BGF NEWS - October 18, 2022 - VOL. XLVIII, NO. 20

In this week’s box:

Cabbage: Farao

Chard

Garlic
Head Lettuce: asst.
Scallions

Sweet Peppers: asst.
Sweet Potatoes 

Tomatoes: asst.

and perhaps one of the following: (please see **NOTE after "A Little Detail..." below)
Broccoli Florets (with edible leaves)

Cauliflower 

Herb It! option: Sorrel, Garlic Chives, Rosemary
Bread Share: Korean Milk Bread

Featured Recipes:

Coconut Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Greens

Rice & Smothered Cabbage Soup
Tatsoi Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing

What’s up on the farm?

Precipitation in the past week: 0.10"

Well, here it is, the final delivery of the 2022 CSA season. It's mindboggling to me that 20 weeks have gone by, seemingly in the blink of an eye! CSA veterans will probably recognize that I say this every year at the last delivery, but it never fails to amaze me. Thank you for joining us on this veggie adventure, we couldn't do it without you!

The weather however has announced that it is definitely the end of the outdoor growing season this week! We are forecast to have near record lows for a couple of days. This is NOT the weather we were hoping for to round out October, but nature rarely asks what we would prefer, so onward we go. In fact we were hoping to send out tatsoi in today's delivery but it froze solid last night, even under the row cover, so we had to pull it from the list this morning. Drat!

We spent quite a bit of time this past week preparing for the cold turn in temperature. We've put row cover over all the fall crops that we can and have harvested (or bid a fond farewell) to tender crops that can't abide the cold regardless of a cover. Now all we can do is hope that most of the crops make it through. 

On some of the cooler mornings we spent the start of the work day in the packing barn cleaning onions and garlic. We've gotten all the garlic trimmed and sorted. Now we are all set to clove out about 200 lbs of seed garlic to be planted in the next couple of weeks. 

Once the temps warmed up a bit we continued our task of clearing spent crops in the field including the tomatoes, one of the biggest clean-up chores. There is a LOT of hardware involved in growing and trellising more than 700 tomato plants and it all has to be installed at the top of the season and cleared when it's season is done. The plants and all the 300+ steel posts are done but we still have to clean up and clear more than 2,000 feet of fabric the tomatoes are grown on. It was good timing as many of those steel posts are not helping hold our row covers in place. Even though a number of crops are wrapping up, we still have plenty to do.

You'll see on the box list this week we are including sweet potatoes in the delivery. We used to grow them, but had near total crop failure year after year. So we finally got smart. These are beautiful, chemical-free roots from our Amish neighbor to the south. We started working with them years ago as our organic potting mix supplier and then last year we contracted with them to grow sweet potatoes for us. It's a win-win!  We hope you enjoy this end of the season treat. If you like them as much as I do, you will be happy to find them on our VegEmail offerings over the winter.

Final Delivery Note: In case you missed it above, today is the final delivery of the 2022 CSA season. Thank you for joining us on this Veggie Adventure. We hope you have enjoyed the journey! Special thanks to our delivery hosts, Peace Tree Brewing Co. and the Grand Theater for giving us a home away from home. Starting in November, we will publish a monthly newsletter updating you on the current goings-on around the farm. We will start sign-ups for the 2023 CSA season in early December. 

VegEmail Sales:  Don't worry that with the end of the CSA season you'll be stuck with grocery store eggs and produce, we continue to do weekly Saturday VegEmail sales (along with Ebersole Cattle Co, Lost Lake Farm and Cottagescapes Bakery) until the end of October. Starting in November we will move to bi-weekly Tuesday evening delivery. You should continue to get the VegEmail announcements throughout the winter. If you see things you would like to purchase, just fill out the order form and then meet us that following Tuesday at Peace Tree in DM or the Grand Theater in Knox. 

Important Dates Ahead:

Tuesday, Oct 18, Final 2022 CSA delivery
Saturday, Oct 29, final Saturday weekly VegEmail delivery
Saturday, Oct 29, Makers, Bakers & Boos @ Peace Tree DM
Tuesday, Nov 8, first bi-weekly winter VegEmail delivery
Thursday, Dec 1, CSA 2023 sign up begins!

A little detail on your produce this week:

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 you soak broccoli or cauliflower in salt water before storing, it will become too rubbery and wilted to enjoy.)

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.

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.

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 store in the refrigerator 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.

Sweet Potatoes: Keep unwashed sweet potatoes in a cool, dark place, such as a loosely closed paper bag in a cupboard or cool basement, and use them within two to three months. Do not store in the refrigerator; cold temperatures can darken sweet potatoes and adversely affect their taste. Scrub sweet potatoes gently before cooking. Peeling is a matter of preference. If you will be puréeing or mashing sweet potatoes, bake or boil them whole and then remove the skins. Our favorite way to eat them is the simplest, just bake until soft, split open and top with butter, cinnamon, honey and a pinch of salt. Delightful!

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 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)

Sky, Wallace & Gromit