“This is the world of light and speech, and I shall take leave to tell you that you are very dear.”
~George Eliot
Summer Share Box 18 Crop List
- Butternut Squash – All Shares
- Apples – All Shares
- Collard Greens – All Shares
- Peppers – All Shares (Bells, Italian Frying, Hot Peppers)
- Tatsoi-Arugula – All Shares
- Sage – All Shares
- Napa Cabbage – All Shares Except Flex Shares
- Broccoli – Flex Shares Only
- Carrots – Full & Single Shares
- Spinach – Single & Half Shares
- Braising Mix – Full Shares
- Beets – Full Shares
Farmer Notes
~This is the final Summer Share delivery for 2019 – thank you so very much for being a part of our farm family!
~Fall share delivery #1 is next Th. Oct. 24th – I hope you can join us!
~Butternut squash will sweeten on your counter for a few weeks
~Apples can look a bit rough – peel them and cut off some spots and there is lots of delicious meat for savory cooking or raw on a salad
~Shave some carrots and beets on your arugula/tatsoi salad and remember the beauty of summer
~Cook some of the squash with apples and sage
~Spinach is unwashed and we apologize. We are working with our fall crew and literally did not have time to get this done 🙁
~Napa, carrots and apples would make a tasty slaw
~Lots of peppers – the smaller they are, the hotter they are, enjoy!
~I will run the usual route next Th. … Please return any and all of your boxes and ice packs to us!
~Have a wonderful Fall and see you next year!!
Recap of the Season:
- We had early worries with a slow member sign-up in the Spring
- Lots of rain made it difficult to get our tomatoes and peppers in
- We were blessed with a fantastic summer intern crew
- We finished our ‘tiny house’ for intern housing
- A very wet summer and fall was good for some crops and bad for others: root crops and alliums did well and the hot summer crops faired poorly
- Diane made a couple of cool videos of life on our farm
- Josh and Vanessa’s test garden was a success and we have some fun varieties in the wings for next season
- We had a nice group and decent weather for our farm party on Sept. 7th
- Our members for 2019 were stellar – responsible and understanding
- We have tons of great crops for the fall share and for storage
- Our hoop house has its 2nd cover crop growing and is waiting for a new plastic covering in November
- We are excited to do it all again next year
It has been a joy to grow food for you this year and we hope that it was a wonderful experience for your family. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to make CSA more enjoyable!
Your farmer,
Norm
Crop of the week – Winter Squash
Winter Squash describe a wide variety of squash species in the genus Cucurbita. It differs with summer squash with the fact that it is harvested when it is mature and the skin has hardened to a tough rind. At this stage, most species of this crop can be stored for months for winter use. Winter Squash is a healthy low calorie food and a good source of complex vegetable carbohydrates and dietary fiber. It is known as an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, manganese, thiamin, omega-3 fatty acids, iron and beta-carotene. Usually, the darker the skin is, the high the beta- carotene content.
We grow a few types of winter squash that are ready before the end of summer shares to take advantage of, including butternut, sweet dumpling, acorn and delicata(the only one you did not receive). Butternut is a sweet and creamy squash that only gets sweeter the longer you let it cure. For best flavor, allow to sit for a few extra weeks at room temperature. Acorn squash is dark green on the outside with a single splash of orange on its bottom or side, where it was resting on the ground, and has long ridges going from top to bottom. It has sweet, yellow-orange flesh inside and although we consider acorn squash a winter squash, it actually belongs to the same species(Cucurbita Pepo) as summer squash. The Sweet dumpling squash comes in a cup shape and is striped green to orange. It has a nuttier flavor while still being one of the sweeter and softer varieties we offer. Sweet dumpling can also be allowed to cure for an extended period of time, but the sweetness of the flesh won’t vary greatly. Delicata squash is a tubular version of the Sweet Dumpling with an even softer texture when cooked. It is generally a little sweeter than the sweet dumpling but a far cry from the richness of a properly cured butternut squash. Delicata tend to cook a little faster and the skin is completely edible with this variety.
~Farmer Joshua
Some recipes to try:
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