Thursday 21 December 2017

Wrapping it up for the year

                                          












My house is clean, spot-less, cobweb-less, dead ladybeetle-less, spider-less and dust rhino-less (that’s like dust bunnies but bigger).  I even took pictures off the wall to vacuum the dust collections behind them – how does that even happen in just several months?

We had Tom’s office Christmas dinner here last night.  It was nice to sit and enjoy out-of-the-office chatter, but yes there was still some office talk too.  We’re all connected in that regard so it’s okay.  I love to cook simple meals with simple food.  It was a pleasure to go on an herb hunt in the greenhouse to see what was available.  It makes me smile when I’m washing and cutting veggies either grown here or purchased from local farms I am familiar with.  And there’s a certain satisfaction knowing that in a few weeks the planning and sowing will begin for a whole new season.  The sunshine adds to the flavour of the day as well. 

I’m around next week, but I might get into a book or two so you may not hear from me.  I’m happy to come out to your place if you order or you could come here. 

If I don’t bump into you before Christmas Day, I wish you a relaxed Christmas. Enjoy family and friends, drive carefully and stay healthy.

Here’s the menu for this week. 
Apples, dehydrated  $2 /snack bag
Applesauce  $4 500mL jar  apples simmered gently with a cinnamon stick, no sugar added, sealed
Granola, with fruit  $8 /500mL jar  I’ll make it when you order
Granola, with nuts and fruit  $10 /500mL jar  I’ll make it when you order
Hummus:   chickpeas*, tahini*, olive oil*, lemon juice*, garlic*, a teeny bit of ground hot pepper* and cumin  (*organic)  $5 250/mL jar   I froze it right away
Microgreens, Daikon Radish  NEW  $2 / bag
Pea Shoots  $2 / bag   three trays full should be ready by Sunday, I’m happy to deliver to you then
SPROUTS, Sandwich Booster (clover, alfalfa, radish & mustard)  $3 / bag
SPROUTS, Spring Salad Mix  (broccoli, radish, red clover & alfalfa)  $3 / bag
Sunflower Shoots  $2 / bag
Tomato Sauce  $6 /500mL jar  sealed
Tomatoes, dehydrated  $2 /snack bag
Tomatoes, frozen   $4 /4Cup package  great for sauces and soups
Tomatoes, Gardeners’ Delight (ping pong ball size) frozen whole  $3 pound



Monday 18 December 2017

gifts to give

Hi, if you'd like me to put together a gift bag with items listed below, here is what your present will look like.


Day Brighteners Tomato Sauce with spaghetti noodles

Day Brighteners Tomato Sauce with noodles.

Day Brighteners Salsa with chips

Day Brighteners Applesauce and
Day Brighteners Granola
(granola is made fresh to order with 2 kinds of nuts/one fruit
or with two fruits)

All gift bags are $20 and can be picked up or delivered, must be ordered by no later than Friday December 22 at noon - sooner is better.  
Thanks. 

a Gift of Health

Image result for christmas clipart border




If you or someone you know would like to receive delivery, to home or office, of local organically grown vegetables, herbs, shoots and sprouts, consider a present of a

GIFT CERTIFICATE 

We can deliver weekly, bi-weekly or one can "order as you like".

Contact me for details.
Jo
613-258-7970
joanne.daybrighteners@gmail.com

Wednesday 13 December 2017

Catching You Up with Me

THIS WAS NOVEMBER 22

The three mums have now taken the little ones out to the pen to be with the others.  They keep very close guard over them while teaching them what bits of the food to eat and how to drink that icy cold water properly.  They show them how to scratch around.  The chicks can jump so high which I find amazing considering how small they are.  One of the non-mums is really missing her mum buddy.  When I went to check on everyone before closing up the coop last night, she was in the nesting box with the three mums and the five chicks.  That’s nine chickens in one 12” X 12” box!  I moved her over to the box beside the new family.  She was happy enough with that.

