foxlinecityfarm

The last share of the 2015 season!  Our best season  in so many ways.  Fantastic growing weather all season long, abundant harvests, a workload that we managed on our own, and great CSA members.  We could not be happier on this last pick up day of the season.

This odd warm weather has allowed us to put the garden to bed in a calm and comfortable way. No chilly fingers and bulky overcoats as we try to clean up.   Everyday we are able to tidy up a bit more and even get the tools and irrigation put away and green house organized for Spring.  It feels good.  Potato order is in and we increased the seed potato order from last year.  More fingerlings and early reds in the shares next year!  We are writing up our seed orders too with hopes of having all placed by Christmas.  We enjoy looking over the catalogs in the evenings and imaging the gardens next season.  So hard not to get carried away.  I always want to grow tons of odd ball varieties of cantaloupe and when I mark the pages Scott just looks at me in disbelief.  BUT  2 more loooooooong rows of tomatoes are going in next season and that sure is exciting planning.

Lots of fun around here the last few weeks as our focus changes with the season.  Many Thanksgiving fresh floral centerpiece orders went home with customers for the holiday feast.   My favorite bouquets to make of the year.  I love the rich bold colors.

Maeve making a few fresh floral bouquets for Thanksgiving.

We are busy making evergreen wreaths too (another favorite activity of mine) for customers and friends. And had a blast with the wreath workshops again this year.  The classes are so much fun and everyone made gorgeous wreaths to take home.  A few hours of holiday music,  laughter, creative hard work and sticky fingers.  A highlight of the season for me.

Making holiday evergreen wreaths.

Maeve and Scott even made a wreath this year at 1 of the workshops and it hangs on our garage door to greet friends.

We’re having fun and looking forward to a shift in daily life for a few months before the seeds get started again at the end of February.

#2 Winter Storage Share

A great share to end the season.  The leafy greens from the hoop a nice treat.  798 pounds were packed in the shares.  ENJOY!!  And thanks to all who support our gardens.

Lettuce!-This is a  fresh treat at this time of year.  Several sweet juicy heads for every share from the hoop house.  Scott made sure that it was covered on the chilly nights with row cover to keep it protected.

Lettuce ready to be harvested in the hoop house.

Cabbages-An assortment of great storage cabbages.  2 heads of the smaller “soloist” variety of chinese cabbage, a pretty savoy and either a cool flat top or pointy guy.  All super sweet and crunchy to add to fresh salads, soups or stir fry.

The last cabbage harvest from the garden. AND no snow!

Radishes-A big bag of long term storage red meat/watermelon and green meat beauties.  Mild and so pretty when you cut into them.

Spinach!-Over a pound in every share.  Enjoy this sweet treat.

Spinach harvest in the hoop on December 6th. Look at all that green!  And no coat on….

Picking spinach leaf by leaf…..

Scott bagging up the pounder+ spinach bags for the shares after a triple rinse.

Spaghetti Squash-Another treat in the share!  We held these back in the root cellar from the last harvest of the season to cure and tuck in these shares as a surprise.

Spaghetti Squash at harvest.

Seems so long ago that we harvested the spaghetti squash….to save for a winter treat.

Winter Squash-A medley of acorn, carnival and butternuts.  Soups, roasted or I add the puree to biscuits and pancakes in the morning.

Sweet potatoes-A bounty as we had our “best ever” harvest this fall thanks to Uncle Jim.  Big orange skinned beauties and those cool purple skinned wonders too.  You have a ton to get you through the winter…. an assortment of larger bakers and tons of fingerlings for roasting or hash.

Cipollini Onions-3 varieties of those UFO looking onions that are great roasted or added to winter hearty dishes.

Shallots-A big bag-3 varieties here too.  Long storage life and great flavor.

Large yellow storage onions-2 in each share.  Great for slicing.

