Newsletters

CSA Week #26

Frmgrl — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:19:09 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of November 23rd - THE FINAL WEEK!

VEGETABLE SHARE

Sweet Potatoes - 3 lbs
Carrots - 1 bunch
Toscano Kale - 1 bunch
Potatoes - 2 lbs
Radicchio or Kohlrabi - 1 piece/head
Rutabaga - 1-2 pieces (depending on size)
Butternut Squash - 1 piece
Red or Savoy Cabbage - 1-2 heads (depending on size)
Watermelon Radish - 1 piece
Broccoli - 2 pieces

NEWS FROM THE FARM

Feeling grateful...As the last shares of the season are packed and shipped out to you on the truck this week, we can finally take a big breath, sit down with our families to a Thanksgiving meal, and feel enormous gratitude for everyone who makes our CSA program possible and keeps our farm thriving.

We are grateful to our wonderful field workers who tend the crops and harvest your produce from sun up to sun down, week after week, all season long. Just like us farmers, our field crews devote their lives to organic farming, and to growing food to feed you throughout the season. They are dedicated to their work, and to our farm, and without them there would be no harvest, no CSA, no food on our tables.

We are grateful to our members (that's you!) for understanding the importance of supporting local agriculture, for seeking out organically grown produce to feed your families, and for appreciating the significance of food that is grown with integrity and respect for the land and the community.

We are grateful for the strong organic farming community that supports our efforts all year long, and for the dozens and dozens of generous folks who facilitate our farm operations every year - from mechanics, to electricians, seed producers and fellow farmers. We thank you all!

The Farmer's Winter...The winter months used to be spent pouring over seed catalogues and dreaming about the first spring planting, but now with a Winter CSA Share, our "time off" in the winter is just a slower period of work for us. Stay up-to-date with our winter activities by reading our Farmers' Blog. Also worth noting- a new farm member will be arriving in mid-December, so stay tuned!

We send you all our best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving and holiday season! We hope to welcome you all back to our program next spring!

Warm wishes,
Farmers Matt, James, Maggie & Holly & the whole crew!

Renew your membership for 2010! Renewal applications for our 2010 CSA season are now available! Click here to renew your share! We probably won't have room for everyone next season, so be sure to renew early to save your spot!

WINTER SHARES
Winter shares for the 2009-2010 season will be available for pick-up at the farm in Jamesport and through our Queens groups. (For current Queens members only at most sites- contact them to check first.) Please contact your core group directly for inquiries about the Queens sites. If you are interested in picking up at the farm, please e-mail us at info@goldenearthworm.com. There are a limited number of shares available.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Pureed Rutabaga with Pan-Fried Leeks
Braised Cabbage with Carraway
Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Butternut Squash with Shallots & Sage

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #25

Frmgrl — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:20:24 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of November 16th

VEGETABLE SHARE

Sweet Potatoes - 4.5-5 lbs!
Carrots - 1 bunch
Red Kale - 1 bunch - This is my favorite kale variety- so tender!
Baby Potatoes -or- Leeks - 1.5 lbs or 2 pieces
Celery Root (Celeriac) - 2 pieces - This is an ugly veg, but oh so delicious! Try this week's recipe below.
Sunshine Squash - 1 piece
Parsley - 1 bunch
Broccoli - 1 piece

FRUIT SHARE*
Eating Apples - Macintosh, Fuji & Jonagold Varieties - 1 mixed bag
Cooking Apples - Ida Red, Rome, and Jonamac varieties - perfect for all your holiday baking! - 1 mixed bag MARKED WITH TAPE

*THIS IS THE LAST WEEK OF THE FRUIT SHARE! We've reached the full $138 value of fruit for this season.

