October - CSA Box #10
The end is here, and although bittersweet, we are thrilled to have delivered another year full of delicious, organically grown produce. We successfully assembled over 150+ boxes this year and love knowing that we fed all of you pesticide-free, nutrient dense, fresh produce and herbs. Hopefully you shared the wealth with family and friends and enjoyed trying some things or varieties that you wouldn’t have normally picked up at your local grocery store or market. Community supported agriculture (CSA) is a fundamental way to support small farms and to take a more active and personal connection to the food you eat. We thank you for taking a chance and embarking on this adventure with us. Growing your own food is a magical experience that makes you so much more connected to the land, a heightened awareness of the climate and precipitation in your area, the seasonality of what shows up on your plate, and the excitement of finding or cooking a new recipe.
Although we likely will not be offering a full season of produce boxes next year, we will still be growing and experimenting with new ways to optimize and streamline production and as a result may be offering bumper crops that we have excess of as well as farm fresh products made from the spoils of our labor. Flower subscriptions will likely still be offered but earlier in the season and ending in August. Stay tuned for more information and make sure you are signed up for our marketing emails! We will also share updates regularly on our Instagram so please stay connected and continue to reach out if there is anything you are interested in purchasing.
Speaking of excess, we will have a TON of cabbage and likely more cauliflower and broccoli coming out of the field in the coming weeks! We hope to share some of it with you, as we were hoping it would be ready before the end of the CSA season, but alas the universe had different plans.
Sweet Potatoes - This long awaited crop was a first for us and easily one of the most disappointing harvests of the year. Our vines were quite productive after a very rough start so we were hopeful but digging these revealed a much smaller yield than expected. Many were mere squiggly noodles and a tangle of stringy roots. We got a few nice sized purple potatoes but the standard orange boys did not produce many potatoes worth sharing. Our friend who supplied us with these pulled football sized beasts out of his field with sandier soil so we are going to try these again next year on a smaller scale and experiment with growing them in some different areas and soil types to see what turns out best.
Root Veggies - Bagged together this month was an array of root veggies (which also included purple sweet potatoes). Inside was a mix of carrots (red and orange), radishes (Cherry Belle), baby beets (Golden & Chioggia), rutabagas, turnips, and kohlrabi.
Potatoes - We had to set you up with one last round of potatoes in case you blew through the onslaught we bestowed you with in earlier boxes. The majority of you received Russets but we also sent out more German Butterball for some.
Onions - A few of the ones we have sliced into over the last few weeks have had a few rings that were going south. Apologies if you get one that looks less than ideal. We will be growing these in a more maintained patch next year and curing them more carefully to prevent spoilage but it is still safe to eat any unscathed layers. Eat em up before too long as these sweet onions are not meant for storage.
Broccoli (and one SUPER amazing Cauliflower) In the next few weeks we will be seeing more of these and wish we could speed up the growing process to get more of you bigger crowns. A few were gorgeous though and better than store quality which was exciting.
Kale - Dino and Curly
Peppers - Mixed hot peppers
Farm Goodies:
Tea Blends - If you aren’t already a tea lover, we hope to convert you. Tea is a great ritual to relax and all of these are non-caffeinated which makes them a nice, cozy way to unwind at the end of the day.
Tulsi Tea - Tulsi Vana + Tulsi Kapoor
Also known as “Holy Basil”, tulsi is a popular tea that is known to be good for a host of ailments including respiratory problems. This is one of our favorites as the Vana has a chai essence and the Kapoor brings a little more sweetness. We were getting almost creamy notes of vanilla and clove, but it definitely is both floral and almost peppery. It’s delightful!
Lavender Fields Forever - Mint + Lavender
Herbal Tea Blend - Tulsi Kapoor, Lemon Balm, Mint
Chili Crisp - This versatile condiment is in fashion and great for anything you want to add a little heat too. Our version definitely has some kick thanks to a wide variety of dried peppers that we blended with a mix of amazing flavors.
Ingredients: Assorted dried chilies, garlic, shallot, ginger, avocado oil, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, sugar, salt
Tomato Sauce - This year we canned an insane amount of sauce and kept it super basic so you could take it in just about any direction. That being said, it will need to be seasoned and adapted to fit whatever you are making. If you want/need more let us know!
Ingredients: Tomatoes, small amount of roasted garlic (not salted)
Luffa Gourd Sponge - Our vines this year did not produce but we are still swimming in sponges from last year. Looking forward to growing these again in the future because they are quite useful around the house for cleaning and doing dishes.
Strawberry Syrup - We added some citric acid to this batch to allow this to last longer in the fridge. This is a favorite of ours because it’s not something you can find in the store. We aim to bring more products like this in years to come, but this is cold-processed and literally combines our delicious strawberries with organic sugar which gets put into the fridge. Over about a month the strawberry juice dissolves the sugar. Great on ice cream, waffles or pancakes, and in beverages - there is no bad way to enjoy this syrup. It evokes the feeling of summer and the color is fantastic!
Hot Sauce - These shouldn’t totally melt your face off and are a vinegary blend that is fairly easygoing. We cleaned out our reserves so we can devise some new recipes and varieties for the future. Please enjoy the labels which were generated using AI and were a hoot to make!
Herbs: Cilantro, Parsley, Mint, Chervil
The final bouquet featured dried flowers!
In this selection is a mix of things I hung to dry.
Love in a Mist, Celosia, Amaranth, Strawflower, Pincushion Starflower, Poppy Pods, Cress, Gomphrena, Mint, Honeywort, Ageratum
A few reminders:
Please return all of our collapsible plastic crates. We will be cleaning and inventorying them for the winter and need them all back as soon as you are able. Let us know so we can help coordinate a pickup or drop off. There just may be some additional produce we can send your way as well.
We will also take back any jars, squeeze bottles, or lids you do not plan on reusing. Although we hate plastic waste, we often find that is the easiest way to get our goods to you. The goal is to always try to reduce, reuse, recycle so please rinse and return.
Make sure to sign up for our newsletter. If you do not accept our marketing emails you will miss out on updates from the farm and that would be tragic. Scroll to the bottom of the home page to share your email, and make sure to follow us on Instagram for the latest news, pictures, and products for sale.