2024 CSA Newsletter #17
The fall chill is definitely in the air these days. We have a bit of the season still left, but the end is coming. This is the time of the year when I fastidiously watch the nighttime temperatures because that first frost is approaching. I feel good about where we are with our end-of-the-season farm tasks. We continue to "clean up" the farm by removing finished crops from their beds. One of the biggest reasons that we do this is to disrupt pest cycles. Since many of our crops have pests specific to them and we don't spray, crop removal is important to minimize overwintering in a planting area. Last week, we spent some time scouting for a specific pest in the greenhouse. We are experimenting with some winter kale in one of the beds and there is one pest in particular that was doing some damage, imported cabbage worms. These little buggers can do some serious damage if left unchecked. White cabbage moths were fluttering in and out of the greenhouse, so I knew it was a matter of time before we saw the larvae. And boy, did we ever. Since it is such a small planting, I knew we could manage the pests by looking at the plants individually plucking any worms we saw and disposing of them. It is a very satisfying task. We have also been monitoring beneficial insects. There have been lady beetle larvae in one of the hoophouses and we have been moving them to the greenhouse for aphid control. We have also spotted multiple praying mantis egg sacs which always puts a smile on my face. One sac can contain 200 baby praying mantises. I even found one attached to a pepper!
This week's CSA share is going to feature the return of an early-season crop, along with a new fall crop. There will once again be Hakurei turnips, the Japanese salad turnips. The greens are beautiful and can be eaten raw or lightly sauteed. This planting didn't have the best germination, so their yield will be a bit lower. They will be joined by a purple daikon radish, which is absolutely stunning. They are a mild daikon that can be eaten raw. Although I tried some sliced and sauteed with butter and that was amazing. These greens are edible too. I just recommend cooking them down a bit. Rainbow Chard is also returning this week after its hiatus. We are going to plant another bed either this week or next, but this may be the last of it for the season. There are still cucumbers, fennel, bell, and frying peppers. As well as cherry, beefsteak, heirloom, and sauce tomatoes. I'm still deciding on how the non-cherry tomatoes will be distributed. The production has slowed significantly in the past week and they may all be together. There will also be the specialty pepper mix, hot peppers, garlic, and jalapeno salt. There will be a new spice this week joining the jalapeno salt, smoked paprika. I brought down a few pounds of our paprika peppers to the culinary arts students, and they smoked the peppers with hickory before we put them in the dehydrator. I am happy to share the outcome with you all.
Have a great week!
-Farmer Todd