Farm News November 19, 2024
******
The farmstand continues through Thanksgiving, and we will have abundant, fresh Fort Hill Farm produce available through mid - January when you order online!
Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM
Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm
Our LAST farmstand day will be Tuesday, November 26.
* Online ordering begins on Saturday, Nov. 30, for Friday pickups through early January.
New Milford Farmers’ Market: This week is the LAST market: November 23, 9am to noon, on the green.
Westport Farmers’ Market: This Thursday 10-2
*NOTE: There is a TUESDAY market right before Thanksgiving– Nov. 26; Gilberties, 7 Sylvan Lane, Westport
******
The sun is low in the sky and the days are short, but as I worked on setting the grade for the new greenhouse we are building in a T-shirt yesterday, it sure doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The meteorologists say that there is a very stubborn high-pressure dome parked over the Northeast and the upper Midwest that steers all rain around us. It has become painful to pass by the Aspetuck and Shepaug Rivers and see how little water is flowing. There is some rain in the forecast for later in the week, and I hope it can make its way to our corner of the world. I have seen pictures of depleted reservoirs in the area, and the bathtub rings are a stark reminder that we desperately need a fill up after 3 months without meaningful rain.
Sophie bunches cilantro in a (relatively speaking) toasty greenhouse on a frozen morning.
Because the days are short, the sun at a low angle and temperatures are moderate, and we kept on watering, crops continue to do well in both the field and the greenhouses despite the drought. We will have salad fixings for months to come, and plenty of butternut squash, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, carrots, and other fixings for your Thanksgiving table, plus Northern Spy apples (among others) from Hidden Gem for pies. It’s fun to try to source as much as you can of your Thanksgiving feast from local farms, and your guests will taste the difference.
Elliott has been working hard to get the first hoops built, while Paul levels the ground. The next step is to bang the ground posts in and make sure things line up before proceeding too far.
It also means a lot to your local farmers and farm workers. October used to be the start of the slow down season on our farm, but now we have so many greenhouses to prep and plant that it doesn’t truly feel somewhat “slowed down” until the middle of November. Greenhouse production allows us to greatly increase the amount of fresh, locally grown veggies for the community and creates nearly year-round employment for many of our employees. We have almost three quarters of an acre of growing space under our care. Particularly in the last few years, the USDA has been a huge help to small scale farms all over the country by providing funding for “high tunnels,” which are basically simple greenhouses used to grow vegetable crops. Eight of the high tunnels we have on the farm have been built using these funds. High tunnel production is a primary way small scale farms can adapt to climate change, which throws increasingly erratic and harsh weather our way. Protected by the high tunnel, we get higher quality crops and increased yields despite these challenges.
Dana pulls some fresh, vibrant radishes from the greenhouse.
Using these high tunnels and special crop blankets, we can produce cold tolerant crops like spinach, lettuce, bok choy, salad mix, celery, scallions, radishes, salad turnips, radicchio, escarole, parsley, and kale until mid-January with almost no added heat. However, in the depths of winter the sun is so low in the horizon that the light reaching the plants can’t jump start photosynthesis, so we take a cue from Nature and shut down the farm for a month or so. The bonus to fresh, local, and organic food lovers is that our harvest season is extended well into the dead of winter. We turn over the greenhouses and high tunnels to new crops in late February and March so that we can open with a bang in early May. We hope you will support this effort! By continuing to come to the farm stand or farmers market well after the melons, sweet corn, and tomatoes have left the stage, you make a real difference in the lives of the farmers and farm workers in your community. Thanks to all of you who make the effort, we really appreciate it!
We hope to see you at the farm or a farmers’ market soon,
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Featuring many SALES this week! …
… on Sweet winter spinach, Brussels sprouts, apples, fennel, hot peppers, and more! Late in the week we’ll also be stocking the farmstand with fresh cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA (while supplies last). Let’s get ready for Thanksgiving!
Honeynut Squash: We look forward to early fall when we can bring in these petite squashes – one because they don’t need curing time to sweeten up, and two, because their creamy saffron flesh with edible skin is delicious. Their personal size doesn’t intimidate like bigger squashes, but invites one to get busy roasting, or as we’ve been doing lately, grilling. It turns out that grilling takes winter squash to a whole new level! (Why am I just figuring this out?) We hope you check out the recipe below and enjoy Honeynut!
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; sweet winter spinach; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale; rainbow & ruby chard; red and French Breakfast radish; cilantro, parsley, red & chioggia beets; red and green cabbage; baby Bok Choy; sweet fall carrots; limited romanesco; German Extra Hardy garlic; shallots, red (Farmstand only) and yellow storage onions; jalapeño, poblano and shishito peppers; Dark Red Norland potatoes, Blackberry potatoes, LaRatte Gold and Pinto Gold fingerlings, White and Gold potatoes (farmstand); leeks; celeriac; fabulous fall fennel; collard greens; escarole; radicchio (round and Treviso); fresh ginger; Honeynut squash; sweet potatoes; Murasaki Japanese sweet potatoes Butternut squash; Koginut squash; Brussels sprouts; certified organic parsnips and Gilfeather Turnips from Picadilly Farm, NH (farmstand only); scallions; fresh organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA while supplies last
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
Not into this particular recipe? For more recipes outlined by crop, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database.
This Grilled Honeynut Squash Salad Is a Fall Favorite
Drop everything to make this stunning fall salad with tender squash and a dressing bursting with umami.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp white miso
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1 Tbsp spicy brown mustard
1 clove garlic, finely grated
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for cabbage
1 1/2 lb honeynut or red kuri squash (about 2 honeynut or 1 red kuri) trimmed, halved, seeded and sliced length-wise into 1/2-inch wedges
1/2 napa cabbage, (can sub with a mix of greens: salad mix, escarole, spinach, Bok Choy, cabbage) trimmed and halved through the center into 2 large wedges
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 5-oz. head radicchio, trimmed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces
Roasted salted pepitas, for topping (optional)
Fresh mint leaves, for topping (optional)
Directions
Whisk vinegar, miso, syrup, mustard, and garlic in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified.
Preheat grill or a grill pan to medium (350°F to 400°F). Toss squash with 2 tablespoons dressing in a large bowl. Place cabbage on a baking sheet. Brush both sides with dressing and lightly drizzle with oil. Season squash and cabbage generously with salt and pepper.
Place cabbage and squash on grill in an even layer, flat edges down. Grill, covered, for 8 minutes, turning cabbage over once so all sides are charred at edges. Transfer cabbage to a cutting board. Turn squash and continue grilling, covered, until charred and fork-tender, about 8 minutes.
Coarsely chop cabbage into large pieces, discarding core. Place in a large bowl or on a platter along with radicchio leaves and 2 tablespoons dressing. Toss well and season with salt and pepper. Arrange grilled squash wedges on top of greens. Just before serving, lightly drizzle with remaining dressing and top with pepitas and mint, if using.
* * * * * * * * * *