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THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
“Festival” Winter Squash
Jerusalem Artichokes (Sunchokes)
Savoy Cabbage
Scarlet Turnips
Carrots
Garlic
“D’Anjou” Pears

The snow is finally melting, and is nearly gone. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for White Christmases, but it was just a little too much for us. I can deal with the frozen water lines, and carrying 20 buckets of water day and night to the animals. It is beautiful after dark, traipsing around the farm and not even needing a light. It was fun tracking all the wildlife with the kids in the snow. We didn’t realize just how curious the coyotes were, until we saw where the tracks led and actually caught up with the sneaky coyotes several times. They don’t hide as well when the backdrop is white. We didn’t actually see any racoons, but we sure saw their tracks. And then we covered the pen containing all of our new little laying pullets. They’d be a tasty snack for raccoons.

We are hoping to at least complete a few more weeks of the winter season. I doubt we will finish the entire 6 weeks remaining, but hopefully 3 or 4 more weeks will be doable. So, our plan is to continue with regular weekly harvest/deliveries as long as we can. Then, we will give everyone a credit for the weeks that we don’t finish, good toward next winter’s season.

I would love to give credit toward spring or summer, but the reality is that we need that money to get going for the new year. We’ve lost a month of farmers market income, and we won’t have much, if any, surplus produce to sell in January. We need to pay our bills, and Luis, and buy supplies for the new season. Supplies that we will need in February.

We also need to replace/repair the two greenhouses that we lost to the heavy snow, even though we scraped the snow off several times. Here you can see the frame smashed under the snow, and Mike cutting the plastic on another greenhouse to relieve the pressure and save the frame.

>Because everything has been frozen since Saturday, and it doesn’t look like it will change soon, we have cancelled all pickup for this week, December 16–21. We will probably cancel pickup next week as well, since more snow and freezing are coming by the weekend.

We plan on continuing through the winter, but we can’t pick anything when it’s frozen, and we can’t get roots out of the ground if it’s frozen either.

We’ll keep you posted.

Thank you for your patience and understanding. Stay warm!

We hope you have a great holiday!

Shelley, Mike, Della, and Cosmo

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• “Table Queen” Winter Squash
• “Red Lasoda” Potatoes
• Baby Carrots
• “Watermelon” Radishes or “Tokyo Market” Turnips (we may run out of radishes)
• Arugula
• Purple Bok Choy
• Red Russian Kale

Coming Soon:
Cauliflower
Cabbage
Escarole
Scarlet Turnips
Brussels Sprouts

They say snow is coming this weekend. We’ve been really lucky with the weather this winter, so far, and I know it has to come eventually, but I am really hoping for no serious freezing until the end of the year. We have some tender things that are just not quite ready, and we plan on using them next week.

“Table Queen” is an heirloom Acorn squash that has good flavor. It never turns shiny black like the newer varieties, but stays dark green and dull, but we like it better. The carrots are nice and sweet—when our kids are begging for carrots every day, we know they’re good enough for everybody. The arugula is nearly finished, and temperatures below 30° will kill it, so enjoy those last bites until spring.

The “Watermelon” Radishes are very pretty, a winter variety that takes cold weather. I just hope there’s enough for everyone this week. If not, we’ll make sure you get them in a few weeks after more of them size up. The purple bok choy was a surprise hit last winter, and especially valuable as it handled the freezing weather last year (much worse than this year) much better than the green variety. They both taste great though.

And, a reminder: Next week we will provide a double harvest again for the pickup Tuesday, Dec. 16, Wednesday Dec. 17, Saturday Dec. 20, and Sunday Dec. 21. If you pick up at the farm, please do not take two of everything. We will have it marked for you and there will be many more items than in standard weeks.

There will be NO PICKUP Tuesday, Dec. 23, Wednesday Dec. 24, Saturday Dec. 27, and Sunday Dec. 28. The final four weeks of our winter season will be typical weekly pickups.

