As we are approaching the end of this season we have been doing a lot of planning for next season, which will be our 10th year on the property! In 2023 we will be keeping our Farm Store open 5 days a week: Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. As usual, we will be offering Barrett’s Bucks for 2023 starting in January. We will also continue to work with Fat Moon Mushrooms to offer a Spring and Fall mushroom CSA, as well as provide their delicious mushrooms in the Farm Store. We will also continue to offer Main Season, Flex and Extended Season CSA memberships. Current CSA members will be receiving a detailed email on Tuesday about renewing memberships for the 2023 season, along with a link to the sign-up page. This information will also be available in a printed letter this week during CSA pick-ups. We will be offering new memberships beginning January 15th, 2023.
The 2022 season is not over yet! It is week 17 of 20 for the Main Season CSA, so there are still 3 pick-ups left in the Main Season after this week. The Main Season CSA ends on October 22nd. Extended CSA members have an additional 4 weeks of pick-ups for a total of 24 weeks, ending November 19th. Flex members have 20 weeks of pick ups over the 24 week season, so please talk with the shopkeeper or email Melissa if you have any questions about your number of remaining pick-ups! There are no Tuesday pick-ups for the last 4 weeks of the Extended/Flex CSA so starting the week of October 25th CSA pick-ups will be Thursdays 11am-6pm and Saturdays 9am-3pm. The Farm Store will remain open through October 29th. Barrett’s Bucks expire on the last regular day of the farm stand, October 29th, and balances do not carry over for winter sales or for next season. We do not anticipate having a bulk sale this year due to limited supplies, however, it’s possible we will be able to offer a Thanksgiving or an early December pop up for later maturing high tunnel grown items.
In the CSA this week:
Rainbow Carrots! We grew 4 different varieties of carrots to create rainbow bunches! One variety is our tried and true orange bolero carrot, the three others are very aptly named for their colorful additions: ruby red, purple haze, yellowstone!
Broccoli - We have seen a lot of heat stress damage in our first broccoli planting. High temps like we saw this year into late August and early September can cause uneven development well before you even see a crown developing, and this uneven head formation creates prime conditions for rot to develop. Fortunately, it looks like in later successions the temperatures were lower during this critical development stage, so we hope to have some prettier broccoli soon! This week’s broccoli is still perfectly edible, but we would recommend consuming it earlier rather than later, as it will not hold it’s freshness as long.
Potatoes - We’ll be enjoying King Harry potatoes (yellow skin, white flesh) this week! This variety is interesting because it’s leaves are “hairy”, which acts as a deterrent to our primary potato pest - Colorado potato beetle!
Tomatoes - Our high tunnel and field tomatoes are still producing, but production is slowing dramatically with the shorter, cooler days. Still, this is the latest we’ve had tomatoes available in the CSA!
Savoy or tendersweet cabbage - Both varieties are thin skinned cabbages, which are great for making fresh slaws!
Fennel
Peppers
Onions
Pie pumpkins
Arugula
Beets
Radishes
Curly green kale
CSA Pick-Your-Own:
Green Beans
Hot peppers- choice of Jalapeño, Aji Rico, Fresno, Hungarian Hot Wax, and Red Ember (cayenne).
Herbs - choice of oregano, sage, thyme or lemon thyme.
In the farm store:
In addition to the items listed in the CSA we will have baby bok choy, acorn and delicata squash, and lettuce in the farm store this week. New this week: Jack-O-Lantern pumpkins from Verrill Farm! We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, eggs from Codman Farm, Double B Honey from hives here on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm, raspberry jam and vinegar from Silferleaf Farm in Concord, and possibly fresh raspberries from Silferleaf if available.
We accept credit card, cash, check and EBT in the farm store. The farm store is open Tuesday - Friday 11am - 6pm and Saturday 9am - 3pm. We also continue to take online pre-orders for Wednesday, Friday and Saturday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering opens at 6pm the day before pick-up.
Pick-Your-Own Flower CSA:
The flower field is still open for Flower CSA members to pick but it will not continue to produce for much longer so we suggest Flower CSA members finish picking their allotted jars as soon as possible! Feel free to bring family and friends to help you pick! Bouquets that are not picked do not carry over to the next season. Varieties available include zinnias, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, rudbeckia, cosmos, verbena, decorative basil, and amaranth. Picking hours are during any farm store hours: Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm. We recommend bringing your own pruners or scissors as well as water for transporting your flowers home.
Fall Mushroom CSA
It is the third week of the Fall Mushroom CSA. The variety this week is shiitake mushrooms! For more information about each variety Fat Moon Farm grows, check out the “Types We Grow” page of their website: https://fatmoonmushrooms.com/pages/types-we-grow! Pick-up for the Fall mushroom CSA is any time the farm store is open, Tuesday-Friday 11am-6pm and Saturday 9am-3pm.
Cabbage Salad with Apples and Walnuts
By Sonja Overhiser at https://www.acouplecooks.com/apple-walnut-savoy-cabbage-salad
Ingredients
· ⅓ cup olive oil
· 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
· 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
· 2 pinches kosher salt
· Fresh ground black pepper
· ½ cup walnuts
· 1 head Savoy cabbage
· 2 apples
· ½ cup Parmesan cheese shavings (or Pecorino Romano)
Instructions
1. For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, cider vinegar, honey, kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper.
2. If desired, toast the walnuts by placing them in a dry skillet over low heat for several minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly browned and fragrant. Immediately remove from the heat into a bowl.
3. Thinly slice the cabbage. Core 2 apples and chop them. (If not eating immediately, sprinkle the apples with a bit of lemon juice to prevent browning.) Using a vegetable peeler, shave the Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese.
4. To serve, place cabbage on a serving plate, then top with apples, walnuts, cheese, and dressing.