Farm News – September 18, 2017

Hi Folks!  So you might think that by now things would start to ease up a bit here on the farm, and I would have time to write these updates and get them out to the members in a timely manner.  But it never really slows down much until November.  We are still busy transplanting fall crops, such as lettuce, and direct seeding other crops like spinach and radish.  We are cleaning up fields that have produced their crop and planting oats and peas as a winter cover crop.  And we are preparing ground for planting garlic in late October and early November. 

We still have an acre of sweet potatoes to dig and 4 acres of winter squash to bring in.  I recently purchased a greenhouse frame from a local farm that is getting out of the vegetable business. Yesterday we went to pick it up and transport it back to the farm.  We had some problems, which resulted in me not getting home until 10 pm – tired and hungry!  Even as the work involved with this season’s production winds down, there is always much to do to prepare for next year.

We have another lovely share for you this week, at least in my (not so) humble opinion!  The fabulous Hakurei salad turnips are back.  These sweet little roots are great in salad and also delicious cooked.  They have wonderful greens which can also be eaten raw in salads or cooked; sautéed or in soups.  We are offering them as a choice with radishes (some like it hot!) this time around, but they will be featured extensively in the coming weeks.  If you end up with radishes and you’re not a fan, keep in mind that radishes can be cooked as well, and they lose their bite when prepared in this way.

The share for this week will be: Lettuce, potatoes, peppers, choice of cabbage (Napa, savoy or red) summer squash, eggplant, beans, choice of arugula or tatsoi, yellow onions, salad turnips and choice of dill or cilantro. Premium shares will also include scallions.  

The fruit share for this week will be:  kiwi berries and nectarines.

Enjoy!    Farmer John