Spring

Although the official first day of Spring in Victoria is 1 September, Spring comes to our farm in August.  Even though the nights are still cold and we have frequent frosts, the green manure crops begin to actively grow again in August, filling the fields with their lush green goodness.

We began sowing seeds for the Spring and Summer crops in the glasshouse in mid July.  By this time, the glasshouse is full of Asian greens, brassicas, celery, cucumbers, capsicums, eggplant, fennel, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, herbs and flowers. Some of these are successive plantings of frost hardy crops and others are waiting for the night time temperatures to rise before they can be planted into the field.

And in the field, frost hardy plants are growing strong.

The fruit trees are also looking great this year.  Many are now four-five year old trees with a fine structure.  We have pasted them with a biodynamic tree paste which remineralizes the tree, helps protect them from fungal and insect invasions and helps heal pruning wounds.  The nectarines, peaches and plums have just started blooming with the apricots close to follow.

We continue to encourage healthy soil through the incorporation of green manure crops, the use of biodynamic 500 and the addition of biodynamic compost.  The green manure crop in last seasons pumpkin and sunflower paddock has been incorporated and this year the paddock will be filled with greens and root crops.  Crop rotation helps to keep the soil nutrients from being depleted and also can protect the crops from pests that may overwinter.

This winter Peter set about making some predator safe chicken tractors so that we can incorporate these hard working fowl into the market garden. Sometimes it takes a few tries to come up with a design that works but we hope to incorporate more chicken tractors this year.  The chickens not only break up and scratch in the crop and green manure residue, they also eat the snails, slugs and weed seed.  They add valuable fertilizer and then they move on the next spot.

We were  guest farmers for a week on the magazine Modern Farmer's instagram account in late July.  You can go see our farm in pictures by using this link.  You do need to scroll down quite far...back to the 27 July for the start.  There have been a few other Australian farmers featured as well as many other small farm enterprises around the world.

An online magazine Confetti also did a feature story on our farm. The lovely ladies from Queensland came and spent a cold and rainy day on the farm, talking and taking photos. Their article packs so much in...what is a CSA, our experience as farmers, the state of the earth's soil and how your choices about how your food is grown make a difference!

Our CSA season starts again the second week in October.  Here are some links to learn more:

Our CSA Program What are we growing for the Spring Share Why We Are a CSA Farm

We are currently confirming our CSA members for the season.  If you are interested, now is the time to let us know.

If you would like to see more photos of the farm, check out Peter's instagram page or mine.  You can also find us on Facebook.

We will be having an Open day sometime this Spring.  Look for an update with the details.

Happy Spring!

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #13 (25 June/ 27-28 June)

THIRTEENTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE This is the last week of our 39 week CSA season.  Thank you for your support of our farm and for supporting small scale, local agriculture!

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

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

Baby Asian Greens Beetroot Broccoli Cauliflower Coriander Leeks Kale Parsnips Pumpkin Silver beet TurnipsExtras Romanesco Broccoli Carrots Lettuce Radishes Peas

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Pumpkin and Autumn Green Cannelloni  Winter Asian Green Salad - I have taken this basics of this recipe, added roasted pumpkin and tamari toasted seeds for a delicious winter salad Warm Kale and Roasted Pumpkin Salad

For more recipe ideas, search by key ingredient on our recipe database.

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 remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!

NEWS FROM THE FARM

While harvesting the broccoli today, I thought how grateful I was to the past three seasons.  This final broccoli planting being ready for these last weeks of the CSA was not an accident.  We have planned all 39 weeks of the CSA, trying to know when to seed crops based on past season notes.  Although we can fine tune our planning, and are trying to for next year, I was pretty happy to have exactly one head of broccoli for every Wednesday box this week, ripe and ready for harvest...seeded over 17 weeks ago. Each week there is a bit of worry...a bit of hope...a bit of disappointment...a sense of achievement...great gratitude.  We really try to ensure the boxes are diverse and filled with high quality produce.  We worry that there is not enough, there is too much, it is too bug eaten or too split.  We hope something will be ready in time, something will slow down a bit, members will be satisfied.  We are disappointed with the wind, the sun, the heat, the cold, the pests.  We have a great sense of achievement looking at the full boxes lining the packing shed and thinking of all of the collective effort that went into producing those vegetables. We are very thankful to the earth, the rain, the sun, the efforts of all of those working with us on the farm and the support of our members!

With the fine tuning comes a better understand of the timing of crops...our brussel sprouts will be ready in about three weeks...my children are not going to be happy about having 100 feet of brussels just for us! Fine tuning also involves a better understanding of the crops families like to eat and how to rotate all of the crops for a 39 week season through our 3 acres of growing space. We spend Winter planning and buying seeds.

Thank you for the your support of our farm.  We wish you a happy winter. Until Spring...the days are getting longer already!Follow us on instagram and facebook.Please note – Photo is a randomly selected full share box with the addition of a whole pumpkin.  The full shares received about 1/3 of that pumpkin.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #12 (18 June/20-21 June)

TWELVE WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE Next week is our final CSA box for this season.  Please leave a cardboard box or esky out for your vegetables.  No crate will be left.  We also ask that you ensure all crates are left for collection - Thank you!

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

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly.

