Spring 2026 #4/10: Eat Like a Farmer (Even when it isn’t easy)

Written By Katie Green

One of the special things about eating locally and seasonally is that you get a chance to “eat like a farmer” without necessarily having to be a farmer. In April, this is easier said than done, because in April, we’re mired in the business of having to think like farmers and perform the very necessary day to day agricultural acts that make the more bountiful months possible. So this week, I thought it might be fun to broaden a bit and invite you into our very full headspace of being farmers in springtime as it pertains to you, as eaters.

Eat like it is the last chance for a while (or like you have to make room for the next big thing): In short, this is all about Raab Mix and Purple Sprouting Broccoli. Those hot sunny days last week were glorious, but they also prompted a whole lot of our overwintered brassicas into full flower. This toughens those tender stalks right up. Moreover the aphids (who did not die this winter) are having a feast on the Purple Sprouting Broccoli at an incredible pace. It is PAINFUL to say goodbye to a crop we and so many others love, but we also have to move on and make the space workable for future crops. It also helps that we have rented an implement called a flail mower that we use for cover cropping, and Mark has the opportunity to put it to use tonight…just before 7pm Because, this week, we’re also going to….

Eat like we’re getting ready for the rain to hit again. I know I am constantly talking about the weather, but it is anything but small talk. For Mark, this has meant hours and hours on the tractor already this weekend, mowing and plowing wherever it was prudent. For the crew, this meant clocking a few days of transplanting so that things could get “rained in,” since we don’t have irrigation set up in the field yet and would rather not. And for me, this meant thinking ahead to the way that folks might like to eat when April’s famous showers rolled in this week, and I picture this being as good a week to lean in and make an awesome pot of soup before we’re officially over it. So, it also meant sourcing organic Leeks and Potatoes from fellow growers in Mt. Vernon and getting ready to pull Celery Root from the root cellar in the morning so that we can make Celeriac Soup or a riff on Caldo Verde.

I know. I know. The roots. Monotony sets in during these unpredictable “hunger gap months” for sure, and it is all we can to do press on until things like Asparagus come on in full force. But, one of the cornerstones of being a farmer and eating like one is working with what you have. That is the third and most important tenet. Whether it is measured in hours, acreage, inches of rain, pounds, households or hands on deck, this is what our livelihood looks like in Spring. Our brains and bodies are a little sore, but thank goodness we’re surrounded by good food and great people to nourish us in so many ways.

Best,
Katie

IN THE FARMSHARES THIS WEEK:

Raab Mix (maybe PSB?)
Celery Root
Potatoes
Leeks
Frozen Blueberries

AT THE FARM STAND THIS WEEK
Katie Green
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Spring 2026 #3/10: Turning it UP!