We can’t believe it’s the final week of our regular season CSA! This season has certainly flown by!
At the farm we’ve had our first hard freeze and a lot of the plants are now done for the season. The next step is to either mow or cut them all out, compost them and then cover the beds with either tarps or mulch. We would gladly take any leaves that you or your neighbors want to get rid of!
Plants that can withstand the winter here in the PCNW are plentiful though! In the above picture you can see cauliflower, cabbage, kale and other brassica's still looking good. Other good winter crops for our climate are chicory or winter lettuces sometimes called bitter lettuce - however after a frost the flavor sweetens up a lot! These lettuces are usually marinated, slightly wilted or cooked to mellow out the bitterness. They are a staple of winter and fall CSA's in our area. Check out this Caramel Apple & Ridicchio Gallete or here are the 10 best Chicory Recipes from Olive Magazine. The chicory & walnut risotto and chicory gratin sound delectable!
Garlic is going in this week and will be mulched with a thick layer of straw. Then we continue pulling out and composting plants, like the above peppers and basil that are done for the year. After that we take a break! Winter is our time to analyze data, see how the last season went, plan for the following season, and make sure we get lots of rest and recovery. We also try to do a bit of traveling and get off the farm.
As a reminder- you can still grab the final Harvest box of the season that is delivered Nov 21st and will be full of storage crops, herbs, and veggies to add to your Thanksgiving feast. Make sure to skip section one and click ADD ON's, scroll towards bottom and you'll see the Cornucopia share. And we will also continue to sell via the Vancouver Farmer's Market Local Line website for any items we have available between now and the end of November. https://www.localline.ca/vanwafarmersmarket open for ordering every Monday-Thursday for contact-less pick up on Saturday's at the Slocum House downtown Vancouver.
We just wanted to give another thank you for supporting us this season as we pivoted from market and restaurant growing to serving a full CSA! We originally planned on having a 25 member CSA, but with COVID shutdowns and changes- we were able to grow for 83 people and deliver over 1300 shares this year! We were also able to sponsor 2 shares with your donations and deliver over 300 # of produce to the Clark County food bank. We have had a wonderful season and could not have done it without your support!
Thanks for being a part of the Flat Tack Farm Family!
We hope to see you again next season and wish you all the best over the winter season.
Your farmers,
Kelly & Patrick
