Week 12

This weeks box share contained twelve items. Celery, Parsley, Basil, Green Onions, Patty Pan Squash, Cabbage or Cauliflower, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Red Pontiac Potatoes and Carrots.

Deliveries all went well it was nice to see some of our members that we haven't seen for a couple of weeks.

JG

Sorry for the lack of posts.

Everything has been going good here on the farm. Sorry for the lack of posts. Since out last post there has been camping, fairs, first days of school, VBS at both Baptist and Anglican churches, play dates, swimming lessons and it goes on and on. Anyone who has children knows that there is always something going on.

We had a small problem with the well pump yesterday but that was fixed prompty. The headgasket blew on our Massey Ferguson but is now repaired.

We have had a lot of problems with the deer this year. But that is okay. This is just our second year and we are learning. We are already thinking of prevention methods next year. We are given these problems to learn from. There will always be issues every year and we just need to take them as they come.

The CSA boxes (bags) are going great. We are gradually becoming more efficient at the packing and harvesting. Sometimes there are issues but everyone has been very understanding and helpful.

Brucshetta (?) pizza. Pizza dough with Italian salad dressing spread all over the dough. Then I put peppers basil and tomatoes grated mozza and parmesan cheese. Bake at 400F for approx 15 minutes.

I will post again later. The girls have to get up for school.

JG

Heavenly Rain!!

Our girls were excited to see the rain. Beth was "Singin' In The Rain".












We are so very thankful for the rain that we are receiving this week. We were in deperate need of it. Our lawns and pasture were turning brown and the gardens were really slow to get going. We now have a bountiful harvest each week for our CSA boxes and for the market on saturdays. Last night was week four of our box delivery.








This weeks boxes contained new potatoes, beets with greens, mizuna, tatsoi, white globe turnips, garlic scapes, snow peas, pod peas, lettuce mix, radish, green onions and carrots.

On the left there is a picture of mizuna being suateed in olive oil with a tsp of maple syrup and a tsp of apple cider vinegar. It should be cooked for about six minutes.

Today.

As I sit here I am watching the sheep out on the back pasture leisurely grazing. They don't have a care in the world. Andrew is out hunting for potato bugs and I am baking sugar cookies for VBS this week at our church.

Today Andrew started to plough our back field. It had not been ploughed in at least thirty years and he began to get frustrated.

We were back at the market this Saturday. It was really busy and we sold everything that we had brought down.

The top picture is our Khatadin Ram "Rambo".

JG

First CSA Box Night.

Our first CSA night was a success. We added some certified organic strawberries from Richard and Heather Brown's farm in Bloomfield. Everyone worked well together this afternoon in gettting the boxes prepared. Andrew and I delivered the boxes without a hitch and the route took less time than we expected. We really enjoyed meeting everyone tonight and putting a face to the phone calls and emails.

This weeks' box contained Carrots, Green Onions, Swiss Chard, Turnip Greens, Lettuce, Beets with Greens and strawberries.

See You Next Week,

JG

More Rain.....Wonderful!!!

We are so thankful for all of the wonderful rain. We can already see the difference in the gardens from this weekends rains. Today we spent the day seeding and putting row covers on a lot of the crops. We did this even in the blissful rain. We were muddy and wet but kept on working.

JG

Better Late Than Never.

Things are coming along here on the farm. The calf is settled in and there are four new piglets on the farm. The chickens only have five more weeks left. We got the meat chickens a month earlier this year because we thought it would be one less thing we would have to worry about in later in the summer.

All of the raspberries, blackberries, rhubarb and fruit trees that we planted have survived the spring transplanting.

Andrew and his father were trying our my grandfathers old hay mower today. It seems that they figured it out. The sheep will appreciate the efforts I am sure.

Water has been our biggest battle so far this season. We have only had two good rains in the past two months. "chances of showers" just isn't doing it for us. We have been installing a drip irrigation system and doing a lot of hand watering in an effort to keep the crops from stunting or bolting and even germinating has been a problem in some cases.

Our CSA members have been very understanding with the slow start and are eager for the boxes to start. The boxes are starting July 2nd. We are all excited about the CSA concept this year. We are looking forward to meeting everyone next week and are anticipating a great season.

JG