September 24, 2023
Fall is Here!
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #21 (Week A) should include leeks, winter squash, potatoes, carrots, arugula, Swiss chard, kale, head lettuce, romaine lettuce, eggplant, green/ripening tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and shishito peppers. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers. Garlic is on pause until we're sure we will have enough cloves for seed (300lbs).

September 24, 2023
Workshifts for Week of September 25th
by Farmer Derek

A reminder that if you signed up for a share with a work discount you have about one more month to satisfy that requirement. If you're unable to put in the time that's a-okay, just send us payment to cover the full cost of your share.

This week's workshift schedule (slow this week while we dry out):

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

September 24, 2023
Infinite Moisture
by Farmer Derek

September has been pretty wet. This round of rain has us over 8 inches for the month and we still have a week to go. We're managing to mostly stay on schedule and finish necessary work. Last week we retrieved the rest of the potatoes, transplanted the final round of outdoor crops, and stowed the last of the winter squash. We sowed an oat and crimson clover cover crop on any ground that was bare, which included fields home to the aforementioned crops plus tomato, tomatillo, and half the eggplant beds.

Tasks this week will be limited to ones we can do while sopping through the mud. The moveable high tunnel is currently being cleaned out of tomatoes and will then be pushed over the fall spinach crop. The soil in the lower caterpillar tunnel has been amended and spaded and this week we'll plant the final round of crops of the 2023 growing season. As storage space becomes available and bins empty we'll continue to harvest fall roots like radishes, turnips, and beets. Whenever the ground dries out enough we'll turn our attention to the sweet potatoes, perhaps next week or the one after.

We're monitoring moisture sensitive crops like broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach for showing any deleterious effects from all this rain, which can exacerbate disease pressure. There's nothing we really can do anyway, but it'll at least temper our harvest expectations if there are negative consequences. But don't worry, there'll probably never be a shortage of produce in the pick up room because we always grow extra and count on crop diversity to pull us through. There just may be more of crops that don't mind too much water than ones that do.

September 17, 2023
Great Cooking Weather!
by Linda Dansbury

Hopefully the low humidity days are with us for good! It is so much nicer cooking in this weather. I made a couple of different dishes this week that I want to share - please send how you are enjoying the harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net.

Peppers, garlic, herbs - Prepared a really delicious side dish. Rub whole peppers with oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill peppers until charred all over (alternatively, this could be done under the broiler). Place in a paper bag until cool enough to handle. Peel off skins, cut into large chunks, and take out the stems and seeds. Place in large bowl. In a small skillet, put a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Thinly slice a garlic clove or 2 and when oil is hot, add garlic and cook until light brown. Remove from heat and throw in a handful of chopped herbs - I used thyme and rosemary. Pour the mixture over the peppers, add some salt and pepper. Drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar and mix well. Place about 2/3 of the peppers in an oven proof baking pan. Add spoonfuls of goat cheese around the dish and top with remaining peppers. Bake at 400 degrees until peppers are bubbly and cheese is melted and a little browned. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Basil, garlic - The farm has an amazing crop of basil right now - both as a choice in the pick up room and in the herb garden. I took advantage of this and made a nice batch of pesto for the freezer.

September 17, 2023
Summer Veggies Slowly Wane
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #20 (Week B) should include leeks, winter squash, potatoes, carrots, Italian dandelion, arugula, Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, basil, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and shishito peppers. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

September 17, 2023
Workshifts for Week of September 18th
by Farmer Derek

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

September 17, 2023
Almost Fall for Real
by Farmer Derek

Last weekend we received about four inches of rain, more than all of August. Because the ground was severely moisture deficient following the hot and dry spell, that amount of rain was fairly well received and most fields soaked it up relatively quickly. The additional rain on Tuesday prevented us from transplanting outdoors all week, but we had almost ten thousand spinach and lettuce plants to transplant in the tunnels which was doable because the roof keeps the water out and we have almost complete control over the soil in there. As long as it doesn't rain too much tonight we'll get the penultimate round of outdoor crops in the ground this coming week, including kale, arugula, mustard, choy, and radishes. The final round of indoor and outdoor crops will go in the following week and then it'll strictly be maintenance mode.

