The post Stand is open today until 6pm – LOTS of Broccoli and Cauliflower appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.

A staple in Asian cooking, this round-leafed vegetable may be less familiar to American cooks. Here's what you need to know -- including what its name means, how to wash it, and how to use it.

Bok Choy's Name

Bok choy is sometimes referred to as white cabbage, not to be confused with Napa cabbage, which is also a type of Chinese cabbage. There are many kinds of bok choy that vary in color, taste, and size, including tah tsai and joi choi.

Bok Choy's Family

Bok choy might look a lot like celery, but it’s a member of the cabbage family.

Bok Choy History

The Chinese have been cultivating the vegetable for more than 5,000 years.

Bok Choy Cultivation

Although the veggie is still grown in China, bok choy is now also harvested in California and parts of Canada.

Cooking with Bok Choy

Bok choy, known for its mild flavor, is good for stir-fries, braising, and soups and can also be eaten raw.

Cleaning Bok Choy

The leaves and the stalks can both be cooked, but should be separated before washing to ensure that both parts are thoroughly cleansed.

Keeping Bok Choy

For optimal freshness, don’t wash bok choy until you’re ready to use. Unused parts can stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to six days.

Bok Choy Vitamins

The veggie is packed with vitamins A and C -- one cup of cooked bok choy provides more than 100% of the recommended dietary allowance of A, and close to two-thirds the RDA of C.

Growing Bok Choy

The veggie takes about two months from planting to harvest and thrives best in milder weather.

The post Bok Choy 101 appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.

Erin and I enjoying the first strawberries from the farm. Can't beat having a fresh berry before November! In two weeks we should have enough in production for the produce delivery customers. Will keep you posted!
[contact-form]

The post Enjoying the First Hydroponic Strawberries from our Farm appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.

The lettuce in the plugs is about ready to be transplanted. Once transplanted it will take about a month until it is ready to eat. Like the lettuce in the black crate which will be available at the produce stand today!

The post Hydroponic Butterhead Lettuce from plug to the plate! appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.

These plants were planted September 19th. Approximately 40 days for red berries.

Plug strawberry plants planted on September 23rd

Bareroot strawberry plants planted on September 16th

Bareroot strawberries plants planted on September 16th

Hydroponic leaf mix

Hydroponic leaf mix

Hydroponic Leaf Mix

Hydroponic Red Butterhead

Hydroponic Romaine lettuce

Hydroponic Kale

The Kale and Lettuce is growing well. Will be ready for delivery in a couple weeks.

This kale has some damage from a large grasshopper. Picked them off the kale and lettuce this morning and will be spraying a preventative to keep the grasshoppers out of the farm.

This lettuce plant was eaten overnight by a large grasshopper. Amazing how much damage this grasshopper did overnight.

The post Pictures from the hydroponic farm appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.

Once you see the flowers it takes about 21 days for that flower to turn into fruit. Still at the beginning of bloom stage so it's about another 40 days until we have a ton of strawberries ready for delivery.

The post 21 days until this flower is a delicious strawberry! appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.

Want to see how we plant our seeds?

The post Great looking starters planted from seed appeared first on Backyard Food Solutions.