Thanks for coming out to the Fall Hoedown last Saturday! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Posing on the tractors. Photo by Scott David Gordon

A makeshift frame (and maybe the beginnings of a tractor tire playground!) Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Brenton gets ready to start the Harvest Hustle. Photo by Scott David Gordon

And they're off! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Running past a new cilantro block. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Thanks to everyone who came out and ran through the farm last weekend! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Silas Lowe and his band played some great Americana for everyone. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Future farmer perhaps? Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Our Asian greens trial plot. Photo by Scott David Gordon

At the farm this week we harvested a new crop of Asian greens - Tat Tsoi, Komatsuna, Choy Sum, and Mizuna from left to right.

Brussels Sprouts are getting bigger! Photo by Scott David Gordon

The beginning buds of the Brussels Sprouts. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Daikon radish. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Daikon harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

We've still got some signs up from the Harvest Hustle! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Fall tomatoes (both green and red) will be headed to market this weekend for your Thanksgiving dishes! Photo by Scott David Gordon

A beautiful fall day at the farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon

 

 

by Lucas Rager

Happy hump-day, everybody! We've never seen potatoes like these before..

by Megan Winfrey

Since it's been so nice out lately (in between the rainy days), my daughter and I have been walking to the farmer's market almost every week to get our box and hand pick items from the bins. It's sort of our little ritual, and it gets us out of the house at a crucial time of day when it's hours from bed time but things are starting to go south. This last week's market trip was extra awesome for two reasons. One, my husband got to come with. Two, the CAULIFLOWER. Geez Louise, it's gorgeous! I've been wanting to make these cauliflower cakes for awhile, and really loved the way they turned out!

Cauliflower Skillet Cakes

• 1 large head of cauliflower, broken into chunks
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups shredded cheese
• 1 cup cubed cheddar
• 1 cup bread crumbs or corn meal
• 1/2 cup diced scallions
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 pieces of bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 tbs. butter
• squeeze of lemon
• salt and pepper

Put 3" of water into a large pot with a vegetable steamer. Add the chunks of cauliflower, bring the water to a simmer, cover, and steam until fork tender, about 15 minutes.

Then, coarsely chop the cauliflower in a food processor or in a large bowl with a potato masher. It should be pretty chunky. Transfer the cauliflower mash into a large bowl, add the egg and mix well. Add the cheese, bread crumbs, scallions, garlic, and bacon. Mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.



Heat a small, non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add the butter and heat through. Spoon the mixture into the center of the pan and press it out to the edges, creating an even layer. You want it pretty thin so that it will be easier to flip.

Let it cook for about 8-10 minutes, undisturbed. Carefully flip with a wide spatula and let the other side cook for another 8 minutes. Serve out of the pan and top with greens and a dash of lemon juice.

CSA Box Contents Week of Nov 16th

Seeding this week. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmer's Perspective: Practice Makes Progress

After the farm saw historic flooding last week and yet another rainy weekend, I have never been happier to see the sun! It’s amazing what you can get done in 5 days without rain and boy, we really needed it. We’ve spent the week cleaning up fields, harvesting new crops, and learning a lot about how to handle moisture on the farm. The fields that were unaffected last week are really thriving from the deep watering, and this week felt like a big step up.

The JBG crews have been hard at work harvesting loads and loads of root crops this week. The ground is still very muddy, so those containers are coming in heavy! Our weekly farm cartoon has felt pretty accurate for the week. It’s a lot of hard work, but it sure is exciting to see such a great variety of root crops coming from the fields! This weekend, our farmers markets will be ripe with sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, three kinds of turnips, and lots of radishes - expect to see favorites like our black Spanish, watermelon, and daikon storage radishes, french breakfast and red radishes, and a new variety we grew this year called an icicle radish! It looks a little bit like a daikon radish, but is a shorter day crop with a crisp flavor, a bit milder than daikon.

Doug washing carrots in the barn. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Working in wet soil is a challenge for farmers everywhere, but this week the field crew made huge steps in learning how to deal with this challenging situation. Since we had around 15 inches of rain the previous week, even with this week’s sunshine only the top 1 to 2 inches of soil have dried out in our fields. So, Angel and Montana began using a new technique that I first heard about from Boggy Creek Farm years ago. I’ve heard Carol Ann talk about “tickle tilling,” which is a shallow bed preparation that Boggy Creek uses on their permanent beds. This week, we tried our hand at “tickle tilling,” since we would have a muddy, cloddy mess from the wetter soils if we tried to till the soil any deeper. It worked! We were able to get back to seeding this week with dry, smooth seedbeds.

