CSA Newsletter for Week 9 of the 2023 Season

 Farm Update

Hi everyone!  It's starting to feel a little bit like fall out there!  The weather is getting a little cooler, the days are getting a little shorter, the kids are going back to school, and the massive job of bringing in the potato harvest is underway.  It's that transitional period between summer and fall that makes me feel like the glass of summer is half empty, and I am preemptively mourning the end of Michigan summer, even though we have a few weeks left.  

But summer inevitably slides into fall, and the farm is naturally starting to orient itself more toward preparing for the cooler months.  As I mentioned, we are harvesting the rest of the potatoes this week to store for the fall and winter months.  Our winter squash are looking good out in the field, and they'll be ready to harvest in a few weeks.  They are especially large this year, probably because we had such a hot and wet summer, so expect an abundance of delicatas, acorns, and all your other favorite winter squashes once we get into mid-September.  Over the next few weeks, we'll be planting our leafy greens for the last few weeks of the CSA, including spinach, which feels distinctly autumnal.  Spinach is one of those crops that can't handle the heat, so we have to be sure it's going to stay cool enough before we can plant spinach for the mid-to-late fall.  In the next few weeks, we're going to hit that point in the year where the temperatures stay consistently lower, which is good news for spinach and other fall veggies, and bad news for those of us who don't feel like we've had nearly enough summer yet.  (I'm definitely talking about myself here.)

One of the good things that happens at this transitional period of the year is that the weeds start to slow their growth.  We were able to get those extraordinarily large weeds in the back field back under control this week, and since the weather is starting to turn, we won't have to work so hard to stay on top of them from here on out.  Now we just have smaller, more manageable weeds in some of the newer plantings to take care of, and now that the kids are going back to school this week, I'll be able to spend some more time out in the fields working on keeping those weeds under control.

In the meantime, there is still the normal harvesting, washing, bagging, and delivering of the vegetables to keep us outside, so I intend to really soak up the rest of summer before the weather turns.  So let's all lean into late summer, enjoy the last summer veggies to the fullest, and when fall comes, we'll be ready to fully enjoy the new season in its turn.

So that's it!  See you at the drop-offs!

What to Expect in the Shares this Week

 

If you pick up at our Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland drop-off, here are the options for your shares!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item from each choice category, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.  And if there is something you don’t like or can’t eat, you can bring it to the trading station at the end and trade it for something you like better. 
 

• Carrots or beets
• Potatoes
• Slicing tomatoes or cucumbers
• Kale, chard, or leeks
• Cherry tomatoes or green beans
• Basil, microgreens, or baby frisée
• Onion, zucchini, or shallot

If you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, St. Johns, Midland hospital, or Alma hospital drop-off, or if you have home or workplace delivery, here are your options!  We have three different prepacked shares, and you can let me know which one you want by filling out this quick form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off.  If you have a half share, you can choose one of these options, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Share A:

• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Slicing tomatoes
• Cherry tomatoes
• Basil
• Kale
• Zucchini

Share B:

• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Slicing tomatoes
• Green beans
• Microgreens
• Leeks
• Onion

Share C:

• Carrots
• Potatoes
• Cucumbers
• Green beans
• Baby frisée
• Chard
• Shallot

Recipes

Late summer is the perfect time for tomatoes and basil, and we have been eating a startling number of Caprese salads lately!  They are so simple, and with flavorful, fresh ingredients, you really don't need to do anything fancy to have a spectacular meal.  This particular Easy Caprese Salad recipe uses a balsamic reduction, but you can make it even easier by just sprinkling olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette on your lovely Caprese salad, no reducing necessary.  So make up a delicious, easy Caprese salad and enjoy it outdoors to celebrate late summer goodness!