HARVEST TRANSITIONS: EATING SEASONALLY
Are you noticing the change of the seasons in the harvest? By eating your CSA veggies, you are eating seasonally. Do you remember all the lush greens of our first month of CSA? Those greens gave way to heavier harvests of zucchini, cucumbers, patty pan squash, cabbages. Then in the heat of summertime: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers. Eggplant production is slowing down and cucumbers are out. Time to enjoy the garlic and potatoes. We continue to enjoy the bounty of curly kale and some collards. This is the time of year you might be hankering for more greens. We continue to harvest some kale and we have our cabbage harvest in storage. Time to give sweet potato greens a try! It’s been a hard season, actually. The drought was intense, the heat, then heavy rains. The weather got the most of our second set of cucumbers and our onion crop and the bulk of the basil. It makes for tired farmers. Still, we all look forward to the fall crops that are coming in September: butternut squash and the first sweet potatoes. And because Phil is a clever farmer, you get lettuce through it all.
SWEET POTATO GREENS
Time to give sweet potato greens a try! The leaves taste like spinach. Pull the leaves off the vine and discard the stems. Sautee the leaves like spinach. They are milder than spinach, even. Sweet potato greens are popular in parts of Asia and Africa. Be adventurous and try some sweet potato greens!
And check out the sweet potato patch too. When you come to the farm this week, ask a farmer where the patch is. You will see a sea of leaves! These leaves capture sunlight and take it down to feed the sweet potatoes that are below ground. We will dig those in September and October--stay tuned for some opportunities to help dig them up. It's like treasure hunting and fun for all ages.
HOLY COW
Our cow named Sweet Potato had a calf this week. Welcome, little one!
ADMIN
WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL
If this week will be crazy for you, don’t hesitate to press the HOLD button for this week’s pickup. Set it for another week in September and stock up on winter squash and potatoes for later.
LAST WEEK OF MAIN CSA SEASON is September 30/October 1. Fall extension season is 8 weeks of October and November.
UPICK THIS WEEK
Aren't the pink Cockscomb flowers in the UPICK flower row just gorgeous? I love how they accent so many great zinnia color combinations.
The Bean Hut--hunt for long purple beans!
Candy Lane--Cherry tomato row! The rains earlier in August affected the cherry tomatoes. I expected this. Still hoping for a new flush, but it will depend on warm weather hanging on. Still, check Candy Lane each week.
Flowers--Zinnias don't love cool rainy conditions either, they can get moldy. Go check on them and enjoy!
FACEBOOK GROUP
You are encouraged to get onto the group and post some recipe inspiration for everyone! Not on the group? Find House in the Woods Farm and Friends and request a join.
