BGF NEWS - November, 2024 - VOL. 54, NO. 2

We hope your Thanksgiving was filled with a bounty of delicious foods and time with your favorite people.  We are thankful for the time to slow down a bit. Not that a farm ever really rests, but November is usually when the pace on the farm starts to ease. The rush of the main planting and growing season is done, most of the crops are out of the fields and the farm crew is on limited hours.

So what have we been up to in the past month?

 

Harvesting! This includes carrots, turnips, radishes and daikon. This makes for some very long harvest days as they all have to be washed and topped (greens removed) before going into the cooler. But once that work is done, it is such a delight to have them all ready to be bagged up for orders. Happily, we were able to get most of this done before the bitter cold temps hit so these crops are all tucked into the walk-in cooler for the winter VegEmail season.

Clearing spent crops! Always a big job in the fall. All the plant matter goes to one of our composting piles. Then all the trellises, support posts and fabric mulch have to be cleared and stored. Irrigation system parts are all rolled up, labeled and stored as well. These tend to be messy and sometimes wet tasks that no one particularly enjoys.

Planting Garlic! Usually the single biggest fall task is planting the garlic crop for next year. All of the heads are broken into cloves and each clove is hand planted. This year we planted about 130 pounds of seed garlic, which translates to about 3500 cloves. Then once the cloves are set, they are all covered with soil and the whole plot is mulched with straw. 

This year we were later than usual getting the garlic in and most of our crew was already off for the season. We were SO lucky to have them return for an afternoon (along with their siblings) to help us with the big garlic push ahead of the really cold weather. It is a huge project and we are so very thankful for all their hard work!

Fabric on/Fabric off! The high tunnel crops are growing along nicely and we've just started harvesting those crops. Our plan is to be able to selectively harvest from those plants through next spring. Because our tunnels are unheated, the crops get a nightly "tucking-in" when the temps drop below 20°.

Shelling! The popcorn crop was looking pretty good as we harvested it earlier this fall. It's been drying since we brought it in and just this week we finished shelling the last of it! A bit less than last year's record-breaking yield, but we're still very pleased with the outcome. 

And a bit of fiber fun to come! This is also the time of year when we start focusing more on our fiber products. There's lots of fiber and yarn to dye and much spinning to be done, not to mention our new passion in eco-printing silk scarves and other fabrics!  Just a reminder that we offer our U-Pick Yarn sales on the first VegEmail delivery each month in Des Moines. So locals can stop in a peruse our full fiber inventory. Folks who have yarn interests but aren't in DM can contact us directly for other options and we are happy to ship any of our fiber products.

VegEmail deliveries have now switched over to our winter schedule of every other Tuesday in Des Moines at SingleSpeed Brewing Co. and in Knoxville at the Grand Theater. 

Our next delivery is Tuesday, 12/3.  Order here before Sunday at 10pm.

We will continue to do these sales every two weeks until the first of May. However for the first time in more than 15 years, we are taking a month off of deliveries this winter. Here's the schedule for the coming months:

VegEmail Delivery Dates (the order forms will go out 6 days before each delivery.)

If you aren't receiving the VegEmail order form and you would like to, just fill out the form here: VegEmail Sign Up

CSA 2025: BGF Bounty Boxes!

We announced last month that in honor of our 20th Anniversary in 2025, we are rebranding our CSA into the BGF Bounty Box. It will still feature 20 weeks of all the high quality, chemical-free produce that our members expect, just with a fresh new name! We have already started getting questions about sign ups for next season. CSA members from the 2024 season can start signing up in early December (watch your email!) In January we will open any remaining spots to our waiting list. So keep your eyes open for more BGF Bounty Box details to come next month and if you want to get on our waiting list now, shoot us an email to mail@bluegatefarmfresh.com

All the activities and craziness aside, we are thankful for the privilege of living here on this beautiful farm, raising tasty, healthful produce alongside our family and fabulous farm crew. We couldn't do it without our amazing family, customers, members and community supporters. So we are thankful for you! 

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That's about it for now. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)

BGF NEWS - October, 2024 - VOL. 54, NO. 1

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past month: Rain: 0.3"

Welcome to our October newsletter. We'll publish these once a month until the start of the CSA season in early June. Our goal is to give our members, customers and friends a quick peek into our world on the "back-side" of the seasonal farm calendar. So grab a tasty beverage, sit back and join us for a little tour of the farm this month.

