CSA News for the Week of Sept 19th

This Week's Vegetable Harvest:

• Bok Choy
• Potatoes (red or purple)
• Lettuce Heads
• Arugula
• Tomatoes
• Parsnips
• Sweet Peppers
• White Salad Turnips
• Shallots

This Week's Fruit Harvest:

• Bartlett Pears
• Italian Plums
• Fuji Apples

  

Important Dates

 Week of October 5th/6th

Last week for Summer Vegetable Shares and Fresh Fruit Shares

Week of October 12th/13th

Start of Fall Vegetable Shares

Week of November 16th/17th

Last week for Fall Vegetable Shares

Farm Update

So far this week, most of our employees have been busy harvesting, washing and packaging your vegetable and fruit shares. In the photo above, M.V. and Travis are working hard to pack 275 shares for Wednesday's deliveries.

The rest of the Sandhill Organics team is working on preparing the fields for next year's crops. Matt has spent all season keeping a close eye on our compost piles. The piles must be turned at least 3 times per year. When the compost is finally ready, he loads it into a manure spreader.

Then Luis spreads the compost on all of the fields that do not currently have a crop on them. We typically apply about 15 tons of compost to the acre.

Once the fields have been composted, Jeff can go ahead and use the broadcast seeder to sow oats and other cover crop seeds in the fields. Cover crops help to protect and enrich the soil prior to the planting of next year's vegetable crops. Hard to believe we're planning for next year's crops already, but it's true!

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

Parsnips are closely related to carrots. In fact, they sort of look like big yellowish-white carrots. Although they can be eaten raw, their fibrous texture means that they are best when cooked. They are slightly sweet and nutty and are particularly well suited to roasting and mashing. I also use them in place of carrots when making carrot cake.

We love white japanese turnips for their mild, sweet taste and their soft texture. They can be sliced, grated or chopped for use in raw salads. They're also delicious when cooked in a little butter and then lightly salted.

  

This Week's Recipes

Beef and Bok Choy Hot Pot

White Turnip and Apple Salad

Roasted Beet and Pear Salad

Apple Cider-Glazed Parsnips

Roast Potatoes and Parsnips

Arugula-Tomato Pizza

Ham and Black-Eyed Pea Soup with Turnip Greens

Creamy Turnip and Potato Soup

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)...lettuce, cauliflower, garlic, leeks, chard, radishes, mushrooms, baby carrots, fennel, grapes, raspberries, bosc pears and more!