Monday, November 21, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 4

Here we are at the last week of our Fall CSA and week 24 of providing weekly vegetable boxes to our community in this drought year! 
A few happy dances will be done this week, as at the start of the season we never thought we would get through to the end of this year.



A huge "Thank You" to all our CSA families this year, we could not have done it without your continued support.

As I type the final newsletter of the 2017 season I am looking out the window at high winds and blowing snow!
We are thankful that we harvested radicchio and pac choy on Saturday for this weeks shares and that our High Mowing Organic seed catalog turned up in the mail today so that planning for 2017 can start!
We are a being a bit optimistic about harvesting more greens for the boxes tomorrow morning. With all the snow we have had we now need to dig the hoop house out to actually get into it to harvest the spinach.  We will still harvest kale and kalettes tomorrow morning from the field, once we have dug them out of the snow!

The Farm Gate will be closed from SUNDAY 27th of NOVEMBER and will re open on TUESDAY 6th DECEMBER.
If you have pre-ordered eggs they will be available for collection during this week on your normal pick up days.  We will just be closed to vegetable and meat sales this week! 
Bulk vegetable boxes will be available from the 6th December onward.  If you would like to pre- order a bulk box for that week please feel free to e-mail.  We will also send out e-mail and Facebook reminders.

This weeks basket:  Some items may change due to the weather!
Garlic
Beets
Sweet potatoes
Radicchio
Pac Choy
Butternut Squash -   These did not do well this year due to the weather so they are a little, but we do have enough for the last week of the Fall CSA.
Kalettes
Carrots
Kohlrabi - It is not going to look pretty on the outside due to storage but once you remove the skin it is still as crisp and fresh as the day it was harvested.
Radish
Kale - This is in a bag this week as it has been picked from the field from under all the snow!

We are hoping for spinach and/or greens but maybe as I said before I am being a little too optimistic!

Monday, November 14, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 3

November seems to be flying by, we are already at week three of our November CSA and we are thankful that we are still able to harvest so much from our fields. 
Field clearing, flailing of cover crops along with the carrot harvest, which we are about half way through continues.





This weeks basket:
Garlic
Carrots - This recipe uses your carrots and green onions! bunched carrots and spring onions in parchment
Kale - Stuffed squash with kale and beets.
Spinach
Sweet Potatoes - Sweet potato and lentil bake with greens!
Julie's sweet potato & arugula salad.
Thank you to one of our CSA members for this amazing salad dish!
Julie's Sweet potato and arugula salad.
6 cups 1/2-inch-diced sweet potatoes (4 to 6 large sweet potatoes) leaving skin on if you wish
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups loosely packed baby arugula
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray
Toss the sweet potatoes in a large bowl with the olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Stir the potatoes and continue to bake until fork-tender, an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a large bowl, combine the cooled sweet potatoes, arugula and scallions. In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise with the lemon juice and Parmesan; season with salt and pepper. Just before serving, toss the dressing with the sweet potato and arugula mixture to coat.
Beets - Harissa falafels with spiced beetroot.
Green Onions
Squash - It will either be Delicata (you can eat the skins on this one) or Acorn squash.
Turnips - These turnips can be eaten raw or cooked. Middle eastern pickled turnips
Kalettes -We have had mixed reviews on these this year!
One of our CSA members told me how she ate them and lets just say we are heading out to buy blue cheese.  The kalelettes where roasted in the oven with beets and walnuts and then once cooked blue cheese added to the mix!
Greens - This weeks greens are our own blend of Asian greens, some mild some spicy! Can be eaten raw or cooked.
Pac Choy
Cilantro

Monday, November 7, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 2

Over the next few days we will be digging over 1000ft of storage carrots this is the last crop that we need to get out of the ground and store before winter and to be honest I think our fork says it all about this season!!

We had a little more rain last week but it was interesting to read the following article on the drought in the Intelligencer and to hear on the radio that Stirling still remains in a Level 3 drought and that residents sill need to reduce their water usage by 50%. For as much as we are loving these warm November days we still need a lot more rain before the ground freezes and winter sets in. 







We left one of our rapini and braising greens bed to flower this fall and we will leave it in bloom for a little longer before we flail it down, as Michael's bees have been foraging away on the plants over the last few days.


Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to fill out this years survey, it will be up for another week and then we will start planning for next season!






This weeks basket:
Garlic
Carrots
Kale
Potatoes
Spinach
Green onions
Escarole - This was in the boxes at the beginning of the season and is amazing.  It looks like a large lettuce head but will have a mild bitter taste to it.  Escarole can be eaten raw, or chopped up into a potato hash mix or grilled on the BBQ and served with a balsamic and olive oil dressing.
Rosie pac choy and arugula
Arugula - This crop has done so well in the heat and has a great peppery flavour to it.  It can be enjoyed raw in a salad or can be added as a topping to pizza, or added to a potato curry
Pac Choy - This one has a deep aubergine colour and always does well in the fall.  They are normally larger than this but we are just happy to see them this year what ever the size!
Cilantro - This crop just keeps on giving! If you do not want to use it fresh then just place in a freezer bag and use when needed over the winter months.
Here's a link to 22 recipes that use cilantro including a great recipe for humus and pesto.
Kohlrabi - We know the outer skin does not look very attractive from it being in storage but the inside is still white and crisp and yummy!
Acorn Squash



Monday, October 31, 2016

FALL CSA Newsletter ~ Week 1

Even though it is week one of our Fall CSA for all our members and us, it is also week 21 of producing and enjoying Organic vegetables.    
Pick Up location runs the same and even though a few of you have changed to different days the Fall CSA runs pretty much the same as the summer.  Farm pick up will start at 10am and run till 6pm and if for some reason your start up e-mails say a different day than you wanted do check in with us to confirm you have the correct pickup day and time.
This years Fall CSA is not as large as last years due to the drought and crop yield being lower but we are so happy to still be able to offer these boxes to the select few.
A huge thank you to Linda, Jess, Sarah and Karen who all braved the weather and mud to help with this years garlic planting.
The next few weeks will see us start digging our fall carrots, golden turnips and our three varieties of radish for storage.  Along with replacing the plastic on our main greenhouse (something that we have put off doing for a while now!) and also getting the plastic up and over our winter greens hoop house.  We have delayed doing this plastic due to the high winds we have had at the farm for nearly two weeks, along with the snow, sleet and rain we have had! But this week is looking calm and warm so fingers crossed we get it done!

