By: Robin T.
Metchosin Grown and Certified Organic
We love growing delicious vegetables and sharing the abundance.
Our farm stand is open every Tuesday and Saturday all winter long.
On the farm stand this week:
Beets • Purple Sprouting Broccoli • Cabbage • Carrots • Celeriac • Chard • Collards • Garlic • Kale • Leeks • Parsley • Potatoes • Rutabaga • Salad Greens • Turnips • Winter Squash • Saanich Organics Vegetable Seeds
Are You a Family without a Farm? Come Join us!
Would you like a backstage pass to Sea Bluff Farm? We're opening up the farm this year to our customers: families, friends and anyone who wants to enjoy the seasons with us. We're excited about our programs. In addition to a farm tour, and extra time on the farm for picnics and hanging out, here's our plan for the year:
April - Planting seeds and planting potatoes
June - Harvesting strawberries and seeing our pollinators in action on our gorgeous hedgerow and in our Garry Oak meadow restoration in progress
August - Harvesting the potatoes we planted together, and doing a tomato tasting.
October - Picking a pumpkin, and enjoying a hay ride around our fields that will be burgeoning with winter bounty
Sign up here.
There is no cost for the programs themselves but we're asking for $500 which you'll get in Sea Bluff Bucks to spend at the farm stand whenever you'd like. Your money will help us at a much needed time (now!) to get the season rolling -hiring staff, buying seed and getting the farm in shape to host you.
As an incentive, our friends at Wild Mountain Food and Drink in Sooke have offered us a $100 gift certificate which we'll raffle off for all the folks who have signed up by March 31!
We're Coming into Lean Times - A seasonal primer!
The caption for this picture should be Grow Grow Grow!! We're feeling the pressure! We're coming to the end of the winter, and with it the winter veggies. Its not just about supply, nature just puts the brakes on. The winter veggies want to go to seed. You've probably seen signs of this in your arugula - the stems get thicker and the leaves get stronger tasting as the plant gets the call to action. As much as we trim and pamper, the plants know its their time. We've even had carrots and turnips send out a seed head inside dark bins in the cooler.
Plants that have been growing all winter can continue to grow in the cold and wet, but its very difficult to get new seedlings started until about now. And the quickest growing veggies take about 40 days to mature...so there's a gap. We coaxed some seedlings to start in late January in the greenhouses, so we're doing our best to bridge but get ready for some lean times on the farm stand. Its good to imagine what we'd eat this time of year if we didn't have food coming in from the rest of the world!
On the Menu at Sea Bluff Farm
Sprouting Brassica Tops, lightly roasted and served beside a Still Meadow Farm Roast.
Just as I was saying, the spring energy is flying around here, right through the kale and prompting it to send up a luscious seed head. While we do save the best plants for seed, there are plenty to munch and share.
1 bunch kale tops
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
Toss the kale tops in oil, salt and pepper and arrange on a cookie sheet. Roast in the oven at 375•F for 20 minutes, turning once. You can also lightly char them on the bbq. One bunch might not be enough because they are so divine. The essence of spring, in a bite!
