It’s October but we are still harvesting eggplant and hot peppers!
We have started cleaning up the tomato patch. First we cut the plants from the bamboo poles. Then we yank the bamboo, remove the string, and pull the steel posts. Finally we will mow the plants down and spread compost over the ground.
Still some bees and bugs around …
The last blooms – in the garden, on the farm, in the wild …
Freedom from the routine we have been following since spring of seeding, planting, weeding, harvesting …
Amy completed her final seeding of the season yesterday – after more than 6 months of this weekly task.
I transplanted some lettuce, arugula, kale & mustard into the field this morning – that’s all. Next week I’ll plant those final trays that Amy seeded and then that job is done as well.
Weeding is a task we’ve mostly given up on. Certainly there are still plenty of weeds out there, but unless they are harming the crop, we will leave them be. Who has the energy to weed in October!
Harvesting continues, but with CSA pick-up only once per week there is less of that too. And only 2 more farmers’ markets – this year market ends at Thanksgiving.
So now we have a certain amount of freedom each morning to choose our work for the day.
Fall cabbage is here. These cabbages are small & tender, best eaten fresh. We enjoyed a coleslaw at dinner yesterday – our own fresh cabbage, sweet peppers, & carrots. Only the apple wasn’t from our farm. Yumm!!
We’re coming to the end of our carrots for this season – just some little, round, orange gems remaining. These are described as having a “nuttier flavour with herbal notes.” I’m not sure about that, but they are delicious and the skin is quite tender – no need to peel them.
We are picking a new patch of beets. It includes purple, orange and the red candy cane striped beets.
Radishes are a maybe for the box this week. They are a little small to harvest, but could be too big by next week or the worms could discover them, so we’ll see how they are Thursday morning.
Sweet peppers & green beans are also in the box this week.
And salad greens – lately that has meant spinach which grows great in this cooler weather. While we do have head lettuce too, it is being enjoyed by little worms around the bottom. So we have been skipping it, or cutting it higher and using it as salad mix instead of heads. We’ll see how it is this week. Seems like worms are thriving now. We’re finding them not only in the lettuce but kohlrabi, turnips, and other salad greens too. Be aware – an extra wash or rinse may be needed!
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Around the farm this week …
The fall cover crop is coming up and should provide a nice blanket over this field for the winter. This is where we will grow vegetables next year.
We are harvesting pawpaws – a heavy crop this year!
The coyotes had a good time playing on the row covers the other night!
At this time of year, it’s hard to see that our farm grows vegetables.
What were beds of tasty salad greens, beets, cucumbers, zucchini … earlier in the season, are now empty fields.
Of course we do still have crops growing …
These vegetables are for the farmers’ market (3 more Saturdays to go!), and our fall CSA program, which is just beginning this week and runs for 5 Thursdays.
Along with an assortment of salad greens, the fields contain beets, beans, carrots, kohlrabi, edamame, broccoli, cabbage & Chinese cabbage, Swiss chard, radishes, salad turnips. And more than a few weeds!
Amy seeded some trays of lettuce, arugula & mustards today and will make a final seeding next week.
This growing season is coming to an end.
What’s in the box?
Turnips, winter squash, carrots, green beans, sweet peppers, salad greens, green onions, garlic, kohlrabi.
This past winter, we visited my brother who served us delicious turnips. So delicious in fact that I decided to grow turnips this season, if only to cook that recipe. The turnips did not turn out great! We should have harvested them earlier – many are oversized or misshapen, and have insect damage. But there’s still plenty of good eating. Below is the recipe for Turnip Puff. Give it a try!
We appreciate your support of our small family farm, the confidence you place in us to supply your fresh produce, and your commitment to drive out to the farm (or the market) each week to pick up your box.
Thank you also for your encouragement, your suggestions, and your comments.
What’s in the box?
Winter squash, Chinese kale, green onions, garlic, spinach, carrots, green beans, edamame, sweet peppers.
Choose 1 winter squash from these 4 varieties – from left to right – Stripetti, Autumn Frost,Tetsukabuto, Black Futsu. You can’t go wrong with any of these!
Stripetti is a cross between spaghetti squash and sweet potato squash. The result is flesh that is stringy like spaghetti but with a touch of sweetness.
Autumn Frost has a rich, golden orange flesh very similar to a butternut squash.
Tetsukabuto has a sweet, nutty flavour with a smooth, yellow flesh.
Black Futsu is a Japanese squash with a creamy texture and chestnut flavor.
