I was harvesting zucchini when the call that lunch was ready came over the radio. The white harvest van we call Chevy Chase came by on the way back from the Fox field. ‘Can you do a pick up?’ I asked. The door opened and out came empty crates and four women to help gather the squash piles into the van. Most days this van is picking up crates and bins of produce to take to the wash-pack station where it is washed and packed into the cold room, and then into the delivery van to take to the Halifax Warehouse Market.

We have been pleasantly surprised by the fantastic yield this year. Possibly because there was more rain than usual, or because we used partially decomposed sheep, horse, and cattle manure from fellow farmers in our neighbourhood to fertilize the crops. This spring we invested heavily in a new gravel pad to store manure. The vegetables really thrive when they are growing in this partially decomposed manure. They taste great too. More vital, it seems. Right now all the eggplants and sweet red peppers are producing so well, we’ve cut the price of both to $3/lb. There are heaps of them going into Market this week. We hope you enjoy them roasted, sauteed, and made into wonderful late summer dishes. We are roasting them in oil and putting them in the freezer to enjoy all winter.

Because our staff is changing, we’ve had to put out the call to hire both at the farm and Market. We interviewed a number of people and offered jobs. Luckily we had applicants! Recently we’ve offered a job to 4 new people. I hope we can draw them in to the ‘farmily’ for a while, and we can provide an experience that allows them to grow and thrive, just like the produce.