1/4 share: 5-7 items   1/2 share: 8-10 items   Full Share: 10-12 items

Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Kale Onions Parsley Potatoes Pumpkin Baby Silver Beet Turnips

Extras Broccoli Cauliflower Lettuce Radish Peas

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Hearty Winter Stew Slow Cooked Kale Omelettes Warm Kale Salad with Roasted Pumpkin - This recipe would work well too over the baby silver beet.

For more recipe ideas, search by key ingredient on our recipe database.

FARM NEWS Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey email to you on Monday.  This will help with our crop planning for next season.  Thank you!

Our best bet on what we will be harvesting next week: spicy asian salad mix, leeks, parsnips, kale, silverbeet, pumpkin, japanese turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, peas, onions 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 before Saturday if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times. Please remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!

Follow us on instagram and facebook.

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

Warm Kale and Roasted Pumpkin Salad

This salad was inspired by Sprouted Kitchens Kale Bowl. Warm salad may sound bizarre but we have served this twice now for crew lunch and both times it was the perfect combination of flavours and perfect balance of proteins.  We did not want for anything more all afternoon!  Warm salads are perfect for Winter!

Ingredients A large chunk of pumpkin, skinned and seeded and cut into ¾ inch cubes 1 large fennel bulb, reserving fronds for garnish Red or brown onion cut into chunks 5-6 garlic cloves 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, divided 1 Tbsp. Grade B Maple Syrup 1 tsp. whole grain mustard 1/2 tsp. cayenne pinch of red pepper flakes 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg salt (smoked or sea salt) + pepper 1 bunch purple kale, stems removed tamari roasted pepitas 15 almonds coarsely pounded in a mortar and pestle feta cheese

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 225C'. Arrange one oven rack in the upper third and one on the bottom third. 2. Peel, seed and cube the pumpkin. Slice the fennel down the center, cut out the tough core, slice into 1/2'' wedges. Peel and cut the onion into 1/8ths. Do not peel the garlic. Spread everything on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil, maple, mustard, cayenne, red pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Toss gently to coat everything, adding another drizzle of oil or maple if it seems too dry. Roast in the upper third of the oven for 35-40 minutes or until the squash is tender and caramelized, tossing the vegetables halfway through. 3. Rip the kale into large chunks, drizzle it with remaining olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Spread it on another baking sheet. At the 30 minute mark, move the squash tray to the lower rack and put the kale on the top rack. Bake for 10 minutes until the edges are crisp. 4. Squeeze the roasted garlic from its skin.  Gently toss everything together. Enjoy warm.

Reflections on our CSA

It has been quite awhile since we sent out a newsletter.  I had all the best intentions with many photos sitting on the desktop of my computer.  But the time would slip past and the photos would seem out of date.

We are nearing the end of our third season as CSA farmers.  And with two weeks of harvesting for CSA boxes to go, and Winter setting in, Peter and I are reflecting on how we started, where we are now and the path that lies ahead.

 We started our CSA with a trial run, a seven week season in 2012. That trial not only showed us that we could grow food on a larger scale (we really weren’t sure about this), but the feedback we received was that people liked the CSA model and wanted more. So we set about preparing more land, cover cropping, building a packing shed, planning, seeding, weeding, irrigating, and harvesting for a 26 week CSA season in 2012-2013. We increased from 17 families to 55.

 And this season we added Oct, Nov and June and another 30 shares. At the end of June we will have provided boxes for 39 weeks to 85 families. This year we also built a bigger glasshouse for propagation (from recycled windows), built a polytunnel in hopes that we could offer early season tomatoes, added a walk-in cooler and store room to our packing shed to preserve the harvest. Our main priorities have remained -  Building soil life, in order to ensure that the food we are growing is nutrient dense and that the soil is left better than what we found. And providing a diverse box of vegetables that best suits the desires of the families in our CSA. We have continued our biodynamic practices which not only boost soil life and help plants with the uptake of nutrients but also support the plants so that they are more pest and disease resistant.  We have continued to grow heirloom crops that are not always available through commercial retailers as well as offer specialty crops not often found on small farms.  We are pursuing our desires to be a sustainable farm - using soil blocks for propagation, which has eliminated plastic growing cells from our glasshouse - sourcing local materials to make our own compost - growing green manure crops to renew our soil -  Building infrastructure with recycled materials - Limiting tractor use.

We have also furthered our goal to be share what we have learned with aspiring farmers.  We have worked with 10 interns and five work share volunteers all of whom have a desire to understand how to grow vegetables sustainably.  We have written an extensive internship which shares our farming from building soil, biodynamic practices, seeding with the moon, pest and disease management, market garden tools and tricks, irrigation, harvest and storing crops, crop rotation and more.  It is wonderful to see the growing desire of people to be farmers and also wonderful to see the support of the community for locally produced food.

 As the final leaves fall to the ground and we move towards the shortest day of the year, we are reflecting on how far we have come and where we will go from here.  The CSA model we have established for our farm, has made us think of so many benefits for farmers and the community.  

