A refreshing, lightweight summer soup. Red chard stems give the soup a delicate pink colour. Another winning recipe from Greene on Greens by Bert Greene.
Whitsend Market Garden grows a broad variety of quality vegetables on a farm near Ottawa, Ontario. Join our CSA: buy your local food in advance and get baskets of delicious seasonal vegetables delivered to your doorstep from June to November. Whitsend Market Garden is on the cutting edge of traditional farming...
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Thursday, 2 August 2012
Hey Folks:
There is quite a bit of work going on at the farm. Most of which involves keeping the crops intact - Watering, providing shade with row covers, laying (and emptying) mousetraps, and picking cucumber beetles are taking a lot of time.
When it comes to pests, I try to spend some time observing them to learn as much as I can about them. I learned quite a bit bout earwigs the first year I did container gardening, spending late evenings out in the garden with a flashlight.
This year, the mice in particular are proving to be a challenge. My bait of peanut butter was ineffective, even as they burrowed into the potato beds. I was beginning to suspect voles, a root loving rodent. I finally caught one, after switching baits and getting better at finding their runways. I have considered going out very early in the morning to do some "mousing", but with the work schedule being what it is, commuting time, and having a fairly delicate sleep/wake cycle at the best of times, that has prove impossible.
However, the mice seem to be obliging me with opportunities to observe them. They seem to be so desperate for water that they will leave their shelters and scurry into the open areas to reach the irrigation system - I saw one the other day licking condensation off of a hose, and another scurried past me while I sloshed watering cans about. The plants aren't the only things that are thirsty.
A very positive development is the arrival of two red tailed hawks in the area. They are welcome welcome welcome!
Another positive development in the "has legs not leaves" category are frogs. The first March I was out at the farm, the field was full of hopping amphibians. This spring, I found that their numbers were way down, I presume due to the tractor and tiller tearing up the field. Their numbers have begun to rebound, and I have noticed quite a few in the past couple of days. I catch as many as I can and place them in the most sheltered areas in the field - near the cistern, or with the Brussels sprouts or in the cold bed (the two beds with the most moisture and shade cover). Nature being what it is, the frogs and toad population will continue to grow, and a new population will begin to move in - snakes! These in turn will become interested in baby mice, and eventually, the whole meal.
This is where organic gardening proves that in the long run, less is more. If I were dumping pesticides and poison into the field, this chain reaction of pests/little predators/big predators would not occur, as the poison would concentrate on its way up the food chain and eliminate the top predators. Predators, such as snakes, are much better adapted to hunting mice. They have the forked tongue to can sense mice much better than I can, and their ability to crawl into burrows enable them to follow my pests into the ground.
By letting nature do its thing, I will require less time for hunting mice, and more time to tend to your food.
Talk to you soon,
Bob
There is quite a bit of work going on at the farm. Most of which involves keeping the crops intact - Watering, providing shade with row covers, laying (and emptying) mousetraps, and picking cucumber beetles are taking a lot of time.
When it comes to pests, I try to spend some time observing them to learn as much as I can about them. I learned quite a bit bout earwigs the first year I did container gardening, spending late evenings out in the garden with a flashlight.
This year, the mice in particular are proving to be a challenge. My bait of peanut butter was ineffective, even as they burrowed into the potato beds. I was beginning to suspect voles, a root loving rodent. I finally caught one, after switching baits and getting better at finding their runways. I have considered going out very early in the morning to do some "mousing", but with the work schedule being what it is, commuting time, and having a fairly delicate sleep/wake cycle at the best of times, that has prove impossible.
However, the mice seem to be obliging me with opportunities to observe them. They seem to be so desperate for water that they will leave their shelters and scurry into the open areas to reach the irrigation system - I saw one the other day licking condensation off of a hose, and another scurried past me while I sloshed watering cans about. The plants aren't the only things that are thirsty.
A very positive development is the arrival of two red tailed hawks in the area. They are welcome welcome welcome!
