Week 11 CSA Newsletter (September 1-5, 2020)

CSA Newsletter Week 11

September 1-5, 2020    |    “A” Week

WHITE POTATOES ~ (from Mile Creek Farm) Store these in a cool, dark place away from onions! Don’t expose them to light or they will turn green (which is bad).

BEET MEDLEY (no tops) ~ store in the fridge in a plastic bag for up to 2 months. These will be a mix of colors, so showcase them in a salad so the colors really pop!

CHERRY TOMATOES ~  You can store them on the countertop if you plan to eat them within a few days. For longer storage, put them in your fridge in a plastic bag. You should try to eat these within a week. They can be roasted or turned into sauce too!

GLOBE TOMATOES (2) ~  You can store them on the countertop if you plan to eat them within a few days. For longer storage, put them in your fridge in a plastic bag. You should try to eat these within a week. They can be roasted or turned into sauce too!

HEIRLOOM TOMATO (1) ~  You can store them on the countertop if you plan to eat them within a few days. For longer storage, put them in your fridge in a plastic bag. You should try to eat these within 2 days, as they are not very shelf-stable. Amazing flavor. They can be roasted or turned into sauce too!

GROUND CHERRIES (pint) ~  PBurg, Port Clinton, and Toledo sites only! Store them on the countertop. You should try to eat these within a week. Use them to make spreadable jam or just remove the husk and pop them into your mouth for a pinapple-y snack!

BASIL BAG ~  Store on the countertop, or your leaves will turn black. Use within 3-4 days.

SNACKING PEPPERS  ~  These peppers are super popular with our CSA members. Snack size. Sweet. Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 2 weeks. You can also easily flash freeze peppers whole or chop them first.

ORANGE SWEET PEPPERS  ~  I feel like a broken record now. Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 2 weeks. You can also easily flash freeze peppers whole or chop them first.

RED PIMIENTO PEPPERS  ~  Beautiful red. Large size. Sweet. Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 2 weeks. You can also easily flash freeze peppers whole or chop them first.

POBLANO PEPPERS (2)  ~  Slight heat. Great for stuffing. Store in the fridge in a Green bag. Use within 2 weeks. You can also easily flash freeze peppers whole or chop them first.

SALSA PACK ~  This contains Roma tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, and onions. All you need to do is add the cilantro for a perfect salsa.

SWEET CORN (NOT ORGANIC) ~  These will be passed out as an “extra” in a special plastic bag along with your bin. Store sweet corn in its husk in the fridge. Corn will turn starchier the longer you store it, so try to enjoy it in the first 3-5 days.

FRUIT SHARE – PS: It’s “A” Week!

APPLES  – store these in a bag in the fridge. We’ll post the variety when we know more

PEARS — from Quarry Hill Orchard – if they are still hard, you’ll need to leave them on the countertop for a few days to soften up. THEN put them in the fridge to slow the ripening.

WATERMELON — from Bench Farms. Red, orange or yellow interior. Seedless. Store in the fridge.

CHEESE SHARE:

Honey chevre (TurkeyFoot Creamery), mmBossie Cheddar, and a NEW cheese from Tefenhart — Old Brooklyn, Dutch-style.

MADDIE & BELLA COFFEE SHARE:

Guatemala Antigua: aromatic/sweet/smoky

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I was out late last night, running a delivery to Quarry Hill in Berlin Heights, and the entire time I kept praying, “Lord, let it rain.” As I drove home, I found myself checking the pavement — “has it rained here yet?…” I was excited to come home and discover we got an inch and a quarter. What a relief! When we have long dry patches, it just ratchets up the tention level at the farm — partly because I have to spend so much extra time moving irrigation and making sure we get water to the plants. A nice strong rain event like this gives me a good 5 days of not having to worry about water (as long as the hot temps stay away).

Temps are supposed to drop down into the mid-80’s now. Looks like we are past our biggest irrigation hump. Our kale and swiss chard should come back strong now that we’ve had a good dose of rain. I haven’t been able to seed the lettuces in the field as scheduled, because I knew that I’d probably lose them to the heat we’ve been having. That was a good decision as it turns out. I’ll be seeding those transplants this week so we can see some of that green in the fall shares. I’ll plant lettuce, bok choy, napa cabbage, and spinach for the later boxes. I’ve already direct seeded radishes and more turnips — which are quick turn crops. I’ve been babysitting red and green cabbage the last few weeks through this heat, so they look great.

Our tomatoes and peppers are shucking out fruit like nobody’s business. It’s the best season I’ve ever had. My pepper plants are so overloaded, they’re falling over. I attribute it to the weather conditions — solanaceas love hot weather. And the fact that I can get water to the plants — they are just cranking out product.  It’s a good thing too, because I’ve got SO many tomato orders (and Mom’s too). We’ve seen a big spike in canners this year — perhaps because of COVID-19, and people wanting to store up food.

