Old 99 Farm, week of Dec 19 2021

We are arrived; the shortest day of the year now upon us and it’s all downhill from here; every day a couple minutes longer. I can hear the plants applauding.

I discovered a new salad green that we planted as part of a mix, now it’s grown to maturity. It’s called Tokyo Bekana a member of the mustard family. Once you’ve tried it, you might decide to plan for Tokyo Bekana in the summer rather than lettuce. The flavor is very mild, and most people don’t notice they aren’t eating lettuce. The texture of the white stems is very crunchy and juicy, and the frilly leaves are sweet and tender.The color of the leaves is chartreuse: a light bright lime green.

For your order this week Click Here

We have available celery, mixed greens (aka mesclun), spinach, chard, mustards, collards and a selection of fresh herbs. Root vegetables include carrots, garlic, leeks, fennel, potatoes, turnip, rutabaga, squash varieties, and beets. Of course the freezers are full of beef, pork and chicken, and the hens lay eggs every day.

Christmas/Solstice Hours

We’ll be holding the market on Thurs 4 to 6 as usual or by arrangement.

Customer Survey Click here

Thank you to 25 customers who replied to our questions about how we’re doing and what you would like to see in the future. Surprise: over half want us to grow strawberries. I can hardly remember how long ago I grew this crop here, at last 10 years, so we’ll likely give it another go. I have just the spot in mind in the space between the cider apple trees: the Joubert block.

We have a new farm intern starting full time January 1st. Mackenzie Mallais, a volunteer this summer, has decided they really want to learn the small farm livelihood and market gardening in particular. I’m excited about the new energy we’ll have on the farm.

Healthy Eating
Ian and Cami