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Dear Friends,
We had our first frost last week. A true sign that we are coming down the home stretch of the share season. Up until a few days ago we just couldn't shake the rain. Anytime we looked at the forecast and there was even a chance of "showers"... we became accustomed to preparing for another 3" of rain. Like I said a couple of weeks ago it has been somewhat challenging to pull in the fall harvest but also challenging to put fields to bed for the season and get them seeded down with a cover crop. Last week the sun emerged and sent the temperatures soaring into the eighties. We all felt like what I imagine the crops felt like... shocked...after having a 50 + degree swing from the nighttime low to the daytime high. After a few weeks of stalled growth during the rain and cool temperatures; bleary eyed and soggy, the crops shook themselves off, woke up, and began to grow again.
The timing of the great return of the sun couldn't have been more perfect. Many of you likely know Max... the tall drink of water with the black beard who has been on the farm crew going on 4 years now. Over the weekend Max got married! He's away for a few days but if you see him around the farm when he returns don't hesitate to wish him well. On an exciting yet bittersweet note... Max and his new bride will be moving to Connecticut next year pursuing an opportunity to manage an established CSA farm. We are so happy for Max but we are definitely going to miss him. Max has been part of the fabric of this farm for quite some time now. His loyalty, dedication, and strong work ethic are far reaching and have surely touched every corner of the farm. In his time here Max has had a lasting impact on the farm. Meghan and I are so proud of what he has accomplished here and will continue to accomplish as the first Riverland Farm alum to start farming on his own. Congratulations Max!
Last week we began selling our Thanksgiving/Winter Shares. Sign up forms, including more detailed information, are available in the Share Room and will be on our website in the next day or two. We were hoping to be able to offer a multi-distribution winter share this season which was contingent on finishing our barn renovation. The most important element to the barn renovation (the cooler) is not yet installed. Without having a larger cooler up and running we simply don't have the space to store all the produce for a winter share. We are excited to finish up the remainder of that renovation this winter and we'll be in a much better position to offer a longer winter share next year. If you haven't thought of purchasing a Thanksgiving Share because you weren't sure how you would store all that produce at home. What follows are detailed instructions on how to home store all the produce in the share. We've had great success by following these simple guidelines and you can too!
STORE THINGS DIRTY: The process of cleaning things causes tiny scratches and damage that may shorten the storage life of the produce. Additionally leaving the dirt on root vegetables serves to keep the humidity high in storage so store things dirty and wash as needed before use. (the bulk bags of carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes in the Thanksgiving share will be unwashed)
CHECK PERIODICALLY: Go through your stored produce and remove for use or compost anything that's starting to decay. It is indeed true that one bad apple can ruin the barrel.
IDEAL CONDITIONS: Below is a list of ideal conditions for each type of storage crop. Keep in mind that you don't have to have it exactly perfect to be successful in storing months worth of produce. On the most basic level there are two types of environments you need to store the produce that will be in your Thanksgiving share...
1. Cool and Damp (32-40 degrees/high humidity) for Root Vegetables and Potatoes (a refrigerator is best but a bulkhead, unheated garage, or very cool basement will work just fine... keep in mind that you need to take precautions to prevent vegetables from freezing i.e. cover with a blanket, or use a cooler)
2. Warm and Dry (50 degrees/low humidity) for Winter Squash, Garlic, Onions, and Sweet Potatoes (a cool and dark part of your house will work great for all of these crops such as a pantry, mud room, cool closet, or non-humid/dry basement. Keep garlic and onions in the dark to prevent sprouting)
True Root Vegetables- these include Carrots, Parsnips, Beets, Turnips, Rutabaga, Storage Radishes and Celeriac. Kohlrabi also stores well under the same conditions. These vegetables are best when kept in the refrigerator. They need high humidity in order to stay crisp, so put into a plastic bag first with a few drops of water. We find that it is best to leave a tiny bit of air circulation though, so don't use a twist tie on the plastic bag, just leave the top open. These crops can easily keep until May under these conditions. An unheated garage, bulkhead, or very cool basement are all potentially suitable spots as well... when storing crops in these areas it is a good idea to keep them in a large Tupperware container to discourage rodents and cover with a blanket to keep from freezing. You can create humid storage containers by packing the roots in damp sand, sawdust, leaves or other packing material but we haven't found this necessary.
Sweet Potatoes- Keep at room temperature (above 50 F is important - cooler temperatures will result in chilling injury to this tropical root.) Keep in paper bags or baskets out of direct sunlight.
Butternut Squash and other Winter Squash - Keep cool and dry. Traditionally squashes were kept under beds in the upstairs of farm houses where the temp was always above freezing but not very hot either. We've kept butternut inside our house until June and it was still good.
Onions and Garlic - They like it dry, and on the cooler side (32-50 F). Don't put in plastic bags. Onions eventually start to sprout, but you can then give them some light from a window and use the leaves that grow from the center as scallions in late winter sprout salads! Garlic will also keep well at room temp. in a dry area.
Potatoes- For longest term storage, keep under refrigeration. However, if you refrigerate, take out and leave at room temperature for a week before eating. This allows the starches to convert back to normal inside the potato. For shorter term storage, just keep roots in the 40- 60 F range and they can keep for weeks until they begin to sprout.
This is a general overview of storage information pertinent to the crops in the Thanksgiving share. If you'd like more information there is a tremendous amount out there on the internet about root cellaring and winter crop storage as well as several comprehensive books written on the subject, Putting Food By and Stocking Up are two good ones.
As always Enjoy the Harvest!!
On behalf of the farm crew Jason, Olivia, Max, and Marie
Your Farmers,
Rob and Meghan
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