Enterprise Farm

This Week's Farm Share, October 24 - 29

Monday, 24 October 2011 09:41

Our Own Arugula Bunches * Our Own Loose Beets (All Shares Except Western MA Smalls) * Our Own Green Cabbage * Our Own Chard (Large Shares Only) * Our Own Kale * Our Own Redleaf Lettuce * Our Own Green Bell Peppers * Our Own Purple-Top and Scarlet Turnips * Yellow Onions from Plainville Farm in Hadley (Large Shares Only) * Yukon Gold Potatoes from Full Bloom Farm in Whately * Empire Apples (IPM) from Apex Orchard in Shelburne

We're  happy to report that 70% of our fields have been cover-cropped with a nice planting of winter rye!   Cover-cropping, also known as "green manuring," is an effective way to preserve and improve soil quality between growing seasons.  While the rye is growing, it will prevent erosion, aerate the soil, smother weeds, all while building up a concentration of nutrients and biomass.  It does not die back in the winter, but continues growing in the early spring.  A few weeks before planting, we'll chop our cover crop back, thereby cycling the organic matter and nutrients into the soil.

 And yes, we're aware that collard greens have been in heavy rotation in the farm shares of 2011.  Was this our master plan?  No,not really!  But at this point we're happy to have a strong stand of cooking greens to offer, relieved to have recovered most of our fields from the vagaries of the season, still able to fill your boxes abundantly for the remainder of the farmshare.  We love you, CSA members, for hanging in there with us, even through several weeks of collard greens.   They are especially sweet-tasting now that we've had some frost : )

An East Coast Produce Report

Submitted by Matt B, Operations Manager.  Matt's the amazing guy who puts together our harvest lists and East Coast orders all year round.

So you know winter's coming when the farmers from Florida start calling.   That's right, I've been starting to hear from our partners down south about grapefruit and strawberries! In the next few weeks we'll be beginning to organize all the logistics of getting lots of organic fruits and veges to our docks and into our coolers for all of you winter CSA members.

We are looking forward to those great strawberries from Wishnatzki Farm in Florida, those juicy grapefruits from Spooner's Organics, and all those fresh and vibrant veges from Lady Moon.  Not to mention the delicious sweet potatoes from the capital of sweet potatoes, North Carolina or those big ole Florida avocados. 
December is coming sooner than you think! Reserve your spot today to be a part of our fantastic winter CSA.

 This Week's Tips -- Storage and Preparation

Empire Apple:  Introduced in the 1960's, Empire is a cross between Red Delicious and Macintosh.  It's crisp and creamy, with juicy white flesh and an even balance of sweet with tart.  A good all-around apple: equally fit for the lunchbox, the salad bowl, the pie crust, or the saucepan.

Apples store best in a cool, dark place.  

Try slicing up one of yours for a farmshare rendition of this popular combination: Arugula and Apple Salad.

Scarlet Turnip/Purple-Top Turnips:  Our turnips are often mistaken for large radishes.  But this is no radish.  Turnips and their greens will keep for a good week when stored in the refrigerator.

A small turnip can be eaten raw -- try it sliced into coins or sticks for snacking; grated into salads.  Larger ones are delicious roasted, boiled, or mashed.  And let's not forget the turnip greens!  They're not as sweet as the root, but they're full of vitamins and minerals.  Simmer them in your favorite broth for a healthy autumn warm-up.

This Week's Recipe

Kale With Sauteed Apple and Onion