October 28, 2024
Fall Classics
by Farmer Dana

Harvest #26 (Week B) should include sweet potatoes, celery, radishes, beets, turnips, purple daikons, lettuce, romaine, arugula, radicchio, kale, bok choy, potatoes, and cabbage. Some items will be a choice. U-pick is over for the season; the herb garden now needs to rest and recuperate during this very dry autumn.

October 28, 2024
Workshifts for Week of 10/28/24
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

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.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

October 28, 2024
Exiting October
by Farmer Derek

Today we began planting the saved garlic cloves into some very dry soil. Our garlic has been saved annually since 2004 and is now a unique variety, or a unique mix of varieties because they're technically clone cloves and aren't mixing genes. We do set aside the biggest bulbs to split into seed so we're influencing it that way.

Each season we aim to increase the amount of garlic planted for the following season's harvest. This year we're adding about 500' more, increasing from 3000' to 3500' total. That's about 21,000 cloves to plant, or 425 pounds. After each clove is tucked into the soil, we'll cover the entire area with a thick layer of straw. For the first time ever, we may even need to add water to ensure the cloves wake up and break dormancy sooner rather than later.

Speaking of moisture, this will be the first time in 16 seasons I'll be entering a '0' for precipitation total for a calendar month. For comparison's sake, during the April-October timeframe, this season the rain we received was 20" less than last season and 15" less than our 16-year average. Pretty astounding if you ask me. However, the silver lining is that the crops have been thriving with regular well-water drinks and we've had less pest and disease pressure overall. Assuming it will rain again at some point, maybe we'll catch up on the deficit this fall and winter.

October 21, 2024
How Sweet They Are
by Farmer Dana

Harvest #25 (Week A) should include sweet potatoes, celery, radishes, kohlrabi, beets, turnips, lettuce, romaine, garlic, hot peppers, sweet peppers, shishitos, arugula, radicchio, kale, bok choy, potatoes, and cabbage. Some items will be a choice. U-pick is over for the season; the herb garden now needs to rest and recuperate during this very dry autumn.

October 21, 2024
Workshifts for Week of 10/21/24
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

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.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

October 21, 2024
October Trials and Tribulations
by Farmer Derek

We're now down to the final four weeks of our 28-week Main Season CSA. It's an interesting time. Fields are really emptying out now as we officially say goodbye to the last of the summer crops, continuously harvest weekly planted lettuces and greens, and retrieve the last of the various roots and storage crops. Now, we can almost perfectly map out the remaining weeks of CSA distribution, barring any unforeseen strange weather surprises. Though even with that we've taken various precautions, like planning for the last couple of weeks of harvested greens to come out of the protective high/hoop/cat tunnels. With regular watering, crops are thriving.

Last Thursday morning gave us our first widespread frost, heavy enough that we had to delay harvesting until almost 9am, but without any damage to crops. Now we have to deal with highs in the mid-80s. Go figure. No rain is in sight, so this October may be the first calendar month in 16 seasons without any recorded rainfall at the farm.

October 21, 2024
Back to Warm Weather Eating
by Linda Dansbury

We are back to really warm weather so eating a little lighter again.

Romaine, sweet pepper, hot pepper, onion, garlic, herbs - made lettuce wraps, using ground pork, Thai style. A very simple and healthy meal. Romaine leaves are perfect for lettuce wraps.

Peppers, onions, kale, Swiss chard, garlic - used the rest of the pound of ground pork in a stir fry - Kale Rice Bowl - that I make frequently, but I change up the veggies based on what is available.

Sweet peppers, edamame (frozen during the season), onion, slivered kale, broccoli - made an Asian style pasta salad. Again, this is another dish that the veggies can be changed up based on what is available. Pasta isn't often paired with an Asian dressing, but this was so delicious - the dressing has soy sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, grated ginger, and toasted sesame oil.

October 21, 2024
Sweets are Here!
by Linda Dansbury

Two new additions to the pick up room this week are exciting to me.

Sweet Potatoes - so delicious and much more flavorful than those you purchase in the store. Store in a box or tray that allows for air movement (no plastic bags please). They like to be stored at about 50-60 degrees in the dark, so a basement or garage is good. Enjoy them roasted alone or with other veggies, made into Oven Fried Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Cinnamon Bread, and Sweet Potato and Lentil Chili, to name a few things.

Celery - if you like celery, you will love frost-kissed fall celery. Store in plastic, wrapped in a paper towel to keep the water off.

October 14, 2024
Big Brassicas
by Farmer Dana

Harvest #24 (Week B) should include broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, kohlrabi, beets, turnips, lettuce, romaine, garlic, eggplant, hot peppers, sweet peppers, shishitos, arugula, radicchio, kale, tomatoes, potatoes, and cabbage. Some items will be a choice. U-pick is over for the season; the herb garden now needs to rest and recuperate during this very dry autumn.

October 14, 2024
Workshifts for Week of 10/14/24
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

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.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

October 14, 2024
First Frosts
by Farmer Derek

Late last week, just prior to the weekend warmup, we received the first light frost of the fall season, and are forecast to have a run of frosty mornings this week. Frosts that occur when lows are in the mid to upper 30s are relatively insignificant for most of what we're growing this time of year. The only summer crops still out in the field right now are sweet, hot, and shishito peppers. We harvested them and the eggplant pretty hard last week in anticipation of these cold temperatures. If the peppers remain unscathed, on Wednesday we'll probably do one final harvest before they're mown and incorporated into the soil. We'll then try to establish a cover crop of rye or oats but that's a challenge without rainfall. Either way we'll add compost and enrich the soil that way.

