This Week’s Harvest

Red Potatoes
Fennel
Broccoli
Purple Top Turnips
Beets (red, golden or chioggia)
Arugula
Red Leaf Lettuce
Parsley
Shallots
Butternut Squash
Cauliflower
Kohlrabi
Kale (rainbow, lacinato or green curly)

Fruit Share: Fuji apples (duller lighter red fresh eating apple) and Rome apples (brighter darker red cooking apple) from Downing Fruit Farm

Farm News

We are in the final push part of the season. Our bodies ache in old and new places and we are ready for a rest, but there are still major projects to get done before our celebratory nap can happen. This week we got a little closer to said reward.

I mentioned earlier that we got a new well this spring to go with our new acreage.  We used it daily during the second half of the season but had to use hoses above the ground. Ben spent a lot of time moving these cumbersome and heavy hoses from field to field.  It was always our plan to bury irrigation lines throughout the farm but we had to wait until we had little more time to tackle the job.  In fact we ordered the PVC pipes back in June and had to store them in tractor’s spot in the garage all season long!

This week we rented a trencher which Ben rode for 3 days straight.  Once the trench lines were complete we came behind with 30 foot PVC pipes and PVC cement and glued the pipes together and lowered them into the trench. After 3 days, we had 1500 feet of trench with irrigation lines in them.  The project isn’t quite done as Ben still has to back fill the trench and complete the above ground spigots, but the bulk of the project is done.  I know Ben is looking forward to the ease of getting water out to the crops next year!

Another major job we can check off the “to do” list is planting the garlic for next season.  We had our garlic beds almost ready to go but were waiting for some rain to moisten the soil so we could do a final shallow tilling to get really nice beds.  We waited and waited and finally on Saturday we got the moisture we needed.  But with lots more rain in the forecast for Tuesday, we had a tiny window to get the planting done. Add to that the fact that there was an obligatory CSA harvest, meant Ben had to plant all 80 pounds of garlic essentially solo. I’m pleased to report the job got done, but not before Ben enlisted the help of a very useful tool: the flashlight.  At 9:30, Ben, very dirty and tired, emerged from the field.

The irrigation project and garlic planting are jobs we need to complete now but whose results won’t be seen until 2016. That’s how farming is: always prepping for the future. As we finish out the 2015 CSA, we are already thinking about the 2016 CSA.  We hope that you are too!! We look forward to updating our brochure soon and sharing it with our current members.  Look for us to be in touch soon!

Recipes

Pasta with Butternut squash and kale

Roasted Fennel and Beet Salad with Lentils

Roasted Root Vegetables (use kohlrabi and/or turnips in place of parsnips and red potatoes in place of yukon golds)