Currently all that we grow is for our CSA members.  The buy a share in the farm upfront in exchange for a weekly box of seasonal vegetables and occasionally fruit.  This year I really felt how this model has removed the food we grow from market value prices.  Our motivation in having early tomatoes, for example, is not to be the first on the block with heirloom tomatoes with a hefty price tag .  It is to offer our members a present - vine-ripened, glorious tasting tomatoes for Christmas.  The cost of the box does not increase.  This is the same in late Autumn when potato prices are so low.  We are still putting potatoes into the boxes and the box value has not decreased.  And when we do have excess, we put it into the boxes without increasing the box price.  When there is so much excess that even our members can not use any more, we are able to pass the surplus on to people in need, via "Second Bite" and "Connections", without wondering if we could have sold it somewhere.  We have already received the income we budget for.

 We have also felt very appreciative that when we have had crop failures, our income has not been impacted.  We feel blessed that so far we have been able to manage the twists and turns of weather and pests. Although there have been some weeks where the boxes have been missing items that we had expected, the diversity of the crops we grow has meant that the boxes have rarely fallen below the number of items we estimate they should have.  The majority of the time, they have had more.

We are continuing to grow as growers, desiring higher quality throughout all of our crops and incorporating new ideas to try and achieve this.  In the past week for example, Peter, with the help of our Autumn intern Belinda and our work share volunteer John, has been busy building a moveable chicken house that will keep the chickens safe from foxes and dogs while we rotate them through our growing rows.  Hopefully the chickens will scratch away eating weed seeds and pests while enriching the soil with the refuse of plant matter and their manure. We are also trying to refine the crops we grow to best reflect the eating habits of our members, keeping in mind our need to rotate crops and the seasonality of crops.

 We are busy planning all of the crops for next years boxes, reflecting on how our CSA may evolve and thinking about capping our CSA membership and allocating a portion of the farm to a farm stand.  We see ourselves as the community’s farmers.

To provide boxes in Oct, we need to begin seeding again in mid July.  Stopping the CSA boxes at the end of June, gives us a two-week break from thinking about nurturing food. We are looking forward to those two weeks!

To see a gallery of this seasons What's in the Box photos, please go here.

To learn more about our CSA program and/or express your interest in joining our 20124-2015 season, go to our website.

 An article about CSA’s featuring Transition Farm was written by Milkwood, a family-based social enterprise that thrives on sharing practical skills and knowledge that can help individuals and communities move towards a mode of living that’s ethical, abundant, and deeply hands-on. Have a read, Community Supported Agriculture at Transition Farm.

We have found farming to be all consuming this year.  With the scales between family time and farming often being tipped towards farming, we have prioritized family...hence the lack of newsletters.  We do post frequent farm photos on instagram and facebook.

Happy Winter!

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #11 (11 June/ 13-14 June)

ELEVENTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE We have finished writing the survey to help us understand your families vegetable needs and also gain more insight into how we can grow better.  We thank you in advance for taking the five minutes to complete it. This will be emailed in the next few days.

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

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

Beetroot Carrots Leeks Parsnips Potatoes Pumpkin English Spinach Tatsoi

Extras Broccoli Bok Choy Capsicum Cauliflower Fennel Rocket Peas

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Pumpkin and Spinach Curry - This curry has a wonderful full flavoured taste and comes from Sala Kanna at Veggie Belly. Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup Tatsoi and Cabbage Stir Fry Beet and Carrot Salad Spinach and Feta Pie

For more recipe ideas, search by key ingredient on our recipe database.

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 remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!

NEWS FROM THE FARM We have long wanted to incorporate chickens into our farm management plan.  With the increase of snails in our leafy crops, Peter has devised and is in the process of making a chicken trailer that is the same width as one of our planting beds.  The chickens will hopefully be safe from the many foxes that frequent our property while they free range through the spent vegetable beds, eating leftover greens, snails, slugs and other critters.  We hope that this will not only increase the soil fertility, it will also increase the quality of the organic produce we are growing.With our season coming to an end, we will be filling your boxes with everything we have left growing.  We envisage that much of this produce will last for a few weeks. This week there are big bags of spinach.

Our best bet on what’s to come in the next two weeks - Broccoli, Romanesco Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, Red Cabbage, Kale, Onions, Parsnips, Potatoes, Pumpkin, Silverbeet (Baby and full size), Spinach, Turnips. We have lettuce, mesclun and braising mix planted - we just do not know if it will be ready for harvest.  We also have Brussel Sprouts which may make it...

Follow us on instagram and facebook.

Please note – Photo is a randomly selected full share box with the addition of a whole pumpkin.  The full shares received about 1/3 of that pumpkin.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #10 (4 June/6-7 June)

TENTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE The cover crops are germinating.  Soon large areas of the farm will be covered in a winter blanket of green!

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

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly.

1/4 share: 5-7 items   1/2 share: 8-10 items   Full Share: 10-12 items

Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Celery Garlic Fennel Kale Potatoes Rocket Rosemary Onions Sweet Potato

Extras Cauliflower Radish Peas Silver beet Thyme

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Roasted Fennel and White Bean Dip Autumn Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato, Apple, Radish and Goats Cheese Pasta with Fennel, Rocket and Lemon

For more recipe ideas, search by key ingredient on our recipe database.

FARM NEWS

The cover crops are germinating.  Soon large areas of the farm will be covered in a winter blanket of green! These green manure crops not only protect the soil from water and wind erosion, they also protect the soil life, feed the soil life and contribute valuable nutrients and hummus to the soil in the Spring.  We use green manure crops as a way to create farm generate fertility...as opposed to using chemical fertilizers.

