This Week’s Harvest
- Braising Mix
- Spinach
- Rainbow Carrots
- Potatoes
- Red Daikon
- Purple Top Turnips
- Cilantro
- Kale
- Brussels Sprouts
- Beets
- Kolrabi
Farm News
Our major fall root harvest is complete and we ended up with a trailer full of food! I was looking through old pictures and came across our “big” root harvest from 2016. I had captioned the picture “yesterday I felt less like a farmer and more like a squirrel”.
Nowadays this haul looks so small. Instead of a few 25 pound harvest bins of this and that we have dozens of 500 pound pallet bins. We have gradually scaled up to our current operation acquiring the necessary equipment overtime. First we needed a new tractor with a front end loader, which we were able to purchase in 2017. We also needed a more efficient way of washing the roots and our pack shed upgrades have included concreting the barn and assembling a wash-line of rinse conveyor, root washer and sorting table. The acquisition of pallet bins has helped make the harvest more systematic. And just last year we purchased a shipping container, which we rigged up with a homemade cooling system, giving us a place to store this increased production.
We have scaled up our winter root production for a few reasons. A main reason is that we are able to grow them well (most of them! still working on a perfect potato crop). They also provide income during the slower winter months and all the washing and packing has been a good job to give our employees to provide more year round employment for some. Their storage capabilities are great and it is a nice to have a product that is more shelf stable for a change. In fact the last 2 years some of our storage crops have lasted all winter and spring and helped bulk out our first CSA shares of the following season! Added bonus- they taste so good!
Recipes
Kohlrabi and Carrot Mash
Deep Dish Pizza with Cilantro Pesto and Brussles Sprouts