Wow, that was fast - this is the 18th box of the season, leaving just two more weeks before the end of the summer season. The final deliveries of the summer season will be Oct 21-22. Then we have one week off before winter shares commence on Nov 4-5.
Not signed up for a winter share? Check out our website for more information or go directly to our Harvie signup page. Winter shares will be delivered only every other week and are offered in the same share sizes as our summer shares (Personal and Family Shares). Bear in mind that, because deliveries are made only every other week, those currently receiving weekly Personal shares may wish to sign up for a winter Family share; and those already receiving a Family share may wish to purchase two winter shares to maintain a similar volume of produce.
We have fewer pickup locations for winter shares, due to the residential pickups not having heated spaces for the shares. Check out the above websites to see which locations are available for winter shares. If you don't live near one of our winter pickup locations and can suggest somewhere nearby (at a residence or business in the community) that has a climate controlled area for a CSA pickup, please let us know. We may consider adding it as a pickup location. We are trying to finalize one more pickup location in both St. Paul and Minneapolis that will hopefully be available for signup next week.
We are also still offering home delivery, although there are a few conditions to consider before signing up to ensure you meet the criteria for home delivery this winter. The fee for home delivery is $9.00, but we are offering $3 off for those experiencing financial hardship. Use coupon code '3offdelivery' for a $21 discount on your home delivered share.
You may also on be interested in our one-time Thanksgiving share, with plenty of staples for the big meal. This will be delivered on Tuesday before Thanksgiving.
Lastly, just wanted to make a pitch for the add-on shares we are offering with Winter Shares: Kimchi and Hot Sauce/Salsa. For the kimchi add-on, you choose your preferred spice level and select between a quart of kimchi with each delivery (every other week, seven quarts in total) or every other delivery (every four weeks, 4 quarts total).
The Hot Sauce/Salsa add-on will alternate between a bottle of hot sauce and a jar of salsa. We will be selecting from the diverse offerings of our hot pepper customers - Double Take Salsa, Lucky's Sauces, Lost Capital Foods, and Cry Baby Craig's. There will be four bottles of hot sauce and three jars of salsa delivered over the course of the season.
I would urge members to sign up soon if you want to take part in our winter share, as we will begin advertising to the general public next week.
Those of you who placed orders for Lost Capital's Liquid Assets hot sauces will receive them in your share this week. If you haven't ordered but would like to, check out their website. We are grateful for their support of our farm in donating profits from this product back to our farm. Orders placed after last Thursday will be picked up from Lost Capital next week and delivered in shares in two weeks. Thanks to all of you who placed orders!
In farm news, we have officially gotten our first killing frost, likely ending the harvest season on all of our remaining tender crops in the field - namely peppers. Our sweet potato vines were also killed, but the tubers should be fine to harvest next week. Most other veggies still growing outside (lettuce, spinach, kale, broccoli, chard, root crops, etc.) should be unfazed by a light frost. Many will actually get sweeter in response.
With our wholesale pepper plantings likely finished with harvest, our crew will have a bit more needed time to work on other projects on the farm. We're eyeing lots of mass harvests of storage crops - sweet potatoes, beets, rutabaga, turnips, watermelon radishes, and even a few more potatoes. We will also be planting the rest of our winter greens (mainly spinach and salad mix) in our high tunnels, which we got a start on last week (see featured image above).
Notes on items in this week's shares:
- The leeks in this week's shares are our very first harvest. This crop had a 1-2 punch of early thrips damage (which is what knocked out our onion crop early) followed by a beating during the hail storm. They seem to be cleaning up nicely after peeling back all the damaged leaves. Bunches should have 2-4 leeks, depending on the size. This would be a great week for potato-leek soup, or something a bit more creative like Curried Leek and Potato Hash with Fried Eggs.
- We had a big harvest of green bell peppers right before Thursday night's frost, so we have lots available for this week's shares and likely next week's, as well. Try out Vegetarian Mexican Inspired Stuffed Bell Peppers.
- The acorn and sugar dumpling winter squash going into this week's shares may have some minor nicks from hail damage, but not a substantial amount. Basic preparation for these varieties is to cut in half, remove seeds, and baked cut-side down in a pan with a small amount of water.
Coming up in the last two summer shares: spinach, baby kale, arugula, beets, turnips, watermelon radishes, and more broccoli!
Have a great week!
Dana
