CSA Week 14: August 31st

It’s a rainy day in Detroit, which means these farmers got some much needed rest before getting ready for our Friday farm stand. Planning for the farm stand also means evaluating what we will have for the shares, so here’s what we decided on:

Half Shares:

Spicy Mix

Carrots

Cherry Tomatoes

Slicer Tomatoes

Parsley

Scallions

Eggplant

Garlic

Full Shares also get:

Kale

Potatoes

Pepper Mix (Anaheim, Thai Chilis, and Habaneros)

“Lunch Box” Sweet Peppers

Summer Squash

Consistency vs. Variety

As the CSA enters its last month and a half, we’ve been looking back at the variety of produce but also the consistency. Consistency is something we’ve been mastering while selling to restaurants so we can provide the same produce week after week. This requires planting in successions and growing a certain number of plants so that the right amount of produce is ready at a time (roughly, not exactly!). However, CSA farming is quite different. Instead of having 100 pounds of radishes every week, we want to have radishes some weeks but certainly not every week. Summer Squash is something we haven’t been able to put in half shares at all this season because the number of plants growing does not allow harvesting enough units at a time, but it would have been an appropriate amount for restaurants to buy. Since we created our crop plan in December, we’ve been tweaking as much as we can to have enough produce for shares while not repeating too much either. Next season we will be able to plan a bit better and find a way to make the different share sizes more equitable. We hope you’re not overly bored of repeating vegetables!

Recipe time!

This week is maybe a little bit of a cop out, as it’s a very loose “recipe,” or as I like to call it: Clean-out-the-fridge Curry! Is there cabbage and carrots staring at you every time you open your crisper? Me too, and here’s what I’ll be making this cooler weekend:

Clean-out-the-fridge Curry:

Ingredients:

1 large baking sheet full of any vegetables lying around (cabbage, kohlrabi, potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, etc.)

2-3 tablespoons Curry paste for about 4-5 quarts curry (I usually use red Thai curry paste)

Whole spices such as coriander, mustard seeds, cumin, etc.

1 can Coconut Milk (unsweetened)

Broth (chicken or vegetable)

Garlic

Ground spices like garam masala, turmeric, etc.

Instructions:

1. Roast the vegetables until tender. I like to coat them in olive oil, salt, curry powder, and cayenne to make the flavors deeper.
2. Mince garlic and onions. Heat oil (olive or coconut will work) in a large pot then add curry paste, whole spices, garlic, and onions. Stir around in oil for about a minute, until it’s pretty fragrant.
3. Add coconut milk and stir together until it’s a nice curry color. Maybe add more curry paste if it looks too pale or add turmeric and curry powder.
4. Add roasted vegetables and stir to combine. Add broth if you want it more liquidy. Add salt and ground spices.
5. Cook over medium low heat stirring here and there. Cook until the flavors are well combined and it’s the right consistency.
6. Serve with rice, naan, over a baked potato, with a scoop of yogurt, sky's the limit! Switch up the spices, add fresh herbs, add some meat or tempeh!

Field Notes

The rainy days have been so comforting for us. Knowing that the new fall transplants are getting well cared for by the earth, having a morning or afternoon off, or getting work done in the hoop house that was put off because of the heat. The rain brings lots of weeds as well, so we’ve been spending a lot of time cultivating. My personal favorite tool for cultivation is called the Mutineer Hoe, which is made by another small farmer out of New York state. The hoe can be switched out to about 6 different attachments for different types of weeding. There are collinear hoes, which are flat sharp edges that can go underneath our drip tape irrigation and knock down the weeds. There’s a wire hoe that is shaped like a hoop and only about three inches wide to get in between the carrot and beet rows when the plants are still small. We spend about 10-15 hours each week cultivating the garden beds, but without innovative tools like the Mutineer hoe, the wheel hoe, or the hula hoe, we would spend much more time!

Another side note: Andy’s podcast episode was released on the Thriving Farmer Podcast. I forgot to remind everyone to listen. It has a really in depth look at the formation of our farm and how we operate, so be prepared for some very detailed farming and business information!