This weeks basket:
Garlic
Kale
Spinach
Carrots
Kohlrabi
Daikon Radish - We love fall radish and this week it is the turn of the Daikon to grace your plates.
Turnip Cake
Scarlet Queen Turnips
Potatoes
Radicchio - This is one of our favourite vegetables.  We grow a green variety called sugar loaf which is not as bitter as the traditional red radicchio.  Now that it has had a few frosts and a bit of snow it does help to take a little of the bitterness out of the vegetable and make it a little sweeter.
We like to cut it into quarters drizzle with oil and grill either on the BBQ or broil until it wilts and chars.  Cut into shreds and add cooked onions, mushrooms, avocados, feta cheese and then some balsamic vinegar, chili paste and oil and toss together!
Green Onions
Swiss Chard
Hon Tsai Tai Flowering Broccoli - Is the green leaf and pink steamed green in your baskets this week.  Sadly this broccoli did not form it's bright yellow flowers but it is still very tasty with a very sweet flavour.  It is really nice added to salads, stir fries or pasta sauces and do use the steam as well as the leaves.



Monday, October 24, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 20

Louie taste testing the Fall and Storage carrots!
In the last week we have had two inches of rain! But while digging sweet potatoes on Sunday the soil told the real story, the water had only soaked down about 2-3 inches!
So here we are, the last week of our main season CSA! Neither of us at week 6 thought we would still be standing let alone get to week 20 or be able to run a small November CSA this year. 
This has been one of the toughest growing years physically, emotionally and mentally for us. As many know we had a drought in 2012 but nothing compared to this.  This has been the worst drought on record for this area.  2012 taught us so much and the work and investment made since then has helped us to be able to grow vegetables for our community over the last 20 weeks and also to be able to  offer a November CSA to a few "die hard" veggie fans and also to get some crops for storage.  Our bulk boxes will not have the selection as previous years but we will still be able to offer bulk vegetables and all being well fresh greens this winter!
A huge thank you to you our CSA families for your support this year and going forward.  For the members who have helped weed, harvest and plant, for the laughter and even the dinner that turned up on the doorstep, we have been humbled by your support this season and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  We really would not have got through this year without you.
Please do not forget to fill in this years survey after you have collected your last box of the season.  If you have deleted the e-mail with the link please let us know and we will forward it on to you.
From us both thank you for allowing us to be your farmers that fed your families this year.

This week basket:
Garlic
Kalettes
Kale
Onions
Schwarzer Runder Radish
Schwarzer Runder Radish - These are new for us this years.  I saw them in the seed catalog and thought we had to try them at least once! They have a very rich spicy flavour, excellent for salads and crudite.  They do have a coarse outer skin which can be peeled by hand if you do not like the taste of it.  They are often eaten in Germany as a beer radish, served thinly sliced with salt and paired with a light beer!
Arugula
Sweet Potatoes
Spaghetti Squash
Spinach
Hakurei Turnips - If you are not in the mood to eat these raw, try roasting them! Yum!
Leeks - This is another one of our favourite recipes for leeks and the spicy mustard and braising greens. The recipe calls for spring onions but we replace them with leeks just as well. Curried leeks and greens.
Carrots - One of my all time favourite soups carrot and cardamom soup by Michelle Tam it also uses leeks so if you are running out of ideas this is a great soup to make!

Monday, October 17, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 19

Cover crops seeded in August
Sunday we received just over 1/2 an inch of rain which helps to top up our cistern in the house and to water in all the cover crops that were seeded on Saturday by Ruby who is doing her "Farming" Badge for Girl Guides at Strattons Farm.
Thank you to everyone who had shown an interest in the November CSA.  Registration forms have now been sent out.  If you have not received one please let us know.
This week is also the last week for some of our half shares.  Please check your e-mails as we have sent out this years survey along with a more detailed summation of this years season.

This weeks vegetable basket:
Kalettes
Kalettes - These are a cross between brussels and kale and are ooh so good.  All you need to do is break the florets off the side of the stalk.  Fry up some onions and garlic and add the kalettes and saute for a few moments add some crispy bacon and you are done.  Kalettes can be used in your favourite brussel sprout recipes. The leafy top part of the "trees" can also eaten, just not the stalks, though the dogs love to chew them!
Garlic
Potatoes
Onions
Kale
Spinach
Leeks
Jaune Boule D'or Turnips - This weeks turnips are a French Heirloom 'Golden Ball Turnips'.  They are lovely fragrant turnip with a very sweet flavour, they are great roasted, added to mashed potato and can be sliced thinly and soaked in balsamic vinegar and salt and then eaten raw. Potato and turnip cakes.

Watermelon Radish - It has taken a while for them to grow this year but they are finally here! For 
those who have not tried them they have a sweet peppery flavour to them.  They can be eaten raw, roasted or turned into pickles. Kale Salad with quick watermelon radish pickle.
Greens
Arugula
Coriander

Monday, October 10, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 18

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that a small part of Strattons Farm may have been on your table over the weekend!
We did our annual Thanksgiving walk around our farm with Louie this year and got to take in the amazing Fall colours.
By the end of this week we will have sent out registration forms for the November CSA.  I am hoping that it will be a google document this year rather than a paper one but this will depend if I have time to create it.  This years November CSA will be smaller than last year so we thank everyone who registered their interest early.
The main news at the farm is that our Market Garden is now Certified Organic.  We thought it about time we walked the talk and got our certification.  I have to say a huge thank you to McFadden Acres who have been a huge support to me through this process.  We decided to do our certification as in Ontario you can say you are Organic without actually complying to the Canadian Organic Standards.  We felt it only right that we should go through the process (and make it official, even though we have followed the standards for many years) so that our CSA member families know that our Market Garden complies to these standards.

