Farm News, November 16, 2021
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Please note our Fall Farmstand Hours:
Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM (closing an hour earlier)
Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm (opening 1 hour later)
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Out in the fields we are entering the home stretch for the season. The garlic is planted, the areas we could cover crop have been seeded, and the last of the kale, spinach, and collards are waiting to be picked. The coolers are full of carrots, parsnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and the many kinds of potatoes we grow. We will wait until we see an overnight low below 18F before we do one last big field harvest of field greens, and after that we will switch to our greenhouse stores of lettuce and spinach.
Dana brings in big, beautiful heads of lettuce from the high tunnel.
We’ve still got quite a bit of cleanup to do. The tomato vines need to be removed from the high tunnel and trellis sticks from the peppers. The crew has been diligently combing through the strawberry patch, and we’re closing in on weeding the acre of strawberry plants we planted in May. We’ve been fixing greenhouses and repairing and stowing equipment. Rebecca is working furiously to make the crop plan two months ahead of schedule so we can place preseason seed and supply orders as early as possible. Shortages and price increases are all around us.
Monty looking so lovely without his mask, and with a treat for the crew!
This will be the last farm news of the season and it’s a bittersweet time for all of us at the farm. We are so fortunate to have a core of our crew coming back in 2022. Dana Scott managed our complex harvest this season and did a great job in her rookie year. Dana is on board for next season, as is Shell Pitcher. Shell puts her all in to any task on the farm, and helps Rebecca with the Westport market and at the farmstand on Saturdays. Faye Barry will be back to help us in the field, and manage the farmstand along with Kathy Scott. Faye is also developing our dahlia tuber store (stay tuned for info this winter!). Kathy and her team do a topnotch job at the farmstand, and we enjoy hearing how much folks love our staff! We welcomed Monty Robinson in the fall, and he has been a great addition to the team. A whole bunch of folks have helped us out at the farmers’ markets this season, including Jon Clement, Jon Jaeger, Eileen O’Reilly, and Diane Anastasio (Westport), Indigo Comay (Chappaqua), and Jodi Beckett (New Milford
It takes many hands and many hours to roll up the behemoth high tunnel, but we got it done last week.
We’re also sad to see some folks who have been with us for years possibly moving on to other opportunities. Connor Whitehouse and James Gilbert have been at the farm for three seasons. This season Connor took on a lot of the greenhouse structure building, repair, and maintenance, as well as keeping the pack shed running smoothly. James took on the field management, making sure the fields were prepped on time and transplants went smoothly from the greenhouse to the prepped beds in the fields. We appreciate their dedication and can-do attitudes.
Farms are some of the most labor-intensive businesses around, and we had a bunch of folks we call “The Field Crew” helping us all season. Some are high school and college students that are here for a just a few months mid-summer, and some folks come in late summer to help us finish out the season. They do a lot of the hard, physical work on the farm and we are very grateful for their efforts. We’ve really enjoyed having Brendan Coll with us for most of the season, and Erika Cambiasaca and Julia Leslie helped us to a strong finish this fall.
We’re in our third week of weeding the strawberries!
Our biggest and warmest thanks goes 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. The farmstand will be open through the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Then stay tuned for our online ordering system (at the farm only) which opens December through early January. Chappaqua and New Milford farmers markets will close after this Saturday, but the Westport Market continues on as the Winter Market at Gilberties. We will continue to put out a weekly email reminder through December.
We hope you have a happy holiday season and a restful winter.
Paul and Rebecca for the Fort Hill Farm crew
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BRING YOUR MASK! Due to the everchanging pandemic conditions, we are requiring masks for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, while visiting in the barn. Masks are not required outside the barn. Thank you!
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Featured veg:
Satina Gold potatoes: this potato has wonderful yellow flesh and flavor, similar to Yukon Gold. We find them equally tasty, and unlike Yukon Gold, they don’t drop dead when the first leafhopper bug appears. They are now a resolute farm and customer favorite; we all love them for their distinct satiny texture (note the name). Satinas are on sale this week … mashed potatoes, here we come!
Also available:
Head lettuce, salad mix, head lettuce, pea shoots, red radishes, salad turnips, red and green cabbage, Chioggia beets, curly and lacinato kale, rainbow chard, parsley, chives, oregano, sage, thyme, rosemary, Dark Red Norland, Satina Gold, Blue Gold, Magic Molly, Kennebec and Fingerling potatoes, German Extra Hardy garlic, escarole, celeriac, collards, parsnips, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, fresh young ginger, limited apples from our certified organic, no-spray orchard
Coming Soon:
Gilfeather Turnips
Pick Your Own:
Perennial Herbs: * please get an herb ring from the barn for bunch size.
Chives, Oregano, Thyme, and Sage for all of those fall recipes
PYO Hours: (PYO begins 30 minutes before and goes 30 minutes beyond barn hours.)
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Vegan Hasselback Potatoes in Herby Oil
From LazyCatKitchen
INGREDIENTS
750 g / 1.5 lb potatoes (suitable for baking)
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove
fresh (or dry) rosemary
fresh (or dry) thyme
coarse sea salt
chilli flakes (optional)
1 tsp lemon zest (optional)
METHOD
Set the oven to 180° C / 355° F fan forced (or 200° C / 390° F no fan).
Make a few millimetre deep incisions in each potato leaving the bottom intact so that it holds the entire potato together. There are two ways to go about it. Either place a potato in the cradle of a spoon and then make incisions – the edges of the spoon will stop you from cutting all the way through. The other way is to place a chopstick (or something of similar height) alongside the potato while cutting – again, the height of the chopstick will stop you from cutting in too deep. This is the method I personally prefer.
Brush the tops and bottoms of each potato with olive oil. If you don’t have a pastry brush, place 1 tbsp of olive oil in a bowl and dip the potato (cut side down) into the oil, then place on a tray – the oil will drip from the top and grease the bottom.
Bake for about 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.
While the potatoes are baking, prepare the herby oil. Crush or grate the garlic clove, chop the rosemary very finely and pick the thyme leaves. Place about 1 tsp of finely minced rosemary, 1 tsp of thyme and crushed garlic in a bowl and whisk in olive oil to emulsify.
After 20-30 minutes, remove the potatoes from the oven and spoon the herby oil over the top. Return them to the oven for another 10 minutes or so.
Remove from the oven once the tops are browned and the potatoes are cooked all the way through. Season with coarse sea salt, chilli (if using), lemon zest and some more chopped herbs.