In Your Share This Week

• Carrots
• Celeriac
• Corn (please read below)
• Kale
• Leeks
• Parsley
• Winter Squash, Delicata

Crop Notes

Corn: The results of our late-season corn trial are in! We planted an assortment of varieties to see how they all performed, so you may see yellow, bi-color, or white corn in your share this week. The ears are a little smaller than summer corn, but its an exciting final taste of summer. The only downside we saw with this trial was the prevalence of worms…so what we would advise doing before shucking or anything else is to grab a sharp and/or large knife and hack about 1 inch off the tip of the ear. That should eliminate the portion that contains the worm and all the grossness around it. Now you’re ready to shuck and eat!

Kale: This week we are featuring Red Russian for everyone, which you all have seen in your shares throughout the season. Full Share members will also receive a bunch of White Russian, which has broader leaves and a more delicate texture.

Around the Farm

We are in the full swing of Fall, and spending most of our days harvesting crops like carrots, beets, celeriac, kohlrabi, and cabbage before the rains start in earnest and harvest becomes a sloppy mudfest. We are also excited to be doing a lot of field cleanup- removing drip tape, taking down cucumber trellises, and turning the summer fields over to our winter cover crops. Large portions of the farm are now emerald green carpets of cover crop that are turning sunlight and water into next season’s fertility, reducing soil compaction or erosion (from rain), increasing organic matter, preventing nutrients from washing away (also from rain), and keeping the weeds at bay. We select specific cover crops or mixes for each field depending on the time of year, what has been previously grown there, any prevalent pests or diseases, and what may be grown there in the future.

We also were very excited to provide some late-season Poblano peppers to Hot Winter Hot Sauce, a great local company thats making a zesty rainbow of hot sauces with a great mission. You can find them all over Portland at New Seasons, Green Zebra, Alberta Coop, Food Front, or Barbur World Foods. Go grab a few bottles and spice up your life! 

In Your Share This Week

• Beets
• Cabbage, red
• Carrots
• Chicory, Pan di Zucchero
• Fennel
• Onion, Cabernet Red
• Winter Squash, Acorn

As mentioned in the share projection email, this week is a thematically red share! We didn’t totally plan it that way, but a lot of red items all happened to be ripe and ready all at the same time, so hey…why not? 

Cabbage, red: Did you know you can make kraut with red cabbage? As it ferments the color turns from a dark purple color to a rather electric fuchsia- which is really great on days when you’re feeling the grey winter doldrums. If you’re new to fermenting, or have never tried it in your life…fear not! Its sooooo easy, fun, and tastes great! Head down to Powells and pick up a copy of ‘Wild Fermentation’ by Sandor Katz, or visit his website for a basic kraut recipe and a fun dose of humor and whimsy. ‘Wild Fermentation’ is essentially ‘The Joy of Cooking’…but for all things fermented with a cool DIY empowerment combined with cultural history and well-written instructions- from kraut to sourdough, pickles, dairy, beer, vinegar, wine, and beyond!   

Chicory, Pan di Zucchero: So far you’ve been introduced to Escarole and Radicchio, which are also members of the chicory family. Pan di Zucchero means ‘Sugarloaf’ in Italian and is a very apt name as its one of the sweetest chicories out there. It was an excellent season for chicories and we grew some HUGE heads! But don’t worry- Pan di Zucchero will store for a long time in your fridge. How long? In storage trials last season we still had beautiful, delicious heads 3-4 months later. What you do is store it in a plastic bag and cut off however much you need at a time and stick the rest back in the bag, back in the fridge. I think the white parts closer to the base are the most delectable so I tend to cut it lengthwise so I can get some of that stuff too. It doesnt last as long when cut this way, but it sure is good! I like to serve Pan di Zucchero as a light side in tandem with an otherwise heavy or rich meal with lots of cream/fat/oils/sauce. Cut the chicory into thin ribbons and dress lightly with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, rosemary, and garlic. Its a delicious little salad that brightens up a meal and aids in digesting heavy foods. The addition of acid helps cut down on the bitterness factor as well- but remember…bitters are good for ya!  

