Week 3: September 19 - September 22
Reminder: Your bag is located BELOW your name in the market cooler. Please be sure to take the correct bag. And please bring back your purple bag each week so we can continue to reuse it!
The unseasonable warmth continues! These hot days have us sweating like summer, even as we rush to get fall and winter crops planted before it’s too late. We’re reminding ourselves not to be lulled into a sense of eternal summer by this warm weather. Despite the late heat, we need to get most of our remaining crops in the ground this week so they have enough time to get established before there aren’t enough daylight hours to nourish them sufficiently. It’s not the heat, it’s the light that gets ya.
Highs in the upper 80s at this time of year might help extend tomatoes another week, but they provide challenges, too. Hot days raise soil temperatures, which impact the germination rate in our direct-seeded spinach and encourage other crops like baby kale to send up flowers and go to seed. We’ve been watering more to keep the soil cool, and using shade cloths to keep some of the beds out of direct sunlight. The dry weather means we’ve been irrigating more generally, as well - a stark change from the soggy summer we had.
On Sunday the season officially changes from summer to fall, and we’re checking milestones off of our list. Our caterpillar tunnels and moveable tunnels are planted with greens that we’ll harvest into November, and spinach that we’ll harvest through March or April. We’ve done our last transplant seeding for the year and pulled out a few crops that were ready to go. On Friday we’ll start preparing some of our tunnels for the fall and winter, making some repairs and putting new plastic on a few of our older structures.
This type of September presents a balancing act - dealing with hot days while prepping for cold nights. We’re grateful for the extra warm weeks to get pre-winter tasks accomplished. But we’re also looking forward to the sweetness of frost-touched carrots and Brussels sprouts, and the calmer pace of late fall.
Have a milestone checking week,
Ashley, Chris, Hallie, and the 10th Street Farm Crew
In Your Bag This Week
Flavor Mix microgreens: Mild and tasty, these make an easy salad on their own or can add some color to any other salad. Try them on eggs or sandwiches – or anything, really! Store in a bag in your fridge.
Farm Mix Salad Mix: A mix of red and green lettuce with just a splash of mustard greens. Delicious with just olive oil and salt, or dress it up! Store in a bag in your fridge.
Broccolini: Tasty tender broccoli shoots - eat them leaves and all. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Watermelon Radishes: These stunners are one of our favorite crops each fall - tiny watermelons with delicious sweet & mildly spicy flavor. Add to salads, sandwiches, or ramen for some tasty color. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Peppers: Sweet peppers are amazing raw, with dips, or added to a skillet or grill. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Potatoes - German Butterball: These heirloom potatoes are buttery and versatile - great baked, fried, steamed, or mashed. Store in a dark, dry place.
Arugula (half shares): Peppery greens that add zip to a salad. We love arugula dressed simply with oil and salt. Store in a bag in your fridge.
Carrots (full shares): These carrots are sweet, crunchy, and oh so addicting! Store in your fridge.
Kohlrabi (full shares): These alien-like roots are a cousin of radishes and salad turnips - mild and delicious. Peel and eat raw or cooked! Store in a bag in your fridge.
What should I make with what’s in the bag?
The German Butterball potatoes are a fun one this week - don’t forget to grab them from the table! Maybe try some crispy hash browns for breakfast this weekend? Or if you’re looking for a change of pace from your typical potato salad, this spicy kimchi potato salad sounds amazing.
If you haven’t had broccolini, you’re in for a treat. All of the flavor of broccoli, with more tenderness - you can eat the stems and leaves and all. We love it roasted with a little lemon and garlic. This weekend we’ll definitely be making this watermelon radish and orange salad, which looks absolutely showstopping. And maybe this bell pepper salad with capers and olives? The continued warm weather means it’s a great week for fresh salads - try to squeeze a few in over the weekend before the rain (hopefully) hits!
If you've found a recipe you're loving, please send it our way. We're always looking for new things to cook and share with other members!
We wash everything in your bag but we wash them in bulk so some things may need an extra rinse at home. Please bring your bag back next week so we can re-use it! Thanks!
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