“Why are your hot peppers so expensive?”

It’s a question we hear sometimes at market, and we aren’t always sure how to answer it.

On Saturday Amy replied that it’s a lot of work to grow them. The woman who asked the question was amazed that we actually grew our hot peppers, and incredulous that it would involve work. ?? I usually respond by suggesting they really are not expensive.

This season’s pepper patch – smaller plants, with holes where plants have died. But there is a good crop or peppers & still lots of blossoms. If we have a warmer fall there should be peppers for a long time yet.

For the record, we sell our hot peppers individually for 25 cents each. There’s a reason for this. We used to sell the peppers in pints or half pint boxes but realized that people usually just wanted 1 or 2 peppers for a recipe, rather than a whole container. We don’t deal in nickels or dimes at market – for efficiency – so a quarter was the logical amount to charge. Some of the larger peppers sell for 50 cents even. Should a customer want a large amount of peppers, we of course give a better price.  Most customers like the option of being able to try several different kinds of peppers without having to buy a whole box.

Here’s a picture of our hot pepper display the other year at market (peppers in the middle row on the table).12 kinds of hot peppers arranged in order of hotness! (name labels are not visible in the photo).

Peppers have been slow to mature this season. We’ve only been picking a few peppers of the milder varieties for a couple of weeks now and the hotter varieties are still several weeks from harvest.

Peppers so far include (from top left, moving clockwise) poblano, Hungarian hot wax, jalapeno, serrano and shishito.

Shishito peppers are our latest pepper to try. Our son cooked in a restaurant in Vancouver and they are all the rage there, so we tried growing them. They grew well last season and sold quite well too, so we are growing them again this year. They are an heirloom Japanese pepper, bright green, with a sweet, fruity flavour and thin, tender, wrinkled skin. What makes a shishito exciting is that 1 in 10 peppers will be hot – and occasionally quite hot! They are simple to prepare and delicious to eat – certainly my new favourite pepper!

Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add some minced fresh garlic. Cook the peppers whole, turning occasionally, until they begin to blister on all sides. Sprinkle with salt (and maybe a sprinkle of lemon or lime juice) and serve immediately. Eat the whole pepper – except the stem.

We are just starting to see the sweet peppers change colour & ripen too. There should be some in the CSA boxes this week or next.

Peppers in the field …

 Shepherd

 Bell

 Mini bell

 Golden Cayenne

 Habanero

 Scotch bonnet

 Ghost

What’s in the box?

Shishito peppers, zucchini, beans, bok choy, lettuce, cucumbers,

tomatoes, blackberries, garlic. 

• Try these delicious Shishito peppers! See description & recipe above.
• Our new zucchini plants are growing like weeds and producing large amounts of beautiful & tasty zucchini.

• There will be beans in your box again this week – either green beans or Dragon’s Tongue. These are a flat bean – pale yellow with purple stripes. The flavour is great – flat beans are usually considered to taste better than round beans! Note that the purple stripes will disappear when the beans are cooked.
• Bok choy is back! Both the bok choy & lettuce prefer the less hot & humid weather we’ve had lately (until today!).
• Our cucumber plants are finally looking a bit weary. They have been producing prodigious amounts for several weeks now – and continue to do so. But the end is in sight! Enjoy cucumbers in your box again this week.
• The tomato plants are still healthy – unusual for late August. Lots of new growth with many little tomatoes forming. It has been a great tomato year!
• The recent rains have been a great help for the blackberry canes. They continue to ripen berries but the amounts are already decreasing. Enjoy a box of berries in your share.
• We put a garlic bulb in the CSA box each week. Garlic lovers probably eat it all, while others are able to store bulbs to use later in the fall season. Remember to keep it dry and away from any moisture for maximum storage life.

Cleaning garlic is always a welcome job to finish the day – especially a hot Monday!

Friday night & early Saturday morning saw some much needed rain fall on our farm. It was coming down hard when we left for our Saturday market, but stopped before we reached Georgetown. We had a very successful market day!

