Getting the last few things out of the field

Getting the last few things out of the field
Our last-minute leek harvest brought in enough for weeks to come!
Farm Update
 
Last Thursday and Friday were our last chances to harvest from the field for a little while, so we were very busy getting the last greens, leeks and sunchokes out.  For both leek and sunchokes we have far more than we have stored in previous years and they look great!

For root vegetables, our sunchokes (aka. Jerusalem artichokes) are harvested very manually.  Most root veggies we harvest with our carrot harvester or undercutter, but sunchoke tubers tend to be more sprawling so it’s hard to predict where they’re hiding and keep from damaging them.  Instead, we all head out to the field to pull out the plants and dig underneath them to find the clumps of tubers.  There were a few snow squalls during that harvest on Friday, but working hard helps keep you warm and a great crew helps it go quickly!  

It’s just in time because now the ground will start freezing and shut us out of digging any more up.  Though sunchokes take a lot more labour to harvest this way, we don’t mind too much because the ones that we miss will grow up and become next year’s crop, so we don’t have to spend any time seeding or weeding these.

In other news, winterization is almost done.  We have a few more spots in our tunnels to cover, but otherwise it’s well on its way.  The old boiler is running well (we’re still working on hooking up the new one) and the wash station is all sealed up with old greenhouse plastic. We have already accidentally frozen a set of hoses on the wash station...They’ll work well again after they defrost a bit, but it feels like a yearly tradition that says ‘winter is here now!’
Winter Shares 2025
Charges for the first box of the Winter CSA shares have been processed.  If you would like to be taken off the winter list and have the charge reversed please let us know ASAP.
 
Snowy sunchoke harvest from Friday
 
GIFT CARDS
Follow the link below to purchase a gift card for our online store!  If you would like a printable certificate for it, email us and we'll send one to you.

PURCHASE A GIFT CARD

 
FARM STORE NOTES
 
Things to note from us:  From the field and storage we have leek, beets, carrots, parsnips, root parsley, cabbages, napa, kale, turnips, kohlrabi, celeriac, radishes, head lettuces, greens, and lots of herbs.
 
From greenhouses and hoophouses: swiss chard, dill
FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
 
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Mutsu, Empire, Jonagold, Courtland, Gala, Macintosh, Honeycrisp, Northern Spy and Fuji apples
 
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Tetsukabuto, acorn, butternut, futsu squashes. Sweet potatoes and eggs. 
 
Our Feild's Farm (Aylmer): Garlic
 
Daryl Myny (Aylmer): Spanish onions.
 
Pfenning's: Red onions.
 
Through Pfenning's: Jazz,​Empire and Liberty apples.  Travelling from further away; celery, citrus, ginger, turmeric.
 
Bakery: Seth/La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas) is bi-weekly now and is OFF this week.  Artisan Bakery (London) is available until they closeout 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 and sunflower oil from Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville).
It's tricky to make sense of old greenhouse plastic and get it on the wash station in a neat and functional fashion.  Celebrating good handiwork!

Weekly pickup / delivery schedule:

Farm pickup will be Thursdays 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
Back to blog