Remember gorgeous swiss chard we brought to the market around this time last year? This year, we have not been able to bring them because they are suffering…

I asked our fellow farmer what is causing this discoloration of chard leaves. He said it could be “leaf miners”.  They are tiny fly larvae that live in leaves and eat them from inside.  I removed damaged leaves as much as possible to prevent them from further spreading in the garden, and will add some compost or organic fertilizer to the plants, hoping they get stronger and outlive those tiny creatures.  More bad news is that we will not be able to bring any beets this spring to the market because most of them decided to bolt before their roots develop.  Beets failed last year, too and I wonder what the cause may be.  Spring weather around this area on Gabriola stays very cold for a long time before it becomes dry and hot, so maybe we planted them too early…  We will try to grow them for fall harvest, if we manage to find space for them in the garden.

Good news is that other crops continue to grow.  We introduced our first-of-the-season salad mix (prepared in our new washing station) to the market last week and we will have romaine lettuce and snap peas soon.  All tomatoes and cucumbers were planted in the greenhouse.

When we purchased our small-scale commercial oven last year, we set a target to deliver 100 loaves of bread a week. We achieved this milestone last week! We will set our new goal and continue to offer yummy and nutritious bread to as many people as possible. Eating healthy is delicious and fun!

Do you like Ramen?  Nowadays ramen is the second most known Japanese food (following sushi, of course) and there are numerous ramen shops in Vancouver and Toronto. There are even vegan ramen, gluten free ramen, organic ramen, etc. However, for me the most comforting ramen is an instant ramen called “Chicken ramen”. 

“Chicken Ramen” is the original instant ramen which was invented in Japan in 1958.  The inventor, Mr. Ando, saw how wet flour batter of tempura was cooked in heated oil, and developed a method of making stable dry noodle in his backyard shed in Osaka.  His company, Nissin Food, continued to make various instant ramen and other noodle dishes and is now a 5-billion-dollar corporation.  “Chicken Ramen” even traveled to International Space Station and helped various natural disaster relief effort in Japan because they are easy to transport, cook and do not get spoiled.  Instant ramen was a staple food when I get together with my friends in college days!  Hot and humid summer weather does not prevent Japanese people from enjoying ramen. Here is a picture of Chicken Ramen my mom and dad enjoyed a few days ago.

This is how our farm looks like and how I harvest on Saturday morning for the market.

Our market schedule is as follows:

• Island Roots Farmers’ Market: Beban Park, 2300 Bowen Road, Nanaimo, 3 – 6pm on Wednesday
• AGI Market: AGI Hall, Gabriola, 10am – 2pm on Saturday

Thank you for reading our weekly newsletter. Have a wonderful week!