CSA Extension 1, 2024

CSA Week 16 for Billerica and Thursday folks

For everyone else who signed up for the 2 week extension, this is week 1 🙂

Quick! Sign up now if you haven’t already and it is still the night before your regular pick up 😉

What’s in the bag?

corn, cauliflower, broccoli, sunshine winter squash, pinto potatoes, Red Norland potatoes, tomato, basil…that’s all I know about, who knows what else will find its way into your bag, LOL

Here is a pretty good way to cook some of the up-coming winter squash. I think butternut is best but any of the firmer winter squashes, or pumpkin would suit. It’s called a tian, originally for Provence (where
the dish was usually made w courge rouge and was taken to the village bakery in the morning to cook in the big oven once the bread was done).   It is basically a slow vegetable roast, and all kinds of other veggies can be done in this way like eggplant, zucchini, etc but I think squash is the best.   We always make it for Thanksgiving. Try it sometime.

Squash Tian

• 1 or 2 peeled and seeded butternut squash (about 3-4 lbs.)
• 1/4 cup or less flour
• 6 or more finely minced garlic cloves
• 1 Tbs. fresh thyme (or 1 tsp. dried)
• 2-3 Tbs. grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Cut the squash into 1 inch cubes and put in a sieve or colander over
the sink.  Toss first w the flour , then the garlic, thyme, S&P and
half the cheese.  Oil a casserole or pyrex dish and add the squash,
dribble the rest of the oil over it and top w the rest of the cheese.
Bake uncovered in a 325 F oven for 2-2 1/2 hours or until the squash
chunks are soft and the top is brown.

Bob, JP

Hey there! Don’t just wait for gleaning – head out to the farm and get a pumpkin for the kid (even if that kid is you ;)), pick up some apples for sauce, collect some gourds…

 

We will be offering our annual gleaning but, hopefully, it won’t be for a while yet. I will send out an email when it is imminent. New to gleaning? “Then she left, and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers.” Gleaning is the act of collecting anything that might be left behind after the main harvest. The first hard frost kills any tender crops here in New England, so we harvest as much as possible before then. In spite of all our efforts, there are always a few peppers or tomatoes left on the plant, or squash and potatoes (not the green ones ;)) laying on the surface. It has become a favorite Stillman’s CSA tradition to invite our CSA members (only) to glean before the killing frost. Some things will survive and if the weather cooperates a little, we can continue to harvest greens, lettuces, broccoli, cabbages, dig carrots and such, well into November.

Stay tuned for gleaning!

 

Glenn and I scouted the Brussels a few days ago and there are some, so we are hopeful to get some into extended CSA 🙂 :)As always, we get greedy about good weather, hoping those late plantings will mature. We depend on these crops to carry us through the year. In these times, we are more aware than ever about the importance of having lots of food in storage so we can feed everyone we serve.

As usual, I can’t believe I am writing the last CSA letter of the season. (I may not write a letter for the 2 week extension) I do try very hard to use the weekly letter to educate about what is in your bag/box, info abut how it’s grown and why it is good for you. I was just listening to a doctor explaining how industrial agricultural produce does not have the same concentrations of vitamins and minerals in it and encouraged his patients to shop farmers markets and eat locally. And this year has seen a lot of “ooooh, don’t eat strawberries, or raspberries, or then peaches!!!! :0 When all these scary articles finish, well, scaring you, then they end with shop from your local farmer. While I am glad they often finish with that sentiment, I feel like they bury the lead. Anyway, we do not use any post harvest pesticides, as is common practice with produce in the supermarket. Ever wonder how there can be raspberries shipped from Chile and Mexico on the supermarket display all winter? The reason why ours DO NOT hold, even in the fridge, is because they are not treated systemically or post-harvest. Enjoy!

We start planning for the next summer CSA season NOW. it is a little gross that we have not even finished our work for this season and have to look ahead to next year already. Not complaining, just observing. Glenn just placed the main seed potato order and I will order the extra special potatoes (fingerlings, purple…) ordered soon. Next June’s CSA strawberries still need to be mulched. The vegetable seed order needs to be finalized and placed in deep winter and we will seed your first tomatoes in February. I file the paperwork and pay travel fees for the first group of workers from Jamaica mid-December, as it must happen 75 days before our date of need. We spend a lot of time brainstorming about crops to try, scheduling and general improvements to our CSA programs. I welcome your constructive feedback about your experience, varieties you are interested in, delivery/scheduling, or anything else.

