Please note: Due to the long weekend, the normal Tuesday August 2 delivery will be on Wednesday August 3.
With all the cold and wet weather this summer, we have been expecting an onslaught of pests. However, insects have not been much of a problem – perhaps the nectar from this year’s abundant wildflowers is helping. We had been expecting an outbreak of mosquitoes, but the mosquito guzzling swallows have made a surprising come-back now that our southern neighbours are not killing off so many mosquitoes (their main food supply). We are concerned about blight since potato blight (the same one that ravaged Ireland a century-and-a-half ago) has made its earliest ever Ontario appearance. Every year we have learned to spread compost over our potato plants so that various beneficial funguses can inoculate the leaves leaving no room for the blight fungus when it blows in. Another concern is that rumours of local coyotes killing sheep and pets are going around. If “they” decide to kill them off, we will again have to deal with a bad outbreak of mice taking a bite from each of our beets and carrots. To date, the only real outbreak has been weeds. Too often it has been too wet to drive tractors in the fields. So labour intensive hand hoeing has been the only way to confront this pest.
It’s pretty simple, but this bed of wildflowers runs through the middle of our farm.
Predator insects need a steady source of carbohydrates from the nectar
to help them consume more pest insects. (And the flowers make great bouquets!)
If you or some of your cooks want to visit the farm but have no vehicle, there is a simple alternative. Field Trip is a great new business that charters busses so city-folk can visit southern Ontario farms. They are coming to Cookstown Greens on Sunday, August 2. CheckField Trip to see if they have room for you. Learning more about how food gets to your kitchen can only help your staff be better cooks.
Please note that amazingly sweet Coloured Carrots and easy-to-peel hard-neck Music Garlic Bulbs are now available. Rainbow of Tomatoes are becoming available, but not yet plentiful enough to add to the list. Please ask. White Asparagus and Green Flesh Radishes are finished. Husk Cherries stopped flowering a while back so there are now no fruits; but they are now flowering again so we should have fruits again in about 3 weeks. Red Carrots only turn red after frosty weather begins so hopefully they will not be available for awhile.
Sent July 20, 2009
Sunday evening I had a wonderful surprise visit from Sinclair Phillips, patron of Sooke Harbour House, Canada’s most critically acclaimed Inn and Restaurant. Twenty-two years ago I was persuasively encouraged to enter the market garden business by none other than Alice Waters. To assist me with creating an informed business plan, she put me in contact with Sinclair. Over the next months he put me in touch with many of the knowledgeable people who help bring my dream to reality.
David Cohlmeyer teaching Everdale Interns
Brad Long learning about Cookstown Greens
Sinclair Philip with Barbara Cohlmeyer
In recognition of all the assistance he so generously provided me, I have always been eager to help others to provide superior produce for our hospitality industry. Recently the Farm Interns from Everdale Organic Farm spent a day at Cookstown Greens to receive tips they might use to create successful farms of their own. Also the always inquisitive Chef Brad Long came to learn more about how Cookstown Greens produces the vegetables he uses in his kitchens. He is currently producing a movie to answer this very complicated and important question.
So you may learn more from other chefs who support local, sustainable, delicious food, please consider attending the National Summit presented by Chef’s Collaborative. (Canadians are very welcome at this annual event.) This year’s retreat, being held in Chicago in mid-September. It is a great way to network with leading American Chefs and Sustainable Producers. Visit their website and join at Chefs Collaborative. For a partial list of chefs who signed a letter supporting Obama, click Letter to the Obamas.
Please note that Golden Beets, White Beets, and Nugget Squash are now available. Various Coloured Carrots and Green Coriander Seeds will be ready next week. The springtime specialties of Red Icicle Radishes, Baby White Turnips, Chandler Strawberries, Sugar Snap Peas, and Green Asparagus are now finished.
Sent: July 13, 2009
Summer is kind of here now. Cool weather crops are doing great; while warm weather crops are idly waiting. A good example of this: cool weather peas are still flowering and producing more peas, while warm weather beans have still not begun to flower. Right now I wish we had ordered and planted more peas because this is becoming a terrific year for peas.
Flowers are transforming into more joys of summer. You can enjoy the flowers now; or wait for their fruits. From top to bottom: Pea Pods (hanging down), Squash Blossom, Elderflowers, and Radish Pods (standing up).