This weeks basket:
Kale
Leeks - Sizzle and spice leek and chickpeas
Carrots- We are doing bags of carrots again this week.
Onions
Garlic
Cabbage - Yes the savoy cabbage does look like an over grown brussel sprout! But we had enough of this type of cabbage for this weeks CSA.
Potatoes
Spinach
Chard - Chard and potato curry!
Turnips - This weeks turnips are Hakurei turnips.  These can be eaten raw or cooked.
Coriander
Greens - Coconut creamed greens.


Monday, October 3, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 17

We did get a quarter of an inch of rain on Saturday evening which was a relief.  We are officially down to only being able to run our watering system for an hour a day.  So we are very thankful for the rain to refresh the crops still growing on the field as we had not been able to water at all last week!
We continued with more field clearing this week.  We have lifted and stored the rutabaga which are so small and yield is down.  We are not going to have enough for the main season CSA but they will make a brief appearance in the November CSA.
I think I was a little optimistic in our our cabbage patch! They require huge amounts of water and even though we had some it looks like they will be in the November CSA and not the main season.  Even with what we harvested at the weekend to store we have not been able to get enough for a full weeks CSA. It becomes a little sad when you see all your hard work being pulled out of the field. 



This weeks basket:
Onions
Sweet potatoes - Please remember no need to peel these as they have come straight from field to table.  Just scrub off the dirt.
Carrots - We are placing this weeks carrots in bags as the tops have died back on the patch we are harvesting from.  We have punched holes in the bag this will help them to store longer.  Again with the sweet potatoes no need to peel the skins.
Leeks - Please remember you can chop and freeze these for winter use.  Even though it is not St. Davids day! This link has some amazing leek recipes!
Beets - Found this great website with a huge list of recipes for beets. Love Beetroot
Delicata Squash - Please remember you can eat the skin on these ones.
Kale 
Garlic
Rapini
Arugula
Sweet Peppers
Beans 

Monday, September 26, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 16

The Frost arrived on the overnight of Saturday into Sunday morning. Our market garden is a sea of floating row covers to protect the most sensitive crops.  Sweet potatoes got hit the worst but after digging it was the leaves that got the damage and not the root. It will be a chore this year digging the sweet potatoes as the soil is like concrete and the yield will be down.  It is sad as the potatoes would have had a good yield but they are all really small! If only we had had a bit more rain! 

Field clearing continues along with prepping beds for next years growing season.  So far we have over 2000ft in cover crop to help build the soil.   Our cover crops add organic matter, nutrients and also hold the soil together so that we do not lose the precious topsoil to gusting winds.

We have started to pull crops that have not come to anything which is really sad! We have taken out over 400ft of cabbage as it is not heading, we are hoping the savoy might get a little bigger and we do have one row of cabbage that is looking quite promising! Storage beets are looking amazing. I have not dug any of the storage carrots yet but we are hoping they will be just as good as the beets.
We will shortly be making the garlic beds ready for next years crop and we will also be putting up our winter hoop house to protect the kale and spinach we have seeded.

This weeks basket:
Onions
Sweet potatoes - Lisa sent me in this recipe a while ago and changed the parsley in the dressing for basil this week you could swap it out for cilantro Turmeric roasted sweet potatoes.
Carrots
Acorn Squash - This recipe requires zaatar seasoning.  This is the same seasoning we use for the carrot zaatar. stuffed zaatar roasted acorn squash with lemon tahini sauce
Kale
Rapini - Cime di rapa (turnip tops) descends form the wild mustard plants that have carpeted the heel of Italy's boot since the ancient times.  Here in North America we tend to call it rapini or broccoli raab.
Use the whole plant! We love to keep it really simple so we chop up a few cloves of garlic heat some oil in a pan, chop all of the rapini including steams! Saute garlic for a few moments add the rapini and saute until wilted.  We have also found, for a little more punch, adding a few anchovies and some chilies to the mix is amazing!
Hakurei Turnips - Please remember these yummy little turnips can be eaten raw!
Asian Greens
Cilantro - I feel like this is a bit of a "Woo Hoo" moment! For some reason we have always struggled to grow this.  It either bolt or does not germinate.  This year I directed seeded it and hoped for the best and it has not done too bad at all!
Tomatillos - Last week of these until next years so enjoy!
Sweet Peppers
and maybe
Ground Cherries or Arugula




Monday, September 19, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 15

We finally got a little bit of rain on Saturday, just under a 1/4 inch, which is a bit of a relief as our capped spring is now under a lot of pressure.  We are only able to run our watering system for the market garden for 90 minutes as the water level is dropping so fast and rather than watering every night we are only able to do every other evening as on the other days we have to run water to all of our livestock.  This little farm along with so many others in our community really needs some major rain fall.  
It has been so sad to hear of other growers that have lost crops or who have already had to close for the season due to this drought.  Every time we turn the pump on to irrigate the gardens we thank our water supply for holding on as long as it has!
Not sure if everyone saw the Editorial from last weeks Community Press.  The editorial not just highlighted the drought and the need to reduce our water usage but focused on supporting your local farmers http://www.communitypress.ca/2016/09/06/editorial-support-our-farmers Thank You to all our CSA families and to all consumers who choose to either shop at the local farmers markets in this community of Hastings county or support a CSA farm like ours.

This week basket:
Onions
Carrots
Potatoes
Beets
Sweet Peppers
Kohlrabi
Kale
Hakurei Turnips - These turnips are best eaten raw but can be cooked.  The tops are also really nice at the  moment so add them to your salads.
Arugula - Has a peppery taste to it.  Great eaten raw or added into pesto.
Garlic
Asian Greens
Beans
and maybe
Zucchini or eggplant - If we are able to do these it will be one or the other and this will be the last week for them.
Hot peppers- We always see these as a bonus and not part of your share so just take what you need!

