Final Late Fall Share
With Winter nearing, this week is our final late Fall share. After this week John and I are attending a most wonderful conference in Manchester, New Hampshire through the Northeast Vegetable and Fruit Growers Association. There, we will be learning about so many things and sharing things that have worked and haven't worked with other successful farmers. We'll be learning about Winter growing, farm finances, root crops, small tools, pests and diseases (and their organic controls), and so much more. No matter how long we farm for, there is always more to know and we will be humbled next week to be in the presence of so many great farmers. From there we will spend the next few months cleaning up the farm, attending our Winter farmer's markets, crop planning (it takes a lot of effort to fit all we grow into our small acreage), ordering seeds, seeding and weeding in our high tunnels (yes, weeds do still grow in the Winter!), cooking with all our delicious Winter crops, and getting the greenhouse ready for starting seeds come the end of January! I'll also be working on my MS of Human Nutrition degree and getting ready to start my new position on school board. It's sure to be a whirlwind of a beautiful Winter! For all of my fellow greens lovers out there, this great article was shared with me:
I was surprised to learn that tomatoes and potatoes make up over 50% of all the vegetables available to the American public! The USDA found that though adults are supposed to consume 2.5 to 3 cups of vegetables a day, only 1.7 cups per person are available. Currently only 13% of our population is getting the proper amount of vegetables a day that are needed to fight off chronic diseases. A 2010 study the American Journal of Preventive Medicine estimated that the U.S. vegetable supply would need to increase by 70 percent — almost entirely in dark leafy greens, orange vegetables and legumes — in order for Americans to meet recommended daily allowances. That is a whole lot of dark leafy greens, our favorite thing to grow around here as they have the most nutrition. Almost every nutrient deficiency that we speak about in my MS program, one of the best sources for the nutrient tends to be dark leafy greens (think spinach, kale, escarole, cabbage, chard, bok choy/tatsoi, beet leaves). In a time when almost no one is getting the proper amount of nutrition needed, we are so glad to have been able to provide you all with a healthy harvest of these leafy greens (among so many other vegetables) so late into the year. A reminder: We will be at Wrightstown Winter Farmer's Market this Saturday from 10-12 at the Gathering in Wrightstown, PA (and every 2nd and 4th Saturday through April). Market share members are welcome to use their account there and box share members receive 10% off! This weekend we will have: Carrots (with greens, and sweeter then candy), radishes (with greens!), Winter radishes (watermelon, purple, and daikon), turnips (purple top and red skinned), storage carrots, golden beets, red beets, kohlrabi (purple and green), purple napa cabbage, italian dandelion greens, escarole, head lettuce, salad mix, spinach, kale, swiss chard, sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, tomato products, tomato gift boxes, celery, cabbage, baby bok choy, and tatsoi. Pre-orders are very welcome as we tend to sell out rather quickly. Hope to see you there!
