This Week’s Harvest
Cilantro
Broccoli
Radishes
Head Lettuce
Tomatoes
Wax Beans
Red Onions
Apple Share
King David, Jonagold and Mutsu
SAVE THE DATE!
Our CSA member farm walk and potluck is Sunday October 7 from 4 to 7. The farm walk will be at 4 with dinner to follow at 5. Please bring good walking shoes and a dish to share. We hope that you and your family/friends can join us as we celebrate the harvest!
Farm News
Good news from the farm is that we managed to get 15 acres of land seeded to cover crop just in time for Monday’s light day long rain. This process involves several tractor passes with the disc followed by blending the seed combinations we want into the cone spreader, taking it out to spread, coming back in for more rounds of seed, and then lightly discing the fields to incorporate the seed a bit. When we got the 5 inches of rain from hurricane Florence we honestly weren’t sure how much of the cover crop plan we’d get to do. You can’t seed cover crop too late in the season because the crop won’t get enough growth on it before the cold weather. But the warm sunny week that followed the rain helped dry out the fields and the timing worked out to get it done before the next round of rain. The seeds should germinate nicely after today’s rain!
The bad news is we are battling a significant amount of disease around the farm. Alternaria Leafspot wiped out our first fall broccoli and it looks like the cauliflower is next. We mowed our entire celeriac planting under because of a condition called hollow heart, which causes incomplete formation of the root leaving it mostly hollow inside. And our carrot tops and beets are starting to blacken and die back because of Cercospora or Alternaria. We’ll have to do a better job with our crop rotation and other preventative measures like crop selection in the coming years to combat these diseases that seem to thrive in our humid late summer climate.
We are grateful for the CSA model when we experience crop failures. By committing to the entire season you are helping soften the blow when crops don’t produce. We are working hard to provide you with weekly deliveries that are full and varied even if some crops don’t ever make it in the box. So far so good–we’ll keep providing you with the best the farm has to offer!
Recipes
Turnips with Caramelized Onions and Toasted Lentils
Curried Winter Squash Pizza (sub acorn squash for butternut)
Coming Up Next Week (our best guess….) Dragon Tongue Beans, Napa Cabbage, Turnips, Kale, Broccoli, Tomatoes, Head Lettuce and more!