Reminders & Announcements This week, we will deliver to weekly Late Summer Vegetable and Fruit members. Important Dates This Week Winter Shares Savings - Before this Friday, September 15th, use the codewinter to save $8 on your Winter Produce Share. Register soon so that we can be sure to preserve enough produce for everyone who'd like to participate. Thank you! 2nd Annual Lake County Farm Stroll - 11am – 4pm, this Sunday, September 16th at the Prairie Crossing Farm. The Lake County Farm Stroll is a self-guided tour of Lake County’s diversified family farms. There is no beginning or end to the tour, just simply choose the farms you wish to visit during the designated hours of the event.

This Week's Vegetable Harvest: Radishes Oregano Beets Head Lettuce Heirloom and Cherry Tomatoes Colorful Bell and Sweet Italian Peppers Green Cabbage Red Onions Swiss Chard Garlic This Week's Fruit Harvest: Late Summer Peaches Bartlett Pears 'Marquis' Green Grapes 'Zester' Apples

Farm Photo Journal

Late Summer is a transitional time in many ways. Each day, we notice the sun sitting lower in the sky and yesterday, we heard the first Sandhill Cranes beginning their migration. Our Dogwood bush hedgerows change colors from dark emerald to rich mahogany, and the goldenrods in the prairie begin to flower. The dragonflies dance through the skies overhead, following us from field to field as we pull in the harvest.

The dragonflies dance in the sky above.

As much as we love this time of year, this year's transition to fall is bittersweet for us. It a time of year that certain crops will return and thrive again (cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, radishes, turnips), while others will turn more quiet (peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant).

Each seasonal transition is different. In 2017, we were harvesting 5-10x the number of tomatoes are harvesting each week from both our hoophouse and field plantings. This is due to a number of factors including the late start of our field tomatoes (due to the need to replant, read the full story here) and the September weather quickly changed from extremely wet, humid days to chilly days and nights. The tomato ripening process has slowed and unfortunately this means we will not have the volume of tomatoes to offer bulk cases of tomatoes. We will, however, continue to include tomatoes in CSA boxes as long as our plants allow.

Seasonal differences are one of the interesting facets of farming. We recently gathered fellow farming friends for dinner together. We spent hours discussing this farming season, and how we will also continue to adapt, learn and change as a result of what we experienced this year. Farming is an inherently complicated, risky business and we acknowledge this, especially as our weather patterns get more unpredictable. Luckily, those complexities are what we all love about farming. We never stop learning, growing and putting seeds into the soil. Your farmers, Jeff, Jen and the farm crew

Notes from the Farm Kitchen

Apple season has begun! This week's fruit share includes zester apples which are a favorite of our household.  They are sweet and tart with a light, crisp crunch, this variety is similar to a honeycrisp apple.  Throughout late summer fruit shares, you'll see a nice variety of flavors and colors in the Klug's apples. Store them in your refrigerator crisper (without other vegetables or fruit) to stay fresh.

Recipes and Ideas Spiced Peach Muffins - I always add in whatever leftover plums I have in the kitchen, in addition to the peaches, to add color, flavor and more fruit to this recipe. Oven Baked Beet Chips Simple, Roasted Cabbage - I make this with 1/2 butter and 1/2 olive oil for a bit of additional flavor! Tips on How to Poach Fruit

Next Week's Harvest (our best guess)...broccoli, napa cabbage, apples, lettuce, scallions and more!

• Tags: Beets, Cabbage, Peaches

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