Another positive development in the "has legs not leaves" category are frogs. The first March I was out at the farm, the field was full of hopping amphibians. This spring, I found that their numbers were way down, I presume due to the tractor and tiller tearing up the field. Their numbers have begun to rebound, and I have noticed quite a few in the past couple of days. I catch as many as I can and place them in the most sheltered areas in the field - near the cistern, or with the Brussels sprouts or in the cold bed (the two beds with the most moisture and shade cover). Nature being what it is, the frogs and toad population will continue to grow, and a new population will begin to move in - snakes! These in turn will become interested in baby mice, and eventually, the whole meal.
This is where organic gardening proves that in the long run, less is more. If I were dumping pesticides and poison into the field, this chain reaction of pests/little predators/big predators would not occur, as the poison would concentrate on its way up the food chain and eliminate the top predators. Predators, such as snakes, are much better adapted to hunting mice. They have the forked tongue to can sense mice much better than I can, and their ability to crawl into burrows enable them to follow my pests into the ground.
By letting nature do its thing, I will require less time for hunting mice, and more time to tend to your food.
Talk to you soon,
Bob
Monday, 30 July 2012
Roast potatoes with sauce gribiche
This is how we prepared the summer's first Red Norland potatoes. This intriguingly named recipe - “gribiche?” - is from Super natural every day by Heidi Swanson. It’s a kind of roast potato salad with lots of eggs and extra vegetables. The original recipe (more or less) is below, followed our slightly different version.
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Hey Folks:
Once again, sorry for the extended silence. I’ve had my hands full for the past while.
I can’t recall the context, but Tom at Elmtree once said that there would be days in which you’re being hit from several different directions at once. Days for sure, but how about an entire week?
The Potato Beetles are almost gone, the Tomato Hornworms are down to a dull roar, the weeds are withering in the heat, and the well is holding out. The problems in the nursery (damping off, earwigs, and sun scorch are apparently managed – more on that another time). The Tomatoes have recovered from their slow start and seem to be producing a decent yield. Last year, my Peppers produced a fine crop of leaves, but I am starting to see some nice fruit forming. Not so bad, eh?
The new challenges are Mice and Flea Beetles. Usually, Flea Beetles are only a nuisance, nibbling small holes in crops such as Arugula and Kale. Once these crops are past the seedling stage, the beetles leave them alone or do little to no damage. However, the Beetles seem to be thriving and have ruined the Kale, Arugula, and Nasturtiums. I managed to intervene in time to get them off the Basil and Turnips, and the Brussels sprouts seem to be doing Ok.
Of the mice, I am all too aware of the potential damage. So I will likely have my hands full for the next while. If anyone out there has a pack of bored Jack Russell Terriers, I’ll gladly put them up for a while.
All that said there are a number of positive things happening in the field. The Tomatoes are bouncing back from a slow start. The yield seems to be down a bit from last year (as well as a bit late), but much higher than I anticipated a couple of weeks ago. The Belle Island variety of Cress looks interesting and seems to be doing better than the Persian Broadleaf some of you have had thus far. I’m getting a few more Spinach plants to germinate in the heat. The sweet Kestral Beets are coming along, and I intend on planting a second round of them soon. The Callalloo is a heavy drinker, but I seem to be getting enough water to it. The Corn is just getting taller, the Kidney beans are in flower, and the Delicata squash plants have shrugged off the Cucumber Beetles and are slowly starting to march across the length of the bed.
The Tree Swallows have left the nest house (and the farm it seems), but a Humming bird and a flock of Goldfinches have arrived. I saw two Red Tailed Hawks overhead the other day as well. A large frog has taken up residence near the cistern, and a much smaller one is hanging about the cold bed. A new ground hog is in the area, but seems to prefer Dick’s hay field; besides, the drought has helped keep the grass down around the electric fence and so it is conducting quite nicely.
