Erehwon Farm CSA Newsletter Week 16 of 19  September 25, 2005 Farm Report Hello all from a misty Erehwon.  The bit of moisture and the cool weather has helped the greens along and we should have a good selection for the remaining weeks.  We are about half way through the winter squash and pumpkin harvest.  Numerous volunteers worked over the summer weeding that area and we are getting a pretty good harvest of the hard goods.   Hornworms continue to feast on the tomato plants but I’ve noticed several cases of of what apopear to be wasps laying their eggs on the horn worm and the eggs burrow into the hornworm and kill it.  It is always fascinating to see that when one pest gets too plentiful a natural predator shows up to get things back into balance. Volunteers continue to come out and help.  Robin Migalla helped us harvest and then cut tomatoes to fill our dehydrator.  Barb Hicks worked her magic in the herb department and Sarah Swindle helped improve the compost pile on Saturday morning.  If anyone else would like to help, pretty much any time during the week, just send me an email and I’ll make sure there is a task to work on.  We are starting to clear out beds in preparation for next year and need to do everything we can to increase the amount of compost we can make by spring.  As the leaves begin to fall, please bring them to the farm for composting.  If you are one of the delivery subscribers, I can take one bag of yard waste from each location  in the van. Yesterday we had a good turnout for our Farm Day but the threat of rain undoubtedly kept attendance from being higher.  Beth put together a scavenger hunt that had some of the younger set roaming through the garden looking for mini-pumpkins, Swiss chard and other hard-to-find items.  A number of only slightly-damp subscribers toured the farm, snacked on raspberries and sun sugar tomatoes and a few got a glimpse of a menacing praying mantis.   OD Tapo IMI steel drummers Gerard and Sandy Brillowski sent music wafting out over the garden and had a group dancing up a storm.  Subscribers brought all kinds of great vegetarian dishes including eggplant by julian Miller (see recipe below) and Bimla Kecht, Italian pizza from Magdelena, Bimla’s friend.  I finally had a chance to taste Jane Halteman’s red beets and eggs – delicious!  Alexis Compton’s managed the farm drawing activity, Katie Bartel painted the faces of subscribers, Ray Compton and Jenny Gresko organized the s’ mores (thanks Georgine Bosak for bringing the ingredients).  Thanks to Heidi Compton for helping set up. Thanks to Jerry Johnson for coming to talk about the history of the Mongerson farm.  We wrapped up the even with singing led by Betty Sanders.  Wow, is my singing voice is over the hill – I’m going to practice before next year.  Thanks for “For Tim’s a Jolly Good Fellow” and “Old (moi?)Tim Fuller Had a Farm”. We  And thanks for those I forgot to mention and to all for coming. After everyone had gone I sat out by the dying fire, looking out over the garden, feeling tired but satisfied, and thinking that we’ve really got something good going here. . From Your Garden This Week Standard shares should include: (subject to change of course)   Lettuce Sweet Peppers Tomatoes: Various kinds.   Potatoes Winter squash Carrots Jumbo shares may also include raspberries, strawberries and arugula, pesto basil, broccoli Extras:  Pick  3 or 5 for jumbo subscribers plus one herb. Parsnips (new this week) Beets Tiny baby beet greens Spinach Spicy salad mix Mustard greens Arugula Mizuna Salsa pack (tomatillos, cilantro, and hot peppers) Eggplant (regular or oriental) Hot peppers Bag of red/brown/orange mini sweet peppers Red Cabbage Mini Cabbage (2) Kale Chard Summer Squash Gourd – birdhouse, apple, or snake Herb List Important Note:  We are expecting 36 degrees on Wednesday night which could severely damage our basil.  If you want to load up and make pesto sauce for the winter, now is the time.  You may order a single, double, or triple size of pesto basil. Dill Basil—regular, lemon, lime, Thai, dark opal (purple with a wonderfully strong flavor)(pesto sized bag available if you ask) Chives, Cilantro, Lemon Balm, Marjoram, Mint—spearmint, Oregano, Parsley—flat leaf or curled,  Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Winter Savory Pages from Grandma Beth’s Cookbook Announcements Delivery Times:  As you may have noticed, I’m running later than expected delivering so I’d like to give you a better schedule (95% likely to meet): Lombard: 3:00 Wheaton: 3:45 Elgin:   5:00 Farm Pickup Times Wednesday Pickup:  Starting Wednesday, September 28, we would like to change the hours to 4-6:30 because it will be getting dark earlier.  If you cannot get to the farm by 6:30, call Beth’s cellphone ( 630-346-1503 )and she will bag you order and leave it in a cooler on the table for you (you can drive right in, get your bag, and continue around the circular drive. Friday Pickup: Since some of our extras, such as herbs, are unsold items from the Friday Farmers’ Market in St. Charles, and Beth gets back to the farm about 2 p.m., if you could come after 2:15, it would help us have time to get everything onto the tables. We Get Mail Hi Tim, The American Kale Society reporting in. It was great fun to be out there on Friday. I would encourage all the subscribers to demo their favorite veggie dishes. Good news on the Fresh Market visit, too. I also encourage you and Beth to really think about seeing Joel Salatin in November. With the three meals included, $105 is really not a bad price at all, and the topic of "Can I do the small farm thing and make a living at it" is right up your alley! Let me know if you need another flyer, I can email the front and back pages. The registration needs to be in by October 1st. For extras I'll take: Eggplant Beets Kale Chard Summer squash I hope I can make it out on Wednesday this week. Hugs, Robin Ok, I’m sending in my deposit for the Salatin seminar.  The “making a living” part really got my attention.  tf Hi Tim- For my three extras, any herbs you can spare, eggplant, red cabbage, and gourd. For next year, I would love okra and celery. Can't wait for the fruit. By the way, Vegetarian Times magazine has some excellent recipes for squash, and a bunch of other vegetables in season. I have been getting the magazine for the last few months and have got tons of ideas. Betty S. OK, okra and celery for next year.  I’m sure okra will work but the celery will be an experiment as it takes a long time to mature and is fussy its growing conditions.  tf I was wondering if you had rosemary plants available to purchase. Would those do OK inside? Also do you have oregano? Mine was doing quite well until I went on vacation and my husband forgot to water it. Also, how would parsley and cilantro do inside? I've never tried the parsley and have had horrible luck with cilantro. I am guessing Beth will be the on answering this. I really don't want to lose my source of fresh herbs, and the ones at the grocery store are so expensive! Thanks for growing such wonderful food. I really hope next year I can get out to volunteer a bit more. Julie Warren Rosemary, basil, oregano, should do OK inside.  Parsley is iffy because it likes cool weather.   For cilantro I suggest you plant a pot of seeds every couple of weeks and see what happens.   A grow light above the plants is also a good idea.  Standard cool florescent bulbs are fine for greenery but don’t have the full light spectrum needed for flowers and fruit.  tf Hello Tim – We’re looking forward to playing for our fellow subscribers on Sunday. I’m hoping someone will have some kale they’ve cooked up to share. The story of the hornworms sounds dastardly. You get the prize for bravery this week. Eeiw! Gerard and I are “gigging” on Wednesday and would like to pick up our shares on Friday. Would that be okay? Sandy Brillowski “Eeiw” – I’ve always wondered how you spell that word and it certainly describes the hornworm.  It’s not a problem to switch pick-up days as long as you give us a couple days notice.  tf