CSA Newsletter for Week 16

Farm Update

The pie pumpkins we had in the shares last week are a sure
sign of fall!  

Hi everyone!  We are entering the home stretch of the CSA season, with 15 weeks down and 5 more to go!  The weather has definitely shifted to be fully autumnal, and those hot summer days are a mere memory now.  A lot of the insane workload of summer has passed too, and most of our work in a given week revolves around harvesting, washing, packing, and delivering the vegetables.  We're still doing a little planting, but that has definitely decreased as well now that the remaining months of production are dwindling.  We finally finished up our massive sweet potato harvest this week, which is a huge thing we can cross off the to-do list, and we also finished up our various inspections for the year.  So the farm is starting to wind down for the season, which is somewhat bittersweet. On one hand, it is nice not to have to work at such a frantic pace, but on the other hand, I always miss the sheer vitality and alive-ness of summer when it passes.  But as Thoreau said, we should live in each season as it passes, and the nice thing about seasons is that they all come back around again.  So now is the time to settle into fall and all that it entails, and summer will be back soon enough. 

In other news, if you get a prepacked share delivered to your home, or you pick up at our Lansing, Okemos, or St. Johns drop-offs, I wanted to let you know that we do have eggs available!  Normally we have them for sale on the side at our regular drop-offs, but I wanted to let you guys know about them too, in case you wanted to set up a weekly egg order, or just order some every once in a while.  They're $4 per dozen from our very own free-range, happy hens.  So just let me know if you want to try some out! :-)

What to Expect in This Week's Share

If you are picking up at one of our traditional style drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, or Midland), here’s what the options will be at the different stations.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose one item at each station, and if you have a full share, you choose two items at each station.

• Sweet potatoes
• Tomatoes or potatoes
• Lettuce, arugula, or eggplant
• Squash
• Radishes, leeks, or a bag of small/medium onions
• Bell pepper or onion
• Kale, cilantro, or microgreens

If you have a prepacked share (Midland hospital, St. Johns, Lansing, Okemos, or home delivery), here are your options.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose either share A or share B, and if you have a full share, you can choose two of them.

Share A:                               Share B:

Sweet potatoes                     Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes                              Potatoes
Lettuce                                  Arugula
Butternut squash                   Butternut squash
Radishes                               Leeks
Bell pepper                           Bell pepper
Green kale                            Red kale

Recipes

Our two newest additions to the roster this week are arugula (also called rocket, which is kind of fun!) and radishes, which are finally back in season!  If you're not quite sure what to do with these new veggies, here are 31 Arugula Recipes so You Can Eat It All the Time from Bon Appetit, and Radish Recipes from the kitchen queen herself, Martha Stewart!  There are a ton of ideas that range from pretty basic to fancy and complicated, so you're sure to find something that's right up your alley!