Yesterday was a day for the calendar.  We finished unloading newly acquired potting trays etc. when Mark’s truck got stuck in the field mud.   Pushing, rocking and placing of straw under and around the tires was not going to make it unstuck.  So … we have a tractor, a strong tractor and … I drove the tractor for the very first time and … I liked it.  Sssshhhh, don’t tell anyone or I’ll end up tilling or cutting grass or moving stuff around.  I already have enough to do.  J

We’ve been working on the garden rows, the greenhouses and are starting to get shelves and lights together for winter indoor growing.  After all, winter did take place the other day with all that snow, freezing rain and wind. 
The 50X100, which was the salad garden,
will sleep for a few weeks now.

I’ll be working on mastering microgreens over the next month or so as well as keeping an eye on the greenhouse growings.  There’s little happening in there these days other than we uncover the beds on sunny days and cover them back up with the frost blanket on cold days. 

THIS WAS NOVEMBER 30

I’ve been away in Toronto visiting my little girl, shopping, eating and happily enjoying time with her.  Julie is now working part-time in a wonderful family owned and run classy Italian restaurant while working on her fashion design and marketing online courses and continuing her Spanish classes.  I wonder where she gets her busy gene. 

There were so many things to do when I got back home and today Dan Grant came to clean carpets and furniture.  I grabbed the chance to remove screens and clean windows.  I’ll wash the floors before I put everything back into place.  Over the next few days the Christmas decorations will be placed in their special spots inside and out.

I’m going to Ottawa Friday afternoon to pick up many coffee bags so I can staple them to the beams of the chicken coop holding straw in between them and the walls to act as insulation.  That way the girls and little ones will be warm enough through the winter months.  The weather is really holding out for us enabling us to get more done over a stretch of time instead of rushing through our fall chores.  All the chickens including the little ones go outside for free-ranging now.  This will give me an opportunity to really clean out the coop and make it smell pretty for them.

The greenhouse plants are resting right now and I expect they’ll re-appear in several weeks.  I’ll keep you up to date.  Sprouts will be back next Friday as usual and microgreens (including sunflower and pea shoots) should be available in two or three weeks.

THIS WAS DECEMBER 6

Here we are into December already.  That is so amazing.  We took the day to shop in the Nation’s Capital picking up those things one can’t easily make and to fill in the blanks for gift giving.  Otherwise, I came home with many ideas.  I’m terrible for going through shops and saying “I can make that” but will I?  Hmmm, mostly yes, a little no. 

I love shopping at the local Christmas Craft Markets and seeing people we know and might only see at this time of year and buying handmade items from shop owners who have helped me get through my season a little more comfortably.  We stopped for a coffee and quick breakfast on our way out of Kemptville this morning and ended up chatting with someone we met there for almost an hour. 

The sales people and customers are all in wonderful moods which may not be the case in a couple of weeks.  We didn’t get everything on our list but put a good dent in it.  There was also squeezing in the stop at New Look for a glasses adjustment and Farm Boy to grab some nourishment to keep our health in check during this busy time. 

And it is nice to be home for the evening.    The chickens are much warmer since we lined their coop with straw and coffee bags. Here are some pictures of the (not so) little ones.  



We ate lunch at the Black Dog in Manotick on Saturday while the parade was taking place.  We shared a beet salad, which convinced me:  1) to eat more beets, they are so delicious; 2) to grow more beets next year, they are so delicious. 

I was listening to a Farmer to Farmer podcast while cleaning the other day (yes I’m still cleaning the house) and this one farm grows something like 10,000 pounds of carrots.  It’s driving me crazy that I’m now buying organic carrots someone else grew, which convinced me:  1) to eat more carrots, they are so delicious; 2) to grow more carrots next year, they are so delicious.

It’s pretty quiet around here these days but I am never bored.  Every morning I plan to start microgreens and every day something happens to keep me from doing this.  Tomorrow I will start microgreens – unless something happens to keep me from doing this, like helping Tim finish building his greenhouse which we couldn't do yesterday because of the horrid weather.  

When in Toronto I discovered this pretty cool shop called Greenhouse.  They produce and deliver organic healthy juices to several shops in the GTA.  This one coffee shop where we learned about them also had a florist shop attached with a young man working there from the Philippines who also volunteers in Scarborough with a community garden. 


