foxlinecityfarm

Wow! What a box!

We had a perfect autumn for all our late crops….We are pleased that there is sooooooo much GREEN! at this time of year for us to pack up for you.  We had several lettuce trials in the greenhouse and ALL were a success.  The spinach and arugula kept plugging along with several layers of row cover out in the field.  I crawled in the tunnels yesterday and harvested.  The bumper crop of brussels sprouts were a true gift.  Over 200 pounds with our final harvest!  We experimented with 2 late cold tolerant broccoli varieties and one sure produced for us.  So, about 3/4 a pound of broccoli for everyone.  We planted peas in the greenhouse too in hopes of having nice long green vines for salad snacking.  They taste great and sure make us think of Spring.  I kicked the snow off the kale in yesterday’s snowstorm and picked the most delicious kale we will eat this season.  This box is a beauty!   Loads of potatoes, squash and pumpkins.  Even a few extras available too!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our 1st season of offering the storage/winter food box share.  We have enjoyed the challenge of extending our gardening season.  Seed Catalogs are arriving and we have already placed our order for seed potatoes.

Enjoy the Holidays!

What is in your box

10 pounds potatoes

Sweet potatoes

Onions

Squash Assorted

Pie Pumpkin

Garlic

Leeks

Chinese Cabbage

Spinach Assorted

Arugula

Lettuce Medley

Pea Shoots

Sprout Mix

Broccoli

Parsnips

Kale

Sunchokes

Our first season of the Autumn Harvest Box….and what a box it is.

The season has been remarkable mild and many of our leafy green have held on.  We are so pleased.  A few experiments were a success and the box (actually 2 boxes!) holds quite the bounty.  The harvest weighs out at 58 pounds.  Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving.

Onion

Garlic-Music and German Red

Squash-Butternut

Pie Pumpkin

Lettuce-2 heads grown outside under row cover

Pac Choi-Sweet and Juicy

Arugula-This amazing crop is still going strong

Brussels Sprouts-Very Sweet.  My favorite.

Spinach-2 varieties

Cabbage-Large heads of chinese cabbage

Turnips-Scarlet and White combination

Radish-3 varieties including the larger beauty with red flesh

Leeks-Wonderful!  A perfect crop for us this year.  We are hopeful we can include these again in the next Winter Box.

Sunflower Shoots

Herbs-parsley, sage, rosemary

Carrots-just picked yesterday and taste like candy

Kale-4 varieties

Sweet potatoes- 5 pounds for everyone

Parsnips 3 pounds+ for everyone

Sunchokes

Celariac Root

Beets-2.5 pound of little gems

Paperwhite bulb planted in a mason jar

Also, eggs here for those who ordered  and Turkeys are here too!

Last Box Pick up today!  What an amazing season for all of us.  We are thrilled, a little bit proud and greatly relieved we survived and flourished through the difficult drought of 2012.  Scott and I both feel it is the best CSA season yet for us.  We hope you feel the same.  Thank you all for sharing.  We had our goal check off list for the year and were able to succeed in reaching most.  We wanted a steady bounty of green beans and we were able to provide this.  I really wanted to grow a killer watermelon patch this year.  We harvested over 200 of these beauties throughout the season and we just ate the last one this week.  We have never grown cauliflower well in the past and even in the extreme heat of the summer were able to get a small crop that was tasty this year.  Our pepper harvest was one of the best ever and the leeks were large and flavorful.  It was a fabulous tomato year and we are happy with the varieties we choose to grow.  The reflections on our disappointments seem to be heat and drought related.  We had a terrible time with carrot germination.  Our Number 1 disappointment was that we had such a small offering of carrots this year.  We had several failed plantings as carrot seed will not germinate over 90 degrees.  We tried and 1000 of seeds were planted.  So, watch out next year!  We have the carrot beds ready and we are starting early to ensure a bountiful crop.  The peas were pretty wimpy due to the early Spring heat too.  Our vines usually tower over our heads when harvesting and this year most only grew to knee or waist height.  Again a heat problem we have no control over.  Peas like it cool and wet.  We always try to have lettuce every week and we missed a few this year due to bolting in the heat.  100’s of heads were composted weekly in the worst of the drought and heat and we are grateful for the delicious harvest we did have.  Every season has unique challenges and I feel we did well rolling with what was given to us.  The water consumption was pretty worrisome and at times overwhelming but we took it day by day.  And finally I am going to spend this winter figuring out how to properly post recipes on the blog so we will have weekly recipes with each box next season.

