Quite a bit of this week’s box has either been grown indoors or is from indoor storage – and frankly with this weather that seems pretty reasonable! $30 boxes include garden pea shoots from Pegasus Sprouts – a hydroponic grower just south of Kingston that also grows a range of Microgreens and herbs. The kale in $30 and $40 boxes is from Hills Hydroponics, and is actually “living” kale – basically a seedling that’s mature enough to eat, but with a bit of care you could also plant it in the garden if you like! Hills have also supplied rosemary and basil – both great companions for the garlic that we’ve included in boxes over the past two weeks, which, like the apples, potatoes, onion, walnuts and pumpkin was harvested some time ago for storage for the winter. Winter storage takes a range of forms – produce like garlic, onion and walnuts go through a process of drying that allows them to store for varying degrees of time without spoiling; like walnuts, pumpkin has the benefit of an impervious outer layer that once broken drastically reduces how long it will last; apples can keep surprisingly long if kept at generally ambient winter temperatures, but these days are stored in special facilities that use a two-pronged approach to keeping the fruit fresh, by keeping it cold and removing the oxygen that would feed any of the microbes that cause rotting.
Thankfully there are still a few vegetables that enjoy this type of weather – cauliflower, broccoli and celery thrive in winter; carrots and lettuce grow more slowly, so we can only include the smaller bunched carrots and cos hearts at this time of year.
