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Weekly Market Notes Library

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Weekly Market Notes for July 18, 2013

Hello Market Friends:

Quite a season to be a farmer! While most of us are lying around looking wilted this week, there's a lot to get done on the farms. Look at this preview of the wonderful (and refreshing) food coming in:

"Summer is in full swing! While sweet cherries are finishing this is the one week a year we have sour/pie cherries. Raspberries and Apricots are at their sweetest and the yellow plums will soon be coming to market with us. Rains up north have subsided making the Wild Blueberry harvest easier so prices will settle to summertime lows. And peaches are just around the corner." Laura, Feast of Fields Farm

Jenny Cook writes: "It has been a good week for lying on the beach, which is sometimes what I would rather be doing than wheel hoeing around my squash! Some of you might not know that Knuckle Down Farm is almost entirely one woman powered. Caitlin Hall, who I rent land from, kindly cultivates the field for me with her tractor, but after that it is up to me and my trusty hand tools. With all this rain and then heat the weeds have gotten a little ahead of me. If anyone is looking for a fun afternoon on the farm volunteers are always welcome! To market this week: chard, salad turnips, parsley and cilantro some beautiful summer squash and more flowers."

"I have some raspberries, last of the lavender and some lovely apricots for this week. Peaches are shaping up well and hopefully next week we start picking them. Keep cool," Debbie Wiecha from Niagara Lavender Farm

From Linda at Country Meadows: "With such hot weather, the tomatoes are really ripening nicely, so we'll have both cherry and large ones. Speaking of tomatoes, here's my latest farm story called Tiptoeing through the Frogs:

As I picked tomatoes today, I had to tiptoe around the frogs; we have Leopard Frogs everywhere, all sizes.. So much rain over the past month has been a boon for the frogs, which are my "pest control experts." They love bugs, slugs, mosquitoes, you name it, the best pest control money CAN'T buy. Frogs are an indicator of environmental health; we have lots of them so our place has a AAA rating from Mother Nature!! (in addition to a congratulatory letter from Pro-Cert, our organic certifier). Now that it is somewhat drier, I've placed some wading pools around the tomato plots for the frogs to take a dip. I don't want my workers to pack up & head for the lake yet."

Sosnickis' news: "Ben's mowing grass, the guys are grading and washing veg for Dufferin and who pulls in? Breadlady Allie and Rob! Touring around Norfolk County they decided to stop in and say hello! So nice to see familiar market faces on farm!! Well, Cucumbers galore! Crop look fantastic so far! An abundance! Lots of Sweet Onions, Swiss Chard, Kale, Big Batavian Lettuces, Garlic, fresh dug Potatoes and Patty Pan summer squash and some long Yellow Zucs too! Stay cool everyone :)" Jess & Ben

Shhh!! Helga (from Pine River Organic Farm) says she doesn't want a fuss, but she let it slip that she will be celebrating a special birthday on July 25th. Let's just say it's one of those round numbers. Please stop by the garage and sign our card for her while you are at this week's market.

Congratulations to Mathieu (of ChocoSol), Susanna and Sylas on the birth of Oren Clarence and Cedar Michael. More lovely market babies!

See you at the market!

Anne Freeman

P.S. This week in insect news:

Our neighbourhood is rich in many kinds of expertise. One of our market friends is Clement Kent, who's not only an amazing gardener, but also an expert on pollinators. Here's a link to a very moving interview with Clement and an Ontario beekeeper who lost so many of his bees as a result of neonicotinoid pesticides used in growing corn that he had to sell his farm:

http://canadaam.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=959722&playlistId=1.1354573&binId=1.815911&playlistPageNum=1

These pesticides are being banned in Europe, and need to be banned here too. We really don't need to wait around any longer to figure out that they are very bad news. Luckily, we've got fantastic organic farmers feeding us at Dufferin, so you are supporting a better future when you buy their food.

While I'm covering bad news about bugs, I think I'll add a link to a video created by the good folks at LEAF on what you need to know, and can do, about the Emerald Ash Borer:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=307732366029750&ref=notif&notif_t=like

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