Week 14 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter Plus NEW Offering Coming From The Farm

August 25, 2017

Week 14

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Zucchini, Diamond Eggplant, Hakuri Turnips, Arugula, Mixed Tomatoes, Spinach and Blueberries!

Hello Everyone,

My favourite dish of the summer is here. Sautéed Eggplant with Tomatoes. I slice up the eggplant and tomatoes and sauté them in olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Once tender, I add Italian cheeses on top and let them melt in. Yum.

I am hopeful that blueberry season will last for a couple more weeks. So delicious! My plan is to pick up some peaches and make my Blueberry Peach Pancakes with homemade syrup. Goodness gracious that sounds amazing!

We had an interesting proposition happen this week. We have an excellent butcher north of Bridgewater and he compliments us constantly on the way our birds are raised. He says they are always the most lively, healthy birds he sees. In consideration of this he has asked me if I would consider raising a few cattle here at the farm. He came over and had a look at the pasture and told me it would easily support 2-3 head of cattle and would make use of the beautiful land we have. I would purchase the calves and bring them to our land in the spring, then raise them until October/November. I am quite excited by this idea as it follows what this farm has always been about. Care of animals, local community and healthy fresh life.

To encourage us on this venture he has told me he will sell me boxes of different cuts of his beef at a wholesale rate to build our customer base.

The boxes of beef will include a roast i.e. round, ¾“steaks i.e. T-bone and either hamburger or ribs. It is a 20lb box and will sell for $150 each, delivered. This works out to be a great deal as I checked at Costco and the price per lb for this box is either close or better! Plus the knowledge that your beef has been raised by someone who truly cares and takes pride in raising a healthy, happy animal. Our butcher’s current cattle are a mixed breed which includes Angus.

Our family eats only a limited amount of meat and are very conscience of where that meat is obtained from. This venture would allow many more people the opportunity to achieve local, grass fed, healthy beef.

If all goes well and I’m able to secure enough interest in these 20lb boxes I look forward to this new experience. Hopefully with this new option of income your farmer could also downshift to only having 4 jobs! Ha Ha.

Let me know your thoughts and any questions you have are greatly encouraged. Please share this newsletter with your family, friends and co-workers who may have interest.

We still have a few chickens available in the freezer ranging from 5-6.5lbs at $4.50/lb, delivered.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Hope to hear from you all soon.

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 13 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

August 18, 2017

Week 13

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Summer Squash, Dragon’s Tongue Beans, Mesclun with Nasturtium Flowers, Heirloom Tomatoes, French Breakfast and Globe Radishes, Scarlet Kale, Genovese and Purple Dark Opal Basil, Garlic, and Blueberries!

Hello Everyone,

I hope all of you are enjoying a great summer. Both Anthony and I saw the doctor this week. He was good to get his arm cast off this week however she was less pleased with my foot. I’m awaiting the results of an x-ray to see if I possibly fractured other bones in my foot. Good grief. I’m still hobbling around getting farm work done but it’s frustrating how slow I’m moving.

Blueberries season has arrived! Amazing how many we get off the bushes. The boys and I love racing to see how many we can all pick. We enjoyed ours on pancakes with my homemade syrup. Yummy.

More tomatoes are ripening each day. The yellow ones are field tomatoes while the rest are from the greenhouse. Very flavourful. We love them sautéed up with the squash and add in the kale too.

We have chickens available. They are fresh for Monday August 21 delivery or will be frozen after that. $4.50/lb They range usually between 6-7lbs.

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 12 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

August 11, 2017

Week 12

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Italian Zuchini, Dragon’s Tongue Beans, Mesclun with Nasturtium Flowers, Spinach, Heirloom Tomatoes, French Breakfast and Globe Radishes, Rainbow Beets and Garlic

Hello Everyone,

A small disaster hit the farm last weekend. I broke my toe on Sunday morning. The boys have been great helpers around the farm doing what they can. I’ve done my best to stay off it and the farm has gone into maintenance mode. Most of the color has returned to normal but still very painful.

The tomatoes are starting to produce and we were very happy to see the Dragon’s Tongue bush beans ready for harvest. The beans are wonderful steamed or raw, an especially nice added crunch in salads.

We’ve had a few heavy downpours this week and another last night. Thank goodness as the garden was still very dry when we were harvesting. Unfortunate as I’ll need to repair the driveway from the washout. Oh my.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 11 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

August 4, 2017

Week 11

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Rainbow Swiss Chard, Arugula, Mesclun, Nasturtium Flowers, Garlic, Rainbow Beets, Yellow or Green Zuchini,

Hello Everyone,

Colorful bag this week! Navarre’s favourite Swiss Chard and our first of the amazing garlic harvest. I noticed the tips of the garlic leaves turning brown which is the tell tale sign they are ready to lift.  The bulbs are hard to pull out but the boys were troopers and we all had huge armfuls to take down to the back patio to dry. Thursday was the start of cleaning them. Most were ready to have their outer skins removed and cleaned of dirt. Lots more garlic to come. Amazing what you can grow with a little straw and seaweed mulch.

