News and Notes | Posts Filtered by Month

Harvest #28 (Week B) should include sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, kohlrabi, hakurei turnips, beets, lettuce mix, bok choy, kale, arugula, fennel, spinach, and a small amount of onions and garlic. Some items may be a choice. U-pick is finished for the season following a few hard frosts + freezes.

A reminder that there are 28 harvest weeks this year and this is the final week of pick up for Week B Half, Medium, and Full Shares!

Frosty mornings are becoming more regular now.

November 12, 2023
Maple Syrup and Honey - Preorder by 11/14/23
by Farmer Dana

Susan and Todd Klikus of Augusta Acres Farm will be at Anchor Run CSA on Thursday, November 16th, 1:00-6:00pm to distribute their maple syrup and honey. Preorders are encouraged again this time. There will be a small amount available to purchase the day of.
- To order, follow this link. Products, payment options, and pricing are shown on the order form. Orders are due by 7pm Tuesday, November 14th.
- Augusta Acres is located in Beach Lake, PA and is a family-run operation. They farm using only organic methods and are members of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Maple Producers Association.
- Sap from trees located strictly on the farm is boiled down in small batches on their wood fired arch to produce a maple syrup that is dark and robust. Their honey is extracted from on-farm apiaries and is an "all season", raw honey which is dark and very sweet.
- Pints are $15 (honey, maple syrup); Quarts are $25 (maple syrup only). Bourbon Barrel Aged maple syrup is also available!
- Questions, contact Susan Klikus directly at susanklikus@gmail.com.
- If you can't make it to the farm during those hours and you would still like to participate in this opportunity your order will be left here in a labeled box/bag which you can pick up during another pick up day. You must prepay for this option.

November 12, 2023
Sustaining and Sustainable
by Farmer Derek

Farmers Adeline, Gabby, and Connor.

As we conclude our 15th farming season at the helm of Anchor Run CSA, it's worth recognizing the importance and value of the many great assets that have enabled Anchor Run CSA to survive and thrive and fly into and through its 20th overall season of production.

Our crew of farmer-friends truly help run this place. Quite simply, without their help this community supported farm wouldn't be operable. Their work ethic, positive attitude, diligence, camaraderie, interest in the farm, and willingness to learn new skills, greatly improved every aspect of farm life. From completing tasks quickly and efficiently to managing the pick up room and interacting with CSA members at workshifts, everything was just a little bit better this year. Work-life balance also improved under their tutelage with fewer hours worked overall for everyone, i.e. more work was accomplished in less time.

A big thank you to Farmers Adeline, Connor, Craig, and Gabby for making this such a wonderful season!

Having the record for the longest tenured Anchor Run crew member, Farmer Craig took on a part-time roll this season, joining the crew on harvest mornings and pick up room evenings.

Along with the wonderful farm crew, our community of members is a buttress, a backbone, a beam of love and light that guides and supports this community farm project. I mean that quite literally as 100% of farm revenue is from membership dues, thus the invisible real support, but most importantly the intangible benefit of a thriving community that provides a visceral feeling of purpose and orientation. As the years have gone by I'm not out in the pick up room as much as I used to be, nor am I consistently part of workshifts, but I do revel in the acknowledgements of thanks and appreciation from you that I receive when you see me, and within your e-mail communications. The gratitude is truly mutual.

Valued CSA members, we sincerely thank you for being part of our local food community!

One of the highlights of every July is the Great Garlic Harvest, successfully completed with the help of 60 or so CSA members.

November 5, 2023
Fall Enjoyment!
by Linda Dansbury

Jenny, one of Farmer Dana's pet sheep friends, smiles in appreciation of some nice cool fall weather.

I enjoy making large batches of things and having multiple meals out of 1 day of effort. Roasting, stewing, souping are all great ways to enjoy the fall harvests and have more than one meal to enjoy.

Sweet potato, potato, turnip - I enjoy making "mixed mash" - a blend of these 3 veggies makes for an enjoyable variation to the traditional mashed potatoes.

Turnips, beets, leek, garlic, sweet potato, potatoes, carrots, peppers - roast lots of different veggies for a delicious side dish - mix up the taste by adding different veggies, herbs and even seasoning salts. I have said this before, but the leftovers make an amazing frittata.

Fennel, celery, onion, carrot - used with lentils in making a delicious base for salmon. I turned the leftovers into a delicious salad.

Cabbage, leeks - made a delicious saute. I took several leaves off of the cabbage and cut them julienne - as you would do in making cole slaw. Used a combo of butter and olive oil to saute both veggies slowly. Added salt, pepper and thyme to the pan and cooked until the cabbage was tender and slightly browned around the edges. Served along with a pork roast - I thought later that this would have been delicious with sliced apples added.

Winter squash, kale, onion - made a dish in which I roasted the squash with some thyme. While squash was roasting, I sauteed onion and garlic and added chopped kale and sauteed until wilted and tender. Added the roasted squash pieces to the pan and mixed all together and squeezed a bit of lemon juice over all. Served over whole wheat pasta, with olive oil and grated parmesan cheese. Yummy.

November 5, 2023
Bring Your Muscles!
by Farmer Derek

A few nights of below freezing temperatures have concluded the u-pick season. Now we can look forward to fresh herbs, strawberries, and peas in the spring!

Harvest #27 (Week A) should include sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, beets, lettuce mix, bok choy, kale, arugula, red mustard greens, fennel, spinach, and a small amount of onions and garlic. Some items may be a choice. U-pick is finished for the season following a few hard frosts + freezes.

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

Lettuces ready for the mix!

November 5, 2023
Maple Syrup and Honey - Preorder by 11/14/23
by Farmer Dana

Susan and Todd Klikus of Augusta Acres Farm will be at Anchor Run CSA on Thursday, November 16th, 1:00-6:00pm to distribute their maple syrup and honey. Preorders are encouraged again this time. There will be a small amount available to purchase the day of.
- To order, follow this link. Products, payment options, and pricing are shown on the order form. Orders are due by 7pm Tuesday, November 14th.
- Augusta Acres is located in Beach Lake, PA and is a family-run operation. They farm using only organic methods and are members of Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the Pennsylvania Maple Producers Association.
- Sap from trees located strictly on the farm is boiled down in small batches on their wood fired arch to produce a maple syrup that is dark and robust. Their honey is extracted from on-farm apiaries and is an "all season", raw honey which is dark and very sweet.
- Pints are $15 (honey, maple syrup); Quarts are $25 (maple syrup only). Bourbon Barrel Aged maple syrup is also available!
- Questions, contact Susan Klikus directly at susanklikus@gmail.com.
- If you can't make it to the farm during those hours and you would still like to participate in this opportunity your order will be left here in a labeled box/bag which you can pick up during another pick up day. You must prepay for this option.

November 5, 2023
Penultimate Harvest
by Farmer Derek

Spinach returns to shares starting this week.

Now that we're into the final two weeks of share pick up, it's time to wish thee well and reflect on what's been. We're fortunate to have some wonderful fall weather as we close out the 2023 harvest season. Be sure to bring enough bags - and plenty of strength - to carry home your farm share! We're planning to unload as much produce as possible over these next two weeks, from the fields and from storage (maybe 15lbs per member, so 9,000lbs total). But don't worry, a lot of the produce has a long shelf life and will hold up just fine in your refrigerator (greens and most roots), on your counter (sweet potatoes, onions, garlic), or in a cool dark spot (potatoes).

We hope you've enjoyed the harvest this year. For new members, hopefully the quantity and variety wasn't too overwhelming and you were able to find some new favorite seasonal vegetable(s). For returning members and those that have been here as long or longer than us, hopefully overall this season feels like it's up there with some of the best. If you've been with us for a while, you know (and maybe appreciate) that every growing season is different, with certain crops that perform incredibly well one year and not the next. Sometimes beloved crops disappear altogether, like husk cherries (we were unable to identify why they've been on a slow decline for a few years so decided to nix them until we figure out why).

In my mind, at this moment, I feel overall most crops performed well and met (my) expectations this season. Some yielded more than ever, like carrots. Some were a bust, like broccoli and cauliflower and standard fall cabbage. We tend to remember the extremes most easily. Pest and disease pressure was average overall, but was specifically better or worse for certain crops. Pressure on zucchini, cucumbers, beans, and tomatoes was less than normal but greater for chard, beets, and spinach. The weather this season, overall again, had fewer extremes than some years but still can claim a few anomalies. We endured our latest frost in May and many local growers lost their cold-sensitive tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant (we got lucky). May and June were very dry and we ran irrigation constantly. July turned very wet and we didn't have to irrigate outdoor crops after that. August was cool and then we sustained our hottest spell of the season in September. October and November have provided some quintessentially-perfect fall weather.

We're only now beginning to plan for next season, and of course our goal is to make the farm experience even better, or at least as good as it can be. If you have any suggestions we'd love to hear them. If you have any questions please reach out. Have a great winter. We'll be in touch periodically with updates and announcements and perhaps a flash veggie sale or two. A big, heartfelt thanks, feeling of love and appreciation for you, our farm members!