Welcome to week 5 of the Farm Share!
There are lots of options again this week so make sure to go on and customize your share!
Important Note: Please remember to return your GREEN BAGS
We are starting to run out of green bags, which means that some folks may have one or two sitting around in their cars or houses. Please bring your green bags back this week and every week that you pick up your veggies. If you are getting delivery, please leave out your green bag on your porch the night before.
On The Farm
I can't believe it is already July! While this is the month where summer has truly arrived, it is also the month where we hustle to get all our crops in for the fall.
This week Sarah is planting fall broccoli in the greenhouse. In the fields, we are planting leeks, beets, spring onions, head lettuce, salad mix, fall storage cabbage and our second planting of cucumbers.
Our nephew Tristan (my brother's son) is here again working with us for his 4th summer! We're super excited to have him back and are lucky to have been able to see him grow up here over the last 4 summers. He says he could make better money working in Toronto but he'd prefer to be here, outside and busy and with family. Say hi to him at Farm Share pick up!
Veggie Highlights
We do say goodbye this week to carrots, probably for the next 4 weeks because our second planting got overwhelmed with weeds. But to make up for it, we are super excited this week for our broccoli harvest! Safe to say this is the best broccoli we have grown yet.
Broccoli is a hard crop to grow; it takes a long time to grow; it needs to be planted early enough that it doesn't bolt in the summer heat; it has bugs that like it; it needs a lot of nutrients; it takes up a lot of space. We only grow it twice a year (for an early summer and a fall harvest) so when we have it we really appreciate it!
Our peas have really slowed down; I hoped to get at least two really good harvests from them but they are finicky and don't like the heat. We just have a limited number available so they won't go automatically into your share but you can swap them in.
FENNEL (NEW!)
We have fennel this week! We like to grow this twice per season; now and in the fall. Fennel is a less well-known vegetable but it hosts a series of benefits such as improving heart health and reducing inflammation. It has a fresh, aromatic anise flavor, and it can be eaten raw, sautéed, roasted, or even added to soups and sauces.
I personally like adding it to any roast veggie mix; it has a caramelized sweetness when roasted.
Recipes:
https://www.everylastbite.com/roasted-fennel/
Recipe Highlight: Dill and Cabbage Slaw
Our mini green cabbages are seriously SO GOOD. We love making a very simple salad inspired by Alex's youth in Moldova. Here it is:
Slice up one cabbage and chop up a bunch of dill. Put the cabbage in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and a lug of olive or sunflower oil. Massage it with your hands until it is well saturated (it will reduce in size quite a bit). Then, mix in the dill.
And voila! This was a hit with our family this weekend including the teenager ;)
*We use sunflower oil from Crump Family Farm which you can buy in our farm store or add it your share as an extra :)*
Coming up soon....
Tomatoes are just starting to ripen, green peppers are appearing, beans are flowering and cucumbers and zucchini are ramping up production!
We hope you enjoy your veggies! Please don't hesitate to email at mulberrymoonfarm@gmail.com or text me at 519-719-7253 with any feedback or questions at any time. :)
Your farmer,
Kim
