Week 17 CSA basket

Just a few more weeks left in the season. We're now heavy on the root vegetables and greens.

Expect the following this week:
Pumpkins, leeks, radishes, sweet peppers, lettuce, tatsoi cabbage, mustard greens, kale, parsley, cilantro.

The pumpkins we're giving out were grown by PJD in the same plot where we got our delicious corn and cukes from. This variety is meant to be eaten! It is sweet and delicious and they each have a ton of seeds for baking, too. They can be left out for weeks and be eaten after you've used them to decorate your house for the fall.

Massacre on Longhaul Farm

Shooing the hens into their new hut

'Tis a sad day on Longhaul Farm. We have lost our meat birds - started with 25 and are now down to 5.

We left for vacation on a Thursday with a healthy flock, admittedly adventuring out of their electric fencing and co-mingling with the laying hens. When we arrived back one week later we counted only 6 birds and heard tales of a beheaded hen a few days back and coyotes cackling nearby at dusk. The beheading is a classic move by an owl. But 18 birds gone missing?!? Those coyotes must have had a field day, and are now cackling their mangy heads off somewhere after eating our fattened, 4-month old roosters.

The saddest part of it all is that we were about to harvest those birds next week to put away in our deep freezer, give as gifts to a few helpful hands. And now we are left with so few that have to meet their maker this weekend to spare the hyper-activity with our poor laying hens.

We have learned many lessons from this. And we are in pain, contemplating if there's enough time to raise some more birds before winter sets in.

Week 16 CSA basket

Enjoying a meal in the dining pavilion in Restoule

We're back from a restful vacation in the northern pines of Canada. And despite a treacherous storm while we were away and a serious tragedy with the chickens, our veggies are looking good.

Expect the following in this week's basket:
Onions (red and yellow), Chinese cabbage, chard, lettuce, parsley, beets, radishes, sweet and hot peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, and a handful of tomatoes.

We are harvesting pumpkins today and will be curing them in a warm, sunny spot for 7-10 days before we hand these out. Butternut squash will undergo the same process and should be ready to pick next week.

Week 15 CSA basket

Greens are back!

Expect the following this week:
Cherry tomatoes, cantaloupe, corn, potatoes, basil, parsley, Chinese cabbage, carrots, tomatillos, chard, sweet peppers, hot peppers, eggplant, kale, arugula or spinach.

Sorry to report that these cherry tomatoes are the last of this season's tomatoes... hope you enjoyed the bounty.

This time of year will begin to bring different types of cabbage. Try making a slaw with it, or be adventurous and make a kimchi.