Ubiquitous frozen peas are not bad, but everyone deserves to experience the joy of at least one serving of freshly shelled Shelling Peas at least once a year. Squash Blossoms are a beautiful and delectable summer treat everyone (even flower haters) can enjoy. As we drain our wetlands, we are losing our plentiful roadside availability of Elderflowers and Elderberries. Therefore we cultivate a few bushes so you can continue the Elder traditions. Radishes become excessively biting during hot weather. On the other hand, Radish Pods remain sweet and tender, making them the best way to enjoy their aromatic tang throughout the summer. We find these pods exceedingly popular during summer tastings as people come back (usually with a friend in tow) for another nibble.
Wayne Roberts has written an interesting article in NOW Magazine about Jamie Kennedy and why local foods cost more. Please read this article inNow Toronto. Incidentally, David Cohlmeyer will be speaking at Jamie Kennedy’s Gilead Cafe on Thursday July 16 as part of their Local Food Movement Dinner Series.
With all the books about food coming out these days it can certainly be difficult for a busy chef or a busy farmer to decide what to read. Last weekend’s Globe and Mail had a helpful review of some worthy new books. Take a look at this article at Readable if not Eatable.
Sent July 6, 2009
What a cold and wet week! The advantage of all this has been a wonderful extension of late-spring crops. The Green Asparagus and the White Asparagus continue to remain plump and tender. Welsh Onion Flowers are still fresh and sweet. Long, tall Leek Scapes continue, but now are joined by curly Garlic Scapes. Even the Red Icicle Radishes and Baby White Turnips remain sweet and not too spicy. The salad garden is now at its peak. Deb, who is in charge of seeding and harvesting the salad garden, is determined to have everything available every week of the growing season. This includes Mixed Arugulas, Fordhook Mustard, Bloomsdale Spinach, Asian Greens, and Mixed Lettuce Leaves. She is also promising steady supplies of all our summer Salad Mixes.
Last week’s wet afternoons with this finale make all the frustrations worthwhile.
The pot-of-gold is right over the Golden Beets.
Ever so tentatively, our early summer crops are maturing. Sugar Snap Peas are now ready. Unfortunately, the Purple Snow Peas are just not sizing up this year, so we will have to call this a failure. Shelling Peas are taking their time, but rest assured these jewels of early summer will be coming (maybe next week). Our trial crop of Chandler Strawberries is now ready. Our biggest challenge is waiting for them to fully ripen for maximum flavour (Brix 10); but the birds know this too and sometimes beat us to the best berries. Baby Fennel Bulbs are now ready to provide summer refreshment. For our earliest start ever: Candy CaneBeets and Red Cylinder Beets should remain available through the winter. Gold Beets and White Beets will be ready in a week or two.
Now Available, but maybe with limited supplies until the warm weather really arrives: delightfully crunchy Radish Pods, aromatic and fully open Squash Blossoms, stunning and absolutely delicious Husk Cherries, there are now some Rainbow of Cherry Tomatoes (albeit with a limited colour selection), and beautiful new Baby Summer Leeks. (We would have had plenty of these now, but the Governor General ordered a pile of these treats for serving to the Japanese Emperor!)
Summer has Arrived
What a Wet Summer
Talking with local long-time farmers, they say they can’t recall taking their first cut of hay so late – in July. (Early June is typical).
Our first plantings went in during the heat-wave in late April.But we were kept waiting for most of June to have more than two dry days in a row.We need this to prepare our beds then seed a wide variety of vegetables.This significantly delayed our second plantings of many crops.
But there are advantages to a cool and wet spring.Baby Salad Greens have been gorgeous!It has also kept the Mixed ArugulasHot Mizuna and Mixed Asian Greens sweet and more or less free of the “buckshot” flea beetle holes.The cool weather also kept the Italian Black Kale (Cavallo Nero) and Red Russian Kale bitter-free.Mixed Spinaches (Bloomsdale and Bordeaux) have remained at their spring-time richness ever since we began our outdoor harvesting on May 10.Rainbow of Chards are a little large for salad use, but they are a colourful and delectable cooked green.Due to the excellent quality of our lettuce we are trying something new.We are now harvesting and washing Larger Mixed Lettuces as well as smaller 8” Lettuce Heads.
The cool wet spell has also been very good for our cool loving crops: Candy Cane Beets have started the earliest ever.Though not as tender and sweet as the fall crop will be, they are very good for summer beets.Golden, White, and Cylinder Beets will likewise have early starts.Carrots are also extra early!Purple Carrots and Yellow Carrots are coming soon.Black, White and Orange Nantes Carrots will start soon afterwards.
The cool weather has also provided a good initial start for other cool-loving crops such as tender Baby SummerLeeks, striking Red/Green Onions, wonderfully useful Garlic Scapes, succulent Tulip Chives, refreshing Baby Fennel Bulbs, and our spicygreen Radish Pods.
