Friday night & early Saturday morning saw some much needed rain fall on our farm. It was coming down hard when we left for our Saturday market, but stopped before we reached Georgetown. We had a very successful market day!

The rain refreshed the crops and the ground and caused a jump in growth. Everything looked different this morning – greener, fresher, bigger …

 

… including the vegetables I transplanted on Friday, in anticipation of the rain.

We have covered some of the new plantings with the insect cover – not only to prevent the bugs from chewing the plants, but also to discourage the rabbits which have been feasting on some of our seedlings.

The tomato plants continue to pump out the fruit …

The new zucchini patch is starting to produce.

The next rows of sunflowers are opening. Sunflowers bring a lot of smiles at market!

Some winter squash is showing up now as we drive past the squash field. It’s always a surprise when we finally wade through the vines to see what is there.

The water garden that I mentioned in yesterday’s post was buzzing with bees & butterflies today – lots of them! That is Joe Pye weed they are enjoying.

What’s in the box?

Lettuce mix, arugula, kohlrabi, blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic.

• It’s been a few weeks, but there will be lettuce mix in your share this week! Red & green leaves in an assortment of shapes & sizes, ready to make a tasty & beautiful salad. Add some spicy arugula for even more flavour!
• Kohlrabi is also back. Peel it and crunch it raw, grate it into a salad or make noodles with your spiralizer (our favourite way to eat them!). We saute them with onions & garlic & fresh tomatoes.
• Blackberries are amazing! Both sweet & tart, they taste great! I’m sure they get eaten almost immediately – but if not, store them in the fridge. They will keep for a day or two.
• Our new CSA and farmers’ market customers have been hesitant to try the white cucumbers – but almost everyone who tries them comes back for more. Crunchy & delicious – I can’t get enough of them. We will have lots of big green cucumbers too. Cucumber salad anyone?!
• Our garlic is mostly dry now. Break off as many cloves as you like to cook with, and keep the rest of the bulb unrefrigerated, and in a dry spot. They should keep well.

Other vegetables coming along are … beans – the next rows of beans are sizing up & we’re picking a few. We have harvested some sweet peppers too. As I mentioned earlier in spring, our peppers got off to a rough start & we ended up with less plants than we wanted/needed. They are now finally starting to ripen. Our new zucchini patch is starting to produce. The sweet corn is forming little ears and should be ready in a few weeks. Look for all these in your box soon.

The animals are all feeling a little jealous this week because …

… we welcomed little Isaiah James to our family on Wednesday.

Isaiah is our first grandchild and we’re excited grandparents! And Amy’s an excited aunt!