Category: What’s in the Bag

Dear CSA Member

The green that was summer is slowly melting as the trees are now well on their way to reds, yellows and oranges. Even though it has been very rainy, the bright yellows are highlights in the landscape.

The garden is also settling in to a different rhythm. The hectic, sun filled summer is now heavier, grounded and very fall like. We are pulling vegetables from the earth: Beets, Celeriac, Black Radish and Leeks. You will be able to tell right away because even though we do wash the root crops, during very rainy times, the soil holds despite our best efforts. We use a Barrel Washer to wash the root crops. It really is an oak barrel with spray nozzles attached to the top. It spins and the root crops are washed as they make their way to the other end. Mennonite crafts people created and manufacture the barrel washer and it works rather well but you will still need a good vegetable brush.

Great news from the Yorkville CSA and Yorkville CSA member Dick Sandhaus Dick is the voice behind the Better, Cheaper, Slower e-news site subscriptions@BetterCheaperSlower.com.

CSA Cooking Contest
At long last we have a winner representing the Yorkville CSA at the first CSA Smackdown to be held later this season by Just Food. Dick Sandhaus smoked the competition with his root rosti served with deliciously crispy lacinato kale chips and warm, chunky salsa of apples, pears and fresh mint. The rosti was a play on the classic swiss pancake-like dish but instead of the traditional potatoes Dick combined grated beets, carrots and garlic for a dish that was crunchy on the outside and tender on the inside. And the whole thing was done in 30 minutes.

If you have recipes that you would like to share, please send them to me and I will post them in the recipe section of the farm website.

Market Place orders will be delivered with the CSA shares. Maple and honey are going quickly so please place your order if you would like to stock up for the winter months. The coffee is freshly roasted and really is delicious.

Enjoy the beautiful fall and the vegetables. The vegetables have been growing since the spring and it is time to harvest and enjoy the fruits of our labors.

Deborah
for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

The mornings are cool and the fields are wet with dew. The rains have been coming more frequently as the ponds and creeks fill with water for the winter.

Beautiful Siberian Kale is bursting from the crates. The leaves are still tender and the cold starts to enhance the flavor.

Freshly dug potatoes and leeks make a perfect pair. Add a bit of parsley and you have a soup that will be a treat.

The vegetables are hearty and perfect as the weather and seasons change.

THIS WEEK IS COFFEE SHARE PICK UP WEEK. PLEASE REMEMBER TO PICK UP YOUR COFFEE IF YOU HAVE A COFFEE SHARE.

We have been having trouble with our internet service and so Market Place orders will probably be a week late if you are just getting them in.

Enjoy the vegetables.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

The kale is beautiful. Slightly cooler weather and the flavor is even better. This week is Lacinato, some call it Dinosaur Kale. It is long, thin and blueish in color. I think it is one of the favorite kale varieties. Steam it, make kale chips, use it raw in a marinated kale salad. I actually never heard of eating raw kale until this year. Kale chips were also new to me a couple of years ago.

Garlic, at long last, will also be in your share. It is some of the nicest garlic we have ever harvested. What a treat to finally be able to savor the wonderful flavor.

The new photos will be on the Farm Face Book page. A monster black bear ran across the field the other day. We think he was about 400 pounds. It was in the afternoon and our farm day off. Thank goodness. Pete and I happened to be going by in the truck just as the bear made his way across the newly planted rye. They are just magnificent to see but we were glad we were in the truck. Hopefully it was a rare afternoon outing for the bear. I took photos of his foot prints and posted them on the Face Book page. It just isn’t as impressive as his massive, shiny black hide shimmering across the field, but a lot safer.

Market Place orders will be delivered with your CSA shares. Honey and Maple Syrup are perfect partners with Winter Squash. There is still a good supply of A and B Grades of Maple and also Honey, but it is good to order earlier rather than be disappointed that we have sold out the size you would like.

Enjoy the Vegetables, enjoy Fall.
Deborah
for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

Cooler night times, cooler day times, the sun is shining with bright fall intensity.  The sky seems extra blue and the colors of the fall vegetables are like a sea of greens and blues.  During the farm visit a young member asked why some of the leaves of kale are blue.  We live with the shades across the field every day.  The variety of fall colors are taken for granted until they are viewed with fresh eyes.  There are many varieties of Brassicas that fill the shares during the fall and cooler months.  Kale, Collards, Cabbage are all family members, each with its’ own color, texture and flavor.

Each Brassica is bursting with health related benefits, beautiful colors and textures and taste.  This week Green Fall Cabbage is in your share.  There are  recipes for Sauerkraut in a Mason Jar, Cole Slaw and Braised Cabbage on the farm website, Recipe link.  Cabbage will also keep in your refrigerator vegetable bin for a very long time.