If it really does snow and freeze this weekend we will probably lose some crops, possibly just for the short-term. If the temperature doesn’t get above freezing at the beginning of the week, we may have to postpone the Tuesday/Wednesday harvest toward the end of the week, because we can’t pick much while it’s frozen. PLEASE KEEP CHECKING THE BLOG FOR UPDATES, AND CHECK YOUR EMAIL. Even if we lose some crops, we have plenty left to harvest that can handle serious cold weather—lots of hardy greens, roots, and the squashes are inside. We should be able to finish the winter season, but with less variety than we would like.

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Winter Squash
• “Sugar Pie” Pumpkin
• “Red Lasoda” or “Yukon Gold” Potatoes
• Baby Carrots
• “Tokyo Market” Turnips
• Baby Beets and Greens
• Leeks
• “Silver Rose” Garlic
• Broccoli
• Swiss Chard
• Dandelion Greens
• Arugula
• Italian Parsley

Coming Soon:
Spinach
Cabbage
Baby Bok Choy

Remember, this is a double share week, because there will be no pickup next week. I realize that everyone has a different plan for next week, but this is our plan, so just let me know if it doesn’t work for you and we’ll figure it out. If you will miss your pickup, we will adjust accordingly when you return.

We will provide a double harvest (two weeks’ worth of produce) for the pickups on Saturday Nov.22, Sunday Nov. 23, Tuesday Nov. 25, and Wednesday Nov. 26. If you pick up at the farm, please do not take two of everything. We will have it marked for you and there will be many more items.

There will be NO PICKUP Saturday Nov. 29, Sunday Nov. 30, Tuesday Dec.2, or Wednesday Dec. 3.
We will have regular pickup again, starting Saturday Dec. 6 and Sunday Dec. 7.
Because we’ve been harvesting every week since April, this is our chance to catch a little break, and we like to use that week for farm cleanup and little projects we haven’t had time for.

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• “Golden Nugget” Winter Squash
• “Red Lasoda” Potatoes
• Baby Carrots
• “Tokyo Market” Turnips
• Lettuces
• Collard Greens
• “Silver Rose” Garlic

Coming Soon:
Spinach
Baby Bok Choy
Beets
Pie Pumpkins

Haven’t we had some beautiful weather lately? Sure we had flood warnings between, but so many sunny days. And to think it’s the middle of November! I hope everyone enjoyed the carrots and baby bok choy last week. I apologize for not getting to the blog last week. I finally finished school bus driver training and had interviews and other things to take care of. I am officially a driver now, and hopefully we can settle into the new schedule. My apologies for running so late with deliveries Tuesday. We’ll be fixing that next week, I can assure you.

“Gold Nugget” is a tasty little squash. Originally bred to substitute for sweet potatoes, it is rich and sweet. I like to bake it with a little water to keep it from drying out, but others have told me they microwave it. Try it in the “Garlicky Winter Squash” recipe—it’s delicious.

“Tokyo Market” turnips are a different subspecies than the typical purple and white turnips. These are tender, sweet, and almost fruity. Nice enough to eat raw, but delicious roasted or sautéed hot so that they caramelize. Yes, you can eat the greens if you like.

We’ve finally found lettuces that can take the fall rain and freezing, and they’re butter lettuces! There may be a bad spot here and there, but typically what happens this time of year is that all the rain causes the whole head to rot. Not pretty, or tasty. We’re not having that problem this year with these varieties. We should have them for another week or two.

Now, for the THANKSGIVING SCHEDULE. I realize that everyone has a different plan for next week, but this is our plan, so just let me know if it doesn’t work for you and we’ll figure it out. If you will miss your pickup, we will adjust accordingly when you return.

We will provide a double harvest (two weeks’ worth of produce) for the pickups on Saturday Nov.22, Sunday Nov. 23, Tuesday Nov. 25, and Wednesday Nov. 26. If you pick up at the farm, please do not take two of everything. We will have it marked for you and there will be many more items.