Our field was cut on Sunday, raked and baled Monday and Tuesday he took them to store in his barn. We counted over 50 of the big round bales. Our neighbor was very happy with the quality of the hay this year which makes me ecstatic as I am so thankful to have him make use of it. I requested he leave two bales he was the least happy with at the top of the field for the boys to play on and then in the fall I can roll them downhill into the garden for mulch.

Navarre got his cast removed on Friday morning and unfortunately Anthony had one put on. We had thought he had sprained his wrist vaulting from one hay bale to another but it turned out to be a small buckle fracture which the doctor insists will be healed within 2 weeks. Knowing my boys I bought Navarre a wrist brace to wear to protect his healing bones.

I hope you are all enjoying the beautiful summer and making it one to remember!

Have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 10 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

July 28, 2017

Week 10

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Green Beans, Zucchini, Genovese and Purple Opal Basil, Thyme, Arugula, Spinach, Red Russian/Scarlet Kale and Green Onions

Hello Everyone,

I have been stringing up tomato after tomato this week. We are at that point of them just starting to ripen. They are driving me nuts looking so yummy.

Earlier this week I received a call from my neighbor asking about haying the pasture again this year. He was hoping to start the next morning. AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! OMG. That is both a happy thing and freaking out as I still have to get the old fence line taken down before he can do it. I said yes and asked him to start at the far end and I’ll get it done the next day. 

So the boys and I worked on removing the remaining 7 strings of wire, pulling out 80lb plus posts and lifting the row cover. We all sustained multiple red ant bites when we disturbed a nest and I have quite a few blisters on my fingers. The boys were real troupers and we worked until 2 o’clock with a quick break for lunch. Goodness it was hot but at least the bugs were tolerable. I did another walk around later taking away any left over rocks and moving them to the new fence line, we had used them for weighting down the ground cover.

I talked to him later that day and the forecast had changed so he will wait until Sunday probably to hay the field. We are so excited to get the use of the field again and for the brief time the hay bales are in the field the boys want to use it as an obstacle course.

This week’s bounty brought us some yummy dishes too. We made turkey bacon and kale pasta with parmesan cheese and green beans with basil last night.

I love sautéing up some onion and garlic and then adding in steamed beans with a little salt and pepper and olive oil, topped with some parmesan cheese Delicious. David couldn’t stop eating, he said it was amazing and then teased me saying I cook too good. Anthony and Navarre were super excited to have sautéed zucchini and David this morning made bagel sandwiches using the spinach and arugula.

It looks to be another hot week so a lot of watering in our future. Keep your fingers crossed for some thunderstorms for the field.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 9 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

July 21, 2017

Week 9

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Rainbow Swiss Chard, Yellow Beans, Purple Green Onions, Nasturtium Flowers (Edible), Garlic Scapes, Lacinato Kale, Mesclun Mix, Zesty Greens Mix

Hello Everyone,

This has been a very busy week for us at the farm and the heat has had a huge impact. We continue to keep a fan on the meat birds and are keeping them cooler with ice water. The layers have found an oasis in the tall grasses. Unfortunately this has brought on the challenge of finding their new nesting spots outside. We’ve had to pull 33 eggs found out in the grass. Now when we let them out of the barn we do our best to track the chickens, especially the few who go on walk about outside the fence. Funny how they will do their best to escape and then come and sit at the gate waiting for us to let them back in the yard.

Hand watering in the field has kept the plantings up in this heat. We will need to find another fan to use in the greenhouse for airflow. It is unbelievably hot in there by 11am. The tomatoes are getting bigger, yesterday I was continuing to string them up as the boys were fertilizing.

This week found us with beautiful greens Rainbow Swiss Chard, Mesclun and Zest. The boys prefer to have a cool ranch with the zest. I’ve had a handful on a nice steak or as a side to rice and lentils. Here is another fun recipe we just found to try.

http://www.occasionallyeggs.com/2016/08/quinoa-swiss-chard-patties-avocado.html

Garlic Scapes are now finished for the year. While I was sorting out the veggies for the bags I chopped up some garlic scapes to put in our freezer for future pesto. The house smelled amazing. I was happily surprised at how the boys were enamoured with the glorious scent. They are both getting into the kitchen more and are looking forward to adding pesto to their repertoire. It’s great to have them in the kitchen.

All of our chicken deliveries went well on Tuesday. It had been wonderful catching up with our butcher. He says that if we are interested in next year he is happy to work with us.

We've raised two pairs of pigs on the farm and I would like to do it again. Please let me know of your interest as it is a huge undertaking for me however I am very willing to take it on as it's a great life on our farm for the animals and we don't eat pork otherwise. The base price per pound is $4.75 or $4.25 for a side/whole. I raise Berkshire pigs, a heritage breed which we are happy to help sustain. They are a very docile animal and have a wonderful flavour. We raise them on pasture with grain supplement and a huge amount of veggies.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 8 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

July 14, 2017

Week 8

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Strawberries, Nasturtium Flowers (Edible), Garlic Scapes, Red Russian and Scarlet Kale, Tatsoi, Mesclun, Purple Dark Opal and Genovese Basil.

