Harvest Guide : October 25

Baxter, Beamer and Topper with a family member of Rob and Lucy Wood

        Well folks, we begin this week's harvest guide with some sad news from the farm. One of Rob and Lucy's beloved dogs, Baxter, passed away early last week due to a large and encroaching tumor in his intestines. It's time like these when we turn towards those we love, both bipedal and on all fours, and give thanks to their health, vitality, and companionship. Baxter will be missed by many, may he rest in peace.

        Rob and Lucy held a beautiful and very thoughtful memorial for Baxter with several plants gathered from around the farm that best described his character inside and out. By the end of the service, he was entirely covered with natural beauty and deep attributions.

        Keeping the animals in mind, I also had my hands in on washing the two resident horses here, Ruthie and Ory. They were quite the dirty duo, and seemed to really appreciate being kept near each other during the ordeal. They were able to get just about everyone on the farm rallied up to assist in the washing.

And now back to the vegetables...

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What's in your bag?

        This week expect to find these items: Spinach, Beets or Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Broccoli or Cauliflower, Peppers, Kohlrabi and Parsley as an herb.

        This is the last week of the peppers due to colder temperatures, but it is by far the largest. Prepare yourselves for a lot of peppers!

        Also, we have a few notes about the sweet potatoes and the cauliflower. The sweet potatoes did really well this year, but we still have the trouble with voles in our field taking little nibbles out of them, so for those of you who are first timers to Spoutwood's sweet potatoes, expect some of them to be trimmed up a bit. Also, these wonderfully vining plants set out roots and tubers in all sorts of shapes and sizes, so expect any range of those in your share. 

       The cauliflower harvest is also going well, but understand that they are much less resilient than their cousin the broccoli. With their bright white florets, it is easy and probable for the environment to blemish their appearance on the outside, especially since they are organically grown. In the end, pertaining to these two items in your bag, rest assured that their flavors and character are absolutely not compromised and that they will go smashingly with the kohlrabi and carrots and beets that you'll also be receiving.

Peace & Enjoy!

CSA Harvest Guide : October 18

        In case you hadn't noticed...it's getting colder! This past Friday was the farm's official first frost day, and it has magically transformed our veggie garden into a collection of the good and the ugly. The hardy cool weather-loving varieties are going on strong and looking more lush than ever before, but the not-so-hardy summer annuals are completely spent. To give you an idea, we bring you our nightshade block below...

        From left to right, that first bunch of brown used to be the eggplants, then the middle bunch of kind-of-green are the lingering peppers, followed by a thin and dark brown bunch of dead basil, and we finish off with a barren land to the farthest right of what used to be our jungle of tomatoes. They all gave it their hardest this year with the large collection of funky weather shifts, and for that we are super grateful for all we harvested from them.

        So you want to see some lush to balance out the dismal? Below is a photo of our baby cover crop rye grass and crimson clover starting to put their roots down before the ground freezes. They have much appreciated this damp Autumn weather, and are growing happily and thickly in many places.

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What's in your bag?

        This week expect to find these items: Garlic, Butternut Squash, Peppers, Lettuce, Arugula, Carrots, Kale or Brussel Sprouts and Cilantro as an herb.

        Well, hopefully the above picture explains to you how this will most likely be the last week of peppers, and that last week was the final week of the beloved eggplant. We hope you are all enjoying that beautiful cabbage from your last harvest bag, and that you are staying warm during these brisk nights!

Peace & Enjoy.