Newsletter: Finally Feeling Like Fall
It's tomato-picking time in the hoop house!
Frosty mornings really make us appreciate the sun's warmth, don't you think? A fifty degree afternoon feels downright balmy when the grass was crunching underfoot just a few hours prior. It's important for me to keep that perspective; this transitional time brings it's own unique challenges and more hard work after a long season.
Like the August rains, the October chill comes long overdue. If you are one of our farmers market customers, you've probably noticed the bountiful amounts of fresh lettuce, spinach, and our Kickin' greens mix at our stands the past few weeks. Truth be told, much of that was slotted for the CSA. With the high temperatures we've had in the past month, everything grew much faster than we had planned for. Where last year we had low temps in the teens by mid-October, two weeks ago highs were flirting with 80 all week! There's a near-zero chance that the weather is going to get easier to predict going forward; it's becoming increasingly important for us to be able to adjust our crop plans on the fly. While we were forced to improvise and harvest greens earlier than we'd planned, the upside is that we had almost three extra weeks to plant compared with last year.
After a long summer, we farmers have grown to take certain things for granted. Field irrigation is one turn of a valve away, hoop house walls stay open for months on end, and ending the work day is as simple as parking the truck and putting tools away. Now that frost is here, things get a little more complicated. All of our irrigation lines must be disconnected nightly, hoop houses must be shut tight every afternoon to trap as much heat as possible, and our opening and closing procedures can take up to an hour on each end. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. I'm sure you'll agree that eating fresh, local produce well into fall is worth the effort!
I hope you enjoy the first box of our Fall CSA, have a safe and satisfactorily spooky Halloween and we'll see you in November!
-Cody
What’s in the Box?!
-Baby Beets & Greens!: These beets called "baby" because they retain a tender skin (no need to peel!). Easy to sauté, or roast without all the mess! The greens are also tender and delicious!!
-Delicata Squash: You can eat the skin on this squash. Another easy vegetable! Definitely a staff favorite.
-Red Oakleaf Lettuce: Crisp from first frost and packed with flavor. Dress in a salad and enjoy!
-Green Leaf Lettuce: A nice crunch makes this lettuce great on sandwiches.
-Bell & Carmen Peppers: Harvested just before the first frost, a last taste of summer.
-Jalapeno Peppers: Take out the seeds to keep the spice level on the milder side.
-Lettuce Mix: A mix of red and green baby lettuces. Very tender, this is the first of our greenhouse lettuces.
-Kickin' Mix: A lively mix of kale, red frill mustard greens, red & green mizuna, and arugula. Great raw in a salad, or sautéed.
-Spinach: I've been enjoying spinach at every chance I get these days. In my eggs, wilted into pasta, as a salad with lunch, in smoothies, sautéed with onions, the list goes on. Spinach is also wonderful blanched and frozen for a mid-winter treat.
-Nelson Breakfast Radishes: Juicy, spicy and delicious. Great raw with butter and salt on a nice crusty bread.
-Dill: Use a bit of this with butter to glaze your carrots. Lemon and dill is a fave too.
-Cilantro: Also yummy in a salad dressing.