Okay, so winter took a bit of a shot at us this week.
Following a week of warm fall bliss, good old Indiana weather turned around with a gesture that was met with a lot of mixed approval. Snow! Snow in October! You’ve heard about farm chores in the rain, residual wildfire smoke, and extra intense heat, but have you pictured in your mind’s eye the very act of pulling carrots from the ground while snow flurries from the sky all around you?
That’s right, folks, it snowed on a harvest day this week. And when it’s just you and the farm tasks in the wide open, with nothing but the weather in between the two of you, sudden cold turned snow can feel a bit pointed. Luckily we had Kimberly out with us this week, all layered up to her snowpants and absolutely delighted to be seeing snow for the first time! While I was a grumpy grumpy grumpster gearing up for that familiar process of body relaxing into the cold, Kimberly carried on with a twinkle in her eye.
Given that the cold was due to hit Tuesday, the Hawkins farm hands had some serious cropping out business to attend to! Although cooler weather can bring out a sweeter quality in the veggies, there comes a point where certain plants simply cannot stand a certain level of cold conditions any longer. We cleared out all the red, golden, and Chioggia beets, all the ripening peppers, an entire bed of turnips, even more Napa cabbage, and all sorts of full celery plantings.
We’re cropping out because it’s cold, but we’re also cropping out because there’s only THREE WEEKS LEFT of the regular weekly CSA! Get it while it’s hot, people! Despite the cold, we’ve got three weeks worth of fresh veggies that you can call groceries. Three more weeks in the "main season," yes, but stay tuned for some exciting news about once-a-month deliveries through the winter and spring...
Each year the weekly CSA ends the day before Thanksgiving (on a Wednesday) ((mark you calenders)), and nothing says Thanksgiving more than a Hawkins turkey! We’ve got birds, people! Grab your bird! Various sizes are available in the regular shares for the next three weeks, and you can have them until they run out, so snatch them up!
I wish I could tell you more about the Hawkins happenings of the week, but I was out sick and recovering at home after those chilly harvest days! Make sure you layer up if you plan on wandering around in a pumpkin patch these next few weeks.
-Alex
