Final Drop-off: A Farewell to the 2017 Season

Farm Update

The leaves are starting to fall, and the
crops are continuing to shut down.  Time
to say good-bye to the CSA for this year.

Hi everyone!  What a cold, wet week!  It’s weather like we’ve had this week that marks the natural end of the growing season, and this year is no exception.  This week will be our final week of the CSA, and we have so enjoyed seeing you all throughout the season!  But even as we’re putting the 2017 season to rest, I’m already thinking ahead to 2018.  We’re starting sign-ups for next year, so if you’re interested in doing the CSA next year, just let me know and I’ll put you on the list for next season.  The cost will be $300 for a half share and $550 for a full share, and we can split it into payments in whatever way works out best for you.  Just let me know if you have any questions about any of that!  And if you're wondering where you can continue to get our veggies for a little while, we'll be making deliveries to Green Tree Co-op in Mt. Pleasant and Lalonde's in Midland for a few weeks.  Thank you all so much for being with us and supporting our farm this season, and we hope to see you all again next year! J

What to Expect in your Share this Week

If you are picking up at one of our regular drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and Midland) this week, here are the options you’ll find at each station!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

These are (probably) the last tomatoes of the
year, which we harvested two days ago.  That's
a pretty good run!

Potatoes
Spinach, arugula, or cabbage
Sweet potatoes or winter squash
Carrots, beets, or Brussels sprouts
Kale, 4 onions, or cilantro
Leeks, bok choy, or radishes
Celery root, garlic, or shallots

And if you’re having your share delivered or picking up in Lansing, Okemos, or the Midand hospital, here are your options.  If you have a half share, choose either share A or share B, and if you have a full share, you get to choose two.

Share A:                               Share B:

Potatoes                                Potatoes
Spinach                                 Arugula
Sweet potatoes                      Sweet potatoes
Carrots                                  Brussels sprouts
4 Onions                               Kale
Bok Choy                             Leeks
Celery root                           Garlic

Recipes

Is anyone else out there already thinking ahead to Thanksgiving?  I can't be the only one.  If, like me, you have dreams of turkey, stuffing,  and cranberries dancing in your head, here's a fantastic recipe for Sweet Potato Pie!  I've been making this recipe for a few years now, and it's my favorite sweet potato pie recipe out there.  Or if you're still stuck for ideas for your celery root, you can find some in last week's newsletter, or check out this recipe for Celery Root Soup.  It has a bunch of fall favorites, including potatoes, leeks, and apples along with the celery root, so it's bound to be a hit!  Or if you're looking for a little carrot inspiration, here is a recipe idea from chef Josh at the Brass Café in Mt. Pleasant.  He used our tricolor carrots to make this dish with grilled duck, roasted carrots, basil, balsamic, feta cheese and a broccoli pecan pesto.  Yum!  

Fall Reflections: Nothing New Under the Sun

Farm Update

I just had to stop and take a picture of these Easter Egg
Radishes as we were setting up for the Mt. Pleasant drop-off
on Tuesday.  Look at those colors! :-)

Hi everyone!  We are really winding down the season now!  Most of the farm tasks that we do continually all summer (weeding, planting, working the ground, moving around irrigation) are pretty much done for the year.  We're still irrigating in the coldframes, but that is a lot less time consuming than field irrigation, so the main thing we're really still doing is harvesting for the CSA and the stores and restaurants that get vegetables from us.  We have two more weeks left of the CSA, and then we'll be closing down for the winter.  But never fear!  We're starting to sign people up for next year, so if you're interested in joining for the 2018 season, just let me know, and I'll put you on the list!  The cost will be the same as this year ($300 for a half share or $550 for a full share at our regular drop-offs, and a little more if you have home delivery).  There's no hard and fast deadline for sending in a payment, but it definitely helps us to have at least part of it before the new year, because we incur a lot of large farm expenses in January and February.  So sooner is better than later, and sending in at least a partial payment locks in your share for the year in the event that we sell out of shares.  So if you want to sign up for next year, just let me know!  We so appreciate you being with us in the CSA this year, and we would love to see you again in 2018!

What to Expect in your Share this Week

Lettuce, kale, and rainbow chard are still growing well in
one of the coldframes.

If you are picking up at one of our regular drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and Midland) this week, here are the options you’ll find at each station!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Carrots or Brussels sprouts
Potatoes or sweet potatoes
Acorn squash or butternut squash
Spinach or lettuce
Celery root or large onion
Bok choy, cabbage, or bag of shallots
Kale, beets, or radishes

And if you’re having your share delivered or picking up in Lansing, Okemos, or the Midand hospital, here are your options.  If you have a half share, choose either share A or share B, and if you have a full share, you get to choose two.