What would be helpful for us is to hear what is/isn’t working but with added suggestions and or solutions – our membership is full of highly skilled, intelligent people that I know have great ideas for our CSA from varieties, to deliveries, to locations, and stuff I probably have not thought of 😉

Thank you to all who have sent supportive emails about what you have liked and loved about the CSA.

This year we will continue to offer early CSA sign up discounts in the form of store credit or additional local products 🙂

If you live near Boston or the New Braintree farm, you will be able to find us at all the markets until the end of October, Copley (Tue & Fri) and JP (Tue & Sat) ‘till Thanksgiving and then every Saturday after that, throughout the year. As you found out last week, we will not be at BPM this winter, though we may pick up the Brighton Winter Market Sundays, so stay tuned for that. We will keep our regular hours at the New Braintree farm  until Thanksgiving, and then go back to three days a week inside the greenhouse during the winter. 🙂

From all of us at Stillman’s, we are honored and blessed to grow food for you and thank you for being part of our family. YOU are part of our farm family. Do you need something? Please reach out. We sincerely hope you have eaten well this summer, and maybe learned something new about farming or vegetables, fruits, insects, birds, cooking, anything? Our long time members know everything already.

We will see you next week if you signed up for the season extension. Some of you may have signed up for Curt & Halley’s awesome WINTER CSA), many shop at winter farmers’ markets, a few may have goodies stashed away in the freezer or pantry, and some may go back to the convenience of the supermarket. Whatever your circumstance, we wish you the best in eating well! Thank you again for supporting local agriculture!

Eat well,

Geneviève & Glenn Stillman   ~and the Stillman’s Farm crew

Two more weeks of CSA extension option!

Why not keep things rolling until Still Life Farm winter CSA begins!!! Add two more weeks to your 16!! (this is week 16) We are offering an extension to current CSA members of an additional two weeks for $70. That way you will have your winter squash, late tomatoes, Brussels sprouts (hopefully), broccoli, late season apples, cabbage, and other fall crops. It’s simple, just complete your purchase for 2 more weeks and we will keep you on your existing list. These two weeks will blend seamlessly filling the gap between our Summer CSA and Still Life Farm’s Winter CSA.

This will be two consecutive weeks of our regular size bag, so if you had a SSM, it will just be the regular bag (though FULL!):

Saturday: October 5 & 12
Sunday: October 6 & 13
Monday: October 7 & 14 (Billerica Oct 7th is last week)
Tuesday: October 8 & 15
Wednesday: October 9 & 16
Thursday: October 10 (is week 16 due to July 4) 17 & 24
Friday: October 11 & 18

Discounts will be applied to Stillman’s Farm “store credit” (think electronic Stillman’s Bucks!) for you to use at anywhere you can find us and for any product we sell (yes, for honey, sauce, pickles, plants, etc)

• Here are the bundle options (please note– you must purchase bundled options at SAME TIME to qualify for bundle discount):

  • 2 week CSA extension + Summer CSA 2025 for $620 $550 ($70 -2 week extension is FREE!)
  • 2 week CSA extension + Spring CSA for $490 (1 lb ($20) jar of Stillman’s Farm honey FREE at first pick up and 7% discount off 2 week extension)
  • 2 week CSA extension + Spring CSA + Summer CSA 2025 for $1045 $975 (Includes 2 week extension FREE! 1 lb ($20) jar of Stillman’s Farm honey at first pick up FREE)

  Not feeling the 2 week extension?

  • Spring CSA + Summer CSA 2025 for $975 (Includes 1 lb ($20) jar of Stillman’s Farm honey at first pick up FREE and $60 store credit)

  Just interested in the Winter CSA for now? Sign up here 

Woot!

Don’t want any more CSA bags this year and not ready to sign up for next year? No worries! We will still be offering our large discount (in the form of store credit) to returning members through November. The early sign up discount offer will go out to members later in October. Also, you can always sign up for Still Life farm Winter CSA or Stillman Quality Meats meat bucks whenever. The 2 week extension special bundle offers expire October 1st.

All the bundles are listed at the bottom and this year -you can order your perfect bundle in one fell swoop

OH! Don’t forget, we offer our own installment plan to pay in 4, without interest, which a lot of us really appreciate these days 🙂