Fennel: We also have our very last planting of main season fennel in the share this week! This particular planing had some of the biggest, fattest bulbs we’ve seen all year.  The tips of the fronds were a little yellowed and kissed by cold nights, so we opted to put them in the share without the fronds this time so they’ll keep longer in your fridge. 

Winter Squash: The featured squash this week is Acorn Squash. I am most familiar with this squash (as are most people I’m sure) from my Mom cooking it by cutting it in half and baking it with brown sugar and butter. So good! 

Local Goodness all Winter Long

In Your Share This Week

• Carrots, Shin Kuroda
• Celeriac
• Escarole/Radicchio
• Kale, Rainbow & Red Russian
• Leeks
• Peppers, sweet mix
• Potatoes, Yukon Gems
• Winter Squash, Delicata

Crop Notes

Well folks, it is that time of year where we are firmly out of the summer season and settling into the Fall and Winter crops. This will be the last week of sweet peppers- the last remnants of summer…except for a very exciting late-season corn trial that looks to be pretty promising! Look forward to lots of earthy and savory flavors coming up, like shallots, leeks, potatoes, celery root, beets, carrots, and the like. We will also include head lettuce as the weather allows, as well as fresh greens like chicories, kale, chard, cabbage, mustards, and herbs like fennel and parsley. 

Also, after 20 weeks of CSA shares…we’ve said lots of what we have to say about the items in the share! Do remember to keep storing your roots and greens in plastic bags in your refrigerator so they retain their moisture. Also, a reminder that potatoes turn green when exposed to sunlight…so be sure to keep them in a cupboard, drawer, box, or basement. And watch out when you go to the grocery store!!! I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve perused the produce section (admittedly a geeky hobby of mine) all over town and seen green potatoes on the display. Aside from looking odd, the green coloration is a signal that the potato is preparing to grow (the green is chlorophyll), but there’s also solanine- a compound that is very bitter and poisonous. Not anything dire, but it can cause gastrointestinal irritation, and if one were able to eat a *copious* amount of bitter potatoes. Small portions of green can be trimmed off. But enough about that…these Yukon Gems are great- mash ’em, boil ’em, fry ’em, steam ’em, roast ’em, bake ’em…its all great!    

A Morning of Fun & Learning on the Farm

 School is out on Friday, October 9th. Won’t you join the Sauvie Island Center for Family Fun on the Farm Day? This event will take place at our farm, Sauvie Island Organics and the grounds of Howell Territorial Park. The Sauvie Island Center staff will guide you and your family through an exploration of their curriculum, designed for elementary school-aged children, including:

• Soil Exploration. Dig in and learn about healthy soil.
• Seed to Harvest. Plant, tend and harvest the Grow Lunch Garden.
• Healthy Snacks. Taste farm-fresh veggies that you can use to create yummy snacks.
• Plant Parts Investigation. Explore the farm and plants we can eat.
• Wildlife & Food web. Who else has been foraging on the farm?
• Pollination Station. Meet these hard-working farm friends.

The event is free, but pre-registration is requested.

WHAT:       Family Fun on the Farm

WHEN:        Friday, 10/09 from 10 AM – Noon

WHERE:   Sauvie Island Center
13901 NW Howell Park Road
Portland, OR 97231

Apples to Applesauce

Meet Your Farmer

Berenice Vasquez

Hometown: Oaxaca, Mexico

Joined SIO Crew: 2010 Mayo. Berenice puede hacer todo de nuestra cosecha y lavada de verduras para la CSA. Antes de llegar en Sauvie Island Organics, ella ya habia hecho poco trabajo de finca alla dande crescia en Oaxaca, México en la finca de su familia.  (May 2010. Berenice can harvest and wash all of our vegetables for CSA. Before coming to Sauvie Island Organics, she had already done some farm work at her family’s farm where she grew up in Oaxaca, Mexico.)