The fall crops in the field should actually improve in flavor with a few light frosts as they convert starches to sugars to better deal with the cold. Most of these crops aren't bothered by cold until it drops into the upper 20s with a hard frost. Freezing cold plus wind is probably the hardest for crops to tolerate. Some of the more tender greens like lettuce, arugula, and bok choy would be the first to show any frost burn. Typically, we receive our first light frosts of the season in mid-October and hard frosts/freezes in early November. Obviously every season is different and it looks like it is going to warm up again this coming weekend.

October 14, 2024
Cool Weather Veggies
by Linda Dansbury

The amazing array and variety of veggies keeps going in the barn. Get your "summer" veggies while you can this week, because almost certain frosts will end the season for some of the sensitive crops.

We have been receiving kale, which I have incorporated in to soups, stews and made into salads as well. This week, we are likely to see curly kale. It is a treat because the curly kale is the variety that makes the best Kale Chips, one of my favorite snacks. Enjoy.

October 14, 2024
Sweet Treats
by Linda Dansbury

Fall is baking season, roasting season, soup season and stew season! I have also continued to make stir fries. Here are a few specific things I have recently enjoyed.

Beets - made the Chocolate Beet Cake recipe on this site. Nothing to say but Yummy!

Broccoli, cauliflower - these are so beautiful! I love snacking on them raw, but I also roasted them. Cut both up into similar sizes. Tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roasted at 375 until tender, about 25 min. Topped with chopped herbs and a grating of parm cheese.

Eggplant, peppers, onion, tomato (added near the end), broccoli - I recently learned about a sauce called tonkatsu. It is a slightly sweet and sour sauce that is delicious when added to stir fried veggies. I also stir fried a little bit of steak and added ramen noodles. It was really good and I will be making it again.

October 7, 2024
Fall Beauts
by Farmer Derek

October 7, 2024
Workshifts for Week of 10/7/24
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

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.

Please be here by the scheduled start time (it might be hard to find us in the fields otherwise).

October 7, 2024
Lovely Fall Vegges
by Linda Dansbury

The colors in the pick up room this time of year are stunning: reds, orange, green, white, purple - simply beautiful. Here are a couple of notes on a few of the crops.

Broccoli and Cauliflower - so many ways to enjoy these delicious and nutritious veggies - raw, steamed, stir fried, roasted, and turned into soup. The only note is that even though Derek has said pest pressure is low this year, often these organic beauties have hidden worms in them, which if left on/in the crop can lead to damage. So, when you get them home, rinse well, checking in between the florets for "critters", removing any you find. Then, let dry on a towel prior to refrigerating because like most veggies, they don't like to be stored wet.

Radicchio - this much maligned veggie is so delicious and can be enjoyed in different ways. I like to take a leaf or 2 off at a time and cut it into small pieces and add to salads. The color is beautiful and it adds a nice texture and taste. It can also be halved (or quartered depending on size), brushed with olive oil and grilled or roasted. Then, drizzle a bit more olive oil and sprinkle your favorite herbs and/or parm cheese, or feta or blue cheese crumbles. So delicious!

October 7, 2024
Fall Colors
by Farmer Derek

The biggest piece of news from last week at the farm was the successful completion of the sweet potato harvest, amazingly completed in one work day with staff and CSA members. I'm not sure what's more remarkable, the quality or the quantity of the tubers. Even during our driest of growing seasons, the unirrigated sweet potatoes still managed to bulk up and achieve that quintessential sweet potato size and shape. Besides the occasional mammal-munched root, they're healthy and blemish-free. Now, the 8,000lbs or so of sweets will 'cure' in a warm humid room where they'll heal and convert starch to sugar. We'll test them in a couple of weeks to see if they're sweet enough to eat and will plan to distribute them during the final four weeks of the season.

It's also time to thank your luck stars, give in to the vagaries of farming and the ebb and flow of moisture. Behold, broccoli and cauliflower appear to have made a triumphant return to shares. Perhaps just an average amount will be available; we won't know for sure until we begin harvesting them this week. But during a cursory walk-through the patch yesterday, elevated florets were abundant on the broccoli and emerging white corals were numerous in the cauliflower. Dry and cool weather, consistent irrigation, and good fertility have enabled the patch to remain mostly pest and disease free and now hopefully productive. These are fickle crops for us that we can't rely on every single year the way we can others. Thus, rejoice!

October 7, 2024
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. Follow This Link for instructions on how to order. Your order will be delivered to Anchor Run on Tuesday October 15th and can be picked up 1-8pm. Orders are due by October 10th. Please note that we do not have any spare freezer space to store orders beyond this day.

We understand and appreciate that not everyone eats fish.

October 7, 2024
Fall Veggie Mixes
by Linda Dansbury

Fall is definitely here and will really make its presence known this week with much cooler nights and days. I enjoy cooking all year round but there is something special about this time of year when I especially make soups and stews for the freezer. To me, one of the best things about receiving all of these veggies is pulling something delicious and nutritious out of the freezer in December through April that came from farm fresh produce. Here are a few things we enjoyed recently.

Eggplant, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic - I have made a few batches of caponata to enjoy as a side dish and more for the freezer over the past few weeks. In addition to a delicious side dish, it is also great as a bruschetta topping. I have also enjoyed it by cooking sausage and mixing it in and then topping with parm cheese and fresh herbs.

Winter squash, rosemary (or thyme) - made a roasted squash side dish - peeled and cubed the squash and placed in a bowl. Drizzled olive oil and maple syrup over the squash and tossed to coat. Added salt, pepper and a bit of cinnamon and mixed again. Placed in a single layer on oiled baking sheet and baked in 400 degree oven for about 30 min (until tender), stirring midway through cooking. Remove from oven, sprinkle with chopped fresh rosemary or thyme and enjoy.

Potatoes, peppers, onions, eggplant, watermelon radish - as I often do, I made a large batch of roasted veggies. They went over big with guests we had.