is this the end, or just the beginning?

What a marathon of a season!  This week is the last week of pick-ups for the main season CSA.  Luckily most of the crops are safe and sound in our root cellar, which is quietly humming with life now that it is full of plenty of winter treats.  Did you know that most root crops and a few others such as kohlrabi, store best at near zero degrees, and 90% humidity?  If a winter storage space isn’t humid enough the vegetables will lose their moisture to the outside environment and become limp and flaccid, which makes them a little less fun to work with throughout the winter.

But wait!  If we’re pushing 90 or 95% humidity won’t things get moldy?  Air circulation.  We  need to maintain enough air flow, by means of vents, to keep air moving, but not so much as to significantly change the temperature or humidity – yikes!

I’ve been playing around with our new root cellar for a few years now and I’m excited to be offering Kolapore Gardens’ very first Winter CSA program!  Spaces have been filling up very quickly, which is encouraging.

For this last week’s share of vegetables of the regular season CSA I thought it would be nice to include a good diversity of roots, fruit & leafy greens, so the pick list this week includes:

Spinach (from the greenhouses!)

Kale

Giant Kohlrabi

Carrots

Potatoes or Onions

Acorn Squash (from Pfennings Organic Farm – yes squash is technically a fruit)

Parsley or Garlic

I would like to take this opportunity to send out a resounding THANK YOU to all of the amazing CSA members & farmers’ market customers this season – you’re support and commitment is appreciated.  There are many others who have been integral to the success of this season.  To name all would be ridiculous – you know who you are – your enthusiasm and generosity of spirit breathes new life into the gardens daily – thank you.

While I expect posts to be less regular throughout the winter, stay tuned for yummy recipes and updates.

Speaking of which, here’s a great idea of something fun to do with carrots and celeriac, as well as kohlrabi, turnips, potatoes, squash or pumpkin…

Smashed Carrots & Celeriac with Garlic-Hollandaise

 

Warm Wishes,

Mike