The Farm Share Begins!
Our first week of the Farm Share is upon us. For the next 20 weeks, we will be sharing with you all the produce we've grown (and have yet to grow). We've done a lot to get to this point, so this week is always a celebration for us. We're looking forward to sharing good food with you as well as the stories of how it gets from our field to your plate.
Some Introductions
For those of you who don't know, our names are Kim Barker and Alex Glazirin. It's me, Kim, who does all the writing so I'll be switching to first person now and then. The land we are so blessed to farm on was purchased by my parents in 1986, a year before I was born. Through the wandering circumstances of life, Alex and I met and began to farm together in Orangeville on rented land. After a few seasons of that, when that land was being sold we were invited to move back to my parents' land to grow. We got married here and had a baby, Rosemary, and started our first growing season last year. We both love farming as a way to connect to nature, to spend our days outside, to work with our hands, and to experience and share food the way its meant to be tasted. As idealistic youths, we never saw ourselves as business owners but now we both love the challenge of building something that can sustain us and impact our community in a positive way. We feel very lucky to live the life we do, here on this farm, even when it's as wild and busy as it does get. We're both so excited to see where this farm and business will take us as we continue to invest in the land, in infrastructure, in equipment and systems; and as we continue to build a presence here in our community.
Also working with us this year are Sarah, Jordan, and Jason, who you may see around the farm. We're very happy to have a real farm crew this year - it's certainly the kind of work that lends itself well to extra hands! My dear friend Graham is living with us this summer, and you'll see him around as well. He's a talented gardener and artist and will be making some wildflower bouquets that you can purchase as extras.
I also thought this would be a good time to mention that we're expecting a second baby! I'm due on September 25th with our little one, gender unknown. It's going to make for an interesting summer and even more interesting fall. We're so excited and can hardly imagine we'll soon have another adorable child to fill up our lives with love, wonder and joy (and chaos, but we're used to that).
Spring Veggies
Joining a farm share is a great way to learn about eating in season. One thing about spring veggies is they are very green (and sometimes purple). They are, in fact, mostly greens - the leaves of the plant. Most roots and fruit haven't had the chance yet to grow. Before the days of grocery stores, the first fresh spring greens must have been a huge relief to people after subsisting off of root crops all winter. This week, you'll see spring garlic, kohlrabi, head lettuce, salad mix, chard, kale, and bok choy. Up-and-coming in the field are radishes, spring onions, and beets. Peas, carrots, cauliflower, and others are a few weeks away.
A note on Kohlrabi
I highly recommend you try out the kohlrabi! Many people have never had the pleasure of eating this veggie. The thing I love about it is that you can eat it raw - unlike many of the other veggies we have this week, which you would cook or put in a salad. So it's great for snacking on. Just peel the outside skin off and it's ready to eat. You can cook it too - stirfries, fritters, even mashed. It also makes a nice slaw. But the simplest way to enjoy it is just peel it, slice it and eat. It's sweet, juicy, and crispy. Your kids might even like it!
A note on Green/Spring Garlic
Many people understandably mistake this for a spring onion. It's the garlic version of a spring onion - garlic harvested in the spring, before it's mature. It has a lovely aroma, a sweet and mild garlic flavour, and can be used raw or cooked. Use it as a replacement for onions or garlic in any recipe. Add it to pasta and egg dishes. Slice it for a salad. Dip it in salt and eat it if you're Alex. It's also really yummy grilled!
A Note on Bok Chok
We're really happy with our bok choy, but it has experienced some slug damage which makes it holey. We believe it has great flavour and crunch so we are still harvesting it for you; the damage is primarily aesthetic.
Wildflower Bouquets
Graham, our summer resident flower wizard, will be making some beautiful wildflower bouquets that you can add to your share as extras this week. This is something special we're able to offer with his help. We'll have 20 available this week - if interest is there, we may be able to offer more in weeks to come! They are $10 a bunch. Here's what we have for you this week:
Pick Up
You'll have until 9pm on Tuesday to customize your share!
Pick up is on Thursday between 4pm-7pm.
We have double the members we did last year, so we will have to see how it goes this week with the amount of cars coming in and out. About 4/5 cars can park at a time, but the long driveway only allows for one to come or go at a time. Please remember to be careful as sometimes our road can be a bit busy. We'll be monitoring how it goes and make adjustments as needed.
We can put your share right in your car for you to help reduce contact and keep distance in light of COVID. See our last week's orientation email for some more details.
If you have any questions, comments, or concerns send me an email at mulberrymoonfarm@gmail.com or if it's something you want me to get back to sooner, text or call me at 519-719-7253
Thank You!
Finally, a big thank you for joining our CSA/Veggie Share. Your commitment to local food, and to our farm in particular, means a lot! We hope that, throughout the season, you get to try some new things, have fun in the kitchen, enjoy the true seasonality of food, and get to connect to our farm in a meaningful way. We're excited to have you on the journey with us.
Enjoy your first harvest!
Your farmers,
Kim and Alex