You received celery two weeks in a row.  We try to not do this but as we were going to lose the rest of the planting to rust, we decided to give the celery to you a week early.  With the warm Autumn that we have had, there are many fungal diseases presenting which usually are not a problem in early Winter.

The warmth has also caused the next cauliflower planting to come on earlier than expected.  We are now harvesting the white heads.  We know that many have received cauliflower two or three weeks in a row.  We expect more heads next week as the white planting matures. Great chance to try your favourite recipes!

We do try to stagger plantings but unusual weather effects even the best planned sequence.

Our best bet on what will be in the box next week... parsnips, pumpkin, silver beet, leeks, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, potatoes.

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 before Saturday if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times. Please remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!

Follow us on instagram and facebook.

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

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #9 (28 May/30-31 May)

NINTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE We are transitioning to our late Autumn work of evaluating our season, renewing the soil and planning for next year.  Keep a look out for a survey about our CSA.  We are your farmers so please let us know how this CSA can serve you better.

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

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

Broccoli Carrots Celery Leeks Parsley Parsnips Pumpkin Silverbeet Tatsoi Turnips

Extras Red Bok Choy Capsicum Cauliflower Brown Onions Peas English Spinach

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Pumpkin and Spinach Curry - This curry has a wonderful full flavoured taste and comes from Sala Kanna at Veggie Belly. Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin, Coriander and Almonds - A Jamie Oliver recipe Ginger Roasted Pumpkin and Quinoa Salad - Another great recipe from Emma Gallaway of My Darling Lemon Thyme Hearty Winter Vegetable Stew Cauliflower Pizza - a great alternative to pizza dough from Heidi Sze, one of our lovely work share volunteers,  at Apples Under My Bed Celery Gratin Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup Broccoli, Carrot and Chicken Stir Fry Tatsoi and Cabbage Stir Fry Jamie Oliver’s Beef Stew

For more recipe ideas, search by key ingredient on our recipe database.

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 remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!Follow us on instagram and facebook.

Please note – Photo is a randomly selected full share box with the addition of a whole pumpkin.  The full shares received about 1/3 of that pumpkin.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #8 (21 May/23-24 May)

EIGHTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE This week on the farm we've been taking advantage of the possibility of coming rains to get out cover crops in the ground. We use our cover crops as a green manure to feed the soil. This provided more nutrients for the soil and crops in the coming months. It's always exciting to see the green winter blanket grow and protect our soil from wind, erosion, and nutrient loss from the rain.

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

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week.  Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop.  The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is.  We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly.

1/4 share: 5-7 items   1/2 share: 8-10 items   Full Share: 10-12 items

Beetroot Bok Choy Broccoli Cabbage Capsicum Coriander Fennel Potatoes Onions Radish Sweet Corn Turnips

Extras Cauliflower Eggplant Lettuce Peas Silverbeet

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Fennel and Radish Salad Bok Choy Salad Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon Basil Sauce Roasted Japanese Turnips & their Balsamic Greens Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin, Coriander and Almonds Broccoli and Parmesan Fritters

For more recipe ideas, search by key ingredient on our recipe database.

FARM NEWS

In preparing large areas of the farm for cover cropping, we have pulled out the last of the Summer/Autumn crop of Capsicum and Eggplant.  We seed these for next season in the greenhouse in late July and hope to begin harvesting in January 2015!

Our best bet on what will be in the box next week... parsnips, pumpkin, silver beet, leeks, broccoli, kale, sweet potato, celery and cauliflower.

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 before Saturday if you need to arrange to pick your vegetables up outside of these times. Please remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!

Follow us on instagram and facebook.

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

Broccoli Fritters

Ingredients3 cups chopped fresh broccoli (stems cut into ½ inch lengths and florets into 1 inch chunks) 1 large egg 1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour 1/3 cup (30 grams) finely grated parmesan cheese 1 small clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt, plus more to taste A pinch of red pepper flakes or several grinds of black pepper Olive or vegetable oil for frying

Method 1. Steam your broccoli until tender (3-4 minutes). Drain the broccoli, then set aside to cool. 2. In a large bowl, beat the egg. Add flour, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Add the cooled broccoli and mash all the ingredients with a potato masher to combine. 3. Heat a large heavy-bottomed pan over moderate heat. Once hot, add a small amount of oil to cover the bottom of the pan and scoop a two tablespoon-size mound of the batter and drop it into the pan, flattening it slightly with a spatula. Repeat with the rest of your batter, leaving a couple inches space between each. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown underneath, then flip the fritters and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. 4. Transfer fritters onto paper towels, then serve. These are best enjoyed immediately, or you can also keep them warm in the oven on a moderate setting.

Recipe credit: Smitten Kitchen blog.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #7 (14 May/16-17 May)

SEVENTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE We are sowing green manure crops to protect the soil and provide a nourishing blanket to all of the soil organisms through winter.

