p i c k l i s t
ONIONS - POTATOES - CELERY - CARROTS - PARSLEY - KALE - BEETS - BRUSSEL SPROUTS - WINTER SQUASH - SWEET POTATOES
csa bread share: pumpkin!
Whoa what a season! Today marks the end of not only 6 weeks of Fall abundance, but also 23 weeks of harvest and pack days at Edgewater. What started with seeds in January, ends today with an abundance of root vegetables, some fresh greens, and a smattering of storage crops to keep your belly full and nourished well into winter.
A 2024 growing season recap:
Legendary melon crop. The fruit arrived early, and was sweet as can be. Cantaloupes were particularly heavenly, and all contestants that entered the farmstand’s watermelon challenge walked away beaming. In our household we ate melons every day, blended and froze for winter juice, and all surfaces were slightly sticky and pink from August through October. The bees were pumped. We STILL, well into November, have a bin that we are considering as “storage” watermelons- which is not a real thing- but hey, we can pretend until rot. The question that remains: will we be eating watermelon while welcoming in the winter solstice? Time will tell.
The carrots were spectacular- every planting hit just right and there was always enough to sell, store, and for willing-hands to glean. The brassicas made a real comeback this year. The past few seasons we have unsuccessfully grown broccoli, cauliflower, etc… This time we tried growing them on biodegradble plastic- and the crop was so much happier. We think that growing them on plastic kept the nutrients in the soil, thus contributing to a beautiful harvest.
Another thing we tried this year was actively keeping the deer at bay. With electric fences placed all around the fields, we were able to grow lettuce and beans. That was the dream, and with Steve meticulously putting up post after post and line after line and connecting them to mini solar panels, the beans and greens grew unharmed.
Always the major highlight of the season are all the people that show up to work at Edgewater. The farmers that choose to spend their time farming with us on our field crew continue to impress. I would be remiss if I did not particularly give praise to Garnet, Strong, Jasper, Denroy, Daniel, and Roy who head back to Jamaica tomorrow morning. These guys are family to us. And Roy and Garnet in particular, will be missed the most in my household as we continue to live together through the many growing seasons and share countless pots of coffee, movie nights, “good mornings” and “goodnights.” They are the best.
We also are in a great flow with our winter skeleton crew- Kathleen and Pam are finishing up soon with weekly breads (insert sad face here). Mike, Tim, Ray and I will continue to pack out vegetables for weekly deliveries to the Coops with the radio keeping us moving. Anne, Sarah, Holly, and Ellen will keep on readying the greenhouses for next season’s opening day. We are just gonna keep on chipping away at all the nitty gritty outdoor jobs so we can move on and get those woodstoves a blazin, and start making 2025 farm dream lists and study all seed catalogs front to back. I think this is called hygge?
Ok, onto the “needs work” section: We are pretty tired of growing mediocre onions. We're not quite clear what happened to our peppers, Roy is still single (he asked me to include this in newsletter season wrap-up, I SWEAR) and we hope for better weather next strawberry season.
Lastly, a huge milestone was met this season as Edgewater Farm turned 50 years old, and the farm transitioned from Anne and Pooh to the next generation. Our overwhelming hope is that we can keep up with the strong foundation that Anne and Pooh built. There is a lot to live up to, but if we’ve learned anything from those two, it’s that both the community that works on the farm, and the people that eat from the fields are what make this place so damn special. They grew so much more than just fruits and veg over the past 50 years. They cultivated long lasting relationships that now result in multiple generations of the same families either working here or picking berries from our PYO Patch or relying on our sweet corn crop every August from 1974 through today.
CSAers, y'all are absolutely a part of this history. And that is so cool. Big cheers to the next (gasp) 50, but heads up, it is extremely likely that we will mess up a ton over the next few seasons as we take on more and Anne and Pooh take on less. Please see us through the growing pains- this place and this land and this community is so worth it.
Bottomline, thank you so much for having us at your table. Keep rocking with our CSA, and let’s see what kind of fun can grow next year :)
FARMY FOODIE PRO-TIPS:
Ripe for the oven: SWEET POTATOES - CARROTS - BRUSSEL SPROUTS - ONIONS - KALE - WINTER SQUASH - BEETS
GREENS THIS WEEK: kale - brussel sprouts - celery - parsley
ORGOOSEMIC ROASTIES: Recipe by our dear bud, Andrew Plotsky who really knows his way around potatoes and animal fat. Also, let it be known, I ate these last weekend and they were the actual best potatoes I’ve ever had in my entire life, so take note people!
parboil in ocean like salt water with bountiful herbs and a halved lemon until forkish
roast in a bath of goose fat until crispy AF
toss and juszh once or twice
Get it Hot like 4th layer of hell HOT till crisp
scoop out of fat, toss with sprinkle herbs (USE YOUR PARLSEY!)
eat
I can just about guarantee that you will not regret it if you double this recipe. The pancakes keep well in the fridge and can also be frozen.
1 cup (8 to 8 1/4 ounces) roasted and mashed winter squash
1/3 cup (80 grams) yogurt or sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 cup finely grated gruyere, comte or parmesan
3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
A few grinds of black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
Butter or olive oil for frying pan
To Finish
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
A pinch or two of salt
A few fresh sage leaves
In a large bowl, whisk squash, yogurt, eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and baking powder until smooth. Add flour and stir until just combined. Batter will be thick.
Heat a large frying over medium-low to medium heat. Coat the bottom with butter or olive oil, or a combination thereof, and spoon in pancake batter, a heaped soup spoon or scant 1/4 cup at a time. Press the back of the batter mound to flatten the pancake slightly. Cook until golden brown underneath, flip and then cook until the color until golden brown on the second side. If this is happening very fast, lower your heat. If you’re worried pancakes have not cooked in the center, you can finish them for 10 minutes in a 250 degrees oven. You can also keep your pancakes warm there until needed. Repeat with remaining batter.
To finish, wipe out frying pan and place butter, a pinch or two of salt and sage leaves back in it, heating over medium. The sage leaves will crisp and the butter will brown in a minute or two so keep a close watch on it. Pour leaves and butter over pancakes and quickly understand why you’ll never have them another way.
To roast squash: For butternut or kabocha, I halve the squash, scoop out the seeds and roast it face-down on an oiled baking sheet that I’ve sprinkled with coarse salt at 375 for 40 to 50 minutes, until tender. I get about 2 cups mashed squash from one 2-pound (i.e. small-medium) whole squash. If yours is already peeled and in, say, 1-inch chunks, it will likely be tender in just 25 minutes (just updated after rechecking my notes).