Small Family Farm CSA
We Dig Vegetables
Week 16, 2010September FifteenthWe're on the home stretch now with only four more weeks of CSA delivereis. Could you have guessed that there were this many different varieties of produce that can be grown in the Midwest and that can be provided over this length of time? It is truly amazing all of the colorful, delicious and nutritious vegetables that can be grown right here in our back yard that do not need to be shipped in from another part of the country. But, local has it's down fall. We have seasons condusive to growing, and we have seasons where most forms of life go into hibernation, fly south or die back into the earth. There are a growing number of small scale farmers who are looking at taking up the niche market of providing off-seaon greens grown in their green houses, storage roots and tubers sold during the winter and folks who are exploring other creative ways of storing or growing food that can be sold in the off season. (Yours truly is perfectly happy growing in the summer monthes and taking the winters to re-charge her batteries, the off season growing will be for the niche marketer). During the winter monthes, we like to vend at either the Viroqua indoor Winter Farmer's Market or at the Dubuque Indoor Winter Farmer's Market where we can sell some of our storage potatoes, garlic, onions and squash. The indoor markets also provide a way in which we can advertize for the upcoming season's CSA program. And truthfully, I love going to Farmer's Markets because it gives me a chance to talk to the customers, hear their recipe ideas and create a friendly opportunity for socializing within the community. Local food is delicious, it's fresh and it gives a new depth to our meals to know who and where our food comes from. I love eating the walnuts cracked by the hands of the man at the market, the bread and scones from the woman behind the table made yesterday evening, and the meat from the guy with the 'pastured and grass-fed sign'. I also love knowing that my dollars go directly from my pocket into theirs and our local economy is stronger for it. In the winter monthes, when most of the fresh produce is gone, don't forget about the Farmer's Market. This CSA expereience is delicious, but underneath the bags of tomatoes and potatoes is wholesome community that is empowered with the dollars spent locally. When we re-invest in our communities, we are the richer for it. Sooo, What's in the Box????Youkon Gold Potatoes- Beautiful gold, creamy gold potatoes. The youkon golds are prone to turning green if they get any sun exposure at all. Just cut away any green, we couldn't afford to cull all of the ones with any green. This is a down fall associated with these dreamy, creamy potatoes, but they're worth it! Carrots- More beautiful, orange carrots. It's been an interesting year for carrots. We have some issues with carrot leaf blight this year (a really weird leaf disease that we didn't know existed that comes from extended periods of moisture on the leaf surface). These carrots that you're getting this week came from a bed that did not have any leaf blight, but the next couple beds that we have coming up have some issues that we're trying to clear up on their leaves. Spaghetti Squash- These squash are not 100% cured just yet for storage. If you are not ready to eat it now, just allow it to sit at room temperature on your counter and it will 'cure', the stem will dry out completely and the flesh may become sweeter. Spaghetti squash has a stringy flesh like spaghetti noodles. Tomatoes- Rememer that your tomatoes that are not fully ripe yet will ripen if you allow them to sit on the coutner at room temperature. They will ripen quicker if they are left in a bag where the ethelene gas that they release is trapped in the bag to ripen them. This is the last big week of tomateos. Next week you might get a couple, but they're almost over! Onions- A yellow onion! Onions store best in a cool, dark and dry place. Celeriac Root (or celery root)- Okay, don't judge a book by it's cover. These funky looking roots will grow on you quickly if you learn to open your heart to them. Once you peel them, they are white and dense on the inside like a potato and can be boiled and mashed with potatoes to get a celeriac or celery flavored mashed potatoes. They are also great it chicken noodle soup or shaved raw into a coleslaw or a tuna salad. Peppers- We tried to give a colored bell pepper to everyone, but when we ran out of them, we started picking the dark green ancho or poblano peppers. The anchos are used traditionally for making chili rellenos in Mexican cooking. Hot Peppers- We gave some of the small, green Jalapenos, some of the long, skinney red chilis and some of the lime green Hungarian hot wax. These peppers are listed from having the most heat to the least heat. These can be chopped up and frozen for storage if you don't have a need for a hot pepper each week right now. Basil- Probably one of the last weeks of basil for this year. The first frost of the season may not be too far off (although I don't want to jinx it), in which basil is the first to go. Basil and tomatoes go together like a horse and carriage. Lettuce- A head of fresh greens! You may have gotten a romaine, a buttercrunch or a red leaf lettuce. Recipes-Mashed Potatoes with Celeriac Root
Week 15, 2010September EigthBalance is the theme of the week for me. As the change of the seasons is felt in more of a drastic way, I am reminded of the balance in my life that seemed to escape me for the annual 2-month pilgrimage that it goes away on during the months of July and August. I sense that all balance is not lost as the leaves fall from the trees, the nights dip down into the 40’s and 50’s and I am again wearing sweaters and hats in the fields. The good nights sleep is what I missed the most during the summer. I have too much of my father in me to actually come in from the fields so long as I can still see out there. I am a hard worker to a fault. It is a characteristic about me that some praise and other’s see in me as my most foolish trait. I’m really not sure whose advice to take some days, but I guess that I am who I am at the end of the day. Being out so late into the evenings when the days are so long- it was cutting into the hours that I spend sleeping. So, the young and foolish part of me simply endures July and August when the sun favors the higher part of the sky. ![]() Jillian picking peppers on a breezy, cool harvest day.