Favorite fruit/vegetable: La fruta favorita de Berenice es el durazno y la verdura es la lechuga de mantequilla verde. (Berenice’s favorite fruit is the peach and her favorite vegetable is Green Butterhead Lettuce.)

Favorite part of working on the farm: Le gusta trabajar aqui porque todo la gente trabaja unida y porque son respetuosos. (She loves to work at SIO because all of the people work together and are respectful of each other.)

What she does off the farm: Berenice esta con su familia en su tiempo libre–tiene esposo y una nina de ocho anos. La familia le gusta mucho ir al rio para pescar. (Berenice spends her free time off of the farm with her family–she has a husband and an eight year-old girl. Her family loves to go fishing on the river.)

In Your Share This Week

• Cabbage, green
• Carrots
• Escarole/Radicchio
• Kale, Lacinato
• Leeks
• Parsley
• Peppers, sweet mix
• Potatoes, Yukons

Crop Notes

Cabbage: We sure had an explosive cabbage season here on the farm. Historically we have grown a variety of cabbages with a variety of spacing in the field in order to produce ‘large’ and ‘small’ cabbages that go into the Full and Half shares, respectively. It turns out that intentionally trying to grow smaller vegetables is a lot harder than it sounds, so now we are experimenting with growing big, beautiful veggies all the time, and then cutting it in half as needed. If you have a half share, you will be getting a half of a head this week that we cut right at the time of pack-out with clean knives. Nonetheless, you can always give the cut face a quick trim when you use it to freshen it up. We also recommend storing your cut cabbage in a plastic bag in order to prevent moisture from escaping from the cut face.

Escarole and Radicchio: This week you are receiving the same variety of escarole that has been in the share before, full share members will also get a head of radicchio, which is in the same family as escarole.  

Leeks: Its leek season!!! These are our very first leeks, and are a nice medium and tender size. Leek tops are another great addition to the stock pot if you make your own stock at home with odds and ends. Trimming the tops off also can help save space in the fridge, just keep the white portion of the stalks wrapped in a plastic bag to retain moisture. And of course, leeks are always fantastic with potatoes. 

Potatoes, Yukon Gem: We are featuring Yukons that are from our newest acreage, which is still in the ‘transitional’ phase. In order to be certified as Organic, acreage must not have had any synthetic herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, or fertilizers applied for the last three years. We began leasing the land at the beginning of the 2014 season and have been managing it organically with lots of beautiful cover crops and flowers that attract beneficial insects as we transition it over to Organic. Next season we can finally certify the land as Organic, which we are very excited about. We also dry farm all of our potatoes, which has dramatically reduced the amount of disease we find on the potatoes. Yukon Gem also feature pinkish/red splotches on the skins, mostly where the new eyes will eventually pop out. Don’t be alarmed, the pink coloration is a totally normal (and beautiful) feature of this tasty variety. 

Crop Notes

Cabbage, savoy: The Linnton Feed and Seed has always been a very local and helpful resource and recently provided us with lime that we use to increase the pH of our soils to grow healthy cabbages and their relatives like broccoli, joi choi, and arugula. This Miletta variety of savoy cabbage comes from seed bought from Osborne Seeds based in Mt. Vernon, WA. The entire crop was planned to be stored through the winter at the J & D Refrigerated Services warehouse in Clackamas, but the cabbages got way too big, so enjoy.  Full shares get an entire head and half shares, one half, or a smaller head.

Carrots: These Bolero carrots were seeded on May 11th from seed bought from Johnny’s Select Seeds based in Maine. These storage variety carrots were harvested today, Monday, just before the forecasted rains. We feared that with another good rainfall these already large carrots would split in the field making them a little bit less cosmetically appealing. But, thank you University of Portland’s Bon Appetite run kitchen, as they gladly buy most of our ‘b’ grade carrots to include in their cuisine.

