- Broccoli or Cabbage or Cauliflower
- Celeriac or Kohlrabi
- Kale (Winterbor)
- Hot pepper
- Leeks
- Lettuce or Spinach
- Mizuna
- Parsnips
- Sweet Pepper
- Potatoes, Red Pontiac
- Pie pumpkin or Winter Squash
It’s hard to tell by the weather outside, but this is indeed Fall and the end of our season. We have had frosts on three mornings now, which has had no negative consequences on the crops—it has killed off only the tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and cucumbers that have already stopped producing. This warm, dry weather has been a great blessing for our neighbors, who have been busy bringing in their crops of beans and corn. This has been our longest “drought” since March, making it the longest we’ve gone without rain for the whole season—quite an ironic conclusion considering how wet it has been all season. It looks like fall-like weather should return later this week, however, which will help it to seem like the farming season is done.
We hope you have enjoyed this season. It has been very challenging from our perspective, but we’ve done our best to provide quality crops each week of the year. It was much too wet and far too hot for my liking this summer, and all in all I won’t be too sad to see this year go. Thanks especially to everyone who made it out to visit this summer, and to all of our delivery sites for helping us out this season.
We would still appreciate your boxes back. Bring them back to your usual site, and I will make a final visit to each location on Friday the 15th to pick up empty boxes. And a special thank you to our members at the 318 Café in Excelsior, who indeed got their act together and returned boxes at a great rate toward the end of the year.
I have enclosed a survey in this box, which will also be e-mailed to everyone. Please take some time to fill this out and return it—our delivery sites, plantings, and other changes each year are based on member responses.
The year in review:
Empty member boxes eaten by Henry the farm dog: 3
Berry pints eaten by Henry: 12
Total pounds of Tomatoes harvested: 630
Total number of winter squash harvested (so far): 427, approximately 1800 lb.
Total pounds of Potatoes harvested: 2,555
Estimated pounds of Potatoes lost to flooding: 750
Estimated pounds of Carrots lost to flooding: 135
Estimated number of Onions lost to flooding: 3,000 (approximately 1,000 lb.)
Pairs of pants destroyed by Farmer Red this year: 3
Number of hours Red will spend in the hammock the day after the last delivery: All of ‘em
Again, thank you so much for all of your support this year. It is an incredible blessing to do what I love with the support of our neighbors and community, and I thank you for your membership this season. We hope you will join us again next season—we will send out info in January. And remember, it is not medically recommended to wait until next June to eat your next vegetables…
Just a couple new items in the box to close out the season: Celeriac, which is also known as Celery Root. The growth on the top can be used in place of celery, while the root bulb itself should be peeled down to remove any dirt. To use, cut or peel off all the nastiness until you get to the solid whitish root bulb. The root can then be chopped or grated and added to root roasts, mashed potatoes (during cooking), or soups and stews.
Also, we have Parsnips, which look like white carrots but have a very distinct flavor.
Thanks to Nancy & Dave Healy, Nina’s aunt & uncle , for their help with last Friday’s harvest!
Fox & Fawn Farm 