Pumpkin Festival is this Sunday, October 9!  Local puppetry from Ria Blaas, three shows at 10:30, noon, & 1:30. Two great bands: Jeannie & The Hi-Tops and Rev. Stovepipe! Farm-made fall soups and bread, apple butternut crisp, pumpkin cookies, cider donuts, and more. $5 a car. Free for walkers and bicyclers! Find out more and download a full schedule.

Field notes  It is the very last week for the Summer CSA, and hasn’t the weather been right on for the season? Chilly, rather wet, New England fall is here! Amazing potatoes are being unearthed by the remaining farm crew, and the farmstand is full of a superb array of veggies. The kitchen is still busy making preserves and breads. New to the queue is farm-made ketchup!

Not ready for CSA to end?  Fall CSA starts Saturday Oct 22. It’s not too late to sign up.

Note to Fall CSA members  We’ll be sending you an email in the coming weeks with instructions and details about your fall share. The first pickup will be on Saturday, Oct 22, between the hours of 10 and 5. We will continue to send out email updates to all of our Fall CSA members through the end of the year.

Your farm share this week

A view from the farm

Squash is in! Pictured here are the ever-beautiful and sweet delicata squash.

Fall and Winter hours  The farmstand will remain open Tuesday to Sunday through October 30. New this year: we will open the farmstand from 10 to 5 on Nov. 19th and Dec. 17th - the Saturdays before Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays. Keep us in mind when planning your menu! Our storage facility is here to keep your meals full of local flavor.

Not just for pies  Pie pumpkins are great for dessert, but you can also use them for savory dishes. Try this warm and spicy Thai Spiced Pumpkin Soup to make your dinnertime an adventure!

New at the farmstand   Our new egg supplier is Bear Knoll Farm in Canaan, a small-scale poultry farm specializing in raising Red Star hens known for their docile nature and abundant brown egg production. The proprietors Spencer and Sabrina Powers say, “We feel a low-stress approach to working with animals produces a superior product, therefore our birds may come and go as they please. They have access to food, water, and shelter at all times. We supplement our birds’ diet with organically grown vegetables and grains.”

Preserving the harvest?  We have storage potatoes, loads of squash in a variety of shapes, colors, and flavors, carrots by the 60 lb bag for juicing, pickling, or for making fermented foods, and a rainbow of peppers perfect for pickling or drying. Learn how Cat dries peppers.

Demystifying compost  Cat loves talking about soil, and that makes this class her favorite. Sign up here for our This Rots! De-mystifying Compost! October 15th class. We’ll begin with a tour of our farm compost with Nic Cook, and then apply the information to Cat’s demonstration backyard compost system.

FREE wagon rides to the Pumpkin Patch  As is the tradition on the farm, free horse-drawn wagon rides to the Pumpkin Patch and back are available from 11 to 4 on the last two weekends of the month, October 22nd & 23rd and 29th & 30th. Bring the family, grab a coffee and a muffin, ride to the patch with Jerry and Buddy, and pick your pumpkin!

See you at the farm!

Cedar Circle Farm & Education Center Crew