Things are really heating up around here — metaphorically, anyway — and it is starting to get a little plant-y! I have been mentioning Spring for months, and yet this morning, still, I am not quite convinced it’s here. Regardless of the weather, it has been amazing watching our little Carya grow like the plants we cultivate. She’s becoming more independent every day, and the evidence of her love of all things nature is really starting to show. Between burying her face in Lenore’s flowering Lilac bush, trying to pet the bugs and frogs, and eating all the anise hyssop she can find, we are reminded daily of the beauty that life brings to our table, free of charge, with access to all. What a wonderful world!
Despite the lingering chill, calendars don’t lie, and neither do greenhouses. It might be a little chilly, but the greenhouses are loaded with plant friends for our fields and yours! With our plant sale right around the corner, the greenhouses are jumping with herbs, peppers, tomatoes, and all sorts of goodies! This year, we are trying a few new varieties and I thought I would take a moment here to mention a few of the new selections this season.
First up, we have a perennial variety of Chamomile this year. Roman Chamomile has the same medicinal and aesthetic qualities that chamomile is known for, but this varietal has a resilient perennial habit. Unlike their annual brethren, who will pop up around your yard via scattered seed, you should find these growing back every year, right where you plant them!
Also new is the Blue Boar Berries cherry tomato, aka Blue Berries, an indeterminate cherry tomato with a sweet, acidic flavor and a high anthocyanin content, as evidenced by their deep blue-black or reddish-purple color at ripening. Blue Boar is visually stunning and a nutritional powerhouse that is also resistant to splitting. These tomatoes are as tough as their name and delicious too!
For the pepper fans out there, you are not forgotten! We also have two new peppers we’re excited about. First is the Habanada, a heatless Habanero! Coming in at 0 to 100 Scovilles, the Habanada provides the smoky tropical flavor of Habanero peppers without the blinding heat that masks most of the natural flavors. Fruits ripen late, with a gorgeous, bright orange glow. If you’ve ever wanted to try a Habanero but didn’t want the heat, these peppers are for you!
Next up, a popular pepper we have added to our farmshare will be offered for the first time at our plant sale: Shishito peppers. Mild but sometimes hot, they are a delicious combination of mild and smoky. But watch out! About one in 10 Shishito peppers will have some kick, but it’s a gamble I’m willing to take.
As a cool-season biennial, spinach will reliably flower around Memorial Day like clockwork and, because of this, we did not want to sell spinach seedlings at this time of year because they do not have much time to mature and provide food before flowering. However, we have added Perpetual Spinach, a warm-season biennial that will produce leaves throughout summer and fall that are similar to spinach. Perpetual Spinach is a variety of swiss chard, a close relative of spinach, that produces smaller, tender leaves all season long. If it’s hardy greens for salads, smoothies or cooking that you had in mind, forget the standard spinach this summer and try out the new Perpetual Spinach. We think you’ll love it!
We hope to see you all at the McDonald Farm Plant Sale this year: It’s always a great time bringing the community together for our first big event of the season and to get our gardens growing. But if gardening isn’t your thing or you don’t have the space, we are here for you. Grab a subscription to our Main Season’s harvests or stop by our Thursday Farm Stands to get some of that fresh, homegrown taste right here at the farm!
No matter the reason, we hope to see you on the farm! ~Farmer Russ