In the Share - Week 29

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE 

RED LEAF LETTUCE

SPINACH

YELLOW ONIONS

GREENS CHOICE  Kale, Swiss Chard, Gai lan, or Bok Choy

ROOT MEDLEY  Carrots, beets and Gold Ball turnips

HAKUREI TURNIPS 

RADISHES

CILANTRO OR DILL

NEXT WEEK:  lettuces, greens, garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage and bulb fennel.

FARM REPORT:

November arrived with a cold snap that has all but ended the outdoor harvest season.  What is left in the fields are hardy crops under heavy cover or in the high tunnel.  High winds have made the row cover a challenge to keep on, but a calm day today allowed us to re-cover the lettuces, fennel and endives that remain in the fields.  The high tunnel provides a much better cover for cold temps. and wind and we should be able to eat well for the next few weeks from inside the bubble. 

This week the spinach, Hakurei turnips, radishes, herbs and many of the greens are coming out of the high tunnel. 

The change in the weather also signals the garlic planting season.  All 4800 cloves are in thanks to many hands.  The fine folks from Milsap Farm in Springfield, MO couldn't have timed their visit better to get the job done.   If you are ever down in their neck of the woods, tell them we sent you and count yourself lucky if you get there on a Thursday for their weekly wood-fired oven pizza nights.

The next step for the garlic is to mulch the entire planting with a good layer of straw which will protect the cloves over the winter and keep the plants happy through til harvest in June.  This time of year we like to have enough help on CSA mornings to complete the harvest early and have time to get in some mulching.  Last week the strawberries and over-wintering leeks got the treatment.  This week it will hopefully be the garlic's turn.  If you haven't completed your shifts for the season, come on out and join in the straw throwing.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 29

Things have gotten crisp as of late, with a very cold night on Friday. The dawn was a beautiful sight, icy though it was. Everything has its season, and some of them ended with the freeze. It is nice being on the down-slope of the season.

The share this week has some nice roots. It is the perfect time for roasting an assortment of what you get and what may be in the fridge or cupboard. Cut, dressed, and roasted at 425 deg F, it is a simple dish. You can use olive oil, balsamic and rosemary for a moist coating, or dry rub the veggies with salt, chili powder, and other spices of choice.

Make sure to check and mix them about every 15 to 20 minutes, until cooked and browned. If you like garlic, add it with a little olive oil during the last 15 minutes of roasting.

On the egg front, a little update. First off many thanks to the CSA for making the sale of our eggs run so well. Our flock of 52 has been very productive this year. However, we have to be careful about counting our eggs before they are laid. So far, things have worked out well.

We are pleased to be able to keep a healthy flock on the farm. They are a source of eggs, entertainment, education, and fertility. In the photo above I am the source of their attention, as they await some afternoon scraps.

In the Share - Week 28

SWEET PEPPERS

CAULIFLOWER 

LETTUCE (2)

ARUGULA 

CILANTRO 
BULB FENNEL

GAI LAN OR TAT SOI

BROCCOLI

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuce and herbs.  Leeks, carrots, cabbages, spinach, garlic and bok choy.

FARM REPORT:
Another blog night finds us watching the World Series and writing the blog during the commercials.  During the day our work in the fields is sped along by conversations about baseball.  Between games, Tom, Rocky and I took a long walk around the Graff farm on Sunday.  The native grasses that were sowed in 2012 are beginning to spread in the old grain fields. 

What to Do With Your Share---Fall Extended Season Week 1

Another blog night, another Royals World Series game. Not a thing I ever thought I would be saying. We have found though that they have turned the rainbows blue and white on the farm.

With the start of the extended season, the high tunnel harvest begins. Our feeding of cover crops and compost appear to have enlivened the soil since last spring. Our first cuttings include arugula, cilantro and gai lan (Chinese broccoli). From the field you are getting the head style broccoli (Italian broccoli), as well as some wonderful fall lettuces.

The two broccoli types you can use pretty much interchangeably. Both work well in a stir-fry, or in a hearty pasta dish.

You can also make a soup with the gai lan or tat soi. Substitute them in this bok choy soup recipe from member Emily Akins, or this stir-fry soup recipe from our May 23, 2011 blog.

What to Do With Your Share---Week 24

An so the regular season of the 2014 CSA season ends. It's been a winning year, topped off by a wonderful October. Local excitement, a beautiful stretch of weather, and the promise of an off-season. Thanks to all who support us. Look forward to feeding everyone again next year.

