Farm Notes
It was a somewhat stressful weekend around here, as we had two nights in a row with temperatures below freezing, which meant we had to hustle around to cover nearly all our veggies to protect them from frost (the only things we didn’t cover were our alliums – garlic, onions, scallions, etc). While Thursday night ended up only getting down to about 30F, on Friday night it got down to the mid 20’s, and while most of our veggies fared alright, we did still get some frost damage in a few areas, which is a total bummer. Fingers crossed that this was the last hard freeze of the spring, because I really don’t want to have to get that row cover out again! Speaking of which, we buy big rolls of row cover from our local farm store, but if you’re looking for some frost protection for your home garden, here is a similar product to what we use that you can buy online (and that come in shorter lengths).
In other news, let’s talk potatoes! In this area, most people plant potatoes in mid/end of March. Keep in mind that potatoes are frost sensitive, so I’m actually glad that we were a little late getting our spuds in the ground this year, because the shoots still haven’t emerged above ground, which meant we didn’t have any frost damage during the past few chilly nights. so if you haven’t planted potatoes yet, now is the time!
Here are some instructions and tips for planting potatoes:
BEFORE YOU PLANT
1) Source your seed potatoes from a reputable local farm/garden store. While you technically can plant potatoes from the grocery store, your best bet is to buy seed potatoes that are specifically bred to be used to for growing potatoes (as grocery store potatoes are often treated to prevent sprouting).
2) It’s recommended to “green sprout” your seed potatoes a 1-3 weeks before you plant them, which means putting your whole seed potatoes in a box and leaving them in a warm (70-85 F) and dark place to encourage their eyes to begin sprouting. Be careful when handling to avoid breaking off sprouted eyes.
3) If your potatoes are especially large (over 4 ounces) and have lots of eyes, you can cut them into smaller pieces, which allows you to get more out of each potato. Think of the size/weight of a chicken egg as your ideal size, and try to have at least 2 eyes per seed piece. If you are going to cut your potatoes, I recommend doing this the day before you plant, to allow the cut part of the potato to heal over.
PLANTING YOUR POTATOES
1) Prepare the soil by adding compost and any other amendments to you bed. Dig a trench in your bed about 4”-6” deep.
2) Lay seed pieces eyes pointing up in the trench spaced 8”-12” apart for standard potato varieties and 12”-18” apart for fingerling varieties.
3) Cover potatoes with a few inches of soil, leaving a bit of a trench in the bed (because over time, you’ll want to “hill” your potatoes with additional soil from the sides of your trench).
TENDING YOUR POTATOES
1) Generally, potatoes need between 1-2 inches of water per week, which can be provided by rain or you to make up the difference.
2) You should “hill” your potatoes 2-3 times per season by loosening surrounding soil in the bed and pulling it up around the leaves and stems. Try to hill before the stems grow too long and start to flop over. You should pull between 2”-6” new soil up around the plants each time you hill.
After planting and covering your potatoes with soil, you should still have a bit of a trench in the bed, which will help with hilling the potatoes as they get larger over the next few months.
HARVESTING YOUR POTATOES
1) When buying your seed potatoes, make sure to check the recommended days to harvest for each variety. Some potato varieties will be ready to harvest in 60-70 days, while others will need 90-100 days to fully mature.
2) In general, potatoes are harvested after they go to flower and once the foliage begins to die back and turn brown. I’ll cover potato harvesting in more detail when that time comes this June! If you have any other questions about growing potatoes, feel free to send me a message. :)
Kitchen Notes
As someone who loves to cook, but doesn’t love doing dishes / spending hours in the kitchen, I’m all about sheet-pan dinners (ie, when a protein and side dish can cook together at the same time on a sheet pan and voila! you’ve got dinner and only one pan to clean). Last night, we had a darn good sheet pan dinner, and I’m so excited to share the recipe, which is adapted from Food52. It’s for Harissa Chicken with Potatoes, Leeks & Herby Yogurt Sauce. It’s packed with bright Mediterranean flavors, takes only a few minutes to prep, cooks for about 45 minutes in the oven, and makes for a fabulous weeknight meal that also feels special enough for a weekend dinner party.
SHEET PAN HARISSA CHICKEN WITH POTATOES, LEEKS & HERBY YOGURT
INGREDIENTS
1.5-2 lbs pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1” chunks
3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons harissa
1 teaspoon ground cumin
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
2-3 leeks, white and light green parts, halved lengthwise, rinsed, and thinly sliced into half-moons
Zest and juice of 1 lemon, divided
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 small garlic clove
1/2 cup chopped soft fresh herbs such as dill, parsley, mint, and/or cilantro leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
Heat the oven to 425°F.
Combine the chicken and potatoes in a large bowl. Season them with 2½ teaspoons of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. In a small bowl, whisk together the harissa, cumin, and 3 tablespoons of the olive oil. Pour this mixture over the chicken and potatoes, and toss to combine.
Arrange the chicken and potatoes in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet, and roast for 20 minutes.
While the chicken and potatoes are roasting, combine the leeks, lemon zest, ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl.
After the chicken and potatoes have been cooking for 20 minutes, use a spatula to toss the potatoes lightly, then scatter the leeks over the baking sheet. Roast until the chicken is cooked through and everything is golden and slightly crisped, 20 to 25 minutes longer.
While the chicken cooks, put the yogurt in a small bowl. Grate the garlic clove over the yogurt, add a handful of your chopped herbs and season with the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper, and juice of your lemon. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
To serve, you can spoon the yogurt over the chicken and veggies in the baking sheet, or you can transfer everything to serving platters/bowls. Scatter remaining herbs over everything, add a pinch (or two) of flakey sea salt, and drizzle with additional olive oil and/or lemon juice and enjoy!
Today’s Stats
Low temp: 43F
High temp: 74F
Sunrise: 6:59am
Sunset: 7:42pm
Moon phase: Waning Crescent
Additional notes: Sunny and beautiful all day.