Hello Everyone:

There are some new greens in your basket this week.  Not everyone received the same "leaves".  All are closely related to Arugula, so consume them the same.

Bau Sin has a fuzzy leaf, and a peppery flavour.  

Mibuna has long, slender leaves, and a very mild flavour.

Tokyo Bekana has a light green leaf.  Its flavour is hotter than the Mibuna, but not as hot as the Bau Sin.

If you received Arugula this week, you will receive one or another of the alternative Asian Greens next time.

Spinach was not on the list this week, but it was looking quite good the other day, so I added it to the baskets as well.

Our Celery improved somewhat this year - its flavour is not quite as strong due to increasing its watering.  Still small, probably due to the undersow crop being seeded a little too soon after the Celery was transplanted.  We have found that its intense flavour goes a long way, so use a little less of it than you usually would.  I found that it was too stringy for raw celery stalks, so sample it first before serving as such.  

By the way, undersowing is a growing method where a ground cover crop is sown under the main crop.  In this case, it was a low growing Dutch clover.  This is a first for us.  We are looking at different methods of suppressing weed growth (it did the job) without interfering with the main crop.  We could have waited a little longer to allow the celery to establish itself - it probably had to fight for sunlight and nutrients the first few weeks after transplanting. As well, when all of the celery is harvested, the clover will be tilled into the beds, providing a lot of composted material for the leaf crops (in this case, spinach) next year.

This weeks bed of Potatoes did not perform as well as most others, so there is not enough spuds for next week.  It appears that the bed for two weeks from now will have a similar yield.  The October beds look fine and healthy, and have not had any beetles or other problems.  As long as the season is not too wet, we should have a good take of winter storage potatoes, I anticipate starting in October.  If the season continues to be too wet, it is possible that we may have some late blight.  I have not heard any rumours of this disease (what ruined the potato crops in north west Europe in the 1800's), so I presume we shall be ok.

I shall start harvesting the Parsnips later this week, so there wil be a different root on the table.  If you would rather save these, they should keep for some time in the fridge.

Fall Peas are staring to send up there vines, and the next round of beans has begun - I anticipate everyone should be getting them in the next week or so.  More yellow and orange carrots next week as well.

Bob.  

Hey Folks:

A note about your Basil this week.  I was just about to leave the farm Thursday evening when I noticed that the sky was quite clear - one of the conditions that coincide with frost.  I knew the temperature was going down, and so gave the weather a quick check.  Sure enough, the revised forecast was now calling for lower temperatures and a risk of frost.  I went back, and covered up what I could. As I tightened up a row cover over the Beans, I caught a whiff of the Basil in the next bed.  What a reminder, it had not occurred to me.

Basil would turn black with plus 3 degree weather, even if not exposed to frost.  What to do?  It was getting late, and I knew that I would need an early (before dawn) start to the next day in order to hose down the Tomato and Pepper plants to prevent frost damage to them. (An old gardeners trick).  With so little time to do anything else, I grabbed the nearest buckets, and pulled all of the plants - roots and all - I figured with the roots still intact, the plants would not dry out as quickly.  I hauled the buckets to the car, tossed them into the back, and turned for home (Half way home I was wondering if the hoses were going to freeze overnight...)

So the Basil scented our apartment for the night.  I should have placed a cover of some sort over them, as the plants on top did dry out somewhat.

They were a bit messier than I wanted, and the well water is a bit too cold to really clean them but at least they were saved for a third harvest this year.  I debated whether to distribute the wilted portion of Basil, and opted to in the end.  Everyone received some.  Let me know if you would rather have less of this aromatic leaf (in better condition) in the future.

It is a tricky one to clean up with the particular facilities we have.  The heavy rain we have had of late also splattered the leaves, contributing to their appearance.

With the fall season here, there will be a lot of work preparing the field for next year, protecting the fall crops against changes in the weather, and getting as much as I can out of the shorter days.  A challenging time - my favourite season to farm.

See you soon,

Bob

The importance of variety in your leaf diet

Leaves are the place where plants deal with an array of challenges. The production of their food – photosynthesis – takes place in the leaves. This process involves freeing up oxygen atoms, which are unstable. This instability causes the oxygen grab other molecules (part of the plant) so that the oxygen can stabilize. Even these oxygen-based molecules (referred to as oxidants or free radicals) are not always stable, so the new molecules then try to grab more molecules within the plants. This action damages the cell structures. Plants have evolved to grow an array of anti-oxidants to intercept the oxidants before they cause damage.

Oxidants are produced during our own metabolic functions, as well as absorbed/ingested from a variety of sources, such as pesticide, medication, air pollution, etc.

Anti-oxidants remain intact after the leaf has been consumed, and continue to function within your cells. Some anti-oxidants are somewhat effective against many oxidants, while others are target specific and are very effective protection against a particular oxidant.

Which leaf vegetable provides the most effective source of anti-oxidants? This depends on which oxidants you are most concerned. There are hundreds (possibly thousands) of these compounds, and so a definitive, one size fits all approach does not make sense (though the pharmaceutical companies would have you believe otherwise – “nutritionists” have long touted beta carotene as the cure all, but they have little to say about the other hundreds of caratenoids).

Therefore, to my mind, the best way to ensure that you are receiving the optimal quantities of anti-oxidants is to consume the widest variety possible of leaf vegetables. Or to quote Michael Pollan, “eat food…especially leaves”.

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.