End of season dates and updates for Farm Store and CSA

The last day of the Farm Store for the season is Saturday, October 25th and the last day of the CSA (for all members) is Saturday, November 22nd! There was a hard frost Thursday night but most of our fall crops do just fine in the cold and for those that don’t we brought in big harvests early this week. In addition to big flower harvests before the freeze, we also ran irrigation on the dahlias and PYO flowers and many survived! Our high tunnel protected the tomatoes (for now!) so those are still producing, albeit more slowly. That’s all to say, keep coming for the farm store and CSA!

Farm Store:

• The last day of the regular season is Saturday, October 25th.

• 2025 Barrett’s Bucks expire on October 25th and can not be used for later pop-up sales or carried over to next season.

• Hours will continue to be Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm.

• We will be in touch via our newsletter to announce winter pop-up sales for high tunnel greens, winter squash, and root crops. We will also have our own hot sauce and salsa verde available! Our first (and biggest) pop-up will likely be the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

CSA:

• The last day of the CSA is Saturday November 22nd. This is the end date for all CSA memberships this year!

• There are 2 types of CSA memberships this year. Flex CSA members pick up 20 weeks out of the 24 week season (so skip 4 weeks) and Extended Season members come all 24 weeks. If you aren’t sure which you have, or want to check on your number of skips feel free to email melissa@barrettsmillfarm.com.

• Due to the recent frost Pick-Your-Own crops are mostly done for the season. We will still have herbs available for picking.

• In November we will move the CSA pick-up into the greenhouse attached to the farm stand for warmth and light!

• Even after the farm store closes we will often have a few products for sale during CSA pick-up such as Fresh Meadows organic cranberries, raspberry vinegar and jam from Silferleaf farm, and organic applesauce.

CSA Week 18 and Farm Stand Updates

Our big project last week was skinning one of our high tunnels (“skinning” a high tunnel or greenhouse means putting on a new plastic covering). The plastic needs to be replaced every 4 years, but in this case a burst of wind in late July caused the plastic covering to fly off. It had been home to our high tunnel cucumbers, but because the plants had already died off and the summer is a difficult time to take a full morning skinning a high tunnel, we decided to leave the covering off for the rest of the summer. We had actually been wanting to take the plastic off the high tunnel anyway to have a sort of fresh start by exposing the soil to the elements. Because the inside of high tunnels are not exposed to rain or snow, salts can build up in the soil of high tunnels over time, so it is recommended to leave the covering off of high tunnels for a couple of months to leach out some of that salt. Of course, we were in a drought this summer so we didn’t get as much rain as we’d like, but hopefully it was enough to help. Also, an aphid problem had been building up over the past couple of years in that tunnel. Conditions in high tunnels are protective not only to plants, but also to some pests like aphids! We hope exposure to the elements will knock back the population naturally.

While the wind burst definitely saved us some time taking the covering off, putting a new covering on is still an undertaking. We have to secure the plastic all around the edges and endwalls, which means working on ladders 14 feet in the air for some of it - not our favorite part of the process! Still, we’ve done it enough now we can usually complete it in a couple of hours. By last week we felt in a better position to take that time out of our day. Now the salanova lettuce mix planted in there will have some warmer conditions to grow in.

It look like we have some much colder overnight temperatures forecast for later this week, so it could be the end of some of our crops, including the PYO flowers. If you are a PYO Flower CSA member and still have a bouquet left to pick, we recommend picking Tuesday or Wednesday!

In the CSA this week:

• Rainbow carrots - Always a hit, these rainbow bunches include purple, pink and yellow mixed in with some traditional orange ones.

• Pie pumpkin - They may look like Halloween decorations, but unlike jack-o-lanterns, they are intended for eating. Not only can you make pumpkin pie with them, but you can also make things like pumpkin soup and pumpkin muffins!

• Escarole - This bitter green is excellent in soups and stew like the classic white bean and escarole soup (see below for one take on it). It can also be sauteed with garlic and olive oil as a side dish.

• Leeks

• Fennel

• Beets - from Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. Certified Organic.

• Green and purple peppers

• Tomatoes - Production is slowing down with shorter days and cooler temperatures, especially in the field (our high tunnel tomatoes enjoy warmer temperatures so are more productive than the field tomatoes in October).

• Cabbage - Tendersweet variety. The name says it all!

