end of august

our "newphouse" right now



a pepper eye view of the world



rainbow cherry tomaoes!

What a week it has been! Reminiscence have been heavy on hurricanes and luck and how hard it really is to rebuild a strong local food network. Almost six years ago, we were third year farmers on brand new land, but with two years of farming under our belts. It was bone dry, we wept in the fields several times at how dry it was- would rain every come? Would we be able to pay our bills? Could we remain farmers, or would we have to give up this occupation that had its hooks deep into us? Hurricane Katrina, swept through new Orleans, breached the levies leaving ruination there, moved up the country and deposited 5 glorious inches of rain onto our rented land in Montour Falls. The season and our farming careers were saved by that event. I still think today that we would not have been able to be farmers today if not for that storm.

On Sunday our dear friends Kara and Ryan at evening song farm (third year farmers but on a brand new piece of land) were treated to the other kind of luck with a hurricane. They were having a great season producing amazing produce and building a new community around their farming venture, and then hurricane Irene swept through Vermont causing a levy to breach, the river that flowed alongside their farm now flows through where their fields used to be. Their greenhouse and all their fields are now under the new course of the water. The newly purchased and installed irrigation system now is buried under the new route of the Mill River and they have now lost not only all of their crops (and income for the rest of the year), but their land as well. Luck is so cruel and it seems hurricanes bringeth and they taketh away. We hope that they have clarity as they decide their paths forward and community support to help them as they recollect, relocate, and restart. www.eveningsongcsa.com shows what they are facing. We are currently focusing as much postive energy as we can their way and will be sending what other aid we can soon. We are so impressed at how organized they have been in laying out what help they need from their community and can only hope that we would show the same resiliance if an equal time of trial were to come to our lives. I do hope their community is steps up to their aid.



In mudddy fingers farm CSA news, there will be no Watkins Glen Market on friday the 9th as the park will be filled with race cars. If you did not receive and email about the alternate plans, please let us know.

Hard to believe but our thoughts turn to winter at this time of year, that's because the window for planting things that will be harvestable before winter is closed or very quickly closing, as the days shorten plants start to grow with less vigor than they did in the extended days of June and July, suddenly the evening is shorter and the shadows longer sooner, even though there is still lots of nice days left in the year, in september we start to think of fall, and eating like its fall. in september we start to bring some fall crops forward, you will see leeks coming every week very soon (we have occasionally brought them up to now), celeriac will make an appearance fairly soon and winter squash too will be showing up before long quite soon our kitchens will be full of the simmers of soups and stews.

For those who want to simmer tomato sauces right now, we have paste tomatoes in good quantity right now and are glad to sell you a half bushel sized box so you can make sauce for the winter. (Sauce tomatoes are bred to make sauce as they are dense and less juicy than other tomatoes and so don't need to be cooked for as long to make a thick sauce, we have red and white- white sauce!?!)

we are arranging and will let you know when our last CSA events of the year will be, check your email in the next week to get them on the calendar. I hope to schedule the ever popular perogie making day and then of course a garlic planting day, and then the season will be done before we know it.

before then, look out for fresh ginger! We begin harvesting in the first week of september and hope to have it for about six weeks! There have been lots of people asking lately and it will soon make its appearance!

keep eating the good stuff,
liz and matthew