Welcome to the new year! We have seen some rather low temperatures the past two weeks. In combination with the wind, these temps made it very difficult to be a plant living outside. We do everything in our power to prevent damage to the plants during times of extreme cold. Adding extra layers of plastic and row cover helps in the hoophouse, but 36-48 straight hours of single digit temperatures really takes its toll on the plants. Even with the extreme temps we experienced last week, the crops held on pretty strong. The kale that is in the field under what we call low tunnels made it through, although it is clear that it did experience some damage; it is minimal as kale is very hardy. The chard on the other hand, looks like it got damaged. In the case of the chard, it looks as though the leaves got injured, but the crown of the plant is still alive.  Hopefully by mid-march new leaves emerge for a nice spring harvest. 

Moriah and I have been enjoying a slightly slower pace, which gives us time to prepare for next seasons summer CSA.  Crop plans, seed potatoes, seeds, and  plant orders are all finished or nearing completion. We are excited to be planting a few hundred more raspberry plants  in the spring to add to our assortment of small fruits in production.

Thus far it has been a cold winter, its looking like January will finish up being mild. We are staying quite busy at Horsham and planning to next season another great year for Pennypack!

This week we learned about the Polar Vortex and it was definitely a hands-on experience!  On Monday (Jan 6) we basked in the warm breezes with a high of 61, only to find ourselves battling single digit temperatures on Tuesday.  The extreme temperatures and windchills wreaked havoc on our transportation systems, shopping 

venues, homes and schools.  

Our farmers tried to stay a step or two ahead of the cold and wind by harvesting as much as possible when the weather was good and securing the low tunnels and hoop houses to protect the tender greens.  By and large, they were successful.  Yes, we lost some greens, but given the extreme conditions, the farmers did what they needed to do to make sure our winter shareholders had a good selection of fresh vegetables available for pick-up.

Root vegetables are readily available this time of year and they are a terrific way to get some crunch and sweetness into your recipes.  Here's an easy salad:  "Grated Turnip and Apple Salad" - from Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant, and it's in the cookbook that many of you have, the "From Asparagus to Zucchini" cookbook from the Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition."  This cookbook is available at the Farm for $20 - just ask next time you're there.

It's a tried and true recipe and, as noted by one of our share members, "Very simple: equal amounts of turnip and peeled/cored apple, run them through the grater machine, some fresh chopped parsley, juice of a lemon, 1 tsp vegetable oil, and some salt and pepper.  Mix them all - done!  Very delicious and easy to make."  Click Moosewood Cooks  to go to the Moosewood website for a quick reminder (or primer) of Moosewood's history, favorite recipes and blog.

Grated Turnip and Apple Salad

1 cup peeled and grated raw turnips

1 cup peeled and grated tart green apples

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

juice of 1 large lemon

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine everything, toss, cover, and chill.  Serves 4 - 6.

Stay warm and have a good week!