Here we are at week 21 with only one more week left after this. We lifted the rest of the bed of daikon radishes with the help of a couple work share members. With the snow warning Sunday night, we figured they'd be safer in storage, however we are giving CSA members a break from them this week.  The total after thinning and thinning and thinning this bed for over a month was close to 1200 lbs! Some have been sold to Grindstone Farm and Syracuse Real Foods Co-Op this week, but there will be plenty for members next week.

Next week we will be offering 1 lb jars local honey in shares from Bender's Busy Bees. This honey is raw and bees are untreated with antibiotics or other chemicals (yes, they use them on bees too) and the bees will have a temporary home here next season if all goes as planned. Duane and Linda Bender were my neighbors at the Pulaski Farmer's market last year and suffered a terrible loss of their hives from the intensely cold winter we had. They are working on getting replacement colonies for next spring, and think they'd be happiest on an organic farm, and we'll be happy to host those lovely buzzers! If you'd rather not have the honey due to allergies or personal preference, please contact us so we can substitute the honey with produce.

Many member are sad to see the reason come to a close, and were wondering how to get their local organics until next season starts. My suggestion is this, for those who can make it; Saturdays at the CNY Regional Market. We will continue vending there through the winter as I have done for the past 2 winters for Grindstone. We still have eggs and some crops growing in the high tunnel and will be bringing Grindstone Farm's high tunnel crops until the end of November when they usually clear them out and uncover them. We'll also be bringing many of the items for sale on their online store, both local and non local and ALL organic. There are also many other great farms there throughout the winter months, with storage crops, greenhouse veggies, meats and dairy.  If the market is out of the question, consider Grindstone Farm's Healthy Boxes which are delivered to most of the same place our CSA delivers to. You can sign up for weekly eggs from us on the website from the interim months of Nov- May. This option is available for Regional Market and On Farm pick ONLY, or can be coordinated with your Grindstone Farm win

After reviewing some of the responses to the survey we put out last month, I'd like to clear up a few things. First an apology for not keeping up as well with the blog and harvests as promised. It has been a task on top of farming to get photos posted and a worthwhile blog written up, especially towards the end of the season while we are busy tidying up for winter, getting the last crops out of the ground and all the nuances that go with having three children in school. I did do my best to get a general harvest list out to members throughout the season, and while not exactly what ended up in boxes, it was the best we could do since often times items going into shares changed at the last minute due to quality and availability. 

Also it seems from some of the responses that perhaps many folks were just not sure what a CSA is. While there is a member agreement that has to be acknowledged prior to signing up, who really reads those things any ways? Some of the crops that didn't do well, or we didn't grow were sourced from Grindstone or Gingerich organic Farms, such as onions, sweet potatoes, the cabbage, blueberries etc. However,  this is a unique arrangement compared to many other CSA's  which only offer what they grow and does well. This, having been our very first season in production on our own; had its ups and downs. Some crops did better than expected, some far worse than we'd hoped. 

                  For those unfamiliar with Rutabaga, they are a  sort of turnip and sweeten in the cool night frosts. They can be stored in the crisper bagged in the fridge for a month or more. Great addition to soups, or roasted veggies, or on their own. My mother always makes them at Thanksgiving mashed with butter and caramelized onions. Martha Stewart takes a different spin on mashed rutabaga here: http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Mashed-Rutabagas-Martha-Stewart-192969

It's been quite the twist in weather the last month. From dripping with sweat and taking a dip in the pond, to searching for my winter hat and closing up the greenhouses, covering crops to protect from frost, to uncovering them to vent out the heat, to covering back up to protect some newer plantings from the wild turkeys. We have been blessed with quite the Indian Summer; nature making up for the late start to spring.  We were able to get all our garlic planted for next year's harvest over the weekend, and planted more than twice what we planted last year, so we can look forward to more garlic next season than we were able to offer this year.

 Autumn is most certainly my favorite time of year here in Central New York. The days shorten, yes, but the colors deepen, become more saturated. The crisp harvests of this time of year, the season long maintained fruits of our labors. The tiny seeds planted after the last frost of spring, cautiously watching the first frost of autumn. 

