A tale of cover crops
Cover crops are crops that farmers plant that will never be harvested to sell. They are crops that are seeded in between “cash crop” plantings to help build soil, add nutrients, prevent erosion and create pollinator habitat. Generally, cover crops are made of grains or grasses such rye, buckwheat, or millet and legumes such as vetch, peas or clover. They are a wonderful tool, touted by all in the organic industry as a perfect way to increase soil fertility and the health of your farm. I love cover crops, I love planting them and watching a good stand develop, I love seeing plants growing that will feed the soil and I love that they feed the bees. Here’s the problem: cover cropping is hard. It’s hard to find the time in between caring for vegetables to seed them, it’s hard to get the seeds, its hard to establish them before weeds take over, and it’s really really hard to kill them. Getting cover crops incorporated back into the soil to give them plenty of time to break down before planting vegetables is a real challenge. We do not have heavy equipment to help us with this problem and I watch my conventional farmer neighbors spray glyphosate to kill the crops in their fields while I wrestle with a plow for hours and hours trying to get cover crops tilled in and then have to wait weeks before planting. It’s a pain. It is one huge way I can truly tell you why organic agriculture is a very different beast then the conventional system of using chemical herbicides. It is a constant struggle between the need to care for crops to be harvested and those that will feed the crops in the future. Organic/sustainable farmers are working for the future even as our “cash crops” in most cases are barely supporting the present. Long story short: thank an organic farmer the next time you see them.
Cover crop scenes: a beautiful stand of field pea cover crops that need to be tilled in for fall vegetables plantings, those peas getting stuck in the plow over and over again, the amazing root nodules on the peas that are fixing nitrogen into the soil, and finally a selfie with the biggest head of lettuce ever (who says organic farming can’t feed the world?!)
The share:
radishes
hakurei turnips
specialty greens
escarole
scallions
head lettuce
salad mix
baby bok choy
curly kale
toscano kale
napa cabbage
green cabbage
baby fennel
beets!
kohlrabi
swiss chard
radicchio
sugar snap peas
Recipe of the week:
Sautéed Baby Bok Choy
SAM SIFTON
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1013418-sauteed-baby-bok-choy
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil, like canola
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 ½-inch piece ginger root, peeled and minced
¼ teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or to taste
4 bunches of baby bok choy, approximately 1½ pounds, cleaned, with the ends trimmed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon chicken stock or water
Toasted sesame oil for drizzling
PREPARATION
In a large sauté pan with a lid, heat oil over medium-high heat until it starts to shimmer. Add garlic, ginger and red-pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
Add bok choy and stir carefully to cover with oil, then cook for approximately 2 minutes. Add soy sauce, stock or water, then cover pan and cook for approximately 2 minutes more, until steam begins to escape from beneath the lid of the pan.
Uncover and continue to cook until liquid is close to evaporated and stalks are soft to the touch, approximately 3 minutes more.
Remove to a warmed platter and drizzle with sesame oil.