CSA 2020 – Week 12

August 17, 2020 by Thiessen Farms 1 Comment

It’s been a while!

After a disappointingly dry weekend – despite rain in the forecast, rain on the radar map, and rain falling around us – we finally received a good downpour late this afternoon.

And here is the proof – puddles in the yard!

But more importantly, when I dig down in the vegetable fields the rain has soaked right in. What a blessing!

It came at the best time too. I had spent much of the day transplanting vegetables on the farm. Where the onions were recently harvested, I planted lettuce mix and spinach.

Where I had put in beets a couple of weeks ago, I replanted beets again – another 2000+ beet plants to replace the 2000+ that didn’t make it through without rain (despite my daily watering).

I had just filled the sprayer with water to water these transplants in when the precipitation began.

Plus, the water truck had just emptied 2500 gallons of water into our cistern so I could begin watering the tomatoes, peppers & eggplant which are showing signs of stress.

Today’s rain will help all the crops on the farm. The new vegetable transplants will get off to a great start, and the blackberries, tomatoes and other vegetables will be refreshed & re-energized.

And I won’t have to spend so much time watering – for at least a few days!

What’s in the box?

Edamame, shishito peppers, green peppers, salad greens, green beans, blackberries, tomatoes, zucchini, onions or green onions, garlic.

(Please remember to return your boxes and any containers for reuse. Thank you!)

We have grown edamame for years, to sell at our farmers’ markets, but have never offered it in our CSA boxes – till now! Edamame are fresh soybeans that are picked when the bean pods are plump & ripe but before they start to dry up. (They are not the same as the fields of soybeans that are grown all over the province.) Edamame are full of protein, fibre and loaded with vitamins & minerals – a very healthy vegetable. Traditionally served as a Japanese bar snack, they are easy to prepare. Simply boil the pods in salted water for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the water, drain and sprinkle with lime juice. Then squeeze the pods to pop out the beans and enjoy as a healthy snack. Delicious!
Shishito peppers are another Asian delight – a small, thin, bright green pepper, with a sweet, fruity flavour and thin, tender, wrinkled skin. What makes a shishito exciting is that 1 in 10 peppers will be hot! They are simple to prepare and delicious to eat! While you can use them as you would any other sweet pepper, they are at their best when charred in olive oil in a cast-iron skillet or other heavy pan over medium-high heat. Cook the peppers whole, turning occasionally, until they begin to blister on all sides. This only takes a few minutes. Sprinkle with salt and maybe a splash of lemon or lime juice and some parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Eat the whole pepper – except the stem.
As usual the sweet peppers are taking their sweet time to ripen. Rather than wait for colour, we’ll pick some green and enjoy them now. There will be plenty of red, yellow & orange peppers later.
There will be another pint of blackberries in your share this week. Please check last week’s newsletter for details on our use of pesticides on the blackberries.
The rest of your box this week will include a salad green (lettuce, spinach, baby kale or arugula), green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, an onion or a bunch of green onions and a bulb of garlic.