But before then, there is this week's share to discuss. Depending on whether you are full or partial, you may get green tomatoes or small potatoes. The former, while good fried, also makes a wonderful curry. The latter, are great for steaming, before salting and tossing with butter. It has been a good potato year, so enjoy some of the last of the harvest.

In the Share - Week 24

LEEKS F/P The leeks are large with long, tender shanks.   

LETTUCE F/P  The lettuces took a break from growing thanks to the soggy weather, but everyone will get one head this week.

CARROTS F/P  More small snacking carrots

SWEET POTATOES F  Orange-fleshed Beauregards.  We harvested less than 30% of last year's record crop.  We blame the cool temperatures and soggy summer. 

POTATOES P  Small potatoes, good for cooking whole and popping them right in your mouth.

TOMATOES OR SWEET PEPPERS F  Some are ripe, some are green.  See Tom's post for cooking with green tomatoes.

WATERMELON RADISH  F A fall storage radish with brilliant pink flesh.  Cut into watermelon-shaped slices and eat the pink part.  If you like a kick, eat the rind.

HERB CHOICE F/P  Cilantro, dill, sage or radishes

GREENS CHOICE F/P  Kale, Swiss chard, bok choy or cabbage

BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER OR NAPA CABBAGE F

NEXT WEEK:  Extended season starts with lettuce, greens, bulb fennel, herbs and garlic.

FARM REPORT:

I am watching the world series while writing this post, so please excuse any sloppiness.  I remember watching the 1985 series and I am happy to see our hometown team back in the finals.  With Royals fever in the air, your farmers have been thinking about  how farming is like baseball.  We both start our seasons in the Spring and spend the summer working in the field. 

our home field

From Spring training to our last race around the bases before frost, we are always ready for whatever curveballs Mother Nature throws at us.  We are successful when we work as a team and thrive on the support of our fans... ahem CSA members.  Like the Royals, we too have a post-season.  Ours begins next week.  This is Week 24 of the CSA and for many of you, the last week.  Thank you for your support and we hope to see you back in 2015.  For those in the extended season, we have four more innings (okay...weeks) to go.  Charge!!

In the Share - Week 23

KOHLRABI F  I have heard from many kohlrabi lovers since I mentioned that it is not everybody's favorite.  One said, "I LOVE kohlrabi. It's yummy raw, kind of like broccoli stems or jicama, and it's delicious roasted. Great for salads or in sticks for dipping in dips like hummus. What's not to like?" Others offered that they make kohlrabi fries by dipping them in batter and baking them. " You'll have your chance to try a new recipe.  Since the positive comments began pouring in, the kohlrabi have swelled to softball size.

BULB FENNEL F/P  See Tom's post for more on the finocchio

LETTUCE F2/P1  We rescued many a head from the mud today.  They are triple-rinsed but will need a final rinse in your kitchens.

BEETS OR HAKUREI TURNIPS F

POTATOES F/P  Purple Viking is our new favorite potato.  Large and pretty in purple with white, fluffy flesh. 

GARLIC F/P

CABBAGE F  The last of the compact varieties.  The big heads are starting to mature.

GREENS CHOICE F  Bok choy, tat soi and yukina savoy, all great in a stir-fry.

GOLD BALL TURNIPS P  Just the roots with the tops removed to make them a bit more manageable.

BROCCOLI, CAULIFLOWER OR NAPA CABBAGE P  The first two are almost done.  The Napa is just starting.

NEXT WEEK:  More lettuce, cabbage, greens.  Watermelon radishes, carrots and leeks.

FARM REPORT:
The farm is very soggy and we are worrying over the tender crops left in the field.  We are approaching 10 inches of rain in the month of October.  Most vegetable crops like 1 inch per week and much more than that leads to pooling and stagnant conditions.  A soil is like a sponge and right now ours is full of water, not air.  The stiff north wind that blew today was a good first step in getting things to dry out.  Sunshine is forecasted for the next five days and should do a lot of good.

 

In the middle of this wet weather, Tom and I took a couple of days off the farm and ended up visiting our water downstream.  The farm resides within the Fishing River watershed which enters the Missouri River near Missouri City.  Across the river sits Fort Osage, originally constructed in 1808 to conduct trade with our allies, the Osage Indians.  The usual story of death, displacement and hardship followed.  The Osage are in Oklahoma now and our farm sits on their old hunting grounds

the river view from Fort Osage