CSA Spring Share 2014 - Week #4 (29 October/31 Oct- 1 Nov)

FOURTH WEEK OF THE SPRING SHARE The Spring beet root harvest began this week!  We also had an explore in the first planting of carrots and got enough bunches for the full shares.  This is just the beginning of both these crops! With a bit of heat, all of our successive "greens" plantings are stacking up on top of each other.  We weren't expecting bok choy so many weeks in a row but if this week is hot, it will go to seed.  So more bok choy, silverbeet and english spinach!  There are ideas for each crop in the description and recipes 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

Beet Root Bok Choy Broad Beans Green Garlic Lettuce Parsley Rocket Silver Beet English Spinach Tatsoi

Extras Artichokes Baby Carrots Broccoli Purple Sprouting Broccoli Peas Turnips

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING The first small zucchinis are on the bushes and the corn has germinated.  The wind has snapped a few of the field tomato plants but we have extras to fill the holes. This week we will be planting the first melon crop and getting ready to plant the capsicums and eggplant.  Peter has prepared a new area for the pumpkin crop and we are putting lots of sunflower seeds in the ground.

Spring is the busiest time of year as we try to ensure many of the crops for Summer and Autumn are in the ground with time to grow strong roots before the heat of summer comes.  We are also preparing areas of the farm for Summer green manure crops which protect the soil and then feed the soil before the planting of the Autumn and Winter crops.  Meanwhile the weeds love the warmth and we are trying to keep on top of them. We are also sowing successive crops of roots, greens, peas, beans and corn.

The bees on the farm have been very busy this Spring with about seven swarms utilizing the bait boxes John, our bee man, has put around the farm.  A few swarms have also just started making hives in trees!  John has set up new hives with these swarms.  The hives are so busy he is adding more floors so that they have the room to make comb, store honey and raise brood.  The hives look really healthy and the bees must be very well nourished to have the numbers to send out so many swarms!  There will be honey for sale at farm pick up hopefully by this week.

U-PICK AND EXTRAS AT FARM PICK UP CSA members are welcome to come to the farm during the farm pick up times for U-picks. This week there are U-pick edible flowers.  There will be someone at the shed to give you scissors, show you what is edible and instruct you on where to find the flowers.

At farm pick up we have eggs from our chicken tractors ($7/dozen).  These chickens are rotated through crops and pasture around the farm. There will be honey from the bees on the farm!  And we also have Mountain View Dairy yogurt and halloumi cheese.  This link contains information about Mountain View farm and a price list.  The halloumi is a new item and we will know the price by Friday. If you are interested in their milk, you need to order by Wednesdays. You can email Robin.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Spinach and Chickpeas - A recipe from Smitten Kitchen Spinach Pie - from Jamie Oliver Roasted Japanese Turnips and their Balsamic Greens Broad Bean Pasta Rocket Pesto Beet Root, Feta and Almond Salad - Great served over rocket! Asian Green Stir Fry Steamed Artichokes

There are many more recipes on our  recipe page. Search under the key ingredients listed in the side bar on the right.

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

CSA Spring Share 2014 - Week #3 (22 October/24-25 October)

THIRD WEEK OF THE SPRING SHARE The beans we seeded last week have already germinated. The zucchini have buds. The cucumbers have transplanted well. The first Sweet Corn is planted and this week, the field tomatoes will go in the ground. The tomatoes in the polytunnel are flowering and the broad beans are getting fat. Must be Spring!

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

Bok Choy Braising Mix Coriander Kale Pea Shoots Pumpkin Radishes Silver Beet English Spinach Turnips

Extras Artichokes Broad Beans Broccoli Lettuce

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING The first Spring planting of Broccoli is heading up and the Spring cabbages are also starting to form.  The broccoli will be ready for harvest in the coming weeks- the cabbage will take at least a month to full form a head.

We hope to begin harvesting the Spring planted beetroot next week. We also will begin harvesting the first pea planting. The plants were seriously damaged by the red legged earth mite which infested the farm in early Spring. We are unsure of how many peas we will find in the first planting.  The second planting looks great!

OPEN DAY, U-PICK AND EXTRAS AT FARM PICK UP We had a wonderful open day on Saturday with 60 adults and many children touring the farm.  The tour emphasized our biodynamic practices, crop rotation, green manure crops and SOIL...our favourite muse!  We will try and have another open day in Summer.  All CSA members are always welcome to come to the farm during the farm pick up times for U-picks. This week their are U-pick edible flowers.  There will be someone at the shed to give you scissors, show you what is edible and instruct you on where to find the flowers.