NEWS FROM THE FARM

Next week- the week of Thanksgiving- is the FINAL WEEK of CSA for the 2009 Season. It's been a crazy year for farming, but we hope you've enjoyed the experience with us! Here's a preview of next week's special Thanksgiving CSA Box: Sweet Potatoes, Savoy Cabbage, Potatoes, Kohlrabi, Rutabaga, Carrots, Watermelon Radish?, Butternut Squash?, Kale?.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Celeriac Mash
Leek & Potato Soup

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #24

Frmgrl — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:51:51 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of November 9th

VEGETABLE SHARE

Potatoes - white or yellow - 2 lbs
Watermelon Radish - 2 pieces
Red or Green Boston Lettuce - 1 head
Escarole -or- Green Crisp Lettuce - 1 head
Radicchio - 1 head
Japanese Salad Turnips -or- Bok Choi - 1 bunch
Butternut Squash - 1-2 pieces (depending on size)
Broccoli - 1 piece
Cilantro - 1 bunch (Try making pesto! See recipe below.)

FRUIT SHARE*
Red Delicious, Macintosh & Fuji Apples - 1 mixed bag
Bosc Pears - 1 bag (These are ripe when still hard- just wait until there is no more green skin, then eat!)

*THE FRUIT SHARE WILL END THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 16th! That means that next week is the last week.

NEWS FROM THE FARM

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Escarole Soup
Penne with Caramelized Onions & Radicchio
Cilantro Pesto

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #23

Frmgrl — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:23:25 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of November 2nd

VEGETABLE SHARE

Sweet Potatoes - 2 lbs
Rutabaga - 2 pieces
Romaine or Batavian Lettuce - 1 med. head or 2 sm. heads
Leeks - 2 pieces
Broccoli Raab or Spinach - 1/2 lb. bag
Japanese Salad Turnips - 1 bunch
Red Kale - 1 bunch
Green Cabbage - 1 head

FRUIT SHARE*
Red Delicious, Empire & Fuji Apples - 1 mixed bag

*THE FRUIT SHARE WILL END THE WEEK OF NOVEMBER 16th! That's 3 more weeks including this week!

NEWS FROM THE FARM

We have a lovely autumn share for you this week- including the first harvest of our beautiful (and big!) rutabagas. Don't be intimidated if you've never cooked them before. Mashing them up is an old stand-by. Just peel the skin, cut into 1/2" cubes and steam until soft. Then mash up with butter and salt & pepper to taste. You can find some more recipes for rutabaga below under "Recipes".

Renew your membership for 2010! Renewal applications for our 2010 CSA season will be available on our website later this week for our Long Island sites. We probably won't have room for everyone next season, so be sure to renew early to save your spot!

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Braised Cabbage with Caraway Seeds
Rutabaga Oven Fries
Pureed Rutabagas with Pan-Fried Leeks

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #22

Frmgrl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:52:41 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of October 26th

VEGETABLE SHARE

Lettuce Mix - 1/4 lb. bag
Carrots - 1 bunch
Daikon Radish or Kohlrabi - 1-3 pieces - The Japanese love this veg! You can prepare it like any ordinary radish, shredded or sliced raw in salads, but it's also delicious cooked up in soups. It's one of my favorite additions to a warm and soothing miso soup.
Leeks - 2 pieces
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Green Kale - 1 bunch
Baby Salad Turnips - 1 bunch
Baby Bok Choi - 1 bunch
Green Tomatoes - 2-3 pieces - As you know, our tomato crop was hit hard by the late blight earlier this season, but some tomatoes hung out on the vine unharmed. The only problem was that they never turned red! There is always a silver lining....green tomatoes are a huge treat and if you've never cooked with them before, you're in for a big surprise! Try this week's chutney or fried green tomato recipe (see below). The chutney will store for a very long time (over a year) in the fridge and is delicious on rustic bread with slices of sharp cheddar cheese.
Green or Savoy Cabbage or Broccoli - 1 piece or head - These are mini-cabbages! Not on purpose, however. Usually we like having cabbages that are medium to large size, but these ended up stunted in growth because they were in their transplant cells a bit too long back in the summer. They also faced some serious weed pressure in the field. ...Luckily, they still taste just as good!