Celery: This crop of celery headed up beautifully and surpasses our last distribution in yield weight, taste, and color.  It was grown in our heavier clay soil that has higher mineral content and better water holding capacity.  This variety, Tango, was sourced from High Mowing Seeds in Vermont.

Chard: Our swiss chard patches continue to be super productive this season. Some of our excess swiss chard was sold wholesale this season to the Organically Grown Company who then distributed to the various local super markets that feature organic vegetables.

Onion, Cabernet: The Fisher Bag Company with warehouses in Portland and and Kent WA supplies us with all the mesh bags that we keep our onions in all winter.  We are grateful for Metro for leasing us dry winter storage space in their barn for all of our storage onion varieties, of which we have recently bagged and stored around 11,000 pounds.

And finally a shout out to the folks at IFCO who make it super easy to order, pick-up, and return all of our re-usable plastic containers that the boxed CSA shares arrive to you in. IFCO rents those plastic bins to us, we return them to their facility in St. Johns were they get washed and sanitized.

Meet Your Farmer

Jason (Jay) Patrick Watts

In Your Share This Week

• Beets
• Carrots
• Celeriac
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Onion, Wallas
• Peppers, sweet & jalapenos

Crop Notes

Celeriac: This is an awesome fall treat that many people are probably unfamiliar with- it is also sometimes referred to as ‘celery root’…and we have lots to say about it! Celeriac is a rather bizarre looking root vegetable- but when peeled down, its great for savory fall dishes. Think of them like you would potatoes (they are an excellent companion to just about any potato dish, by the way)- boiled, roasted, seared, smashed, stewed, etc. When you’re ready to cook up your celeriac, start by cutting off all of the hairy, fringed roots on the bottom. This is where a lot of the excess soil tends to hide, so I generally just compost that part. Now you have a flat bottom that you can use to make peeling the rest of the bulb easier. Cut the top off as well, then run your knife down along the sides to remove all of the hairs, knobs, and rough skin. The flesh underneath is a nice creamy white color and is now ready to be cubed, sliced, or whatever you plan to do with it. Do not trim down the celeriac too far ahead of time, because it will begin to oxidize and turn brown and rust colored (not to worry, if you put your celeriac in a plastic bag in the fridge it can last for several months with no problem, so trim it right before use). Celeriac really enhances the flavor of stocks, soups, and stews, and when its in season I never make a batch without it…so if you make stock at home with your vegetable trimmings, make sure to save the celeriac skins and tops to toss into the stock pot. This week we are featuring an heirloom variety that is not commonly produced commercially because it oxidizes rather rapidly and has a pretty hairy root compared to other varieties- but the flavors is *great* Enjoy!

Kale: Its kale season again! The hot summer months are difficult to grow decent looking kale, since they do not enjoy the hot, hot heat. The hot dry weather tends to leave the kale plants stressed and thusly more susceptible to pest and disease problems. We usually grow a small amount of Lacinato kale through the summer months, but had a complete crop failure this summer. That is all behind us now, and we have lots of beautiful Red Russians, Lacinato, and Rainbow Lacinato to look forward to! This week you’ll be receiving a Red Russian type- we currently grow several varieties of Red Russians because we like them all so much we could not pick just one…plus having some genetic diversity helps protect us against losses- so if one variety isn’t doing so well, another one is likely to still be performing well.

Peppers: As mentioned last week, we have completely fallen in love with the vibrant colors, sweet flavor, and heavy yields of the sweet pepper varieties from Wild Garden Seed The folks at Wild Garden Seed really know their stuff- we can tell the difference in quality right from the very beginning as the seeds germinate and grow into healthy plants, up to harvest time where we evaluate yields, plant health, flavor, visual appeal (yes, we eat with our eyes too!), and storage capability. Our pepper plants are so happy this year that they are loaded down with huge clusters of peppers and showing no signs of slowing down as we approach cooler weather. Viva local agriculture, from seed to table!

