November 24, 2025
Frost Sweetened
by Farmer Derek

Late Fall Harvest #2 (Week B) should include garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage, winter squash, romaine, radicchio, kohlrabi, lettuce, hakurei turnips, salad radishes, arugula, bok choy, komatsuna, and kale. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include herbs.

November 24, 2025
Frosty Mornings
by Farmer Derek

Frosty mornings and subfreezing temperatures are becoming more regular, which makes perfect sense for this time of year. The 'knock out blow' seems to be a long way off fortunately, so we can continue harvesting unprotected outdoor crops for another couple of weeks. Typically in November and December the weather dictates when and which crops we can harvest. We bid farewell to outdoor lettuces when temperatures plummet into the teens or low 20s. We're hopeful our large curly kale, which is very cold tolerant, will remain harvestable through the winter.

Many farmers employ floating row cover to provide a few degrees of protection for outdoor crops but we've found that to be mostly a waste of time with ample frustration. Frequent windy days during these transitional months causes the row cover to billow and batter the protected crops, injuring upper portions that are most exposed to frost, leaving them unharvestable. Even without wind, laying the row cover right on the crops doesn't always better protect them from heavy frost (we've had side by side comparisons of covered versus uncovered). The only possible solution is to add small hoops spaced every few feet to keep the cover elevated (which adds an air barrier). However, this also makes it more susceptible to wind and only works for low crops like lettuce and some greens. Sandbags placed every couple of feet helps keep it in place but isn't guaranteed. Even after making this effort we've had large mammals trample it and inadvertently add holes all over the place. Add an early season heavy wet snow to the mix for even more fun.

Row cover does come in a variety of thicknesses. The lightest is mostly a bug barrier and a moisture retainer during the spring and summer months. The heaviest and thickest is the most durable and warmest. Outdoors, with hoops and sandbags every couple of feet, every bed and in every aisle, row cover well elevated, no wind, mammals, or snow, one might find a benefit for temperatures dropping into the mid and upper 20s.

Instead of fussing with this, though, we decided years ago to just pivot to indoor growing in the high tunnel, hoop tunnel, and caterpillar tunnels this time of year. Trust me, we spent many, many, many hours dealing with row cover and outdoor crops under that protection. Call it trial by error with frustration and exasperation. This was our first year in 17 that we didn't use any row cover during the season. Next year, however, we will probably use the lightweight fabric on our early zucchini and cucumber planting as a bug barrier. But gone are the days of using it outside during the cold season as extra protection.

November 17, 2025
Roots and More
by Linda Dansbury

The huge assortment of veggies is amazing! Here are a few things I enjoyed this past week.

Cabbage, beets and kohlrabi - made a salad/slaw using these. Not only was it yummy, it also keep well for a few days. I shredded everything (no cooking) and then made a vinaigrette of apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. That's it - so simple and delicious. The ingredients can be switched up with whatever you have: turnips, radishes, bok choy, etc.

Sweet potato - everyone knows regular baked potatoes, but I also really like baked sweets - so good, all they need is a bit of butter, but if you want, you can jazz it up with a bit of cinnamon.

Sweet potato, winter squash, potato, onion, garlic - of course, almost every week I roast a pile of veggies. Added some rosemary for added flavor.

Bok choy, cabbage, turnips, sweet and hot peppers (from freezer), onions - made a stir fry with all these beautiful veggies - you can use any green(s) from the farm. I used shrimp for my protein this time.

November 17, 2025
Continued Food Joy
by Farmer Derek

Late Fall Harvest #1 (Week A) should include garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage, winter squash, romaine, radicchio, kohlrabi, lettuce, beets, hakurei turnips, salad radishes, arugula, bok choy, komatsuna, and kale. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include herbs.

November 17, 2025
Extending the Season
by Farmer Derek

Welcome to our mini Late Fall CSA season! Four more weeks of harvesting and washing and working in the cold; in other words playing and exercising and spending time doing what we love!

