That is Enough Rain for Now! |
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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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One off-type Shepherd pepper required this sign at market. The plant has been found, thanks to our expert tasters! So don't fear, you can safely eat our red shepherd peppers now. The hot plant wan't just a little hot, it was very spicy. If anyone wants to try one, let us know! |
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Solidarity Program Update
and Call for Donations
Our Solidarity Program has been up and running for 2 months now, so we wanted to share some insights about how it’s going so far.
If you’re not familiar with it, our Solidarity Program aims to make healthy food more accessible to economically-vulnerable households in our community. 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.
Immediately after it began in late June, the program sent boxes to 4 households. The usage accelerated substantially, with 19 boxes in July, and 30 in August. Solidarity boxes have gone to over 20 homes, and about 50% of recipients have purchased a box more than once.
Since it began, this community has donated over $1400 to fund the program and help their neighbours access good, local food. As of now, over $1000 from that donation pool has been used to pay the community funded portion of each box. With the current usage rate, we expect the rest of the donation pool will be used up before the end of September.
We’re really happy with how it has being going so far, both excited and grateful by how the community has contributed. 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 form of donation. We are looking forward to continuing this program together!
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Farm Update
We certainly feel like we’ve had enough rain for now. For a little while it felt like the fall rainy season had come a little early, leaving us just enough time between storms to prepare area for our final field plantings of the year. Now it feels like it will never dry out!
We are back to standing water in the fields again, with a few inches flooding several areas on the farm. We’ve had such frequent rain in the last week-and-a-half that the fields haven’t really had time to properly dry out. Now, with heavier storms in the last few days, our already saturated fields can’t absorb much more, so water is back to standing in some familiar low spots.
At this point, any low areas that aren’t already planted, won’t be planted this year. Usually we have to choose where our final plantings go, carefully weighing factors like crop-family rotations, weed load, and fertility. This year, the weather and shape of our fields have decided for us and we are putting final plants and seeds in the ground wherever possible.
Thankfully, we're done our massive plantings for the season. This week we're transplanting the last succession of salad mix, mini lettuce heads, dill, and cilantro in the field. The direct sowing will be spinach, hakurei turnips, and the weekly arugula, radish and mustard greens. Since the fields are too wet to make any new beds, we are relying on beds unused last week and any other areas that look good enough for now.
We consider these beds “stale” because they aren’t freshly made, so they are full of tiny weeds. To make these wet, stale beds adequate for planting, we’re using our flame weeder. We push the flame weeder over the bed, cooking the weeds and leaving it clear. Then… we put plants and seeds in the muddy field any way that we can!
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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Speaking of hot: these are intentionally VERY hot! |
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FARM STORE NOTES
FROM OUR FARM:
We have SO many sweet peppers this week! Don't miss this super versatile fruit at it's peak. Looking to preserve some for the off-season? Half bushels available!
1/2 bushels of Romas!
Flats of beefsteak seconds (perfect for soup)!
From the Fields:
Bunched: Beets (red, golden, white and chioggia), sorrel, kale, chard, radish, carrots, fennel.
Bagged: Salad mix, arugula
Heads: Watermelon, cantaloupe, celery, broccoli, garlic, cabbage, choi, mini lettuce heads, magenta lettuce, delicata squash
Herbs: Green or red Genovese basil (lots right now if you want to make pesto!), tulsi (holy basil), Thai basil, mint, oregano, marjoram, dill, cilantro, flat parsley, curly parsley, rosemary
Baskets: Sweet peppers, summer squash, eggplant, red and yellow potatoes, tomatoes, roma tomatoes, salad tomatoes, green tomatoes, Serrano chilies, cayenne peppers, shishito peppers, poblano peppers, jalapeno, tomatillos, Salsa Verde packs
Hoophouses and tunnels: beefsteak tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet pepper, basil
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FROM OUR SUPPLIERS:
Early apples and pears from Great Lakes
Onions, Honeynut and delicata squash from Daryl Myny
Field of Greens Farm (Dutton): Everbearing strawberries
Great Lakes Farms (Port Stanley): Sunrise, Paula Red, Zestar and Ginger Gold apples. Barlett Pears
Daryl Myny (Vienna, ON): Spanish onions, Honeynut squash, delicata squash
HOPE Eco-Farms (Aylmer): Sweet corn, red onions
Pfenning's (New Hamburg): Cauliflower.
Through Pfenning's: Ontario mushrooms. Canadian tofu. From further away, citrus, ginger, turmeric.
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): Corn, 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.
From the Land Fermented Products (Port Stanley): Fire cider, elderberry syrup
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| Donate to our Solidarity Program |
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BULK FRUITING CROPS
Now available:
Sweet Peppers, Roma tomatoes, Beefsteak tomatoes, seconds beefsteak tomatoes
Organic, local, and downright delicious! Bulk fruiting crops will be available now through the end of October. Inventory is updated every Monday. Order until Wednesday at 12pm for pickup/delivery options later in the week.
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PICKUP/ DELIVERY OPTIONS
Farm pickup: Thursday 4pm-8pm.
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
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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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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