This Week’s Harvest
Salad Mix
Cauilflower
Broccoli
Wax Beans
Green Beans
Garlic
Candy Onions (last of the season!)
Radishes
Save the Date!
Our CSA member potluck will be this Sunday Oct. 8 from 4 to 7. Members are asked to bring a dish to share and after touring the farm and fields, we will feast! It’s a celebration of the season and a time of good food and conversation. We hope you and your family can make it! The forecast is looking good so far!
Recipes
Cauliflower and Winter Squash Curry (Use delicata in place of butternut)
Broccoli and Swiss Chard Quiche
Sauteed Radish and Green Beans (almonds and walnuts also work well. You can also use salad turnips in place of or in addition to radishes)
Farm News
Last week’s heat wave took us by surprise! A couple plantings of broccoli and several varieties that are all supposed to come ready at different times all matured at once. Broccoli also doesn’t do well in heat and we lost a lot to yellowing. At first it was very disappointing and we wondered what we could have done differently but this past weekend we had the chance to talk to several Ohio farmers who all had problems with their broccoli. One farmer only harvested 40% of his planting. It’s always a great time when we hang out with farmers. We can relate to each other on a level we don’t share we anyone else. We talk shop and learn a lot. We end up laughing about our struggles through the season. Mostly we learn that the hardships that come with trying to grow beautiful crops are a shared experience with other vegetable farmers.
We wonder how climate change will effect these challenges and imagine our jobs will only get harder. This past heat wave’s reach was from Minnesota to Maine and shattered previous records. The last time Chicago had 7 consecutive days over 90 was in 1988 in the middle of summer. In addition the warmer than usual temperatures, it is also very dry. The good news is that we are late enough in the season that we are down to harvesting from 3 fields. It’s easier to stay on top of irrigating with less fields to manage. We are hoping for some rain for cover crop seeds to germinate and for ease of harvesting some of our root crops like sweet potatoes. We shall see what this week brings!