Back in week 2 of our CSA we included Chinese kale (also called Chinese broccoli or Gai Lan). This Asian vegetable resembles broccoli in flavour, but is perhaps a little sweeter. Every part is edible – stem, leaves, flowers. Enjoy it raw in a salad or cook it – steam, boil, stir-fry or grill. Traditionally it is boiled whole until tender (1 or 2 minutes) and then served with oyster sauce and fried garlic (green garlic). It is excellent drizzled with oil and grilled whole on the BBQ for a few minutes. Finish it with a sauce – combine 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp maple syrup.
Green onions are back and thriving now that the weather is cooler.
Garlic, spinach, carrots, green beans, edamame & sweet peppers are also in this final box for 2024.
Plenty of weeds growing too – here in the pepper patch. And because it’s September, we don’t care 🙂
Goldenrod blooming around the pond and along the railroad.
80 tons of mushroom compost has been delivered – and needs to be spread!
Sage is a big compost fan!
We have begun to harvest winter squash. The fruit is cut from the vines and put in piles, ready to be hauled to the barn.
Pulling edamame pods off the plants – a boring job, but we do get to sit. A welcome rest after picking squash!
Waiting on the pawpaws. (They are at least a couple of weeks away from harvest yet.)
What’s in the box?
Chinese kale or flowering broccoli, edamame, zucchini, sweet peppers, garlic, salad greens.
Chinese kale (left) or flowering broccoli (right) will be in the box this week.
Back in week 2 of our CSA we included Chinese kale (also called Chinese broccoli or Gai Lan). This Asian vegetable resembles broccoli in flavour, but is perhaps a little sweeter. Every part is edible – stem, leaves, flowers. Enjoy it raw in a salad or cook it – steam, boil, stir-fry or grill. Traditionally it is boiled whole until tender (1 or 2 minutes) and then served with oyster sauce and fried garlic (green garlic). It is excellent drizzled with oil and grilled whole on the BBQ for a few minutes. Finish it with a sauce – combine 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp maple syrup. Flowering broccoli is similar in that the entire plant is edible but it’s stem & leaves are thinner and softer. This broccoli has a mild mustard taste and can be enjoyed raw in salads or lightly cooked in stir-fries or soups.
Our 2nd planting of edamame (fresh soybeans) has been harvested. Edamame are full of protein, fibre and loaded with vitamins & minerals – a very healthy vegetable. And they are easy to prepare! Simply boil the pods in salted water for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the water & drain. Then squeeze the pods to pop out the beans and enjoy as a healthy snack. Delicious! We like them sprinkled with lime juice and salt. Or they can be added to soups, stews, salads, noodle dishes …
This will be the 10th time that zucchini has been in the box this season. This is also the last time! Our 3rd planting has succumbed to disease. Today’s pick included big & little, oddly shaped & perfect, yellow, green & multicoloured fruit – a sure sign that the harvest is finished. (Next week we switch from summer squash to winter squash.)
Sweet peppers, garlic and a salad green complete the box this week.
Patty pan summer squash, blackberries, green beans, sweet peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, beets, carrots, garlic.
Patty pan summer squash – similar to zucchini, but with a different shape. Our plants suddenly kicked in with a plethora of these bright yellow, flying-saucer-shaped summer squashes. Most of them are on the larger side (still delicious but not quite as tender as the tiny ones). Slice and grill them on the BBQ. Or cut into pieces and roast in the oven. They also make great soup. And of course zucchini bread or brownies. Our zucchini/patty pan season is quickly coming to an end. The plants looked great last week, but after Saturday’s storm they are covered in mildew and declining rapidly.
Blackberries are also finishing. This will be the final week for them.
Green beans, sweet peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, beets, carrots, & garlic complete the box.
A beautiful bed of lettuces, beets, kohlrabi & carrots ready for harvest, and the same bed after a week of harvesting. It is not worth spending the time, energy or money on keeping things weed-free at this point. The weeds are not harming the crop – but it sure looks messy!
Saturday market at Georgetown – it takes us about half an hour to set up the canopies & tables and unload all the produce & supplies off the truck. Then we begin creating our display.
One busy hour later set up is complete and we are ready to sell!
Amy with some of the blackberries we took to market, and Amy with empty boxes after selling most of those berries!
What’s in the box?
Edamame, green beans, sweet peppers, shishito peppers, beets or carrots, blackberries, tomatoes – large & small, salad green.