• Bok Choi - full sized heads

• Mini Daikon - In addition to the Red King variety, we’ll have white and purple varieties available as well.

• Kale - Curly green

• Salad turnips

• Lettuce

• Arugula

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

The cold overnight temperatures forecast for later this week may affect availability of PYO crops for Saturday.

• Hot peppers - Jalapeño, Fresno, Aji Rico, Cayenne and Hungarian Hot Wax.

• Habañeros - We delivered two batches of hot peppers to Kenneth at Eastern Mass Provisions to turn into hot sauce, but there are still a lot out there, so members will have the opportunity to pick a larger quantity of these extra spicy peppers!

• Herbs: parsley, cilantro dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, chives and basil.

In addition, members may choose 1 of the following:

• Husk cherries - These small fruit in papery husks are related to tomatoes and tomatillos and have a somewhat tropical flavor.

• Tomatillos - They should be picked when the fruit fills our the green husk around it.

In the farm store:

Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. Our farm store will be open until October 25th! This week in the farm store we plan to have:

• The following items that are also in the CSA: rainbow carrots, pie pumpkins, escarole, leeks, bok choi, cabbage, mini daikon, fennel, salad turnips, green and purple peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, arugula, kale, herbs, hot peppers, husk cherries and tomatillos.

• Garlic

• Salanova lettuce mix

• Mustard greens

• Delicata -the last of this early season winter squash favorite!

• Acorn squash

• Dahlias - Wrapped bouquets as well as mini jars. We are going to try to keep them going by running sprinklers on them when it freezes Thursday night, but this may be the last week.

• Raspberries - From Silferleaf Farm just down the road from us! Available Tuesday and Wednesday, TBD for other days. Certified Organic.

• Yellow Potatoes from Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. Certified Organic.

• Apples - From Carver Hill in Stow, MA (not organic). Macoun, Mutsu and Cortland varieties. Not organic.

• Sweet corn from Verrill Farm (not organic)

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified Organic.

• Raspberry Jam and Raspberry Vinegar Infusion - Both from Silferleaf. Certified Organic.

• Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.

• Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags. Grown in South Berwick, Maine. Certified Organic varieties available include: Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry and Light Red Kidney. Not organic: marfax. We will have more varieties soon when Charley Baer is able to make our fall delivery!

White Bean and Escarole Soup

by Debra Klein

Ingredients

• 3 leeks thinly sliced

• ½ teaspoon coarse sea salt

• ¼ tsp black pepper

• 3 large cloves garlic pressed

• 1 head escarole roughly chopped

• 1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups water

• 2 (15-oz) cans cannellini beans

• 1 tablespoon light miso diluted with ¼ cup warm water

• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

Instructions

1. Wash and dry escarole. Roughly chop. Thinly slice white and light green sections of leeks.

2. Heat dutch oven or large soup pot over medium heat.

3. Saute leeks in olive oil or vegetable broth for 3 minutes.

4. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and add garlic, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

5. Stir in escarole and cook for 2 minutes, stirring as it wilts.

6. Add tomatoes, beans, broth and water. Stir well.

7. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium low to simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Whisk miso with ¼ cup water and then mix into the soup until heated through.

9. Sprinkle with nutritional yeast, mix well and ladle into bowls while still hot.

10. Garnish with additional nutritional yeast and crushed red pepper if you like a little heat.

Notes:

Leeks:  3 large leeks with yield approximately 1 ¼ cups sliced leeks. Substitute 1 large or 2 small diced onion.

Escarole: Approximately 6 cups firmly packed after chopping. Can substitute with kale, collard greens, endive or Napa cabbage. You can use spinach, and reduce the simmer time to 5 minutes. 

Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

Wet ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree (To make a pumpkin puree, cut in half, scoop out the seeds and roast. Once the flesh is soft, scoop it out and puree)

• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (or sub melted butter)

• 2 eggs, at room temperature

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk (or any milk)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  Dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or white whole wheat flour)

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with liners and spray the insides of the liners with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin, maple syrup, coconut oil, eggs, almond milk and vanilla.

3. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

4. Evenly divide batter between 12 muffin cups. Bake for 23-28 minutes or until tester comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Enjoy!

Jake, Sue and Joe show off the Monday rainbow carrot harvest.

