As we were picking tomatoes off of vines on Friday to prepare for the numerous frosty nights this week, my 42 memories of the first frosts of the fall all came tumbling back. Last minute was the theme in the past, and to be fair to me back then, I don’t think it was as easy to access long range accurate forecasts in the 80’s and 90’s as it is now. Additionally, I wasn’t up on what actually needed to be picked, and what could make it through the early frosts.

The good news is that we can take a little time to do things like harvest all of the tomatoes and lay them out on the basement floor on newspapers and pick the hundreds of peppers and store them in the walk in. The Swiss chard, maybe at risk this week, will be covered with row cover by day’s end this Monday. And perhaps the young lettuce crop too. The potatoes are safely tucked away in the root cellar and the winter squash, onions and garlic in the upstairs of the barn, where they can stay at least one more week until it needs to join the tomatoes in the basement.

One never knows what will follow in any particular year, but we usually have this little dip in the temperature right at this time, and then we get 1-3 more weeks of respite.

The first frost is an exciting time. It is a good time to take stock and see how we did, and also see what we have left in the field. It also signals that the end of long days of managing vegetables will be over before we know it. There is nostalgia, relief, and also a calm sense of being in tune with the seasons. And the camaraderie of those of us involved in this fall ritual is always very satisfying.

Special Gratitude this week

It goes to Ellen, who ended up staying here for 10 days, and who helped me with all the extra care that Jack needed this past week from his surgery. She has gone back to England and he is making swift progress toward normalcy. Her ending up here during this time period was a gift from the gods.

What is in your CSA Share this week?

Share week of October 7

Best guess for week of October 14.

• Lettuce
• Chard
• Beets
• Arugula
• Apples and maybe some pears
• Radishes and or turnips – we are closing these out this week
• Peppers from the walk in
• Tomatoes from the basement floor!
• Kale
• Celery
• Winter squash
• Broccoli for larges and mediums

Now is a good time to sign up for the fall share. It runs for 4 weeks in November. We will have green field crops if the weather is in our favor, plus lots of things like garlic, potatoes, squash, leeks, beets, carrots, etc. The fall share usually runs on the larger side; and you should be able to keep a lot of this stuff around for eating into December and January.
Sign up here – https://mhof.net/pick-up-locations-and-times/

Volunteering at MHOF

Always taking new folks and always enjoying it

Ellen’s Autumn Cleanse

DIVERSITY: A HIDDEN KEY TO GOOD HEALTH!

***Gut Biome Testing, 7 Day Cleanse, and More!***

While at home on the farm this past week and a half I had a chance to start an advanced training with Kiran Krishnan, founder of Microbiome Labs, and the genius behind the microbiome products that have helped so many sort out their gut health issues and recapture good health!

While he’s created many good supplements, I appreciated in this training the focus on food as the main key to healing/addressing/correcting gut health issues. How is that? Well, a hidden key is through just simply diversifying one’s food choices through the simple practice of intentionally incorporating one new food a week, and then another the next week…until you reach a goal of approx 50 foods that you are eating each week.
Join me for my next Cleanse to explore a wealth of new recipes and perhaps a few foods you don’t normally eat, and witness your body’s happy response to this upgrade in real time!

This 7 Day Detox works because:
You’ll be eating whole-foods based meals with legumes, fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and some lean proteins

You’ll get a TON of support from me during the group detox via multiple avenues of support, as well as support from other Cleansers!

You’ll be working with a delicious book of recipes that includes easy to prepare recipes that your whole family will eat.

We begin October 21st! Please join me to upgrade your health through diversifying the diet with delicious and nutritious foods! Can’t wait to get started! All Cleanse Details here: https://ellenkittredge.com/7-day-cleanse.php

Interested in Gut Biome Testing? You can email me here (ellen_kittredge@yahoo.com) to access the most comprehensive and accurate microbiome test in the world.