Edamame are fresh green soybeans with a history of over 2000 years, originally grown in China and then in Japan. There, it is a traditional bar snack eaten lightly steamed and sprinkled with salt. Edamame are full of protein, fibre and loaded with vitamins & minerals – a very healthy vegetable. And they are easy to prepare! Simply boil the pods in salted water for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the water & drain. Then squeeze the pods to pop out the beans and enjoy as a healthy snack. Delicious! We like them sprinkled with lime juice and salt. Or they can be added to soups, stews, salads, noodle dishes …
We waited a long time for the green beans to start producing – now they are going strong!
Sweet peppers this week – choose from a green bell or a red shepherd.
Shishito peppers are the vegetables that keep on giving – so you keep getting! Each plant produces an enormous crop of delicious peppers.
There will be a bunch of beets or carrots in the box this week.
We continue to pick a lot of blackberries – but the canes are emptying fast. Another week or two and the season could be done. While the quality remains good, the size of the berries is rapidly decreasing.
Our tomato plants are looking great for the end of August – better than usual. We are optimistic there will be tomatoes for some time yet.
I enjoy eating all the vegetables we grow … except for green beans!
I don’t like the taste, I don’t like the texture, I don’t like the way they squeak when I bite them.
But I’m in the minority. Green beans are very popular with our CSA folks and market customers.
So we grow them. A lot of them! This season we seeded 14 times, 200 feet each week – which makes a row of beans more than half a mile long! A lot of green beans for sure!
But there have been beans in the CSA box only once so far this summer.
What happened?
The short answer is weeds & weather. We got behind on the weeding early on and this, together with some bad-bean-growing-weather from Mother Nature reduced the harvest considerably.
Until this week! This week we finally have green beans again!
Here are some photos of our next plantings. The potential is there for yet a plethora of beans.
Nobody enjoys picking beans. It is a tiring, back-breaking chore.
To make it easier & simpler we choose varieties that produce most of their crop all at once. Then when the majority of beans are the perfect size, we cut the whole plant off, bring them into the barn and sit & pull the beans off the plants. It works great!
Rosemary loves playing in the plants once the beans have been removed. The empty plants are thrown on the compost pile.
One way I will eat green beans – and enjoy them – is this recipe (adapted from Simply in Season cookbook) …
Thai Green Beans
2.5 cups green beans – steamed for 8-10 minutes or until bright green & lightly crunchy.
1/4 onion chopped
1 Tablespoon fresh ginger – peeled & minced
1-2 cloves minced fresh garlic
In wok or frying pan, heat 1 tsp sesame oil and sauté about 5 min until onion is tender.
Add the steamed beans & stir to coat with the sauce.. Simmer over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Serve over rice. Garnish with cashews, sesame seeds, or slivered almonds.
What’s in the box?
Green beans, basil, yellow zucchini, blackberries, tomatoes – large & small, lettuce, garlic.
Extras – eggplant, kohlrabi, hot peppers.
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Around the farm this week …
We received 66mm of welcome rain this weekend! The ground soaked it up quickly.
We transplanted several beds of vegetables including lettuce, green onions, beets, herbs …
Picking, planting & weeding are our 3 main jobs for much of the summer.
Planting is the one that surprises a lot of people. They assume we plant the farm out once in spring and we’re done. Then we spend the rest of the season picking.
We wish it were so!
But it is a bit more complicated than that.
Some crops are indeed planted just once. Tomatoes, eggplant, peppers get started in the greenhouse mid-winter, are transplanted to the fields in spring and we harvest them until frost.
Most of our vegetables are started in trays – in the greenhouse in early spring & fall, and outside during the summer – and then transplanted into the field when they are a few weeks old. This allows us to control moisture & temperature and makes for better seed germination.
All the salad greens (including lettuce, spinach, arugula, baby kale, bok choy) and herbs (dill, cilantro, basil) are planted weekly. Green onions and beets are biweekly. Kohlrabi, fennel, edible flowers are seeded every 3 weeks. Edamame every 4. Broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage & Chinese cabbage are seeded once or twice in spring & fall, not in the summer – they don’t like the heat & humidity. We usually have 2 or 3 plantings of zucchini & cucumbers.
Radishes & salad turnips are seeded directly into the field in early spring & sometimes in fall – usually 2 or 3 times. Green beans are seeded into the field every week – usually 12 or 13 times. Sunflowers are seeded twice a week – 100′ of row every Monday & Thursday.
