Dear Farm Community -

For most people, summer is synonymous with fun. School’s out, there are summer vacations, pool parties, and the world seems to invite adventure. For farmers, though, summer is a little bit of a different monster. Oppressively hot days, enormous harvests of our heaviest crops, and more weeds than we could ever keep up with make summer more of a marathon than a party. So fall is a cause for celebration - the weather is kinder on our bodies, our harvests shift to lighter fare like leafy greens and brassicas, and the weeds begin ever so slightly to slow down. As our summer burnout (and farmers tans) fade away, we’re filling back up on fun. So it only makes sense to honor ~FUN~ in this week’s newsletter.

How do our farmers have fun?? One Diamond Hill Farm tradition we all love dearly is getting together on the farm once every season to celebrate. Typically on or near the equinoxes or solstices, our farmers come together on the land to celebrate the season, each other, our friendships, our shared journey, the nourishing food we grow, and the joy of being alive on this beautiful Earth! Although a bit past the fall equinox, we recently held our autumn farm party. Volleyball games were had. The bonfire between the fields was big and bright. Smokey Robinson albums played at deafening volumes (something of a tradition). Farmer Anna transformed into Grill Master Anna with help from Farmer/Grill Master Magz. Bellies and hearts were full and the stars in the sky were dazzling into the wee hours of the morning!

These seasonal farmer gatherings are a reminder to keep our lives and work full of fun and love. They are important pieces of the big grand puzzle that keeps our farm alive and thriving. Because, as cheesy as it sounds, the friendships we forge with each other through our work (and play) can be found in every tomato harvested and every bunch of flowers at market. Our love and respect for each other is the special sauce in our recipe ;)

What other fun is afoot? Sometimes the answer to a problem is in fact to have a little fun with it. While we love and rely on our pollinators, every year we’re faced with a bit of a dilemma - black swallowtail caterpillars LOVE to munch on our fennel and parsley. So much so that they can kill or stunt the growth of our crops and really harm our production. This year Farmer Carolyn took it upon herself to corral all of the caterpillar offenders and raise them into butterflies at her home. Farmer Anna lent butterfly-sitting services, and together they reared and released over 40 black swallowtail butterflies! Congratulations to the beautiful family <3

Finally, folks, we want to say thank you to everybody who came out and had fun with us on Saturday at our wreath making workshop! We love when we can share the fun with all you beautiful souls in our community. Here’s some pics from our serene morning of crafting. Y’all made some gorgeous wreaths! We hope those who couldn’t make it will come out and join us at the next one. Thanks a million!

Alright folks, time to dig into those CSA shares this week…

it’s a….. potato? it’s….. ginger? no! it’s a secret third thing!
Don’t be fooled, sunchoke is its own beauty to behold. Cooked or raw, sunchokes are a crowd favorite, once the crowd knows what it is. Sunchokes are the tuber of a pretty little sunflower native to North America. Eaten raw, the texture is similar to water cress. Cook it and it’s something like a potato. The flavor is earthy and nutty with a mild sweet flavor. It’s a truly delicious vegetable and we’re excited to include it in your CSA shares this week. Try it in a soup with this recipe for Wild Mushroom Sunchoke Soup, or sautéed with herbs for a wonderful vegetarian dish like this Sunchoke Hash with Tarragon and Chickpeas. If you want to keep it simple and really get a feel for the flavor profile, try popping them in the oven for some simple roasted sunchokes. We hope you ~fall~ in love with this lesser-known veggie!

Have fun out there :)
Diamond Hill Farmers

love in every leaf:

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