Farm News October 17, 2023
Please note our Fall Farmstand Hours:
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Reminder: We are now closed on Fridays!
Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM (closing an hour earlier)
Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm (opening 1 hour later)
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In the farm news space this week, we’re going to take a little time to NOT complain about the weather. True, Saturdays seem to be some kind of rain magnet this year, but otherwise we were treated to some crisp and blue sunny days last week, which raised everyone’s spirits. We’re still plowing ahead with harvest projects, and we have checked a few off the list. The winter squash and sweet potatoes are in, the fall beets are getting rounded up as I write this, and only a few rows of potatoes await digging. We still have the carrots to bring in, which we keep putting off, because we know their sweetness is enhanced by exposure to cold weather.
Dana often sports a beautiful dahlia around the farm, this time while trimming the scallions.
What’s been keeping us most busy is bringing in the leafy crops. We have a decent crop of Brussels sprouts, slightly shorter than usual but good quality. Plenty of kale and collards to go around, a good fall crop of broccolini, and even the fall lettuce is making a turn for the better despite the many downpours we saw in the last 6 weeks.
We are tucking spinach seeds and transplants into every corner of the farm that we can think of.
Although it’s odd to note, the crew has also been very busy planting crops for late fall. We are busy planting lettuce plugs and seeding spinach in the greenhouses. The cooler weather makes it so much easier to get good stands of spinach, a crop that is very averse to heat in nearly all stages of its growth. We’re also getting a chunk of land ready to plant garlic. We’ll be spreading compost on about one third acre of land to receive the 20,000 cloves we plant each fall.
We hope the spinach will make it in the high tunnel under protection from the rains.
We’ve said this every week for the last month, but the flowers are still AMAZING. Carpe diem! We’ve never gone into November without a hard frost, so even in this very hot year on our warming planet, the frosty end must come at some point for this beautiful patch. Please keep in mind our new fall hours, Tuesday and Thursday 2 to 5:30, and Saturdays 9am to 12:30 pm. Closed on Fridays for the fall. Feel free to linger in the flower patch for a bit after each farm stand, as long as all purchases are paid for by closing time.
On top of the harvests, we are turning our thoughts to next season. Where will we plant the spuds and corn? What cover crop should we put there now? We are also making long to-do lists to return to the projects we dropped earlier, with the goal of helping make the farm run a little more smoothly next spring.
We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,
Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm Crew
Featured veg:
Brussels sprouts: this is one of the hardest crops to grow, particularly in sandy soil with organic practices. They take up gobs of space and hold their place in the field from mid-June through October. They need a lot of fertility and have tons of problems with diseases. Did I mention they generate lots of weeds? Why do we grow them? Because we love them, plain and simply. They are sizing up nicely and let’s hope it a great season for sprouts. Just snap or cut off the sprouts, peel off the outer leaves if necessary, and enjoy. They are best parboiled/steamed and then pan fried or roasted (or see the fantastic recipe below). Sprouts will store for a while in the fridge.
Radicchio: perhaps the most misspelled word in the vegetable world is also one of the most healthful things you could put on your plate. Luca and I love this chicory, whose outer, bitter maroon leaves are countered with a crunchy sweetness of the inner white parts. Drizzle with a high quality balsamic and toss with apple slices for a sweet and bittery-good treat. Store in the fridge like you would a head of lettuce. A somewhat difficult crop to grow, we are thrilled to see these beauties in their autumn glory.
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale; rainbow chard; Collards; radicchio; baby bok choy; scallions (early in the week); leeks; celeriac; parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme; fennel; escarole; green cabbage; German Extra Hardy garlic; red and Chioggia beets; carrots; beefsteak tomatoes (slowly tapering); Sungold cherry tomatoes (limited); jalapeño, poblano, cayenne, and shishito peppers; Dark Red Norland potatoes; La Ratte gold fingerlings; Magic Molly blue fingerlings, Kennebec all-purpose potatoes; Blue Gold potatoes; Satina Gold potatoes; eggplant (farmstand only); sweet red, and yellow Italian, orange snacking peppers; green bell peppers; fresh, young ginger, sweet potatoes, Butternut squash, Koginut squash
Coming Soon:
parsnips
Pick Your Own:
FLOWERS:
Take advantage of the warm October – the dahlias are glowing, and there are still many other flowers to pick!
PERENNIAL HERBS:
chives, oregano, sage, and thyme
Recipes
Suggested by Rebecca Batchie
For more recipes, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database
Radicchio Brussels Sprouts Salad with Citrus Maple Dressing
Recipe by Lisa Lotts
Servings 4
Ingredients
FOR SALAD:
1 small head of radicchio lettuce
12 whole brussels sprouts
3 mandarin oranges or 2 navel oranges, supreme (*see below)
¼ cup shelled natural pistachios roughly chopped
FOR CITRUS MAPLE DRESSING:
1 cup orange juice (make sure there are no additives in the orange juice i.e. calcium etc.)
1 large shallot minced
2 teaspoons whole grain dijon mustard (I used Maille)
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (can also use rice wine or red wine vinegar)
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons maple syrup
heaping ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
In a small saucepan over high heat, bring orange juice to boiling, reduce heat to an active simmer and reduce the orange juice to a half cup, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
When orange juice is cooled, Add the shallot, mustard, vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.
With a sharp knife, slice the brussels sprouts crosswise into very thin slices, discarding the root end. Transfer the Brussels to a large salad bowl.
Pull the leaves from the radicchio and stack them in a pile. Cut the pile in half, vertically, then slice the radicchio into very thin ribbons horizontally. Transfer the radicchio to the salad bowl.
*Supreme the mandarins. This means using a very sharp paring knife to remove the peel and outer membrane of the mandarin, so the bare segment is exposed. Then use the knife to slice in between the membranes to remove each individual segment. Transfer the segmented fruit to the salad bowl.
Roughly chop the pistachios and add them to the salad. You can make the salad up to this point and refrigerate until ready to serve. Do not add the dressing until you're ready to eat, otherwise it will wilt.
Add about 3-4 tablespoons of dressing to the salad and toss to coat. If the salad needs more dressing, add 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing after each addition. The salad shouldn't be goopy and wet, just lightly dressed. (Any remaining dressing can be used on other salads or to dress a piece of fish or chicken.