There will be NO PICKUP Saturday Nov. 29, Sunday Nov. 30, Tuesday Dec.2, or Wednesday Dec. 3.

Because we’ve been harvesting every week since April, this is our chance to catch a little break, and we like to use that week for farm cleanup and little projects we haven’t had time for.

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• “Acorn” Winter Squash
• “Red Lasoda” Potatoes
• Beet Greens with Baby Beets
• Red Russian Kale
• Lettuces
• Broccoli
• Bell Peppers

Coming Soon:
Radicchio
Spinach
Turnips
Baby Carrots

Welcome to our Winter Season! I’ve linked directly to the posts containing recipes for cooking greens, beets, and squash, so hopefully that will help. As we go through the weeks I will put recipes in each week’s post, too, if necessary for a new vegetable. We’re looking forward to a great winter season! Please be sure and let us know if you have any concerns or questions and we’ll be more than happy to help. If you need an immediate response, please email me shelley@whistlingtrainfarm.com, rather than posting a comment on the blog. I don’t get to checking comments every day, so it could be a while if you do the blog route.

We had been lamenting the lateness of the broccoli crop, but now we’re happy to be picking it, in November even. It’s a tasty treat to have it this late in the season. Hopefully the cauliflower crop will continue to grow and mature also.

“Red Lasoda” potatoes are a great all-purpose potato. They’re good roasted, boiled, and can be mashed, although they’re a bit waxy if you’re looking for fluffy potatoes. They’ll do the chunky-type of mashing just fine.

The kale is especially sweet now that we’ve had some frosty nights. When it gets cold, the starches in the leaves turn to sugars, which act like antifreeze for the plant, and sweeteners for anything eating them. I just strip off the stems and saute the leaves with some garlic in olive oil. Takes about 10 minutes and it’s tasty. If you need more ideas I’ve linked to our cooking greens recipe page.

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Sugar Pie Pumpkin (which can be carved and eaten after Halloween)
• Potatoes
• Sweet Corn or Tomatoes
• Broccoli
• Arugula
• Lettuce
• Collard Greens

FRUIT SHARES:
Fruit Shares are finished for the year

COMING SOON:
Winter Shares start next week!
This is the end of our summer season. Thank you for being with us through the last five months!

There are no eggs. Our days are getting shorter, and the chicken egg-laying cycle is dictated by the amount of daylight they see. They gear down in the fall, stop making eggs so they can exchange their feathers for a new suit, and rest up for spring, when the daylength and food supply is increasing, and the conditions are better for raising children. There’s a reason why Easter is about eggs. Right now the hens are looking terrible. They look like they’ve been through a plucking machine, and there are feathers everywhere. They really need their new plumage soon. It takes a lot of protein to grow new feathers AND make an egg every day. Add that to the loss of so many hens to the coyotes this year and you can see the problem. We’re lucky if we get 1/2 dozen eggs a day, and we eat about 8 a day. If you have an egg card, you can keep it until next year and start using it again in the spring, even if it says it expires in December.

This has been a trying year for farms and farmers all around us. The cold, wet weather that persisted into June made it difficult, if not impossible to plant anything on time. The fruit growers were hurt by the lack of pollination in the spring because the temperatures were too cold for bees and flowers to set fruit. It has been somewhat reassuring to find that ALL farmers have been in the same predicament this season, but still, we are hoping for longer season next year.

We are thankful that the sweet corn finally found its’ sugar, even if it was the end of October. Most of the winter squashes finally ripened, fully a month later than usual, but better than staying green. We have tomatoes and it’s nearly the first week of November. At least the weather had straightened out by the winter-planting cutoff date, so we have plenty of crops to take us through the cold months.

