Sunday 25 August 2013

Hey All:

A day off.  I sometimes feel like farming is not hard work, but when I find that a day of driving through rural Ontario and hiking at a restored Mica Mine is relaxing, it starts to put my weekly activities in perspective.

The past few weeks have seen a flurry of activity, and one by one, beds have been cleared of recently harvested crops and filled with seeds or transplants for the late fall. 

For Leaf vegetables, our next successions of Lettuce will include some that we have been familiar with from the beginning of the season, and a winter Lettuce that I tried for the first time last year – the French heirloom Rouge D’hiver.  Some of you will begin to see our “Red Baron” variety of Green onions.  It does not do well in our nursery for some reason, but I think I planted more than enough to ensure everyone will get to try this treat. 

We will have more Spinach, Pak Choi, Arugula, Asian Cabbage, and some new greens.  Bau Sin is similar to Arugula, and as far as I can tell, more familiar in some parts of India.  It is currently being trialed in other parts of Asia as well.  I have also planted some Mibuna, another Mustard Green more common in Japan.

I have purposely planted less of these new crops, as I have no idea as to what to expect.  Last year, I planted many Chrysanthemum Greens as a first time crop and presumed that it would work out Ok.  It grew very well, but tasted a lot like grass.  It took me a while to figure it out it's best culinary uses, and taught me to go easy on new crops.  (I suppose the tiny Red Carrots, a new variety for us this year, taught me a similar lesson).  New crops need some trial and error to get right.  By the way, the Chrysanthemum worked out so well it now has popped up in a couple of far-flung reaches of the field...

For roots, we have more Turnips, Beets, and Radishes on the way, with some varieties not introduced so far this year.  These have germinated well.  I have learned a bit from the first successions of these crops and now have a more uniform germination rate, especially with the beets.  I have also watched the Daikon Radish (Watermelon and Myshiage) start to grow.  These are a new endeavor for us, a request from our intern last year.  Thanks, Erica!

All summer, while our successions of the above crops have been planted harvested, and planted again, many long season crops have been growing their way to fruition.

We will begin eating them soon.  Some of them, very soon…

Corn:  Our “Sweet Luscious’ variety has done fairly well.  The first few ears did not quite get enough water, despite my attempts to ensure this improved over last year.  I have increased the water a little more and found that the kernels responded immediately.  The corn harvested for the full shares on Friday were slightly better than the ones harvested on Monday.  I expect this improvement curve to continue for the next week. 

“Tango” Celery:  Again, water seems to be an issue with this crop.  Their bed was richly amended with compost this year, and I have tried to increase the water application.  There is still room for improvement.  The taste is not bitter, but it is definitely a crop that will require a “less is more” approach in the kitchen.  As well, the stems are quite small.  The new variety for this year (Utah Tall) did not make it out of the nursery due to some heat issues – it was scorched and was destined for the compost before getting to the field.  Other priorities prevented me from replanting it in time, and as it is a very long season crop 90 days), only has a limited window for transplanting.

I am hoping that the Celeriac is doing ok, but as always with roots, one can only know what is going on down below the soil when the plants are pulled.  Same with the parsnip.  I just might pull one this week to get a better idea.  The Rutabaga is slowly coming along; I should have a better idea as to how it will turn out soon.

The Tomatoes and Peppers are starting to pick up their pace.  I have tried to give everyone one or two this week.  There will be more in the next week or two.  Hopefully, a lot more…

There is so much more to say, but time is short, and with lightning in the forecast, I should be getting an early start tomorrow and should head for the bed soon.

A tip about this week’s corn…it is at its best fresh, so be sure to eat it as soon as you can.  Do not delay.

See you all soon,

Bob


PS – One customer had a question about how I manage the Colorado Potato Beetle.  This season may be the season in which I have figured out how to effectively manage this ravenous pest.  However, there is no one simple solution.  I have several strategies, depending on the age of the Potato plant and the time of season.  I will try to answer this question fully in the next week or so, possibly as a “Curious Food” essay.