THIS IS TODAY

Today is computer day.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy the computer and all of its information to gather and share with other like-mindeds.  It’s just that I dislike sitting still.  So as I presently sit in my bright sunny living room, taking a moment to smile at the decorated Christmas tree in the corner, I plan on getting up regularly for a warm cuppa (alternating between elderberry syrup and lemon/honey), starting seeds, making a work-related phone call here and there and cleaning a bit.  Yes, I am still cleaning the house.  We all tried very hard to not track in mud, straggly plant bits and straw during the outdoor season but it was such a boot-wearing past nine months it was impossible to keep the place clean.   And it's not like I was indoors a lot since March.

I did, however, sit for an hour-long webinar with Jean-Martin Fortier aka The Market Gardener yesterday afternoon who talked about several new market garden tools he has discovered to help us all produce more efficiently.  Wow – there are a couple of these on my wish list.

Gift Certificate of fresh food delivered being the perfect Gift of Health, would be nice for someone on your list whom you care about greatly.  You know the prices, you know the gift recipient so you know the amount they would use.  I’m happy to provide Gift Certificates for Day Brighteners Farm at a price you request.  
A Gift Certificate could be used for weekly or bi-weekly deliveries or purchases from here or at Farmers’ Markets next summer.  Mark is keen on doing a farmers’ market or two next year.  It’s good with me if it’s good with him.  I like shopping at farmers’ markets but am not overly fond of selling at them.  It’s that sitting in one place for several hours thing again.  You could also add it to your own list your family might be asking for.

We were shopping at the Brockville Market on Saturday and met some pretty cool people.  One thing that struck me while I was buying fresh spicy salad mix and spinach from one of the booths is that we could do this if we could start sowing and transplanting in the greenhouses late summer and early fall.  These past few years we needed to wait until the existing hot pepper plants were completely done before we could empty the beds in there.  So, if we can grow those hot peppers in another greenhouse for the season we can grow greens all year rather than just for many months of the year.  I’m sold on that idea.  I know you would buy fresh greens all year if I have them, right?  Good.  It’s a deal.  New greenhouse next spring. 

And, now that I’m thinking of it, we can grow English cukes in one of the greenhouses like a few years ago.  I’ll just put up a sign outside reading “No cucumber beetles or squash bugs allowed”.  That should work.  Actually, it’s been a couple of years so I’m sure the bugs are wandering around in the neighbour’s back forest eating weeds or something else now.  Maybe they don’t even like cucumbers and squash anymore.  They can be so devastating to a crop. 

It’s definitely the time to step up the vitamin intake.  One way is with supplements.  If you find your energy level is not the same as a couple of months ago or you’re generally “down”, Vitamin D3 will help.  Unless you’re out in the sunshine for a while each day, your D needs to come from somewhere else.  I find it does make a difference.  With nutrition in general, even if you eat greens regularly, remember they’re probably coming from somewhere far away and losing their nutritional value each day.  An ideal way to get a good fix of body and mind goodness is from sprouts and microgreens. 

Sprouts – http://healthysustainableliving.blogspot.ca/2015/01/10-reasons-to-eat-sprouts-living-food.html says it all.  Also, if you go to the post dated January 20, 2016 Carol Pillar wrote about sprouts being good for yo and that you can eat sprouted lentils, peas, beans, etc. raw but they are best for you when cooked slightly.


I find it funny that at this time of year when fresh greens and their nutrition are harder to find, people shy away from these wonderful foods.  This is exactly when they will best help you out. 

If you’d like to grow your own, I’d be happy to help you get started.  I wouldn’t be doing it if it was difficult – trust me.  It is a commitment, but wouldn’t you say your health is definitely worth it?  I could also start up a tray of micros for you since I have the materials to do so and you could tend to them on your own.  Ask me about it.