Some of you are asking how much longer we’ll have sweet corn?… I planted 6 succession crops this year. We are now at the end of our 3rd one. The last 3 plantings aren’t as big, and with the shortening amount of daylight, the ears will be smaller and more prone to worm tip damage. If you find a worm, just cut off the tip. I think I’m going to take a break from the corn for all you guys next week. I usually buy in 10 weeks of corn from my parents, so trying to space it out right.

Homeschool begins on Monday for Corinna and the boys. We’ve got our walls decorated with classroom posters, and a stack of library books lie waiting in the living room. The boys wanted to learn German this year (since Corinna’s family comes from there). We had planned to take a 2 week trip to Germany this Christmas. COVID has put that on the back burner, but it will work out perfect. Our boys can learn enough German to be dangerous when we finally CAN fly overseas.

We are moving product like crazy out here! Remember, my production plan includes veggies for the CSA (about 70% of what we grow). But this year I also added on my parent’s operation to our fields. So I’ve been supplying their roadside stand and farmer’s market stand each week too. It’s been an experiment that is really working out well. And it means trying to juggle product between two primary destinations: CSA and Mom. We’re also doing a fair amount of business with Quarry Hill, who has just built a new store/barn. This was a big leap for our business — but as my parents age, I’m trying to think of ways to step in and be ready to take over for them if needed.

All of this is making us think about next year. CSA farmers typically have to find time in September to start thinking about goals for the following year. (Which is the last thing I want to do right now. LOL!) Since we will be taking early bird signups for 2021 in October, we have to make decisions like: how many shares do we want to grow for next year? What will our products be? Will we keep all our pickup sites or add more? What’s NOT working right now in our business? And how can we change things for next year? What do I want my life to look like? Deep thoughts, I know, but Corinna and I are always looking for ways to make our business more lean and efficient, so I can get more time on the farm with my boys (and her).

Enjoy all my peppers this week!

~Your Farmer, Kurt

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Ground cherries are back! This week, we’ll only be giving them to PBurg, Port Clinton and Toledo customers (who missed them last time).

WEEK 11 ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. PERRYSBURG: THANK YOU FOR MAKING BIGGER SIGNS AND SPACING YOURSELVES OUT! It worked. Appreciate it!
2. BULK TOMATO CANNERS for pre-order. If you want to order a hamper (25 lb) of globe or roma tomatoes (30 lb), please place your order in the facebook post thread, OR via email at sharedlegacyfarms@gmail.com. Cost is $25 for the globes, and $30 for the Romas. We will fill them as we are able over the next 3 weeks. We anticipate a HIGH demand for this product, so we cannot guarantee that we can fill them. Plus, we want to make sure we can give our CSA boxes first dibs on tomatoes. Please let us know how many you want, which types, and your last name and pickup site. You will pay when you pickup your order.
3. The Air Fryer Challenge runs through September 5th! The goal is to try and make something with your air fryer 4-5 times a week, and to experiment with it — even if it means a failure! I will choose ONE person at random to be our champion at the end of the challenge, who will win a fabulous foodie gift package that I get to put together for you!
   1. To be eligible for the prize, you must post at least 3 pictures of meals you’ve made in your air fryer in our private Facebook group. You must be either a full-season or Sampler veggie member of our CSA.
   2. They must include some element of fruit or veggies to “count” towards the challenge. Be sure to tell us in the post what the veggies are, and help us out by teaching us how you cooked it. (setting, minutes cooked, prep, etc)
   3. Hashtag your entry #slfarmsairfryer so I can find it in the Facebook group. You can also send me 3 pictures via email if you do not use Facebook.
4. You can order additional items from the Shared Legacy Farms online store. Our store link is super easy to remember: www.sharedlegacyfarms.com/store. Just be sure to select the right pickup site that coincides with your pickup location. If the pickup option is greyed out or not available, it means you missed the window to order. You need to place your order 2 days before your site. I reload the store and set new pickup dates on Sunday afternoon.

WEEK 11 CSA RECIPES

Members: To save time each week, I’m now publishing the recipes only as a PDF. You can download these recipes here. This week’s recipes are:

Karen Ayers Famous CSA Freezer Marina Sauce

Crockpot Tomato Sauce

Oregano Marinated Tomato Salad

Slow Cooked Stuffed Pepper Stew

Southwest Stuffed Poblano Peppers

Bell Pepper Salsa

Pimento Cheese

Quick Pickled Peppers (use bell or pimento)

Classic Fresh Salsa (Pico de Gallo)

Breakfast Burritos

Ratatouille

Stuffed Peppers

Sausage Potato Hash

Corn and Potato Chowder

Quick Pickled Beets and Onions

Watermelon Caprese

Margarita Watermelon

Apple Pear Puff Pancake

Frozen Honeydew Daiquiris