Here is the best part…..We keep notes on all the produce in our boxes and have weekly weigh ins.  Final weight is 226.87 pounds of food for the season not including the weight of the tomatoes, melons, flowers  or any of the extras.  This averages out to $1.49 a pound for the contents in the box.  I am sure if we included the melons and tomatoes we would be well under $1 pound for quality fresh fun produce.  Pretty amazing!

Thank You!

The last box folks is a huge one!!!!  Enjoy all of the goodies and see you next season.

what is in your super jumbo heavy amazingly full last box.

Squash-2 tasty butternuts

Potatoes-2+ pounds for everyone

Leeks-A favorite of the season in our family!

Fennel-Beautiful Bulbs.

Turnips-A combo bunch of reds and whites.

Onion-3 nice sized white beauties.

Garlic-Several heads of German hard neck.

Pac Choi-Beautiful and juicy.

Lettuce/Spinach Mix-Very sweet.

Arugula-This crop has had an amazing run this Fall.  We bagged it separately from the lettuce/spinach just in case it is a bit spicy for some of you.

Brussels Sprouts-Another great crop this Fall with nice firm sweet heads.

Collard Greens-My favorite green this year!  Love it in stir fries and as my bread “replacement” with sandwiches.  I just make a wrap like a burrito.

Rosemary-Remember to dry some for winter meals..

We have quite the bounty out in the garden….!  Our autumnal crops are thriving.  The ground is dry again so the irrigation is running overtime but we are really pleased how this season has shaped up for all of us.  It is a time to reflect on the season as a whole.  I will have all the information in next weeks news letter as to our personal thoughts of this season and  the overall box weights for this summer.   It is pretty amazing how much food goes out of here!

We have several crops growing for the winter box shares and a few experiments too that we are working on for next Spring.  We are wintering over lettuce, spinach, leeks, and carrots.  Scott is getting all set to move the blueberries bushes and expand the production.  Our heirloom rhubarb patch we put in 2 years ago looks great and we should be ready for a nice Spring harvest.  Our 8 pear trees are 5 years old now and I think if it was not such an odd Spring this year we would have had our first big CSA harvest.  So next year we are excited to se what happens.  We have 2 sour cherry trees that should start producing next year as well. The Shiitakes we started last Fall offered up a few mushrooms this year and next year should be even better.  I have had logs produce for 11 years in the past so I am excited to see what these do for us.  Scott and are already spending time chatting in the evenings about next years garden….Crazy!

A few details….

Next week is the last box pick up of the season.  A big box to come! Lots of wonderful Autumnal treats.  Remember to bring back any extra white food boxes you have floating around at home and please take the time to write a few thoughts down with the survey too.  It is very helpful to get your feedback on the season.

Any members that special ordered turkeys for the holidays.   I will contact you when Anne the “egg lady” brings them here to our house.  She is bringing a few at a time when they reach your requested weight.  All will be here the week before thanksgiving at the latest.

For those of you signed up for the Winter Storage Box Share.  We have set the dates.  Monday November 12th and Monday December 10th.  Same time 3-6.   I will send out e-mail reminders the week before.

Bulbs just arrived too!  I will try to have them at least sorted by box pick up so we can get planting….

What is in your box

Winter Squash-Delicious!  A favorite around here at this time of year.  These will hold several weeks for you on the counter and sweeten up even more as they cure.

Sunchokes-Also know as Jerusalem Artichokes.  A nice big box.  Keep them unwashed in a ziplock bag in the fridge all winter long.  Excellent nutty flavor.  Great sliced and roasted with other root veggies, thickly chopped in soups and stews.  Also tasty thinly sliced or grated raw and added to green salads.

Dill- The herb of the week. I like to try and get a late crop of dill in every season as it is a nice flavor this time of year.  Add to salads or with baked fish.

Arugula-A great harvest.  Enjoy!

