2023 CSA Newsletter #22
We have made it to the end of the 2023 CSA season, folks. I want to start off by saying, "thank you" to all of you for supporting the TC3 Farm this year. Not only are you engaging in a tangible aspect of the local food system, but you are also supporting a tangible aspect of students' education at Tompkins Cortland. It is so valuable for the Sustainable Farming and Food Systems students to be a part of something that is connected to the community. They spend four semesters learning about the different aspects of food systems and spending a season on the TC3 Farm is a great way to connect some dots in the "real world". I say this every year, but I truly appreciate you all for being a part of our students' college experience.
I want to say that it was a challenging season, but every season has its challenges. I think I'll describe this season as weird. Overall, the range in weather events that we had throughout this growing season were surprising and sometimes unprecedented. Combine that with a smaller group of students and you get a weird season. I have been farming for almost 20 years and I am used to a lot of "firsts". I have come to expect them, but working with new and beginning farmers on a yearly basis has given me an appreciation of them that I didn't have before.
Even though the CSA season is coming to an end, we still have plenty of work to do in the coming weeks before the semester is over. End of season clean-up projects continued and the garlic for next season was picked up from our friends over at Buried Treasures Organic Farm in Groton. We have been buying seed garlic from them for years. I decided to try two new varieties for next year along with the variety that I have been growing for years. So, if you are back with us next year, there will be three different varieties. It's another way for us to diversify our crop/variety mix and to show students the diversity among crops. I was hoping to start planting last week, but it looks like it is going to happen this week. Additionally, a biology class from Tompkins Cortland and a visitor from St. Vincent in the Caribbean came out to the farm for tours.
Before getting to the final share of the season, I wanted to highlight the last project in this year's Capstone course that my student Jamie is working on. Jamie is very much interested in social justice and equity in our food system and her project is a bit different than her classmates. It is a storytelling project. She has reached out to numerous organizations in our region that are run by and serve BIPOC and/or Indigenous communities. She is capturing these organizations' stories through interviews and volunteer experience. I am looking forward to seeing how her project all comes together.
Okay, the last CSA share of the season. The greens this week are going to be kale and Napa cabbage. There will be a mix of the bell and frying peppers, all in various stages of ripeness. The beefsteak, heirloom and sauce tomatoes will all be part of an item. There will be cherry tomatoes, as well as mostly green tomatoes to choose from. There will be a new variety of scallions in the mix this week, too. We trialed a small amount of a specialty purple variety. They are significantly smaller than the green ones, but the color is outstanding. There will still be carrots and onions, along with hot peppers and garlic. This week, there will also be gochugaru powder and a blended hot pepper salt. Gochugaru is a "sweet" cayenne and traditionally used in kimchi, but really can be used to add some spice to any dish. The hot pepper salt is a blend of serrano, cayenne and habanero peppers. It packs a bit of a kick but is super tasty.
Thank you all again for your support and a great season. We hope to see you next year.
Have a great winter!
-Farmer Todd