Enjoying the summer, planting for the fall

Enjoying the summer, planting for the fall
Watermelon testing from this morning's harvest!
Farm Update
 
Our flower garden is filling up.  Lots of sunflowers, zinnias and pollinator-friendly varieties. The sunflowers in the new flower garden are all volunteers, meaning they self-seeded from the sunflowers we planted there last year for the music festival.  If you didn't already know it, you are welcome to borrow some pruners and pick your own flowers when picking up your order at the farm on Thursdays. Its a short walk from the barn, you just follow the arrow signs!  The good news is that by harvesting these flowers, you'll be stimulating the plants to make even more blooms.
 
We moved the flower garden this year so we could rest its usual spot (by our parking area) and try to work on the weed pressure there.  We have been totally behind on weeding basically everything this year so it didn't exactly go to plan.  We seeded sunflowers in the front half of the old flower garden area and while that part is not so bad for weeds, we had a bit of an "out of sight, out of mind" moment and didn't notice the jungle of weeds hiding behind the 8 foot tall sunflower stalks.. oops.
 
 On the vegetable side of things, we have lots of transplanting to do this week as catch-up for being rained out of the fields last week.  Our last succession of fall and winter storage veggies are in this group and includes napa, cabbage, broccoli, and collards.  We really hope they all fit because a key challenge for us this year is having space for everything.  Its a good challenge to have because it means more people are eating more local produce.
 
Though we are definitely thinking about the fall and winter, the summer crops are taking off.  As zucchini fades, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tomatoes and hot peppers are starting to hit their stride.  We had a huge watermelon harvest as well this morning.  Our crew sampled a bunch and would have given them two thumbs up if they weren't so busy testing them!
 
WE ARE HIRING:
We are hiring a delivery driver for 2-3 days a week.  Resumes should be sent to chris@commongroundfarm.ca
We are also looking for a full-time crew member!  Follow the link below.
 
 
JOIN OUR TEAM
 
MIDDLE RIVER MUSIC FESTIVAL
 
The wonderful sights and sounds of our music festival is happening again, this time on August 24. Two weeks away!
 
We are super excited to be hosting our festival again, complete with a very exciting line-up guaranteed to get you out of your seats and dancing! And while you are welcome to bring your snacks and beverages, we will also have our fan favourite, New Leaf Planet-Based Foods on site slinging some delish food!
 
As usual, the doors open at 2pm and the festival goes til 11pm. Kids under 12 are free.
 
You can purchase tickets here:
 
FARM STORE NOTES
 
Things to note from us: We had a fantastic watermelon harvest this morning!  These have edible seeds and super flavourful bright red flesh.
 
Sweet peppers are ripening and our mixed baskets can be a range of colours and 'bell' or 'Sheppard'/conical types.  Green peppers will be harvested for another week.
 
More tomatillos this week and we're starting a few baskets of our 'Salsa Verde' packs.
 
Lots of green beans this week and some yellow beans as well.
 
Cucumbers will likely be finishing this week and zucchini will soon be limited. 
 
From the field: sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, tomatillos, zucchini, watermelon, beans, green onions, cooking scallions, beets, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, swiss chard, radish, head lettuces, greens, and lots of herbs.
 
From greenhouses and hoophouses: tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet peppers, jalapenos, eggplant.
 
Bulk/bushel orders:  We will have bushel/bulk quantities of fruiting crops available.  Fill out the form below to indicate your interest and we will work to accommodate everyone based on availability week-to-week!
BULK ORDER INTEREST FORM
 
FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
 
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Peaches, sunrise or paula red apples
 
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Corn, delicata squash, orange sweet peppers and eggs.
 
Pfenning's: white cauliflower
 
Through Pfenning's: Ontario mushrooms.  Travelling from further away; citrus, ginger, turmeric.
 
Bakery: La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas) is back with his house-milled sourdough breads!.  Artisan Bakery (London) is available until it closes out on Tuesday morning.  
 
Dairy: Milk, yogurt, and curds are from Mistyglen Creamery (Belmont).  Please note: bottles and jars need to be rinsed well before being returned.
 
Pantry:Fire cider from Booch (London) and cold-pressed hemp oil from Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville) we are restocking the sunflower soon.
 
 
A few beds in our pick-your-own flower garden.  Borrow some pruners when you pick up your order and take some home with you!

Weekly pickup / delivery schedule:

Farm pickup will be Thursday from 4 to 8 pm. 

Deliveries will be Thursday or  Friday in London / St.Thomas.  We will send out the schedule Wednesday night.

Refer-a-friend:  If you refer a friend and they sign up for our 2024 main season please send me a note and I'll give you a $25 credit as a thank-you on your account!
link:
Note that if you you will no longer get reminders about your subscription!

Common Ground Farm 6986 Middle River Road St. Thomas, Ontario N5P 3S9
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