October 29, 2023
Hot and Cold
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #26 (Week B) should include sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, beets, lettuce mix, celery, bok choy, kale, arugula, red mustard greens, fennel, and a minuscule amount of broccoli and cauliflower. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Hot-and-Cold-3035/

October 29, 2023
Final Week of Workshifts for Season!
by Farmer Derek

If you signed up for a share with a work discount and you're unable to put in the time that's a-okay, just send us payment to cover the full cost of your share ($15/unworked hour. Half Share = 4 hours. Medium Share = 6 hours. Full Share = 8 hours). Thank you for understanding.

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)! We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Final-Week-of-Workshifts-for-Season-3036/

October 29, 2023
Garlic Planted and Mulched, Check
by Farmer Derek

A significant task was successfully started and finished last week while we enjoyed some of the nicest dry and warm autumn weather we could ask for. I have so many (bad) memories of planting and mulching the next season's garlic in either too wet conditions or with a hard deadline due to impending bad weather that I could not resist embarking on the project this past week, almost two weeks ahead of what's become our normal planting date.

Beginning on Monday and wrapping up on Wednesday, it was good to know that we had most of the week to finish the job. We even managed to plant and mulch the whole patch 'in-house', i.e. without the help of CSA members during workshifts. It's not every season that we have three full-time farmer helpers onsite this time of year and we were able to make pretty quick work of planting the almost 400lbs of garlic clove/seed spread out over 3000 feet of beds. CSA members did provide great help in splitting up the garlic bulbs into 400lbs of cloves as well as the harvesting, tying, and hanging of many thousands of bulbs back in July. So a team effort, indeed.

And that, my friends, was the very last planting of this season, this year. After using 12.5 large round bales to cover the entire area with straw, the garlic cloves will slowly wake up and send roots downward and a sun-seeking sprout upwards. Depending on future temperatures this autumn and winter, we may not see above ground growth until late February or early March. Then, it's quick growth until we eat the first iteration of this amazing plant in early May, known as 'green garlic', when the entire plant is edible.

Now that we've planted the garlic, we plan to resume distributing unused bulbs during the final two weeks of Main Season. Enjoy!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Garlic-Planted-and-Mulched-Check-3037/

October 22, 2023
Delicious Fall Cooking
by Linda Dansbury

The cool fall weather causes me to turn to roasting, stewing and "souping". I hope you are all enjoying cooking in season as much as I do. Here are a few things I have prepared recently.

Peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, herbs - made a large batch of stuffed peppers - they turned out delicious and the good news is that I have some in the freezer for enjoying down the road.

Potatoes, leeks, garlic, peppers, carrots, beets - I roasted a large sheet pan of mixed veggies. I roast them at about 400 degrees, although it can go higher or lower if you are cooking something else in your oven at the same time. Trick is to cut everything the same size so that they are all tender at the same time. I toss with olive oil, salt and pepper and then I add some sprigs of thyme or rosemary. I always make a lot of this because leftovers are delicious as a part of a grain salad, or in frittatas (yum!).

Winter squash, onion, arugula - made a delicious fall salad - I roasted the squash until tender and cut it into cubes. Made a salad dressing of apple cider, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, onion, salt and pepper. Placed arugula on a platter, drizzled with a bit of the dressing, mixed the squash cubes with dressing and placed on top of arugula. Topped with shredded parm cheese - really yummy and leftovers were great too.

Bok Choy, Swiss chard, turnips, carrots, cilantro, onion - made the Asian Style Cole Slaw that is on this site. Note the mix of veggies is somewhat different than the recipe.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Delicious-Fall-Cooking-3030/

October 22, 2023
Winter Squash Tips
by Linda Dansbury

As much as I love winter squash, I hate peeling it prior to cooking. I recently learned of a trick to make it easier. Place the entire squash in oven for 5-10 minutes at whatever temperature you are roasting it. Remove it from oven, being careful not to get burned. You will find that it is so much easier to cut through and peel. I have also seen that you can microwave on high for 5 minutes, but I haven't tried that method myself yet.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Winter-Squash-Tips-3031/

October 22, 2023
Sweet Potato Love
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #25 (Week A) should include sweet potatoes, leeks, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, beets, bok choy, napa/chinese cabbage, head lettuce, green/ripening tomatoes, sweet peppers, celery, fennel, broccoli, and cauliflower. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Sweet-Potato-Love-3032/

October 22, 2023
Workshifts for Week of October 23rd
by Farmer Derek

(A reminder that if you signed up for a share with a work discount you have less than one month to satisfy that requirement. If you're unable to put in the time that's a-okay, just send us payment to cover the full cost of your share ($15/unworked hour. Half Share = 4 hours. Medium Share = 6 hours. Full Share = 8 hours). Now that we're into the middle of October there is much less work to do overall than late spring and all of summer. Thank you for understanding.)

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-October-23rd-3033/

October 22, 2023
Final Approach
by Farmer Derek

The proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is now visible. With four more weeks of CSA pick up, barring any extreme weather events, we should now be able to map out the harvests fairly accurately through the final week of pick up. Crops will be earmarked for specific weeks, some based on their cold tolerance and when we need to retrieve them from the field, others, like the roots and tubers, based on their storability and when they were initially harvested. Sensitive field greens will be harvested first, then hardier varieties, then crops in the tunnels.

This is the first season in eleven years that we're not hosting a Late Fall or Winter CSA. Our goal is to distribute as much of our crops as possible prior to the conclusion of Main Season. If there are tunnel and hardy field greens worth harvesting after that, and we have an abundance of some storage crops, me may host the occasional 'flash sale' over the winter months.

With the absence of the six-week Late Fall that would take us through the end of the year but with the additional two weeks of Main Season, there may be some some kinks in our system as we attempt to perfect seeding, planting, and harvesting dates for the late season crops (Late Fall CSA had around 100 full-share-equivalent members picking up each week compared to 300 during Main Season). It will be interesting to see how it shakes out and how we'll decide to perfect it next year. I really enjoy the mix of roots, tubers, greens, cabbages, etc this time of year and hope you do too!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Final-Approach-3034/

October 15, 2023
Fall Staples
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #24 (Week B) should include leeks, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, beets, bok choy, napa/chinese cabbage, head lettuce, green/ripening tomatoes, sweet peppers, celery, fennel, broccoli, and cauliflower. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Fall-Staples-3027/

October 15, 2023
Workshifts for Week of October 16th
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-October-16th-3028/

October 15, 2023
Soil Nourishment
by Farmer Derek

Rain was welcomed and received over the weekend, depositing a solid inch on the farm, triggering the final round of cover crop seeds to germinate. This batch of winter rye was sown where hot, sweet, and shishito peppers called home, as well as the okra and half of the eggplant. The rye sown on the sweet potato patch also will benefit from this round of rainfall since we only received about a tenth of an inch the preceding weekend.

It should be safe to say that we're now finished working the soil and establishing cover crops for the season. There's a cutoff point in the fall where the risks outweigh the rewards of working the soil for the establishment of a cover crop. Plant growth slows as light wanes and temperatures drop and we really don't want much soil exposed over the winter months. From now until we receive some serious cold, the oats, buckwheat, rye, and clover that has been sown over the past couple of months will continue to photosynthesize the sun's rays, scavenge for nutrients in the soil, and provide a living cover on the fields.

The species of cover crops we sow have varying tolerances to temperature. Buckwheat is traditionally summer sown and dies with a hard frost. Oats will survive until temperatures bottom out in the upper teens and low twenties a few nights in a row. Rye and clover will survive our winters and resume growing in the spring. In April and May they'll try to reproduce and we'll terminate them by mowing at that stage. Generally, where overwintered cover crops are grown, produce cannot be planted until midsummer, after the organic matter and plant residue has had a chance to break down some. Where the oats and buckwheat grew we're able to plant our earliest crops in the spring. Overall about 75% of field space gets covered with the winter-killed species, 15% with the over-wintered species, and the remaining 10% is areas where fall crops continue to grow late in the season.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Soil-Nourishment-3029/

October 8, 2023
Root Zone
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #23 (Week A) should include leeks, winter squash, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, beets, bok choy, napa/chinese cabbage, head lettuce, romaine lettuce, green/ripening tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and shishito peppers. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.

A reminder that there are 28 harvest weeks this year. The final week of pick up for Week A Half Shares is November 6th. For Week B Half, Medium, and Full Shares, the final week of pick up is November 13th.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Root-Zone-3023/

October 8, 2023
Workshifts for Week of October 9th
by Farmer Derek

This week's workshift schedule:

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-October-9th-3024/

October 8, 2023
Building Farm Muscle
by Farmer Derek

Some quintessential fall weather has enveloped the farm, and we couldn't be happier. Sweet potatoes are out of the ground, safe and sound in storage, converting starch to sugar while curing. The yield and quality look good this year, not record breaking, but at least meeting expectations. Probably 4,000-5,000 pounds were hand dug, carried and loaded onto the truck, and upended to create Sweet Potato Mountain in a rodent-proof warm room to hasten the curing process. Close to 2000 pounds of beets were then harvested during Sunday's workshift, loaded in the truck, and unloaded into cold storage.

The sweet potato harvest always takes a toll on my body, mostly in the form of deep muscle soreness from carrying and unloading all of the 60-70 pound bins, but this year we also had to deal with wetter and heavier soil, at least to start the week. As time went on and we moved uphill the beds dried out a bit more. Now that I've entered my 5th decade I realize that a good way to feel young is to remain physically active and in good health. It's also nice to accomplish something useful through strenuous physical activity.

A big thank you to everyone who was able to help out this past week!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Building-Farm-Muscle-3025/

October 8, 2023
Nourishing Your Skin
by Farmer Dana

I was chatting with long time CSA member Carol Sondesky recently and she told me about her line of skincare products made from all natural ingredients. The revelation piqued my attention as I've also recently realized that I'm aging at an alarming rate and should probably do something to look after my skin. A long time ago, I can't recall where, I read that you shouldn't apply things to your skin that you wouldn't also eat and the sentiment resonated with me as a health conscious person. After trying a few NYL products, especially the 'Like Velvet' face oil, I feel like I have found what I was looking for. The ingredients are 100% from amazing plants (like rosehips and pomegranate) and made in Bucks County. I don't promote products willy nilly, but Carol has created an incredible product line and I wanted to share the goodness with our CSA members.

Carol's quote about the inspiration behind her NYL line of products couldn't put it better, "I simply couldn't understand why my organic food came with an expiration date but my skincare did not."

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Nourishing-Your-Skin-3026/

October 1, 2023
A Sure Sign of Fall
by Linda Dansbury

The weather may be trending back toward summer this week, but the pick up room will surely be saying it's fall. Two new things will likely make an appearance this week: Napa cabbage and bok choy. Both veggies are healthy and delicious.

Napa cabbage - can be used in any dish calling for cabbage, but Napa is especially great in stir fries. Also salads, tacos and sauteed in butter, olive oil, garlic - allow to brown a bit when you saute it for an almost nutty flavor. Store in a plastic bag, in which a paper towel has been added to absorb any moisture. Napa will keep for a few weeks - the heads are often large so I take off the leaves I want to use at any one time instead of cutting the head in half, to avoid brown edges on the cut portions.

