Hattie’s Garden is pulling young, beautiful Hakurei turnips with nice greens this week. Though they may be hard to say (we’ve heard it pronounced “hawk-ur-eye” or “hah-kur-ee”), this Japanese variety is no ordinary turnip.

For those in the know, Hakurei turnips are some of the most versatile of vegetables — both their root (the turnip) and the greens are edible and delicious. Though there are any number of “white” Asian turnips that may look similar, Hakurei is the best and none can really compare.

The taste is unlike anything you’ve had and really nothing at all like the purple top turnips you may have grown up with. The lovely greens are smooth and absolutely delicious when steamed or boiled until tender (only a few minutes). The turnips themselves can be eaten raw or lightly cooked. We prefer to steam or boil the whole turnip plant together! We have not met anyone who hasn’t fallen in love with these once they have tried them! We really don’t think they should be called turnips!

In addition, it appears as though some of our Patty Pan Squash may have been pollinated and we are hopeful we can harvest a few of these delicacies this week! We have noticed just a small resurgence of flying insects in the garden and are hopeful the pollinator population will rebound.

You can find us on this week at Hattie’s Garden on Thursday and Friday from 2 to 5, at the the Wednesday Historic Lewes Farmers Market (HLFM) located by the Crooked Hammock Brewery on King’s Highway near Dartmouth Drive and Rt. 1., and at the HLFM on Saturday from 8 to 12. If these times/dates do not work for you, please email Hattie to make other arrangements.

Plants for Your Garden

Our plants sales are slowing down, but we do continue to offer wonderful flower plants for a few more weeks.

This week we have all of our Benary Giant Zinnia separate colors as well as the mixed Benary Giants. These beauties grow to 4 feet and more and allow large 3 to 4 inch blossoms with long stems for cutting.

We have shorter Cut n’ Come Again Zinnias of two feet high that do not need staked, and a medium height Oklahoma zinnia of 3-4 feet that might not need any support if grown with a bit of protection from the wind.

In addition, we are still carrying plenty of nice French marigolds and more Profusion bedding zinnias.

We continue to plant our cutting flowers throughout the month of July for fresh blooms every week.

Produce & Herbs

• Young Arugula — It’s beautiful, clean and very flavorful. Triple-washed and kept cold for you in our coolers.
• Loose Leaf lettuce — Cut at a young and tender stage of growth. Triple-washed and kept cold in our coolers.
• Mesclun — Mix of young arugula and loose leaf. Triple-washed and kept cold in our coolers.
• Swiss Chard — Delicious. Triple-washed and kept cold in our coolers.
• Green Beans — Beautiful and flavorful.
• Patty Pan Squash — Delightful summer squash that can be grilled or sauteed in just minutes. Could be limited.
• Hakurei Turnips with delicious tops — This white salad turnip sets the standard for flavor. Use both the greens and the turnips (which don’t need to be peeled).
• Flat Italian Parsley — Also known as flat-leaf parsley, Italian parsley is the best variety for cooking.

Flowers

Fresh cut specialty flowers this week include zinnias, snapdragons, cosmos, celosia, ageratum and dianthus.

Each bouquet is individually wrapped for you with a wet paper towel for safe transport home and comes with a packet of flower food.

These bouquets should last at least a full week. We are very proud of the quality of our flowers and they are grown along with everything else in our garden using organic farming principles. Be sure to use a clean vase!

Yours in the Garden & at the Markets,