Harvest of the Month
February
Embedded Files
Maine Root Vegetables!
Maine Root Vegetables!
The Carrot bed at Talbot Elementary
A root vegetable is a vegetable that grows underground!
Many root vegetables have edible leaves! Examples include beet greens, carrot tops, and radish greens
Parsnips have a long growing season and benefit from some fall frosts before harvest. Some farmers heavily mulch their parsnips in the fall and leave them all winter. This yields a very sweet parsnip.
The compound that makes radishes spicy is the same one that makes mustard, horseradish and wasabi spicy!
Carrots were first cultivated in Afghanistan and Iran.
Look for local root vegetables on this month's menu!
(carrots on 2/13 and sweet potatoes 2/16)
Check out this cross section of how various root vegetables grow! Can you name any of these vegetables?
Radish Harvest at Talbot Elementary
Radish Harvest at Talbot Elementary
Radish!
Radish!
(Those little roots coming off the radish are called root hairs. They help the radish absorb nutrients and water from the soil.)
This Month's Menu Will Feature Carrots from Two Farmers Farm in Scarborough
Two Farmers Farm is just 20 minutes from Portland. Kelsey and Dominic are the stewards of 25 acres of farmland in Scarborough, ME.
Some crops they grow include, baby kale, arugula, carrots, potatoes, parsnips, rhubarb and salad mix!
Two Farmers Farm carrots will be in school lunch on February 13th!
Check out their website for more information about their farm!
Kelsey with Carrots for PPS
Crunchy Local Carrots
Q:How do you like to eat carrots in the winter? In the summer?
A: One of our favorite ways to eat carrots in the winter is an easy "flash pickle": slice carrots into thin rounds or matchsticks and soak in a simple brine made out of vinegar, a little bit of sweetener (like Maine honey or maple syrup), salt, and optional spices (such as mustard seed, dill, hot pepper, or cloves). You can eat these pickles in a "flash" after just a few minutes of marinating, and they will taste even better after a night in the fridge. In the summer, we like to eat a salad of grated raw carrot, sort of like coleslaw but with carrot instead of cabbage, dressed with a healthy "ranch dressing" that I make with plain yogurt, lemon juice, dill and some other seasonings.
Q: What were your favorite things to eat for school lunch as a kid?
A: I remember really liking the chocolate milk that was served in my school cafeteria. I grew up drinking powdered milk at home, so the real chocolate milk at school was a treat!
Q:Did you have a gardening class when you were in elementary school? When were you first exposed to growing vegetables?
A:Neither of us had any gardening classes in school, but our parents had vegetable gardens at home that we got to help with. Kelsey remembers harvesting cucumbers and helping her mom make refrigerator pickles, and Dominic's parents had a huge vegetable garden that produced a lot of the produce that they ate as a family.
Vole (likes to eat root crops)
Heron (eats the voles and mice that eat the root crops)
Parasitic Wasp (helps control other insects that are damaging crops)
Q:What is something you love about the land/ecology of where you live?
A:The land that we farm is home to an abundance of wild predators including herons, coyotes, and wasps. Healthy populations of predators are essential for a healthy ecosystem, are a sign of ecological balance, and are not at all threatening to humans or pets. They also help us on the farm! The herons eat the mice and voles (a small rodent similar to a mouse) that like to eat our root crops, the coyotes also eat small rodents and deter larger animals like the wild turkeys and deer that like to eat everything we grow, and the parasitic wasps kill "bad" insects like caterpillars and aphids that damage the leaves of our crops.
Coyote (keeps away other large animals that like to eat crops)
Thanks for the pictures, Two Farmers Farm!
This Month's Menu Will Also Feature Sweet Potatoes from Green Meadow Farms in Mapleton, ME
Green Meadow Farms is a 3rd generation farm located in Aroostook County.
Their sweet potatoes will be in the school lunches on February 16th with the chicken nuggets!
Check out their facebook page for more information about their farm!
Harvesting Sweet Potatoes
Harvesting Sweet Potatoes
Shutterstock/Alexander Knyazhinsky
Sweet Potatoes, despite their name, are not related to potatoes. They are in the morning glory family. The part of the sweet potato we eat is a "tuberous root".
Picture: Getty
Sweet potatoes require a longer growing season and warmer soil. Nevertheless, farmers in Maine have figured out how to grow sweet potatoes in our cooler Maine climate.
Drawing: Louisiana Ag in the Classroom
Processed vs. Raw
A raw food is a food that is in it's natural state. We change a food when we process it. Processing a food can include chopping it up, cooking it and pickling it. Some root vegetables can be eaten raw or processed (radish, carrot, beets) while other need to be processed by cooking in order for us to eat them (sweet potatoes, potatoes, parsnips). Raw and processed vegetables are all great nourishment!
Beets (raw)
Beets (raw)
Pickled Beets (processed)
Pickled Beets (processed)
Carrots (raw)
Carrots (raw)
Carrot Muffins (processed)
Carrot Muffins (processed)
Sweet Potato (raw)
Sweet Potato (raw)
Roasted Sweet Potato (processed)
Roasted Sweet Potato (processed)
Is a Baby Carrot Really a "baby carrot"?
Sometimes carrots may naturally grow small because the soil is too compacted. They still taste great!
You probably see baby carrots on the salad bar at school from time to time. Watch this video to learn about the history of baby carrots.
Can you spot the baby carrots on Portland High School's salad bar?
Storage Crops
Pictures of Root Cellars
Although we are celebrating root vegetables as the Harvest of the Month, it's important to note that right now, in February, there is not much being harvested in Maine. We celebrate crops like potatoes, carrots, beets, etc. this time of year because they are great storage crops.
Storage crops are products that are held post-harvest in a semi-controlled or controlled environment, for use/sale over the ensuing weeks and months. Most are harvested in the fall, then held for winter storage in a cool environment the right humidity.
People living in cold climates have always had to figure out how to sustain themselves over a long winter. Storing nutrient dense root crops over the winter was important to survival.
We can store root crops in our homes without a root cellar. Ideally, to make your root crops last a long time, you should store them in a place that is dark and cool.
Root crops like carrots, radishes, beets and turnips will do great in your refrigerator.
Root Vegetable Videos
Root Vegetable Recipes
Want to make pickles?
Don't have a lot of time?
Make these quick pickles!
Photo: America's Test Kitchen
Spice Roasted Carrots
Spice Roasted Carrots
This recipe roasts carrots whole (no chopping!) which makes for a fun presentation and easier prep. A yummy spice blend pairs well with the sweet carrots and you can use the green carrots tops as a garnish!
Full Recipe here
More Recipes from the
Page updated
Report abuse