June 3rd, 2026
Bok Choy
Kale
Komatsuna
Japanese Salad Turnips
Salad Mix
Green Garlic
Cilantro
Salad Mix - Lettuce loves cool weather, and it can be difficult to grow in the summer months. We’ve received overwhelming feedback that our salad mix is something folks want weekly, so we will have it as often as possible. We don’t grow “baby greens”- we find harvesting, weeding, and cleaning that style of salad mix is tedious and makes us cranky. Instead, we pick out actual head lettuce varieties and plant them at closer spacing; harvesting above the growth point so that the individual leaves are cut, instead of the whole head. This also allows each plant to grow back, so we usually cut each bed twice. You may notice that the color of the leaves changes as the weather becomes warmer. Hot, dry weather often makes the colors less prominent, while cool weather increases their sugar content and makes the colors more vibrant. We eat our salad mix for almost every meal, so we are constantly paying attention to quality and make note of the seasonal changes.
Greens! Broccolini coming up soon.
Bok Choy - is a Chinese vegetable that is one of the first crops to mature in spring. Different from the other early, more leafy greens, bok choy has a hearty stem, or rib, that makes it ideal for sautéing, grilling, roasting, steaming, and boiling. We also love eating it raw, using it in slaws or salads. If you want to eat the stems whole (it makes for an impressive presentation) the trick is to soften them enough that you can easily cut them with a knife or a fork. I like to use a combination of steaming and frying with high heat to get softened stems, with a crispy crust and leaves.
Kale - It’s green season, clearly! Greens love spring and fall, and because we have so much other stuff in the summer, we don’t really try to fight the weather and keep the greens growing during the summer. They’ll make an appearance in fall again, but enjoy them while they’re here. My absolute favorite way to eat kale is what I eat literally every day for lunch: de-stemmed kale, sautéed quickly with olive oil (tops two minutes, high heat in a wok), next to an egg on toast and a little ferment or dressing or whatever is seasonal and lends itself to some additional flavor.
Komatsuna - is grown in Japan and Taiwan. We treat it like a hearty spinach leaf; it can be eaten raw or cooked. It’s great in an omlet, stir fry, and soup. Sometimes I like to make little tuna salad wraps with the raw leaves adding the stem to the tuna instead of celery. If you can’t figure out what else to do with it, just chop it up and eat it with your salad mix. This early in the season, leafy greens are what’s on the menu - so get em while you can. They’re a great source of fiber and vitamin C!
Our dinner the other night. Sautéed Bok Choy (no oil, salted, in a walk, stems separated individually), fried turnips like the recipes to the left. Green garlic sautéed in lots of butter and then mixed with chili crisp, coconut milk rice, grilled chicken thighs, and cilantro as a garnish.
Japanese Salad Turnips - We love “Hakurei” turnips! They have become very popular among our members because of their tenderness and sweetness, unlike a storage turnip, which has a tendency to be more dense and slightly bitter. We definitely recommend trying them raw; on a salad, sandwich, salad, or just plain. They also sauté nicely and pair well with napa cabbage, bok choy, carrots, and scallions. The greens are also delicious and nourishing! Add them to salads or stir fries. My favorite way to eat Japanese salad turnips: Cut turnips in half or quarters, (I like to leave a little stem and the root on for cuteness) heat a cast iron on medium-medium high and add coconut oil, olive oil, or butter with a sprinkle of salt. Place turnips cut side down once the pan is hot. Cover. Let cook for 10-15 minutes and try to resist moving them around (you want them to brown). The steam will cook the inside of the turnips while the heat will brown the outside. After 15 minutes, give them a poke with a fork. If you can easily pierce them and the bottom is crispy, they’re done. If not, continuing cooking while covered. If they’re soft but not brown, take the cover off and turn up the heat a little until they get crispy. Toss in miso or soy sauce and eat with rice or noodles or by themselves.
Green Garlic- is just young garlic. You can use it just like garlic but you can use the stem, too! I cut up the stems until the leaves start feeling dry. Discard the dry leaves or use them in a stock!
recipes to try
Bok Choy 101 (super helpful!)
Stir Fried Chinese Mustard Greens (use komatsuna instead!)
We added permanent fencing and permanent irrigation to our pasture. This may seem like boring and lame, but it alleviates major daily chores for us. Now if only those birds will starting laying…