Hattie’s Garden is pulling young, beautiful Hakurei turnips this week. If you usually turn your nose up at turnips, you may be in for a sweet surprise with this Japanese variety! They are sweet, delicate, small white morsels of delight with the nicest greens of any turnip we have ever seen.

Pronounced “hawk-ur-eye” or “hah-kur-ee”, the Hakurei turnip is no ordinary turnip. They are not spicy and bitter like the standard purple top turnips. Their sweetness is often a surprise to those tasting them for the first time. In fact, kids love Hakurei turnips raw on a salad plate! It truly needs a different name than “turnip” as it is nothing whatsoever like the typical mashed turnip you may have grown up with.

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.

If you do want to cook them, the simply delightful-never-stringy greens are fast to cook in a few minutes and they are not “hairy” like the tough old turnip greens you can buy in the supermarket. The turnips themselves never need to be peeled, even as they get larger.

For further reading, see our Hakurei Turnips FAQ, and check out some of our favorite recipes: Hattie’s Steamed Hakurei Turnips, Hakurei Turnip Salad, and Grilled Hakurei Turnips.

New Friday Hours

We have changed our hours on Friday and are now open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Thanks go to Brook Hedge for this important suggestion. Hattie roams about in the comfort of her garden without a thought to Friday traffic. Somehow it did not occur to her that folks might be loath to travel about the local area in the late afternoon on a Friday in August!

Our Thursday hours will remain the same — 3 to 6 p.m.

If you have suggestions for a different time-frame, please do let Hattie know.

You may also make arrangements directly with Hattie to pickup items outside of those hours. Simply send an email for these concerns.

What’s Available This Week

If you want to be sure you get exactly what you would like, or if it is more convenient for you, please stop by Hattie’s Garden on Thursday from 3 to 6 or Friday from 1 – 5 p.m.

We will also be at the Historic Lewes Farmer’s Market (HLFM) on Saturday, from 8 a.m. to noon. If you would like to purchase your loose leaf lettuce or mesclun at the HLFM, we can put it aside for you. Simply send an email Hattie. You can then pickup your salad greens from a special reserved cooler we will keep behind the tables. Please be sure to take what you reserved from the reserve cooler so we know what we have. At 11, we will put all unclaimed reserved salad greens up for regular sale unless you have specifically requested a late pickup.

• Hakurei Turnips — This is no ordinary turnip. It’s sweet, crunchy, and great raw in a salad, yet versatile enough to be added to soups and stir fries.
• Young Red Russian Kale — As we begin our fall garden, we also begin thinning and bunching beautiful young Red Russian kale. At this stage of growth, it is still nice and tender for raw eating and doesn’t need to be “massaged“.



• Tomatoes — We continue to pull beautiful German Johnson, Striped German and Cherokee Purple from the garden, as well as a mixture of heirloom and hybrid cherry and grape tomatoes that are just lovely for munching. We will “sample” these gastronomic delicacies the first hour or so at the market, as well as at the garden, so you may taste them. Hattie can talk to you about flavor and acidity.

  We hope the heirlooms will last through our Labor Day market, but they are going fast and if you want to try them, please come by the garden this week or next to be sure to get what you want.

• Young Arugula — We have a good supply of this beautiful and flavorful green vegetable.
• Loose Leaf Lettuce — Limited quantities this week. Stop by the Garden on Thursday or Friday for best bet, or let Hattie know by email you would like to reserve.
• Mesclun — Limited quantities this week. Stop by the Garden on Thursday or Friday for best bet, or let Hattie know by email you would like to reserve.
• Haricot Vert Beans — The ‘Maxibel‘ variety is a gourmet specialty that is nice long, slender, tender and succulent.
• Green Beans — The ‘Provider‘ variety is well flavored, nice and fresh. We always pick when young.



• Peppers — We have a limited supply of sweet and hot peppers. Stop by the Garden for best selection.

• Flowers — We can make you a custom bouquet while you wait that will include just the flowers you want, or you may chose from one of our beautiful pre-made arrangements. Each bouquet comes with a packet of flower food. These bouquets should last at least a full week for you as we cut and condition them professionally. Available this week are:
  
  • Benary Giant Zinnias — These big, bright, and bold flowers are always a favorite.
  • Gladiolus — Tall flower spikes adorned with large, beautiful flowers.
  • Tall Blue Ageratum — This is a great cut flower with a good vase life. The cool blue color wonderfully sets off the hot colors of other summer flowers such as zinnias.
  • Double-click Cosmos — Available in an array of colors such as white, pink, cranberry and rose.
  • Gomphrena — A very nice purple filler that can also stand alone.

Yours at the market and garden…