I have been a total slacker lately in regards to blogging. The garden pace has slowed down so much since the Wednesday market ended and I've been doing all kids of other stuff than being on the computer.
I actually got in the garden last week and spent a day weeding and rototiller in empty veggie beds in order to get them ready for winter cover crops. It felt great to get so much done. It had been quite a while since i was able to weed. With all the crazy amount of rain that we had received this summer the soil never really dried out enough to be able to weed. So, I'm feeling much better about how the garden looks. The path ways were really out of hand so I took our push mower and mowed them all down. Much better.
Last Monday Mom and I headed over to New Brunswick to visit two other CSA farms to gain some insight into their operations. It was great to see how they do certain things and the different crops that they are growing. Amarosia Farm near Shediac was a beautiful farm situated so close to the water. They grow so many different things including lemon cucumbers, 8 ball zucchini, Shiso, Amaranth and spaghetti squash as well as regular items such as beans, carrots and potatoes. They operate a 75 member CSA as well as three farmers markets and a health food store. Needles to say they are really busy. The second farm was Nature's Route Farm just outside of Sackville. They also have a 70 member CSA and they go to the Sackville market. They grew a large variety of vegetables as well including potatoes, carrots, beans, corn, beets, dried beans and onions. Each farm was very impressive and I really feel like I'm small potatoes in comparison but I saw some things that were really neat that I will try next year.
The market is still going really well in Summerside. The vendors have decided to go year round which will be a first for Summerside area. It is a great opportunity for local shoppers to support their neighbors and farmers.
Yesterday was a unique day here on the farm. All the kids from our church were invited out to the farm instead of their regular kids time. Around 10:30 6 or 7 cars pulled into the farm and out ran lots of excited and happy kids. We had a great time. We showed them our chicken tractor, how we grow the veggies, our favorite tools, a tour of the garden, fed the horses carrots and had a great veggie snack. Many of the kids had never been to a farm and they loved the open space and all the different veggies. One little girl got quite a kick out of the fact that broccoli grew the way it did. It was a great morning.
This big spider was busy spinning a web in the middle of the tomato patch