One cool loving crop for some reason did not benefit from the cool conditions.Sugar Snap Peas, English Shelling Peas, and Purple Snow Peas took their own sweet time in coming from April and May plantings.They are starting now, but with summer heat they normally do not last long.
Chandler Strawberries is a new crop for us.We chose this variety because it is the first choice for top San Francisco and New York chefs.This heritage variety is not considered hardy this far north, but with global warming and an extra straw blanket, it seemed worthwhile to learn how to grow and harvest these exceedingly luscious red jewels up here in Ontario.
Warm Weather Crops
Tomatoes have an advantage this cool spring because our main crop is grown in the greenhouses.They required additional expensive propane and they suffered a bit from lack of sunshine, nevertheless they are now tasting and looking terrific.So as soon as Summerlicious is over, you can begin treating your guests to some memorable tomatoes.Rainbow of Tomato Firsts are best for handsome tomato salads.Seconds are fine for rough-and-ready salads.And Thirds are best for soups and sauces.Cherry Tomatoes are the morsels of choice.
Always eagerly anticipated are our summer Gold Nugget Squash and their conveniently smaller Squash Blossoms.They are late (as expected) but with some hot nights and warm showers they will soon be ready for your mid-summer presentations.
Beans are also running late this year.But their flower buds are just waiting to open and morph into luscious Yellow and Green Italian Flat Beans, or into Green and Yellow French Filet beans.
Summer Slowly Coming
We still have Lessons to Learn
Lots of hot days and lots of cold nights; accompanied by lots of wind and no rain is playing havoc with our summer crop schedules.This is the kind of climate the experts have been forecasting to occur with Global Warming.Thanks for all the little things you are doing to delay the looming turmoil.Please be patient as we slowly learn to deal with our new climate.
The quickly changing spring crops have finished.Now we are waiting for the steady joys of mid-summer Rainbow of Tomatoes, Rainbow of Cherry Tomatoes, Summer Nugget Squash, Squash Blossoms, and Baby Summer Leeks.We’ll let you know when these eagerly awaited crops are steadily available.
But some of our favourite summer crops have already begun!Our creamy/rich (never bitter) Rainbow of Swiss Chards are a tremendous ingredient for inexpensively and quickly adding colour and texture to your main courses.Garlic Scapes are a versatile way to incorporate that loved-to-be-hated flavour that can add subtle intensity to many dishes.Baby Fennel Bulbs (raw or cooked) provide refreshing licoricy notes so appreciated in hot-weather menus.Our unique Radish Pods are an elegant way to provide a light radishy “bite”.Another great refresher is cucumber – Armenian Cucumbers are the best!Welsh Onion Bulbs (Asian scallions) are like green onions with a more garlicky oomph.
Root vegetables don’t have to be limited to winter menus.Our famous, firm Fingerling Potatoes can be the star in Summer Potato Salads.A refreshing non-starchy summer favorite is our easy to clean, peel and slice (knob-free) Jerusalem Artichokes.For a delightful “oyster-like” flavour we still very fine White Salsify.
Last Fall’s warm temperatures meant our winter roots failed to harden-off properly.So shelf life was short.Many of our customers have begun to rely on a steady supply of our superior flavour.To provide a steadier supply of superior produce, we have decided to link with a sister farm in the fertile virgin soil of the Cloud Forest one hour west of QuitoEcuador.Organic Blooming is using our seeds to grow some out-of-our-season vegetables such as: Candy Cane Beets, Amber Turnips, Red Valentine, Green Flesh, Black Icicle, and Red Icicle Radishes.
While visiting the farm to monitor their growing methods, the workers offered me an ancient Incan vegetable (that the Spaniards failed to send to Europe).Arrancacha Root is in the carrot/celery family but has the starchy texture of a potato.Try it steamed, baked or deep-fried.You can now experience one more of the pantheon of Incan vegetable breeding.Please request a sample.
Fresh Flavouring and Garnishing Herbs NOW Available
After many years of receiving requests for fresh herbs we NOW have an assortment to enhance your culinary creations.Tulip Chives have leaves so thick and succulent they could even be cooked as a vegetable.(Or try them as a “pesto”.)Sorrel Leaves in sauces are most refreshing.Lovage Stalks sport a heavenly celery-like aroma.Fava Bean Leaves have a lovely buttery flavour for a perfect addition to many presentations.Shiso Leaves make an exotic basil substitute.Chrysanthemum Leaves boast another appealing Oriental flavour.Begonia Blossoms add intense red/orange colours with a dramatic tart taste.
