Welcome to week 7 of the Farm Share!
New this week - tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, and eggplant are starting out!
Don't forget to return your green bag!
Have you set your preferences?
Setting your preferences can help you make the most of your Farm Share. If you notice you keep on getting something in your default. share that you don't really want, then you can set your preference for that item as lower. Be conservative with items you rate as a 5; save it only for your most beloved items to better your chances of getting them in your default share.
If you just want to get a range of veggies and don't really mind what you get, you can skip setting your preferences or just rate everything as a 3.
You can set your preferences by following this link: https://www.harvie.farm/account/preferences
On The Farm
It's been a bit rainy around here recently! We did a big push to prepare beds for planting early in the week and we were able to get our zucchinis and cucumbers in the ground, but we had to hold off on our lettuce planting. We have clay soil which we try not to disturb when wet, because it compacts easily. Compacted soil stops air, water, and nutrients from getting through to the roots of plants.
We're not sure if this cool, rainy weather has been impacting our cucumbers too - there are a gazillion tiny cucumbers on the plants but only a few are ripening at a time! So where we'd like to be harvesting ~100lbs a week we are harvesting ~40. Hoping that this is just a weather issue and they will start ripening faster soon.
C'mon cukes!
We finished taking down a giant greenhouse in Tillsunburg, and now it is sitting in pieces on our farm. Now we just have to find some time to assemble it!
Anyone want to help us build a greenhouse?
We also had a new pond/wetland area dug! It was funded by the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Area. Much of our farm property lies in a flood zone actually, and we have lots of wet areas that fill up in the spring and fall. By digging these ponds we can capture the runoff from the agricultural lands around us and create habitats for a host of diverse native plants and wildlife. This is our 3rd pond/wetland creation on the farm.
With the intense rain we got this weekend, it's already filling up!
July is a bit of intense month for a market garden farm.
Veggie Highlights
Eggplants are starting this week! We are expecting to have about 30lbs, maybe more, to start with.
Garlic we have started harvesting this and it is now available in your shares! This garlic has not gone through the curing and drying process that allows it to store all winter. You don't need to keep it in your fridge but just keep in mind that it won't last forever.
Young Onions are something we enjoy this time of year. They are onions harvested before they are completely ready. They are a bit milder than a fully cured onion. But you can treat them just as you would any other onion - and you can use the greens too!
Cherry Tomatoes are just starting off this week!! So excited for this crop to come around!!
Tomato Seconds we're going to try something new this year, which is selling our tomato seconds for a discounted price! Every week we harvest some tomatoes that are overripe, or have too many cracks or blemishes or are just plain wonky. We however still love to use these tomatoes because you can just slice those blemishes off and the tomato is good underneath! Sometimes when we have ones that are really looking a little scary, we just slice off all the bad bits, then chop up the tomatoes, toss them with olive oil, salt, garlic and basil - and roast them in the oven on low for a couple hours - and then bag and freeze! Voila, tomato sauce!
Cabbage Hack - DIY Sauerkraut *IT'S EASY!*
Do you perhaps have too many cabbages sitting in your fridge? I'm going to share a very easy method of making your own sauerkraut.
In a nutshell: you are going to slice up your cabbage thinly, add salt (1.5-2tsp per lb of cabbage) and let sit a bit, massage the cabbage til it releases all its juices, pack the cabbage in a jar, pour the liquid overtop, add a cabbage leaf to the top of the jar and then screw on a lid. Let it ferment for 1-4 weeks until you like the taste, then toss it in the fridge and you're done!
The details:
I'll explain below, but this link provides all the details plus a visual for the visual learners out there https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a100555/how-to-make-sauerkraut/
1. Take off a couple outer leaves from your cabbage, especially if they're getting a bit yellow and wilty. Reserve one of these leaves. Cut your cabbage in half. Cut out the core. Thinly slice (you can use a food processor if you want, or a mandolin, but you can also just use a knife).
2. Put your cabbage in a bowl and add salt, 1.5-2 tsps per lb; depending how salty you like it.
3. Let sit for 15 minutes, the salt will start to let the juices out of the cabbage.
4. Massage with your hands for about 5 minutes. This will release a lot of liquid from the cabbage.
5. Pack the cabbage firmly into a very clean glass quart jar. Pour the liquid that was released during massaging on top. Cut a circle the same diameter as your jar out of the reserved cabbage leaf. Place it on top of the packed-down cabbage. Place a weight on top of the cabbage to ensure that it stays under the brine. If the brine doesn't completely cover the cabbage and weight, top off with a 2% solution of salt water (1 teaspoon salt per cup of water).
5. Screw a plastic lid onto the jar. Place the jar in a rimmed pan (to catch any overflow) and allow to ferment at room temperature until the kraut is as sour as you like it. This can take anywhere from 1–4 weeks.
6. Store in the refrigerator. It can last there for a long time, 6 months or more.
We hope you enjoy your veggies! Please don't hesitate to email at mulberrymoonfarm@gmail.com or text me at 519-719-7253 with any feedback or questions at any time. :)
Your farmer,
Kim
