Here we are again at the start of our summer season and we’re excited to feed you all! Each week I’ll provide you with news from the farm, veggie notes and helpful tips, but it never fits in the top of these emails. Just click to read more at the end to see the full version of my little weekly updates.
Things are off to a much better start than last year, we got started earlier with a full returning crew and wow what a difference it makes. It’s been a bit dry but we’ve had some rains and the garden is in great shape. We’ll start off with some lettuces, garlic scapes, storage beets, scallions and peas, and gradually as we go through the summer we’ll get more and more diversity into your bags!
For your first pick up, know that we always lay out the bags in alphabetical order by last name. If there are multiple last names in your household, try looking under the other one as it will depend who placed the order. We’re placing the labels on the handles of the bags this year, which we leave propped up on top of the bags. The idea is they’re easier to see, but sometimes they fall down, so if you don’t see yours make sure you can see a label for each bag – if one has fallen out of sight it may be your missing one! Some locations we leave bags out loose, others we’re able to leave the bags in Rubbermaid bins. If there are bins, the bin handles will always have a sticker with the first three letters of the last names in the bag. Just peek in the bin to find the bag with your name on the label. Occasionally bin lids get mixed up too, so check the bin beside if that’s the case ;) If you still can’t find your bag, reach out to me and I’ll help troubleshoot my cell is (613) 970-5034 and text is best as I’m on the road and can message back when I stop. We’re here to make sure you get your veggies!
Finally, what are garlic scapes? They’re little flavour bursts that we love this time of year. The garlic plants send out flower stalks in June, but we snap them off to encourage the plant to focus on growing the delicious cloves instead. So while we’re waiting for the garlic to grow we can enjoy the scapes! They look like curlicues; we chop them into tiny rounds and toss them into dishes as we would use garlic. They don’t need quite as much cooking (in with the rest of vegetables instead of at the beginning), and we use one flower stalk as a substitute for one clove of garlic. They grill up whole beautifully on the barbecue, and they make a beautiful aioli if you put a couple scapes into mayonnaise with a hand blender. If blending them, just pre-chop into chunks to help the hand blender along. Did I mention omelets? Chop finely, and add to the pan a minute before the egg. Scapes are as versatile as garlic, and a great spring treat around here.