Bok Choy - another wonderful, flexible veggie, delicious raw in salads or with dip or hummus, stir fried, roasted, and even grilled! Store in a plastic bag with a paper towel and use within a week for best flavor and results. If you keep it longer, the outer leaves will begin to yellow - you can just remove them and use the inner part as planned. Check out the recipes on this site!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/A-Sure-Sign-of-Fall-3018/

October 1, 2023
Peppers Galore!
by Linda Dansbury

Between the farm and what I grow on my own, I have been inundated with peppers the past few weeks. Fortunately, they store well. As I mentioned before, The Roasted Squash and Roasted Pepper Soup is delicious, and I have frozen 2 containers of it. Peppers also freeze well - just cut in half or quarters, removed seeds and white pith; place in single layer on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, place in plastic bags and leave in freezer until ready to use - amazingly, peppers frozen this way are great even in stir fries! And of course chili, soups and stews. I made Sweet Pepper Relish this week too - I am not adding it to the website, because it was very time consuming, but it did turn out great - I added a hot pepper for more depth. If anybody wants the recipe, email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net.

I have been loving the return of the greens - arugula salads and adding the chard and kale to dishes. One delicious dish I made was a spaghetti squash stuffed with sausage, onion, garlic, chopped up tomatoes and chopped kale (dish called for spinach).

Tomatoes are waning, and almost finished at the farm, but the abundance of what I grew along with the farm's bounty inspired me to make tomato juice and even tomato paste - if you haven't tried these and have time, try them - they both are pretty simple to make, they freeze great and are much more tasty than store bought.

I just received an email that has a delicious looking lentil soup that is packed with veggies and greens - hmmm, think I will try that this coming week!

Enjoy the harvest.

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Peppers-Galore-3019/

October 1, 2023
Time Savor
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #22 (Week B) should include leeks, winter squash, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, bok choy, napa/chinese cabbage, head lettuce, romaine lettuce, green/ripening tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, and shishito peppers. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers. Garlic is on pause until we're sure we will have enough cloves for seed (300lbs).

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Time-Savor-3020/

October 1, 2023
Workshifts for Week of October 2nd
by Farmer Derek

A reminder that if you signed up for a share with a work discount you have about one more month to satisfy that requirement. If you're unable to put in the time that's a-okay, just send us payment to cover the full cost of your share.

This week's workshift schedule (desperately hoping to harvest sweet potatoes this week before more rain arrives!):

Bring gloves, water, a hat, sturdy shoes, and a pad for kneeling (if necessary for you)!

We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Workshifts-for-Week-of-October-2nd-3021/

October 1, 2023
Let's Harvest Sweet Potatoes!
by Farmer Derek

Thank goodness for a break in the weather! I do enjoy cool, cloudy, and wet days once in a while, but almost a solid week of the same dreary weather is tough on farmers and crops alike. Us farm creatures really need the soil to dry out this week so we can smoothly retrieve the sweet potatoes. This harvest goes a lot quicker in dry friable soil and our bed lifter/undercutter tool bar is also much more effective. Once the ground is loosened, we should be able to pull the tubers up by their vines, which were planted at the crown of highly raised beds. There's somewhat of a race against time on this project because sweet potatoes don't tolerate cold weather well and very soon we'll experience some cold nights, even a frost. Sitting in soggy ground is not ideal either, and there's an approaching cold front on Friday that will trigger another rain event. So, the clock ticks. Once they're out of the ground they'll go in an insulated rodent proof room where they'll cure for a couple of weeks, slowly converting starch to sugar and healing any wounds they may have from the harvesting process.

All the other crops would also benefit from drying out. Perpetual wet feet does not benefit any of them and there definitely are signs of stress out in the fields. Right now there's an abundance of crops so a loss here and there isn't too detrimental but we always hate to see it. Some loss in farming is certainly unavoidable due to the weather factor but we've been through worse during our 15 year spell here and will get through this minor setback with most crops surviving unscathed. This is exactly where/when crop diversity is of the utmost importance.

Consider joining us to harvest sweet potatoes this week - we could use your help!

Link: https://www.anchorrunfarm.com/blog/Lets-Harvest-Sweet-Potatoes-3022/