2024 CSA Newsletter #10
With the start of the fall semester upon us here at Tompkins Cortland, the energy is picking up around here. There have been lots of messages with colleagues about visits to the farm, as well as preparations for some of the other classes that I teach. I am excited for the return of our interns. For most of them, this fall is their final semester, and I have the pleasure of working with them in additional classes as they finish up their journey here at TC3.
In addition to last week’s harvest, I prepped some beds for some fall plantings. I was able to get a bed of daikon radishes planted and continued to manage the tomato and cucumber pruning. Our succession planting of cucumbers is coming along nicely and should be producing in a couple of weeks. We may have a slight drop off in yield, as the first planting appears to be at its peak. I mentioned previously that we lost some pepper and tomato plants in our hoophouses, and we filled in the space with more cucumbers. We had a new pickling variety that we wanted to trial this year, and there will be a small amount of them in this week’s share. These adorable little cukes will be making their TC3 Farm debut. There will be more in the weeks to come.
As for this week’s CSA share, as I mentioned the cucumbers seem to be peaking. It’s a great time for cucumber salads! The tomatoes had a great week of production and there will be cherry, beefsteak, and heirloom tomatoes each as their own item. There will be frying and bell peppers and some new hot peppers to choose from. There will be a heatless habanero, serrano, and hot wax included in the choice. Basil, kale, garlic (Chesnok Red still), herb bunches (rosemary, thyme, sage, winter savory), and jalapeno salt will also be back this week. Eggplant will also be back on its own this week. There will be three different varieties in the eggplant choice, a dark purple, a white, and a round heirloom variety. The return of lettuce and rainbow chard shouldn’t be too far away.
Have a great week!
-Farmer Todd