CSA Week 17 and Farm Stand Updates

The flowers have been a real highlight this season with a nearly continuous supply of blooms from late April through now. Recently our dahlia planting (not part of the PYO field) has really taken off! Catherine, has been creating some exquisite bouquets all season long, but it’s also been a great season for picking in the PYO garden. Right now the PYO flower field, particularly the zinnias, are still going strong. There is potential for frost later this week, though, so now is a great time to pick! Even if it doesn’t end up frosting, the PYO Flowers are moving past peak, so we definitely recommend that PYO Flower CSA members who still have bouquets left to pick come to the farm this week.

While the flowers have lifted our spirits continuously, the deer have continued to be a source of headaches for us. We’ve been putting up smaller fences and adding row covers everywhere, but it is a constant battle. They are overpopulated, and probably the drought this year has made their normal food sources less plentiful, making all of our irrigated crops look like a tasty option. Earlier in the season the deer were eating our tomato plants (a first for us!), but when we put a small fence around them, they just walked right through it! They’ve also been feasting on our sweet potato vines, and when we covered them with an expensive row cover, they shredded it. Last week they started digging up our precious fall carrots, so we put up a fence around the carrots. With this fence we pulled out all the stops, and we’re feeling pretty good about the carrots’ chances! This winter will definitely be a time when we strategize about deer exclusion tactics!

In the CSA this week:

• Leeks

• Cabbage - Tendersweet variety. The name says it all!

• Mustard greens - This variety is called Wasabina and it is very cold tolerant, making it a great green to grow in the fall!

• Bok Choi - full sized heads

• Broccoli or Colored peppers - Our earliest broccoli variety started producing about a week ago, and now the next variety is forming florets. The colored peppers also started to pick up again, but we don’t have enough of either to last the full week, so members will have a choice of one or the other.

• Radishes - Red King variety, which is a type of mini daikon

• Fennel

• Acorn squash

• Beets - from Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH and Atlas Farm in Deerfield, MA. Both are Certified Organic.

• Green and purple peppers

• Tomatoes - Production is slowing down a little with shorter days and cooler temperatures, but we’ll still have a good supply this week!

• Kale - Curly green

• Salad turnips

• Lettuce

• Salanova lettuce mix

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Hot peppers - Jalapeño, Fresno, Aji Rico, Cayenne and Hungarian Hot Wax.

• Habañeros - We delivered two batches of hot peppers to Kenneth at Eastern Mass Provisions to turn into hot sauce, but there are still a lot out there, so members will have the opportunity to pick a larger quantity of these extra spicy peppers!

• Herbs: parsley, cilantro, dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, chives and basil.

In addition, members may choose 1 of the following:

• Cherry tomatoes - The heavy rain last week caused a lot of cracking, so they are not as plentiful as at their peak.

• Husk cherries - These small fruit in papery husks are related to tomatoes and tomatillos and have a somewhat tropical flavor.

• Tomatillos - They should be picked when the fruit fills our the green husk around it.

In the farm store:

Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We plan to have:

• The following items that are also in the CSA: mustard greens, bok choi, cabbage, fennel, acorn squash, salad turnips, green peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, salanova lettuce mix, kale, herbs, hot peppers and tomatillos.

• Onions

• Garlic

• Scallions

• Delicata

• Pie pumpkins

• Arugula

• Radishes (red round)

• Flowers - Wrapped mixed bouquets

• Dahlias - Wrapped bouquets as well as mini jars.

• Raspberries - From Silferleaf Farm just down the road from us! Available Tuesday and Wednesday, TBD for other days. Certified Organic.

• Pinto potatoes from Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH. Certified Organic.

• Apples - From Carver Hill in Stow, MA (not organic). Macoun, Mutsu and Cortland varieties. Not organic.

• Sweet corn from Verrill Farm (not organic)

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified Organic.

• Raspberry Jam and Raspberry Vinegar Infusion - Both from Silferleaf. Certified Organic.

• Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.

• Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags. Grown in South Berwick, Maine. Certified Organic varieties available include: Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry and Light Red Kidney. Not organic: bumblebee, marfax, and flageolet.

