Arugula and Radish are Here to Spice Up this Cold February! |
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Have a veggie subscription with us? You are getting this email because you do not have a box scheduled for this week, but can still make a regular order through our store. If so, please complete the checkout process to submit your order.
Order vegetables before Wednesday for pickup and delivery this week.
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What a mid-winter treat! Beautiful radishes coming out of Hoophouse 1 this week.
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Farm Update
This week we will be harvesting some of the first crops planted in 2026. The mustard greens (winter salad mix) and arugula we transplanted mid-January are ready and we feel eager to work on some bigger harvests!
It’s been so cold and dark the last few weeks that everything is re-growing slowly and we haven’t had as much to harvest as in past winters. In addition to (of course) wishing we had more fresh greens available, we’d really love more work to do! At this point we’ve started to run out of our Save That for Winter When We Have More Time projects. What a contrast this is to our main-season when there’s more work than hours in the day! But the truth is, right now, we’re relieved have some ‘regular’ work to do.
In addition to greens, we are bunching and clearing out radishes from Hoophouse 1 this week. In summertime, radishes take about 4 weeks to grow from seed to harvest. These radishes, on the other hand, were seeded in December and have taken more than twice as long to grow!
Low light conditions reduce how much energy plants can make and sometimes cause them grow long, lanky stems as they stretch toward the light. Cold weather slows nutrient uptake and metabolic activity. With odds stacked against them, there was definitely a risk these wouldn't work out. We’re glad we took the chance on them! It feels great to have something new on hand.
We are also happy to see our seedling greenhouse looking full again with tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, onions, beets, pac choi, herbs, and lettuce all well underway for spring plantings. This week, we’ll be starting cucumbers.
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View into the greenhouse. In the foreground are winter salad greens for this week! |
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FARM STORE NOTES
FROM OUR FARM:
Arugula, winter salad mix, spinach and radish available this week! Lots of flat and curly parsley also ready from the greenhouse.
One of the last weeks of red cabbage from fall storage!
From storage: Carrots, beets, sunchokes, celeriac, rutabaga, kohlrabi, winter radishes, red and green cabbages. Dried herbs.
From the Greenhouse and hoophouses: Arugula, winter salad mix, spinach, radish, flat and curly parsley.
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FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
NEW: Organic Tofu! Canadian grown and prepared.
NEW: Grapefruit are available through Pfenning's!
Squash: a few folks have asked about these. Our friends at HOPE are all sold out of what they stored in the fall!
PRODUCE
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Sweet potatoes.
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Empire, Gala, Honeycrisp, Ambrosia, Sunpunch, Golden Delicious.
Pfenning's Organics (New Hamburg): Red and yellow onions, leeks, red, yellow, and russet potatoes.
Through Pfenning's: Ontario mushrooms, garlic, and red delicious apples. Canadian tofu. From further away, shallots, citrus (incl. grapefruit), ginger, turmeric, broccoli, cauliflower.
DAIRY and EGGS
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Eggs.
Through Pfenning's: L'Ancetre butter and grass-fed cheeses
Gunn's Hill (Woodstock): Brie, Handeck and Five Brother's cheese
FROZEN
3Gen Organics (Wallenstein): Ground pork, sausage, bacon, ham, tenderloin, chops
YU Ranch (Tillsonburg): Pasture-raised ground beef, beef patties, stewing beef
New Leaf Foods (London): Plant-based beet burgers
BAKERY
J&D Peters Tortillas (Aylmer): Spelt, whole wheat and unbleached flour tortillas.
La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas): Sourdough bread and pastry with grain that Seth fresh-mills himself
Artisan Bakery (London): Sourdough bread and pastries made with local flour
PANTRY
Aldred Maple (West Lorne): Amber, dark, or whiskey barrel-aged maple syrup.
Wildflowers Honey (St. Thomas): Unpasteurized honey from hives all over Elgin County, including our farm!
Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville). Fresh, organic and cold-pressed, hemp and sunflower oil. Store in the refrigerator.
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PICKUP / DELIVERY OPTIONS
Western Fair Market: Saturday 8 am to 3 pm / Sunday 10 am to 2pm
Farm pickup: Thursday 4 to 8 pm
Kitchener Farmer's Market: Saturday 7 am to 2 pm
Delivery: Thursday / Friday in London & St.Thomas and area, Saturday in KW / Cambridge (schedule will be sent out Wednesday night)
RETURNING CONTAINERS
We love to re-use wherever possible! We can take our CGF boxes and liner bags, strawberry and blueberry baskets/boxes, milk bottles, and egg cartons.
For delivery, please leave these return items out where you would like your order dropped off. Thank you!
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Middle River Music Fest 2026
Mark your calendars for August 29th, 2026! We are so excited to host the 6th annual Middle River Must Fest here on the farm. Look out for early bird tickets that go on sale in May!
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Why am I on this list? At some point you signed up for our previous "farmstand" list or our newsletter list. Want to get off the list? No problem: . Common Ground Farm 6986 Middle River Road St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 3S9 |
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