CSA SPRING SHARE WEEK #8 We will begin harvesting the garlic this week!! We are starting to find a few cucumbers and the melons are flowering. More farm news below...

NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies. We envisage that many of the vegetables you are receiving this week will last for two weeks with careful attention to storing upon arrival. Although we do wash all the greens after harvest, we are washing to take the heat out of the plants and wash away some surface dirt, not to prepare them for consumption. We also spray a seaweed/herb brew about every ten days. While this will not harm you, it does have a taste. We do suggest washing your produce prior to eating.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week. Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop. The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is. We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly. 1/4 share: 5-7 items 1/2 share: 8-10 items Full Share: 10-12 itemsBeetroot Bok Choy Broccoli Carrots Cabbage Coriander Lettuce Spring Onions Purple Tatsoi Rocket Zucchini

Extras Artichokes Romanesco Broccoli Broad Beans Dill Shelling Peas Snow Peas Rhubarb Squash

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING

The rain on Sunday was fantastic! There is no comparison between irrigation and a nice steady rain.We are taking advantage of the wet soil to plant the second melon crop, the watermelons, another crop of lettuce, the Christmas mesclun crop, another crop of corn, another crop of cucumbers, another crop of zucchini and a mass of root and green crops. Very busy planting days.

The field tomatoes are looking great and their are quite large tomatoes in the poly tunnel. The basil in the poly tunnel is also growing well. I had to reseed the field basil as the frost killed it.

There is going to be a gap in our pea plantings. We used a new seeder to sow the next crop of peas and waited three weeks for the peas to emerge. We had about 50% of the rows with peas and the rest empty. So we tilled it in and sowed again by hand. We sow the beans, corn and peas by hand at present while we try and find a seeder that will work for our size endeavour. There is nothing that can replace peas but the later planting means there should be peas for Christmas.

We are excited to begin harvesting garlic this week. Some of the heads are the biggest we have ever grown. The shed should smell great for farm pick-up!

The zucchinis are producing well and we have put extra in the boxes. We hope to begin harvesting the baby zucchini with flowers and will rotate these tender morsels through the boxes. These are perfect for tempura and stuffing!!

There are buds on the first bean plants and the carrots are getting bigger. The melons are flowering and there are many cucumbers growing on the vines. The warmer weather also means lots of weeds and we are trying to keep up with the weeding, planting, and harvesting.

Peter is also busy making more compost. We have a few people who bring their kitchen waste to the farm to add to our piles. We welcome any waste that is garbage and meat free. Compost is the best recycling...from waste to nutrient dense gold for the soil! We will sow our summer green manures in the next fortnight. These also feed the soil and help add to the hummus layer which the plants tap into and feed from.

One of our Spring interns left last week. We wish her well on her farming journey. Our other intern will be with us until Christmas. We really enjoy welcoming aspiring farmers and growers to learn on the farm and also very much appreciate all of their hard work!

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Grilled Zucchini Beet and Cabbage Kraut - Ferments contain so many beneficial probiotics and aid in digestion as well! This recipe from the internet caught my eye... Classic Russian Borscht Minestrone Soup

You can search our recipes by looking for the key ingredients on our website recipe page.

Please note - Photo is a randomly selected full share box.