CSA Information and sign up for 2016

     CSA Starting to fill up, Meeting is not required to reserve your spot.  But we still would love to see you!

 
We offer a wide variety of vegetables each week that are all grown in accordance with national organic standards.  More info about our farm is on our website: www.gaininggroundfarm-nc.com
  
Examples of weekly boxes, Regular and Small, from years past are posted as you scroll through this blog.

Hey All Happy New Year!  We have been placing orders with seed companies, lining up fertilizer and potting soil shipments, and reviewing this past season.  We have been critical through the years of so many aspects of our business of growing food.  The way we have been operating the CSA has been a main topic of conversation this fall and winter.   The CSA model is very important to our farm and we want to improve on it.  It is a commitment on so many levels for both the farmer and the member.  We are changing some things about the membership this coming season in an effort to emphasize the Community aspect of CSA.  We have done well in the past with receiving your financial Support, and we have been getting better over the years with the Agriculture part of it.  We are changing other parts of the CSA in order to free us up from some of the stresses of paperwork so that we can focus on growing great food.

     2016 CSA Changes:

We want you to feel a connection to our farm and us a connection to you.  We feel that the best way to achieve this is by sharing the physical place/space with you.

All members are strongly encouraged to attend one meeting held at the farm before signing up.  We will have a meeting once per month until all of our shares are accounted for.  These meetings will be structured in order to keep it short and sweet, then with time to walk around. The first meeting will be at 3pm sharp on Sunday, January 24th.   Location of the meetings is 222 Sluder Branch Rd. (same location as the party last fall).  Many of you have been to the farm in the past, many have not.  A lot has changed and we want to show you where and how your food is grown.  We are proud of what we are doing here and want you to experience it as well.  The meetings will be a chance for us to hear concerns from members, show you around the farm, and meet face to face before the season gets started.

We will be opening the farm up to members every Thursday afternoon May thru October so that you can feel free to come out, bring a picnic and walk around the fields.  In order to make this work as a positive experience for all of us, we need you to come to one of the meetings and get an orientation. Come and get to know the lay of the land because we won't be available to show you around every Thursday.  (Thursday afternoon our interns have off so often it is the day when both Aaron and I are doing tractor work and catching up.) 

The 4th Thursday of every month we will be hosting a potluck.  Come and lets share the food that we collaborated on producing together.  
  
We will not be doing substitutions, or packing special boxes this year.  Instead, we will have an exchange box at market where members will be able to take something they want more of, and leave something that they do not desire.  Those of you with food intolerance/allergies will need to choose a market pick-up in order to utilize this system.

There will be 1 share size this year.  Slightly larger than the small share of years past and a bit smaller than the regular size.  This means that all boxes will include 7 to 10 types of vegetables per week picked at the height of their flavor and freshness.  The CSA will still be 22 weeks and the cost will be $375 ( $17/week).  This means that your box will contain at least $17 worth of veggies and often a good deal more.

We hope theses changes are something that works for you and that we can continue to grow food for you.  We hope that these changes make for a more meaningful experience for all of us.

CSA SHARE OPTIONS
We offer 1 share size for the 22 week main season share:

Full Season Share:
The box will include 7 to 10 types of vegetables each week.  It is difficult to say for certain how many people this will feed because everyone's eating habits are different.  Generally though, this will feed 2 adults and a child most of your vegetables for a week.
It last 22 weeks starting May 11 and ending October 5. (Saturday pick up starts May 14 and ends October8.)

Full season share $375

Extended Fall Share:
This share provides 5 boxes from October 12 thru November 9.  Fall crops include carrots, beets, leeks, spinach, greens, sweet potatoes, shallots, winter squash, Irish potatoes.  Most of the veggies in these boxes will store into the holiday season.  You can sign up for this now or in early fall.

Fall share: $120

Pick-Ups:
Wednesdays:
River Arts District Market, (All Souls Pizza Parking Lot, Clingman Ave)) 2 to 6 pm.
Catawba Brewery, (32 Banks Ave Downtown Asheville) 4 to 10 pm

Saturdays: (limited number of pick-ups)
North Asheville Market, (UNCA Campus) 8 am to noon

Payment:
     If you pay in full by February 15 with a check, you receive an early bird discount.  The price with discount is $360.

