Summer CSA: Week 13

Howdy folks,

We have briefly entered into fall over the past week. A friend of mine who farms on the north side of town even got a little bit of frost on Saturday morning on his sweet potatoes. No signs of frost at Powisset but it has been cool and crisp. We've been adding to that fall feeling as we harvest our winter squash. This is one of my all time favorite harvests. The whole crew works together and I am always blown away by the beauty of these delicious fruits. This week we will be enjoying one of my favorite squashes, delicate. Delicata  is a winter squash though it is belongs to the same species as most types of summer squash, Cucurbita pepo The fruits are torpedo shaped with green or orange pin stripes running lengthwise. Unlike many winter squash the flesh of delicate is edible making them very easy to prepare with no need to peel them.

Other happenings on the farm this week include a lot more coyote activity. I witnessed one hunting the Canada geese on Sunday morning. Just as I arrived she sprung out of a vegetable field. She didn't catch one but it was quite dramatic. Sunday also marked the Outstanding In The Field dinner. We had an incredible meal that included Powisset vegetables and pork, created by chef Josh Lewin and his talented team at Juliet in Somerville. If you are unfamiliar with Outstanding In The Field check out their website: http://www.outstandinginthefield.com/.




In the share this week:
Ripe peppers
Delicata squash
Potatoes
Onions
Fennel
Lettuce
Radishes
Tomatoes
Carrots

No cooking greens this week as we are between plantings. We've been battling flea beetle and fusarium wilt (a fungus) all season in all our brassicas (kale, collards, cabbage). Our third planting of kale needs a bit more time to grow before we start harvesting it.

If you are looking to something to do with your fennel this week here is a recipe to roast it:  http://www.food.com/recipe/roasted-fennel-406749
I really like roasted fennel on pizza or tossed with pasta with fresh tomatoes, Italian sausage, and mozzarella.

A little note about ripe peppers as well. Powisset has the unfortunate honor of supporting a pepper fly population. The pest is hyper regional. one farm may be effected while the next farm over is not. These flies lay there eggs on the calix (green top that attaches to the stem of the pepper plant). When the egg hatches the larva then bores into the fruit of the pepper. This week we will do our best to cull the fruits that have been affected. If you find that you have an infected pepper fear not. You can remove the soft spot that the larva creates. The rest of the pepper is perfectly good.

Reminder that next week the CSA will be open until 6:30 on both Tuesday and Thursday. This is because on Saturday the 16th we will be celebrating our harvest festival. The CSA will be open on the 16th however the pick your own fields will not be open for picking.

Your farmer,

Zannah