Crop List: Delicata Squash, Orange Summer Squash, Orange Carrots, Rainbow Carrots, Potatoes, Chiogia Beets, Onions, Daikon Radish, Green Tomatoes, Garlic, Maybe Red Tomatoes, Sunflowers and/or Sugar Dumpling Squash

This is the last share! We sure hope you enjoyed eating the veggies as much as we enjoyed growing them. We thank you for all the energy you gave to the farm. Your commitment to meet us weekly to get your veggies was appreciated. Knowing there are folks in the community trusting us to grow for them, is inspiring. We hope the food nourished you and helped you accomplish great things.
The garden temperature hit 26 on Monday morning. Last year we made it to September 25th and this year to the 30th! These are late freezes, and we are grateful for all the extra growing time. The timing feels perfect as we wrap up the CSA and markets this week. During October we will be cleaning out the garden and getting next year's garlic crop planted.
So how was 2019 from the farmer's eyes? Like every year, somethings were great! ...and somethings were less great. The hard and late frost on June 9th really messed some things up. The potatoes froze. We are lucky to get any spuds this year. We feel like we are letting the state of Idaho down! The cabbage and broccoli froze at that time also. We sadly did not get as many tomatoes as we planned for. We are looking forward to trying again next year!
What was stellar in 2019? Cucumbers and Winter squash were the stars this year. It may have been the best cucumber year ever. I know I raved about them earlier this season, but they really deserve some celebration! The carrot crop has been great. See if you can taste the difference now that it froze. After a frost, the carrots really sweeten up! This is why we can grow some of the best carrots anywhere right here in the Tetons. They like a bit of cold right before harvest. The Garlic, Peas, Turnips and Cosmic Mix also made an impressive showing in 2019.
So there it is! Was? The 2019 growing season. Once again, we are grateful for you dear shareholder. Thank you for all your support this season, or over many years depending on who you are. We wish you a peaceful winter. With love, Dale, Jed, our family and the Cosmic Crew.

​We have kicked off our 2020 CSA membership drive! This is the last week to get a free organic hat or shirt when signing up for 2020. Bring a check or cash to your pick up this week. You will guarantee getting the pick up day and time that you want and get in for our early season prices!  Your site host will have sign-up sheets or you can get one here: ​https://www.cosmicapple.com/uploads/1/7/9/9/17994337/2020_sign_up.pdf
​You can pay online with a credit card if you prefer, but we will not be able to get you a shirt or hat. You will also save the 3% card fee if you pay with a check or cash at the site!

Special Announcement! Our friend Captain Todd Broadhead will be at the farm on Thursday, October 3rd, 5-7 pm selling his amazing salmon. This is a surprise this early in the season and we are thrilled to have him join us at the last pick up. He spends his summers fishing off the coast of AK and WA, and he lives in the Tetons in the winter. If you purchase any salmon this year, this is it. It tastes the best and you are supporting an independent environmentally ethical fisherman.

Workshare lunch this week: Pad Thai
Recipe Idea: Fermented Green Tomato Ketchup, sent in as a recommendation by a member!

The coolers at your site are stocked with Lifeline cheese and a selection of the beef and pork listed below. If you know you want something, please email me and I will make sure it is in the cooler, reserved for you. I don't send every cut every week, they simply won't all fit!
Beef Available: Tenderloin, New York Steak,  Round Roast, Liver, Ribs, Ground Beef, Patties, Hot Dogs and Bratwurst
​Pork Available: Grandpa's Sausage (Back in stock!!!), Shoulder Roast, Loin Roast,  and Fat

WASH YOUR VEGGIES!!
​
Bring Bags to pick-ups!

If you can't make it to pick up your veggies, send a friend!
Missed shares are forfeited for the week. 
Members get 20% off at the Farmer's Markets!
The Driggs Market: Fridays 9-1 (Last Market 10/4)
Farm to Fork Festival: October 5th 11-4  Center for the Arts
Questions? Comments? Recipes to share? dale@cosmicapple.com

Crop List: Carrots, Blackberry Potatoes, Sugar Dumpling Squash, Beets, Basil, Baby Leeks, Shallots, Swiss Chard, Cilantro and Sunflowers

Today is the first day of fall. The time of year to embrace change. The leaves are changing colors, snow is back on the peaks and the Cosmic Mix has stopped growing. The cooler temps are affecting the garden. The Cosmic Mix needs some warmer weather to kick it back into action again. We may see some more before the season ends, but no guarantee. We have yet to have a hard freeze this year but the garden has slowed way down.
The winter squash was harvested last week so we could inventory everything that came out of the garden and determine how much would be in a share. The squash looks amazing this year. You can store it on your countertop out of direct sunlight until you are ready to eat it. We decided to skip pumpkins this year and grow more squash we think people will eat. My son has decided not growing pumpkins means it is the "worst farm year ever". I am determined to win him back with lots of decadent winter squash feasts! I think we get a better yield out of the sugar dumplings, delicata and orange summer squash then we do the pumpkins. You will get some this week and more next also! I hope enjoy these garden beauties! They are a treasure in the Tetons.

We are kicking off our 2020 CSA membership drive! 2020. Crazy. When I was young, I really thought we would be driving around in personal hovercrafts that ran on sunshine by 2020. Hovercrafts aside, we are ready for you to secure your 2020 veggie share!! If you sign up at a pick up location before the season ends, you will receive a free organic cotton t-shirt or hat! Your site host will have sign-up sheets or you can get one here: ​https://www.cosmicapple.com/uploads/1/7/9/9/17994337/2020_sign_up.pdf
​You can pay online with a credit card if you prefer, but we will not be able to get you a shirt or hat. You will also save the 3% card fee if you pay with a check or cash at the site!
We will definitely make it to share #16 this year! See you next week too!

Workshare lunch this week: Peruvian Quinoa Stew (on the tomato page)

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Carrots, Dill, Russian Banana Fingerling Potatoes, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Sunflowers, maybe Yellow Beans and/or Snow Peas

We got a new toy at the farm. A barrel washer! We use it to wash root vegetables in. Carrots and potatoes mostly. It's cool and fast! We put the veggies in at one end, it slowly spins them while spraying with water. It is on a slight incline so the roots work their way down to the other end. I keep telling my children they are going in next! We put it together in the spring and it has been sitting in the wash station waiting for this time of year. We are happy with the performance so far. In the past we would dump a crate of carrots onto our tables (wooden frames with hardware cloth for a top). We would then spray the veggies and move them around with our hands to get all sides. Then we had to pick each carrot up and put it back in a clean crate. With the root washer, we dump a crate of carrots fresh out of the field into one end, and meet it at the other end with a clean crate. So. Much. Easier. We love these machines that make the farm labor easier. Washing roots can be hard work. Especially when the weather turns and gets colder. Playing with water when it is 50 degrees out gets old, quick. It seems as though rain gear will still be needed when it gets cold, but the washing will happen so much more quickly with the barrel washer and our bodies will stay warmer because we will be moving more. Lifting crates full of roots is better than Crossfit!
I was going to put a video on here, but it is beyond me technologically. I added one to our Instagram (cosmic_apple_gardesns) and Facebook page if you want to see it work!

Fall is still coming on gradually this year. No frost yet! Lots of veggies to harvest in the upcoming weeks. When I wrote this newsletter on Monday there was not a frost in the forecast. They are now calling for 29 degrees on Tuesday night and again on Saturday. Fall is the time of saying goodbye and feeling grateful for what we have managed to produce! We still don't know how long it will take us to empty the garden. When will the shares end? We will let you know as soon as we know!

Workshare Lunch: Merav's Carrot Soup​​

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Butterhead Lettuce, Yellow Beans, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Rainbow Carrots, Turnips, Tomatoes and Sunflowers

Important note: Downtown Jackson Pick up change!!!! Broadway is closed this week. Your share (if you pick up downtown Jackson) will be at Wyoming Title and Escrow.  The address is:  211 E Broadway.  The building driveway and access is actually off E Deloney.  

Well hello fall weather!​ That happened quick. Although, we still have not frosted and there is not one in the forecast yet! The temperatures look like they will remain cooler and more seasonal for September. I must admit after being so used to the 80's for temps, I was a bit sad to see 50-60's in the forecast for the high. But it feels good! It is still pleasant to be outside, the clouds are gorgeous and the leaves are getting fun to watch.
It does look like it will be rainy this week. Your veggies may be a bit muddier. We do our best to get them clean, but rain really slows us down. On the upside! We need the rain. The soil in non-irrigated parts of the farm was parched, dusty and the plants turned to dust when stepped on. Everything feels fresh and rejuvenated going into the final fall push.
About this time you may be getting curious as to how long the CSA will go.  We don't know! It just depends on how fast we can empty the garden out. At this point it seems safe to say we will make it to at least week #16. We will keep you posted if we are going longer or not.
​
Workshare lunch: Pad Bai with summer squash and beans
Recipe Ideas: Classic Carrot Salad or Carrots au Gratin

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Sugar Snap Peas, Turnips, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Sunflowers, Summer Squash, maybe Thai Basil, Filet Beans, Turnips, Shell Peas and/or Basil

We sure hope you have been enjoying the bumper crop of cucumbers and summer squash this year. We have been! What a treat. These plants are fickle in Teton Valley. The smallest frost can set them back early season and wipe them out at any point. We thought they were going to do great with last year's hot summer but the smoke seemed to really affect them in a negative way. It is almost like they know they were missed last year!
The cucumbers, summer and winter squash are all in the cucurbit family. They are one of the last things to be planted in the garden. We wait until after June 1st. They are planted in beds in the garden that have been covered in IRT mulch. A plastic ground cover that keeps the ground a bit warmer and inhibits weed growth. They are then covered in row cover with hoops. So each 500' bed is like a mini greenhouse.  We leave them covered until they start flowering about the beginning of July.  We we pull the row cover off and some of the plants are so big, they have been pressing on the cover. 
This year we have 7 rows in this garden section.
1 Row of Slicing Cucumbers
1 Row of Pickling Cucumbers
2 Rows of Summer Squash
3 rows of Winter Squash
If you pick up at the farm, you can see this section of garden behind the pick-up shed, on the East side of the garden. It's a jungle out there! Please savor these veggies. They will be one of the first things to slow down or stop completely when the weather changes. If you feel like you have had your fill of summer squash, you can grate it and freeze it. In the winter just thaw it in a colander and you can make zucchini cakes or bread! It is one of the easiest veggies to process for long term storage. Grate and freeze. That's it!
​
Workshare lunch: Burritos with "Idaho Salsa" (tomatoes, garlic, cilantro and cucumber) with Squash and Turnips
Recipe Ideas: Tomato Basil Zucchini Boats Recipe or Tomato, Garlic and Summer Squash

Crop List: Spicy Cosmic Mix, Green Star Head Lettuce, Summer Squash, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Bok Choy, Radishes, Sunflowers, maybe Arugula, Sugar Snap Peas, Yellow Beans, Fillet Beans and/or Shell Peas

We skirted a frost Sunday night. The forecast was in the 40's for the low. We hit 35 degrees at the farm. There were signs of  a super light frost in the grass. So far no damage has presented itself on the plants, although we have noticed the vibrant green of summer is slipping away. The squash plants while still producing, are losing the vibrant green of mid-summer as a paler green with hints of yellow are showing.
The tomatoes and basil are tucked in the greenhouses with heaters and have no clue of what is going on outside. We started the tomatoes in March this year. They are one of the first things we plant. They start in seed trays and are eventually transplanted to 4"cups. Around the last week of April they are transplanted into the ground in a greenhouse. Irrigation tape is hooked up to water them...and then they are off and growing!
By mid-May they need to be trellised and pruned. We have one part time employee who trellises and weeds the greenhouses weekly. Harvest happens 2 times a week.  
We are so glad to be able to deliver precious tomatoes to all our CSA members. We know how these beauties are coveted, and enjoyed.