Other News

We are extremely proud to be working with Portland Public Schools this fall! We have been in contact with them since last season about providing certain fall crops and are now going to be providing sweet peppers for them to feature! We love the idea of getting more fresh, local, healthy vegetables into the schools and are excited to get to participate in that process.

Speaking of schools- we are also selling produce to University of Portland, Reed College, Lewis and Clark, and more recently, Oregon Episcopal School. We enjoy working with higher learning institutions and feel honored to get our produce onto their campuses. Plus, college students can use some healthy food in between cram-sessions! We thank the colleges and universities we work with for having the forward practices to feature local products, and appreciate their ongoing support of our farm.

Jessica Gabrielle Nelson

• Carrots
• Chicory Mix
• Corn
• Dill
• Eggplant
• Kohlrabi
• Onions, red
• Peppers, sweet mix
• Tomatoes

Crop Notes

Chicories: This week Full Share members will receive a head of Escarole and a head of Frisee. Half Share members will receive a head of Escarole. These are both in the chicory family, which includes Radicchio and Belgian Endive. They are somewhat like lettuce, but thicker and toothier with a refreshing bitterness. You can eat chicories either raw or cooked- the bitterness subsides with cooking, and even more so with the application of an acidic substance like balsamic vinegar or lemon juice. 

Corn: This is the best tasting corn I think we have produced so far this season! All of that, despite the fact that the wind storm last weekend flattened our corn field to the ground…plants are amazing and full of surprises!

Dill: Our dill has struggled the past few seasons, but not this year! We realize that the amount of dill in the share may be a bit much to use fresh all at once (unless you’re a total dill fanatic like I am), but it is one of the easiest herbs to dry.This website has a quick and easy guide on how to dry your dill so you can enjoy the harvest long into the future.

Kohlrabi: If you’ve been a CSA member with us in the past, you know we like to grow HUGE Kohlrabi! This variety is a little more mild-mannered and petite, and the leaves are edible as well. At this stage you can sometimes skip the peeling as well since the skins aren’t very tough and leathery like they are with the giant storage varieties. Kohlrabi is in the same family as kale, cabbage, broccoli, and radishes- and has a flavor reminiscent of broccoli but with a sweet, juicy crunch. I enjoy Kohlrabi raw (used for dipping into hummus or baba ganoush) or shredded and made into slaw. One crew member reports having made the best kraut she has ever created out of Kohlrabi.

Peppers: We grow an assortment of red and gold roaster type sweet peppers on the farm. They are all varieties that have been developed by Wild Garden Seed and we can’t get enough of them! We encountered these peppers several years back through a series of happy accidents that resulted in us trialing small amounts of lots and lots of peppers- and these were the hands-down winners! Treat them just like a red or yellow bell pepper (although we find that they are sweeter than a bell pepper).

Tomatoes: Its the last of tomatoes! In anticipation of the rain that was forecasted this past weekend, we rushed to get the last of the tomatoes we could harvested before the rains arrived. Sudden applications of water to tomato plants often times causes the fruit to crack and split, so we did the best to get what we could off of the old and slowing plants. Its a modest 2# distribution of tomatoes, and you may notice that they are less of a vibrant red then the ones you previously received- if thats the case then just leave them out on your countertop for a few days until they’ve turned deep red and then enjoy. We hope you enjoyed your heirlooms and slicers this season…adios!

Zack Schlanger

Celery: This week we are distributing the last of our early-summer celery. Due to some less-than-ideal germination in the greenhouse back in early April (yes, celery takes a long time and a lot of patience to grow) we have less celery available than we had aimed for. We still want you to enjoy the tastiness of local celery, so we are putting it in the share by large/small head size. That means you may receive a head of celery that has been cut in half. Enjoy!