Solving our Tomato Mysteries
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Have a 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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Lots of different tomatoes coming in from Hoophouse 3! |
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Farm Update
We are really happy to see the tomatoes from Hoophouse 3 really starting to make fruit. We had some concerns last month that we had over-fertilized these tomatoes. They looked really green and lush…almost too much so. Healthy plants are a positive, but since we’re trying to grow tomatoes (not just tomato plants) the lack of fruit had us a little worried that there was too much nitrogen. Compost is a good thing, but just as with people, too much of a good thing isn't always good.
We think the problem was augmented by the trellising method we used and the varieties we planted. These tomatoes tend to set and ripen their fruit in a short timespan, rather than evenly over time. Maybe part of the problem here was simply that we needed to be more patient, but what can we say, we love tomatoes!
Another interesting story from Hoophouse 3 was the mystery of plants spontaneously dying on the east side. This happened to only few last year, but we quickly removed them thinking it was a disease and trying to prevent further spread. Then this year, about a month after planting, we saw about 25 plants (all in the eastmost 10 ft) start to suffer and then completely wilt. We were about to cut out all these plants when we realized… it could be the black walnut trees.
Black walnut roots emit a chemical called juglone, which is toxic to many plants. We had never considered them a problem in this spot because the closest trees are over 50ft away and 30ft down a ravine. Just in case, we ran a sub-soiler on the east side of the hoophouse to break up potential roots. Believe it or not, the plants stopped dying and some of them even began growing again.
We guess that last year, the roots had just reached the plants on the very edge, but this year they were well established under the soil and just needed the tomato roots to reach down far enough to contact them. Very glad we didn’t remove all those plants!
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Described by past attendees as calming, comfortable, and the highlight of their summer, Middle River Music Fest celebrate local music and food systems. |
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Erik dressed up for carrot harvest day! |
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FARM STORE NOTES
FROM OUR FARM:
Eggplant: Italian, Sicilian and Turkish long-types are all in our rotation this year! All delicious roasted, grilled, marinated, blended into dips.
Hot peppers: A few of our hot peppers are ready including shishito, jalapeno and serrano. The red-when-ripe ones like cherry bomb, habanero, and cayenne are coming soon!
Field: Carrots, beans, zucchini, eggplant, hot peppers, summer squash, new potatoes, herbs (dill, cilantro, parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram), salad mix, beets, arugula, cabbages, head lettuces, green onion, grilling onions, kale, and chard.
Greenhouse and hoophouses: Cucumbers, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, basil, eggplant.
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FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
PRODUCE
Bluegroves Farms (West Lorne): Lots of Blueberries available right now!
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Sugarbaby watermelon, delicata squash, and sweet potatoes.
Forest City Microgreens (London): Fresh microgreens
Pfenning's Organics: Green onions, broccoli.
Through Pfenning's: Ontario mushrooms. From further away; lemons, limes, ginger, turmeric.
DAIRY and EGGS
Mistyglen Creamery (Belmont): Non-homogenized and vat pasteurized milk, yogurt, and cheese curds.
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Eggs.
Through Pfenning's: L'Ancetre butter and grass-fed cheese
Gunn's Hill (Woodstock): Brie, Handeck and Five Brother's cheeses
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
Seth/La Houlette de vie (St. Thomas): Organic sourdough bread made using local grain that Seth mills himself.
Artisan Bakery (London). Sourdoughs and pastry made with local flour.
J&D Peters Tortillas (Aylmer): Corn, spelt, whole wheat and unbleached flour tortillas.
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, organic 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)
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