Monday, September 12, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 14

Cool evenings and some cooler day time temperatures and it is finally starting to feel like September!
We had a bit of rain last week.  Tuesday evening through to Wednesday we saw just under 1/2" of rain and sadly the storm that was meant to be here on Saturday just seemed to roll in and roll over and was full of lots of wind but not much more than that! Our total rain fall from Saturday to Sunday was two tenths of an inch! Here's hoping we get some more on Wednesday. 


This week basket:
Garlic
Leeks - Leek and feta fritters
Potatoes - This recipe also uses leeks! Kale and Potato cakes
Beets - Chocolate beetroot brownies
Onions
Kohlrabi
Ground Cherries
Sweet Peppers
Kale - Kale and potato soup
Beans
Zucchini (If we do not have enough for the whole week it will be replaced with the last of the eggplant) Thank you to some of our CSA members who have been sending me recipes. Lisa sent in a great zucchini lasagna and  Irene sent in this great recipe that you can use up your eggplant and her top tip is to also add some zucchini and roast both the eggplant and zucchini as it uses less oil and has a richer taste!  Pasta alla Norma
Tomatoes - Enjoy these as we think this will be the last week!
and maybe some Braising Greens

Monday, September 5, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 13

Rain to the west of the farm!
Wishing everyone who is heading back to school this week a wonderful year of learning!
We have spent most of last week watching storm clouds roll around the farm, while the farm just sat bathed by sunshine!!
Several of our members asked about our stream? "It is still very dry and has actually (some how) started to sprout some grass!" and also for an update on rainfall amounts, so here is a list of what we have received at the farm over the last 5 months!
Rainfall @ Strattons Farm.
April 1 inch
May 1/4 inch
June 3 inches
July 1 1/4 inches
August 1 1/2 inches
Our capped spring is now starting to feel the pressure and is taking longer to recover after use which is now effecting how long we can water the market garden for.  We are still praying for rain!



Storm clouds to the east!
This weeks basket:
Ground Cherries - We are lucky that one of our CSA members is also a chef! Top tip from Chef Chris is to soak your ground cherries in Grand Marnier and a little sugar or honey and then serve over ice cream! If this does not tickle your taste buds then how about Ground Cherry Salsa
Tomatillos - Lisa sent in a great recipe for Chicken with Tomatillos
Onions
Leeks - We plant a lot of leeks and it will be interesting to see how they have all done in the drought! One bed is looking amazing but the others are still looking rather small! If you do not want to use your leeks straight away then all you need to do is chop into chunks place into a ziploc bag and freeze! They can then be added to soups and stews during winter.
Garlic
Eggplant - Thank you to our CSA families who have been sharing recipes and photos this week.  We seem to have a theme of eggplant curries! Debbie made an eggplant, bean and broccoleaf vindaloo and Irene and Andrew made Eggplant and cherry tomato curry and added a few potatoes to it as well.

Sweet Peppers
Zucchini
Tomatoes
Beans
Broccoli
Braising Greens or Kale -The braising greens are a mixture of mild Asian greens. They have been sporadic with growth but they need to be harvested! We are hoping to have enough for the whole week, if we do not then we will replace it with kale. The braising
greens can either be cooked or eaten raw.

Monday, August 29, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 12

There is nothing nicer than waking up on a Sunday morning and hearing rain! We got 1/4 inch which made most of the vegetables smile again.
When dealing with a drought you always have a few happy dances when certain crops come to fruition! This weekend I took a look under the floating row covers to discover that the broccoli has turned up for the party a few weeks early!
This year again we will be adding brocco leaves as everyone did seem to enjoy them after a little persuading last year!
This week we will be introducing ground cherries to the boxes.  We have never grown these before but one of our CSA members got chatting to me last season and as most know it does not take much to persuade me to try growing something new!

Louie enjoying his first swim!
Two of our CSA members recently reminded us of the joys of the Crowe River.  We decided over the last few weeks to get up nice and early and head up to the river. We got to dip our toes at 7.30am in the morning and also got to enjoy watching Louie learn to swim. 
Now that Louie has been swimming twice over the last few weeks, we now find him waiting in the back of our truck ready to head out again!

This weeks basket:
Broccoli
Ground Cherries
Broccoleaf -Use them as a replacement to kale or spinach!
Ground Cherries
Onions
Sweet peppers
Eggplant
Beans
Watermelons - This will be the last week of melons! We hope you have enjoyed them?
Zucchini - Zucchini Taco's
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Green Onions
Kohlrabi

Monday, August 22, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 11

First soil building cover crops are in!
We did get a bit more rain yesterday morning which came just at the right time, as last week we had lifted most of our storage onions to cure and Michael had prepped beds ready for cover crop seeding.  We are using a mixture of rye/vetch and oats/vetch this year.  These cover crops help to prevent soil erosion in winter along with adding organic matter to the soil.  We are adding the vetch this year to help add more nitrogen to the soil. 
 #healthysoils #buildingsoil #organicfarming 
We would love to say the drought is over but it is a long way from that.  Our stream still has not come back yet, even though our grass is looking rather green again. Sprinklers did go back on last week to help water in transplants and lots of direct seeding that we did.  So keep up the rain dances as we still need lots more of it!

Our trusty spade said enough is enough!
This weeks basket:
Lettuce - Please be aware the lettuce may be a little bitter due to lack of water
Chard
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Onions
Watermelon
Kohlrabi - We uncovered these this week to do some weeding and we are not sure how but they are huge! These are meant to be for later in the season but due to the size and that we do not want them to split we are going to pick the largest ones to go in this weeks boxes
Thyme - If you do not want to use this fresh place your thyme in a brown paper bag to dry.  Once dry strip leaves or leave on the stem and store in a mason jar for use through winter.
Beans
Eggplant - Iman bageldi or spiced eggplant and tomato
Sweet Peppers
Tomatillos

Monday, August 15, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 10


We finally got some rain on Saturday! By end of day the rain gauge read just over half an inch but the picture  gives you an idea of how much more rain we actually still need.  We did get some transplanting done, along with two nights off from moving sprinklers.  I think you could hear everything from vegetables, farmers, trees to animals take a sigh of relief for the rain and also to get a break from the feeling like 44 degrees that we had had for the previous few days!
Now we are just getting ready for tomorrow's deluge! Fingers crossed it is a day of gentle rain!
Please do not get us wrong we are loving that we finally have some rain but now we have to keep a careful eye on the crops to make sure they do not split from getting so much water in a short space of time! As they say when it rains it pours!