A note about the Garlic: I check all of the cloves I send out for external blemishes or bulb softness. However, I can’t know for sure how the cloves are inside. It would be helpful if you notice any marks in the flesh, as the quality of the various types will help me decide which varieties I will focus on for next year’s planting. If you find a bulb with yellowing or brown marks on the cloves after you peel it, please let me know. I can replace them for you with your next basket. Your comments on the different types are also appreciated.
And one last note – thanks to those of you who came out to the open house. Special thanks to Erica for the extra help preparing for the event. It was an enjoyable day and we can do it all again next fall (probably mid September). It will most likely be on a Sunday. If I have to do it on a Saturday, then the harvest might get pushed back to Thursday – two big events in two days was just too much!!!
I’ll have more to write soon, I am sure.
See you on Friday evening,
Bob
Once again, sorry for the extended silence. I’ve had my hands full for the past while.
I can’t recall the context, but Tom at Elmtree once said that there would be days in which you’re being hit from several different directions at once. Days for sure, but how about an entire week?
The Potato Beetles are almost gone, the Tomato Hornworms are down to a dull roar, the weeds are withering in the heat, and the well is holding out. The problems in the nursery (damping off, earwigs, and sun scorch are apparently managed – more on that another time). The Tomatoes have recovered from their slow start and seem to be producing a decent yield. Last year, my Peppers produced a fine crop of leaves, but I am starting to see some nice fruit forming. Not so bad, eh?
The new challenges are Mice and Flea Beetles. Usually, Flea Beetles are only a nuisance, nibbling small holes in crops such as Arugula and Kale. Once these crops are past the seedling stage, the beetles leave them alone or do little to no damage. However, the Beetles seem to be thriving and have ruined the Kale, Arugula, and Nasturtiums. I managed to intervene in time to get them off the Basil and Turnips, and the Brussels sprouts seem to be doing Ok.
Of the mice, I am all too aware of the potential damage. So I will likely have my hands full for the next while. If anyone out there has a pack of bored Jack Russell Terriers, I’ll gladly put them up for a while.
All that said there are a number of positive things happening in the field. The Tomatoes are bouncing back from a slow start. The yield seems to be down a bit from last year (as well as a bit late), but much higher than I anticipated a couple of weeks ago. The Belle Island variety of Cress looks interesting and seems to be doing better than the Persian Broadleaf some of you have had thus far. I’m getting a few more Spinach plants to germinate in the heat. The sweet Kestral Beets are coming along, and I intend on planting a second round of them soon. The Callalloo is a heavy drinker, but I seem to be getting enough water to it. The Corn is just getting taller, the Kidney beans are in flower, and the Delicata squash plants have shrugged off the Cucumber Beetles and are slowly starting to march across the length of the bed.
The Tree Swallows have left the nest house (and the farm it seems), but a Humming bird and a flock of Goldfinches have arrived. I saw two Red Tailed Hawks overhead the other day as well. A large frog has taken up residence near the cistern, and a much smaller one is hanging about the cold bed. A new ground hog is in the area, but seems to prefer Dick’s hay field; besides, the drought has helped keep the grass down around the electric fence and so it is conducting quite nicely.
A note about the Garlic: I check all of the cloves I send out for external blemishes or bulb softness. However, I can’t know for sure how the cloves are inside. It would be helpful if you notice any marks in the flesh, as the quality of the various types will help me decide which varieties I will focus on for next year’s planting. If you find a bulb with yellowing or brown marks on the cloves after you peel it, please let me know. I can replace them for you with your next basket. Your comments on the different types are also appreciated.
And one last note – thanks to those of you who came out to the open house. Special thanks to Erica for the extra help preparing for the event. It was an enjoyable day and we can do it all again next fall (probably mid September). It will most likely be on a Sunday. If I have to do it on a Saturday, then the harvest might get pushed back to Thursday – two big events in two days was just too much!!!
I’ll have more to write soon, I am sure.
See you on Friday evening,
Bob
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