FULL SHARE & GREEN HALF SHARE PICK UP TONIGHT

Pick up today: 5pm - 7:30pm at PS 56 on the corner of Gates and Downing

This Week's Share

Bunched Baby Lettuce
Koji or Mustard Mix
Kale
Leeks
Squashes
Purple potatoes
Peppers
Chiles
Tomatoes
Sweet corn
Macintosh apples and Bartlett pears

Letter from Windflower Farm

The bean and corn season has come to a close here, and summer squashes and tomatoes are winding down rapidly. Temperatures have cooled considerably, and foliage has already begun to turn. In the Northeast, the farm season can shut down quickly. A near freeze Monday morning nearly caught us off guard. Next week, look for mixed baby lettuces, arugula, a mustard mix, winter squashes, potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic and the last of our chiles and cilantro (perhaps a last batch of salsa). In the final five weeks of the season, summer crops will give way to the crops of fall and winter: carrots, beets, turnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, leeks, garlic, winter squashes, cold-hardy greens and cabbage – all the makings for wonderful soups, stews and roasts. It’s a season of heavy lifting. Roots are dug from the earth. We might have the aid of a harvester, but generally its function is to loosen the crop from the soil around it or, at best, to pull the crop out of the earth and redeposit it on the soil surface. It’s bend-over work: pull it out or pick it up, put it into a tote or bin, lift the tote onto a wagon or pallet, tuck it into the barn. So, our bend-overs are tired. But it is just a passing part of the season, and soon enough we’ll have filled our barns and coolers and garage.
Fruit shares resumed last week and will continue for a total of six weeks this fall. This week, it’s Macintosh or Goldie apples (if you got one last week, you’ll get the other this week) and Bartlett pears. A variety of other apples and bosc pears and cider are all to come.

A gentle rain fell this morning. It’s been all too rare this season, and this one was light and short lived. But I think it was enough to insure the germination of our most recently seeded cover crops (this one a mix of rye, oats, peas and vetch) and boost along the young greens (arugula, braising mixes, kales, spinach, Swiss chard, tatsoi and choys) that will fill out your final shares of the season.

All the best, Ted and the farm team

Recipe Ideas

I think it's official, with the lower temperatures, and rain that fall is coming, and with fall it's Chili Time! Here's a few different recipes to try- all involving fresh veggies.

Cookie & Kate's Fresh Veggie Chili

Black Bean Chili with Summer Squashes

The Food Lab at Serious Eats gets the low down on perfecting the perfect chili.

Around Town

Chili Pepper Festival at Brooklyn Botanical Garden!

Get your chilies to make Chili! New York's hottest fall tradition features blazing bands from around the world, including African, Cajun, Latin, and Moroccan beats! Feel the burn as you sample hi-scoville sauces from Brooklyn and beyond, shop for spices at Sahadi's souk, and indulge in the heat of artisanal goodies from chile-chocolatiers.

Just Outside Town

Tho the weather may be a little gloomy this weekend, if you're looking for something fun to do- I would highly recommend Getting your garlic on! at the Hudson Valley Garlic Festival. It's in Saugerties NY, just up the NY throughway. It Saturday and Sunday, rain or shine. There's farms from all over the Hudson valley selling their heirloom varieties of garlic, and ALL sorts of delicious foods made from garlic. Also at the festival are food vendors, kids activities, music, and the cute little town of Saugerties itself. In Saugerties you can stop for lunch at one of the local restaurants, get some delicious home made pickles from The Brine Barrel, or have a brew on the Esopus Creek at the Diamond Mills Hotel.

THE BEET: Volume 15, Issue 17