Wednesday, October 26, 2011

BPF CSA Week 20 News- the second-to-last week!

In Your Share This Week:

Butternut or Fairy Squash- Fairy is the same speckled-skin squash you got last week; butternut is a classic tan-skinned tall squash that stores wonderfully- it actually improves in flavor after curing for a month or two, if you can wait that long ;)
Onions- a mix of red and yellow storage onions
Garlic- either soft or hard neck (can you tell the difference?)
Hakurei Turnips OR
Kale, Chard, or Collard Greens- your choice- see Recipes section for Kale Chips, in case you haven't tried them yet!
Rutabagas! I hope you like these sweet, pungent relatives of the turnip as much as I do. You can do anything with a rutabaga that you do with a potato- mash, boil, fry, roast. You can even make Rutabaga cheesecake (no joke- see recipe section!)
Radicchio OR other salad greens- we had to pull the last fall radicchio out of the field (to keep deer away and stop slug damage, even though some of the heads weren't fully firmed up), and there was plenty for Tues pick-up, but Sat. pick-up will get either radicchio OR some other greens- spicy mix, spinach, or lettuce.
Fennel OR Kohlrabi- both these fall crops are tiny, taking their sweet time to size up, but still tasty as babies. We wanted to be sure everyone got to taste fennel, especially if it's new to you, so you may get a baby fennel plant- use it just like big fennel, "tip to tail."
Cherry Tomatoes- sweet treats, though you can probably taste the fall-tomato flavor from shorter colder days (more sun=more sugar in the fruits during summer; fall tomatoes are always more "tomatoey" and less sugary)
Heirloom slicing Tomatoes- can anyone get tired of tomatoes? Not I! I just skimmed past newsletters (from past years) and learned that this is the latest we've EVER had tomatoes in CSA shares- hooray for the frost that never comes, or if it seems to have come, somehow still does not kill the tomato plants!(what the heck is going on here???)
Sweet Peppers- the very last of these mixed bell, Carmen, chocolate, and a few other varieties. All the big or medium peppers are sweet, even if they look like they may be hot- there are sweet varieties besides bells! Most of these are still green, but we wanted to pull them from the plants before frost killed them. So enjoy this very last pepper offering of the season.
Hot peppers- you may see three different varieties- serrano, which look like skinny green (or red) fingers, and are slightly hotter than a jalapeno, Czech Black, a tasty mid-sized, pendant-shaped hot pepper that starts out black but matures to a dark, brick red, and Limon - small schoolbus-yellow hotties with a distinct citrus flavor in addition to that capsicum heat.

Announcements:

1. Garlic!
On Friday, November 4, we’ll finally get our garlic in
the ground for next year. Garlic planting is always a nice bookend to the season- tucking the last crop into the ground and mulching, before the snow falls. It's full of hope and plans for the next season. And garlic is always one of the first green things to sprout in the spring! Please join us any time after 3 p.m. Nov. 4th for planting. Wear warm work clothes and bring/wear rain gear just in case. All ages and abilities welcome! Bring apples and a jug to take home cider, or a mug to sample cider in the barn. Stay after for a potluck in the house! Or skip the garlic planting and just come for the potluck- everyone is welcome.
Garlic, a pungent member of the onion family,
is an extremely hardy plant that does
best in our climate when planted in
the fall, just long enough before the
ground freezes to establish roots.
Then in the spring, warm soil
temperatures and spring rains
stimulate growth of the aboveground
leaves and scapes, or
flowering stems. Some of you might
remember these funny-looking, curly items from early summer shares. We'll also plant a patch of densely-spaced cloves to be harvested early for green garlic- remember that? There are so many more ways to use this plan than just the traditional mature clove. Vampires, beware!

2. Winter Shares- several folks have committed to supporting the farm this season via winter shares. Thank you! Shares are still available. There is no form/contract to fill out; just send a note with your name, email, address, and phone, and a check for $50 to $500, depending on how much produce you'll need this winter. Your account will be credited with $55 to $550 (a 10% yield on your "investment"), and debited each time you shop from our table at the winter market or order via the email list. This modified-CSA allows greater flexibility on all our parts. It also makes a great gift for friends who you know love fresh greens in winter!

