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.

Hello everyone:

Sorry for the pro-longed radio silence.  It has been a very busy couple of weeks.  I try to keep my posts as optimistic as possible, but with the multiple challenges to stare down, I have been hard pressed to find enough positive stories to relate.  2013 will likely go down as my least favourite farm season ever...and hopefully the most disappointing.  The best that I can say is that I have expanded my farm knowledge base, and have won some battles - more on these below.

We have been preparing beds as fast as possible to make up for lost time (due to unexpected off-farm employment early this year) to get a good crop for the fall.  My strategy has been to get the longest season crops in first (Fall Peas, late summer Beans, Beets, Turnips, Carrots), and then to work my way down to the shortest season crops (Spinach, other leaves, Radish).

In some cases, we had empty beds available, but in order to follow our rotation system, could not put particular crops in.  Eg, we had an empty Bean bed but could not plant Radishes in it as the following leaf crop next year would have suffered from following a Brassica family plant. (In our rotation, Leaf crops excluding Brassica family plants follow Peas and Beans).  Most crops suffer when following Brassica's.

In the meantime, all of the established crops need tending, and the rain has ensured that the weeds and grass needs tending more so than the previous two years.  At least we have had a bumper crop of Nitrogen to build up our compost supplies.

A quick update on your food:

Tomatoes:  These are imminent - the plants are heavy with fruit.  However, the cool weather is delaying their ripening.  I have begun to lay some rocks under them to soak up and re-radiate heat to keep them warm.  As well, I have been pruning off as many leaves as necessary to let light get to the fruit.  Hopefully, the extra heat next week will bring them to fruition.

Peppers:  I found that I did not plant enough Pepper plants last year.  As I had doubled my customer base, I increased my Pepper s fourfold.  However, they are grinding along slowly, I assume due to similar reason as the Tomatoes.  The Hot Peppers appear to be ready to produce a lot of fruit.

The Eggplant failed shortly after transplant.   I suspect that it may have been in the hardening off shelter a little too long, and could not handle the transition.

Corn:  The stalks are producing ears - a few tassels have started to turn brown, indicating that the first cobs are almost ready.  Unlike last year, the variety is a hybrid sweet corn.

Broccoli:  The second round of Broccoli has done what our Broccoli did in the first two years here.  Nothing but leaves.  We are trying a third round for the fall, hopefully, the weather will co-operate with moderate temperature and lots of light.

Leafy Greens in general:  Plenty of Spinach, Arugula, Cress, Tokyo Bekana, Beau Sin, Pak Choi, Cabbage, and more Chard is on the way.  I have started to get the late fall Lettuce in as well.  I expect the next round of decent leaves soon, and these should continue until the close of the season.  Expect a lot of Spinach, I have two beds growing and two more on the way.

More Coriander and Parsley for  late September is on the way as well.  The Basil is ready for its next cut.  I was waiting for the Toms but think I will have to harvest some now so as to get some good quantity for the final harvest.

The Chard is growing slowly owing to too much under sowing of clover.  An improvement to make for next year.  In the meantime, we have planted more chard to hold for the late fall, and can take a few leaves before then.

Beans and Fall Peas:  The Provider Beans got off to a great start and then failed due to the heat.  I expected them to bounce back (they usually do when the weather cools, but for some reason they have not.  The following successions were a bit late, but I am starting to see some flowers now.  I expect these will be ready soon.  We have two successions that should carry us through to mid/late September.

I had to make a choice between Snap Peas and Snow Peas:

Snap Peas:  60 days (longer in the fall as the days get shorter), tolerant to Powdery Mildew - a fall growing challenge.

Snow Peas 50 day (longer in the fall as the days get shorter), not particularly resistant to Powdery Mildew.

What would you choose?  I went with Snow Peas and try not to fret about what - ifs....

