Month: September 2015

I went to sleep on Friday night thinking about a lot of things (kids soccer games, potato harvest, laundry -just to name a few). A killing frost was not even in my top 50. All forecasts during the week were for a stunning weekend (great soccer weather). Saturday morning I was up early to water and move sheep and repack the wheel hubs on the potato digger. I looked out across the pasture as the sun rose and knew I was in trouble. The light patches on the grass were frost and I immediately thought of just one thing -sweet potatoes. If it had been two weeks earlier my anxiety would have been diffused among many crops like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and tomatillos but all of these summer crops are done, leaving only one potential victim.

Sweet potatoes are a true snow bird crop for us. The green shoots arrive by mail from Tennessee each June and we hurriedly harvest them before it gets frosty, never to few the cold. When that southern box arrives in the spring we rush them into the ground laid with black plastic for warmth. Most years we can harvest them before the September equinox but this year we put that off. Hoping a warm fall and some rain would bulk these tubers up, they were on our list to harvest next week. That is until Saturday morning. Sweet potatoes are in the same family as the morning glory and are sensitive to frost is a way few other crops are. When the cold comes their leaves turn black like most sensitive plants but the vines also begin to decay quickly and release a chemical that can travel into the tubers and cause them to rot very quickly. Nothing is so painful as loosing a crop below ground.

We were able to harvest about half of the crop yesterday and cut the vines from the remaining tubers. While not our best harvest this looks like a solid crop -in spite of the change in the weather.

Adirondack Reds

Our first real potatoes in your share are adirondack reds. These are great all-purpose potato with red skin and red flesh. No better excuse to turn on the oven than a raining cold day and a few potatoes to roast. More varieties to come in the next few weeks!

Renew Your Share for 2016

Many thanks to all of you who have signed up for 2016 already. Throwing your hat in with us now makes a huge difference for us as we plan our way towards another great season. Those who sign up now can take full advantage of our winter payment plan (not to mention its just done – and you don’t have to remember to do it later!). Your share is great value of fresh organic food that you know is grown well. Joining early allows us to work hard over the winter so we all can have the produce that makes our Maine summer taste so good. Click here for Brunswick Shares and here for Portland Delivered Shares

Pork for the Winter

Bacon, ribs, chops; need I same more?  We will have more info on how to order pork at CSA pick-up, shoot us an email or click here for the digital version.

What’s in the Share?

Sugar Dumpling Squash

Asian Greens

Lettuce

Arugula

Kale

Chard

Red Onions

Cabbage

Potatoes

Carrots

What’s in Upic?

Edamame

Flowers

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatillos

The light is barely there at six a.m. It is always a surprise when this harvest day arrives each year. After a summer of rolling out the drive towards the fields in golden light we start this morning in September in the dark.  The crew with harvest barrels loaded and knives sharpened waits for the sun so we can see what we are cutting.  Work on the cusp of equinox is nothing if not satisfying.  We have made something out of another summer’s heat and rain. The big jobs are done for the year.  In the field everyone knows the tasks, we have common shorthand and jargon for crops, cutting styles and quantities. We don’t need to talk about what we are doing and that makes the work comfortable and more a part of us than something we do.

Renew Your Share for 2016

Many thanks to all of you who have signed up for 2016 already. Throwing your hat in with us now makes a huge difference for us as we plan our way towards another great season. Those who sign up now can take full advantage of our winter payment plan (not to mention its just done – and you don’t have to remember to do it later!). Your share is great value of fresh organic food that you know is grown well. Joining early allows us to work hard over the winter so we all can have the produce that makes our Maine summer taste so good. Click here for Brunswick Shares and here for Portland Delivered Shares

Pork for the Winter

Bacon, ribs, chops; need I same more?  We will have more info on how to order pork at CSA pick-up, shoot us an email or click here for the digital version.

What’s in the Share?

Acorn Squash

Asian Greens

Arugula

Kale

Chard

Yellow Onions

Peppers

Carrots

What’s in Upic?

Edamame

Flowers

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatillos

 

Cool nights and not so hot days bring up my appetite. I like to eat. During the summer eating is something fun, a creative moment of cooking something to begin or end the day. When fall comes I am hungry. This has to be a physiological connection to the coming of winter and the need to put on some reserves or maybe repair and replenish from summer work. No matter what the case I feel it every year and I heed the call. Dinners get bigger and involve heavier dishes with ingredients like onions, butter and bacon combined with carbohydrates like squash and potatoes. I do love this time of year, for many reasons but the food…is the best.

First Squash

The weather cools down and we have starch to keep you warm. Delicata squash is our first of many winter squashes for this fall. Sweet with smooth flesh and tender skin, them are easy to prepare. Here’s link to our recipe page.

Edamame

These furry little soybean pods are finally ready in upic. Edamame are quick to harvest, you can make them with little effort and they are fun to eat for everyone. We add them to boiling water for 3-4 minutes, toss them in soy sauce and put them on the table with whatever we are having with dinner. If you have never eaten them don’t chew the pod. Drag the pod through your teeth and the beans will pop out. Here’s an extensive article on this great quick appetizer and a snarky video on how to make them (you can make them in the time it takes to watch…).

