Farm News November 25, 2024
******
Our LAST farmstand day will be Tuesday, November 26, 2 - 5:30 PM, and we will have abundant, fresh Fort Hill Farm produce available through mid - January when you order online!
* Online ordering begins this Saturday, Nov. 30, for Friday pickups through early January.
Special Tuesday Wesport Farmers’ Market: tomorrow, Nov. 26, 10-2
at Gilberties, 7 Sylvan Lane, Westport (regularly Thursday)
******
Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and we hope you will visit us to fill your table on our last farmstand, Tuesday, Nov 26 or the special Tuesday Westport market tomorrow from 10 am to 2 pm. After that, winter season is upon us, and we will continue at the Westport Farmers’ Market and with our online sales at the farm through mid-January.
The dahlias are dug, the garlic is planted and mulched, and just a few patches of winter hardy greens remain in the field, tucked under row covers to protect them from freezing. The days are short, the temperatures are finally dropping, and we are so grateful to have received a gentle soaking rain, which ended a Connecticut record of 3 months without meaningful rain. Farming continues to be a risky venture, and we were very fortunate to have an experienced and dedicated crew help us navigate the 2024 season. Through our crew’s hard work, 6 greenhouses are packed with lettuce, celery, kale, spinach, scallions, escarole, radishes, and more, so there is still plenty of great produce to come.
The gang brings in this morning’s harvest from one of the greenhouses.
This will be the last farm news of the season, and it’s high time to celebrate all the folks whose hard work makes the farm possible. We started off the season with a very seasoned returning crew and were also able to bring on some terrific people to work with us as the season progressed. Farms are some of the most labor-intensive businesses around; our crew does most of the hard, physical work on the farm. It’s almost comical to try to put into a few sentences all that each crew member does on a weekly basis, and we are very grateful for their efforts. Elliott McGann again managed the farm’s operations. Elliott is an experienced farmer, and we are lucky to have him keeping us all on task and managing the New Milford market. Harvest management is one of the hardest jobs on the farm, and Dana Scott continued to do a fantastic job with a lot of help from Faye Barry. Faye is also our resident dahlia artist and weekly greens seeder. Adam Quattro returned to the farm and managed the pack shed, killed millions of weeds on our cultivating tractor, and became our resident greenhouse steaming expert, giving us the most weed-free greenhouse crops in our 23-year history. Matt Gannon handily managed the farm’s wholesale and restaurant orders and kept the drip irrigation up and running smoothly. Matt and CJ Coll spread something like 400 yards of compost and leaf mulch on our fields, and along with Kolade Akinpelu, James McNamara, Julia Leslie, Daniella Tompos, and Tony Morse, kept things constantly humming in the field and pack shed. Nick Tompos and Sophie Kolukisa joined us later to bring in the large, late-season harvest. We also had an enthusiastic group of high school and college students who helped us pick strawberries and pick and weed the summer crops; we are grateful for their efforts during the hottest part of the season.
Kathy Scott, Nat Mahan, and Monty Robinson kept everything running at the farm stand, assisted by Liz Moore and Diana DiPaula. Rebecca and Elliott had a very special group of folks help them at the Westport and New Milford farmers’ markets, including Jon Clement, Eileen O’Reilly, Jon Jaegar, Stacy Fama, Liz Moore (Westport), Jodi Beckett, Julia Kinoshita-McCauley, and Cara Leichter (New Milford).
Faye and Dana cut down Brussels sprout stalks – it’s a little bit like choosing pick-your-own Christmas trees!
I’m really honored and lucky to be able to work with Rebecca on the farm. Rebecca puts together the entire vegetable and flower crop plan, manages our greenhouses and plant sales, creates work schedules for our employees, seeds most of our vegetable crops, oversees harvest and sales, puts together the weekly newsletter, and runs the Westport Farmers market…on top of being a wonderful mom and partner. She’s a gifted farmer and responsible for most of what goes well at Fort Hill Farm.
