Hello CSA members.
I hope everyone had a good week and is enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Week #19 of the season is here and this is the last week for Bi-Weekly CSA members. I hope everyone who did a half season with us enjoyed the spring, summer, and fall year of veggies. Sign up for next years 2021 shares will be updated and open on the website starting next week. I would love to have you all back for another season of fresh local organic produce from Roots Down. We will be looking for a new drop site in Oregon as Charlies on Main announced their closing this week due to losing business from COVID. If any Oregon members have a central location and a shady porch they are willing to volunteer as a dropsite Thursday afternoons let me know please. They are open this week some days so I highly recommend that everyone get a chance to support them for friday fish fry or a dinner sometime this week. Members who pick up at Charlies On Main should know that your shares will still be available this week and next and staff will be there to assist you. If you could please try to make it between 5-7pm or earlier in the evening the better these last two weeks they would appreciate that also. Regular CSA members have one more week remaining after this for week #20. Next year we will look to shorten the season two weeks but not decrease the amount of produce or variety just condense it into the shares so we don’t overlap our hemp processing which happens in late September and takes a lot of labor. This year its working out well and I personally put in lots of OT to make it happen but the CSA shares for these last two weeks are going to be pretty awesome also. I’ve got fresh roots, greens, squash, and onions coming for you all and more so please enjoy and half season members thank you for being a part of this CSA season. I hope to see you all back again soon for next year weather its a half or full season as we look to improve on another good year and its been a pleasure growing for you. This weeks crop list is a pretty good one I think and goes as follows….
Acorn Squash: These dark green fruits resembling the shape of an acorn have a beautiful golden flesh that i really like with maple syrup and butter after baking for 30-45 minutes at 350 face down in a glass pan with little oil.
Sweet Onion: These sweet onions are cured and keep at room temp or as long as you can resist cooking with them
Garlic: Our garlic gets lots of return customers and market and this year was a banner year for it with lots of large to extra large bulbs. I hope everyone has enjoyed the consistent flow of garlic in shares this year. Its really a staple and has such good flavor.
Pea Shoots: micro greens have become a staple of our shares over the last three years as it provide consistent salad greens or greens to use on sandwiches, tacos, burgers, and of course the salads!
Cherry Tomatoes: Our cherry tomatoes are still super healthy and going strong so more of these tasty little fruits coming in shares this week. These also made Isthmus Eats meal kits this week which is a great local meal kit business we like to work with. Consider them for a fun night of home cooking with local ingredients during these times of home isolation.
Baby Kale: Our baby kale mix is back from week one and this kale is first cut tender and small in size with a blend of five types of kale. great for salads if massaged with some oil or used as sauce greens stem and all when they are this small.
Green Peppers: The weather cooling is slowing down pepper ripening and this weeks peppers will mostly be green as a result but they still add a nice sweetness and crunch to salads or can be used my favorite way which is stuffed with rice and beef and tomato and cheese.
Habanero Pepper: These are super hot and just yielding so many peppers for us.. They are great for a hot sauce if you dilute them down or perhaps dry them to use sparingly in cooking over winter just like a hot sauce.
Red Radishes: Our fall radishes are coming out beautifully with a nice shape and texture and a little spiciness to match the crunchyness.. great addition for kale and micro salads.
French Breakfast Radish: Double radish this week with this second type being a faster growing two tone radish, they are very tender and good with salt and butter or on salads. The greens can be used like a saute green also if you like.
Green Cabbage: These cabbages can store a few months if clean and wrapped in plastic or stored in the crisper to keep them humid. I really like them for stir fry with onions or coleslaw with the radish and carrot or other bulb crops like fennel or kohlrabi.
Thats all our crops for week 19 members. Week 20 is the last next week for full season members and thank you half season bi-weekly members for joining us for this seasonal journey of local organic veggies from Roots Down Community Farm! -Kyle
