’s what you’re looking for. Otherwise, read on . . .

First CSA Pickup!
Well, here we are--our first week of CSA pickups for 2011--wow! Is it that time already? Well, it’s actually 2 weeks earlier for us than we’ve ever begun before. Thanks for joining us on this new adventure! And it has been an adventure so far. Mishaps in the greenhouse, mice in the germination chamber, and slow-growing days of short sunlight--all have cropped up for us this Spring and have been plentiful providers of learning opportunities if not of produce plants. But we’re prevailing. Nothing gets us to learn like pushing our limits and we’re learning what it takes to have food ready earlier and earlier into the Spring. Thankfully, the weather has been in our favor and things have really put on a growth spurt this last week. Those plants are moving and changing FAST! Which means more food for everyone today. Yay!

Summer CSA Sold Out!
Thanks for your help pointing folks in our direction. This past week we sold our final Summer CSA share. We may re-open to accepting members later in the summer when veggies are plentiful, but for now, our shares are all full. Anyone you know that’s interested can sign up for our WAITING LIST to get first notification of when we re-open. All they have to do is email us at RootsFarm@hotmail.com and write “WAITING LIST” in the subject line. We’d love to have a long waiting list and the CSA always full, so keep spreading the word. Thanks again, folks!

Workday Success!
Our Saturday weekend workday went great! We had 15 people out here on the farm--transplanting, shovelling, shaping beds, applying compost, weeding, mulching, and fighting back the honeysuckle from our fenceline. It was an amazingly beautiful morning full of industrious folks. Followed by another round of Becky’s kale and scallion quiche and Sara’s carrot muffins. We’ll host another next month, so mark your calendars--Saturday, May 14th is the next one! Join us!

Farm News
Our new walk-in cooler is now operational--all we’ve got left to do is apply the finishing touches! It’ll be nice for us to have that much more cold space on hand. Last year, we maxed out our 5 refrigerators and were still shuffling things into coolers--not this year! This year, there’s enough cold space to walk in and look around, to be towered over by cool produce, to pack things with elbow space to spare in their boxes--yay! Exciting times.

In the field, the braising mix and kale are growing quickly now and will be ready soon--maybe even next week! The sweet onions are really bulbing up and taking on some size. Turnips will be coming out next week. And the heads of lettuce are filling out right on schedule. We’re seeding tomatoes and basil in the greenhouse, and arugula, beans, and corn in the fields. The pasture is one red wave of blooming crimson clover, and the strawberry plants are about to be another red wave of fruit.

Event: Conscious Movement, Conscious Food -- Wednesday, April 20th
Don’t forget! Next week Roots Farm is partnering with Sangha Yoga Studio and the Foundry Park Inn & Spa to bring you Conscious Movement, Conscious Food -- an evening of Hatha yoga and delicious local delights. Wednesday, April 20th! Give your body the deluxe treatment. Join Sangha Yoga Studio's founding director Meghan Burke for an ALL LEVELS HATHA YOGA CLASS in a twinkle-lit ballroom . . . stretching, breathing, detoxifying . . . from 6-7:15pm ($10). Followed by a delicious, 3 course vegetarian or vegan meal prepared by executive chef Martin Smetana of the Foundry Park Inn & Spa using produce supplied by your very own Roots Farm at 7:30pm ($15.95 + tax & gratiuity). You can reserve your space for either yoga, the dinner, or both by calling the Foundry Park Inn by April 18th: 706-410-1968. You’ve experienced our food in your kitchen--now see what a professional chef will create in his! Hope to have you with us!

Event: Old-Timey Seed Swap -- Saturday, April 30th
Here’s something you might be interested in--get ready for the 14th Annual Old-Timey Seed Swap. The Seed Swap is brought to you by FOLK and PLACE with help from The Center for Integrative Conservation Research (CICR) and UGA Anthropology Society. Join us on Saturday, April 30th from 1pm until the campfire dies at Grove Creek Farm (formerly Agrarian Connections Farm) in Crawford, GA, only fifteen minutes east of Athens.

Since 1996, the Old-Timey Seed Swap has been a place for folks to share stories, knowledge, music, and heirloom seeds in the spirit of preserving and reviving the South’s traditional agricultural ways.

Come enjoy kids’ activities, including games and face-painting, live foot-stompin’ music (bring your instruments for the evening fire-side jam!), and delicious local whole-hog BBQ. Browse the booths of local artisans and farmers, and don’t forget to bring seeds and plants to swap!

Locally produced food and drinks provided by PLACE, SlowFood Athens, and the Clamberskull Brew Collective. $5 food donation and $3 for drinks--or bring a side dish to share. Bring a chair/blanket to sit and a mug for drinks!

