November 11, 2024
Grand Finale!
by Farmer Dana

Harvest #28 (Week B) should include sweet potatoes, garlic, celery, purple daikons, watermelon radish, lettuce mix, arugula, kale, bok choy, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage. Some items will be a choice.

November 11, 2024
Final Pick Up
by Linda Dansbury

This week is the final pick up, which is always a bit sad. But, I am happy that I spent the extra time during the season to preserve a lot of the harvest: soups; scraps to make into veggie stock; frozen edamame, peppers and tomatoes; eggplant dip; tomatillo and tomato sauce and salsa; pickles and pestos. Wow! So much we get to enjoy for the next several months! Here are a couple of things I prepared recently.

Celery, onion, potato - for the first time, I made celery soup - I really wasn't sure if I would like it, but it was yummy.

Bok choy, onion, garlic, hot pepper (frozen) - enjoyed the Salmon with Bok Choy and Shitake Mushrooms from this site. It was an easy weeknight meal and delicious.

Swiss chard, onion, tomatoes (frozen), garlic - enjoyed the Skillet Gnocchi with Beans and Swiss chard. Every so often I go through the Recipe section of the website and search on ingredients. I always find delicious things to make from our farm veggies.

November 11, 2024
Cover Cropped, Composted, Complete
by Farmer Derek

Thanks to the warm and dry autumn, this is the first growing season where we've been able to sow cover crops and spread compost over 100% of the farm. This time of year fields are normally too moist to drive machinery in and/or temperatures are too low to guarantee decent seed germination so we simply leave crop residue to keep the soil protected over the winter. This season, however, has been quite an anomaly, at least precipitation-wise. We always try to cover as much of the farm as possible in compost and plants but are often limited by uncontrollable factors. Last week, after we finished the harvesting of field crops, we mowed, spread compost, chisel-plowed, broadcast the cover crop mix, then disked it in. About 300 pounds of winter rye, oats, hairy vetch, and crimson clover was sown over an acre of field space that was home to the fall crops we've been receiving for the past couple of months. Hopefully last night's .35" of rain plus any residual soil moisture from irrigation is enough to wake up the sown seeds.

Soon, we'll turn the page on this season and begin planning (and planting) for 2025. But for now, we reflect on this season and are most thankful for and appreciative of our wonderful crew of farmers, Alex, Andrea, Connor, Craig, and Gabby, who are amazingly hard working and importantly are good folks to work with. Our supportive membership, thank you for allowing us to grow healthy produce for you and your family.

Want produce after the official CSA season is over? Look for an e-mail announcing flash share sales at some point later this month and December. Once harvest is concluded this week, we'll take stock of tunnel greens and storage produce and will base our plan off of that.

November 4, 2024
Fall Happiness
by Linda Dansbury

I am enjoying all of the delicious fall goodies. I continue to roast a pile of mixed veggies at least once per week - the leftovers - if there are any, are great reheated, mixed with a grain or pasta and made into a salad, or added to eggs for a delicious frittata. Here are a couple of other things I have enjoyed.

Sweet potatoes - did a riff on plain oven fried sweets. Cut into fries. Drizzled and tossed in olive oil. Mixed together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper and tossed with fries. Baked in a 450 degree oven for about 15 min. Flipped fries and baked for another 5-10 minutes. Then broiled until nicely browned and crispy. Very delicious!

Bok choy, sweet pepper, edamame (from freezer) - since it's been warm, instead of roasting the gorgeous bok choy, I made it into a new salad, combining other farm veggies and making a dressing using miso, ginger, rice vinegar and raw cashews. I rough chopped the bok choy and seared it a bit, then added sliced shitake mushrooms and cooked them a bit. I tossed everything with quinoa to make it a complete meal.

Winter squash, arugula - roasted squash, then combined with arugula and a sliced pear. Mixed with a balsamic vinaigrette and topped with spiced pecans and a bit of goat cheese. Great way to enjoy the arugula.

November 4, 2024
Penultimate Harvest
by Farmer Dana

Harvest #27 (Week A) should include sweet potatoes, garlic, celery, radishes, beets, turnips, purple daikons, lettuce mix, arugula, kale, bok choy, potatoes, chard, 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.

November 4, 2024
Workshifts Are Now Over
by Farmer Derek

November 4, 2024
Nearing the Finish Line
by Farmer Derek

I don't think it's fully sunk in yet that we're near the end of the 2024 CSA harvest season. It's such a long and fully enveloping, immersive ride. Beginning with seeding in the greenhouse in late February, doing so weekly through mid-September; preparing and planting in the ground in the tunnels in late March and outside in early April, doing so weekly through early-October; harvesting early-May through mid-November; caring for living creatures nonstop for almost 9 months. It's a very tight and all-encompassing connection, sometimes overwhelming. At the conclusion of harvest week 28 a weighted feeling departs, a release of joy but also something else. Making it through successfully is an accomplishment for sure, especially so with this driest of seasons. It's a team effort and we're grateful for our awesome staff of farmers as well as the overall support of our members, both in the field physically but also for the sense of community embodied in this style of farming. So thank you, everyone, who is part of this project where we're trying to nurture ourselves and this ecosystem through the growing of healthy food.