November 05, 2015

Transition Farm - Spring 2015

November 05, 2015/ Robin

A good rainy morning is a wonderful chance to share what has been happening this Spring on the farm. We spent the Winter reflecting on our farm, completing much overdue book work and looking ahead - setting new goals and refining old ones. Crop seeding began in early August and it has been a busy time as we nurture the heat loving crops in the greenhouse and wait for warmer nighttime temperatures to transplant them into the field.

This has been a very different Spring with us making the decision to sow another green manure crop over the whole farm, resting our fields and building more hummus in the soil.

The fruit trees bloomed spectacularly and the garlic started to bulb up!

September and October were very dry and we had days over 30C which is "unseasonable" for Spring. Farmer friends had broccoli crops bolt with the heat and winter sown legumes dry out before the beans had developed. The Winter grain crops in Victoria have suffered from the lack of water. Our green manure crops thrived with irrigation. But most of the apricots, peaches and nectarines fell to the ground. The hot heat at this time of the year caused the trees to drop fruit.

The time for field planting is here. And we are busy trying to take advantage of the rain we have received in late October/early November.

The Spring flush of aphids has come but so have the beneficial insects that feed on them. We buy lacewing larvae in to kick start the farm population which we hope will multiple and thrive for the whole growing season.

Our CSA Summer Share sign up is starting soon. If you are thinking about joining our CSA, here's a link to 9 things your farmer wants you to know. We are trying to make joining our CSA easier for you and for us by having an online shop. It should be available soon and we will let you know!

The crops are looking fantastic - filled with vitality. We have continued our applications of biodynamic preparations 500 and 501 to support the soil life and hummus formation - give plant's feeder roots lots of great stuff to sink into and to support the plant's natural ability to photosynthesise - turn sunlight into energy.

You can see photos of the day to day activities on the farm on Peter's and my instagram accounts.

We also thought you might be interested in a few links:

Tammi Jones of Jonai Farm has written a great series about Grow Your Ethics. The third part in the series relates to "ethics of scale", "radical transparency", fair treatment of all farm helpers and connectedness - to other producers, the community and to those that eat what her farm produces! Her post has so many common truths with the way we feel about what we are doing - Tammi says it all so well - definitely worth a read!!

The lovely Belinda, who worked with us last year and did the weekly vegetable box deliveries, will be working with another new grower, Erin, growing food for their local community in Albury/Wodanga! We are so excited for them. You can follow their adventures on instagram.

Signing up for the Summer Share starts in December and we will send another email letting you know when and how to join. The Summer Share boxes will be for the months of January, February and March with the Autumn Share following from April - June.

Glad it is raining today! There are more flowers to plant as well as the second planting of cucumbers and zucchini! The soil feels great, the seedlings are thriving and we are excited about the upcoming season.

Happy Spring!!

Robin and Peter

March 26, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015-Week #12 (25 March/27-28 March)

March 26, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #12 The last week of the Summer Share...Thank you for your support of our farm and growing endeavours. You have been a vital part of our continued desire to grow nutrient dense food for our community in a sustainable way. We look forward to the next 12 weeks of our CSA season.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING Tahlia Gregori, the intern that has been working with us for the past three months leaves next week. She has been a fantastic intern and we wish her the best in her growing endeavours!

We have started harvesting the first of the Autumn broccoli crops. If you did not receive any this week, you will next! All of the brassicas love the cool nights we have been having and the rain has been welcome, too. We have also started harvesting our third zucchini planting. We hope that it will be able to ward off powdery mildew and keep growing until the frost. The next corn planting will be ready next week.

The sweet capsicums are still coming on. If you are receiving more than you know what to do with, you can slice them and freeze them to use in stir-fries and sauces through the winter!

We will have lettuce this week and next and then there will be a gap in the head lettuce. We have planted many other greens so that this gap will hopefully not be felt in the boxes. The lettuce seed does not like to germinate when it is hot. We do several things to work around this but had three weeks of lettuce not germinate in the glasshouse. The current lettuce seedlings are doing well but not even in the ground yet.

All of the Autumn brassicas are glowing and the parsnips and turnips are growing well. The transition into Autumn is always softened by the great flush of Summer vegetables still enjoying the warm soil. The bean picking Tuesday was not as heavy as summer weeks. There will be more beans next week.

The tomatoes are starting to succumb to summer disease. We are still picking though! The cherry tomato crop is still producing for “Pick Your Own” during farm pick up times! Please bring your own containers. Limit a 1 kilo bucket per family.

Farm pickup is 2-5pm Fridays and 8-11am Saturdays. Box pickup is available at other times by appointment only. Cherry Tomato picking is only available during farm pick up times.

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.

Beans Bok Choy Red Cabbage Capsicum Carrots Chilies Coriander Lettuce Spring Onions Sweet Potatoes Tomatoes Watermelon

Extras Broccoli Cherry Tomatoes Chilies – 'Pimiento de Padrons'. Eggplant Melons Zucchini

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Roasted Sweet Potato, Sweet Capsicum and Carrot Soup - An internet find soup with delicious flavour Watermelon, Feta and Toasted Pumpkin Seed Salad Tassajara Warm Red Cabbage Salad - This is an adaptation of a fantastic Tassajara Restaurant recipe Broccoli, Capsicum, Carrot and Bok Choy Stir Fry - This recipe can include ay protein source - tofu, chicken, beef, mung bean sprouts. We made it with onions, capsicum, carrots, broccoli and bok choy and it was delicious! Bok Choy Salad - Crispy and delicious with roasted veggies and crunchy Asian noodles

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.

March 26, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015-Week #11 (18 March/20-21 March)

March 26, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #11 We started harvesting the leeks this week! Perfect soup weather with the nights cooling down and the coming of the Autumn equinox. In France the 'Galeux d'Eysines' pumpkin is mostly used for soups, sauces and preserves such as pumpkin butter because the texture of the cooked fruit is very smooth. One of the tastiest pumpkins!

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING The next plantings of sweet corn and beans are not ready for harvest yet. The broccoli is heading up...unsure if it will be ready for next week but definitely the following. The red cabbage is forming heads as well - Enter the Autumn brassicas! The third zucchini planting has many small fruit so we hope to able to start harvesting zucchini again next week.

Amidst tending the brassicas, curing sweet potatoes (sweet potatoes cured for a few weeks are sweeter then those straight from the ground!), harvesting all the potatoes and storing onions and seeding more greens and roots for Autumn, we are preparing areas of the farm for the green manure crops we LOVE! These crops make a winter blanket, protecting the soil from the wind and rain of winter while providing all of the soil microbes roots to continue to feed on. Then in Spring, they become the soil’s salad - a mixture of nutrient rich grasses, legumes and herbs which build the humus layer in the soil and feed the plants throughout the season. It is wonderful to watch the farm slowly transition from tired crops, to bare soil, to sprouting green growth.

Peter and I have been taking lots of pictures of the farm and posting them on instagram. There are small thumbnails on our website home page. You can click on these to see them bigger.

The cherry tomato crop is still producing for U-picking during farm pick up times! Late summer is a great time to see the farm with late blooming sunflower rows, 2m high corn stalks, Autumn brassicas, beans, Autumn peas germinating, the pumpkins ripening, chickens in the buckwheat green manure crop...It looks fantastic and abundant! Please bring your own containers. Limit a 1 kilo bucket per family.

Farm pickup is 2-5pm Fridays and 8-11am Saturdays. Box pickup is available at other times by appointment only. U-pick is only available during farm pick up times.

Basil Beetroot Capsicum Carrots Chilies Leeks Potatoes Pumpkin Silver beet Spring Onions Tomatoes

Extras Cherry Tomatoes Chilies – 'Pimiento de Padrons'. Coriander Eggplant Lettuce Melons Radishes Silver beet Watermelon

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Carrot and Leek Soup Creamy Pumpkin Soup Breakfast Slab Pie - This is a hearty silver beet pie recipe that works great for afternoon picnics, breakfast in the car, Saturday dinner. It is from from Deb Perelman who shares loads of great food at www.smittenkitchen.com

PASTA WITH SWEET CAPSICUMS I find that sometimes the simplest of recipes allow each ingredient to be savoured. Ingredients 2 sweet capsicums sliced thinly into strips 2 cloves of garlic olive oil fresh basil leaves, ripped roughly salt and freshly ground black pepper Shaved Parmesian cheese Pasta of your choice (penne, bowties and angel hair really hold the flavours of this sauce) Method 1. Prepare pasta according to instructions 2. Put a generous jug of olive oil into a fry pan over moderate heat. 3. Add crushed garlic and sliced capsicums. Fry until the capsicum is soft and slightly carmelised. 4. Add to pasta with fresh basil, salt and ground pepper and parmesian cheese.

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 except fot the whole pumpkin (full shares received 1/4).

March 12, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015-Week #10 (11 March/13-14 March)

March 12, 2015/ Peter Carlyon

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #10This is the time of year of making big compost piles and planning the green manure crops for winter. And then there is the huge harvests still to come of storage onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes and pumpkin. The weekly harvests and plantings for the Autumn share and there is still plenty of weeding to keep us busy!

We have had several members let us know how the box is working for them and send through recipes that they have enjoyed. We really appreciate the feedback (as we start planning for next season in April) and the tested recipes are a great addition to our newsletter! Please email or talk to us on the farm. We really do want to know what you are enjoying and what you find more challenging to work with.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING We have been bringing in parasitic wasps to combat the many caterpillars in the crops at this time of year. Even though they work on the eggs of the corn borers, you may still find the caterpillars in the tops of your corn. Although they can make a mess, it is usually pretty simple to just cut off the top and have the rest of the untouched ear for yourself!