Okay, hold the phone! … it’s Rebecca here with an interjection that Paul just might have a hand in making this farm thrive too…If farmers “wear many hats,” Paul’s vast collection could house a museum, so critical is he to keeping the farm alive and productive. His purview spans nocturnal irrigation and pest control, cover crop, tillage, and compost management, grant writing, keeping the wheels on the trucks and the tractors humming, making sure the bills get paid, and importantly, always keeping the Big Picture in mind. Paul’s notable gift, however, is attuning to plants’ needs as living, changing entities and helping them thrive; without this element, Fort Hill would be a less vibrant farm altogether. I am honored to work alongside him in our attempt to nurture both our community and our family through the seasonal odyssey that is diversified small farming.
CJ spreads leaves on the garlic patch to protect it from the changes in temps over the winter.
Our biggest and warmest thanks go to you folks who take the time to seek out our veggies at our farm or at our stand at a farmers’ market. Without you the farm wouldn’t exist, and we are very grateful to be your farmers. We know that there are many choices when it comes to produce, and we feel blessed that you choose to bring our vegetables into your homes to share with your family and friends. While this is the end of the Farm News for 2024, we still have lots of veggies in storage and actively growing in our greenhouses for you! We will continue to put out a weekly email reminder through December.
We hope you have a happy Thanksgiving!
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured veg:
Still featuring many SALES this week! …
… on Sweet winter spinach, Brussels sprouts, apples, hot peppers, and more! The farmstand will have fresh, certified organic cranberries from Fresh Meadows Farm in Carver, MA (while supplies last). Happy Thanksgiving!
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; sweet winter spinach; pea shoots (limited); curly and lacinato kale; rainbow & ruby chard; red and French Breakfast radish; salad turnips; cilantro, parsley, sage, thyme, red & chioggia beets; red and green cabbage; baby bok choy; sweet fall carrots; limited romanesco; German Extra Hardy garlic; shallots, yellow storage onions; jalapeño, and poblano peppers; Dark Red Norland potatoes (farmstand only), Blackberry potatoes, and Pinto Gold fingerlings, White and Gold potatoes (farmstand only); leeks; celeriac; fabulous fall fennel; collard greens; escarole; radicchio (round and Treviso); fresh ginger; traditional 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; celery; kohlrabi; 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.
Winter Salad
Recipe by Erin Clarke
I thought I’d add a nice light salad to balance all the heavy dishes we all make for the impending holiday. I would also add some thinly sliced fennel and kohlrabi along with some diced salad turnips to turn up the veggie volume a bit. You could also turn it into a meal by adding leftover cubed winter squash, sweet potatoes, or Brussels sprouts.
Ingredients
For the Winter Salad:
½ cup pecan halves
½ small red onion
10 ounces kale stems removed and chopped into
1 small pomegranate to yield 1/2 cup seeds
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
For the Dijon Dressing:
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons honey
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the pecans on an ungreased baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 5-10 minutes, tossing once or twice throughout, until toasted and fragrant. Watch carefully and set a timer so that the nuts do not burn. Remove from the baking sheet and set aside.
Slice the onion thinly and place in a small bowl. Cover with cold tap water and set aside for 10 minutes while you finish preparing the rest of the salad (this will keep the onion's flavor but prevent the onion from having such a harsh, raw bite.) Drain the onion and lightly pat dry.
Slice the pomegranate in half across its "equator" (NOT top to bottom). Working one half at a time, turn the pomegranate over an empty bowl, cut side down, and squeeze it gently all the way around to loosen the seeds. With the back of a wooden spoon, firmly wrap the back of the pomegranate, knocking the seeds into the bowl (be careful—the juice can splatter). Rotate the pomegranate then repeat, so that you tap it all the way around and knock out as many seeds as possible. Slice the pomegranate into big wedges and remove any seeds you missed with your fingers. Repeat with the second half. Measure out 1/2 cup of the seeds for the recipe, then save the rest for a different use.
In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together all of the dressing ingredients: olive oil, apple cider vinegar, mustard, honey, salt, and pepper. Alternatively, you can shake all of the ingredients together in a tightly sealed mason jar.
Place the kale and onion slices in a large serving bowl. Pour the dressing over the top. Toss to coat, then let the salad rest in the refrigerator for 20 minutes if time allows (the flavors will meld and the kale will become more tender). Just before serving, sprinkle with the toasted pecans, pomegranate seeds, feta, and parsley. Toss lightly and serve. Serves 4.
* * * * * * * * * *