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

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

Broccoli Carrots Celery Kale Leeks Parsley Parsnips Pumpkin English Spinach Spring Onions Sweet Potatoes

Extras Cauliflower Lettuce Rocket

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Pumpkin and Autumn Green Cannelloni Celery Gratin Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup Cavolo Nero Kale and Chili Chips  Broccoli, Carrot and Chicken Stir Fry

FARM NEWS

We have seeded all the crops for the Autumn Share.  As the Southern Hemisphere losses light, the growth of the plants slows.  This is our last big thrust to get green manure crops in the ground so that they can make a winter blanket for the soil.  We are cleaning out growing areas and making green manure mixes that will best serve the soil and the crops that will grow in that area next season.

The purple and green cauliflower plantings are slowly producing heads. The plants are NOT consistent, coming on whenever they are ready.  So far we have only harvested five heads. We are recording who has received them to ensure that everyone gets a head.  They will continue to produce over the next six weeks.

Our harvest season ends in six weeks.  We will begin harvesting Spring Crops in October. We will have 80 shares available for next Spring season.  If you are interested in joining, please respond to this email with YES, SPRING SHARE as the topic.  You will be contacted in late August to confirm your interest.  We do currently have a waiting list and if there are available spaces, we will offer them in August as well.

We will also be sending a survey in late May which is designed to help us better refine what we are growing and how our CSA operates.  Please look for that in your email and have your say.  We are farming for YOU!

Our best bet on what will be in the box next week...potatoes, onions, beetroot, lettuce, broccoli, bok choy, fennel, radish, pumpkin and silver beet.

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 remember to transfer your vegetables into a box or bag and leave the crate on the farm - Thank you!

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Please note – Photo is a randomly selected full share box with the addition of a whole pumpkin.  The full shares received about 1/3 of that pumpkin.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #6 (7 May/9-10 May)

WEEK SIX OF THE AUTUMN SHARE WARNING: Your box contains STINGING NETTLES.  With heat, the sting subsides and you are left with a highly nutritious crop, rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and one of the highest sources of digestible iron in plant form. Kitchen gloves will protect you from the sting, which contains formic acid (the same as an ant bite)  while you remove the leaves from the stems. You need only to lightly braise or put the nettles into hot water to eliminate the sting.  The formic acid dissolves in heat and is no longer present.  You can add nettles to soups, tarts, omelettes, spanikopitas, teas - anywhere you would use herbs and spinach.

Your box also contains Cayenne Long Thin Chili Peppers.  These peppers received a Scovilles rating of 30,000-50,000 whereas the Hungarian Hot Waxes only received 5,000. THESE ARE HOT! Please use care in handling and preparing.  They do have a wonderfully well rounded flavour and make excellent chili pastes.

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

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

Beetroot Broccoli Capsicum Carrots Chilies Coriander Garlic Brown Onions Potatoes Pumpkin Silver beet Stinging Nettles Turnips Turnips

Extras Cauliflower Rhubarb Zucchini

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Roasted Japanese Turnips & their Balsamic Greens Onion and Nettle Tarts Vegetable, Nettle and Quinoa Soup Beet and Carrot Salad Thai Curry Paste Roasted Pumpkin, Kumara and Coriander Soup - This is a delicious recipe from the cookbook "My Darling Lemon Thyme".  Emma Galloway, the author, chef and a mother, has a fantastic blog by the same name with lots of whole food recipes.  Her cookbook showcases her desire to create family friendly, vegetarian recipes for food intolerances such as no gluten. We have found lots of cooking inspiration on her blog and in her cookbook!!

FARM NEWS

In the past week, all of the potatoes and sweet potatoes were dug from the ground, we sorted through the storing onions and the remaining garlic and put them in the store room.  The sweet potatoes are being “cured” in the glass house which allows the starches to convert to sugars and makes the tubers sweeter.  All the pumpkins are in the store room too.  We built a room in the packing shed to protect these crops from the cute field mice who are also trying to find cosy places to spend winter….so far, the room seems to be working!  It is great to have the packing shed and all of it various uses...garlic drying in the spring, cool area for washing in the summer and Autumn crop storage.  It changes with the seasons and sits so beautifully in the field.

The fields are being prepared for sowing cover crops.  the cover crops provide winter protection for the soil life, keep nutrients from washing away in the winter rains and will add valuable humus material to the soil next Spring.

The frost was a month earlier this year compared to past years.  Although we lost a few weeks of lettuce and the pea crop was injured by the frost, many of the other greens are still thriving and growing.  The cold loving crops do not mind the change in temperature.

We harvested the first heads of cauliflower this week.  This is a rotating item as the cauliflower crop never comes on all at the same time.  We have green cauliflower, purple and white heads all growing well.  As they mature, we will get them into the boxes.  We record who has received them and who has not - so please trust that it may take some weeks but you will get one.

The high winds over the weekend kept blowing the 100 foot cloches we have protecting the young plants off.  But there does not appear to be any damage - to which we are thankful!

With the frost also came the end of daily harvesting.  We, Peter and I, are having weekend time free of irrigation and harvesting commitments. We start seeding in late July and with that comes the three or four times a day commitment of nurturing seedlings which continues through summer with crop irrigation.  We look forward to this time when the farm slows down and we have flexibility. 

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.