The cherry tomato crop is open for U-picking during farm pick up times! Late summer is a great time to see the farm with late blooming sunflower rows, 2m high corn stalks, Autumn brassicas, beans, Autumn peas germinating, the pumpkins ripening, chickens in the buckwheat green manure crop...It looks fantastic and abundant! Please bring your own containers. Limit a 1 kilo bucket per family.

Farm pickup is 2-5pm Fridays and 8-11am Saturdays. Box pickup is available at other times by appointment only. U-pick is only available during farm pick up times.

Our third zucchini crop is flowering. We hope that the cooler nights still allow the fruit to set so that we can keep having it for another month!

Although the tomatoes have slowed a bit with the cooler nights, the plants are still healthy and producing.

The second cucumber planting is succumbing to powdery mildew so there is quite a reduction in cucumbers this week. It is hard to say how long the planting will continue for. The third planting was really hit by the winds last week and although it has begun to flower, we are unsure if it will bear fruit.

We welcomed a new intern to the farm last week! Sapote Hudd heralds from NSW. She will be with us through Autumn.

Tomatoes

Extras Cherry Tomatoes Chilies Eggplant Melons Pumpkin

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Cream of Celery Soup Carrot and Radish with a Moroccan Dressing Lentil Stew

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 except fot the whole pumpkin (full shares received 1/3).

March 05, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015-Week #9 (4 March/6-7 March)

March 05, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #9We will open the cherry tomato crop up to U-picking! This is the last week we will harvest cherry tomatoes for the boxes as the crop will be available for you to U-pick during farm pick up times. Late summer is a great time to see the farm with late blooming sunflower rows, 2m high corn stalks, Autumn brassicas, beans, Autumn peas germinating, the pumpkins ripening, chickens in the buckwheat green manure crop...It looks fantastic and abundant! Please bring your own containers. Limit a 1 kilo bucket per family.

Farm pickup is 2-5pm Fridays and 8-11am Saturdays. Box pickup is available at other times by appointment only. U-pick is only available during farm pick up times.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING Our first zucchini crop which has been producing since November succumbed to powdery mildew. The second crop is as well. We have a third crop planted but it has not yet started producing so there may be a few weeks of no zucchini. The cooler nights and heavy evening dews do bring powdery mildew. The cooler January did not help with this. We are seeing the mildew in the melons, cucumbers and zucchini crops.

The beans are still going strong as is the sweet corn. And we have begun harvesting pumpkins! This week there are Pottimon and Butternuts. The larger pumpkins are still ripening in the field. We also had a look at the sweet potato crop. We will begin harvesting those in about two weeks and then cure them to allow the sugars to fully sweeten. The leeks are looking great! And there are plenty of carrots. The storage onions are beginning to dry and we have parsnips and turnips growing. The first of the Autumn broccoli crops looks to be a few weeks away from harvest. And the Autumn peas have been planted!

We will be sending a letter in the next week to confirm your interest in the Autumn Share which starts in April and goes through until June.

Beans Basil

Beetroot

Carrots Chilies Corn Cucumbers Garlic

Lettuce Onions Potatoes

Pumpkin

Spinach

Tomatoes

Extras

Cherry Tomatoes

Capsicum

Chilies

Coriander

Eggplant

Melons

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

EGGPLANT IN A THAI GREEN CURRY

This fantastic Thai green curry recipe features eggplant and red pepper (carrots make a great substitute if these are not in season). You can add cauliflower, zucchini, beans…really any other stir fry vegetables you have in the fridge. The homemade green curry paste is what makes this dish such a lovely combination of distinct flavours, so don’t be tempted to substitute the store-bought variety. Top the curry with fresh basil.

Ingredients

1 can good-quality coconut milk

3 Asian eggplant (the long thin ones), sliced diagonally into 1cm thick rounds

1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces

1/3 cup fresh Thai or sweet basil

1/2 cup stock (I use chicken)

Green Curry Paste

3 stalk fresh lemongrass, minced

250 grams green chilies, sliced (if you can’t find Thai chilies, jalapeno will work)

1 shallot, sliced OR 1/4 cup diced red onion

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/4 cup of fresh galangal OR fresh ginger, sliced

approx. 1 cup chopped fresh coriander/cilantro, leaves & stems

1/8 cup coriander seeds, roasted and ground

1 tbsp cumin seeds, roasted and ground

1/2 tsp whole white pepper, ground

2-3 tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp shrimp paste

1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar

1 tbsp lime juice

Method

1. Place all ‘Green Curry Paste’ ingredients together in a food processor, blender, chopper, or pestle & mortar. Add up to 1/4 can of the coconut milk, enough to help blend ingredients (reserve the rest for later). Process (or pound) well to create an aromatic Thai green curry paste. If you don’t have a food processor or chopper: try using a blender, or finely mince all ingredients by hand and stir together well.

2. Heat a wok or deep frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2-3 Tbsp. oil and swirl around, then add the green curry paste. Stir-fry briefly to release the fragrance (1 minute), then add the vegetables which take the longest to cook like carrots and cauliflower. Stir for 2 minutes coating with spices.

3. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir and reduce heat to medium or medium-low. Simmer 6-10 minutes (until the carrots start to tender).

4. Set aside 1/4 cup coconut milk, reserving it for use later (the thick cream is best). Add the rest of the coconut milk to the curry, plus the eggplant and beans (if using). Stir everything together, cover, and simmer another 7-8 minutes, or until eggplant is tender enough to pierce with a fork.

5. Add the bell pepper. Cover and simmer another 2-3 minutes, or until everything is well cooked.

6. Remove from heat and gently stir in the 1/4 cup reserved coconut milk. Taste-test, adding more fish sauce if not salty or flavorful enough. Add more lime juice if too salty or sweet for your taste. Add more sugar if not sweet enough. More chili can also be added.

7. Serve with a generous amount of fresh basil and or more coriander.

BEET AND CARROT SALAD

This is a quick recipe (10 minute) that we make alot for farm lunches.

Ingredients

2 large beets grated

2 large carrots grated

100 grams feta crumbled

1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. I use a food processor to grate the beetroot and carrot.

2. In a bowl, crumble the feta. Add oil, vinegar, salt and pepper and coriander.

3. Add beetroot and carrot and mix roughly. Serve over lettuce or as a side.

MINISTRONE

...if you find that your fridge is starting to stockpile old veggies, Make Soup!

I have been told that every region in Italy has its own ministrone. Keep that in mind when you are making this, substituting and adding anything you feel works. I have written the straight recipe from Slow Cooking by Joanne Glynn.

Ingredients

220 gms dried borlotti beans

50 gms butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

15 gms parsley, finely chopped

2 sage leaves

100 gms pancetta, cubed

2 celery stalks, halved then sliced

2 carrots, sliced

3 potatoes, peeled

1 tsp tomato paste

3 roma tomatoes chopped or 400 gm tin chopped tomatoes

8 basil leaves

3 litres chicken or vegetable stock

2 zucchinis, sliced

220 gms shelled peas

120 gms green beans, cut into bite sized lengths

1/4 cabbage shredded

150 g small pasta

6 tablespoons pesto

grated parmesian cheese

Method

1. Put the borlotti beans in a large bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak overnight.

2 Next morning, drain and rinse thoroughly under water.

3. Melt butter in a large saucepan and add the onion, garlic, parsley, sage and pancetta. Cook over a low heat, stirring once or twice, for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft and golden.

4. Add the celery, carrot and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, tomatoes, basil, and borlotti beans. Season with plenty of freshly ground pepper.

5. Add stock and bring slowly to a boil. Cover and leave to simmer for 2 hours stirring once or twice.

6. If the potatoes have not broken up, roughly break them up with a fork against the side of the pan. Taste for seasoning and add zucchini, peas, beans, cabbage and pasta. Simmer until the pasta is al dente.

7. Serve with a dollup of pesto and Parmesan.

Source – Slow Cooking by Joanne Glynn

ROASTED POTTIMON PUMPKIN

The wonderful nutty flavour of the Pottimon pumpkin skin lends itself beautifully to pumpkin wedges

Ingredients

'Pottimon' pumpkin, deseeded and sliced into wedges (DO NOT Peel)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tsp mustard seeds

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200C/180C fan-forced. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Remove and discard seeds from pumpkin. Cut pumpkin into 4cm thick wedges. Combine oil, cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon and ginger in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Add pumpkin. Toss and rub to coat.

2. Place pumpkin in a single layer, on prepared tray. Roast for 25 minutes. Turn pumpkin. Roast for a further 10 minutes or until tender.

3. Remove from oven when toasted. Top with coriander and serve with yogurt (with a bit of harissa mixed in)

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 except for the whole pumpkin (it depended on the size).

February 28, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015-Week #8 (25 February/27-28 February)

February 28, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #8 In addition to a very full harvest day, we did an application of Biodynamic 500 last night and Biodynamic 501 this morning. Back to back applications of bd500 and bd501 can help invigorate plants at the end of their growing cycle. We are hoping this helps them to ward off insect attacks.There may be caterpillars in the corn. This is un-sprayed corn and the caterpillars like it as much as we do. They are usually only in the top of the ear. You can simply cut that off and enjoy the rest.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING

I was happy to see that the capsicums are starting to turn red and yellow - sweet capsicums are on the way! The fruit have been on the plants for a long time waiting to turn. Some have been sunburned, others eaten by caterpillars. There are still lots of capsicums there - and some are huge. Seeing them changing colour is exciting.

