Saturday, September 24, 2011

2011 Fall Season, Week One

September 24, 2011

This week's harvest:

Butternut Squash
Acorn Squash
Kale
Salad Turnips
Arugula
Garlic
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant

This week's farm news:

Happy autumn everyone! Well, last weekend's push to get the garlic crop in the ground was a success. It's all planted now - about nine thousand cloves of it - and the crew even got it mulched before the rain set in! Awesome! The crew also set transplants into our high tunnel for our winter harvests and Eric finished planting his forage crop into a garden that we are converting back to pasture for a few years in order to re-generate the soil's fertility. (To do this required first yanking our main tomato crop - about two hundred plants/cages/& stakes!)

This week, also, our five pigs were advanced into their forest paddocks so that they can begin to eat all of the scrumptious acorns that are now falling. We were pushing to get lots of these projects done this week because today, following market, the Smith family is heading South for our annual family vacation to the beach! We wanted to leave the farm feeling good about things! Superheroes Jesse and Hannah will be holding down the fort - their ultimate test to see if they really want to start their own farm!

Saturday, September 17, 2011

2011 Season, Week 20

September 17, 2011

This week's harvest:

Butternut Squash
Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Eggplant
Garlic
Onions
Salad Turnips with Greens
Basil
Potatoes

This week's farm news:

Well, folks, this week wraps up our "Main" season vegetable share for 2011! Many thanks to all of you that participated... Thanks for sharing your recipes, stories, and including us in your lives! Your involvement in our CSA nourishes us. In turn, we hope that our food has equally nourished you and your families! Blessings to you all!

So next Saturday, the 24th, will be the start of the fall season. There are lots of goodies in store for you! (There are also still shares available, if you haven't signed up yet and would still like to.) So, fall share folks, we'll see you next Saturday!

Saturday, September 10, 2011

2011 Season, Week 19

September 10, 2011

This week's harvest:

Pumpkins
Arugula
Basil
Garlic
Potatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Tomatoes
Onions
Sage
Eggplant - medium shares

This week's farm news:

Clearly, the big news of the week is that we had rain! Not just any old rain either, but a gloriously gentle rain that lasted for days and drenched the farm with nearly four inches. And, the entire rain event was so gentle that every drop soaked in! And then the cooler temperatures... well! That left us feeling soooo refreshed - like we were transported from the desert Southwest to misty Northern Ireland... just like that! We are so grateful!

So, remarkably, next Saturday wraps up the "Main Season" vegetable share! The summer just marched right on past, huh? Thanks so much to all of you who participated. We hope you enjoyed it! If you are not planning to continue on with the fall season, we ask that you please bring your basket back to us (as well as a bag for next week's goodies). Thanks!

If you are still interested in signing up for a fall share but have not yet done so, we still have plenty of space available. Just let us know! And now that it has finally rained, the fall share should be that much better!

Sunday, September 4, 2011

2011 Season, Week 18

September 3, 2011

This week's harvest:

Potatoes
Tomatoes & Cherry Tomatoes
Sweet & Hot Peppers
Garlic
Basil
Eggplant
Okra
Arugula
Onions

This week's farm news:

Ohhhh... It's so dry here! And so hot, too. Not a good combination when we're already so far behind on the season's rainfall! Lots of our summer crops are shutting down - mostly the peppers and eggplant. (For this reason, this week your eggplant is hard and should be roasted and then scooped out of the skin, which we suspect might be bitter.) Even though your farmers' instinct right now is to also "shut down," we've got to keep rolling along as if all is normal... We've got to get the remainder of the fall crops in the ground, assess what's still alive and re-plant where necessary, and get empty fields sown to cover crops. There is such a good chance for rain this weekend, and next week so much cooler that this could prove to be our last planting frenzy for the season! Who knows, it could start raining and not stop until December! Ultimately, we've got to sieze the opportunities where we can, take a deep breath, and hope for the best!