CSA, July 22nd.

Peas are coming nicely!

A couple of hot days, a couple of cool days, lots of bugs...not much has changed in the gardens since last Tuesday!  However, it's a day of firsts: 1st pick on the raspberries, 1st pick on the shelling peas!  Neither are big picks - but both are coming nicely!  We don't think it's going to be a great year for raspberries, but it will be a decent year!  We had trouble getting into the raspberries early on for pruning and weeding: it was just too wet and mucky!  We're also seeing lots of mechanical damage: berries have been 'smacked' into surrounding bushes and canes by the extreme high winds of some of our recent storms.  Lots of bits and pieces of willow have been blown in, breaking branches.  We're also seeing a bit of 'bloom' on the berries: a whitish tinge to the berry.  That's a cold, wet weather thing, not pretty but totally edible.  Bit of a mess in the raspberry rows!

We got a wee pick on snow peas for Saturday's Global Market.  Got another wee pick today, just enough for the Part Shares.  Shelling peas we got a better pick so enough for a decent share for all the Full Shares.  Sorry, no peas for Single Shares this week, but we'll keep you top of mind next week!

We've got some lovely baby Romaine lettuce for everyone today.  Of course, it's the main ingredient in a classic Caesar Salad!  It's got more crunch that the Grand Rapids, which you're also getting!  We've actually pulled the Romaine lettuce - roots and all.  Stand it in a vase or glass of water like a bouquet, with the roots just covered, for maximum freshness!

So, for the Full Shares:  Small bag of Swiss Chard, shelling peas, Romaine lettuce, Grand Rapids lettuce, bundle of onions, container of raspberries.

For the Part Shares:  Small bag of Swiss Chard, Snow peas, Romaine lettuce, Grand Rapids lettuce, bundle of onions, container of raspberries.

Single Shares:  Small bag of Swiss Chard, Romaine lettuce, Grand Rapids lettuce, bundle of onions, container of raspberries.

If you're looking for volunteer opportunities...we'd love some help picking raspberries the next few weeks.  They are quite labour intensive, so the more help the more berries for everybody.  Volunteers go home with a bonus!  Plus, every Wednesday here is Weeding Wednesday.  Lots of jobs, big and small, day or evening if you'd like to come out and pull a few, we'd welcome you!

First CSA Share of 2014 - Not Much in the Basket!

We're sorry - the spinach didn't make it!

The first CSA share of the season! Later than most years due to odd, very odd, weather!  And not a big share, at that.  This year has seemed more of a struggle then any other.  After a long cold winter, a long cold spring has made gardening challenging.  In the last month, a few weird storms have set us back even more.  At least we're not flooding, like some of our neighbours!

Veggies struggled early on.  We basically lost the spinach: it was tiny and yellowed and much died in cold, wet soil.  As the temperatures have improved, some has come back but only to go straight to seed!  I've never seen spinach two inches high with four poor leaves flowering.  It's a goner!  Some of our winter squash was washed out, as well as some of the beets and carrots.  We've replanted all, but it's rather amusing to see Delicata squash coming up eight feet down the hill from where it was planted!  The early planting of radishes have cracked from too much rain and have baby bugs tunnelling in them, so they're getting plowed under.

There's not a lot to say about today's harvest so I figured we'd start with some basics.  Here's a great link to storing and keeping your fresh vegetables and fruits: http://www.thekitchn.com/the-kitchns-guide-to-storing-fruits-and-vegetables-tip-roundup-176308.  This one is worth bookmarking: it has basic tips as well as links for specific vegetables and fruits.  We bring our vegetables as 'fresh from the field' as we can, with a basic rinse but I wouldn't consider them well washed.  We recommend getting everything out of plastic as soon as you can.  Here's a good link for vegetable 'washes', very useful for store-bought veggies which are more likely to have waxes, pesticide residues and such.  Our veggies are just...somewhat dirty but the washes are helpful to keep them fresh longer.  Since this first few weeks will be all about greens here's a great link for DIY salad dressings.  Homemade salad dressings can be made free of extra sugar and additives, and can be made fresh in small quantities.

The rejected lettuce will make excellent goat food!

