SAVE THE DATE!
end of the season harvest brunch potluck
Sunday, DECEMBER 8TH: 11:00am - 1:00pm
CSA members Carl & Sarah are so sweetly planning celebratory end of season CSA community Harvest Brunch Potluck in the big party barn on the south end of the land. Come mix and mingle and eat scrumptious fare. See your farmers in non dirt-stained clothing. Open mic! Look for an invitation in your inbox for more details. We hope to see you all there!
THIS WEEK'S HARVEST
Bonbon Buttercup Winter Squash, Desiree Red Potatoes, Scallions, Duganski Hardneck Garlic, White Russian Kale, Purple Bok Choi, Napa Cabbage, Romanesco, Green Magic Broccoli, Cabernet Red Onions, Red Round Turnips, Loose Rainbow Carrots, Little Gems & Summer Crisp Head Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula
Land before time. Looking southeast Thursday morning from the 2020 Metechi garlic patch
U-PICK
Herbs: Tulsi Basil, Thai Basil, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Cilantro, French Sorrel, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Thyme, Anise Hyssop, Culinary Lavender, Lemongrass
Flowers: Bouquets can still be scavenged, but our flower year is winding down as it’s time to put our garden to bed for the winter. Thank you, Kayta, for an incredible flower year!
Strawberries: Snacks
Looking back on a fabulous summer of flowers!
HARVEST NOTES
Bonbon Buttercup Squash: A cute little buttercup variety with a light green belly button. Thick orange, bread-like, sweet, floral tasting flesh. We cooked up our first last night and it was excellent. To roast, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast cut side down at 400 degrees until you can poke a fork through the skin and the flesh is soft and creamy. Add dashes of water to the baking sheet while roasting to keep squash moist. Eat straight out of the shell with a spoon or use like you would any sweet winter squash (soups, stews, curries, pies, etc.).
Red Round Turnips. These crisp, sweet turnips can be eaten raw, shaved on a salad, or straight as a snack. Alternately, try this amazing recipe for miso carmelized turnips that transforms them into savory deliciousness .
PRESERVING THE HARVEST
Bulk White Satin Carrots: We’ll be putting out bulk White Satins on the back table for pickling, juicing, etc. Out of bag. Check out this wonderful recipe for pickling carrots… or any vegetable!
Hello, old friend. A monarch butterfly enjoys the zinnias
WHEN IS THE LAST WeEK of HARVEST PICK-UP?
Some folks have been asking when the last week of harvest pick-up is. The last week of our 2019 CSA harvest season is the week of December 14th.
The last Saturday pick-up is December 14th
The last Tuesday pick-up is December 17th
POSTPONED: COOKING WITH FALL FOODS WITH SARAH KATE BENJAMIN
Due to complications from the fire Sarah needs to postpone the workshop schedule for November 16th. We’ll let you know when a new date is set!
NOTES & REMINDERS
Say No to Single Use Plastic: We will no longer be supplying plastic or plastic-substitute bags at farm pick-up. If you have a bunch of extra plastic bags at home could you please bring some to fill our recycled plastic bag station? Remember to please bring your own produce bags and to participate in our bag recycling station!
CSA Pick-up Schedule: Saturday pick-up from from 9am - 1pm & Tuesdays from 1pm - 6pm. Last pickup of the year will be Tuesday, December 17th.
GarlIC PLANTING!
We will be slowly planting out 2020’s garlic this coming week and the next and there are ample opportunities for members to plug into the process. On Saturday and Tuesday pick-ups we’ll be “popping” garlic bulbs into their individual cloves in preparation to plant. And then on Wednesday morning, November 13th (and possibly the 20th too) from 9am - 11am we’ll be planting! Come join in the fun if you are interested!
FARMER’S LOG
BIG CHANGES IN THE FIELDS
What a difference three months makes. At left, field three in full potato flower on August 8th. At right, the same field on November 7th —irrigating up cover crop seeds with over 4 tons of potatoes, corn and squash harvested.
It was a big week of change and transition out in the fields. With everyone back in full force after the fires, we hit the ground running and made big headway with our Fall push — cover cropping and taking down the infrastructure of summer to prep for the winter and next season.
On Monday with Kate Beilharz (who worked with Kayta at Russian River Vineyards in 2018 and who has been helping us out this Fall) we harvested our bulk crop of purple-top turnips, our remaining red round turnips, and watermelon radishes, washed them up and made major headway on seeding cover crops in field 1.
On Wednesday, with a large crew consisting of Anna, Kate, myself and Kayta, and neighbors Sora Bolles, and Marcella and Sebastian we did more bulk harvesting, removed the cherry tomatoes (until next year, loves!), mowed old crop residue, broadcast cover crop seed, and started in on removing the field tomato trellises.
By the time the dust had settled on Thursday evening, fields 2 and 3 were completely cleared and seeded into cover crop; Highgarden (where the cherry tomatoes were) had been almost completely cleared and lies ready for 2020 strawberry and garlic patch creation; and we had prepped one-half on our garlic beds over by the leeks, which we’ll plant this coming Wednesday morning.
It’ll be a shock to lay eyes on the fields for those of you who haven’t seen them in a few weeks (or even a few days!). It is a shock, even to us, the speed and fatal finality with which we can break down and destroy what we’ve spent so long building; how fast (4 hours?) it takes to vanquish a cherry tomato world we spent 6 months painstakingly tending and trellising. But Old Man Winter is not sentimental. Strawberries must be planted. Cover crop must be sown. A new season bares down even before this one is finished.
Onward and upward friends…
See you in the fields,
David & Kayta
