Planting Late-Season Greens |
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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 at 12pm for pickup and delivery this week.
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Adding some active compost to a field tunnel before transplanting winter spinach. Adam is measuring it out into buckets and Jorge is spreading it out in the tunnel |
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FARM UPDATE
It was a very busy week last week sending out much larger orders than usual and navigating fast-paced, busy markets. We’re hugely thankful for the farm crew, who hustled last week with the increased workload and got so much good food out into our community.
Thanks also go to all who continue to support the farm with encouraging words, connection over local food, and by eating what we’re growing! We love this work and your support allows us to keep doing it.
Today we’re preparing to transplant spinach by removing tarps from the tomato tunnels and amending the soil with compost. In past years we’ve noticed that in late winter some of our spinach looks stressed, specifically, like they’re lacking nutrients. This year we are taking a more proactive approach and planning to add more nutrients before we see deficiency show up.
More isn't always better. Too much fertility at one time can have negative impacts, causing distorted growth and attracting insects like aphids (a bug we can really struggle with for these indoor winter plantings). Instead of ‘front-loading’ fertility, we’ll provide the plants with an extra application of compost part way through the winter.
Another fall project is moving herb plants from the field to inside the greenhouse. We harvested a lot of rosemary, thyme, and sage last week, so we now have a lot of plants that are cut back and in great condition to dig up and move. Transplanting the spinach seedlings is admittedly a more urgent project than moving the herbs, but we’re going to try and move the herbs earlier this year. Our hope is that they’ll have more time to establish in their new home before light hours get too short and growth becomes really slow.
Have a question or something you would like to hear more about in a future newsletter? Let us know at the market, farm pickup, or send an email!
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An abundant looking market stand
A lot of work goes into making all this happen and we're pretty proud of it!
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FARM STORE NOTES
FROM OUR FARM:
Lots of Red Radishes this week. We can thank the cool weather for their awesome flavour.
Leeks: Delicious, but here for just a few more weeks!
Potentially the last week for fresh basil until March. Use the 2/$6 deal if you're saving some for winter
FROM our FIELD
Bunched: Leeks, root parsley, sorrel, kale (green, red, and Toscano), collard greens, chard, radish, carrots, green onions, hakurei turnips.
Bagged: Salad mix, arugula, spinach (limited), mustard greens, spicy mix (salad mix plus mustards and endive)
Heads: Celeriac, cabbage (round, caraflex, tendersweet, red), choi, kohlrabi, broccoli (limited), cauliflower (white and romanesco), garlic, curly endive, fennel, lettuce
Herbs: Sage, thyme, rosemary, parsley, basil (green, red, Thai and tulsi (holy basil)), dill, cilantro, mint, marjoram, lovage. Herb bundles (XL bunch with a mix of parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme)
Baskets: Beans, carrots, rutabaga, potatoes (yellow, mini), parsnips, root parsley, beets. Daikon (purple and red). Sweet peppers, tomatoes (Roma or salad), green (unripe) tomatoes, hot peppers (habanero, jalapeno), tomatillos, Salsa Verde packs
FROM HOOPHOUSES, TUNNELS and GREENHOUSE
Roma tomatoes, sweet pepper, basil (green, red, Thai and tulsi (holy basil)), chard
PANTRY
Tomato sauce and tomato-vegetable soup made with our produce
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FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
NEW: Organic apples from Tansy Orchard in Duncan, Ontario!
Acorn squash from HOPE
PRODUCE
Tansy Orchard (Duncan): Empire, Northern Spy, Red Delicious, Spartan. Grown on their family farm, the first organic orchard in the Beaver Valley.
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Red Delicious, Ambrosia, Mutsu, Jonagold, Empire, Cortland, Sunrise, Paula Red, Honeycrisp, Gala, and McIntosh apples. Grown on their family farm, just down the road from us.
Daryl Myny (Vienna, ON): Spanish onions, Honeynut squash. Family owned and operated organic farm specializing in alliums and squashes.
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Acorn, Spaghetti, Buttercup/ Kabocha, Delicata and Butternut squash. Red onions and sweet potato. A cooperative of Amish families using both time-honored and innovative techniques on their organic farms.
Organic, sourced through Pfenning's: Ontario: mushrooms, Royal Gala and McIntosh apples, Luscious and Asian pears. Canada: tofu and cranberries. Imported: bananas, citrus, ginger, turmeric.
DAIRY and EGGS
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Small-flock raised eggs by a cooperative of Amish families Seasonally pasture-raised with non-GMO feed.
Mistyglen Creamery (Belmont): Whole milk, chocolate milk, and seasonal Mocha milk. Plain and flavoured cheese curds. Vat-pasteurized and in glass bottles. Raised and handcrafted on their farm.
Organic, sourced through Pfenning's: L'Ancetre pasture butter and certified grass-fed cheeses.
Gunn's Hill (Woodstock): Handeck and Five Brother's cheese. Handcrafted cheese made with milk from their farm.
FROZEN
3Gen Organics (Wallenstein): Ground pork, sausage, bacon, ham, tenderloin, chops. From their multi-generational family farm, producing organic pork and feed.
YU Ranch (Tillsonburg): Ground beef, beef patties, stewing beef. Grass-fed and finished beef raised on pastures on their family farm.
New Leaf Foods (London): Plant-based beet burgers. Handmade, with locally sourced ingredients.
BAKERY
J&D Peters Tortillas (Aylmer): Corn, spelt, whole wheat and unbleached flour tortillas. Made with organic flour by this family-owned local business.
La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas): Sourdough bread and pastries with organic and organically grown grain that Seth fresh-mills himself.
Artisan Bakery (London): Sourdough bread and pastries made with local Arva Mills flour. Other handcrafted goods: granola, mustard, and chili crisp.
PANTRY
Aldred Maple (West Lorne): Amber, dark, or whiskey barrel-aged maple syrup. Produced on their family farm.
Wildflowers Honey (St. Thomas): Unpasteurized honey harvested from hives all over Elgin County. Some of the hives are at our farm!
Mat's Fine Oils (Staffordville): Fresh, organic and cold-pressed sunflower oil. Grown and processed on their farm with a small team of farmers and draft horses. Store in the refrigerator.
From the Land Fermented Products (Port Stanley): Fire cider, elderberry syrup
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PICKUP/ DELIVERY OPTIONS
Farm pickup: Thursday 4 pm to 8 pm.
Home delivery: Thursday or Friday in London/St.Thomas, Saturday in KW region
Western Fair Market pickup: Saturday 8 am to 3 pm / Sunday 10 am to 2pm
Kitchener Market pickup: Saturday 7 am to 2 pm
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 deliveries, please leave these return items out where you would like your order dropped off. Thank you!
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Community Solidarity Program
Our Solidarity Program aims to make healthy food more accessible to economically-vulnerable households in our community by making our produce boxes available at a reduced cost. The program splits the cost three ways: 40% is covered by community donations, 30% is covered by the farm, and 30% is paid by the recipient.
This program has been running since June, and we’re really happy with how it has being going so far. Every week, between 4 and 15 Solidarity boxes are purchased by households in our community. We are really proud to strengthen our community by working together to help our neighbours access good, local food.
We’ve updated the system to accept individual and subscription donations. There is a link to donate below, but don’t hesitate to email us if you would like help adding either type of donation. We are looking forward to continuing this program together!
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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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