Potatoes-10+ pounds for everyone.  Carola (Scott’s favorite).  A great multi purpose potato with great flavor. Peter Wilcox (that pretty purplish/violet skinned beauty with white flesh) that fries up so nicely and fantastic mashed.

Sun chokes-The what the heck is that????? in the shares.  Knobby looking roots that taste and smell like sunflower seeds.  Adds a neat texture to soups and stews like a water chestnut.  Taste great peeled and roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt, and we love them mixed with potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic for a hash.  VERY long storage life in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Sun chokes at harvest.

A big crate of sun chokes ready to be washed.

Garlic-Several hard neck heads in every share.

Honey-A sweet 1/2 pint of our autumn harvest to enjoy.

Spinning honey.

Fox Line City Farm Soap-An end of season surprise.  A very special friend makes a batch of this for my Birthday every year and makes extra to share with the CSA.  Enjoy the birthday treat.

Thank you to everyone who shared our gardens in 2015.  We are already planning the 2016 season and early bird sign up will open by the 1st of the year.

Now on to the holiday baking…..

Happy Autumn!  We have had wonderful weather for garden cleanup this season.  Many happy days spent in the sunshine and tee shirts as we add to our compost pile and pull irrigation lines up, take down the tomato and cucumber trellis lines, plant and mulch the garlic and still keep harvesting from the gardens and hoop house.  Much easier to clean up without frozen fingers and wet clothes.  We had time to mix in a little fun here and there too…We love this time of year!

Leaf pile!

Maeve at the end of the leaf pile fun….

We are thrilled with the 1st Storage Share of this season.  We have never had such a bounty of greens at this time of year and we are blown away with the variety we are able to include in this share.  Enjoy it all!  And happy cooking preparing a tasty Thanksgiving meal to share with friends and family.  We are grateful to all our CSA members that share our gardens and allow us to have such a wonderful life at home as family.  Thank you so very much for what all of you have made possible.

STORAGE SHARE #1!!!  Get ready for this!

42 pounds of garden goodies going home tonight with each Storage Share.  A total of 998 pounds out the door.  Phew!  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!

Scott packing the Storage Shares.

Pie Pumpkin-You can’t have an Autumn Harvest share at Thanksgiving without one of these beauties tucked in.

Winter Squash- A combination of acorn, butternut and carnival.

Garlic-5 heads of hardneck.

Sweet Potatoes-We had such a good harvest this year….3+ pounds for everyone.  Sooooo sweet too.

Scott washing the sweet potatoes in a sunny haze….

Potatoes-A nice big paper bag of French Fingerlings for roasting or soups AND Superior whites for delicious mashed potatoes.

Superior potatoes for Thanksgiving mashing.

Cabbage-A pretty Savoy and mini purple to add to a colorful salad.

Savoy cabbage harvest.  Garlic beds planted in the background with the leaf mulch partially applied.

Soaking Savoy Cabbage.

Leeks-We love leeks!  This variety is called Bandit and it is the late long season variety that is perfect for soups and stuffing.

Leek washing.

Storage Onions-A nice big mesh bag.

Kohlrabi-The HUGE beauties that stay sweet and crunchy…and a few smaller purples tossed in. Great addition to salads or snacking raw.  Long storage life too.

Kohlrabi harvest.

Carrots-A nice big bag of SWEET storage carrots.  We are thilled with our carrot bounty this year!  Enjoy.

Parsley-A big bunch for holiday cooking.

Cutting Celery-Another big bunch for making stuffing or soup with the left over turkey.  Great flavor-not at all like grocery store celery.

Beauty Heart Radishes-So pretty with the pink centers….great raw or a snappy addition to the amazing salads we are all going to be eating in the coming weeks. Long storage life too.

Broccoli-A HUGE! broccoli harvest.  WOW! Enjoy.

Broccoli in the fiield.

Broccoli plants almost ready to harvest.

Spinach-Great spinach from the hoop house and over a pound for everyone….