Lemon Thyme has all the fine flavour of English Thyme but with added lemon peel notes.French Tarragon remains a classic.Purple Sage is a smart herb to use.Marjoram is the very best version of oregano.Chervil makes a refreshing change from parsley.Our Baby Dill selection is amazingly refreshing.
French Mint Tips are an unusually refreshing cross of peppermint and spearmint.Chocolate Mint Tips combine a fine mint flavour with (alas) only the aroma of chocolate.Lemon Balm is a fine alternative to mint.Lavender Leaves look very interesting and of course smell really great.Wood Sorrel looks like delicate clover leaves but with an absolutely enchanting tartness.Gem Marigolds look great and have a cheery citrusy flavour. Pineapple Sage lacks a bit in taste, but its captivating pineapple perfume makes customers pause and enjoy.Lemon Verbena has the most amazing lemon peel aroma.Large Lemon Verbena is miraculous for infusing into sauces and ices.Get cooking!
Still Springing Forth
It’s still Spring in the Garden
It may seem like summer in your kitchen and patio. But it is still only Spring in the garden! This means several new treats each week; but it also means most of these disappear just a quickly. So you have to act very quickly this time of year. Think Specials! Asparagus in several forms short and unusual Bi-Coloured Asparagus, sweet and tender White Asparagus, amazingly rich and creamy Green Asparagus, and tiny garnishing Asparagettes have a few days to go. Over-wintered Baby Leeks are tender, sweet and delicious (until they decide to go to seed). We also have a few Green Sweet Cicely Pods and Green Chervil Flowers and Pods either of which provide amazing bursts of clean licorice flavour. Also surviving the winter are last year’s surprise hit, Puntarella Chicory. Many Wild Favourites have come and gone. But a few more are now coming until the summer garden vegetables start ripening. Wild Spruce Candles are the tender, tart (i.e. Vitamin C) and very aromatic baby spruce leaves. Infuse them into oil, vinegar or honey for use as a true Canadian Flavouring throughout the year. Wild Ginger is back, but we will not pick very much this year because we seem to be over-picking it. Wild Cattail Hearts are very plentiful, but it takes an awful lot of work to get a pound of the “queen of the wild vegetables”. This Northern “heart-of-palm” is unbelievably delectable either raw or lightly cooks. Please order it a few days ahead because we cannot prepare these on spec. Spring Radishes have been toughened and bitten by the early heat so we likely won’t sell any more. But the pure White Turnips survived the heat with even more of their luscious spring-time flavour. All the early heat has slowed the early peas. So when the Purple Snow Peas, hand-picked Sugar Snaps and classic Shelling Peas are ready, they may be coming all at once. So be prepared for this early summer delicacy. But the early heat did wonders for bringing along the early Rainbow of Heirloom Tomatoes and Rainbow of Cherry Tomatoes. So a few are ready now! In the Ontario garden, Spring says sweet and tender leaves. Easy-to-use aromatic Mint Tips (either aromatic “chocolate” or our unique “spearmint/peppermint” cross), and small packets of baby Chervil Leaves are perfect spring-time herbs. For more substance there is a colourful Rainbow of Chards and buttery Fava Bean Leaves. For some heat we have lovely blends of various shapes of Baby Arugulas and Baby Cresses. Either works well as salads or as garnishes. Tulip Chives are a succulent variation of this popular spring herb. Spring also says flowers! Our mix of small (i.e. very usable) Edible Flowers and Edible Petals (i.e. extra easy-to-use) will remain steadily available throughout the summer. What an easy way to make stunning garnishes!
Delicacies still from Our Root Cellar
Most of our chefs are very happy to know how well our root vegetables are keeping. Some of this has to do with the excellent growing season last year. It also has to do with getting most of our harvest in the cool of November. But most of it has to do with getting our soils both minerally balanced rock dusts;and biologically active with organic matter. Roseval, Ratte, Black and especially the Fingerling Potatoes are all keeping very well and should make it through the summer just fine. These can all contribute magnificently to that early summer icon: Potato Salad! Chefs tell us the SP2 Frying Potatoes are superb for frying – notably souffléd. Red, Purple, Black, and Yellow Carrots are still rich and sweet (raw or cooked) for a few more weeks. Also the Red Valentine and Green Flesh Radish remain absolutely gorgeous and delectable raw, pickled or grilled in your summer presentations. Our large and easy-to-peel Jerusalem Artichokes are great as a Summer Pickle or light Summer Veg. For more delicate flavours, you can still make use of the Tuberous Chervil Root, Large White Salsify, and Long White Leeks.
