Metchosin Grown and Certified Organic
We love growing delicious vegetables and sharing the abundance.
Our farm stand is open every Tuesday and Saturday all year long.
On the farm stand this week:
Arugula • Broccoli • Radishes • Salad Greens • Rhubarb • Saanich Organics Vegetable Seeds • Spinach
Boat loads of Broc!
Our colleagues at the Organic Seed Alliance have been hard at work breeding vegetable varieties to fill the gaps in our season. I went down to Washington last fall for a conference and learned about this Burgundy Broccoli which is a spring planted type that is supposed to come in April, right when the winter broccoli ends. Ours is just ready now, but we're not about to complain because its gorgeous and delicious! I also found out about a fall planted cauliflower for the mid spring slot which you'll get to enjoy next April. We're slowly learning how to fill this hunger gap time.
Longing, Love, Betrayal and Revenge
Just a warning, you might not want to read on. Its been such a dramatic two weeks with our nesting box, we're all emotionally exhausted from this saga :)
You'll recall from our last newsletter the sense the joy and anticipation we had with the installation of a Kestrel (small falcon) box. We were tasked with opening it each week to inspect and to kick out any non Kestrel residents.
The first week was without incident, and the box was empty. Then, the sweetest little pair playful chickadees moved in. They were so happy with their newfound home that I decided to throw in the towel and welcome them. But then, not three days later, my nemeses, the house sparrows were in. House Sparrows are a menace at the farm, eating seedlings and having early morning parties in the wash area. It was time for eviction!
When we opened it up, we were shocked. There was a huge pile of messy nesting material. And way underneath, in amongst the sweetest little tufts of cat hair and insulation and bits of fluff was a cold chickadee egg. The sparrows had built their nest right on top of the chickadees' nest!
Now the question remains - do we leave the box up and risk more hapless victims? Clearly we need a Kestrel to come and clear out these nasty invasive sparrows. Is it too late in the season? Will the farmers get any work done or will they remained glued to the action in the oak meadow? Stay tuned!
The Squash is Planted!
This photo doesn't look like much, but this week we got our acre of winter squash in the ground. You're looking at the upper field along Witty Beach Rd. It should be a gorgeous site through the summer as the rambling vines entirely fill the space, and the brightly coloured squashes start peaking out. If you have squash or pumpkin seeds, its the time to plant. The soil is warm and the danger of frost is over!
On the Menu at Sea Bluff: Broccoli Many Ways!
We've been starting to sample the broccoli. Its really great raw, straight up. It keeps it's beautiful colour when raw, and looks gorgeous tossed in salad. When its cooked, the colour goes dull. The first time it made it to the kitchen, it was roasted. Cut into bit size lengths, and tossed in oil and roasted at 350ºF for 15 minutes. It should have been delicious but someone in our household left it in too long so it was dry. Hopefully no one will repeat this kitchen crime because a lot of hard work went into that broccoli :) Next we steamed it (cut into bite size lengths) for a scant 4 minutes. Heavenly!