I just went out to check on the winter growings.  Temps are 2C in the greenhouses which is much nicer than the  -22C wind chill factor on the way there, not to mention the build-up of snow to get through.  Spinach, mesculin mix, arugula, herbs, kale, mache and pansies are all doing fine.  They told me to come back in a month when they’ll be a little more receptive to me taking their covers off.  The sunflower shoots in our house are happy.  I’m trying a different method of growing them so am not quite sure when they’ll be ready for us.  I’ll let you know and am hoping it’s next week.  I’ll start pea shoots and others this afternoon which should be ready just before Christmas.

And pictures of all the chickens, of course.
The three mums and their five little ones, eating sunflower
seeds to keep them warmer through the night.  That frizzle
is a little crazy looking, eh?

And the other girls staying out of harm's way.  Harm being
the mums chasing them away if they get near the little ones.

This is what you can eat from here this week:
Apples, dehydrated  $2 /snack bag
Applesauce  $4 500mL jar  apples simmered gently with a cinnamon stick, no sugar added, sealed
Granola, with fruit  $8 /500mL jar  I’ll make it when you order
and let me know if you’d like it made with cinnamon or pumpkin spice
Granola, with nuts and fruit  $10 /500mL jar  I’ll make it when you order
and let me know if you’d like it made with cinnamon or pumpkin spice
Herbs, fresh:   citrus thyme, rosemary, sage, thyme  $2 each  
Hummus:   chickpeas*, tahini*, olive oil*, lemon juice*, garlic*, a teeny bit of ground hot pepper* and cumin  (*organic)  $5 250/mL jar – nice size for dipping    I froze it right away
Salsa, canned $8 /500mL jar  sealed
SPROUTS, Sandwich Booster (clover, alfalfa, radish & mustard)  $3 / bag
SPROUTS, Spring Salad Mix  (broccoli, radish, red clover & alfalfa)  $3 / bag
SPROUTS, Crunchy Bean Mix  NEW again (peas, lentils & garbanzos)  $3 /bag
Tomato Sauce  $6 /500mL jar  sealed
Tomatoes, dehydrated  $2 /snack bag
Tomatoes, frozen   $4 /4Cup package  good for sauces and soups
Tomatoes, Gardiners’ Delight (ping pong ball size) frozen whole  $3 pound
Tomatoes, roasted with olive oil and sea salt  $2 / bag  frozen – these have so much flavour and are great on pizza or an egg dish

Call or email me with amounts you’d like and any questions you may have.  Remember you can order any day.   joanne.daybrighteners@gmail.com  613-258-7970 If you leave a message, I'll call you back.

Thanks.

Until next post, have a great every day.
x

Sunday 19 November 2017

Winter has happened

outside at 6somethingish this morning

Inside the Coop everyone is happy and peeping away






Wednesday 8 November 2017

Settling Down, sort of

Where did the week go?  I started cleaning the house this week (finally), made soups today and have been eating arugula every single day of the week and weekend.  It’s a good thing we love arugula. 

I did a walk-about today checking out the gardens and covering the hot peppers in the greenhouses.  Every night I think will be the last night for those pepper plants and, nope, each morning they are still flowering and peppers turning red.  The leaves are starting to yellow a bit due to lack of daylight and we stopped fertilizing them a few weeks ago, not expecting this mild weather to continue as long as it has.  I can freeze a bunch of green jalapenos whole to use over the winter.  But honestly, I believe tonight will be the last night for the hot peppers.  Considering we sowed the seeds for them indoors at the end of January, that’s a very long time to be growing.  I‘ve been collecting seeds from a few of the ripest and look forward to starting new plants in a few weeks.  What!  A few weeks!  Good grief.

Some of the outside celery had the stalks bitten by the cold but most are quite fine.  We’ll pick as much as possible tomorrow before the extreme drop in temperature.  The beets are taking their sweet time to get larger.  There’s no use picking them if they’re tiny.  We’ll see what happens in another week or so.  I’m really hoping the lovely cilantro will survive the next several nights so it should be large enough to use.  The radishes and spinach planted a few weeks ago look great.  Hopefully they survive too, they should.   The kale and chard are doing great.  The next few days should prove interesting.   

