Greetings All!
I am so happy to be sending this newsletter right now. We've got so much to share with you and I'm excited to dive in!
Last week I mentioned the full moon in my newsletter and I wanted to share that this week's full moon is still forecasted for over 60 degrees! That's INSANE. Safe to say we're in the clear until October for a frost. Two years ago we had a frost on the 11th of September and it killed a ton of crops! Crazy how different seasons can be.
This week's highs are in the 80s every day. That's crazy! We're looking forward to the warm weather and I think it'll really help to push along some of the production here, the heat is very helpful. While I do love the Fall (it's my favorite season!!), I am happy to hold onto a few more hot days while we can because they're leaving soon enough. I'm excited for jeans & sweatshirt weather but I'll cling tightly to the final few days of summer!
At this time of year, since we only have 3 weeks left together, we're actually mapping out the CSA Shares for the remainder of the season so we make sure everything fits! The harvest season is coming closer to an end, but we aren't wrapping things up; we're actually gearing up for the Fall Harvest! This is the busiest time of year on the farm, without a doubt. The next 3 weeks are the hardest of the entire season.
APPLE SHARES ARE COMING THIS WEEK! If you ordered an apple share, you will receive an email from me after I send out this newsletter. If you ordered an apple share, please check your email for more details.
FALL GOODIES *Updated in the Online Store
We talked about this briefly before- we have bulk crops available for purchase. Some folks order the Fall Share (which is no longer available as a package, that was the deadline you heard about the last few weeks). Some folks only want carrots to freeze or dried onions to put in the pantry, so we sell all those things separately now as well. The way it works is that it's all on the website and you can place your order online and then we'll deliver it with your regular CSAs!
So you can order one thing or 10 boxes, and we'll make sure to deliver it with your normally scheduled CSA! I have a neat little map below which describes the dates, so if you order by X date, you'll get your produce on Y-Z dates.
One thing that I feel like we haven't talked about enough yet is storing the produce for long term storage or processing it for the freezer. Some of the produce varieties you can store in the basement, or in the pantry, some produce varieties you need to store in the fridge. Others, you might want to store in the freezer so you have them indefinitely.
Are you nervous about storing it all or knowing what to do with it? There is a whole guide for that!
The same guide that will go home with all of the Fall Share Members is available for you at the bottom of this blog post. It's got info on all the types of squash, how to store and use carrots in an efficient way, and even details on how much starch are in different potato varieties and why that makes them better for certain uses than others. It goes over every variety in detail and I'm confident you'll find what you're looking for in the PDF! (At the very bottom of the blog post).
If you've never put up any produce for the off-season, now would be a good time to try it. I know I learn something new every season around here! I tried using wood shavings and a plastic bin for storing potatoes and it worked great. We used a regular sized tote and wood shavings from the pet department at the box stores or hardware store. The same pine shavings that would line the bottom of my chicken coop, were in a bin in my basement and I layered potatoes and shavings. I kept 50# of potatoes good all the way through the end of March basically! It's nice having things like that on hand if you have the room to store them.
SIDE STORY, AGAIN:
We try to either eat fresh from our farm or store the produce (process/can/freeze/dry) so that we know where our food is coming from. Of course, I still buy some fresh produce in the off-season, but I like to think we've got a good handle on what we'll be able to eat in a winter and we do a pretty good job of getting produce put up for winter.
I enjoy thinking back to the first time I ever processed carrots. I took the time to go and buy a dehydrator at the store, peel about 25# of carrots and then my plan was to store them for soups and different dishes. It took days to dehydrate all those carrots, and they were stored in glass mason jars in the cupboard. They were so, so cute and tiny in that mason jar! I should have stored them on a shelf as part of my kitchen decor.
The winter went on and every time I'd open that cupboard I remember thinking- oh gosh I need to use those carrots one of these days! So months went by, and then a year went by, and I still hadn't used those dehydrated carrots. I enjoy thinking back on those carrots (not because of the wasted time) but it's because I know I learned a really important lesson that winter: process the veggies you'll actually use. Don't go out of your way to reinvent the wheel because you saw it on the internet.
I'm not saying to not try anything new; I'm just saying be realistic with it. Maybe try dehydrating a 5# bag instead of spending 4 hours peeling and chopping carrots to dehydrate for the first time ever ;)
I froze carrots that year too- and those were way nicer to use in soups and casseroles. Once you blanch and freeze carrots you'll never do it any other way- it's so easy and we know it's so good for us to know where our food is coming from! It's worth the time in the kitchen now, to have that peace of mind all winter long.
