Shree Rawal established Govinda Farm in 2011, after attending a six-week organic farming course at Kauai Community College. Since then, he has assembled a team of people who provide Kauai with produce. Located in Moloaa, the farm cultivates seven acres organically
Shree Rawal established Govinda Farm in 2011, after attending a six-week organic farming course at Kauai Community College. Since then, he has assembled a team of people who provide Kauai with produce. Located in Moloaa, the farm cultivates seven acres organically and has applied for USDA organic certification. Every Friday, CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) members pick up boxes of just harvested produce at The Feral Pig in Nawiliwili.
What’s growing now
Arugula, banana, basil (Italian, lemon, Thai), beets, bok choi, carrots, chard (Swiss and rainbow), Chinese cabbage, chives, cilantro, collard greens, eggplant, fennel, ginger (baby yellow and galangal), green beans, greens mix, kale (curly and Toscana), lemon balm, lettuce (curly green, magenta, butter leaf, oak leaf, romaine), marjoram, mint, mizuna, okra, onion (red and scallions), oregano, parsley (curly, Italian), papaya, pea shoots, peppers (spicy and sweet), purselane, radish, roselle, sage, spinach, squash (kabocha and zucchini), thyme, tomatoes, tomatillos, turnips.
Rainbow Carrots
The first cultivated carrots, which are believed to originate from Afghanistan before the 900s, exhibited purple or yellow roots. The orange color became popular in the 1500s when Dutch growers developed them by selective breeding while making yellow varieties less bitter. White carrots were first described in Western Europe in the early 1600s and a red type appeared in China and India around the 1700s.
Today, multicolored carrots are back in vogue and farmers markets and seed catalogues offer orange, red, yellow, white and purple varieties.
Geneticists at the University of Wisconsin have developed genetic markers after sequencing the carrot genome. With this information, breeders can quickly and accurately select genes with desired traits and track them in offspring crosses. Traits that researchers examine include color and disease and nematode resistance.
Season: On Kauai, carrots grow best in fall, winter and spring. Growing temperatures above 70 degrees and below 60 degrees diminish their color. Rainbow carrots take up to 70 days, from seed to table.
What to look for
Select heavy, firm, smooth and somewhat glossy carrots with tops still attached. Tops indicate freshness but take moisture from roots. When grated, carrots should be quite juicy. Avoid those that are limp; with tops removed and green shoots sprouting out; yellowed tips; cracks; soft spots or withering.
Storage
Before storing carrots, remove their green tops, put in plastic bags and place in the crisper of the refrigerator. Store separate from apples and pears, which release ethylene gas and cause carrots to become bitter.
Tip
Save leafy carrot tops, they’ll add an herbal, earthy and subtle carrot flavor to pesto and stocks. You can also blanch and dress them with sesame seeds or add to a salad of shaved carrot coins.
Preparation
Carrots are equally nutritious raw or cooked. They can be juiced or grated and served in salads. Steamed carrots have fewer calories and roasted carrots have more flavor. They may be baked, sautéed, grilled, pickled, glazed and served in combination with meats, stews, roasts, soups, meatloaf or curries. The mineral content in carrots is very close to the skin, so use organic carrots and scrub instead of peel.
Health benefits
Orange carrots contain beta-carotene, which is high in vitamin A and essential for well-being and healthy eyes. Yellow carrots contain xanthophylls and lutene, which prevent macular degeneration, lung and other cancers and reduce the risk of astherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Red carrots contain lycopene, which is associated with reduced risk of serum lipid oxidation, helps prevent heart disease and a wide variety of cancers including prostate cancer. White carrots lack pigmentation, but contain health-promoting substances called phytochemicals. Purple carrots have more beta carotene than orange, and contain anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants that grab and hold harmful free radicals; prevent heart disease by slowing blood clotting; and have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-fungicidal properties.
Govinda Farm’s produce can
be found at
Farmers Market: Hanalei (Saturdays 9:30 to noon) Restaurants: Hukilau Lanai, Coconut Cup Juice Bar & Cafe, Monico’s Taqueria, Shivalik, The Feral Pig. Grocery: Hoku Natural Foods, Papaya’s Natural Foods & Cafe, Healthy Hut.
For more information or CSA membership, email govindafarmkauai@gmail.com.
• Marta Lane, a food writer on Kauai since 2010, offers farm to fork food tours and is the author of Tasting Kauai: Restaurants – From Food Trucks to Fine Dining, A Guide to Eating Well on the Garden Island. For more information, visit TastingKauai.com.
