In your box:
- Arugula
- Beets
- Bok choy
- Daikon radish
- Onion
- Sage
- Salad Mix
- Winter Squash
Thanks so much to everyone that made it out to the fall festival last weekend! We had a great turnout, with about sixty people stopping by and more pies per capita than any other potluck I’ve ever attended. Thankfully everyone knew better than to challenge Jeremy to horseshoes—not that he’s any good, of course—it would simply be a threat to everyone’s car on the property once he starts hurling horseshoes. We did end up with some forgotten great oven mitts, so please let us know if they belong to you.
Congratulations to Simon Prescott, winner of our annual veggie sculpture contest! Simon was the big winner in large part for making a creation that did not permanently stink up our house, as some of his past creations have…. We also announced the co-winners of our annual Golden Cucumber Award for Excellence in the Arena of Volunteering: Julie Healy and Jeremy Benson. Julie is Nina’s mom and has done a spectacular job dividing her time between work in the fields and babysitting Nathan. We are thrilled that Julie retired after so many years teaching, and that she still has a little energy left after a great 3rd grade teaching career. Jeremy is completing his second year as intern here at the farm, and does a great job of working hard and without scoffing at my requests (to my face, anyway). Technically, neither of these two winners should qualify for this award—Julie is a past winner and Jeremy gets paid just enough to make him technically not a volunteer. But they have been such a great help with all aspects of the farm this year that we can’t overlook them. We couldn’t do this without you guys!
Just a reminder that next week will be your last delivery for this season. I’ll have a feedback form with that box so we can hear your thoughts on the season and see what we might improve in the future. You’ll also be able to reserve a spot for 2013, assuming the Mayan apocalypse doesn’t end the world before then. But if the world does end as we know it in December, I think we’ll still be able to grow kale again.
As we finish up this growing season, we’ve been looking back at a most interesting season. We’ve never had so many crop failures, due to a variety of reasons: disease (garlic, spring spinach strawberries), flooding (spring broccoli & kohlrabi, potatoes), and lack of soil nutrition (sweet & hot peppers, eggplant, melons). At the same time, it’s been the best year we’ve had for cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, and, of course, green beans. So while we can’t really consider it a great year, we’ve had consistently full boxes that we’ve felt good about throughout the year. We hope you’ve enjoyed the experience and tried some new crops and maybe moved beyond childhood fears of broccoli or salad. We’ve had a lot of fun on this end, and have had some great memories from 2012. Our 2011 season was quite difficult, beginning with a cold, wet spring and ending with a tractor fire. If only for the fact that we haven’t suffered any explosions this year, it’s certainly a step up!
Our lone introduction this week is a true Winter Squash. We’re delivering small squash this week and saving up the larger butternuts and spaghetti squash for our grand finale. Most of the squash this week are Acorns, with some Carnival, Delicata, and Buttercup as well. No matter your variety, they can all be used in the same ways. To cook any squash, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Slice the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place the squash facedown in a baking dish, and fill about ¼” of the dish with water. Cook for 45-60 minutes, depending on the size of the squash. Remove and cool, and then peel out the innards from the skin (except for Delicata squash, whose skin can & should be eaten). Squash can be eaten alone, with brown sugar and honey, or added to other dishes (try it as a pizza topping).
Fox & Fawn Farm 