Potatoes are Planted!

I just needed to tell everyone that this past Saturday with help from some amazing kids/young adults we got all our potatoes for the main season planted. I'll have to look in notebooks but I think it is the earliest ever. Now today we tackle the seeds for carrots and spinach I hope we get done before the rain so they get a good moist start.

Happy New Year

The sun is shining brightly and after the past week of very cold days, winds and snow we could use some warming! Janna and I spent 3 days at the Great Plains Vegetable Growers conference in St. Joesph MO learning to serve you better. We did have a good learning experience picking up suggestions from presenters and other market gardeners. It is time to place the seed order and ready the equipment we will be using shortly! 

John

December 2 2009

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Greetings Everyone!  It's cold out there! Tonight as we made deliveries it even  snowed a little! Not quite ready for snow yet, like a lot  of conventional farmers, we are probably also a month behind  with our winter preparations. But......we got one of our  first seed catalogues today and that means spring is not far  away :) I also spent a good part of the day today putting  together "cut sheets" for pork orders for our hogs that we  brought to the butcher this week. If you would still like  to get in on some great tasting Berkshire pork, please let  us know ASAP. We need to bring our cutting instructions to  the butcher tomorrow.  Today in your box.......  Cabbage - Green and tender - we really enjoy this just cut  up in wedges, steamed and served with butter and some herbs  sprinkled on top.  Brussels Sprouts - even if you think you don't like these -  just try them! Trim off the stem end, wash them  and.....steam, grill (try a little olive oil and balsamic  vinegar) etc. These would be great paired with your baby  carrots.  Lettuce  Spinach  Kale - Either Red (with kind of a purple stem) or Green.  You shouldn't need to stem the kale, but if you have a few  larger leaves in your bag, you may want to just tear out  that stem. Cook it with your potatoes and mash them all  together, or try adding it to some beef soup with a tomato  base. This frost sweetened baby kale is also great added to  salads.  Swiss Chard - great cooked or raw  Butternut Squash  Garlic  Baby Carrots  Finger Leek - This mild member of the onion family is a  fall/winter favorite at our house. Great sauteed with other  vegetables or meat. We love it in potato-leek soup. Leek  tends to collect dirt, so be sure to chop it up and then  throw it in a sink of water to wash it thoroughly before  cooking.  Have a great week!

In the box for this delivery you should find;

spinach

salad mix

lettuce with arugula

kale

radish

red potato

red cabbage

celeriac

green peppers

turnips

cauliflower or broccoli

carrots






















It has been too long. We did our last summer CSA distribution and then had a 2 week break before we began our fall CSA deliveries. For the first delivery we didn't do a newsletter because we didn't make time to do it ahead of time and then afterwards we felt tired, combined with thinking that everything in the box was routine, standard and needed no explanation etc. We failed. We should have sent a note saying the round white things were red meat radishes. The turnips are in this weeks box!

I would like to show how the greens in your box got there today. Here are some pictures beginning outside, going into the tunnel to gather the greens and then to the barn for the packing.

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 20!

Wow, it is September 21 and we are at the end of another summer of vegetables.  It is hard to believe and yet, today, we commented to each other that the weather has changed and fall is in the air.  

As we have mentioned (hopefully to all of you) we are preparing to do a Fall Share CSA.  If you aren't sure what you will do without fresh vegetables from The Cornucopia, then this is your answer.  A Fall Share will consist of six (6) bi-weekly deliveries starting on October 7 with the last delivery December 16.  You can expect things like beans and peppers (until a hard frost) and more cold tolerant items like brassicas, carrots, celery, and many greens like spinach and lettuce (we have the tunnel planted full).   Also included will be storage crops like onion, garlic, squash, potatoes and leek.  You might wonder how it is possible to have things like greens available until December, but remember that many of these crops are actually improved by cold temperatures both in vibrant color and flavor.  Price for the Fall Share will be $180 - that is just $15 per week delivered to Sioux Center and Orange City. Please let us know by October 2  if you plan to participate.  You may send us an email and we will accept your payment with the first delivery or you may send us a check in the mail. If you have friends or family that would be interested, please pass this information along to them as well.  

There are some great movies/documentaries out there right now about local food and knowing where your food comes from.  Tomorrow evening, we are heading for Sioux Falls to "Food, Inc." and recently we viewed a trailer about a new documentary called "Fresh".  Tomorrow and Wednesday we are participating in "Green Week" at Mercy Hospital in Sioux City

When you come to pick up your share tomorrow, please remember to return all of your boxes.  It will be helpful if you bring along a bag or box of your own to put your share in, but if you forget, John will have some bags available for you.  Thanks again for your patronage this year and we look forward to serving you in the coming season.  

