NEW FALL HOURS START TODAY!

CLOSED FRIDAYS,

with reduced hours on the remaining open days:

FALL PYO & Farmstand Hours:

Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM

Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 pm

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FARM NEWS ~ September 30, 2025

Our wonderful stretch of fall weather continues, punctuated by an even more glorious rainy Thursday last week.  Thanks to everyone who made it to the Westport Farmers’ market or popped an umbrella to come out to the farm stand!  It means everything to us when folks brave less than stellar weather to get our produce.  For farmers, it’s hard to enjoy sunny weather if one’s crops are baking.  This slow, gentle rain of about an inch will keep the soil moisture in a good place this week and allow us to fully focus on the big bulk harvest jobs still on the list for the fall.

Got pumpkins? You betcha! Matt lays them out in the hopes that they will find their forever homes.

And fall weather is coming fast.  Overnight temps in the low 40’s predicted for this week is a reminder that a frost is not too far off.  The brisk morning air has lit a bit of a fire under us to pick up the winter squash and get it safely binned up and stored in a cozy greenhouse.  Last week the crew got all the Jack ‘o lantern and pie pumpkins out of the field and cut and lined up the winter squash in rows for easy pickup. 

Oodles of lettuce seedlings await transplanting in the high tunnel.

October means it’s sweet potato time!  We got a few bins into a hot greenhouse to cure a few weeks ago, and those are ready to eat.  Sweet potatoes are a very nutritious crop, high in vitamin A and C, potassium and have loads of fiber to keep the gut flora happy.  Lately, the internet is full of anti-carbohydrate messages, but really this vitriol should be reserved for simple carbs like soda and candy and highly processed foods like sugary breakfast cereals.  Lumping sweet potatoes in the same category is just plain nuts!

We hope you enjoy the farm,

Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew

Fresh Ginger: We are relieved that we will have enough ginger for the farmstand and markets through the full season, as this was our first compromised ginger crop in over a decade. This is a tricky crop to grow in CT and requires some patience, but this year we had to wait longer than usual for the hands to mature (and much did not make it). It’s worth the wait! no peeling, no fibers, just pure flavor and joy to use. We hope you enjoy it.

Sweet potatoes: This morning we tested the first sweet potatoes that we unearthed a while back, and they have indeed cured long enough to sweeten up and caramel heavenly in the oven (I'm planning to nibble again in the kitchen the first chance I get). This year we have a hefty sweet potato crop, which is like an autumn security blanket of sorts for a farmer. Sweet potatoes will store for many months at room temperature, out of direct sunlight.  Just hold off washing them until you are ready to use, and NEVER expose them to temperatures below 55F.  We have held these guys in a warm greenhouse for a few weeks, so they should be sweet and ready to eat.  Try them baked whole, cubed and roasted, mashed, in Paul’s favorite, sweet potato pie, or in the delicious recipe below.

Also available:

Head lettuce; spinach; salad mix; arugula; pea shoots; curly and lacinato kale; rainbow chard; red, purple, and French Breakfast radish; basil; cilantro, parsley, oregano, chives, thyme, sage; red beets; chioggia beets; gold beets; baby bok choy; carrots; scallions; leeks; celeriac; radicchio; dandelion greens; broccoli; sprouting broccoli; romanesco; cherry tomatoes (limited), Beefsteak and heirloom slicing tomatoes; Chinese cabbage; Savoy and red cabbage; German Extra Hardy garlic; jalapeño, shishito, cayenne, poblano, and cherry hot peppers, red and green bell peppers, sweet red and yellow Italian peppers, sweet orange snacking peppers; eggplant: classic Italian, Graffiti, Rosa Bianca, and a bit of two Asian types; red and yellow storage onions; Satina Gold, Dark Red Norland, LaRatte and Pinto Gold fingerling and Kennebec potatoes; the most beautiful zucchini from the greenhouse; sweet corn (early in the week at least); spaghetti squash; acorn squash; Jester delicata squash; Sugar pie pumpkins, Jack 'o lantern pumpkins; collard greens; plus choice apple varieties from Hidden Gem Orchard, Maple Bank Farm, and Averill Farm!

Coming soon:

Butternut squash

Pick Your Own:

Flowers- The dahlias are still booming – ON SALE NOW!

Please pick up a flower ring at the barn to get the right size bouquet.

Perennial Herbs: oregano, sage, thyme, and chives

Please pick up an herb ring at the barn to get the right size bunch.

Recipes:

Suggested by Rebecca Batchie

– Not into this particular recipe? For more recipes arranged by crop, check out the Fort Hill Farm Recipe Database.

Sweet Potatoes With Miso-Ginger Sauce

Recipe from the New York Times

Yield: 4 servings

4 sweet potatoes (about 6 ounces each), scrubbed

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 (1-inch) knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

A few pinches of sugar or 2 teaspoons mirin

1 heaping tablespoon white miso

1 tablespoon unseasoned rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon light sesame oil or other neutral oil, plus more for the pan

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 teaspoons toasted black

sesame seeds, for garnish

Step 1

Add about an inch of water to a stovetop steamer or a pot

fitted with a steaming basket. Add sweet potatoes and steam

until tender, 30 to 40 minutes, depending on their size.

Step 2

While sweet potatoes are cooking, make the sauce: pound

garlic and ginger in a mortar until very smooth and then stir

in the sugar, miso, vinegar, sesame oils and 1 tablespoon

water.

Step 3

Halve steamed sweet potatoes lengthwise and score the cut

sides in a crisscross pattern with a small knife. Heat a large

skillet or grill pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add a

swirl of light sesame oil (about 1 tablespoon), then add

sweet potatoes in a single layer, cut side down, and cook for

3 minutes, or until their natural sugars caramelize and turn

an appetizing golden brown. (Depending on the shape of

your potatoes, you may have to work in batches.)

Step 4

Arrange sweet potatoes on plates or a platter and spoon

sauce over them. Garnish with sesame seeds and serve

alone or with any accompaniment you like.

FARMSTAND & PYO FALL SCHEDULE:

Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM

Saturday: 9am - 12:30 pm

FARMERS' MARKETS

Come see us on Thursdays from 10-2 at the Westport Farmers' Market

50 Imperial Ave, Westport

and on the Green at the

New Milford Market,

Saturdays from 9 - Noon