FRUIT SHARE
Bosc Pears & Apples - 1 bag - Bosc pears are ripe when they turn an even brown color. They are still firm when ripe! Refrigerate immediately when ripe. If left to soften, they will be rotten when you cut them open, so be careful!

Be sure to remove fruit from plastic bags immediately when you get them home. They can ripen out on the counter or in a paper bag. Store ripe fruit in the fridge.

NEWS FROM THE FARM

Our sweet potato storage container is arriving at the farm on Wednesday morning and it couldn't happen at a better time! The sweet potatoes are ready to be cured and they need just the right conditions for it. I'll post some pictures and more details next week once it's up and running!

WINTER SHARES
Winter shares for the 2009-2010 season will be available through our Queens groups (for current Queens members only) and a pick-up at the farm in Jamesport. Please contact your core group directly for inquiries about the Queens sites. If you are interested in picking up at the farm, please e-mail us at info@goldenearthworm.com. There are a limited number of shares available.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Classic Fried Green Tomatoes
Green Tomato Chutney
Pickled Daikon Radish
Braised Leeks with Lemon

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #21

Frmgrl — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:22:52 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of October 19th

VEGETABLE SHARE

Buttercup or Sunshine Winter Squash - 1 piece
Carrots - 1 bunch
Bell Peppers - 2-3 pieces
Mustard Mix - 1 bunch
Nicola Potatoes - 2lb. bag
Toscano Kale - 1 bunch
Savoy Cabbage - 1 head
Curly Cress - 1 bunch
Baby Arugula - 1/4 lb. bag

Be sure to remove fruit from plastic bags immediately when you get them home. They can ripen out on the counter or in a paper bag. Store ripe fruit in the fridge.

NEWS FROM THE FARM

Our Fall CSA Day was cancelled for the first time ever this past Sunday. While we usually run the event rain or shine, the forecast called for heavy downpours all day long, so we had no choice. Without a rain date scheduled, we hope you will join us again at our Spring Tour Day next May!

It's "catch up" time here on the farm! All the projects that have been sitting idly by are finally getting our attention and many are getting finished. Always satisfying. Right now the big push is to finish covering the new greenhouse for our winter share greens! It's the first year we'll be growing greens in-grown to supplement the storage crops for our winter shares. (See below for more information.) Other projects include installing the new sweet potato storage container and finishing our new washing facility which has been in use mid-construction all season long.

WINTER SHARES
Winter shares for the 2009-2010 season will be available through our Queens groups and a pick-up at the farm in Jamesport. Please contact your core group directly for inquiries about the Queens sites. If you are interested in picking up at the farm, please e-mail us at info@goldenearthworm.com. There are a limited number of shares available.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Savoy Cabbage with Ginger and Garlic
Roasted Winter Squash Risotto

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #20

Frmgrl — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:57:03 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of October 12th

VEGETABLE SHARE

Red Batavian or Green Crisp Lettuce or Spinach - 1 head/bunch
Fennel - 2 pieces
Carrots - 1 bunch
Chioggia or Red Beets - 1 bunch
Peppers - 2 pieces
Green Beans - 3/4 lb. bag
Potatoes - Keuka or Russet Variety - Keuka is great for boiling and mashing, Russet is best for baking - 2 lb. bag
Garlic - 1 piece
Winter Squash - Sweet Dumpling or Acorn variety - 2 pieces
Broccoli - 2 pieces

Be sure to remove fruit from plastic bags immediately when you get them home. They can ripen out on the counter or in a paper bag. Store ripe fruit in the fridge.

NEWS FROM THE FARM

THIS WEEKEND!!! CSA HARVEST FESTIVAL - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18th, 11am-3pm!

Please join us for our annual CSA Harvest Festival! RAIN or SHINE!

