CSA For October 1st - The Last Tuesday Share!

Things are really winding down.  The gardens show signs of... age, shall we say.  There are few flowers on any of the plants, leaves are browning and getting crispy, the fruit trees are turning golden.  In this last pick up of the season for Tuesday's families we're going to be sharing some goodies that will last you for a while! We regret that our potato harvest has been such a disaster...I really notice the absence in the shares.

It drives us crazy, this time of year, when recipes call for a can of pumpkin puree.  This is the time to make your own using fresh and local squash!  Awesome to pull out of the freezer in the dead-of-winter for soups, casseroles, muffins and more!  Here's some easy instructions here.  We don't puree it at the time, just mash it a bit.  We put one cup portions into freezer bags; they stack nicely and don't take up a ton of freezer space.  Then, grab one when you're ready for muffins!  We freeze some different purees: Hubbard, Kabocha, Acorn - all are great for most recipes!  One delicious way to use winter squash is as an easy pasta suace!  This one boils the skinned and cubed quash with stock for a Butternut Pasta Sauce.  Try this Winter Squash and Balsamic Pasta Sauce from the Cookin' Canuck for some zing!

A few more recipes for your arsenal: this Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Galette sounds divine!  For breakfast, how about a Baked Pumpkin French Toast?  This would be really nice with Hubbard or Kabocha winter squash!  And, you can prepare it the day before, bake it up in the morning!  Here's a great treasury of squash recipes to bookmark:  26 Pumpkin Recipes.

We're sharing our tomato harvest, even though very little is ripe.  Here's a great link (from a fun website) on how to ripen tomatoes indoors.  Here's another great post for ripening tomatoes indoors from one of fav bloggers - we follow her blog Farmgirl Fare regularly for great recipes and fun shots of her farm.

As a little, parting treat:  our summer sown beans are ready - not in the quantity we might like, but a nice taste for everyone!

So, in the share this final week:  For everyone: tomatoes, beans, carrots, Delicata squash, Buttercup squash, Spaghetti squash and for the Part and Full shares Sugar Pie Pumpkin!

Enjoy! And thank you so much for 'eating' your summer with us!

We Are Sooo Doing Oven-Roasted Tomatoes Again!

Last night I used our oven-roasted tomatoes for the first time.  This year was the first time we've roasted tomatoes, then preserved by freezing (with juice) in freezer bags.  Hauled a bag out a couple of days ago, largely 'cause it was firmly stuck to a jar of goats milk!  I guess I hadn't wiped off the bag well enough, or it was still a little warm; it was very well adhered to the glass jar and wasn't letting go. So I defrosted the two together, in an ice cream pail just in case there was any leakage.

Holy Smokes - was that the closest I've come to the taste of fresh, summer tomatoes in the dead of winter!  We are absolutely doing this again this coming year!  Highly recommend it!  We have homemade tomato sauce, and it's pretty good, even if I do say so myself.  But the flavor of the frozen oven-roasted tomatoes was fabulous!  Our tomatoes were a mix of Romas, Margeritas and the heirloom Brandywine.  I made a simple sauce by sauteing some onions and garlic, then added the tomatoes and seasoning.  I am fortunate to have a lovely stash of tarragon shared by our CSA members Tammy and Mike, which added a nice flavor with a touch of sweetness.  Toward the end, I added a bit of homemade chicken stock, because it was getting a little thick.  I did cut up a few piece of tomato skin, which were a little large and stringy.  Total time was the amount of time needed to boil the water and cook the pasta!

This coming season, I think we'll follow the directions for roasting the tomatoes from here at Smitten Kitchen.  She's slow-roasting them at a low temperature, which is not what we did and it was a little warm in the house the day we processed our tomatoes.  Just some olive oil and salt and pepper, then you're free to spice your sauce any way you want.  These tomatoes will be nice for a style of bruschetta, maybe in a quiche, blended for a dip...so many things.  Storage in freezer bags does not take up a ton of freezer space as they stack very nicely.  Just learn from my lesson and make sure the bags are well dried off, or stack them after they freeze!

CSA For September 11th.

A touch of frost on Sunday!

