Community Supported Agriculture

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Farm Notes
Groundwork Share-a-Share

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3:00pm - 7:00pm

Brox Farm Stand
1276 Broadway Road
Dracut, MA
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Farm Notes: The Cold Cometh

Sweet potatoes curing on the bench for three weeks, which allows them to sweeten up.

According to the forecast, later this week we will be getting colder weather than we have been experiencing. All the corn, tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers have now been harvested. Enjoy the last of them this week. Last week we did take the plastic off the high tunnel and harvested the remaining peppers and tomatoes. The record breaking November harvests of corn were a sweet surprise to all of us. After this week, we will focus on frost-tolerant fall crops that can take temperatures below freezing, but do not like to get too frigid.


 

The potatoes will be fine underground until the ground begins to freeze. Before that happens we will work around the weather to get them dug up and into our potato storage basement. Later this week we will begin to harvest some carrots and beets, which we will put into sand pits for winter storage - some for December and some for the spring. 


 

As for the brassicas and greens in the fields, some take cold better than others. First, we will harvest those more sensitive to leaf damage from frigid weather. Those more tolerant crops, we will harvest in coming weeks. Our goal is to always have plenty of fresh, flavorful food, and we work around the weather to provide the most varied and abundant share each week.


 

To continued harvests,


 

Farmer Dave


 


What's Coming?


Will we be getting squash and pumpkins this year?

Yes, absolutely!

Since this year we had a killing frost uncommonly late, we have had tons of other crops out in the fields later than we ever have in the past. Things like corn, peppers and eggplant used to be unheard of in November....and yet, this fall, we are still picking them. So, we have been giving out the warmer crops, and saving the winter squash and pumpkins for a later week.

Planning a late fall share is always a balancing act. Certain crops are harvested just once, and when they are gone, they are gone. These crops include potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins. We can either give these crops out early, or store them. If we give too many out too early, we risk not having enough produce to give out in the later weeks of the share, when yet-to-be-determined weather conditions could end the field harvests earlier than planned, for all we know. By saving them for later (especially when there are still plenty of field crops to be harvested), we are ensuring that the shares stay abundant throughout the late fall.

In past years, we have erred on the lighter side for the first weeks of the late fall share, and loaded the members up with more produce as the weeks went on and we knew we were no longer in danger of running out of product to give out. This year, due to the abundance of field crops, we are most likely in for an abundant share throughout the duration of the late fall.

I signed up early for the late fall share. When will I get my T-Shirt?

The T-shirts are currently at the printer and will be ready soon! We hope to have them to you next week.


In Your Share: Week 3


The following items will most likely make an appearance in your share this week. 

Ultimately, Mother Nature has the final say; however, this week, we are planning and hoping to harvest the following. 
  • Broccoli
  • Kale or Swiss Chard
  • Golden Beets
  • Carrots
  • Arugula
  • Romanesco
  • Radishes
  • Bok Choy or Tatsoi
  • Eggplant
  • Peppers
  • Corn
  • Apples
  • Winter Squash
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Spinach
  • Lettuce
  • And more!
We picked the last of the peppers, eggplant and corn out of the fields and high tunnels before the killing frost, so we still have some in your shares. This week there will likely be items that we aren't able to fit into the boxes, so it would be best to arrive with bags to transport extra veggies.

If you'd like to freeze or can some of the veggies for later use, check out the resources on our website for ideas! And consider our add-ons for larger volumes of produce if you'd like to can or freeze for the winter.

Want to store some crops to eat later? Check out our new Storage Tips page!
Recipes of the Week

Roasted Beet and Broccoli Slaw

Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Science of Mom

  • 1 bunch golden beets
  • 2 stems from broccoli, peeled 
  • � cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground white pepper
  • � cup red onions, sliced thinly

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425�F.
  2. Wrap beets in aluminum foil and roast for 1-1.5 hours. They are done when they are easily pierced with a fork or knife but should still be firm. (You can do this step way ahead of time. It's easy to throw beets in the oven when you have it on for other purposes and then just keep the roasted beets in the fridge for a day or two until you're ready to use them).
  3. When beets are cool, shred them through the large grater side of a box grater. Do the same with the broccoli stems.
  4. Slice the onions.
  5. Stir together the oil, vinegar, and sugar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
  6. Toss together the dressing and the veggies. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. It is even better the next day.


Broccoli Chowder with Corn and Bacon
Adapted by Farmer Dave's from Martha Stewart


Ingredients:
  • 4 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 large baking potato, peeled and diced
  • 1 head broccoli (about 1 pound), cut into bite-size florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3-4 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, cook bacon over medium-low, stirring occasionally, until crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Increase heat to medium. Cook onion, stirring, until it begins to soften, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil. Reduce it to a simmer; cook until potato is tender, about 10 minutes. Add broccoli, corn, thyme and milk. Cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with bacon.
Groundwork Share-a-Share Update
 
Thanks to generous donations by you (CSA members) to the Groundwork Share-A-Share™ fund, we were able to subsidize the cost of shares in 2014 for over thirty individuals and families, as well as shares for local food pantries.

Please consider helping us in our efforts to make the CSA accessible to more families by donating to Groundwork Share-A-Share.

 

To learn more about the program,  click here.

 

Thank you all for helping us keep this program going in 2015!  

 

Contact Us:

Farmer Dave's CSA
437 Parker Road
Dracut, MA 01826

(978) 349-1952