Nothing like a little nostalgia for the good ol days of harvest time, when the garden is fully rockin’ and rolling. We’ve decided to compile a little list of the things that made the biggest, prettiest, and tastiest impressions on us last season while we wait for things to burst forth into edible beauty this year.

For starters, the noodle beans, also called asparagus or yardlong beans, were absolutely fabulous! Similar to green beans but super-duper long and skinny, we grew both green and red varieties. Stir-fried with garlic and olive oil, they were simply delectable, and almost as fun to eat as spaghetti noodles when you were a kid!

We must have a thing for color, because next on the list is the purple and yellow varieties of cauliflower. They looked stunning at the market, and compared to grocery store cauliflower, the taste was a K.O. from the get-go.

The rainbow varieties of carrots (notice a theme here?) had a sweet delicate flavor hard to find in many orange varieties and were always a hit at the farmers’ market.

Did we leave out something you adored last year? If so, please tell us! We’d love to hear your favorites.

Dear Farm,
I was recently told that if your potatoes turn green and get eyes on them, they have turned poisonous and should be discarded. Is it true?

Spud Lover in Summit Hill

Dear Spud Lover,

I am shocked to report that the answer is…true! According to my favorite myth-buster, Snopes.com, the green parts on potatoes are caused by chlorophyll, just like the green parts on any other plants. This is not the dangerous part, but a warning color. The presence of chlorophyll indicates an increased presence of solanine, a toxin found in the leaves and stems of plants in the nightshade family to keep pests away. It can cause serious side effects and even death in humans (which is why you should never-ever eat the stems or leaves of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant).

Although it would require an average adult to eat 4 1/2 pounds of green-tinted potatoes to have any serious side effects, it is best not to serve viridescent potatoes, especially to children who have a much smaller body weight. The best bet is to toss them on the compost pile, plant them for your own potato bounty in late summer, or my personal favorite, make a fun craft project out of them!

If you have a question for the farm, please email us at wegrowveggies@msn.com with “Ask the Farm” in the subject heading.