​Workshare Lunch: Polenta with Sauteed veggies and Tomato Basil Sauce

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Radish, New Red Fire Head Lettuce,  Summer Squash, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Sunflowers, Maybe Snow Pea, Sugar Snap Peas, Yellow Beans and/or Fillet Beans

We are thrilled with the upcoming weather forecast. The garden will be also. Towards the end of August, I always get a bit giddy when I look at the extended forecast and there is still not a hint of frost to come. The garden is going to keep rocking until it freezes. This week looks hot and dry. So we will keep up last week's mantra...Harvest, water, repeat.
The beans are just starting to come in this year. I am so happy. Last year we lost them to the weeds. I LOVE beans right out of the garden. They are truly one of my favorite flavors of summer.
The sunflowers seem to be peaking this week. To help them last longer, cut the stems short enough so the flower head rests on the edge of your vase. Having something to rest on will keep them from getting droopy too quickly. Keep the water full and fresh and they should last a week.
 Just so you know what is coming....the winter squash is shaping up to be a stellar crop this year. And carrots. Oh. My. Get ready. There are a lot of carrots out there! The garlic is still in the shed curing.
Happy eating!!!​

Workshare Lunch the week: Curried Zucchini Soup (with peas, beans and tomatoes too!)
Recipe Ideas:​ Marinated Zucchini & Green Bean Salad or Beans and Bacon

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Shell Peas, Romaine Head Lettuce, Summer Squash, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Carrots, Basil, Sunflowers, Maybe Beans,​ Snow Peas and/or Sugar Snap Peas

Harvest, water...repeat! The garden is yielding like crazy right now. We harvested 1130 cucumbers last week. We think it is a new record. It is so much fun to see all the produce coming in. I have to remember to hold my tongue everytime I walk in the wash station because Jennifer (our amazing veggie caretaker) is always in the midst of counting something and I don't want to interrupt her.
What happens in that wash station anyway? The volunteer crew brings in the harvest on the East side of the building. Greens are cooled in big water tubs and then spun dry in a wash machine set to the eternal spin cycle. Roots are unmuddied outside by spraying them off. Squash is counted as it goes into crates. Each crate that is "done" weighs the same as all the others holding the same produce. For example, all the Cosmic Mix crates always weigh 7 lbs. The carrots come in at 15 lbs. And the tomatoes always weigh 20 lbs. Each bucket of sunflowers always has 40 stems in it. After each item is processed (ex: all the Cosmic Mix is in a crates that weigh 7 lbs. each) we tally up the weight of the harvest. The total weight gets written on a dry erase board. The produce then heads into the walk in cooler to cool down even more.
Jed comes out of the field at some point around 11:30 to do the numbers. He looks at how many shares are going out on a given day, then takes the total pounds harvested and divides the weight by the share number. That's how we decide how many pounds (or counted #) of an item you get. 
Then the higher math begins. Jennifer (the aforementioned veggie caretaker, aka "wash station manager") pulls the veggies out of the walk in and begins to divide them by the numbers Jed gave her. Knowing how many shares are picked up at the farm, Wilson or Jackson she divides the veggies onto pallets destined for each pick up site. After they are divided they head back into the walk in.
Lots of math. Lots of weighing. Lots of moving produce in and out of the walk in. And lots of love. I love walking into the wash station and seeing all the produce as it is moving through this process. It is hard to remember to let Jennifer concentrate when I want to talk about how beautiful something looks! And the amazing smells. I love being in the wash station when the herb of the week is coming out of the spin cycle. The scent of the mint last week was the most refreshing scent I could imagine on a hot day, and the whole building smelled wonderful.
At 3 pm the truck driver arrives and the veggies are again pulled out of the walk in, then rolled out the West side of the building onto the truck to get to you!
This is just a small part of the veggie process, but at this time of year there is a steady stream of produce moving through the wash station on its way to you!!

Collecting questions!! What things do you want to know about the farm? Any topics that are of interest to you...veggies, animals, people, soil? Chances are if you are wondering about it someone else is too...but one of you has to ask me! Please email me (dale@cosmicapple.com) your questions and I will write about them in upcoming newsletters!