Chickpea Stew With Orzo and Mustard Greens

by Melissa Clark, NY Times Cooking

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling

• 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1 small fennel bulb

• 1 medium onion, chopped

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• Pinch of red-pepper flakes

• 2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary (optional)

• 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth (or water)

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

• ¾ cup roughly chopped cherry or grape tomatoes

• ½ cup whole-wheat or regular orzo

• 1 quart loosely packed baby mustard greens (about 5 ounces)

• Salt and black pepper

• Chopped scallions, for garnish (optional)

• ¼ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more as needed

Preparation

1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the carrots, fennel or celery, and onion. Cook until tender, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic, red-pepper flakes and rosemary, if using, and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour in the broth, if using, or water, along with another 2 cups water, and bring to a boil.

2. Once the mixture is boiling, add the chickpeas, tomatoes and orzo. Reduce to a simmer and cover with a lid. Simmer 10 minutes, or until the orzo is tender. Uncover and stir in the greens, letting them simmer until soft, about 2 minutes.

3. Add more water if you want the mixture to be more souplike, and season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and top with chopped scallions (if desired), grated cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

CSA Week 16 and Farm Stand Updates

We’ve moved onto even more fall vegetables this week, though some summer favorites like tomatoes are still going strong. Cooler nights and shorter days means those summer fruits are slower to form and ripen, though. For instance, we’ve gotten some questions about colored peppers. We think we may have lost a generation of peppers to blossom drop during some of the hotter periods earlier this summer. Last week we finally saw more green peppers on our high tunnel plants, but it always takes a while for them to turn their color, and with shorter days and cooler nights, it takes even longer. We’re hoping we’ll have another flush of colored peppers soon to prolong the sense that summer isn’t quite over!

In the CSA this week:

• Acorn squash - We’ve found many of these to be sweeter than usual. Perhaps in spite of frequent irrigation, the dry weather still concentrated the sugars in our winter squash!

• Delicata - These colorful squash have a skin is thin and edible so they are easy to prepare and they have a sweet, slightly nutty flavor.

• Salad turnips - We take a break from salad turnips in the summer, as they don’t do well in the heat. These are milder and sweeter than radishes. There are great raw as an addition to salad, and they also work well roasted or sauteed.

• Scallions

• Garlic - This garlic is cured so will keep for months in a dark dry place.

• Celery or Fennel

• Beets - Our own as well as from our friends at Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH. Certified Organic.

• Green and purple peppers

• Tomatoes - Production is slowing down a little with shorter days and cooler temperatures, but we’ll still have a good supply this week!

• Kale - Curly green

• Lettuce

• Salanova lettuce mix

• Arugula

• Radishes - Red round radishes.

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Hot peppers - The habañeros are now open in addition to the other varieties we’ve had all season.

• Herbs: parsley, cilantro, dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, chives and basil.

• Sunflowers

In addition, Regular memberships may choose 2 of the following, and Small memberships may choose 1 of the following:

• Shishito peppers

• Husk cherries - These small fruit in papery husks are related to tomatoes and tomatillos and have a somewhat tropical flavor.

• Tomatillos - They should be picked when the fruit fills our the green husk around it.

• Green beans

We are taking a break from cherry tomatoes this week, but they’ll likely be back next week.

In the farm store:

Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We plan to have:

• The following items that are also in the CSA: acorn, delicata, garlic, salad turnips, green peppers, tomatoes, beets, lettuce, salanova lettuce mix, arugula, kale, radishes, herbs, green beans, husk cherries, hot peppers and tomatillos.

• Broccoli

• Colored peppers

• Onions

• Kabocha squash

• Flowers - Wrapped mixed bouquets

• Dahlias - Wrapped bouquets as well as mini jars.

• Raspberries - From Silferleaf Farm just down the road from us! We don’t usually have them every day this week, but we take them whenever we can get them! Certified Organic.

• Apples - From Carver Hill in Stow, MA (not organic). Macoun, Mutsu and Cortland varieties. Possibly other varieties Wednesday. Not organic.

• Sweet corn from Verrill Farm (not organic)

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified Organic.

• Raspberry Jam and Raspberry Vinegar Infusion - Both from Silferleaf. Certified Organic.

• Double B Honey - From hives on the property! Not certified organic

• Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.

• Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags. Grown in South Berwick, Maine. Certified Organic varieties available include: Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry and Light Red Kidney. Not organic: bumblebee, marfax, and flageolet.

