What’s in the Box: Acorn squash, red potatoes, green beans, celeriac (celery root), red storage onion, yellow storage onion, green pepper, assorted sweet peppers, purple stripe garlic, white porcelain garlic, hakurei salad turnips, beauty heart radish, butternut squash (bi-weekly only), cayenne pepper, salad mix, sage, and broccoli raab.
What’s going on at the farm: This week marks the final week of deliveries for bi-weekly members who will receive their tenth share of the season this week. Full season members still have one week remaining next week for delivery #20 of 20. It has been a long and very bountiful season and I am proud to say I think the best season I have ever orchestrated in this our ninth season. That being said we are not holding back and going all out as usual this week and next bringing on as much as can possibly be squeezed into each share with as much variety as possible. Despite having a plethora of options to choose from for packing these last two shares I am also bringing in organic red potatoes from Igl farms in central Wisconsin for you all to enjoy as an addition to our CSA veggies. Potatoes are no longer a crop we grow for many reasons and to put a long story short they are simply not a viable crop for our operation. These certified organic potatoes arrive to us dirty and we move them on to you that way as well. They were freshly dug last week and we were likely one of the first deliveries after harvest so washing them immediately would remove the skins and they actually store better dirty so they will arrive to you bagged that way. Enough of the potato talk now and on to the other vegetables. We have an awesome last minute crop of green beans coming in which are crispy, juicy and sweet. I am very happy with these good old fashioned provider green beans and I think you will be too. Many storage roots to enjoy this week and these fall roots are perfect for some comfort dishes for the crisp nights ahead. Celeriac or celery root is a new crop for us this year and is a full flavored sweet and dense root with strong celery flavor lending its taste well to roasting, stews, and soups. Our salad turnips are sweet and tender enough to use raw or cooked, don’t forget the greens are edible as well and commonly used as a sauté green. We are loading everybody up with garlic this week because it goes good with everything and who can really have enough garlic? These dry bulbs will store until spring at room temperature. Do not refrigerate your garlic as it will sprout. Keep it dry and room temp and out of direct sunlight. Beauty heart radishes are new this week and these “beauties” are also known as watermelon radish. The plain matte looking outside of these storage radishes is contrasted with a bright pink center giving these roots their two names. They can be used raw or cooked but I prefer them roasted with other root crops, a good chuck roast, or in soups and stews. The skin is thicker on these then normal radishes and the sweetness begins in the center of the radish although I cook them just cubed up whole without peeling them and roast them with other root crops and veggies, like potatoes, onions, etc…. Acorn squash you have had a few weeks ago and it is an easy one to prepare and Bi-weekly members are also getting butternut since they have not received one yet. I love these baked with some pasture butter and real maple syrup. Plenty more of our fantastic peppers coming your way this week too. Try them roasted or the reds with butternut squash for soup, or of course they are good with pasta, eggs, stir fry and so many other uses for the sweet peppers. We haven’t had many fresh herbs lately so bringing some back and including fresh sage this week too. Sage pairs well with chicken, pork, and beans, but I also like it in stuffing, breads, and baked goods. It is also a nice garnish if you fry it in a little butter and crisp it which also infuses the butter and would be great on the squash. If nothing else remember you can always hang a bundle of herbs up to dry and use later in the winter when fresh local herbs are a near impossibility. Other things going on this week include plenty of late green beans to be picked, cleaning a lot of garlic both for sale and planting and also still seeding greens. This week I added some compost to our larger greenhouse soil and worked the beds for planting. Spinach, cress, salad mix, and kale were seeded in the greenhouse for winter production and farmers markets and these greens should be ready in November!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for a 1/2 season (Bi-weekly share) this year! Hopefully you found your experience to be a tasty one and found value in your share of organic produce with us. I hope we will see you returning when sign ups open this winter for another season of fresh veggies in 2016! While we are talking about wrapping up the season I will remind you that full season basic and standard members still have one week remaining! For Tuesday folks the last delivery is Oct. 6th and for Thursday folks it is Oct. 8th. We will be shelling garlic for planting over the next week here and prepping our fields for planting it. It was a very good garlic year and we have a lot of some very large seed garlic which should make for another good year for it next season. To prep for this we break all the bulbs up into individual cloves which will be hand planted one by one right side up into their hand dibbled holes in a few weeks. We still have two more solid months of work here before we can cozy in a bit and let the achy bones rest for a month or two while planning for and dreaming of another season to come. I will be attending winter markets as well if you would like to support us and find our produce through the winter months. Madison East Side Farmers Market and Dane County Farmers Market indoors are on the agenda for winter from mid November until Christmas and there will be some excellent frost sweetened spinach and garlic to be had among other things. We will also be downtown on the square and at our regular market locations through October. Thanks again to all our bi-weekly members, we will be in touch regarding sign up opening for next season around the turn of the new year, until next week then for the rest of our members, enjoy the produce folks!
