Today’s CSA Share Box: Week 16, September 26, 2018 (all descriptons from Fedco website)
 
Tomato combo pack- 1 lb 
Pepper(s) Hot Wax- 2
Seckle Pears – 1 lb (please excuse the cosmetic issues- they are tasty when ripe but not up to orchard standards)
Leeks -1 bunch
Joi Choi Tat Soi- 1 bunch
Lady Murasaki:  1 bunch (Japanese mustard spinach)
Golden Frill Mustard: 1 bunch “Light golden-green leaves curl and furl, lift and separate, adding flounce to your salad mix. Intricate serration of foliage seems almost laser cut. Its mustard flavor gives an acute peppery zing”
Ruby Streaks Mustard- 1 bunch: “…has a sweet and spicy flavor, though not excessively hot. Even after it bolts, its flower buds and yellow flowers can add a tang to salads.”
Garnet Giant Asian Green- 1 bunch: “The sweet spicy leaves, stems and flowers were all equally tender and delicious, whether grazed or braise”
Mini Purple Winter Radish- 1 “All sizes, from small 3" up to the 9" bombs, have excellent crunchy tender raw texture and mildly spicy flavor. When cooked, Mini becomes firm and oh-so-sweet and savory with tangy hints of rutabaga.”
Thai Basil- 1 bunch
Zinnias- 1 bouquet

Today’s CSA Share Box: Week 15, September 18, 2018

Tomato combo pack- 2+ lbs 
Zucchini (2 small) OR Trombochino (1 medium lg)
Broccoli bouquet OR Cabbage
Kale- 1 bunch
Chard- 1 bunch
Onions- 1 red, 1 white
Garlic- 1 bulb
Pepper(s) Hot OR Sweet 1 or 2 (due to the vole epidemic, there are few peppers L )
Herbs

• Thai Basil
• Parsley
• Dill

Zinnias- 1 bouquet
 
Update: Voles have destroyed about 80-90% of our carrot, beet, and pepper crops. It is very discouraging to say the least.  You got the last of the surviving beets last week. Peppers will be few if any at this point. Any carrots I would put in your boxes would have chew marks on them- not nice- so there will be no carrots. Celery and leeks are also reduced due to excessive rain/rot. I am so sorry.

As we move into fall, I want to thank everyone who signed on to this CSA with me for the 2018 growing season.  I also want to give an update on the crop damage that you may or may not be aware of.

We have had a vole invasion here like never before. Part of that is probably due to the lack of a garden cat. While I could have taken pictures this past week of the entire beet crop that was destroyed (except for what I managed to save to put in your CSA shares) I did not have the heart to do it. I put the chewed remains of the roots and the tops in the garden cart for the chickens to enjoy. I would say that the voles got 90% of the beet crop. I had planned to have beets through the end of the season. There simply aren't any left. Then I started digging up the remains of the carrots. I don't think there are any that haven't been chewed part way.  Another fall crop pretty much down the tubes. They had looked incredible back in July- lush tops and great early carrots-remember? All pretty much ruined. And of course the voles loved the peppers. I would say 80% crop loss there. The little buggers either eat most of a pepper, or they just take a bite out of each one as it starts to ripen so the water and moisture gets in and they start to rot from the inside out. I have touched more pepper slime this season than I have in my whole life.  I should have had an outstanding pepper crop this year having planted more than 100 plants. This is discouraging stuff. 

The other crop issues were too much rain for the leeks and celery, both of which had quite a bit of rot.

We had a great year of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, cabbage, kale, chard,and raspberries. Early lettuces were incredibly fine. Basil has been decent. Zinnias have been great. Sugar snap peas and beans were decent. And the Asian greens have been a grand experiment. All one has to do is look back in the blog posts to see the great boxes that went out of here each week. I had promised an asst of 8 crops each week, and I know that there were always more than 8 crops each week.

I am not sure what the next 7 or so weeks will have with harvest, but hopefully the new crops of arugula, lettuce, and assorted Asian greens will pan out. We will see as the weeks progress.

In the meantime, we are building up our barn cat collection hoping for some serious hunters to combat this vole problem.

Today’s CSA Share Box: September 12, 2018

Tomato combo pack- 2+ lbs 
Summer squash asst- zucchini/yellow squash – 3
Kale- 1 bunch
Beets- 1 bunch

Stir Fry Collection
Leeks- 2
Sweet/Hot peppers- 2-3
Oasis turnips- 1 small bunch
Mini Purple Winter Radish- 1 “Wide plumb-bob–shaped 5" long by 2½" wide roots with gorgeous Easter egg bluish-purple skin and greenish-purple shoulders are “mini” only when compared to regular, long white daikons. Mini daikon is an oxymoron (dai means ‘big’) Topped by vibrant dark green leaves with short stems blushed purple-pink. Interior flesh is ringed deep purple with streaks through white meat merging into a purple sunburst core. All sizes, from small 3" up to the 9" bombs, have excellent crunchy tender raw texture and mildly spicy flavor. When cooked, Mini becomes firm and oh-so-sweet and savory with tangy hints of rutabaga.” (From Fedco Seed website)
Green Meat Radish or Misato Rose Radish- 1
Joi Choi Tatsoi- 2 bunches
Zinnias- 1 bouquet
 

Today’s CSA Share Box: September 5, 2018
 
Tomato combo pack- 2+ lbs 
Summer squash asst- zucchini/yellow squash - 4
Cucumber- 2
Asst Peppers- 4-5
Kale- 1 bunch
Chard- 1 bunch
Green Beans- 1 lb+
Large Onions- 1 red, 1 yellow
Garlic- 1 bulb
Rhubarb- 1 bunch
Zinnias- 1 bouquet