THE BEET: VOLUME 17; WEEK 19
FULL SHARE & YELLOW 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
Swiss chard
Arugula
Lettuce
Sweet potatoes
Onions
Acorn squashes (or pie pumpkins)
Sweet peppers
Potatoes
Herbs (sage or parsley)
Perhaps some eggplants or chiles or broccoli
Fruit: Empire apples and Bosc pears
Letter from Windflower Farm
Delivery #19, Week of October 8th, 2018
This week’s share.
Swiss chard, arugula, lettuce, Sweet potatoes, onions, acorn squashes (or pie pumpkins), sweet peppers, potatoes, herbs (sage or parsley), and perhaps some eggplants or chiles or broccoli. Your fruit will be Empire apples and Bosc pears. Next week, you’ll get carrots, leeks, sweet potatoes, fennel, onions, squashes, peppers, potatoes, garlic, lettuce, escarole, Winterbor kale and herbs.
What’s new on the farm?
The Kubota is running again, but the repair did not set any new speed records. In addition to the bearing problem I wrote about last week, three small welds had broken, which took Nate some time to repair. His work reminds me that it is terrific having a kid who can weld.
A new Windflower Farm planting record was achieved, however. On Friday, we managed to plant five small tomato greenhouses (the kinds we call “caterpillars”) to winter greens - Swiss chard, spinach, Koji and kales. For some perspective, that’s the equivalent of a four-row bed the length of five football fields. We still have four more caterpillars to plant, along with three large greenhouses, and we hope to have them all planted by this time next week.
On a related note, winter share signups will be available soon. We hope you’ll join us for the four deliveries of our winter season.
I’m mapping the 2019 location of crops on the farm. Next year, these caterpillar greenhouses will be rotated out of tomatoes and into flowers or peppers or herbs to break up pest cycles. Crop rotation is the most important tool we have for dealing with pests without pesticides. Inside our deer fence, an area of about eighty acres – we use a five-year rotation. This year’s severe drought brought about a change in our thinking. Now, all of the greens and the smaller root crops (carrots, radishes and beets) will be put in our front field, the one we call Maryjane, because our good overhead irrigation system can take care of them there. Corn, beans, squashes, cucumbers, peppers and sweet potatoes, all grown with mulch and drip irrigation, will be located in the large field that is served by our biggest pond. And the potatoes, cabbages and onions – vegetables that deer don’t regard as food – will be planted in a rotation of their own in the ten acres remaining outside the deer fence.
I spent the first half of today working in a lovely mist, plowing under old weeds and crop residues in preparation for the very last of this year’s outdoor plantings. The large sugar maples in the hedges are golden, and the climbing woodbine is a deep red. The peak of colors is perhaps a week away. Because of recent rains, the ground has finally become soft, and deep plowing has once again become possible. I was working in the back field near the new pond, which was in potatoes this year, and will be the location of next year’s winter squashes. Squashes are generally happy to follow potatoes in a crop rotation, following the old time admonition: ‘fruits to follow roots’. Or is that ‘roots to follow fruits’? It likely doesn’t matter because these two crops don’t share pests, and following one with the other is going to interrupt the pest cycles of both, or so I hope.
Have a great week, Ted
Reminders: Volunteering, Fright Night Feast, and more!
If you're curious about how your CSA is run, and/or might want to get involved, join our friendly Core group TONIGHT at 6:15pm at distribution to find out more.
We're gearing up for our Halloween Party at distribution on October 25th, and we need your help! From spooky snacks to dreadful drinks, if you've got an idea for Halloween-themed food or beverages to contribute, please email Sarah at sarahchinn67 at gmail dot com to register your interest.
Members must complete their volunteer hours to be eligible to sign up for next year's CSA. If you haven't yet completed your volunteering, or you're having trouble signing up for hours, please contact Colby at information at CHCSA dot org.
Sign-ups for the Winter Share are coming soon! Watch this space...
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Chile, Yogurt and Mint
It's sweet potato season! Here are 17 ideas for how to cook these golden nuggets from Healthyish, including this delicious recipe by Andy Baraghani for Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Chile, Yogurt and Mint. 8 servings.
Ingredients
4 pounds medium sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2½ cups plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 serrano chile, finely grated
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
1½ cups mint leaves, torn if large
Flaky sea salt
Method
Preheat oven to 400°. Toss sweet potatoes with 2 Tbsp. oil on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast, turning halfway through, until tender, 50–60 minutes. Remove from oven; increase oven temperature to 450°. Let sweet potatoes cool slightly, then tear into large pieces (including skin)—irregular pieces look best. Spread out on the same baking sheet and roast until browned and crisp around the edges, 20–25 minutes.
Combine yogurt, chile, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a medium bowl; season with kosher salt. Coarsely crush sesame seeds on a cutting board with a flat-bottomed mug (or leave them whole).
Spread chile yogurt on a platter; top with sweet potatoes. Scatter mint, sesame seeds, and sea salt over; drizzle with oil.
Do Ahead
Sweet potatoes can be roasted 6 hours ahead. Let sit at room temperature. Reheat in a 400° oven just to warm through before serving. Chile yogurt can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill.