We’re officially into the final four weeks of the season, and the boxes are beginning to make the transition from summer into fall. Tomatoes are winding down, while storage crops, winter squash, and other cooler-weather vegetables are starting to take their place.
A quick reminder as we head toward the end of the season: please take a look at your Farmigo account and make sure any remaining balance is paid. We’ll also be sharing more information about Winter CSA very soon.
Otherwise, things are moving right along this week... so let’s see what’s happening around the farm!
Around the Farm
We cut all the winter squash this week, only to get nearly two inches of rain shortly after. Now we’re waiting to see when we can get back into the field and begin bringing it in to cure. Most winter squash benefits from a curing period after harvest, which helps the rind harden and improves storage quality. For now, we’re mostly offering varieties that can be eaten without waiting for the process to finish, like spaghetti squash, delicata, and acorn squash.
A pile of delicata from one single plant! Geez, they are beautiful this year.
That shift toward storage crops is becoming more noticeable all over the farm. As we begin to think about curing squash and filling every inch of indoor space with veggies before frost, some of our summer crops are nearing the end of their season. Peppers and eggplant are definitely beginning to slow down, so we’re harvesting them hard and stripping the plants while we still can. You may start to see fewer varieties available as we work our way through what’s left. Tomatoes, meanwhile, have pretty much reached the end of the road for the year, aside from a small amount of yellow/orange heirlooms and a few Roma for orders.
Even some crops that have been steady for us are beginning to change. Celery is becoming harder to find in the field, so we’re giving it a break for now. Before long, we’ll start digging celeriac instead... another sign that we’re moving away from the lighter crops of summer and toward vegetables meant for cooler weather and longer storage.
Not everything is slowing down, though. Our Dragon’s Tongue beans are still producing in abundance. They’re a tender wax-type bean with a mild, slightly sweet flavor and a creamy texture when cooked. Their purple streaking fades with cooking, but they’re especially pretty raw or very lightly cooked. For now, they’re one of those crops happily bridging the gap between the end of summer and the beginning of fall.
This time of year is always a little bit of a race against the calendar. We’re bringing in what we can, curing and storing what will keep, and preserving the things that won’t. If you’ve been meaning to freeze peppers, can tomatoes, tuck away beans, or otherwise save a little bit of summer for later, now is the time. The season is turning whether we’re ready or not!
This Week's Harvest
If you do not customize, you will receive the Farmer’s Choice Share this week, which includes theitems marked with asterisks (**).
Standard/Alternating/Monthly Shares: select up to 30 credits
Large Shares: select up to 60 credits
For this week:
Apples: Blondee (limited) and Gala**!
Beans: Yellow (limited) or Dragon's Tongue**
Cabbage: green or red. A new planting of green!
Carrots: probably without tops this week.
Eggplant**: Italian only. Smaller, though, so you should receive 2.
Garlic**
Hot Peppers -
Mild to Medium: May include jalapeño, Anaheim, serrano, Golden Dagger, and chilaca/pasilla.
Medium to Hot: All the above plus red habaneros and cayenne.
Kale- you'll find both are sweeter as the temps cool.
Dinosaur
Green Curly**
'Kossak' Kohlrabi: this is not like the spring kohlrabi. These are huge and sweet, tender and lovely. Just starting.
Leeks- sooooo many leeks.
Napa Cabbage: it has a little damage at the top, but tasty inside.
Onions:
Red: a sweet and simple onion.
Yellow (storage): a more pungent onion
Potatoes, Farmer's Choice**
Rutabaga
Shishito Peppers: more red every week. Red are def spicier!
Sweet Peppers -
Lunchbox/Snackers: super sweet and in larger quantities than originally!
Bell Mix: a mix of ripe and ripening bells.
Carmen/Escamillo: a red, sweet Italian frying pepper that is one of our favorites!
Cubanelle: a slightly tangy and almost spicy pepper that we adore.
Tomatillos: traditionally made into salsa verde or green enchilada sauce.
Tomatoes: Heirloom Yellow/Orange: Limited and likely just for the Wednesday folks.
Winter Squash:
Acorn**
Delicata
Spaghetti
CSA Store Extras
Fresh Eggs- limited! Plan to purchase them via Farmigo if you need extra, as they will likely NOT be for sale at our stand.
One of the best things about winter squash is that you don’t have to use it right away. Whole squash should be kept somewhere cool, dry, and dark with good air circulation, ideally around 50–55°F. A cool basement, pantry, mudroom, or attached garage can work well, as long as it doesn’t freeze. The refrigerator is actually colder than winter squash prefers for long-term storage. We usually just leave ours in the pantry, but too close to the stove or a heat vent is usually bad news.
The three varieties we’re offering this week are quite different from one another. Acorn squash has a mild, slightly sweet, classic winter-squash flavor and a soft texture when roasted, making it great for baking, stuffing, or serving simply with butter and maple syrup. Delicata is sweeter and creamier, with thin skin that becomes tender enough to eat when cooked, so it’s especially good sliced into rings or half-moons and roasted until caramelized. Spaghetti squash is the mildest of the three and has a much more fibrous texture; once cooked, the flesh separates into strands, making it a good base for pesto, tomato sauce, garlic and Parmesan, or other pasta-style toppings.
Maple-Roasted Acorn Squash
This is about as classic as acorn squash gets: halve the squash and roast it with butter and maple syrup until soft and caramelized. It’s an easy side dish and a good first recipe if you haven’t cooked acorn squash before.
Sweet roasted delicata squash is paired with apples, sage, kale, and pepitas for a very fall-forward side dish. It’s a nice way to use delicata when you want something a little more interesting than simply roasting it on its own.
Think of this as a how-to for spaghetti squash. Simply roast until tender, then scrape the flesh into strands. Once it’s cooked, you can serve it with butter, Parmesan, pesto, tomato sauce, or just about anything you’d normally put over pasta.
