Harvesting Amaranth and Melons

We started harvesting amaranth leaves last week, the first of our summer greens. As you can see in the photo, the variety we’re growing has green leaves with tinges of maroon branching out from the center. Amaranth is a delicious summer alternative to spinach that cooks up quickly and retains its beautiful colors once cooked. Since our amaranth has performed well so far, we just transplanted a second succession so that we’ll be able to enjoy it all summer long. If you’d like to try this delicious leafy green, make sure to stop by the veggie wagon on Saturday from 8am to noon.

Brand new to the harvest lineup this week are melons! We made sure to do a taste test on both our watermelons and muskmelons for a little quality control and we can confidently say they’re deliciously sweet and juicy. Our Sugar Baby watermelons are what is known as an “icebox” or “picnic” variety because they are small enough to easily fit inside your fridge or a picnic basket. They have dark green skin and red flesh along with that quintessential watermelon flavor. Since this is the first harvest of our watermelons and muskmelons, availability will be limited.

Though it might sound odd, summer is the perfect time on the farm to grow winter squashes. Winter squashes need a longer period of warmer days to mature compared to our summer squash varieties. One variety of winter squash we’re experimenting with this year is the Seminole pumpkin. This pumpkin variety was traditionally grown by the Calusa, Creek, and Miccosukee peoples in the area known today as the state of Florida. Seminole pumpkins produce bell-shaped fruits that are tan in color with orange flesh. We’re excited to see how these pumpkins do!