CSA Farm Share 2009: Final Harvest

[surrealestate]

I thought my last post on the subject would be the last haul, but I was happily mistaken. Thanksgiving weekend, Steve let us known the fields were still open and there was plenty left out there, so JV and I headed over. Mark was going to come, too, but he'd run nine miles with me that morning and couldn't walk. So we gave him a pass on that one.

Weather was perfect for picking. We started in one of the satellite fields where frosts had pushed the giant turnips up to the surface, which made for blissfully easy harvesting. We could have brought home a truckload of turnips if we'd had a truck (and a reason to take that many). The field also had fennel, mustard greens, and arugula, though the latter two were already too bitter for my personal tastes. Back to the main fields, we found the pumpkin patch and rummaged through to find plenty, dug up carrots, parsnips, beets, and leeks, cut broccoli, chard, and purple caabbage, and found some of the sweetest lettuce ever. Steve also gave me some mushrooms he'd foraged. All in all, an absurdly productive afternoon.

Upon returning home, I took a long, hot shower and headed to a massage party with the intention of doing nothing but (possibly) getting worked on. Unsurprisingly, that wasn't exactly how it went down, but I had a great time and look forward to the possibility of more of the same.

Meanwhile, I still have plenty of veggies to deal with and have already signed up with Steve for next year.

Comments

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

*nod* I've read about the various winter shares. One of the reasons I love Parker is that it's like getting a free bonus winter share. I've no need for an early-winter share since my summer share lasts well into the cold season and I don't want a late winter share because then I'd never have a chance to eat all the nummy stuff I've put by. I welcome the break, really. For me, it's cheaper and more sensible to just supplement from the market as needed.

If the storm of the century happened today, I'm pretty sure I could feed myself for well over a year. :)

[kissoflife.livejournal.com]

Which leads me to a question that's much on my mind lately. Have you got a second fridge/freezer then and how did you do it economically? Surely this is not all via 'canning' that your stores are keeping. It's definitely about time I acquired a 2nd fridge, but eep at the cost.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Yep, a chest freezer in the basement. A chest freezer is much cheaper than a fridge.

The nice thing about winter is that there is plenty of "refrigerated" space. :) And some things, like sweet potatoes, leeks, turnips, and squash, can keep just fine for months in the corner of the kitchen.

Once I'm done dealing with the current batch of produce, I plan to do a wrap-up post on what's been put by.

[kissoflife.livejournal.com]

how much did your chest freezer cost, and what dimensions is it? (and then the electricity cost I must comtemplate) I'm wanting a 'small' freezer, like dorm fridge size, rather than massive.
My dratted potatoes always sprout too soon, but otherwise, yeah, kitchen corners are so handy.
Looking forward to post!

[cutieperson]

fwiw, i bought a chest freezer a couple years ago. it's a small one, i think 5 cubic feet... it fits more than enough to feed two people for a couple months and store some dry goods.
we paid $150 at Shaws in Porter. they were doing a special where you bought the freezer and got like $100 in coupons with it which is why we did that, but if you look around Sears and Home Depot and such i am sure you can find one of that size for under $200 normally and might even hit on a sale.

[tb]

Butting in with a suggestion, check Craigslist for freezers; modulo the usual list-wackiness, there are some good deals out there. I was surprised by how little electricty the older one we got uses, presumably because it doesn't get opened all the time. Kenmore seems to be a decent (and common) brand.

[chaiya.livejournal.com]

We got our chest freezer from CL a few years ago, basically new, for $50. A++, would buy again. :)

I'm with you, surrealestate, on not needing a winter share anymore. We're still drowning in squashes and turnips and beets and leeks, and we froze a ton of stuff over the course of the season. Both our freezers are full. :)