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Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

Vegetable Soup with Quinoa and Nettles

Quinoa, a grain like seed is a complete protein, unlike rice or beans. It is also gluten free. It is the best source for a plant based protein and being high in fiber and iron it should have a place in every vegetarian kitchen. Sopa de quinoa is a staple soup in Peru.  The Andes is where this grain thrives.  Quinoa is cooked with potatoes, onions and garlic in lard or oil and flavored with native oregano and annatto seeds. Whatever vegetables or greens are at hand are added to the soup. The soups I had ranged from a clear pale yellow soup to a thick creamy one, chock full of vegetables and greens.It usually served with an aji made from chili peppers.  You can take one slice from a chili and float it in your bowl of soup until you have the desired heat you like.

Ingredients 8 cups (2 liters) of vegetable or chicken stock 1/2 cup quinoa, well rinsed 1 cup carrots, quartered and sliced 1 cup pumpkin, peeled and cubed 1 cup onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup celery, chopped 1 cup potatoes, cubed salt (to taste) 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley 1cup minced nettle

Method 1. Combine carrots, onions and celery in a heavy bottomed soup pot with a splash of olive oil.  Gently fry until the onion is translucent. 2. Add pumpkin, potato, quinoa and stock.  Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer.  Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender and the quinoa has "split", the curly tails have removed, about 10-15 minutes. 3. Adjust the seasoning with additional salt, if necessary and add the fresh herbs. Cook 2 more minutes, then remove from the heat.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #5 (30 April/ 2-3 May)

FIFTH WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE Week#30 of our CSA season! WOW. With an early frost, the "summer" crops are done. The kale and carrots are sweeter for the drop in temperature and there are sweet potato fingers. We love these wrapped in aluminium foil and cooked in the fire!!

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

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

Broccoli Carrots Celery Chinese Cabbage Kale Leeks Parsley Parsnips Pumpkin Spinach Sweet Potato Fingers

Extras Sugar Snap Peas Radish

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup Jamie Oliver's Beef Stew Chunky Potato and Leek Soup Roasted Vegetables, Quinoa, Feta and Spinach Salad Cavolo Nero Kale and Chili Chips 

FARM NEWS

We had our first frost of the season on Thursday night...a bit unexpectedly as last year it came in late May.  Luckily we had begun to protect some of the younger plantings with plastic cloches.  Unfortunately, we had not protected the more mature lettuce plantings for the upcoming weeks.  We lost most of the lettuce planting for this week and the next few weeks.

The frost killed the basil - That is why the Friday boxes did not receive any.  It also burned the zucchini, capsicum, eggplant and tomato crops.  We were expecting to lose those soon...but were hoping for a few more weeks.

The sweet corn is small but still very tasty!  We pick it right before the van leaves on Wednesday and Friday afternoon and recommend eating it on the day you collect your box.  It is lovely lightly steamed or made into a salsa with garlic, chilies, lime and parsley or coriander.

As we move fully into Autumn, the boxes include all of those crops that are frost hardy...and some that are sweeter for the frost such as kale, cabbage and carrots!  If you never thought you liked kale before, try it again now that it has been frosted and is freshly picked!

Our final crop of sweet potatoes was also burned by the frost.  We are curing the large tubers so that they will store for coming weeks.  This week, you have the slender tubers...the ones you would never find in the grocery store.  These are so tasty and easy to prepare!  We lightly scrub them and then roll them in aluminium foil and throw them in the fire or slice them into rounds and add them to soups and curries or put them whole into the oven and roast them until they are toasted on the outside.  These sweet potato fingers are gorgeous!

Another crop of broccoli is heading up and we can see the first signs of cauliflower heads forming.  there is green and purple cabbage, fennel, silver beet, and more varieties of kale to come.  Our best bet for some of the items in next weeks box...beetroot, carrots, potatoes, silver beet, coriander, onions, broccoli.

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.

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Please note – Photo is of a full share box. 

Chunky Potato and Leek Soup

This is my new favourite crew lunch soup recipe.  The chunkiness allows each vegetable to speak for itself while the overall flavour is gorgeous. Ingredients 300 gm sweet potato - scrubbed not peeled and cut into 1 cm rounds (if they are the finger sweet potatoes) 500 gm potato - scrubbed not peeled and cut into large bite size pieces 3 carrots - halved and cut into 1/2cm semi rounds 1 leek halved and sliced into 1/2cm semi circles 250ml white wine 200 gm of pumpkin peeled and cut into 2 cm squares a large knob of butter...about 80 grams 1.5L vegetable stock 1/2 cup chopped parsley 3/4 cup chopped stinging nettles

Method 1. Place the butter and leeks into a large heavy bottom stock pot on medium heat.  Caramelise the leeks...stirring occasionally until they begin to brown. 2. Add carrots, potato, pumpkin, sweet potato and wine and turn the heat up burning the alcohol from the wine. 3. Turn heat back to medium and add stock.  Ensure that there is ample stock to cover vegetables.  Simmer until pumpkin begins to break down.  The pumpkin can completely disintegrate adding flavour to the stock. Add stock if needed. 4.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Once the stock is well flavoured, add the parsley and nettles and remove from heat.  Let rest for five minutes before serving.