The day started rather sad, with all the coverage of the memorials for 9/11.  Hard to shake the feeling, especially as it was cold, cloudy and windy as we got started this morning.  I was wearing the most layers I have this season - and rather wishing for a hat!  Time to get into the chest and get out my beloved caps and fingerless gloves!

A touch of frost on Sunday.  It is really just in evidence in one part of the gardens, in the top of the slope on the east end, where there is no shelter belt.  Odd place, as frost is suppose to sink.....Some of the winter squash are all that appear damaged, and it is only a minor set back.  The top-most leaves have 'crisped' up a bit, nothing major!  It certainly does make one feel the season is drawing to a close; the renters are starting to clean up their plots, leaving bare, sad little patches.

We hope you're coming to see us this Sunday, during Manitoba's Open Farm Day!  We'll be giving little tours from Noon to 4 PM, and we're just five minutes east of Brandon!  All the instructions are in the previous blog post.  Pet a goat, pat a doggie, chase a chicken...and a free barn kitten with every visit!

Everyone is getting a little tomato taste fest today!  Everyone has a golden tomato, a 'Husky Gold'.  All the golden tomatoes are low in acid, and great for people with stomach problems, canker sores and such.  They are also very tasty - sweet, juicy without the acid 'bite' of red tomatoes.  Everyone is also getting a mixed pint of cherry and grape tomatoes.  It includes an heirloom 'Black Cherry', golden and red grape and the wee cherry tomatoes.  The Full Shares also have an 'Opalka', an heirloom  Roma type tomato often used for sauce and salads: meaty and flavorful!

So, for the FULL SHARES:  5 lbs. Bintje white potato, 5 lbs. Roko red potato, slicing tomatoes, pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, cucumber, 9 cobs of corn, spaghetti squash, mixed bell, jalapeno and Hungarian Hot Wax peppers, garlic, onions.

PART SHARES: 3 lbs Bintje white potatoes, 3 lbs. Roko red potatoes, slicing tomatoes, pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, cucumber, 6 cobs corn, spaghetti squash, bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, onions.

SINGLE SHARES:  2 lbs. Bintje white potatoes, 2 lbs, Roko red potatoes, slicing tomatoes, pint mixed cherry/grape tomatoes, cucumber, 4 cobs corn, small spaghetti squash, bell pepper, garlic, onions.

CSA for Thursday, August 23!

Wow, did it get a little steamy this afternoon!  We were kind of petering out by 2 PM when we were still picking tomatoes!  Nothing like a vine-ripened tomato!  A word about tomatoes:  we're picking our field tomatoes, which are a wee bit more exposed to the elements than Evelyn and Menno's beautiful hothouse tomatoes.  We also grow varieties for flavor, not the varieties favorited by growers 'cause they're hard as rock right through delivery to the grocery store!  All our tomatoes may have a small bit of cracking and/or blemishes; especially the little cherry tomatoes are prone to splitting when they're really ripe.  Any that split while we're picking or packaging we just eat....but you still may have a few split during delivery.  They're still awesome....

We're still looking for new and nifty things to do with zucchini!  Shared this great recipe for zucchini pie on our Facebook page a couple of days ago!  Seems part quiche, part custard pie - sounds great.  And you could really do the spicing according to your tastes:  oregano and thyme for something rather Mediterranean, curry for something exotic...the possibilities are endless!  That's the awesome thing about the mild flavor of zucchini - it plays really well with other flavors!

A variety of herbs were cut today.  Some of you will get basil, with a bright green, pointy leaf.  Some will get oregano, with a soft, round, small leaf.  Some will get summer savory which looks rather ferny.  All go really well with tomatoes....and summer squash!  And corn on the cob....especially the summer savory!  Farmer Man is very proud to bring you this corn today!  We've really struggled to grow good corn organically - and we finally seem to be getting it right!  Today we've gotten the first pick on 'Golden Beauty', an old, standard yellow sweet corn.  We had some very lunch (quality control, don't you know!) and it was very nice.  Amanda and Ed supplied all the cucumbers today!

