Veg of the Week 6/22/20: Tatsoi
Tatsoi is a delightful green that goes by many names including, rosette bok choy, broadbeak mustard, spinach mustard, or spoon mustard. It can be used just like Spinach or Bok Choy with a flavor more like mustard greens. It is most often served raw but can also stand up to a quick saute or a last minute addition to soups.
We love separating the leaves and sauteing it whole in oil on high heat and finishing it with a splash of vinegar and a healthy sprinkle of flaky salt.
You can use the whole head (rosette) or cut just above the stem to separate into leaves. It's great for bulking salads and creating tasty side dishes!
We are new to growing Tatsoi and still learning how the land we farm on is affected by insects. A few days after transplanting the tatsoi we found flea beetles in the garden. Flea beetles are a very small beetle that prefer eating plants in the Brassica and Nightshade families. They make small, irregular holes that cause only aesthetic damage to plants as long as the plants are established. Because our plants were started in our greenhouse, the amount of damage did not harm the plant's development.
If you recognize flea beetles in your garden, there are ways to stop them. Using a garden cloth over a newly planted bed can keep pests out (we use Reemay, from Naomi's Farm Supply) until they are mature enough to not be damaged irreparably. Crop rotation can also help. By planting a non brassica or nightshade crop afterwards, you can ensure that the next crop will not be susceptible to their damage.
What else is growing:
We've stopped sowing radish for the summer. As the heat moves in the radishes become hotter and more prone to pests. You can look forward to new radish varieties this fall! We'll be planting black, watermelon, and daikon radishes!
Tatsoi is our vegetable of the week, learn more about it below!
We still have Red lettuce, Hakurei Turnips, Chiogga and Boldor beets (perfect for your next salad)
Notes from the Farm:
Above is a Lorquin's Admiral butterfly, we found it fluttering from bean plant to bean plant, apparently found commonly around the forest's edge and in orchards. More info at butterfliesandmoths.org