Welcome to Week 3 of the Farm Share!
We are SO excited this week for the first showing of our cucumbers and zucchini. Expect the number of these that we have available to go up up up over the next weeks! We also are on our second week of harvest of sugarsnap peas which are producing really well for us this year!
Green Bags
Please return these each week. If you are getting a delivery, please leave out your bag before your anticipated delivery.
On The Farm
Last week we got a lot of weeding finished, which was a huge relief! We also caught up on some planting. This upcoming week looks like a hot one, so we’ll be setting up our sprinkler irrigation and working on getting the exhaust fans working in the greenhouses. We’re also hoping to finally get our melons planted out in the field. Our first seeding in the greenhouse ended up getting eaten by the maggots of a fly! This was completely new to us. Our friend recommended putting up fly traps and that has fortunately helped a lot. So our melons will be late, but hopefully still produce.
We've been so lucky to have lots of help and volunteers getting things done here at the farm!
Tomatoes are also coming along!
Tip of the week
You can also use damp paper towels to help keep your veggies from wilting in the fridge. Just dampen the paper towel and wrap it around your produce gently. This works well for anything in the greens family!
What’s Fresh This Week
CUCUMBERS We are SO SUPER DUPER excited for our very first ever GREENHOUSE CUCUMBERS!!!! These plants are loaded with long english-style cukes that are so crisp and sweet. We are excited for greenhouse cucumbers because you can produce a lot more in a much smaller space. And because they are trellised, harvest is going to be much faster and easier. Our goal is to keep on harvesting cucumbers every week until the end of the summer so if you don’t get any in your share this week, don’t worry - they are coming!
SUGARSNAP PEAS We’re also very excited about our peas, which we hope to have a lot of again this week. We thought we harvested them pretty quickly, in just an hour - but that was with 8 of us picking! That’s the reason we only grow enough really for the Farm Share and a few extra - because the labour involved is just too much.
BROCCOLINI Another thing we are excited for - broccolini! After our first harvest last week, they are now sending out side shoots which we’re picking this week. The entire thing is edible, leaves and stems and stalk and all.
YOUNG GARLIC Alex never waits until the garlic is fully ready before eating it. As soon as it’s springtime he is eating it, because by then our stored garlic is usually done. Right now it is in a stage where it is forming a bulb, but it is still milder than fully ready and cured garlic. You can slice it up just like fully cured garlic and use it the same way. The only thing that is really different is the size and intensity of flavour.
ZUCCHINI Our first harvest of zucchini is also here! Exciting times are upon us.
POTATOES We are going to be ordering some organic potatoes from Pfennings Organics in New Hamburg. They won't automatically go in your share but you CAN swap them into your share or add them as extras. We have paused growing potatoes because to grow enough to have a large supply available we need more space and better equipment. However, they are a staple product that I know many would appreciate, especially as conventional potatoes are produced with a more significant amount of chemical use than other produce. Feel free to send any feedback on this offering.
Recipes
Sauteed Kohlrabi - my mom cooked us up some kohlrabi that I really enjoyed the other day. She sauteed up onions, kohlrabi sliced into rounds, and swiss chard all together. It got a bit crispy and I almost thought I was eating fried potatoes. It was really good!
Cabbage + Kohlrabi Slaw: Get The Recipe Here!
Broccolini - try this recipe out! Simple sauteed broccolini with garlic and chili flakes. Get The Recipe Here
Thank you for sharing your pictures, your feedback, and your kindness with us over the past two weeks. Our energy is high and we are looking forward to many more good things to come.
Your farmer,
Kim
