Follow the path south from our barn.

Go around the shop, past the chicken coop & the big greenhouse.

Continue alongside the berm until you reach the train tracks. Turn right.

And there is my favourite spot on the farm – especially on a hot day!

It’s a cooling patch of green, a narrow area between the tracks and the pond, only wide enough to drive through, and with just enough trees and shrubs to give a few seconds of shady reprieve from the heat & humidity as you pass through. Then it is back into the sun.

And indeed it was sunny & hot last week, more like July than the end of May. We were craving this shade! It was quite a contrast to the previous week when it was much cooler with even a frost one night. Now this week seems more seasonable.

People are asking us how this variable weather is affecting the crops. And what about the lack of rain?

Overall crops are growing well. While we could certainly use a good soaking rain (1″ per week is the ideal), it really isn’t dry. When we scuff the soil with our shoe, there is moisture not far below the surface. Vegetables that have been growing awhile have their roots down into this moisture. New seedings & transplants need watering until they get established – like today’s plantings.

What’s in the box?

Spicy salad mix, spinach, green garlic, potted plant.

• Spicy salad mix is always a favourite! Kale, mustard, mizuna, arugula … are added to our lettuce to make this salad mix. With a slight kick from the added greens, it makes for an amazingly flavourful salad.

• Spinach is growing especially well this season. If you were part of our CSA last year, you may remember we struggled to get enough spinach for much of the season – not this year! Enjoy another bag in your share this week.

• Green garlic was very popular last week so we’ll include it again. But don’t worry – there will be plenty of garlic remaining in the field for big, juicy garlic bulbs come fall.

• Choose a vegetable plant (tomato, sweet or hot pepper, eggplant) or an herb plant this week.

(The 2nd planting of radishes which were planned for this week’s box didn’t germinate – so no radishes. The last planting looks promising for next week or the week following. Salad turnips are so close – they should be in the box next week. Broccoli & beets are still a couple of weeks away.)

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Around the farm this week …

So many vegetables growing!

Cover crop field

Saturday was opening day of the Georgetown Farmers’ Market. The weather was perfect and the people of Georgetown came out in droves to support their market. We are so happy to be back for year 30!

I’m not the only one with a favourite spot on the farm. Seems everybody has their favourite hang-out spots as well!

Remember to bring your box back to CSA pick-up to be filled again!