When: Sunday, October 18th from 11am to 3pm
Where: At the Farm in Jamesport. Map & Directions
Activities: Walking Tours, Animal Shearing, Open Farmstand, Kids Haystack
Details: Please wear sturdy shoes for touring our fields. Bring your own picnic lunch and blanket/chairs. No potluck this year due to the unusual flu season.

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Fennel Mashed Potatoes
Maple Glazed Winter Squash

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #19

Frmgrl — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:56:27 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of October 5th

VEGETABLE SHARE

French Breakfast Radishes - 1 bunch
Romaine Lettuce - 1 head
Baby Salad Turnips - 1 bunch
Green Bell Pepper - 1 piece
Green Beans - 1 lb. bag!
Zucchini - 1 piece - We thought the zuke season was over, but there were still a few more out in the field!
Red Kale - 1 bunch
Cherry Tomatoes* - mixed colors - 1 pint
Curly Cress - 1 bunch - This cress variety is known as "Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled Cress"- quite a mouthful! It's the first time we're growing it for the CSA, although Matthew and I grew it in our greenhouse last winter and it became one of our new favorite additions to salads and sandwiches. Let us know what you think!

*The tomatoes have been sprayed with copper as a preventative for late blight fungus. This spray is certified for use in organic production and is harmless to humans, but must be washed off before eating.

Be sure to remove fruit from plastic bags immediately when you get them home. They can ripen out on the counter or in a paper bag. Store ripe fruit in the fridge.

NEWS FROM THE FARM

CSA HARVEST FESTIVAL - SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18th, 11am-3pm!

Please join us for our annual CSA Harvest Festival!

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Kale & Chickpea Soup
Japanese Salad Turnips with Miso

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #18

Frmgrl — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 12:02:33 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of September 28th

VEGETABLE SHARE

Arugula - 1/2 lb. bag
Lettuce Mix - 1/2 lb. bag
Red Radishes or Baby Salad Turnips - 1 bunch
Green Long or Bell Peppers - 1-3 pieces
Green Beans - 3/4 lb. bag - The beans are now coming in nicely, making picking a little easier!
Kiddie Sized Sweet Potatoes or Russet or Yellow Potatoes - 1 1/2 lb.
Acorn Squash - 1 piece - We did not have a large yield of this variety, so you're all receiving 1 to kick off the winter squash season. There will be lots more winter squash to come!
Cherry Tomatoes - mixed colors - 1 pint
Green Kale - 1 bunch
Broccoli or Cabbage - 1 piece - Look out for a few worms on the broccoli when you wash it.

FRUIT SHARE
1 bag mixed Bosc Pears & Apples - Bosc pears are ripe when they turn an even brown color. They are still firm when ripe! Refrigerate immediately when ripe. If left to soften, they will be rotten when you cut them open, so be careful!

Be sure to remove fruit from plastic bags immediately when you get them home. They can ripen out on the counter or in a paper bag. Store ripe fruit in the fridge.

LETTER FROM YOUR FARMER - SEASON UPDATE - PART 3

...Picking up where we left off last week with our seasonal crop update...

Winter Squash - Just like the sweet potatoes I told you about last week, the winter squash was yet another crop that almost did not get planted this season. What would Autumn be like without a few winter squash decorating your table, porch, or balcony? Of course we don’t like to grow food only for decoration, so you must eat them!

We grow a few different varieties of winter squash on our farm, including Butternut, Buttercup, Sunshine, Kabocha, Sweet Dumpling, Acorn, and occasionally Spaghetti (although not this year). We typically direct seed winter squash into the soil with a vaccum seeder driven by a tractor (and a human!). They are seeded 12 inches apart, and after germination they are thinned by hoeing out the extra plants so they are spaced 24 -30 inches apart in the row. Depending on the variety, they can be very large rambling vines that stretch out more than 10 feet! It’s a great place for kids to hide, or even a woodchuck. Every season a couple of woodchucks move into the field when the canopy fills in and covers the soil completely, thinking they have found the best home ever-- A well hidden home stocked full of more food than one could ever eat, until the evil humans come and harvest it. Arggh!

