Westfield Area CSA Blog

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – November 16, 2020

Hi Folks, we have reached the end of the CSA season.  I hope that you have enjoyed the produce we were able to provide this year.  Every farming season has its unique challenges, mostly weather related.  This year we had both the latest spring frost ever – May 18th – and the earliest fall frost that I can remember – September 18.  The September frost took us a bit by surprise as the forecast was for a low of 38 degrees.  The cold snap in September was even more unusual since it was not a single night, but rather four night in a row of sub-freezing temperatures.  This gave us only four months of frost-free growing season.  A long summer drought followed by excessive rain added another hurdle. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – November 9, 2020

Hi Folks, I hope you have been enjoying the balmy weather these past days; my crew and I certainly have been.  It’s a bit strange for early November but we’ll take it!  In any case there is no such thing as normal weather anymore.  The dry conditions have enabled us to finish digging the potatoes (finally!) and get started planting the garlic for next year’s crop.  The warmth is allowing some of the greens to recover from the damage sustained during the recent freeze, and the Brussel’s Sprouts and cauliflower to continue to mature.  We still have carrots and a few other root crops in the ground which also benefit from the mild temps and abundant sunshine. (more…)

Stuffed delicata squash

White Bean and Kale Stuffed Delicata Squash

From the website, www.cooklocal.com, this easy recipe serves 4 (or 2 if you are really hungry!).  You can readily add some pancetta or bulk sausage to the stuffing for a non-vegetarian meal.  Cook the meat for at least 10 minutes at the start of the recipe, then proceed with garlic, beans, kale, etc., as noted.  Just as yummy! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – November 2, 2020

Hi Folks, November came brrrr-eezing in this weekend. We had temperatures in the mid- twenties Saturday morning. Today we are being buffeted by howling winds. We have two more cold nights ahead before the temps rise back to more seasonable levels. Friday was a long day for the crew, as they worked diligently to harvest and cover crops ahead of the freeze. We were mostly successful in protecting the crops, although we did have some losses. The dill and cilantro were burned by the cold. They should recover but they will need some time to grow new leaf. We continue our rotation with broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and red cabbage. We have some lovely lettuce for you this round. We will be alternating the arugula with broccoli raab and some other mustard greens during the final weeks of the season. (more…)

Acorn Squash Soup with Kale

Acorn Squash Soup with Kale

One rarely comes across acorn squash soup (mostly we see butternut as the main ingredient), but this one from marthastewart.com is tasty and colorful – we eat with our eyes first, right?  Savory bacon and peppery kale pair well with the sweet, nutty flavor of pureed acorn squash in this hearty soup.  The recipe serves 4.  Try it! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 26, 2020

Hello Everyone! The weather continues to be good for growing, although it looks like a dreary week ahead. The forecast for Friday night to Saturday has been fluctuating in the mid-twenties, what we’d refer to as a hard freeze as opposed to just a frost. At that point we will be giving up on protecting the more tender crops and covering the hardier ones to protect them from damage. Even crops like kale and spinach, which are quite tough, can sustain damage that reduces their quality and marketability. We will have to cut any broccoli or cauliflower that is heading regardless of the size, because if the heads freeze they are ruined. Lettuce is amazingly resistant to the cold, but if the tender center of the plant freezes it will no longer continue to grow and size up. There are only a few weeks until the end of the CSA season, but the challenges never end! (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 19, 2020

Hi Folks! The weather continues to be reasonably good for the crops. We had almost two inches of rain and another ¾ inch on Friday. We had a light frost Sunday morning. We continue to cover the beans and a few other more delicate crops to protect them from cold nights. We are getting a good harvest from the beans now, so our efforts have paid off. (more…)

Circle Brook Farm

Farm News – October 12, 2020

Hello Folks, the weather has been copacetic this past week – one cold night but no frost.  We are currently getting some rain, but it is not expected to be excessive.  We are still waiting for a large planting of string beans to size up.  They are growing very slowly but we should have enough for some groups this week and for the rest by next week.  This will be the gasp for the summer vegetables. (more…)