CSA Newsletter #22
Well, folks, we made it through another CSA season. It was quite a ride and I appreciate y'all for being a part of it. The kind words throughout the season were great to hear. I really love the community in CSA. Every year presents its challenges, and this one seemed particularly challenging. Heading into a second season with a pandemic looming overhead, with different uncertainties than the previous season, definitely has taken its toll. I am looking forward to recharging this winter and thinking of ways to increase our resiliency. The simplest way to describe the weather this season was weird. It was wet spring, summer and fall. The windows of dry weather that we did have, didn't always line up when there were interns on the farm. It's been quite the learning experience for the interns. Most of them were with me in the spring when we developed this ideal crop plan for the upcoming season. They then got to see the reality of farming and that things often don't go as planned. Over the next few weeks will we be evaluating the season and look at what we can change and/or keep the same for next year.
I apologize for the drastic change in the weather. I opened my big mouth and mentioned how we hadn't had a frost yet. What happened next? We got our first frost here on the farm Wednesday night. If you haven't looked at the overnight lows for this week, well bundle up. My daughter even called me excitedly this afternoon to inform me that it was snowing. She then proceeded to let me know how that she couldn't wait to go sledding.
We're in pretty good shape going into this change. The peppers were already cleared out of the hoophouse that they were in, so the interns got their first experience of moving a hoophouse. It didn't go as smooth as I would have liked but we managed to get it done. Two of our hoophouses are on tracks and we are able to move them back and forth over two growing areas. This is great for both our season extension and soil health. After getting that house moved, we started to finish the clear out of the heirloom house. We harvest all the reasonably sized tomatoes that are both green and blush and will hold them for a few weeks. Then it's time to pull all the plants. That was finished on Monday. Next will be to move that house over its winter plot.
Alright, here's the scoop on the last pickup of the season. There will still be bell, frying and hot peppers this week. As well as, kale, cabbage (including more napa this week), rutabaga, kohlrabi and garlic. On the tomato front, there will be a beefsteak/heirloom combo choice and a cherry/paste combo choice. There will also be green tomatoes in the choice. I know everyone thinks fried green tomatoes but I will say it loud and say it proud, "don't sleep on green tomato chutney!" With the holidays coming up, it's sure to be a crowd pleaser. Lemongrass is also returning this week. Additionally, there will be a greens choice of Asian greens (bok choi/tat soi combo) and broccoli raab, aka rapini. These are both mild mustard type greens that you can't go wrong with in a stir-fry. Finally, there will be a small sample of candied ginger made with TC3 Farm baby ginger. It's another product that we hope to have available in the future.
Have a great week and thanks again for a wonderful season.
Farmer Todd