In spite of all of the clean-up many farms had to do after Friday afternoon’s storm, Ag Day on Saturday turned out to be a great success. The next thunderstorm on Saturday even held off long enough for us to put down some cover crop seed after the market!

Given some of the stormy weather forecast for the early part of the week, we are holding off on putting up our CSA tent until later when we will hopefully have some replacement parts. In the meantime, CSA pick-up will be in the greenhouse. The farm stand is operating as usual!

We have very little left to plant on our field schedule, but much of it is concentrated in this week. In addition to planting and fencing in our fall-planted strawberries (to protect them from coyotes), we are also transplanting kale and salanova in the high tunnel. We have had an exceptionally long run with the cucumbers in our high tunnel, but we need to start making way for our late season greens. Once planted, we will need to cover them immediately, as critters have already eaten all of our high tunnel fennel and a significant portion of our high tunnel cilantro! We have one last variety of winter squash to harvest from the field (tetsukabuto), which we will likely wait to do until the end of the week when it has dried out more. Our biggest ongoing project will be to roll up landscape fabric and pull up plastic mulch and drip irrigation lines so that we can seed more cover crop. We have lots to keep us busy and we’re crossing our fingers for no more significant weather events, though we’re not holding our breath!

In the CSA this week:

Acorn squash - We’ll have both the regular dark gree variety, as well as the “Starry Night” variety, which look a little like a cross between acorn and delicata.
Delicata squash
Red King radishes
Radishes
Eggplant or Green peppers - The eggplant plants have looked beautiful for many weeks, but the eggplant themselves have been sizing up at a snail’s pace. Last week’s heat did give the eggplant a boost, but because of shorter days we are past what should have been peak production. Since field peppers are slowing down, we will have either eggplant or peppers available this week.

Tomatoes
Scallions
Garlic - This week we will start to distribute our cured garlic. These store best in a cool, dark and dry place (so not the refrigerator, as it is too humid).
Beets
Carrots - We have moved on to our fall carrots, which are testing delicious and will only get sweeter as it gets colder! We are going back to bunched carrots for a few weeks, so if you are planning to keep them in your refrigerator for a while, removing the tops will help ensure they stay crispy.
Kale
Salanova or arugula - One of these salad greens will be available each pick-up day!

CSA Pick-Your-Own:

Cherry tomatoes
Sunflowers - Many of these got knocked over during Friday’s storm, but there are still some out there ready for picking!
Shishito peppers or tomatillos or green beans- Because the newest bean planting got munched on by deer there isn’t as much available to pick as you would expect from this planting. Therefore members will be able to select one of these three items to pick.
Herbs - Sage, thyme, oregano, chives, mint, parsley, and basil

In the farm store:

In addition to the items listed in the CSA, we will have potatoes, spaghetti squash, cucumbers and colored peppers in the store. We will also have sweet corn from Verrill Farm, honey from Double B (from hives on the property, mushrooms from Fat Moon Farm and eggs from Pete and Jen’s.

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 and Friday pick-up. The link for online orders is https://openfoodnetwork.net/barrett-s-mill-farm/shop#/shop. Online ordering currently opens at 6pm on Tuesday for Wednesday pick-up and 6pm on Thursday for Friday pick-up.

PYO Flower CSA

The flower field is open to both Flower CSA members and the public for picking by the jar. The first of 4 varieties of sunflowers we seeded in the flower field are now blooming. Other varieties currently available for picking include zinnias, bachelor button, marigolds, gomphrena, strawflower, celosia, statice, ammi, rudbeckia, scabiosa, cosmos and amaranth. Please pick flowers above branching points. 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.

Slow-Cooked Winter Squash with Sage and Thyme

By Claire Saffitz, from Bon Apetit, September 21, 2018

Douse squash in lots of oil and let it slow-roast to golden-deliciousness in this hands-off dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb. delicata or acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds removed, sliced crosswise 1/2" thick
1/2 head of garlic
2 sprigs sage
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

Preparation:

Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 350°F. Toss squash, garlic, sage, thyme, oil, and salt in a shallow 2-qt. baking dish to combine.
Turn garlic cut side down, then roast vegetables, tossing 2 or 3 times, until golden brown, very tender, and edges and cut sides are crisp, 60–70 minutes. Let cool slightly, then add vinegar and toss to coat.