October 5

We left our CFAM market early last Wednesday because of a threatening freeze prediction which could wipe out our remaining harvest of grapes. At 4am, Wink turned on the wind machine and sprinklers. The scene at 8am (above) was pretty, "pretty scary" as one vintner said. Our tactic kept the leaves green (and ripening the grapes) for one more day but all was frozen the next night when temps dipped to 23°.

Apples & how to enjoy them all winter

Today we are harvesting our remaining varieties of apples, the Golden Delicious and Winter Bananas. The WB is used in our locale as a pollinator for other apples but appreciated by some eaters because it's an heirloom. We might have a few at our remaining CFAM market. The Goldens stay edible until December in a cool dark storage area, like a basement and are great for drying and cooking.

Farming, harvesting and preserving go hand in hand. There's not much getting around it if a person supports local sustainable agriculture. Apple preservation info from the University of Georgia covers the gammet, well worth a browse if nothing else. I also recommend a trip to a hardware store to purchase a handy kitchen apple corer, peeler, slicker all in one like these.

Vineyard update

We harvested roughly six tons of wine grapes the past three days. We had help of course, and we were lucky to get it since the Oct 2 freeze struck almost everyone on the Western Slope. Our Pinot Noir is going to DeBeque Canyon Winery, and the Pinot Gris and Meunier is headed for Jack Rabbit Hill. We might offer them at our markets next year!

I also picked the ripest Concord grapes and will pack some for our CSA members. More Concords will be available at the October 7 market for jams, juices.

Concord Grape Walnut Conserve from Eugenia Bone's book, "Well-Preserved, recipes and techniques for putting up small batches of seasonal foods."

She suggests placing several tablespoons of the conserve between layers of horizontally sliced round of brie and baking it in puff pastry as a special holidayappetizer. How about a dessert ravioli (add a bit of grated chocolate to conserve filling), recipe in the same cookbook? I'm definitely making this conserve myself! Can't make it now? Destem and freeze your grape berries whole, cook later! What a beautiful holiday gift too.

Makes 6 8oz jars worth. This recipe could easily be halved.

• 8 cups stemmed Concord grapes (about 4 lbs)
• 6 cups sugar
• Six 2-inch-long strips orange zest (half that amount of lemon zest would probably be just as good)
• 2 cups walnuts, semicrushed

Place grapes, sugar, and 1/2 cup of water in heavy pot over medium heat. Mash the grapes with a potato masher as they heat up. Stir frequently to ensure the sugar dissolves without burning. Cook for 10-20 minutes, until the grapes are tender; remove from heat, cool to handling temp, push the grapes through a food mill to separate skins and seeds. Return thick juice to the pot, add zest and boil gently for 15-20 minutes until mixture thickens; watch against foaming and spill over edge. Add walnuts and cook 5 minutes more.

Have ready 6 scalded half-pint jars and bands, simmer new lids in small pan of hot water to soften the rubberized flange. Pour conserve into jars leaving 1/2-3/4 inch headspace; wipe rims, set on lids and screw bands fingertip tight.

Place jars in big pot with rack in bottom and cover jars with water by 3 inches. Bring to boil over high heat, boil for 30 minutes. Allow to cool in pot for 5 minutes or so then remove and allow to cool 4-6 hrs untouched until "pop." If walnuts are floating when you take jars from water bath, just cool jars upside down.

Check the seals, sore in a cool dark place for up to a year. Refrigerate after opening.

Postharvest notes

Every year we have one chance to pick and store our fruit. The entire valley is consumed with harvesting, packing, price-wrangling and shipping. We must store and transport literally tons before anyone takes a bite. How to keep the quality high when the best way to eat fruit is fresh and ripe off tree?

This year we stored excess in a neighbor's organic cooler, but their forklift exhaust fumes polluted our remaining peaches – yikes – we had to pitch a couple hundred boxes! Our cold storage will increase with the new barn, which will help a lot. And we expect to preserve more fruit for sale next year. Each year we learn more about crop, soil and water management, and postharvest handling. We also learn more about our farm, our local growing conditions, and our markets. We plan improvements as each year progresses and we "get it" with reality-based feedback. Farming is total cause-and-effect with a heavy dose of mysterious!

All the best, Max & Wink.