Twenty Bag | Apr 27
In the April 27 Twenty Bag: Summer squash mix, red butterhead lettuce, watermelon radish mix, carrots, cilantro, Sea Island sweet onions, kohlrabi.
Thank you Harleston Towles and Rooting Down Farm!
I really enjoyed reading in Monday’s Twenty Bag email about Harleston’s efforts to keep Sea Island traditions alive.
“We plant for our friends and families, but also for wildlife,” says Towles. “The properties we grow on are home to so much more than our working farm. Birds, bees, deer, snake, turkey, duck, and everything in between. I try to do my best to minimize our impact on the wildlife that surrounds the place and in general, farm WITH nature, and not against it. As far as the farm goes though, we try to raise fairly traditional crops that have had a presence on the Sea Islands for quite some time, with some degree of specialization and novelty thrown into the mix.”
Towles points to the season’s first batch of exotic looking kohlrabi, a crunchy crucifer that’s delicious cooked and raw as well.
“That and Bok choi are about as crazy as we get over here,” adds Towles, all smiles.
I posted links to several recipes for the kohlrabi, kale and watermelon radish that showed up in a November ‘21 Bag—check it out if you need ideas.
For the rest of the Bag’s haul…a quick search of sweetgrass + grits will take you to plenty more recipes—all curated with an eye toward the weekly Twenty Bag harvest.
Harleston’s storage tips: If greens of any kind begin to wilt at any point or at pick up, put them in a big bowl of ice water for 20-30 minutes. Almost all produce is already washed and should go in the refrigerator. Remove carrot, kohlrabi, and radish tops upon receiving your bag. Radish tops can be discarded, kohlrabi tops can be sauteed/cooked/juiced, and carrot tops can be used for pesto or juicing. Carrots, radish, and kohlrabi should all go in a plastic bag of sorts to retain moisture and can last for a couple months like this. Kale, squash, lettuce, cilantro, and kohlrabi greens should all go in a plastic bag of sorts as well to retain leaf moisture.
