2023 CSA Newsletter #18
It's hard to believe we are approaching mid-October folks, but here we are. The end of the CSA season is quickly approaching. I'll shower you all with gratitude in the coming weeks, but for now, let's get a brief update of farm happenings.
Last week saw one final weeding for a couple of late season crops that will be harvested in the coming weeks. The ginger and ground cherries had been neglected since before the start of the fall semester and the weeds were getting a little unruly. Since we planted the ground cherries on bare soil and didn't mulch them, having a weedy bed would make harvest extremely difficult. You see, they are called ground cherries because the little fruit fall off the plant and continue to ripen on the ground. They ripen over a long period of time, so I am keeping my fingers crossed that we have enough time left in the season to get a reasonable harvest to be in the CSA choice. Having them in a hoophouse will definitely help.
There was also a big shift in the weather for our hoophouse crops. For the last few months, the sides have been rolled up 24/7 (except for big rain events) to not let the crops get too hot. Well, now, we are trying to keep as much heat in the houses, especially overnight. The sides are now mostly rolled down and have even been shut for some overnights. The nightshade family really doesn't like it to be sub-forty degrees and we would like to push them as long as possible. The harvest the last few weeks has been a slow reminder that the end of the season is coming. Some plants have been completely harvested or succumbed to disease. We are doing our best to clear out any plants that don't have anything left to give us this season.
On to this week's CSA share. The choice this week will see two new crops. The first collard greens of the season will be in the share. Also making its season debut is Napa cabbage. I'm impressed with cabbage. It's perfect for stir fry, cabbage rolls or homemade kimchi. There will be the standard green, as well as a small amount of a beautiful purple variety that we tried for the first time this season. The tomatoes are slowing down significantly but still chugging along. There are still cherry, beefsteak, sauce and heirloom tomatoes in the share. There will be sweet peppers again, along with the return of the specialty pepper choice (banana, shishito, Padron and Anaheim). Kale and scallions will also still be available this week. Rounding out the choice will be hot peppers, garlic and the smoked paprika that we made at Coltivare with our Food Preservation class.
Have a great week!
-Farmer Todd