Harvest #17 (Week A) should include small pie/edible pumpkins, potatoes, cantaloupe, carrots, Italian dandelion, arugula, Swiss chard, lettuce, basil, eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, shishito peppers, and onions. Some items may be a choice. U-pick should include herbs, edamame, cherry tomatoes, tomatillos, and flowers.

And just like that, it's fall. Or not quite, but with the return of cooler season greens, the start of pumpkins and winter squash, the continuation of potatoes, and leeks just about ready, it sure feels like summer may be waning. But hang on, sweet peppers are going bonkers, tomatoes appear to be stable, cantaloupe cranks, and basil continues to bang. So, it's quite a nice mix, a good time of year to eat fresh and local.

It's also a good time of year to farm. Shorter days, longer nights, less humidity, cooler temperatures, smaller footprint to manage. Every 2-3 weeks another acre or two is put to sleep for the winter by establishing an oat and buckwheat cover crop after spreading compost. Since June, ample rainfall (too much in July) has been falling, alleviating our need to irrigate outdoor crops (huge time save). Almost all fields have now been planted with crops. We're down to the final parcel, perhaps a 1/2-acre piece of the pie. Half of this will be devoted to the 2024 garlic crop in early November while the other half will accept the final few rounds of outdoor crops, including arugula, bok choy, radishes, turnips, mustard greens, and lettuce. In about three weeks time we'll pivot to planting our tunnels for a November harvest.

Speaking of November harvests, we're taking a break this year from our long running Late Fall CSA, mostly because of the way our kids' school schedule falls and our need to take a break from the farm in mid-December. Also adding two weeks to Main Season will help us (hopefully) deplete most crops from fields, tunnels, and storage. We may host the occasional Flash Sale like we've done in the past in December, January, and February.

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.

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It is such an abundant part of the season, it is difficult to figure out what to do with everything! Last week, full & half share members received 4 pounds of sweet peppers on Thursday and Saturday!!

So, what do you do with all of them? First, don't panic, they keep pretty well in plastic in the fridge. Here are some ideas to help you enjoy your peppers for weeks or months to come:

Stuff and freeze - There are endless pepper stuffing recipes on the internet. Find your favorites and stuff the peppers and freeze them. It will make for an easy weeknight meal.

Freeze - They freeze beautifully. Just cut them in half, remove the seeds and like with other veggies, lay them in one layer on a cookie sheet and place in freezer. Once frozen, place in a freezer bag where they will keep nicely for months - enjoy them in chili, stir fries (when frozen this way, they are not soggy when used in a stir fry), add to pasta and veggie dishes, etc.

Pack in oil - Place on grill or under broil until the skins are blackened. Place in a paper bag to cool. Remove skins and seeds and slice into strips. Place in a bowl and add a bit of chopped garlic (a little goes a long way). Add a good amount of olive oil - enough to cover peppers - add salt and pepper to taste and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. If you want to add some heat, add a hot pepper to the mix. Place in a sealed container and refrigerate. They will last for over a month and are delicious as a bruschetta topping, added to sandwiches, pasta dishes, on a platter with grilled veggies, part of a cheese and charcuterie plate, and more.

Canned and/or pickled - If you want to get more adventurous and make more of a time commitment, sweet pepper relish (again, add a hot pepper or 2 to the mix) and canned peppers are great in so many applications and enable you to enjoy the harvest well into the winter.

Unfortunately, life sometimes gets in the way of cooking the way I would like to. We had been splitting our time between 2 homes and have decided to downsize to one spot, so packing and all of the details that a move requires has been taking up much of my time. I hope to get back to some inventive cooking soon - in the meantime, please share how you are enjoying your farm harvest by emailing me at lindadansbury@comcast.net. Here are a few things we have recently enjoyed with very few details.

Tomato and Watermelon Salad - This is so yummy and I think that cantaloupe would work in place of the watermelon.

Edamame - Cook the way I have described in the past - I like to add some smoked sea salt at the end for a nice crunch and flavor.

Mixed veggie salads - Using lettuce, cucumber, tomato, sweet pepper and scallions and a yummy Italian vinaigrette - I like to top with crumbled feta and herbs.

We have been alternating between enjoying tomato bruschetta, tomato and mozzarella salad (caprese) and tomato salad made with scallions or onions, chopped sweet peppers, garlic, oregano, basil, olive oil and vinegar.

Eggplant, garlic - Baba Ganoush

Pie Pumpkins - These cute little pumpkins make an appearance at the farm every year about now. They are sweet and delicious, and will keep for a couple of months when stored in a cool, dry location. As the name says, they are delicious when made into pumpkin pie, but are equally delicious when used in place of other winter squash such as butternuts. If you want to use them now and incorporate other farm ingredients that we are currently receiving, try this Roasted Winter Squash and Red Pepper Soup! You can roast the veggies ahead and refrigerate and then make the soup up to a few days later.

Sign up and pay in full by 12/31/23 to receive a 5% discount on share cost. On 1/1/24 prices return to those shown on our Share Information page.

2024 Main Season will once again last 28 weeks from early/mid May through mid November. We are not raising share prices for next season; they'll be the same as this year.

Follow this link to join or sign in and click the Register button on your member page.