Farm News November 8, 2022
Please note our Fall Farmstand Hours:
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We are closed on Fridays in November!
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Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM (closing an hour earlier)
Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm (opening 1 hour later)
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This week’s Farm News is written by Fort Hill’s Harvest manager, Dana Scott. Dana has seen 5 seasons on the farm now, and holds a lot of knowledge about how crops progress and how our systems revolve around and adapt to that progression. She does a stellar job each day juggling the harvest, which is challenging on a diversified small farm like ours. Dana writes:
With forecasted temperatures predictably unpredictable, we've been taking every precaution to make sure the frost doesn't get a bite at our crops before you do. Most days, this involves scrambling to drape and fasten layers of row cover on cold sensitive crops from frosty nights. By mid-morning, once the sun has graced us with its warmth, it's time to UNcover these crops to ensure they don't overheat. With the wacky weather as of late, it's been a workout which would give Jane Fonda a run for her money. Last week brought us some of the warmest weather on record for this time of year, which has given us some amazingly beautiful heads of lettuce, pumped up the fall spinach, and kept the escarole, kale, and collards looking great.
Brussels sprouts live at the south of the farm and enjoy a view of the crops to the north.
Despite some cold nights, and interestingly in favor of it, we’ve been harvesting carrots nearly every other day. Storage space in our coolers gets tight this time of year with an influx of long-term storage crops, so we are literally in over our heads, with stacks over 11 crates high. They're deliciously sweet and sizable though so it's hard to complain.
The crew pulls up more carrots … what a crop!
But I think our biggest "take a bow" moment this past week was finally getting all the garlic beds planted. The 11 beds are 310' long, with four rows per bed, each row seeded 8" apart means getting over 20,000 cloves in the ground. In my opinion, garlic is the time machine of crops; it is a mix of the past, present, and a glimpse into the future. All of those cloves we just planted were from oversized bulbs that were harvested THIS July and will produce the garlic greens, scapes, and bulbs that we will harvest in 2023. Fingers crossed!
Dana, for the Fort Hill Farm Crew
Garlic planting is the last official planting of the year, and it’s always brings peace of mind to know it’s done. Now for the mulching …
Featured veg:
Head Lettuce: We are celebrating our very delicious fall lettuce with a SALE this week! Romaine, butterhead, red butterhead, red salad bowl, and a bit of red and green leaf.
Escarole: In my humble opinion, this lettuce cousin is a most underrated vegetable. It is bitter raw (love me once) and mellows to a deep flavor when cooked (love me twice), and is very nutritious (love me three times, baby!). It is essential for soups, and is fab in stir-fries or as a pre-sautéed pizza topping. Try Ginny Bucciaglia’s classic escarole and beans recipe on our recipe database, or if you’re feeling summery, the recipe below. Stores like lettuce.
Also available:
Head lettuce (New Sale!), salad mix, pea shoots, carrots, parsnips, red and French Breakfast radishes, salad turnips, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, collards, escarole, radicchio, cilantro, parsley, oregano, sage, thyme, red, Chioggia, and gold beets, green cabbage, garlic, jalapeño, Kennebec, Dark Red Norland, Satina Gold, Magic Molly blue fingerling, & gold fingerling potatoes, classic sweet potatoes and Murasaki Japanese sweet potatoes, Butternut & Koginut squash, Carnival and Starry Night winter squash (at farmstand), leeks, Brussels sprouts on stalk, fresh ginger and turmeric!
Pick Your Own:
~Perennial Herbs:
chives, oregano, sage, and thyme
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Winter Citrus, Escarole, and Endive Salad
By Mary Drennen
This bright, fresh salad of winter greens and sweet-tangy citrus is studded with red pomegranate arils: It's a dramatic, holiday-worthy plate and a welcome course for vegetarians.
Ingredients
6 cups torn escarole
2 cups thinly sliced Belgian endive (can sub with lettuce or fennel)
1 cup thinly sliced radicchio
1 cup pink grapefruit sections
1 cup navel orange sections
¾ cup blood orange sections
¼ cup minced shallots
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons honey
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup pomegranate arils
2 tablespoons pistachios, toasted
Directions
Step 1
Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Add grapefruit, orange, and blood orange sections; toss gently.
Step 2
Combine the shallots and next 6 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Divide salad evenly among 6 plates. Divide the pomegranate arils and toasted pistachios evenly among servings.