CSA members will see a small bunch of beetroot in their boxes this week.
They aren’t really baby beets at all, rather, they are bonsai beets. We’re not sure why their growth has been so poor; Lindsay had soil tests done at the start of the season, and all looked good. It could just be weed pressure, but really, having been in the ground for a good few months now, those roots should be 4 times as big!
One thing to note, though, is that you can eat the leaves as “beet greens”—remove the unappetizing leaves, and sautée the rest—basically use as you would spinach. They can be chopped up and used in salad, too.
We also put in a couple of critter scaring devices this week—little solar powered vibration-making things that look like solar garden lights. Fingers crossed that they keep the groundhogs and mice away! Turkeys have been spotted in the area (actually at Tucker House’s firepit), but not near the garden lately.
The courgette plants have both continued to decline—many many squash bugs are present, along with cucumber beetles everywhere—but also to improve. Some varieties seem to be shrugging off the assault and are producing prolifically! Hopefully a few of the second winter squash planting will do the same!!
Next week—aubergines (eggplants) and bell peppers! Well, some members will get one, some the other, and the week after, we’ll swap. Things don’t seem to be ripening uniformly so… well, we’ll see. There should also be a whole heap of tomatoes!