3. Loving Dog Needs Home- Remember Levi, the sweet, skinny, brindle boxer who lived here this summer? Vicki and the kiddos have moved back into town, into a lovely little rental house that doesn't allow pets. Levi has been staying with friends, but he needs a more permanent home. He's wonderful with kids, adults, and other pets. The thing he loves most in life is to play- with other dogs, people, and/or toys. He's a very undemanding guy (unlike some other black-and-white dogs around here). We learned recently that he had giardia, which is partly why he's so skinny, but he's been treated for that and is getting back to a normal weight. He is one of the sweetest, if funniest-looking, dogs I've ever met. I like this guy a lot; I just can't take another dog here right now- I really hope he finds the right home! Please email Vicki directly if you're interested: vickifritzlan@gmail.com

Field Notes

It's a gray, blustery fall week in Leelanau county, and it is fall clean-up time on the farm. As I write this, Jason is winding up the last of the drip (irrigation) tape and taking down tomato trellises. The giant old box elders outside the farmhouse are holding onto only a third of their leaves (the rest, on the ground, will end up in the compost pile if we get a chance to rake before it snows). The winter crops (baby salad, spinach, kale, chard, turnips, radishes, lettuce, Asian greens, parsley) are rooting down into their beds in the hoophouse, eking out a few more weeks of growth while the days are still long enough to photosynthesize enough to grow.
Chickens and ducks have been moved to their new yard- still behind the red barn, but on the north end of the garden there, rather than adjacent to the barn (come check out Chicken Tunnel #2- they seemed to remember how to use it, and the ducks finally got the hang of it, too). Depending on when we get snow, the birds may get one more fresh yard before winter, or that may be their last spot before we move them back adjacent to the barn for winter (I'd like to build a roof over part of their yard to encourage them to go outside more. Last winter they hid inside whenever snow was covering the ground, which was most of winter- those chickens.)
We've planted winter rye as a cover crop in the garden nearest the house (where the cucumbers, melons, and summer squash grew this year- what we call the "Old Garden"), in the big back field near the bees (the "Back Field"), in the southern half of the garden behind the red barn (the "Red Barn Garden"), and next to the fall brassicas in the garden just north of the house (the "North Garden"). The rye is just sprouting; maybe you'll see a subtle green carpet in those gardens next week at the last Tuesday CSA pickup, or at the Nov. 4th garlic party/potluck. In the spots that are still in crops (the fall brassicas in the North Garden, the beans, beets, Asian greens, and lettuce in "Rhubarb Row"-the garden just downhill from the rhubarb, and the leeks, scallions, and spinach in the Red Barn Garden), I'm going to interplant rye with the crops that are still there. It's pushing the too-late edge of rye planting season, but at the very least, it will germinate, root, help prevent soil erosion this winter, and grow a lush rye stand in the spring.
We've had enough not-bone-chillingly-cold temperatures that people have been able to work full days with only one or two hot tea breaks. I'm about to rent a dumpster to finally get rid of all the stuff we cleaned out of the garage and basement (back in the spring! but then the season started- so now we start to pick back up where non-farm projects left off around April). We'll have a fire circle at the Nov. 4th potluck, weather permitting - there is plenty of scrap wood in the burn pile!
Still to do: get all the reemay (frost fabric), tags, buckets, plastic trays and pots, flagging tape, wire hoops, rocks and logs and other CRAP out of the fields and yard. Last year the snow caught us with drip tape still in the field, and it was a mess to extricate and try to untangle this year. Never again, I said. So far, fall cleanup has gone smoothly. We've had enough dry weather that the drip tape and frost fabric we're taking out of fields is dry (not muddy) enough to go right into storage. The rest of the potatoes still in the field will go directly into the house basement, which serves nicely as a root cellar. The onions and garlic still curing in the barn will go down there, too. Carrots and beets still in the field will be harvested until snowfall, then either sold at market en masse, mulched in place (to be harvested later this winter), or stored in the basement, too. Leeks still in the field will be picked even after snowfall- they're super hardy. We may pull the last few and store them in the basement, but if they sell well at market, we may not need to.
My friend Laura has become the first "food preservation" member at Birch Point - this past month she's taken all the seconds or damaged crops that we can't sell or won't keep, and she's frozen, dehydrated, pickled, or canned them all, in exchange for keeping part of the product! This has been a dreamy and very productive relationship- thanks SO MUCH, Laura!
OK, next week is our last week of pickup. I have SO enjoyed getting to know you and grow food for you this season. For those of you continuing on with a winter share, we'll segway directly into it starting at the first indoor market (Nov. 5) and the first email blast (week of Nov. 7). As soon as I get a check from you, you can start using your winter account to shop at market and from the email list. For those of you not taking part in winter shares, I look forward to seeing you at the winter market anyway! And next season. For now, though, see you next week!

