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CSA Newsletter: Year 17, Week 14: September 15 - 19, 2008

Dear CSA friends,

I know it has been a long time since I have written. September is an interesting month on the farm. Though the weather is changing perceptibly and the days are much shorter, there is still a lot to be done. Food preservation is high on our minds when we aren’t actually farming. This week was grapes for wine, peaches (again with late trees coming in), the last of our tomatoes for canning (150 quarts this year), elderberries - amazing for your immune system.

On the farm we have been harvesting potatoes since it seems forever. We hope to be done by mid week. We have over 1000 pounds in the root cellar - enough to keep you all and the late fall CSA in spuds. What a wonderful crop.

Since I last wrote we started spraying Brix mix on our crops. Brix is a measurement of sugars in food. High brix means high mineral content and high nutrient density. Along with these micronutrient sprays we have included inoculants to enhance photosynthesis, and thrown in some fish and kelp for improved growth. The corps that most liked this treatment were all the brassicas - you must have noticed the beautiful kale and collards, the flowers - quite brilliant, and the lettuce - looking good like in June. We also drenched the soil for our fall crops of greens (we will harvest starting next week) and our corn has filled out nicely. Those of you who have been with us for awhile know that corn has been non-existent or not worth writing home about for awhile.

We are very diligent this year about getting old crops turned under and planting to cover crops. The soil is very happy when it is continuously covered with growing material. Nutrients are used efficiently and there is no volatilization of nitrogen into the atmosphere. Organic matter stays high and that is our best bet against global warming - putting carbon back into the soil and not into to atmosphere.

Summer squash is done or almost done. The beans gave up after the longest run of most high quality beans we have ever raised. The tomatoes are coming to a close yet you will get some this week. We will eke out one or two more weeks of basil, but the peppers seem to be cranking out like nobody’s business. We will be using up our less than spectacular crop of leeks over the next 2 or 3 weeks and then have a couple weeks of small to medium onions. Kale and chard are up this week. Collards need to grow back (yes, that is what those fans were last week). Broccoli is getting really big and not yet heading up - a wonderful sign of a good crop to come. Cilantro is back for at least a week. The beets are beautiful - they liked those foliar sprays too, and we will take a rest on carrots this week as we don’t have a huge supply in the field. Last week for corn. Fruit shares will vary this week - peaches, raspberries, melons and Monday will get eggplant. In the next two weeks the other days will get one eggplant. Flowers are off on Monday but there will be flowers on Wednesday and Friday as Monday got them last week. This is probably the last week - or maybe one more. We will harvest the winter squash this week and will start passing that out. I am sorry about the cukes this year. We planted a second crop but they are not thriving - too wet I am afraid.

All of our animals seem to be doing well though we lost three meat birds in the 5½ inch rain last Saturday night. The rains this year are torrential and very challenging to deal with.

We have garlic braids for sale. They cost $20 each and make excellent gifts and excellent for you to use all winter too. They go fast, so get them earlier rather than later to avoid disappointment.

For you gardeners, we have three varieties of garlic for seed. Soft neck artichoke red and Magic Italian garlic will run out quickly and we will have ample supplies of stiff neck German red for awhile. Garlic for planting is $12/lb.

Circle of Song is a community chorus that I direct. We are looking for new members. We meet every Thursday night at the Barre Town Hall from 6:45 - 8:45 pm. It is a multi-generational chorus that sings cool music in 4 part harmony. Contact me if you would like to join. Annual dues are $30. We had our first rehearsal last Thursday. Here is our line up for the fall:

Recipe

Nina's recipe for this week (well, it was for last week, truly):

Enjoy your week. Be well.

Julie