It is hard to believe that it is already the end of October and that this is really the last week of CSA pick-up (box shares end next week)! It has been another crazy season of weird weather, astounding successes and some strange crop malfunctions. We are still learning a lot about what this farm can do, and what it can't. This winter will be a time of making decisions about which fields we can or can't use dependably. Our new well will make weathering dry patches in the season better, but we will have to make some tough choices about some fields that are just too wet. They will go back into pasture. We are so lucky that we were able to acquire the additional acres across the street and to have the time to work it up this fall so that it is ready for spring growing. Even in the heaviest rains, it drained beautifully. Last week, 120 Fay school 7th graders came out to the farm and helped us get through the bulk of our fall clean-up. 540 labor hours resulted in a cleaned up barn; 14,000 row feet of plastic and drip line picked out of the fields and packed into trash bags and into the dumpster; harvested celeriac and hot peppers; rolled up irrigation pipes; 1000 extra strawberries plants lifted and potted up snug in the greenhouse; and so much more. This is an amazing gift to weary farmers- it allows us to catch up on all the remaining cover crops that need to get seeded (including putting down spring fertility!) and to get other crops covered and protected from frost and harsher temperatures. We can now focus on getting the hoop barn finished before winter decides to show up and a million other little projects that we haven't had time to finish all summer. Thank you FAY!!!!
We've had some adventures this week, besides the incredible 7th grade horde, a gate left open in one of the pastures by an unassuming visitor led to mass exodus by the cattle herd. It was one of the very few times that I have been completely alone on the farm, except for little Gwyn, and it was quite a shock to see them meander across the top of the hill. 45 minutes later, with a lot of cajoling and quite a few alfalfa cubes, I managed to convince them to follow me back to their pasture. Then there was a little bit of a crunch while I tried to distract them enough with my empty bucket so that I could sneak away and find the gate I knew had to be open on the far side. It worked, they are both curious and greedy creatures by nature and I was able to get the gate shut behind them and bolt to the other end of the field without them following (because once they start following you, they want to keep doing it) and get the original culprit gate closed and latched. We have now installed padlocks on the gates to keep visitors from unwittingly leaving a gate unlatched. If you find a padlock on a gate, it means that livestock are grazing inside or it is bird nesting season, and that the seasonal trails through that pasture are temporarily closed. We also put signs on the gates to explain why the gates are padlocked.
The goat flock is back from its summer sojourn at Weir River and we are in the breeding phase of the year. Bruin and Diego have been brought down from the field and the flock is currently in three groups. We have a non-breeding group of young ladies being kept under control by Penny, our oldest doe, who needs a break from being a baby momma this year. The two other groups are a small group of 18 month old doelings that are daughters of Bruin whom are with Diego, a 9 month old Boer and everyone else is with Bruin, the herd-sire with the magnificent set of horns, glossy (though stinky) beard and large girth.
If you haven't had a chance to see the new kiosk at the trailhead, check it out! The new signs have been installed around the farm, in the woods and even across the street. Only one trail isn't actually fully done- the Bobolink Trail is still in the works (we need to put in another gate and do some tree work) so just keep walking all the way around and back towards the farm road and the barn. Its still a pretty walk.
New sign-ups are OPEN for Summer 2019!!!
We have a whole new system that we are using for sign-ups and we hope that it will translate into a smoother experience for everyone. It features a new payment plan option of up to 5 payments and it should make communication easier. Feedback is much appreciated (especially if there are bugs we need to work on). It is still somewhat a work in progress. You will still need to keep your Trustees membership current in order to signup so renew
here if you need to! If your membership is current then jump over to
Sign-UP! The sooner you sign-up, the easier it is for us to plan our next season and buy all the stuff we need to. Thanks so much for supporting local businesses, local farms and local food!!!!!
Winter Shares Still Available
There are still a few spots left in our on-farm Winter Share-
SIGN UP HERE- we will also be soon sending out an email for you to check out the offerings in our new online store, which will be added to our Winter Share box! BUY LOCAL for your holiday season.
What's in Your Share this week:
Purple Daikon radish
Salad Turnip
Spicy Salad
Napa
Butternut/Buttercup Squash
Yellow Potatoes
Rainbow Carrots
Broccoli Raab
Kale
Pick Your Own:
The hard freeze this past weekend has done in the beans and most of the herbs and flowers. We still have parsley, sage and oregano out there for picking.
So I hope you had a chance to try the Escarole and Sausage Recipe from last week. I promise you, it is amazing- I actually made it twice (once with Chorizo and the second time with Italian).
This week, I'm advocating for eating those beautiful butternut squashes. These are a classic- they taste great no matter what they are made into- roasted, steamed, soup, pie, pudding, etc. I like them best roasted with a little butter and a bit of maple syrup, but this week's recipe is totally on my list of "NEED TO MAKE ASAP" from A Chef's Kitchen
BUTTERNUT SQUASH LEEK AND GOAT CHEESE
GALETTE
Ingredients
2 cups cubed butternut squash (1/2-inch cubes)
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided, plus more for brushing on crust
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 large or 3 medium leeks, white and light green part only, halved and thinly
sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 package refrigerated pie crust (or 1 roll) (um, i highly recommend making your own- so much better!)
1 (4-ounce) log goat cheese
Sliced almonds for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Toss butternut squash cubes with 2 tablespoons
olive oil, salt and black pepper and place on a baking sheet. Roast until easily
pierced with a knife, approximately 25 minutes. Shake the pan or stir the cubes
halfway through. Let cool and drain o
any excess oil. Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil and butter over medium-high heat in a skillet
or saute pan. Add the leeks, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring often
until very soft, approximately 20 minutes. (Be careful they don't brown.) Stir in
the garlic and thyme. Let cool and drain o
any excess fat.
Sprinkle cornmeal on a non-stick baking sheet.
Unroll the pie crust and place on prepared baking sheet. Spread leek mixture
over the crust to about 2 inches from the edge. Dab leek mixture with goat
cheese. Top with butternut squash.
Pull the edges of the crust over the mixture to create a freeform tart leaving the
center open. Brush off any excess cornmeal. Brush pie crust with olive oil.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden. Garnish with sliced almonds.
Serve hot or warm.
It is Winter CSA time. We are outside, all bundled in layers and chapstick and hats, digging carrots, covering greens and each hoping for our turn to weed in the high tunnel (which is nearly always warm). We bought a new 'bed lifter' bar attachment for the tractor that helps to dig the carrots out neat and smooth-- it means that we can leave the digging forks in the shed and harvest carrots a whole bed at a time. It is one of those nifty farmer inventions that makes our work just a little bit easier.