     Down payment of 1/2 the total is due upon registration.   Please include a contact number, email addresses for share members who want to be on the mailing list, a snail mail address, and pick-up preference with your payment!
Payment can be made by check to:

Gaining Ground Farm,
298 Sluder Branch Rd.
Leicester NC 28748


Thanks for supporting our farm and please feel free to email Anne at gainesground@gmail.com or call at 828-545-2362 with any questions!
                                       
                                     www.gaininggroundfarm-nc.com

November 11 or 14 Last Box of the Year

Thank you all for doing the extended share this fall!  I hope you enjoyed it. 
Contents of the last box:  1 bunch multicolored beets, 1 head of frisee, 2 heads of "little gem" lettuce, 1 head of napa cabbage, 3 #s of carrots, 5 #s of carolina ruby sweet potatoes, 1 # of japanese sweet potatoes, 1 bunch of parsnips, 1 bunch of parsley, 2 garlic bulbs.

The parsnips we grow are crazy looking because we transplant them which disturbs their taproot.  It has proven very difficult for us to have success with directly sowing parsnip seed so we do it by transplanting them.  You can use all parts of the root.  Just pull it apart so you can wash in all the little bends and folds.  The leaves are not edible and should be removed for storage.  I just thought it might be interesting for you to see the leaves.  Parsnips will keep for a month or more in a bag in your refrigerator drawer.
Napa cabbage makes excellent slaw, great stir-fry, and is really good as a fermented pickle.
We enjoy making a simple pesto of parsley, garlic, olive oil and salt to dip fresh carrots and turnips in.

November 4 or 7

Box contents:  1 head each of jericho and winter density romaine, 1 bunch of komatsuna, 1 bunch of tonda di parigi carrots, 1 bunch of purple haze carrots, 2 rutabaga, 1 long island cheese pumpkin, 1 bunch of hakurei turnips, 2 baby fennel bulbs.


The little round carrots are another good cooking carrot.  I most love them roasted.  The purple haze carrots are sweet and crisp used fresh.  I am always amazed by their smell.  The purple ones in particular give off this knock my socks off sweet aroma when I'm pulling them out of the ground.  Both of these varieties will keep well in your refrigerator if you remove their tops and store them in a bag with the air squeezed out.  On that note, you will get a 5 pound bag of carrots in the last box next week.
The rutabaga will keep well in the same manner as the carrots.  Remove the tops.
Komatsuna is an asian green that is great stir-fried, added to soup, or eaten raw in a wilted salad.
Long Island Cheese pumpkins make good soup and pie.  Their flesh is a bit watery so needs straining after roasting to get rid of some water prior to making pie.  They keep well so you can wait awhile to eat it.

Following is a recipe from Root to Leaf by Steven Satterfield
Carrots and Swede
2 medium rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
4 medium carrots, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 stick of butter, unsalted
1 to 2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a Dutch oven, combine the prepared rutabaga and carrots.  Cover with cold water by 2 inches and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Drain the vegetables in a colander for 5 minutes.  Return them to the Dutch oven and add the butter, 1 tsp salt, nutmeg and pepper.  Mash well with a hand masher.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

October 28 or 31 Extended share

1 bunch Juane du Doubs yellow carrots, 1 bunch red beets, 1 head of sugarloaf radicchio, 1 # arugula, 1 bunch radish, 5 # carolina ruby sweet potatoes, 1 bunch of thyme.

The yellow carrots are an heirloom variety from France.  Their flavor is best when cooked.  We love them and hope you do too. 
Roasted Carrots with onion and thyme
1 bunch of carrots, tops and root tips trimmed off)
1 small red onion, diced
3 sprigs fresh thyme
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 T olive oil
Heat oven to 400 degrees.  Wash and scrub the carrots.  Slice the carrots in half or quarters the long way.  In a mixing bowl, combine the carrots, onion, and thyme.  Season with salt and pepper and toss with olive oil.  Spread in a single layer on baking sheet and roast until tender and slightly caramelized, 15 to 30 minutes.

Sugarloaf Radicchio is a chicory so is somewhat bitter.  It is good fresh in salads, grilled, an excellent wrapper.  We like to wrap chicken or egg salad in a leaf and use it like a tortilla.

If the arugula is more than you can eat fresh, it makes great pesto that you can freeze for later use.  Just substitute arugula for basil or combine with parsley.


 

October 21 or 24 Extended Share

1 bunch Hakurei turnip, 3 Kabocha Squash (1 dark green, 1 gray, 1 orange), 2# russian banana fingerling potatoes, 1 head of cabbage, 1# broccoli, 2 small heads of romaine, 1 bunch black radish, 1 bunch mustard greens, 1 bunch kohlrabi, 3 bulbs garlic, 1# red sweet peppers.

Last of the peppers as we had a killing frost over the weekend.  The kabocha squash are very sweet, dry fleshed winter squash.  They will keep well so no hurry on eating them.  Potatoes need to be refrigerated because we washed them.  The black radishes are good keepers if you take the tops off and store in refrigerator drawer.  Cabbage and kohlrabi will keep for 3 weeks in fridge.
Click on this link for: Great recipe with radishes.  This recipe calls for any radish but the black radish is good in it. 