We had a couple of big harvests this month, the biggest of which was getting the popcorn in. Despite quite a bit of the plants being blown down in various wind events over the growing season it looks to be a pretty good harvest. The ears are now all crated up and under cover to finish drying. I suspect they will be ready to shell in the next week or so. This is one of my favorite crops that we grow and being the popcorn snob that I am, I think it's pretty tasty stuff.

The second big season-end harvest is the dahlias. We significantly expanded our dahlia crop this year and it made for a heck of a lot of digging this week. The tubers are now all out of the field, washed and we have started on dividing the tuber clumps. Then each individual tuber is labeled and stored in boxes of vermiculite in our walk-in cooler for the winter. It's a good thing that the blooms give us so much joy during the growing season because they are a LOT of work in the fall!

Not nearly as much fun as harvesting crops, once they are done we have to clear all the spent plant material from the beds. We're about half way through the bed clean-up. It takes quite a bit of time as any beds with fabric mulch have to be cleared by hand. Some of the bigger beds without fabric can just be mowed down, which goes much faster.

Not all of our crops are done for the year. We still have a full slate of fall crops in the field. These are all cold-hardy crops like leafy greens, cabbage, broccoli and root crops like carrots. These crops we protect with fabric row cover to keep them from freezing in low temperatures. Many years we can harvest from these beds into December if the weather cooperates. The wind makes this method of season extension more challenging but we've developed a system that mostly works well for us. Earlier this month I decided to take a photo of the row covered beds during the full moon. I was delighted to discover when I looked at the photos later that night that I had also captured the comet over the tops of the trees! Thank you nature for inspiring surprises!

We also have a large number of crops growing in the high tunnels. These are the crops that we will be harvesting throughout the winter. As the weather gets colder we will add fabric row cover to each bed to give them even more protection. The row cover makes harvesting more tedious and time consuming, but without them both in the field and in the tunnels, we wouldn't be able to deliver fresh produce year round.

VegEmail deliveries have now switched over to our winter schedule of every other Tuesday in Des Moines at SingleSpeed Brewing, in Knoxville at the Grand Theater or on farm. We will continue to do these sales every two weeks until the first of May. Our next delivery is Tuesday, 11/5 and the order form will go out on 10/30 at 5pm. If you aren't receiving the VegEmail order form and you would like to, just fill out the form here: VegEmail Sign Up

CSA 2025: Big Announcement!

We are excited to announce that in honor of our 20th Anniversary in 2025, we are rebranding our CSA program. Introducing the BGF Bounty Box! Never fear, CSA veterans, the program itself isn't changing, we are still committed to 20 weeks of high quality, chemical-free food you can feel good about. We simply want the name to better reflect the expectations and experience for our members. 

Sign up for the 2025 season will open first to our veteran members in early December, with any remaining spots made available to the public in the New Year. Keep an eye on your email for more details to come. If you haven't been a CSA member before and are interested in joining us for the 2025 season just email us and we'll add you to the waiting list.

All the activities and craziness aside, we are thankful for the privilege of living here on this beautiful farm, raising tasty, healthful produce alongside our fabulous farm crew. We couldn't do it without our amazing family, customers, members and community supporters. So we are thankful for you! 

Is a monthly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That's about it for now. If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.

Best from the farm,

Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)

BGF NEWS - October 15 , 2024 - VOL. 53, NO. 20

In this week’s box:

Celery: Chinese Pink

Chard: Rainbow

Cherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix

Garlic

Head Lettuce: Asst.

Peppers: Asst. sweet (see 8/13 newsletter for descriptions)

Potatoes: Kennebec

Roselle

Tomatoes: slicers (see 7/30 newsletter for descriptions)

Herb It! option: Cardinal Basil, Lemongrass, Rosemary

Featured Recipes:

Roselle, Potato and Lemongrass Soup

Chard and Potato Soup

Chunky Potato Pepper Soup

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.00" 

Just a reminder, this is the final delivery of the season.

Well, I knew it was coming, but it still sneaks up on me every year. This is indeed the final delivery of the 2024 CSA season! Twenty weeks have come and gone and a LOT of produce has passed between us during that time. Thank you for joining us on this veggie adventure, we couldn't do it without you! And remember, this isn't farewell for the year, we hope to see you at the bi-weekly VegEmail deliveries throughout the winter and spring (see the Upcoming Dates list at the end of the newsletter).

