2021 CSA Farm Update: Week 17

Dear Friends,

Hello everyone and welcome to week 17 of the Katchkie Farm CSA! Here in upstate New York, the leaves starting to turn from green to hues of gold, orange, and red. The air is slightly cooler and the sun no longer shines with same intensity it did just a couple of months ago. We are very busy harvesting in anticipation of an upcoming frost, which is always on the horizon this time of year.

This past week we had a much-needed dry stretch of weather and we took full advantage of it. The last three beds of sweet potatoes were dug and put away to cure in order to develop their sweetness. Then on to harvest the carrots, the much beloved carrots. September’s carrot crop had mostly succumbed to the heavy rains this year, but these were October’s carrots! They were seeded right next to the September carrots but were at a different stage of development during heavy rains in July and August, so there was hope for them. Their survival was hard won. All in all, about 100 hours was put into hand weeding them. Had we had a drier year and had that first cultivation happened on time, this would have been reduced to 15 hours in total.

Nonetheless, there they were: green fronds standing straight and tall, glistening with morning dew. We got everything ready and started harvesting them. The aroma that a carrot harvest generates is very distinct. There is a sweet, flowery earthiness that is very unique to the carrot. Combined with the vibrant hues of orange, purple, and yellow this is like a flower brought underground. This harvest was no different, no less enriching. There was certainly some loss in the crop, but not to the extent of last month’s. For this, we are very grateful to be able to share one of my favorite crops over the coming weeks.

You will notice however, there are no carrots in this week’s share. This may seem a bit odd given that the farm news is about carrots. With the amount of carrots that did not make it, we have to hold them back for one more week until we can distribute them in order to make it to the end of the CSA season. Believe me, they are worth the wait!

Until next time,
Farmer Jon