Folks,

The rain continues! I will grumble about it being so wet but at least I don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crop standing in the field. I am afraid that is the situation that many of our corn/soybean farmers find themselves in and it doesn’t look good for them. Of course, it is impossible to drive  humongous machinery on such wet ground but perhaps even more troubling for them is the fact that their crops have not been able to dry out. It is critical that corn and soybeans dry out considerably before they are harvested so that they don’t rot/mold in storage. That drying has not occurred this year and as it gets later in the year it becomes increasingly likely that it won’t before true winter comes. It’s a dramatic situation. Most grain farmers are in a great deal of debt to landlords as well as the fertilizer, pesticide and seed companies. These weather conditions are creating real hardship for all of them and may prove truly catastrophic for many. And more rain is in the forecast………

On a more positive note:

We have some beautiful greens available this week. There are a couple of large patches of lettuce that have finally matured to cutting size. We’ll have some spinach available as well- although not as much as I expected. I have lost two of the spinach beds altogether by allowing them to be over-harvested before they were well established; one more lesson for this year.

Late fall is when the members of the mustard family really excel. These include: the kales, the Asian Greens, radishes, turnips and Brussel Sprouts. Mustards really like the cool weather and the cold seems to bring out the best flavors in them.

In any case, today you will be able to cut a spectacular mix of mesclun-sized salad ingredients as well as radishes, turnips, Swiss Chard, Kale, Leeks, Italian Parsley and celery.

Be warned that we have some very soggy conditions out there today. It will be muddy. I’ll be available this evening to show you around and help you harvest what you are looking for and I’ll be happy to harvest for those who don’t want to brave the elements.

Looking forward to seeing you!

I was active in the garden on Saturday preparing for the freeze. Frosts and even “hard” frosts are to be expected at this time of year. A hard frost knocks out the tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, beans, okra, basil, sweet potatoes and the other summer crops. However, the cool weather crops such as lettuce, spinach, kale, chard and Asian greens usually improve in the cold and are not bothered by frosts. A freeze is another matter altogether, however. When temperatures drop into the mid-20s or below we have a freeze. At these temperatures, even the most cold hardy vegetables begin to show signs of damage.

So, when I checked the National Weather Service web site Saturday morning and saw the forecast for 25 degrees as an overnight low, I groaned out loud. I knew that even our cold hardy crops were in danger and going to need some protection. So, after harvesting and bringing in the winter squashes and pumpkins, I turned my attention to covering all of our cool season crops with row cover.

As I look out my window at the garden this morning, I see that what had been a green and beautiful garden just last Monday is now blackened rotting plant corpses with white shrouds hiding what green remains. Frankly, it seems as if we’ve skipped October and moved right into November.

But, don’t despair yet! We still have some good things for you this evening.

Available Tonight

Liberty Apples – The kids and I harvested these from the big apple tree by the swing set at our Bellingham Road place on Friday afternoon. They are flawed but delicious.

Storage Pears – These are from the 100+ year old trees on my grandparents farm. They will ripen in storage.

Pumpkins – We have a limited number of these available on a first come first serve basis (one per share). The four giant pumpkins are also available (but hard to move!).

Butternut Squashes – As many as you think you can use.

Lincoln Leeks – These are the light green ones. All parts can be used in soup stocks

Sweet Potatoes – These must be dug today!

Asian Greens -

Baby Lettuces -

Radishes -

Swiss Chard and more

This evening we have a couple of groups coming out. There is a student group from Monmouth College that will be out to look at the place and learn about CSAs in general.

Macomb’s Food Initiative Group will be out to meet at 6:30. Among other topics they will be discussing the porential formation of a coop store in downtown Macomb that would carry local and organic foods. We welcome your participation in that meeting.

Don’t forget that CSA time is between 5:00 p.m. and dark (6:40 ish). See you this evening and dress warmly!