Kabocha squash make really good pie and soup and are also good by themselves roasted.

We have been enjoying slaw made with cabbage and shredded kohlrabi with radish greens and a mustard vinaigrette dressing.

Digging forks taken by Marc LeMauviel

October 14 or 17 Extended Season Box

There is only 1 size box in the extended share.  This week is a lot of fresh foods.  The future 4 weeks will be fresh foods and storage items.
Box contents:  1 bliss pumpkin, 1 bunch of carrots, 1 head of frisee, 1 head of radicchio, 1 bunch of amethyst radishes, 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of baby bok choy, 1 pound of red onions, pears!

The pears are from a tree Aaron's Dad planted and it is loaded for the first time this year.  I'm not sure of the variety name but they are delicious.  They are hard pears that will keep well in cold storage but are ready to eat now too.
We put radicchio in the box so you could make one of our favorite salads.
Cut or tear the radicchio into 1 inch pieces.  Toast 1 to 2 cups of walnuts. Cut 1 to 2 pears into 1/2 inch chunks.  Crumble some or a lot of blue cheese.  Combine all and dress with a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

The bliss pumpkin some of you will remember from last year.  They are great keepers, so you can enjoy it as a decoration until you're ready to eat it.  They have a rich, sweet flavor and dense, creamy flesh.  They make great soup.  We are in love with this squash!
A recipe for stir-fried Baby Bok Choy

October 7 or 10, Last CSA box of 22 week share

Party reminder!  October 10, 4 pm and on!  222 Sluder Branch Rd. Leicester 28748.  Bring a friend!

If you want to leave your wax boxes with us, bring a bag and unload.  If not, you can bring the box back next week or to the party Saturday.

Small boxes:  3 # Carolina Ruby sweet potatoes, 1 head escarole, 1 head bok choi, 1 bunch pink beauty radishes, 1 mix root bunch, 1 celeriac, 1 garlic, 1 bunch carrots.
Regular boxes:  All the above plus 1 more garlic and celeriac, 1 bunch baby beets, 1 # broccoli, 2 fennel bulbs.

Storage:  everything except the sweet potatoes and garlic need to be refrigerated.

The mix root bunch in small boxes is 1 watermelon radish, 1 scarlet turnip, 2 hakurei turnips.  In the regular boxes, it is 1 watermelon radish, 1 scarlet turnip, 1 rutabaga, 4 hakurei turnips.  These roots are good used together with the celeriac and some potatoes in a root roast or a soup.  Use the greens too!  If roasting, toss with some oil and salt and just roast for the last 5 minutes or so.  If making a soup, add them in the last 20 minutes or so.
The Carolina Ruby has deep orange flesh and is sweet.  These are ready to eat but will also keep for months under proper storage (60 degrees, dry, darkish).  They are great for savory dishes and mashed.  Taste is similar to pumpkin.

Escarole is a mild flavored relative of the chicory family.  Eaten raw in a salad it has a slight bitter flavor.  Cooked, the bitterness fades to barely noticeable. I like it in soup, raw, braised with white beans.  I'll give you a recipe to which I add 1 can of cannellini beans and top with grated parmesan.
WILTED ESCAROLE
1T olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
salt
crushed red pepper flakes
1 head of escarole, washed and cut into 1 inch square pieces
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
juice of 1/2 lemon
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the olive oil.  Add the onion, garlic, pepper flakes to taste, salt.  Saute until the onion is translucent (5 minutes).  (If you're adding cannellini beans, do it now and let them get warmed thru before moving on with the recipe.)  Add the escarole and saute briefly (2 minutes).  Add the stock and stir until the escarole is wilted slightly (1 to 2 minutes).  Squeeze the lemon over the greens, taste for seasoning and serve immediately.

Following are pictures of everyone's hands that have been bringing the food to you for 22 weeks.  There are a few pairs missing because they've already left.  I got this idea from John Fleer at Rhubarb and thought it a cool idea to show you. 
THANK YOU for being in our CSA this year and giving something to do!  We really appreciate your support and the challenge to keep it all going.  We hope to see you at the party and in the future!  If you have credit to spend, come see us at North Asheville market Saturday mornings or the RAD market Wednesday afternoons.  If you got the extended share, we'll see you again next week at the same place.

Catherine with radish mud

Maddy with turnip mud

Hayley with clean Carolina Rubies

Anne with mixed root mud

Paul with tractor grease (he's been grading all the roads after the rain).

Aaron!  He does most of the washing, hence the cleanliness...