CSA Newsletter for Week 15

 

Farm Update

Hi everyone!  It's officially fall, and it definitely feels like it out there!  Our cool-weather crops (the leafy greens and the root vegetables) are doing great, and will likely continue to do well until the end of the season.  Our warm weather veggies (peppers, tomatoes, etc.) are still doing pretty well, but they'll start winding down as time goes on, and by the time the snow flies, they'll just be a memory of a warmer time.  Interestingly, sweet potatoes (which most people link inextricably with fall due to their prevalence on the Thanksgiving table), require a long and hot summer to meet their full potential.  Cool, cloudy summers produce small and spindly sweet potatoes, but they look great this year!  Fred and our three remaining part time workers (all of our teens are officially back to school, so we're down to a pretty minimal workforce right now) have been working on bringing in all of the sweet potatoes from the field this week.  Now is the time, because that significant frost we got last weekend effectively killed the sweet potato vines, and once the vines are dead, the roots (that's the part we eat) need to come in quickly so they aren't ruined.  So that means it's sweet potato season!  Fortunately, the frost that affected some of our veggies also finished off a lot of the weeds, so most of the weeding we'll need to do for the rest of the season will actually be in the coldframes.  I relish weeding in the coldframes in fall, because by the end of October, it's the warmest place at the farm to be!  But for now, the weather is still pretty nice even out in the field, and we still have five weeks of veggies ahead of us!  The last week of October will be the final week of the CSA, so if you were wondering about that, you can mark your calendars!  In the meantime, check out the options for this week's share, and we'll see you at the drop-off! :-)

What to Expect in Your Share

If you are going through the line at one of our traditional style drop-offs (Alma, Mt. Pleasant, and 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! 

Spring mix or arugula

Cherry tomatoes or squash

Carrots or sweet potatoes

Potatoes or Roma tomatoes

Radishes or kale

Pepper or onion

Leeks or 2 tomatoes

If you have a prepacked share, here are your options.  If you have a half share, you’ll choose either share A, B, or C, and if you have a full share, you can choose two of them.  So just fill out this Google form by lunchtime the day before your drop-off to let me know which share you want for this week!  If I don't hear from you, I'll just choose for you. :-)

Share A:  Spring mix, cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, Roma tomatoes, radishes, pepper, and leeks.

Share B:  Spring mix, squash, carrots, potatoes, kale, onion, and 2 tomatoes.

Share C:  Arugula, cherry tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, kale, pepper, and leeks.

Recipes

It's soup season! If you're not sure what to do with kale besides making kale chips or sautéing it with olive oil and garlic (that's my favorite quick kale recipe!), check out this Vegetarian Kale Soup!  It's hearty, delicious, and perfect for this time of year!