This week brings us to the middle of July. The summer is flying along!

The farm is lush & green and looking good. Sure there are lots of weeds – we’re understaffed this summer and therefore always behind on the weeding – but we’re trying to embrace the weeds & accept them! More importantly, the crops are doing well overall.

 Raspberry rows with a small field of buckwheat behind. The buckwheat is grown as a cover crop to smother weeds & improve the soil.

Rows of zucchini.

This yellow striped zucchini is a new variety for us. 

New plantings of cabbages & lettuce. Weedy rows to the right!

Are there really brussels sprouts & eggplant hiding in the weeds?

Most of the tomatoes are now staked & tied.

What’s in the box?

Raspberries, zucchini, broccoli/cauliflower, beets & mint,

salad turnips, kohlrabi, green onions.

extras – garlic scapes

• The raspberries are actually improving! We’re getting bigger picks of better tasting berries. We’re excited to offer them again this week in your box.
• It is high season for zucchini! We got a massive pick today – of massive zucchini ( and lots of smaller ones too). Don’t be scared of the big ones! They are great for stuffing, grilling on the barbeque, or turning into zucchini bread (or brownies).
• I admit it. We do not grow the most beautiful broccoli & cauliflower. The broccoli is usually small & the cauliflower is rarely a pristine white. But they do taste good! Our 2nd planting of broccoli is just starting to produce, so there should be broccoli in your share for a few more weeks. Cauliflower might be an option – we’ll see how it is when we pick it tomorrow.
• The rest of the CSA box this week is roots … (didn’t see that coming!)
• We’re putting the beets & mint together. While it may seem like a strange combination, our favourite thing to eat these days is a beet salad with fresh mint. Find the recipe below & give it a try. It’s great!
• Salad turnips – one of our most successful crops this spring! You are telling us that you like them, so we’re pleased to have another bunch in your share this week.
• The kohlrabi are getting bigger & bigger … So far they continue to be juicy & delicious.
• This week should finish off our early planting of green onions. There will be more coming but they are still quite small & several weeks away at least.

Fresh Beet Salad with Mint

Ingredients & Instructions

Beets – spiralized or shredded.

Fresh mint – 2 tbsp. chopped.

Dressing – combine in a jar the following:

juice of 1 orange,

1 tsp honey,

1 tbsp white balsamic vinegar,

2 tbsp olive oil,

Salt & pepper to taste.

Optional – ¼ cup pistachios (we don’t use these)

Pour dressing over beets & add the chopped mint.

 

Oliver “helping” pick raspberries.

One Flynn catching up on his rest.

The other Flynn keeping watch.