In your box:
- Arugula
- Bok choy
- Daikon radish
- Head lettuce
- Sage
- Tomatoes
- Turnips
- Winter squash
It’s hard to believe it by the warm spell we’ve continued enjoying lately, but the calendar is right in suggesting that it is indeed October. As such, we have just one more box to go after this one. Even though the weather has been cooperative, the plants’ growth has slowed to a crawl and there simply isn’t a lot left in the field.
Thanks so much to the brave souls that made it out to the farm for our gathering last weekend! The weather was miserable and we were forced inside for much of the time, but we appreciate your coming out. Congratulations to the proud co-winners of our sculpture contest: the Prescott family, with “Vision Man,” and the Gruis family with “Eggplant Owl.”
We have a few large Winter Squash going out this week. The large, yellow rugby balls are Spaghetti squash, and have a texture of spaghetti once they are cooked. The tan beauties are Butternut, and the dark green round ones are Buttercups. Next week we will distribute Acorn and Delicata. All squash should be kept at room temperature and will keep for a few months unless they become damaged. Damaged squash should be used quickly before they rot completely.
We also have fall Turnips this week. We had hoped to have rutabagas, but we had an obscene germination rate of 3 rutabagas from 5,000 seeds planted. Many other farmers are switching over to transplanting rutabagas from healthy starts in the greenhouse, and we will try that next year to ensure a better crop of my favorite roots. Turnips are closely related to rutabagas and have a similar taste, though with a little more snap to them. Turnips can be steamed, roasted, baked and blended with mashed potatoes, or chopped into a soup. They should be kept in the fridge in a bag or hydrator drawer for up to a month.
The late Levon Helm, once the drummer and a vocalist for The Band, released a couple solo albums in recent years. On his song “Got Me a Woman,” he captures the narrator’s struggles in a demanding relationship:
Nothing in the world make me treat that woman mean
She shaves my beard and she keeps my tractor clean
She burns my bread, makes me eat turnip greens
But I don’t care, she’s the best little woman I’ve seen.
Unfortunately, I’ve had to take the step of preventing you from eating turnip greens. Not that you likely would have—the greens on these roots were yellowed, limp, and clouded with ladybugs. Thus I chopped them off to save space in the box. If you are a big fan of turnip greens or have a loved one you wanted to force them upon, try substituting daikon radish greens or the kale. And if you’d like to clean my tractor, you’re always welcome to try.
Fox & Fawn Farm 