Photo Credit Belinda Sheekey at Dyeing Trade

Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup

This recipe comes from one of our CSA members Karen Thornton.  Served at a family get together, it was raved about! Ingredients 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seed, plus extra to garnish ½ tsp ground turmeric ½ tsp mustard seeds 2 large onion, cut into 8 chunks 3 garlic cloves 675g parsnips, diced can of diced tomatoes 1.2L veal stock (you can use vegetable) 1 tbsp lemon juice

Method 1. Heat oven to 220C. 2. In a bowl, mix together the oil and spices. Add the vegetables and mix well. Spread over a heavy baking sheet, then roast for 30 mins until tender. 3. Spoon into a food processor or liquidiser with half the stock and process until smooth. Pour into a pan with the remaining stock, season, then heat until barely simmering. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Garnish with cumin seeds.

Photo Credit Heidi Sze from Apples Under My Bed

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #4 (23 April/25-26 April)

WEEK FOUR OF THE AUTUMN SHARE Many of the "summer" crops are finishing this week.  With the cold and moist nights, these crops succumb to powdery mildew and/or late season blight. Enjoy this week as we transition further into Autumn.

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

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

Basil French Beans Beetroot Broccoli Carrots Cucumbers Lettuce Brown Onions Potatoes Tomatoes Zucchini

Extras Red Bok Choy Eggplant Mustard Greens Peas Radishes Silver beet

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Vegetable Pesto Pasta Roasted Beetroot, Carrots and Potatoes Bok Choy, Brocolli and Chicken in a Spiced Sauce

FARM NEWS

The brassica plantings are growing well and looking very healthy.  The next two broccoli plantings are looking like they will mature at the same time.  This means that we may have a surplus of broccoli and then have a bigger gap until the final planting is ready for harvest.  We try very hard in our planning to ensure this does not happen but some varieties respond to the season differently than expected. We are seeing signs of the cauliflower planting forming heads.  It may still be weeks away but good to see it doing its thing.  There is green cabbage heading as well.  Our Autumn kale planting is glowing and will appear next week in the boxes.We are planning the crop rotation for next year and tailoring the winter cover crops to best suit the food crop being planted in that location next year.  Large areas of our farm are dormant for the winter, protected with these green manure crops which feed the soil life and provide valuable hummus to help build our sandy soil.  The garlic has sprouted, as have the broad beans.  And there is purple sprouting broccoli and fennel in the field growing for the Spring.  We are very lucky in this area to be able to harvest 12 months of the year!!

If you have any crop suggestions for next year, please email us now.

A farm internship position has become available from 1 May - 30 June.  If you or someone you know is interested in small scale micro farming/ biodynamics/ permaculture/ thriving CSA's/ home scale, four season sustainable vegetable production, please check our website for a full description of our internship program.

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.

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Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #3 (16 April/18-19 April)

THIRD WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHAREYou can see by the photo that the sun has been shining these past days.  The Autumn crops are loving the warms days and cool nights while the summer crops are starting to finish.  We are picking our last crop of beans and the tomatoes are starting to give way to late season blight.  There are still sweet capsicums and another planting of sweet corn.  The melons and watermelons have finished and the cucumbers are almost done as well.  The Autumn crops will begin to take over the box with more basic crops, silver beet, spinach, and root crops.

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

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

French Beans Broccoli Celery Chinese Cabbage Coriander Cucumbers Lettuce Pumpkin Red Onions Radishes Rocket Sweet Potatoes Thyme Tomatoes Japanese Turnips

Extras Eggplant Peas Pimiento de Padrons Zucchini

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Green Beans, Peas, Pink Grapefruit and Coriander - This is a salad my daughter made for us.  Very quick and delicious! Creamy Pumpkin Soup Mashed Sweet Potato with a twist Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Spicy Feta and Coriander Roasted Japanese Turnips and Their Balsamic Greens - This recipe is an internet find- 10 minute prep and 20 minute cooking time. Hearty Pumpkin Soup

FARM NEWS

We are so grateful for the harvests that are continuing - While some of the crops in the box we continue to plant, many of the items in the box in Autumn were sown awhile ago.  Through the cool Spring, the hot, dry summer and the early Autumn these plants have grown. This is our last bean crop of the season.  The tomatoes and cucumbers are also in their last weeks.  Coming up though are more members of the Brassica family - Cauliflower, cabbages, turnips, more broccoli, romanesco broccoli and different kale varieties.

This is our first sweet potato crop.  Sweet Potatoes are filled with nutrients especially Vit A, Vit C, calcium, potassium and iron.Autumn is the time when we plan for next season- which cover crops to plant to ensure the nutrients in the soil are replenished, where to rotate crops, which crops to grow.   It is a great time to reflect on what has worked and what we can do better. If you have any  suggestions, please let us know.

Our best bet on the harvest for next week - beet root, sweet corn, lettuce, basil, tomatoes, cucumbers, radish, spinach, potatoes, carrots

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.

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CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #2 (9 April/11-12 April)

SECOND WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE We are very happy to have had steady rain since Tuesday afternoon.  We have had minimal rain this Autumn.  Despite irrigation, there is nothing like rain!  Even though the fields have not been constantly moist, the Chinese Cabbage were filled with big snails.  We extensively washed all the heads and recommend you do the same.  We have started lifting...or in the case of these parsnips, digging them out with a shovel... the parsnips.  These are huge, tender roots delicious in stews and roasted. We love the cross over between seasons...still harvesting tomatoes and cucumbers and yet with the weather moving into the soup and stew vegetables.

