Farm News Crop Forecast
Please note the 2025 September/October pickup schedule :
Sept 30 + Oct 2 – Double share pickup — EVERYONE PLEASE READ DOUBLE SHARE DETAILS in email sent last Friday Sept 26, before coming this week :)). For every other week split shares, both households should come
Oct 7+9 and 14+16 : NO pickups (to free us up for final storage harvests)
You can still U-pick during the 2 weeks off
Oct 21+23 — Normal Pickup = Final Pickup of ’25 / til Nov. Storage Share
Nov 20+21 — November Storage Share (separate signup and payment)
Info on November Storage Share Signup and 2025 CSA Signup is in a separate email sent last week, Sept. 24 2025.
Greetings!
Remember that cold snap from earlier in September? It’s a distant memory now! This warmup has really gotten some momentum and seems to keep getting warmer. It’s been great to push some more growth on root crops, and of course to keep the tomatoes and peppers going. Despite the pepper disease we’re getting more than we originally thought – we might even hit 20% of normal yields on peppers! It’s been great to work in, though it’s hard to get back in the habit of carrying enough drinking water out to the field. If I just took off my sweatshirt at 9:30 how could I remember that I’ll be so hot and thirsty at 3? Just the way it goes in a September heat wave! Clothing layers and water bottles end up scattered in places they don’t any other time of year.
As the heat builds, the big question for us is how much rain the cool front collision will bring over the weekend. Our biggest self interest in placing our weather order right now is that the carrots are dry enough in a week or two so we can harvest before the risk of 20 degree nights. That seems so far off! But the last 5 or so Octobers have turned so quickly from warm and sunny to cold and wet that we do sweat it out a little til those carrots are in! This warmth, after the 2.75″ of rain a couple weeks ago, has definitely helped with yields. We picked some a couple weeks ago and they just weren’t ready yet; we’re looking forward to seeing how they look soon!
One of those downpours had cold and big drops that we all agreed felt close to ha-l, but fortunately wasn’t. It was hard enough to damage the lettuce last week, which you may have seen in your salad prep….but hopefully it was healed and or minor enough to not be a big deal.
We turned on the big winter cooler last week, and have finished harvesting all the radishes, and most of the beets. It’s a little early but they were just ready to go. Big kudos to the crew for washing down the cooler in a hurry, in between prepping your share crops and wholesale orders, and getting all that harvested. Our barn is a little small for the amount of produce that cranks in and out of there, and they do a great job with the extra juggling it takes to make it work.
Ben definitely used to get lulled into thinking warm fall weeks like this would go on forever, and there’s all the time in the world to get the many non-harvest things done in such great working weather … almost acting like we farm in a dry warm desert … but we’ve been caught with our list undone enough times that we’re trying to make the most of this lovely spell! (Mostly it’s harvest and wash every day but if we’re lucky there are moments to sneak in tidbits of maintenance and improvements – even though there is a growing pile of low priority projects in the shop!)
Anyway, we hope you get to enjoy it too!
Crop Forecast
Winter squash — you will get a lot of squash this week!! It yielded very well and many varieties are now cured and ready to enjoy. You’ll also have a choice outside — of another pumpkin, a gourd, or a butternut squash (dirty ones outside sorry, cuz we’re busy and its a bonus squash). Inside you can choose from delicata (eat soon), acorn and starry night (improved acorn with stars and stripes), buttercup, butternut and Angel hair spaghetti (orange-ish and round).
There are lots of ways to cook winter squash — roasting in halves, roasting in chunks or hunks or slices, boiling, steaming, simmering etc — with lots of recipes online for cooking it solo or into a complex dish, with no spicing or topped with a long list of herbs, spices, butter/oil, garlic etc. It is a very versatile, very nourishing, filling and sweet vegetable! We always feel like it does something to prepare our bodies for winter too. And make a dish with peppers, squash and spinach — even quesadillas or mac-n-cheese with all that in there — it’s an unbeatable trio.
Overall our favorite way to cook squash is to roast the halves, without peeling. It’s not the fastest but the prep time is low and once roasted soft, it can be eaten plain, on a salad, or used plenty of other ways, and keeps in the fridge a couple days.
The best temp for squash storage is 50 degrees but countertop (out of the sun) or a garage or basement (beware of rodents!) works well for most people.
Tomatoes — delicious tomato time, they keep coming in healthy and tasty, so we will still be at 4 per full share this week.
Peppers – also still coming
Plus carrots, beets, radishes, cabbage, leeks, celery, celeriac, cauliflower, storage onions, napa cabbage and Sweet Potatoes!
Leaf lettuce and greens and kale are still having a great year. Fortunately the spinach has proved our predictions wrong and it’s been great to offer you as much as we have. Looks like that will continue.
Garlic is no longer a part of the share but will continue to be for sale in the barn. We do 6 weeks with it as part of the share, then have the rest for sale. Many people buy 10-20 to stock up for the fall, then replenish at the storage share.
What’s for U-Pick?
