First the peas. Sugar Snap Peas are part of the share for the next couple harvests, and I noticed something this evening while harvesting. The pea plant has a white flower that the pea pod grows through, enlargening until the flower falls off and the peas inside the pod begin to get plump. Because of the timing and type of rain we had today I noticed many peas had the flower still stuck to the pod. I’ve seen it before, but it was more common this time. The flower sometimes caused a bit of discolouring of the pod where it was stuck on by the rain. If you see this, just wipe the flower off and the pea tastes fine. Don’t throw it out because of a bit of discolouring! Peas are here for a limited time so don’t waste them!

The harvest management reminder is something I share each year, so here it is as a reminder for returning members and an explanation for new members. Crops have different harvesting requirements to catch them at their optimal readiness. Having two harvests a week for the fruiting crops like peas, tomatoes, beans, peppers and many others works well which is why I’ve always had a Tuesday and Friday harvest. Some crops, like lettuce, I plan to harvest twice a week planting a new planting every ten days to keep an ongoing crop available (I can’t always stick to that schedule). Zucchini and Pickling Cucumbers need to be harvested every two days since they grow so fast.
There are some crops, however, that have a wider harvest window, meaning they can sit in the field longer without over maturing. These crops include: cabbage, celery, fennel, carrots, and beets. For many years I would alternate weeks with these crops. But when I started offering bi-weekly shares I needed to change that. The first year of bi-weekly shares (I think 2010) I continued doing what I had always done, but by the end of the summer I realized some bi-weekly members never got any carrots, and others never got any cabbage. So what I started doing with these crops is offer them for two weeks and then take two weeks off. So, I started harvesting celery this week and will offer it for two weeks then take a break. It might be bit more than some weekly members want but it lets every one get access to all that comes from the garden…
Carrots, beets, cabbage, and fennel will all be coming soon (along with zucchini!).

See some of you tomorrow,

Cory

I got to know Ziggy Blum and Sheila Stockton in the late 90’s when first moving to the area. They were part of the food co-op, and Herb Fair regulars, and I visited them at their beautiful artistic house and amazing gardens. They both were artists and loved all things plants. They later became CSA members when they had to cut back on gardening. When we bought this farm in 2001, every time (and I mean every time) Ziggy saw me he would address me as the Fool on the Hill, referring to the Beatles song. I have to admit I would find it either comically amusing, or a bit annoying, depending on my mood. He would always qualify it by asking how the wind was.

I’ve been thinking about this lately. This spring has been the windiest that I can remember. We are usually breezy here, but this spring there was almost a constant forceful wind, from every direction, often changing direction multiple times through the course of the day. It was a rare day (maybe only three in a month) that was calm. This has had its impact. I’m seeing transplant shock in several crops. When they go from the protection of the greenhouse to the exposed wind it can severely dry out their leaves, which then die off and the plant has to grow new ones. They usually recover from this, it just sets them back. I would often harden the plants off in the more protected space between my greenhouses, but that is exposed to the north wind, which sometimes damaged the seedlings in the flat… So always improvising. The other impact has been some of the crops under row cover. The wind has been so strong and so constant that some crops have suffered, being beaten non-stop by flapping covers. The kale and collards, when I took the cover off to first harvest them last week, had every leaf of significant size broken. I’ve never seen that before. The wind has settled and these crops are recovering nicely. A couple of the early crops will not recover though. The kohlrabi looks good but has more snapped leaves also beaten by the row cover. The scallions are next to these covered crops, and although they aren’t covered, the cover got pulled out of the rocks I had holding it down on a few occasions and slapped the scallions, bending and breaking them. So the scallions for the next couple weeks will look a bit rough, but will taste just as good.

It’s not all doom and gloom. Most crops are looking good as we hopefully settle into summer, but I wanted to share have this spring has affected the garden.

Cory

On Sunday June 7 from 1-3:30pm Tanya will host a workshop at the farm. Contact her for more info: tcoulter12@hotmail.com or 519 372 7898

Tomorrow is the final spring csa for the year. I don’t know when the summer shares will start but sometime between the middle and end of June. As the spring has progressed, I imagine it will be more towards the end.

