Harvest #21 (Week A) should include potatoes, butternut squash, green tomatoes, romaine lettuce, sweet peppers, leeks, kale, swiss chard, arugula, mustard greens, eggplant, hot peppers, okra, shishito peppers, radishes, turnips, broccoli, and cured garlic. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include flowers and herbs.

A few cold days and nights and a weather forecast originally portending daily rainfall this week triggered the sweet potato harvest switch. The forecast has changed and it's now hot again but we all worked hard and harvested about 90% of the sweet potato crop over the past few days. The haul this year is once again substantial and after a couple weeks of curing and sweetening in the barn, the sweets will be distributed for your culinary enjoyment. During the curing process starches are converted to sugars, wounds heal, skins thicken and toughen, and shelf life is extended. We pile them up and use a space heater in an insulated room to provide them with the necessary curing conditions. Based on how my body feels, I believe this was the most weight I've moved and stowed in the barn in a three day span in my career. I think I handled every single basket and bin of sweets that went into storage, either going into the truck, going from the truck to the storage room, or both. I'm going to estimate we put away about 6000 pounds which explains why I'm so tired, my arms and upper body have a slight ache, and I'm afraid I'll have sweet potato nightmares. Thank you food community for your help harvesting this wonderful crop!

How did we get here? Fields overwintered in a cover crop, were chisel plowed in early May, raised beds were made in late May, sweet potato slips (aka baby vines) were planted in early June, the crop was weeded a few weeks later, beds were hilled/cultivated like regular potatoes, vines quickly took over and established themselves mostly smothering and outcompeting weeds, and almost 4 months later we weed whacked aisles and undercut/lifted raised beds to loosen the soil and expedite harvest. Then the hard work really began. Again, thank you for helping!

We could use some help at workshifts again this week! If the weather's bad outside we'll process garlic inside. Please consider joining us soon!

Workshift policy reminder: If you signed up for a share with work discount your share cost is reduced by $15 per worked hour (8 for Full, 6 for Medium, 4 for Half). If you're unable to satisfy the work requirement for the discount please remit a check to cover the share cost.

This week's workshift schedule:

Please bring gloves, water, a hat, and sturdy shoes! We meet under the large red maple at the end of the barn by the pick up room.

Workshift Guidelines. Workshift Sign Up Instructions.

This has certainly been an interesting year! Epic tomato harvests, both from the farm and my own garden. I have made creations from tomatoes I had never ventured to make before - I bagged and froze the tomatoes when the harvests were so high, and now that I can breathe a bit, I have taken them out and made puree, juice, pizza sauce, and even paste! All are straight forward to do, they just take some time. How have you been enjoying your harvest? Email me at lindadansbury@comcast.net and please put Anchor Run in the Subject line so I can find your message. Below are a few things I have recently made.

Swiss chard - since it is now fall, and we are enjoying more soups and stews, I have added it to minestrone soup that I had made earlier and froze. I chopped the stems and added them early in the reheating process and then added the chopped leaves about 10 minutes before eating.

Swiss chard, tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, onions, garlic - made a chicken recipe that was called a chili, but it was more a delicious stew. It called for making the veggie "base" - saute onions, add garlic and then a lot of chopped up peppers and whole canned tomatoes (mine were out of the freezer; I partially thawed them, removed the skins and core and rough chopped). Recipe said to bake chicken, de-bone it and then add it to stew, but I cooked chicken parts right in the stew and it turned out great. It did not call for chard, but I added that too. Yum.

Kale - I used most of my kale by making Kale Pesto and Kale Caesar Salad.

Okra, eggplant, onions, garlic, tomato, sweet and hot peppers - made a veggie stew. Sauteed onions, garlic and peppers until just barely soft. Added chopped eggplant, and okra cut into "coins". With this addition, added cumin, garam masala, a bit of cinnamon, salt and pepper and stirred everything up for a couple of minutes. Added chopped tomatoes and then simmered until everything was soft. Served it over basmati rice - it was delicious! Best part is that I have some in freezer for the future.

It must be fall if the sweet potatoes have been harvested! They are so delicious and so, so good for us! The skin is very delicate and tears easily, so when we receive them, they will not be washed.

The best way to store your sweet potatoes is in a cool, dry, and dark area, like your basement, pantry or the back corner on your kitchen countertop. Keep them in a bowl or basket so that they are self-contained. When ready to use, wash and scrub their skin before you cook them. Don’t store sweet potatoes in the refrigerator, as the cold air can activate their sugars and starches, causing them to spoil faster. Store them away from a heat source, too. And while you shouldn’t put sweet potatoes in the refrigerator, you can, surprisingly, freeze sweet potatoes. Frozen sweet potatoes may be stored for up to 12 months. You must start with cooked sweet potatoes, which should be peeled and boiled. Once a fork can easily pierce their flesh, slice or mash the cooked sweet potatoes and top them off with a small amount of freshly squeezed lemon juice, which will preserve their vibrant orange color. Place the potatoes in the freezer in plastic bags and lay them flat.

There are many ways to enjoy your sweets - I like them best simply baked or roasted with other fall/winter veggies including onions/leeks, potatoes, beets, etc. You can also try Oven Fried Sweet Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes, Apples and Braising Greens among many other delicious recipe ideas!