Serenbe Farms
  CSA Newsletter and Recipes 5-28

The last CSA pickup for full and half shares in Atlanta is November 16th.  The last pickup date for full shares at the farm is November 16th and November 9th for half shares.

Surveys will be out soon!  Time for you to tell us what you think!!


Early 2011 renewal info!  If you'd like to renew for next year, you can either place a nonrefundable deposit of $250 towards your share or pay in full.

Benefits of renewing early include:
-receiving a bonus Thanksgiving share (pick up on the farm on 11/23 or 11/24)
-locking in for 2011 at the 2010 price

November 2nd, 2010

Farm News from Ashley-
 
Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween weekend!

Between Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday last week, the farm received a whopping 4 inches of rain! While we did need this, to help germinate our cover crops, it has pushed back some of our fall plantings. When the ground is extremely moist, it is to risky to till up beds with the tractor. We accomplished many rainy day tasks, and also had a little down time, which was much needed! I like to think we made up for it on Friday, when we harvested almost 2,000 pounds. This included lots of cabbage, sunchokes, one bed of sweet potatoes, eggplant, radishes, peppers, and broccoli.

Sunchokes-
One of our rainy day tasks was digging sunchokes. Everyone will be receiving sunchokes in their share this week. Some of you may be familiar with these, while some you may not, so I thought I would share a few bits of information about them.

Sunchokes are also referred to as Jerusalem Artichokes, however it has no relation to Jerusalem or an artichoke. The Native Americans were actually the first people to cultivate these. They are in the same family as the sunflower: Asteraceae. Sunchokes are starchy tubers that look similar to ginger root, but have a much thinner skin. They are also easy to grow, planted in the spring and harvested in the fall, one small tuber can produce around 20-30 tubers. If left in the ground, during the winter, the frost actually makes them taste a little sweeter.
 












Overall, sunchokes have a similar consistency to a potato, but taste a little sweeter and nuttier. If boiled, they become somewhat mushy, and are better steamed. I like to grate them into hash browns, or roast them in the oven. Be creative! Oh, and there is no need to peel the skin off either. Just give it a quick rinse in the sink.

Cabbage-
Everyone will also be receiving cabbage in their share this week or next week. I made an awesome coleslaw for Halloween. I chopped up the cabbage, tossed in some red onion, turnips, and radishes. (This might be good if you have leftover turnips from previous weeks!) Then mixed together mayo, apple cider vinegar and a pinch of sugar. Yum!

I realized this is the last newsletter I will be writing as an intern this year. I am sad about this, especially since I only have roughly 2.5 more weeks on the farm. It has been a long 8 months, but I made it to the end, and I am excited to continue moving forward, and to keep growing and learning as a farmer. Good news is, as of Thanksgiving I can be called Farmer Ashley, instead of Apprentice Ashley. While it has been a long and strenuous 8 months, it was worth every last frustrated breath, and drip of sweat. Paige and Justin are amazing mentors, and I owe them many thanks. I am a little nervous to have my training wheels removed, as I leave this internship and start my next job at White Oak Pastures, but am anxious and excited at the same time. Anyways, it was great conversing with all of you and I hope everyone enjoyed this seasons shares. Keep supporting your local farmers.

Oh, and thanks for all the birthday wishes last week!

Take Care,
Ashley

Find recipes here.
 
This week's share (prediction):

sunchokes (Jerusalem artichoke)

bok choi or Chinese cabbage

broccoli or cabbage

collard greens

winter radishes or beets

head lettuce

tomatoes

beans (or okra?)

peppers

sweet potatoes and/or winter squash

and more!

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Links
www.serenbefarms.com

www.georgiaorganics.org
www.slowfoodatlanta.org
RECIPES

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