One of the major benefits of belonging to a CSA farm is that when the ‘gettin’ is good’, there is a lot to be gotten. The CSA boxes are heavy and colorful and full of scents and textures that will delight or entertain almost all of our senses. We begin to feel rich when there is so much variety to cook with, share with and possibly even store with. The bounty has been surprisingly good this year considering the length of the drought and the duration of record-breaking temperatures this summer. All of our hard work seeding, transplanting, weeding and now harvesting is paying off! But winter’s a comin’! The north winds are blowing in, the sandhill cranes are flying south overhead and the threat of frost is upon us in the ten-day forecast. Many hands make light work. Picking Spinach takes a LOT of time!
It’s time to dig your hole and gather your nuts. It’s time to grow that winter coat. At the farm we have been preserving all of our favorite veggies for winter storage. Momma Jane has been canning like no woman has ever canned before in our tiny farmhouse kitchen. We’ve been canning salsa, sauce and pickled beets while freezing peppers, berries, and beans and drying parsley, basil, oregano and mint. We are even drying celery for those of you who are wondering what to do with all of these greens. In the fields we are always talking about everyone’s favorite way to can, freeze, dry or store the now-fresh vegetables at hand. In some ways, with so many vegetables coming to you each week, it feels like it is never going to end. But invariably, the season will end and the vegetables will stop coming. This season, especially, has been wonderfuly generous. I know you’ll miss us when it’s all over!
As CSA farmers we are finishing up our 7th season. I’m not sure what happened in the last six years, but I’ll assume that we’ve been learning a thing or two along the way. We’ve been sharpening our harvest knives, changing our oil and maintaining our equipment. And just when I thought that I might stay in my twenties forever, they too will come to an end. The years and the lessons pass by so quickly, if only there was a way to preserve them. Fortunatley for us, each season is like hitting the re-set button on the farm. We get another chance at growing something we weren’t so good at growing before. We get another chance to prove we’ve learned from our mistakes. And (thank heavens) the deck gets shuffled and we are delt a new set of weather patterns for a new season to bring you fresh, local veggies.
Beets- We cut the tops off of the beets this week because the bed we were harvesting from had the tops dieing back most of the way. Store these beets in a plastic bag in the fridge to preserve moisture.
Acorn Squash- The first giving of our hard, winter squash. Acorn squash will keep in a cool and dry location for at least a couple
Ayla is now trained in on picking spinach!
monthes. The squash will potentially become sweeter with time at room temperature. Will keep best outside of refrigeration.
Diakon Radish- These are the long, white, Japanese radishes in your box. The greens are edible and can be used like most cooking greens or
cut up raw in a salad. The white roots can be julianned onto a green salad. Diakon Radish can be used anywhere you would use a radish or a carrot. You can eat it raw or cook with it. Grate it raw into a cabbage slaw. Roast it in a roasted root veggie dish or chop it up and put it in a stew. Diakons are also wonderful in home-made Kim-chi ferments. Diakons have a mild flavor that is very versatil
e. So big they’ll make you blush.
White Onions- Yum Yum! Keeps best in a cold, dark and dry place.
Asian Tempest Garlic- Beautiful bulbs for your everyday cooking needs. Keeps best in a cold, dark and dry place.
Sweet Peppers- A medly of yellow, orange, and red peppers. What a wonderful pepper year we are having. Pepper plants are susceptable to being damaged by a frost. We’re hoping the frost holds off or another week or two so we can keep picking peppers strong. The plants are really looking great and like they’re still loaded with peppers.
Hungarian Hot Wax Peppers- A little warmth for you life. These little guys are usually found yellow or lime green, but turn a red or orange when ripe.
Jalapeno Peppers- Either a small green or red pepper. Still a lot of heat tucked into these little puppies.
Broccoli- Absolutely BEAUTIFUL broccoli this week. I told you we knew how to grow broccoli. Stores best in a plastic bag in the fridge, but does need to be kept very cold.
Celery- Sadly, this is the final celery giving. Celery will keep best in a plastic bag in the fridge. Don’t forget to dry or cook with the flavorful greens on the celery!
Lettuce- Stunning heads of romaine, green leaf or red leaf lettuce. Lettuce will also keep best in a plastic bag in the fridge to prevent from wilting.
Spinach- Wonderfuly tender and succulent fall spinach. I love to eat spinach on pizza, with eggs or pureed into a dip. Love spinach!
Tomatoes- Even at the end of the season we’re still abel to give a wopping 4.2lbs of tomatoes. Rock on Tomato fever! Remember they will ripen quicker at room temperature.
Cherry Tomatoes- Lovely cherry tomatoes to sweeten up your life. Possibly the final Cherry tomato giving. We’ll see! 
Joe and Adrianne cleaning the celery for this weeks box in the rain.
Eggplant– Okay, I promise that the eggplants are winding down as well. They really produce in the warm weather, but now that it’s getting quite cool, they won’t last much longer!
