Winter Newsletter...

Tilly just loves the camera!

We have had a few cold days so far this winter but nothing like last year's, but we are missing the snow here at the farm! We have lots of ice to skate around on while we carry buckets of water and feed around the farm for all the animals! I think everyone is missing the snow, but with 51 days till spring here's hoping for a nice big dump of snow sooner rather than later!  

A huge thank you to everyone who has had bulk boxes this winter.  We have been providing vegetables now for nine months and it is so nice to see so many people keeping it local not just through the summer months but also through the winter.  Due to the demand this year for winter vegetables we are looking at expanding our box availability for next winter.  

We are now sold out of our bulk boxes but still have root vegetables available in our stores.  So before heading out to the grocery store please contact us for our vegetable list of what is still available at the farm.  

Market Garden Spring 2014

As we enter our seventh year here at Strattons Farm preparations are well under way for our sixth year running our CSA.
Seeds, organic potting soil and organic compost have been ordered and our kitchen table is full of spread sheets and field plans for the coming season. It's always odd for some when we are in the depths of winter to be thinking of spring greens, summer tomatoes and fall squashes but shares for the 2015 Summer CSA are selling fast, so don't leave it too long to register for this season.

Nigella's piglets in 2014 sharing some loving! 

Along with the market garden preparations, Elly and Eva are due to kid in March,  then April will see Delia pig farrow and our first batch of spring chicks arrive so we will have another busy spring on our hands.

Don't forget if you want to receive our monthly newsletters with up to date farm news and along with notifications of when we start taking pre orders for pork, poultry or the CSA then please sign up to our mail chimp newsletters.  Remember to add our address to your safe list as due to last years legislation on Spam newsletters can end up in your junk box rather than your mailbox.

CSA Newsletter ~ Week 19

Mud, mud, glorious mud!! I think the only animals on this farm that are enjoying all this rain and mud are our pigs! 

We finished the garlic planting last week and final count was 3004 cloves! We are feeling slightly nervous about the garlic patch as a mole seems to have moved in to the beds! Not much damage has been done to the beds though, he seems more focused on the newly prepared ones, rather than the ones we have planted!! 

Apart from all the mud, field clearing continues, along with the harvest of crops to be stored for our Fall Baskets which start the first week of November.  If anyone is interested in signing up for November weekly or bi weekly baskets please contact us for a registration form.

This week we say goodbye to our Group A half shares and then next week is the end of our 20 Week Summer CSA! We have to be honest we are not sure where the last 19 weeks have gone, it really seems to have flown by this year.

To all our half shares who have their last pick up this week, if you have time we do appreciate your feedback and the survey link is attached in the e-mail that went out on Sunday.  

A huge thank you from us to you for your continued support and we hope you have enjoyed this years CSA and eating seasonal vegetables as much as we have enjoyed growing them for you.

This weeks box:

Carrots - Why not try a sweet dish with your carrots this week! We are going to be trying this one and replacing the sugar with half the amount in honey carrot halwa

Parsnips - This has been a crop we have seeded each year and has never germinated.  Germination was not fantastic this year but 100% better than any other year!!!   They do take a really long time to grow (think we will try seeding a little earlier next year to see if we can get them bigger) and they are much tastier after a really heavy frost. So even though they are heading out in the boxes this week they are not huge and the quantity is alot less than what we would like. But if we can do it this year here's hoping for a better crop next year.

Kale - If you do not want to eat your kale and want to keep if for winter then just place it in a Ziploc bag straight in the freezer.  Kale is really nice to add to any stew or soup over the long winter evenings.

Potatoes - This weeks potatoes are Gold Rush. We have found some really yummy Winter potato dishes for you to try.

Turnips - As I write this newsletter I am in the middle of cooking a potato dauphinosie. What I like about this recipe is it has a couple of variations one using turnips and one using celeriac.

Acorn Squash - Here's a great recipe for stuffed squash.

Swede/Rutabaga - If you have not guessed we love to cook and eat swede so have found this amazing recipe that we will be cooking this week for spiced swede cakes

Garlic

Leeks - We have found this great recipe for Cottage and Roots pie it uses leeks but also if you are struggling with the celeriac or turnips this is a great recipe to use those vegetables in too.

Chinese white radish Moo/Mooli or Daikon - When I worked in South Korea this was one of my staples, I love this radish! It's crispy, peppery, spiciness and sweet flavour is just amazing eaten raw, added to stir Fry, salads or you can make one of my favourites which is radish Kimchi.