Plant orders will be ready for pick-up as well between 3 and 6pm. I am filling the orders today in the order in which I received them. As mentioned you might not get everything on your list. I will have an invoice attached to your order and you can pay in cash, cheque, or e-transfer.

While you are here tomorrow, take a look at David Coulter’s (Tanya’s dad) paintings, sketches, and sculptures we have on display in the csa store space. It’s actually a really fun place to display art!

I will no longer take any plant orders, but I will be at the Edge Hill May Fair selling plants on May 30 and at the STC (Saugeen Trading Community) Market Day June 6. For those of you who did place plant orders if you can come to the last Spring CSA pick-up Tuesday May 26 from 3-6pm that would be most convenient for me. If you can’t make that time please arrange another day.
I won’t have quite as much for sale as other years since I was a bit short of compost. Making my own mix limits the inputs I have to bring onto the farm from outside, but it can be tricky. For instance, it is right now that I’m watching how much compost I’m using to make sure I have enough to set aside for next year’s soil mix.

Since 1999 we have had one or two members help out in exchange for their share. Over the years we discovered the most beneficial task was helping pick the peas and beans. If anyone is interested in talking to me about this send an email to saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com

Dahlia passed away last night. She came to the farm in 2005 (pregnant, which the previous owner and we didn’t know). So she was at least 22 or 23 years old. She’s been with me through this farm journey for so many years. She is the only one of my cows that I ever milked (her calf was not drinking enough so I had to milk her out). None of my other cows were ever personable enough. Dahlia was also the only cow that would let me pet her. All the others would back away if I got too close. Her bull calf was the last one I kept since I wanted to bring her gentleness to the herd, so the other cows that remain are her grand children.
She had been slowly declining the past couple years, but in March she started going downhill fast. In my conversations with her these past two months, she shared with me her wish to die on the soil, connected to the land that she belonged to. I hoped she would make it to when the snow melted. She couldn’t move fast, but as soon as I opened the gate a few days ago, she got up and immediately went out into the paddock. It’s been raining so much so there is a lot of mud, but she chose a high spot with the newly sprouted stinging nettle and laid down and did not get back up. I wanted to let her die on her own terms.
She truly embodied the deep philosophy of the cow, giving more than she took. She was a role model I can try to follow.
Thank you Dahlia.

It’s officially spring now. The temperatures tonight and tomorrow night are still -10. You might have noticed, we haven’t had much sun in the past month (tomorrow might be an exception). This means I’m heating the greenhouse (the part that I do heat) 24/7. It also means the greens I’ve planted aren’t growing very fast. The ones I planted two weeks ago and the ones I just planted this week don’t look much different. I’m not sure what this means for the spring csa. Starting the third week in April seems unlikely, although there usually comes a time when everything grows like mad. I’ll keep you posted, so no predicted first pick-up yet. Since I need the spring csa to be finished by the last week of May to make room for the summer fruiting crops, and I’ll be planting 5 weeks worth of crops, it might mean I have to give you two weeks worth in one week… Not sure but wanted to give you a heads up!

First update: it’s not spring yet.
I’ve faced a few challenges preparing the ground for planting in the greenhouses. First I had to wait for the ground to thaw, it was frozen sold. There was a window and I got several beds prepared then the beds flooded. There was again a very short window and I got the first few things planted, then there was more flooding. The one greenhouse is so saturated that it’s going to take several good sunny days to dry it out. There’s no standing water to redirect, just wet soil. I’m not sure if I can keep up with the planting schedule. It’s likely there will be more narrow windows to get a bunch done… but more sun would for sure help.

Also, the greenhouse against the barn has suffered some snow load damage. It didn’t collapse, but it’s a lean-to that is now leaning a little more to. The support posts have shifted and I have an idea of how to shift them back, but I will need help, and it will have to be done when the ground isn’t frozen. If anyone would like to lend a hand let me know and maybe we can arrange something. Emailing saugeenrivercsa@gmail.com is better than replying to this post.

The lions and lambs of March are taking their turns,

Cory

The first plants for the spring shares are in the ground in the greenhouse. We’ve had a taste of spring, but winter is biting back. I’m still not sure when the Spring Shares will start, but after the middle of April…. stay posted and salivating 🙂