This could be our 13th or 14th (?) Late Fall season since we started farming here in 2009. After adding a couple of weeks to the length of the Main Season a few years ago we nixed Late Fall in favor of flash sales. We also thought those two extra weeks would take us later into November or even December but with season extension functioning well on the front end, our harvest season has been starting in early May and we've been ending by mid-November. So, there is just enough time to squeeze in a legit short late CSA season. We could probably run it until New Years but due to our once-a-year family vacation overlapping school closures around the holidays we unfortunately won't be here the latter third of December. Hopefully by then we've harvested most of the crops and depleted our stores.

Another big reason we suspended Late Fall was due to the inherent challenges of growing, harvesting, processing, washing produce this time of year. It's possible we won't see any extreme cold (or snow) until after this wraps up, but there's also a good chance we will experience cold that requires us to use extra protection on more sensitive crops. I remember temperatures dropping into the teens at night and barely rising above freezing during the day in mid-November years ago. We have four tunnels that provide adequate protection into the low 20s, but anything less than that and we need to erect small hoops and add an additional cover. Most of the crops we grow this time of year tolerate pretty extreme cold just fine, but the issue is how long we have to wait for them to bounce back from any injury. We still have outdoor crops like kale, cabbage, romaine, radicchio, and head lettuce to harvest. The hardiest is probably kale, weakest lettuce. Our goal is to pivot to tunnel lettuce when real cold sets in.

Thanks for joining!

November 10, 2025
Main Season Finale
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #28 (Week B) should include garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage, romaine, radicchio, fennel, kohlrabi, lettuce, Swiss chard, beets, hakurei turnips, salad radishes, arugula, bok choy, komatsuna, and kale. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include herbs.

November 10, 2025
Warming Foods
by Linda Dansbury

Fall temps are often up and down, and they are about to go way down. So in using your shares, think of warming foods: gratins, roasted veggies, soups, stews.

Swiss chard, onion, garlic - made a dish based on the Stuffed Chard with Marinara on this site. Instead of shallots I used onion, used garlic rather than garlic powder and used some tomatoes I had frozen in season instead of canned tomatoes. Very good.

Swiss chard, onion, garlic - made sauteed Swiss chard as a side dish. Very simple: saute onion along with the chopped chard stems in a bit of butter or olive oil or a combo. Add a bit of red chili flakes if desired (I did) in the beginning. When tender, add chopped garlic and then the chopped up chard leaves. Cook until wilted and tender. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic - prepared a "mixed mash", using both sweets and regular potatoes. I added a garlic clove to the cooking water. This is so yummy!

Bok Choy, garlic, onion, hot pepper (frozen) - I like going through the recipes on this site. I always find things that I forgot about. In this case, I made the Spicy Shrimp and Bok Choy Soup Bowl. I didn't have the scallions listed, so used onion in the beginning of the process. I also used a hot pepper out of the freezer to replace the chili flakes. If you use your bok choy for a different recipe, cabbage would be equally delicious in this recipe.

Radicchio, fennel, kohlrabi - slivered everything up and tossed with a vinaigrette and toasted pecans. Really good seasonal salad!

November 10, 2025
Thank You!
by Farmer Derek

The final week of Main Season CSA is here and with it some legit cold weather. We have three harvests and pick ups to get through this week and we'll have to work around the cold mornings to retrieve the produce. I'm glad we've been through this before and know what to expect, how the seasonal crops persevere and tolerate cold just fine. Though they do not mind the cold, we cannot harvest them while they're frozen or overly stressed. We also try to avoid retrieving in extreme wind. So if it dips well into the 20s at night, we need to wait until the sun warms them and they perk back up. Sometimes we have to adjust what day we're harvesting. We harvested for today, Tuesday, yesterday morning, because of the forecast low last night and the high winds today. We'll probably also have to adjust our harvest schedule for Thursday and Saturday.

