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.