Week 15: September 10th

Week 15!

The Second Half of the Season…

We’ve officially crossed the halfway mark in the Harvest Basket season, with 14 weeks down and 14 more to go. If there’s one word to sum up the second half of the season, it’s usually “heavy.” The past many months of long daylight and relative warmth on the farm means that our fields are laden with dense food as we head towards the autumn apex of harvest: festive winter squashes squat amidst their senescing vines while rows of big-eared corn stand sentinel over a field of fall broccoli, psychedelic romanesco cauliflower, Dr. Seuss-like Brussels sprouts, and stolid cabbage. Every week we dig more potatoes and haul them into our cooler for storage, and our propagation greenhouse has been transformed into an onion curing house (hot & dry, which is perfect for finishing off the drying process on the truckloads of storage onions and shallots that we’ve been pulling out of the field over the past few weeks). The beets and carrots are swelling in size, alongside the warty celeriac (one of the more unusual vegetables we grow that you’ll see in November).

It’s a time of unique & fleeting abundance, when just about everything we grow over the course of a season is available at the same time – from strawberries to tomatoes to winter squash (coming in early October). For us, it’s a time of inspired eating (when we have time to branch out beyond the usual quesadilla and salad fare), and also a time of squirreling away produce for winter. Our canning season happens in earnest in the fall: applesauce, tomato sauce, salsa, corn, dilly beans, you name it….we can it.

You “can,” too! Remember that many of the veggies you’re getting in your share can be put by for later: dice up your sweet and hot peppers and freeze them; blanch your ears of corn, cut them off the cob and freeze for later; blanch and freeze your green beans; grate your zucchinis into pre-measured bags and freeze them for a wintertime treat of zucchini bread. We have heard from Harvest Basket members who say they eat from the farm year-round because of their preservation efforts. It’s a great way to relish the food now and later.

Spice Up Your Life with Cranky Baby Hot Sauce!

This year’s Serrano hot pepper crop is coming on strong, which means Bets is at it again in the farm kitchen, brewing up batches of her infamous Cranky Baby Hot Sauce. Handcrafted at the farm with homegrown hot peppers that are vine-ripened to a sassy red in her greenhouses, this hot sauce strikes the perfect balance between hot, sweet and tangy. Makes a great gift, or a standby condiment in your own kitchen (we go through it by the gallon!).

Available by the bottle or by the case:

$5/bottle (5 oz)
$27 for 6 bottles (half case)
$48 for 12 bottles (case).

We will deliver to your pickup site. To order, please email us your: name, pickup location, phone numbers and the quantity of bottles you would like.

Cranky Baby Hot Sauce is approved for farm-direct sale by the Oregon Department of Agriculture.

Sweet Peppers by the Bag!

Bulk Peppers are available to our CSA members:

Available in 5 pound bags, $20 per bag
Choose either: Red Roasters (tapered, Italian sweet peppers), or Mixed Bag (a combo of bells and roasters in red, yellow and red colors)

We will fill orders in the order we receive them on a rolling basis in the coming weeks. Please email us your: