Farmer John and Piggy Karin

Make memories with Little Ridge Farm!  Be sure to snap a shot with our face board and walk the farm in this GORGEOUS fall weather!  The colors both in the fields and on the field edges are enlivening.  I will admit I am partial to the fall season, but this year has been brilliant.  We had our first frost this weekend, letting the most sensitive crops (basil, tomatoes and squash) go.  The pepper plants are amazingly still green however we harvested all the fruit off last week in preparation.

Sunshine Winter Squash

I have succumb to the winter squash and you will find pumpkins and acorn squash in the pick up this week.  I am surprised at how anxious one is to eat a winter squash in September when we have six months ahead of us with them and only a couple short ones of summer crops.  I always drag my feet to put them in the CSA and encourage folks to eat the last of the summer crops (cucumbers, zucchinis and tomatoes).  Then, honestly, I hold the greatest storage ones (butternut and winter sweet) until later in the winter and dole out the damaged or shorter storage ones first.  I know it seems stiff but it’s my seasonal eating / non food wasting behavior kicking in.  I want to get as much out of the yield as possible; starting at the front of the root cellar with the ones that do not keep as long and move our way to the back ending the winter with the most durable.  Plus, many crops are most flavorful at their destined eating date.  For example if one eats a sweet potato right after harvest, they will find a bland, UNsweet potato.  But after proper curing and time resting out of the ground, they evolve their carbohydrates into the flavorful sweetness we expect.

Scarlet

Speaking of sweetness….this is the last week for our piggies.  This group has been characters and right now they LOVE getting scratched.  So much so, they will stop eating and slowly fall to the ground so you can rub their belly.  Sending them off on Sunday will not be easy.  Many ask how I can raise an animal and then eat it.  I ask, how can one eat an animal they did not know had fresh air, clean water, natural room to roam…a happy life?  Remember, we vote EVERY day; our food choices dictate how life (animals, the environment and farm workers) are treated.

Meet JP (Janky Pole barn)

THIS is the reason there was no email or blog last week.  JP pulled us in.  We need to get her covered so we can order a load of straw soon so we can plant and mulch garlic.  Harvest is priority but as soon as we have a spare hour, we are measuring, sawing and hammering.  Speaking of….if anyone wants to help this weekend, I want to try and finish!!

3 weeks of Summer CSA left. 

Reserve your 2023 summer share spot now. 

And join us for Winter CSA too!

This Week’s Bounty: lettuce, spinach, chard, beets with greens, rainbow carrots, celery, hakurei turnip, tomato, garlic, onion, acorn/spaghetti/pumpkin