Maeve sneaking up to take my picture harvesting spinach.

Pretty red kitten spinach.

Rows and rows of great spinach…..

Maeve helping and eating the greens harvest….

Lettuce-2 varieties.  A tender oak eaf variety and a juicy mini head named Bambi.

Bambi lettuce at harvest.

Tender oak leaf lettuce at harvest.

Mixed Asian Greens-A spicy and pretty combo of asian greens.  Great sauted or added to fresh salads. VERY long storage life too.

Pac Choi-A huge juicy head of a cold hardy variety called White Flash. Enjoy fresh or sauted.  Long storage life.

Pac choi in the hoop house.

Arugula-Another (yes another) green that we are thrilled to add to our storage share.  A bit of snappy flavor to add to salads or saute.

Brussels Sprouts-A huge bag to enjoy for many weeks.

NEXT STORAGE SHARE PICK UP MONDAY DECEMBER 7TH.

The final share of the wonderful 2015 Summer Season…..This warm weather is tricking us into thinking there are many more weeks to go.  A hard frost has not hit and the garden keeps growing.  We harvested yesterday in flip flops and tee shirts!  A bit of disbelief that the Summer Season has ended.

We are pleased with the season. The weather was great all season long without any extremes to deal with.  We were able to handle the heavy work load without any outside help.  A first for us.  It was a season of “best evers” on so many levels.  We were thrilled with the Spring Pea harvest.  (Remember that?!)  Tons and tons of sugar snaps, the watermelons were definately a “best ever” for us.  Sweet and bountiful.  All those carrots!  We set a goal of lots of carrots this year and hit it.  We finally grew some great cauliflower and felt we had an abundance and variety of tasty greens all season long.  Our pepper harvest this year never quit and it actually became “too many peppers”-another first and a good problem to have.  And!! the tomatoes-delicious heirlooms and tons of sweet cherries.  A great tomato year for us after 2 past years of ho-hum harvests.    Our potatoes and sweet potatoes are finally all out of the ground and thanks to Uncle Jim it is a BIG “best ever” harvest for us.  Beautiful and bountiful.  Oh, and all those pears!  What a surprising treat.  A few disappointments as there always are.  We lost a HUGE bean rotation to a persistent woodchuck who also invited a few friends to snack on many broccoli and cabbage plants mid summer.  We limped along all summer long with very low yield of summer squash even though we replanted 3 times.  We concluded there was some sort of seed based issue that will be resolved before next year’s growing begins.  Our cucumbers quit before we were ready for them to quit and we wish we had more to offer.  Over-all we are pleased (and relieved) with the bounty we had to offer the 2015 Summer Season.

Thank you to all members that returned the survey with great ideas and comments about our CSA. We appreaciate the time spent on offering your personal opinions. Member feedback definitely shapes our future CSA seasons.

This past week was dedicated to potato digging.  A huge focus and it had to get done-we could not put it off any longer.  We forgot about the camera until the last day and made us say perhaps it is really time to get a smart phone.  Even though it was hard work hand digging it was fun as the yield was so high.  Lots of  “WOW! look at this!”  as the beautiful sweet potatoes were coming out of the ground and the huge potatoes being forked up.  We are glad this job is behind us and our duties now shift to garden clean up.

SUMMER SHARE #20 FINAL SHARE OF 2015 SUMMER SEASON

Have a good laugh as you try to haul this share home today….there was just so much we wanted to include.  We couldn’t help it.

726 pounds of garden produce going home today.  Enjoy it all!

AND here are some fun figures.

Total CSA garden produce weight for the season…..12,946 pounds.

Snack Pack Members took home 145 pounds each this season

Full Share Members took home 252 pounds each this summer.

SNACK PACK

Potatoes-A nice big bag of Superior.

Sweet Potatoes-The variety is beauregard and delicious. Store in a warm location out of direct sunlight-not in the refrigerator.

Scott washing the sweet potatoes.