So for the FULL SHARES:  8 cobs corn, English and slicing cucumber, Hungarian Hot peppers, 1 lb. Dragon's Tongue beans, lg. Papaya Pear squash, Gold Rush zucchini, zucchini, 2 lb. slicing tomatoes, bundle of herb, 2 lbs. Cherry Red potatoes, 2 lbs. German Butterball potatoes.

PART SHARES:  6 cobs corn, slicing cuke, bell pepper, 1 lb. Dragons Tongue beans, med. Papaya Pear squash, Gold Rush zucchini, zucchini, pint cherry/grape tomatoes, bunch of herb, 1.5 lbs. Cherry Red potatoes, 1.5 lbs. German Butterball potatoes.

SINGLE SHARES:  4 cobs corn, slicing cuke, a Hungarian Hot pepper, 1/2 lb. Dragons Tongue beans, Papaya pear squash, Gold Rush zucchini, slicing cuke, bunch of herbs, 1 lb. Cherry Red tomatoes, 1 lb. German Butterball potatoes.

CSA For Tuesday, August 21.

Dragons Tongue!

Lots of the 'tastes of summer' in todays basket!  Amanda and Ed supplied corn for everybody, and Evelyn and Menno have tomatoes for all the shares!  We're going to cut basil like crazy to go with those tomatoes!  A little soft, white cheese and you've the making of an awesome Caprese salad!  We made a 'Caprese' style pasta Sunday night, tossing penne with fresh homemade creamy goat cheese, some wee cherry tomatoes and fresh basil.  A little pepper and dinner was served!  Cream cheese would work just as well, it would melt and nicely coat the pasta.  How about Open-faced Chicken Caprese Sandwiches....


Zucchinis and summer squash are still going strong!  Made these zucchini/chocolate chip/dried cranberry cookies on the weekend - really good!  Raisins would work in the mix, too but the cranberries just added some extra 'zing'!  Still intend to make these zucchini pancakes - should be awesome with Manitoba maple syrup!  On our Facebook page, we've been sharing some great little stuffed Patty Pan squash recipes; of course, the summer squash is pretty much interchangeable, but the Patty Pans are just so cute and different when stuffed!  We're enjoying the Kousa squash stuffed with all sorts of things, too!

Dragons Tongue beans continue to do well - another good pick today!  We love introducing people to the bean; it's unusual and rare and really yummy!  Love when customers try new stuff, eat well and have fun;  Farmers Market customer Kaylyn posted this on our Facebook page:  'Please, please, please tell me you will have more dragon's tongue beans at the Global Market this week! I picked up a bag yesterday AM and my kids devoured them at dinner tonight... including my oldest. And if you knew what a picky eater my oldest is, you'd realize this is something pretty amazing! We may have also goofed around w/them, sticking out of our mouths, pretending we were dragons. ;)'  CSAer Caryl was thinking outside the (bean) box when she made this hummus recipe, substituting the chick peas and peas for Dragons Tongue!  She says it was very good!

For the FULL SHARES:  2 lbs. Linzer Fingerling potato, 2 lbs. Cherry Red potato, 2 lbs. tomatoes, 4 cobs corn, 2 cucumbers, 1.5 lbs. Dragon Tongue beans, 2 zucchini, crooked neck squash, Patty Pan squash, Swiss chard, basil.

For the PART SHARES:  1.5 lbs. Linzer Fingerling potato, 1.5 lbs. Cherry Red potato, 1.5 lbs. tomatoes, 3 cobs corn, cucumber, 1 lb. Dragon Tonuge beans, zucchini, crooked neck squash, Patty Pan squash, basil.

For the SINGLE SHARES:  1 lb. Linzer Fingerling potato, 1 lb. Cherry Red potato,  corn, cucumber, 1/2 lb. DragonTongue beans, zucchini, crooked neck squash, Patty Pan squash, basil.

Seedlings Are About to Take Over!

The time has come....the seed starting unit is full!  The first seeding of peppers and herbs are starting to outgrow their trays!  We've got more tomatoes, peppers and herbs to start, and soon we've got to start celery, broccoli and cauliflower!  We've got to make some space!  Sooooo...it's time to pot up!