Share A:                               Share B:

Carrots                                  Brussels sprouts
Sweet potatoes                      Potatoes
Butternut squash                   Acorn squash
Spinach                                 Spinach
Large onion                          Celery root
Cabbage                                Bok choy
Kale                                      Beets

Fall Reflections:  Nothing New Under the Sun

Inevitably every fall, as soon as the air becomes chilled and the leaves start to turn from green to brilliant red and yellow, I get a little sentimental.  There is something about this time of year and the preparations for the long winter ahead that make me think about the generations of people before me, doing these same actions, canning applesauce and putting extra blankets on the beds, and how no matter how humanity progresses some things never change.  Bringing in the final harvests of the year and putting away the abundance of the season to last through the cold winter always reminds me that there is nothing new under the sun. (Except of course, that the advent of grocery stores with shipped-in food means that the seasonal frenzy of canning is more of a hobby than a necessity, which itself is absolutely unprecedented in most of human history.)

I was reflecting on that yesterday as I canned applesauce.  While our apple trees did really poorly this year due to a late frost in the spring (and, truth be told, to the fact that trees as old as ours are a little bit unreliable and not well-suited to organic production), a friend of ours had an abundance of apples and gave us several bushels.  As often happens, after a few weeks of sitting at room temperature, they started to get a little wrinkly, which pretty much means it’s time to make applesauce.  Once they lose that delicious crunch, no one wants to eat them plain anymore, and you have to doctor them up a bit.  So I was making applesauce yesterday, and I was thinking about my grandma Kitty.  She passed away a week and a half ago after a long downward health spiral, but while she was healthy, she canned applesauce every year.  When my mom and my aunts were preparing her home to be sold after she went into a nursing home a few months ago, everyone was going through and picking out things from around the house that they especially wanted, and my mom pulled out grandma’s old applesauce sieve for me.  Now, I’m not a super sentimental person in general, and I’m kind of a minimalist too, so when my mom gave that to me, I was dubious about how much I would actually use it.  After all, I already had a perfectly good blender, so why clutter up my house with two tools that do the same job?  But I pulled it out a few weeks ago when I made my first batch of applesauce of the season, and it turns out that my mom was totally right.  That applesauce had the best texture of any I had ever made, and although it looks like kind of a hassle to use, it was actually really easy.  There was also something really comforting about using only a simple tool and my own arm power to make applesauce (no electrical outlets required), and I was hooked.

Then Grandma passed away, and making my second batch of applesauce yesterday, using the same tool that she had used for decades to preserve the abundance of apples for the winter took on a whole new meaning.  Suddenly I wasn’t just making applesauce.  I was connecting.  Not only with the memory of my grandma, but with generations of people who have used similar tools at this time of year for the exact same reason.  And I realized that that connection is what makes the type of farming we do different.  In an age where most people not only don’t know what farm their food came from (or what country, for that matter), they don’t even really know their neighbors or the people they pass every day as they go about their lives.  So I love that by growing food for local people we actually get to see from week to week, we’re helping to re-establish that sense of connection with the food we eat, our own native place, our neighbors, and the communities we live in.  And that is worth preserving, in the same way that the apple harvest is worth preserving even though I could get applesauce at the store.  Because it has quality and soul in a time when so much of what we consume doesn’t.  So let time march on.  But next October, you’ll find me right here making applesauce with my old hand tool, probably thinking these same thoughts again.  Nothing new under the sun. J

Recipes

I can almost hear you reading through the list of what will be in the shares next week and saying, "Okay, what the heck is celery root?"  Celery root (also called celeriac), is a really weird-looking, really wonderful root vegetable with a nice celery flavor.  Traditionally, it was one of those winter storage vegetables that people would be able to keep through the winter in the pre-refrigeration days, but you don't see it very much anymore.  It's great in soups and stews, and here are also 10 (Yes, 10) Things to do With Celery Root from Six Burner Sue.  These are some fantastic recipe ideas for a veggie that is probably unfamiliar to most modern cooks, but that you will be so glad you tried!

CSA Newsletter for October 14

Farm Update

The bright, colorful stalks of our rainbow chard reach toward
the sky in the coldframe.

Hi everyone!  It's been a really nice October so far!  We've definitely enjoyed working outside in this weather, and the plants seem to be enjoying the nice weather too.  Wednesday and Thursday were a little nasty, and they were a reminder of what is likely to be headed our way.  Because the second half of October is usually marked by cold rains and dreariness.  We've been seeding a lot lately, both in the field and the coldframes.  We recently seeded two of our coldframes with spinach after taking out the old, worn out tomato plantings that used to occupy that space, and we also planted some spinach in the field, which we'll soon cover with plastic to overwinter.  You may remember from last week's newsletter that we had our food safety inspection on Monday, and I'm pleased to say that went really well!  And now that that's done, we can take a break from rounding up all the records and paperwork that we hold on to for that, and get back to our regular everyday farm routine.  In other news, we are going to have some acorn squash in the shares this week that we wanted to let you know about.  Since we didn't end up with a lot of winter squash this year and we've pretty much already gone through most of ours, we decided to include some in the shares that was not actually grown by us.  It was grown by our friend Reuben Mast, who is a certified organic Amish grower.  Like many Amish growers, it is hard for him to market and transport his crops due to the lack of phones, computers, and cars, and he had a really good year on his organic squash and happens to have plenty.  We figured that folks in the CSA would definitely want to have more squash in the shares so we decided to include some of Reuben's, but we wanted to let you all know about it.  On the very rare occasion that we include someone else's crops (this is the second time in our seven-year history), we want to make sure everyone knows about it, because we never want to mislead anyone.  So we hope you enjoy the delicious squash, as well as everything else in the upcoming shares this week!