Delicata Squash-A favorite sweet winter squash.

Brussels Sprouts-Another great harvest this week.  Enjoy!

Brusslels Sprouts at harvest.

Leeks-A long season leek.  We planted 3 varieties this year.  This variety is Bandit.  Perfect for soups or with fried potatoes.

Asian Greens-Another delicious slightly spicy blend.

Asian greens mix.

Garlic-A head for every share.

Kale-A bunch of assorted Kale.  They sweeten up at this time of year with the cooler temperatures. Great added to bean soups, fresh in salads or sauted.

Storage Onions-2 in each share.

Honey-Another finally!-Maeve and Scott got it spun off just in time for the final share.  Enjoy our backyard honey.

Scott checking the backyard hives.

Scott and Maeve spinning honey.

FULL SHARE

Potatoes-2 varieties-A bag of the fun purple Magic Molly and a 2nd big bag of the delicious Superior.

Superior Potatoes after washing.

Sweet potatoes-We dug a bounty and passed them on to you. The variety is beauregard.  Enjoy!

Pretty sweet potatoes after washing.

Delicata Squash-A favorite sweet winter squash

Brussels Sprouts-Another great harvest this week.  Enjoy!

Scott surprised me!

Long Brussels Sprout rows.

Leeks-A long season leek.  We planted 3 varieties this year.  This variety is Bandit.  Perfect for soups or with fried potatoes.

Asian Greens-Another delicious slightly spicy blend.

Chinese Cabbage-A great harvest of this tasty cool weather crop.  Very long storage life in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Chinese Cabbage at harvest.

Spinach-More of this delicious Fall treat!

Spinach at harvest.

Hauling up the spinach harvest to the washing station.

Garlic-Several heads for every Full Share.

Kale-A bunch of assorted Kale.  They sweeten up at this time of year with the cooler temperatures.  Great added to bean soups, fresh in salads or sauted.

Kale in the morning.

Honey-Another finally!-share a share members-We put 2  4 oz jars instead of 1 bigger 1/2 pint in your share so each party could have one….share a share bags are tagged at pick up/delivery site.  Maeve and Scott got it spun off just in time for the final share.  Enjoy our backyard honey.

Pouring honey for the shares.

Beautiful!

Radish Blend-A nice big bag of 4 varieties.

Shallots-Long term storage life.  Cool dark dry location is best.

Cherry Tomatoes!-We did not get the vines pulled down last week due to the potato digging marathon.  So, I noticed there was another picking there due to the warm weather.  I had to do it as how often can you have garden just picked tomatoes in October!

Cherry Tomatoes in October.

Thank you for sharing the 2015 Summer CSA season with us!

Holiday evergreen wreath workshop dates this year. 5 workshops available due to the high demand last year.  Friday November 27th, Saturday November 28th, Sunday November 29th, Saturday December 5th and Sunday December 6th.  Workshop is here at our house in the heated garage.  10-1.  All materials provided except snippers.  $45. Sign up has begun!

I will also be taking a limited number of orders for fresh floral Thanksgiving centerpieces again this year Pick up or delivery on Wednesday November 25th. Orders are already coming in…..

And finally I will also be creating custom Autumn and Holiday Evergreen wreaths and swags this year for those that do not want to create their own.

1st winter storage share pick up is Monday November 16th 3-6 here at the house.

October! Yes, October!!  How this wonderful season zipped by for us.  1 more Summer Share to go and we are amazed.  Slowly it is setting in that our growing season is winding down.  We are grateful we have not had a hard frost and we keep harvesting a bounty out of the gardens and this mild weather always makes clean up easier and more enjoyable.

A great week again, and so happy to say that….. Hoop house spinach transplanting, potato digging (still at it!), the start of the sweet potato digging and fall produce harvest from the garden.  Full days but fun days……

Another long section of spinach transplanted into the hoop house for wintered over spinach eating starting next March.

