What’s been going on!

And so it starts again.  Tomorrow I will cut and deliver the first lettuce to Weaver Street Market for this season.  This year marks a quarter of a century we have been growing lettuce for Weaver Street, every spring the dance is the same.  A short dance as it only lasts 4 weeks, the prime growing conditions for standard lettuce varieties here in the Piedmont.

The perfect growth conditions for all of the spring vegetables, if you could hold them in a climate controlled place, is an average air temperature of 60-65 degrees, we have that here for about 20 days from mid-April to mid-May.  Once that average temperature goes over 75 it is too hot for quality lettuce except for a few hot weather varieties.  So by the end of May, all of the cool season crops are on the way out.  Every market day, at this time of year, folks always comment on how beautiful and lush the lettuces look and it is because we are in the heart of the best conditions.

Leaf lettuces are the sixth most consumed vegetable per person and rising which makes it an important crop for us and for the grocery store.  So for that reason you will find me in the lettuce field cutting lettuce four mornings a week, Mondays and Thursdays for afternoon delivery to Weaver Street Market and Wednesdays and Fridays for Farmers’ Market and the restaurants.  I expect everyone to be eating a lot of salads over the next month!

Picture of the Week

Not lettuce, Jennie and Tricia harvesting turnips and more for Wednesday market

What’s going to be at the market?

Lettuces with Little Gem (red and green), Green Boston, Red Leaf and Romaine. Salad mix.  The first beautiful Lacinato/Dinosaur/Cavalo Nero Kale.  Really fabulous Broccoli Raab.  Yukina Savoy greens and colorful Asian Braising/Stir Fry mix to round out the greens.

A new planting of Japanese Salad Turnips Red.  More Radishes too.  Cilantro and Bok Choi.  Green Onions.

Betsy says she thinks this is it for the brilliant Anemones and Ranunculus.  A few field flowers coming along- Bachelors Buttons, Sweet William, Poppies, Dutch Iris; we are on the cusp.

As a reminder if there is anything that you would like for us to hold for you at market just let us know by e-mail, by the evening before, and we will be glad to put it aside for you.  Just so you know, sometimes not everything listed will be at the Wednesday market.

Hope to see you all at the market!

Alex, Betsy and Jennie

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