Carrots in colors.  The bunch of carrots in your share this week is something Peter tried for the first time this year.  We grow nice big delicious orange carrots.  They can’t be beat. Each December when we are ordering seed for the next season, the seed catalogs tempt us with new varieties, colors, shapes of the tried and true vegetables. Carrots come in many colors: orange, yellow, purple. This year Peter decided we would order a smaller amount of the purple and yellow carrots and mix those seeds with some orange carrot seeds. planting them all together in one row.  The result is a beautiful bunch of carrots with orange, purple and yellow.  I still think the orange are the best tasting, but the bunches are beautiful.  The yellow carrots almost seem like a Parsnip.  Long and thin.  The purple carrots are dark skinned but still orange on the inside.  We hope you like this diversion from orange.

If you would like to order Honey, Maple, Coffee or another of the Market Place products,  Click on Market Place at the farm website and log into your account.  The order will be delivered with your CSA shares.

This week on the farm Face Book page are a variety of photos of early fall.

Enjoy fall, enjoy the vegetables,
Deborah
for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

COFFEE SHARES ARE DELIVERED THIS WEEK.  IF YOU HAVE A COFFEE SHARE, PLEASE PICK UP YOUR ORDER.

The fields are starting to look like fall.  The Winter Squash has been harvested and is being stored in the barns and greenhouse.  The garlic was picked quite a while ago and is drying and curing.  The kale, collards, green and red cabbages look like a picture.  The many gradations of colors are beautiful.  Beets, carrots and potatoes are beneath the soil, but we can see the mounds that cover the roots.  The rows that held summer vegetables have been tilled and a cover crop of Winter Rye spread over.  The rye will germinate and grow even in cold conditions.  The green blanket will keep the soil protected during the winter and also add green matter in the spring.  The last direct seeding of Turnips and Radishes are just emerging. The rows are a straight line of small green stitches down the row as the tiny plants grow.

Even the fruit has turned from summer to fall.  The first of the Gala Apples and Bartlett Pears are in the Fruit Share.

The Farm Festival was just wonderful. So many members arrived to sunny skies that held the entire day. Wagon rides, picking carrots, flower bouquets, sharing lunch with other members, pumpkin decorating. There are photos on the Farm Face Book page if you would like to take a look.

Enjoy the bounty of the seasons.
Deborah, for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

The Annual Farm Festival is this upcoming Saturday, September 8 from 11:30-3:00. Open to all Stoneledge Farm CSA Members.

Come meet your farmers, walk the fields and see how and where your vegetables are grown. Please bring a dish to share for our pot luck luncheon and your own place setting. The farm will provide pork and corn on the cob from the roaster, fresh fruit and water, freshly brewed coffee. Kim and Mickael Paradis of Paradis to Go, https://paradistogo.com/about.html, 114 Fourth Ave New York, NY 10003 will be manning the roaster. We are so happy to have Kim and Mickael joining us this year.

There will be Wagon Rides around the fields, freshly dug carrots to pick up and take home. Before you leave take time to pick a fresh bouquet of flowers. Please bring your own scissors and container to transport your bouquet. The flowers are near the end of their summer glory, but still hold some beautiful colors. All of our Market Place products: honey, maple syrup, coffee, preserves, salsa  will be available for purchase.

Other farms that will also  be attending

Our friends and neighbors, HEATHER RIDGE FARM. Fiber products and pasture raised meats. Are you a knitter, crocheter, spinner? Heather Ridge has beautiful yarns and rovings for your project. They have incredibly warm socks, a blend of their own sheep wool and llama fiber, machine washable. Crew and boot styles, many sizes. They make wonderful holiday gifts. Try a tasting of their award winning Chili. Containers of frozen chili will be available for purchase along with all of their pasture raised meats. To see the full order form  to pre-order any of their products, please go to the farm website, www.stoneledgefarmny.org,  Farm Blog. You can download their price list and pre-order form there.

PAINTED GOAT FARM with their artisan goat milk cheeses. Tastings and cheese for purchase. Painted Goat farm has been working with a number of our CSA sites and we are happy to have them attending.

WINTER SUN FARM with information about their CSA Winter Share will also be attending.

For directions to the farm, go to Contact and Directions link on the farm website and use the 145 Garcia Lane, Leeds, NY 12451 address. Driving down Garcia Lane please go all the way to the end of the road. You will pass through a gate and see the barns and tents. Parking will be in the grassy area.

Parents and guardians, we welcome children for a day of fun on the farm. We are planning child centered activities but this is a working farm and you are responsible for your children. 

A member also sent the information that  the 5th Annual Village of Catskill Artists Studio & Gallery Tour is scheduled for Sept. 8 & 9, 11 am – 5 pm. https://www.catskillartiststour.com/.