We've got tables at the ready with grow-light stands.  As our sun room is east facing, the light is not great for young seedlings.  We don't want lanky, spindly plants so, over the years, we've invested in some table top grow lights and had one donated by pal Deb, as long as she got veggies in exchange!  We also have some more lengths of fluorescent lights to hang under the tables because every inch of this sun room will be green within the next four or five weeks!

We'll pot up peppers and tomatoes largely into those six packs for now, herbs will go into 2.5 inch pots.  The flat of basil seedlings, thickly seeded in five rows, will probably become five, maybe six flats of little pots.  The flat of 'California Wonder' pepper seedlings will become four or five flats of six packs.  You can see how we start to fill the space quite quickly!  Along with space concerns, all the little babies become more of a maintenance chore - watering will quickly take twice as long  This cycle will continue for about six weeks: pot up, make room, start more flats of seeds.  With the nice weather we've been having, we may be able to move into the greenhouse early this year and 'thin out' the jungle the sun room will become.  Oh, right, add that to the never-ending 'to do' list: clean and disinfect the greenhouse!

That Was Then...

Yes, things are always changing, always growing at Aagaard Farms, in the summer season.  What was a chick in the hand two months ago is now a big, healthy Ameraucana hen.  The one classically golden chick in our flock of forty has grown up to be a healthy, rather large all-white Ameraucana hen!  These Ameraucanas are quite impressive birds but I fear the only white is getting picked on, or shall I say pecked on, because she really stands out from the crowd of black, gray and beige birds.  When we consider the growth in just two months, it really is tremendous!  On a day-to-day basis we're not really aware of the change; it's not until we look at some photos from the beginning of June that we realize just how quickly they grow up!

The hoop house, too, is a cause for wonder.  From a sparse planting in June of well-spaced tomatoes and peppers to the jungle we have today, it is quite astounding!  The hoop house is proving to be very productive and we hope it will extend our season for at least a few weeks, if not a month!  Pretty soon we'll need a machete to work our way in to harvest!  The sweet potatoes, planted between tomatoes, are doing very well, but that's another blog post!  How are things growing in your area?

Field of (Tomato) Dreams!

We've gone big on tomatoes this year.  With the help of our little crew we've got almost four  hundred plants in the ground!  All of them we started from seed in our little sun room.  We've got a wide variety: heirlooms like 'Brandywine', 'Opalka' and 'Black Krim', proven Prairie winners like 'Manitoba' and 'First Lady',  paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and some of the low acid goldens.  We've got about twenty in the hoop house, which appear to be thriving.  The field tomatoes are, well, a little wind whipped, a little soggy.  Yes, we got more rain last night, along with some awesome lightening and rolling thunder.

All the tomatoes were planted in long rows, with the width of the tractor's rototiller between them, for ease of weed control.  One person dug holes every foot or so, one person came along with a wheelbarrow of compost and amended each hole, one person came along with a bucket of bone meal and threw about an eighth of a cup in each hole (that's to supply calcium, to prevent blossom end rot).  Then, a couple of people came along with trays of seedlings, planted and back-filled the hole.  Then, until they ran out, we put collars around the plants, to ward off cutworm.  We ran out of the collars (largely old cans) about half way through, so some little tomatoes are left to their own devices.  We already see a bit of cutworm damage: a plant seemingly cut off at soil level.  We still have a mornings' work to put tomato cages on as many as we can, until we run out of those.  These are closely planted, we may end up with a hedge of tomatoes, but that is okay!  I just want tomatoes, lots and lots of tomatoes!  I'm really serious this year about canning a lot of tomatoes, sauces and salsas, plus we need a good supply for our CSA families and to sell at the Farmers Markets!  Now, if only we would get a little sunshine and heat!

Hoop House: Almost Fully Loaded!