Workshare Lunch the week: Summer Sauté over pasta (on the Summer Squash page)
Recipe Ideas: Summer Squash Ribbons, Tomato Basil Zucchini Boats Recipe or Grilled Summer Squash

Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Swiss Chard, Mint, Napa Cabbage, Tomatoes,
Summer Squash, Garlic, Cucumbers, Maybe Snow Peas, and/or Sugar Snap Peas 

Tuesday will be (or was if you are a Thursday shareholder) a big day on the farm. We are going to get our annual garlic harvest in! Jed is currently hooking up the mower to the tractor. He will mow the tops of the plants leaving about a 5" stalk on them. Then he will come thru with our old school potato digger. This has a metal blade on the front shaped like a scoop. It digs just under the garlic and lifts the garlic out of the soil onto a conveyor belt. Most of the soil falls thru the belt. One of our kids, an employee or volunteer will ride on the digger keeping it unclogged. The garlic is then deposited on the ground behind the digger. 
This is where the hands come in. We work our way up the bed picking up all the garlic and doing a quick clean on the roots. Getting the big clumps of dirt off. We have 10 beds that are each 500' feet long to harvest. After the dirt is wiped off, the garlic is then stacked in piles. When it is all stacked we drive the trusty old blue pick up with the trailer up the beds. The garlic is stacked on the trailer. We then drive it up to our old horse barn where it will be carefully laid in rows so the curing process can begin. To cure, air must be able to circulate and the garlic must stay dry. The stalks dry down, essentially sealing the cloves so no infection can get in and rot them. We are lucky in the Tetons, the air here makes it easy to dry garlic. We do not have to invest in expensive circulation fans and climate controlled buildings. Rot and fungus are not a big concern. High altitude desert air is great for garlic. 
The garlic you are getting in your share is not yet cured. Use it up. Keep it in your fridge. The garlic later in the season can be stored long term on your counter after it is cured.
We love garlic here at Cosmic Apple. I have been in awe of this plant since I started farming. I have also written more about it in the recipes. Follow the link below to the garlic page to learn all about the plant!

Workshare Lunch: Zucchini cakes!
Recipe Ideas: ​Yogurt, mint and cucumber dressing, Kimchi, Or last week's workshare lunch: chili mint stir fry with Napa cabbage!

 Crop List: Cosmic Mix, Collards, Summer Squash, Basil, Red Oak Lettuce, Maybe Tomatoes, Sugar Snap Peas, Snow Peas Holy Basil (Tulsi) and/or Cucumbers

We are starting to harvest cucumbers this week. We are bringing in 2 different kinds. Traditional slicers and "pickling cukes". The pickling cukes grow better in this climate then the slicers. You can use them just like a traditional slicing cucumber. You should also know, my kids prefer to eat the pickling cukes. They eat cucumbers like apples, and eat a lot of them! They say the picklers taste better then the slicers...I agree with them.​​ The skin is more tender. I know my one son has done a taste test, he takes these things seriously! Let us know what you think of them.
Lammas is on Thursday this year. It is the day halfway between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox. It was traditionally celebrated as the beginning of the harvest season. It represents a balance of hope and fear. Those seeds we so copiously spread before and around the Solstice are beginning to ripen. We are practicing letting go of the things we worked so hard to sow that didn't work out. The things the frost took, or the seeds that were not viable. We must now tend to the things we know will make it, put our energy into nurturing those things to fruition. We must protect these nutritious gems. The watering and weeding continues. We must acknowledge our hopes and fears for the rest of the season. Farming does not provide an opportunity to put our feet up and assume all is safe. We hope to have summer squash until at least September...but, here in the Tetons we could freeze anyday. Acknowledging that reality keeps us grounded and moving forward.
We get to celebrate all the good things that will come out of the garden as the season progresses (so much to come!!) It brings joy to take a walk in the garden and see how things are ripening. We also get to acknowledge the days are getting shorter. It is a great time of year to savor the feeling of warmth on our skin, stand barefoot on the earth and slow down to enjoy a meal with friends. This is the time of year Jed and I dream about when looking at seed catalogs in the winter. We still have summer left, but we also get to start enjoying the harvest.  What a great time of year!

Workshare Lunch: Chili Mint Stir-Fry with summer squash, turnips and kale
Recipe Idea: ​Quick and easy Collards (great as a side on on a burger!)