PLEASE NOTE, THE REGULAR COFFEE SHARE DELIVERY FOR SEPTEMBER WILL BE MADE NEXT WEEK DUE TO THE HOLIDAY DELIVERY SCHEDULE THIS WEEK .  

This week on the farm Face Book page is the Winter Squash Harvest.

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

Dear CSA Member

The garden is turning the corner towards fall.  Beautiful carrots, Summer Savory, and Spinach are in your share this week.  We continue to gather what is still being produced of the summer crops with tomatoes and peppers.  The colors are just outstanding as we fill the crates to deliver to the CSA sites.

The Farm Festival is scheduled for September 8 from 11:30-3:00. A great day to come and visit the farm and meet your farmers and experience first hand how your vegetables are raised. Complete information will be posted on the farm web site, Farm Blog.

Market Place orders will be delivered with the CSA shares. There are two new Coffee roasts, Espresso and also a Mid Day Coffee in both ground and whole bean available from the online CSA Market Place.

This week the farm FaceBook page should be updated on Sunday.

Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah, for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

We walk the fields often to observe. The health of the plants, the growth of the vegetables, what is ripe, what will soon be ripe. The fall time vegetables after tempting such a bounty of summer but we must resist for a bit. Soon the sunshine taste of summer will be replaced with the hearty tastes of fall. The vegetables of summer must be picked or they will be lost. Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes. They are ripe and delicious. It has been a good season this year for tomatoes and we are happy to have a nice share again this week. Peppers of all colors, Walla Wall Onions, Summer Leeks, Basil and Bright Lights Swiss Chard.

I hope you have made note of the Farm Festival on September 8. It is an unique opportunity to come and experience your CSA vegetable farm. You will walk the fields and look over the crops that fill your share. We will be digging carrots for you to help pick and take home. There will be a pork and corn roast and we ask that you bring a dish to share for a huge pot luck luncheon and your own place setting. We planted about 1/4 acre of flowers for the Farm Festival and I hope they will still be in really good shape so you can pick a bouquet to bring home. Heather Ridge Farm will be attending with yarns, socks made from fibers from their own flock, pasture raised meats and poultry, bees wax candles. All from their farm. I will be posting their list on the farm website if you would like to take a look and even pre-order. Winter Sun Farm, the Winter CSA share folks, will also be attending. They will have info about their Winter CSA shares. Hope you will be able to make the trip.

This week I am planning on posting our Farm Family Photo Album on the Farm Face Book page if I can get everyone to stand still long enough for a photo. The photos will be posted Monday.

Enjoy the vegetables.
Deborah for everyone at Stoneledge Farm

Dear CSA Member

The sounds outside are changing and, although the calendar says it is summer, we can already hear that the insects know that the seasons are rolling along.  There is a constant chirp in the air and it is so constant that you do not notice the sound unless you stop and listen. I’m not sure what insect it is, but it is the sound of late summer.

The heavy rains that come with intense heat have been pounding the farm during the last week.  It has been so dry that the rain is rather quickly drawn into the soil but with such downpours it makes for some muddy going.  The creek has been very low and now is flowing  quickly. The summer vegetables have been soaking up the sun and probably also the intermittent rains. The flavors are intense this year as they seem to be in a dry, hot season. Tomatoes, onions, peppers and basil. Could it be any better?

We are working on plans for the Farm Festival to be held on September 8 for all CSA members. Heather Ridge Farm, farmer our friend Carol Clement, will once again have a display with items for sale from her farm. Long time friends and CSA members Bonnie and Lori will be manning the Heather Ridge Farm booth for Carol. Heather Ridge Farm is a pasture based livestock farm. At the last Farm Festival there were a number of CSA members that were discussing yarns, knitting, and spinning. Carol will have a beautiful supply of locally raised and spun yarns as well as socks from her own alpaca fibers.

If you have suggestions of what you would like to see included at the Farm Festival, please send me your ideas at info@stoneledgefarmny.org. We will be concentrating on the vegetable production at our farm and our farming practices. If there is something you would be especially interested in hearing about, seeing or participating in, we would like to hear from you. Peter is planning on digging carrots for members to pick up and take home. There is nothing like getting your hands in the soil to pull out a beautiful orange carrot. We will have a pork roast, corn on the cob, fresh fruit, walks around the fields and tractor pulled wagon rides as well. We ask members to bring a dish to share along with your own place setting. Mark your calendars, load up the family and come to the farm for the day.

New photos that are posted each Sunday on the farm Face Book page https://www.facebook.com/StoneledgeFarm. I make a circle around the fields and catch a glimpse of our week.

Enjoy the Vegetables
Deborah, for everyone at Stoneledge Farm