Hey CSA members!
The pickup is on Sunday 10/2. Sorry, you’re hearing from me early this week because I’ll be in Texas for the weekend visiting my parents!
Wow, writing these updates is starting to feel bittersweet; I only get to write one more this season! It has been so fun sharing our experience with you all and I hope you also enjoyed learning a little about me, Pearce, our lives, and the farm.
If you did not use all of your vacation days this season, you have received an email from me with details about your next two weeks on the program. Essentially you can either use a vacation day this week or next week, OR you can purchase an extra CSA box. Below is the link to purchase an extra box if you need to do that.
Also, please please PLEASE bring your wax boxes back to us this week or next week! I know there’s some still floating out there and we would love to reuse them. Let me know if you have any questions.
On the farm…
Well, this week we finally recieved our first frost of the season. Early Wednesday morning the temperature dropped to 29-30 degrees F and held that temp for about 4 hours. We woke up early on Wednesday and walked around the farm, assessing all the frost and our crops. Our peppers and tomatillos took the biggest hit in the field. They have all melted away and are no longer harvestable. Luckily, we planned ahead and harvested all we could on Tuesday. All the veggies we saved stayed at a happy 40 degree temperature in the cooler. Luckily, our cherry tomatoes also survived, thanks to our greenhouses!
Frost is inevitable in our Minnesota climate. Every year it gets a little harder to predict when the first one will hit. Last year (2021) we received our first frost on October 20th; making it an abnormally long season. It was nice to harvest our sensitive crops into October, but as farmers we felt the toll of the long season. This year, the frost hit at a more normal time, but that was the only frost for the foreseeable future! The weather for the next 10 days will stay above freezing. So, as nice as the frost was, if it hadn’t come early, our crops would still have lots of time to grow. But, it is what it is, and as farmers, we’re here for it all.
The other day, a friend asked me for book recommendations that center around local food and our food systems. Luckily, I’ve read many-a-stories about food and farming and I had lots to share! I thought it would be a good idea to share some of those books with you, our CSA members. Now that you’ve gone through a summer of eating local food, it might be fun to keep exploring the food system to see how you can invest in your health and in farmers!
I recommending starting with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It details out Kingsolvers “year of local food” where her and her family raise all the food they need to eat for one year. It’s so inspirational!
Farmacology provides a really deep look into how our bodies and health are directly connected to the earth and the food we eat. Another really great read. (this was the book that inspired Pearce to farm!)
Formerly Known as Food is a super radical, raw look into the ingredients in the food on our shelves. This book completely blew my mind and has informed much of how I eat today. once I read it, I decided that there was no turning back in my local food and farming journey.
Fermentation class!
One of my FAVORITE ways to preserve food is through fermenting. Fermenting food can seem daunting at first, but once you’ve worked through the kinks, it is by farm the most nutrious, tasty, and sustainable ways to preserve food.
Luckily, to make it easy and inviting, my friends Laura and Behzad, owners of Toxy Free, have created an online class (with lifetime access!!) with TONS of recipes and resources about fermenting your OWN food!
Follow the link below to learn more and to purchase access to the class!
P.S. As a community member of StrongHeart Farms, you get $20 off of the class! just use the code: STRONGHEART20 at checkout for the discount.
In the box….
Tomatillos, bell peppers, chard, shishito peppers, carrots, kale, potatoes, onions, cherry tomatoes, cabbage, and jalapenos.
Tomatillos, onions, jalapenos, potatoes, shishito peppers, kale, cabbage, carrots, bell peppers.
Inspiration….
Ohmygoodness, I cannot believe I forgot to share this recipe with you earlier this season! Here is a recipe for Creamed Shishito Peppers. If you’re tired of blistering them, or tossing them in stir-fries, you can make this dish!! It’s one of my favorites. Follow the link below to read all about it!
Have fun with the cabbage this week! They are a little small, but would make a great addition to soup, salads, or sauteed up in stir-fries. We just wanted to share the final harvest with you all 🙂
See you on Sunday!
Your farmers,
Eleanor and Pearce