Hattie’s Garden will begin the harvest of fresh young ginger this week. As our tomatoes begin to dwindle and the weather has wrecked havoc on our salad greens, we decided it was time for a treat. Our ginger has grown well this summer and although we normally would wait a couple more weeks to begin the harvest, we are going to do a debut this week.

Come to our Wednesday market or Saturday market very early to get a piece of our ginger, or stop by the house Thursday or Friday afternoon from 2 to 5.

Fresh young ginger is nothing like what you may be used to using. Fresh young ginger is so tender it does not need to be peeled and can even be eaten raw.

Fresh young ginger is highly perishable and has been growing for only about 6 months instead of the year needed for the more fibrous and fiery and much less perishable gnarled roots available from the grocery store. Nevertheless, if you store your young ginger properly, it will last well for at least a couple of weeks. Place in a plastic bag, seal and store in your crisper. Make sure the ginger is dry. You may also freeze your ginger for use over the winter. Clean well, dry and place in a freezer bag. You can grate the frozen ginger as you need it.

For this week, we ask that you purchase only small pieces for immediate use and wait for our larger harvest in September. We will limit large purchases so that we may serve as many customers as possible.

Change in Hattie’s Garden Hours — Thursday and Friday: 2 to 5

Our wonderful summer farmhand, Zoe Kelly, will soon return to her senior year in high school. Thank you Zoe! As our staff is reduced and fall approaches, we are also in a critical planting time for fall crops. Hours at the garden will be reduced afternoons to 2 to 5 on Thursday and Friday. If this does not work for you, please email Hattie to to arrange an alternative time.

What’s Available This Week

The following will be available at Hattie’s Garden on Thursday & Friday from 2 to 5 located at 31341 Kendale Road in Lewes, on Wednesday from 8 to 11 at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market (HLFM) located at Kings Highway across from Crooked Hammock Brewery, and the HLFM on Saturday from 8 to noon located at George H.P. Smith Park (Block House Pond).

• Loose Leaf Lettuce — Limited.Triple-washed and kept cold for you in our coolers.
• Cherry Tomatoes — Mixed pints in all colors and sizes.
• Heirloom Tomatoes — Limited. Beautiful Cherokee Purple, rich, creamy, tender German Johnson, and the jewel in the crown Striped German.
  
• Fresh Young Ginger — Limited. Mild and tender enough to eat raw in salads, it has an almost translucent skin that is so thin it doesn’t need peeling; you can practically rub it off. Just wash it and trim the cut surfaces.
• Herbs — Fresh-cut Rosemary, English Thyme, Lemon Thyme, Marjoram and Oregano.
• Specialty Cut Flowers — Bouquets this week will include plenty of zinnias, gomphrena, ageratum, celosia and more. Stunning and colorful and guaranteed to last a week. We can also prepare a custom bouquet on the spot.
• Rosemary Plants — Rosemary ‘Arp’ is a hardy and wonderfully flavored cultivar of rosemary. It will survive our winters and planting in late summer and early fall guarantees a well established plant for next year. Our plants are large and healthy and will be available both at the market and at the garden for the next few weeks.

Yours in the Garden & Markets,