Another advantage of this technique is that we keep permanent beds, where our tractor tires always travel in the exact same paths in the field. This way, the area where the vegetables are grown are never driven on and the soil isn’t compacted and can provide better structure for healthy plants. As farmers, we are continually trying new methods and learning from these experiments, and while practice can't always make perfect, it certainly makes progress. I think that this new technique is going to really help the farm in the future and I am grateful the crew was able to solve the problem of seeding into wetter soils this week - this shallow tillage has been an invaluable tool this week. Thanks for the tip, Carol Ann!

Montana gives the thumbs up on our new tillage technique. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Although we still have a long rebuilding process ahead of us after the floods, this week was hopeful and full of progress. I know it seems a long ways off, but another notable event is that this week Assistant Farm Manager Jason and I sat down to begin planning our spring season at JBG! We’ll be balancing the workload of our peak harvest season with the long process of crop planning for the next few months, but as a farmer you always have to be looking forward even when things are busy or difficult. We’ll be seeding tomatoes again before you know it!

Green fields and some much-needed sunshine. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Potluck and 5k Harvest Hustle is this Weekend!

This Saturday, November 14th, we hope to see you at our much anticipated fall hoedown! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate local farming and food with the JBG community than to invite all of you out to see the JBG Garfield Farm. Rogue Running is putting on our 5k Harvest Hustle, where you can tour the farm on a beautiful run (or walk) through the fields (don’t forget - there’s also a 1-mile Kids’ Fun Run!).

Bring your favorite dish to share in our community Potluck and see what other folks in the JBG community have been making with their veggies too! Children get in free to the event, and we hope to see the whole family enjoying the live music, cooler weather, and fall festivities the farm has to offer this time of year.

Buy your ticket at jbgorganic.com/hoedown. The Harvest Hustle starts at 3pm - I’ll see you at the starting line!

We'll see you on Saturday! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Going out of town for the holidays? Donate your share!

If your family is headed out of town for the holidays, we hope you will consider donating your Thanksgiving or Christmas share to The Settlement Home. Through JBG’s long-standing relationship with this organization, your CSA box can help feed children, young adults, and families with histories or trauma, abuse and neglect in our community. Learn more about how The Settlement Home serves Austin on their website. Donating your share is easy - just email the farm to let us know you want to participate and we’ll do the rest!

If donating your holiday share isn’t an option, we hope you’ll consider joining our Sponsored Share Program. You can donate CSA shares directly to The Settlement Home. or donate vegetables directly to Central Texas flood victims. Your participation will not help our farm begin its rebuilding efforts, but will also send fresh, local vegetables to those in need in our community.

Holiday Gifts - Market Bucks and CSA Gift Subscriptions

When thinking about the holidays, keep JBG in mind for your foodie friends! We have gift certificates available for your farmers market-shoppers, busy families, new parents, or anyone who would enjoy eating locally. Gifts are available as Market Bucks or as CSA subscriptions - find these at jbgorganic.com/gifts. If you're trying to find a unique local gift for the friend who has it all, consider donating a CSA subscription on their behalf - email us for more details on this special gift arrangement.

Do you know someone with wholesale produce experience, great people and organizational skills, and a love of local organic agriculture? Do we have a job for them! JBG is hiring for a Wholesale Sales Manager position and we're looking for a great candidate to join our team! Read the job description to learn more here.

Curly kale. Photo by Scott David Gordon

This week's sunshine was a much needed respite from a wet few weeks. The farm is looking beautiful and we hope you'll come see for yourself at this weekend's Potluck and Harvest Hustle!

Our cauliflower harvest is starting to pick up! Photo by Scott David Gordon

We grow lots of unique cauliflower including this green variety. Photo by Scott David Gordon

"Cheddar" cauliflower. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Thanks to our volunteers this week who helped clean off some seriously muddy sweet potatoes! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Rows of cilantro at JBG. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Cilantro. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Montana checks this seeding as we trial our new "tickle tilling" technique. Photo by Scott David Gordon

We'll have both green and red Fall tomatoes at markets this weekend! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Rainbow chard. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Dill. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Andrew sprays green onions in the barn. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon