Everyday is a Fall Festival

On Sunday morning I woke early to the sights of tiny raindrops on the gray sky through the windows, and the sound of the wind and rain gently landing on the farm road outside my door.  I smiled and closed my eyes to capture the few last moments of a quiet Sunday before the dog woke up and demanded a walk.  As the coffee was brewing I walked out the door in pajamas and rain boots and let the dog wander ahead of me towards the barn.  The festival tent had collapsed with the weight of the rain and the strength of the wind and I took it as a sign that I did the right thing by canceling the festival.  I hurried to put bits of the tent to the side in my funny morning outfit, making sure it was a safe, fallen tent and then headed towards home to drink the first cup of the day. 

By the end of that first cup of coffee, the sun’s power and glory was pushing apart the gray making a home for herself over the fields, the sky glowing blue, the morning turning into the best first day of fall ever.  After breakfast and more caffeine, I walked back outside to assess the beauty of the day.  I ran into an old family friend who had driven over for the party and even met a man who had farmed these same fields in the late 80’s, making hay and caring for animals here in Dover.  I met a young mom and her two beautiful, young children, as they played in the new sail boat and picked raspberries.  I met folks who were visiting Powisset for the very first time.  I tried my best not to feel too bad about trusting the rainy weather report and appreciated that this farm, festival or no festival, attracts so many visitors and on such a beautiful first day of fall, walking and sitting in the sun and seeing the fields and the trees was a pretty great thing to do. 

There are three weeks remaining in our Summer CSA season and each day we distribute feels like a festival.  The energy that you, our members, bring to the farm each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday is full and bursting and moving and inspires me—a pretty tired farmer at the end of a challenging season—to walk with a little more bounce in my step and a little more speed with which to do my work.  In the next month, our farm crew will harvest thousands of pounds of sweet potatoes, potatoes, roots and greens.  We will dismantle tomato trellis and pull up plastic mulch covered in rotten tomatoes.  We will put a new roof on the greenhouse and pull the ginger from the hoop house.  We will prepare fields and plant garlic and built compost piles.  And in that time, the leaves will change and the mornings will grow colder and the shares will be filled with squash and dirty roots.  And even though the festival was canceled, the spirit of that exciting celebration and the feeling of joy and of positive energy and gratitude fills this farm each week because of each one of us who is connected to Powisset.

Happy fall! See you in the fields,

Meryl & the Powisset Farm Crew

(I’ll be the one wearing the purple winter hat)

Pork Shares For Sale:

Powisset Farm is offering a Pork Share again this season.  The pork share is about 25 pounds of pork (or roughly a quarter pig).  There will be sausage, loin chops, country style ribs, spare ribs, ham slices (or ham roast), ham hocks, bacon and feet included in the share.  The price will be $160 (although, it may a little less or more than this depending on total weight of your box).  If you are excited about getting a wide variety of pork from our very own Powisset-raised pigs, then this share is for you!  There will also be cuts of pork available at the farm if you just want a little pork and do not want to commit to a share.  

 There are a limited number of shares available; so we will sell shares at a first-come-first served basis.  Please contact me at: mlatronica@ttor.org to sign up.  Pick up of the pork share will most likely be Friday, October 4^th and Saturday the 5^th.

 The CSA Survival Guide:
Powisset Farm recently partnered with writer, Heather Vitella, to produce the Powisset Farm CSA Survival guide. Have you ever struggled to figure out how to properly and efficiently use and store your CSA bounty?  Heather's guide may be just what you need.  Heather has worked with many local farms, to help guide you through your CSA experience in a positive and helpful way. Check out her description below.  She will be selling the e-book online for $8.  

CSA Survival Guide 

  

When you compare your weekly CSA share with similar items purchased at a local, organic grocery store, you will be astounded at the value you are getting.  But a big part of managing that value is properly storing the produce when you get home.  While most items benefit from refrigerator time, there is a big difference in shelf life when you store items washed or unwashed, in plastic, paper bags or just loose.  

 

  The CSA Survival Guide walks you through this with details on every item we grow.  Click on the link and head over to Cover Crop Marketing to learn more.  

 

To purchase an online book, follow this link: http://covercropmarketing.com/generalcsaguide

Check it out!!  Great for storing your winter veggies!!

What's in the share:

in the barn:  hakurei turnips, radishes, tatsoi, kale or collards, peppers, eggplant, delicata squash, potatoes, onions, maybe broccoli!

in the fields: hot peppers, kale or chard, dill & parsley