Letter from a Farmer,

We haven't had to turn on our overhead irrigation since the end of June. The irrigation machines have been sitting in the field where they did the last watering. The pump was sitting in the corner of the carrot field where we parked it when the creek flooded in July. Between the cooler weather and the weekly rain it has been nice to have a break from daily irrigating like we had to do the last two summers.

But with this week's forecast of 90 plus degrees every day we have put the pump back in the creek and are getting the irrigation machines up and running. Unfortunately we discovered an issue with our underground pipe system this morning. We have plastic pipes running underground from the creek to all of our fields. Then in the fields we have metal pipes with valves that run from the underground pipe to up above the surface of the soil called risers. We attach our hoses to these risers and then to our irrigation machines or our drip irrigation system. One of the risers in the fall greens field was damaged and needed to be replaced.

While this was not how we wanted to start the week we were fortunate to have an extra riser in the barn from a previous irrigation installation. We also had a rented excavator on the farm that we were using on another project. Since it is Labor Day renting an excavator or buying an irrigation riser would have been impossible. Kyle dug up the broken riser and we got the new one installed in a couple of hours. A big sigh of relief that somehow our stars aligned to have everything we needed on hand and that we could get it fixed in order to water the field tomorrow. Cross your fingers that tomorrow morning when we start up the irrigation system everything stays together. Those fall greens will enjoy a drink of water before the temperatures hit 95 degrees tomorrow. ~Jody

2023 Sweet Potato Harvest Party!!

Please join us on Saturday, September 23 at 9:00 am

for the sweet potato harvest.

We will grill Roxbury Farm CSA burgers at 1:00 pm and celebrate with a potluck lunch. Please bring a dish to share!

Click HERE to let us know you will be attending.

We are located at 2343 State Route 9H, Kinderhook, NY 12106. The easiest way to find us is to type in this whole long thing into Google Maps: Roxbury Farm Commercial Delivery Access Road. Other GPS and Apple Maps take you to the wrong location. Our farm entrance is just south of the Martin Van Buren National Historic Site and just north of the intersection of County Route 25 on the west side of Route 9H.

Irrigating our fall veggies.

BEEF #3: postponed to NEXT WEEK due to the heat

CHICKEN SHARE #3: Week of September 19

PORK SHARES: In late September or early October

If you can't pick up your egg or meat share a particular week, please contact the farm and we can hold your share and send it another week.

ROXBURY FARM CSA

PORK and BEEF

We have our own beef and pork available to purchase by the cut.

Click HERE to see what cuts are available

head lettuce, scallions, tomatoes, plum tomatoes, radishes, arugula or spinach, broccoli, parsley, bok choi, green beans, and tokyo bekana

One of our cows at the local county fair being shown by a 4H group

This week's full share:collards, head lettuce, carmen sweet peppers, cilantro, jalapenos, tomatillos, beets, leeks, plum tomatoes, cherry tomatoes or slicing tomatoes, and scallions

FRUIT SHARE: peaches

This week's small share: collards, head lettuce, cilantro, tomatillos, beets, leeks, and plum tomatoes

COOKING TIPS AND RECIPES

Harvest Salad

6 cups green leaf lettuce

½ cup thinly sliced carrots

½ cup halved cherry tomatoes

¼ cup peeled and very thinly sliced raw beets

3 tablespoons sunflower seeds

2 tablespoon golden raisins

¼ cup aged goat cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler (or substitute with goat cheddar)

1 crisp sweet apple, sliced (do this last - right before you mix your salad)

1 segmented tangerine, optional

Dressing

½ cup apple cider vinegar

½ tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons maple syrup

½ tablespoon minced shallot

⅓ cup grapeseed oil

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon sea salt

Make the dressing. In a blender, combine the vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, and shallot and pulse until well incorporated and the shallot is liquefied. At medium speed, slowly drizzle in the grapeseed and olive oil to emulsify. Add the salt and adjust to your taste with a bit more maple syrup, vinegar or salt.

Assemble the salad with the lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, beets, sunflower seeds, raisins, cheese, apple, and tangerine, if using. Toss with the dressing, as desired. www.loveandlemons.com

Beet Salad

1 pound beets

1 large shallot

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, or to taste

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or other good strong vinegar

Minced parsley, dill, chervil, rosemary or tarragon

Peel the beets and the shallot. Combine them in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, and pulse carefully until the beets are shredded; do not puree. (Or grate the beets by hand and mince the shallots; combine.) Scrape into a bowl.

Toss with the salt, pepper, mustard, oil and vinegar. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Toss in the herbs, and serve. www.cooking.nytimes.com

Pickled Tomatillos

8-10 tomatillos (approx. 1 lb.)

4 cloves garlic

1 serrano (or jalapeno)

1.5 cups white vinegar

1.5 cups water

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 tablespoon salt (Kosher, sea, or pickling salt)

Add 1. 5 cups white vinegar, 1.5 cups water and 1 tablespoon salt to a saucepan. Give it a stir, bring to a boil, and remove from heat once boiling.

Remove the husks from the tomatillos and give them a good rinse. De-stem the tomatillos and cut them into quarters (or smaller if you want). 

Add the chopped tomatillos to a quart-sized Mason jar (you could also use two pint-sized Mason jars). We'll also add four peeled, roughly chopped garlic cloves and a single serrano pepper sliced lengthwise.

Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds and 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns to the jar. I give the spices a quick crush in the molcajete to crack the peppercorns but this is optional. (You can also use the bottom of a skillet to accomplish this.)

Pour the hot brine mixture over the tomatillos. You should have enough brine to fully submerge the tomatillos.  

Let the jar cool on the counter for 10-15 minutes, then seal it and store it in the fridge. The tomatillos will be fully pickled in about 24 hours and they'll keep for at least a month in the fridge. www.mexicanplease.com

Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa

4 tomatillos

1 jalapeno (or 1 serrano)

1/2 onion

1 garlic clove

10-12 sprigs cilantro

1 avocado

salt to taste

Pull the husks off the tomatillos and give them a good rinse. Cut the stems out of the tomatillos if you want and quarter. Add tomatillos to a blender or food processor along with ½ onion, 1 garlic clove, 10-12 sprigs cilantro, and ½ of the jalapeno.

Pulse blend and taste for heat level

If you want more spice add more jalapeno (either ¼ or ½ more). Once happy with the heat level, add the avocado to the blender and combine well. Salt to taste. www.mexicanplease.com