2023 CSA Newsletter #21

Well, we are at the penultimate pickup week for the 2023 CSA season. It has been an interesting one to say the least. And with lows in the mid-20s this week, it is a good indication that the season is coming to a close. 

Last week, we continued with end of the season projects. The big task was to get beds ready for garlic planting. That entails us cultivating the beds first because there are weeds that will survive throughout the winter. If we left them, they would just flourish next year. After the beds are weeded, we till the beds. Since we want to maintain as much soil structure as possible, we use a tool called a broadfork. A gas powered rototiller only goes down about 4-6 inches so this big two-handled tool with 14-inch tines is really good at breaking up any compaction and hardpans beneath the soil. Now that the beds are prepped we will start to plant this week. We also continued clearing out crops in our hoophouses. With the season ending and the temperatures really starting to dip, getting these crops harvested and storing them is the best thing that we can do. Most of the crops still in the houses are in the nightshade family and they don't like temperatures sub-40 degrees. And because of the way that we trellis the plants, it is hard for us to add any additional protection.

This week, I would like to highlight the project that my student Buster is working on. If you have a Full Season share, there's a chance that you met Buster over the summer at one of the pickups. All of the students in this year's Capstone course have unique interests in the food system and Buster is no different. Buster is extremely motivated by edible landscapes, native plants and pollinators. He is working on a project designing a small permaculture addition to the Community Garden space in the Village of Freeville that will hopefully be approved in the near future. He is learning a lot about design and navigating a municipality as he works on this project. I am excited to see what he comes up with for a final design.

As we head into the end of the CSA season, this week will see the return of Napa cabbage. There will be kale, collards and scallions, as well as peppers. Most of them will either be "suntan" (which means they are in the process of ripening) and green. There will still be hot peppers, along with garlic and tomatoes. The tomatoes will be in various stages of ripeness. There are ground cherries again with some cape gooseberries sprinkled in. The cape gooseberries taste very similar but have a larger husk and fruit. There are also going to be carrots and onions in the share courtesy of our friends over at Main Street Farms.

Have a great week folks and stay warm!!

-Farmer Todd