We have been selling our produce at various farmers’ markets now for more than 25 years. These last few years we attend 2 markets only – North York on Thursdays and Downtown Georgetown on Saturday mornings. It’s a privilege to deal directly with the persons who will eat the fruit of our labour – to talk and get to know them, and hear their comments & opinions about our vegetables. It’s also a lot of work – from picking & packing the day before, to early rising & loading the day of, and then driving to the market and setting up our stall.

In the spring when the days are longer the sun is rising during our trip in. There can be some beautiful skies!

But by this time of year it’s still dark for the drive in, and even when we arrive at market.

Market itself is usually a lot of fun – when the weather is good! Here are various shots of our market setup this season …

What’s in the box?

Sweet peppers, blackberries, cucumbers, carrots, onions, tomatoes & garlic.

extras – zucchini, & sunflowers

• Sweet peppers always seem to take so long to ripen & mature. Our plants have been loaded with green fruit for a long while, but are so slow to colour up. We’ve had a handful of purple ones, and last week we picked the first few mini red & yellow peppers, but still we wait for the red shepherds and all their sweetness, and the beautiful orange and yellow bells. So, we’ll pick some more green ones this week and add them to the share. And we’ll continue to wait (im)patiently for more colour.
• Everyone was excited for the blackberries last week. We have had enough rain & warm temperatures in the last while to ensure large, plump, delicious berries. The canes are heavy with fruit and (barring a bad weather event) we should be picking blackberries well into September.

• The summer vegetables continue … cucumbers, carrots, onions, and of course tomatoes.
• Our garlic is drying out nicely, so we are no longer calling it fresh. It’s been airing in the barn a few weeks now and is almost completely dried. There’s no difference in the way you use it, but it means that if kept at room temperature and away from moisture the bulbs will now last for many months. Enjoy!
• Our CSA members are telling us that they are maybe getting zucchinied out! So we’ll move zucchini over to the “extras table” and you can grab some or not – your choice. However you might want try this recipe for a zucchini pizza crust. We like it a lot – https://kirbiecravings.com/zucchini-crust-pizza
• We are also hearing that the heirloom cucumbers are not a hit – too big & seedy is the consensus. Thank you for letting us know! Next season we’ll put our efforts into some other crop rather. We always appreciate feedback on the contents of our boxes. It helps us decide what to grow, and how to improve our CSA.
• There is a chance I overplanted sunflowers! At least it seems we are picking vast amounts each day in this warm weather. Please help yourself to a handful of these bright beauties along with all your vegetables. We have plenty for everyone to enjoy!