Farm News: Daylight is coming later in the morning and leaving us sooner. Harvesting the first winter squashes and putting more and more of the farm to bed under cover crops, to hold the soil over the winter and enrich the soil with nitrogen and organic matter. Tomatoes are starting to wind down and sweet corn, sadly, is done.
We are starting to harvest some broccoli - Do you know about the cabbage worms in broccoli? They are inevitable – sorry. They are little and green and camouflaged. That’s how you know your broccoli is organic… those are the things toxic chemicals kill. Anyhow, you can soak it before cooking in salt water and they will float to the top, or sometimes you see them after cooking just pick them out and throw away. OK a little gross but not that big a deal.
Sweet potatoes are one of our specialties – very few Long Island farms grow them, but they grow great on our farm. Because we don’t always “grade” them, at times you will get large/medium sized potatoes which you are used to seeing, but at other times you may get small, thin ones which are just the “baby” potatoes.
Occasionally they show a slit or cut from where the pitchforks hit them, because we can’t see under the soil when we dig in! This doesn’t mean they are rotten. They are just as good to eat, usually we wash/scrub them, but leave the skin on, and roast them whole in the oven with some oil and salt. Sort of like a sweet potato fry, without the chopping!
We have a lot of fun events at the farm this fall. Our “Fun Fields” play area is free for all CSA members (up to a $40 value for a family!), so come on down (let them know at the register for your free wristbands)! The Fun Fields includes hayrides, bounce house, giant hay pyramid, and more (hayrides 11-4, weather permitting on weekends and holidays).
October 27-28 is our annual Oktoberfest, which will feature live polka music and beer tasting from Garden of Eve Farm Brewery.
Gleaning is Sunday October 21 from 10am-noon. Come at 10am sharp if possible, we head out to the fields and pick some items we have left to donate to those less fortunate than we are. After we harvest it, the Long Island Cares truck takes it away to food pantries across Long Island. Each year we donate thousands of pounds of produce. Come out and join us for this biblical ritual which still makes a difference to people, even today!
Hope to see you on the Farm soon!
FRUIT: sekel pears (delicious tiny pears) AND apples
CHEESE: artisanal cheeses
BREAD: Ciabatta
MEAT: Oct 10
