We have been getting some good questions from our newest members who just joined (WELCOME!). Two that have come up more than others: 1) Why are these apples so UGLY? And should we actually eat them? 2) Why did I get garlic when I thought was getting arugula?
1) The apples are truly rare, and quite ugly. They are certified organic Grimes Golden apples, an old variety grown in an old-fashioned way. It is nearly impossible to grow organic apples in this region because of the pests and the rust. The Farm at Sunnyside has managed to produce these apples, and they are tasty and firm and completely worth eating. We stand behind them, even if they are a cosmetic disaster.
2) From time to time, you will get something that is not on the list on your bag. We do our best to fulfill that list, but sometimes we run out early because we decide the quality is not good enough or we just didn't have what we thought we had, and sometimes we just make a mistake! If we have to make a substitution, we make it the same value and try to write it on your label. We hope it only happens to you infrequently. But it will happen, and we hope the food you get will still be of good quality and excellent flavor. This whole process is not entirely predictable, but we do our best and hope that you will understand.
While this season has been filled with unexpected twists and turns (same for all of us: Covid-19 and the weather), somehow it has also been a year of hitting our marks on time. From years of repetition, we know when the first planting of tomatoes should go outside. And the last onion plant should be in the ground. And when the garlic should be ready to pull. In spite of all the chaos in the world, the vegetables are marching to their usual drummer, not a different one.
When there was that beautiful, uninterrupted stretch of clear, cool weather, we pushed hard and dug all the sweet potatoes in six days. That's 15,000 pounds of delicious roots, now curing in the warm greenhouse. On the last day of digging, we finished with an energetic flourish and promptly pulled up all the drip tape (23 rows, 200 feet long) and by the end of the day, the field was seeded with oats and clover and rye. It was a triumphant day.
By now we have planted a mix of cover crops in all the fields that are no longer producing food. All that is left is a half acre of carrots, a half acre of tomatoes waiting to be taken down, two patches of beans and almost an acre of brassicas. All the other fields are filled with rows of tiny green plants that will grow all winter, keeping the fields covered and holding onto the nutrients.
Some farmers are more passionate about their cover crops than their cash crops. It is easy to get really excited about a gorgeous field of barley, mixed with some crimson clover and some winter peas. Building healthy soil warms our hearts--and that soil then grows fabulous food. What could be better?
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