LETTUCE

SWEET POTATOES  Bonita variety are creamy yellow

BULB FENNEL

2ND LETTUCE OR ARUGULA

GREENS CHOICE

BEETS OR TURNIPS AND RADISHES

GARLIC OR CILANTRO

FARM REPORT
The year has flown by and here we are already at the last week of the CSA season.  We hope you all enjoyed our offerings from the fields.  We sure have enjoyed growing them for you.

Some may recall that a year ago we announced that 2017 was to be a sabbatical year.  After 14 years of building the farm up, we wanted a year to allow us to experiment and take a breath.  Overall, we are happy with what we accomplished.  We reduced our growing area by more than half and managed to improve the productivity of our fields.  Certain crops were dropped altogether (beans and peas), others were grown on a much smaller scale (tomatoes, zucchini).  The CSA was shifted to an every-other week, one share size system.  Tom had time to make lots of yummy ferments and market them to area grocery stores and farmers markets.  Luckily, we had pretty decent weather – not too hot and dry in the summer, and at least in our little area, no massive rain events.  It is hard to extrapolate the successes of one season to future seasons, but at this point, we would like to use 2017 as the starting point for 2018.

We really would like to know how this experimental year was for you.  Look for an invitation from the farm in the coming weeks for a survey of the membership.  We would love to hear from everyone who participated in the CSA this year and learn your thoughts and any suggestions for improvement.

Thank you for your support of our family farm during the sabbatical.  We were unsure of what would come of it and it meant alot to us that so many of you stuck with us.

Last blog of our sabbatical season. And while we use that term loosely, we were able to rest a bit and learn a lot at the same time. Thanks for going along for the ride this year, we hope next season will be even better. Coming out the other side of the season with an enthusiastic membership and a cooler full of vegetables and ferments is a nice trend to be riding.

The last share has a nice selection of field grown and high tunnel items. The fennel this year tastes great, as the cold outside temps lately helped sweeten it up. It is great chopped and added to a lettuce salad.

The sweet potatoes live up to their name. A go to recipe for us is to cut them into small chunks, steam them, then mash with butter and milk or cream. You get a rich, creamy, sweet and comforting dish whose leftovers can double as potato pancakes. Just add about 1/3 as much flour as potatoes, form into patties, and fry up.

Thanks again for supporting the farm this 2017 season!

PS. sorry no picture today, computer issues

TURNIPS AND RADISHES  Sweet and juicy roots!

BUTTERHEAD LETTUCE  Our most delicious buttery heads are back

RED LEAF LETTUCE  Big ruffly goodness

SWEET POTATOES  Bonita variety have creamy yellow centers.

KALE OR SPROUTING BROCCOLI  Sweet brassica from the frost-kissed fields.

SWEET PEPPERS  The last of the season.

SPINACH  Big dark green leaves full of nutrients.

LEEKS  The most refined of the onion family.

IN TWO WEEKS:  The last of the 16 week CSA:  carrots, lettuce, garlic, sweet potatoes, beets, bulb fennel and greens.

FARM REPORT:
It is Halloween eve as I write this.  There’s no flurry of doorbells and candy as our farm is too far out in the sticks for trick-or-treaters.  When we were young, my parents would drive us to my grandparent’s neighborhood in Excelsior Springs for the occasion.  Here all is quiet and cozy.  We lit our first fire of the season in the wood stove tonight.  Our cats, Momma and Sandy keep me company on the couch as I type away at the laptop.

The last few days have been a flurry of work preparing the farm for cold weather.  A freeze came Saturday morning and took out the peppers, but the cabbages, broccolis and kales were unfazed.  Our fall kale patch is especially glorious and is at it’s best after a few cold nights.