Today marks the final Summer CSA delivery.  We are sad to see this part of our season come to a close, but what a wonderful season it has been. This year has been filled with seeding, planting, harvesting, learning, laughing, and gratitude. 

Our Farm crew shows up and works incredibly hard every day, but as the saying goes, many hands make light work. On Mondays and Thursdays we are grateful for our wonderful volunteers that help to lighten the load. This year we had quite the list of volunteers come out to help–if you braved the weather to come bag vegetables, harvest, weigh items, fill boxes, wash veggies, or cheer us on while we did those things, we appreciate you and your time more than words could express! Our CSA deliveries also wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful site hosts. Thank you to all of you who allowed us to use space at your home or business. This allows us to get local veggies onto the plates of more families by making pick up locations closer to their homes. 

Today may end the CSA season, but it doesn’t end the farming season. These next 3 weeks are crunch time for us. We still have lots of veggies in the field that can handle a light frost ( and remember from last week, some of them even taste better), but too much frost can damage the crops. We also had a hard start to the growing season with how wet this spring was, so the longer we can let the plants grow, the better.

We will start the harvesting with things that shouldn’t get too cold such as potatoes and brussels sprouts. We will finish the harvest with our most cold hardy vegetables such as carrots and parsnips. By the end of October, all of the fields will be empty and everything that shows up on grocery store shelves, or in the Winter CSA boxes has been carefully stored over many months. Vegetables can last for a very long time if they are properly stored. We are grateful for our root cellar that will soon get packed from floor to ceiling with vegetables. This year was finally time to admit that we might be growing more vegetables than we have storage for. Janaki applied for, and got approved for a grant that will allow us to expand our cold storage area. By the end of the project, we will have increased our cold storage by over 50%, and give us a bit more space to wash and pack those veggies as well. If the mild weather continues, the plan is to get the footings in place before snow flies. The rest of the project will have to wait until Spring, so check back for more updates. 

Another fun project we have in the works is adding another well. Up to this point, we’ve been using our household well to irrigate all of our greenhouses and tunnels, as well as a few of the smaller fields that don’t fit our larger irrigation equipment. This has required a careful dance to make sure everything gets watered and we still have pressure to wash and pack everything we need to. We hired a crew to come out a few weeks ago and dig the new well, and they’ll be coming back soon to install the pump and run new pipe to connect the buildings. We’re looking forward to having easy access and enough water pressure to provide water to the greenhouses, pack shed, and maybe even run a load of laundry at the same time.

Once November hits, we say goodbye to most of our summer crew. A couple people will stay on to fill retail orders, box Winter shares, wash vegetables (there isn’t always enough time to harvest and wash before the season ends) and do various tasks over the winter. The Summer crew will rejoin in late April or early May to start the cleaning process and take everything out of storage so we can do this all over again next year. 

Before we end this last newsletter, we need to say a big thank you to all of you. Thank you for supporting us. Thank you for believing in us. Thank you for being here with us through the twists and turns. Farming isn’t easy. We give up a lot of control to mother nature, and hope things work out how we want them to…and sometimes they do! Having your support makes the challenges a little easier. Thank you for putting your trust in us, for supporting your local farmers, and for allowing us to wake up each day and do what we love. We hope to see you all again next year!

In your share this week:

Arugula – Northeaster Beans – Beets – Brussels Sprouts – Cabbage – Carrots – Cucumbers – Lettuce – Onions – Peppers – Potatoes – Winter Squash – Tomatoes –

Egyptian red lentil soup

Soften the onion, carrot and garlic in the olive oil in a large pan over low heat for about 10 minutes. Add the lentils in stock to the pan bring to boil and skim off the foam that forms on the top simmer for 20 to 40 minutes until the lentils have disintegrated.  Stir in the spices and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for five minutes more – if the soup needs thinning, add water and bring to boil again.

Winter Salad

For the Salad:

• 6 oz. shredded kale
• 1/2 small lemon, juiced
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 oz. shredded vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots
• 2 medium apples, cored and diced
• 1 1/2 c. candied pecans
• 4 oz. crumbled goat cheese
• 1 1/2 c. roasted winter squash
• 1/2 c. pomegranate arils

For the Dressing:

• 1/2 c. red wine vinegar
• 4 tsp. whole grain or dijon mustard
• 4 tsp. pure maple syrup
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions

• Place the shredded kale in a very large salad bowl. Add the lemon juice and oil. Use your hands to massage the lemon juice and oil into the greens, about a minute or so. The greens should wilt slightly and take on a deep green color.
• Add the other shredded vegetables to the bowl as well as the chopped apple.
• Make the dressing by combining all of the dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds and then pour it over the salad. Toss well to combine.
• Add the pecans, goat cheese, squash, and pomegranate arils on top. Serve.

For the farm crew,

Jennifer