Regarding the tunnels, we're incrementally emptying them of the summer tomato crops. As of today, two of three tunnels have been cleaned out. Because the second round of tomatoes is in the moveable high tunnel and we can prepare and plant crops for its subsequent move, it's possible to leave the tomatoes to their thing for a bit longer. There is some risk in this, however, because spinach, planted in the adjacent plot, doesn't tolerate excessive rainfall too well, at least in our soils. It does exceptionally well in cool and cold weather, however.

I'm assuming the heat wave two weeks ago invigorated the summer crops for a strong final push before they really taper off. We'll continue to see bountiful tomatoes, peppers, basil, and eggplant for at least another week before they slow down following next weekend's Autumnal Equinox.

This coming week we're hoping to harvest the last of the potatoes and winter squash. Very soon we'll embark on the sweet potato harvest, but due to storage constraints, we need to have all of the winter squash distributed first. As summer crops wane, upcoming harvests should begin to include other traditional cool weather crops like turnips, radishes, beets, romaine, radicchio, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, kohlrabi, bok choy, and napa/chinese cabbage.

September 17, 2023
Wild for Salmon Buying Club
by Wild for Salmon

Wild For Salmon is owned and operated by Steve and Jenn Kurian of Bloomsburg, PA.

Editors Note:

Anchor Run CSA hosts two buying club events each year, in the spring and fall. When you order through the buying club you automatically save 20% at checkout. Follow This Link for instructions on how to order. Your order will be delivered to Anchor Run on Thursday October 19th and can be picked up 2-8pm. Orders are due by October 13th.

We understand and appreciate that not everyone eats fish.

September 10, 2023
Fall Vibes
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #19 (Week A) should include leeks, pie pumpkins/winter squash, potatoes, carrots, Italian dandelion, arugula, Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, basil, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and shishito peppers. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and flowers.

September 10, 2023
Workshifts for Week of September 11th
by Farmer Derek

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

September 10, 2023
Heat, Begone
by Farmer Derek

I think I underestimated, undervalued, underprepared for this past week's heat wave, the longest and hottest of the summer. Perhaps because it was on the heels of a relatively cool and kind August, I forgot what it's like to work through terribly hot and humid days. Every task feels a bit harder, unexpected challenges cause a bit more stress, worry about crop tolerance and water needs increases, weather forecast and radar watching becomes constant, work clothes quickly become disgusting. Thankfully, the heat has broken and rainfall was received. Thursday's rounds missed us and Friday's were threatening to also, but we lucked out and received .4", enough to sate my stress and provide a drink to the newly transplanted, most sensitive crops, as well as the additional acre or two of cover crop seed sown where beans, edamame, early summer lettuce and herbs, and potatoes called home.

Now that it's cooling off and with fall officially commencing in ten days, the race to get the last few rounds of crops in the ground and other crops out of the ground begins, before the threat of frost actually becomes real, normally in mid-October. The final round of crops were seeded this past week, including arugula, mustard, radish, chard, and bok choy, and the first round of crops were transplanted into tunnels, including lettuce mix and spinach. Probably in about three weeks time we'll be finished transplanting for the season. Crops with a retrieval deadline include the remainder of the potatoes (about 25% left, maybe 2500lbs), sweet potatoes (hopefully 4000-6000lbs), and butternut squash. Summer crops are really starting to wane but tasty fall crops will be slowly replacing them in the pick up room, including leeks, potatoes, winter squash and pumpkins, kale, beets (maybe with their greens), and romaine.

September 10, 2023
Fall is (sort of) Here
by Linda Dansbury

This time of year is often strange - both in weather and the mix of veggies. We had a delightful couple of weeks with cooler nights, which makes one begin to think of more warming dishes, and then the abrupt and long switch to the longest, hottest streak of the summer, which makes you want to go back to simple, cooling meals. As is true with the veggie mix. We still have beautiful summer veggies, but now several fall ones, plus greens.

Here are a few things I have made recently:

Kale, garlic, cilantro, basil, onion, sweet and hot pepper - made the Kale Rice Bowl from this site. This has been a go to for my family as an easy meal. I have learned to change it up a bit based on what is available. One great addition is sweet peppers. Add them in the beginning with the ground pork. An onion doesn't hurt either - I had one left from grilling and it was great in this dish. Normally I top my bowl with a bit of Sriracha but this time I added a hot pepper when cooking the dish and it was great.

