Winter CSA #18

March 11th

A very cold morning to mark our last Winter Csa for the 2016-2017 season! Hope you enjoyed!
The next few months will have Rick and I working separately as i gear up for my annual Heirloom plant sale and get all the seedlings for the farm going. Rick has quite a few farm projects to keep him busy as well as harvesting for market. It is a very busy time.  We are not planning to run the store and our produce will only be available at the market.

It's been a wild ride with getting the greenhouse built around our winter garden with some very cold weather than set in early this year but we got it done!  We've had a few wind storms just to test us out a little! While we are happy with how things turned out this year we expect next year to be even better.  We'll be in touch with details for our next winter CSA this summer.


In your baskets today:

Chez Nous salad mix
Swiss Chard
Spinach
Kale with kale Buds
Napa with bud also

greens extra: Swiss Chard and Mustard

Just a note about the flower stalks on the kale and Napa.  They are similar to prepare as you would asparagus, bending the stalk to see where it cracks...the top is tender and can be cooked without and stringiness and the bottom will be tougher.  Last weeks Napa stalk was more tender than this weeks as it was harvested earlier.

Rainbow and Green Dinosaur Kales have been the first to send up their stalks.

Scarlet Kale (purple) also up with the Red Russian styles behind seem to be next.  Green Siberian, Laurels Frilly and Madeley Kales have yet to bud.  

 

Mizpoona in full bloom

 

Arugula also in flower mode.  There is a lot of these in your salad mix this week.  The stalks are sweet and the buds spicy!

Baby Kale buds for the salad mix

All kinds of treasures

 

I will miss this bold mix this summer.

Bowl of flowers in a big bowl of salad mix.  Topped every salad bag with a bud or two.

 

We are grateful for all that was provided by this greenhouse this winter but really anxious to revamp! The beds need to be remade and covered with landscape fabric and all the necessary equipment to tie tomatoes need to be hung. Lots of work!

 Thank you so much for your business!

Shirley and Rick
Chez Nous Farms

 

Winter CSA #12

January 14

It's a swampy soupy mess out there.  As always, the duck is quite content having the whole yard as his swimming pool.  As for us, we do our  best to find a walking path that hasn't been overtaken by mud while trying not to notice the smell of rotting cabbage.   That's right... you probably don't know that whenever there is a melt down, all the brassicas crops, which ruled the farm in the fall,  have since turned to mush and now fill the air with their distinct cabbagey smell.

It was so nice to see the sun this week, not only for it's soothing Vitamin D rays but because the plants just don't grow at all when it's gray all the time.  After being stuck in the house for a few weeks, it was quite a treat.  We were also grateful to see everything was still standing after that crazy wind storm Tuesday night.

And finally, I was happy to get a nice salad mix out to you after being a little short on greens for the last few baskets.  Not much lettuce in this one, instead you'll find Nappa, Swiss Chard, Asian Greens, Spinach, Tatsoi, Arugula, Mustards and Parsley.  It can easily be stretched by mixing it with your own lettuce or enjoyed just how it is.  We also made a Larger leaf mixed greens bag with Kale, Napa, Mustards and Swiss Chard.

In your basket this week:

Salad Mix
Greens Mix
Hakurei Turnips
Leeks
Carrots

Xtra greens: Salad Mix and Tatsoi

Thanks and have a great week!

Shirley
Chez Nous Farms

Winter CSA #11

January 7th

Once you start growing year long, spring seems to come so much faster.  It actually caught me by surprise last year....when one day I realized, wait a minute...I need to get on this.  I guess i was waiting for that break when i would start shopping the seed catalogs that had quietly rolled in well before the holidays.   We are presently still in full winter harvest and my first 2017 order has been made, the first seeds are germinating and my rosemary cuttings are in jars on my windowsill.

Seed shopping is still my very favourite job.  Along with food shopping, it's one that i never feel guilty about even if i get a little carried away.  Every year, we try to simplify our crops with those that are profitable and work for our farm.  I do however, have a plant sale... in which, i also sell things that we do not grow here to accommodate the customers and sometimes there are a few of these special plants left over that I could not bear send to the compost pile.  As always, I am pretty excited about some new varieties we'll be featuring this season!

In your baskets this week:

2 bags of carrots
1 bag od Hakurei turnips
1 Kale
1 Mizpoona green

X-tra Greens: Spinach and Tatsoi

I am especially happy to announce that yesterday the boys got the second layer of plastic on.  This is such a relief.  The plastic goes on in sections and the bottom of the greenhouse had both layers but we were waiting for an opportunity to cover the top with it's second layer and losing lots of heat in the meantime.  Waiting for the stars to align took a lot longer than we had hoped but it's done.

Wind is the biggest thing to consider when laying the plastic, the slightest breeze is problematic.  Things were pretty calm yesterday but they lost the plastic once and had to gather it up for the field.  It's obviously a job for more than 2 people but that's what we got.  I still can't believe that there has never been more than a two man crew working on this. Great job guys!

This weeks CSA was again 100% up to the boys.  Today is the first day i have been able to sit in a chair this long.  I am planning to get out there this week and hope all goes well.   Thanks for your patience ...it's all been a little overwhelming with the greenhouse, the weather, the holidays and then my back but all seems to be falling back into place.

I am lacking pictures but i did manage to get out there yesterday when i saw they where putting on the plastic.

Rick securing a couple spots along this side, you can see plastic is still floating along the top.  The roll of plastic which Rick lifted with a homemade crane was sitting atop the dispenser (top left)for a good 2 weeks.

Unfortunately, I missed the unrolling of the plastic.

Again Rick temporarily securing one side while Josh holds down the other.  

Check out the size of our first house compared to this one!

Two guys figuring out how to make up for the lack of extra hands.

And that's it. They spent the rest of the day freezing their fingers to properly secure the plastic in the track.  Were not done yet but this is the biggest part.  The difference inside the greenhouse was instant!

And for your entertainment ...my dog who had some fun as i wrote this post.  I can't believe it...I washed the couch cover and placed the pieces in the living room to assemble when i was done this. I'm sure your all familiar with her as she attacks the window when anyone arrives or leaves.

Her window.

Her reaction when i called her to take a picture....oh dear.

Have a great week!

Shirley

Chez Nous Farms