Pumpkins - we will start to harvest a few varieties of pumpkin next week. And the first crop of Autumn broccoli looks only about two to three weeks away from harvest. The long sunsets are a sign that the seasons are changing and seasonal eating is too.

Farm Pick Up times are Friday 2-5pm and Saturday 8-11am. Pick up is available at other times by appointment only.

Beans Carrots Cherry Tomatoes Chilies Celery Coriander Corn Cucumbers Lettuce Onions Potatoes Tomatoes Zucchini

EXTRAS Basil Capsicum 'Pimiento de Padrons' Eggplant Kale Squash

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS S zechwan Green Beans - Our kids LOVE these! Tomato Salsa Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash Salad Ceasar Salad Dressing Zucchini and Cherry Tomato Kebabs

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.

February 19, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015-Week #7 (11 February/13-14 February)

February 19, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #7 We had our first big tomato harvest with the field tomatoes really coming on! There are big bags in everyone's box. There may be caterpillars in the corn. This is un-sprayed corn and the caterpillars like it as much as we do. They are usually only in the top of the ear. You can simply cut that off and enjoy the rest.We have had several members let us know how the box is working for them and send through recipes that they have enjoyed. We really appreciate the feedback (as we start planning for next season in April) and the tested recipes are a great addition to our newsletter! Please email or talk to us on the farm. We really do want to know what you are enjoying and what you find more challenging to work with.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING With Autumn, comes weather perfect for fungal diseases. Our first plantings of zucchini and cucumbers have started succumbing to powdery mildew. Some seasons you can keep these away but the cold, damp summer we have had has been perfect for spreading these diseases.

We have also seen an increase in pest bugs in the tomatoes and cucumbers. We are doing what we can to try and curb the population...including hand collecting to make biodynamic insect peppers.

We are back harvesting beans! There are more plantings coming on too so this is not the last of them! The sweet corn is also continuing.

The brassicas are looking great in the field with the kale set to be planted this week. We have also introduced a wasp which lays its eggs into the eggs of the white cabbage moth. The wasps nymph then eats the baby caterpillar emerging from its egg cell. Predator bugs that are working with us! Once out in the world, the wasps feed off of nectar, highlighting again the value of having lots of flowers in the vegetable garden. We keep trying to provide an ecosystem for all of these creatures to breed and be happy! Farm Pick Up times are Friday 2-5pm and Saturday 8-11am. Pick up is available at other times by appointment only. There may be more boxes of cucumbers available for preserving. If you are interested, please email us at petercarlyon@gmail.com. We will be finishing with the first planting soon and the second planting is smaller. If you are thinking about preserving, now is the time.

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Extras Capsicum Cherry Tomatoes Chilies – 'Pimiento de Padrons'. Eggplant Lettuce Onions Potatoes Squash

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS S zechwan Green Beans - Our kids LOVE these! Herby, Peanutty, Noodley Salad - A River Cottage recipe Pimiento de Padrons- With a big harvest this week, many of you recieved these lovely peppers that make a great tapas style dish.LEMON BASIL DRESSING This is great on a salad, or served over freshly steamed beans. Add garlic and it makes a wonderful marinade for zucchini, chicken or fish. Ingredients 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar or sherry vinegar ½ cup flax seed oil, grape seed oil or extra virgin olive oil 1-2 teaspoons Dijon-type mustard 1 shallot finely diced 1 tsp of one or a combination of fresh lemon basil ¼ tsp salt Method 1. Add all ingredients EXCEPT oil to the vinegar and gently whisk. 2. Continue whisking while adding the oil in a stream.

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.

February 12, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2015- Week #6 (11 February/13-14 February)

February 12, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #6 We are half way through our CSA season!! We have had several members let us know how the box is working for them and send through recipes that they have enjoyed. We really appreciate the feedback (as we start planning for next season in April) and the tested recipes are a great addition to our newsletter! Please email or talk to us on the farm. We really do want to know what you are enjoying and what you find more challenging to work with.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING

The heat is back which is great news for the second melon planting, watermelons, red capsicums, eggplants, sweet corn and beans! I feel like this next bean planting has taken ages and I am really missing these wonderful warm season vegetable. Peter thought they would be ready today but had a test pick and they still are not. If we try and pick them too young, we damage the plant. So we will see what Friday brings. We do have three more bean plantings after this one...with the last one being seeded this week!The first melon planting is finished now. We have tried something different with the second which is looking good so far - we used weed mat to try and keep the weeds down. The melon plants do not like to have their roots disturbed so pulling weeds is not a great option. We weeded the first crop three times and it was still overrun with large weeds which shaded the plants and fruit. This did not help seeing it was a cool wet season so far. The second planting is virtually weed free and full of forming fruit.We are picking from our second corn planting now and planting our third zucchini planting. The first zucchini planting is slowly sucumbing to powdery mildew. It did fantastic though seeing it was badly hit by frost in November!

Farm Pick Up times are Friday 2-5pm and Saturday 8-11am. Pick up is available at other times by appointment only.

There may be more boxes of cucumbers available for preserving. If you are interested, please email us at petercarlyon@gmail.com. We will be finishing with the first planting soon and the second planting is smaller. If you are thinking about preserving, now is the time.

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 itemsBasil – Big bunches of Italian Green basil, perfect for pesto. You can make pesto without the cheese and freeze it for use throughout the winter. You can add the cheese once it has thawed. Carrots – Bunches of heirloom orange carrots 'Little Fingers'. We have cleaned out a planting and will be starting on a new planting on Friday. Some of the bunches for Wednesday did contain "Ugly" carrots. These carrots are still very tasty and nutrient dense! Celery – 'Tall Utah'. There is a great recipe for celery soup (link below) tried by one of our CSA members. Chilies – 'Hungarian Hot Wax' . On the Scoville scale (the measurement of how hot a chili is) these rate at 3500-10,000 (The Thai Hot Chillies rate at 30,000). Corn – Sweet Corn...best eaten on the day you receive your box. Cucumbers – We are growing three varieties of cucumbers in this first planting. Two have dark green skin and small warts (some with little bristly hairs). These are "classic" cucumbers with cool flesh and slightly bitter skin. The third variety is one we are trialling. It has a lighter green colour and the skin is very smooth. This does not have the bitterness of the other two. All three have the wonderfully cooling flesh we all love in this summer vegetable. Lettuce – 'Freckles' or 'Summer Harvest'. Onions – These are 'Cream Gold'. They are a wonderful onion with a full flavour and store well. Potatoes – 'Exton'. With freshly dug potatoes, the skin is very tender. We find a light wash is all they need before cooking.

Tomatoes – We are harvesting the following varieties - all heirloom. 'Rouge de Marmande', 'Marglobe', 'Druzba', 'Oxheart', 'Jaune Negib' (a yellow tomato), 'Grosse Lisee' and 'Black Russian' (which is black). Tomatoes are best left out of direct sunlight and out of the refrigeration.

Zucchini – 'Black Beauty' and 'Costa Romanesco'.

Extras Capsicum – Purple and green capsicums. The purple taste like the green and turn green when cooked. The red, yellow and orange sweet capsicums come later in the season. Cherry Tomatoes – We are growing four different cherry tomatoes this year - 'Black Cherry', 'Sungold', 'Little Yellow Bee' and 'Tommy Toe'. Chilies – 'Pimiento de Padrons'. These are wonderful fried. We rotate the 'Padrons' through the boxes and the harvest has just started. We give you a good size bag to make heating the oil worthwhile. There is a recipe for them here. Eggplant – We have just started harvesting the first of the eggplant. These are 'Long, Thin Purple' great in stir fries and barbecued. The plumper eggplants are forming on the plants and we may start harvesting them next week. Melons – We are harvesting 'Eden's Gem' and 'Early Hanover' both a honey dew and 'Hearts of Gold' and 'Hale's Best' cantaloupes. Radishes – 'Cherry Belle' Squash – 'Golden Crookneck' and/or 'Bennings Green Tint'(also known as Patty Pans - We like them baked. Here is the recipe.)

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Cream of Celery Soup Cold Cucumber Soup Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Quinoa and Feta

Zucchini Fritters - Gluten Free

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.

January 08, 2015

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #1 (7 January/9-10 January)

January 08, 2015/ Robin

CSA SUMMER SHARE WEEK #1 I apologise for the late arriving What's in the Box. With the 40C day looming and rain fore casted for the next five days, we started early in the field to try and prepare the crops for the weather. And then we lost power until after 9pm.

We would really like to hear how the box is working for you, what produce you like, what is harder to know what to do with and what meals were a highlight in your house. If you are picking your box up, please do share with us. If your box is delivered and you are home, please chat a bit with Belinda or Peter.

With the days heating up, please do leave a large esky out and we will pack your veggies into to help them cope until you get home. Belinda and Peter do try and find a shady spot for the box but even in the shade, the greens wilt very quickly!

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING Heat above 36C does really effect crops. The tomatoes, capsicum and eggplants can drop all their flowers, the cucumbers can just give up, the pumpkins which are starting to grow can get sun scalded as can the capsicums, tomatoes and fruit. The melons, corn and zucchini seem to thrive. The cloud cover in the late afternoon, the cool change and the rain falling now helps!There are melons growing well, with some about the diameter of a dessert plate, and the field tomatoes are ripening. We have welcomed a new intern, Tahlia, who will be working with us through March. The Autumn brassica plantings continue to be seeded as do more plantings of lettuce, basil, beans, corn, coriander, perpetual gator, rocket, spring onions and zucchini.

We were lucky to have the rain after the heat on Saturday. Some of the apples and capsicums were scalded by the sun but most things recovered well with the cool change and rain.