With the shift in the season our duties shift as well to some fun seasonal work. We had a great day with our yearly Exterior Autumn Transformation at the DelBar in Wisconsin Dells.  My favorite job of the year!  Fresh Flower table bouquets were created for a Harvest tasting at Windmill Pizza in Sauk.  We also contributed produce to this wonderful meal.  We were able to attend and the tasting was delicious!

Autumn Garden Bouquets for the Harvest Tasting at Windmill Pizza in Sauk.

I added green cherry tomato sprigs, kale and herbs to the bouquets. Perfect for a Harvest dinner.

And wreath making has begun! Our metal frames arrived and custom orders for Thanksgiving Florals and Autumn (and Christmas Evergreen) wreaths are coming in.  It is fun to return to this type of work after a Summer of garden duties.  A different way of thinking and it is energizing.

Autumn Wreath Making.

We will complete the potato digging this week and hopefully all the sweet potatoes will come out of the ground too.  We need to move on from this duty and get the gardens put to bed.   The tomato plants need to get pulled down and trellises removed.  Our summer crops need to get cut from the garden and taken to the compost and garlic needs to get planted in the next week or 2.  We need to hustle as there is nothing worse than trying to pull frozen (or slimmy) plants from the garden if we wait too long.

SUMMER SHARE #19

Scott starting to pack the shares this morning.

Next week is the last share pick up/delivery of the Summer CSA Season.  Please return all bags and reusable packaging material.

Every other week share members surveys are on the clip board at drop off sites and on cooler door at Baraboo pick up.

Lots of treats in the shares this week.  Enjoy! 595 pounds harvested from the garden.

SNACK PACK

Snack Packs all ready to go home…..

Butternut Squash-I love the return of Winter Squash this time of year.  A perfect midsized squash for oven roasting, cubed in a stir fry or for a creamy soup.

Fingerling Potatoes-A delicious late season potato.  Great crop for us this year.  Delicious roasted or hold their shape well in soups and stews.

Fingerlings washed and ready to be weighed out for the shares.

Cabbage-The variety is called Caraflex. Excellent sweet, mild cabbage flavor.  Perfect for salad, slaw or cooked dishes.

Caraflex Cabbage at harvest.

Asian Green-Tokyo Bekana.  A pretty lime green mini chinese cabbage.  Enjoy fresh in salads or add at the end to a quick stir fry.

Tokyo Bekana ready to be harvested.

Beta Mix-We love this greens mix.  Grows well only in cool temperatures.  A great combination of assorted beet tops and mini swiss chard.  It is amazing fresh in salads but also can be wilted down as a quick side.

Sweet Peppers-Again! We picked a few from our fantastic pepper crop this year and 1-2 will appear in your share.  This is the end of the pepper harvest for the year.

Pepper plants still producing…It’s October!

Swiss Chard-The first cutting off our late summer planting.  We replant our Swiss Chard mid summer as the new plants provide sweet tender new growth.  Eat leaves and stems fresh or stir fry.  Tastes great with scambled eggs.

Swiss Chard at harvest.

Swiss Chard in the washing tank.

FULL SHARE

Butternut Squash-I love the return of Winter Squash this time of year.  A perfect midsized squash for oven roasting, cubed in a stir fry or for a creamy soup.

Fingerling Potatoes-A delicious late season potato.  Great crop for us this year.  Delicious roasted or hold their shape well in soups and stews.

Portioning out the fingerling potato harvest.

Sweet Potatoes!!-Here they come and they are wonderful!  We dug a few this week for the full share and even right from the field they are sweet.  We ate some for dinner this weekend. Sweet potatoes “sweeten” up with curing.  Keep them in a warm location for storage-NOT in your refrigerator.

Sweet potatoes in the field.

And after washing.

Asian Green-Tokyo Bekana.  A pretty lime green mini chinese cabbage.  Enjoy fresh in salads or add at the end to a quick stir fry.