The rain refreshed the crops and the ground and caused a jump in growth. Everything looked different this morning – greener, fresher, bigger …

… including the vegetables I transplanted on Friday, in anticipation of the rain.

We have covered some of the new plantings with the insect cover – not only to prevent the bugs from chewing the plants, but also to discourage the rabbits which have been feasting on some of our seedlings.

The tomato plants continue to pump out the fruit …

The new zucchini patch is starting to produce.

The next rows of sunflowers are opening. Sunflowers bring a lot of smiles at market!

Some winter squash is showing up now as we drive past the squash field. It’s always a surprise when we finally wade through the vines to see what is there.

The water garden that I mentioned in yesterday’s post was buzzing with bees & butterflies today – lots of them! That is Joe Pye weed they are enjoying.

What’s in the box?

Lettuce mix, arugula, kohlrabi, blackberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, garlic.

• It’s been a few weeks, but there will be lettuce mix in your share this week! Red & green leaves in an assortment of shapes & sizes, ready to make a tasty & beautiful salad. Add some spicy arugula for even more flavour!
• Kohlrabi is also back. Peel it and crunch it raw, grate it into a salad or make noodles with your spiralizer (our favourite way to eat them!). We saute them with onions & garlic & fresh tomatoes.
• Blackberries are amazing! Both sweet & tart, they taste great! I’m sure they get eaten almost immediately – but if not, store them in the fridge. They will keep for a day or two.
• Our new CSA and farmers’ market customers have been hesitant to try the white cucumbers – but almost everyone who tries them comes back for more. Crunchy & delicious – I can’t get enough of them. We will have lots of big green cucumbers too. Cucumber salad anyone?!
• Our garlic is mostly dry now. Break off as many cloves as you like to cook with, and keep the rest of the bulb unrefrigerated, and in a dry spot. They should keep well.

Other vegetables coming along are … beans – the next rows of beans are sizing up & we’re picking a few. We have harvested some sweet peppers too. As I mentioned earlier in spring, our peppers got off to a rough start & we ended up with less plants than we wanted/needed. They are now finally starting to ripen. Our new zucchini patch is starting to produce. The sweet corn is forming little ears and should be ready in a few weeks. Look for all these in your box soon.

The animals are all feeling a little jealous this week because …

… we welcomed little Isaiah James to our family on Wednesday.

Isaiah is our first grandchild and we’re excited grandparents! And Amy’s an excited aunt!

We woke up one morning, a few weeks ago and discovered we had no water. Not one drop came out of our taps!

Our water comes from a well in our yard (about 125′ deep) and services our house, Amy’s house, both barns and the greenhouse. Not having any water is a big problem.

It was a CSA pick up day so there were lots of vegetables that needed to be washed & prepped. It was also the hottest week of the summer. Water was a necessity!

We formulated a plan. Friends who live one road over and have town water allowed us to wash our vegetables in their yard. My in-laws around the corner let us shower at their house, and my sister, who lives in the city brought us pails of water for drinking. It was awkward & inconvenient but it worked.

Water is something can be easily taken for granted – until it’s in short supply!

On our farm we are mostly dependant on the rains to provide enough moisture for the crops. While we have no control over the amount or rain that falls, there are steps we have taken to make the best use of the precipitation we receive.

The most important is to build up our soil.

By using manure & compost (instead of just chemical fertilizers) we increase not only fertility but also the soil’s organic matter which improves its ability to hold moisture. Because manure is increasingly difficult to source, we grow cover crops and green manures. These are non-vegetable producing plants that we grow for a season or part season and then work into the ground to add organic matter. A portion of our farm is always growing cover crop instead of vegetables. The next season we grow vegetables there and plant cover crop on another area.

We also use a lot of straw mulch. This keeps the moisture in the soil and prevents it from evaporating and drying in the hot sun. In fall the straw is worked into the ground again providing organic matter & improving the soil.

