It’s been what feels like a super productive week here on
the farm. We’ve worked our socks off working 11 hour days in a big push to get
as much field work done as possible before CSA starts on Wednesday.
For those of you who don’t know, CSA stands for Community
Supported Agriculture and how it works at the farm here is that you buy a CSA
share and in return you get a weekly or bi-weekly box of vegetables. So it’s similar to a veggie box scheme except
with a CSA share you pay upfront for the whole season, which lasts I think 13
weeks. There is also an autumn/winter
CSA that consists of winter storage crops.
We go to market both Saturday and Sunday right through
until mid November, which meant harvesting Fridays and part of Saturday, but
once CSA begins this week we’ll also be harvesting on Wednesdays, so harvest
and processing produce will now become the main focus of work on the farm.
So what have we been doing on the farm this week?
Tuesday we had a ‘school’ morning as it was lashing down
with rain, so Kylah set us an exercise to write out a farm budget, thinking of
the farm capital and what everything cost and then annual expenditure for the
farm. It was really useful to try and
think of everything that you would spend money on to start and run a farm. Kylah then went through everything with us
giving the correct amounts. It’s really
refreshing for a business to be so transparent and open about their finances;
where the money goes, what they earn, and where they have received grants from
etc. it’s also very eye opening to see
how much money has gone into the farm.
They have done an incredible amount in such a short space of time,
particularly in terms of building construction and major works.
In the afternoon we planted cedar and spruce saplings on
top of the earthworks that cover the root cellar which will act as a wind break
and help to prevent soil erosion.
Tuesday was my birthday so in the evening the four of us
went to a small tavern in the town of Wilno which is around a 45 minute drive
from the farm. The sun was setting as we
made our way and we drove through the town of Golden Lake and the pink sunset
reflecting on the lake was a gorgeous sight.
I went to Wilno the first week here and was so incredibly tired and achy
that I couldn’t really enjoy it. However I had great fun this time dancing ‘til the early hours to the Wilno Blues Band;
a bunch of old geezers who play rock and roll and blues covers.
Wednesday Leah and I finished planting up the strawberry
beds and weeded the squash. In between
the squash rows it’s like a wild herb garden and I pulled up lots of dandelion
and mallow roots which are now drying upstairs in the barn. In the afternoon we all worked on sorting out
the peas; weeding and directing the plants so they are against the fence and
will start to grow up it. Many were
flopped over and straggling on the ground.
There are lots of peas coming now and I had a sneaky taste and they are
delicious. Looks like we are only
growing sugar snap style peas which is a shame, I would love to be eating fresh
podded garden peas, they are such a summer treat.
Thursday we really knuckled down and got tonnes done. We had a cucumber beetle squishing session in
the early morning, many of the plants are badly infested but it seems like they
are holding up well to the attack now that they are big and well established
plants. We then moved on to plant Kale,
chard, Brussels sprouts and parsley, which then all go covered with fleece row
cover. Zach was saying how they harvest
kale right into January here, which I found amazing considering how cold the
winters get, like -20˚c and below. The
fleece cover must keep them relatively snug and then a layer of snow on top
will also help to insulate the plants against the cold.
Just before lunch we planted up three beds of winter
squash, I love squash and am excited for the fall when we get to eat lots of
them!
After lunch we weeded a bunch of crops and generally had
a laugh talking about our native slang words and making up silly songs. Zach is so much fun to work with, he’s always
making up random raps and taking the mick out of my accent which I find
hilarious as his English accent is terrible!
We had a film crew visit the farm from some Canadian TV
station and Zach did four short interview segments which you can (hopefully)
watch below if you're interested
Friday is the big harvest day and this week’s produce was
radish, spinach, arugula, lettuce, hakurei, kale, chard, garlic, garlic scapes
and beetroot. I personally harvested
spinach, kale and chard then went on to processing stuff from the field i.e.
washing and packing. I’m generally the
main processor and the others call me the Wash Station Manager as I spend most
of harvest days in the wash station. So
all greens – lettuce, spinach and arugula are washed in huge water troughs, as
many weeds as possible picked out, then spun dry in a converted washing
machine! Very ingenious! Then they are bagged up and packed into boxes. I do all the bagging and I’m pretty speedy at
it now and at the point where I can tell what 150grams is just by how it feels
in my hand. All the bagging is done in
the root cellar and it’s like going into a cave, when I come out I’m all bleary
eyed and the sun seems so bright after working in the din of the cellar.
Roots are all spray washed with hoses and then packed
into boxes. Chard, kale and garlic don’t
get washed as they generally come out of the field looking clean already.
Harvest days are so busy and it’s the kind of work where
you barely have time to stop to breathe, but I enjoy it all the same.
Washing Hakurei in the wash station
Saturday we harvested and processed more in the morning
and early afternoon then had a bit of a tidy up as we had a farm tour in the
afternoon. Quite a few people turned up,
some CSA members, some local farmers and some just interested in seeing the
farm. Zach did a tour and got around
half of the people to plant potatoes which is brilliant! One less piece of work for us to get
done! After the tour we had a pot luck
dinner and most of the people brought food to share with everyone. There was also a craft table set up for the
kids which I think some of the adults were just as keen on, me included! It was lovely to talk to the people who
visited and see so many people coming together and enjoying the farm.
artwork from the farm tour craft table
I’ve felt pretty inspired this week and have been
thinking, half daydreaming a little about what I want to do when I come home.
Maybe renting some land, growing some veggies, imagining the possibilities…
Sunday was a very relaxed day off spent doing some
cooking, reading, napping and generally avoiding the roasting hot sun. in the
evening Leah, Jackson and I went and picked strawberries in the HUGE strawberry
patch here at Bob’s. it’s left over from
when Kylah and Zach used to farm around an acre at Bob’s in the early days
before buying the land for the farm.
There are so many plants, it’s all a bit over grown and neglected, but
we picked loads from just a tiny segment of the bed and they are so
delicious. What’s brilliant is that they
aren’t being harvested for market or anything so we can stuff ourselves silly
with strawberries for the coming weeks!
The strawberry bed is right next to a crazy overgrown raspberry patch
too which is going to be dripping with fruit soon; it’s berry heaven!
strawberries galore!
In the night as Leah and I walked back to our tents there
were lots of fireflies out. It’s the first time I’ve seen them and wow are they
magical. Floating gracefully through the
air and sparking bright in a languid rhythm.
I stood and watched them for a while as they flew through the apple
trees and around me, a very ethereal beauty.
Much love always
Becky
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