Abbe Hills Farm CSA

Greetings shareholders,

This Saturday, we'll have potatoes, onions, daikon radish, squash, chilies, arugula, kale, turnips, and herbs.  We'll also have a little bit of mustard greens and chard.  You'll be taking home less food than usual.  The never-ending bad weather is catching up with us again and has really limited what I've been able to grow and harvest for you. 

One strategy I use to make sure that we always have a nice selection of vegetables is called "relay cropping".  It means that I plant the same crop several times in sequence, timing it so one planting will be ready to harvest just as the previous planting is fizzling out.  It usually works pretty well - but not this year.  Remember the 28 rain-free days in September?  At the start of that time was when the crops were planted that we should be harvesting right now.  But, since it didn't rain, they couldn't germinate, and then when they finally did, they couldn't grow because it was so cold.  So, the beets and turnips are a little too small to harvest, the daikon are considerably smaller than usual, the broccoli and cabbages never really made the right parts the right size, the spinach is about the size of quarters, the Asian greens are dots with leaves, the radishes are like peas, etc....  It's not like you haven't heard this story already this season!!!  More than once!!!!  What a year.  

I'm not the only one griping about the fall.  The crop farmers are very worried about harvest.  We are about a month behind where we should be in harvesting the corn and soybeans.  Plus, the air is so damp that the seeds in the pods and on the ears can't dry, so when they are harvested, they have to be dried down ($$$$) to a moisture level that will preserve their quality during storage.  Plus, there have only been a few days when it hasn't been raining, or so muddy that the machines will sink in the fields.  One good thing, prices are going up to reflect the worry that that everything won't be harvested before snow gets here.  It's a tough time for farmers of all sorts.  Running up against Mother Nature like we have this year makes you realize how vulnerable our food supply really is.

The shiny anti-deer tape seems to be working.  So, maybe the lettuce will regrow enough that we can have one more lettuce salad next week.  The regrowth doesn't know that there was a freeze, so should be of very nice quality.

We have butternut, spaghetti, sweet dumpling, and acorn squash this week.  There is still quite a lot of buttercup and kabocha squash in the field, but the stems are still green and juicy, so it's not yet ready to cut.  No matter what, I'll cut it next week so we can have it for the last pickup.  All of the squash was a little bit frozen in the very cold night two weeks ago.  You can see the freeze damage on the skin of the squashes, on the part that was facing up.  It didn't hurt the flesh inside, but it probably means that the squash won't store forever. If you are saving them for later, keep an eye on them and cook them if they look like they are starting to deteriorate.  You can freeze cooked squash.  It comes out perfect.

There are probably a million websites with squash recipes, so this may not be the best one, but it does describe the different kinds of squash and show pictures.  http://www.recipetips.com/  All you have to do is type in the squash type and lots of info will pop up.  We have a few Long Island Cheese squashes this time.  That one's not on the website. "Cheeses" are very much like  butternut, only cooler looking.  I've got a few more heirloom squashes still in the field, just about ready to cut.

We dug quite a few of the Viletta Rose potatoes this week.  Thanks to the Barnyard Buddies 4-H club for their help.  I never would have started on the patch if they hadn't been here.  Vilettas are a red storage potato.  They are excellent for boiling and mashing or for adding to soup.  Because they spent so much time in cold, wet soil, they developed "scabs" on their skins.  Sounds worse than it is.  The little bumps don't go into the flesh, didn't change anything about the eating quality, and will basically disappear when you boil the potatoes with skins on.  They are cosmetic.   Enjoy the potatoes in spite of their blemishes.

Everybody is invited to the Halloween Soup Supper at Southeast Linn Community Center next Saturday, October 31.  It's the night the town of Lisbon turns goofy for Halloween, shuts down Main Street, decorates all the businesses and lets the kids go crazy.  So, bring the kids for trick-or-treating, then come by for soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  Or, come over just to eat soup.  We serve from 4:00 until about 8:00.  Adults are $6, big kids are $3, kids under 5 are free.  It's a really fun time and the biggest fundraiser for our Community Center.

Local Harvest CSA is taking orders for organic free range turkeys for Thanksgiving.  Henry and Ila Miller, family farmers near Kalona have been providing turkeys for their CSA members for at least 7 years.  They are wonderful tasting fresh turkeys.  The price is $2.90 per pound.  You will pay when you pick up your turkey.  (Henry says to expect smaller turkeys this year, 12-15 lbs.  They have not been growing as fast as expected.) The turkeys will be available for pickup on Tuesday afternoon, November 24, at Metro High School or at Abbe Hills Farm.  If you wish to order a turkey, please send a message with the number of turkeys, preferred weight,  (We try our best to get you a turkey close to the size you request, but along with the weather, the growth rate of a turkey can be unpredictable), and a phone number where we can reach you if we run into a last minute problem on pick-up day.  You can make your order directly with Susan Jutz, 319-929-5032, or localharvestcsa@southslope.net .

See you Saturday,

Laura