CSA Newsletter for November 2020

 

Farm Update

Under these layers of plastic in 
the coldframe, spinach has been
seeded for overwintering.  It will
get a head start for spring, sheltered
from the wind and extreme
temperatures of the winter by the
protective layers of plastic.

Hi everyone! It's been three weeks since we wrapped up the CSA for this year, and we are settling into a somewhat slower pace of life.  Fred is still working at the farm every day, but instead of harvesting and getting things ready for the CSA drop-offs, he's prepping the fields for next year's planting, doing some harvesting for our wholesale accounts, and making deliveries to a few stores (Greentree Co-Op in Mt. Pleasant and Argus Farm Stop in Ann Arbor).  I haven't been at the farm very much since the CSA ended, and the number of hours I spend on farm work drastically decreases from November through May.  So lately I've been working a lot more for my other off-farm job (which I get to do from home these days!), spending time with Fred and the kids, training for another half marathon, and generally getting our house back under control after letting some things slide during the CSA season.  After a busy season, it feels really restful to be at home washing dishes, running, attending zoom meetings, getting the farm's financial books in order, and reading to my kids.  But everything has its season and its time, and I know that by spring, I'll be itching to get back out to the fields and plant some onions and do some weeding in the coldframes.  Thus is the cyclical nature of the farm life.  Each season comes back around again, and it feels both exciting and familiar at the same time.

And even though it seems far away now, June will be here before we know it!  If you're interested in signing up for the CSA next year, just fill out this form, and I'll get you all signed up!  The price will be $600 for a full share and $325 for a half share at our regular drop-offs, but anyone who signs up and puts down a partial payment by December 31 will get the early bird special, which is $580 for a full share or $315 for a half share.  And if you're interested in home or workplace delivery, just let me know, and I'll send you a quote.

Thank you all so much for being a part of what we do!  We hope you all stay healthy and safe and have an awesome Thanksgiving, no matter how you'll be celebrating this year! :-)

The Shoulder Seasons

by Fred

Our CSA goes for 19 weeks of the season, encompassing the main parts of the spring, summer, and fall growing seasons. However, we are actually growing and harvesting veggies for usually all but about 6-8 weeks of the year and for our family pretty much year-round. These weeks that are on either end of the main 19-week CSA season are commonly referred to as shoulder seasons.

We are currently in a shoulder season, so what is the farm up to right now? As you might guess we are eating some outstanding food with an abundance of fall veggies in storage, still at some of their highest quality and tastiness. Little is left to harvest, especially this year, when high demand means we had to harvest most crops sooner than usual. However, especially for our family, we still have some spring mix, spinach, brussels sprouts, and kale still in the field and unheated tunnels. I love greens and these shoulder season greens are really some of the best of the season. They are mild, hardy, and very nutrient-dense. This is because they have divested their leaves of as much water as possible as they try to withstand the cold and freezing temps. These shoulder season greens are usually more challenging to harvest. Cold hands and picking around some damage are common obstacles, but it is well worth it in the flavor department, and the greens we harvest in the shoulder seasons are almost always very nutrient dense. I took a Brix reading today, which is a measure of the nutrient density of produce. The brix number of our kale was 16, which is absolutely excellent for kale. These Brix readings are some the easiest and best ways to assess the nutrient quality of produce.

This spinach in the field will be
covered by the plastic low tunnel
to protect it from the cold and wind
throughout the winter.

Right now we are harvesting the most cold hardy of greens, but what remains of even these will soon succumb to the cold. However, lately we have been seeding new plantings that will overwinter in low tunnels and unheated greenhouses. The low tunnels are comprised of thin clear plastic that forms low and long temporary growing space held up by spring wire that pops back up after the snow melts. All the while this short tunnel provides just enough protection to get the little spinach plants to survive and have a nice crop in April and May when we take these temporary covers off completely. The unheated greenhouses are what we refer to as hoophouses, and we are also planting these with spinach, spring mix, and garlic (for early green garlic). The hoophouses keep things much warmer and protected than the low tunnels and we will be harvesting some of these plantings even as early as late February.

Last year for the first time we overwintered carrots and had some great fresh carrots in March and April. Having these tasty carrots on our table after a long winter was amazing, so we planted carrots for overwintering again and they are well on their way. These carrot plantings are seeded much earlier (mostly in late August) and we have one in a hoophouse and another planting in what will be a caterpillar tunnel, which is a hybrid approach between the hoophouse and low tunnels. If you are more curious about this newer tunnel there are some good YouTube videos that can show what they are about.

These shoulder seasons are typically more challenging as we fight the ever present and sometimes severe cold using clear plastic covers and tunnels to protect crops. Also challenging is fending off deer, rabbits, and mice who also are especially hungry for our produce during these shoulder seasons. But even though the shoulder seasons tend to be more of a struggle, they also yield some of the best produce and keep this family supplied with awesome food throughout the year.

Recipes

Thanksgiving will likely look different for many of us this year than it does most years.  Almost every year since I can remember, I've gathered with my whole extended family on my dad's side to celebrate.  The gathering has grown over the decades as children have grown up, brought spouses and significant others, and had kids of their own, and now the group numbers around 6o people.  So needless to say, that won't be happening this year, and most of us will be doing Thanksgiving in our own homes with our own nuclear families, or getting together with a sibling to keep it small.  So if that's you this year, you probably don't need the gigantic bowl of mashed potatoes that usually graces the table.  Why not switch it up and try one of these 40 Thanksgiving Potato Recipes from Bon Appetit?  Who knows, maybe you'll discover your new favorite way to make potatoes for Thanksgiving!