Also at farm pick up we have eggs from our chicken tractors ($7/dozen).  These chickens are rotated through crops and pasture around the farm. We also have Mountain View Dairy grass fed herd, organic yogurt and halloumi cheese.

For farm crew lunch we made a warm french lentil salad served over Spinach with friend halloumi croutons - Delicious! I will try and write a recipe for this.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Swiss Chard Fritters - from Ottolenghi Spinach Pie - from Jamie Oliver Roasted Japanese Turnips and their Balsamic Greens Bok Choy, Broccolini and Chicken in a Spiced Sauce Pea Shoot and Bok Choy Salad Steamed Artichokes Simple Broad Beans Broad Bean and Quinoa Salad

There are many more recipes on our  recipe page. Search under the key ingredients listed in the side bar on the right.

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

CSA Spring Share 2014 - Week #2 (15 October/17-18 October)

CSA SPRING SHARE WEEK #2 ***TAKE CARE*** There are stinging nettles in your box.  Once the nettles are heated, the lose the formic acid which brings the sting.  Read more about nettles.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

Bok Choy Broad Bean Tops Chillies Chives Lettuce Mung Bean Sprouts Nettles Onions Pumpkin Radishes Perpetual Gator Silver Beet English Spinach Thyme

EXTRAS Artichokes Beet Root Red Bok Choy Purple Sprouting Broccoli Leeks NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING

We usually try and hold our Winter green manure crops until right before we plant an area.  This year though, they were infested with the red legged earth mite.  This is a mite from South Africa which has become a real problem in Australian pastures.  The Department of Primary Industries suggests several insecticides to try and break the life cycle of the mite.  The biodynamic treatment is to use preparation 500 and 501 together to support the roots of the plants and to tighten the plants pores and help it photosynthesize better to outgrow the damage done by the sucking mite.  We have been using this method in conjunction with tilling in our green manure crops early as these are the major food source of the mite.  Consequently, unless an Early Spring seeded pea crop grows more, we will not have pea shoots this Spring. The mite has also affected our first pea crop.  It is now growing through the damage but the crop is only about half of what it was.  The second crop looks great though.The Spring surge of the sucking insects (like aphids) is happening and many of the leafy greens show the signs of their attack.  Our attitude towards “pests” is wait and see.  We believe in the ecosystem we are cultivating and have seen nature working with the arrival of “beneficials” to feed on the “pests”.  What we see on plants is aphids being fed upon by lacewings with wasps laying their eggs into the aphid eggs.  What you see is bugs.  We get that! And we are working to have high quality, bug free produce.  We also need to balance the whole ecosystem of the farm.  We do not want to spray organic insecticides as they are not selective – killing pests and beneficials. This could lead to a bigger problem later in the season.  So while we watch the ecosystem in action, we have also tried to help it along by purchasing eggs for beneficial bug predators.  We are releasing these around the farm in hopes of increasing our beneficial population.

The early broccoli is heading up well.  We are unsure if they will be ready for harvest next week or the week after.

Theses are very busy weeks on the farm as we get back into the rhythm of harvesting and we rush to get the Summer heat loving plants in the ground.  This week the night time temperatures are still below 10 degrees here.  We have cloches protecting the zucchini and cucumbers.   The potatoes, first plantings of beans, more carrots and beetroot and greens are all in the ground too.  In the next few weeks we will seed our pumpkin and watermelon crop, our second melon planting and our first planting of sweet corn.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Broad Bean Tops Sesame Salmon with Honey Bok Choy Spinach Pie - a Jamie Oliver recipe which is a real hit for farm crew lunches! Bok Choy Salad Nettle Tartlets Here are some internet nettle recipes which look good. Nettle Spanikopita Quinoa and Nettle Pilaf Nettle and Goats Cheese Pie Nettle Pesto

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 a whole pumpkin (the boxes received 1/2 a pumpkin).

CSA Spring Share 2014 - Week #1 (8 October/10-11 October)

FIRST WEEK OF THE SPRING SHARE AND OUR 2014-2015 CSA! Here we go...your first box of farm fresh vegetables!  If you have any questions about the CSA or about What's in your box, please email us at petercarlyon@gmail.com or ring us on 5988-5287.