Tokyo Bekana ready to be cut.

Beta Mix-We love this greens mix.  Grows well only in cool temperatures.  A great combination of assorted beet tops and mini swiss chard.  It is amazing fresh in salads but also can be wilted down as a quick side.

Mini Sweet Pepper Mix-Another bounty this week of this little gem.  A nice sized bag for all of full share.  The end of the pepers for the season.

Mini sweet pepper plants in the garden.

Swiss Chard-The first cutting off our late summer planting.  We replant our Swiss Chard mid summer as the new plants provide sweet tender new growth.  Eat leaves and stems fresh or stir fry.  Tastes great with scambled eggs.

Scott washing the Swiss Chard.

Beans-The last harvest of the tasty romano beans.  So good lighty steamed.

Fennel-A final harvest to of this crop.  Great shaved in fresh salads or wonderful flavor roasted.

Cherry Tomatoes-This is it for the season.  The end of our great tomato year. Enjoy the final taste of garden cherries until next July…..

The end of the sweet chery tomato harvest.

Eggplant-A few in every share.  Final harvest of the season.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-LAST SHARE OF THE SUMMER SEASON….HONEY, SQUASH, SWEET POTATOES, POTATOES, LEEKS, MIXED GREENS, CHINESE CABBAGE, BRUSSELS SPROUTS, CELERY, KALE, ARUGULA, RADISHES AND MORE……..

The last week of September and it finally hit us.  The Summer growing season is coming to an end.  This past week I had this odd anxious feeling that I really should be doing “something” or I am forgetting about some really important “have to do”.  The thoughts lingered all week long and then it occured to me…..since mid Feburary every week I start seeds and this past week no seed starting. We have a detailed seed starting schedule to keep our rotations on track.  Lettuce every 6-8 days, 120 cells over and over all summer long, fast growing leafy greens every 2-3 weeks several flats are planted. Early in the season all the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant seedlings fill the greenhouse and then 500+ brassicas then 3 weeks later again and then 4 weeks later again, bean seeds into the garden in long rows in June 2 weeks apart and then again a month later.  The carrot planting rotation….. and the seed planting list goes on.  Planting seeds has been my focus for a long time and now that duty is done.  A very strange feeling.

So, with all this odd free time we plug along with the last weeding duties, garden clean up and harvest schedule.  We are just dragging out the potato harvest as other duties present themselves and this week we will start the fingerlings and dig a few sweet potatoes to tuck in the last shares of the season.  I am excited to see these beauties and eat them too!  The hoop house is transitioning to Winter Share production and over winter spinach is slowly taking over any available space with hopes for an early Spring bounty. Wire frames were ordered for Holiday evergreen wreaths and every so often Scott or I will mention a fun winter art project we are looking forward to crafting.  Life is changing around here.

Watering in the Winter Share pac choi transplants.

SUMMER SHARE #18

The 2015 CSA Season Survey is in the shares this week.  We would love to read your thoughts and ideas about this year’s season.  Please return your comments by last share pick up/delivery-October 12th.  Thank you.

With the end of the Summer Season approaching please gather and return all share bags and reusable packaging material.

457 pounds of produce from the garden this week.  Enjoy the bounty!

Maeve kept herself very busy while we were packaging shares. She decided to make a natural deer repellent for the garden….dish soap, baking soda, mints and cinnamon. Think it will work?

SNACK PACK

Lettuce-A delicious head of juicy romaine.

Pretty romaine ready to harvest.

Romaine harvest from the hoop house.

Spinach!-A bounty bag of fantastic spinach.  2 varieties and they are great!  Enjoy this Autumn treat.

Beautiful Spinach.

2 rows of spinach cut 1 to go. Leaf by leaf by leaf…..we harvest each leaf individually to insure undamaged perfect future growth.

Asian green mix-A spicy blend of greens to eat fresh or saute.

