The incubator and a few hens have been busy hatching babies, mostly Ancona ducks. The February lambs are weaned and most are already sold. The flock is on pasture rotation trying to keep up with the madly growing forage.

Spring is good, except for having to mow. But I’ve limited that necessity by converting large portions of the yard into garden. And the free ranging chickens keep other areas clipped.

The greenhouse if full of tiny growing plants. I’ve already set out early lettuce and chard and have sowed radishes and leaf lettuces whose cotyledons are just barely peeking through the soil. Overwintered garlic, green onions, and chives are flourishing and make savory additions to the kitchen. I’ll be digging horseradish this week. I’ve created several new growing beds, preparing to provide plenty for all my customers. Happy Spring! and Happy Easter!

Beans: green, yellow, and purple.

Tomatoes: low acid yellow; yellow that’s not low acid; red; the colorful black pineapple; a new colorful Japanese black trifele; red, yellow, and orange salad tomatoes; the tiny sweet white currant; and various grape and cherry tomatoes. You can specify a specific variety or just take a hodgepodge.

Blackberries are still producing but are getting less plentiful.

Kale: red Russian, Italian, and a small amount of dwarf blue curly.

Cucumbers: just a few so far. Mostly I have an heirloom blonde cucumber which tastes like regular cucumber, and a few green pickling types.

Garlic.

A few green onions.

Tomatoes: mostly yellows with a few reds. There is a new variety coming in, ananas noir, a large multicolored tomato with a green interior and bright red flashes throughout. It looks beautiful sliced or wedged and actually tastes mild for a green-fleshed tomato.

Green beans: the large, flat, yellow Italian beans; purple beans; and flat green beans.

Garlic.

Dill.

Blackberries.

Eggs.

Just a farm note. This morning I moved the sheep from the place they were grazing to the barn pasture. They ran so eagerly to the new forage that two young lambs were left behind. I managed to corner one and take it to mom but the other eluded me. One of my cats came rubbing my legs and wanting attention while I was slowly trying to corner the second lamb. The lamb calmed down and curiously approached the cat. I waited patiently and was able to grab the lamb as it came right up to nose the cat. So I guess I have a sheep cat.

Tomatoes: mostly yellows with a few reds.

Green beans: the large, flat, yellow Italian beans: purple beans; and probably some green Italian type beans which I think are going to be smaller than the yellow ones.

Garlic.

Dill.

Kale: I think there will be some of all 3 kinds, red Russian, dwarf blue curly, and Italian kale which is bluish in color and has savoyed (crinkled), leaves.

Blackberries.

Eggs.

We have green beans. Well, they aren’t really green. One variety is a large, broad, flat, tender romano (or Italian) type. I am posting some recipe ideas. The other is a purple pod “green” bean. The purple color will disappear to a dark green when cooked. Adding a pinch of baking soda may help retain some purple color, or sautéing them in butter before cooking them may help. They stay purple for raw eating in salads. My boys always preferred raw green beans when they were young. You can order one or both, although depending on how many people want some, you may receive only one kind.

Tomatoes are starting to ripen, although this cool weather isn’t helping. (However, I’m not complaining!) Looks like there will be mostly medium sized, low acid yellow tomatoes and small, red ones. If you have a preference, request it. There are lots more tomatoes on the vines, but we are waiting for them to ripen.

More blackberries are ripening. I’ll package them in pints.

We have red Russian kale and LOTS of dill for pickle making. Unfortunately, I don’t have cucumbers.

And the garlic is ready.

We do have a summer salad mix, not traditional lettuce, but a mix of young leaves of Portuguese kale, red Russian kale, swiss chard, komatsuna, mizuna, radish pods, and onion bulblets. I would recommend serving it with a red raspberry dressing, feta cheese, and maybe a few mandarin oranges.

We still have some cabbages, savoy, pointed head, and regular cabbage. The savoy cabbages could be added to the summer salad. I have one Chinese cabbage left.

We have more large leaf basil, chives, and mints.

The hens have survived the extreme heat but have laid fewer eggs. They don’t get out and forage as much preferring to stay in the shade holding out their wings and panting. They don’t sweat, you know. The turkeys stand in the water pan to cool off. The animals and I are all looking forward to this week of cooler weather!

We have some nice young (not baby) Asian greens for sauté or stir fry. If you aren’t familiar with the varieties you might like to order a mixture. Or you can order a specific one if you want. We have mizuna (Japanese cabbage which doesn’t look anything like cabbage), ruby streaks mustard (which looks like reddish mizuna), and komatsuna mustard spinach (which is definitely not a spinach but that’s what it’s called). All are mild Asian greens and I like them all sautéed with garlic or onion and maybe some grated carrot.

We have one or two napa type Chinese cabbages, one or two 1 pound size mini cabbages (just the right size for a batch of slaw with no leftovers), one or two pointed cabbages (they taste like regular cabbage but look neat), and one or two savoy cabbages (beautiful crinkle leaved cabbages). We have enough large leaf basil for seasoning but not enough to make a batch of pesto yet. Since I have limited amounts of all these items you might want to list your first and second choices and I’ll fulfill as many requests as possible.