As you can see from the recipe list, the farmHer has decided it is SOUP SEASON! The 36° start to the day today really brought it home. Besides tomato season, soup season is my favorite food time of the year. The falling temperatures really set the stage for hearty soups and other comfort foods. I love putting roselle greens in my potato soup, it's very reminiscent of French Potato Soup, which features the similarly flavored sorrel. So when I saw the recipe for potato soup with roselle and lemongrass, I just had to share it. 

Final roselle harvest

Roselle is one of the crops that I am passionate about and I love to share it with our members and customers. We pushed to get one final harvest of it in this week before we lose it to the cold. 

Oh, and going back to the potatoes, please excuse their unfortunate appearance. They are perfectly good to eat, they're just ugly. It's extra depressing after last year's beautiful potato crop but all we can do it work through what we have and look forward to a better crop next season. 

Last week we started installing the row cover for fall crops in the field. If you aren't familiar, row cover is BIG pieces of fabric that we use to protect our fall field crops as the temperatures start to drop to damaging levels. We got the majority of the remaining fall crops covered Monday and are hoping to have a bit of time on Tuesday after harvesting to finish things up before the real cold hits on Wed morning.

The freeze forecast for mid week will set the stage for big changes on the farm. Next week we'll clear the tomatoes (big job!) and the rest of the warm-season crops. Once that is done we'll prep garlic for planting and then plant and mulch it for next year's crop. Getting the garlic planted is one of our biggest tasks of the season.

Another big shift will happen at the start of November when VegEmail moves to deliveries every other Tuesday evening. In DM we're at SingleSpeed Brewing Co and in Knoxville we are at the Grand Theater. Another shift you'll see in November will be our monthly newsletters throughout the winter to keep you up on all the fun news from the farm. 

In December, we'll kick off the sign up for next season's CSA. As our veteran members, you have the priority for available membership spots. We won't open any remaining CSA spots  to the public until mid to late January. So watch your email in December for those announcements.

Finally, we want to thank you again for being such a huge part of the Blue Gate Farm family. The CSA is truly the foundation of our farm and we want to be sure you know how important you are to us. The dedication you show by investing in the season upfront and then showing up for 20 weeks is awe inspiring! We love knowing that we're helping to feed you and your families and that you trust us to do so.

If you have friends, family members, coworkers, (whoever!) whom you think might be interested in the CSA or VegEmail, we'd be so thankful if you'd share our information with them. It takes a BIG community to support a farm and you are our best ambassadors!

If you ever have questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to let us know! See you soon!

Upcoming Dates to Note:

Tues, Oct. 15: Final CSA delivery

Sat, Oct. 26: Final Saturday VegEmail delivery

Tues, Nov. 5: Fall VegEmail schedule begins, delivery every 2 weeks on Tuesdays 4-6pm.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight ). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a glass or plastic container with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Celery: Store upright in a glass of water, loosely covered with a plastic bag, in the refrigerator. 

Herbs: Generally, except for basil, set unwashed bunches of fresh herbs (with stems) upright into small jars filled with 1 to 2 inches of water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Rinse fresh herbs right before use. To release their scents and flavors, rub them between your hands before mincing or chopping. If you have no idea what to do with fresh herbs, there is one great default answer "compound butter." Finely mince leaves and knead them into a stick of room temperature butter. Roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then simply slice off the amount you need to add delicious, ready-to-use flavor to vegetables, bread or meats.

Peppers:  Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Potatoes: Keep unwashed potatoes in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard. They will keep for weeks at room temperature, longer if you can provide their ideal temperature of 40 to 50 degrees. Beware: the low temperature of your refrigerator will convert the starch to sugars. So refrigerated potatoes should be brought to room temperature for at least 24 hours before using. Moisture causes potatoes to spoil, light turns them green, and proximity to onions causes them to sprout. (You can still use a potato that has sprouted, however; simply cut off the “eyes” before use.) Scrub potatoes well and cut off any sprouts or green skin. (Clean delicate new potatoes gently.) Peeling is a matter of preference. Cut potatoes according to your recipe. If baking a whole potato, be sure to prick the skin in at least a few places to allow steam to escape.

Roselle: For space saving, strip leaves and calyxes from stems. Discard stems. Store leaves in a cloth or paper towel-lined plastic bag in the produce drawer of your refrigerator and use within a week. Store calyxes in a glass or plastic container. Greens can be used fresh or cooked alone or with a combination of other greens. Can be a replacement for French sorrel. To use calyxes, remove soft, red outer portion and reserve. Can be used fresh or cooked in place of cherries or cranberries. Discard large seed in the center.

Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes, photos or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That's about it for now.
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)

BGF NEWS - October 8 , 2024 - VOL. 53, NO. 19

In this week’s box:

Carrots: Mix

Cherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix

Head Lettuce: Asst.

Hot Peppers: Wenk's (in the small plastic bag)

Misome (dark, leafy green)

Onions: Cipollini

Peppers: Asst. sweet (see 8/13 newsletter for descriptions)

Tomatoes: slicers (see 7/30 newsletter for descriptions)

and perhaps one of the following: (see **NOTE below)

Broccoli Florets (with greens): Imperial

Cauliflower Florets: Song or Twister, final offering

Eggplant: Asian Delight, or Listada

Okra: Candle Fire, Bowling Red & Okinawa Pink

Herb It! option: Sweet Basil, Lemon Verbena, Lavender

Featured Recipes:

Roasted Carrots and Onions

Braised Greens with Sweet Peppers

Eggs with Blistered Cherry Tomatoes

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.00" 

Just a reminder, next week (10/15) is the final delivery of the season.

We missed the surprise rain late last week, but also missed the damaging hail that accompanied it not far from us, so we'll just count that as a win and keep running the irrigation. 

The fall crops were not amused by Saturday's 91° and hot southern winds. The farmer wasn't amused by the three foot long tear that the winds made in the small high tunnel cover that afternoon. Luckily we saw it and were able to get an emergency patch on it before it got any larger. There were two other tears that were higher up and not accessible in the high winds, so we addressed those Monday morning when it was calm. 

And while we were not sad to see the 90 degree temperatures go, it was a bit of a shock to drop down to 39° early Monday morning! Those temps will quickly bring an end to our warm weather crops. We do close up the high tunnels with those low temps, but the basil will show it's displeasure soon regardless.  The tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beans, okra and roselle were already wrapping up production and we'll start pulling those plants in the next week or so.

Washing carrots is MESSY!

One crop that isn't bothered by the cooler temps is the carrots. Once the temperatures drop, the starches in the carrot roots are converted to sugars which creates the sweet fall carrot flavor that we (and our customers) love! They will continue to get sweeter as we progress through the fall, but we were pretty pleased with the flavor from Monday's harvest. 

We did get some field done in the past week. Spent melon, cucumber and sunflower beds were cleared and the plant matter sent to the compost pile. Then fabric mulch, trellises and irrigation lines pulled and put into storage for next year. As vegetable farmers, we are more dependent on plastic than we would like, from the high tunnels covers and irrigation lines to plastic packaging but  we do our best to reuse as much as possible. It makes for more work, but we believe it's a worthwhile expense.

Upcoming Dates to Note:

Tues, Oct. 15: Final CSA delivery

Sat, Oct. 26: Final Saturday VegEmail delivery

Tues, Nov. 5: Fall VegEmail schedule begins, delivery every 2 weeks on Tuesdays 4-6pm.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight ). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a glass or plastic container with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Broccoli/Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If soaked in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Cabbage: Store dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate for several weeks. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water just before use. Peel away a few of the outer leaves, then cut the cabbage according to your needs with a big, sharp knife, and then chop, sliver, or grate.

Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters.  Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator.  Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.

Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary.  Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu.  Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort.  The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared.  Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.

Herbs: Generally, except for basil, set unwashed bunches of fresh herbs (with stems) upright into small jars filled with 1 to 2 inches of water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Rinse fresh herbs right before use. To release their scents and flavors, rub them between your hands before mincing or chopping. If you have no idea what to do with fresh herbs, there is one great default answer "compound butter." Finely mince leaves and knead them into a stick of room temperature butter. Roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then simply slice off the amount you need to add delicious, ready-to-use flavor to vegetables, bread or meats.

Okra: These lovely, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, wrap with a dishcloth or paper towel and store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."

Peppers:  Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Potatoes: Keep unwashed potatoes in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard. They will keep for weeks at room temperature, longer if you can provide their ideal temperature of 40 to 50 degrees. Beware: the low temperature of your refrigerator will convert the starch to sugars. So refrigerated potatoes should be brought to room temperature for at least 24 hours before using. Moisture causes potatoes to spoil, light turns them green, and proximity to onions causes them to sprout. (You can still use a potato that has sprouted, however; simply cut off the “eyes” before use.) Scrub potatoes well and cut off any sprouts or green skin. (Clean delicate new potatoes gently.) Peeling is a matter of preference. Cut potatoes according to your recipe. If baking a whole potato, be sure to prick the skin in at least a few places to allow steam to escape.