Thank you for your support and patronage this year! Overall I think it's been a great season. Harvests seem to have been particularly robust during the latter half. At times it felt like we almost had too much produce to distribute. That's what happens when our insurance policy is crop diversity and everything yields well and we don't lose any crops to weather, pests, or disease. Every season is a bit different and I think we all benefited from increased output this year. I hope you were able to enjoy (or share) the bounty and weren't stressed about the 20 pounds you had to carry home occasionally!

Eventually we'll officially begin planning for 2026 and in conjunction reflect on and analyze crop production from this season while we tweak the crop plan. Right now, though, we are simply thankful for and appreciative of our wonderful members and crew of hardworking farmers Andrea, Connor, Craig, Gabby, and Wayne, as well as Saturday distribution managers Sara and Cigdem, who helped us successfully make it through Anchor Run CSA's 22nd year.

If we don't catch you before the 2026 CSA season, please have a great restful winter!

November 10, 2025
Work Opportunities Over for 2025
by Farmer Derek

Workshifts are now over for the season. If you signed up for a share with work discount but weren't able to work, please send payment to cover the full cost of the share. You can see your work history, hours missed, and share balance on your Member Page.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions

November 10, 2025
Bon Voyage
by Farmer Gabby

Hello fellow Anchor Run members,

I’ve been a farmer here at Anchor Run for the past four seasons. Over the years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know so many of you: during workshifts harvesting roots, weeding the fields, mulching garlic, or just sharing small, sweet chats in the pickup room. Being part of this community has been something incredibly special.

It’s a gift to wake up each morning to the rooster’s call, watch the sun lift over the fields, and spend the day working in reciprocity with the land. To witness the seasons through soil and seed and weather has been life-changing. The learning, friendships, and fulfillment I’ve found here have been deeply meaningful in my journey.

I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each of you. Anchor Run is what it is because of its members: your care, your curiosity, your enthusiasm, your support for local food, and your commitment to being part of this community.

In January, I’ll be moving to Vermont to work at a local non-profit. It’s definitely bittersweet to leave. The mountains have been calling me for a while now, but this place will always mean a lot to me. If you ever find yourself up that way, please reach out. I’d love to stay connected!

Wishing you a winter of warmth, peace, and joy. Thank you for making my time here so meaningful. I will miss you all!

Love,
Gabby

November 3, 2025
Wrap Up Like Radicchio
by Farmer Derek

Harvest #27 (Week A) should include garlic, sweet potatoes, cabbage, romaine, radicchio, fennel, kohlrabi, lettuce, Italian dandelion, Swiss chard, beets, hakurei turnips, salad radishes, arugula, bok choy, komatsuna, and kale. Some items will be a choice.

U-pick should include herbs.

November 3, 2025
Almost There
by Farmer Derek

The final two weeks of Main Season CSA are here! It's hard to believe we're into November, we just changed the clocks back to standard time, and we're about halfway between the Fall Equinox and the Winter Solstice. Last week we endured some of the first heavy frosts of the season with lows dropping into the upper 20s but also fortunately had our first real rain event in months, receiving about 2.5 inches. What is probably the final sowing of cover crop seed was spread where broccoli, cauliflower, beets, celery, chard, and lettuce called home.

The biggest and best news of last week was wrapping up the 2026 garlic planting and mulching. We enjoyed a beautiful fall windless day to accomplish this task and with the help of hardworking members even finished earlier than expected. Receiving ample rainfall later in the week was icing on the cake. Last season, for the first time ever, I had to set up sprinklers on the garlic to ensure it started its new life on time and didn't remain dormant for too long. Last October there was no measurable rainfall in the area, a record. Overall this season is also on the drier side, but not so extreme as last year.

So long Week A Half Share members! Thank you for your patronage and participation - we hope you have a great winter! Maybe we'll see you for Late Fall '25...

November 3, 2025
Work Opportunities Over for 2025
by Farmer Derek

Workshifts are now over for the season. If you signed up for a share with work discount but weren't able to work, please send payment to cover the full cost of the share. You can see your work history, hours missed, and share balance on your Member Page.

Workshift Guidelines - Workshift Sign Up Instructions