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CSA AUTUMN SHARE WEEK #8

The sun for three days was a welcome change to the wind, rain and hail of last week! In sorting through photos of last season, late Autumn this year has been colder and wetter. This has really slowed down the growth of some of the root crops - we were expecting Japanese turnips for everyone but there are still many little ones in the field.

NOTES ON WHAT'S GROWING

Many of the green manure crops sown in the past three weeks have germinated and are growing. Next season’s garlic has also shot up!

The lull in broccoli has begun this week. The last planting of the season is starting to develop heads. And we were able to harvest quite a few side shoots from the first three plantings. But the main heads from these plantings are done. Broccoli will be a rotated item until the last planting comes on. The cauliflower harvest continues with the purple heads almost ready for harvest.

We did a late lettuce planting which we have protected from hail and frost with row covers. The heads are small, due to the lack of sunlight. But we should have some on Friday and maybe next week too.

The snow peas are full of flowers and still growing. We hope they continue! We have another planting of peas in the ground but with the early cold this season, we are unsure if they are going to go dormant for winter and then flower in early Spring!

We were able to do another application of biodynamic 500 tonight and hope to have the chance to do 501 in the next few days. 501 helps plants make the most use of the limited light at this time of year...we are approaching 9 hours of sunlight a day! Most vegetables need 10 to actively grow.

Farm pickup is 2-5pm Fridays and 8-11am Saturdays. Box pickup is available at other times by appointment only. If you are running late, please do ring to avoid disappointment.NOTES ON STORING THE HARVEST Please check out our Vegetable & Fruit page on the website to find tips on maximizing the life of your veggies. We envisage that many of the vegetables you are receiving this week will last for two weeks with careful attention to storing upon arrival. Although we do wash all the greens after harvest, we are washing to take the heat out of the plants and wash away some surface dirt, not to prepare them for consumption. We also spray a seaweed/herb brew about every ten days. While this will not harm you, it does have a taste. We do suggest washing your produce prior to eating.

WHAT’S IN THE BOX The following are the items harvested this week. Items and quantities in your box may vary depending on your harvest day and the total harvest of each crop. The boxes are completely governed by what is ripe and ready for harvest and how much of it there is. We endeavor to divide the harvest fairly. 1/4 share: 5-7 items 1/2 share: 8-10 items Full Share: 10-12 itemsBeetroot – 'Detroit Red' or 'Chioggia' Capsicum – Yellow and Red capsicums. Some of the capsicums may be 'breaking' a term which means they are just starting to mature and change to red or yellow. If you leave them out of refrigeration or put them in a bag with a banana, they should fully turn. Carrots – 'Little Finger' orange carrots. Cabbage – 'Green Acre' Fennel – ‘Zefo Fino' Leeks Pumpkin – ‘Musquee de Provence'

Extras Bok Choy Broccoli – Side shoots. Cauliflower – 'Snowball' and 'Green Macerata'. Coriander Eggplant – We have pulled the eggplants out but harvested all that was on them. One CSA member did tell us that the eggplant they received a few weeks back was bitter. These are late season eggplant - we suggest cutting them and salting them to pull out the any bitter juices before cooking them. Lettuce – 'Perella Roughette' Onions – 'Cream Gold' is a wonderful storing onion. The flavour is pungent and sweetens well if you caramelise. Parsley – 'Italian Flat Leaf' Silver Beet – 'Ruby' Japanese Turnips – ‘Little Tokyo'