Vegetarian Stuffed Acorn Squash

from Cookie + Kate

Ingredients

• 2 medium acorn squash

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, divided

• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed

• 1 cup water

• ¼ cup dried cranberries

• ¼ cup raw pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)

• ¼ cup chopped green onion

• ¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 tablespoon for garnish

• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

• ½ cup crumbled goat cheese or feta

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean-up.

1. To prepare the squash, use a sharp chef’s knife to slice through it from the tip to the stem. I find it easiest to pierce the squash in the center along a depression line, then cut through the tip, and finish by slicing through the top portion just next to the stem. Use a large spoon to scoop out the seeds and stringy bits inside, and discard those pieces.

2. Place the squash halves cut side up on the parchment-lined pan. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over the squash, and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt. Rub the oil into the cut sides of the squash, then turn them over so the cut sides are against the pan. Bake until the squash flesh is easily pierced through by a fork, about 30 to 45 minutes. Leave the oven on.

3. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa: In a medium saucepan, combine the rinsed quinoa and water. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Simmer, uncovered, until all of the water is absorbed, 12 to 18 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cranberries. Cover, and let the mixture steam for 5 minutes. Uncover and fluff the quinoa with a fork.

4. In a medium skillet, toast the pepitas over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the pepitas are turning golden on the edges and making little popping noises, about 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.

5. Pour the fluffed quinoa mixture into a medium mixing bowl. Add the toasted pepitas, chopped green onion, parsley, garlic, lemon juice, the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir until the ingredients are evenly distributed. Taste and add additional salt, if necessary.

6. If the mixture is very hot, let it cool for a few minutes before adding the Parmesan cheese and goat cheese. Gently stir the mixture to combine.

7. Turn the cooked squash halves over so the cut sides are facing up. Divide the mixture evenly between the squash halves with a large spoon. Return the squash to the oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the cheesy quinoa is turning golden on top.

8. Sprinkle the stuffed squash with the remaining 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, and serve warm.

Lemon-Garlic Kale Salad

By Julia Moskin, from NY Times Cooking

Ingredients

• 2 cups sliced almonds

• ⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 4 lemons)

• Kosher salt

• 1½ cups extra-virgin olive oil

• 4 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat side of a knife, peeled and left whole

• 10 to 12 ounces washed and dried kale leaves, thick stems removed (weight after trimming)

• 1½ cups freshly grated Parmesan (optional)

Preparation

1. In a toaster oven or skillet, toast almonds until golden brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool.

2. In a bowl, combine lemon juice and 1 heaping teaspoon salt. Slowly whisk in olive oil. Add garlic cloves and set aside to steep.

3. Working in batches, cut the kale into thin ribbons: gather a large handful of leaves, bunch together tightly, and use the other hand to slice into ¼-inch-thick pieces. This need not be done very precisely or neatly; the idea is to end up with a kind of slaw. (Recipe can be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Keep kale and dressing refrigerated separately.)

4. Place chopped kale in a very large bowl. Sprinkle surface with almonds and then with cheese, if using. Remove and discard garlic cloves from dressing. Pour half the dressing over the salad and toss. Taste for dressing and salt and add more as needed, tossing to coat thoroughly. Serve within 1 hour.

CSA Week 15 and Farm Stand Updates

We were extremely excited at the end of the day on Monday to have no more produce bins to wash (at least until Tuesday, when we’ll create new dirty harvest buckets and empty out the produce bins for donations to the Boston Area Gleaners!). We’ve been challenged this season to keep up with bin washing, but Sue has been a true hero in chipping away at the backlogs of produce bins we’ve created!

Bin washing isn’t the only thing we’ve felt behind on this year. Some of our crops have about a week or two behind where they were last year. Many farmers in town have reported the same phenomenon. We think this is due to a combination of factors. A cool spring slowed growth early on. A hot and dry summer pulled some of us away from seeding, transplanting and weeding in order to work on irrigation. It also prevented us from doing some tractor work (no one want to create a dust cloud that you then have to drive through!). The heat can also cause blossom drop on tomatoes and peppers, meaning they don’t set as much fruit and several weeks down the line from an extreme heat event you have very few peppers and tomatoes. We’ve also been short-staffed and contending with a serious deer problem, which makes it doubly hard to keep up!

