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Field Walk…
Farming, if nothing else,
teaches faith. Somehow, some way life asserts itself again and again in places and times you least expect it. With patience the land will feed us and teach us.
There are potatoes
growing in the cucumber patch,
tomatoes in the strawberries, arugula in the squash, and lettuce in the scallions. A farmer spends eleven months planning, sowing, pacing and throwing his ill-conceived plans upon the land, and in the end, the land decides what grows where and when. I've got beets maturing in a bed that's been tilled three times, cover-cropped and left for winter. Cabbage plants are threatening to produce from the dregs of the old spring crop. The land survives. Life thrives.
A farmer does not grow food. A farmer simply puts the pieces together in time and space. A farmer manipulates, organizes, and designs plants and fields. A good farmer learns when to stop, though, and have faith.
This season has been long, hard and wonderful. There were days I worried way too much. There were nights I couldn't sleep waiting for rain. There were hot summer afternoons drowning in sweat and dust.
And then there were a dozen fresh dug potatoes and a bunch of sweet orange carrots. There were families bagging five pounds of cherry tomatoes and a raccoon living off cantaloupe. I saw smiles I couldn't imagine and met a hundred wonderful people. I watched the sun rise up and sink again in the blink of an autumn day.
I nod my head at the notion that, yes, we can do this. We can take a patch of earth on the bluff of a big river and carve out a fine meal, again and again. We can take this soil, add a good notion and some hard work, and get fresh spinach, onions, and peppers. We can understand that despite our hard work and good notions, we didn't grow this food. We didn't make the soil, air or rain. We simply receive what is given.
I can tell you literally a thousand details of the season. I can tell a hundred stories of what went right or wrong. But, some of you will eat a beet that came from nowhere, or a potato that decided to be. I can't explain why. I can only sit back and nod yes…. Yes….
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Crops on the way:
Lettuce, scallions, beets… and peas I hope! Later, kohlrabi and kale…
leeks and more winter squash!
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What's in Your Share
Bok Choy
Long Island Cheese Pumpkin
Carrots
Spinach
Salad Mix
Swiss Chard
Green Peppers
Garlic
Onion
Radishes
Turnips
Arugula and Tomatoes will be
offered extra
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Meal Ideas
Long Island Cheese Pumpkin
This is an amazing squash! You can think of this squash as a "pumkin" or like you would any winter squash. You will prepare it like you would butternut squash. In fact, it's flavor and texture is similar to butternut.
Your biggest challenge will be fitting some of these behemoths in your oven. If the squash doesn't fit when cut in half, then cut it into smaller pieces.
Bake at 375 degrees until soft and tender.
You can make a Cheese pumpkin soup, or serve a mashed squash side dish. However, Long Island Cheese also makes a delicious pie, like most other winter squashes, as well as a wonderful bread.
Homemade ravioli is also a blast to make, especially with kids. Be prepared to make a LOT all at once and freeze what you don't immediately eat.
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Volunteer Opportunities:
Garlic planting this Saturday! Rain permitting… 9 to noon… Be there!
Looking Ahead… Congratulations to Mike Reese, Christina Agyropoulous and Linda Worthylake, our new Core Group members! Welcome!
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