Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
This is our second last pick up of the Farm Share! For some bi-weekly members, it will be your last pick up.
With things drawing to a close, it's a natural time to reflect upon the season and the things we are grateful for...
Our Farm Crew - Sarah, Jordan, Jason - and our volunteer Lori - this fabulous group of people who worked long days through sweltering heat, wind, rain, thunderstorms, and cold fall mornings. They did incredible and beautiful work out there in the soil, growing and tending, harvesting and washing the vegetables that made it to you.
The chance to work outside, to become intimate with the subtle change of light and warmth and colour, to witness life in all its forms, the steady rise and fall and flow of it; and to be, in our clumsy human way, a small part of the vast networks and cycles of the earth.
The food that grew from the soil - and the food that didn't. The beauty of a perfect head of lettuce, the sweetness of a crisp cucumber on a hot day. The rotting carrots and the cauliflower seedlings left topless by mice, the slug-eaten bok choy. Successes are easy to be grateful for, but our losses give us the chance to learn. And if we are to farm the way we want to - harmoniously with our ecosystem, as unintrusively as possible to the soil, and the diversity of life it nurtures and sustains inside and out - we need to be humble and absorb the lessons that the land can give us, if we listen. So we are grateful for the opportunity to learn, and the special opportunity we have as growers to start fresh again in the spring with our gained knowledge.
Our members, who, from a vast and complicated array of choices - chose to buy local, to support the type of regenerative agriculture we are striving for, to invest in us as a farm and small business. We are so fortunate to have this community of members, to buoy us, to keep us moving forward, to give meaning to our work. Community - what a precious entity, to be protected and nurtured just like the soil. Especially in these strange times.
And right now, we are grateful for this new little life that has come to join us, having taken her time to grow throughout this beautiful season. Our little Lark. Here she is helping me write this newsletter:
Some notes for this week's veggies:
We have a new addition that won't be automatically put into your shares but is available to swap or add on: sunchokes! These are the roots of a plant in the sunflower family, and they're native to North America. They are a starchy root veggie with a knobby appearance, like ginger, and a nutty flavour. When cooked they have a creamy, potato-like texture. You don't need to peel them to cook them - you can actually eat them raw too, like a salad turnip, but in that case it's recommended you peel them. Try them roasted with this easy recipe https://www.abeautifulplate.com/roasted-sunchokes/. Or grab some fennel and try them raw in a salad with this recipe https://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Fennel-Sunchoke-and-Apple-Salad/
We have lots of carrots left for this week and the next too. We have almost gone through our winter squash, but we do have a few giant squash called the Candy Roaster. They're so big, we don't have enough for everyone. So, in order to share the wealth we've decided to peel, cut, and cube these squashes and put them into shares in 1 lb bags. Perfect for adding to stews, casseroles, and roast veggie mixes. You can freeze the squash right in the bag too.
p.s. We altered the customization window a little - you have til 8am on Wednesday morning to customize your share :)
2021 Farm Share
As a current member, you are guaranteed a spot in our Farm Share for next season! We'll be starting up auto-renewal/early sign up in January for all members to give you the chance to secure your spot. In February, we'll open up to new members. We hope you'll join us again! We also understand that the Farm Share doesn't work for everyone - but please don't be shy, come say hi to us at the Farmers' Market, order from our online farm stand, or drop by our on-farm Farm Store that will be open next year.
Farewell to some!
To those who are having their final pick up - goodbye for now! We will miss you, and we wish you a warm and safe winter. We hope to see you again when the sun returns and the weather warms.
Your farmers,
Kim and Alex
