Share 18 - week of Sept 29th
In the share this week:
1 large butternut squash
1 head bok choy
1 bunch Daikon radishes
1 bag green beans
1 head red leaf lettuce
Hot pepper mix (poblano, hot banana, aji Rico)
1 bunch dill
Thoughts from Farmer Anna:
Just one perfect fall day after another here lately! The only minor complaint is that it's pretty dry out there. It's always better to be a little too dry than too wet in the fall so that's not such a problem either. These cooler days and nights have made for much happier fall crops. We are gushing over the beautiful bok choy and new plantings of lettuces and radishes coming on. The butternut squash really did have an excellent production year. You'll be getting the largest of our squash this week and it looks like we'll still have enough for another week or two of smaller squash for everyone as well.
We started to dig the sweet potatoes late last week. We haven't grown this crop for a couple of years due to really heavy vole damage and we were hoping that not having them around for a time would bring those vole populations down a bit. So far it looks like we don't have too much damage on the roots we are pulling out, but the yields are pretty mediocre. We only dug one bed and still have two left to go, so fingers crossed the remaining beds yield a bit better! In any case we should have sweet potatoes for at least the last two shares of the season (yay!).
The baby chicks are growing up and doing so well. They have already started spending the night in the main coop with the other birds (still snuggled close to mom), and are amazing us with their flight abilities at just (almost) three weeks old. I remember the icelandic chicks last year being good fliers as well, but they didn't have the same opportunities to spread their wings as these babies do. I've already seen them flying up to the roosting bar in the main coop, which is probably 18 inches from the bottom. It seems impressive for their small size. They are learning how to forage, getting lots of exercise and play, and pretty much living their best baby chicken lives at the moment!
I'm kind of excited about the dill in this week's share! I wasn't sure if we'd end up with much because it didn't germinate very well, but those plants that came up have filled out and are now looking quite beautiful. We hardly ever seem to have fresh dill and green beans in the same share, but since we do, I think you must make some dilly beans this week! Pickled green beans with fresh dill are a crunchy delicious treat and keep in the fridge for months. Here's a recipe for some ideas if you'd like it give it a try:
Butternut Squash is such a versatile base for a soup and pairs really well with many types of peppers. For those of you who like things on the spicy side, I was thinking you could combine some of the fresh hot peppers in your mix with the butternut, like the recipe below. The poblano peppers won't add too much heat, but those hot wax (banana) peppers are pretty hot - so just add as much as you think you'll need (1 for mild, 2 medium, 3+ for hot).
Believe it or not, we have just four weeks left in our main season! Other crops coming up in the last few shares are: salad turnips, cabbage (both napa and a fun pointy variety), salad mix, fall carrots, green onions, arugula, watermelon radishes, and fennel. And of course some of the last of the summer crops with more sweet peppers and probably green tomatoes on the way!
As we near the finish line on this season, we are starting to clean up the fields, organize and begin the process of planning for next season. The cycle of work on the farm is not always easy, but is certainly reassuring in its consistency year in and year out :)