The Black Cat Farm booth at the Boulder market will include the following produce on November 5, 2016:
- Arugula
- Beets
- Broccoli
- Cabbage
- Carrots, baby
- Celery root
- Hon tsai tai
- Kale (Red Russian, White)
- Lettuce, head (North Pole, red winter, Tom Thumb)
- Lettuce mix
- Onions
- Perpetual spinach
- Radishes
- Sorrel
- Spinach
- Squash (Acorn, Butternut, Spaghetti)
- Swiss chard
- Turnips (Hakurei)
Chorizo and pork cuts will also be available.
Prepared food
We will also offer the following Black Cat Bistro frozen prepared dishes made with Black Cat Farm heritage pork:
- County pate: Chunky pork pate
- Head cheese: Terrine made from the head of a pig
- Pork green chile: A Colorado staple made according to Eric’s recipe with smoked pork and green tomatoes.
- Pork rillettes: A spread made with pork that is similar to pate.
- Head cheese: Terrine made from the head of a pig
Warm weather uncertainties
While the prolonged unseasonably warm weather since the summer (Eric just learned that this August was one of the driest and warmest Augusts every in Boulder County) makes for more pleasant work on the farm, it worries Eric for how it might affect our winter produce.
Unlike years with more typical cooler weather, the roots of our plants in the fields are still growing instead of becoming dormant. As such, they still require water.
Last week, we spent five days irrigating for the last time this year with water from the ditch that use (ditch water is only available between April 15th and November 1st). With the hopes of keeping the plant roots moist until cold weather when the plants will become dormant, we watered all of our field as thoroughly as we could, so thoroughly that there is deep squishy mud everywhere.
Our hope is that the weather will cool to seasonal temperatures of 32 degrees at night and 50 or 55 degrees during the day soon. This will prevent the ground from drying out (the consequence of continued warm weather) and our watering to keep the plants going until Christmas when the ground will freeze and snow will provide moisture.
If the weather stays like this, the ground will dry out and the produce will wither except for the priority crops that we will water by garden hose with emergency expensive tap water.
So, instead of a rain dance, let’s dance for the temperatures to drop to typical fall temperatures and for snow to fall.