If it all sounds a little complex & confusing, it can be. We have spreadsheets, charts, calendars, notes. But mistakes still do happen. And of course the weather can mess things up as well – or fix things up!
But for those of us who get a thrill from planting seeds and watching them sprout and grow, it’s a wonderful time, a miraculous time … a busy time!
What’s in the box?
Green peppers, blackberries, head lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, shishito peppers, cucumbers, garlic.
Extras – Eggplant, jalapenos.
Fruit share – final week! – mixed fruit
The 1st of our green sweet peppers are available this week. Yellow, orange & red peppers have been a struggle for us in recent years. They tend to rot or get eaten as soon as they start to colour up. We’re still working on finding a cost-effective and labor-efficient way to grow quality coloured peppers. Until then our peppers will be green!
Our blackberries are amazing so far this season! Enjoy them for a couple of weeks yet.
A beautiful patch of head lettuce is ready to harvest – including mini-romaine and summer crisp.
There will be another bunch of carrots in the box. That will finish up this bed – more carrots to come hopefully before the season ends.
Tomatoes of every size and colour, shishito peppers, cucumbers and garlic finish the box.
Eggplant and jalapeno peppers are available for those who who like them.
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Around the farm this week …
The driveway patrol on duty!
Loving the dahlias we’re growing this year – not to sell, just for our own pleasure!
A brief thunderstorm rolled through the farm late this afternoon. Just enough rain fell to freshen things up, and water the vegetable seedlings I transplanted earlier in the day.
(By the way, in case you did not notice, I have not mentioned the weather here for 3 weeks now – not since week 8! This is a big deal for me!)
The hot & humid weather these past weeks has been challenging for the plants as well as the people on the farm! While the summer crops – tomatoes, peppers, eggplant – love hot weather, sometimes they will not set fruit when the temperatures are this extreme. Often the blossoms simply fall off and the crop can be affected later, in a few weeks. But the plants themselves are mostly thriving and producing well right now.
Vegetables that prefer cooler temperatures and more moisture – all the salad greens, green onions, fennel, beans – are having a harder time. For example, the lettuce doesn’t taste as sweet nor are the leaves as tender. The spinach harvest is much smaller as many plants dried up. Green onions are short and barely green. Green beans are taking forever to mature.
We still have a lot of great produce to harvest, but what ends up in our CSA box or on our market tables may differ from our original plans. The timing of the vegetables can also change. But these variations are normal. The weather always dictates our course, and we adapt accordingly. This is why we grow so many different crops and varieties. Some may fail while others flourish. It makes farming exciting!
Fruit share – a mixed basket of peaches, nectarines & blue plums.
Our 1st carrots of the season are ready to harvest. Fresh carrots are hard to beat for flavour!
We picked an abundance of blackberries today. And they are beautiful! Large, dark & delicious – a bit sweet & a bit tart. The only way to eat a blackberry is to pop the whole thing in your mouth. Try to take a small bite and you will be covered in dark, staining juice. While best eaten fresh, blackberries also make great jam, juice, sauce & ice cream. (Lorie has her homemade blackberry jam for sale in the barn.)
*Please note that we do use pesticides on our blackberries. For many years we did not. That was one of the good things about growing blackberries – no spraying necessary! Then along came the spotted wing drosophila. Spotted wing drosophila is an invasive vinegar fly that has the potential to cause extensive damage to many fruit crops, especially soft and dark coloured fruit – like blackberries. In the last number of years it has been found throughout much of southern Ontario and most of the fruit-growing areas of North America, and has become a chronic pest in berry and tender fruit crops. Effective biological controls are not yet available. There are cultural practices that we use to help reduce the insect populations, but the only effective control right now is chemical. And so we spray regularly to try to kill the spotted wing drosophila and protect our blackberries. We would rather not! But then again, we would rather not have worms in our blackberries either!
Shishito peppers are back again! These are small, bright green peppers, with a sweet, fruity flavour and thin, tender, wrinkled skin. What makes a shishito exciting is that 1 in 10 peppers could be slightly hot! They are simple to prepare and delicious – char them 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 & pepper and a splash of lime juice and some parmesan cheese, and serve immediately. Eat the whole pepper – except the stem. Charring shishitos on the BBQ also works well, or try them in the air fryer.
Our 2nd planting of cucumbers is producing. These, together with tomatoes (large & small), a salad green & garlic complete the box.
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Around the farm this week …
Our 2nd zucchini planting is already succumbing to disease. Fortunately the 3rd planting is close to producing, and we will continue to have zucchini to harvest.
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