Cultivating or disturbing the soil is something we try to do less & less of. Keeping the ground covered with something – be it cover crop, vegetables or even weeds – keeps it from drying out. It doesn’t always make the farm look as nice as freshly worked dirt, but it’s healthier for the farm.

This summer has been quite dry overall and we can see how our soil improvements are helping to retain moisture and save our crops.

We collect water as well, so it is available when needed for watering vegetables & crops. Most of the rain that falls on our barn roofs is saved in cisterns – one at the end of each barn.

From there we pump it into a raised tank from which we can easily fill the sprayer/water tank and then water new transplants or other vegetables as needed.

We wash all our vegetables outside, beside the barn (an indoor washing room is in the plans for the future). The dirty water is sent to our water garden – a sunken area filled with moisture-loving native plants that use all this waste water and thrive!

Beautiful in early spring too!

Our well was not fixed (new pump) until later the following day. We were 2 days without running water, and still marvel each time we turn the tap and water flows out!

What’s in the box?

Blackberries, baby kale, cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, garlic, onions. 

• Blackberries are always a highlight of the summer. It seems almost everybody enjoys blackberries. Picked properly they are a little sweet & a little tart. If they aren’t quite ripe, they are sour. Too ripe and they are soft & mushy, but incredibly sweet. We try to pick them as ripe as possible, but while still firm. Unlike raspberries, blackberries are not hollow, but have a centre core which is soft & edible. The only way to eat a blackberry is to pop the whole thing in your mouth. Try to take a small bite, and you are covered in black, staining juice. Blackberries are best eaten fresh, but also make great jam, juice, sauce, ice cream …

• 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 fruits like berries and dark coloured fruit like blackberries). In the last few years it has been found throughout much of southern Ontario along with most of the fruit-growing areas of North America. It has become a chronic pest in berry and tender fruit crops in Ontario. 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 (and elderberries). We would rather not! But then again, we would rather not have worms in our blackberries!
• Baby kale is great eaten fresh in salads. But it can certainly be used like the larger kale leaves and cooked in your favourite recipes too.
• We have been receiving lots of positive feedback on the white cucumbers. Many people prefer them to the more common green ones. The plants continue to do well & are producing an abundance of delicious, crunchy, cucumbers. Of course we also have green cucumbers for the traditionalists!
• Your share this week will contain a colourful assortment of tomatoes – both cherries & the larger beefsteak types.

• Of all the vegetables we grow, green beans are probably my least favourite. The only way I really enjoy them is in the Thai Green Beans recipe. We have posted this recipe before, but here it is again (see below).
• The new garlic isn’t quite so new anymore! It is quickly drying out, so it is maybe not as juicy, but it will keep better. If you are not using it up, leave it to dry out completely in an airy, dry area. Then it will last all winter.
• I am still disappointed in the tiny onions we grew this season – I keep thinking of those huge ones we had the other year. But it turns out that many of you prefer the small, single serving size. That almost makes me feel better!!

Thai Green Beans (from Simply in Season cookbook)

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.

1.5 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon Thai sweet chilli sauce
Add to taste.

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.

Thank you for remembering to return containers!

The sky darkened, the thunder rumbled, the lightning flashed. A handful of raindrops fell.

And that was it!

The clouds moved out over the lake and today’s storm, with its promised rain was over.

I had spent a good part of the day seeding & transplanting vegetables into the field in anticipation of this rain. The soil is very dry & a good rain would have got the newly planted seedlings off to a great start, and encouraged the seeds to germinate quickly.

While there is more precipitation in the forecast for overnight & tomorrow, I chose not to count on it and I watered everything myself.

Here’s a crop update for this week …

The next few plantings of beans (& sunflowers) are growing well, as are the cucumbers.

Our squash patch is as healthy & lush – and mostly free of weeds – as it’s ever been.

There are lots of little squashes forming, and still so many blossoms too – most containing a bee or other pollinating insect. Passing by the field you can hear them all buzzing.

The new zucchini patch is all mulched and the zucchini plants are growing rapidly.