We were excited to spy lots of native Australian bees today. These blue banded bees are great pollinators and wonderful proof that the diversity within our ecosystem is growing!

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 itemsThai Basil – Wonderful on salads, vegetable dishes and meats. Great mixed into a summer curry with lemon grass, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar and soy. Beans – Green and purple French beans. Beet Root – Large bunches of tender beets. Carrots – Bunches of heirloom orange carrots. Green Coriander Seed –The fresh coriander seeds lend so many savory preparations a huge jolt of flavor and crunch. They taste like a cross between fresh coriander leaves and dried coriander seed - bright and verdant but not as intense as the leaves. They are citrusy and slightly nutty, and they pair very well with beans, lentils, rice, and roasted or grilled vegetables.Fresh coriander seed makes a great garnish on rice, in salads, on meats, in sauces. Mix it into marinades and dressings. Try it roughly cracked and with black pepper on any grilled meat or fish. Or sprinkle them on a salad of ripe tomatoes with salt and extra virgin olive oil. You can infuse them in vodka for a wonderful cocktail.Crush them lightly and mix them with ripe peaches for a great salsa. You can replace the dried coriander seeds in a curry but put them in near the end to retain their freshness. Cucumbers Fennel – You can use this as a main salad ingredient or carmelise it with butter and use it to stuff zucchini or as a base for risotto. Great roasted too! Garlic – 'Australian White'. We put the smaller bulbs in the boxes first as the larger ones store better. Lettuce Potatoes – Wonderful boiled, roasted and mashed. With freshly dug potatoes, the skin is very tender. English Spinach – Eat raw or cooked, with eggs or wrapped in fillo.

Tomatoes

Zucchini

Extras Broccoli – The last of our Summer broccoli. The crop will be back again in March. Capsicum – There have been a few green capsicums ready for harvest with many more smaller ones growing. The coloured sweet capsicums come later in the season. Chilies – There have been a few 'Hungarian Hot Wax' and we have started picking the 'Pimiento de Padrons'. These are wonderful fried. We rotate the 'Padrons' through the boxes and the harvest has just started. We give you a good size bag to make heating the oil worthwhile. There is a recipe for them here. Peas – Sugar snap peas or snow peas. Wonderful in a salad or a stir fry! Squash

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Green Beans and Potato Salad Spinach and Chicken CurryWARM ROASTED BEETROOT, CARROT AND FENNEL SALAD Ingredients 1 bunch beetroots, peeled and quartered 12 baby carrots, trimmed and peeled 1 brown onion, peeled and cut into wedges 1 fennel bulb, trimmed & cut into wedges 2 whole garlic bulbs, halved across salt and pepper 1 tablespoon brown sugar 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar extra virgin olive oil 150g soft goats cheese, cut into thick slices crusty bread to serveMethod 1. Preheat oven 200°C 2. Combine vegetables in a large baking dish and toss through sugar, vinegars and oil. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Roast covered for 35-40 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 4. Carefully remove foil and place goats cheese over the top. Cook for a further 5 minutes or until cheese becomes soft and bubbly. 5. Remove and serve immediately, with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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 with the addition of padrons.

March 26, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #13 (26 March/28-29 March)

March 26, 2014/ Robin

FINAL WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE This is week #13 of the summer share and week #26 of our CSA season. As this is the last week of the Summer Share - Thank You to all of our members. With your support we have continued to explore how to grow food sustainably and worked on providing a diverse box each week to our local community. As we begin to prepare some of the areas of the farm for a winter's rest, we have already begun planning next years season.

Our summer crops of beans, cucumbers, capsicum, eggplant, sweet corn and tomatoes are still producing. We will begin to harvest the first Autumn broccoli planting at the end of this week. Next week, we will begin to harvest leeks and parsnips.

French Beans – Green bush beans. Bok Choy –Bunches of nutrient dense bok choy. This has more vitamins and minerals then broccoli! Carrots –Harvesting 'Cosmic Purple' an heirloom variety. Capsicum –The capsicums all sense that Autumn is here and are ripening much faster now. There are heaps of coloured capsicum, sweet and filled with vitamin C. Chillies – Harvesting 'Hungarian Hot Wax' and 'Cayenne Long Thin'. To read about how hot they are and identify which you may have received, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Sweet Corn – Yes, those may be big, fat corn borers on top of your ears of corn. This is organic corn and they love it too! They are usually only on the top of the ear. You can just cut that off and the rest is fine. We have tried to remove the ones we saw but their evidence may still be there. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. We do have surplus cucumbers available for only two more weeks if you would like to make pickles. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. Mesclun – Mixed lettuce, beetroot and silver beet leaves. Red Onions – Good for salads and stir fries. Baby Rocket –Bags of very spicy baby rocket. Spinach –Bags of 'Bloomsdale' English Spinach. Great raw or cooked. Tomatoes –The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties 'Tommy Toe', ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, 'Marglobe' and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Watermelon – Harvesting 'Klondike' watermelon.

Extras Eggplant – Harvesting the larger variety of eggplant 'Florida Market' and the Asian variety 'Long, Thin Purple'. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These come bagged.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Classic Greek Salad Sesame Salmon with Honey Bok Choy Blue Cheese, Proscuitto and Rocket Bruschetta Spinach and Chicken Curry

FARM NEWS

We have been thinking lately about the viability of small scale, sustainable market gardens to "feed" the ballooning population. Our garden has "new" soil, maybe 2.5 acres under cultivation, and we are still testing varieties, timing and cycles of plants. We are currently feeding 80 families and estimate we can continue to increase that number with experience and as our soil life grows.But...as biodynamic/organic growers can our produce compete with commercially grown food? I do walk into a local fruit and veggie shop and marvel over the size of their capsicum and eggplants. With all my research, I know that those vegetables contain maybe 25% of the nutrients that the ones we are growing contain. But they are so big and "perfect" looking...does the vibrancy of nutrient dense food show?The Red Hill Agricultural and Horticultural Show began in 1922 with the local apple growers constructing an apple pyramid and local axe men felling the trees on the site. There are still axe men and apples and vegetables, flowers, cattle, sheep, poultry, alpacas, cooking, craft and photography. We entered 15 categories including 'Collection of 15 distinct varieties of vegetables'. Vegetables are judged strictly on appearance, uniformity in size, diversity, and overall display. Our display won the best collection and we were the overall aggregate winners in the vegetable section. We were very excited to see biodynamic/organic food recognized!!

Small scale, sustainable market gardens have the capacity to provide produce that is more nutrient dense then mono cropped, heavily sprayed produce. They keep the soil life alive which also helps with climate change. They can work in a non-competitive environment with other small scale producers resulting in the sharing of information and resources. Without your support as members though, we would not have this great opportunity to grow as growers. Thank you!

We have been waiting for the first Autumn broccoli crop to produce heads and it has finally started! This variety is known for its big heads and we have four hundred feet of broccoli so we are hoping this first crop will go for a few weeks! We will also begin harvesting leeks, parsnips and sweet potato over the next four weeks. These crops will continue through Autumn along with beet root, bok choy, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, pumpkins, romanesco broccoli, silver beet, snow peas, spinach, and turnips.

FARM PICK UP SCHEDULE To accommodate those picking up their Mountain View Farm milk, Farm Pick Up times are Friday afternoon from 2pm-5pm and Saturday mornings from 8am-11am. Please contact us if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

March 13, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #11 (12 March/14-15 March)

March 13, 2014/ Robin

WEEK ELEVEN OF THE SUMMER SHARE The days are getting shorter and although we have had some heat this past week, the nights are cool- Autumn. Plants such as capsicums recognize this time and they ripen quicker, trying to produce seed for next year. There is sweet corn again this week and yes, those may be big, fat corn borers on the top of the ears. This is organic corn and their damage is easily cut off with the rest of the ear to enjoy. We have tried to include a little 'Tiny Tim' pumpkin. These are ornamental-just a little Autumn gift. We will be sending confirmation letters for the Autumn share by the end of the week. Please look for them in your email and respond - Thank you.

French Beans – Green bush beans. These plants struggled through the extreme heat in January. Although they recovered, the yield has been affected. Beetroot – Gorgeous bunches of 'Detroit Red' and 'Ruby Queen'. Carrots –Harvesting 'Royal Chantenay','Solar Yellow' and 'Cosmic Purple' - all heirloom varieties. Capsicum –The capsicums all sense that Autumn is here and are ripening much faster now. There are heaps of coloured capsicum, sweet and filled with vitamin C. Chillies – Harvesting 'Hungarian Hot Wax' and 'Cayenne Long Thin'. To read about how hot they are and identify which you may have received, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Sweet Corn – Yes, those may be big, fat corn borers on top of your ears of corn. This is organic corn and they love it too! They are usually only on the top of the ear. You can just cut that off and the rest is fine. We have tried to remove the ones we saw but their evidence may still be there. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. We do have surplus cucumbers available for only two more weeks if you would like to make pickles. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. Lazy Lettuce – These quick growing, thickly seeded baby lettuce plantings are helping us make it through the gap in our lettuce harvest. The leaves are not as small as mesclun but wonderful and colorful. Melons – Harvesting green flesh ‘Edens Gem’ and ‘Green Nutmeg’ and orange flesh ‘Carmes de Noir’, ‘French Chantenais’, ‘Hale’s Best’ and ‘Hearts of Gold’. Red Onions – Good for salads and stir fries. Curly Leaf Parsley Radishes – Bunches of 'Champion' radishes. Tomatoes –The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties 'Tommy Toe', ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, 'Marglobe' and ‘Ox Heart Red’.

