The passing of time can be marked in various ways – by weeks, or months, or seasons …

But here on the farm we most often measure time by crops.

And right now it is squash time (otherwise known as fall).

While our customers have been asking about it for awhile, we have been in no hurry for squash. Our stock answer is that we haven’t even looked at the squash patch since we planted it. And that is not far from the truth.

We started the squash seeds in the greenhouse at the end of May and then transplanted the seedlings to the field a few weeks later. A mixed cover crop was seeded into the field about the same time. We hoed the squash once and then never set foot into the patch until last week.

This is what it looked like, so we really had no idea if there was any squash there or not.

Why do we neglect our squash? Because squash is not a high value crop. It takes up a lot of space, for a long time, with little return. So it is not worth putting much time or effort into raising it. Fortunately squash doesn’t demand much attention. We grow it because it matures at the end of our season, when we need to fill our tables at market and need a new vegetable for our CSA box. It looks beautiful, tastes great and people love squash – especially the heirloom varieties we grow.

When we finally ventured into the patch last week, we discovered a decent crop of most varieties. (We grew 15 kinds this year.)

And the real reason we are never in a hurry for squash season? Harvesting squash involves a lot of bending & heavy lifting and we are tired & weary from the long season. But we finally got at it and squash will be available at the farmers’ market this week and in the CSA box.

What’s in the box?

Winter squash, green onions, fennel, fall radishes, salad greens, beets, green peppers, tomatoes, garlic.

• Here’s part of our squash harvest so far. Choose from several varieties this week. We will have them labelled along with a brief description to help you make your choice.

• Green onions are back after a long absence. They don’t grow well in the hot weather but are looking good now.
• Another crop of fennel is ready for harvest. Fennel has a beautiful anise or licorice flavour and is wonderful shaved into salads or sliced on a vegetable tray. Roasting or sauteing fennel results in a milder and very delicious flavour. The green fronds are also delicious and often cooked with fish or added to salads. Check out fennel recipes & tips on how to use it at http://www.cookwithwhatyouhave.com.
• How did you like the fall radishes? Enjoy another radish in your box this week.
• There will be a bag of salad greens in the box – maybe spinach, bok choy, or baby kale …
• Beets, green peppers (the coloured ones continue to spoil from the rains), tomatoes & garlic complete the box.

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Around the farm this week …

Our market stall at Georgetown this past Saturday.

After this week, there is just 1 more week of CSA!