Theresa & Max Max welcomes our new sales assistant

What’s Growing This Week: · Carrots · Spinach · Sweet Potatoes · Leeks · Cauliflower · Kiwi’s · Navel Oranges · Frisee (M, L) · Beets (M, L) · Broccoli (M, L) · Red kale (L) · Green Garlic (L) · Yellow Finn Potatoes (L) · Red Cabbage (L) <>· Chard (L)

PEOPLE WHO GROW IN GREENHOUSES SHOULDN’T…

About half of the vegetable crops we grow are planted as seedlings — “transplants”, in the industry parlance — grown in greenhouses.  There are now several reputable nurseries growing certified organic transplants, but for many years the only option organic vegetable growers had was to produce their own starts.  My first days of work at Terra Firma (called Sky High Farm back then) were spent helping Paul Holmes construct his fourth greenhouse.

Greenhouse capacity back then was one of many barriers to entry to the organic marketplace.  Building a greenhouse takes time and money — in direct relationship to how big the building is.  The bigger the greenhouse, the more tomatoes/melons/broccoli etc. a farmer could grow.  So like many aspects of farming, the basic equation back then was the more you had to spend, the more you could earn.  On the flip side, if you blew all your money on lots of greenhouses and then couldn’t sell the products that resulted…

That was then, this is now.  Any organic farmer can now call a nursery a few months before planting time and order as many plants as they want.  As I mentioned a few newsletters ago, we had an commercial nursery grow the tomatoes for our super-early planting, because we had never done it before.  We also now contract out the transplants for our pepper and leek fields, since those were the crops we always had the most trouble growing starts for.

Nonetheless, we still produce a large percentage of the transplants that we use — tomatoes, melons, summer squash, watermelons, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and chicories like escarole and frisee.  There are several reasons why we choose to start these crops in the greenhouse before planting them into the field:  seed cost, season extension, seed cost, weed control, insect control, and, uh, seed cost.  Did I mention that vegetable seed is expensive?  For example, seed for the watermelon varieties we grow is worth more than $1,000 per pound (not  a typo!).  Seeds planted directly into the soil are much more likely to fail to sprout than seeds planted in a greenhouse, especially in the cold, wet weather of spring.

But as any regular reader of this newsletter knows, greenhouse growing is not a slam dunk.  Advocates of greenhouses will tell you how great it is to be able to control every aspect of the plants’ growth.  But this has a flip side:  unlike farming in the outdoors, where many failures can be blamed on the weather, all mistakes in the greenhouse are probably the fault of the grower.

Greenhouse growing is all in the details.  Each plant grows in a tiny square of soil, part of a plastic seed flat with 72, 128, or 200 cells depending on the crop.  The composition of the soil in the seed flat is critically important, and has taken us years to  perfect (although it’s never actually “perfect”).  The mix must have the ability to both hold and drain water:  too much of the former and the plant roots rot; too much of the latter and the plants wilt and die. 

Another critical component of the greenhouses is climate control.  Heaters and thermostats are needed to keep the houses warm on cold nights, and everything must seal tight to conserve energy.  However, giant exhaust fans and numerous doors and air vents are also critical, so that the house can be quickly and continuously cooled down on hot days.

Water is a two-edged sword.  In winter and early spring, too much humidity in the greenhouse can lead to mold, rot and mildew.  During long rainy periods, we struggle to air out the greenhouses and keep the humidity low.  Later, when it gets hot or the dry wind blows, it can be a challenge to keep the plants wet enough and cool them down.

All these elements must be closely monitored every day.  Most people know that dairy cows need to be milked every day, but greenhouse plants are really just a step behind in the ranking of high maintenance organisms.  In a single cold night, a broken thermostat can lead to a greenhouse full of frozen plants.  On a hot afternoon, a single missed watering or a failure to turn on the fan can kill thousands of plants and permanently damage the rest.

We begin planting seeds in our greenhouses in early January, and we will reach peak season in April, when all three greenhouses (the fourth is a permanent shade house, primarily used in the summer) will be completely full.  As we transplant the plants into the field, the numbers will steadily decline until the houses are completely empty by the middle of June.  Which is a good thing, because no one and nothing — plants or humans — wants to spend much time in our greenhouses once it gets to be 100 degrees outside.

IN YOUR BOXES

Cauliflower also seems to have responded positively to the weather, and should produce steadily for a few weeks before its season ends for the spring.  We apologize to those of you who have grown especially fond of TFF cauliflower over the years, since we know that it has been few and far between in your boxes this winter.

With our fruit harvest currently limited to a single type of citrus (Navel Oranges) we are including another local Northern California winter fruit crop in the boxes this week.  Kiwifruit are harvested beginning in late fall and into winter, and then stored for several months.  We will feature local Kiwi from Yuba County in our boxes off and on at least until we begin harvesting ripe strawberries sometime in April.  Kiwis are an excellent source of potassium and Vitamin C.

Finally, for those inquiring minds who want to know:  the mild weather of late February has been especially kind to our first tomato planting, which appears happy and healthy so far.

Thanks,

Please make sure to include your account name, the one on the sign off sheet ? on the box, in every correspondance to Valerie

Recipes............................

Vegetable Biryani — Like an Indian Paella, you can modify this baked rice dish depending on what you have in your fridge.  Don’t worry if you don’t have all the spices, if you leave a few out, it will still be tasty.

Cook 2 C. white or brown basmati in the appropriate amount of water with 1 t. salt.

Clean and rinse 1 large or 2 medium leeks.  Slice thinly.  Heat 2 T. vegetable oil or Indian ghee and cook the leeks over medium heat, stirring.  When they begin to brown, add the following spices:  1 t. minced fresh ginger,  1 t. minced green garlic, 1 t. cumin powder, 1 t. coriander powder, 1 1/2 t. garam masala, 4 t. chile powder, and a dash of salt.  Saute until the leeks are browned and well coated with spices.  Add 3/4 C. plain yogurt and stir to combine.  Puree in a food processor.

Cut 1 head of cauliflower into curds.  Slice 2 carrots.  Dice 3 potatoes.

In a separate pan, heat 2 T. oil or ghee and add 4 green cardamom pods, 1 piece of cinnamon stick, 4 cloves, 8 peppercorns, and 3 bay leaves.  Add the vegetables and cook until crisp-tender.  Add the leek/spice mix and stir to combine.  Season with salt.

CSA membership fees ~payment due day is first of month.~~ Quarterly discounts are given for any 3 month period only if paid in advance.
They are given as an extra credit when the payment is applied, you won't see your monthly rate change.
 

For mid-month changes,  Up/downgrades are $5 per week per increment.  Small to large is $10.

Vacations ? Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before a vacation hold or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800, or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com.  Include your account name in full (what's on the sign off sheet).

Account Balance Inquiries The account sheet is hiding under the sign off sheet each week with your account balance on it.  Mid month I've been e-mailing statments, so if you're not getting it send me an e-mail requesting to be added to the list. To be able to read the statements you need to be logged in as an administrator on a PC, and virus programs may corrupt the file. Some Mac operating systems do allow the file to be viewed.  We can't resend them, and it wouldn't work any better the second time anyway.

MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farms, Inc
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com

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