Extras Eggplant – Harvesting the larger variety of eggplant 'Florida Market'. This is the classic purple eggplant. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These come bagged. Pumpkins – 'Jack Be Little' We tried to get one of these in each box. They are ornamental and just a fun little Autumn gift. Also harvesting 'Sweet Dumpling'. These are a great little squash wonderful for stuffing (recipe below) or roasting with the skin on. Watermelon – Harvesting 'Sugar Baby' watermelon.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Watermelon, Feta and Toasted Pumpkin Seed Salad Quinoa, Roasted Veggies, Marinated Chickpeas and Feta Salad Tabouli Moroccan Inspired Cous Cous Stuffed Sweet Dumpling Squash

FARM NEWS Our late summer interns have been with us for five weeks now. In addition to hands on learning about harvesting, weeding, soil blocking, seeding, storing the harvest, compost making, biodynamic planting and biodynamic preparation application, they are very keen to leave the farm with a guide of what they can plant in each season and how to rotate those crops in order to maintain soil health. They are making a test plot with a guide to the tools they will need, how they will prepare the soil, how they will seed crops, what crops to seed, the projected yield and how they will market their crops. We are thrilled that they are so keen to get growing!

The Autumn crops are all growing well. We are continuing to transplant broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, fennel and lettuce from the greenhouse and have begun to plan the areas for the overwintered crops like garlic and broad beans. In the field, we are direct sowing Asian greens like bok choy and tatsoi, spinach, Autumn root crops like beetroot, carrots and turnips, silver beet and rocket. Same news really as last week.

We have had some crop failures - Our second planting of celery turned woody. last night was ther first substantial rain we have had this year. Irrigation can not substitute for a good soaking rain. The celery turning is a result of the lack of rain. Our third celery planting is growing well and does not show signs of water stress. We also lost our first Autumn planting of fennel. The night before planting it into the ground, slugs came and ate almost the entire planting...over 200 seedlings. As we start things from seed, we just had to move on and wait for the second planting which will be transplanted this week. These things affect the diversity of the weekly boxes but we have planted extra crops so they should not affect the number of items each week.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

March 06, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #10 (5 March/7-8 March)

March 06, 2014/ Robin

TENTH WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE While in Australia we are now into Autumn, the solstice is not for another few weeks. The sun is heading north and the nights have chilled, but the soil still holds the heat of the summer. The cold last week did slow the field tomatoes, beans and greens. The brassicas love the cold though and the array we have planted for the Autumn Share are growing well.

CRATES Please remember to leave your crate out on Delivery Day or return them to the farm. Farm Pick Up people need to bring bags to transfer their vegetables into as the crates need to remain on the farm - Thank you!

Basil – Pesto bunches of Italian basil. Capsicum – We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, 'California Wonder', 'Golden Cal Wonder' and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. We harvest the capsicums "breaking"- with some colour but maybe not fully turned. If you leave these in your fruit bowl, they will turn fully red in a few days! Chillies – To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber - 'Marketmore', 'Straight Eight', 'Poinset' and pickling cucumber 'Boston Pickling'. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. Melons – Harvesting green flesh 'Edens Gem' and 'Green Nutmeg' and orange flesh 'Carmes de Noir', 'French Chantenais', 'Hale's Best' and 'Hearts of Gold'. Onions – Brown onions 'Cream gold'. These onions will store well and can be kept in a cupboard. Potatoes – 'Sebago'. This potato is great for boiling, mash, roasting, baking, chips and mash. Pumpkin – Chunks of just harvested 'Queensland Blue'. Perpetual Gator Spinach – Large bunches for salads or cooked. Sweet Corn – For the best flavour and tender kernels, eat it today! Tomatoes –Field tomatoes slowed with the cool week last week. There was a good harvest of smaller 'Tommy Toe' which is a winner of the Diggers taste test. Cherry Tomatoes– 'Sungold'

Extras Eggplant Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir-fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. Watermelon – 'Sweet Baby' Zucchini– Harvesting ‘Nero di Milano’, ‘Romanesco’, and a stuffing zucchini ‘GreyZiti’. Our second zucchini planting is being challenged by powdery mildew. This is greatly reducing the harvest.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Pumpkin and Autumn Green Cannelloni Spaghetti Vongole with Fresh Mussels Spanish Truita (Potato Omelete) Pesto

FARM NEWS The persistent cold snap over the past week slowed the tomatoes, zucchini, beans and successive plantings of "greens" that we sowed to fill in the lettuce gap we have from extreme heat. Always interesting the hand nature plays in the best laid plans on paper. The 'Perpetual Gator' silver beet is wonderful raw or cooked and can be a good salad green for the week.

There is sweet corn this week and again we think it is best the day it is picked! There are still three more plantings of sweet corn.

We were starting to wonder if we were moving into that in-between season time when summer things finish up and Autumn things are not quite ready. While the nights are cooling down, the forecast is for heat this week. The many green tomatoes should ripen, the greens will grow and the beans should be ready for harvest next week.

The first Autumn broccoli planting is looking great too and we recon we could be harvesting it in the next fortnight. The snow peas have germinated as have the turnips. We should begin harvesting leeks and parsnips in the next fortnight.

FARM PICK UP SCHEDULE To accommodate those picking up their Mountain View Farm organic milk, yogurt and grass fed beef , Farm Pick Up times are Friday afternoon from 2pm-5pm and Saturday mornings from 8am-11am. Please contact us if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

February 27, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #9 (26 Feb/28Feb - 1 March)

February 27, 2014/ Robin

NINTH WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE There is a chill in the air - much different to late February last year. Autumn does feel like it is coming. We are still harvesting melons. We have planted many heirloom varieties that you usually do not see in the grocery store because they do not "travel" as well as other varieties. We also "slip" pick them which is the plants way of saying the fruit is ready. We are in between sweet corn plantings - Sweet corn again next week. Zucchini will begin to be a rotated item. More about that below. Watermelons will be ready next week.

French Beans – Purple bush beans. These lovely beans do turn green when cooked. Beetroot – Gorgeous bunches of 'Detroit Red' and 'Ruby Queen'. Carrots –Harvesting 'Royal Chantenay'. Celery – We are harvesting our second planting of 'Tall Utah'. The tops were burned by the intense heat in January. The stalks are still succulent and moist. These are huge heads. If you have extra, you can make stock now to use for winter stews. Chillies – To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Coriander – Bunches with the roots for making pastes. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. We do have surplus cucumbers available for only two more weeks if you would like to make pickles. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. Mesclun – Bags of mixed baby lettuces, tatsoi, silverbeet and mustards. Melons – Harvesting green flesh ‘Edens Gem’ and ‘Green Nutmeg’ and orange flesh ‘Carmes de Noir’, ‘French Chantenais’, ‘Hale’s Best’ and ‘Hearts of Gold’. Red Onions – Good for salads and stir fries. Radishes – Bunches of 'Champion' radishes. Tomatoes –The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, Brandywine, Marglobe and ‘Ox Heart Red’.

Extras Eggplant – We have begun harvesting the larger variety of eggplant 'Florida Market'. This is the classic purple eggplant. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck'. The Golden crookneck are sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper. Zucchini– Harvesting 'Nero di Milano', 'Romanesco', and a stuffing zucchini 'GreyZiti'. Our second zucchini planting is being challenged by powdery mildew. This is greatly reducing the harvest consequently we will be rotating zucchini through the boxes.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Tomato Salsa – 5 minute recipe Black Bean Burritos – Although you soak the beans overnight and then cook them for 1 1/2 hours, the rest of the meal takes 20 minutes and my children LOVE them! Celery Gratin – Preparation 15 minutes. Cooking 30 minutes. Thai Salad Dressing - 5-10 minute recipe Beet and Carrot Salad - 10 minute salad

FARM NEWS Late summer is a bit cooler then last year. The pumpkins are finishing - we have built a mouse-proof room to store them in this year. The watermelon are ripening. The growth of summer is slowing down.

We sowed parsnips and leeks in the Spring which are ready for Autumn harvest. Turnips have been sown. We are continuing to plant brassicas - broccoli, cauliflower, kale and cabbage. We are also sowing Asian greens, spinach and silverbeet. Our carrot plantings are growing well. We still have more bean plantings too. The third sweet corn planting will be ready next week and there are three more plantings growing. We have sown snow peas for Autumn.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

February 19, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #8 (19 Feb/21-22 February)

February 19, 2014/ Robin

EIGHTH WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE SWEET CORN!!! We HIGHLY recommend that you eat it tonight! The sugars in the corn start to turn to starch immediately after picking. Melons – We wait until they “slip” off the vine to harvest them - the plants way of saying they are ready for eating. If you want to save them for later in the week, these store better in the fridge. You can let them return to room temperature before eating. Sweet Capsicums – We pick these when they are "breaking". If your capsicum is not fully red, leave it out of the fridge and it will finish turning in a few days. You can also try putting it into a paper bag with a banana.

CRATES We have many CSA members who have more then one crate. Please remember to leave your crate out on Delivery Day or bring them to the farm. As we are so low on crates, the Farm Pick Up people need to bring bags to transfer their vegetables into as the crates need remain on the farm - Thank you!

