** CUSTOMIZATION FOR THIS WEEK WILL END ON SUNDAY AT 9:00 AM!! ** Please make necessary changes prior to this cut off time!
When it's sunny and dry, October here in the northland is an incredible place to live and work. Crisp frosty nights and warm days make for happy fall crops, and happy farmers too! I especially like how the bright green growth of new cover crops like this field of winter rye contrasts with the rusty autumn foliage of the maples, oaks, and ash trees in the woods. Out in the fields, we've got food for our bellies, but across the landscape, we've got food for the soul.
Here at Great Oak Farm, Ryan, Eric, and I have been busy taking down the slicer tomatoes and peppers to plant more winter spinach and garlic. You will notice that there are still red tomatoes on the plants. Closer inspection reveals soft, rotten spots on ALL of them, which was why they haven't been in your boxes for the last few weeks. I will need to do some research on what caused this and organic methods of control to implement next year and help extend our slicer tomato season, but even with the season cut short by this disease it was a good tomato year. The cherry tomatoes are still going strong, so we've reversed course and decided to keep them up for a few more weeks instead of tearing them out to plant more spinach. Fresh tomatoes in October are a treat up here! We'll take them down later and prep those beds for spinach to be seeded late this coming Feb/early March for a spring harvest. Here's what those tomato beds looked like a few hours later after those beds were tidied up and seeded down to spinach, with the cherry tomato jungle in the background:
Outside, the fall crops are looking great! Our fall planting of beets is ready for harvest, and will be available each week now in your fall and winter veggie boxes. They got a little weedy, but still managed to size up nicely despite the weed pressure. This year, we tried some brussels sprouts for the first time in a long time, and with the dry fall weather they have done well. It's hard to tell in the picture below, but the plants are over waist high! I pruned back some leaves so you can see those nice sprouts growing on the stem - what a strange looking plant, eh? You will see small amounts of them available each week now in your veggie boxes as they mature. Brussels sprouts are in the broccoli family (along with cabbage, kale, collards, etc) and do well in the cold. They even get sweeter when the cold temps settle in, as the plant concentrates sugars to prevent cold damage. They can get into disease trouble when the weather is wet, as their leaves are so large and airflow is not great around the sprouts on the stems, but the dry weather this fall has been fantastic for them. Many of them are a little small, but some are sizing up nicely now. Roasted beets and brussels sprouts, tossed with a generous amount of olive oil and salt/pepper are a favorite winter dish in our household. We sometimes like to roast cabbage this way as well. And come to think of it, carrots, potatoes, and winter squash all taste great prepared this way too! I guess roasting in olive oil and s&p is a handy way to prepare a lot of fall and winter veggies, plus it helps keep the house warm and makes the kitchen smell oh so good.
We have a few more cute baby butternuts available this week, so if you were curious last week and missed out, you've got a second chance to try some this week. If you choose baby butternuts you will either receive a single squash (1.5-2#, shown below) or 2 smaller baby squash (1.5-2# total wt). These baby butternuts were bred for a smaller, more personal serving size, and higher sugar content instead of selecting for long storage like a traditional, larger butternut. In addition to the usual selection of butternuts (smaller ones this week, 3-4# ea), delicata, and acorn squash, this week we'll also have some smaller (2-3#) red kuri squash (vibrant orange squash to the right of the baby butternut I am holding in the picture below), as well as some beautiful (and tasty!) 3-4# autumn frost squashes (the ribbed, frosted tan squash at the top of the picture). This was the first year we grew the autumn frost squash, and I am happy to say that it passed the taste test last weekend with flying colors. The taste reminds me of a butternut, but it looks more like a pumpkin. One attribute that I really appreciate on the autumn frost squash is their thicker skin when compared to a traditional butternut. It helps to prevent blemishes/damage when harvesting or packing in boxes - despite careful handling those thin skinned butternuts sometimes poke each other with their stems. Let me know what you think of these autumn frost beauties, red kuris, and baby butternuts - I'd love to hear your feedback!
Also newly available this week will be farmer Ryan's favorite - mustard greens! These cold hardy greens can be enjoyed fresh in a salad, or sauteed briefly and eaten like a cooked green to tone down their characteristic bite. No matter how you enjoy them, they are a powerhouse of nutrition... your body will thank you.
Finally, I'd like to announce that we are officially sold out of winter veggie boxes now. Thanks to each of you who ordered a winter veggie box for the upcoming winter season! Remember, your summer veggie boxes will end the last week of October, however if you get an every-other week box, you may end the week before. Winter CSA boxes begin the first week of November and run through March.
Can't remember if you ordered a winter veggie box, or when your summer box will end? You can log into your account to check and double check. If you wanted to order a winter veggie box and missed out, you may still be able to get one-time boxes on any delivery through the farmstand feature on the website. After all of the regular CSA boxes are filled, any remaining produce becomes available to order through the farmstand feature. As such, availability for farmstand boxes is limited. There may be some weeks where the farmstand is not open, but it's worth a try if you missed out on signing up for a regular winter veggie CSA box.
That's it from the farm. Thanks ever so much for your continued support, and enjoy the gorgeous weekend ahead!
In community,
Farmer Chris
Great Oak Farm