We planted about 100 garlic cloves last week and will plant another 100 or 200 tomorrow, covering them with a thick blanket of straw so they can sleep until next June.  I started some edible flower plants which are doing great.  It’s nice to have flowers around. 

I’ve been experimenting with seeds and have three lemon trees working on their third set of leaves.  I’m also going to try avocado plants again.  I haven’t had much luck in the past and now consider it a challenge. 

The five little chicks are growing quickly.  Two look similar with definite markings on their wings.  One has a bump on the top of its beak which makes me wonder what kind of chicken it will be.  The last one hatched is the littlest and is a dark smoky yellow colour.  The little striped one still has its stripes and the yellowest one still looks like a marshmallow chick.  They zip around at a high speed so it’s hard to get a picture. 



We put many hours this fall into cooking and bottling sauces for you.  To make sure no one goes hungry this week and the coming season we offer:
Applesauce  $4 500mL jar  apples simmered gently with a cinnamon stick, no sugar added, sealed
Arugula Pesto $4.50 250mL jar   I froze it right away after making it Sunday
Arugula   $3 bag  washed and table-ready
Celery  $2 / bunch
Chard  $3 / bag
Garlic  $3, $2, or $1 each
Garlic  $12 / pound
Granola, with fruit  $8 /500mL jar  
Granola, with nuts and fruit  $10 /500mL jar  
Herbs, fresh:   cilantro, citrus thyme, dill, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme  $2 each  
Kale  $3 / bunch
Leeks  $3 / bunch
Salsa, canned $8 500mL jar  sealed
SPROUTS, Sandwich Booster (clover, alfalfa, radish & mustard)  $3 / bag
SPROUTS, Spring Salad Mix  (broccoli, radish, red clover & alfalfa)  $3 / bag
Tomato Sauce  $6 500mL jar  sealed
Vegetable Stock, tomato based  $3 pint jar  frozen

Day Brighteners is a non-certified organic farm, where we practice sustainability and environmentally-friendly farming.  We always use non-GMO and organic/heirloom seeds.  We use no “cides” of any kind.  You are very welcome to drop by most days, but if it’s picking/packing/delivery day (Friday) you take your chances on getting the tour.  Calling or emailing first is a good idea.  We do appreciate your business very much and would like to hear from you with any comments or questions you have.   

Please call or email me with amounts you’d like and any questions you may have.  Remember you can order any day.  Give us 24 hours to pick freshest for you.  I deliver to Ottawa and Merrickville either Saturday or Sunday each weekend. 
Thanks.

Until next post, have a great every day.

Wednesday 1 November 2017

That time of year again

There’s a sad part about Fall when some vegetables are no longer producing and the leaves on the stems are crispy or fallen.  Every night might prove to be the last for many foods.  Every morning is a guess as to what survived any severe temperature drops.  On the other hand, as well as the beautiful colours and restful feeling of Fall, there’s the exciting part of foods, like some greens such as kale and many herbs, being moved from the gardens to the greenhouse to keep us eating for the next many weeks until new sprouts form from our own doing in early Spring.  There’s seeing the radishes and green onions we planted a few weeks ago growing and the sowing of new seeds in the greenhouses.  And the planning and thrill of deciding what will go where in the new year, what we should grow that we didn’t this year and what we shouldn’t try again. 

We are not objecting to being indoors the first part of these mornings making applesauce where it’s nice and warm and dry.  Then when it warms up a bit, we’re out there collecting seeds, cleaning rows in the garden, laying down straw and mulched leaves, rolling up soaker hoses, broadforking and weeding, generally putting the gardens to bed for the next several weeks.  We still pick exuberantly Thursdays and Fridays for Friday afternoon deliveries.  The weekends are saved for last minute orders and Ottawa/Merrickville deliveries.

Let me tell you what loves this weather: celery, cilantro, arugula, kale and chard.  If the cabbages we planted survive the next few weeks they will be beautiful now that the bugs have moved out of the area.  The kale is so clean we don’t feel a need to wash it for you, really.  We do wash the arugula so it’s ready for eating when you need it. 