Winter Squash:  For some reason, the 105 day Pumpkins are out of the gate sooner than the 100 day Delicata or 90 day Acorn squash.  Go figure.  This beds gets slightly less sun than the Delicata's.  We have 6 curing, another six on the vine, and several more blooms.  We may just barely get enough for everyone to get one.  A nursery mix up has caused some crossing, so there is a very interesting specimen in the field.  By the way, nursery mix-ups are completely inexcusable, as I am the boss, this is going down as my fault (so if we are short one pumpkin....).  These Pumpkins - New England Pie - make great soup, pies, and are simply great stuffed with a Pilaf and baked.  We had one keep until early February last year.

Beets and Turnips:  These crops taught me the following mantra - sow more seeds, thin out more seedlings, harvest bigger yields.  Three more rounds of beets (striped Chioggias, sweet Kestral, and smooth Merlins) on the way.  The Chioggias are recommended for winter storage.  With all the mice, I like the name Kestral as one of the varieties...At least two more rounds of turnip on the way, possibly a third.  The Rutabaga seem to be doing ok, though they will likely be a bit small.

Zuchini:  We had to clear the Zukes for three reasons.  First, they were becoming infested with a bug I had never seen before, and I did not want it spread to the other squashes.  Second, it was growing bigger than anticipated (advertised as a bush variety) but I found it was nowhere near the size of bush squash plants I have had here before.  It was shading Lettuce and spreading out over a bed - and preventing the sowing of - turnips.  Third, I assumed it would be done by now and the bed was earmarked this month for the Daikon Radish as well as other Radishes.  These could not wait any longer.  So the 12 plants had to go.  It fought us (Intern Randy and I) all the way with its spines, foliage, and hidden land mines of fruit and mice.  What a mess.  To top it all off, all of the infested foliage had to be carted past the Delicata and Pumpkin squash to get to the compost.  In the end we prevailed, with no discouraging words uttered (except when I macheted one of our irrigation lines during the fray...)

Green Onions, Potatoes, Carrots:  The great success story of the season.  Can't harvest them fast enough, even the two beds that were neglected have performed at improved rates over last year.  I planted Green Onions in between Peppers and this have proven to be a great way to save space.

I am sure there is much more to say, but would like to leave off for a while (this is technically my day off) and I should be keeping my head out of the farm.

See you next week, hopefully with more updates (and photos), and fewer reasons to frown.

Bob

Turnip Tagine

Whitsend's baby turnips are here - enjoy them in this aromatic North African tagine.

Garlic Update, August 5th:  Due to the damp weather, the garlic may not be fully cured.  I will deliver some this week from the first lot that was harvested, but will leave the rest for another 7 days.  This will improve its keeping capacity.

Garlic Update:

All of the Garlic is harvested and strung up to cure for the next two weeks.  We have a minimum of 10 bulbs per half share and 20 bulbs per full share.  there may be a couple more, depending on the varieties I choose to retain for seed stock.

I'll be including all of the garlic in one or two deliveries, so that you may have the opportunity to compare the different varieties.   I'll be looking for your feedback for taste, heat, and cooking qualities.  Garlic is turning out to be a great performer here at Whitsend, so expect more for next year...

As the Garlic beds are cleared, we start to prepare for our fall crop of cabbage family crops - Daikon Radish (Watermelon and Myshiagi varieties), Asian Cabbage, Arugula, Bau Sin, and Brocoli.

A note about plastic:

We are always looking for ways to decrease our use of plastic.  This year, our fruits and potatoes will start to come in paper bags.  Let us know how this works for you.  I feel that the paper is much better suited to these crops as they allow the produce to "breathe" and don't hold moisture against the skin of the fruit or tuber.  This will improve shelf life.

Until our technologists are able to come up with better materials (all they need is the incentive of  money), we shall continue to use plastic for most other crops.  These allow the produce to retain moisture between harvest and delivery.  However, bear in mind that mid or long term storage in plastic is not ideal for most fresh foods.  Leaves need to breathe, for example (that is why our bags are always left open during delivery).