We have started to pick blackberries – not a lot yet, but they are coming! There should be enough for our CSA boxes within a week or two.

The blackberries would also benefit from some rain. Mostly they look great – but more canes than usual are shriveling up & dying, something we don’t like to see.

This was the week we planned to have bunches of fresh basil in the CSA shares. But the rainfall the other week – while so beneficial to most crops – caused the basil to turn dark & diseased. So unfortunately there will be no basil in the boxes.

What’s in the box?

Cucumbers, green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, onions & new garlic.

• I hate growing cucumbers! Harsh words I realize, but true. The plants start off so well, but succumb to disease quickly, the cucumbers themselves are often deformed from insects, and they aren’t fun to pick. Every year I complain about them and threaten to stop growing them all together. But then every year I seed them again – mostly because they are my favourite vegetable to eat! This season the plants started off well – and are continuing to flourish. The first fruit was indeed a mess – but they are improving. Of course they are still a pain (literally) to pick! But I’m glad I grew them again! There could be up to 4 varieties in your share this week. Enjoy some longer green ones, shorter green ones, the super delicious white cucumbers and an old heirloom variety we tried this year called poona kheera. Here’s how the seed catalogue describes them –Creamy, light-green fruits; very delicious flesh, crisp, and juicy. Sweet and mild. Fruit shaped like a potato, with skin turning brown as they ripen. One of our best varieties that is disease resistant and very hardy. Vines produce early and the yield is very heavy. A wonderful heirloom from India that has become our most asked-for cucumber.
• Green beans, tomatoes, zucchini, onions & garlic – all the making for delicious summer salads. Here’s a link to a zucchini salad we are enjoying this summer – https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/zucchini-noodle-salad-recipe-with-bacon-tomatoes-low-carb-paleo/ . Please share some of your favourite summer salad recipes with us, and we’ll include them in this newsletter.

Sage hanging out inside the barn this afternoon, just in case the rains came!

Sunrise, as seen from the Burlington Skyway on a Saturday morning at about 5:30 AM back in June. I always try to snap a few photos from the bridge, on our way to market – though they rarely turn out, with the dirty van windows, the 100+ kmph speed and the fact I’m still half asleep.

But this week the calendar turns to August, and lately when we cross the bridge the sun has not yet made an appearance. So no more blurry pictures!

August also means we are about half way through …

… halfway through the summer, half way through our CSA program, halfway through our farmers’ market season (almost), halfway through our growing season … and halfway through our energy (just kidding!)

We are now getting into our summer crops – tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers … Overall they are looking good!

But perhaps surprisingly, our CSA boxes might be a little smaller for the next few weeks. A very hot & dry July set us back. The vegetables slowed down their growth & size of harvest. We lost big plantings of carrots, fennel, cabbage, beets & greens … crops we should be harvesting now. So instead of an abundance, things will be lean. Thankfully we have had some moderation in temperatures & some very helpful rains. The vegetables are growing well again, and we’re able to keep planting. Abundance is just ahead!

What’s in the box?

Cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, beets, new garlic, zucchini.

green beans – Friday only.

• The first of the cucumbers are ready – the white ones! Called silver slicer, we have been growing these for years. They’re great for eating (crunchy & delicious) and good to grow (dependable, early & high yielding). We are also starting to pick some heirloom varieties that are light coloured as well. For the traditionalists, the normal, common green cucumbers should be ready for harvest next week.
• Those of you that have been a part of our CSA in previous years will remember the large, sweet heirloom onions we grow called Ailsa Craig. We have them again – sweet & delicious, but not big! In fact they are really small. I’d like to blame the lack of rain for their size, but much of the fault lies with us. They simply got too weedy and had too much competition from the weeds for the moisture that was available. The result is smallish onions. Maybe next year …
• The remainder of your share this week is vegetables that have in the box already – tomatoes, beets, new garlic, & zucchini.
• The next planting of green beans won’t quite be ready for Tuesday’s pick up, but there should be beans by Friday.

The start of August Anytime is a time for relaxing for these guys!