What to Expect in your Share this Week

Kale leaves are continually harvested from the bottom of the
plant, so as the season goes on, the plant gets taller and taller,
and begins to resemble miniature palm trees.

If you are picking up at one of our regular drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and Midland) this week, here are the options you’ll find at each station!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Acorn squash
Carrots or beets
Potatoes or Brussels sprouts
Lettuce or tomatoes
Bok Choy, radishes, or collards
Kale or cabbage
2 Onions or 2 shallots

And if you’re having your share delivered or picking up in Lansing, Okemos, or the Midand hospital, here are your options.  If you have a half share, choose either share A or share B, and if you have a full share, you get to choose two.

Share A:                               Share B:

Acorn squash                       Acorn squash
Carrots                                 Beets
Potatoes                                Brussels sprouts
Tomatoes                              Lettuce
Radishes                               Radishes
Kale                                      Cabbage
2 Onions                               2 Shallots

Recipes

I never grew up eating squash except on Thanksgiving, and I remember distinctly thinking that it might very well be the grossest food ever.  How wrong I was!  It turns out that like most things, it's all in the preparation, and it was simply that my very wonderful and beloved aunt who brought it to the Thanksgiving feast every year just wasn't very good at making squash.  It has since become one of my favorite foods though, and this is pretty much our go-to preparation for this delicious, fantastically comforting fall food.  Check out this classic recipe for acorn squash right here!

CSA Newsletter for October 7

Farm Update

Check out these crazy sweet potatoes we
found during the harvest!

Hi everyone!  Looking around the farm this week, we can tell that the season is starting to wind down.  Fred turned under a lot of old, picked over plantings over the last few days, so many of the fields currently lie empty.  But what still remains looks pretty nice.  We have a lot of the more cold-hardy crops (such as kale) still doing well out in the fields, and several really nice plantings in the coldframes (things like lettuce, arugula, and radishes) as well.  The rain we got during the night was really helpful, and we were really glad to finally get some good moisture in the ground!  But by far the biggest event at the farm this week happened early Tuesday morning, when our crew member Ben had a pretty terrifying car accident on his way into work.  He was rear-ended at full speed while waiting to make the left turn into the farm driveway, and from what he looked like at first, we were fearful he would have some pretty significant injuries. He turned out to be okay, but his truck was destroyed, and he lost a lot of blood.  In the end, they sent him home from the hospital on the same day with instructions to take it easy for a few days in order to recover from his concussion.  We're definitely all grateful that he's okay!  So last week was pretty eventful, and this week is shaping up to be pretty busy as well.  On Monday, we have our food safety inspector coming out to the farm, which actually involves a lot of paperwork, along with a general inspection of the farm.  I'll also be speaking on Monday night after the drop-off to the Alma Lions Club about the CSA concept, so I'll probably see some of you there!  And for those of you not in the Alma area, I'll see the rest of you at the drop-offs this week! 

What to Expect in your Share this Week

We actually eat the head and the leaf of the broccoli plant; the
broccoli heads go into your CSA shares, and the leaves go
into our cooking greens mix.

If you are picking up at one of our regular drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and Midland) this week, here are the options you’ll find at each station!  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you’ll choose two.

Broccoli, spring mix, or beets
Tomatoes or Brussels sprouts
Kale, bok choy, or collard greens
Carrots or potatoes
Sweet potatoes or winter squash
Onion or shallot
Parsley, radishes, small head of lettuce, or leeks

And if you’re having your share delivered or picking up in Lansing, Okemos, or the Midand hospital, here are your options.  If you have a half share, choose either share A or share B, and if you have a full share, you get to choose two.

Share A:                               Share B:

Broccoli                               Spring mix
Tomatoes                             Brussels sprouts
Kale                                     Bok Choy
Carrots                                 Potatoes
Sweet potatoes                     Sweet potatoes
Onion                                   Onion
Small head of lettuce           Leeks

Recipes

Sweet potatoes!  I'm so excited that they're finally here!  Our standard favorite preparation is to cut them into chunks about half an inch thick, throw them into a pan with some butter, cook them until they're soft, and then sprinkle brown sugar all over them.  Or you could try them with a kick with these Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potatoes!  I also can't wait to try these Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos this week.  So many possibilities!