Fortunately, we have a lot of things that are going well in spite of some of this seasons challenges. Our winter squash harvest has been phenomenal! They were planted when things started to warm up, and the upside of a drought is that there was very little disease and so far very little rot. Likewise for our onions. The PYO flower field has also been thriving. The cabbage and broccoli plants look gorgeous thanks to some timely irrigation work. And we had a slow start, but the tomato harvest is finally picking up. This fall looks very promising and we’re excited to enjoy the fruits of all of summer’s labor.

In the CSA this week:

• Salanova- Cut lettuce mix is back!

• Delicata - These colorful squash have a skin is thin and edible so they are easy to prepare and they have a sweet, slightly nutty flavor.

• Scallions

• Garlic - This garlic is cured so will keep for months in a dark dry place.

• Onion- yellow storage

• Green and purple peppers

• Tomatoes - Both slicing and heirloom varieties from the field and high tunnel.

• Kale - Curly green

• Lettuce

• Endive - The endive variety we grow has curlier leaves than Belgian endive and we don’t blanche the heads, so they actually look much more like frisee.

• Arugula

• Radishes - Red round radishes.

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

• Cherry Tomatoes

• Hot peppers - The habañeros are now open in addition to the other varieties we’ve had all season.

• Herbs: parsley, cilantro, dill flowers, sage, thyme, mint, chives and basil.

• Sunflowers - Maybe only available on Wednesday (the next planting isn’t quite ready!)

In addition, Regular memberships may choose 2 of the following, and Small memberships may choose 1 of the following:

• Shishito peppers

• Husk cherries - These small fruit in papery husks are related to tomatoes and tomatillos and have a somewhat tropical flavor.

• Tomatillos - They should be picked when the fruit fills our the green husk around it.

• Green beans - Picking from a new planting this week!

In the farm store:

Farm store hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We plan to have:

• The following items that are also in the CSA: delicata, scallions, garlic, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, salanova, endive, arugula, kale, radishes, herbs, cherry tomatoes, green beans, husk cherries, hot peppers and tomatillos.

• Colored peppers

• Carrots

• Kabocha squash

• Flowers - Wrapped mixed bouquets

• Dahlias - We’ll still have some mini bouquets in jars, but we also now have taller stems for wrapped bouquets!

• Pinto Gold potatoes from Picadilly Farm in Winchester, NH. This variety has a rich, buttery flavor - a true gourmet potato! Certified Organic.

• Raspberries - From Silferleaf Farm just down the road from us! We don’t usually have them every day this week, but we take them whenever we can get them! Certified Organic.

• Apples - From Carver Hill in Stow, MA (not organic). McIntosh and Cortland varieties.

• Sweet corn from Verrill Farm (not organic)

• Mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm - Certified Organic.

• Raspberry Jam and Raspberry Vinegar Infusion - Both from Silferleaf. Certified Organic.

• Double B Honey - From hives on the property! Not certified organic

• Applesauce from Long Run Produce in Boxborough, MA. Certified Organic.

• Baer’s Best Beans: 1 pound bags. Grown in South Berwick, Maine. Certified Organic varieties available include: Black Turtle, Italian Cranberry and Light Red Kidney. Not organic: bumblebee, marfax, and flageolet.

Roasted Delicata Squash with Apples

from Love & Lemons

Ingredients:

• 2 delicata squash, halved lengthwise and seeded, cut into ½-inch pieces

• ½ cup pearl onions, halved

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

• 2 tablespoons pepitas and/or pine nuts

• 2 cups torn kale

• 6 sage leaves, chopped

• Leaves from 3 fresh thyme sprigs

• 1 small apple, diced

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• ½ garlic clove, minced

• ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

• ⅛ teaspoon maple syrup

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place the squash and onions on the baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and arrange on the sheet so that they’re not touching. Roast until the squash is golden brown on all sides and until the onions are soft and browned, 25 to 30 minutes.

3. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, garlic, mustard, maple syrup, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.

4. In a small pan over medium-low heat, toss the pepitas with a pinch of salt and cook until toasted, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Set aside.

5. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the kale, sage, and thyme. Add the warm roasted squash and onions, the apples, half the pepitas, and half the dressing. Toss to coat. Transfer to an oven-safe serving dish. (If you’re making this dish in advance stop here and follow the saving/reheating instructions in the notes below).

6. Place the serving dish into the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the apples and kale are warm and the kale is just wilted. Just before serving, drizzle with the remaining dressing, and top with the remaining pepitas.