Sprouted Grains- I like it best added to hot cereal in the mornings.  Adds a great texture sprinkled on soups or salads too.

Sunflower Shoots-Place on the kitchen window sill with a dinner plate below. Keep moist.  Trim a few for a nutty flavor addition to any meal.

Pac Choi-Beautiful and juicy.

Potatoes-Everyone has a 3+ pound box.

Celeriac Root- Unique celery flavor.  Use as you would celery.  Keeps well in crisper drawer of your refrigerator.

Garlic-A German hard neck bulb.

Shiitake Mushrooms-Offered in the “extra” area.  Grab a few if you wish.

Have a great week!

Scott took a little time this week to make a few cool metal pumpkins to celebrate the season.  They are cut from big recycled industrial refuse containers. The stems are cut from old car hoods.  Each is unique and one of a kind!  We have several for sale….

Scott’s Pumpkin Patch.

This week is Box 18….I have no idea why I wrote on the chalkboard 18 last week-everywhere else it was correct as week 17.  Sorry for the confusion.  2 more weeks to go.  Last box pick up will be Monday October 15th. Please take a look around your house if any extra white CSA boxes are hanging out and try to get them back to us by the last day.  Thanks!

We’ve been busy with getting the garden ready for winter.  Scott and Malachi worked hard getting the tomato patch cleaned out.  Not a small job. We like to get all the tomatoes off the ground and out of the garden so we do not have little volunteer tomato plants sprouting up everywhere in Spring.  We compost the tomatoes and vines separate from our “normal compost” in order to keep  the seeds out as well as the possibility of disease.  The eggplant has been cut down and the watermelon patch is cleared.  It looks pretty barren in this back areas of the garden that was such a huge producer for us all summer.  Scott will get some winter rye in this week as a “green manure” to be tilled in and replenish the soil for next year.

The City of West Baraboo drops off several loads of leaves to us each Fall and we compost them down for the garden.  When the trucks keep backing into the yard several times a day and the Mountain of leaves pile high it gets pretty overwhelming.  Scott moves them to the back of the garden with the tractor and they cook down to wonderful fluffy mulch for the garden the next year. It is worth it but I always have to have at least 1 huge freak out moment when I hear the beeping of the trucks as they start backing in the yard and wonder how we are going to deal with it all…..

We are still watering and irrigating our Fall and Winter crops as it is quite dry. We are also focused on giving all the berries bushes and fruit trees a huge drink in preparation for the winter.  The leafy greens are loving this weather and we planted one more rotation of radishes just for fun to see if they make it in time for the last box.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Sweet Potatoes-3+ pounds for everyone…..We have cured them in the warmth of the greenhouse so they are ready to eat.  Delicious.  Keep them at room temperature as they do not like to be cold.

Fennel-Beautiful!  We love the flavor of this tasty treat.  Great shaved with a tossed green salad or all on it’s own with oranges.  Adds great flavor to fish, chicken or pork chops.  I like to make a potato gratin with it as well.

Turnips-These pretty gems are back! We love to eat them raw.  The white ones are a favorite in our house.  Remember the greens are delicious too raw or lightly wilted.  Packed full of nutrients. Prepare as you would Spinach.

Arugula-The first cutting.  A spicy leafy green that loves the cooler temperatures.  We eat it on our sandwiches, in salad or wilted in soups or stir fries.  Tastes great on homemade pizza with fennel too.  Try it.

Pie Pumpkin-Cook as you would any winter squash. I made cookies last week with one and a creamy soup.  The flavor is sweet and rich.  Will hold will for several weeks on the counter.

Sage-The herb of the week.  A nice size bundle.  Dry it for the months to come.  Remember a little goes a long LONG! way.

Garlic-A few bulbs.

Cherry Tomatoes-Last pint of the season.

Paste Tomatoes-The last picking before the freeze.

Survey-We have included the 2012 Survey in everyones box.  Please take the time to fill out and return to us by the end of the season.  We love to read your thoughts, reflections and suggestions.

Scott packing the boxes.

The tomato and eggplant area of the garden all cleaned up.

This weeks project! See those tall green sunflowerish plants in the background???? Sunchokes or Jerusalem Artichokes. We will dig them for next weeks box.