Carrots – 'Little Fingers' Chillies – To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. Lazy Lettuce – Bags of mixed lettuce leaves. Melons – Harvesting green flesh 'Edens Gem' and 'Green Nutmeg' and orange flesh 'Carmes de Noir', 'French Chantenais', 'Hale's Best' and 'Hearts of Gold'. Parsley – Bunches of curly parsley. Potatoes – 'Royal Blue' They have dusky purple skin and yellow flesh. Their flavour is slightly sweet, and they’re good mashed, roasted, fried or used in salads. Perpetual Gator Spinach – Large bunches for cooking Sweet Corn – For the best flavour and tender kernels, eat it today! Tomatoes –Field tomatoes are here! We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Marglobe', 'Roma', 'Tommy Toe' and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Zucchini–We have a new variety - 'Grey Zini'. This is an Italian stuffing zucchini. We are also harvesting 'Romanesco' and 'Black Beauty'.

Extras Dwarf Purple Beans – Great colour that does turn to green when cooked. Capsicum – We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, 'California Wonder', 'Golden Cal Wonder' and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. We harvest the capsicums "breaking"- with some colour but maybe not fully turned. If you leave these in your fruit bowl, they will turn fully red in a few days! Cherry Tomatoes – 'Sungold' Eggplant – We have begun harvesting the larger variety of eggplant 'Florida Market'. This is the classic purple eggplant. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stirfries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Rocket – Bunches of teenage size leaves. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck'. The Golden crookneck are sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper. Grey Zini – This is an Italian stuffing zucchini.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Roasted Cherry Tomatoes with Quinoa and Feta Spinach and Chicken Curry Fresh Corn and Tomato Salsa And a recipe Heidi, one of our lovely volunteers who blogs at Apples Under My Bed, found for Spinach and Ricotta Souffles.

FARM NEWS Late summer on the farm - The glasshouse is full again with the Autumn Brassica crops - broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco broccoli, brussel sprouts and kale. The first of the broccoli plantings is already in the ground growing well and about four weeks away from producing heads. With the cooler weather, we have seeded more bok choy. We are preparing beds, direct sowing and transplanting the Autumn and over wintered crops.

Compost - Autumn is the main digestive time of the earth and a great time of year to make compost heaps. We are making more windrows to be used in the next growing season (Spring).

We are harvesting the second planting now of Sweet corn - There are six plantings currently seeded with the last of the season still to sow. The melons in the second planting are ripening and the early watermelon are showing signs of being ready soon.

We have tried to fill the gap in lettuce plantings with mesclun, rocket and young Perpetual Gator. There looks to be plenty of greens for salads.

Although the second crop of celery was tip burned on the extreme heat days we had weeks ago, it has continued to grow well and we hope to begin harvesting it next week. There are still lots of carrots and beetroot in the ground with more being sown for Autumn and Winter. Our first parsnip crop which was sown in October is HUGE as are the leeks. We will begin to sow the Autumn turnip crop...not as many as last year but a great variety of salad turnips and stewing turnips.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

February 13, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #7 (12 Feb/14-15 February)

February 13, 2014/ Robin

SEVENTH WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE SWEET CORN!!! There is an old adage which says, ‘Have the water boilin’ before you pick the corn.” We pick your corn early on delivery morning to ensure it is very fresh for you. We HIGHLY recommend that you eat it tonight! The sugars in the corn start to turn to starch immediately after picking.

We have included some Nectarines in your box this week. ‘Goldmine’ are the white fleshed variety and ‘Fantasia’ are the yellow flesh variety.

The melon crop has started – unless we cut them we a little unsure whether some of these new varieties we are growing are fully ripe. We wait until they “slip” off the vine to harvest them - the plants way of saying they are ready for eating.

The pumpkin skin adds a lovely nutty flavor to it – no need to peel this variety.

Basil – Large Pesto bunches of basil this week. Lemon Basil and Purple Basil – Bunches of these two together. Lemon basil is delicious in marinades and salad dressings and purple basil adds a great colour to any dish including cucumber and tomato salad and zucchini ribbon salad. French Beans – Green bush beans. Just snap off their heads and steam them or add them to tomato sauce. Great in salads too! Chillies – To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. There are surplus cucumbers. Expect a few extras. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. This is the last week of the little heads! Lettuce – Harvesting 'Grandpa Admires'. We will have a gap in the lettuce harvest due to the heat. Melons – Harvesting green flesh 'Edens Gem' and orange flesh 'Carmes de Noir', 'French Chantenais', and 'Planters Jumbo'. Spring Onions – Good for salads and stir fries. Pumpkin – 'Red Kuri' is a mild pumpkin with a nutty flavoured skin. Good roasted and in curries. English Spinach – Big bags of English spinach. Sweet Corn – With two corn plantings ready close to each other, expect extra ears in your box. Tomatoes –Field tomatoes are here! We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Marglobe', 'Roma', 'Tommy Toe' and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Cherry Tomatoes – Harvesting 'Sungold' cherries. Zucchini –We have a new variety - 'Grey Zini'. This is an Italian stuffing zucchini. We are also harvesting 'Romanesco' and 'Black Beauty'. Check out this article on what to do with the glut of zucchini!

Extras Baby Bok Choy – We experimented with some new seed and have bunched the results - lovely baby bok choy in the heat of summer! Definitely will be planting more. Capsicum – We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, 'California Wonder', 'Golden Cal Wonder' and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. We harvest the capsicums "breaking"- with some colour but maybe not fully turned. If you leave these in your fruit bowl, they will turn fully red in a few days! Eggplant – We have begun harvesting the larger variety of eggplant 'Florida Market'. This is the classic purple eggplant. Nectarines – ‘Goldmine’ are the white fleshed variety and ‘Fantasia’ are the yellow flesh variety. We wait until the fruit is ripe to harvest. These should be ready to eat. They will store best in the fridge if you are not going to consume them today. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck'. The Golden crookneck are sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper. Grey Zini– This is an Italian stuffing zucchini.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Cucumber, Tomato, Feta and Olive Salad Zucchini Ribbon Salad Zucchini, Cherry Tomato and Chicken Kebabs – Delicious marinade using lemon basil Tzatziki Dip Light Vinaigrette Dressing – made with lemon basil

U-PICK FLOWERS We have a large assortment of cut and edible flowers planted all over the farm. CSA members are welcome to come during the farm pick up times and cut a posy and pick some edible flowers.FARM PICK UP SCHEDULE To accommodate those picking up their Mountain View Farm milk, Farm Pick Up times are Friday afternoon from 2pm-5pm and Saturday mornings from 8am-11am. Please contact us if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

January 29, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #5 (29 January/31 Jan - 1 Feb)

January 29, 2014/ Robin

FIFTH WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE We are still harvesting some tomatoes from our polytunnel – and FINALLY the tomato plantings out on the farm are starting to ripen. We have some Capsicum turning to red which makes their flesh sweeter. We have started harvesting eggplants. And we have included some Nectarines in your box this week.

The Full Share have ‘Atomic Red’ carrots – these need to be peeled to turn a bitter taste into a sweet one!

SUNFLOWER OPEN DAY - FARM TOUR With the sunflower field in full bloom, we will be giving a farm tour this Saturday at 9:30am. This is open to anyone. Please email us to receive further information and/or let us know you are coming so we have an idea of the numbers.

Basil – Large Pesto bunches of basil this week. French Beans – Yellow and green bush beans. Just snap off their heads and steam them or add them to tomato sauce. Great in salads too! Capsicum – We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Some of the 'Corno di Toro's' have started turning red. These are sweet capsicum! Carrots –Harvesting 'Atomic Red' and 'Solar Yellow'. If you remove the 'Atomic Red peel, the taste is sweeter. Chillies – To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. There are surplus cucumbers. Expect a few extras. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. This is the last week of the little heads! Lettuce – Harvesting Cos lettuce heads 'Parris Island' and 'Freckles'. Red Onions – Bunches of red onions - Good for salads and stir fries. The tops are edible too! Radishes – Bunches of 'Champion' radishes. Rocket – Bunches of young rocket. There are signs of caterpillar damage but there is still plenty left for you to enjoy. English Spinach – Big bags of English spinach. If you still have your pumpkin from last week, you can try a spinach and pumpkin curry. This is also wonderful for spanikopita! Tomatoes –We are still harvesting tomatoes from our polytunnel. The field tomatoes harvest is just beginning. The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, Brandywine, Marglobe and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Zucchini –The second planting is producing as is the first. There is surplus this week and every box has some extras. New varieties coming in a few weeks. Check out this article on what to do with the glut of zucchini!

Extras Climbing Beans – Purple climbing beans this week. These are flatter then the bush beans and great french cut and/or added to tomato sauce. Eggplant – We have begun harvesting the larger variety of eggplant 'Florida Market'. This is the classic purple eggplant. Nectarines – ‘Goldmine’ are the white fleshed variety and ‘Fantasia’ are the yellow flesh variety. We wait until the fruit is ripe to harvest. These should be ready to eat. They will store best in the fridge if you are not going to consume them today. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck'. The Golden crookneck are sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper.

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING We picked the first of the ‘Marglobe’ and ‘Tommy Toe’ tomatoes yesterday from our 300feet of field tomatoes. The start of the harvest is always a bit slow and then it increases. We are looking forward to giving you more tomatoes in the coming weeks. We have also been holding the green capsicums on the bush in hopes that they will start to turn red. The 'Corno di Toro' variety have started turning. These are the long, thin capsicum. We have been checking the first corn planting daily...watching and waiting. And the melons are also nearing full ripeness.

We are continuing to seed and plant a mixture of greens to keep a steady supply, even through the heat. It has been hard to germinate the lettuce seed with temperatures above 30 so we may have some gaps in about four weeks - The adventures of trying to keep variety in the box. We have also continued with our seeding for the Autumn Share. Broccoli, several varieties of cauliflowers, Romanesco broccoli, kale, cabbage and brussel sprouts for early winter!