It was a very welcome rain that we received on the weekend!

The entire farm is looking & feeling refreshed. Vegetables, berries & trees, birds & animals – and us!

At least 35mm fell, and was immediately absorbed by the dry ground. The plants seemed to perk up and green up overnight.

A new planting of beans & sunflowers that I seeded about a week ago and watered & watered, popped up!

With the ground being moist, I was able to cultivate the squash & pumpkins. They are beginning to send out runners & spread so I won’t be able to get in again without damaging the plants. Then I seeded a cover crop over them. It will germinate & grow, together with the squash (& also the weeds). Later this fall after the squash is harvested there will hopefully be a nice green crop of vetch remaining. It will continue to grow until frost & then die over the winter, but provide cover & protection for the soil until spring. When we work it in it will provide nitrogen for the next vegetables.

There are plenty of trays of seedlings growing and waiting for their time to be transplanted into the ground – lettuce, bok choy, assorted herbs, fall cabbages, green onions, beets …

Elsewhere on the farm, the garlic harvest has begun. The garlic plants have started to brown up which means it’s time to pull them.

They are brought into the barn & stacked on racks where they will dry for a few weeks. Then we’ll trim & clean them and the garlic will be ready to enjoy!

What’s in the box?

Tomatoes, baby kale, kohlrabi, green onions, lettuce, beets, new garlic,

green beans – Tuesday only. 

• The tomato plants are outdoing themselves with blossoms & little tomatoes. And now we can see ripening fruit – on the larger tomatoes as well as the cherries & smaller ones. The rain will certainly give them a boost & production should increase rapidly! Last year at this time the plants were already showing disease & declining in vigor due to the hail we received. We’re excited that they are healthy & flourishing this season!
• Baby kale is exactly that – kale that is picked young & small. This makes them more tender & mild and they can be used fresh & without cooking. We prefer them in a salad with kohlrabi & green onions. Add broccoli if you desire and dried cranberries & almonds and top with a poppyseed dressing. Delicious!
• I had been watering the latest lettuce patch too, trying to keep it growing & renewing and tasting great. Of course the rain does a much better & more effective job than I ever could.
• The beets will still see the effects of the dry weather. They continue to be small – but tasty!.
• Enjoy the fresh garlic. Remember that it is not dried, so use it quickly once you break it open. Or let it air dry in the open, to be used later.
• Our next planting of beans is behind due to the dry & hot weather. Lots of blossoms but no beans yet. Tuesday pick up will get the last of the old bean patch – but there will be none for Friday or our market CSA boxes on Thursday. But there will be something else instead. Maybe zucchini, or carrots or …

Those of you that visit the baby chicks when you pick up your share, will find them outside now – enjoying the grass & weeds and just being outdoors. Sage enjoys them too, spending a lot of her time “babysitting”.

Tomato hands is what we call them!

It’s what our hands (or at least Amy’s) look like from pruning and tying tomatoes. They are not only coloured green, but that green is thick, sludgy & caked on and so difficult to remove. The best way is actually with a tomato – break it open, rub it all over your hands, working it in good and then finally wash everything off. But a green tinge and the tomato aroma linger …

Pruning tomatoes – or suckering as we call it – is the big job on the farm right now. We prefer to stake all our tomatoes, tying them to bamboo poles. Then we prune them, snapping out the suckers or shoots that grow from the joint of the main stem and the branches of the tomato plant. If we left these suckers, they would grow into branches with lots of leaves and eventually more fruit. Removing them leaves the tomato plant a little more tidy & less bushy. It allows air to move freely through the plant reducing the risk of disease. The tomatoes will grow & ripen faster and be larger as the plant is putting its energy into this fruit rather than growing more foliage. They will not be blocked from receiving the sunlight from lots of extra branches, so the fruit will be more colourful & sweeter.

