2020 CSA Newsletter #20

Well, folks, the end of the season is upon us with November 4th being the last pickup for the 2020 season. I’m not sure if anyone has taken a look at the forecast for the end of the week but we’re in for a doozy. I was hopeful that we were going to plant our garlic this week but I think our energy is going to be put in clearing out as many crops as we can before the end of the day on Friday. We started on Monday by harvesting all the remaining peppers in the hoophouse and will continue with the remaining field crops the rest of the week.

Last week we continued cleaning up beds and in the greenhouse to get ready for winter plantings. I’m going to experiment with some new crops for winter growing in the greenhouse. The first crop that I’m going to try is getting a bed of carrots planted. Last year I planted a bed in one of our hoophouses in March for the beginning of the CSA. I got them planted a little late, so I want to see how they do in the greenhouse. As we approach the end of the year and the days begin to get shorter, the crops we plant this time of the year take much longer to mature because of the day length. I’m going to see what a little extra heat will do to the carrots and see if that can make up for lack of day length. Fingers crossed.

The CSA share is going to feature a few new items this week. First up is cilantro and dill. I’ve been waiting patiently for them to mature and they finally are ready right before we are going to get blasted with some serious cold and the dreaded four letter S-word. No, not that one (even though we’re surrounded by dairy farms and when they’re spreading, you know). Also the kohlrabi this week are different varieties than last week. I harvest these varieties when they are a little bigger than a golf ball. They are super tender and due to the frosts they’ve been exposed to, sweet. They are perfect in salads. The leaves are still intact and can be easily sauteed. Also new this week are collards. I only grow collards in the fall and wait to harvest them after a few frosts because I think that the flavor is vastly improved. And finally, one of my favorite fall/winter crops, rutabaga. I think rutabaga is such a versatile vegetable that can be used in soups, mashed (with or without potatoes) and one of our favorites, fries. I’m hopeful that this will be another vegetable that we trick our daughter into liking this year. Potatoes and garlic are back this week also. Some of you will be getting fingerlings this week. So, if you have some that are more oblong than round, you got fingerlings. They are perfect roasted with some olive oil and garlic.

Have a great week!