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Week Nineteen! - We are providing the e-news for ALL shareholders, however only Full Share and Week A Half Shares pick up this week!
THIS IS THE LAST WEEK FOR "A" WEEK HALF SHARES! NEXT WEEK IS THE LAST WEEK FOR EVERYONE ELSE (Unless you are getting a Winter Share -ONLY 7 are left - sign up now to avoid being disappointed)
Join us this Sunday for Wellspring's Annual Free Farm Festival - Agri-CULTURE Fest! October 12th, 10am to 6pm
Local Food and Craft Vendors, Activities for Kids, Hayrides, Free Workshops and more! A great opportunity for Shareholders to come visit and enjoy the farm! See complete details below!
Wellspring will also be having our first annual fruit and nut tree sale during Agri-CULTURE fest! Get information and seedlings for your yard or business. Complete list of what's available if you click here.
Still a few spots available for tonight's cooking class featuring Chef Gregory Leon of Amilinda - Root Vegetables.
Starts at 6 p.m. - see below for more info!
Winter CSA Shares Start Oct. 23 - Only 7 left - Sign up now before they're gone!
Want to have great veggies for your Thanksgiving or to eat when the snow is on the ground? These shares have wonderful greens and easy to store or eat now crops (onions, parsnips, carrots, winter squash, etc.) Sign up now as we do fewer of these shares compared to the regular CSA! Details and registration are on our website here:
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Farm News from farmer Evan
Hello and welcome to week 19 of the Wellspring CSA. Week 19! For those of you with an "A" week half share this will be your last box of the season (unless you choose to participate in our winter share program of course). For the rest of you, there is only one more box after this week. I think we are finishing off the season very strong and hope you all are enjoying all of the great fall vegetables.
After a couple of weeks of warm weather, fall has hit hard once again. We were expecting our first frost of the fall on Friday or Saturday night, so we harvested the rest of the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants left in the field and scrambled to row cover all of the tender greens. It didn't end up freezing all that hard so the plants all came through relatively unscathed. However, Tuesday night we really did get a frost that was the final nail in the coffin for the warm weather crops. We harvested enough peppers to give out a fair number this week and next week. The great news is these cold nights really bring out the sweetness in a lot of the crops. Sugars dissolved in water act like antifreeze so as it gets colder the plants draw more sugars into their tissues and make them very sweet. The other great news is we have apples and potatoes this week. The potatoes are certified organic and come from a great 3rd generation dairy farmer a few miles west of Wellspring (we also get our eggs from the same farm). Potatoes take some specialized equipment and a lot of space so we are happy to support a local farmer who grows great organic potatoes. The apples come from trees on cedar lake conservancy land and were managed by the great farmers at Wild Ridge Farm in Waubeka. Wild Ridge Farm is owned and operated by Wellspring alum Alissa Moore (former farm manager) and Anna Metscher (former intern). The orchard is not certified organic but is managed using organic practices. We would love to have given apples from our own trees but the cold winter and some hard pruning this spring rendered our apples quite fruitless. The good news is that we tried 2 or 3 (or maybe 10 apples :) each while harvesting and they are extremely delicious for fresh eating if you like your apples tart or for cooking if you don't.
I am both sad and relieved the season is almost over, but I am mostly excited for all the great vegetables we are producing and will continue to produce for many more weeks. If you are not ready for the veggie stream to end we recommend signing up for the Winter Share and enjoying fresh, local produce right up till Thanksgiving.
I look forward to seeing everybody at the Agri-CULTURE Festival here on Sunday, and I hope you all enjoy your food as much as we enjoyed growing it.
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What's In the Box and Where Does It Go?
CROP FRIDGE? NOTES/VARIETY
Winter Squash No Sugar Dumpling, store on counter
Kale Yes Lacinato
Carrots Yes Mokum, separate the greens
Broccoli Yes Amadeus, Bay Meadows, Arcadia
Cabbage Yes Farao
OR Kohlrabi Yes Kossak
Arugula Yes bagged w/ jalapeno & garlic
Garlic No German White, bagged
Hot Peppers Yes jalapenos, bagged
Thyme Maybe keep in fridge unless drying it
Sweet Peppers Yes Carmen (Italian sweet) or Bell Pepper
Dill Yes Bouquet
Potatoes No Reds, store in pantry
Apples* Yes unsure of variety, sure of tastiness
*because the apples are not sprayed with conventional pesticides there may be occasional blemishes or pest damage
Scallions Yes Nabechan
Fennel Yes Orion
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Storage Tips
The garlic is now cured and will keep in pantry or on the counter. The sugar dumpling squash is not a long-term storage squash (like a butternut), so use it in the next couple of weeks. For the root veggies, the roots should be cut from the tops and stored separately to prevent the greens from wicking moisture out of the root and making for some limp beets or carrots.
Save those scraps! Keep the stems, trimmings, peels, etc from your veggie prep each week in a gallon bag in the freezer. When you accumulate enough, you can make a delicious, homemade vegetable stock...from seemingly nothing at all! Check out this blog post for the details on how to do it.
