According to the USDA Bulletin #8, "Composition of Foods" (Haytowitz and Matthews 1984), dandelions rank in the top 4 green vegetables in overall nutritional value. Minnich, in "Gardening for Better Nutrition" ranks them, out of all vegetables, including grains, seeds and greens, as tied for 9th best. According to these data, dandelions are nature's richest green vegetable source of beta-carotene, from which Vitamin A is created, and the third richest source of Vitamin A of all foods, after cod-liver oil and beef liver! They also are particularly rich in fiber, potassium, iron, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and the B vitamins, thiamine and riboflavin, and are a good source of protein.

These figures represent only those published by the USDA. Studies in Russia and Eastern Europe by Gerasimova, Racz, Vogel, and Marei (Hobbs 1985) indicate that dandelion is also rich in micronutrients such as copper, cobalt, zinc, boron, and molybdenum, as well as Vitamin D.

STORAGE

Dandelion greens can be stored in a bag in the fridge for up to a week.

Winter squash, members of the Cucurbitaceae family and relatives of both the melon and the cucumber, come in many different varieties. While each type varies in shape, color, size and flavor, they all have hard protective skins that are difficult to pierce that gives them a long storage life of up to six months and a hollow inner seed containing cavity. 

We grow Butternut, Sunshine, Acorn, Buttercup & Sweet Dumpling Varieties.

STORAGE

Winter squash should be stored at room temperature - and dry. Keep in paper bags or baskets out of direct sunlight and they will last months.

Tomatoes have fleshy internal segments filled with slippery seeds surrounded by a watery matrix. They can be red, yellow, orange, green, purple, or brown in color. Although tomatoes are fruits in a botanical sense, they don't have the dessert quality sweetness of other fruits. Instead they have a subtle sweetness that is complemented by a slightly bitter and acidic taste. Cooking tempers the acid and bitter qualities in tomatoes and brings out their warm, rich, sweetness. 

We grow a wide variety of beefsteak, heirloom, and cherry tomato varieties.  

STORAGE

Tomatoes should never be refrigerated until they (1) have been cooked, (2) have been cut or put into a raw dish like a salsa, or (3) are fully ripe and would spoil if left further at room temperature. Place tomatoes stem end up, and don't put them on a sunny windowsill to hasten ripening. Instead, put tomatoes in a sealed paper bag with or without ethylene-producing fruit such as bananas. Ripe tomatoes will hold at room temperature for two or three days. Ripe tomatoes you've refrigerated to keep from spoiling will taste better if you bring them to room temperature before eating.

The sweet potato has yellow or orange flesh, and its thin skin may either be white, yellow, orange, red or purple. Sometimes this root vegetable will be shaped like a potato, being short and blocky with rounded ends, while other times it will be longer with tapered ends. There is often much confusion between sweet potatoes and yams; the moist-fleshed, orange-colored root vegetable that is often called a "yam" is actually a sweet potato. 

STORAGE

Store Sweet Potatoes between 55°F and 65°F in a dark, dry, cool place, for up to one month, or use within one week if stored at room temperature. If refrigerated, their natural sugar will turn to starch and ruin the flavor.

Summer Squash/Zucchini are harvested when immature (while the rind is still tender and edible). 

STORAGE

Summer squash should be kept cool but not cold, about 41° F to 50° F with good humidity.

The rutabaga, swede (from Swedish turnip), or yellow turnip (Brassica napobrassica) is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip.

STORAGE

Store in a plastic bag in the fridge to retain moisture.

The potato belongs to the Solanaceae or nightshade family whose other members include tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and tomatillos. They are the swollen portion of the underground stem which is called a tuber and is designed to provide food for the green leafy portion of the plant. We grow many different varieties of potatoes, including Keuka Gold, Red, Purple, Yukon Gold, Fingerling, and more!

STORAGE

Potatoes like cool (45°F to 50°F) humid (but not wet) surroundings, but refrigeration can turn the starch in the potatoes to sugar and may tend to darken them when cooked. Store in burlap, brown paper, or perforated plastic bags away from light, in the coolest, non-refrigerated, and well-ventilated part of the house. Under ideal conditions they can last up to three months this way, but more realistically, figure three to five weeks. New potatoes should be used within one week of purchase. Don't store onions and potatoes together, as the gases they each give off, will cause the other to decay.

Sweet peppers are plump, bell-shaped vegetables featuring either three or four lobes. They usually range in size from 2 to 5 inches in diameter, and 2 to 6 inches in length. Inside the thick flesh is an inner cavity with edible bitter seeds and a white spongy core. Bell peppers are not 'hot'. They contain a recessive gene that eliminates capsaicin, the compound responsible for the 'hotness' found in other peppers. We grow green bell peppers, that if left on the plant, will turn yellow and then red. 

STORAGE

Peppers like cool not cold temperatures, ideally about 45°F to 50°F with good humidity. Peppers are ethylene sensitive, so they should not be stored near ethylene-producing food such as pears or apples. Put peppers in plastic bags and they will keep up to five days in the refrigerator. Green peppers will keep slightly longer than the other, more ripe, varieties.

The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a root vegetable related to the carrot. Parsnips resemble carrots, but are paler than most of them and have a stronger flavor. Like carrots, parsnips are native to Eurasia and have been eaten there since ancient times. 

STORAGE

Keep refrigerated (32-36°F), storing in a perforated plastic bag to retain moisture. 

The word onion comes from the Latin word unio for "single," or "one," because the onion plant produces a single bulb, unlike its cousin, the garlic, that produces many small bulbs. The name also describes the union (also from unio) of the many separate, concentrically arranged layers of the onion. We grow several different varieties of onions, including Walla Walla, yellow, and red.

STORAGE

Store in a cool, dry, well ventilated place, in single layers. If the onions at home show signs of sprouting, cut away the sprouts and use them immediately. Use fresh onions (like Walla Walla) within a week.