Our eggplant and pepper patch looks somewhat different this year.

Usually we plant the seedlings and then mulch them with straw – to keep the weeds in check and to preserve moisture in the soil.

This year we decided to use groundcover. This is a woven polypropylene material that prevents weeds from growing, and allows rain to pass through. We unrolled it, fastened it down, made holes, and then planted our eggplant & peppers.

Using plastic is never our 1st choice. We much prefer straw. Straw holds the moisture in the soil better, and it decomposes, adding organic matter and improving the soil. It is also expensive to buy and takes a lot of time & expense to spread. Those pesky weeds also grow through it by mid-summer. Groundcover is less expensive, easier to lay down (though it will require work to remove it in fall) and promises to last for 5 years or more. So we thought we would give it a try.

One row of peppers in the centre of the patch will be mulched with straw so we can compare how they grow, & produce etc …

We also planted our winter squash on groundcover. Usually we plant the squash and leave it to fend for itself as we rarely have time to weed it. We are optimistic that it will grow better and produce more fruit this way.

So far, the eggplant & peppers are growing very well and we are not scrambling to keep them weeded and get the straw spread around them. Our time is better spent weeding elsewhere.

And how those weeds are growing these days!!

What’s in the box?

Beets, green onions, fresh basil, garlic scapes, mini-romaine lettuce, radishes, another salad green.

• Hurray, a vegetable that isn’t green! The first beets are ready. Freshly pulled, early season beets are tender, juicy and sweet. We often forgo the cooking and eat them fresh, usually shredded into salads. But whether you eat them cooked or raw, don’t bother to peel them! The skin is tender and full of nutrients that you don’t want to miss out on.
• The first onions are green onions, also called bunching onions or scallions. Eat everything – the green leaves & the small, bottom white bulb.
• We don’t usually have basil ready to harvest this early in the season – but here it is! Enjoy it in your salad, on pizza or make a batch of pesto.
• First it was green garlic. Now there are garlic scapes. Scapes grow out of the top of the garlic plant and curl around in a loose coil. If we left them they would eventually flower and go to seed. But we prefer that the plant uses its energy to form large garlic bulbs underground instead, so we remove the scapes. They are delicious! Use them wherever garlic bulbs are used – raw or cooked. Their flavour is a bit milder. They are also great on the BBQ. Coat the whole garlic scape with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Grill for a few minutes on each side until well charred & tender.  Garlic scape pesto is also a good way to use the scapes. Here’s a link to an interesting article, “12 ways to add garlic scapes to your spring cooking routine”. https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/article/garlic-scapes 

• The extreme heat that is expected these next few days will finish off the mini-romaine – it will bolt & go to seed – so we’ll pick it and enjoy it again this week, instead of waiting as we planned.
• There will be another green in your box as well – lettuce mix, spinach, bok choy, kale or … ?
• The next planting of radishes is ready – almost. They might be a bit small in Tuesday’s box and a good size for Thursday. But again, we’ll pick them now rather than lose them to the heat this week.

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Around the farm this week …

We still use straw on the tomatoes.

Working our way through some weeding – onions here.

There are green beans somewhere in there! Lettuce & herbs all clean!

The blackberries blossoms are dropping their petals, revealing little berries.

Insect netting – not just for insects!

These little guys have taken over Sage’s bed in the shop.

Hunting