Edited to add- Some produce needs to be pressure canned because it has a lower acidity, like carrots, beans and corn for example. Tomatoes are acidic enough where they don't have to be pressure canned; they're just hot water bathed (which is how I do all my canning). If I can't hot water bath it, I will blanch and freeze the veggies because I'm not brave enough to teach myself how to do any pressure canning ;P
BACK TO THE IMPORTANT INFO, SORRY.
This is that graphic I was explaining before. It's got all of the dates on here and I'll add a link below, but it's just the "Store" page on our website. Everything is updated there! *This is the last week for ordering tomatoes this season. We still have some but not a lot. If you want some, send me a text or an email and we can see what we can do. This is also the last week we'll have them in your CSA for the season.
I posted this graphic to Facebook yesterday too. It's got the dates and deadlines noted on here to be aware of. If you place your order by next Thursday, assume your extra veggies/fruits are coming with your CSA the following week. The last orders for the season will be accepted on Friday Sept 27th and orders will be delivered during the last week of the season. There are no limits; even if you've already bought a fall share and want extra russets for example. Feel free to order through the website for the fastest turn around but I can take orders via email too if you have questions or want something different than what you see online.
**FOR THE SQUASH: Please be as specific as possible. There is an option for selecting what types of squash you want. There is each variety listed out, and then there is an option for "a variety" where we'll get you one of everything and then we'll add extra squash until your bushel is full. Keep in mind these are heavy bushels, so if you don't want to lift a box that weighs 45 ish pounds, bring an extra bag to unload some of the squash into, to split up the weights a bit.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT IN YOUR CSAs THIS WEEK:
Jumbo & Family Shares: Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Butternut Squash, Bell Peppers, Sweet Tango Apples!, Tomatoes & Sage!
Single Shares: Broccoli, Butternut Squash, Bell Peppers, Sweet Tango Apples!, San Marzano Tomatoes, Sage & Muskmelon (the second patch is starting to ripen).
I want to address last week's WATERMELONS: This is a sore subject for us. We grow thousands of watermelon plants and usually harvest around 3,000 in a season. We usually do 3 weeks of watermelons in our Shares (for all sizes). This year we harvested about 70 and send those on Monday. Tuesday came around and Ben went out and he found that most of the melons he thought were good, upon his original survey of the field a week ago, were actually not good. Same thing as before, split in the middle and overripe/mealy, but the rinds are an inch or two thick. We cut a few more this week to see how they looked and it's the same, if not worse.
Someone asked me the other day- don't they like all the water? They're watermelons, after all. The thing is, the plants were sick early on. So when we went out and they weren't ripening we figured we'd just wait and see what happened- so we kept waiting and checking a melon here or there. Now we realize why they weren't ripening, the weather has dealt us a crappy hand: it's been a cool summer, not a ton of heat & way too much water. I mean this literally when I say this: this is the worst melon year we've ever had in the history of our farm. We're going on 12 years now, and this is the worst they've ever done. We even gave them a high point in the field too, so we're especially frustrated that they didn't do better!!! The watermelons are toast for the season.
Muskmelons- we were trying to add them into your Single Shares last week and we had maybe 15 ripen each day of last week, which is not enough to add to the CSAs. That was the older patch. They don't hold well either so it's not like we can pick them Monday & Tuesday and deliver them in the Wednesday Shares for example. So we're hoping they ripen faster this week, which looks good seeing as it's going to be in the 80s again!
The new patch JUST started producing. If you read last week's newsletter you'd know that these patches were planted about a month apart from each other and they ripened at basically the same time! Just goes to show how stressed the first patch was.
We made sure to add plenty of goodies to the list just in case we can't get everyone muskmelons but we're going to do everything we can to make sure we get you guys muskmelon before the season is over. We SHOULD be able to get all the Single Shares muskmelons this week from how the patch looks.
Sweet Tango Apples!
Since haven't had as many treats for our Members, we invested in a few gaylords of apples!! A gaylord is a unit of measurement, they're the size of the watermelon bins at the store.
SweeTango apples are actually a cross between the ever popular honey crisp and zestar! apples. It doesn't have the best holding capacity like honey crisps do for example, but what it lacks in storage, it gains in flavor. We are happy to have gotten these from our orchard and I'm happy to send home some treats with your CSAs this week!
***Reminder that the Single Shares get just as much fruit as the Jumbo & Family Shares :)
Butternut Squash!
Oh no- look the patch is dying!