Enjoying the puddles!

This weeks basket:
Kale
Cherry Tomatoes
Field Tomatoes
Onions
Salad onions
Carrots
Tomatillos
Melon
Cucumbers
Beans
Sweet Peppers or Eggplant
Zucchini All being well we should have zucchini as well!
Hot Peppers - Please remember we do not include these as part of the CSA box as we think it is unfair for those who do not like heat.  So we will leave a basket at the stand and at pick up points so that you can help yourself to them!

Monday, August 8, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 9

Fall Squash patch in need of some rain!
I would love to say that things have changed but they have not!
Quinte Conservation have now issued a Level 3 water condition  and Agriculture Canada have said we are experiencing a D2 condition or "severe drought" in the area.
Our Fall Squash patch is starting to wither under the heat, along with all our fall transplants, even with irrigation our rutabaga are about the size of my thumb!  We do lots of transplants as it allows us to guarantee harvest but with this drought they are struggling to survive.  We have taken to direct seeding as they seem to be germinating, not wonderfully but they are germinating, better than our greenhouse starts and holding on a little better at present in the ground!
As I write this the weather network has just put out another heat warning of 40 degrees for Thursday and Friday! 
A few members have commented that Michael and I are not as bubbly or as chatty as normal or have not been over to the farm stand to chat, so we thought we would address this but I have actually used another vegetable growers comments as Stephen has summed up perfectly how so many of us are feeling in the current situation.
"Happy to say goodbye to July. It was a month of too much work and too much stress. I've had to cancel out on friends to keep things running.  
We've lost 90% of the trees we planted in the spring, have invested huge amounts of staff time and materials into keeping us going, and everything we do takes longer in these dry conditions. We have put up a good fight against this drought. Sadly, as we haven't had any of the big rains hit us our water table continues to drop by inches per day.  
We don't need much, just a little rain goes a long way. We just need something. As a result of all this I feel just plain exhausted and more emotionally negative than I feel that I have ever been. Looking forward we are faced with some tough choices. 
We will have to dump crops and likely cancel our winter CSA. We may have to find work off farm to cover our expected losses.  
I feel burnt out, depleted, and am working to keep a positive spin on things while my livelihood literally dries up and evaporates in front of me. I hope August will prove more friendly."
Stephen L. Chair of NFU local. 
This sums up how we feel at the farm at the moment and to be very honest our situation is identical to Stephens. We are also dumping crops, and trying to figure out if we will have any type of vegetables for the November CSA and our bulk boxes this winter.  If we don't then sadly we will be working off farm this winter to balance out our losses from the rest of the season. :-( 
So we thank you all for your understanding in why we are not your normal happy farmers at present.

This weeks basket:
Kale - We have had a few complaints about too much kale! Kale at present is holding on really well and while we have it we are going to add it to the boxes. Lettuce is in the field but needs more water and at present we are unable to transplant anymore as the heat is just killing it! We have already lost 156 lettuce transplants.
Chard - Again it is small bunches as the drought is just causing all our chard to bolt and go to seed!
Shishito Peppers
Shishito Peppers - These are new to us this year, but one crop I have always wanted to try! Shishito peppers are a mild Japanese pepper for roasting, pan-frying and grilling! I am going to give a slight warning as Pepper lore has it that the occasional fruit will display heat. 
Tomatoes - One tub from the hoop houses and 1 tub of field tomatoes
Melons - Sad news is that the patch is already started to die back but it is looking like we will have melons for this week and fingers crossed at least next week as well.  Please eat these ASAP as they are ripe!
Onions
Tomatillos - Yield is low this year. You can make a quick and refreshing salsa with these.
Simply chop into quarters, along with an onion, Heat oil in a pan, saute the onions till soft then add in the tomatillos, some chopped garlic and some hot peppers, and cook until the tomatillos go slightly mushy and to a jam like consistency. 
Garlic
Cucumbers
Eggplant Jackie e-mailed me this recipe link for an eggplant ragu, Jackie did say that it was a little bit of work but well worth it! 
We are also hoping for.....
 Zucchini and Beans
Bonus Item/Help yourself - We never see hot peppers as part of your vegetable basket so we always just leave a basket at the stand and at the delivery point for you to help yourself to.  Please remember even hot peppers are in short supply this year, so please just take what you need.

Monday, August 1, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 8

What can we say but it is dry out here at the farm! 
At present it is a battle to keep the transplants alive with the continuous heat we are having.   We do feel a little worried we may have a little dearth in the vegetable production as it becomes a huge battle to keep the transplants alive.  We have prepped beds today and have watered the beds this afternoon. We will do so again tomorrow afternoon before we put the transplants out in the evenings when it is cooler. Then we just have to keep everything crossed that the daytime heat does not kill them, but there is only so long we can put off doing this and the long term forcast is not showing any sign of this heat going away!  
We do have to say a huge thank you to Linda and Skye for weeding the carrots on Friday and for Jess and Nate for helping to get the garlic dug and cleaned and for several of our members who have offered to bring tankers of water out to the farm.  This little farm is feeling the support of it's community this week!
Watching the storms roll in while weeding!!!

