Before leaving last weekend, Abbie pedal-ground a full pail of blue corn meal, the newest addition to the winter veggie line-up. We’ve made two rounds of corn bread with it so far, and couldn’t be happier with it’s texture and flavor. This week, we called in some pinch-hitters from the south to help with the feed corn harvest. They bundled up in layer upon layer of clothing to work in the cold. In two days time we did manage to hand harvest all of the corn that was left to us (there was quite a generous share taken by the raccoons, squirrels and probably a deer or two). We shucked as we went, but will leave the kernels on the ears until spring when our expert corn-shelling piglets arrive.

Belgian Endive

I started forcing our first round of Belgian Endive on Monday—warming up an insulated cabinet to 70 degrees and re-planting the fall-harvested roots in soil. They will sit in the warm cabinet for three weeks before new “greens” will sprout from the top of the roots. The new growth, called chicons, are grown in complete darkness and will be a tender white leafy vegetable that can be eaten raw in salad or used as a cooking green.

Extreme Cold

Due to the extreme cold temperatures that have settled in the area we are going to hold the farm share in the basement of the bank barn today. It will be far too cold to safely leave out any vegetables, they would freeze and damage quickly. We will be set-up downstairs, a space that is still unheated, but thanks to the bank of soil on three sides, considerably warmer than the outside air temperature right now. Meat will be in the freezers in the regular csa room, but all vegetables and dairy will be downstairs.

Full and By Farm Shares

In the veggie share: kohlrabi, rutabaga, turnips, parsnips, leeks, winter squash, cabbage, celeriac, beets, carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, green kraut, kimchee, red, white and black beans, And blue corn meal.

In the meat share: beef, pork and stew birds in the freezer. Newly rendered lard and leaf lard.

Sara Kurak
Full and By Farm

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