We can fix that! September 7th Market News

We can fix that! September 7th Market News

We hope you can join us for the first market of September, and our first-ever Dufferin Grove Repair Café! While the farmers and vendors roll in, a squad of volunteer ‘fixers’ will be preparing to swing into action on the rinkpad, so as well as a hearty appetite, you’re invited to bring along something in need of repair. There will be stations for clothing, bikes, small appliances, computers and more. We’re hoping the weather will be fine, but if the skies open, we’ll have to shut things down. How can you plan anything based on the forecasts this summer?

There were touches of frost in a few areas last week, a crazy thing to happen in August!  Colette Murphy‘s crew at Urban Harvest rushed to protect their most vulnerable plantings with row covers so they wouldn’t lose next year’s seeds, and Bob Felhazi had to drop market preparations and opt for covering crops instead.  As a result, we can look forward to more of Pine River’s green and purple beans and other tender veggies.

ginger in soilEverdale’s report:”This week our exciting news is GINGER! Locally grown organic ginger is hard to come by, and it won’t be here for long! Market-goers can also look forward to our fresh selection of arugula, basil, beans, beets, rainbow carrots, orange carrots, rainbow chard, cilantro, collards, cucumbers, dill, bulb fennel, flowers, Chinese broccoli, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, red and yellow onions, green onions, parsley, sweet peppers, red radish, daikon radish, watermelon radish, salad mix, mustard greens mix, salsify, spinach, cherry tomatoes, and salad turnips. Happy September!” Wolf Chrapko

Head to “The Parsley Palace,” as market booster Nicole Jacobs likes to call Shared Harvest’s tables, for sweet peppers, snowy white eggplants, flavour-rich heirloom tomatoes, and of course, your weekly supply of chlorophyll.

The Sosnicki Organic Produce contribution: “Well, as our oldest Sadie just started kindergarten this week Ben and I are reminded how fast the seasons are flying! And the fall harvest looks promising! This dry weather has perked up all the field tomatoes I’m proud to say and even the cherry tomatoes on stakes are growing green again! They won’t produce a lot now, but we’ll have them for a bit yet! It’s wild to watch mother nature fight back again the blight. We will bring as many field Romas, heirlooms and cherry/grape tomatoes as we can which should be a nice amount this week! **New this week, our Romanesca Cauliflower!** Our Watermelons are plentiful once again and sweet this week. Red Peppers are freaking amazing! Green Beans, Potatoes, Onions, Cabbage, Garlic, fresh patch of Beets, Eggplant, Zucchini too. **Coming soon: next week our Sweet Corn should finally make an appearance! It’s one, big beautiful patch and is still underripe but by next week get ready to get your mega corn fill!”
Jess, Ben, Joe & crew

eggplants ahoyKnuckle Down Farm News: “The garden survived a low of 4 degrees last weekend and now we are looking forward to a long warm fall of bountiful harvests! Tomorrow we will be there with lots of tomatoes, huge carrots, red and yellow beets, spicy salad mix, colourful chard, wonky and wonderful Ostergruss radishes, eggplants and the first of the mini-bell peppers.” Jenny

The main crop of peaches is finished, but happily, Debbie Wiecha found a few late-ripening ones to pick at Niagara Lavender Farm, and decided there were enough nectarines and raspberries for her to make the trip to market.

Up top, Ali Harris and All Sorts Acre will be absent this week. This freed up space to invite Jackie Nguyen back for another visit with Oatkey Dokey oat and nut milks, which were a big hit the last time she came. A reminder to bring back any bottles you have.

Down on the path, we’ll be missing Waymac again. As well as producing mushrooms and bringing them to market plus looking after 3 very little ones, Andrew and Erika were managing the end of his haying season and the start of her teaching year, but then Erika broke her foot. Ouch, in more ways than one! Nevertheless, they have promised to be back next week.

In their spot you’ll find Alec Wheeler of Waterwheel Farms, visiting to tell us about an aquaponic farm that’s getting underway just down the street.

We have to say Thank You and Happy Trails to a stellar market volunteer this week. Gabrielle Johnson has been a huge help this summer, keeping a lookout for vendors and customers in need of assistance, and pitching in to keep the market flowing smoothly. We wish you wonderful adventures ahead, Gabi, and we hope you’ll be back to visit soon!

See you at the market!
Anne Freeman

Vendors this week:
Bees Universe
Chocosol
Cock-A-Doodle-Doo Gluten-Free Bakeshop

Country Meadows
Culture City
DeFloured
Dufferin Park Bakers
Earth & City
Everdale
Forbes Wild Foods
Fressy Bessie
Kind Organics
Knuckle Down Farm
Marvellous Edibles
Monforte Dairy
Niagara Lavender Farm
Oatkey Dokey (visiting)

Pine River
Plan B
Reimer Vineyards

Shared Harvest
Sosnicki Organic Produce
Spade & Spoon

Stas
Tapioca Toronto
TC’s Tibetan Momos

Ted Thorpe
Urban Harvest
Waterwheel Farm (visiting)