Recipes

Rutabaga Cheesecake!
From Asparagus to Zucchini (an old edition- I'm pretty sure it's NOT in the most recent edition)
The first time I was served this treat
at a potluck, I was pretty sure the
cooks were pulling my leg when they
said “rutabaga” and “cheesecake” in
the same breath, let alone the same
dish. But it is no joke; it is a
cheesecake (how can you go wrong?
Not even with rutabaga, as unlikely
as it sounds!). And it is delicious.
Cheers!
3 cups cubed rutabaga
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 2/3 cup fine graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin or agar
½ cup cold water
¾ cup sugar, divided
½ tsp. salt
½ cup milk
3 eggs, separated
1 cup whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. grated orange zest
Boil rutabaga in boiling salted water
until just tender. Drain and puree in
blender or whip by hand; cool and
place in large bowl with cream
cheese; set aside. Mix graham
cracker crumbs and butter. Reserve
¼ cup and press remainder on
bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
Chill. Soften gelatin or agar in
cold water in top pan of small double
boiler. Add ½ cup sugar, salt, milk,
and slightly beaten rutabaga mixture
until smooth and blended. Cool.
Beat egg whites until foamy; add
remaining ¼ cup sugar and beat
until stiff. Whip cream and fold into
cheese/rutabaga mixture; fold in
whipped egg whites. Fold in vanilla
and orange zest. Pour into prepared
pan, sprinkle with reserved crumbs
and chill until firm. Makes 10-12
servings.

Kale Chips- have you heard? it's all the rage at the farmers' market....

Baked Kale Chips-this particular recipe was lifted from smittenkitchen
Adapted from a bunch of inspiring places

1 bunch (about 6 ounces) kale (I used Lacinato or “Dinosaur” Kale but I understand that the curlier stuff works, too, possibly even better)
1 tablespoon olive oil
Sea salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 300°F. Rinse and dry the kale, then remove the stems and tough center ribs. Cut into large pieces, toss with olive oil in a bowl then sprinkle with salt. Arrange leaves in a single layer on a large baking sheet (I needed two because mine are tiny; I also lined mine with parchment for easy clean-up but there’s no reason that you must). Bake for 20 minutes, or until crisp. Place baking sheet on a rack to cool.

Kale-Dusted Popcorn If you’re making the chips with the intention to grind them up for popcorn, I’d use less oil — perhaps half — so they grind without the “powder” clumping. I ground a handful of my chips (about half) in a mortar and pestle (well, actually the “pestle” was MIA so I used the handle of an OXO reamer, not that anyone asked) and sprinkled it over popcorn (1/4 cup popcorn kernels I’d cooked in a covered pot with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil over medium heat, shaking it about with potholders frequently). I seasoned the popcorn with salt. I liked this snack, but I think Parmesan and Kale-Dusted Popcorn would be even more delicious. Next time!

That’s it for now; have a great week.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

BPF CSA Week 19 News

Big news: TWO more weeks of CSA after this (for a total of 21 weeks, not 20 like I thought last week)! So Tuesday people, your last pick-up will be Tues. Nov 1st, and Saturday people, your last pick-up will be Sat. Nov. 5. That last Sat pick-up will be a the INDOOR winter market at Bldg. 50 at the Commons (Sat. 10 a.m.-2 p.m.). Also- Garlic Planting and End-of-Season Potluck: Friday Nov. 4. Everyone invited!

