Our roadside stand. The surprise of the season!

We were not really expecting much from this little farmstand. Past experience with a trailer of squash in fall or surplus sunflowers in summer, led us to believe that selling a few dollars worth of plants a day was all that could be expected. But instead we have sold an amazing amount over the last couple of weeks. Who knew!

Without our Toronto farmers’ market we have a surplus of vegetable plants to sell this year. So we filled the stand, and the trailer, clearly labeled everything & added a “self-serve” sign. Apparently gardening is a big thing this year but plants can be difficult to source – so we have benefited from this demand.

This past week was the big start to our selling season. Until now (other than keeping the farmstand stocked), we have had our heads down, working in the greenhouse & fields – seeding, transplanting, watering, weeding … and watching stuff grow. Then last week our CSA began – 3 pick-up days this year to accommodate all of our members safely & to coordinate with the harvest schedule. We finished the week with our 1st farmers’ market of the year on Saturday at Georgetown.

It was a busy week! It was a good week!

We enjoyed seeing all our returning CSA friends and meeting our many new members – though we couldn’t socialize and visit as much as usual.

And market was a different experience as well. One way walking on the street, a limit of 2 customers at our stall at one time, vendors spread out, speaking through facemasks (even more difficult was hearing & understanding people speak through masks while distancing) … But it was good to see familiar faces there as well. Several of our North York market customers even showed up to purchase our plants! Despite the rules & restrictions, sales were brisk and we had a successful 1st market day. Plus we have an online store for our Georgetown customers where they can purchase our products in advance and then pick them up on Saturday at a location separate from the market to avoid the crowds. These online sales are welcome (but a lot of extra work to prepare & package)!

What’s in the box?

Lettuce mix, radishes, salad turnips, baby kale, spinach & arugula.

It’s a salad sort of box this week, with a good mix of flavours, textures, colours, shapes … As usual all our vegetables have been washed once. You may want to wash them again. Store in a bag in the fridge where they will keep well for at least a week.

• Our lettuce mix is a beautiful & delicious blend of different kinds of red & green lettuces.
• You may find round, red radishes in your share this week or perhaps the long red & white French breakfast radishes. We have both kinds ready to harvest.
• Salad turnips are small, round, white turnips that resemble radishes, but without the bite (usually)! Mild in flavour, crisp, and quite tender, they are best eaten raw – simply wash, cut off the tops and enjoy! They can also be stir fried, sautéed, or steamed – both the turnips & the green tops.
• Our baby kale is tender and best when added to your salad. (Later in the season we’ll have large kale for cooking.)
• We received many positive comments on the spinach & arugula in last week’s box. Enjoy them again this week.

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A few pictures from around the farm today …

Our lettuce mix.

Eggplant & peppers in the ground finally.

New vegetable plantings.

One of my favourite spots on the farm.

One of Sage’s favourite spots on the farm.