I’ve been getting quite a few questions about the greens on my market table, all revolving around a common theme: What are those? So let’s take a deep-dive into greens today!

First up is the lettuce. I think part of the confusion here was my display last week, as I had several heads set tight together in a basket, making it difficult to differentiate one from another. Also, this variety has beautiful red-tinged leaves in a loose head, rather than the standard green, tighter heads commonly found in the grocery store. Called Marvel of Four Seasons (Merveille des Quatre Saisons in the original French), this heirloom butterhead lettuce is equally great on sandwiches and in salads, especially with warm bacon dressing (ask me for a recipe card at the market!).

Those tall, blue-green leaves with purple stems standing in a basket like a bouquet are actually kale! This unique heirloom, called Ragged Jack, has a milder flavor and more tender texture than many other varieties. I’ve been putting it in everything this spring: stir-fry, burritos, creamy quinoa, kale salad, chicken quinoa salad, and even egg salad. And I’ve heard from many people that it’s the best kale they’ve ever tasted! So even if you’re on the fence about kale, you might want to give this one a try.

At the Broadway Community Market tomorrow (8 a.m. to noon), in addition to kale and lettuce, I will have a few bunches of radishes and lots of sugar snap peas, as well as plants, garlic salt, and knitted and crocheted items.

See you at the market!

I have a little bit of everything to bring to the market tomorrow morning: radishes, kale, and green onions of course, as well as the first few heads of lettuce and sugar snap peas. The peas are super sweet and flavorful, and the lettuce, an heirloom variety called Marvel of Four Seasons, is stunning.

In addition to the spring vegetables, I also have plants for sale. The citronella scented geraniums help repel mosquitos from the porch, and if you bring them inside over winter, they’ll last for years. You can pick up some celery starts as well. Finally, there are the Red Currant cherry tomato starts. I sold half pints of these tiny, flavorful tomatoes last year, but I’ve decided not to grow them a second season. So if you want cherry tomatoes, buy a start or two and enjoy growing your own – these wild, bushy plants are great producers!

It looks like we might get some much-needed rain tomorrow afternoon, so come out and enjoy the sunshine with us in the morning. Once again, we’ll have about a dozen vendors setting up with produce, meat, eggs, honey, baked goods, handmade items, and more. And Jillian’s Farmstead Kitchen is planning to make her famous grilled pimiento cheese, bacon, and tomato sandwiches, so come hungry! They’re delicious.

See you at the market!

The Fairydiddle Farm market garden is very small, just 1,500 square feet, but you might be surprised how much can fit in so little space. I created 4-by-20-foot beds to maximize the growing space and minimize pathways, and I use intensive growing methods like intercropping and succession planting to make the most of my little garden. For example, the photos below show the winter squash bed and a tomato bed.

If you don’t see winter squash or tomatoes in those beds, that’s because they’re not there. Yet. Right now, the squash bed is full of peas, radishes, and kale. Look closely: you might notice a few gaps in the kale, about every three plants. That’s where I’ve just sown Potimarron squash seeds. By the time the squash vines begin spreading out, the spring crops in that bed should be about done, so I can pull out the plants and make room for the squash to take over.

The tomato bed, too, has a row of peas down the middle, with lettuce and green onions to one side. The other side of that bed is actually empty, and that’s where one row of tomatoes will go (soon!). I’ll pull out the peas when they wane and the tomato vines get tall. But the difference in this bed is that I’m hoping the shade cast by the tomatoes will allow the lettuce to continue growing longer into the summer.

Two other beds also have a row of peas down the middle and maybe some radishes at either end; these are the sweet potato bed and another tomato bed, the latter of which will have two full rows of tomatoes. Okra is sprouting between outer rows of celery, and zucchini plants share a bed with carrots. Annual herbs like basil, dill, and cilantro will get tucked into the ends of beds, and marigolds will fill a few gaps.

In the meantime, I’m harvesting kale, radishes, and green onions for you to pick up at the market. I’m finding there are countless delicious ways to combine these three vegetables, such as in stir-fry, burritos, and quinoa salad.

I might bring along a few plants to the market as well! Plus the peas are beginning to plump, and the lettuce is forming loose heads, so I should finally have some of those on the table next week.

See you at the market!