For directions visit www.grovecreekfarm.org

Featured Veggies . . .
Each week, I’ll feature a fruit or veggie that’s appearing in your baskets and provide some recipe ideas for how to use it. You can also check the recipes page of our website for links to five years worth of recipes, all listed by vegetable. Plus, we have copies of the cookbook From Asparagus to Zucchini for sale--it’s one of our favorites and was created for CSA members like yourselves! Ask us for a copy for your home!

Swiss Chard
Facts: Chard (Beta vulgaris) is a close relative of the beet that has been cultivated for its leaves instead of its roots. The leaves are big and tender and often substituted for spinach in recipes (which it’s also related to). Indigenous to the Mediterranean, chard is often referred to as Swiss chard due to its initial description by a Swiss botanist in the 16th century. Chard is high in vitamins A, E, and C, and minerals like iron and calcium.
Storage: Keep your chard in a closed plastic bag--air is your enemy and will cause this delicate green to wilt quite quickly (though you can revive it by soaking it in cold water for a while). Chard will keep for a week or more in good conditions. Cooking: Most often, folks like to de-stem chard and cook the stems for longer than the leaves. It’s a texture issue that I’ll leave to your personal preferences. You can use chard as you would any leafy green. Chard is good in salads, on sandwiches, in casseroles, stews, and more! Try it massaged! Bake it into lasagne! Either way, you’ll be seeing it often this year, so go ahead and begin experimenting to find your favorite recipe!

RECIPES

Massaged Chard
1 bunch chard, de-stemmed
1 lemon, juiced
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp molasses or honey
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sesame seeds

De-stem the chard and chop or julienne it into bite-size pieces. Place the chard in a large bowl or tupperware and drizzle the rest of the ingredients over it. Then, either massage the chard with your hands for 3-5 minutes or put the lid on and shake it vigorously in all directions. Taste and adjust for your flavor preferences. Serve warm or refrigerated. Makes 3-5 servings.

Chard & Arugula Salad with Strawberries

2 cups chard, large stems removed

2 cups arugula

1 cup sliced strawberries

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

¼ tsp salt

3 Tbsp olive oil

freshly ground black pepper

Make the vinaigrette first. Add the red wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar, and salt to a salad bowl, then gradually add the oil while whisking until emulsified. Add the chard and arugula to the vinaigrette and toss gently. (If your greens are larger than baby sized, I recommend chopping them into bite-size pieces or ribbons.) When greens are lightly coated, transfer to salad plates, top with the strawberries, and finish with a generous grinding of pepper. Makes 8 servings.

Note: to easily create ribbons with your greens, try the chiffonade technique. Stack your greens in a pile, roll them up, then slice the roll thinly and voila! Beautiful delicate ribbons.

Chard Rolls Filled with Winter Vegetables

2 Tbsp olive oil

8 large chard leaves, stems removed and diced finely

1 onion, finely diced

3 carrots, finely diced

½ lb potatoes, finely diced

6-8 cups additional finely diced vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips, parsley root, or celery root

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp chopped tarragon or ½ tsp dried

salt and freshly milled pepper

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 cup water or vegetable stock

1-2 Tbsp butter or vegetable oil

Put medium pot of water on to boil. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the chard stems, onion, other root vegetables, garlic, and tarragon. Season with ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 20-25 minutes. Add the lemon juice. Plunge the chard leaves into water for 4 minutes, then set on a towel to drain. Cut away the thick part of the base of each leaf. Place the leaves, smooth side down, on the counter. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling just above the cut notch at the bottom of each leaf, then fold the sides over the filling and roll up the leaves. Keep the remaining filling in the skillet and set the rolls right on top of it. Add the water to the pan, do the leaves with butter or vegetable oil, and cover. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve the rolls with the extra vegetables and their juices. Makes 4 servings. From Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone by Deborah Madison.

April Weekend Workday -- THIS SATURDAY!

April Weekend Workday:

THIS SATURDAY -- 9am-Noon

Plus a farm-fresh BRUNCH!

Come join us out in the fields for a lovely Spring morning on the farm. We'll be transplanting, seeding, weeding, preparing rows, mulching, and much more! It should be a lovely day out and we'd love to get our hands dirty with you. The saying is true--many hands make light work. Some come on out and do some light work with us and then celebrate a job well done with some farm-fresh delights. We'll be here--all we need is YOU!

