2019 CSA Share ~ Week #18
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
This is the 18th week of the season….NEXT week will be the end of the Standard Season, and we will move on to the Late Season. We ask that you scout around your garage and back yards for any stray CSA boxes that might have integrated themselves into your world, and bring them back to your site next week so we can have them all accounted for. This really helps us keep our costs down for next year if we don’t have to replace them….thanks for all of your help with this!
HARVEST CELEBRATION!!
Saturday, October 19th, Noon to 3pm
Please come on out to the farm and help us celebrate the season….we’ll begin with a Potluck to share (please bring your favorite potluck fare), and then begin hayride tours around the farm. Elizabeth Lutz, the amazing face painter, will be here once again! We’ll be pressing apples, and have fun crafts for the kiddies. And of course, you’ll get to pick up your Jack-O-Lantern! We look forward to sharing the afternoon noon with you all!
ORGANIC GRASS FED BEEF & LAMB STILL AVAILABLE!
For our members who do eat meat, we do still have a few shares available for you…just call/email the farm for more info, or to reserve your share.
WHAT’S IN YOUR SHARE THIS WEEK:
- Pac Choi (Bok Choy)
- Napa Cabbage
- Carrots
- Winter Squash ~ Orange Kabocha & Acorn
- Onions
- Gala Apples
RECIPES:
Stir-Fried Pac Choi w/Ginger & Garlic
Winter Squash Frittata w/Apples & Bacon
This time of year, I am always a bit surprised that the season is winding down. When the season begins in June, the year stretches out before us, young and fresh, and the end seems far away. I’m enjoying watching the squash harvest come in and fill the barn…
we can’t wait to send them out to you, as they look absolutely gorgeous this year! The crab apple tree is bursting with apples, and we’ll have fun at the Harvest Celebration
pressing them with you, into delicious apple cider….if you bring a container with you to the Harvest Celebration, we will be able to send some home with you!
You’ll find Pac Choi (Bok Choy) in your boxes this week, and a rather large Napa Cabbage….both are great to add to stir-fries and soups! The Napa Cabbage will make a wonderful KimChi and there are many recipes archived in our Blog to try. Both store well in the fridge for a week, or so, and the Pac Choi will store best if not washed before use and placed in a plastic bag to keep the greens fresh. The whole veggie can be used!
The Kabocha squash is the orange one, and the Acorn is the green one, with a slight orange spot on the side. Both store well in a dry, dark area, and can be roasted, or cut up and cooked to mash, or added to any soup. Send us any of your favorite recipes to share!
We have had the pleasure of Erin Katovich’s company on the farm as crew this year…she is the “Bug Lady” and has been observing the insects on Winter Green this season and wanted to share some of them with you this week….
Bugs Abound
The farm is feeling the change in season, with shorter days, colder mornings, and many crops giving their last effort. Tomatoes and peppers are at their end, and storage crops are ready to be organized and held over in the fridges. The swallows have moved on and their nests hang quietly in the barns. Most of the plants seem to be getting sleepy, but even with the change in pace, it takes but a glance at the seedy amaranth and persistent purslane to see that many critters are still hard at work.
This is my first year working at Winter Green Farm, and I wanted to express how thankful I am to be at a farm so rich with life! Ladybug nymphs and praying mantids patrol the crops for tasty prey while native bees and flies vigorously pollinate in both the
fields and margins. Bolted brassicas are left in the field to feed these busy critters, showing a care and understanding that makes this farm so special. I have found beautiful metallic green sweat bees (Halictidae), large gangly harvestmen arachnids (Opiliones), and even an inchworm, the horned spanworm, which mimics a spider when disturbed!
While some of these insects may nibble on crops, the complex biodiversity present ensures nothing gets out of hand; each time a pest’s population increases, so does the population of its predators. The edges of the fields, left undisturbed, allow for mantids to lay oothecas, their styrofoam like egg case, in a safe place to winter over. Even the
compost piles are billowing life, with great clouds of warmth emanating from the busy microcosms of decay just under the surface. This act of turning unused crops into next year’s fertility is a trick only the seemingly lowest critters and microbes can accomplish, and their work lies at the heart of the farm’s vitality.
All of this activity is a blessing I am humbled by each day I arrive at the farm, and I can’t wait to discover more. Thank you to all of the workers, share owners, and customers supporting this amazing ecosystem.
We hope you all have a wonderful week, and of course, enjoy your veggies!
Linda and all of the Winter Green Farmers