Organic Vegetables and Berries

When Time Flies

July has just begun and the fields are already garbed in full summer attire. The not-so-subtle heat wave last week turned field grass yellow, adding to the effects of the intermittent drought we’ve been experiencing so far this summer.

Beyond that, it’s the harvested patches of field that bear witness to how quickly time flies on the farm. Typically left untended for a week or two as other priorities take precedence, they will be quickly cleaned, harrowed and sown with green manure again.

It’s a technical itinerary we adhere to religiously, no doubt explaining why some find “us organic folks” scarily sectarian…Green manures are the very foundation of organic crop rotations, not sowing them in a timely fashion, or at all, is risking the overall fertility of our fields.

The cooler temperatures that prevailed over the weekend cooled the jets of a few plants, starting with our zucchini, which seem to have decided to wait for warmer weather before producing their next wave of flowers. This week’s summer squash harvest will be somewhat less bountiful than last’s as a result. And in our blueberry patch, what was looking to be a (farm-record-breaking) early start to the harvest is now lining up as a normal, mid-July event. 

Nothing to report yet on the pepper front – we suspect they are still feeling out their new digs, literally one root at a time…They say patience is a virtue, so I will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best…

…meanwhile, we look forward to seeing you all at your respective drop-off locations.

REMINDER

Late last year, our good friend, former vegan caterer and organic farmer Mariève Savaria published a cookbook, La saison des légumes.  Extremely well-written and beautifully illustrated, it is a labour of love that pays tribute to all the vegetables (and some fruits) produced on Quebec’s organic farms. We can’t recommend it enough — it is the cookbook we would have liked to write, had we but a fraction of her talent. We will have copies for sale at all our drop-off locations this week.

Price: $45