So today is simple: Everyone gets a bag of Grand Rapids lettuce, a bright green, frilly lettuce perfect for salads or sandwiches.  Everyone gets a bag of Red Sails lettuce, pretty in a salad.  There are winter onions, in the ground since last fall.  Some are starting to go to seed, so if the stem is very hard it cannot be used, otherwise all parts will be very tasty in salads or cooking.  Everyone is getting Swiss Chard, a variety called Rainbow Lights with bright coloured stems.  Chard can be eaten raw or cooked like spinach: braised, sauteed or simply steamed.  We've used it in a quiche and it was very good!



So, a slow start to our CSA, but it's all fresh and chemical-free!  Just FYI...the raspberries and the beans are coming very well.......

CSA for Thursday, July 18, 2013

'Red Sails' lettuce.

A nice, light shower last night - didn't really water the gardens in any big way but it's keeping the dust down and it was a nice cool start to the morning!  We shared this great link in Tuesday's newsletter but thought we'd share it again: some great tips on keeping a wide assortment of fruits and veggies fresh.  A great review for old and new members as we start the season!  Don't know if you saw on the Facebook page but we acquired a new tool yesterday:  a commercial size salad spinner!  Should help to get you drier greens, but they'll still need another rinse when you get them home....they're pretty 'fresh from the field' and we do rinse them but, especially after rain, may still have a wee bit of soil on them!  One of our big 'things' about keeping your share of the harvest is get things out of plastic bags - especially items we have rinsed such as salad greens.  Water + plastic is just a home for mold!

If you're not familiar with them, garlic scapes are in all the boxes this week.  This is a one-time thing using the flowering stems of the garlic.  It's a nice, fresh garlic taste best used raw.  If you want to cook with them in something like a stir-fry, finish your dish, remove from the heat then add the scapes.  They're awesome mushed up with a soft cheese for a garlic/cheese spread or dip.  They also make an excellent pesto, here's a link here.  It's super on pasta or toast!

Not a huge harvest to start the season, but the lettuces are very nice this year!  More goodies are coming quickly now.....if anyone wants to help the next couple of weeks we could really use some volunteers to help pick raspberries and beans the morning of pick up (or Tuesday, if you don't mind to harvest for our other families).  There's always bonuses for volunteers.....

So, this week:

FULL SHARES:  Large bag of 'Grand Rapids' loose leaf lettuce (the bright green frilly stuff!), large bag of 'Red Sails' loose leaf lettuce, large bag of 'Buttercrunch' Bibb lettuce, red onions, radishes, garlic scapes.

PART SHARES:  Medium bag of 'Grand Rapids' loose leaf lettuce, medium bag of 'Red Sails' loose leaf lettuce, medium bag of 'Buttercrunch' Bibb lettuce, red onions, radishes, garlic scapes.

SINGLE SHARES:  Small bag of 'Grand Rapids' loose leaf lettuce, small bag 'Red Sails' loose leaf lettuce, small bag of 'Buttercrunch' Bibb lettuce, red onions, radishes, garlic scapes.

Enjoy!

CSA for Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Michelle, our helper this year, cleaning onions.  Michelle
is an ACC Hort student doing her practicum.  You will
probably meet her sometime soon at Global Market on
Saturday mornings!

The first CSA pick-up of our season: the latest start ever for us!  Just wanted things to get a little bigger, have a little more ready!  It's not a huge box by any means, but it will get better every week.  Next week the raspberries should be ready to pick so if anyone is interested in volunteering a little time on a Tuesday or Thursday morning to come help pick - that would be awesome!  (Always bonuses for volunteers....)

This seems like the perfect time for a little refresher on keeping fresh veggies fresh.  Here's a great link to storing your haul of fruit and vegetables!  Our own 'big' piece of advice is get everything out of plastic bags as soon as possible or open the plastic bags for good air circulation.  You're getting super-fresh food but some wilt is possible even in the time it sits waiting for you to pick it up!