Hello Everyone,

A very pretty delivery this week. It’s wonderful to have the peppery flowers decorating the salad. Anthony was very proud to harvest all of the nasturtiums this week. He ran up to the field when we realized it was about to shower and I was stuck in a phone meeting. He and his brother are both proving to be awesome junior farmers.

Try the mixed basil in the salad too, maybe even some of the strawberries. Tatsoi and the purple kale make gorgeous sautes. We are hoping for one more week of garlic scapes after this so make sure you freeze them so they can be enjoyed in a pesto or something later.

This week brought a lot of concern in the barn. The heat was nearly overwhelming to our meat birds. Thankfully the shade and fans were able to keep the air temperature down somewhat. We were giving them fresh cool water every few hours and at the peak of the day I was adding ice. The little chicks are just getting used to the larger water dishes and are now happy to be checking out their new larger area.

All meat birds for July 18^th are now preordered. We have started taking preorders for the next batch which will be in a couple months. Thank you!

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 7 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

July 7, 2017

Week 7

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Early “Nantes” Carrots, Garlic Scapes, Bok Choy, Lovage, Scarlet Kale, Mesclun Mix, Nasturtiums, Rainbow Swiss Chard

Hello Everyone,

Garlic Scapes have arrived. These are one of our favourites for making delicious pesto. Here is our easy go to recipe:

Chop up the garlic scapes. Place them in a food processor with parmesan and a squeeze of lemon. Pulse together and slowly add olive oil as you pulse to reach a smooth consistency. Delicious on pasta, bbq’d vegetables, meats, seafood.

I have a bag of frozen chopped garlic scapes in my freezer to pull out when I need an easy dinner. We have frozen lovage butter in there too.

The boys had a friend stay over on harvest day. I was very impressed with how gunho he was to help out. It was wonderful having the boys showing him what we are growing, collecting eggs, feeding the animals. We are looking forward to having him and his family over for a bon fire soon on a day I can take more time to relax and cook all these wonderful vegetables to share.

All meat birds for July 18^th are now preordered. We have started taking preorders for the next batch which will be in a couple months. Thank you!

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 6 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

June 30, 2017

Week 6

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Early “Nantes” Carrots, “White or Purple Vienna” Kholrabi, Strawberries, “Ella Kropf” Head Lettuce, “Bunte Forellenschuss” Head Lettuce, Mesclun Mix with Nasturtiums, Red Russian Kale and Rosemary.

Hello Everyone,

This week has a first for our farm shares, Strawberries! Fruit is new item in our bag and we hope it will continue for a couple more weeks. Fingers crossed with the weather.

We also have our first carrots of the season and kohlrabi. If kohlrabi is new to you, our favorite use is to peel it and slice it up. It can either be eaten sautéed or raw. Also it can be used as a slaw with the carrots.

Mesclun mix is also a welcome addition with a few peppery nasturtium flowers decorating.

It’s been quite the week here on the farm. There have been numerous bouts of bad news landing on us, with family and friends incurring multiple serious health problems. We have barely been able to get into the field. One of the major ones was Navarre experiencing a very bad fall leaving him with a major concussion and fractured wrist. He is now stable and out of the woods but we have to travel to the IWK in Halifax for certain days so I must change our delivery date from Friday to Thursday. Please let me know if this doesn’t work for you and we will make other arrangements for your delivery. We appreciate your understanding.

Meat birds will be available on July 18. We have 14 left for sale so please get your order in ASAP! They are $4.50/lb and most are usually in the range of 6-8lbs each.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber

Week 5 Vegetable Delivery Newsletter

June 23, 2017

Week 5

Here are some of the items you may be receiving in your delivery this week:

Mustard Greens, Shanghi Bok Choy, Red Kitten Spinach, Rainbow Swiss Chard, “Ella Kropf” Head Lettuce, “Bunte Forellenschuss” Head Lettuce and Basil

Hello Everyone,

This week brings Swiss Chard which is bouncing back from the hail storm earlier this month. Mustard Greens, a more delicate green with a lighter taste. Plus delicious Shanghi Bok Choy. All 3 are usually best sautéed. 

Along with these are wonderful salad greens and basil from the greenhouse. Two types of basil including Purple Dark Opal and Genovese.

This week the transition in the greenhouse to hot weather plants continues. All of the remaining cool weather and strong crops are moving up to the field and the tomatoes, pepper and cucumbers are taking up residence in the warm greenhouse beds. We already have some flowers on the tomatoes!

Meat birds will be available on July 18. Over half have been presold so please get your order in ASAP! They are $4.50/lb and most are usually in the range of 6-8lbs each.

I hope all of you have a wonderful week!

Your Farmer,

Amber