———— You can still U-pick during the 2 weeks off —————-
Cherry Tomatoes, Tomatillos and Beans — still going and worth the trip out there!
Cilantro — there is some in the Upick field that’s small but can be dipped into if you want. Our Wholesale plantings did well, so we will have some Cilantro available in the barn for folks to take a handful if wanted.
Basil is edible but has cosmetic spots, from disease we think. It’s edible and good but might not last as long as usual.
Other Herbs — Thai Basil (also has spots but still usable), Nasturtiums, Parsley, Oregano, Thyme, Sage.
Flowers still look great – and so many kinds still! – but some will go downhill when it gets cooler and later in the fall. There are two plantings, one on each side of the driveway.
This spot in the newsletter will keep you informed, and always check the U-pick board when you’re here to see what’s available and picking amounts.
Nuts and Bolts
Bulk Produce for You
Check here each newsletter for what we have available for extra purchase.
To place a bulk order, simply email us at least 2 days ahead of the day you’d like to pick it up. Orders can be picked up at the farm during our regular pickup hours, but it doesn’t have to be your share pickup day. Usually we can make an order on the spot, too. No need to pre-order garlic.
This week’s selection is : Lettuce mix and Spinach for $6 / lb. Green Cabbage for $1/lb. Kale for $3 / lb. Carrots, Beets for $1.25 / lb. Garlic for $1.25 / head. Leeks for $3 / lb (probably about $1 each). Storage Onions $1.25/ lb. Winter squash for $1/lb.
Share Pickup Hours TUESDAY and THURSDAY 1:30-6:30 pm.
Change Pick-Up Day Form — Click here. Please fill out this form instead of emailing us. Thanks! Sorry that we have had problems with the links to this form. They should be fixed now and going forward. Please do not use old links as they may be wrong.
Where is the farm? 4151 320th Street West, Northfield.
Please Drive Carefully —Children are everywhere.
If You Send Someone Else to Pick Up Your Share — Please forward them the basic pickup video in this link , which was also sent in an email earlier in June. Then just tell them to introduce themselves to us in the barn, just so we know and we can show them around.
We love having all of you come to the farm! Thank you for making it such a great place to be!
Your farmers,
Erin and Ben, with Allia, Alex, Camille, Elliott, Maura, River, Soli, Sai Dang and Crew
RECIPES
Cabbage Slaw with Miso-Honey Vinaigrette
Salad:
¼ purple cabbage
¼ green cabbage
1 medium carrot, peeled
1-2 small daikon radish, peeled
4 green onions
Dressing:
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sweet mirin vinegar
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1 lime, juiced
Cut peeled carrot and daikon into 3- to 4-inch matchsticks pieces, set aside.
Remove outer layer of green onions, discard.
Cut off the darkest green at the top of the onion (just about 1”) and the root, and discard both.
Cut into 3- to 4-inch strips.
Cut cabbage into thin strips, keeping purple and green cabbage separate.
Toast sesame seeds in a small pan on the stovetop until they start to brown if using white sesame, or for about 2 minutes if using black.
Remove from the pan and reserve in a small bowl.
Combine all dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl, grating the ginger with a micro-grater and mincing the garlic with a knife.
Mix well to completely dissolve the miso, making sure there are no small chunks remaining.
Add sesame seeds, reserving a small amount for garnish.
Dress purple cabbage lightly and put in one half of your serving bowl.
Do the same with green cabbage and add to other half of the bowl.
Dress carrots, daikon and green onion and arrange on top of the cabbage.
Top with slices of avocado and sprinkle with extra sesame seeds and a handful of cilantro leaves.
Spaghetti Squash with Red Pepper Cream (Winter Squash)
Squash:
1 large spaghetti squash
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Red Pepper Cream:
2 large red bell peppers, seeded and halved
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting the peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
2 cups half-and-half
¼ cup grated Pecorino Romano
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Preheat an oven to 400°.
Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
Place the squash halves in a baking dish, cut side up; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Cover and bake until the skin is easily pierced with a fork, 30-40 minutes.
Let cool, then remove the strands of flesh with a fork.
Preheat a broiler.
Place the bell pepper halves cut side down on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and lightly coat them with olive oil.
Grill under the broiler until the skin is blackened and the flesh has softened slightly, about 8 minutes.
Place the peppers in a paper bag, a resealable plastic bag, or ceramic bowl covered with a plate to cool for about 45 minutes (this process will help loosen the skin).
Remove the skin from the peppers and cut the peppers into small pieces.
In a skillet, cook and stir the garlic, basil, and peppers in the olive oil over medium heat for 10 minutes.
Place the mixture in a blender and puree to the desired consistency.
Return the puree to the skillet and reheat to a boil.
Reduce the heat and stir in the half-and-half and cheese; simmer, stirring, until the cheese melts.
Add the butter and stir until melted.
Season with salt and pepper.
Simmer for a few minutes more.
Serve ladled over the spaghetti squash.
Open Hands Farm 