Category: Note from the Farmer

Dear CSA Member

It has been really cold with temperatures in the 20’s the other night but the sun is shining today and the leaves on the trees are magnificent. This week there are a number of different vegetables in you CSA share. Brussels Sprouts on the stalk, Celeriac, Fall Turnips along with Potatoes, Beets, Lettuces which not only survived but thrived in the frost, Boc Choi, Onions and Butternut. Your bags will be heavy as we move into the end of the CSA season. The fall vegetables after being touched with frost have an even sweeter flavor.

The Brussels Sprouts need to be cut from the stalk, any damaged outer leaves removed, rinsed. The men move through the field with heavy knives cutting the top leaves from the plant and then cutting through the stem. The stalk is sturdy and very hard to cut. The sprouts will keep for a long time in a plastic bag or other storage container in the refrigerator.

Celeriac or Celery Root has the flavor of celery and can be used in any soup or stew or in a variety of salads or cooked. There are recipes on the farm website, Recipe section.

Please visit the farm website Farm News to see the students of PS 11 visiting the farm and helping pick up potatoes. There is also more information about Daikon Radish included with last weeks news.

We are nearing the end of the season so please place your orders for honey, maple, coffee and chocolate if you are interested. The products are all from small family farms, farmers that we know and help support with the Marketplace. They make great holiday gifts and you might want to stock up for the long cold days ahead as well. There are many bulk amounts of vegetables and fruit available as well.

Enjoy the bounty of the harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

Perfect fall weather and perfect fall crops this week in the CSA shares. New photos on the farm website, Farm News, https://www.stoneledge.farm/on-the-farm/farm-blog. The daikon patch seemed to be at the edge of the rainbow. Beautiful sun and clouds across the Catskill Mountains with our fields in the foreground. Take a look.

Daikon, Beets with Greens, Butternut Winter Squash, Red Onions, Potatoes, fall Lettuces, Red Cherriette Radishes, Mizuna and Red Mustard. A treat to have a fresh lettuce salad once again. The fall planting of lettuces, Mizuna and Mustard are always milder and sweet tasting. Chop the Mustard and Mizuna and try adding to your salad. The Red Mustard is stunning with the deep purple color on one side of the leaf and green on the other. Amazing. The Red Ace Beets are two vegetables in one bunch. Use the greens separately and then the root.

Daikon recipes have been added to the website Recipe section. If you have a favorite please send it to the farm so we can share your recipe as well.

Many items have been added to the CSA online Marketplace for bulk orders. The beekeeper has just delivered freshly drawn honey in 2 pound jars. He was not sure just how much he would be able to gather but there was a very good supply. The fall honey is dark and rich.

Enjoy the bounty.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

Rain by the bucketful this past week. There was a deficit of rain in the overall rainfall this year to date going into the week and now a surplus. Over 7 inches of rain. The rain gauge records up to 6 inches and the water was pouring over the edges at 6 inches so we do not know exactly how much rain we did receive. The ground was so dry from months of no rain that the water quickly was soaked into the parched soil. Very cool weather after the rain and the fall greens are looking wonderful.

Giant Boc Choi, Deadon Cabbage, Butternut Winter Squash, Potatoes and Onions. Heavy fall vegetables that will fill your CSA shares. Try fresh cabbage sliced thinly on your lunch time sandwich in place of lettuce. Butternut Winter Squash can be used in any recipe calling for Winter Squash or Pumpkin with an even richer flavor. Potatoes are probably filling your vegetable drawer in your refrigerator and will keep into the winter if you do not use them up each week. Try a pinch of freshly ground Nutmeg in your mashed potatoes or Potato Gratin.

The chipmunks are frantic running from Oak tree to Oak tree picking up the acorns that have fallen, storing them away for winter. We are fortunate that we have warm kitchens and full refrigerators going into the cold winter months.

Enjoy the harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

Butternut Winter Squash was picked a month ago and has been curing in the heat of the greenhouses to develop the deep orange color and sweet, dense flavor. The variety is a smaller Butternut that is a bit easier to handle and has exceptional flavor. Winter Squash differs from Summer Squash in that the squash is mature with a hardened skin. You can use Butternut in any recipe calling for Winter Squash or Pumpkin. All the same family and you will find that the Butternut has a better texture and flavor than most pumpkins.

Lacinato Kale or Tuscano Kale or Dinosaur Kale. All the same kale with many different names. Lacinato Kale is a long, thin leaved kale with a slightly blueish tint to the leaves. A favorite for use fresh in Kale Salad.

The weeks are slipping by and you may like to stock up on honey and maple going into the winter. Both will keep and be a treat during the cold before we start our CSA deliveries once again next June. The Marketplace stock does start to run low toward the end of the season so please place your orders early to make sure you receive the products you would like. This week there are Cortland Apples available through the Bulk Fruit section of the Marketplace. If you like to make applesauce to can or freeze, Cortland Apples make a beautiful pink apple sauce when cooked with the skin on.

Enjoy this beautiful fall and the bountiful harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member,

Warm and sunny. A welcome week as September moves along. The Farm Visit was such a wonderful gathering of CSA Members and families. Thank you to everyone that made the trip to the farm.