Happy Autumn! Ellen

Jennifer’s recipe for the week

Dried Spiced Apple Slices

Over the past month and a half, I feel like I’ve done more food preservation than actual cooking, but I’m excited to have delicious farm-fresh produce ready to enjoy all winter. I’ve explored various preservation methods, from canning and freezing to drying. Recently, I was gifted a bulk of apples, and I used them to make applesauce to freeze, sliced and froze some for future apple crisps or holiday pies, and dried a batch for snacking or adding to oatmeal and other dishes. Preserving food in different ways is giving me so many creative options for winter cooking.

The dried apples were mainly intended for Jackson, since he loves dried fruit, but to my surprise, they’ve become a fun snack for the whole family.

All you need are apples, a dehydrator, and some spices.

Just slice the apples (peel if you prefer), and sprinkle them with any combination of these spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, ginger, and cardamom. I dry them in my dehydrator at 140°F for about 8 hours, but dehydrator times may vary. You can dry them to a chewy or crispy texture, depending on your preference.

This naturally sweet, warming snack is perfect for staying grounded and nourished during the autumn and winter months.

Food available for sale for preserving – be in touch to order

• Swiss chard – $3/lb. – this is the week – it might freeze off this week with the upcoming frosts
• Kale – $3/lb.
• Collards – $3/lb.

We are also selling the following preserved foods

• frozen applesauce – nothing added – $7/quart.
• Frozen pear sauce – nothing added – $7/quart – this one is especially good for your gall bladder
• frozen peaches – $6 per pound in bags of around 2-3 bs.
• canned tomatoes – $10/quart.
• Canned tomato juice – $10/quart
• Canned apple juice – $10/quart
• NEW ITEM – cooked, pureed, frozen beets in pints – $6 – good for almost everything – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8565237/; we plan to use it in soups and add it to our super drink everyday

Dan has some items for sale

Potatoes and tomatoes, each at $3/lb. And new this week – winter squash at $2/lb. Contact him at 978-257-2627 or dan@bionutrient.org.

Fresh Squeezed Cider Available Tuesday afternoon

We will press cider on Tuesday and it will be for sale at $15/gallon. You can place your order and come and pick it up through Saturday at the farm. If you are a Wednesday or Friday shareholder and would like to either pick it up here or have it travel to your site, we can arrange that. First come, first served – we will probably have around 8 gallons for sale. Contact me at julie@mhof.net or 978-257-1192

Farm Doins

We always start our days by moving turkeys, chickens and checking to make sure the pigs haven’t gotten out . . . The turkeys are now in 7 houses, so their daily chores are growing as they do.

Monday concurrently with picking for the CSA, while Luke was foliar spraying our vegetables, we picked up 16 crates of apples, to be sorted into “CSAable” and for cider. Then Jim was able to mow under some of our apple trees for easier pick up next time. Many thanks to the Stetson folks who manhandled several hundred pounds of apples for us.

Nick was the team leader on this project.

All washed up and ready for cider making

Watch on Facebook
Watch on Instagram

Tuesday we finished the cider, picked our weekly order for the Insight Meditation Society and then Amanda and I spent the afternoon cutting up partially rotten winter squash and cooking it down for freezing in quarts.

On Wednesday after the CSA, Matt and Jack fixed a bottle jack that had leaked some hydraulic fluid while Paula worked on the remaining squash.

After hours I froze two big crates of cauliflower that had started to go to seed.
Friday we burned through the CSA after Marissa and Luke sprayed the fruit trees and small fruit with a fall spray. We harvested a bunch of tomatoes and sorted them into the basement and picked about 1/3 of the peppers for storage.

We raced out and harvested some cabbage leavings and turned it into 15 beautiful quarts of sauerkraut.

After Leslie and I loaded yet one more week of overflowing CSA bags in her car to head to Holden and Shrewsbury, I finally ground up the grape seed/skin extract that we had dried about a month ago.

Shantel, Alexandira and I finished harvesting all the tomatoes on Saturday morning, leaving us with enough time this week to complete the frost preparations.

Julie

Quick Links

Buy meat
CSA pick up information
Contact Julie
Products available right now at the farm
Become a working shareholder
Donate to the MHSC
Links Workshops

Link to buy J and J’s book – Many Hands Make a Farm-
https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/many-hands-make-a-farm/