I've been way off schedule writing the weekly blog as the season winds down we've been focusing on readying for the winter, and planning next season. With three more weeks of CSA there are some great crops to look forward to. Carrots, peppers, rutabaga, brussels sprouts, potatoes, winter squash,  leeks, daikon radishes, onions from Grindstone, apples from Knapp farm,  and sweet potatoes and cabbage from Joseph Gingerich,  and a selection of various greens; are some of the crops to look forward to in shares in the final weeks of the season.

While the Oswego and Rome Farmers Markets ended last week, the Regional Market goes year round, and I will continue going there with some of our storage crops after the end of the CSA as well as early winter harvested high tunnel crops from both us and Grindstone Farm, eggs, and other organic produce that Grindstone buys to distribute in their healthy boxes. Even as the season draws to a close, you can continue buying great organic food and supporting local agriculture by going to the market in Syracuse or ordering from Grindstone Farm's website. There will still be no delivery charge if you place an order to pick up at the market during the off season. 

We have had mountains of positive feedback from our members this year and I'd like to take a moment to thank all our members who put their faith in us in our first season as beginner farmers. The most important thing is that you are happy with the food we grow for you. None of this season would have been possible without the overwhelming support of our friends at Grindstone Farm and our families. So a huge thank you to all who have supported us and helped make our first season a successful one.  We've thrown together a short survey if you could take a moment to answer the questions in order to better plan for next season. https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/R6VGGSP

We have also been working on getting the CSA sign ups ready for next season. At this point we'd like to offer present CSA members a chance to sign up before we open up to the general public. You can do so by signing into your account and selecting the 2015 season of your choice. While we expect to grow the farm, CSA memberships will be limited to our level of production and land, and we have had quite a  few folks inquiring about signing up for next year already. So you can secure your share now, and if you pay by the end of January still get the early bird 10% discount.  We do plan on adding a few more laying hens to the flock, however, egg shares will be limited. 

At the last CSA-CNY meeting earlier this month,  we discussed holding off on the Fall Potluck previously planned for this weekend. With the weather getting cooler and not a whole lot to see on a farm tour at this point in the year, we've decided to hold it somewhere indoors in early November. To determine how much space will be needed please contact CSA-CNY via their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/CSA-CNY/70481797444 so we can plan accordingly. Once we do, we will send out invitations to members. Also, we would love to see more folks involved in the planning group, especially if you have ideas or concerns to be addressed. Going into the quieter winter months we should be back on a more normal schedule with the meetings on the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm at the Friends Meeting House on Euclid Av in the university area of Syracuse. 

As the season winds down and we start harvesting some of the longer term crops such as the daikon radishes which you've already started seeing, and the rutabaga we will be starting to harvest after a few frosts, and the brussels sprouts, we know some of these may be unfamiliar or just not quite any one's favorites. All are great roasted with a a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Daikons can be pickled and added to rice for a quick tasty lunch. I've been enjoying them sauteed with greens, especially the dandelion greens. Travis pulled a 7 pound radish out of the bed last week, so look for a recipe and try it, there will plenty more radishes to come. A customer recently told me that she uses daikon radishes medicinally to dissolve fat in the blood. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but my theory is that if it's fresh and organic it's got to be really good for your body. They can be stored for quite some time in the fridge (at least a month or more.) Unfortunately there will be no fall beet crop this year, but there will be plenty more carrots, which are so sweet and tender you don't need to peel them. I roasted some of the little ones whole with some chicken the other night. They are also a favorite in the kids lunch boxes. If you have a favorite way of preparing daikons, brussels sprouts or any other later season produce, please share in the comment section below or on our facebook page.

 While there has been much talk about decreased numbers and die offs of beneficial pollinators across the nation, we've found several monarchs across the farm, as well as a swarm that took up residences in Dick and Vic's (Grindstone's farmers)  house on the farm. While I know there is a concern for the drop in pollinators, it is reassuring to see them settle here, and no surprise since we don't use pesticides or GMOs to drive them off. It may also serve as proof that organic production will save them from extinction. A fellow organic farm in Fenner; Hartwood Farm has reported I believe three swarms of honeybees on their farm this season as well. 

The monarch butterfly pictured below built it's cocoon inside the barn and when it was discovered, Dick told Freyja she needed to keep an eye on it and let him know when it emerged. To which she responded "I can't be here all the time." They were both in the barn when Freyja noticed it flapping and drying it's wings Friday afternoon.