This week we'll be enjoying more fall crops, but we should also still have some of our summer favorites, like tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. This will be the last week for early leeks, but the storage leeks will be available in the share later this fall. After a week off between the summer and fall plantings, carrots are also making a return to the share this week. For the rest of the season, we'll be enjoying Bolero carrots, which are a sweet storage variety. Fennel will also be back in the share after a summer hiatus (the heat makes the fennel flower before producing sizable bulbs, so it is better suited to cooler spring and fall weather). Last Wednesday, we also had a pleasant surprise when we peeked into the fall brassica field: giant cauliflower and beautiful fall broccoli heads beginning to form. Friday afternoon, we harvested about 500 pounds of cauliflower for distribution this week. Since we'll have such a nice variety of veggies this week (and the fall brassicas came on earlier than usual for us), we'll postpone beginning winter squash and onion distribution for one more week. This is because the squash and onions will keep well in storage, but the broccoli and cauliflower won't hold as well out in the field. Also, we want to make sure to spread the veggie wealth evenly between the remaining weeks! Don't worry, though - by the end of September you can expect to see kale, cabbage, onions, delicata, sugar dumpling and spaghetti squash in your shares.All this talk of fall veggies reminds me that Thanksgiving Share forms will be available in the shareroom starting this week. If you just can't get enough of fall crops, you have the option of purchasing an additional Thanksgiving vegetable share (as well as pre-ordering organic cranberries, Appleton Farms cheeses, and pies). The Thanksgiving Share is a one-time distribution on the Monday before Thanksgiving. We will likely have about 100 vegetable shares available this year, and shares are first-come first-served. There is no limit on the amount of cranberries or pies we can sell, but we do need to place those orders by the end of October, so get your order form and check in as soon as possible to ensure that you don't miss out!
Vegetable shares cost $80, weigh about 40 lbs and will likely include many of the following: carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, onions, garlic, rutabagas, turnips, parsnips, celeriac, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, and possibly lettuce. Our harvest varies every year, so we can't guarantee that all of these crops will be in the share. However, if we happen to be short on some of the more popular vegetables, we try to supplement with some vegetables from other local farms. When we include vegetables from other farms, we will aim to source from farms that also follow organic practices.
What's in the share: Lettuce, Greens, Chard, Escarole, Leeks, Eggplant, Peppers, Slicing Tomatoes, Plum Tomatoes, Heirloom Tomatoes, Keuka Gold Potatoes, Garlic, PYO Cherry Tomatoes, PYO Husk Cherries, PYO Green Beans, PYO Edamame, PYO Flowers, PYO Herbs.
New this week: Cauliflower, Broccoli, Fennel, Bolero Carrots.