Renew Your Share for 2016

Many thanks to all of you who have signed up for 2016 already. Throwing your hat in with us now makes a huge difference for us as we plan our way towards another great season. Those who sign up now can take full advantage of our winter payment plan (not to mention its just done – and you don’t have to remember to do it later!). Your share is great value of fresh organic food that you know is grown well. Joining early allows us to work hard over the winter so we all can have the produce that makes our Maine summer taste so good. Click here for Brunswick Shares and here for Portland Delivered Shares

Pork for the Winter

Bacon, ribs, chops; need I same more?  We will have more info on how to order pork at CSA pick-up, shoot us an email or click here for the digital version.

What’s in the Share?

Broccoli

Peppers

Cucumber or Summer squash

Kale/Chard

Lettuce

Chickories

Carrots/Beets

Cippollini Onions

Delicata Squash

What’s in Upic?

Edamame

Flowers

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatillos

The sun has returned. This is today’s shot of the cucumbers and summer squash that were in the newsletter two weeks ago lost in the murky fog. This planting is just starting to yield and is much happier (as are we) with the bright days. The sunshine has also brought with it our cooking greens. Tatsoi and baby bok choi have been missing from our line-up but are back in aces this week.

We were able to fend off heat stroke and get a third of an acre of butternut squash out of the field and into the greenhouse where it will cure for the next 4-6 weeks. We pulled a respectable 7500 pounds which gives us a slightly better than average yield for this squash. We still have kombocha, delicata, sugar dumpling, and acorn to bring in over the next week as well. Get ready for the fall carbohydrates.

Renew Your Share for 2016

Many thanks to all of you who have signed up for 2016 already. Throwing your hat in with us now makes a huge difference for us as we plan our way towards another great season. Those who sign up now can take full advantage of our winter payment plan (not to mention its just done -and you don’t have to remember to do it later!). Your share is great value of fresh organic food that you know is grown well. Joining early allows us to work hard over the winter so we all can have the produce that makes our Maine summer taste so good. Click here for Brunswick Shares and here for Portland Delivered Shares

Pork for the Winter

Bacon, ribs, chops; need I same more. We will have more info on how to order pork at CSA pick-up, shoot us an email or click here for the digital version

What’s in the Share?

 

Broccoli

Baby Bok Choi/Tatsoi

Tomatoes

Arugula

Sweet Peppers

Cucumber

Tropea onions

What’s in Upic?

Flowers

Cherry Tomatoes

Tomatillos

The last week of August is always a benchmark of sorts. Our last field plantings are going in and the big fall crops are coming out, or getting close. We just finished big seedings of greens like lettuce, spinach, kale and tatsoi and these crops along with radishes and salad turnips will be coming out of the ground in the last weeks of October as we wind down for the season. Planting now, we walk the razor between summer and fall and these crops get lots of sun and heat in September before slowing down considerably as we hit October, carrying their lovely flavors into the colder weeks. Our “big” crops of onions, winter squash and potatoes are all ready for harvest or very close. We began pulling onions this past week and have shallots and cipolinni onions curing in the greenhouse floor (except for the ones in you share this week).

Italian Summer

Fennel in your share this week along with its companions of peppers and roma tomatoes are a ready made meal. Chop the fennel and peppers coarsely and toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper before roasting at 425. Turn them after 20 minutes and add the romas, halved longways and roast another 20 until all are browning along the edges. Finish with some grated salty hard cheese (parm or percorino) and enjoy. The anise flavor of the fennel mellows and sweetens as it roasts, especially alongside the peppers. Add more tomatoes and saute some shallots, transfer it all to a saucepan with some ground beef or lamb and you have a great hearty chili as well….

Shallots

These small members of the onion family in your share are a wonder in the kitchen. Sweeter and stronger than onions (but without the tears when you cut them) they add great savory punch when minced fresh into salad dressings or subtle sweetness when simmered into your favorite dish. Try roasting them whole for a great addition to anything. Toss a few whole shallots that are the same size in several tablespoons of butter in a small pan over medium-high on the stovetop while you preheat the oven to 400. Turn them until they brown while the over warms them put the whole pan in the oven and roast until they are cooked through, 15-20 minutes. Add these into casseroles, top salads or just snack on their savory sweetness.

Renew Your Share for 2016

Time has come to sign -up for next year’s farm share. Throwing your hat in with us now makes a huge difference for us as we plan our way towards another great season. Those who sign up now can take full advantage of our winter payment plan (not to mention its just done -and you don’t have to remember to do it later!). Your share is great value of fresh organic food that you know is grown well. Joining early allows us to work hard over the winter so we all can have the produce that makes our Maine summer taste so good. Click here for Brunswick Shares and here for Portland Delivered Shares

Pork for the Winter

Nothing is more satisfying than a pork chop as you watch the snow fly… We will have more info on how to order pork at CSA pick-up, shoot us an email or click here for the digital version

What’s in the Share?

Shallots

Beets

Tomatoes

Salad Greens

Sweet Peppers

Fennel

Cucumber

What’s in Upic?

Flowers

Cherry Toms

Tomatillos