Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings shareholders,

This week, we have more of the same:  potatoes, onions, eggplant, peppers, chilies, edamame, chard, kale, tomatoes, and herbs.  We'll have lots of nice potatoes, I think from now on.  We dug Red Norland and Superiors this week, and I think there are a few Yukon Golds left in some of the boxes.  Remember that the potatoes weren't sprayed with any pesticides, so it is perfectly safe to eat the skins, and I think almost any potato dish is just as good with the skins.  My family eats mashed potatoes all the time that have little pieces of skin mashed right into the mix, just like in the expensive restaurants.  Except ours are better because they are free of pesticide residues and are really fresh. 

Since the potatoes weren't sprayed, they suffered quite a lot of fungal disease this cool and wet summer.  I'm pretty sure that the disease problems will shorten their storage life.  The best thing is just to eat them every week, but if you do want to store them, put them in a dark, moderate temperature, dry place.  Never keep them in a plastic bag as it traps moisture near them.  While in storage, check them frequently so you can take out anybody who starts to get stinky.

Big thanks to the potato digging helpers last week:  Coe Environmental Club including Clarissa, Sydney, Brian, Ayla, Malyssa, and Mai.  Also Sarah Benesh and Cindy Strong.  You wouldn't have potatoes without the help of these volunteers.  We'll be doing it again this week on Tuesday, Wednesday maybe, Friday, and Saturday.  Let me know if you want to help.  So far, everyone agrees that it is a weird sort of fun job.  Except Brian from Coe.  He refused to comment.

The onions will be nice now, too, although not as sweet as the early summer onions.  Since they're not as sweet, they will keep a little longer.  I think we'll have Yellow Sweet Spanish this week.  I've got lots of red onions so you can take a few every week, probably until the end of October.

We should have a few more tomatoes this week, like maybe even more than a pound per share!  I can't stand to pick the tomatoes this year - they are too sick for me to look at them without getting sick myself - so my worker, Tricia, is in charge.  She thinks we'll have a nicer harvest for the next couple of weeks for sure.  You might even be able to make yourself a BLT in a couple of weeks, if the L grows just a little more and the T's can stay alive a while longer.

I'm sorry that there's not more variety in your shares this month.  It was a tough summer, much worse than 2008 for getting seeds planted and weeds killed, and plant disease was more widespread than I have ever experienced.  A lot of the things we thought we would grow for this time of the season failed.  Whenever we could get into the gardens between rains, we planted, so we have broccoli, green beans, cabbage, daikon radishes, beets, cilantro, lettuce, and turnips almost ready to harvest.  However, that's right where they have been stuck for a couple of weeks.  We got the warmth, but now they need rain to reach harvest maturity.  Asian greens, arugula, mustard greens, radishes, and a little spinach are further behind, but with the right combination of rain and warmth still might be possible to harvest in October.  We'll keep optimistic, but I'm planning to pull out the irrigation this week anyway.  Watch, as soon as I get it all out and lugged up the hill, the rain will get here.

Calendar items:  We have only 1 more full week where you pick up on your regular night, September 21/24.  Starting the week of September 27, everybody switches to Saturday pickup until the end of October.   So, if you are a Monday person, your pickup schedule is Sept 14 (this week), Sept 21 (next week), October 3, Oct 10, etc...  If you are a Thursday person, your schedule is Sept 17 (this week), Sept 24 (next week), October 3, Oct 10, etc.....  There are five Saturdays in October.  Pickup times on Saturdays will be 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.   I'll send you a couple of reminders, but if your memory is anything like mine, it wouldn't hurt to put these dates and times on your calendar right now.

Remember the "Taste of Mt. Vernon" this Thursday night at the Farmers Market.  Tickets are $20, with a portion of the ticket sales going to benefit the market.  Six local chefs are going to cook tasty little treats using foods grown on farms around Mt. Vernon.  It should be fun.  There are only a few more tickets available, so be sure to get yours in the early part of the week.  I have a few more and will have them on hand Monday night during pickup.

The Family and Friends Harvest Celebration is back on the schedule by popular demand.  Sunday, September 27, 4:00 until the kids (or Laura, whichever comes first) have to go to bed.  It's a potluck dinner- hayrack rides -marshmallow roast - type event.  Please bring a main dish and either a dessert or drinks to share.  Lawn chairs would be helpful, but please, no pets.  Bring your relatives, neighbors, and friends. Everybody is welcome.  I'll arrange for the picnic tables if you'll agree to pitch in a couple of bucks to help with the rental fee.  It will be fun.  I hope you can come.

See you this week,

Laura