CSA SPRING SHARE WEEK #5 The baby carrots are here and we are harvesting Spring broccoli. There are peas and mung bean sprouts to help make the bok choy meals more exciting!There are also loads of surplus greens on the farm being shared among our CSA members. This is the advantage of being a member of a CSA. You share in the bounty and in the inherent risks of farming-unpredictable weather, pests, crop diseases. Read on for ideas of what to do with so many greens.

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies. We envisage that many of the vegetables you are receiving this week will last for two weeks with careful attention to storing upon arrival. Although we do wash all the greens after harvest, we are washing to take the heat out of the plants and wash away some surface dirt, not to prepare them for consumption. We also spray a seaweed/herb brew about every ten days. While this will not harm you, it does have a taste. We do suggest washing your produce prior to eating.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week. Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop. The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is. We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly.

1/4 share: 5-7 items 1/2 share: 8-10 items Full Share: 10-12 items

Baby Carrots Bok Choy Broccoli Coriander Kale Lettuce Mung Bean Sprouts English Spinach Tatsoi Turnips

Extras Artichokes Green Garlic Radishes Rocket Silver Beet Sugar Snap Peas Snow Peas

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING Our bok choy planting was spurred along by the warm weather. If we did not harvest it this week, it would have bolted (gone to seed). The fennel we planned to harvest this week has been saved for next week’s box. There is one more bok choy planting in the ground but it should not be ready for another three weeks!

We also have a surplus of Perpetual Gator and Spinach on the farm. Last year our English spinach plantings did not perform well. This year we are able to harvest from each planting twice. We based the amount of spinach we sowed on last years data...so we have double what we need. We could have left these out of the box but have harvested them and put them in.

If you are receiving more greens then you know what to do with, please, gift some to friends or preserve it for another day. Spinach is so versatile. It is very easy to freeze in ziplock bags for a quick addition to a quiche or curry when there is no spinach. The rocket can be made into pesto which will keep for weeks in the fridge (and takes up much less room this way!) We hope you are enjoying the surplus!

The first melon crop is in the ground and the capsicum and eggplant crops will be planted this week. The first bean planting is growing well as are the zucchini plants. The beginning harvest of the cucurbit family (zucchini, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins) is slow as we await a balance between male and female flowers so that the fruit can be pollinated. The farm bees are very healthy though and there are many fruits forming.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Black Rice, Rocket and Semi Dried Tomato Salad Thai Curry Baste and Thai Baked Tofu Spinach and Feta Pie Bok Choy and Mung Bean Salad Silverbeet Fritters Quinoa Patties - This is a recipe from Georgia Harding from Well Nourished. We are trying it for lunch today with home made pickles!

You can search our recipes by looking for the key ingredients on our website recipe page.

Please note - Photo is a randomly selected full share box.