In your share this week.....

Carrots - This is a new crop with the tops on.  We kept planting them throughout the year for a continuous supply.

Broccoli - loves this cool weather.

Beans - as long as the weather holds, so will the beans.  Keep enjoying them while you can.

Yellow Onions

Butternut Squash - Yum!  this is one of my favorite signs of fall.  If you can resist, these squash will actually improve in flavor and sweetness if you cure them for about a week.  Place them in a sunny window or better yet, out on your porch in direct sun.  However, if frost threatens, take them inside.  You can cook this squash by peeling, cubing and steaming it until tender, or you can simply cut it in half, scoop out the seeds, and then place cut side down in a baking dish with at least 1/2" of water and bake at 350 degrees until tender and then scoop the meat out of the shell.  I like to eat it with some butter and a little salt and pepper.

Peppers - Red Beauties!  I picked over 100 this afternoon and didn't get finished.  Did you know that red pepper has more vitamin C than an orange?  Pack one in your lunch and eat it like an apple.  Chop it up and throw it in a salad or stir fry or add some to your chicken soup for extra color and nutrition.

Leaf Lettuce - time for a salad

Green Cabbage - cabbage rolls, cole slaw, steam or grill a wedge and drizzle some herbed butter or balsamic vinegar over the top.......

German Butterball Potato - cool weather just makes me think of potato soup and looking at the list of items above I see a lot of things that would go well in it, like broccoli, carrots, peppers, onions.......

Whole shares will also have a bunch of Crunchy Royale Radish

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 19

Dear Friends

You have your boxes because Janna delivered them this evening. We are anticipating a week of sunshine! and look forward to getting things done outdoors.

In you box you will find;

spinach

broccoli

kale

kohlrabi

yellow crookneck squash-this is an excellent summer squash that you can use like Zucchini in stir fry's etc.

german butterball potatoes

green beans

garlic

yellow onion

red peppers

tomatoes

Sometimes life is a blur! Too often I work outdoors doing chores till just before a meeting in town and need to eat my supper in the van/truck on the way to town. This evening I had a meeting at church and my food tasted so good. I had green beans done just right soaked in butter,  Sunday's leftover mashed potatoes heated up with butter and chunks of chicken. I had to tell Janna when I got home that it was the best supper I had in long time. Just basic homegrown home cooked food being eaten in the old pickup. I hope you all enjoy a meal or two this week just I like did. 

The Cornucopia Carrot Vol.3, Issue 18

Hello!

We have seeded one of our tunnels to cold tolerant crops like salad mix, arugula, spinach, lettuce, carrots and some others.  The challenge is knowing when to seed to get a plant large enough so that when it is cold outside that it is almost mature and ready to harvest yet will stay in very good condition because the tunnel acts like a large fridge keeping the crop good and we should be able to harvest as we need it in October, November and December. In your box this week there is a package of salad mix that was grown outdoors in the last 4 weeks. We have another planting outdoors just coming up now for 4-5 weeks from now before we anticipate harvesting in the tunnel. The other tunnel still has tomatoes in it and will have for several more weeks.

If you would like to participate in a "fall subscription" or purchase some of these cold tolerant crops please send us an email. 

In the boxes this week:

Asian Greens-Greens like this are one reason why spring and fall are our favorite seasons.

Arugula

 

Acorn Squash-Janna made one for lunch late last week, we each had a half, Janna likes to put butter on the squash on her plate, I like it plain. Great flavor and texture.

Green Beans

Peppers- We are so happy we have peppers. The plants looked so poor in May and didn't grow much in June. It was so cool and wet early in the season just when the plants needed heat. 

Cherry Tomatoes-The little tomatoes are a favorite snack. We had a visitor Friday that really didn't think much of tomatoes till he helped himself to little orange ones, he kept picking and eating!

Austrian Crescent Potatoes- We had some for lunch today. This potato turns green very quickly. Please store them in a dark place. For some reason the sun penetrates the soil near the top of the tubers or at bottom of the plant and a lot of the tuber tips turn green. We tried to leave them in the field or sort them out but if you have a tip that is green please slice it off before you prepare your potatoes. We like them boiled or steamed. They have a very firm texture which is great for potato salad. They roast very well too.

Carrots

Full shares also have Cauliflower.

Please watch for an email near the weekend about next week. John is a delegate to a classis meeting next Tuesday in Platte and Janna may come along to visit family friends near Platte so we may make other arrangements for the box distribution.

Enjoy your food!