It's odd being a Prairie blogger.  All during the long winter I have little to say and much time.  Now, I have much to say and little time.  We're getting things done around here: we're late, and we're working in between thundershowers, hail and standing water.  The hoop house is almost fully planted.  We've put in a row of tomatoes along one wall, on the left in the picture.  We left a narrow walkway, planted a double 'hedge' of bell peppers and then, along the other wall we have patches of other peppers, including jalapeno, habanero and chili.  All that is left to plant are sweet potato cuttings that just arrived a few days ago.  Apparently, it was cold in North Carolina (!), so the cuttings arrived a little late again this year.  The Manitoba sweet potato experiment will continue; the wee tubers we saved from last year were not worth planting, they were shrunken and mushy.  We're going to plant the cuttings between the tomatoes and cross our fingers!  There is also a small patch of flowers including sunflowers and cosmos, which I hope to be able to cut for a wedding in late July.  Don't you love the 'artistic' curve to the pepper hedge?

Booting Up the Greenhouse!

In the sun room, plants above, plants below!

Tomato seedlings all lined up in the greenhouse!

Our little sun room is just stuffed with seedlings.  We've got folding tables with grow light stands on top and grow lights attached to the bottom of the table top.  We've got an extra table in the kitchen.  And we really need to be potting up to larger sizes!  So, Farmer Man started up the furnace in our little greenhouse a couple of days ago and he's been moving flats into it between rain showers!  The greenhouse was constructed by Farmer Man's father from re-used items like windows from his trailer.  It is not particularly energy efficient so we wait as long as we can to start heating it.  We also had to wait this year for it to dry out; because of a high level of snow fall it was flooded early on.  Farmer Man potted up tomatoes and ground cherries and then moved them directly to the greenhouse.  Room inside now to start potting up the peppers and to start the herbs!  We've got to add watering the greenhouse to the chore list - sometimes it's easy to forget to pop in there.  Now, we just need a little sun and things will really get growing!

Late Blight of Tomatoes Found in Manitoba!

itvbrandon.com has posted a piece that late blight of tomatoes has been found in tomatoes in retail outlets in Winnipeg and Brandon. This is a serious disease that can also transfer to potatoes, ruining crops. There's a link to MAFRI's website with pictures and more info. Check it out and be informed!

Hard Frost in the Forecast!

Every market gardener dreads the call for hard frost. It means the end. (Most market gardeners are also slightly relieved because we're all worn out by the end of the season!) Last night's forecast called for a low of -6 C (about 20 F). Frost has actually come late to us this season. We've had a light touch a couple of times, but last night was harsh. Even winter squash can be damaged at that temperature and although it wouldn't really affect the quality of the vegetable, it looks ugly and people don't want to buy it. So, Farmer Boy got really, really busy yesterday. All day and right into the evening with a flashlight, he was cutting squash and pumpkins, loading the tractor and hauling it up to the garage. I picked tomatoes and peppers. Fortunately, Serhiy was here to help; he started out on potatoes and then moved to beans. We ignored root vegetables like carrots and beets, and abandoned the potatoes because they will all be fine.

The very sad thing about yesterdays' harvest is that there is still sooooo much out in the fields that will largely go to waste. We have boxes and boxes of green to orange to red tomatoes; and there were so many more. In this funny growing season the tomatoes should have been full on by the end of August but are ripening slowly through September and into October. The peppers were still flowering, thanks to the warm temperatures at the end of September. We know we've done everything we can - the rest will provide some nice treats for the local deer, mice and gophers!

CSA After a Thunderous Night!

Quite the storm passed through late last night and early this morning. Loud and long claps of thunder and a spectacular lightning show. It rained hard enough to form little rivers throughout the gardens. A little rain is good for us right now - the dugout is getting low and the winter squash and tomatoes still need good moisture to continue to develop. The rain was probably not so good for grain farmers trying to harvest, they'll largely be getting a day off today!

Harvest was a little wet and mucky. We got started late so it won't be a huge share today. But WE HAVE TOMATOES!! Just a taste for everybody, and very few really ripe and juicy, but we are taking some tomatoes! We also have the first pick of ground cherries, a great little treat! If you are not familiar with ground cherries they are in the tomato family, but more closely related to tomatillos and Chinese lanterns. Inside a little papery husk is a little berry, when the husk is brown and crispy they taste like pineapple, when greener they have a tart, lime taste. Very tasty!

