Fall PYO & Farmstand Hours:

Tuesday & Thursday: 2 - 5:30 PM (closing 1 hr. earlier)

Saturday: 9 am - 12:30 PM (opening 1 hr. later)

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FARM NEWS ~ October 6, 2026

The frost is on the pumpkin as I write this.  Frost is a very local phenomenon, and we must take weather forecasts with a grain of salt.  Last night’s forecast was for 40F, which would lead you to believe that it would be impossible for dew to freeze on sensitive foliage with a forecast temperature above 32F.  When we started farming at Fort Hill, we used to think that as well, but we have learned that our field can be as much as 6 to 10 degrees colder than the forecasted temperature.  Several things can conspire to form frost in an air temperature above freezing.  Clear, cloudless nights allow heat to radiate out into the cosmos due to the lack of insulating clouds.  Cold air comes off the hill and pools in our valley, and if there is no wind to mix it the air stratifies and the denser cold air pools around our crops.  And we’ve also noticed that mulched crops keep the heat from the ground from reaching the crops, and they tend to frost before crops that aren’t mulched.

Abi makes a quick bouquet from the flower patch on her break. It's a joy out there!

Luckily, we had some idea that the frost would happen so the crew went into frost protection mode, laying our row covers to blanket sensitive crops.  In the pepper and flower patches we put out irrigation pipe and turned it on at 2am when our sensor alerted us that it was now 35F in the field.  We’ve had good success keeping the veggie train rolling into late fall using these techniques, so with some luck tender greens will be on the menu for weeks to come.

Madison, Julia, and Michael take on the task of bringing in the winter squash.

In anticipation of the cold nights, we gathered the winter squash crop last week.  The butternut, Honeynut, and Koginut will need a few weeks in a warm greenhouse to sweeten up, but we have some Jester delicata squash this week to fill the gap.  We are very very late on getting our sweet potatoes out of the ground.  We have about half of them lifted and it is a light crop this year. We hope to get the rest out of the ground soon, and they need a few weeks to sweeten up as well.

Everything's coming up Dahlias ... Faye's husband Michael and daughter, Malin, make a bouquet along with other dahlia-struck visitors.

Frost also brings in the tree fruit, and we have now have Rosalee and Jonagold available as well as Honeycrisp, Gala, and Mcintosh apples from Hidden Gem.  Hidden Gem Orchard's Jim Wargo tells me the heirloom apples will be available next week. We also have Bartlett and Bosc pears from Averill orchard, which means the farmstand is full up with great local produce.

We hope you enjoy the farm and the harvest,

Paul, Rebecca, and the Fort Hill Farm crew

Featured this week:

Magic Molly potatoes: For all the qualities that MM exhibits – deep indigo color (blue-all-the-way-through!), moist flesh, rich potato flavor, and a plumpish fingerling shape – it unfortunately lacks in vigor and yield. It's still one of our favorites, but we won't have enough to go into the winter. Store spuds a room temperature, in the dark, for several weeks.

Jester Delicata squash: This Delicata squash is one of our new favorite squashes in the household because of its superb flavor and sweetness. It also has a thicker-than-usual skin for a Delicata, which means it stores better than the Delicata from days of yore. Store in at room temperature. Like all winter squash, prepare by cutting in half, scooping out the seeds, oiling the cut edges, and putting face down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake at 375F until a fork slides in easily (or see the fun recipe below).

Also available:

Fresh ginger

leeks

fennel

collard greens

German Extra Hardy garlic

zucchini (limited)

fresh carrots

head lettuce

arugula

salad mix

spinach, cut leaf

pea shoots

curly and lacinato kale

rainbow chard

red radish

French Breakfast radish

baby bok choy

basil (unless we lose it to the cold temps.)

cilantro

parsley, Italian

oregano, sage & thyme

Red cabbage

Green cabbage

Romanesco

Chinese cabbage

sprouting broccoli/broccolini (limited)

red beets

chioggia beets

scallions

escarole

radicchio

Artisanal, red and Sungold cherry tomatoes (limited)

heirloom and beefsteak tomatoes

yellow storage onions

red storage onions

shallots

green bell peppers

Classic Italian and Rosa Bianca eggplant (limited)

Graffiti and Asian eggplant (limited)

sweet Italian red peppers

orange snacking peppers

yellow Italian peppers

shishito peppers

jalapeño peppers

poblano peppers

cayenne peppers

Satina Gold potatoes

Dark Red Norland potatoes

Gold fingerling potatoes

Acorn squash

Coming soon:

Honeynut squash

Pick Your Own:

Flowers: DAHLIAS are on fire, get out there and make a bouquet! We will be doing our best to protect them from the frost tonight and beyond. There are plenty of other flowers to choose from. Pick your own bouquets; please pick up a bunching ring at the barn for bouquet sizing.

Perennial Herbs: Oregano, Sage, and Thyme. Please use the Herb rings for the bunch size.

Recipes:

Suggested by Rebecca Batchie

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

Roasted (Jester) Squash

Recipe by Emily Wilson

6 servings 

The pomegranate seeds take this to the next level. And "everything's betta' with feta!"

Ingredients

3 carnival squash

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 ounces crumbly feta cheese

⅓ cup pomegranate seeds

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Wash the squash and then halve them. Scoop out the seeds and any stringy flesh. Then cut them in halve again so the squash is in quarters.

3. Place the squash skin side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

4. Brush the olive oil onto the squash pieces then top with the thyme, salt, and pepper.

5. Roast the squash for 25 minutes or until fork-tender. Remove the squash from the oven and top with the feta and pomegranate seeds. Serve immediately.

Notes

Cooking Tips - To check if the squash is ready, prick it with a fork. If the fork easily slides in, then the squash is tender and ready to come out of the oven. Your squash might need to roast an additional 5minutes, depending on how large it is.

Recommended Tools - I highly recommend lining your baking sheet with parchment paper. It makes cleaning up so much easier!

Storage- save leftover squash in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

You can also find us at the

Westport Farmers' Market

 Thursdays* from 10 AM - 2 PM 

50 Imperial Avenue, Westport, CT

We will not be attending the New Milford this season, but you can come see us at the farm on Saturdays from 8 - 12:30.

FARMSTAND SUMMER SCHEDULE:

Tuesday, Thursday & Friday: 2 - 6:30 PM

Saturday: 8 am - 12:30 pm

A few notes about coming to the farm:

• Please do not bring pets to the farm, as there is no shade in the parking lot.
• Drive slowly and carefully while at the farm; watch for pedestrians, vehicles, and tractors.

See our Visiting page for details.