I seem to have taken a renewed sense of pleasure for the work that I do as the temperatures drop as well. I love feeling the cool breeze on my warm cheeks while working with long sleeves and a stocking cap on. My spirits are lifted to know that the summer heat that turns even my water bottles the temperature of warm tea will keep my refreshing water cool. I sense that even the plants are relieved to have the bugs that chew on them sleep in a little later until the day’s air warms. I see so little of the garden now that actually looks filled with life and bursting with a lush glow. Now, as I drive into the fields on a harvest day, I see so many beds from this spring that are done for the year, filled with grass and need to be worked so they can be cover cropped. All of our old beds of spring lettuce, spinach, radish, and summer garlic, onion, sweet corn. Our old beds of broccoli, cabbage, carrots and cauliflower are gone. All that is remaining is a partial garden with only patches of true colors that resemble fresh life. The rest are winter squash plants that are dyeing back, tomatoes with hardly any leaves left on them, potato plants that are completely died back and empty strips of black plastic where our celery and cucumbers used to live. The greater part of the beautiful, scenic garden is returning to the earth. The balance that a farmer feels is not a daily balance, I am learning. We have a seasonal balance. We have a surge of long hours, heavy work load and more to do than can be done during the peak season. Then, we have the wane into the “off season” when the days are so short, there is barely time to get anything done during the day and our focus and concerns are marketing and keeping the wood stove burning hot. It has taken me a long time to realize this, believe it or not. While the rest of the world around me was protesting and lobbying for a daily balance, routine and equal distribution of work, play and sleep hours every day of the year. I had to re-learn a new kind of balance that is truly seasonal. For obvious reasons, I love this seasonal balance the most when it favors sleep and play. Sooo, What's in the Box????Beets- These beets came from a new bed of beets and the greens still look delicious and young. Be sure to use these beet greens! Check out our recipe below! Some of the bunches also have either a golden beet or a chioggia beet included in the bunch. The golden and chioggio beets are fun because you can incorporate them into a dish without staining everything pink!
![]() The inside of a Chioggia (pink) beet, a heritage variety.
Red Onions- To shave into your fresh leaf salads again! Tomatoes- Tomato production was still strong this week. We definatly noticed that production is waning now. Next week expect a much smaller bag of tomatoes. Have you had your fill of tomatoes just yet? We still have another week or two of smaller givings. It's getting chilly fast!!! Romaine, Red Leaf and Buttercrunch Lettuce- The return of the lettuce. A lot of it has come on sooner than we expected. That seems to be the theme this year. But the good news is, no woodchucks are muching on these beds (knock on wood)! Green Curly or Red Curly Kale- More fall greens. Check out our great braised kale and beet greens recipe below! Peppers- More bell peppers. Not as great of a pepper year this year than the last couple years. It's a surprise too with all the warm weather. Eggplant or Cherry Tomatoes- Not as many eggplants this year either than in previous years. Cherry tomatoes are on their way out!!! Green Beans- A mix of green, yellow and purple beans. The beans are a little dirty this week because of all the rain. We cannot wash the beans either because they will deteriorate so quickly when they are wet. We figured you could wash them before you eat them. My mother always told me that little dirt wouldn't hurt me, and boy was she right! Next Week: lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, cherry tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, kohlrabi, acorn winter squash, bell and hot peppers RecipesWeek 14, 2010September FirstAnd the leaves on the trees here at the farm are showing the first signs of changing colors. I watch for this with hopeful anticipation each year. I love the decompression that the farm starts to feel as the seasons slowly turn. The heavy demands of weeding, harvesting and planting all at once give way mostly harvesting, a small amount of weeding and the planting is all done for the season, save for our garlic which won’t get planted until Early November. ![]() Adrianne, one of our worker shares, harvesting tomatoes
A larger tomato harvest than we expected this week! And we spent many hours picking green beans on our bums and knees. A variety of helpers came and we had several different people pitching in with the green bean harvesting this week because, as you may know, green beans are a very time consuming harvest! It leaves time for plenty of chatting about off-the-wall subjects like other life forms, re-incarnation and memories from our childhoods. You would be amazed what kinds of things we start talking about when we’re out there from hour-to-hour doing the same thing. We get to know our worker shares quit e well and have developed close friendships with many of them. The cooler weather that is expected will offer a pleasant relief from the 90 degree temperatures that have been testing our endurance. The dry weather has also offered some relief. I sense that the plants are also thankful for the monsoon season to be ending. Although, by the time the rains arrived on Tuesday night, we were actually in need of some moisture. Our fall plantings of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi and radish were in need of a drink of water. We have some lettuce plants out there that also looked like some rain would do them good. This week we had some baby chickens hatch out after some ‘broody’ hens sat on a couple piles of eggs for a 21-day marathon of not moving from their eggs except to consume a small amount of food and water. Adam is in charge of the laying hens and these 10 baby chicks that just hatched out are an exciting new arrival for the farm. We’ll need to raise them for at least 2 months before we know if they are male or female chicks. The females will be new egg layers on the farm and the males will become gifts to anyone looking for a rooster…or dinner, one or the other.
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