Week 4: January 23 - 26

Going outside on the farm the last few days has felt a bit like coming out of hibernation. “High” temperatures in the negatives have a way of keeping even the hardiest among us indoors most of the time. Hope you weathered the frigid blast okay! We’re always amazed at the resilience of the living things around us in these temperatures - the rabbits and squirrels who make tracks in the yard, the chickens who cluck grumpily but venture outside the coop, the pine trees who seem completely unfazed by brutally cold temps.
It feels a little like wizardry to grow anything green in these winter months. The forces behind the curtains on some of that growing are our heaters, which keep our big hoophouse from dipping below 32 degrees and our smaller greenhouses above 45 when it’s cold out. But the spinach tunnels - those feel like real magic, even to us.
Spinach is a remarkably cold-tolerant crop. The freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw cycle doesn’t seem to bother the plants - on the contrary it encourages them to consolidate their sugars as a kind of natural anti-freeze, which makes winter spinach robust and sweet. But even spinach doesn’t fare well when temperatures plunge below zero and stay there.
Enter, the tunnels. The three moveable tunnels that house our tomatoes and cukes in the summer months are home to our spinach in the winter. And they’re so good at their job that we don’t supply any additional heat to these tunnels, all winter long. The tunnels harness the natural heat of the sun and the soil to provide a more temperate climate for the spinach to grow, even in the deepest depths of winter. We add two layers of agricultural fabric (called row cover) which helps keep the heat closer to ground level, and traps the residual warmth of the soil when the air starts to cool down again.
The result? On Tuesday morning, when we awoke to -19 outside, the tunnel hit its coldest point of the year: 15 degrees. That means even when the sun is long gone, the tunnel and row cover combination provide nearly 35 additional degrees. When it was -6 later that afternoon, the temperature in the spinach tunnels was above freezing, making it possible to harvest a crop - without heat from fossil fuels - even in subzero temperatures.

Hopefully we're on to milder weather and some happier growing conditions - for the plants and people alike!
Have a warmer week,
Chris, Ashley, Hallie, and the 10th Street Farm Crew
Reminder: Your bag is hanging BELOW your name on the bag rack.
In Your Bag This Week
Flavor Mix microgreens: Mild and tasty, these make an easy salad on their own or can add some color to any other salad. Try them on eggs or sandwiches – or anything, really! Store in a bag in your fridge.
Root Medley: A mix of beets, rutabaga, turnips, and carrots, perfect for chopping and roasting or using as the base of a root veggie soup or paired with roast chicken. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Persephone Mix salad greens: Our fresh-cut winter blend of lettuce and cold-hardy greens. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Spinach: Spinach gets sweeter the more it freezes and thaws as the plant produces sugars to use as an anti-freeze to keep the plant alive. That means the best spinach you can eat is grown in cold place! Use as a salad base, sautéed as a side dish or bake into a casserole. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Radishes: Small but mighty, these greenhouse-grown radishes offer a pop of color and flavor! Add to salads or sandwiches for a little extra zip. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Carrots: These carrots are sweet, crunchy, and oh so addicting! Store in your fridge.
Garlic: The best cooking advice we ever received? When a recipe calls for a clove of garlic, use two or three! Store on your counter.
Celery: Crunchy celery shoots full of flavor - great for fresh eating or in soups! Store in a bag in your fridge.

What should I make with what’s in the bag?
Not to brag, but this might be the best celery we've ever grown as farmers - crisp, crunchy, and full of flavor. Eat it fresh dipped in some garlic hummus or this vegan herb dip (sub the celery leaves for parsley!) Or try something off-the-beaten path like this shaved celery salad with fig and parmesan or (dare we even say it) a celery gimlet!
Elsewhere in the bag we've got a tasty root veggie medley with some golden beets, turnips, rutabaga, and carrots. The whole is more than the sum of its parts here, if you ask me - chop them up and roast them with some herbs and salt (under a chicken, if you roll that way) for a hearty veggie side. Or toss them in a big pot and make some vegan stew or a winter vegetable beef stew.
If you've found a recipe you're loving, please send it our way. We're always looking for new things to cook and share with other members!
We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home. Thanks!
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