Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings shareholders,

This Saturday, Oct 22, is the 20th and final pickup of the regular CSA season.  We will have potatoes and onions, hot peppers, sweet peppers, daikon and regular radishes, winter squash, lots of bok chois and mustards, yukina, arugula, swiss chard, lettuce, parsley and cilantro, kale and collards, small turnips like we had in the spring, and small beets with tops.  Remember, you can eat both the roots and the tops of both turnips and beets, so don't throw anything away until you try all the parts.  I especially like beets greens sauteed in a little butter.  They are a real treat.

Pickup is at regular time, 10:00 until 2:00.  If you absolutely can't make it, let me know and we'll see what we can do about it.  Bring the kids, but please remember to leave your pets at home.  I can't stand any more excitement on pick up days.

Even though this is the last week of the CSA, there is still a lot of very nice food in the garden, so I'm going to offer another Saturday of vegetables.  The dry September slowed everybody down, then rain and sunshine in October brought them back to life.   It will be the "One Week Only CSA".  Shares will include onions and potatoes, radishes, lots of greens, mostly all the things we have this week except maybe not squash.  It depends how much squash we have left after this Saturday's pickup.  A one-week share will be $20, which you can pay me when you come to pick up.  I'll put out a signup sheet on Saturday.  I think I can handle 50 or 60 shares, but I will need to know in advance how many people to expect.

Starting on November 5, I plan to be at the Mt. Vernon and Springville winter farmers markets as long as there is something in the garden that's still edible.   I'll also have eggs.  I plan to use this email list to send you brief messages each week to remind you of the markets.  If you DO NOT want to be on this winter list, just let me know and I'll take you off.  I promise not to be a pest, but I think many of you like the reminder about the winter markets.  They are a bright little excursion when the weather is icky.  And I know the vendors really appreciate your business.

Somebody left a cloth bag here last Saturday, with "Del Sol" on it.  It's in the cooler if you want to claim it and all the vegetables inside. 

It seems like nearly every piece of old farm equipment on my place has had a flat tire this fall, or has one right now.  I'm needing 14" and 15" used tires to get everything repaired, and the tire guys never seem to have the size I need.  If you have tires that you can't use, I'd be happy if you would give or sell them to me cheap.  I'll get a few years of work out of them and we'll get them out of your garage and keep them out of the landfill.

Local Harvest CSA is again taking orders for fresh, organic, free-range turkeys from Henry and Ila Miller of Kalona.  Weights will be 14-16 lbs, price is $3 per pound which you pay when you pick up.  Pick up will be at Metro High School on Nov 22, or here at the farm on Nov 21, about 5:00.  If you want one, contact Susan Jutz at 929-5032, or send her an email.  She needs to know the number of turkeys you want, preferred weight (they try to match what you want with what they have as much as possible), and a phone number where you can be reached at the last minute.  She needs your order by November 1.

There are two yellow kittens still looking for their forever families.  Free and irresistible.  Let me know if you want one or two.

Frances Moore Lappe will be speaking about sustainable food and climate change at the University of Iowa on November 1.  The lecture is free.  She is pretty famous for a book she wrote a long time ago called "Diet for a Small Planet".  Since then, she has lectured and written about food, hunger, democracy, and the environment.

Thank you for being a part of Abbe Hills Farm CSA this season.  I hope your family has enjoyed both the food and the experience of eating locally for a season.  We had some weather challenges, but also some really wonderful crops like sweet corn, cabbage, and sweet peppers.  I guess it all works itself out in the end, no matter how many hours I spend in the middle of the night trying to get it to start or stop raining!  My workers and I have enjoyed working for you this summer and I look forward to seeing you again next summer.

See you Saturday,
Laura