But, we feel like we did a good job providing food for you. Even if the flower garden never grew taller than 6″ before blooming (we now have a beautiful patch of sunflowers though) and most of our pumpkins are still green, we managed to find plenty to harvest every week, through the strange weather patterns, and there will be plenty more to come in the next few months. We feel so fortunate to be able to provide for all of you, and nourish your families with these delicious, healthy vegetables. And we are fortunate to have all of you supporting us throughout the year(s).

Thank you so much.
Shelley, Mike, Della, Cosmo, and Ethan

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Potatoes
• Delicata Squash
• Sweet Corn
• “Berlotti” Shelling Beans
• Garlic
• Lettuces
• Swiss Chard

FRUIT SHARES:
Apples from Cliffside Orchards and Asian Pears from Tonnemaker Orchards,

COMING SOON:
Radicchio
Tomatoes
Broccoli

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Potatoes
• Acorn Squash
• Cucumbers
• “Spigariello” Kale
• “Stregonta” Shelling Beans
• Onions
• Arugula

FRUIT SHARES:
Bartlett Pears from Cliffside Orchards, “20th Century” Asian Pears from Tonnemaker Orchards, and the last few nectarines of the year

COMING SOON:
Radicchio
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes
Broccoli

We get so used to the pattern of crops and projects over the years, that it becomes very confusing to harvest out of order. Usually the shelling beans and winter squashes are ready by the end of September, and we start picking furiously to get them out of the weather and danger of freezing. We are still waiting for many of them to ripen—fully three weeks late and counting. The pumpkins are just now turning orange. How do Carpinito Brothers and the other big pumpkin farmers have theirs ready, you might ask? It could be the superhybrid varieties, the superfertilizer “steroids” they applied all summer, or the copious amounts of free water they used every week over the short summer. We only planted a week later than they did and we’re still waiting. Maybe if we’d had fungicide-treated seed we could have planted under the threat of freezing weather in May as they did some of their fields. But we only planted heirloom, tasty pumpkins that can be eaten, and they take a bit longer anyway.

We didn’t get the ground ready for planting potatoes until June, and had to keep the potato seed in the cooler for two months before planting. Potatoes are supposed to be planted in March or April. Those two months were needed! We tried harvesting potatoes last week and the yield is dismal. And it’s so disappointing. We knew it was a gamble when we planted, but we had the seed, so might as well try, we thought. Each plant usually would produce about 5-10 pounds of nice spuds, but in many of the varieties (and we planted about 12) there are only pea-sized, tiny tubers. Most plants produced one or two good-sized potatoes. We have decided to buy potatoes from Alden Farms. They are long-time friends of ours, and we sell at farmers markets together. Their yield is down about 50% this year because of flooding—they lost two entire fields to the Snohomish River in the spring. But, they will still retail, but don’t count on finding their potatoes at Whole Foods this winter.

The month-long delay in warm weather in the spring (remember frost in June?) had us planting everything late—corn, squash, etc. We hoped all summer for an extra month in the fall to make up for it, and we’ve had it so far. The last week of temperatures in the 80’s has made a huge difference. The tomatoes are finally ripening, and hopefully we’ll have enough for everyone next week. The corn is ready, and we’ll be picking it next week—we’ve picked frosty corn in previous years! And, the squashes that were nowhere near ready two weeks ago will be ready to harvest next week. Many are ready now.

So, things are working out for the most part. We’ll have new lettuces to pick in a few weeks, the newer broccoli planting is sporting 2″ heads and will be ready in another two weeks, and the winter greens are looking succulent and tasty. The upcoming chilly weather will only make them sweeter.

Here’s to fall!

>THIS WEEK’S SUBSCRIBER MENU:
• Potatoes
• Summer Squash
• Cucumbers
• Red Russian Kale
• Green Beans
• Silver Rose Garlic
• Dill or Basil

FRUIT SHARES:
Red Gold Nectarines from Rama Farms in Bridgeport

U-PICK:
We’re finished u-picking. We may offer shelling beans for u-pick toward the end of October.

COMING SOON:
Radicchio
Shelling Beans
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes