The First Harvest
My gal pals Anne and Nancy and I decided to be farmers. This decision was made last summer over several glasses of wine at a birthday party up at the cottage. Arch, a good neighbor, had been supplying us all with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, squash, and other natural wonders grown at the nearby community garden. Obviously, we needed to be a part of this sustainable, organic, back-to-nature movement.
And so it began.
Emails and text messages littered cyberspace throughout the fall, winter, spring as we considered how to prepare the field (a 20’x20’ plot)… eliminate the weeds and nourish the soil (there were a LOT of weeds), without chemicals and without roto-tilling (that would just put weed seeds back into the soil). We began pulling the weeds by hand but realized our backs would not hold out. So wheelbarrows of leaves were laid deep and then covered with bright blue tarps thanks to Ed and Nancy our neighbors at the cottage and now our neighbors at The Farm with the adjacent 20x20 weed patch.
Anne made frequent trips to the community compost pile with egg shells, coffee grounds, vegetable peelings, wilted floral bouquets from her birthday celebration and other mysterious organisms considered appropriate for the pile of rotting debris which would one day nurture our nature.
Nancy and Anne attempted charts for planting and harvesting schedules. I never knew there were “companion plants” to be considered. Apparently, not all plants play nice together. A lot like people. Which plants should go in the ground in April or May or June or? And do we sow seeds or plant starter plants? And what vegetables did we actually want to eat the following summer? Being a farmer requires a lot of planning!
So while I did water aerobics at my home in Florida, Nancy and Anne took charge of planting, We each decided on the veggies we would take responsibility for - I chose tomatoes, beets, and carrots. And by early May the planting began. Our winter weed elimination procedure worked miracles and the earth was ready to receive!
My farmer-pals put in squash, beans, garlic, spinach, lettuce, radishes, beets, and left room for my three crops.
I started my Jersey Boy Tomatoes while I was still in Florida. With a couple peat pots and cardboard egg cartons, I sowed my Burpee seeds and prayed. It was pretty exciting when tiny green shoots appeared. Driving back north mid-May, I carefully protected the egg carton and pots in a sturdy shoebox tucked safely on the floor of the the back seat and meticulously watered them every 500 miles. They seemed to enjoy the trip and were thriving 1200 miles later. So you can understand my horror when the 90 degree Illinois sun beat down on them, anxiously growing on my back deck while they waited to be transplanted to the farm. Fried! Three determined Jersey Boys were all that was left of the original 18. Those three survivors are now struggling at The Farm while I continue to pray over them.
Now for the good news! The First Harvest took place on June 17, 2021 at approximately 1:35pm EDT. With the help of Google, Anne realized her radishes might be ready. And, were they ever! Just waiting to be picked and enjoyed. We were close to giddy as we began to pluck the ruby nuggets from the rich black earth. I don’t even like radishes and I couldn’t wait to slice one into my salad that night. Now we can truly say we are farmers!
So, I’m learning to like radishes. Anne’s favorite starts with a good baguette or slice of sourdough bread spread with really good butter (she prefers Irish butter), then thinly sliced radishes sprinkled with kosher salt. Simply delicious.
Radishes, which are a good source of antioxidants, calcium, and potassium, are perfect in salads, pickled, in tacos, topping a smörga like Anne’s baguette, and as a decorative rosette. I’ve discovered that I like them roasted to reduce the peppery bite. They can even be sliced and fried to create radish chips.
Here’s a recipe for Garlic Roasted Radishes from The Real Food Dietitians. I love it and think you will too. You can expect to see an abundant crop of healthy vegetable recipes coming soon from the Swedish Family Kitchen.
Garlic Roasted Radishes