In the share this week:
1 head napa cabbage
1 lb yellow onions
Mixed sweet peppers
1 bunch lacinato kale
1 bag arugula or salad mix
1 bunch beets
1 bag carrots
Thoughts from Farmer Anna:
Our family enjoyed a fun trip down to the Smoky Mountains over the kids' fall break this past weekend (Greta, age 11 and Robin, age 14 pictured above walking at the Sky Park in Gatlinburg). It was awesome to take a little time away from the farm to spend quality time together as a family. We struggled to find decent food to eat since we were staying in a hotel, and that is always an interesting educational experience for the kids. The reality of what passes for food at so many restaurants is really pretty sad and disappointing (and expensive!). They are really starting to understand the importance of high quality ingredients and the time and care to prepare them well. We did find a pretty great Thai restaurant off the beaten path, so that was a fun treat for all!
After the rains over the previous weekend, we have turned to some really gorgeously perfect fall weather. These are the days that are an absolute joy to be working outside. This week we are working on getting just a few more beds turned over into winter cover crops and may start tearing out some eggplant, pepper and tomato plants later in the week. It's nice to be nearing the clean-up phase of our yearly work, and the farm is starting to look nice and tidy, with the remaining fall crops in the ground and newly sprouted cover crops.
The share this week is a really nice mix of fall greens and roots. The beets are back! This crop has been a labor of love, as we protected it from goldfinches with bird netting, it struggled through some brutal dryness and heat, then it got hit by days of clouds and rain. As a result, the greens aren't looking too happy. Both beets and swiss chard are susceptible to leaf fungal disease that are always worse in the fall months, especially when it is cool and wet. Happily, the roots themselves are quite nice, although just a little smaller than our spring beets. I think they would be amazing roasted and whipped up into a salad with your arugula this week (you could even throw in the lacinato kale to the salad if you want more servings):
https://www.spendwithpennies.com/arugula-salad/
The peppers are still going strong and we are just so pleased that we've been able to give those so much this season. In the next few weeks we'll be pulling out all of those plants to save the peppers before we get a killing freeze, so you'll likely be getting more too! This is the last week for napa cabbage, but we still have more carrots in the ground (the fall plantings of these have been really nice). Cole starting digging out sweet potatoes on his farm last weekend, so we're getting those cured so they can come out in share for you soon! He grew 3 different varieties this year and they are all looking great!