The potatoes are done, we have some fingerlings but the reds didn’t come back after the first picking.  We’ll not plant and hill them in straw next year, which was a trial thing, but will get them in earlier and plant deep into the ground. 

We’re thinking of growing sweet potatoes next year as well as our own oat straw.  Definitely more onions are on the list.  Garlic gets planted this week.  The hot peppers we grow for Wilf & Ada’s are doing surprisingly well considering the extraordinary amount of slugs from all the rain.  We threw an astonishing number of hot and sweet peppers out due to slugs and a new kind of bug I don’t recognize in the peppers – arghhh. 

Succession planting was key to our steady supply of salad greens. 

Here’s something for you to know.  I really appreciate any jars you return to me and want to tell you that I cannot reuse the flat top seal part again so you can ditch it.  Sometimes I can reuse the ring but if it’s rusty or dented from tapping I can’t.  So I’ll ask you to return just the jar.  Thanks.

Five of the baby chicks are doing well growing wings and big feet with long legs attached.  One little one didn’t make it.  I think it got squished by the moms the first night but they are really good new moms teaching the babies to eat and drink like they do.  We created a larger space in the coop for them to hang out until everyone can live together without incident and the littles won’t go places unsafe for them until they can get around better.   It's hard to get a picture right now since they jump around so fast and they are under the dropping board in the coop where it's not too bright for picture taking.

Salad Greens are growing but not too quickly so they’ll sit out this week.  The beets are taking their time but we have hope for them.
This garden is ready for spring.  The soil will be so nice once
we pull back the straw.  

We have some hot pepper plants still producing
enthusiastically and new seedlings started.

The little greenhouse still keeps going with kale, chard,
zinnias, green onions, radishes, celery, and hot peppers.

The outdoor celery is absolutely wonderful.

Cabbages hoping to become larger for us.

This is how much celery you get for $2 !!!!  It's more
than my hand can hold.


Available for your dining pleasure this week are the following foods:
Apples, dehydrated  $2 snack bag
Applesauce  $4 500mL jar  sealed, can be stored for a year
Arugula Pesto $4.50 250mL jar 
Arugula  larger than baby arugula so more zip zip zippy flavour  $3 bag  washed and table-ready
Baby Arugula  $3 bag  washed and table-ready
Celery  $2 / bunch
Celery  $2 / bunch
Celery  $2 / bunch
We have Lots of Celery – the stalks are a good size now, remember you can freeze the tops and leaves for soups and stock.
Chard  $3 / bag
Garlic  $3, $2, or $1 each
Garlic  $12 / pound
Granola, with fruit  $8 /500mL jar  
Granola, with nuts and fruit  $10 /500mL jar  
Herbs, fresh:   cilantro, citrus thyme, dill, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme  $2 each  
Kale  $3 / bunch
Leeks  $3 / bunch
Potatoes, fingerlings  $2 / pound
Salsa, canned $8 500mL jar sealed, can be stored for a year
SPROUTS, Sandwich Booster (clover, alfalfa, radish & mustard)  $3 / bag
SPROUTS, Spring Salad Mix  (broccoli, radish, red clover & alfalfa)  $3 / bag
Tomatoes, dehydrated  $2 snack bag
Tomato Sauce  $6 500mL jar  sealed, can be stored for a year
Vegetable Stock, tomato based  $3 pint jar  I froze it right away

Day Brighteners is a non-certified organic farm, where we practice sustainability and environmentally-friendly farming.  We always use non-GMO and organic/heirloom seeds.  We use no “cides” of any kind.  You are very welcome to drop by most days, but if it’s picking/packing/delivery day (Friday) you take your chances on getting the tour.  Calling or emailing first is a good idea.  We do appreciate your business very much and would like to hear from you with any comments or questions you have.   

Please call or email me with amounts you’d like and any questions you may have.  Remember you can order any day.  Give us 24 hours to pick freshest for you.  I deliver to Ottawa and Merrickville either Saturday or Sunday each weekend. 
Thanks.

Until next post, have a great every day.