Happy New Year All!

Well, it is 2012, only 3 years since our last post...and that was by Scott but I'll still count it:)

Last year was our 5th year of running the CSA. It was possibly also our best season yet. We for an even better one this year. So far we have had a fairly mild winter which may help with the bugs but who knows at this point. The lack of snow cover definitely has me a little bit worried about the garlic but the amazing thing about garlic is how resilient it is. Well, that's not the only amazing thing about garlic but it's one of them.

This year brought a fun surprise. Our friend Chris came by to drop off some of his wild mushrooms and told us he has the best crop of Shittake mushrooms they'd ever had. We had innoculated about 20 logs 3 or 4 years ago but nothing ever really came of it. When we heard him talking about how he'd had the same experience we thought we'd better check our logs, just incase. Well they were booming, some of the mushrooms were as big as my face! It was amazing. We quickly harvested them and enjoyed a few delicious meals with fresh from the log mushrooms. I wonder what will happen this summer? Wild mushrooms are really fun to hunt and eat but be sure you or someone you are with knows what to look for. Chantrelles are an easy one to start with and have a flavour unlike an other food I've tasted.

New this year?

We are hoping to get artichokes into our bags this year. It is a crop we have been working with for the last couple of years in the hopes of eventually getting it into the CSA. Fingers crossed!

We will be doing a lot more mulching this year after a poor haying season last year, we acquired a large amount of small square bales of hay. The biggest challenge with mulching is making sure you add enough mulch to an area. Mulching can do wonders, it keeps the soils moist(less watering), it keeps some pests away(but the cool dark underside is perfect for slugs), and best of all, if you get a good, thick layer on your plot, it can keep all your weeds at bay.

Well keep updating you through the season and let you know how things are going. Good luck to all of you reading who are experimenting with your own garden, flower pot or window box!