As a CSA member it’s important to realize that there are many competitors drooling over your CSA share. Woodchucks are kind of cute until they eat the romaine lettuce you were supposed to get in your share, or your squash, or your watermelon, or your radicchio, or your baby bok choi, or your beans, or your… Well, you get the idea. Who else is on the list of veggie predators? Crows, various birds, deer with their cute little eyes peering through the deer fence, and even other CSA members!

Timing is essential when planting winter squash, because it only happens one time during the season-- usually seeded anytime between the end of May and the end of June, but preferably toward the beginning of June. As with the sweet potatoes this year, the winter squash planting date kept getting postponed because we couldn’t get into the fields to prep and plant. There were about 7- 10 days left in our planting window and the weather report forecasted high chances of rain for many days. It looked like seeding was not going to happen. Luckily, winter squash can also be grown from transplants seeded in the greenhouse and then planted into the field. So right away we planted over 200 flats of the various varieties. They germinated, and grew like crazy like good little squash plants do. They will actually grow so fast in flats that they can get too big to pass through the transplanter, so you have to watch them very carefully. A couple of weeks later we had a break in the weather and we planted all the squash. And it took off! I've noticed that they are a little smaller than last year, but the ones I’ve tasted so far have been great.

Some squash varieties, such as Sweet Dumpling and Acorn, do not need to be cured before eating, as curing actually deteriorates their quality. The others (Buttercups, Butternuts, and Sunshine) should be cured in a similar manner as sweet potatoes, in a warm, humid environment for 1-2 weeks. This heals any skin wounds so they can be kept for a few months, and the process also seems to improve their flavor. Last year was our first trial with storing Butternuts into the winter, and although our storage room was not perfect, we had a lot of good squash through the end of January.

You will soon be seeing some squash at your table, with a story of course, of how it trembled each time the woodchuck came out of its burrow to see if it was ready to eat!

Be well - Farmer Matt

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Savory Stuffed Winter Squash
Green Beans with Lemon & Pine Nuts

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.

CSA Week #17

Frmgrl — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:05:03 +0000

THIS WEEK IN THE BOX - week of September 21st

VEGETABLE SHARE

Attention Wednesday share members: The sweet potatoes harvested for Wednesday deliveries have cosmetic pitting and scarring on the skin. We have culled out the really bad ones. The inside flesh is perfectly fine, but you will need to peel some areas of the skin. We have included an extra 1/2 to 1 pound of potatoes to make up for this problem. For some odd reason this only occurred in this one place in the field.

Rosemary or Thyme - 1 bunch
Red Beets or Chioggia Beets - 1 bunch - Finally some gorgeous beets! Seems like it's been forever since our early beets were harvested.
Long Green Peppers - 3 pieces
Green Bell Pepper - 1 piece
Slender Green Beans - .3 lb bag - We are just starting to pick from a beautiful planting. We assumed there would be quite a lot of beans for this week, but the quick shift to cool nighttime temperatures has really slowed their growth. So you may receive smaller quantities over a longer period of time, but if the weather warms we should be able to get a bigger harvest soon. Remember that these beans are a labor of love! It takes 4 people more than 9 hours to handpick the beans for our Tuesday and Wednesday deliveries- even with the light amounts we are giving out! And handpicking beans is no fun, as it requires a significant amount of time crawling on the ground. It is rare to eat a handpicked green bean these days. Most green beans are picked with machine harvesters, which is much faster. We just don’t grow enough beans to justify buying one. Maybe someday!
Sweet Potatoes - 2 lbs - These sweet potatoes are right out of the ground and should be eaten pretty soon. They are kind of mellow tasting right now before they are cured- not overly sweet, but gentle and nutty. The harvest this week is comprised of smaller sized sweet potatoes than you will get in a few weeks from now, and smaller than what you usually see in the store. They taste just as good as larger ones. We will have a lot more sweet potatoes coming your way in the following months. See our season update below for more info on this crop.
Zucchini - 1 piece
Cherry Tomato - 1 pint
Toscano, Red or Green Kale - 1 bunch
Baby Romaine Lettuce - 1 bunch - Tuesday ONLY
Broccoli - Wednesday & Thursday ONLY

Be sure to remove fruit from plastic bags immediately when you get them home. They can ripen out on the counter or in a paper bag. Store ripe fruit in the fridge.