A lovely local lady, Lorraine, makes our gleaning program so easy. When we have excess, we call Lorraine and arrange to deliver it to her. She either passes it on to 'Second Bite' who then distributes fresh, nutritious produce to people in need. Or she works with "Connections", an organisation that trains disabled people to work in commercial kitchens, and turns 30kilos of cucumbers into pickles for the local brotherhood kitchen. Or she gathers some other lovelies together to top and toe 20 kilos of beans and quick freezes then for future brotherhood cook ups. This week she will be pickling beet root at connections. Read more about gleaning here...http://transitionfarm.com/index.../csa-program/gleaning/

We are taking orders for boxes of cucumbers for making pickles.

Check out our ideas on Preserving the Harvest. Some are very quick and allow you to enjoy this fresh produce throughout the year.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Creamy Pasta with Roasted Zucchini, Goats Cheese & Basil Spinach and Feta Pie – This is included in one of Jamie Oliver 30 minute dinners with Cucumber Salad and Tomato Salad. Good Old French Bean Salad – Another Jamie Oliver recipe - twangy and mustardy.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

January 23, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #4 (22 January/24-25 January)

January 23, 2014/ Robin

FOURTH WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE...what a HOT one! We are happy that the extreme heat of last week has broken and are still assessing the losses from the five consecutive days of heat above 40 degrees. The first corn planting is almost ready. Here we are in the middle of summer...and sowing crops for Autumn. We had a surplus of beetroot this week with us needing to pull up a whole planting that was in the way. We have added beetroot recipes to help you work through the extra.

Thai Basil –Bunches of this delightful 'Asian' basil which has a pronounced licorice or anise flavour. The flavor is peppery and warm, and although there is a difference between Thai basil and common sweet basil, they can be substituted for each other in most recipes. Delicious mixed with coriander and spring onions to create a Thai flavoured dish. Beans – Yellow bush beans. Just snap off their heads and steam them or add them to tomato sauce. Great in salads too! Beetroot – Surplus beetroot this week! Harvested ‘Detroit Red’, 'Ruby Queen' and 'Golden Detroit’. The golden beetroot are wonderful sliced like matchsticks and added to a salad or for dipping. We have added a few more beetroot recipes and their are ideas for relishes and pickling in our preserving post. Celery –Harvesting huge heads of crisp, slightly salty celery! Climbing Beans – Purple climbing beans this week. These are flatter then the bush beans and great french cut and/or added to tomato sauce. Coriander - Wrap in a paper towel and store in the crisper drawer to enjoy for longer. The roots are as good as the stalks and leaves! Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. We are still putting the small heads into the boxes. The larger heads store better and these will come in about three weeks! Lettuce – Harvesting Cos lettuce heads 'Parris Island' and 'Freckles' both of which made it through the heat beautifully. Our head lettuces show signs of being tip burned. Potatoes –Harvesting 'Cranberry Red'. These have a slightly pink tinge inside, do not require peeling and are great roasted, mashed or boiled. Lovely all around potato! Pumpkin –'Red Kuri' is an early variety which can be roasted skin and flesh! It has a lovely nutty flavour and is great mixed into salads, as a roasted side, and/or mixed into a Thai Green Curry! Some of these pumpkins were sunburned by the intense heat last week. This has marred the skin but not the flesh inside. We roasted it without peeling and found it fine! Spring Onions – Bunches of spring onions - Good for salads and stir fries. Tomatoes –We are still harvesting tomatoes from our polytunnel and still watching the green tomatoes in the field. The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, Brandywine, Marglobe and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Zucchini–The second planting is producing as is the first. New varieties coming in a few weeks.Extras Capsicum – Even with the cooler weather, the capsicum harvest continues. We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Chillies – By Request and availability–To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck' and 'Patty Pan'. Here is a recipe for 'Patty Pan' squash, which look like small oval greenish/white gourds. They are delicate and delicious. The Golden crookneck are so sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper.

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING Even with early starts last week, the heat of the day saw us finishing work at lunchtime. Plants are like people - they do not like being messed with when it is that hot. We lost about 50% of the second parsnip planting with the plantings just burning. The second celery planting got tip burned and we are waiting to see if the centers will recover. Some of the head lettuces were tip burned too and others bolted to seed from the heat. The capsicum and eggplant managed to hang on to their flowers - last year in this heat they dropped them all.

We have apples, pears, tomatoes and pumpkins that were all sunburned. In the apples, pears and tomatoes, this creates a spot on the fruit which begins to rot. These fruits are lost. We harvested the 'Red Kuri' that were sunburned and these spots have not affected the flesh nor the flavour of the skin. Although they are not picture perfect, they are still delicious!

The first corn planting is almost ready and we have started harvesting eggplants with many more on the bushes.

We are taking orders for boxes of cucumbers for making pickles.

Check out our ideas on Preserving the Harvest. Some are very quick and allow you to enjoy this fresh produce throughout the year.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Beetroot Quinoa Chocolate Cake – This is a Heidi Sze recipe. Heidi is a local dietician and one of our lovely volunteers. Her blog (www.applesundermybed.com) is her diary. She writes about food, travel, cooking, life...her life. Heidi has written a post about re-connecting with your food which mentions her time on Transition Farm. We were the great and lucky recipients of this cake for morning tea! Creamy Beetroot Dressing – 5 minute recipe for a long lasting salad dressing Beet and Carrot Salad – A 10 minute recipe that is a farm lunch favourite. Thai Curry Paste and Thai Baked Tofu – A 30 minute recipe from the Moosewood cookbook. Bean Salad – Another Heidi recipe.

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

WHAT’S IN THE BOX EMAILS Our apologies for the late arrival of the What's in the Box this week.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

January 18, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #3 (15 January/17-18 January)

January 18, 2014/ Robin

THIRD WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE Summer Heat has arrived and we have tried to prepare the vegetables as best we can. Crops are mulched, shade cloth is on the tomato polytunnel and the propagation glasshouse, irrigation is rotating. In humid climates, fungal diseases can spread more quickly. We will continue to spray herbal brews to strengthen the plants. There are surplus cucumbers this week and another great bean harvest. U-Pick flowers has begun. More information below.

Basil – Big bunches this week...enough to make pesto! We have tried different methods to store the harvested basil...putting it in water or storing it in the cooler. Neither is perfect. We recommend storing it in water on the counter. Beans – Purple and yellow bush beans. Just snap off their heads and steam them or add them to tomato sauce. Great in salads too! Unfortunately, unless you cook them VERY quickly, the purple beans do turn green when cooked. Beetroot – ‘Detroit Red’ and “Golden Detroit’. The golden beetroot are wonderful sliced like matchsticks and added to a salad or for dipping. Climbing Beans – Purple climbing beans this week. These are flatter then the bush beans and great french cut. Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 20 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed with seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. We are still putting the small heads into the boxes. The larger heads store better and these will come in about three weeks! Kale – Harvesting bunches of curly kale...before we till in the Spring planting. Great as chips for a beach snack or mixed into a stir fry. Lettuce – Harvesting young lettuce heads 'Perella Rougette' and 'Freckles' before the heat of the week causes them to go to seed. Spinach –Harvesting mid-size English spinach. Great cooked alone, in a pasta or raw in a salad. Spring Onions – Bunches of spring onions - Good for salads and stir fries. Tomatoes –We are still harvesting tomatoes from our polytunnel and still watching the green tomatoes in the field. The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, Brandywine, Marglobe and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Zucchini– The first crop of Zucchini is slowing down and the second planting is just starting to flower. The zucchini harvest may be a bit less in the next few weeks while we wait for the second planting to really kick in.

Extras Carrots – 'Cosmic Purple' bunches. Capsicum – Even with the cooler weather, the capsicum harvest continues. We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Chillies – By Request and availability–To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck' and 'Patty Pan'. Here is a recipe for 'Patty Pan' squash, which look like small oval greenish/white gourds. They are delicate and delicious. The Golden crookneck are so sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper.

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING This week has seen us trying to catch up on the weeding and keep up with the harvesting. The capsicums have started turning colour. The first of the paddock sunflowers opened this morning. The basil is really growing strong. There are tiny ears of corn. With the heat, we start very early, hide during the hottest part of the day and continue working in the evening. Not only is it too hot for us to work in the afternoon, the plants do not like being messed with in high heat. There are lots of pumpkins in the pumpkin patch and we have started our summer activity of tracking the tiger snakes that are part of our farm ecosystem. We have written a post about that here. If you come to U-pick flowers, please wear closed shoes.

We are taking orders for boxes of cucumbers for making pickles.

We are going to have a spontaneous sunflower blooming open day. Join our newsletter (right hand column button on the website) or follow us on instagram and facebook to find out when.

Check out our ideas on Preserving the Harvest. Some are very quick and allow you to enjoy this fresh produce throughout the year.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Basil Pesto – 10 minute recipe. Light and Refreshing Cucumber Salad – 5 minute recipe that kids and adults love! Tahini Dressed Courgette and Green Bean Salad – A 15 minute recipe from the River Cottage cookbook Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad – A 20 minute recipe from the River Cottage cookbook. Kale Chips – Several different recipes for a great nutrient dense snack.

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

WHAT’S IN THE BOX EMAILS Expect the What’s in the Box email before noon on Wednesday’s. If you do not receive it, please let us know so that we can work out why.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

January 09, 2014

CSA Summer Share 2014 - Week #2 (8 January/10-11 January)

January 09, 2014/ Robin

THE SECOND WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE The weather has been cool but we are happy to have the rain. The weeds are trying hard to make their seed...and we are trying hard to ensure they don't! Please read on to find out about what's in your box and what's growing.