April Happenings, March Wrap-Up

Well, March is coming to a close and it's been an interesting month. I'll give you the March Wrap-Up, including word about our awesome March Weekend Workday (see the photo!) and farm news further down the list here, but first, mark your calendars and make your reservations NOW for our April 20th event:

CONSCIOUS MOVEMENT, CONSCIOUS FOOD

Roots Farm is partnering with Sangha Yoga Studio and the Foundry Park Inn & Spa to bring you Conscious Movement, Conscious Food -- an evening of Hatha yoga and delicious local delights. Wednesday, April 20th! Give your body the deluxe treatment. Join Sangha Yoga Studio's founding director Meghan Burke for an ALL LEVELS HATHA YOGA CLASS in a twinkle-lit ballroom . . . stretching, breathing, detoxifying . . . from 6-7:15pm ($10). Followed by a delicious, 3 course vegetarian or vegan meal prepared by executive chef Martin Smetana of the Foundry Park Inn & Spa using produce supplied by your very own Roots Farm at 7:30pm ($15.95 + tax & gratiuity). You can reserve your space for either yoga, the dinner, or both by calling the Foundry Park Inn by April 18th: 706-410-1968. Hope to have you with us!

ATHENS FARMERS MARKET BEGINS! SATURDAY, APRIL 2.

Indeed. A month earlier than last year, the Athens Farmers Market is opening its gates again this coming Saturday from 8am-noon at Bishop Park on the West side of town. Local produce, breads, eggs, meats, coffee, prepared foods, crafts, live plants, and more. It's the best way to start your weekend (other than joining us on a workday). We should have some early stuff available, like rainbow chard, scallions, and STRAWBERRIES. I'm curious to see what all the farmers have available since it's so much earlier than last year and April can be a challenging time to have much produce available even with a hoop house. It's a good thing we've had such a mild spring. Get there early for the best selection!

SUMMER CSA -- GET YOUR SHARES WHILE THEY LAST!

We've only got a few more CSA shares available for our Summer season, so sign up today and/or tell your friends to sign up today! The Summer season starts on May 3rd -- only a little over a month away! We'll have our usual market-style pickups on-farm on Tuesdays and for those of you who live in or around 5 POINTS in Athens, GA, we're locating a pickup in your neighborhood this year on Fridays! Yep, you can even take the UGA bus line to get there. The address is: 182 Catawba Ave. Athens, GA 30606. Patti and Jim Lutz will be hosting the pickup, and we're excited to see how this new in-town option works. But for those of you who love coming out, we'll still be here for you at the farm, baskets overflowing . . .

WEEKEND WORKDAYS . . . MARCH SUCCESS & APRIL 9th ANTICIPATION

Well our March weekend workday was a raging success! We had a dozen people out on the farm--that's 24 hands a-workin'. We transplanted and transplanted and transplanted. Cucumbers, squash, chard, kale, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and lettuce all went into the ground. Over 700 feet of baby plants were lovingly tucked into the earth. Grow, babies, grow! That work would have taken me and Becky all week! Instead it only took the dozen of us all morning. We kneeled together, happily planting and chatting, meeting new members and working with old ones. And afterwards, we gathered together around the table for some amazing spinach quiche that Becky baked and some awesome carrot cake muffins compliments of Sara. De-licious! I call it an amazing success. The weather was beautiful and so was the work.

So . . . mark your calendars for the APRIL WEEKEND WORKDAY -- APRIL 9th. It's just two weeks away! Again, we'll be out in the sunshine, planting, weeding, trellising, and more. What better way to start your week than with a lovely morning out at Roots? Good work and tasty treats . . . come join us!

MARCH FARM REPORT

It didn't freeze at all this month, did it? I think it's been the warmest March we've had in quite some time and all the plants are just exploding in flower and leaf. That's the really good news. Warm days for working and happy plants out in the field. But jeeze louise, it's been challenging otherwise here on the farm. . .

POTTING SOIL DEBACLE

First of all, we decided to switch from making soil blocks (which are awesome but take a long time to make and take up a lot of space in the greenhouse) to seeding our plants in trays. Sounds like a good idea, right? Lots of other people do it successfully, right? We bought an organic potting soil mix called Jungle Grow Pure Organic to seed our babies in, and we seeded hundreds of them. They germinated beautifully. Then they didn't grow. For 4 weeks they didn't grow. I thought they were just taking a while, but when I looked at my calendar, I realized that they should be ready to transplant and they didn't even have true leaves yet! What!?! I proceeded to panic and begin making phone calls. My farming compatriots tell me that the problem is most likely fertility--as in the mix contains hardly any and certainly not what the bag claims to contain. They say I should fertilize, and fertilize hard. We proceed to pull out the liquid bat guano and soak our trays, which seems to have an almost immediately positive impact. True leaves begin to grow. Yay. But what to do in the meantime? Our CSA is starting 2 weeks EARLIER than ever before this year, and our regular round of plants are 2-3 weeks BEHIND schedule--yikes! So I make some more phone calls. Who can I buy transplants from? Who has chard and kale? I need plants, and I need them NOW. A dozen phone calls and emails and a trip to Atlanta later, we have them. Or at least, most of them. We also decide to do something new and try and grow a braising mix for our early CSA. It's the greens we're behind on, so it's the greens we need to replace. We express order some braising mix from Johnny's and pick up some more seeds from the local feed and seed. We shuffle our hoop house planting scheme and make space for a whole row of braising mix--mustards, collards, tatsoi, mizuna, and more. Who knows, it may be a brilliant solution that we love and that we'll simply choose to use in the future because we like it. Hakurei turnips and Easter Egg radishes came to us through a similar problem-solving adventure, and we love them now and grow them every year. Maybe this will all work out for good . . .

