I did get out for one very fabulous evening this past weekend to celebrate the 3rd Annual Farm to Table Feast at Verde Valley School Farm. I was happy to see some of our CSA members there again this year! It was a great evening filled with delicious foods grown locally and right at Verde Valley School Farm. I loved trying some new things, including a salad made by Sam Williams of Indian Gardens Cafe and Market that feature radish leaves (I had no idea they were so good!) and pickled baby peaches that farmer Mike Spielman had salvaged when he thinned the peach trees this spring. If you get the chance to go next year, you won’t be disappointed!
Since we are so near the end of our distribution, I want to share where you can find locally grown produce this winter. At this point there are no winter CSAs that I am aware of, but I am happy to report that there is a growing selection of farmers selling at our farmers’ markets. Sedona Community Farmers’ Market will begin their winter market on Sunday, October 22nd. The winter market is held in the parking lot of Wells Fargo Bank on Hwy 89A in West Sedona every Sunday from 12-4pm. Verde Valley School Farm, Zopilote Produce, and Aguiar Farm will be selling there through the winter along with many other growers, so you can expect a lot of delicious, organically grown produce. Da’ Nede’ Farms may offer a winter CSA offering their micro greens, so check our Facebook page for updates. Verde Run Farm eggs will be available at Crystal Lattice in Camp Verde all winter long. Good local eggs will also be available at the Sedona farmers’ market and Denise may start selling her eggs at Rinzai’s Market as well. I’ll give updates as I get them on our Facebook page.
Next week, at our final distribution, we will hold our annual end-of-the-season potluck. This is an opportunity to celebrate the harvest with your fellow shareholders and our volunteers and farmers. We had a great turnout at both the Cornville and Sedona distributions last year, so we really hope you can join us again this year to close out the season. Please bring a potluck item and your family to send off our 11th season! For those of you that pick up in Camp Verde, please let me know if you would like to attend the potluck and to which location we should take your share. Look out for individual invitations hitting your email inbox later this week.
Finally, during the 2018 CSA season we will be offering some extra items that will be for sale each week. Details will follow, but you can expect to find hand-crafted items made from local herbs and plants such as jams, pickles, salves, organic insect repellants, and natural sunscreen. As a preview of things to come, on Oct 4th in Sedona and Oct 11th in Cornville, we will have complimentary samples of Denise’s delicious jam and a small tin of Verde Gardener’s Trauma Plus! Salve for you to try. Early Bird Contracts will be available this week again as well. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the upcoming season.
Thank you and have a great week!
Meghan
What’s in your basket – October 4th
Bell peppers – Whipstone Farm
Leeks – Whipstone Farm
Salad mix – Willowbrook Farm
Spaghetti squash – Whipstone Farm
Tomatoes – Willowbrook Farm
Winter squash in the field…
… and headed to you this week!
Talking with farmer Mike Spielman at the Farm to Table Feast.
Harvesting pepper that have been mostly protected
from the frost with frost cloth.