Farm Talk

Hey Farm Folk,

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!

Podcast:

We are thrilled to present “Sprouts” — episode 2 of The Cutting Veg podcast, written and produced by Eric Rosenberg (http://healthymoney.ca). Listen in: www.thecuttingveg.com/podcast

Volunteer Needs:

We will be welcoming volunteers to the farm this Monday-Friday, and next Sunday, from 6:30am-3:30pm. We will be on the Brampton farm all of these days but Thursday, when we will be at the Sutton farm. If you are interested in helping on the farm this week, please rsvp to jessica@thecuttingveg.com, and let her know what day you want to come, and if you need directions to the farm, or a lift (leaving at 6am from Davenport and Bathurst area). Hope to see you on the farm this week!

Introducing the 2011 Interns:

Why would anyone voluntarily choose to wake up at 5am, in order to be on the farm at 6:30am, only to do heavy physical labour in the rain, cold, and intense heat? Because they love food, they love our planet, and they want to learn how to grow food organically, while making a difference. Yes, the 2011 Intern team is a collection of 12 exceptional individuals, working hard to provide the GTA with an abundance of fresh, local, organic veg. Please allow me to introduce you to Janaki Hadida, Jane Hutton, Jesse Mudie, Kirsten Cole, Leanne Moss, Linda Lavelle, Megan Robertson, Paolo Granelli, Sandra Cazaux, Tara Khiabani, Tom Nolan, and Tunde Sinclair. Amazing people, with amazing character, working hard to provide our community with high quality produce, while providing themselves with an organic farming education. The 2011 Intern team is a phenomenal group of people — phenomenal hearts, phenomenal work ethic, phenomenal farmers-in-training! It is truly a privilege to work with this team, and their efforts are largely the cause of the health and abundance of our crops. Thank you 2011 Interns!

Farm Update:

June is by far the most challenging month of the farming season. In addition to continuing with the vast planting and weeding demands, farmers now have regular harvesting and distribution to deal with. At the best of times, June is extremely challenging. This year, however, it’s even more challenging than usual, since the spring rains delayed planting of so many crops. Thus, over the last few weeks, our team has been working regular 14 and 16 hour days, juggling planting, weeding, harvesting, Farmers Markets and CSAs. Exhaustion, illness, heaps of stress are part of the daily reality right now — for our team, and for farmers throughout Southern Ontario. Nonetheless, when you see the progress, it all feels worth it. Over the last week, The Cutting Veg team has given our all to get the heat-lovers in the ground. Since Monday, we have planted 14 beds (130 ft x 4 ft) of Tomatoes, 12 beds Cukes, 12 Zukes, 3 Hot Peppers, 3 Basil, 10 Eggplant, and 5 more beds of onions. All of our heat-lovers are being interplanted with either Calendula or Nasturtium flowers, which are great pest preventers. Plant-o-rama continues this week, including finishing off the Onion planting (130,000 total!), Winter Squash, Sunflowers, Beets, Rhubarb, Salad Greens, and Asian Greens. Further, there’s volumes of weeding to do, including our Snow Pea and Snap Pea crops, Onions, and all of our cooking and salad greens. No doubt about it — it’s a very challenging time of year. And rewarding. As my friend Franklin often reminds me, “With great rewards come great challenges — they’re a package deal.”

Recipe: TURNIP SALAD

Ingredients:

4 turnips, peeled and chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and chopped

4 slices canned pineapple, chopped

½ cup white sugar

The dressing:

4 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp water

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions:

Ø Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Throw in the turnips and cook for about 15 minutes.

Ø Drain the water and let the turnips cool.

Ø Combine turnips, green onions, apples, pineapple and sugar in a large bowl. Stir well.

Ø Whisk together the oil, water, salt and pepper.

Ø Add the dressing to the salad and mix. Chill in the fridge before serving.

Serves 4

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

Daniel

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