Welcome to week 8 of the farm share. Now is your time to customize your share – you’ll have til midnight on Tuesday to do so. This time of the year is bountiful, so definitely get on there to customize, there is lots to choose from and extras to add. This week we are buying in blueberries which are also available to add to your shares! As always, please try to remember to return your green bags!
On The Farm
I read someone call this a "second spring" at the market garden. It's such a busy time of year because the harvest in the field increases with summer veggies, but now is also the time that fall plantings need to get in the ground. So we are racing around like crazy out there trying to get it all done on time.
We work til dusk these days, and see some nice sunsets from the roof of our cold room and store.
Our cabbages, kale, and broccoli are now planted in the field, which is a big relief. It was a major goal of ours because in the past around this time of year we sometimes fall behind on those fall plantings (haha, get it?). This week we’ll be planting more beets, our final planting of beans, and greens. Then we’ll have a bit of breathing room for the next week followed by a big planting of beets, bok choy, kohlrabi, spinach, more kale, chard, winter radish, summer and storage turnips. We are hoping to have a fall Farm Share this year for 6 weeks beginning in November.
Transplanting cabbage and broccoli.
We are actually planning to do something we haven’t done since starting the farm here in 2018 – take a week off. This is REALLY hard to do but it’s something we have been dreaming of since we started. The farm is really full on since the start of March and burnout is almost an inevitability. We hope getting the chance to go to my family’s cottage will help us rest and spend some quality (non-busy) time with Rosemary and Lark before the summer is over. Fortunately we have a very supportive staff who are going to help make this happen for us. So Week 9 is in their hands and we are very grateful.
Veggie Highlights
This time of year is when the veggies really start flourishing in the field, with a lot of summer veggies ripening. We have lots of slicer tomatoes, more cherry tomatoes each week, beans again and the first of our eggplants. We have TONS of cucumbers this week and I’ll be adding a bulk option for those who want to buy some extra for pickling. Zucchinis are starting to slow down but our second planting is looking pretty happy right now, so we’re hopeful!
Bean picker in training. Beans are a labour of love for you, my sweet Farm Share members. Picking them is the longest weekly task at the farm.
From Common Ground Farm this week, we have red potatoes, arugula, oregano, sage, and mint.
All herbs are available as swappable only – that means, they aren’t going to be automatically added to your share but you can purchase them as extras, or swap them into your share.
Blueberries!
We are buying in blueberries this week from Arrowwood Farm in Melbourne. They are not certified organic but are in transition and they don’t use any herbicides, pesticides, or chemical fertilizers. We’ve always wanted to make fruit available to our members and this is the first time we are making the plunge. They are $6.30/pint and you can add them to your shares as an extra. We’ll also be selling them in our store.
Believe it or not, we go out and harvest (fruit) for fun in the summer. This is us at Arrowwood Farm picking blueberries for our freezer. Frozen blueberries are one of our kids' favourite snacks, so it feels great to be able to get them local, organic and frozen for later. We didn't pick the ones we're selling this week though ;)
Chicken This is pickup #2 for those who ordered chicken. If you can’t pick it up this Thursday please let me know and we’ll make alternate arrangements!
Enjoy your veggies this week!
Your farmer,
Kim
