Hot peppers are starting to ripen up and will be available regularly for the next few weeks. On the farm we convert hot peppers into a legendary hot sauce - fermented with a medley of our hot peppers and a generous hit of garlic, it has become a staple in CSA member's kitchens for many years. Last week we started the first batch of hot sauce so that you will be able to order yours before the end of the CSA season. Pictured here is our smoker loaded up - 7 hours of alderwood smoking imparts an amazing flavour to our smoked hot sauce batch. Regular hot sauce (not smoked) is also underway.
This is probably our last week for cucumbers and possibly for zucchini, but there are other important members of the "cucurbitaceae" family coming up - winter squash. Spaghetti, delicata, acorn, kabocha, butternut, pie pumpkins OH MY! This years squash crop looks really great so the last few weeks of our season will feature squash. One of the great things about winter squash is how well they keep - weeks or even months at room temperature, so don't panic if you get behind on eating squash. You've got plenty of time for cozy winter soups or pumpkin pie.
Normally at this time of the year, we are gearing up for our annual Harvest Celebration. It is the biggest event of the year at A Rocha - usually attracting over 500 visitors. Sadly, the event will have to take a year off. In lieu of a harvest celebration, we'll be having a Harvest Volunteer Day on Saturday, October 3rd. We'll have 3 shifts of 1.5 hours each throughout the day with room for up to 30 people to sign up for each slot. This will be an active "get your hands dirty" day - safe, physically distant harvesting of squash and cleaning up the field. If you'd like to join us, you can register here!
Apples are coming soon! You should have received an email about ordering apples already, so this is just a reminder. Fill in this form and send your eTransfer to confirm the order. It sounds like Aurora and Ambrosia apples will come first, and a week or so later will be Fuji and Pink Lady (the latter varieties require a frost). Order deadline for Aurora and Ambrosia is Saturday, 12 pm. Order deadline for Fuji and Pink Lady, Monday 12 pm.