Ideally, leaves should be stored in damp cloth.  Roots that go soft can be rehydrated by immersing in water for about 24 hours.  By the way, we have been allowing our Pak Choi to wilt slightly before delivery - this prevents the delicate stalks from breaking too easily.  Place in water for about 12-24 hours to re-hydrate is desired.  This particular variety (Long- White Stem) seems particularly delicate.  As such, you will never find it in your grocery store as it is simply not suitable for being trucked across the continent.  I hope you are enjoying its mild flavour as much as we are.

A note about Green Potatoes:

We try to cull out any green blushes from our harvest (I take these ones home).  In the event we miss one, simply pare off the portion with the green hue.  Accounts vary as to how "bad" green potatoes are.  The rule of thumb I use is that if the tuber has a very dark green hue, it is composted into next years food.  Light green is "farmhouse only".



The variety of White Potatoes you are getting is called Onaway.  These are a very short season potato best used for baking or roasting.  They are usually small to medium sized.  They have a very thin skin.  So thin, in fact, we have a difficult time removing all of the farm soil without rubbing off the skin.

The smallest potatoes are best prepared by agitating in running water to clean off soil, slicing or quartering (very small ones can be left whole), and roasting in the oven until tender.  Better yet, roast with garlic cloves, turnips,  micro carrots, Rosemary, etc.

Potatoes and Turnips and or Rutabaga mashed together make a great combination, and very quick leftovers for a busy day lunch.

Coming soon - Red potatoes (Red Norland's).  These are best for boiling or roasting.

A note about Fennel:

All parts of Fennel are edible.

The bulb is the main attraction - dice it into salads or cook it with fish.  The leaves can also be added to salads.

The stalks can be chopped and used as a replacement for celery in cooked dishes (a little too tough to eat raw).

*          *          *

Not everything in our field is a rodent out to get our food!

We have been seeing some "large mice" recently.  At least, I thought they were a bit large for mice, but no tell-tale tail (ie that close cousin of the squirrel, Rattus Rattus).

photo sourced from Wikipedia

Nathalie, one of our interns, saw one last Monday and suggested that it could be a shrew.  A quick check on the net pretty much confirmed it for me. Probably a Short tailed Northern Shrew.  Not a Rodent, these animals are closely related to moles.

They are generally carnivorous, eating everything from worms to mice.  They are one of the few mammals that have a venom, often using it to paralyse their prey for storage in their burrows.  Another reason why small farms can be dangerous for small, vegetarian animals...


In other news, the Garlic is ready for harvest.  We'll be going through the Garlic beds over the next week or two, taking notes to compare the different varieties for criteria such as size, soundness of cloves, and potential for reserving as seed stock.  The Garlic will then be hung up in the barn for two weeks to cure.  When that is finished, you will start to receive it in your baskets.

A small number of the most promising varieties are being allowed to go to "seed".  Garlic creates bulbils, from which new seed sock can be generated.  These are seed-like structures that are packed within a maturing scape.  These will enable us to start our own seed stock.  Garlic grown from bulbils generates very small cloves, so these cloves are re-sown for about five generations (one generation per year).  Each generation, we will select the best bulbs, and re-seed them.  The resulting off spring, or at least the very best off spring, will have adapted to the particular conditions of our farm, and (in theory) be very well suited to the particular conditions of Whitsend.  In other words, I assume they will have a sharp flavour, go to seed quickly, and tolerate dry conditions.

As per a suggestion from one of our customers last year, we will deliver several marked varieties each week.  This will allow you to compare the different qualities of the Garlics.

One variety, Persian Star, seems to be a late bloomer.  It just curled its scape this week, so you will receive a scape or two in the harvest soon.

One other note - I have added Endive to your harvest this week as I am worried that it will go to seed soon.  This Endive appears to be similar to a small Escarole, so probably best prepared by braising.  This is a new endeavour for us, both for growing and for eating.  I understand it is much in demand by folks who prepare veg juices that are used for medicinal purposes.

Talk to you soon,

Bob