A bunch of announcements for the most part.
This is the last week of the season. Please plan accordingly. If you show up next week we can only assume you are here to help us put away the farm so we’ll assign you a task or two to do.
We are taking veggie orders for the 2021 season. Sign-up now and lock in this year’s price for next season’s veggies! Just $100 down to reserve your shares. Send in a check, bring in cash, order online or send the down payment through PayPal using my email address.
We have extra garlic from winter shares available for sale at the low, low price of $15/lb. For on-farm members you can purchase garlic in the pick-up tent. For drop-site members please let me know by noon on the day of your delivery and we can include it in your delivery tote. A pound is 5 to 8 bulbs (I think; I didn’t weigh it this year) depending on the size of the bulb. It typically stores until March of the following year so stock up for the winter!
We also have shallots left over from winter share. We are selling shallots for the low, low price of $10/lb. Same purchase options as the garlic. We’ve found shallots lasting until June of the following year so again now is the time to stock up!
We are offering Winter FruitShare for the 2020-2021 season. This is a great way to get delicious, certified organic fruit all winter long (and into spring). Being seasonal, typically winter fruit includes apples, pears, Asian pears, clementines, satsumas, cara cara oranges, blood oranges, grapefruit, kumquats and then later in the spring early stone fruit and possibly berries. The price is $795 for 15 boxes of fruit. Pick-up locations are at the farm and at our Cathedral drop site. Pick-up days are Wednesdays. Feel free to select “Payment Plan” during check out and spread your payments out over a few months. Let me know if you have any questions.
I was informed by a couple of members that they received some carnival squash that were rotten inside — not just a little bit rotten but substantially rotten. There was nothing on the exterior to indicate a problem in the inside and the squash was solid as one would expect a good squash to be. Has anyone else experienced this and if so can you describe what it looked like or even better did you take a picture you can send me? If you come across one at a later date please take a picture or three and send them my way. I’m working with someone at the University of Minnesota to figure out the cause. Thanks!
We are giving out carrots again with the tops on. To prevent the carrot roots from dehydrating and turning to rubber it is best to remove the tops and store them separately. The tops keep transpiring moisture but the root no longer have a way to replace the lost water. Removing the tops removes the problem. What to do with the tops? I’ve always thought about making pesto but haven’t tried it yet. Anyone else have a suggestion?
What’s been happening?
First I want to thank all those who came out for this year’s Gigantic Annual Garlic Gala. We had ten people helping this year, fully masked and socially distant. We got it all planted by 5:00. Yay! Thank you to all the GAGGers!
Second we’ve been hard at work finishing up all the harvesting, washing, packing and delivering for the end of the season. I don’t recall my last day off, I think it was sometime in August.
What will we have this week?
Being the last week of the year there are a lot of odds and ends. However we do have a lot of carrots! We also have lots of shallots and garlic. In smaller quantities are winter squash, potatoes, green onions, leeks, a few broccoli, a few Napa cabbage, some smaller red and green cabbages, lemongrass, radishes, daikon radishes, a few beets, and a few other things I can’t think of at the moment.
We also have FruitShare, EggShare, WinterShare and CoffeeShare.
For those of you who ordered WinterShare and pick-up at a drop site location: You will find your share at your pick-up location. It may be in multiple boxes. We will put your name on the boxes. Please be sure to grab your share and check to make sure you have everything (onions, shallots, garlic, winter squash and potatoes). Contact me if you have any questions.
That is all for now. I have to get out there and finish harvesting, washing and packing! Who remembers the Dunkin Donut commercial from last century? That’s what I feel like in the summer, except a lot more nutritious. Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, suggestions or links to commercials that represent your life!