Farm Happenings
It felt like peak colors this week, seeing the sunlight radiating from and amplifying the saturated leaves. Several times, various members of the farm were stopped in their tracks, humbled by the spectacle of color and light. The show continues after dark with the fat moon rising with Jupiter in its orbit. Thank you, fabulous natural world!
The Swap it event today in our new barn was such a treasure trove of skill and creativity. 50 people joined us, toting bags and boxes laden with the multitude of items they brought to share.
As members of littleGrasse, we know that local food is an topic near to your heart. You are invited to a Story Slam on Saturday October 29th, 1-3pm at The TAUNY Center in Canton. Flip is organizing it as part of her work at Cornell Cooperative Extension. The theme is ‘food and farming’ so the topic is rich with possibility. There’s slots for a dozen storytellers- true 5 minute tales! Space is limited; find information and reserve your spot to participate -as a storyteller or audience member- for this one-time event here.
Excellent job to the folks that joined us for the carrot and beet harvest yesterday. Shareholder Jenny mentioned its one of her favorite farm activities. It is satisfying to pull the bright roots from our sandy loam soil. We pulled beets also, those were not as large as we’d like, but we will continue to have some available this month.
Good carrot harvest! This is a storage variety called Bolero, which will be distributed to the Root Cellar shareholders. The Free Choice carrots are still in the field, available for you pick harvest.
Check out the bounty! Here’s a cross section of items that we brought home from the swap; these came from around 18 other households. What a treat to see many farm shareholders there, mingling with dozens of other community members. A neat aspect of this event is bringing home items we’ll enjoy both in the short and long term, from the fresh pierogies and Indian foods that we’ll gobble up right away to the hibiscus plant and mug that will grace our house for years to come.
There are still greens in the field, and while they can all withstand freezing, they have a range of ability to survive temperatures below that. Rainbow chard pictured here can tolerate temperatures into the mid-20s.
GH and Phil load bins into the LaMarche family vehicle as part of their portion of the squash harvest as Root Cellar shareholders.
Tips for Success
- There’s 3 weeks left of the Free Choice Share which ends on October 31st. That also marks the end of the meat freezer stocked with 8 O’clock Ranch products in our share room. Stock up this month to enjoy their cuts into the wintertime. To get a special order, contact the Bartons and they can pack a bag to leave for you in the bottom drawer of the meat freezer.
Relani visited the farm on Saturday, excited for another harvest of daikon radish. She’s been loving a new snack she developed that is a brand new (to me) combination of flavors and textures. It’s very simple and it goes like this: slice the daikon into thin rounds. Atop each circle add a smear of almond butter, a drizzle of honey, a dusting of unsweetened cocoa powder and a shake of cinnamon. Amazing right?!
With the temperatures dipping, we knew the rosemary wouldn’t survive much longer outdoors. We snipped the greenery for a batch of seasoned salt: dehydrate, powder, and stir into sea salt.
Crops Available
This list and availability are subject to change, check the share whiteboard at the start of every visit. If you are unsure about how to harvest: ask us! In person, via text or email.
Cell phone numbers, Flip: 315-854-5399 and Bob 315-854-5395.
*Asterisk marks crops added this week
- Bok choy
- Carrots
- Beets
- Buttercup squash
- Chinese cabbage
- Daikon radish
- Delicata squash*
- Head lettuce*
- Kale
- Leeks
- Lettuce greens
- Onions
- Pie pumpkins
- Potatoes*
- Rainbow chard, also called Swiss chard
- Red radishes
- Spaghetti squash
- Spicy mixed greens
- Spinach
- Sweet peppers
- Turnips
Culinary and Medicinal Herbs
- Bronze leaf fennel
- Cilantro
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Sage
- Sorrel
- Thyme
- Winter Savory