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Hutten Family Farm Newsletter for Sunday Oct 23, 2011

     I have never seen such a nice and mild mid October. The weather has been so warm. What a great end to an otherwise cool and difficult season. The selection of produce that we are still picking is really good. The weather has also helped us get a lot of fall crops picked and in storage.
     We have removed the plastic from the main heated greenhouse. Tomorrow morning we will replace it with a new sheet if it is calm. Once the plastic is back on we will start seeding micro mix salad greens for late fall and winter. I plan to try some pea shoots and maybe a little fresh basil as well. I do not know how much the decreasing day length will affect basil this time of year. I will know in a couple of months.
     There should be enough broccoli for all the CSA boxes this week. This will be the first pick of broccoli on our last planting of the season. This patch will be harvested over a period of about three weeks. There is also one more cauliflower planting still to come. The plants have some growing to do and I hope that the weather holds out long enough for them to produce sometime in early November.
     We will put celeriac in the boxes as well this week. Celeriac (or celery root) is a well known vegetable in Europe. It is excellent in soup, especially cream of potato and celeriac soup. There is a salad we make with grated celeriac, mustard, and lime juice. You can add grated carrots and red onions if you have fancy company coming over. Debra and I like it but the little kids do not.
     You will also get a rutabaga or turnip in the box this week. They can be oven roasted (as can celeriac). Debra loves rutabagas and I hate them. Our marriage seems to be going okay despite her strange like of turnips. I always plant turnips because they are a staple in the middle of the winter. The crop seems quite small this year when compared to last year. Great news for people like me.
     There will be a few cox orange apples in the boxes this week. This is an old variety that has an unusually tangy taste. They are great right now because they have a crunchy texture as well. The texture deteriorates later in the fall so enjoy them while they are good.
     Our youngest daughter Aleida turned six years old this weekend. Debra made a chocolate cake with two cups of cooked beets in it. The kids liked it and did not suspect a thing. Pretty sneaky.
     Have a good week.      ted




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