The Good, The Bad & the Fun in August at Sosnickis'!!
What an August! The bad news is sucky field tomatoes once again. The late blight is back with a vengeance. This means we will not be able to offer the Romas for sauce in bulk for the duration we know people expect. We are accepting bulk orders now and for the next two weeks but that will be it. This is very disappointing and another financial loss. We were truly hoping that after two years we would have some luck with organic field tomatoes.....nope. The 'covered field' tomatoes are okay however, meaning we will have the heirlooms to offer well into the fall season! Our Sweet Corn is doing wonderful! We are happy to be educating folks on the reality of growing organic sweet corn and the price we need to get in order to make it worthwhile to grow. The concept of cheap sweet corn is very, very wrong. Corn is a heavy feeder and pulls a ton of nutrients from the soil. As organic farmers being able to offer this crop means we have to be very careful with the land after a year of corn to build it back up to keep the land healthy. We are happy that our customers understand this concept and are willing to pay us a fair price for our corn. We are also happy everyone understands that organic corn comes along with 'little wormy friends' from time to time! A friendly Jamaican customer at Dufferin remarked: "My mother told me not to trust food unless the creatures of the earth try it first." I like that advice! Our corn is an all yellow, smaller kernel, sweet corn that receives a ton of praise at market. Look out for various chefs using our corn at markets this fall.
Ben and I, along with my brother Mike ventured over to Ted Thorpe's farm this past Saturday night for an event called "Tedstock".....LOLOLOL! It rained, but man, what a party! My brother Mike instructed me to soak a bunch of our corn in a water barrel, then he cooked it inside it's husk at 'Tedstock' on a bed of hot coals! What a treat to share with everyone! Chefs cooking all sorts of amazing seasonal fare, Bands playing and 'Belly Dancing in the Rain' later in the evening! I had to include a couple shots of Ben and Ted 'belly dancing'...it was awesome! It decided to pour rain, but it was still a great, great time! Ben, our new pup 'Panzer' and I slept soundly in the back of the 'ol market truck after a long night of socializing with great, great people associated with organic agriculture. Party's over, back to work! Along with great Sweet Corn, expect to see sweet large Watermelons, Purplehaze Carrots, Golden Beets, and all sorts of colourful Peppers at market shortly! We are anticipating a great fall despite the tomato shortage! We carry on! Enjoy the harvest!