Beans – Green and Yellow bush beans. Just snap off their heads and steam them or add them to tomato sauce. Great in salads too! Carrots – Mixed bunches of heirloom carrots. The red ones are 'Atomic Red'. These are a wonderfully almost mint flavoured carrot but they need to be peeled! THE PEEL IS BITTER. Celery – Celery is one of the vegetables you can really taste the minerals in. This weeks celery is naturally salty and not very stringy. The ample rain we have been having has made it very moist. Celery is filled with Vitamins K, A, C, B2, B5, potassium. manganese, calcium and magnesium as well as many trace minerals Cucumbers – We are growing several varieties of cucumber. One is noticeably bitter. Test your cucumber. If it is bitter, peel it, slice it and place it in a colander with salt for 30 minutes. Rinse and drain. Rinse and drain. Dress with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Garlic – This is biodynamically grown garlic. Sprayed only with rain, seaweed brews and biodynamic preparations. It is full of trace minerals, strong and sweet. We are still putting the small heads into the boxes. The larger heads store better and these will come in about three weeks! Onions – 'California Red'- Great raw or cooked! Parsley – Bunches of Italian parsley. Potatoes – Bags of young, baby potatoes. The variety is 'Desiree' and some have scab. The scab is little more then visual annoyance. They are fine inside. These steam well! Then add butter, salt and parsley. They also make a good potato salad. Rocket – Bunches of rocket this week. You can cut the leaves from the stem above the rubber band. Perpetual Gator – Bunches of this perpetual Spinach with a lemony taste. Good cooked or mixed into a salad. Tomatoes –We are harvesting tomatoes from our polytunnel. With the cold Spring, our field tomatoes are still lagging behind. The tomato’s flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties ‘Black Russian’, ‘Rouge de Marmande’, Brandywine, Marglobe and ‘Ox Heart Red’. Zucchini – Great harvest of zucchini has continued. This may be a good week to share with you this article on what to do with the glut of zucchini!

Extras Broccoli – The last of the main broccoli heads from the current planting. Broccoli ranks third in the list of heavily sprayed crops. Enjoy this Summer broccoli that is completely pesticide and herbicide free! Capsicum – Even with the cooler weather, the capsicum harvest continues. We are harvesting ‘Purple Beauty’, ‘Emerald Giant’, and ‘Corno di Toro’. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Chilies – By Request and availability–To see the varieties we are growing and to identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These are rotated through the boxes. We have lots of plants but the harvest has only just begun. It might take awhile to get them into everyone's box. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck' and 'Patty Pan'. Here is a recipe for 'Patty Pan' squash, which look like small oval greenish/white gourds. They are delicate and delicious. The Golden crookneck are so sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper.

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING It is hard to believe that this is the week where we had seven consecutive days of 40+ temperatures last year! We really love the rain and the cooler temperatures. It is delaying the field tomatoes and we are worried about the possibility of early fungal diseases in them due to wet weather. And the eggplant which started off so strong are not liking the cold. Everything else is happy and thriving. The corn has started tasseling. If you want to know more about how a corn plant makes its succulent ear, read this post.

We are taking orders for boxes of cucumbers for making pickles.

I have put photos of our New Year's Harvest Day on the internet. We are going to have a spontaneous sunflower blooming open day. Join our newsletter (right hand column button) or follow us on instagram and facebook to find out when.

Check out our ideas on Preserving the Harvest. Some are very quick and allow you to enjoy this fresh produce throughout the year.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Rocket Pesto – 10 minute recipe. Delicious as a dip or with chicken, fish or lamb. Grilled Zucchini and Summer Squash Salad with Basil and Parmesan – 30 minute recipe that kids and adults love! Potato and Green Bean Salad – 25 minute recipe great to take for beach picnics! Black Rice, Rocket, Bean and Semi-Dried Tomato Salad – 20 minute recipe-Wonderfully textured salad with gorgeous colours and taste. Ministrone – Simple flavoured soup perfect for the cooler weather and using all the summer vegetables.

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

WHAT’S IN THE BOX EMAILS Expect the What’s in the Box email before noon on Wednesday’s. If you do not receive it, please let us know so that we can work out why.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

December 31, 2013

CSA Summer Share 2013 - Week #1 (31 December/3-4 January)

December 31, 2013/ Robin

THE FIRST WEEK OF THE SUMMER SHARE What a week it is with lots of gorgeous produce! It is a bumper first bean crop with the harvest being about 30% more then our expectation. There are surplus beans in every box. We have also been waiting for our summer broccoli planting. Usually these plantings come on over a period of weeks but these heads have all came at the same time! We believe they will store in your fridge for two weeks. Consequently, there is extra broccoli in all the boxes too.

With surplus beans, broccoli, cucumbers and zucchini, this is a great week to check out our ideas on Preserving the Harvest. Some are very quick and allow you to enjoy this fresh produce throughout the year.

Basil - Great bunches of very full flavoured basil. Beans – Green and Yellow bush beans. Just snap off their heads and steam them or add them to tomato sauce. Great in salads too! Beetroot - 'Detroit Red' and "Golden Detroit'. The golden beetroot are wonderful sliced like matchsticks and added to a salad or for dipping. Broccoli - Two to three heads of un-sprayed broccoli. Broccoli ranks third in the list of heavily sprayed crops. We had a huge moth problem in the Spring but planted this broccoli in a more protected area of the farm. Enjoy this Summer broccoli that is completely pesticide and herbicide free! Carrots - Bunches of 'Atomic Red" and 'Scarlett Nantes' Coriander – Big bunches good for marinating prawns for the grill, making salsas and mixing into salads! Cucumbers - The cucumber plants are really taking off. We are taking orders for boxes of cucumbers for making pickles. There is a recipe on the website. First in - Best Dressed! Garlic - We are still putting the smaller heads in the boxes as the larger ones store better. While the outsides are dried, the inside is still wonderfully juicy! Lettuce - Harvesting Oak Leaf Perpetual Gator – A perpetual Spinach with a lemony taste. Good cooked or mixed into a salad. Spinach – English Spinach - good raw or cooked. Add to your salads or pastas! Zucchini – Great harvest of zucchini has continued. This may be a good week to share with you this article on what to do with the glut of zucchini!

Extras Capsicum –The capsicum harvest has begun. The cooler, wetter weather this week have slowed the capsicum and chilies down. Still, we harvested some 'Purple Beauty', 'Emerald Giant', and 'Corno di Toro'. To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Chilies – To identify what you receive, please go to our Capsicum and Chillies post. Peaches– These are from our second tree to ripen this year. With the wet Spring, they are very juicy! They need to sit and ripen on the counter! These are really good grilled too. Pimiento de Padrons –Delightful "sometimes hot, sometimes not" chilies that are wonderful fried as a Tapas style entree. They have a lovey full flavour great for pizzas and stir fries too. These come in bags with enough to make heating the oil worth the effort. They are rotated through the boxes. Summer Squash – 'Golden Crookneck' and 'Patty Pan'. Here is a recipe for 'Patty Pan' squash, which look like small oval greenish/white gourds. They are delicate and delicious. The Golden crookneck are so sweet steamed with butter, salt and pepper and wonderful grilled with zucchini, sliced and put onto a bed of spinach. Tomatoes –We are harvesting tomatoes from our polytunnel. With the cold Spring, our field tomatoes are still lagging behind. The tomato's flavour is better ripened away from direct sunlight so we do harvest ours before they are fully ripe. We leave them on the kitchen counter to ripen which should take about three to four days. The natural sugars in tomatoes are lost if they are refrigerated. We are currently harvesting heirloom varieties 'Black Russian', 'Rouge de Marmande', Brandywine, Marglobe and 'Ox Heart Red'.

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING The field tomatoes are really lagging behind. The current harvest is coming from the polytunnel we added this year. While we have four hundred feet of field tomatoes planted, we only have 200 feet on room in the polytunnel. The tomato harvest is being divided.

The other summer crops are really going for it now! For those who have just joined our CSA, this weeks box has quite alot of surplus produce...the boxes are not normally this BIG! We had extra cucumbers, beans, broccoli and zucchini! The great part of being in a CSA is that you receive the surplus in times of bounty and you also may have a light box when we have crop failures. We certainly prefer a surplus!! but are also mindful that you may feel daunted by the amount of produce. Please let us know if you would prefer not to receive surplus.

We are taking orders for boxes of cucumbers for making pickles.

I am putting photos of yesterday's harvest day and of all the food growing on the internet tonight. If you do not receive our newsletter, you can view them on our website www.transitionfarm.com (where you can also join our newsletter).

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Roasted Beetroot Salad with BoatShed Cheese Persian Feta - This recipe comes from Tamara Newing, one of our CSA members and the artisan cheese maker behind BoatShed Cheese - Mt Martha, Victoria. Szechwan Green Beans - 15 minute recipe that kids and adults love! Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon Basil Sauce - 15 minute recipe great to take for beach picnics! Mango Salsa - 5 minute recipe that is great with grilled chicken or fish, breaded chicken or fish or chips! Beetroot and Cream Cheese Dip - 5 minute recipe great for summer snacks!

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

CHANGE TO THE PICK UP SCHEDULE To accommodate those picking up their Mountain View Farm milk, Farm Pick Up times are Friday afternoon from 3pm-5pm and Saturday mornings from 8am-11am. Please contact us if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX EMAILS Expect the What's in the Box email before noon on Wednesday's. If you do not receive it, please let us know so that we can work out why.

Please note - Photo is of a full share box.

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