Week 11; September 12, 2013
What's in the box?
heirloom and slicer tomatoes
cherry tomatoes
red and green peppers
broccoli
canteloupe
watermelon
green beans
oregano and savory herb bunches
same as above minus the cherry tomatoes
Notes on the box...
We will start putting herbs in the box regularly at this point in the season since we know that some folks might not have been able to keep the herbs in the herb pots going. Savory has an intense peppery flavor and is excellent for seasoning beans, poultry, fish, and ground pork. It is the herb with the thin pointy leaves. Fresh Oregano has a milder flavor than dried, so feel free to use liberally. It's great in any Italian dish or in a greek salad. It tastes great with tomatoes! To keep your herbs fresh, put them in a small glass of water and keep them in your fridge or on your counter. They will keep for quite some time in this way.
Recipes...
[yumprint-recipe id='20']Broccoli with tahini sauce
On the farm...
We've had a couple sprinkles here since our last big rain around the 4th of July. That makes just over 2 months without any significant rain. Many of our fall crops we were put in the north field where they are out of reach of our irrigation. The reason we were forced to put these crops out of reach of our irrigation was because it was so WET earlier this year that we couldn't plow ground without causing some long term damage to the soil. So we made the next best decision, which is hurting quite a bit at the moment. If only we could predict the future...
Broccoli will continue to come in, but the heads are small. Same for cauliflower. Hardly any of the thousands of row feet that we've planted of spinach has come up. Same for salad mix. Spinach needs cooler temps to germinate and as you may remember, we didn't have much for cooler temps in August or September.
All lists of aches and pains aside, It isn't uncommon for us to be apologizing for a less than desirable box at some point in the season. We've had a good run here for the last 4 weeks or so. But we are looking out to Halloween now and given the present state things are in, I can say that this isn't going to be the best fall we've ever had. It might rank down there at the bottom. We had been really hopeful for a good Fall after the lousy Spring, but it may not shake out that way.
Many members won't ever read this, and some will leave us because they feel like they've not gotten a 'good deal' on produce, or that we didn't give them what they expected. We understand this. But what those members are missing out on is that we as farmers are on a better farm, with better soil (as we improve it), closer to our members, closer to our fellow CSA farmers and peers. We will continue to get better at this thing called CSA. We may be having some unexpected problems, but one season is like the passing of one day in farming. What was done 2 months ago cannot be undone or changed, but it directly impacts here and now. I've said this before, but being a member is not a sprint it's a marathon. Have no doubt that we've put everything we've got into this. Literally. Because we trust that you all will be there. You have been so far.... First year on a new farm problems have been drastically enhanced by some severely weird weather. We have talked to farmers who have been farming for 15 years and up to 30 years, folks from the DNR, and conservationists. They have all agreed that this season has been the "weirdest" weather that they have ever seen. Weird weather may be something that we as farmers have to get used to and adapt to. It's not easy having every season be drastically different from the one before, but we are learning to be prepared for anything! On that note...
The farm is looking a little yellow. Lots of the green is beginning to give way to brown, but it's still very beautiful out here! We hope that you can join us September 14th for our harvest party! We will begin tours and having fun at 3 PM and have dinner a little later (around 5 or 6). We will provide meat for the meal, please bring a side dish or dessert! We will be listening to some music by our wonderful crew members and friends and having a bonfire! You are welcome to camp on the farm, if you wish, or there’s a nice campground at Clear Lake just 6 miles from the farm.
To get to the farm from the Twin Cities- take 94 East to the Baldwin exit, go North on Hwy 63 until it turns into Hwy 46, go North on 46 and turn Right onto Cty Rd A, turn left onto 95th Street. You can go through Stillwater if you don’t like to drive the interstate, but the traffic is often backed up on the weekend. Our address is 260 95th Street, Clear Lake, WI. You can search “Turnip Rock Farm” in google maps to find the quickest way to us!
Please RSVP via email turniprock@gmail.com so that we know how many folks to expect! We look forward to meeting you or seeing you again at our new farm!
oregano