Beans-An end of season treat! A flavorful romano bean called Capitano. Tender and delicious.

Romano beans ready to be picked.

Acorn Squash-The true sign to me that we are starting our Autumn Season.  Here comes the winter squash.

Radish-A snappy bag of thin French Breakfast and round red Sora.

Kohlrabi-A jumbo German variety that tastes great raw added to salads or fun to dip.

Kohlrabi soaking in the wash tank.

A quick brushing to remove any field dirt.

Sweet Pepper-We picked an assortment of the never ending pepper bounty and 1 will appear in each share.  What a great crop this year!

Zucchini-1-2 of the end of the summer squash harvest.  Funny to me to have summer and winter squash in the same share.

Slice Heirloom Tomato-Perhaps the end of the tomatoes for the season.  Enjoy this last taste of summer.

FULL SHARE

Lettuce-A delicious head of juicy romaine.

Cutting the romaine before it is crated up and hauled to the wash tank.

Asian green mix-A spicy blend of greens to eat fresh of saute.

Scott cut the outside crop.

And I cut the hoop house crop.

Arugula-A nice big bag to eat fresh or saute.  Spicy and delicious.

Arugula at harvest.

Mini Sweet Pepper Mix-Another great harvest this week of these pretty gems.

Beautiful…….

Sweet Pepper-We picked an assortment of the never ending pepper bounty and 2 will appear in each share.  What a great crop this year!

Jalapeno-Several hot jalapenos in every share.

Beans!-We just started picking this end of season treat.  Enjoy!

The last bean row of the season.

Green beans ready to be picked…..

Green beans chilled and ready to be bagged.

Acorn Squash-The true sign to me that we are starting our Autumn Season.  Here comes the winter squash.

Cabbage-A pointed mini variety called Caraflex. Sweet mild cabbage flavor.  Excellent fresh in salads or slaws.

Salad Turnips-We just started harvesting these cool weather treats and wanted to tuck a few in.

Cherry Tomatoes-This may be the end of these little beauties for the season.

Paste tomatoes-Enough to make a hearty chili or stew this week.

Slice Heirloom Tomato-Perhaps the end of the tomatoes for the season.  Enjoy this last taste of summer.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-swiss chard, fingerling potatoes, celery, winter squash, spinach, greens mix, radish, honey?, beans, leeks, and more….

LAST SHARE OF THE TUMMER 2015 SEASON IS OCTOBER12TH.

A good friend commented this past week that “your gardening must be just about done for the season….”.  “NO WAY!” was my reply.  We are still picking the remaining tomatoes and our 2nd planting of summer squash are chugging along offering up a few beauties every day.  The pepper crop amazes us with it’s beautiful bounty we haul out every week and all the long season Autumn crops are just kicking in. Lots of broccoli and cabbage in the fields too.  Sweet potatoes are still in the ground and we still have remaining potatoes to hand dig.  Not to mention that we just seeded in some late quick radishes and turnips last week and hoop house transplants are still in the greenhouse ready to go. Oh, and the juicy Fall spinach has just kicked in too…. We have a long growing season remaining this year with lots of goodies to share.  And pretty excited about what is yet to come.  We’re not slowing down yet.  We do wonder and worry about the first frost but Scott has pulled out the hoops and row cover if needed for a chilly night to protect our last crops in the garden.

We had 2 inches of perfect rain this past week and the new little garden seedlings loved it and have responded with robust growth…..but, we had to water daily in the hoop house to keep everyone happy.

Daily Hoop house watering.

We spent this past week once again weeding out all the little seedlings in the garden and hoop house.  A long slow job but enjoyable in the cooler days of Autumn. Scott is weed wacking his way around the edges of the garden that get ignored during the busy days of summer.  Our compost piles got flipped and we are slowly cleaning up the areas of the garden that are opening up.  We hope to move and expand our rhubarb area and have mapped out a better location and this area needs to be prepped.  Our garlic beds need to get prepared as well-and then planted….another fun week ahead of the beginning duties for next season.