Just kidding, this is exactly how this should look at this time of year! ;)
The vines are wilting and dying & the squash is ripening. This is a part of the natural process of winter squash. They have to be out there to cure in the sun for a little bit too- so they hold longer. Just like onions, they're set outside to cure in the sun so they dry nicely and hold good in the winter time.
Some of the squash is still ripening but most is already ripe. Delicata squash is the last type to ripen this season, they're still mostly green! So we're planning to add that one to your last week's CSA box so it has plenty of time to ripen in the next couple weeks.
Butternut squash is renowned for it's use in butternut squash soup. There is a reason that it has such a good reputation- it's all about the texture! Butternuts puree the best and are the least stringy; they can be blended and it turns into a perfect consistency for soups or baby food. If you want to make baby food, look at the Fall Guide I have below and you'll see a spot at the bottom with lots of info on making your own baby food!
This is a good yielding squash, it has a lot of meat for the weight of the squash because all the seeds are at the bottom, the top "neck" is solid flesh. I'm mentioning this because some squash are known for having a larger seed cavity, smaller yielding squash; like some of the acorn varieties (with the seed cavity right in the center of the squash).
This morning William & Kelsi went out and cut all the broccoli for tomorrow's CSAs! It's SO big that we are worried about fitting everything into the Shares. We'd usually wait until tomorrow morning to harvest the broccoli but these heads are really nice and it's going to be 85 degrees today. When it gets hot the heads get loose and they can bolt really easily, so in an effort to get you a better quality head, we harvested these this morning ahead of the heat. These broccoli are so beautiful and taste so good!!
SAGE
This is a really strong and potent herb. The strong flavor means that a little goes a long way, especially if you’re using dried leaves in the off-season. Use sparingly to be successful with Sage!
It goes well with pork, beef, or duck recipes (fatty meats in particular). You can also melt butter and add minced sage to create great flavor- then pour over your meat before cooking. You can also use the sage butter on noodles for something different.
To store: For short-term storage, stand upright in a container with an inch of water. Then cover the herbs loosely with a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
To dehydrate: Remove leaves from stem and place piece of paper towel on glass plate. Cover with another piece of paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Leaves will be dry. Crinkle them with your finger and place them in a dry container, such as a Mason jar with a lid. If you’re OK spending a little more time drying your herbs and have kitchen space, another way is bundling about 5 stems and put a rubber binder on it. Hang the bunch in the kitchen for about a week and the leaves will be completely dried! Another option is oven-drying.
To freeze: Frozen herb cubes are easy to make. One frozen herb cube is equal to 1 Table- spoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried herb. Just add a cube when your recipe calls for the herb. To prepare herbs for freezing: Rinse them gently in cool water. Chop the leaves fairly coarsely. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the herb into each compartment of an ice cube tray, add about 1 inch of water to each compartment, and place the tray in the freezer. Remove the frozen herb cubes from the trays and bundle all the cubes in a plastic freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible, seal and store in the freezer for up to a year.
WRAPPING IT UP:
This is Karli getting busted from the kitchen window where I'm washing dishes. She wanted to start her own flower stand next to her Dad's veggies so she went all over in my yard and cut all the flowers, omg, lol!!! That face says it all: I didn't ask my mom if I could cut all her flowers, I am using my Mom's special pair of clippers that I know I'm not supposed to use, and I'm totally caught red handed, lol. This girl, I tell yah! She's a wild one.
I joke about this with family and friends: text messages are a 3-5 business day ordeal right now. I'm not kidding when I say we're working 14 hour days through the middle of October.
My Dad came up again this week on Thursday, which was also the first day both Ben & I had been home at the farm together in 2 weeks. We had plenty of projects to get to, so we dug into all sorts of odd jobs and we had a revolving door all day long. There were so many people coming and going that we tried sitting down together 3 separate times to eat lunch and we were unsuccessful for every one of them. I microwaved my cabbage lasagna 3 separate times and then just had someone waiting outside while I ate it because I do have to feed myself, haha! So Dad called Friday morning and explained that he wanted to come today (Sunday). I asked if we traumatized him with all the ins and outs of our day-to-day happenings here in the fall and he said yes! He was surprised by how much happened Thursday and explained he wanted to come this weekend with Mom too. So now Grandpa is helping fix a leaky hose and my Mom is helping in the house- LIFE SAVERS. I AM SO GRATEFUL FOR MY PARENTS!
Time to run-
Eat Good & Be Well,
~The Farmer's Wife
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