Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings shareholders,

This Saturday, we'll have daikon radishes, potatoes, onions, turnips, arugula, chilies, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, mustards, bok chois, red globe radishes, Swiss chard, kale, collards, winter squash, cilantro and parsley.  We also might have a little spinach.  We're going to pick it tomorrow.  Don't know how much there will be, but at least a taste for everybody.  It could have used a little rain.

This week is the 20th, and final week of the season.  Pickup times are Saturday between 10:00 and 3:00.  My buddy Schnackenberger is pretty sure it's going to be raining then, so wear your boots, bring an umbrella and maybe a towel, and dress warmly in something that you don't mind getting muddy.  We'll have the potatoes and squash outside on hayracks because there is no place else to put them.  I'm going to give you several pounds of potatoes, onions, and squash, so bring big bags. 

I'm happysad about this being the last week.  Happy because I'm looking forward to a little less stress for a few months.  Sad because the garden is so nice right now, and it's such a welcome change from the summer we had that I hate to give it up.  I enjoy knowing that you are enjoying what we produce here.

There will be butternut, acorn, spaghetti, buttercup, and delicata squash this week.  It's come to my attention that some of you have been sneaking out of here without taking all your spaghettis!  You need to take them!!  They actually taste good.  The mistake with them is their name.  They do not taste like spaghetti.  They are sweet, and not so great with tomato sauce.  I've been eating mine cold with a little salad dressing and they are pretty good.

Daikon radishes are big and white.  Peel them and eat fresh, or stir fry.  I pretend they are crackers and dip them in something like hummus.  Usually this time of year, I give you very large, long daikons.  There are tons of them in the garden, but the ground is so hard from lack of rain that I can't dig them.  Too bad.  I know how you like the giant ones.  The ones we have this week are a smaller version, easier to get out of the ground and just as sweet.

Swiss chard is another braising green.  It's very closely related to beets.  Usually we have chard every week in the summer, but it turns out to be a favorite food of deer, so we didn't get any until I put this crop inside the electric fence.  It's not real big, but big enough to have a taste this season.  Most people think the stems are as good as the leaves, although they might need to cook a minute longer to be tender.

The soil is very, very dry right now.   It's been a nice change from summer, but I've got 50 pounds of garlic to plant that is not getting done because the ground is so hard that my tiller won't sink in deep enough to make a good seedbed.  We need a little rain this weekend, just enough to soften things up, then it can go away.  Garlic planting will take at least a week.  If you feel the need to get outside anytime and do something constructive, call me and I'll teach you how to plant garlic.  It has to be done before the ground freezes (and before I freeze).

We hope to be installing a new painting while you are here on Saturday, maybe in between the rain events.  Mark Benesh has made another painting for me for the east side of the shed.  I'm really looking forward to getting it up so we can enjoy it.  I love swapping art for vegetables!

The chickens will keep laying eggs even though you all won't be coming here every week, and it could get to be a problem.  I'm getting about seven dozen per day now.  That's lots of eggs!  Let me know if you want to be on the egg mailing list.  I'll keep eggs in the shed until it gets too cold and snowy to leave it open.  After that, maybe in mid-November, they'll be up at my house.  I'm home most of the time, or you can zap me a note to make sure I'll be here when you want to stop for eggs.

Please remember my friend, Robert Broulik, when you are voting for Linn Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner.  And another friend, Francis Thicke, for Iowa Secretary of Agriculture.  Michael Pollen, author of "Omnivore's Dilemma", has called this election for Iowa's Ag Secretary "the most important election this year".  A win for Francis would be a win for sustainable agriculture for the whole country.  You can learn more about Francis at his website. 

Southeast Linn Community Center Chili and Soup Supper is Halloween night in Lisbon.  Sunday, October 31, 4:00 until 8:00.  The food is good, the price is right, and the kids get to haunt Lisbon.  Ticket sales benefit our community center.

It's been an amazing summer.  About everything that could happen in the garden, did happen.  Floods, drought, deer, geese, potato beetles, and black rot all tried to do us in.  But warm days, great workers, and fortuitous overplanting made it work out well anyway.  It wouldn't have been possible without loads of eager volunteer helpers and supportive and understanding shareholders.  Thanks for being part of the CSA this summer.  I look forward to growing food for you again next year.

See you Saturday,

Laura