We are very excited to announce a couple of new ingredients this week. The first being that hyper-seasonal Bloom Shoots from the Taylor Turnip Tops. Excellent flavor and texture raw or cooked. Read about it in the highlights! Second being a new pea available from Johnny McNair, our pea and butterbean grower. It turns out he had a little cache of another truly Southern staple: the Dixie Lee Crowder. Read their rich history and be inspired by their culinary potential below in our weekly updates. It won’t be long before spring is here along with it’s bounty. Until then give these to new offerings a try.
The Charleston Wakefield cabbage is out until the spring crop hits.
SPECIAL REQUEST: We kindly urge you to consider adding at least one of our own Bradford Farm grown crops to your weekly orders. We are working with quite a number of other farms to bring you the best access to regional flavor that we possibly can, but the heartbeat of our farm is our homegrown crops. We can’t exist without moving our own crops too. So please review the crops we offer under Bradford Farm Crops below and consider adding one or more of them. It helps us a ton.
Important Info
- Taylor Bloom Shoots here for one more week - text if interested (not on order form)
- Wakefield cabbage is done until spring crop
- Clem’s Bolero carrots are one week out!
- Gilfeather Turnabaga (SlowFood AOT) will be offered without the tops moving forward (greens sustained storm damage) - will be here for the spring
- Kirby cucumbers will be out of stock for a little bit. The quality has slipped as Florida farms are recovering from the devastating freeze they suffered a couple weeks ago. If you receive Florida produce please keep in mind the farmers there are dealing with a lot of damage.
- Feaster Mustard greens are in limited stock - Out for season!
⚠️ **Highlights of the week**⚠️
NEW! Blooms Shoots of the Taylor Turnip Tops - Bradford Farm (limited availability)
Bloom shoots from the famed Taylor Turnip Tops. Very tender. Beautiful yellow flowers. Fresh out of the field they hit you with a very noticeable cherry, berry, or red licorice flavor when consumed raw. After a day or more removed from harvest the cherry takes a back seat on the palate and might come through subtly at the back end. Still maintains a quiet brassica quality flavor wise. The stems are succulent and watery.
We have them for usually only 2 weeks every season, 3 weeks tops.
So I encourage you to take advantage of this wonderful seasonal special that nature has offered us.
The little yellow flowers make an excellent bright and inviting plate presentation to signify that spring is coming.
The shoots with the “turnip-ini” can be used like rapini, or broccolini, or grilled asparagus. You can get a nice char on them, plate with a light sauce and serve.
If you’re bold enough, serve them raw and share a story with the guest of the Taylor family’s turnip tops. (story available on the Taylor Turnip Top product page or simply ask us to provide one for you!)
Experience the freshness from the field and the unique qualities of this heirloom product which survived for hundreds of years to make it on the plate.
This is an opportunity to celebrate seasonal cooking and it shows on the smiles of all those who get to experience such a rare, delicious spring treat.
NEW! Dixie Lee field peas, fresh-frozen - Johnny McNair
Johnny’s Dixie Lee Field Peas are a traditional crowder-type pea, meaning they belong to the cowpea family and grow tightly “crowded” in the pod. That characteristic gives them their distinctive shape and hearty texture. These aren’t dried storage peas — they’re harvested fresh, while the seeds are still hydrated and tender, with their natural brown-and-tan coloring intact.
As a crowder, Dixie Lee carries a little more structure than cream peas. The skin holds, the interior softens evenly, and the flavor runs savory and nutty with a quiet sweetness underneath. They produce a broth with body — not thick, but substantial enough to feel complete.
Traditional Southern Service
This pea has long been a staple side dish across the South. The classic preparation is simple: commonly slow-simmered with ham hock, smoked turkey, or bacon. Cooked low with onion and bay until tender. Served alongside white rice and cornbread, letting the pot liquor soak into both.
This is true patient food — steady heat, smoke, salt, and time. The peas carry the seasoning without breaking down, and the broth becomes part of the plate and not something that goes overlooked.
But if you wish to go another route, take a more modern approach, you can bring the Dixie Lees into the 21st century without compromising tradition.
Let’s not reinvent the wheel, here. That isn’t the goal - it’s to respect it and refine it. Consider these for inspiration:
- Brothy bowl with Carolina Gold rice, finished with good olive oil and fresh herbs
- Smoked turkey jus reduction instead of whole hock for a cleaner plate
- Field pea ragout under seared fish or roasted poultry
- Warm pea salad with pickled shallot and benne seed
- Purée component paired with charred vegetables, keeping texture but tightening presentation
The structure of a crowder pea makes it suitable for composed plating — it won’t collapse under light sauce work or reheating during service.
Dixie Lee is rooted in Southern kitchens, built for long simmers and shared tables. When grown well and harvested fresh, it carries that history forward without feeling heavy. It remains what it’s always been — a dependable, flavorful pea that belongs next to smoke, rice, and cornbread — but it also holds its own in a modern kitchen that values precision as much as tradition.
Key:
** - limited availability
*OUT- currently out of stock
*OFS- out for season
NEW- recent addition
(SlowFood AOT)- appears on the SlowFood Ark of Taste for its exceptional qualities, flavor, story, and historical significance and/or usage.
✅ Bradford Farm Crops: ✅
-American Groundnuts (Slow Food Ark of Taste) *limited stock*
-Gilfeather Turnabaga no Tops (Slow Food AOT, heirloom)
-NEW Taylor Turnip Top Bloom Shoots (heirloom) *extremely limited, must inquire
-Feaster Mustard Greens (Slow Food AOT, heirloom) *OUT
-Candy Roaster squash (SlowFood AOT) *EXTREMELY LIMITED
-Bradford collards bagged/chopped
-Bradford collards whole plant
-Winter Charleston Wakefield cabbage (SlowFood AOT) *OFS (returns spring)
-Hybrid green cabbage
-Purple cabbage
-Shredded hybrid cabbage
-Shredded purple cabbage
🤝 Partner Farms: 🤝
-Purple Top Turnips (heirloom, SlowFood AOT) - Ricky James’ Farm
-Scotch curly kale - Ricky James’ Farm
-Stampede Sunchokes - Craig Weiner and Clem’s Organic Gardens
-Brussels Sprouts - Hickory Bluff Berry Farm
-Broccoli
-Parsnips, grade No. 2 - Clem’s Organic Gardens
-Watermelon radishes - Clem’s
-Baby Appalachian Gold Potatoes - Clem’s *Limited Stock
-Appalachian Gold Potatoes - Clem’s
-Rainbow Daikon Radishes - Clem’s
-Pecans (fresh, shelled, halved) - Johnny McNair
-Apples - Lively Orchard
——Stayman Winesap *limited stock
-Washington State Apples
——Granny Smith
-Field Peas and Butter Beans - Johnny McNair
——NEW! Butter peas, fresh-frozen *OUT
——NEW! Dixie Lee field peas, fresh-frozen
——J Mac Small Summer Crowder Pea, fresh-frozen
——Speckled butter beans, fresh-frozen
-Jalapeños - FL
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Green Bell peppers
-Red Bell peppers
-Grape tomatoes
-Red round tomatoes
-Roma tomatoes
-Tomatillos
-Pee Dee sweet potatoes - Dixon Farms
-Beets, Golden
-Beets, Red
Coming soon:
- 1 week: Baby bolero carrots - Clem’s
- Purple eggplant
- Banana peppers
- Late March: Monetta Farm Heritage Asparagus
MORE COMING SOON
….let us know if there is something else you are interested in that isn’t on our list