Hello Farm Friends,
It seems my glee about the cool weather has melted quicker than the ice cubes in my water bottle this week. Thankfully, we got a deluge of rain last night so at least the plants are well watered! I know nobody is going to be in the mood for cooking this week, so I am harvesting lots of beautiful salad fixin’s for the CSA and for the Dufferin Grove Organic Farmers’ Market on Thursday.
Not to mention Sugar Snap Peas! My kids have been taste testing them for a week or so and they proclaim them ready and delicious.
Stephanie, Niamh, and I will likely take some time off, doing the bare minimum needed this week as it just doesn’t seem terribly safe to be out in the field when the humidity makes the temperatures feel above 40 degrees. There is a breeze today so it isn’t so bad in the shade, but really nobody should have to work outdoors in weather conditions like this, this is no small concern for farmers worldwide as temperatures keep trending up.
But nobody wants to read about Climate Change on a Monday.
Instead, let me mention that we have plums on our plum trees for the first time! We also added another three fast growing trees to our treeline this year and our trees from the last two years have shot up immensely so I am dreaming of future shade.
In the garden our Beans and Potatoes have popped up and I spotted a few baby Zucchini’s already. We discovered that our resident Killdeer started another nest in the Celery bed this time. Fingers crossed they are able to hatch this lot, there isn’t much cuter than a Killdeer chick.
Our Squash is all planted and I seeded a cover crop of Buckwheat and Sorghum Sudan Grass between a few of the rows, I hoping it will grow fast enough that I will be able to mow it down before the Squash take over, keeping the weed pressure down in the Squash patch.
In another experiment I planted a row of cucumbers with our Shelling Peas. I’m hoping we will be able to harvest the peas before the cucumbers need the trellis. Or maybe it will be a chaotic jumble of plants and harvesting will be impossible. I already accidentally seeded both cilantro and calendula in the same row in that bed, and they seem to be getting along fine, so I figured the more the merrier.
I will let you know how it goes.
Sincerely,
— Jenny
This week’s Shares:
🥬 Lettuce
☮️ Sugar Snap Peas
🎈 Radishes or Salad Turnips
🇨🇭 Swiss Chard
🥬 Mustard Greens or Kale
🌱 Green Onions
🥕 Carrots
🌱 Garlic Scapes
🌿 Herbs
P.S. Some of my former Toronto CSA members may have had the pleasure of meeting Nir Haramati while picking up veggies. Nir finds himself in need of Canadian Citizenship quickly and our mutual friend Eva has set-up a gofundme page to provide a bit of support because, in her words:
in the many years we have been friends, he has always been the first to donate his time, energy, and money in service of others in the community. Whether it’s donating to the food bank or a charity race, enthusiastically supporting local artists, patronising small independent businesses, treating friends to lavish meals, or being the dinner guest who brings the nicest bottle of wine to the table, and stays until the last dish is washed afterwards, Nir’s commitment to community and generosity as a way of life is outstanding. Let’s help him in his time of need, as he’s helped so many others over the years.
Here is the link if you would like to pitch in.
