- Broccoli
- Salad Mix
- Parsley
- Kale
- Tomatoes
- Cauliflower
- Honeynut Squash
- Red Potatoes
- Sweet Onions
- Sweet Corn (last of the season!)
- Japanese Eggplant
- Melon (last of the season! some of you will be a getting a new cantaloupe for us- Sarah’s Choice. It’s more yellow than orange on the outside which I was confused by at first. We cut one open to try with very low expectations and instead it was the best melon we’d ever had! next year we will grow more of them!)
Farm News
When we first started Mile Creek Farm we both had off farm jobs. I worked as a barista at Boston Stoker and Ben was a substitute teacher. We both also worked at a sweet bakery in Farmersville, making donuts and waiting tables! After juggling these jobs and wanting to grow the farm we ditched the off farm jobs and, for a little over 10 years, the farm was our only source of income. But, priorities change, and about 2 years ago for a number of reasons it seemed like it would be a good idea for one of us to revisit the off-farm job option.
To this end, last summer Ben took a couple on-line organic training courses through the International Organic Inspectors Association with the thought that he could perhaps be an organic inspector. While he was completing the course, he noticed a job opening at Midwest Organic Services Association (MOSA) to work for their organic certification program. Happily, he was offered a position and started working for MOSA last October. Ben is excited that he gets to continue to work in support of the organic industry and that the job has provided greater stability given all of the variability associated with farming! Fortunately this is a remote job so he gets to work from the farm/home.
Given that most days farming extended a ways beyond a typical eight hour day, the actual hours Ben spends working have shifted to a mix of his “day” job and the hours that he gets to jump on a tractor and get some farm work done. A typical day this time of year you’ll find Ben digging a bed of potatoes before he clocks in, adjusting an irrigation run during his lunch break, and cultivating a couple beds of salad after he clocks out. The weekends or days off (a nice perk when you are used to working on a farm and don’t really get any summer holidays!) provide a great opportunity to cover crop fields or do other larger jobs. Even though this change to our routine has altered some of the workflow on the farm, we were recently reminded that some things don’t change. It turns out that when Ben compared the number of steps he took this August to last August it was shockingly quite similar! We love farming for the constant changes and challenges that it presents while always providing us with delicious food!
Recipes
- Roasted Vegetable Salad (use salad mix instead of romaine and use any of this week’s vegetables for roasting!)
- Crunchy Eggplant with Sweet Corn (I would replace mint with parsley and cut the eggplant in half and then length-wise into 1/3 inch thick strips)
- Kale and Potato Soup
Coming Up Next Week (our best guess…..) red bell peppers, sweet peppers, fennel, carrots, garlic, cauliflower, bok choi, spinach, radishes, cabbage