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

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

French Beans Broccoli Carrots Chinese Cabbage Cucumbers Garlic Kale Lettuce Brown Onions Potatoes Tomatoes Japanese Turnips Watermelon Zucchini

Extras Eggplant Pimiento de Padrons

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Kimchi - Based on Sandor Katz's recipe this is a delicious Korean spicy pickle. Jamie Oliver's Beef Stew Ministrone Soup - 15-20 minute prep/2 hour cooking time Pasta with Broccoli and Lemon Basil Sauce - 20 minute meal Roasted Japanese Turnips and Their Balsamic Greens - This recipe is an internet find- 10 minute prep and 20 minute cooking time.

FARM NEWS

In a few weeks, we will finish direct seeding for this year  - Almost all of the crops left to harvest for the Autumn are in the ground!  In the next few weeks we will also be working out our crop rotation which will dictate which cover crops are sown where.  We try and get the cover crops in while the soil is still warm so they are a great winter blanket, protecting the soil and the soil life.Some Spring crops have been sown and transplanted- hard to believe that some crops can take up to nine months to mature. We are also starting more flowers and herbs from seed to fill in the mandalas and also to make more corridors through the "market garden" for beneficial insects and critters.

Around the farm, we continue weeding and making compost, collecting the pumpkins from the field and trying to make sure the mice do not get them.

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.

Follow us on instagram and facebook.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.

CSA Autumn Share 2014 - Week #1 (2 April/4-5 April)

FIRST WEEK OF THE AUTUMN SHARE We continue to enjoy the summer bounty of tomatoes, capsicums, eggplant, cucumbers and sweet corn.  And our long awaited first crop of Autumn broccoli is here!! It missed being in the photo...but it will be in the box!  The sweet corn is best eaten on the day it was harvested...and yes those might be corn borers in the tops.  They like this organic corn as much as we do!  Just cut off the top of the cob - there should still be plenty left for you to enjoy.  More news about what is happening on the farm below.

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

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

Broccoli Carrots Capsicum Chillies Coriander Sweet Corn Cucumbers Garlic Red Onions Potatoes Pumpkin Silver beet Spinach Tomatoes

Extras Cherry Tomatoes Eggplant Lettuce Pimiento de Padrons

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Tomato Salsa -  5 minutes Thai Curry Paste and Thai Baked Tofu - 15 minute prep/45 minute cooking time Chicken and Cashew Stir-fry with Broccoli, Capsicum and Carrots - 30 minute meal Pumpkin and Spinach Curry - This recipe is an internet find.  I love the homemade curry powder! - 30 minute prep and cooking

FARM NEWS

Finally...the broccoli we have been eying off for weeks is starting to be ready for harvest.  This is a delicious variety with sometimes huge heads that do take longer to mature...something to note for next year. Might be better to save 'Marathon' for the second Autumn planting!

The What's in the Box picture - We randomly grab a full share box each week to photograph for the What's in the box photo.  This makes the photo as authentic as we can be about what really is in the box.  There are items which rotate through boxes like eggplant and pimiento de padrons and these will appear in the photos occasionally.  This weeks photo is missing broccoli...we keep the broccoli on ice until the boxes are loaded in the van.  This insures your broccoli arrives crisp.  And we just forgot it when the photo was laid out.  We have put all of these photos in an album on facebook.  They offer a great visual on the diversity in the boxes from week to week.

There is sweet corn this week and still two more plantings in the field.  There may be corn borers on the tops of some ears.  This is organic corn and they like it as much as we do.  Just cut the top of the corn off - there is still plenty for us to enjoy.  We harvest the corn on the delivery day as it is so delicious the day it is picked. Try to eat it tonight!

We have a third zucchini planting which may start to flower.  The second planting succumbed early to powdery mildew.  This one is looking very good so we are hoping that the heat this week will make a difference.  And...what is with the heat this week!!

There are many new crops to come in the Autumn share - Parsnips, leeks, sweet potatoes, turnips, different pumpkin varieties, Romanesco broccoli and then some of the cool weather crops returning - broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, snow peas and sugar snaps.  Our summer plantings of silver beet, beet root and carrots will hold in the cold. We will continue to harvest the summer crops of beans, cucumbers, capsicums, chilies, eggplant, tomatoes and zucchini until they succumb to disease or get touched by the cold. And as always, we have a variety of greens to rotate.

We have two new interns starting this week and they will work and learn with us through the Autumn share.  We are really enjoying the process of mentoring interns and sincerely hope they leave the farm with an understanding of sustainable growing and all the tools they need to grow food.

I apologise for the lack of newsletters.  Our farming has been very demanding this season and we have tried to make time off to spend with our family.  The newsletters have a lowered priority - but we do appreciate how the photos help keep you connected to your food and the process of growing it.

We will try and have another farm tour this season but it will not be in the next few weeks.  I, Robin,  had a knee operation five weeks ago and am still not back in the field.  We will let you know.  In the meantime, all members are welcome to pick a posie during farm pick up times and take a walk around to see your food growing! There are many cut flowers still blooming as well as 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.

Follow us on instagram and facebook.

Please note – Photo is of a full share box.