2018 CSA ~ Week 17
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
LATE SEASON;
We still have Late Season shares available! As the end of the Standard Season draws near, wouldn’t you like to know there will still be fresh veggies in your fridge, and some storage crops to last into the winter months? Reserve the last 5 weeks of veggies today!
GRASS FED BEEF:
For those of you who do partake in livestock consumption, we do still have a few shares left of the grass fed beef shares grown on Winter Green Farm. Call or email the farm for more information about reserving a share for yourself and family.
END OF SEASON HARVEST CELEBRATION:
Saturday, October 13th Noon to 3pm We’ll begin with our annual Potluck (please bring a dish to share if you plan to eat with us!) and begin hayride tours about 1pm. We’ll be pressing cider once again, and hopefully Elizabeth Lutz will be able to attend and share some amazing facepainting. Please plan to attend and help us close down the standard season for the year.
TOMATO SAUCE
We do have lots of our Organic Tomato sauce available for purchase, and we can bring it along to your pick up location with your next share. Call/email the farm office to order!
WHAT’S IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK:
- Red Russian Kale
- Carrots
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Peppers
- Leeks
- Delicata Squash
- Pears
- Onions
RECIPES:
3 Easy Carrot Juices to start your day
Delicate Squash w/Kale and Cranberry Beans
Roasted Fall Vegetable Salad w/Squash, Carrots, Pears & Figs
Happy Fall members! With the passing of the equinox, the days are getting shorter and the nights a little colder. What a beautiful time of year! The cool breezes today have the young calves frolicking in the fields. While many of the home farm fields are beginning
to empty out, and become pasture for a few years, the wildlife is enjoying the bounty. The crows are digging in the fields for left behind greens and seeds, and the bees are a buzz in the humongous Sunflower heads….everyone gets to eat on Winter Green Farm!
The folks from Washington State University, who have been doing bird surveys at Winter Green Farm, and many farms in the area, were back again last week and sent a couple of pictures of some of the birds they saw on the farm. This picture is of a Savannah Sparrow.
We have been fortunate with the dry weather this fall and have harvested all of your delicious squash. The yield looks really good. We are letting them cure in large wooden bins, and will include them in your boxes through the end of the season.
Your storage potatoes have also been harvested. The potato harvest is a favorite of many people on the farm. We use a tractor to mow all of the plants down so that our mechanical harvester does not have to work so hard. Mowing the plants also gives your potatoes time to set their skins so that they will store better. A tractor implement is used to dig the potatoes and lay them on the top of the soil and then a large crew of 6-10 people collect the potatoes and place them in wooden totes for storage until we send them to you. It is an amazing site to see so many people harvest thousands of pounds of potatoes in one to two days.
Your kale and leeks are also growing beautifully. Two crops which are indicative of fall for us at the farm. We are growing three types of kale that will make several appearances in your boxes in the coming weeks. We grow a red Russian variety, an Italian kale variety, and a variety named Winter Boar. Looking out at the kale patch on a cool morning when the dew has covered all the leaves with little drops of glistening water allows us to take a moment to perceive the beauty of the work that we love. It was cold last night but none of us expected to find some frost on the kale this morning when we went to harvest. It’s a good thing that Kale is so hardy and actually becomes a bit sweeter with a little cold weather.
We are happy to continue our partnership with Mt. Hood Organic Farms. The farm dates to the turn of the century and was purchased by John and Brady Jacobson in 1981. Inspired by European techniques and committed to sustainable land use, the Jacobson’s undertook an extensive orchard renovation and transition to organic farming that resulted in full organic certification in 1989. Recently the Jacobson’s have taken their vision further and have become Biodynamic growers. Just as Winter Green Farm, this represents a commitment not only to quality, healthful food, but an integration of natural landscapes and wildlife into the farmscape. They farm 60 acres of orchards in the shadow of Mt. Hood. They produce 1.2 million pounds and 20 varieties of apples and pears each year. We will be providing you with 6 pounds of pears and 6 pounds of apples (3 lbs each week you receive them). The pears in your box this week will be either ‘Starkrimson’ or ‘Red Bartlett’. The Late Shares will contain the same amount of both.
We hope you all enjoy this lovely week ahead and of course, your veggies too!
Linda and all of your Winter Green Farmers