Fall vegetables in abundance: Potatoes, Shallots, Kale, Cabbage and Radish. Shares start to feel heavier as the hearty crops of fall fill the shares. The very last picking of Eggplant, Peppers and Tomatillos. We try to harvest everything we can for your CSA shares.

There are bulk quantities of Gala, Macintosh and Fuji Apples available through the online CSA Marketplace. Fall seems to go hand in hand with delicious Maple Syrup that is available in Grade A Regular and Grade B Dark. The Grade B Dark Syrup is good for cooking or if you like a stronger flavored Maple Syrup. Maple Syrup, Bulk produce, Honey, Coffee and Chocolate are all available for weekly order through the online Marketplace. To order through the Marketplace log into your CSA Member Account from the farm website home page.

Enjoy this beautiful early fall weather and the harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

We are harvesting all of the summer time crops, cleaning the fields and you will have nice ripe tomatoes, peppers and eggplant again this week. The summer time crops will soon come to an end. Enjoy them while they last.

September 12 is the annual Fall Farm Festival from 11:30-3. If you are using GPS please use 145 Garcia Lane, Leeds, NY 12451. There are also directions on the farm website, “Contact Us” tab. Use the Physical Address. Come and meet your farmers, walk the fields where your vegetables are grown. At 12 we will gather for lunch. The farm will provide pulled pork with rolls and also a vegetarian stew, roast corn, portobello mushrooms, fresh fruit and coffee. We ask members to bring a dish to share to help round out the lunch offerings and their own place setting.

There will be wagon rides, walks around the farm, pick a bouquet of flowers and help dig potatoes to take home. If you would like to take flowers home, please bring your own scissors and something that will keep the flowers until you get home. Wet paper towels or newspapers in a plastic bag will usually do the trick. No pets, please.

If you are traveling from NYC you might be interested in the bus that Chelsea CSA is sponsoring:
Bus Info:

The Chelsea CSA is chartering a bus from NYC to the farm and back for the Fall Farm Festival on Saturday 9/12. Bus tickets are $5 per person and will help defray the cost of the bus rental. Tickets can be purchased here: https://stoneledgefarmvisit2015.eventbrite.com Transportation will leave from the Hudson Guild Elliott Center (441 West 26 St) at 8:30 am SHARP! Please arrive NO LATER THAN 8:15 am, or you will miss the bus. We will begin boarding at 8 am in front of the Center. Plan to arrive back in the city around 6 pm. Kids are welcome. Tickets are first-come first-served and are non-refundable.
Questions about the trip should be directed at events@chelseacsa.org. Day of contact is Laura, 908-866-1272.

Other local farms and businesses that will be attending:
Banana Moon Bakery with their delicious baked treats will have cookies and pie for sale.

Our local Beekeeper James McManus will have the observation hive and also honey for sale.

Stoneledge Farm Marketplace items will be available as well during the Farm Visit.

Hope to see you at the Fall Farm Festival this upcoming Saturday. If you have any questions please send an e-mail to the farm and we will be back in touch.

Enjoy the harvest.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

Moving into fall and you will see the difference starting to show in your CSA shares. There are still summer time vegetables: Tomatoes and Peppers with new fall crops of Kale, Broccoli and Leeks. Each week the farm moves slowly with the seasons.

September 12 is the annual Fall Farm Festival from 11:30-3. If you are using GPS please use 145 Garcia Lane, Leeds, NY 12451. There are also directions on the farm website, “Contact Us” tab. Use the Physical Address. Come and meet your farmers, walk the fields where your vegetables are grown. At 12 we will gather for lunch. The farm will provide pulled pork with rolls and also a vegetarian stew, roast corn, portobello mushrooms, fresh fruit and coffee. We ask members to bring a dish to share to help round out the lunch offerings and their own place setting.

There will be wagon rides, walks around the farm, pick a bouquet of flowers and help dig carrots to take home. If you would like to take flowers home, please bring your own scissors and something that will keep the flowers until you get home. Wet paper towels or newspapers in a plastic bag will usually do the trick. No pets, please.

If you are traveling from NYC you might be interested in the bus that Chelsea CSA is sponsoring:
Bus Info:

The Chelsea CSA is chartering a bus from NYC to the farm and back for the Fall Farm Festival on Saturday 9/12. Bus tickets are $5 per person and will help defray the cost of the bus rental.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://stoneledgefarmvisit2015.eventbrite.com
Transportation will leave from the Hudson Guild Elliott Center (441 West 26 St) at 8:30 am SHARP! Please arrive NO LATER THAN 8:15 am, or you will miss the bus. We will begin boarding at 8 am in front of the Center. Plan to arrive back in the city around 6 pm. Kids are welcome. Tickets are first-come first-served and are non-refundable. Questions about the trip should be directed at events@chelseacsa.org. Day of contact is Laura, 908-866-1272.

Other local farms and businesses that will be attending:

Banana Moon Bakery with their delicious baked treats will have cookies and pie for sale.

Our local Beekeeper James McManus will have the observation hive and also honey for sale.

Stoneledge Farm Marketplace items will be available as well during the Farm Visit.

Hope to see you at the Fall Farm Festival.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm