We have been plowing through tasks this fall! Most of our irrigation has been removed from the fields, cover crop has been seeded in every available square inch, garlic has been planted and mulched, and barn organization has begun in earnest. We have more organizing tasks to tackle in the coming weeks, as well as a few things in the field to button up, like covering our strawberries, taking down deer fencing, and putting up coyote fencing around the fall-planted strawberries. We’ll also begin cramming equipment into greenhouses and barns for the winter as soon as we free up the space. As we check off tasks and the window of mild weather narrows, our days start to incorporate more office time, and soon we will begin making our crop plans for 2023!
In the CSA this week:
Autumn Frost squash - A specialty butternut squash that stores well and has a sweet earthy taste. It is great for cooking any way you usually use butternut squash, such as roasting or pies. The skin softens when cooked, so if you don’t want to peel it, you can slice in wedges and roast.
Tetsukabuto squash - Skins are edible, so you can slice them into thin wedges and roast without peeling.
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes - We have moved on from our own potatoes to yellow potatoes from Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. These are certified organic. We will be distributing Atlas Farm-grown potatoes for the remainder of the CSA!
Leeks
Garlic
Peppers - We cleared out green peppers from our high tunnels before the harder frosts over the weekend, so this will likely be the last week for peppers!
Beets
Purple top turnips - These store well and are best for cooking!
Radishes - We have started harvesting watermelon radishes this week (the radishes with the hot pink interiors!). We will also have white and purple mini daikon.
Salad turnips - We grew these as a great salad addition for the late fall! They are sweet and can be eaten raw.
Salanova Lettuce Mix- from our high tunnel.
Red leaf lettuce - field grown head lettuce.
Cabbage
Brussels sprouts - We distribute Brussels sprouts still on the stalk. Just pop them off at home and follow your favorite recipe.
Fennel
Coming up: In the next couple of weeks we’ll have lemongrass, green tomatoes, popcorn, kale, rutabaga, onions, mixed squash types (butternut, delicata, acorn, pie pumpkins), organic carrots from Atlas Farm and organic butternut from Lakeview Organics in Hadley, MA. We will also continue to have many of the favorites we are enjoying now, like salanova, sweet potatoes, potatoes, beets, garlic and cabbage.
Farm Store:
Though the store is closed for the season, we will have a few add-ons available for purchase during CSA pick-ups, including cranberries, honey and raspberry vinegar.
We are planning a pop-up sale right before Thanksgiving - details will be available as we get closer to the date and have a chance to assess what will be available!
Fall Mushroom CSA
It is the eighth week of the 10-week Fall Mushroom CSA. Since the farm store is now closed, pick-up for the Fall mushroom CSA this week until the end of the CSA will be Thursdays 3pm-6pm and Saturdays 9am-3pm. Mushrooms will be delivered on Thursdays by 3pm in order to have them as fresh as possible for the new schedule. Please email Melissa to make other arrangements if you can not make the new pick-up times.
Radish Wands
from Vegan Dollhouse
These are a really simple, cute and kid-friendly use of colorful radishes!
Ingredients:
2 watermelon radishes
2 purple daikon radishes
1 tablespoon coconut oil (or sub olive, safflower, or sunflower oil)
salt
Preparation:
Peel all 4 radishes. You don’t have to peel them, but I think the peels are spicy, so I always peel mine.
Slice the radishes like you would slice a tomato. You want the slices to be thick enough that they won’t break when you stick the skewers in them. Compost (or throw away or save for making stock) the ends.
Cut hearts out of the slices. I used the smaller sizes from the heart-shaped cookie cutter set, but you can use any shape cookie cutters you have.
Toss the radish hearts with half of the melted coconut oil and salt.
Push the heart radishes onto the bamboo skewers leaving some space between each one. I also try to leave space on one end to hold the wand.
Bake them in the oven at 375°for 12-13 minutes or pop them into the air fryer at 370°for 5 minutes.
Toss the radish scraps with pink sea salt and the rest of the oil. You can also add onion powder and garlic powder if you like those flavors.
Bake the scraps in the oven at 375° for 15 minutes or pop them into the air fryer at 370° for 5-6 minutes.
Serve the cute veggie skewers with or without dip. I dipped mine in vegan mayo mixed with mustard and garlic powder. You could make a pink dip to match by adding beetroot powder instead of mustard.
Photo by Vegan Dollhouse