Everyone is getting garlic scapes today - a one-time treat!  We love garlic and we always say the scapes are what gets us through until the garlic itself is ready!  They have a mild, fresh garlic taste when raw - cooked they lose that flavor and taste a bit more like asparagus.  They are awesome chopped into salads, into something like tuna salad or mushed up with a soft cheese for a dip or spread.  If you do want to use them in a stir fry or something, fully cook the stir fry, remove from the heat then add the chopped scapes just before serving.  They make an awesome pesto: here's a recipe here.

We've taken fully half of the present radish crop; Thursday members will get the other half.  It was one of a few areas that suffered some serious flooding and wash-outs in the storms of a month ago.  Over half the plot of radishes was ruined, so once we pull them all on Thursday, Farmer Man will till the area and we're going to replant!  We have a few areas that have suffered damage in the heavy rains of June.  We've had some serious losses in the tomatoes, I'm sorry to say, but what survived is doing well now!  I am also sad to report the the goat mommas got away on me one evening and managed to eat almost all the groundcherries before I could get the ladies back under control!  Summer squash is coming nicely and the beans have flowered like crazy and should be ready for picking in a couple of weeks!

So, in the boxes today:

FULL SHARES:  Large bag 'Grand Rapids' loose leaf lettuce, large bag 'Red Sails' loose leaf lettuce, large bag 'Buttercrunch' bibb lettuce, garlic scapes, red onions, radishes.

PART SHARES:  Mediium bag 'Grand Rapids' loose leaf lettuce, medium bag 'Red Sails' loose leaf lettuce, medium bag 'Buttercrunch' bibb lettuce, garlic scapes, red onions, radishes.

SINGLE SHARES:  Small bag 'Grand Rapids' loose leaf lettuce, small bag 'Red Sails' loose leaf lettuce, small bag 'Buttercrunch' bibb lettuce, garlic scapes, red onions, radishes.

Somebody's Been Eating.....

the 'Grand Rapids' lettuce, the Romaine, the Swiss Chard, and they've been nibbling delicately at select leaves on the beets!! Up and down the rows, in the plantings farthest away from the house, are a number of little delicate hoof prints - and big chomps out of the product!! We've never had much of a problem with deer; too many dogs in the neighbourhood, we figured. Over the winter, our neighbours the Webers had to put down their big Akita, Sam. Well, old Sam may have been giving us more protection than we realized on the east side of the farm. And those darn deer have a real knack for nibbling the best, centre, juicy parts. Deer and critter repellents are a multi-million dollar business - but nobody is really happy with the results! So what to do? Can't spray a chemical deterrent on our crops. Don't have handy hook-ups for shooting water and things like that. Our friend Hugh Moffat swears by his good, old-fashioned scarecrows! Maybe we'll give that a try - with dangling, swinging-in-the-breeze CD's!

Dark Days Challenge: Organic Lamb Chops

A simple meal, but very tasty!  Organic lamp chops from our friends at Logan Farms, oven-roasted with a bit of bottled BBQ sauce and minced garlic.  Our homegrown Blue Mac potatoes mashed with garlic and a bit of sour cream.  And our first serving of our greens (see previous post) topped with fresh sprouts from our new toy!  Farmer Man used some salad dressing on his greens, but I found them too tasty to need anything. Many of the participants in the Dark Days Challenge over at The (not so) Urban Hennery are in parts of the continent where they are already gardening outside - but a little indoor gardening tasted darn fine here in Manitoba!

Fresh Greens!