In Your Share This Week:

Fairy Squash: Its deep yellow-orange flesh has a dense, smooth texture and sweet taste that is unbelievably delicious and rich. It is one the earliest winter squash borne on long, vigorous, rambling vines. It is disease-resistant, particularly to powdery mildew, and stores well into the winter. Extremely versatile, Fairy is exceptional baked, roasted or steamed, and is perfect in either savory or sweet recipes. (description lifted from Kitchen Garden Seeds)

Onions - a mix of yellow and red storage onions

Garlic- this week: soft-neck garlic. Note the multiple layers of smaller cloves, compared to the single layer of larger cloves on the hardneck garlic you've been getting. Softneck garlic has a reputation for storing longer than hardneck, but the trade-off is more time spent peeling cloves. What's your pref?

Leeks- These elegant relatives of onions can be used any way you'd use an onion, but they really shine in Potato-Leek Soup and in Baked Leeks with Goat Cheese (one of my fave ways to prepare them). Did you know that the leek is a national symbol of Wales? It's associated with St. David, patron saint of Wales, who ordered his soldiers to wear the leek on their helmets in a battle against the hated pagan Saxon invaders of Britain. The battle itself is also said to have taken place in a field full of leeks.

Potatoes- Either Kennebec or Katahdin, both white-fleshed, white-skinned, and excellent in soup or fried.

Either Hakurei Turnips or White Carrots: It's the Week of the White Vegetable evidently ;). Hakurei turnips are like no other- sweet, mild, tender, and delicious tender greens to boot. I eat them raw like apples, or grated over salad, or cut into matchsticks. OR roasted OR boiled for turnip soup. They're about as versatile as a vegetable can get. White carrots- same thing! This is a variety called Creme de Lite (I know, it's hard to take a vegetable -or anything- seriously that has the word "lite" in its name, but give it a try)- it tastes sweet, looks funny, and is excellent raw or cooked- I like to include them sliced on a veggie platter and watch people try to figure out what they are.

Cherry Tomatoes- more little sweeties! The field-grown plants are still producing, believe it or not, though slowing down, and the hoophouse plants KEEP on giving! I *think* we'll still have tomatoes next week - a record for CSA at Birch Point, if not for all of northern MI!

Heirloom Tomatoes- I've been so pleased with all the heirlooms we grew this year. Despite a slow, late start, they all produced like mad toward the end of their normal growing season, and WAY beyond, thanks to the lack of frost (so far!). My favorites have to be Crnkovic (light pink, large, similar to Brandywine, but fewer super-weird shaped fruits, and less cracking) and Striped German (mammoth yellow fruits with pink starbursts on the bottom and pink streaks- the silkiest-textured tomato yet, in my opinion). What have been your favorites this season? Your feedback will help inform our seed order next year!

Italian Parsley- flavorful, flat-leaved parsley to go with your potatoes, tomatoes, or anything else you like. If you can't use it this week, parsley freezes well for use in soups, etc. later- just pop into a ziploc bag and freeze. Voila.

Either Arugula or Spinach
- for salad or to toss with hot cheesy pasta, or anything else you like to do with baby greens!

Announcements:
1. GARLIC PLANTING and End of Season Potluck: Friday Nov. 4! We'll start planting and mulching early, around 3 p.m. and continue til we're done, OR til 6 p.m, whichever comes first. We'll press apples for cider in the barn, and share food in the house afterward. Come for any or all- you DON'T have to plant garlic to come to the party! Everyone invited, all ages and abilities welcome.

2. honey still available
3. A few Thanksgiving shares still available
4. Winter Shares in the form of declining-balance accounts, with 10% interest on your investment, still available

That's it for this week!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

BPF CSA Week 18 News- Wow! Already week 18?!

In Your Share This Week:

