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.

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!

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.