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

Broad Bean Tops Broccoli Fennel Kale Bouquet Lettuce Parsley Pumpkin Radishes Rocket Baby Silver Beet

Extras Artichokes Broad Beans Cauliflower Lettuce Rhubarb

NOTES ON WHAT IS GROWING So much to share about what's growing...Spring!  Even while many of the Summer and Autumn harvested crops are being planted this month, the food ready for harvest now are those crops that do not mind growing during cold nights and in cold soil...GREENS!.  You will notice lots of greens in the boxes for the first three weeks.

We do have carrots and beet root up and growing.  The last of our overwintered root crops were dug last week.  The carrots go to seed at this time of year, making their root very woody.  Our Spring sown carrots are still 3-4 weeks away from harvest.  We just sowed our third planting though.  Root crops that like cool soil and nights are radishes and turnips.  We have Japanese Turnips coming on and a few plantings of radishes. The beet root are the size of a twenty cent piece so expect bunches of baby beetroot in the next few weeks.

We planted peas in mid July, hoping to have them by the first week in October.  They are flowering now and forming pods but still maybe three weeks away from harvesting. Our late winter planted broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are continuing to grow well with the first signs of broccoli heads visible.  We hope to begin harvesting it in three-four weeks. Our Autumn kale planting is beginning to go to seed, signaling the end of its producing.  We have planted another crop for Spring.

Two years in a row, we have over wintered cauliflower, harvesting heads the second week in October.  This year, the majority of the heads were ready for harvest the third week in September.  The crop has now finished with the last few heads making it into a few of the full share boxes.  Until the Spring planted cauliflower is ready, there will be no more cauliflower.

We have been trying to build our asparagus patch and our rhubarb plantings so that we can include these items in the Spring boxes.  The asparagus crop is three years old this season.  I thought there would be heaps of asparagus, as we have planted 200 plants.  While there is some, there is not enough to harvest for the boxes.  We will have to wait until next year for this wonderful Spring crop.

Rhubarb is another long lived perennial which we planted two years ago.  The plants are growing really well.  There was enough this week for the full share boxes.  We have more plants to add to the field in hopes to have enough for all the boxes in a few years time.

We have had an infestation this year of a mite called red legged earth mite.  This mite has changed the way we manage our green manure crops and impacted our first pea crop.  I would like to write a post about it and share photos.  If you are not already on our mailing list, you can join on our website.

RECIPE SUGGESTIONS Fennel and Radish Salad Steamed Artichokes Simple Broad Beans Broad Bean Tops White Bean and Roasted Fennel Warm Dip Broad Bean and Quinoa Salad Kale Chips Rhubarb Cake

There are many more recipes on our  recipe page. Search under the key ingredients listed in the side bar on the right.

Please note - Photo is of a full share box with the addition of a whole pumpkin instead of the 1/3 of a pumpkin which is in the box. The whole pumpkin looked pretty!   It also includes two of the rotated items. The randomly selected box only included one.

Spring Farm Open Day

Our next Farm Open Day will be held on Saturday 18th October 2014. The Open Day is a great opportunity to see small scale, sustainable, market gardening, to learn more about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), and to meet the farmers growing the food – us!  Find out about our biodynamic growing practices,  what it takes to grow nutrient dense food, what we think about sustainable agriculture and how our CSA supports the community.

The farm tour will include: The growing mandalas with over 100 fruit trees, micro nutrient herb and flower borders, and annual food crops; The “new land” – 2 acres of “market garden”; and Our recycled glass propagation house. The permaculture design weaves its way throughout the property providing native corridors.

All are welcome.  The cost for the tour is $5/person.  CSA members are free - the tour cost does apply to guests of members. There will be two tours: A Morning Tour from 11.00am to 12:30pm and An Afternoon Tour from 2:00pm to 3:30pm.

Bookings are essential – We ask that you please let us know if you are intending to come.  Email us with your preference for the morning or afternoon tour to receive more information.

****The afternoon tour is full.  You can add your name to a waiting list in case of last minute changes.****

We look forward to seeing you on the day.

Peter and Robin.

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.