Pumpkin, peppers, garlic, onions - made the Roasted Butternut and Red Pepper Soup that I posted a couple of weeks ago. I tasted it and it was delicious, but I froze it for enjoyment later.

Tomatoes, peppers, onion, garlic, carrot, basil - prepared the Gazpacho Soup recipe from this site. Over the years, I have found this one to be my favorite. I have made it for friends and family and everyone really loves it. I think the addition of carrot and celery give it a really nice rounded flavor - not too tomatoey, if that makes sense.

Arugula, cherry tomatoes - I sometimes add arugula to lettuce for a mixed green salad, but other times I just like to keep it as mainly arugula. I simply put arugula and cherry tomatoes in a bowl, add some salt and pepper, squeeze lemon juice and a nice drizzle of good olive oil. Yum!

With the weather forecasted to turn cooler by the end of the week, I am looking to cook some "fallish" meals. Send how you are enjoying your harvest to me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and I will share with the rest of membership.

September 10, 2023
Closer to Fall
by Linda Dansbury

It is almost fall, and the change in veggies is showing this! Greens are back in full force plus some other delicious things.

Leeks - Leeks are alliums, so they’re related to garlic, chives, shallots, and onions. Tasting them, you can tell. They have a sweet, oniony flavor that adds depth to soups, stews, pastas, and more! Use them as you do onions and shallots, to build flavor at the start of a recipe. However, because they’re milder than most other alliums, you can also enjoy them on their own. Grilled or roasted, they make a surprising, delicious side dish. Leeks store fairly well in plastic in the fridge. Try the Braised Salmon with Leeks early this week, and by the weekend, you can go for the Potato Leek Chowder recipe on this site.

September 3, 2023
Peaking Peppers, Dwindling U-pick
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #18 (Week B) should include pie pumpkins/winter squash, potatoes, carrots, Italian dandelion, arugula, Swiss chard, lettuce, basil, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, shishito peppers, and onions. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and flowers.

September 3, 2023
Workshifts for the Week of September 4th
by Farmer Derek

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

September 3, 2023
September Heat Wave
by Farmer Derek

What will hopefully be the final heat wave of 2023 descends upon the farm this week. I'm not too worried because days are shorter and the sun appears to be a bit lower in the sky, at least to start and end the day, than peak summer. Nights will hopefully satisfyingly cool off. Humidity is fortunately forecast to be moderate. On the bright side, the heat loving summer staples should enjoy this 4-day blast before beginning their slow then fast autumn decline. I'm guessing peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes have already peaked but will remain plentiful (except for cherry tomatoes, grown outside, which have really slowed down). Cucurbit family members zucchini, cucumbers, watermelon, and cantaloupe are in the rearview mirror but now we welcome their crunchier cousins the traditional butternut, the strange butternut, and the pie pumpkin for the foreseeable future. For some unknown reason the pumpkins didn't perform great this year but hopefully the others picked up their slack.

This coming week we're hoping to make a serious push to retrieve another 25% of the potato planting which will leave us with just one more variety to retrieve a week or two later. We'll also prioritize cleaning up fields, mowing, removing crop growing helpers like landscape fabric, plastic mulch, and drip tape, and then prepare those spaces for cover crops. Some areas will receive compost if they didn't earlier this year. Our deadline is the cold front inducing rainfall event forecast for Thursday and/or Friday.

We're slowly getting caught up on our battle with late summer weeds and after this weekend the fall carrots and fall brassicas (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli) should be tidy. Weekly hoeing of successional bare ground transplants continues (lettuce, arugula, bok choy, mustard, kale, radishes, turnips, etc). This week we begin planting inside for late fall harvesting. Up first is lettuce mix (3 successions), followed by spinach (also 3 successions). Spinach seems to be extra sensitive to too much moisture so growing it under cover where we can control water is helpful. Unfortunately this doesn't always guarantee a quality harvest since spinach is also very susceptible to powdery mildew. To combat this we grow strains that have been bred to be resistant while ensuring tunnels are well vented with good air flow.