Buttercup/Kabocha Winter Squash-One of my favorite squashes, this orange, flaky texture is perfect for baking OR pie!
Onions - little cuties. More big onions next week!
Eggplant - mix of varieties: big purple (Nadia), big pink (Beatrice), pink-and-white (Rosa Bianca), little striped (Fairy Tale), little white (Japanese White Egg), or big white, etc.
Baby Salad Mix with Edible Flowers
Fennel OR Kohlrabi (next week: Kohlrabi OR Fennel) ;)- You know what to do with kohlrabi, but fennel may be new to some people. You can use the WHOLE thing- bulb, stem, and leaf. use the bulb and stem as you would celery (saute to flavor any stirfry or soup, etc). OR slice/shave very thinly to make a classic fennel-orange salad (this recipe calls for arugula- a good way to use the rest of last week's bag if you still have it, or use the baby mix from this week; any greens will do- even massaged kale or collards! I'd also add thinly sliced onion, if you like).
Basil- enough for one last little batch of pesto
Cherry Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes- If this nutty warm weather keeps up (anything over 32, I mean), we'll have tomatoes through the end of CSA! Whoa. That's a first. ;) At least one more week, for sure.
Rutabaga! Time for pasties? Or rutabaga fries- cut into steak-fry sized pieces, brush with olive oil and salt, bake on a cookie sheet at 375 for 30-40 min (or til browned and crispy on edges, and not soggy), turning once during baking. Serve with ketchup, malt vinegar, or my fave fry-dipping sauce: hot sauce and mayo, mixed! (no joke)
Hakurei Turnips OR White Carrots - Hakurei turnips are the sweetest, most tender turnip I've ever tasted
Kale, Chard, OR Collard Greens- I am just so impressed with all these greens, esp. the brassicas (things in mustard family- kale, collards, in this case), since we've still not had a frost, I'd expect them to be tasty but not super sweet (frost sweetens the flavor). But these are some of the best fall greens I've had in years! (who needs a frost? not us.)


Announcements

1. Garlic Planting/Fall Harvest Potluck
! A quick poll: is Tuesday afternoon/evening or Saturday afternoon/evening (3-7 p.m.-ish) better for most people? I'm looking at Oct. 29 or Nov. 1, both of which work for garlic. Just let me know which works best for you! We'll plant and mulch garlic, press apple cider (bring apples and jugs to take home cider), and end with a potluck. Everyone is welcome!

2. Winter Shares- drumroll, please- are now available! For winter, we will offer three ways to get fresh BPF veggies:
A. Building 50 Indoor Farmers' Market, November through at least early January, and picking up again for March and April. Saturdays 10-2.
B. Email Blasts- same as last year. I'll send an email with everything available each week, and you can order as much or as little as you like, to be picked up at market or delivered to your home (limited delivery range). This is a good option for folks who know they can't get to market early but don't want to miss their greens! Just ask me to put you on the email list for winter veggies.
C. For winter "shares," we're going to try a new format: a declining-balance account that you fill with as much or as little up-front cash as you like. We'll add 10% to your "investment" so that $100 becomes $110, $300 becomes $330, etc. Throughout the winter & spring, every time you visit our farmers' market table or "order" from the email list, we'll deduct that week's total from your account. This is a great way to support the farm through the winter with cash up front, but still allows you flexibility if you go out of town for a week, or want all arugula one week, or garlic only every third week, for example. This option also makes a great gift! I can help you set up a winter account for your family or friends, with as little as $50 or as much as $500- just ask, and I'll send the recipient a gift certificate with an explanation of your gift. Any balance remaining when regular-season CSA and outdoor markets start up can be transferred to a summer account.

3. Thanksgiving shares: A one-shot (one box) deal for you to share with your family for T-day or hoard for yourself this winter. ;) We include storage crops like potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, rutabaga and other root veggies, and leafy fresh things from either the field or hoophouse (depends on the weather, but will almost certainly include spinach, salad mix or big lettuce, kale and/or chard, parsley and/or other fresh herbs). In the past we've included winter squash and/or pie pumpkins. We've had a terrible winter squash crop this year, so regular-season shares will probably get all the squash and pumpkins. Thanksgiving shares are $35. We'll offer up to 20, first-come, first-served. Please email me if you'd like to reserve a Thanksgiving share, and spread the word- CSA members and non-members alike are welcome to order.

4. Honey from our beekeeper Greg Griswold (and the bees!) is still available. Just bring a quart jar with your name on it to CSA pick-up, and Tuesday people can go home with a full jar; Saturday people will get their jar back the next week, full of BPF honey. $12 per quart (or $6 per pint, or $24 per growler- which make great honey vessels, by the way). A few people asked about large quantities- if you want a gallon or more, please email me, and we'll hook you up. For 3/4 gallon (3 qts) or less, just bring that many jars!