Cauliflower or Broccoli - This is week four and we are really making up for all the years we have struggled to get these to head up at the farm! Last Saturday when we picked we found one that weighed in at 2lbs15oz

Arugula - Is a great spring and fall crop. The leaves are very peppery and make an amazing salad, pizza topping or you can even turn it into pesto! 

CSA Vegetable Box Registration is now open...

This year like other years we are expanding.  We always grow a little bigger each year making sure we can still maintain our workload between the two of us.  Last years season saw us running the farm without any additional help from family and friends who pop over for a holiday and end up spending most of it weeding! We are pleased that we have friends already booking their holidays for this year which includes a stay with us.  Not sure  if they realise yet that they will be supplied with boots and works gloves once they arrive at the farm! 

What are the changes this year?? We are extending our summer CSA from 18 to 20 weeks. All our members from last year when asked if they wanted us to run longer came back with unanimous YES! We have also added a Saturday pick up at the farm and this years Belleville pick up will be running in the evening from 5-6.30pm.  This is a trial run as lots of our delivery customers have said they would like an evening pick up  so we thought we would see how it works for this season.  Rather than ending our season in October and everyone having to wait another eight months until the summer season arrives again we will also be adding a winter vegetable box.  These boxes will be available on a monthly basis from November to February. The box will be made up of bulk storage vegetables and additional greenhouse greens.  

We have to be honest about a CSA Weekly vegetable basket, it is not for everyone.  Eating seasonally, or being given new and different vegetables does push us all out of our comfort zone. Boxes are also affected by mother nature and some years the bounty may be high others it may be low,  also if the weather is cooler we may see less of the heat loving vegetables and more leafy greens that enjoy cooler temperatures.
One of our members last year wrote about their CSA experience and how it has changed their eating in their household over the last two years.

"Veggies Smeggies, I itch when they're mentioned, just what were they thinking that day of invention.  Maybe for dinner I'll have me a tree, with a big bowl of bushes, just nature and me!"

This is a long time favorite story of my children.  In 2012 I came upon Strattons Farm, my goal was to change the thinking of my four kids and that this little story wouldn't be my real life experience.

 I liked the idea of feeding my family vegetables that were local and also free of all the nasty chemicals.  So I signed up for their CSA and haven't regretted it for a minute.  I was a bit apprehensive at first being I haven't always been too adventures when it comes to cooking and also the not knowing if there would  be to many veggies or not enough as we are a family of 6.  None of this however has ever been an issue.  Some weeks I will plan out what I am going to make and mass cook for the week and then others I will "fly by the seat of my pants" so to speak and just make up whatever my mood strikes me to.  We have gotten really good around here at modifying recipes and using what we have on hand as opposed to buying exactly what is called for.  

Last year when my littlest one  was still not eating solids I would blend up whatever we received and pop it in ice cube trays for quick servings at a later date. Before one year of age she was having beets, kale, zucchini and many other varieties of veggies.  If there is something I know that my fussiest of eater won't touch just based primarily on looks I will then either shred it up and add it to just about anything or even sometimes puree and add it too the meal.  Then at least I know they are still getting the nutritional benefits of the veggies.   I have pureed all type of greens  into eggs, smoothies, soups, spaghetti sauces, and even brownies, beets into pancakes and cake, and zucchini  into cookies.  I can tell you that they never know the difference and think pink pancakes are a pretty cool idea!  My kids have become much more adventurous and love kale pops as well as kale chips as snacks.  We now will use zucchini or squash instead of pasta which we never would have even considered before.The only veggies I buy at the grocery store during csa season are ones that aren't available yet (ie tomatoes) which is just a preference and not a necessity. 

People always ask two questions is it expensive and do you have enough or to many veggies.  

So first of all NO it is defiantly not expensive, to feed a family of six fresh, local ,chemical free veggies it's a great deal.  It doesn't even compare to what you would get at a local grocer (taste wise)and the amount I would pay to buy all of this every week considering it wouldn't last half as long due to it not being near as fresh.

Secondly, yes we always have enough.  We often have something left over but quickly use it up once the new veggies arrive.  We ensure that we incorporate all the veggies into our meals somehow.  Last summer if we found we had been out quite a bit one week and not eaten up as much as normal then we would add what we could to everyones smoothies or cook them up and freeze for later in the week.   It has really opened up our eyes to healthy eating and trying new things.  We never knew veggies could taste so good and we miss them terribly in the winter months.  So for families big or small, old and young we think a CSA is a must try!!  It has made a huge improvement in the veggies smeggies attitude in our household!

Andrea

So if you are feeling ready to take on the 2014 Vegetable Pledge of eating seasonally and locally this year then please visit our website for more information and to download your registration form for our summer CSA.  If you have any further questions about joining a CSA then please do not hesitate to contact us.