(This was our October Newsletter-now being added in January!)

 

Hello all,

The renewals are starting to come in for next year’s CSA. Thanks to you all, we are looking forward to another delicious season! A reminder, all subscriptions, including any of your friends or family that would like to join, received by November 1^st will receive the discounted price. We have increased our vegetable real estate area (What? Did you think we were taking it easy after the season ended?) so we will be able to offer more shares this year. You can fill out and mail in the form from our flyers, or cut and paste from the webpage at http://www.jsminifarm.blogspot.com. Go to the tab labeled “CSA Sign Up Form”.

We have some new arrivals. 18 Rhode Island Red pullets (young hens) have joined what was left of our original flock.

They had never been outside before; it took them a while to figure it out.

Well, “joined” is a rather loose term. After a week of getting to know each other through the fences we let the flocks mingle. The alpha hen promptly proceeded to terrorize the newbies. There is a reason bullying is called “hen-pecked”! We expected this, and gave them plenty of room to sort out their differences. What we didn’t anticipate was almost two weeks later she still won’t let them roost at night in the “Biddy Barn Bunker”. This is a problem. While we weasel-proofed another area for the transition period, it is unsuitable for long term living because 1) it is too small for 18 full grown hens, and 2) all the laying boxes are on the other side. These new hens should reach maturity and start laying at the end of November.  Hmmm, next to try: putting Cruella in the small area at night, and letting the new birds have the bunker.
 

 

We’ll see how that works.
 

We’ve been taking stock on the performance of the tomatoes this season as we save seeds for next year. Which tomatoes will we grow again in 2013?

Sun Sugar

 

Sun Sugar? Definitely. This was our fourth year growing them and we are more and more impressed each year. This year’s drought only made them sweeter and they stayed prolific throughout the season. We cannot save their seeds as they are not open-pollinated, but they are well worth ordering.
 

Red Cherry
 

Oops, forgot to get a picture of just the Red Cherry, here it is mixed in with the Sun Sugars

We have absolutely no idea what the name of this Red Cherry is. It just showed up in our first year garden, and keeps coming back each year as a volunteer. We have never deliberately planted it. But is the most prolific and vigorous vine we have. It was the one that was trying to take over the yard. This year we saved some seeds as we can longer afford (space wise) to let it grow wherever it decides to pop up. A keeper.

 

Juliet

The one that looked like a small Roma (oval) tomato. Another keeper. It was also prolific and tasty. It freezes well, and due to the low moisture content makes an awesome roasted tomato. I’ll get some directions and recipes on the webpage this winter. It is great roasted, frozen, and used to top pizzas throughout the winter.

Black Krim

 

We agonized over this. The taste just cannot be beat. We got the most favorable feedback on this one. But getting it to you in one piece…. Well, let’s just say we got a whole lot more than you did, but we usually had to cut half of the tomato off before we could eat it. They were the ones that were literally exploding in our hands as we tried to carry them in. We can’t afford the real estate of a plant that only about a third of its crop is marketable. Sadly, this will not be on the list next year.

But….

Black Prince

 

(Picture from our seed source, TomatoGrowers.com)

We were impressed with this black tomato. It was billed as a sturdier alternative to Black Krim with the same great taste. We agree. It is somewhat smaller, but there were no compromises in the taste department. It was actually a little more productive than the Black Krim. We’ll keep this one.
 

Green Zebra

This tomato was a little slow getting started, but actually pumped them out at the end. Its tart flavor made it great for grilled cheese sandwiches. A tomato plate with alternating slices of green and red was visually stunning. And it made an interesting green tomato sauce (and soup!). Another keeper.
 

Costoluto Genovese

(Again from TomatoGrowers.com)

The tomato that looked like a pumpkin. We’ve grown this variety for almost 10 years in two different states. Prolific, tasty, juicy, versatile, sturdy, and the most resistant to the blight. Keep.
 

Ceylon

No pictures, not worth it. The one that looked like a miniature Costoluto Genovese. First to succumb to the blight, split like crazy, not hardy, not a keeper.

Hawaiian Pineapple
 

The big, huge, orange, beefsteak tomato. Not very prolific (the big beefsteaks usually aren’t) but the flavor and visual appeal can’t be beat. And it was fairly sturdy. Keep.

Next time we’ll discuss peppers!