CSA Week 7

You know that it is peak summer when tomatoes, beans, and basil appear in your shares! We get our first taste of tomatoes this week with greater quantities in following weeks. They look (and taste) fantastic and make a delicious sandwich or salad topping. Although I'm sure I don't need to tell you how to use up your tomatoes...

This week we learned that we had been approved for a grant from the Carrot Cache to help in the cost of expanding our greenhouse. Our plan is the double the size of our current greenhouse and use the expanded portion as a permanent growing area for tomatoes and peppers in the summer, as well as cool crops in the early spring and late fall. Compared to our current caterpillar tunnels for tomatoes, the greenhouse will provide greater height to allow us to use a more efficient trellising system and, thereby, increase yields. This will also free up the caterpillar space for other crops such as cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, and others that will benefit from covered growing.

I'm very excited about this addition (even though it means extra construction tasks this summer and fall) because it will also allow me to extend the CSA season. I am still working out the details but you can expect more options and more weeks of production for the 2020 season. My long-term goal is to maintain the current share numbers but expand them over a longer period of time. Compared to a high number of share members just in the summer months, this helps to balance my work load more evenly across the year. 

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Kale and Chard make regular appearances in our shares throughout the season and many people enjoy them lightly sauteed with garlic, added to a smoothie, or in soups and stews. But if you are looking for other ways to use these delicious and nutritious greens, try one of the recipes below:

12 Favourite Kale Salads
​Feta and Kale Dip
Swiss Chard Pesto
​13 Creative Swiss Chard Recipes