In the Share: Week 14

In the Share: 

LEEKS: Last night we sautéed leeks with garlic and fennel, added canned smoked clams, and served it over lentils which turned out to be a really quick, nutritious and delicious meal. 

BULB FENNEL: Along with using it in the recipe above, it is great chopped into a fresh salad. 

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE: Lots of fixings for a great fall salad. I can’t get enough butterhead lettuce. 

RED LEAF LETTUCE: These heads are sizing up as the days shorten and cool down a bit. 

GARLIC: A head of storage garlic. Keep it in your crisper between uses as garlic wants to sprout this time of year.

SPROUTING BROCCOLI: This has become such a staple in our kitchen from now through to Spring. 

SPINACH: We had our first harvest this week as we thinned the plants to six inches apart. 

KALE/CHARD/BOK CHOI CHOICE: Many greens are at their peak right now. Tonight a fried rice stir fry with bok choi makes a hearty meal out of our veggies and eggs. 

Farm report: 

We are making the most of the dry, warm weather to wrap up the end of the outdoor season. A freeze is in the forecast for Friday morning and the harvest is in earnest. We have filled the walkin cooler to the brim with Napa cabbage, daikon radishes, green cabbages and bok choy. The last of the outdoor CSA lettuces, fennel and bok choy are coming in and going out in this week’s shares. After this week, the bulk of the harvest will be coming from the high tunnel. 

Sprouting broccoli, spinach, Swiss Chard, lettuce, bok choi, tat soi, celery, turnips, onions and radishes are thriving inside. At the moment, inside is not so different than outside as we have a pretty big remodel going on. 

Nine years ago when we built the high tunnel we used the standard Douglas fir boards for the bottom and top of the side walls. Sadly, with continual exposure to weather and constant humidity, it did not take very long for the wood to rot. When we looked at replacing the boards, we decided to spend more to get steel boards that have a longer lifespan. While we are happy with our decision, the work of attaching the steel to the structure has required some brute strength to drill countless holes through the steel. Luckily the crew has some muscle and after a bit of trial and error, we should be wrapping up the project tomorrow with time to spare before the freeze.

The plants inside will appreciate cooler weather.  They have quickly grown to a hefty size and need to slow down if we hope to hold them until the last week of the CSA in November.  We don't begrudge the end of summer, but look forward to the crisp days to come as life retracts towards our winter rest. From here onward we must soak up the sun while we can and enjoy the beauty of the natural world around us.