Farm Talk: Our 8th Annual Garlic Planting

Hello Farm Folk,
Farm Update from Farmer Daniel
A severe frost hit the farm in Sutton on Monday, wiping out our tomatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, eggplants, peppers, and other heat lovers. While it’s always sad to say goodbye to some of our favourite crops for another year, we are grateful that the frost came 12 days later than last season, allowing for an abundant September. While many folks associate the start of the school year with the end of the summer, veggie farmers often consider it summer until the heat lovers are done. If we’re still harvesting tomatoes and basil, it must be summer!

With the changing of the seasons, we turn our attention to our last major farm projects of the season: Continuing to fertilize our fields with countless loads of compost, and the garlic planting. As an organic farmer, nothing satisfies me more than nourishing our soil by carting compost into the fields. Feeding the soil feeds my soul. Further, we’ll be planting at least 50,000 cloves of garlic over the next month…one at a time. Sounds daunting, but I love planting garlic so much, some Octobers I feel like we could plant 500,000 cloves! Between the soul nourishing work of adding compost to our fields, and the joy of planting garlic, October looks to be a very rewarding month on the farm.

Stories From the Field
Hi, my name is Kat and this is my second year as part of The Cutting Veg staff team. I joined the team last year with an interest in building upon my gardening experiences and continuing to explore ways of growing community through food. I’ve enjoyed the variety of roles I’ve played this year whether it be at the farm, market, CSA pick-up spot, one of our two community garden sites or at my computer and, most importantly, have loved the people I’ve been able to work alongside. Food represents this wonderful “nexus” point where we can all connect. It offers us a reason to come together, join our energies and co-create something of great value. I’m currently doing an MA in Adult Education and Community Development at OISE. I’m exploring the transformative learning that arises from deepening one’s relationship with food and, subsequently, the relationships this connection stirs up, including one’s relationship to self, to community, to our environment, to something larger than “me.” Perhaps as we shift these relationships, we’ll be able to change the food system into a more equitable one.

Veg Tip of the Week
Want to take optimal care of your mushrooms? Refrigerate them as soon as you get home in a dry paper bag. Mushrooms keep best away from moisture so it’s best not to keep them in an air tight plastic bag where condensation will build up. When you wash them, use a damp paper towel to wipe mushrooms instead of soaking them completely.

Join us for the 8th Annual Garlic Planting
It’s time for The Cutting Veg 8th Annual Garlic Planting! Staring with 100 bulbs in 2005, we have grown our crop into the tens of thousands, with the goal of planting 50,000 cloves this fall! Please join us on the farm on Sunday, October 7th, and/or Monday October 8th, between 7:30am & 4pm to help us begin this process. Please rsvp to catherine.j@thecuttingveg.com, and mention what day you want to come, and if you need directions to the farm, or a lift (leaving from the Bloor and Christie area at 6am.)

Produce this week
This week members should expect to see, from The Cutting Veg: Salt Spring Garlic, Swiss Chard, Chives or Asian Greens. Outsourced Veg: Carrots (Zephyr), Lettuce (Zephyr), Green Peppers (Zephyr), Rutabaga (Zephyr), Mushrooms (Sharon Farms)

The Cutting Veg in the News
Check out this article in the Globe & Mail about the role of volunteerism within the local food movement: http://bit.ly/ULD3j4

Volunteers Welcome
Each week we welcome volunteers to the farm from Sunday-Friday, 7:15am-4pm. If you are interested in helping on the farm this week or next, please rsvp to catherine.j@thecuttingveg.com and mention what day you want to come, and if you need directions to the farm, or a lift (leaving at 6am from Bloor & Christie area). Hope to see you on the farm soon!

Recipe: Rutabaga with Carmelized Onions (From www.epicurious.com)
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
• 1 3/4 pounds onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 2 1/4 pounds rutabagas, peeled, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons honey

Melt 5 tablespoons butter in heavy large skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and sauté until brown, 30 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rutabagas in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in large skillet over medium-low heat. Add rutabagas; sauté until heated through, about 10 minutes. Drizzle honey over. Gently stir in onions. Season with salt and pepper.

Rutabaga Oven Fries:

• Rutabaga
• Sea Salt
• Olive Oil
• Herbs (I recommend rosemary and thyme)

Peel rutabaga. Cut into fries. Toss with olive oil, sea salt, and herbs. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Toss every 10 minutes. Remove when they are brown and look delicious.

That’s all the news from the farm for this week. Until next time, Keep Livin’ on the Veg!

The Cutting Veg Farm Team