CSA Newsletter for Week 18 of the 2023 Season

Farm Update

We have a really nice planting of spring mix,
and we're hoping it continues to look good despite
the likelihood of a hard frost in the next few days.
We've been covering it with protective plastic overnight
to help shield it from the cold nighttime temperatures.

Hi everyone!  It definitely feels like fall out there!  We've had a few light frosts at the farm, and we expect the first hard frost sometime in the next few days.  The first hard frost is the beginning of the end of the farm season.  We have some very nice looking greens in the field, so we are really hoping our lettuce, spinach, arugula, and kale comes through the first frost in good shape.  Depending on the nighttime temperature forecast, Fred will often go out in the evening to cover up the more tender spring mix, spinach, and arugula as best as he can with a layer of protective plastic, but beyond that, we mostly just have to cross our fingers.  Sometimes after a hard frost, some of the leafy greens can get frost burn that makes them yellow around the edges, so we are really hoping they'll come through all right.  

It's been very muddy and wet at the farm lately, which makes pretty much all field activities a lot more challenging.  All of the harvesting, weeding, ground prep, covering greens with plastic, and anything else we do in the fields this time of year is made harder by all of the mud, and there are some things we can't even do, because we can't get the tractor in to the field lest it get stuck in the mud.  These difficult conditions combined with the cloudy weather and shorter day lengths basically mean that we are really tired at the end of the day.  There is a natural end to the season, and we are approaching it.  We have two weeks left of the CSA, and after that, there won't be nearly as much going on at the farm.  We'll still be harvesting and delivering to a few stores, restaurants, and food hubs, but at that point, the farm will start its gradual slide into a restful winter.

But in the meantime, we still have two weeks of CSA left!  We've got a beautiful bounty of fall vegetables this week, including lots of root vegetables, squashes, and leafy greens.  One new thing we have this week is celery root!  If you've never tried it, celery root looks really weird and gnarly on the outside, but it has a really nice celery flavor.  Once you peel it, the inside has the texture of a potato, and it is really fabulous in soups and stews, or in a roasted root vegetable mix.  It also lasts for a really long time in the fridge, so it is one of those invaluable winter storage veggies.

And as a reminder, sign-ups for the 2024 season are officially open!  If you already know you want to sign up for next year, you can do so whenever you like!  Just fill out this form, and I'll put you on next year's membership list!  For anyone who signs up and puts down at least a partial payment before December 31, you lock in this year's price of $340 for a half share or $630 for a full share at one of our regular drop-offs, and after the new year, the price will go up to $345 for a half share or $640 for a full share.  (Just add $95 to that if you're signing up for home or workplace delivery.)  Just let me know if you have any questions!

And that's it for this week!  Welcome to Week 18 of the CSA, and I'll see you at the drop-off! 

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. 
 

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes or arugula
• Spinach or spring mix
• Small or medium squash
• Carrots or brussels sprouts
• Radishes, 2 green peppers, or kale
• Onion, celery root, or 3 serrano peppers

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:

A new planting of green onions in one
of our coldframes.  It's too cold for them 
in the field this time of year, but they can 
survive the colder temperatures in the 
protection of our unheated greenhouses.

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Spinach
• Honeynut squash
• Brussels sprouts
• Radishes
• Onion

Share B:

• Potatoes
• Sweet potatoes
• Spring mix
• Honeynut squash
• Orange carrots
• 2 Green peppers
• Celery root

Share C:

• Potatoes
• Arugula
• Spinach
• Acorn squash
• Rainbow carrots
• Kale
• Onion

Recipes

One of the wonderful things about fall is all of the root vegetables.  Traditionally, these potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, celery roots, beets, and onions were the vegetables that our ancestors who didn't have ready access to grocery stores and refrigerators would store to get them through the long winter months.  It is fitting that they make up the majority of what we are harvesting in the fall, because in generations past, this would have been the time to stockpile food for the months when the fields are covered with snow.  And one of my favorite things to do when we have a bunch of root veggies is make Roasted Root Vegetables!  You can use whatever roots you have on hand, which makes this recipe super flexible, but I generally go with the philosophy of "the more, the merrier".  I hope you enjoy this comforting fall staple as much as we do!