SUMMER SHARE #17

Scott packing the shares this morning.

A wonderful share this week….652 pounds from the garden.

SNACK PACK

Asian Greens leafy blend-A great mix of leafy greens.  Mildly spicy and very pretty.

Asian Greens mix at harvest.

Asian Greens harvest from the hoop house.

Sweet Peppers-We picked an assortment again this week and 1-2 will be in your share.

Maeve snuck up and took a picture of me way back in the pepper patch.

Maeve’s pepper picture.

Zucchini-A great harvest from the 2nd planting of our summer squash patch.

Brussels Sprouts-Finally here!  We love this crop.  Enjoy!  A nice big bag in your share this week.

Picking Brusslels Sprouts in the HUGE! patch….

Edamame-Another week of this perfect treat.

Spaghetti Squash-The last of this crop for the season.

Scott and Maeve washing the spaghetti squash before we put them in the shares.

Cherry Tomatoes-Still here!  Our Tomato plants are slowing down and we are nearing the end of this crop.

Washed and ready to be portioned off for this week’s shares.

Heirloom Slice Tomatoes-We are nearing the end of our great tomato season.  1 or 2 in every share.  Enjoy the final tastes of the season.

Beautiful Heirloom Slicers.

Potatoes-This week’s potato is Superior.  A long term storage potato and versatile-great baked, steamed, roasted or fried.  This variety is a popular variety grown for potato chips.

Broccoli-Erdman and Lerdahl Snack Shares Only.

Eggplant-Baraboo Snack Shares Only.

Morning pick of Eggplant.

FULL SHARE

Asian Greens leafy blend-A great mix of leafy greens.  Mildly spicy and very pretty.

Asian greens harvest.

Asian greens picked and ready to be washed.

Spinach!-The first harvest of the Autumn crop….enjoy.

Spinach at harvest.

Maeve sneaking a spinach snack.

Spinach double rinsed, spun and ready to be bagged for this week’s shares.

Sweet Peppers-We picked an assortment again this week and 1-2 will be in your share.

Maeve’s picture of Pepper picking.

Brussels Sprouts-Finally here!  We love this crop.  Enjoy!  A nice big bag in your share this week.

Harvesting Brussels Sprouts.

Edamame-Another week of this perfect treat.

Spaghetti Squash-The last of this crop for the season.

All washed up and ready for the shares.

Cherry Tomatoes-Still here!  Our Tomato plants are slowing down and we are nearing the end of this crop.

Pretty Cherry Tomatoes…..I just love these pictures.

Heirloom Slice Tomatoes-We are nearing the end of our great tomato season.  1 or 2 in every share.  Enjoy the final tastes of the season.

Heirloom Slicers ready for the shares….

Paste Tomatoes-A nice sized bag for a quick sauce.

Potatoes-This week’s potato is Superior.  A long term storage potato and versatile-great baked, steamed, roasted or fried.  This variety is a popular variety grown for potato chips.

Radish-A 1st Fall harvest of the tasty French Breakfast.

Kohlrabi-I have always wanted to grow these jumbo beauties….and here they are.  A 1st in our CSA.

A huge german jumbo variety. Snappy and delicious.

Shallots-Long Storage life.  Mild flavor.  Delicious.

Shallots cured in the greenhouse.

BEST GUESS FOR NEXT WEEK-ROMAINE LETTUCE (FINALLY!), MIXED LEAFY GREENS, SPINACH, SALAD TURNIPS, SWISS CHARD, SQUASH, PEPPERS, RADISH, SWEET POTATOES???, BEANS!!!! AND MORE…….

REMINDER-LAST SHARE OF THE SEASON IS OCTOBER 12TH.  PLEASE RETURN ALL BAGS AND PACKAGING MATERIAL BEFORE THE END OF THE SEASON.