Ahhh, fresh greens for dinner! The first harvest from our tray of mesclun mix.  Farmer Man just took the scissors and snipped some greens onto the cutting board.  Remember when baby lettuce was all the rage a few years ago in the restaurants?  Well, now the buzz is micro-greens, the babiest of the baby greens! (People always seem to want to take everything to the ultimate degree!)  Lettuce is an easy crop to start inside, and cutting it this fresh means it's full of nutrition and taste.  ANYBODY CAN DO THIS!  Sorry to 'shout' but really, anybody can do this.  We've used a standard growing tray without holes; here in Brandon you can find them almost anywhere that offers seeds and growing supplies, like the Green Spot, Lindenberg's, maybe Patmore's (I'm not sure) and probably even some of the big box stores that have seed starting supplies (but we like to support the local businesses - don't we?).  We've filled the tray with a sterile, soiless mix called Sunshine Mix but it could be Pro Mix or any bagged seed/potting mix. We've seeded the lettuce mix on top in five rather thick rows, covered with a light bit of more soil and about three weeks later - voila! dinner!  Lettuce is an easy one to start, especially for new gardeners: it likes it cool, doesn't need a ton of light.  No fancy heat mats or grow lights required.  Find a cool, bright place and watch your dinner grow.  Spinach would be another good one to start with, maybe I should get that organized this afternoon!  Just be careful with the watering, since there are no holes in the tray it would be easy to over-water and drown the little babies.  We're topping up the water about every three days - you can tell, with a little experience, by the weight of the tray.  Don't be fooled by just looking at the soil surface - it will always look dry after a day or so, but there may be plenty of moisture underneath.  Once the little plants have a few sets of leaves, we've fertilized when watering by adding a very dilute liquid kelp mixture.  The really cool thing is that most of the lettuces in this mix will re-go, and will be able to be re-cut in a few weeks time.  Are you going to give it a try?

CSA Day!

It's our first full-on CSA day today! Not the bounteous harvest we might hope for in the middle July, but good, fresh food for all our families. We'll be meeting some of the sponsored families from Samaritan House for the first time, we look forward to it! Special for today was the very first pick on our raspberries - only enough ready for the Full Shares, but next week there should be lots of everybody! Linda Boys made a great contribution for today - Linda has been growing organic veggies for Brandon's CSA for many years now, first with Menno and Evelyn Isaac, who brought CSA to Brandon. She brought the snow peas, gorgeous Deer's tongue lettuce and some of the nicest spinach we've seen in ages.

So, today's harvest for the FULL SHARES: 1 head of Deer's tongue lettuce, 1 large bag of Romaine, 1 small bag of spinach, 1 small bag of snow peas, 4 lbs of Norland baby potatoes, 1 bunch onions, 1 bunch baby beets, 1 pint raspberries.

Today's harvest for the PART SHARES: 1 head of Deer's tongue lettuce, 1 large bag of Romaine lettuce, 1 small bag of spinach, 2 lbs of Norland baby potatoes, 1 bunch of onions, 1 bunch of baby beets.

The baby beets will be delicious, as well as the greens. Many people don't realize that the greens, especially from young beets, are absolutely delicious steamed, boiled or sauteed. Farmers Boy likes his with a sprinkle of vinegar. They are good raw, torn up in salads, although not to every one's liking. The raspberries are absolutely divine! It's always so scrumptious to have that first pick of the season. Nothing like a fresh, sun-ripened berry; they are soooooo NOT like the hard, bland things often found at the supermarket. The baby potatoes are unwashed: they will keep better dirty, and should go in a cool, dark, dry place until they are used.

A new option for CSA this year: the Egg Club! The Girls are producing well enough that we can offer a dozen eggs weekly for CSA members with their pick-up. Members can choose to join The Club, or not; their choice. We can't say that the eggs are completely organic; certified organic feed is hard to find around here. We can definitely say The Girls are pastured, and are not fed any animal by-products, hormones or other medicines. And they seem pretty happy, although we can't say for sure that is reflected in the taste! We're working on making our own organic feed for both the chickens and the pigs; Farmer Boy is looking for sources for organic grains and is pursuing the purchase of his own grain masher or crusher.

The Cucumbers ARE Alive!

The lettuce.....not so much. A whole plot of lettuce - just nothing. The cucumbers took forever to germinate and we were afraid something was wrong. But, after a few days of nice weather and warm nights, the cukes have put in an appearance. The lettuce, planted three weeks before the cukes, is still missing in action. And that's weird! The lettuce is suppose to love cool weather and should have been up very quickly. So, Farmer Boy is going to give it a few days and then he's plowing it under! Lettuce planted just a week ago is already showing, so not much hope for the first batch.

Farmer Boy has been busy! All the melon plants are in, most of the ground cherries, most of the vast numbers of peppers! Planting seedlings is hard work, lots of bending or crawling on the ground. He'll be happy to have all the seedlings in over the next few days. Then it's on to do battle with weeds and bugs!