Cold Weather Looming !
While the temperatures are still relatively on the warm side, the mornings are very cold and by the end of the week we should see temperatures in the 30’s. The crew has been working diligently to get all the warm weather crops out of the fields with all of the peppers and tomatoes harvested. The tomato trellises have been taken down. We plan on delivering for the last delivery of the season next week more tomatoes, green tomatoes and the cold weather crops that shouldn’t be too affected by the upcoming cold temperatures.
Franklin Greenhouse Report: Tonight’s ginger was harvested from the Franklin Greenhouse. Celery, rosemary and hot peppers are the only items left there. Michael will be working on cleaning it up mid-week and we’ll get it ready for winterizing.
The ginger is fresh harvested unlike the dried out ginger you find in your supermarket. It is being delivered with it stalks and leaves still attached, but you should remove the stalks and leaves and keep the ginger root for your recipes. Here are some ideas:
· Grate ginger for stir-frys, sauces & dressings.
· Slice into “coins”, then whack each coin to break up the fibers and release the ginger essence, heat oil in your sauce pan or wok and let ginger stir-fry for 30 seconds (stir-fry longer for a stronger ginger flavor, but do not allow to burn) – add your GARLIC and you have a start to a classic Oriental stir-fry.
· Use a vegetable peeler to peel paper-thin slices of the ginger root, then slice thinly and add as a condiment to soups, dumplings, fresh vegetable dishes.
· Make homemade Gingerade or Ginger Ale!
Fruit Report: This week we have Yellow Delicious from Hillcrest Farm. The girls picked the apples on Friday which is a nice break in the action from their usual farm work.
From the Fields: Needless to say everything is winding down with just one more week for deliveries. After the deliveries are over we will be clearing the fields, pulling up the plastic and start to prepare for next year. The first planting of garlic is up and growing. The rest of the garlic beds will be planted over the next few weeks. We plan on putting a few more beds to get a jump on next year so regardless of the weather we can transplant early crops.
If you want to go Apple Picking, Hillcrest Farms in Frankford Township has Pick-Your-Own-Apples on Saturdays in Sundays throughout September and October. They are located at the corner of Plains Road & Davis Road. You can also visit their dairy cows, take a scenic hayride and they have great fresh apple cider & cider donuts. For more information call: 973.703.5148.
Weather report:
It has been incredibly dry, though about ¼” of rain fell on Saturday night which “fluffed” up the field crops. No frost as of yet, but it is looming by the end of the week.
Animal report:
A deer broke into the back field and ate most of the lettuce that we were planning on delivering next week. Aside from that unhappy fact, the rest of the fields are intact and no problems in animal-land.
Sunchokes (Jerusalem Artichokes) – these are edible tubers that grow underground, similar to potatoes. They are knobby and will taste slightly nutty. Some say almost like a cross between an artichoke heart and a potato. They can be eaten raw or can be steamed, roasted, boiled, grilled, fried or even microwaved. * Best stored in a paper bag in your refrigerator.
Next Week–LAST DELIVERY OF THE SEASON
- See more at: http://catalparidge.blogspot.com/#sthash.HPBgWUe0.dpuf
October 21st - Pick of the Week: click on the links below or to the right to bring you to the delivery specific to your pick-up location. Deliveries will be of similar variety & poundage, but may contain different items at anytime during the season. Occasionally, some crops are ready to harvest but not enough to deliver to all our drop-off locations. What we do is start to filter them in each week to a different drop-off until there is enough to delivery to everyone.
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