Field Notes:
Salad mix is back. The baby mustards and Asian greens are beautiful, and mild, hardly spicy at all, surprising given the past week's sun and heat. The nasturtiums (edible flowers) took a hiatus half way through the summer and are now back in full force! Their beautiful orange and yellow flowers pop out of the green foliage on a cloudy day with neon brightness. (Today's the first cloudy day in a while, and I'm looking at them through the window as I type this) They'll be with us til the frost (if it ever comes). I tried transplanting some into pots to bring into the hoophouse, to extend the edible flower season. They're not loving their new, cramped quarters, but I think they'll bounce back and give us a few weeks of extended nasturtium production!
Saturday people may have noticed that we've had things on our market table that aren't in shares- we're not holding out on you; we've just teamed up for market with our neighbors Nic and Sarah, two farmers from Fort Collins, CO, who recently moved onto Birch Point Road, two doors down. They aren't going to market yet (maybe next year!), but they've got a gorgeous garden, and they send some of their overflow with us to market. So much potential for collaboration here- some thoughts include a multi-farm CSA, sharing equipment, doing a two-farm crop rotation, and more. Just ideas so far, but I'll keep you posted. Watch for more from these two; I am SO happy they're in the neighborhood!
In personal news, your farmer is getting married next year! Many of you met Jess Piskor, my farmer-boyfriend, at CSA pick-up last fall, or at the winter market last year. He farms in Northport, at Bare Knuckle Farm. We met two years ago, started dating last summer, and just recently decided to have a wedding! So far, that doesn't change anything for the farm, but we're still thinking through options- how to keep his farm and my farm both productive and successful, and spend more time together. I will keep you updated, but for now I just wanted to share the big news. ;)

Friday, October 7, 2011

BPF CSA Week 17 News

What's In Your Share This Week:

Potatoes- any of several, could be Red Gold (red skin, yellow flesh), Dark Red Norland (hot pink/red skin, white flesh), Katahdin (white skin, yellow-white flesh), French Fingerling (red skin, yellow flesh with beautiful pink patterning inside), or Rose Finn Apple(pink/tan skin with yellow flesh- in crazy, knobby shapes).

Dill OR Parsley- perfect with boiled or roasted potatoes

Squash! Either delicata, spaghetti squash, or buttercup this week- more next week! Super easy squash prep: slice lengthwise, scoop out seeds and seed pulp (toast seeds if you like!). Place 2 halves cut-side down on a cookie sheet with edges or in a 9x13 pan. Add enough water to cover the cut edges to prevent drying out. Bake at 375 for 30-60 min, depending on the size of the squash. It's done when it's soft and tender to the touch. Scoop out and enjoy! Butter, salt, maple, cinnamon, and/or smoked paprika all optional. Or serve in the shell, and eat with a spoon.

Carrots or Turnips- your choice of these fall root veggies. You'll see both again soon!

Onions- a mix of yellow and red fall storage onions.

Arugula- a hearty bag of this nutty, slightly spicy salad green.

Kale or Chard
- the kale and chard in shares this week is the last from the hoophouse bed that's been producing since March! We're in transition from summer to winter hoophouse plantings, and the kale and chard had to make way for baby greens. Don't worry- more kale and chard are going in for winter/spring, too!

Heirloom Tomatoes- I think we've peaked with tomato production, and the plants are looking tired and brown, but they are still making tomatoes! The very light frost we got on Saturday night didn't seem to touch the tomatoes or beans, two very frost-sensitive crops, so you can expect at least one more week of both these crops. For those of you patiently awaiting canning (paste) tomatoes, I hope it will be next week that we get a ripe critical mass for harvest.

Cherry Tomatoes- little sweeties from both the field and the hoophouse. I think we'll leave the hoophouse tomatoes in at least another week or two, since they're still producing well. The winter plants waiting to be transplanted into what are now tomato beds can hang out in their pots at least that long, I think!

Melons- probably the last week for these summer treats- cantelope, honey pearl (white skin and flesh), Arava (yellow, netted skin and green flesh), and various small red, yellow, and white watermelons. I'm glad the weather warmed up for our final melon week- I, for one, prefer to enjoy melon on a warm, sunny day, rather than a cold, rainy one!

Garlic- could we go a week without it? I think not.

