We have a lot to look forward to on the farm in the coming weeks, but in the meantime this extended warm and wet weather is really doing a number on some of the fall crops.  We expected to have broccoli in your share for another week or two, but mold sprung up all throughout the broccoli field, and so Cookie and Boston are reaping the benefit of thousands of pounds of unusable broccoli (see picture below).  Winter squash, too, was first thwarted by the wet and cold weather in the spring, and now is not curing well due to the wet and warm weather.  We’ll put all the winter squash we can into the shares, but for the first time in years we won’t have lots of it.

We’ve got a pretty exciting few weeks ahead for the farm.  The salad and pizza event at the farm on October 9th is shaping up to be lots of fun (see details on reverse side) and now we have something else to put on your calendar:  Saturday, October 22nd (rain date Sunday, October 23rd) we will host our annual cider-pressing, garlic-planting, potluck starting at noon.  It’s usually a relaxed afternoon in the fall sun, popping open garlic bulbs and enjoying amazing food contributed by all.  Unlike the event on the 9th, this is a get-together just for CSA members and is free, so head on over first on the 9th and then on the 22nd with  your lawn chair, ready to eat!

Unlike the above-soil crops, the root crops love this weather!  Available for bulk purchase are carrots (15lb/$25), red or golden beets (15lb/$25), turnips (15lb/$15) and shallots (10lb/$45).  All of these are great keepers.  In our kitchen fridge you can find bags of carrots, beets and turnips stuffed into every possible crevice, and they stay crisp and delicious all through the winter and spring.  Other bulk items for sale (these require blanching and freezing) are spinach (5lb/$40) and kale/chard/collards (10bu/$15).

It’s hard to imagine that this is the last week on the farm for our apprentice Les.  After the fundraiser on the 9th he will take off for a couple of weeks of travel.  After that he will be living in Rockland, so we’re happy he and his boyfriend Jaqxun won’t be far away.  We’ll miss him very much on the farm, though!  And it will be strange not to have Bucket, Les’s dog, enjoying himself on harvest days by chomping away on cauliflower or zucchini.

The fall CSA is a little over half full, so make sure to sign up soon if you’re interested.  The link is available from our website, or you can call the farm directly.  In the next week I will send out a CSA survey. We count on your feedback, and every year we try adjust things based on what we hear from members, so chime in with your thoughts!

We hope to see you all on Sunday the 9th.  Farm tours will be at 1pm and 3pm, and the salads, pizza and dessert are going to be amazing, so don’t miss it!  We still need volunteers for everything from parking to selling items, so let me know if you want to help out!

Have a great week with wonderful meals,

Reba and the HCF crew

Cookie, enjoying a mountain of broccoli. She’s due to calve in late spring, so this has got to be healthy for her baby!

Week 16 (of 18) veggies:  Spinach, Carrots, Cherry Tomatoes, Yellow Onion, Brussels Sprouts, Garlic, Salad (Hakurei) Turnips, Winter Squash (either Delicata or Carnival)

This week’s recipes:  Pan-Browned Brussels Sprouts, Minestrone