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CSA Week 19 - Fall for Real
News
Expected Harvest
Out With the Old, In With the New
by Farmer Derek
Transplanting the first round of sheltered lettuce mix into the upper caterpillar tunnel last week.
Harvest #19 (Week A) should include broccoli, napa/chinese cabbage, salad radishes, hakurei turnips, winter squash (autumn frost and/or butternut), leeks, garlic, sweet peppers, tomatoes (mostly green), arugula, swiss chard, red mustard, kale, lettuce, eggplant, italian dandelion, hot peppers, okra, and shishito peppers. Some items will be a choice. U-pick should include herbs and flowers.
Notes From The Field
Pivot and Modify
by Farmer Derek
Hoop Tunnel with endwalls removed for tractor assisted ground preparation.
We officially transitioned from outside to inside planting last week. Tardy by a week, the final round of outdoor plants went in, including head lettuce, bok choy, arugula, red mustard, and turnips. We planted the first round of crops in the tunnels, including lettuce mix, chard, spinach, and curly kale. Over the next four weeks we'll make weekly deposits and will eventually fill each of our six protected crop places for November and December harvests.
Except for two, each of our tunnels are of a slightly different design, length, width, height. Five of the six are stationary as well. Four of the six are used for growing during spring, summer, and fall whereas two are only used for early winter. Due to the confines of the covered space, most of our prep work has been done manually. It wasn't until we put up the most recent caterpillar tunnels which have flexible endwalls that we were able to amend and prep with the tractor. Most appealing and influential was the use of our old spading machine which can, in one pass, loosen, aerate, and incorporate amendments and organic matter. Last week, prior to using the spader, I decided to test whether or not I could pull our compost spreader through. It worked. Accomplishing both those tasks inspired me to re-do the endwall construction on the Hoop Tunnel so that I could pull those machines through there as well. So now, including our movable tunnel, four of our tunnels can now be amended and prepped with the aide of the tractor, greatly reducing the amount of labor and time it takes to have these spaces ready for planting into.
Dark, rich, and fluffy soil thanks to a healthy dose of compost and the spading machine.
Workshifts for Week of 9/26/22
by Farmer Derek

Fall crops glowing in late-afternoon light in the Hoop House.
There will be weekly work opportunities through the first week of November. We'll be harvesting roots and tubers, pulling weeds, splitting garlic bulbs into cloves, and transplanting and mulching those cloves.
If you signed up for a CSA share with work discount but are unable to work please consider remitting payment in lieu of work sooner rather that later.
This week's workshift schedule:
  • Tuesday 9/27 10am-12pm
  • Wednesday 9/28 10am-12pm
  • Friday 9/30 10-12pm
  • Sunday 10/2 8-10am
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.
Herb of the Week: Mint
by Gia Yaccarino
Flowering buckwheat in Field 1.
Mint (Mentha)
FYI
  • 3 or 4 types of mint are found in Anchor Run's herb garden including mountain, common/spear, and apple.
  • Greek Mythology of Mint: Pluto fell in love with a nymph name Minthe. Persephone, Pluto’s wife, found out and became enraged. She turned Minthe into a ground clinging plant. Pluto could not turn her back, but gave her the ability to “sweeten the air” when people walked on her. (I wonder if she said Thank you to Pluto! I expect more from my Greek Gods!)
Benefits
  • Great source of antioxidants and nutrients
  • Mask bad breath and kill bacteria
  • Relieve indigestion
  • Soothe cold symptoms
  • Can aid in relaxation
Uses
  • Tea (obviously!)
  • Add to a salad
  • Mint-Limeade: mix lime juice with sugar or stevia and muddled mint leaves
  • Make a simple syrup by boiling mint leaves in 1 part sugar to 2 parts water
  • Freeze fresh mint leave in ice cubes to add some pizzazz to your beverages
  • Add to steamed vegetables and rice to give them an extra pop
Caution
  • Please avoid if you have a known mint allergy
Safe for Cats: No – There are tons of different types of mint and each have varying degrees of toxicity for cats due to the level of essential oils
Safe for Dogs: No – though not toxic, too much can cause GI upset; the suggested MAXIMUM is 1-2 leaves a day
Wild for Salmon Buying Club
by Wild for Salmon
Since 2004 we have been fishing the well-managed pristine waters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Wild For Salmon provides you with premium quality, flash-frozen sockeye, direct from our boat… to your table. We are Alaskan Fisherman. We know quality seafood. We also work directly with other fishermen to bring you other species of premium wild caught seafood. Satisfaction guaranteed!
Wild For Salmon is a fishermen owned business that makes fresh/frozen wild Alaskan sockeye salmon available to you at a common good price. Because we are the fishermen and we are local, we are able to provide you with the highest quality, flash/frozen, Alaskan sockeye available. Wild For Salmon is owned and operated by Steve and Jenn Kurian of Bloomsburg, PA.
Editors Note:
Anchor Run CSA hosts two buying clubs each year, in the spring and fall. When you order through the buying club you automatically save 15% at checkout. Follow This Link for instructions on how to order. Your order will be delivered to Anchor Run on Thursday October 20 and can be picked up 1-8pm. Orders are due by 10/14.
We understand and appreciate that not everyone eats fish.