We feel suckering & tying the tomato plants gives us superior fruit & is worth the added work. And it is a lot of work! It has to be done again & again … every week is ideal. In a perfect world we would keep up, but all the other jobs on the farm still have to be done and so we fall behind. Then it is major surgery to remove the suckers & tie up the twisted, falling stems – challenging & slow work, but satisfying when completed. Of course letting the suckers get so big & then cutting them off is hard on the plant too.

We usually try to keep the plants tidy & trimmed & tied until they grow to the top of the bamboo poles. By then we’re busy harvesting – and sick & tired of suckering & tying – so we let them go wild and be free!

Tomato plants overdue for suckering & tying.

The completed plants.

We usually leave 2 main stems on each tomato plant – sort of a compromise between pruning to get earlier, bigger fruit and getting more fruit from each plant. It works for us!

Our large beefsteak tomatoes – yes, they are turning colour! As usual we got some suckered & tied, while some will be left to sprawl over the ground. At least they are easier to pick than the cherry tomatoes!

What’s in the box?

Tomatoes, raspberries, new garlic, lettuce, arugula, zucchini, green onions.

Green beans – maybe?         extras – garlic scapes

• The first tomatoes will be in your share this week – perhaps cherry tomatoes, or medium/salad size, or even a large juicy beefsteak tomato. We probably won’t have a big harvest, but it will be a taste of what’s to come!
• We don’t have a lot of raspberry canes left on the farm, and even the new rows we planted this past year have disease and are doing poorly. That’s why we never even included raspberries in our list of possible crops you could expect in your CSA box this season. But there are some this week – a nice surprise!
• Enjoy a fresh bulb of new garlic. Because it is just pulled and not dried, it should be kept someplace with good air circulation, and out of the sun. Do not put in plastic or in the fridge. Once the bulb has been started, try to finish using it within a few days.
• We have been watering our next planting of lettuce to try to encourage it to grow! Now it’s ready! Enjoy a fresh salad again this week – perhaps with some spicy arugula to liven it up. Arugula is one of our most popular crops at our farmers’ markets. People absolutely love it! Some eat it alone as a salad (with strawberries, feta cheese & a drizzle of balsamic vinaigrette) while others mix it with lettuce or other greens. It’s also great in sandwiches.
• Zucchini & green onions will be in your box again this week.
• Green beans are a maybe for this week. The dry conditions are causing the first planting to yield less and the next planting to grow slowly. We’ll see what we are able to pick.
• Garlic scapes will be available as an extra for those who want some.

Please remember to return all containers, so they can be reused!

It’s early July, and there’s a subtle shift on the farm. The early crops have mostly been harvested and cleaned up. The ground is being prepared for the next plantings.

Our “big” crops – tomatoes, peppers, eggplant & squash – are all growing nicely now, and we’re impatiently waiting for them to ripen.

We don’t like to use a lot of plastic mulch on the farm. It’s difficult to lay done efficiently without the proper equipment, it requires irrigation and we don’t like the waste (it’s only good for 1 use). However we have used a plastic ground cover under our eggplant (just visible in the background). It’s a heavier woven material that can be reused for maybe 5 years? Because it’s woven, some of the rain can seep in and it’s relatively easy to install by hand. The holes for planting the eggplant are burned into the fabric. This material is under most of our eggplant and we used straw for the remainder. We’ll be able to compare and determine if there is a difference in how the plants grow & produce.

Other crops are mostly growing well, despite the lack of significant rainfall.

We left some of the bok choy that went to seed in last week’s heat. It’s now in flower and being enjoyed by the bees & other pollinators.

The blackberries are just finishing up their bloom and the tiny berries are forming. Look for them in August.

What’s in the box?

Your box this week mostly contains vegetables that have appeared before – only green beans are new this week. The drier conditions mean the lettuce isn’t bouncing back quickly for another cut. And the next plantings of lettuce, bok choy … are growing much slower without the timely rains.

Snow peas and/or green beans, carrots, beets, zucchini, green onions, kohlrabi, garlic scapes.

