Good morning everyone;
Rain! And snow on the Mountain! With rainy days, we have frost free nights, another bonus for our fall veggies! It has been a long time coming for all of us. I did enjoy what felt like a true summer this year, but welcoming fall!
We are adding a new veggie this week. We are trimming the leaves off of the brussel sprouts, just above the forming sprout. By trimming the leaves, the brussel sprout grows larger, forcing the plant to put its energy into the sprout! The leaves are edible and delicious! This year's brussel sprouts are Rubine, with beautiful purple veins on blue green leaves. They are eaten like other greens, sauteed, braised, roasted, or raw. They have a milder brassica flavor than collards, and a hint of brussel spout flavor! Look for them in your selections for the week.
Also, some of our fall planted greens and root veggies are starting to be ready. We will have some radishes, Asian greens, and turnip greens-- from August planted seeds. The turnip greens are the thinnings of hakeuri and scarlet queen turnips forming for our last weeks of shares. We had the hakeuri turnips earlier in the season, white, 2" globes with a mild radish flavor, eaten raw in salads or cooked. The Scarlet Queen turnips are the red version of the mini turnips. If they are not in this week's offerings, they will be in the next weeks. We have enough for about 1/2 of the members to get these greens per week, so we rotate them through the small and large shares.
Coming soon is fall aruglula, bok choy, and a non-heading Napa Cabbage. Instead of heads, mini stalks form much like bok choy. We have taste tested these new greens as they are growing, and we all find them delicious!
Thursday am was our coldest frost yet, 24 degrees that covered most of the garden. Our frost protection did its job well, only a little of it blew off in uncommon wind during the night. The cold clear nights are usually windless, which helps the frost protection stay put!
Thanks to those who came to our On Farm Day on Wednesday. It was great to visit with you, have you taste test the tomatoes, and visit with the farmers and business owners who supply the extras you can purchase in your shares. Mountain Lodge Farms came as well, and I have been enjoying some wonderful feta with cherry tomatoes for dinners since! On tap for Sunday am is a goat milk cappuccino. Really looking forward to a slow Sunday am and a good Coffee!
Have a wonderful week everyone! Our gratitude for your support never wanes, we feel it on a daily basis as we work the fields to produce your veggies!
Claudia, Jim, Madeline, Emily, Stephanie and Evan