So for the FULL SHARES: 10 lbs. Norland potatoes, bell peppers, ground cherries, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, mild mesclun mix lettuce, 2 papaya pear squash, 1 zucchini, 1 winter squash (from an assortment), small bag mixed beans, basil.

For the PART SHARES: 5 lbs. Norland potatoes, a bell pepper, ground cherries, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, 1 papaya pear squash, 1 zucchini, 1 winter squash, small bag mixed beans, basil.

CSA For The End of August

Hard to believe the next CSA share will be in September! This will certainly be remembered as the summer that wasn't. Sunday night a great thunder and lightening storm, along with high wind gusts. More rain thru Monday morning, which is not really what we need right now. Will we ever get a ripe tomato? In the hoop house, the Ilda golden grape tomatoes are loaded with fruit but they are all green as grass.

The one crop doing very well is the potatoes. Farmer Boy is growing about twenty five varieties this year. Not all will be for CSA or the markets because some are hard to find and he only has small quantities. Everything he harvests of those varieties will go into the root cellar to become next years' seed potatoes as he tries to increase his stock. But CSA and our market customers will have a chance to try some very interesting varieties: Russian Blue, All Red, French Fingerling, Banana Fingerling and German Butterball, to name a few. CSA will get some small bags over the next few weeks, and hopefully enough will be left over for them to pick a larger quantity of their favourite at the last CSA share. Watch for the Potato Primer on this blog in the next few weeks.

This week, for the Full Shares: 5 lbs. Sangria potatoes, 2 heads garlic, 4 large onions, 1 lb. mixed green and yellow beans, 1 lb. Dragon Tongue beans, 1 lb. Snow Peas, 1 pak choi, broccoli, 2 bundles carrots, Italian Largo summer squash and a Papaya Pear summer squash.

For the Part Shares: 2 lbs Sangria potatoes, 1.5 lbs of one of the assorted specialty potatoes, 1 head garlic, 2 large onions, 1 lb. mixed green and yellow beans, 1 lb. Dragon Tongue beans, 1 bundle carrots, 1 Italian Largo summer squash and 1 Papaya Pear summer squash.

Beware Tomatoe Growers!!

Another excellent piece on Garden Rant posted by Michele. Contains a link to Cornell Horticulture's Blog and Craig D. Cramer's article on Late Tomato Blight. Good information! A little scary for those of us who LOVE our vine-ripened tomatoes. People in the Northeast United States need to pay close attention, but as we become a more global world, it's information we all need to be aware of. Pests and diseases are moving around the globe in strange, new ways these days!

Seedlings Get Set Out!

The greenhouse is getting empty. Farmer Boy has been busy, and he's got the sunburn to prove it! Over three hundred pepper plants - all planted out! It's very hard work, all done by hand, either bending over or on the knees. This year we've got bell peppers, jalapeno, Bulgarian carrot, hot Thai, habanero and banana. They are in plots, in little hedges for easy picking. Now there's just all one hundred and fifty tomato plants, a few more cabbage, herbs and some tomatillos to go!

Lovely Prairie thunderstorm last night. Not a lot of lightening, but some fabulous clouds and some good rumbling. Not a lot of rain, but probably enough to keep all the transplanted seedlings happy. We'll have to keep a good eye on them - they'll need consistent water for the next few weeks.

Going thru the Hoops!

Farmer Boy built us a hoop house or high tunnel a few weeks ago. We'd love to be using it but our nights have really been too cold. The house is a single layer of poly so it does not have any insulating value. If the night is below freezing, the hoop house is below freezing. Well, the weather is on the up-and-up so we're getting ready to move in. We intend it for growing sensitive crops like tomatoes and peppers. It will provide us with a longer season of harvest, offering some protection from fall frosts. Right now, we're going to move in some of our cold tolerant seedlings like cabbage. (Yeah, I'm getting some of this stuff out of my house!!). Farmer Boy is going to do a little hoeing and then laying down landscape cloth to suppress weeds. We'll plant tomatoes and peppers right into the soil. But for now, at least a few of the flats are going out of the house. We knew we were on the right track after reading an excellent article in 'Small Farm Canada' magazine,http://www.smallfarmcanada.ca