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Recipes from Farmer Heather
Fennel and Kohlrabi Salad
from Brooklyn Supper
You can also sub in carrots, cabbage or broccoli stems for the kohlrabi in this recipe.
1 small bulb fennel, well-cleaned and trimmed
1 small, tender kohlrabi, peeled and trimmed
1/2 red onion sliced into thin half-moons
1 cup flat leaf parsley, minced
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of red pepper flakes
fennel leaves
Julienne the fennel and kohlrabi. Toss with the red onion and parsley. Combine the olive oil and and lemon juice, and drizzle on the dressing, add a few pinches of salt and tons of pepper. Taste, adjust salt and acid levels. Plate and give each serving a good squeeze of lemon juice, a pinch of red pepper flakes and a parsley and fennel leaf garnish.
Kohlrabi Apple Slaw
1 kohlrabi
2 apples
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
salt & pepper
thyme (optional)
If the outer skin on the kohlrabi is tough, peel it, otherwise keep it on and cut both the kohlrabi and apples into matchsticks. Whisk together lemon juice, mustard and olive oil (amounts may need to be adjusted depending on how much dressing you prefer). Add salt, pepper, and some thyme to taste.
Thyme & Salted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
from The Baking Bird
Makes approximately 14-18 cookies
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cut into small cubes
1 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
2 eggs
10 oz dark (62%) chocolate chunks
sea salt, to sprinkle
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare sheet pans lined with parchment paper. In a bowl, whisk to combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, salt, and fresh thyme leaves. Set aside. With a hand mixer, cream the butter for about 2-3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Gradually add the brown sugar, white sugar, and molasses to the butter, beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the dry ingredients and then fold in the chocolate chunks until well-distributed. Form each cookie using about two tablespoons of dough per cookie. Roll into a ball and place on the prepared pan, pressing down slightly to form a thick disc. Leave room between each cookie-they will spread. Sprinkle a small amount of sea salt on each cookie. Bake for 12 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until the edges of the cookies are just turning brown. Remove from the oven and let cool on the pan on a rack for two minutes before removing the cookies from the pan and cooling directly on a rack.
BONUS: If you aren't such a fan of flat-ish cookies, there is a FLUFFY version of this cookie recipe too!
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Upcoming Classes, Workshops and Events at Wellspring!
For more information and to register for classes, please visit www.wellspringinc.org or call (847) 946-5565
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Join us this Sunday for Wellspring's 
Free Farm Festival!
Agri-CULTURE Fest
Sunday, Oct. 12
10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
A celebration of the culture in agriculture and all things local, organic and sustainable!
- Live music
- Local food and craft vendors
- Food options including local, organic, gluten-free, vegetarian... you name it!
- Hayrides
- Pumpkin Painting and Activities for kids
- "Farmer Olympics" for all ages
- Free educational workshops including a wild edibles walk, backyard bee keeping basics, cheese tastings, cooking demonstrations, and more!
Getting There:
PARKING WILL NOT BE ALLOWED ON WELLSPRING'S GROUNDS ON SUNDAY!
Interested in helping at Agriculture Fest? Volunteers are needed to greet guests, help with children's activities, aid in set up & clean up, serve food, and help the event run smoothly.You can help all day, or choose your shift and stay for the fun!
The festival runs from 10 am to 6 pm, we will additionally need folks to help with set up and clean before and after those times. Can't help on Sunday, we will need volunteers to help with
setup on Saturday too!
Please contact Francie at wellspringeducation@gmail.com if you are interested in helping out!
Seasonal Produce Cooking Class 
featuring Root Veggies!
Thursday, October 9th
6 to 8 pm
Wellspring offers a series of monthly cooking classes, inspiring students based on veggies during their peak season! In each class, a chef leads demos and tastings, and provides healthy cooking tips. Wine served to accompany each tasting and recipe handouts to take home. Assorted root vegetables will be the highlighted produce items for October! This category includes carrots, beets, parsnips, rutabaga, celeriac, and more!
Cost: $30 for those pre-registered the Monday before, $35 at the door (if openings) Click here for more info and to register
Tuesday, October 14th - 9:30 to 10:30 am 
Preschoolers and Parents Farm Day
Program for ages 2 to 5,
younger siblings are welcome
Preschoolers will meet the Wellspring chickens, try new veggies, dig for worms, sing songs and participate in garden-based games and activities, all while learning about where our food comes from!
"We loved the preschool farm day at Wellspring! You keep the young ones occupied and entertained while including all of their senses - never a lull in the activity, which suits the active bodies and minds of the 2-5 year olds! It is a great, hands-on experience!" - Debbie W.
Cost: $6 per child (adult must accompany) Click here for more details and to register
Saturday, October 18th - 10am to 4pm  Herbal and Goat Milk Soap Making Workshop
A hands-on class, great for both experienced and new soap makers. Learn to make both cold and hot process soap as well as about herbs from the garden to add to soap. Wet and dry felting finishing techniques will be covered. Leave with soap and recipes for future crafting. Lunch will be provided.
Cost: $70 per person until 10/15, $75 after.
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