This weeks basket:
Lettuce
Kale
Chard
Onions
Garlic
Cucumbers
Potatoes - Treasure these little babies! We dug 100ft of potatoes today and normally the yield from this would last us a good few weeks this year due to the drought we got 64lbs from 100ft! :-(
Beans
Tomatoes - Again this week you will get two tubs. One of hoop house tomatoes and one of field tomatoes
Basil - The basil this year is doing really well, I wish I could say that for the rest of our herbs! This drought has taken its toll on the herb patch and the parsley, sage, chinese leeks and thyme are not doing well at present.
Eggplant
Zucchini

Monday, July 25, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 7

Just under half an inch of rain!
As we get this weeks newsletter together we can actually say we have had rain this morning! This does not mean that the drought is over! We still need so much more.  We received under half an inch of rain at 5am this morning but by the afternoon the sun is out the wind is up and the humidity has spiked and the ground begins to dry again which means that even with the rain this morning the sprinklers will be back on this evening!
Over the weekend our CSA Member families received our drought update e-mail.  
We have to say a huge "Thank You" to all our CSA members who have sent e-mails of encouragement and support over the last few days and have also offered the use of their showers (we are hoping we don't smell that bad!) ;-)
We are so touched and humbled by the support and it makes heading out to the market garden for a days work a little easier knowing as one of our members said "Count me in for the long haul whatever it looks like."
We appreciate that it is not only our CSA families that read these newsletters/blog posts so we have added a few extracts of the CSA e-mail to this weeks newsletter.

"We have been growing full time at this location for 8 years and have been growing for a total of 12 years and this is our second drought in five years. 
We learnt a lot from the 2012 drought. We started to grow varieties that are more heat tolerant, we moved into a raised bed system and we purchased landscape fabric not only for the weed suppression but also to help maintain moisture in the soil, but even with all these things when we started this year with a low water table due to the lack of snow and mild winter we thought we might have a harder growing year this year compared to last!
At present we are watering around 1500ft-2000ft per evening, but with the continuous hot days and hot high humid winds it is drying the ground out quicker than we can water.  We are unable to water the main growing area in the day time due to the heat drying the ground but it also causes the plants to scorch as we use overhead sprinklers for our crops. The hoop houses are given a good watering by watering can once a week.  To give you an idea of the amount of water needed for one hoop house it takes a 1000litres to cover 400ft of vegetables in each.
For vegetables to grow they need an inch of rain a week. We have been watering our field with sprinklers since the start of April.  We have a rain gauge at the farm and we have listed the total amounts of rain we have received at the farm for the last few months.
Rainfall received at Strattons Farm.
April 1 inch
May 1/4 inch
June 3 inches
July so far 3/4 inch as of the 24th July as of today we can now say we have had an 1 inch of rain for July.
We have done some of our fall transplanting and they are just holding on but we have not transplanted everything yet as we are hoping for some major rain! Direct seeding is just sitting in the ground and not germinating.  Due to the heat we have already lost 800ft of parsnips, we do not think we will have celery this year as it requires huge amounts of water, celeriac is not growing and what cabbages are heading are very small, even our Zucchini patch it saying enough is enough.  We are now trying to grow crops that have a shorter day to maturity so that your boxes remain full for the season.
It is not only keeping the summer vegetables growing but we are also trying to grow for the November CSA boxes as well as our bulk storage boxes, as this is how we make an income for the rest of the year and how we make our living year round and how our farm ultimately survives."

Please return your tubs! Thank You
This weeks basket, may be subject to change but this is what we are hoping for!
Sorry no recipes this week but feel free to browse through past years newsletters for ideas!
Lettuce
Collards
Salad Onions
Tomatoes
Carrots
Beans
Beets - For some reason these have thrived in the drought!
Zucchini - We have 300ft in the field and it is really suffering with the drought and high winds.  We have just transplanted a second seeding so we are hoping that they hold on to help balance out the plants we are losing from the main patch.
Cucumbers
Basi
We are hoping to be able to do both of the following
Cabbage -  have headed up but they are so small they are resembling very large Brussel sprouts! We have a few Chinese cabbage so it might be a choice between the two varieties !
Eggplant - Again we have a mixture of sizes so we are hoping we will have enough largish ones for everyone.




Monday, July 18, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 6

Weeding, seeding, transplanting still continue but all the vegetables and two farmers are longing for a proper dose of rain, we need about two to three days worth of gentle rain.  
We did finally got some rain on Friday evening, only 45 minutes and it was still under half an inch but it was an odd feeling not to be getting up every 30 minutes and moving water lines! The overcast day on Saturday gave it a chance to soak in but we had to put the sprinklers back on on Sunday evening. The high heat this week and again the 48+kph winds drying the ground, causes the vegetables to look very unhappy and with no rain in the forecast it looks like we will be running the sprinklers every evening for the foreseeable future!  
What always amazes us is the crops we do not water as much.  This years melon patch is growing well the bees are busy pollinating it and we have already started to spot the odd watermelon in the patch!

Several of our CSA families have started new business this year.   Jess and Nate are the proud owners of the new Yoga studio Creekside Yoga which has opened in Stirling and Kevin has just launched Primal Crunch which you will be able to purchase at farm pickups.  It will work on a honesty system so we will leave a jar next to the crunch, if you take a bag (each bag is 400g) please leave your $12.00 (please bring the correct change with you) in the jar for Kevin.
What is Primal Crunch? It is a premium granola, designed as a healthy alternative to traditional breakfast cereal. The mix of nuts and seeds with all natural sweeteners makes a delicious meal that is grain-free, oat-free, gluten-free and low-carb. Add a dollop of plain Greek yogurt and a handful of berries for a meal that will keep you going all morning long.  It also makes for a great snack when you're on the go.

This weeks basket:
Lettuce
Zucchini - Zucchini chips
Cucumbers
Carrots
Beets
Basil
Salad Onions
Cabbage - This is on my list of things to make this year! How to make Sauerkraut
Tomatoes 
Beans
Eggplant - We love eggplant! There are so many things you can do with it, we will try and post a different recipe to try each time eggplant is in your boxes! First up is Ratatouille
Kale
This might be subject to change as we may have fennel but it is not very happy due to heat and lack of regular rain.




Wednesday, July 13, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 5

Sorry for the delay in posting, the internet has been painfully slow over the last two days, it has taken three hours to load one picture!!!

Lots of you have been checking in to see if we got rain at the weekend! The answer is "Yes" but don't get too excited. We only got 1/4" which really is nothing and by Sunday afternoon the market garden was back to being as dry as a bone again.  We are still watering every evening but our system is not an elaborate one.  It is a long hose with a sprinkler head that we move every 30 minutes! We are hoping that all the vegetables hold on through this next dose of high heat and hot winds and we are praying for a break in the weather, but I am not sure it is going to come soon enough! At this stage we really do need a good few days of gentle rain. 


