CSA Pick-up Week #3

Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture of the shares this week before the truck headed to Charlottetown. This weeks share included:
Lettuce mix
Snow Peas
Swiss Chard
Snap Peas
Strawberries
Beet Greens
Garlic Scapes
Dill
Green Onions
Cilantro

I'll try and get the guys to snap a picture before the truck leaves on Saturday morning to get a photo uploaded then. Until then if anyone needs more info about what the veggies are or what to do with them check out the paper newsletter included in the share or send us an e-mail. Thanks

We're home

We made it home and out of the hospital finally Sunday afternoon after spending a full week getting prepared for the real world at home. I was not ready to leave the hospital until Sunday as I felt really unprepared for what was ahead but I am feeling much better now. The boys are settling in quite well although the lack of sleep at night is tough. Luckily they slept a full four hours last night so we did manage to get some shut eye. The days are busy for Derek with farm work, and me with e-mails, feedings, poopy diapers, cuddles, the odd nap and trying to remember to eat and drink. So far so good but it sure is a lot of work.

Help in the field

Today we had a wonderful family come to the farm to help us weed some of our more desperate sections. In about an hour we were able to weed three beds of broccoli and cabbage. The pig weed was completely over taking the actual crop and I knew for ages that it needed to be done but there just seemed to be so many other areas first. Those beds were also covered with row covers to protect against the flea beetles so it was rather easy to ignore them. Today the row cover was pulled back and the weeds were eliminated!! Thanks so much Chris and family for taking time to come and help us!!

Second CSA Pick-up Tuesday July 7

We had another very successful CSA pick-up at the Charlottetown location today. Thanks to all our wonderful members for their great feedback and commitment to the program. I was impressed that most members had gotten through most of last weeks veggies which is impressive because there were ALOT of greens last week. Check out the photo below for this weeks share basket.


The second week of veggie goodness

1= Joi Choi (a large bok choi)
2= Garlic Scapes, the flowering part of the garlic plant. Excellent chopped and used as you would garlic cloves.
3= Beet Greens, yes those are beet greens even though they are red. So yummy just steamed with salt & pepper and a little bit of butter, yummy. Derek's favorite.
4= Mizuna, simply chop and add to salad or throw into a stir-fry
5= Daikon radish. Similar to regular radishes but a bit more on the spicy side. This is a very popular vegetable in the Japanese culture.
6= Radish, probably the last week for round red radishes, or at least until the fall when the temperatures turn cool again
7= Lettuce mix, baby lettuce greens great on their own!!
8= Strawberries, need I say more. We picked these at 2:30 this afternoon and CSA pick up started at 4. It doesn't get much fresher than that!!!
9= Spinach

This will probably be my last week at the Tuesday pick-up for awhile as these babies are probably not going to wait much longer. I"m still feeling great and am still harvesting, weeding but am not that fond of the copious amounts of black flies that enjoy munching on me. My full term due date is this Friday so we'll see what happens, maybe I'll be able to get one more week in there.

We also had a great CSA pick-up on Saturday at the Summerside Farmers Market. It was fun to see old and new members and have a chat about the veggies included in the basket that week. The market celebrated its first birthday last weekend and what a crowd!! The place was packed. There was children's entertainment, buskers, free pleasant pork hotdogs, free ice cream and strawberries and hourly draws for market money. We were sold out of everything except for one Chinese cabbage by the end of the day. It was a great day.

First Tuesday CSA Pickup

Today was our first CSA Tuesday pick up and it was a success. I am always so nervous before the first pick up because you wonder, will people be happy with the selection? Will there be enough produce to fill the baskets? Will every one show up? Below is what was included in the first weeks share of the CSA. We'll see you all again next Tuesday, enjoy your veggies.



1 = Komatsuna
2 = Mizuna
3 = Spinach
4 = Strawberries
5 = Summer Turnip
6 = Arugula
7 = Tatsoi
8 = Chinese Cabbage
9 = Radish
10 = Lettuce Mix

Potato Bugs!!

The potato bugs are full steam ahead. John and I have been walking the patch and picking every morning before it gets too hot. We pick them into ice cream containers and then put them in water to drown. Sounds rather harsh but if we did nothing they would completely eat the plants down to the ground and no tasty taters for the CSA or market. The beetles get really active later on in the day so its best to try and nab them while they are still rather sleepy. We are looking at purchasing a back pack vacuum that would suck the beetles off the plants. It sure would beat bending over and picking them off the plants by hand. Another glamorous job here on the farm.

CBC Summer Series

Today was the kick off story to CBC Island Morning's summer series where our farm will be featured. It is always interesting and nerve wracking to hear your voice on the radio. Karen Mair came to the farm last week to do the initial interview and throughout the summer there will be more stories as they follow the ups and downs of our growing season. I'm assuming that Derek will be doing the next interview as I'll probably have my hands full with our new little farm babies. Countdown to baby time, less than 20 days now, yikes!!!

We had a great Saturday at the farmers market in Summerside. We had several unknown greens including Komatsuna, Mizuna and Tatsoi and that involved a lot of explaining to people what they are and what to do with them, what a great conversation starter.

The long range weather forecast for this week is looking much better than it did yesterday. We do need rain and my fingers are crossed for a nice soft steady 20mils but we also need warm calm sunny days to help the strawberries ripen, to help set in the transplants and to germinate some of the late planted carrot, bean and beet seeds.


The peas are growing very well


A look at the peas and turnip growing under row cover

Stay tuned into CBC radio Island Morning for more stories from the farm.