Welcome To Harvest Week 17: Tue/Wed/Thurs Delivery, Oct 1, 2 & 3, 2013
Welcome to Harvest Week 17
Farmer John Writes about Pushy Trees
Fall is here. Besides turning our attention to getting the root crops into storage before the fields turn to mud, we also turn our attention to maintenance and upkeep of our buildings. The crops seem front-and-center on a farm – the focus of great drama and concern – but backstage, there’s much that has to be dealt with continually to keep the show going, to keep the boxes filled and coming your way.
We have trees on the farmstead that have been threatening to crumble the foundations of our buildings. They were once so innocent seeming.
Here are two of the trees. They are crowding the foundation of the corn crib, where our farm office is located
Closeup of the trunk of the tree on the left side of the corn crib, after Pollo sculpted it with a chain saw and wood chisel. The trunk had pushed the siding boards off the frame of the building
Closeup of the trunk of the tree on the right side of the corn crib. The trunk had grown into the foundation of the crib, destroyed siding, and created an opening under the floor which let in ground squirrels. The ground squirrels chewed through the under-floor hot-water-heating system, causing a dreadful leak. We sawed through the floor inside the office to repair the leak and other water damage that went with it
Pollo chisels the tree trunk so we can save the foundation and seal out the ground squirrels
Here’s our milkhouse 30 years ago. Notice the box elder tree to the left of the milkhouse
Our milkhouse today, with looming box elder tree
Trunk of box elder tree today, pushing into the barn foundation
One of the interesting aspects of being at the same place for so long (my whole life, 64 years) is that I see time express itself in long cycles. Trees can gradually go from charming to menacing. Fences that once kept the cows in disappear into the earth. Roofs are tight, then they leak and then they are re-built. Staircases rot and are resurrected. Buildings decay and are renewed.
Please return your Vegetable Boxes and Mesh Bags to your Delivery Site. This helps the farm out a lot.
Shareholders Write
After your wonderful open house, we are ready for autumn. Thanks for a great time!
~Rebekah Wrobbel Stathakis, Facebook Post
Some of the veggies ready to go in the oven. (OK, so the sweet potatoes are from the store.) Enjoying all the produce from your farm this year. Well done! Thank you to all.
~Amy, Arlington Hts
I just wanted to tell you that I dried the hyssop mint from my last farm share and it made a wonderfully flavorful tea. I used some additional mint from my garden and some store bought licorice tea. The result is a very full flavor, naturally sweet tea! Thanks. Just wish I had more of it now!!
~Evey
The Weather This Past Week
Lovely. Perfect. Delightful. (A farmer doesn’t always have something to complain about.)
The Crops
Green, leafy crops flourish in the cool, moist evenings and warmish days: arugula, baby choi, head lettuce, kale, spinach…
Our kale masquerades as palm trees.
This photo by Angelic Organics Food Safety Manager Jeff Robare lit up our Facebook page last week.
It received over 350 likes.
The Crew, Off the Clock
Growing Manager Chis Voss Enjoys Fabulous Cello music by Patti Garvey at our Open House Last Week
Upcoming at the Angelic Organics Learning Center
Say Cheese! A Cheesemaking Class for Families
October 20, 2013 9 AM – 12 PM
Cheesemaking has long been a favorite adult skills workshop at Angelic Organics Learning Center and the classes often sell-out quickly. This fall, the Learning Center is offering a special cheesemaking workshop especially for families! In this hands-on workshop, expert instructor April Morris will introduce the process of cheese making from start to finish, from milking the goats to tasting fresh goat’s cheese. The class will feature ricotta and queso blanco cheeses. Register parents and kids ages 6 and up. To register, visit http://www.learngrowconnect.org/event.
Box Contents
Please Note: this summary is written before you receive your box—please be aware that some guesswork is involved. As always, be sure to thoroughly wash all of your vegetables.
Salad Greens – Lettuce, Arugula
Brassicas – Broccoli
Fruiting Crops – Pie Pumpkin, Delicata or Sweet Dumpling squash
Root Crops – Potatoes, Carrots
Cooking Greens – Kale
Alliums – Storage Onions, Beets
Herbs – Cilantro
Apium – Celeriac
