News from the Farm, Monday November 16th

This week brought a run of fantastic weather. The crew wore shorts, short sleeves and no shoes as they went about their work – as Julie said, “life is beautiful”.

A highlight of the week’s work was gathering in a large harvest of dry leaves to use for next year’s mulch. All in all, the crew rounded up 16 totes worth of leaves from the farm fields and the road between, working together in satisfying synchrony, an experience made sweeter by the fine weather. Aric got his leaf blower in on the action, blowing leaves from the edges of West field onto the beds and mulching the rhubarb. Julie was exceedingly grateful that Aric thought to bring the leaf blower in, and says watching Aric work was “the most fun of the week”.

The cold weather returned on Friday. Ann, Maya Clare and Stu hung in there to help get ahead of the harvest for this week, bringing in a nice crop of carrots (among other things). Managing the supply for the CSA is tricky this time of year, with the weather swinging between cold, warmth (which gives the crops a little kick), and cold once more. This week, your produce will be assembled from what’s in the field, walk-in cooler and root cellar. At the end of the week, Julie plans to bring in a last harvest from the fields to store in the walk-in for our final share. The greens from the hoophouse will also make a strong showing in our final week.

Tis’ the season to stock up on lard – we have a bunch! Lard is a versatile, good-for-you cooking fat which contains less saturated fat than butter and a good amount of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat (1). It’s also one of the best dietary sources of Vitamin D, a nutrient in which about 42% of US adults are deficient (2). It also makes things taste delicious, whether you’re cooking beans, making a pie crust, frying chicken, sauteing up some veggies or popping some popcorn. Our lard is made with the fat back and leaf lard from our Certified Organic pigs, rendered on Jack and Julie’s wood cook stove and can be purchased for $20/qt.