Trumpeter Swan Farm CSA News - Winter Season, Week 24&25, Delivery November 16 thru November 18
---- Winter Squash Sorting ----
Well we did our first sweep of winter squash this season checking for bad ones. We found quite a bit so something must of gone wrong with the curing process. But in any case the bad ones were weeded out so hopefully the squash we have left do not turn. We should have squash until the end of December but after that I can't make any promises. So get them while they're still here.
---- Winter Squash Storage ----
Something that is hard for us because of the amount of squash we have is storage. When winter squash are stored together in large quantities they tend to spread fungal diseases to each other. This is because maybe one got a stem poke and ruptured its skin and started to rot, mold, and then spread spores. We try to mitigate this but its very tough with large amount. For you folks at home however what I recommend is to wipe the skin of the squash with a 1 to 10 bleach to water solution this helps kill and fungi or bacteria on the skin that lead to rotting. If you do that it will help the squash keep and it can sit on your kitchen counter for way longer.
---- Brussel Sprouts ----
The first of the brussel sprouts are here. We wait until this late in the year to harvest them because they are super winter hardy, survive down to about 18 degrees, and are actually easier to harvest when they're frozen. We actually have a video on our Facebook of me chopping brussels in the field right here, https://www.facebook.com/104211219703077/videos/2975167049400797 .After we bring them out from the field we snap the buds off and package them up. Hopefully they'll be here in the next two weeks as well but with how random Minnesotan weather can be, no promises.
Thanks,
Ian.
