​Even though the equinox may not have felt autumnal this past weekend with our blistering 90 weather here at the North Farm, our hoophouse finally looks like summer has said its goodbyes. With that, we have moved on into our winter and fall hoophouse crops, like we had mentioned in Week 13's newsletter; lots of leafy greens and some roots to get us through the chilly months ahead.
 
Summer fruits like tomatoes and peppers are some of my favorite crops, and seeing them go is always an important closing chapter for the farms' main growing season. And while we have the luxury to purchase tomatoes even in the depths of winter (albeit from somewhere much warmer), they never quite taste the same as our beautiful northern tomatoes do in the height of the season. One of the important experiences of the CSA model is the illustration of crop changes throughout a given growing season, and the immense diversity of crops we can grow this far north. Some crops, like our lettuces, kales, and spinach, seem to withstand a wide range of growing conditions; while things like our cucumbers make their debut only in the warmer months. The seasonal changes allow us to savor each crop as it comes and goes, to look forward to the next season, new crops, and new flavors to mark the passage of time with.
 
As we draw towards the closing of the season, we'll be busier than ever bringing in our storage crops, prepping the farm for winter, and planning for next year. This was certainly a challenging year for myself as a new farmer to the area and to this farm; it has been a great season of learning, experiencing the ups and downs of Mother Nature's unpredictability, and the joys of each new vegetable as I see it grow from sowing to harvest. With each year, we learn more and work hard to bring you all the beautiful CSA boxes you've received, and your support and feedback has been invaluable in allowing us to continue to provide food for the Central UP community. If you have any additional feedback or comments, please click on the link below to let us know!
 
Allison Stawara
Assistant Production Manager 

From The North Farm
​Brussels Sprouts
Cherry Tomatoes
Slicing Tomatoes
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Spinach
Rutabaga
Celery
Cauliflower or Broccoli
Garlic
Apples
Butternut Squash
Sweet Onion

I've told a few people lately that we are entering what I call the Fall Overwhelm. This is probably not correct grammar, but it gets to the point. We are at the point in the season when the big harvests begin/continue - carrots, beets, potatoes, onions - while we still try to find time to sneak in planting some of the fall and winter crops. For example, the other day we began by planting all of next year's strawberries, which was approximately 4,000 plants, then transitioned into harvesting some of the storage onions that we will clean and pack over the winter months. Most of the year, there are long to-do lists at the farm, but it is this time of year when they get extra long, and also consist of all sorts of tasks, including harvesting, planting, field clean up, prepping for winter, etc. It is a lot of fun, but it sure is a lot of work!

It also is one of the most satisfying times of year, too. I know I have mentioned the fact that the big fall harvests are some of my favorite tasks, but it goes a little beyond that. Fall and the coming winter allow us a moment to think back on the season and analyze what went well, what was a challenge, and what we hope to change for the coming season. I know we have mentioned that this year has been particularly challenging for growers in the UP, mainly due to cool temperatures and excessive rain. This serves as a data point in the set that forces us to consider ways of building in resilience for when the next bad year comes. These are sometimes hard lessons to learn, but they will inevitably make us better growers.

So when I take a moment to sit back and think about the season, I can't help but dream of new varieties, more refined schedules, improved systems, and tastier food for next year. Perhaps this is a bit premature, but when it comes to farming, everything is measured on a long-term scale, so next year already feels like it is right around the corner!

However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. We hope you enjoy this week's box. It includes some of my absolute favorites, most notably Brussel Sprouts. I prefer them small, as they are at this point in the season, because there is no need to halve them before steaming or roasting. Just toss them in some oil and roast them whole. This will also likely be the last week of tomatoes, though we might try to sneak in some green ones next week. We hoped you liked the varieties we grew this year - please let us know if there were any that stuck out for you!

As always, thanks for your support. We hope you have been enjoying your shares each week, and feel free to use the link at the bottom of the newsletter to give us any feedback.

Collin Thompson
​Farm Manager

While we still have some summer fruits coming in from the field, you've no doubt noticed, along with the color of the trees, some changes to your box. Our cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant have spent a nice summer in our main hoophouse, soaking up the sun and bringing you all of the tasty dishes that highlight these warm months. With fall approaching quickly, and the night temperatures dropping, our plants have begun to slow down their production, and soon it will be a bit too cold, even under the hoophouse, for our Solanaceous and Cucurbit crops to keep going.
 
One of the big advantages of a hoophouse is it's ability to give us crops through all of the months of the year. We've already began the transition from summer to fall and winter within the main house; transplants of chard, peas, parsley, and kale, along with a seeding of cilantro, have begun to fill in the gaps. These crops are much hardier than their summer companions, and are productive even throughout the winter.
 
In addition to those fall staples, we will be trying out some different greens that you may or may not have heard of before. Chicory and endive are two leafy greens that are in the same family as lettuce, and resemble it in shape, but with a more bitter taste. We'll be growing those, along with a cultivated variety of dandelion (slightly different than those you find in your yard). Keep your eyes peeled for these tasty gems later on in the year!
 
Thank you again for another week of support, we hope you enjoy this week's box!
 
Allison 
Assistant Production Manager

It is a fun time to be a farmer.

As fall settles in, we start to think about the big harvests. As you can tell, we have spent a lot of the season harvesting to bring you the items in your box each week, but usually these are relatively small harvests. We will bring in a few hundred pounds of produce each week, with each item representing a percentage of that total. However, there are the few items that we wait for all season and then spend much of the fall harvesting, washing, and packing for the upcoming months.

These are my favorite types of crops. Carrots, cabbages, potatoes, Brussels sprouts - these all will be harvested and packed away in our root cellar so that we can continue to offer products throughout the winter. We will haul in thousands of pounds of these items, which can be tiring, but is also incredibly rewarding. There is not much more satisfying than seeing literal tons of carrots stacked on trailers from a day's harvest.

We are also trying a few new items this year, as well. We planted a few new varieties of popcorn, including one with black kernels. We are not yet certain that they will mature in time, given that we have not gotten much heat this year, which is something corn loves. We also planted several varieties of dry beans. These will be harvested, dried (as needed), threshed to remove the pods and stems, and then cleaned for storage. They are gorgeous, and I am sure they will be delicious, though it is still a little early for them to be eaten.

We hope you are enjoying your fall as much as we are, and as always, thank you for your support!

A quick note - some of you are receiving edamame in this week's share, which is a Japanese soy bean. If you have a soy allergy, this should be avoided - it may be obvious, but we wanted to make sure that was noted, in case there was any question.

Collin Thompson
Farm Manager