Farm News November 21, 2023
********
*Today is our last open Farmstand day of 2023, 2 - 5:30 PM *
********
Fort Hill Farm Winter Schedule:
Westport Farmers' Market
Thursdays from 10 AM - 2 PM
-Now indoors at Gilbertie's!
***
ON-FARM Friday Pickups:
Online ordering begins this Saturday, November 25 for on-farm pickup the following Friday. Please see the Farmstand Online Ordering tab above for details.
********
THANKSGIVING SPECIALS AT THE FARM TODAY!
Huge price drop on our Minced Ginger (our processing fees are down!)
Sale on our Simmer Sauce
10% off all meat in the freezer, coffee and coffee cans
Some bone chilling mornings have reminded us that Thanksgiving is here, and winter is on the way. That means it’s time to get the farm fields tucked in for winter and for us to shrink back to the confines of warm greenhouses. We’ve moved our wash pack into Greenhouse 3, and the other greenhouses are full of sweet winter spinach, head lettuce, kale, salad mix, bok choy, escarole, and even a trial crop of winter celery. Thanksgiving is a great time to celebrate the harvest we have been able to coax from Mother Nature this season. The crew spent much of yesterday scurrying to bring in the last of the leeks and Brussels sprouts, to join the potatoes, carrots, beets, celeriac, parsnips, and butternut squash we already have stored away.
We are also working to get the last of the dahlias in before the ground freezes up and get them washed and divided for planting in the spring. We’re working on getting the 20,000 garlic cloves we planted mulched for the winter. The cloves have shot out roots and just need a blanket to keep them safe from any winter deep freezes. They will be the first signs of green in the spring fields.
You can almost taste this lettuce! We will have lettuce for many more weeks to come…
Note: we plant the Sweet Alyssum to attract beneficial insects.
This will be the last farm news of the season, and it’s time to celebrate all the folks whose hard work makes the farm possible. Farms are some of the most labor-intensive businesses around. We started off the season with a small (but awesome!) returning crew but were also able to bring on some truly terrific people to work with us this season. Our crew does most of the hard, physical work on the farm, and we are very grateful for their efforts.
Elliott McGann again managed the farms operations. Elliott is an experienced farmer, and we are lucky to have him keeping us all on task and managing the New Milford market. Once again Dana Scott managed our harvest. Harvest management is one of the hardest jobs on the farm, yet Dana makes it look easy. Dana often teams up with Faye Barry, who is not only our resident dahlia artist but also someone who takes on other behind-the-scenes management tasks. Brendan Coll worked hard managing the pack shed – keeping track of the packing and distribution of 40 odd crops and 200 plus varieties we grow. Matt Gannon nimbly took on wholesale management, drip irrigation, and also spread something like 400 yards of compost and leaf mulch on our fields! CJ Coll, Julia Leslie, Kolade Akinpelu, Danniella Tompos, Sarah Lang, Mozammel Chowdhury, Tom Dorman did a great job helping us plant the fields, keep everything watered and weeded, and pick and pack the veggies.
The crew gets up close and personal with some spinach seedlings and the prolific chickweed that wants to overtake it.
Kathy Scott, Nat Mahan, and Monty Robinson kept everything sailing smoothly at the farmstand, assisted by Liz Moore, Erica Cambisaca, 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 Jaegar, Eileen O’Reilly, Stacy Fama, Liz Moore, Jon Clement, Melanie Ross, Sara Jaeger (Westport), Jodi Beckett and Julia Kinoshita-McCauley (New Milford).
Bok Choy, spinach, salad mix, frisee, escarole, and even some baby celery are all tucked into Greenhouse 5.
Our biggest and warmest thanks go to you folks who take the time to seek out our veggies at our farm or at the farmers’ markets. Without you the farm wouldn’t exist, and we are very grateful. While this is the end of the Farm News for 2023, we still have lots of veggies in storage and growing in our greenhouses for you! The last farm stand is November 21 but our online ordering system is open Saturday, 9AM through Tuesday 4pm starting November 25 through early January. Pickups will be Friday 2 to 5:30 PM at the farm only. The Westport Market continues as the Winter Market at Gilberties, Thursdays, 10 AM to 2PM. 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, Rebecca and the Fort Hill Farm crew
Featured this week:
Fort Hill Farm Minced Ginger: We worked with a local processor to make this product a reality, and with a larger size jar, we are now able to lower the price considerably. This offers all of the attributes of our fresh, young ginger in a form that makes it snap to use. Simply swirl a spoonful or two into seltzer, tea, and smoothies, or curries, stir fries and marinades (etc., etc. – see the recipe below) Its uses are endless! We hope you reach for it when you need to press the easy button or simply when fresh ginger is out of season.
Fort Hill Farm Simmer Sauce: Made from our tasty plum tomatoes, this sauce is deeply flavored and loaded with herbs – so much so that we sometimes mix it with our tomato puree (Taste of Summer)! Use this rich base when making pasta and pizza sauces, soups, rice dishes, or poaching meats and veggies. It’s on sale today – time to stock up!
Also available:
Head lettuce; salad mix; curly and lacinato kale; collards; baby bok choy; frisee, red and French Breakfast radish; salad turnips; leeks; celeriac; parsley, rosemary, sage; fennel; escarole; German Extra Hardy garlic; red, gold, and Chioggia beets; carrots; jalapeño, poblano, and shishito peppers; Dark Red Norland potatoes; La Ratte gold fingerlings; Kennebec all-purpose potatoes; Satina Gold potatoes; fresh, young ginger, sweet potatoes, Butternut squash, Koginut squash; Brussels sprouts; parsnips; sweet winter spinach, Sweet and green peppers too !
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
Butternut Squash Soup
By LoveandLemons
Serves 6
This vegan butternut squash soup is the ultimate fall comfort food and a simple dish we can all appreciate around Thanksgiving! Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to a few months.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 (3-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage
½ tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
3 to 4 cups vegetable broth
Freshly ground black pepper
For serving
Chopped parsley
Toasted pepitas
Crusty bread
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, salt, and several grinds of fresh pepper and sauté until soft, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the squash and cook until it begins to soften, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the garlic, sage, rosemary, and ginger. Stir and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant, then add 3 cups of the broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the squash is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.
Let cool slightly and pour the soup into a blender, working in batches if necessary, and blend until smooth. If your soup is too thick, add up to 1 cup more broth and blend. Season to taste and serve with parsley, pepitas, and crusty bread.
* * * * * * * * * *