This weeks basket:
Fennel - can be eaten raw, or you could try baked fennel with parmesan.
Cucumbers - This year we have moved some of our cucumbers into our hoop houses and also trying new varieties as well.  So you may find you get some short dark green cucumbers.  This variety is designed for greenhouses and even though we have found it sweet to eat we are finding it is yielding less than our other ones!
Kale -Kale salad, not in the mood with this heat to cook your kale just tear into small pieces season with sea salt, pepper and extra virgin olive oil massage into the kale and eat!
Beets
Carrots -   Carrot, chickpea and tahini salad  Don't forget to use your carrot tops to make pesto!
Zucchini - They do love heat
Basil
Lettuce
Salad Onions
Chard
Peas - This is looking like the last week of peas.
Tomatoes or Eggplant - Tomatoes are still a little slow to ripen in the hoop houses but they are starting.  So we are hoping to have enough for everyone this week, if we do not we have a few eggplant which are ready to be harvest as well.
BONUS - We will have a tub of scapes at the farm and at each pick up this week.  Please just help yourselves to what you need this will be the last of the scapes for the 2016 season.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 4

We finally got around to unloading the last wagon of hay! 608 bales later thanks to our neighbours who cut, rake and bale our hay for us.  Next up will be second cut as long as we get enough rain!
Rain is still on our minds even though we did get to see some last week. The water table is still very very low for this time of year.  The Weather network report on the drought. Explains and shows how little rain this area has received this year.  So gentle rains dances again would be appreciated!


This weeks basket:
Chard - Spanish style swiss chard chickpeas.
Kale
Peas
Zucchini - Yes they are finally here!
Spring turnips - We have had issues with aphids this year so we have taken the leaves off as the root themselves are still really tasty.
Te You Flowering broccoli/Chinese broccoli - This is a new one for us to grow.  We did start off growing broccoli raab or rapini this spring, it was meant to take 45 days to grow but thanks to the early heat it grew in 25 and then bolted, so our bees had a really good feast on the flowers and then the pigs enjoyed the rest of it.  We will be seeding the rapini again in the Fall.
Kohlrabi
Escarole - Is stunning and we introduced it to the boxes last year.  This week it is replacing lettuce as again due to the heat the lettuce has bolted.  Escarole can be eaten raw and it is really nice covered in oil and grilled on the BBQ.  We then chopped it up and added turnips, raw beets and kohlrabi and finished with olive oil and a fig balsamic dressing.

Scapes -If you want to preserve these for winter then just chop up and place in a food processor, add oil and blitz then freeze in ice cube trays.
Chinese/Napa Cabbage -We love Chinese cabbage in salads, kimchi but by far when grilled on the BBQ the same as the escarole.  Then cover with the following dressing! YUM!
Cut the cabbage in half and then quarters.  Brush lightly with olive oil.  For the glaze you will need 3 tbsp of mustard (we used Dijon) 1 tbsp of honey, 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 2 garlic cloves chopped and 2 tbsp of chopped basil.  Mix the glaze ingredients all together.  Place your cabbage quarters on a hot grill/BBQ cook for 5-7 minutes on each side, all depends on how charred you like it.  Remove cabbage from the grill brush with the glaze and Enjoy!
Beets - Why not try beets as a dessert we will be making Beet Halwa this week! We recommend replacing the sugar with honey.
Basil

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 3

Now that we are on week three of the CSA we have now met all our new CSA families along with all our returning ones.  It has been lovely to catch up on all the news and to met all our new members.  
We are still noticing damage from last week's storm in the crops but are doing a few happy dances that the 400ft of carrots that we seeded that morning are just starting to germinate, we are feeling relieved about this as we were waiting to see a huge clump of carrots at the end of the bed!  
It has been really interesting talking to our members and seeing that some only saw the black clouds and lightning to the north and did not get a single drop of rain.  We got more rain overnight Sunday so it was a delight on Monday to transplant into wet soil something that has not happened much this year.
Even after the storm we had still continued with our regular watering as the hot and windy days are still doing a great job of drying our market garden out.  I also have to say a huge thank you to Michael for doing all the watering on his own on Sunday evening so that I could go and do an evening yoga class at Creekside Yoga in Stirling.   At least one farmer at the farm felt stretched and rejuvenated for Monday mornings transplanting!

This weeks basket:
Lettuce
Kale - You will have a mixed bunch of kale this week.  Dinosaur and the traditional curly kale.  The dinosaur does have a a slightly stronger flavour to it.
Napa/Chinese cabbage - Some like to make Kimchi, or add to colslaw.  We like it cut into quarters cover with a little oil, salt, pepper and then griddle on the BBQ.  It makes it sweet and tender! Then you can either chop it up add to a warm salad or just drizzle your favourite dressing over it!
Peas - We grow snap peas so you eat the whole thing! I know that most have been telling us that they have not made the drive home! So we are pleased after a field walk yesterday morning that the peas are coming on really well and it will be a quart of pea's for everyone this week!
Beets - I love beets and I am slightly addicted to them raw! I love them in a morning veg smoothie or spiralized into a salad. If that does not rock your boat hopefully one of these recipes will!  31 different ways to to eat beets!
Kohlrabi
Asian greens - This will be the last week until later in the season. We have done our best but the heat has beaten us to many of these lovely crops and caused them to bolt.  Do not think these crops go to waste, we leave them in the field for feed for our bees and then once the bees are done we feed the rest of the crop to our pigs so it is a full circle on the farm.
Scapes - Yes the bundles are getting bigger!.  Do remember you can pickle or make pesto from them, we still love them grilled on the BBQ!  You can also just put them in the food processor with some olive oil and blitz! Then freeze in ice cube trays.  I like to add the cubes in winter to soups, sauces or stir fry!
Radish
Collards -
Southern collards;
1 bunch collard greens, washed
 1/2 lb turnip greens, or mustard greens, or kale, washed
1 Tbsp canola oil
5 cloves garlic, minced or use your garlic scapes
5 cups veg stock
1 1/2 tsp red chili flakes, or to taste
1/2 tsp hickory liquid smoke (the recipe calls for 1 TBsp but I just halved it and it was plenty)chiffonade the collards
warm oil in stockpot. add garlic and sauté 1 minute.   add remaining ingredients and greens and bring to a boil.  reduce heat, cover and simmer 40 minutes.
Allow to cool.  Let sit overnight in fridge or at least 2 hours at room temperature.  The longer they sit, the more flavor they absorb.  Reheat to serve.
Or with all your greens you could make a big batch of Crispy sweet greens!
Turnips
Micro greens - Just a little taster to add to your salads. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 2

After the storm!
Sorry, everyone for the delay with the newsletter. We had to re write it after last nights storm and then we had no power for most of today!

