Share 22 - week of Oct 28th
In the share this week:
1 bunch beets
1 fennel bulb
1 bunch salad turnips
1-2 green bell peppers
2 poblano peppers
1 head radicchio
1 lb watermelon Radishes
1 bag baby kale
1 bag salad mix
Thoughts from Farmer Anna:
We made it! I want to acknowledge the hard work that all of us put in this CSA season. Yes, we as farmers do work day in and day out pretty consistently from March to November (not counting the planning work, repairs, early seeding work, etc done in the winter months), but I would like to also give a huge shout out to the work that you all have done keeping up with the produce this season! It is no small task to handle and prepare all of these fresh vegetables. We really appreciate your commitment to supporting our farm and doing all that cooking this year! We hope that you found some new recipes you enjoy, had fun sharing meals with friends or family, and challenged yourself to find creative ways to use your veggies.
This last share of the year is bursting with greens and root veggies! I'm excited to be able to give some really nice beets and fennel together this week. Fall beets can be a challenge, and this planting didn't germinate as well as I'd hoped but we've just let these roots continue to grow so now we have some nice sized beets and enough for all the shares this week. I always love being able to give beets and fennel in a share together because their flavors pair so well. Bonus this week, we also have radicchio which makes an awesome salad trio. Check out this recipe below for inspiration. If you want to add a little heat element, you could include your poblano peppers too!
The watermelon radishes are in shares again this week and I really liked this post about all the ways you can use them.
I was thinking that many of the veggies this week would be great to use in a Buddha bowl type meal and the author highlights this as a fun way to use the watermelon radishes. Your baby kale, salad turnips and green pepper would also be wonderful here.
Remember that all the roots in your share will last longer if you remove their greens. We do this for you with the watermelon radishes because their greens can get a little out of control :) With greens off the salad turnips last about 1 month, beets at least 3 months. Watermelon radishes can last even longer - probably 4-5 months.
We are ending the season a little earlier than we have in previous years, but it feels just about right to me. We don't have as many storage roots this fall as we do some years, just due to the whims of weather and pests. We will still continue to have some really nice greens and for sure those beautiful salad turnips, some baby carrots and lots of bits and bobs of tasty things for the next few weeks or until we get lows in the low twenties. I'm excited to finish up planting our overwintered onions later this week and early next week, along with our garlic for 2026. Once those are in, we'll mostly be in clean-up mode around the farm, making sure all the beds are tucked in for winter.
Thanks again for being a CSA member with our farm this year! It's been great to get to know some new faces and to chat with old friends too. We'll be in touch about next season in early January! We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a cozy wintertime!