Do you have any bees on your farm?

That’s a question we get asked a lot at market. People are concerned about the bees! I assure them that on our farm there seems to be a lot of bees … and butterflies .. and all sorts of insects.

Right now the sunflowers are teeming with life! So many bees and other flying insects! When we finish picking a patch, I don’t mow it down immediately but leave what remains (misshapen blooms, crooked stems, uglies …) for the bees to work – and they love it!

There are bees in the wild areas too – in the weeds around our pond, along the railroad tracks …

… and in our gardens by the house.

Our water garden – where the water from washing our vegetables drains to – has had an abundance of monarch butterflies lately. They especially like the Joe Pye weed.

What’s in the box?

Lettuce mix, beets, zucchini, shishito peppers, sweet peppers, tomatoes, blackberries, onions, garlic.

• Our lettuce mix is back in the box this week! The cooler temperatures of late (especially at night) have been good for lettuce, which prefers this over the heat & humidity. We continue to plant lettuce every week, so there should be lots coming.
• Today I cleaned up several beet plantings where we had been picking earlier. The beets here, hidden under weeds, are not the prettiest – they are all different shapes & sizes. But we ate some for dinner tonight and they were tender & delicious! Enjoy some beets in your share this week.
• The zucchini is also looking a bit strange now! The plants are struggling to survive (I’ll put them out of their misery after this week), but still producing fruit – albeit somewhat misshapen & oddly coloured fruit. So this is the last zucchini you’ll get in your box this season.
• We can’t stop eating shishito peppers. I’m so glad we planted a lot of them! Hopefully you love them too. Most shishito recipes char or blister the peppers. That’s the way we eat them! But here’s a recipe that’s a little different – pickled shishitos. https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/braised-pork-with-ginger-pickled-shishito-peppers
• Our sweet peppers are ripening faster now – the red shepherds and the coloured bells.
• The cooler nights have slowed the tomatoes right down. We’re picking a lot less now than a few weeks ago. But there’s still plenty of green fruit remaining on the plants so we’re not done yet – which is good news for all of us tomato lovers!
• Blackberries, onions & garlic complete the box this week.

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Here’s a recipe for a fresh & easy tomato salad that we eat all summer …

Fresh Tomato Salad

Combine
2 TB red wine vinegar
1.5 TB olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper 
1 clove garlic
Add …
2 cups chopped tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
2 cups chopped cucumbers
2 cups chopped sweet peppers
1/4 cup chopped (red) onion 
1 tin chick peas
Let sit for 2 hours.
Add …
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup feta  

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