It is definitely starting to feel like Fall! I went out to Ledges State Park on a hike this morning and really started to notice the leaves changing color. I also noticed a few trees dropping their leaves while still green. This is a sign that the trees are stressed out and are dropping leaves now to begin going dormant as a survival mechanism!
I can relate to the trees that are dropping their leaves while still green! This has been a very challenging growing season as the weather has not cooperated well with our planting plans for the season. But like the trees, I think we've adapted pretty well and the Shares have been really bountiful for the Season! Last week a few members emailed me letting me know the quality of their Summer Squash and Cucumbers were not up to our Standards! We tried to adapt to the crazy weather with our harvests but it didn't turn out ideal. If anyone has experienced less than ideal Summer Squash or Cucumbers please let me know! I'd be happy to make up for it with an extra pint of Cherry Tomatoes as a way making up for it!
This week we're excited to introduce a brand new crop for us this season, Purple Sprouting Broccoli. These plants don't form a big head of broccoli like the traditional broccoli but form many long stems with little heads of purple broccoli on the end of them. To me the broccoli heads have a slight nuttier flavor than traditional broccoli and the stems are sweet tasting! We're just starting to harvest now so only have limited quantities available for the Shares now but the plants look amazing so we'll have more to offer soon!
Another thing we're really excited about to able to offer for Ala Carte purchases are apples grown by my buddy Steve just North of the Farm outside of Madrid, Iowa! He's now managing Hall's Orchard and these are their apples! We've got a limited amount of Paula Red (A variety of apple that has bright red outer skin with yellow to tan spots. This apple has a cream-colored crisp-textured juicy flesh that provides a slightly tart flavor. It is an excellent apple for baking, cooking or for eating as a snack. When making applesauce with this apple, very little sugar generally needs to be added), Gala (non-uniform in color, usually vertically striped or mottled, with overall orange color. They are sweet, fine textured, and aromatic, can be added to salads, cooked, or eaten raw, and are especially suitable for creating sauces) and Zestar (medium in size, round, with red cover over 60-75% of the skin depending on sun exposure, and yellow under-color. The flesh is white with a crisp texture, and while a nice texture for cooking the apple does tend to brown fairly quickly).
Until next week,
Farmer Ben and the Crew
