Okra or Eggplant
Red Slicer Tomatoes
Radishes or Hakurei Turnips
Russian Kale or Mustard Greens
Sweet & Cubanelle Pepper
Crowder Peas
Aji Dulce
Basil
Oh it has been so rainy, making it a little stressful and very difficult to ready beds, plant out vegetable starts and manage the fields of weeds and growing pest problems that come with temperate and weedy conditions. We have had great temperatures for germinating fall carrots, beets, turnips, etc.; but many newly germinated plants are being eaten by cut worms, army worms, and so on making for a less than ideal situation. With dwindling day light lengths, we cannot make up these plantings, but rather have to make the best of it, in order to have our crops mature to size. Growing slows immensely by the first week of October, especially when they are outside. Our tunnel crops have enough protection and warmer nights offering a little more growth than those unprotected crops. On the other hand, outdoor crops develop sweetness and integrity from cool nighttime temperatures, light frosts, wind and rain. In general though we are happy that the rain has not been too heavy at any one time, as this is really damaging to our soil, causing run off and compaction. Little by little we are getting plants into the ground, managing pest populations, handling weedy beds and enjoying the cooler temperatures of course.
This week’s share still has a lot of late Summer love, even though we have officially come into Fall with the Autumnal Equinox this past weekend. We have a few special crops this week. Aji dulce chilies look a lot like habaneros but without the heat, they are sweet, concentrated, and full of delicious tropical notes. They are fabulous raw, sliced thinly on a salad or made into a relish/salsa or cooked, in South America they are often used in a creamy chicken stew. Any which way they bring great flavor to any dish. Crowder peas are a difficult crop for us as the deer and groundhogs love them, a trap crop so to speak, but we have been delighted by our farmer friend in Georgia’s Calico crowder seed and so we dedicate a small space every year. You will get a very small amount of these, basically amounting to a taste, so think about adding them to a larger dish as an accent. You will need to hand shell them, a time-consuming labor of love but since they will be fresh, they will cook quite quickly. Think about adding to a soup, rice dish, tomatoes and okra, or into a grain salad. Check out the recipes and enjoy the share….Autumn & Brian
Tomato & Egg Stir-Fry with Sauteed Mustard Greens
Mustard Greens Saag Paneer
(use some kale, turnip greens, and more mustards to replace the spinach)
Edna Lewi’s Roasted Okra with Field Peas, Tomatoes, & Mint