2023 CSA Farm Update: Week 16

From the Farm: Cover Crop

Hello Everyone and welcome to week 16 of the Katchkie Farm CSA. Rain, rain, go away and come again another day. We have had our share of rain on the farm this past week making for some muddy harvests, but the show must go on as they say. This coming week looks to be mostly clear, which will give us a nice opportunity to bring in some of those larger fall harvests.

Our winter squash is the first of those larger harvests we can check off the list. We clipped them off the vines, put them in piles, then collected them into large wooden apple crates and put them in the greenhouse to cure. There is always a feeling of accomplishment and gratitude when something that was set in motion way back in the winter months comes to fruition. Those squash have seen a plethora of weather events this past year but made it through and will be making their way to your tables. We grew a mix again this year including delicata, butternut, koginut, acorn, blue kabocha, and red kabocha. Unfortunately, the kabocha and acorn squashes did not respond well to the wet year and only produced a handful of fruits out of several hundred plants. The butternut and koginut squashes did very well producing about 6000 pounds in total.

As we enter those first days of autumn, the farm fields slowly begin their transition from food production to soil regeneration. Each year we ask a lot of our soils to produce our crops for us. As those crops are harvested and the soil is bare, it gets seeded to a mix of annual grasses and legumes (sometimes daikon radish to loosen any compaction), to catch all the wonderful fall sun, convert it to sugars and feed the soil life. When we come back to start planting the fields in the spring, we are met with soil full of vitality, that will produce delicious food for us for another year.

This week brings us our first week of “normal” potatoes. We have planted many differently shaped and colored potatoes this year, but this is the first and only of our potatoes that resemble a standard potato. It is a very versatile one as well, making a wonderful baked, roasted, or fried potato. Cauliflower also makes its way to the shares this week. I have been cooking it with butter and garlic, which makes a very pleasing side dish.

Until next time,
Farmer Jon


WEEKLY HARVEST INCLUDES*

*We try our best to provide the most accurate CSA list in the newsletter! However, there’s always a chance of last minute substitutions in some bags if we don’t harvest enough of a vegetable.


recipe: MAPLE MUSTARD CAULIFLOWER

by Emilia Sochovka, MS, RDN, CPT

This quick and easy dish features cauliflower. The maple syrup, mustard and pepper add a sweet kick. You can add additional vegetables, including Brussels sprouts — make sure all ingredients are about the same size and double the dressing before roasting.

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

  • 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

  • 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard

  • 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Procedure:

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.

  2. Toss cauliflower with olive oil, maple syrup, mustard and pepper.

  3. Spread out the vegetables on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Roast for 45 minutes, shaking the pan every 15 minutes.

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