CSA 2011 - Week #15

What's in the Box - September 6, 7 & 8

VEGETABLE SHARE

The contents of the box may change this week.  Please check back daily for an updated list. You can click on a crop below for recipes and storage information. 

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes - 1 pint
Red Beets & Greens! - 1 bunch
Baby Leeks -OR- Scallions - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Red Tomatoes** - several pieces
Green Beans - 1 bag
Corn -OR- Acorn Squash - 5 pieces/1 piece

FRUIT SHARE

The listing for the fruit share is for our Long Island sites ONLY.  Please contact your core group if you belong to a Queens pick-up site for your updated weekly share. 

1 Mixed Bag of Yellow Peaches and Bartlett Pears

QUEENS HERB SHARE

Thyme
Chives

notes on the share

Despite last week's hurricane, we have managed to pull together a relatively diverse share for everyone this week!  We hope to distribute corn to everyone at least one time.  Some of you received it last week, some this week, and hopefully the rest of you will get it next week.  You'll notice that there are worms in the ears.  This is normal for organic corn!  (Conventional corn is heavily sprayed with toxic insecticides to keep the corn silk worm out.)  Just cut off the tip of the ear where the worm is and the rest is perfectly fine to eat!

Don't forget to eat the tops of the beets!  You can cook the beet greens just like spinach-- either sauteed or gently steamed.  They're delicious!

This week we're harvesting the new planting of green beans, so there is a small amount in the share this week and more to come over the next few weeks. 

This is the last week of cherry tomatoes and probably the next to last week of red tomatoes.  The cherry tomato plants were destroyed in the hurricane, so they're finished. The red tomatoes had been severely weakened by late blight despite our constant monitoring and preventative spray regemin.  The hurricane finished off the second planting which was not looking good before the storm, so we're just finishing up harvesting from the first planting and then we'll be done.  Last year was a stellar year for tomatoes and this year was just ok.  It's all part of the ups and downs of farming.

**The red tomatoes need to ripen for a few days on the counter until they reach a uniform, deep red.  Please be sure to wash the tomatoes before eating. We have been spraying them with an organically-approved copper spray to protect against late blight infection.  The copper spray will wash off with a little soap and water. 

News from the Farm

The farm fared relatively well from Hurricane Irene.  We lost the rest of our diseased peppers, eggplants and some of the diseased tomatoes, but all in all, we were extremely lucky.  Many of our farming friends upstate NY had entire fields flooded and have lost all of their crops.  You can find out more about the farmers who were affected by the storm here.

Looking forward, we expect to start harvesting more root vegetables, like carrots and beets, some winter squash (it's not a great planting this year, but we'll have some...), and fall greens in about 6 weeks.  The greens were planted late while we waited for the hurricane to pass, so we won't have them until mid-October.  Until then, we've seeded some faster growing arugula and lettuce mix to round out the leafy greens in the share.  Also don't forget to eat the tops of the beets!  They are better than spinach (in my opinion) and they can be cooked the same way! 

Sweet Potatoes are looking fantastic, as are our cabbage and broccoli transplants.  We'll be updating you more regularly through the fall, so stay tuned for more farm news!

Explore our Website
We welcome you to explore our website to learn more about our farm and the wonderful things you can do with your weekly share. Check out our CROP GUIDE to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies, and our RECIPE section to search for ways to cook up your box!

RECIPES

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges & Beet Greens
Maple Glazed Acorn Squash