CSA Week 10

This is the busy time of the year for curing crops in the greenhouse. The garlic is being trimmed and packed away for storage and that has freed up space for me to harvest most of the storage onions. By the end of the week, all the storage onions will be curing in the greenhouse and soon appearing in your shares. And on their heels are the winter squash and pumpkins. We taste tested a spaghetti squash the other day and it was delicious. I tried a new variety this year which matured sooner and has a deeper yellow skin and flesh than the previous variety we grew. 

We have had a fair amount of rain in the last week and this is knocking back the cucumbers, chard, and zucchini. The rain causes fungal diseases to proliferate and the plants just give up producing. We will have a few cucumbers in the trade-in bin this week and then the plants will be ripped out. The zucchini may hold on for another week or two but then they will be done too. 

The kale has been infested with some late season flea beetles and grasshoppers which are making the leaves a poor quality. Once we get a frost or two, these pests will disappear and the leaves should improve. For now, we're going to take a week or two off bunched greens (except those with greens add-ons). Luckily, we have both salad mix and beets with lovely greens making an appearance in this week's share so you should still get your greens fix!

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Sweet peppers are a favourite here in our household and I always try to roast and then freeze some for winter use. These frozen, roasted peppers make delicious dips and vegan 'cheese' sauces. At their simplest, peppers can be diced into salad, thrown into soups and stews, or eaten raw with dip. If you are looking for some additional ways to use them up, try these recipes:

​Vegan Roasted Red Pepper Pasta
​Roasted Red Pepper, Chicken, and Mozzarella Sandwich
Tomato and Roasted Pepper Salad