Announcements

1. Winter Shares- drumroll, please- are now available
! For winter, we will offer three ways to get fresh BPF veggies:
A. Building 50 Indoor Farmers' Market, November through at least early January, and picking up again for March and April. Saturdays 10-2.
B. Email Blasts- same as last year. I'll send an email with everything available each week, and you can order as much or as little as you like, to be picked up at market or delivered to your home (limited delivery range). This is a good option for folks who know they can't get to market early but don't want to miss their greens! Just ask me to put you on the email list for winter veggies.
C. For winter "shares," we're going to try a new format: a declining-balance account that you fill with as much or as little up-front cash as you like. We'll add 10% to your "investment" so that $100 becomes $110, $300 becomes $330, etc. Throughout the winter & spring, every time you visit our farmers' market table or "order" from the email list, we'll deduct that week's total from your account. This is a great way to support the farm through the winter with cash up front, but still allows you flexibility if you go out of town for a week, or want all arugula one week, or garlic only every third week, for example. This option also makes a great gift! I can help you set up a winter account for your family or friends, with as little as $50 or as much as $500- just ask, and I'll send the recipient a gift certificate with an explanation of your gift. Any balance remaining when regular-season CSA and outdoor markets start up can be transferred to a summer account.


2. Garlic Planting/Fall Harvest Potluck this month! A quick poll: is Tuesday afternoon/evening or Saturday afternoon/evening (3-7 p.m.-ish) better for most people? I'm looking at Oct. 22, 25, or 29, all of which work for garlic. Just let me know which works best for you! We'll plant and mulch garlic, press apple cider (bring apples and jugs to take home cider), and end with a potluck. Everyone is welcome!

3. Thanksgiving shares: A one-shot (one box) deal for you to share with your family for T-day or hoard for yourself this winter. ;) We include storage crops like potatoes, cabbage, onions, carrots, rutabaga and other root veggies, and leafy fresh things from either the field or hoophouse (depends on the weather, but will almost certainly include spinach, salad mix or big lettuce, kale and/or chard, parsley and/or other fresh herbs). In the past we've included winter squash and/or pie pumpkins. We've had a terrible winter squash crop this year, so regular-season shares will probably get all the squash and pumpkins. Thanksgiving shares are $35. We'll offer up to 20, first-come, first-served. Please email me if you'd like to reserve a Thanksgiving share, and spread the word- CSA members and non-members alike are welcome to order.

4. Honey from our beekeeper Greg Griswold (and the bees!) is still available. Just bring a quart jar with your name on it to CSA pick-up, and Tuesday people can go home with a full jar; Saturday people will get their jar back the next week, full of BPF honey. $12 per quart (or $6 per pint, or $24 per growler- which make great honey vessels, by the way). A few people asked about large quantities- if you want a gallon or more, please email me, and we'll hook you up. For 3/4 gallon (3 qts) or less, just bring that many jars!

Field Notes
It's been a quiet week at Birch Point- quieter than usual, anyway. Julie's in California, the cold snap broke and left us with mild, sunny weather. Flipper, the hyperventilating duck, has finally relaxed and is breathing easier. We got a very light frost this past Sat. night, but the only casualties were winter squash and the pickling cukes I was hoping to eke out of the end of the season. Tomatoes, beans, and basil- all frost-sensitive plants- all survived. Do you remember in past newsletters I've lamented the poor winter squash season? We started with a late plant date b/c of the cold, wet spring, had terrible germination in the first round, nearly as terrible in the second round, and then the plants died in the frost before making many squash. I think we got a couple dozen squash total from our planting this year. Luckily, I contracted with our neighbors Nic and Sarah to grow butternut and pie pumpkins for us this year, before I even knew our own squash patch would be such a bust, and theirs did great! So we have butternuts, some buttercups, some fairy squash, and pie pumpkins. A few people got spaghetti squash, and a few got delicata, but that was the end of those.
I think we'll have three more weeks of CSA pick-ups, making Oct. 25 and 30 our final pick-up dates. We guarantee 18 weeks and go up to 22 weeks of CSA, weather permitting, and we're currently on week 17. Three more will put us at a comfortable 20 weeks. If it looks like we'll extend the season beyond that, I'll let you know! For now, plan on the last week of October being the season's end. Thank you all SO MUCH for supporting the farm again this season. I have enjoyed getting to know the new folks and seeing the returning folks every season- I especially love seeing the CSA kiddos grow over the summer! I'm looking forward to sharing winter with some of you as well, this year. We'll keep in touch about next season.
Happy Autumn.