A wonderful week here in the garden…..As I mentioned this is the time of year I look forward to all summer long.  I love to be out in the chilly mornings with the cold hardy plants.  And then there is always that amazement of the plants that thrive at this time of year.  The cold hardy broccoli grows so quickly and looks so strong and robust.  Our Nappon Cabbage is lovely too right now.   The radishes seem to develop over night and the spinach looks juicy and thick.  Lots of crop harvesting and fun to finally see the yield of many vegetables we planted so long ago.  We have had 2 light frost here and 1 hard frost last night so many of the tender plants are done.  I know everyone is sad to see the amazing eggplant disappear from the boxes. I have honestly never seen eggplant thrive and produce the way it did this summer….The tomato vines froze hard and we had a flurry of harvest to get the last beauties in before the cold.  I think we will have enough tomatoes stored for one more week and then they too will be gone until next season.  We were very pleased with this crop and have made some notes as to favorites as well as “never again” for next year’s planting.  I always like to test a few new guys every year and see what we think.  The pepper plants got quite a chill and we harvested everything that was out there before the frost.  This will be the last week of this astounding crop.  Fun stuff is all set for the last few boxes and we are excited to share the Autumn Season with all of you.

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Radish-Another snappy bunch.

Kale-It sure is a pretty.  Almost like a bouquet.  Delicious flavor as the temperatures cool.  We love to eat it on our sandwiches.  And I know I said it before Kale Chips/Crisps are better than potato chips!  Give it a shot this week-kids love them.

Acorn Squash-We lost many acorn plants when the zucchini plants went down in Spring.  So sadly this is it for acorn.  Never  Fear….Tons of other winter squash in the last few weeks of the season.  The butternut harvest is HUGE!

Cabbage-This is the sweet little single serving size that we love to grow.  Baseball/Softball size.

Green Tomatoes-The once a year offering that marks the end of the season.  Do try fried green tomatoes or explore a few recipes on the internet for tasty breads or cakes.

Cherry Tomatoes-Savor these gems, we are near the end.

Paste/Slice Tomatoes-Also near the end of the season.  What a great run.

Green Beans-We are thrilled to have beans this late in the season.  We kept the row covered through the frosty nights so hopefully more to come.

Peppers-The usual medley.  This will be the last week for these wonders.

Parsley-Flat large leaf is our favorite.  Great in soups.  Also, fun to make a pesto for pasta.

Onions-An assorted box this week.

Watermelon-We went through the patch again before the frost and HOLY COW!  harvested almost 50 melon!  Crazy!!!  It is funny to me to have winter squash and watermelon in the same box.

Ornamental Gourds-A fun treat for the season.  Enjoy!

Basil Snips-A basket on the table to grab what you want.  These are grown in the greenhouse-perfect and flavorful.

Thought you might like to see the sweet potato harvest.

Scott starting the sweet potato harvest. The plastic mulch has just been removed and the irrigation tape pulled up.

Hand digging the sweet potatoes.

A full basket.

Scott working his way down the row.

Laying out the sweet potatoes to cure in the greenhouse.

The amazing sweet potato harvest.  Next week’s box.

The winter squash and pie pumpkin harvest.

A great box again this week…..Scott and I are beyond amazed and oh so pleased with the bounty and quality of this year’s garden.  With the hardships and stress of the drought, the hot early spring temperatures and extreme heat of the summer months I think we were fearful of how this season would play out for us as well as our fellow gardeners.  WOW! It has really been the best season we have had ever!  Thank you all for sharing the garden with us and making this time possible for our family….We are grateful for the life we have here at home with Maeve.

What is in this snazzy box!

Leeks-Big, plump flavorful beauties. Make a tasty potato soup this week or delicious with fried potatoes or eggs.  Last week Scott planted almost a 1000 little guys we started in the greenhouse for another winter experiment.  We are going to attempt to winter over this planting.  We are hopeful this will be a Spring treat in the boxes next year.

Potatoes-Delicious for all styles of cooking-mashed, baked, fried, or in soups.  Just dug yesterday.  Scott and Malachi got the last of the potatoes out of the ground and in the root cellar.  What a good feeling.  We had a great harvest this year, high yield per hill and very little cull do to “nibbles”.

Radish-Nice crisp snackers.  Pretty round red ones and those delicious long skinny french breakfast.

Beans-Fall green beans are the best. Snappy!  I am not sure I feel this way because  it is much more pleasant picking now opposed to midsummer when it is 100 degrees and the row seems 500 miles long.

Brussels Sprouts-We are sneaking the big guys off the bottom of the stalks for a early taste.  Delicious roasted in the oven.

Zucchini-A nice harvest from the new patch.

Pepper Medley-The beautiful Assortment we are all use to now.  All sweet/mild except for the small glossy green jalapeños.  With the cool nights and shorter days we are nearing the end of this amazing summer harvest.

Eggplant-Just a few!  With tons in the extra/trade box…..feel free to leave them behind if your family is feeling maxed out at this point. The harvest is beyond crazy!

Cucumbers-The vines still have not been pulled down and a few are chugging along.

Cilantro-Salsa!

Cherry Tomatoes-Please let us know if you have a favorite….we are taking notes for next years planting.

Paste/Slice Tomatoes-The slice tomatoes have almost slowed to a stop.  There are a few to choose from but the paste are available in abundance.

Such a colorful box this week….enjoy the bounty!

WHAT IS IN YOUR BOX

Lettuce-This will be the end of the lettuce for awhile.  Surprisingly we had major bolting of 3 varieties last week in the few days of heat.  Very disappointing.  We tossed them in the compost after a field taste test and all was quite bitter.  We have more lettuce planted but it is a few weeks out.   That said, there will be no shortage of leafy greens.  The spinach is chugging along nicely and the arugula is around the corner too!

Winter Squash-The first gem of the season. A pretty little guy called Autumn Crown with beautiful and fragrant orange flesh. It is actually in the pumpkin family.  Prepare it as you would any favorite winter squash recipe.  It will keep several weeks on the counter so enjoy it as seasonal decor for awhile.

Celery-The robust flavor of homegrown celery is amazing!  I made a big pot of soup over the weekend and this celery sure enhanced the flavor.  We love to add the leaves to our sandwiches and salads too.

Beets-A colorful mix.  Remember the greens are edible and tasty too.  We add them to stir fry or as a side dish slightly wilted with garlic and onion.

Green Beans-Our final planting has just started to produce….it is a nice late season treat.

Pepper Medley-We picked these the morning after the heavy rainstorm so a few may need a quick rinse.  It has been a wonderful pepper year for us but I can tell the plants are now slowing down with the cooler nights.  The mix is our usual mix of the last few weeks.  All sweet or slightly hot EXCEPT! for the small shiny green jalapeños.

Chard-A mix of my 3 favorite colors….

Zucchini-The new patch is starting to really produce now if the temperatures hold.  Try making some zucchini fritters this week.

Cucumbers-REALLY!  Well, I said last week (again) was the end and then we never got the vines pulled down and cleaned up….and then I was out in that area of the garden and noticed they had one last hurrah.  A surprise to me but I am glad as we munch on these all day as a quick snack.

Cherry Tomatoes-A pint this week as the vines are slowing down with the cold evenings.

Paste/Slice Tomatoes-We have TONS! of paste tomatoes this week….and limited slicers.  The vines are loaded with tons of fruit but  slower to ripen with the days growing shorter and the cool nights.

The beautiful beet harvest this week!

It really is my favorite time of year.  I love the cold mornings, wearing a hat and thick socks and several layers of shirts that get peeled off as the day warms up.  I love the smell in the garden too with the seasonal change to autumn.  And my number 1 favorite activity is the winter squash/pumpkin harvest which we started yesterday.  It is so much fun finding all those beauties under the big leaves.  Always a surprise or 2.  We found some huge! heirloom pumpkins hiding  in with the brussels sprouts and I actually laughed out loud.  I think I said to Scott 5 times….”I’m so happy right now!”…..

Malachi helping with the start of the winter squash harvest. Note the cold season broccoli plants at his feet. Our experiment this year…these plants are suppose to handle a few light frosts.

Scott is way back there looking for some more winter squash hiding in the brussels sprouts…..

I had to show you the sweet potato row….all the way to the tree line…..we hope to start digging this week. Looks to be an amazing harvest.