• Our last seeding of snow peas is ready as is the first seeding of green beans. Your box will contain one or the other. The peas sure don’t like the heat & our being stingy with their production! And the beans are just starting. So we don’t have an abundant harvest of either!

Everyone seems to be feeling these dog days of summer!

It’s hot!

It’s really hot!

This isn’t news to anybody in this part of the country. Day after day of temperatures in the 30’s, but feeling like 40+ (not to mention the humidity)!

Not just people are feeling the effects of this heat. The farm is hugely affected too.

Some vegetables thrive in the heat …

The zucchini patch is growing by leaps & bounds. Zucchini really flourishes in this kind of weather. While best picked every other day, we skip the weekend which means a lot of large zucchini on Monday morning!

Hot weather also brings out the insects. (Generally hot weather brings more insect damage while wetter weather causes more disease issues.) Our zucchini plants were covered with cucumber beetles, a tiny black & yellow striped insect which eats leaves, blossoms & fruit and causes a lot of destruction. They also transmit diseases which can reduce yield, & eventually destroy the plants.

To combat the cucumber beetles I sprayed with kaolin clay an organic spray which covers the plants & fruit with a white powdery layer, making it unappealing to the bugs. It’s not a foolproof solution, but it does help and we find it preferable to using chemical pesticides.

The peppers that were struggling, are now thriving in these hot temperatures. After being buried under their blanket of straw mulch, we can finally see them (those that survived) poking through.

And the tomatoes are laden with a lot of ever-expanding fruit.

Other vegetables are suffering in the heat …

A patch of bok choy that we had just started to harvest went right to seed over the weekend. While the yellow flowers are bright & cheery, they signal the end of this harvest.

Similarly, the new rows of baby spinach have gone to seed before we could even begin to pick them. You may have found the radishes in last week’s box a little tough & woody – blame the weather! The snow peas were good last Monday but on Wednesday it rained & we couldn’t pick. By Friday they were oversized and no longer tender – that’s why there were no snow peas in Friday’s boxes. Less extreme temperatures would have allowed all these vegetables and others to be harvested for a longer time.

Disappointing? Yes. Discouraging? Perhaps a bit. But weather fluctuations & extremes are neither uncommon nor unexpected. There are more plantings of these vegetables (spinach, bok choy, snow peas) that will be ready soon. Hopefully we’ll reap a good harvest from them. And we’re excited to see the crops that are doing well right now.

There is still plenty of good stuff to pick for market & CSA this week!

What’s in the box?

Beets, zucchini, carrots, Chinese cabbage, kale, green onions, garlic scapes.

The kitchen does not beckon on these hot days! This week’s CSA box features vegetables that can be eaten uncooked or grilled on the BBQ. Enjoy some new vegetables and some favourites too!

• The first beets are ready! Certainly they are a favourite vegetable of mine – and many of our CSA members too! We prefer them roasted , or on these hot days we eat them raw in salads, usually shredded or spiralized.
• Zucchini – We have green, yellow, patty pan (round & scalloped), and striped (both light green & darker green ones). Basically they all taste quite similar and can all be used interchangeably. As mentioned above, they are a larger size overall, which makes them great for the BBQ. Cut into thick slices, brush with olive oil, season with salt & pepper and grill for a minute or two on each side. Zucchini is also good raw, in salads or slices for a snack.
• Carrots grow slowly. Weeds grow fast. There’s always a conflict & the carrots rarely come out the winner! This season we have been starting our carrots in trays & then transplanting them into the field with our paperpot transplanter (see last weeks newsletter for a more detailed description – https://thiessenfarms.com/2018/06/25/csa-2018-week-5). They are growing well & we are better able to keep them weeded. However, we are not getting beautiful, long, straight carrots – shorter, weirder shapes seem to be the norm. This results in a bit more work to wash & prepare. But the flavour is great! Please tell us what you think!
• You will find Chinese cabbage in your share this week instead of lettuce. It is mild & tender and can be used in salads, or coleslaws or as wraps.
• Kale, green onions, and garlic scapes will also be in your box again this week.

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It won’t be long now!