LETTER FROM YOUR FARMER - SEASON UPDATE - PART 2

...Picking up where we left off last week with our seasonal crop update...

Peppers and Eggplants - Well, last year was a great year for these crops, and this year was not. Both peppers and eggplants love heat and this was a pretty cool-mild season, especially early on in June and July when they grow rapidly and set their fruit. Even though we cultivated and hand weeded a couple times, conditions were pretty wet for the first 2 months of their lives out in the field and the weeds flourished. Many farms grow these crops on top of black plastic, which heats up the soil and speeds up the crop. We choose not to use this plastic because we think it creates unnecessary waste at the end of the season when it's pulled up and thrown away. (There is a biodegradable version that we tried a few years back, but it is not certified for use in organic production, so we were forced to stop using it.)

Our eggplants have been especially lousy this year with very little fruit on the plants. For the first time ever, our crops were struck by lightning during one of several extreme thunderstorms that passed right over the farm earlier this summer. Shortly after one of these we noticed two circular dead spots in our eggplant patch, each about 50 feet in diameter. The weeds eventually came back but the eggplant did not.

The peppers did not get hit by lightning, but have taken a very long time to ripen. We have been giving out a small amount of green peppers but leaving many on the plant to turn red, orange or yellow. Unfortunately, many of the green peppers are developing decay spots on their slow turn to becoming colorful peppers. The nighttime temperatures are also cooler than usual for this time of year and the peppers are stubbornly resisting changing color. We are probably going to start picking many more green ones and giving them out if the nights stay cold.

Sweet potatoes - There was a time in June when we thought the sweet potatoes would never be planted. And it was truly by great luck that they made it into the ground! We have to use Certified Organic sweet potato slips which are not very easy to find. Ours are purchased from a farm in North Carolina and are shipped up here to the farm. Sweet potato slips are grown by putting seed sweet potatoes in soil beds with or without heat depending on the climate. When the slips are the right size, they are plucked out, crammed into boxes and sent to us. Scheduling the sweet potatoes slips delivery was very tough this year because they are very perishable and should be planted right away after they arrive. We needed to have dry conditions, the beds all prepped to plant, and the slips there just at just the right time. The planting date kept being postponed due to all the rain and it was nearing the end of the planting window for sweet potatoes on Long Island. The slips were shipped on Monday, and luckily they were dropped off early at 2:00 in the afternoon on Wednesday, June 17. Rain was forecast for the next umpteen days so this was our last chance. We had 26,000 slips to plant before dark and somehow they all made it into the ground. And then it rained a lot! And they all began to grow a few days later.

It has required a huge effort to keep the sweet potatoes weeded this year! Several thousands of dollars of hand weeding labor was needed to keep the crop weed free, as it was too wet for many weeks to access the fields with our cultivating machinery. It’s all been worth it, however, as the crop is beautiful and is yielding well. Next up is the curing process! In order to store sweet potatoes for any amount of time they need to be cured. Curing requires 85 degree temperatures and 85% humidity for about a week. This heals over any wounds from harvesting and prevents infection. After the curing process is completed, the sweet potatoes can be stored at 60 degrees for a very long time.

More next week on Winter Squash, beans, lettuce, maybe more...

Be well - Farmer Matt

THIS WEEK'S RECIPE SUGGESTIONS

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Beet Greens

More recipes for all the week's produce can be found here on our RECIPES page.