The official first day of summer arrived at 6pm last night and it really did arrive with a bang! Holy Moley that was one big storm, well actually one big storm with three little ones to follow up for good measure!
As ever we do enjoy the rain, the hail not so much! In the first 20 minutes of the storm we received over half an inch of rain  and then in an hour and a half the final reading on the rain gauge was over an inch!
 We did get stuck in the middle of the field during the storm as we had to roll down the sides on the greenhouse and hoop houses along with getting the goats back into their houses!
Most of the plants looked thankful for the rain even if they are now covered in a thick layer of soil, we did lose a few plants to the storm and the lettuce and spinach have a few holes in it thanks to the hail!
We have to say a HUGE THANK YOU to our CSA members who posted updates to Facebook, offered generators so we could run a heat source for our baby turkeys tonight and to one of our members who arrived with two very large cups of coffee first thing this morning when she found out we had no power and Michael was boiling the kettle on the BBQ!

This weeks basket:
Spring Turnips - The turnips can be eaten raw or cooked but the tops can also be eaten too.  This following recipe you can replace the collars with any type of greens from swiss chard, kale to turnips leaves.  Crisp-sweet greens
Garlic Scapes - Scape season is here, enjoy it while it lasts! 7 different ways to eat scapes!
Arugula
Pac Choy
Spinach
Lettuce - After last nights storm you might find some hail holes in your lettuce!
Salad Onions
Mustard Greens - Mustard greens make great pesto.  Spicy mustard green pesto
Snap Peas or Micro Greens - Peas have been really slow for us this year.  The second seeding is looking more impressive than the first.  If we do not yield enough peas for all three pick ups then you will be receiving micro greens instead.
Kohlrabi - Reposting this video from last year by Riverford Farms it is a great resource on what you can do with Kohlrabi.  Kohlrabi is great eaten raw in salads or dips and don't forget to use the leaves.


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 1

The start of the 2016 Season is HERE and as ever what a weather roller coaster ride it has been for the start of the season!
Our sprinklers had been running every evening for the last seven weeks watering in crops.  We went from a long cold March and April had two days of Spring and jumped straight into 40 degree summer heat! It has meant that some crops have been slow to germinate, to grow or have even bolted before they have reached maturity due to the heat. 
To add insult to injury with all the watering we did in the evenings the hot high winds did the most amazing job of drying it out all the next day! But we have continued with the watering and took to transplanting late into the evenings on many a day over the last few months. We did choose to put lots of floating row covers on crops again this year which does increase the heat but it also helps to hold the moisture in the soil as well as keeping flea beetles away!
Finally over the last week we received a much needed inch and three quarters of rain! It was not only a huge relief for two farmers, lots of animals and a huge market garden but I think the whole community also sighed when a week ago Sunday the skies finally opened and the gentle rain started to fall! Fingers crossed we get regular rain for the rest of the growing season.
We already need to say a huge thank you to several of our CSA members who have already been out to help weed some of the crops and field and also to help deal with some quack grass and thistle that had crept into the fields.
For those picking up at the farm we have not started to raise leprechauns! We had to ear tattoo the goats at the weekend and of course they rub all over one another and they all turn a lovely green!!
It is going to be rather quiet at the farm this season as we have had a huge demand for delivery this year.
So with the quick update here's hoping for a season of warm weather and regular evenings filled with rain, but a few days without rain would be lovely so hay making and weeding can start!  

Over the next twenty weeks we will include lots of recipes in the newsletters but do remember to read through some of last years recipes or if you find a recipe you love then please e-mail it in with a photo or you can post it directly to our Facebook page. We have also been adding recipes to our Pinterest page as well.  Our aim is to get the newsletter up and ready by Monday but please do not hold us to this! Between the two of us we do rather a lot at the farm, and some evenings all we want to do is crawl into our beds, but we will do our best to have the newsletter up a few days before the first pick up of the week.

Here are some great resources (books and websites) that we love using for finding different recipes from!  If you have a favorite book or website please let us know and we will add it into the newsletters.
Websites:
Riverford Farms
Abel and Cole
Jamie Oliver
River Cottage
 Books:
"River Cottage Veg everyday" by Hugh Fearnly Whittingstall
 "Jamie at Home"  by Jamie Oliver
Nom Nom Paleo

This weeks basket:
Collards - We have not grown these before so we are excited to see what you all think of them! We had them in scrambled eggs this morning and they are sweet and tender!
This recipe is a game changer for those who are not big lovers of greens! You can also use your radish and turnips leaves in this recipe as well.  Sauteed Greens with pine nuts and raisins.
Chard - Chard gratin
Lettuce - This weeks lettuce is a nice crunchy romaine, it is great for wraps.
Spinach - Please remember we do not wash the spinach.  Rinse as needed and it will keep longer.
Spring Turnips - You have a mixture of Scarlet Queen and Hakurei this week.  Both can be eaten raw in salads or cut into chunks and dipped into a good homemade mayonnaise!
Pac Choy - Prize choy is going out into the boxes this week! These are great roasted, stir fried or eaten raw.
Asian Greens - Green Wave has a little bite to it but can be made into Pesto, added to the sauteed greens or shredded into salad. Stir-fried greens with tahini
Radish
Arugula Arugula with prosciutto