A crisp cool morning hello to you from the farm!

This week, we managed to get a lot of cover crops planted ahead of the rain, and felt pretty good about the rain on Tuesday watering in the newly pressed seeds.  One of our favorite cover crops is the daikon, or tillage radish.  Daikon is Japanese for the big one and it lives up to its name, sending a large taproot down thirty inches or so to bring subsoil nutrients up to the surface and creating biomass (compost) when it then dies during the winter.

Fall crops are in their glory, and we are featuring what we sometimes call "dessert turnips" this week. These Japanese turnips are white and sweet, and are best enjoyed raw. They are a whole different creature compared to the old warhorse mr. purpletop, the traditional turnip that is often cooked.  I grew up eating turnips sticks at most family get-togethers, so traditional turnips are good raw as well, just much stronger flavored and firmer.  We are also harvesting Shunkyo radishes today.  These are beautiful red radishes that hail from China and are long, tapered, sweet and hot.

                         Sweet Mild Hakurei Turnips.  Go by name "dessert turnips" around here.



Spotlight on Mike H.

Position at the farm: Farm Crew
Number of years working for Goodwill: 3 years
Favorite thing to grow at the farm: tomatoes
Favorite kind of music: rock
What he wanted to be when he grew up: a football player
Favorite place: his uncle’s dairy farm where Mike stayed busy milking cows twice a day
Mike’s family includes: his three brothers, 2 sisters, and his 15-year-old daughter
Language he speaks: a little  German
A pet Mike had in the past: a Quarterhorse
Advice from Mike:  Give it your all
What he brings to the farm: relentless teasing about Elizabeth's food, Law Reh's food and my food... :-)




The Farm Fall Potluck--Saturday October 6th

Join us for our Fall Potluck around the fire circle.  

Saturday October 6

5 pm to 8 ish

What to bring?        

            *Family of 1 or 2: one dish to share

            *Family of 3 or more: one hot dish and one cold dish to share

            *Outdoor chairs or a picnic blanket

            *A flashlight, especially if you are staying for the campfire

            *Dress for the weather

            *Please bring family and friends, but leave pets at home

What the farm provides?

            *Paper supplies and drinks

            *After dinner campfire and marshmallows for toasting

Foul Weather Policy:  check out www.goodwillathomefieldsfarm.blogspot.com for the latest updates on a cancellation due to weather

Questions: Contact Elizabeth at 871-3110 or eswope@yourgoodwill.org

The striking Shunkyo radish

Suggestions for the harvest:

Radish:  Shunkyo radishes are sweet and hot, and visually striking. Greens are edible.
"Dessert Turnips:"  also known as White Lady, Hakurei,  or Salad Turnips, this white, mild and sweet turnip is a great snack.  Best eaten raw, but of course, you could cook them as well.  Greens are edible.
Green beans: and yellow and purple, and flat Roma beans as well.  These are all tasty and nice to have in the fall as well as the summer.  The purple ones turn green when boiled. If used raw in salad they stay purple.
Edamame: waiting to see if this batch develops pods
Storage Onions:  the red and white onions are storage onions for the pantry.  Great for burgers or whatever.
Sweet Peppers: The long red Carmen peppers are outstanding--sweet and flavorful.  great for salads or fried with onions and garlic. The peppers have topped out and are winding down.
Potatoes: We have many different varieties. Yukon Golds make the best fries according to your farmers.
Carrots: done for the season.
Eggplant: many colors--pink, purple and blanks. There are even green eggplants, but we are not growing them this year. coat with oil and soy sauce and grill, or bread them and fry. Coming to and end soon.
Chard: use in lieu of spinach in babaganoush, salads.

Enjoy!  Thank you for being a part of the farm.

Scott