Come Taste the Future

We had a wonderful event Sunday despite the rain. Our volunteer chef Pirapa made unbelievable appetizers, which were served under a large tent with the wonderful sounds of Charlene Zehr lingering in the background. I think everyone enjoyed a chance to chat about local and organic food systems, tour our demonstration gardens and hear about our latest research in producer-controlled distribution systems.

If you missed it - you may want to mark your calendar for our next event - August 29 – Seed Saving Tours at 10:00 and 1:00. Come out and see our gardens and harvest some seeds to take home to your garden for next year.

August 1 market

What...August already. Seems like summer has not even arrived and now it is over! But, the summer bounty is upon us and we are heading into the fall harvest...

This week at the market we will have:
- Lettuces (romaine and leaf), spinach, kale, chard, collards, summer cabbage, collards, green beans, zucchini, garlic, gr onions, Spanish onions, red onions, potatoes, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, raspberries, and blueberries.

- Also, eggs, maple syrup, dried black beans

- We are out of organic cheese from Millbank, but will be getting more soon. If you want to pre-order, join our buying club. For more details email us at cogpww@sympatico.ca.

Come check us out!

updates and summer rain woes

I’m getting quite used to be in the middle of something and suddenly get rained on. I’ve been dry and wet several times each day for weeks now. Its getting a bit tiresome.

Its getting to be problematic for the garden too. The cooler temperatures have really set the sweet potatoes, eggplant and peppers back. There are almost always peppers by now - and there is no sign of anything close. At least tomatoes are starting to ripen now, and there is of course tons of lettuce, kales, chards etc.

The wind has wreaked havoc with our row covers that we put over all the brassicas (Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, broccoli, kale). Its been next to impossible to keep it intact and covering the plants - so we’ll have to wait and see if we have cabbage worm damage!

The June bearing strawberries are finished now and we have mowed them down so they are ready to be revitalized with compost and weeded to help the berries prepare for a strong fruit set next year. The “day-neutral” berries (“everbearing”) are setting berries now for their second crop, which so far looks good.

All of the wheat straw we put down last month has meant for less than usual weeding - which has been great! But now with all this rain, all the wheat left in the straw has sprouted - so it looks like there is grass everywhere! Its a nice look I think - and a great cover crop to build soil structure - so of course we’ll leave it. But, we do need to pull it all from around the eggplants, peppers and tomatoes so that we can more easily harvest the fruits.

Unfortunately, all the areas where we didn’t get the straw spreading finished (the Hummingbird garden and herbs) are on the verge of being totally lost to weeds. If it ever dries out a bit out there, that will be a priority.

Beginning of August is when we usually begin planning in the greenhouse for our late fall harvest. So I hope to get some of that seed sowing done this week. Its always a bit of guess work - we need to sow early enough so that the day length is still long enough, but if we sow too early, the heat will make the lettuce and spinach bolt. (Not that we’ve had to worry about heat this year at all though!)

More soon as we work our way through the rain and weeds to capture the summer bounty!

The season is picking up at the market!

This week at the Diversity Gardens organic market stand we will have:

• Zucchini
• Radishes
• Green onions
• Green beans
• Cucumbers
• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Chards
• Kales
• Collards
• Spinach
• Lettuce - bags and heads
• Summer cabbage
  
• Herbs – basil, parsleys, summer savory etc.
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Cherries (maybe - it depends on the harvest today, the rain has damaged a lot of the crop)
  
• Eggs (from Organic Oasis)
  
• Millbank organic cheese
• Dried organic black turtle beans
• Maple syrup and maple butter (delicious!)
  

Coming soon - peaches, plums, apricots - summer fruit season is almost here!!

All of the products at the market stand are certified organic, except for the blueberries, cherries, peaches, plums and apricots. Diversity Gardens is part of a group that goes down to source sustainable fruit from the Niagara region. The fruit is not certified organic, but is not sprayed, and is grown following the organic standards. Local, certified organic tree fruit is very difficult to find in Ontario. In the fall we will have local, certified organic apples and apple products. We will continue to source certified organic 1st if possible!

July 14 - Garden update

Wow - another glorious sunny day in the garden. What a joy after all the rain - now we just need some heat to move things forward. Pretty much everything (except lettuce and radishes) are behind where they were last year. Planting was late due to rain and the colder weather has slowed a lot of things down. Here is quick run down....

Garlic - is amazing - huge heads - we've just harvested the first ones - the best for baking (at our produce stand on Saturday)

Onions are doing great too - these are more related to day length than heat so the weather hasn't affected them as much.

Tomatoes, eggplants, peppers - all doing quite well. Some disease in the tomato patch due to wetness - lets hope for warmer nights or this could be a big problem.

Cucumbers, zucchini, squash - all doing quite well. I'm surprised - last year I lost the entire crop due to disease - but so far so good, lots of blossoms.

Potatoes - first ones are delicious - at our vegetable stand on Saturday.

Looks like a good crop of corn, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts etc all coming.

Kales and chards are fantastic - as you already know if you've been visiting our produce stand on saturdays.

Our priority this week is to tidy up some weeding and sow the last outdoor plantings of beans, beets, cucumbers, zucchini, lettuces, carrots; and get a cover crop sown in the greenhouse so it has time to grow and be tilled in before our fall planting in there.

Drop by - Saturdays to see us.

Saturday July 18 market

This week in addition to our typical array of in season veggies (lettuce, kale, chard, spinach, broccoli, beets, potatoes, zucchini, herbs), we’ll have

• Organic cheddar from Millbank
• Organic maple syrup and maple butter from Hoovers
• Organic eggs from Organic Oasis
• Organic dried black beans (just in time for summer vegetable soups)

Our strawberries are done, but we are trying to source organic raspberries and strawberries from other local, organic farms.

We are also part of a group that goes down to source sustainable fruit from the Niagara region. This week we’ll be bringing in cherries. These are not certified organic, but they are grown according to the organic standards and are most certainly not sprayed. If you want to guarantee yourself some cherries, contact us at tschumilas@rogers.com and join our buying club!

Big hug to whoever it was who dropped by the produce stand in an absolute torrential downpour last week and left payment inside my door. You are a true organic food advocate - and our organic food hero of the week award goes to you!! (I had already been soaked twice that morning and was having a quick shower to warm up so I missed you.)

Remember to drop by the produce stand early (before 11:00) as we only harvest limited quantities to avoid wastage.

Happy local and organic eating!

Saturday, July 11 market

Thanks to everyone that came out last week. The first week of our local and certified organic market was a success. We plan on growing the market each week so stay tuned to the blog to find out what is available each week. The gardens are coming along nicely in spite of the cold and wet start to the season.

For this week we will have:
Red romaine lettuce
Black Seeded Simpson lettuce – green leaf
Red Batvian lettuce
Salad mixes
Garlic scapes
Herbs
3 kinds of kale
2 kinds of chard
Collards
Baby carrots
Green onions
Potatoes
Strawberries (about 12 quarts)
Spinach
Sugar snap peas
Broccoli
Beets
Zucchini

Also:
certified organic maple syrup (there are only 5 certified organic maple syrup producers in Ontario, and we have one of them in Perth County!)
organic black turtle beans (dried)
organic cheese from Millbank
organic eggs
organic milk

Don't forget your re-usable bags!

Local, Organic Market at Diversity Gardens

Starting July 4th and running throughout the summer, certified organic fruits, vegetables, eggs, and other products will be available at the Diversity Gardens market stand. We will be showcasing products from the gardens as well as from certified organic farmers in the region.

Stay tuned to the blog for updates on what is available each week, as the list will be growing! Or, join our buying club for advance email orders. For more details email us at cogpww@sympatico.ca.

This week at the Diversity Gardens Market Stand
- strawberries!
- sugar snap peas
- potatoes
- green onions
- lettuce
- beets
- kale
- spinach
- garlic scapes
- Swiss chard
- radishes
- herbs - oregano, chives, garlic chives, lovage, French tarragon, borage leaves, ginger mint, rosemary, sage, dill
- flowers - Asiatic lilies