CSA Farm Talk: Week 1 is here!

Hello CSA Members,
Welcome to the CSA Journey — The Cutting Veg team is thrilled to be sharing it with you! Each week you will receive this e-newsletter “CSA Farm Talk.” This will keep you up-to-date with what’s happening on the farm, provide recipes, inform about volunteer opportunities, and let you know what produce to expect at the CSA pick-up in the upcoming week. Let the Soil and Soul nourishment begin!

Farm Update:
It’s been a challenging spring for most organic farmers in Southern Ontario. The bounty of rains have washed out many grower’s plans for planting cool-weather crops (eg. Peas, Salad Greens, Bok Choy), and delayed the planting of the heat loving plants (eg. Tomatoes, Cukes, Zukes). However, as The Cutting Veg team was blessed to find a 2nd growing location with sandier soil (which drains well, and thus allowed for an early planting), we are thrilled to have a bounty of spring crops. Our Salad Mix, Arugula, Asian Greens, Onions, Radishes, and Green Garlic are all ready for harvest and looking great! Further, our Peas, Chard, Kale, Beans, Parsley, and Turnips have all germinated beautifully, and provide us with more crops to look forward to in a few weeks. We too, however, are delayed in the planting of our heat-lovers. We are eager for a dry window of weather, so that we can plant our Tomatoes, Basil, Eggplant, Hot Peppers, Zukes, Cukes, and Winter Squash. It’s looking like this dry window may begin this week. One of the things I adore about farming is that it truly is a co-creation. As the farmer, I have my plan and desires. However, I must follow the earth’s lead — taking cues from the weather, the soil, the appearance of the plants — and respond accordingly. Although the spring has been challenging for so many growers, and required a great deal of patience, The Cutting Veg team is doing a great job of listening to the earth, and following its lead. In following the earth’s lead, I believe we are setting ourselves up for a bountiful growing season, and if the early harvest is an indication, we are certainly on track.

CSA Members Day on the Farm – June 12th:
Please join us on the farm on Sunday June 12th, from 10am-noon, for our first “CSA Members Day” of the season. During the morning, we will participate in various farm activities (eg. planting, harvesting), a farm tour, and an interactive hand-drumming circle, provided by the Rhythmic by Nature drumming ensemble (http://www.rhythmicbynature.com). If you can make it, please rsvp to your CSA contact person Jessica, at jessica@thecuttingveg.com, and she will provide directions. Bring your friends and family! Get to know YOUR farm!

Produce this week:
This week you can expect to see most of the following items at the CSA pick-up (We say “most” because we can’t always predict with 100% accuracy what will be ready to harvest): Salad Mix (2pts), Green Onions (1pt), Green Garlic (1.5pts), Asian Greens Mix (2pts), Radishes (1pt), Arugula (2pts), Asparagus (2.5pts), Bok Choy (2pts), Mushrooms (2pts), Apples (1pt/3 apples), Beets (1.5pts). The first six items in the list were all grown on our farm, and the others are being sourced from other local, organic farms. As the season goes on, more and more will come from our farm.

Introducing Green Garlic and Asian Greens:

You are all familiar with Green Onions. But how about Green Garlic? Green Garlic is simply a garlic plant that is harvested before it reaches full maturity. With Green Garlic, you can use the entire plant, just like you do with green onions. Soups, stews, salad dressings…you’re gonna love the flavour and medicinal qualities that Green Garlic offers.

Another one of the fun crops that The Cutting Veg grows is our Asian Greens Mix. Included in this mix are leafy greens such as mizuna, pac choi, tah tsai, komatsuna, and mustard greens. What we love about this mix, aside from the unique flavours, is that it can be used as a salad, or cooked. If cooking your Asian Greens, you can use them however you would cook with kale, chard, or spinach — steam them, throw them in a stir-fry, soup, stew, curry, etc. Whether in salad or cooked, our Asian Greens are certainly well-loved.

Recipe: Asian Greens Salad with Edemame

Ingredients:

4 cups Asian baby greens

1 cup frozen edemame

1 cup sweet corn

1 ripe mango, peeled and sliced

Sunflower sprouts (optional)

The dressing:

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp apple juice

1 tsp sugar (optional)

1 tsp dry basil


Instructions:

Ø Whisk all the ingredients for the salad dressing.

Ø In a medium bowl, combine all the vegetables for the salad.

Ø Add the dressing and mix.

Ø Serve as a main course or appetizer.

Serves 4


Spread the word:
Please help others to learn about what we are up to, and how to get involved: 1. Twitter (http://twitter.com/): Follow us at @thecuttingveg; 2. Facebook: Like us at http://on.fb.me/iTSbQQ, 3. E-mail this newsletter to anyone who may be interested; 4. Share the link to this newsletter (http://bit.ly/ga5Am0) on Facebook or Twitter. 5. Bring a friend with to the farm or a CSA pick-up. Thanks for helping us to spread the word!


That’s all the news from the farm for now. Enjoy your first week of local, organic veg from your farm. Until next time, Keep Livin’ on the Veg!

Daniel

Daniel Hoffmann
Organic Farmer
The Cutting Veg
(647)388-7444
www.thecuttingveg.com
twitter: @thecuttingveg
facebook: http://on.fb.me/iTSbQQ


top