Roasted Fennel and White Bean Dip

We found this recipe on Food52... looking for fennel recipes.  This was different and raved about.  We made it for crew lunch with an Autumn Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato, Apple and Radish and toasted bread.  It was a delicious break from harvesting in the drizzle of early winter. The original recipe suggests a few steps which I combined trying to save time.  Roasting the fennel and garlic intensifies the flavour and brings out their natural sweetness.  I added extra fennel as we had some. I left out the step of simmering the beans in pressed garlic and olive oil...although it sounds lovely, this was lunch on our busiest day of the week. I doubled the garlic being roasted instead. Ingredients 2 large fennel bulb (reserve the fronds) 4 cloves garlic, in skins 2 Tbsp. olive oil salt and pepper 2 Tbsp. rosemary leaves

2 cups cooked Cannelinni beans, well drained 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil 3 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup grated parmesan, plus more for garnish

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 200C. 2. Roughly dice the fennel. Spread onto baking tray and toss the fennel and garlic cloves in the olive oil with salt and pepper. Roast for 30-40 minutes, tossing a few times. Add the rosemary when the fennel is almost finished. 3. In a food processor, combine the white beans, olive oil, lemon juice,  roasted fennel, garlic (pushing it out of its skin first) and parmesan.  Pulse everything together into a rough puree. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Turn the oven up to 225C. Transfer the dip to a baking dish and sprinkle the top generously with grated parmesan. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has browned. 4. Garnish with diced fennel fronds.  Serve warm with toasted flatbread or crackers.

Autumn Salad with Roasted Sweet Potato, Apple, Radish and Goat Cheese

Ingredients2 cups rocket or mixed Asian greens 1/2 sliced, cored apple 1 cup cubed, roasted sweet potato, carrot and/or pumpkin 4 sliced radishes 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted 2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon honey salt & pepper 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese

Method 1. Put the greens, apple, roasted veggies, radish and sesame seeds in a large mixing bowl. 2. In a small separate bowl make the dressing: mix the olive oil, lemon juice, honey and season with salt & pepper. 3. Toss the salad with the dressing, using the amount you like. 4. Divide salad into two serving bowls. Scatter the goat cheese on top of the salads.

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.

Heidi's Winter Pasta

Ingredients4 cloves of garlic, peeled 4 small shallots, peeled 1 small bunch of kale or other winter green - 1/2 lb / 8 oz, stalks removed, washed well 1/3 cup / 80 ml extra virgin olive oil 1/3 cup / 2 oz goat cheese, plus more for topping 2 tablespoons + hot pasta water fine grain sea salt & freshly ground black pepper fresh lemon juice - optional 12 oz / 340 g dried penne pasta fresh thyme - and thyme flowers

Method 1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt the boiling water generously, and add the garlic and shallots. Boil for 2-3 minutes, stir in the kale and cook for another ten seconds. Don't overcook. Working quickly, use a slotted spoon or strainer to fish the greens, garlic, and shallots from the water. Use a food processor to puree the ingredients along with the olive oil and goat cheese. Add a couple tablespoons of hot pasta water if needed to thin things out if needed. Then season with a touch of salt and plenty of black pepper. Taste. Depending on your goat cheese, you might need a little extra acidic oomph if your sauce is a bit flat. If so, add fresh lemon juice a bit at a time until you're happy with it the sauce. Set aside. 2. Reheat the pot of water and boil the pasta per package instructions. Drain and toss immediately with the green sauce. Serve topped with a few pinches of fresh thyme, and more crumbled goat cheese.

Serves 4-6. Source: Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks

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.

Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies

My daughter requested these brownies for a school lunch box snack.  We have tried two recipes which were both good but I really like the simplicity of this one, by The River Cottage...7 ingredients!! Ingredients 250g unsalted butter, cut into cubes 250g dark chocolate (about 70% cocoa solids), broken into pieces 3 medium eggs 250g caster sugar A pinch of sea salt 150g self-raising flour (wholemeal ideally but white works well too) 250g beetroot, boiled until tender, cooled, peeled and grated

Method 1. Grease a shallow baking tin, approximately 20 x 25cm, and line the base with baking parchment. 2. Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Set the oven at 180°C and put the bowl in it for a few minutes until the chocolate and butter start to melt. 3. Stir, then put back in to the oven for a few more minutes to melt completely. 4. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl until combined then beat in the melted chocolate and butter until smooth. 5. Combine the salt with the flour, sift them over the chocolate mixture, then gently fold in with a large metal spoon. Fold in the grated beetroot – be careful not to over-mix or it will make the brownies tough. 6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes; when the brownies are done, a knife or skewer inserted in the centre should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. 7. Don't be tempted to overcook them or they will be dry. Remove the tin from the oven and leave on a wire rack to cool before cutting in to squares.

Source: The River Cottage

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!

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.