In the share this week:
1 lb roma beans
1 pie pumpkin or 2 small delicata squash
3 zucchini + squash
1 lb red onions
2 eggplant
1 sweet pepper
1 bag sweet potato greens (pictured below)
Thoughts from Farmer Anna:
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling ready for the start of September coupled with the cooler temperatures this week. I'm even good with all of the rain that is coming with these cooler temps. It means that we may not be able to prep the beds we'd like to this week, but we can always pivot and get other work done. We'll finish processing yellow onions, thin rutabaga, put down lots of landscape fabric in the aisles of our beds to smother weeds, and continue to trellis and prune the tomatoes in the hoophouses.
The share this week feels like a big shift. We thought we'd give you a break from tomatoes for a week since they've been in shares for 6 shares in a row. There are still a good amount in the store if you'd like to swap or add any though. I know not everyone is a huge tomato fan, but some of you could probably eat them as often as possible :) Our second succession of zucchini and summer squash is producing heavily this week, so everyone will get 3 of those this week along with a mix of eggplant. Zucchini and eggplant make a nice pairing in many dishes, including the classic ratatouille. You could use your red onions along with any leftover or extras tomatoes to make a beautiful summery dish like this:
Our unusual vegetable for the week is sweet potato greens! The green leaves of the sweet potato vines are commonly eaten in many asian cultures and I can attest that animals like deer prefer them to almost any other greens on the farm. They are a great way to eat your greens in late summer when many of the other greens are not producing well. The texture and usage of the greens is similar to spinach, and although they can be eaten raw, they are much better cooked. We are big fans of throwing chopped greens into soups or frittatas (which is maybe what I'll do with these this week). Here's a link with more info about cooking and preparing sweet potato greens:
https://www.epicurious.com/archive/blogs/editor/2012/08/cooking-with-sweet-potato-greens.html
Sadly, our delicata and pie pumpkin plantings did not do very well this year. Someday we are hoping to either contract with another farmer to grow some of these crops that take up a lot of space, or to rent some more land nearby to plant these. It can be a bit of a struggle to keep these plants healthy with cucumber beetles, squash beetles and vine borers around. So some of the half shares will get two small delicata squash instead of a pie pumpkin since we are limited on those. The pie pumpkins can be used for decoration for awhile before you cook them if you like. They should keep for a couple of months. The delicata squash keep for about 1 month.
I am looking forward to having many of you out to the farm for our open house in less than 3 weeks! The date for the open house is September 19th from 1-5 pm and here are the important details:
-Parking is up the gravel driveway at 10038 Marshall Rd (we'll post a sign by the road)
-We'll lead farm tours at 2 pm and 4 pm
-Collaborative tile painting project (favorite veggie, what you love about CSA or local food, anything else farm or garden related that inspires you)
-Kids are welcome to play down by the house at 10050 Marshall (trampoline, swings, etc) as long as a parent is present
I would love to answer your questions about our growing practices and anything else you would like to know about our farm. These get-togethers are also a great way to meet some of your fellow CSA members!