SEED-EATING RAT-@#$!%$&

Another thing that's been a challenge this season has been our unwelcome guest in the garage. See, we built a germination chamber in the garage this year to sprout our seedlings in--it's warm and damp and seems to really speed up the sprouting process. Basically, we surrounded some of our shelves with plastic and put a heat lamp in the bottom and the plants above it. The average temperature was 70-80 degrees F. Plants germinated in about 3-4 days. Success! But wait! One day I go in and check and it looks like some cucumbers sprouted and as I go to take them out, I notice one pulled out of its pot. What? Upon further investigation I find chewed stems and a whole round (like 150 plants) of squash seeds have been dug up, one from each pot, and devoured with just the remnants of seeds left scattered in the pots! Nooooooo!!! We've been swindled. By a seed-eating rat. Expensive pepper, tomato, squash, and flower seeds --all gone! Some I'll have to re-order to replace. Some we'll just have to give up on and move on. Damn it all, but this season seems to have it's own plans in mind. As for our rat neighbor, I've got a 5-inch rat-trap with his or her name on it. Think I'll super glue a squash seed to the spring and see what happens . . .

March Weekend Workday -- THIS SATURDAY! March 19th

I'd like to invite you all to our first Weekend Workday of the season. THIS SATURDAY, March 19th, we're hosting a workparty from 9am-noon on the farm. The weather looks to be beautiful and I think it will be the perfect way to welcome in the full moon Spring Equinox. We're crossing over from more night than day to more day than night. So let's celebrate by planting some light-loving plants! On our task list: bed preparation, direct seeding, transplanting, weeding, fence tending, and more! It should be a lovely day to get your hands dirty with your favorite Roots Farmers. And, we're serving up a farm-fresh BRUNCH afterwards. Good work plus good food equals a good way to start your Spring. Come join us!

For directions, check our website www.RootsFarm.org. See you here!

FRIDAY PICKUPS IN-TOWN

So for those of you who live in or around 5 POINTS in Athens, GA, we're locating a pickup in your neighborhood this year! Yep, you can even take the UGA bus line to get there. The address is: 182 Catawba Ave. Athens, GA 30606. Patti and Jim Lutz will be hosting the pickup, and we're excited to see how this new in-town option works for everyone. Finally--you don't have to drive all the way out to Winterville! Athens, here we come!

CONSCIOUS MOVEMENT, CONSCIOUS FOOD

Roots Farm is also partnering with Sangha Yoga Studio and the Foundry Park Inn & Spa to bring you Conscious Movement, Conscious Food -- an evening of Hatha yoga and delicious local delights. Wednesday, April 20th! Give your body the deluxe treatment. Join Sangha Yoga Studio's founding director Meghan Burke for an ALL LEVELS HATHA YOGA CLASS in a twinkle-lit ballroom . . . stretching, breathing, detoxifying . . . from 6-7:15pm ($10). Followed by a delicious, 3 course vegetarian or vegan meal prepared by executive chef Martin Smetana of the Foundry Park Inn & Spa using produce supplied by your very own Roots Farm at 7:30pm ($15.95 + tax & gratiuity). You can reserve your space for either yoga, the dinner, or both by calling the Foundry Park Inn by April 18th: 706-410-1968. Hope to have you with us!

SPRING FIELD UPDATE

The greenhouse is overflowing with baby plants--3 kinds of kale, kohlrabi, swiss chard, tat soi, fennel, lettuces, even tomatoes, basil, cukes, and summer squash. It's so full in there that we've put up temporary tables and sawhorses for the overflow. Soon, we'll be moving into the cold frame, then out to the fields! Each week we direct seed another few rows in the field--carrots, beets, turnips, radishes, arugula, lettuce, cilantro, dill. It's that time of year. Last week, we planted our potatoes. This week, we hope to transplant blackberries.

For you flower lovers, the strawberries are in bloom, as are the speedwell, henbit, purple dead nettle, dandelions, Pennsylvania wood cress, daffodils, hyacinth, forsythia, peach trees, apricot trees, and pear trees just to name a few. And the crimson clover is just about to bloom us a carpet of red. It's pretty out there, and warm. We're hoping the blueberries wait a little longer--we're still not clear of our last freeze date . . .