Scallions: (green onions)- are best kept upright in a glass with about 1" of water in it, more like flowers than vegetables. Loosely cover the tops with plastic and you will be amazed at how long they will keep. We like to throw a handful of chopped scallions into nearly any savory dish, right near the end of the cooking time.

Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes, photos or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That's about it for now.
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)

BGF NEWS - October 1 , 2024 - VOL. 53, NO. 18

In this week’s box:

Cabbage: Farao, Early Wakefield or Ruby King

Cherry Tomatoes: Jubilee Mix

Choi: Shanghai Green or Prize

Head Lettuce: Asst.

Peppers: Asst. sweet (see 8/13 newsletter for descriptions)

Potatoes (small roasters): Peter Wilcox or mix

Scallions

Tomatoes: slicers (see 7/30 newsletter for descriptions)

and at least one of the following: (see **NOTE below)

Broccoli Florets (with greens): Imperial

Cauliflower: Song or Twister

Eggplant: Asian Delight, or Listada

Okra: Candle Fire, Bowling Red & Okinawa Pink

Herb It! option: Nunum Basil, Garlic Chives, Sorrel

Jam It! option: Hibiscus Pear Jam & Shiro Plum Jam

Spice It Up! option: Leek Salt

Featured Recipes:

Mushrooms and Greens with Toast

Smashed Red Potatoes with Cabbage

Roasted Cherry Tomato and Bell Pepper Pasta

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.00" 

Happy October! How can it be October already?? The weather sure hasn't felt like it recently. It looks like that is about to change, but more about that further down the page.

Our biggest project in the past week was turning over the majority of the high tunnel beds. Once the beds were cleared of spent crops, they were cultivated and either transplanted or sown to fall crops. We said farewell to cucumbers, peppers and eggplant and hello to salad mix, arugula, tatsoi, senposai, misome, Napa cabbage, choi, head lettuce, kale and chard. These are the crops we will harvest through the fall, winter and early spring. 

This week we also spent time irrigating and cultivating the fall field crops, foliar feeding our cole crops (cabbage, brocccoli, cauliflower family) to help them grow and fend off the onslaught of caterpillars and cleaning garlic in preparation of planting in the next month. It's hard to believe it's already time to start thinking about planting garlic, but that is traditionally an October task for us. 

Finally, speaking of October (and cooler weather), it looks like the forecast tonight (Tuesday evening) is for the coldest temps we've had so far this season (44° here) so be sure to bring in or protect your tender plants like basil, it doesn't like anything below 50°. We'll be closing up the high tunnels tonight to protect that basil and probably saying farewell to our field basil.

Upcoming Dates to Note:

Tues, Oct. 15: Final CSA delivery

Sat, Oct. 26: Final Saturday VegEmail delivery

Tues, Nov. 5: Fall VegEmail schedule begins, delivery every 2 weeks on Tuesdays 4-6pm.

A little detail on your produce this week:

Basil hates the cold and will turn black with exposure. Keep long stemmed basil in a glass/vase of water on your counter top (out of direct sunlight ). Stems that are too short (trimmings/tops) should be placed in a glass or plastic container with a dry paper towel. Then put inside of a paper bag (for insulation) and put in the warmest part of your refrigerator (usually the door) or on the top shelf towards the front.

Broccoli/Cauliflower: Wrap loosely in a plastic bag and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator for up to a week. Immediately before cooking, soak head down, in cold, salted water (1 teaspoon salt to a 8 cups of water) for 5 minutes. Any [organic] critters will float to the top where you can rescue them or allow them to suffer a salty death. (Note: If soaked in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.) Slice the juicy, edible stems and use them wherever florets are called for. Peel particularly thick skin before using.

Cabbage: Store dry, unwashed cabbage in the refrigerator, preferably in the vegetable bin. The outer leaves may eventually get floppy or yellowish, but you can remove and discard them to reveal fresh inner leaves. Cabbage can keep for more than a month. Once it’s cut, seal it in a plastic bag and continue to refrigerate for several weeks. Rinse the cabbage under cold running water just before use. Peel away a few of the outer leaves, then cut the cabbage according to your needs with a big, sharp knife, and then chop, sliver, or grate.

