Garlic, glamour and good news!

It's been a big week here at the farm - we hosted our first annual garlic harvest party, participated in the filming of a documentary, and received our organic certification! All of that on top of the usual hustle and bustle of late July. We're so grateful for the community that supports us and helps to keep us energized when things are hectic. Special thanks to those who pulled and peeled garlic with us last weekend. The harvest is looking good!

I found myself tending to my posture more than normal last week and not just because farming is hard work and ergonomics should be valued, but because a filmmaker, Tamir, was filming us at work in the fields last week. I could get used to this added bit of glamour on the farm! Tamir and his partner, who we did not meet, are working with the National Farmers Union to showcase farmers from across the country by creating 40 unique short films about the farms that they visit. Since May, they have been travelling from province to province gathering stories and footage to highlight the day-to-day operations of family farms. We shared technical details about our farm, as well as our struggles, hopes and dreams. We were honoured to be featured and can't wait to share the outcome with all of you! We'll also have lots of new farm photos to share soon as our childhood neighbour and now photographer, Megan, was here today to capture the harvest.

During filming last week, we received the news that we had at last received our organic certification! Woohoo! This certificate was a long time coming as the former owner had used some synthetic fertilizers, our transition period to being certified was 3 years. That meant 3 years of keeping detailed records of our seeding and transplanting dates, harvest quantities, and inputs and bed prep. While tedious, this recordkeeping has given us a leg up in understanding our production potential and forced us to remain organized even when we want to cave in to the chaos of a busy summer. We are so pleased to now have something to show for this additional hard work and aspire to continue going above and beyond the organic standard.

Our guiding principle in growing food and growing the farm is agroecology - a holistic approach to food production that uses—and creates—social, cultural, economic and environmental knowledge to promote food sovereignty, social justice, economic sustainability, and healthy agricultural ecosystems. Our new organic certification is just one way that we are holding ourselves accountable to respectfully stewarding the soil, water and environment in which we live and grow. Abiding by the nationally defined organic standard means that we don't use any synthetic fertilizers or pesticides on our crops. We grow according to the organic principles including health, ecology, fairness and care. To learn more about the organic standard, check out the Canadian Organic Growers' website. Feel free to ask us about our growing practices anytime -we're happy to chat!

Between all of this excitement and busyness, we've been hard at work managing weeds, planting fall crops and harvesting lots of juicy summer goodness! Our hot crops are finally coming on and we can't wait for you to taste them.

• Shishito peppers are one of our favourite summer treats! They're gracing CSA baskets this week and will be available in our online store next week. To prepare, toss them whole onto a hot cast iron pan or a grill/ bbq. Let them blacken slightly on all sides and then top with salt and lemon juice. These thin-walled green peppers are a perfect appetizer or side. Beware - allegedly 1 in every 15 peppers is spicy!

• The cherry tomato plants are all about 8ft tall and the fruits are ripening at last! I tend to simply snack on these sweet treats, but if you're able to keep a pint around long enough to cook with, I love a classic caprese salad. Tomatoes, basil and balsamic - it doesn't get much better!

• Brave enough to turn on the oven? Enjoy your tomatoes with the ever plentiful zucchini and give this recipe a try - zucchini, tomato and rice gratin. We love Smitten Kitchen around here and trust anything/ everything that Deb says!

Thanks for reading!

Rebecca