Eggplant: Eggplant prefers to be kept at about 50° F, which is warmer than most refrigerators and cooler than most kitchen counters.  Wrap unwashed eggplant in a towel (not in plastic) to absorb any moisture and keep it in the vegetable bin of your refrigerator.  Used within a week, it should still be fresh and mild.

Many people like to peel, salt, and drain their eggplant to draw out any bitter flavor; however, bitterness develops only in eggplant that has been stored for a while, so with farm-fresh specimens this is generally not necessary.  Many recipes call for salting in order to make the vegetable less watery and more absorbent—much like draining tofu.  Salting is not an essential step, but it can greatly enhance the taste and texture of your dish and is well worth the extra effort.  The shape of an eggplant determines how it is best prepared.  Slice a straight, narrow eggplant into rounds for grilling or broiling, and cut a rounded, bulbous eggplant into cubes for stews and stir-fries.

Herbs: Generally, except for basil, set unwashed bunches of fresh herbs (with stems) upright into small jars filled with 1 to 2 inches of water, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to two weeks. Rinse fresh herbs right before use. To release their scents and flavors, rub them between your hands before mincing or chopping. If you have no idea what to do with fresh herbs, there is one great default answer "compound butter." Finely mince leaves and knead them into a stick of room temperature butter. Roll the butter into a log in plastic wrap and store in the freezer. Then simply slice off the amount you need to add delicious, ready-to-use flavor to vegetables, bread or meats.

Okra: These lovely, horn-shaped vegetables are a warm weather treat. Extremely cold sensitive, wrap with a dishcloth or paper towel and store in their plastic bag in the warmest part of your fridge, or place the plastic bag in a small paper sack and store in the crisper drawer and use within the week. Traditional southerners will cut into rounds, bread in cornmeal and fry, but our favorite version is our dear friend Annie's method, "All I do is rinse off the pods and lay them in a saucepan with a little water in the bottom. Ten to fifteen minutes is all it takes...twenty if the pods are really big and "woody" feeling. I put salt on them and eat as finger food. It reminds me of young sweet corn."

Peppers:  Place whole, unwashed peppers in a plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate for a week or more. Rinse peppers just before use. For sweet peppers, cut around the stem with a small knife and lift out the core. Slice down the side to open it up and then cut out the inner membranes. Store unused portions in a sealed bag or container in the refrigerator.

Potatoes: Keep unwashed potatoes in a cool, dark, dry place, such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard. They will keep for weeks at room temperature, longer if you can provide their ideal temperature of 40 to 50 degrees. Beware: the low temperature of your refrigerator will convert the starch to sugars. So refrigerated potatoes should be brought to room temperature for at least 24 hours before using. Moisture causes potatoes to spoil, light turns them green, and proximity to onions causes them to sprout. (You can still use a potato that has sprouted, however; simply cut off the “eyes” before use.) Scrub potatoes well and cut off any sprouts or green skin. (Clean delicate new potatoes gently.) Peeling is a matter of preference. Cut potatoes according to your recipe. If baking a whole potato, be sure to prick the skin in at least a few places to allow steam to escape.

Scallions: (green onions)- are best kept upright in a glass with about 1" of water in it, more like flowers than vegetables. Loosely cover the tops with plastic and you will be amazed at how long they will keep. We like to throw a handful of chopped scallions into nearly any savory dish, right near the end of the cooking time.

Tomatoes: always store whole tomatoes at room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Once cut, store in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

A few other details: All of your GREENS will keep best if stored in a plastic bag, with the top folded over and placed in the produce drawer of your refrigerator.

** NOTE: You will notice over the course of the season that some box contents listed above say "Perhaps one of the following..." These are items that we can’t harvest in sufficient quantities for the whole CSA to receive at one time. We do track who gets what and we will do our best to ensure that everyone eventually receives each item. On some items this may take several weeks, so please be patient.

Is a weekly newsletter not enough for you? Do you want to read more about our life on the farm and see more pictures? Follow us on Facebook at Blue Gate Farm or on Instagram at bluegatefarmfresh. CSA members can also connect with other BGF members to share recipes, photos or ask questions on our FB community page at Blue Gate Farm Community.

That's about it for now.
If you have any questions or comments, be sure to let us know.
Best from the farm,
Jill & Sean (and the whole BGF crew)