| Pablito |
The alternative is to coax the ground into drying, carefully and gradually cracking the "cap" of dry, hard soil to expose the ground underneath to the air. A shallow pass with cultivating tools on the tractor one day, and a second, deeper pass the next day. One requirement for this strategy to work is sunny, windy days – days much like last Thursday and Friday. Using this method on our sandy "winter and spring" soil, we were able to prepare about 4 acres of fields for planting last week.
The majority of those four acres are now planted with Yukon Gold, Red Lasota, and fingerling potatoes. This year marks the latest date we have ever planted our first spring potatoes – most years we start in February. Potato planting, always a race against the clock at Terra Firma, has become a truly stressful ritual of the rainy winter. Potatoes, like San Franciscans, enjoy neither cold nor hot weather. Potato plants are easily damaged by frost, which means planting the sprouting tubers any earlier than February 1 is a risky proposition. But the plants need fairly mild temperatures to set new tubers, and severe heat will literally cook the crop in the ground before harvest. Ideally, we will be done by harvest by August first.
All this means that we have only 8 weeks to plant an enormous (for us) amount of potatoes – around ten acres. Last year we had one small window in February, and then were unable to plant again until Mid-March. This year we lost all four weeks of February. And whenever it dries out again, we will still have to plant over half the ground.
"That’s okay", you say, "I can wait for potatoes." Did I mention we were just one day away from planting our early tomato field? We’ve taken pride in putting out our tomatoes earlier than anyone else around in past years – and harvesting earlier – but we may not be able to make that claim this year.
Our veteran CSA subscribers have now heard this story almost every year of the last five. And they remember that no matter how gloomy a picture the newsletter may have portrayed in the late winter, somehow they still managed to get a box full of vegetables every week. Nonetheless, it’s important for new subscribers to know that there is a long time-delay in the affects of wet weather on our supply of produce. All the vegetables currently in your boxes were planted in the late fall, and if anything, enjoy the cool wet weather. It’s our late spring crops – potatoes, salad mix, peas – that are particularly affected by rain this time of year. Especially if we can’t plant them at all.
Not to fear, each year we plant more and more crops in the fall that bear in late spring. Regular staples of our boxes are wintered over green garlic and spring onions (larger versions of green onions). Asparagus will come along whenever it warms up a little – very soon, we hope. Strawberries about a month later. And this year, we have new crops including fava beans and artichokes that we hope will help fill out the boxes in April and May. Broccoli, cauliflower and carrots will hold out for another month.
But for now, I’m going back to bed. Wake me up when it stops raining…
CAULIFLOWER’S COMING
If you haven’t gotten enough cauliflower
in the last few weeks, you probably will now. Our main wintered over field
has finally started producing, and we expect it to kick out heads into
April.
As I mentioned before, we harvest our cauliflowers small – they are still protected by leaves -- since we don’t have a machine to wrap the heads in plastic. Most people think they taste better this way.
We have gotten a few complaints about "moldy" spots on the collies. Many have tiny specks of mold, which form when water droplets sit on the slowly forming heads this time of year. You will find the same spots on plastic wrapped, grocery-store cauliflower. The spots are easily removed with a knife, but it’s best to check before you stick it in the fridge. If you have a seriously rotten head, please let us know.
DOIN’ ‘SHROOMS
Out of citrus and running out of ideas,
we perked up at the suggestions from subscribers about mushrooms.
Cold and rain – mushrooms love it! I talked to Sunny Lee yesterday,
and it seems that Portabello mushrooms are in full bloom this month.
Expect a bag full in your box later this month…A perfect companion to green
garlic, cauliflower, and broccoli.
GENETIC ENGINEERING UPDATE
Who is benefiting from genetic engineering
of crops? Novartis, a Swiss "life sciences" company that makes numerous
herbicides, has developed a new line of chemicals to be used in conjunction
with genetically engineered crops. The crops will be altered with
built in resistance to the new herbicides, which will allow farmers to
spray the weed killers directly onto wheat, corn, beans and other crops.
Of course, farmers will have to buy both the seeds for the crops AND the
herbicides from Novartis. So much for the ability of genetic engineering
to make farming more ecologically sustainable…
PREPARATION TIPS
Walnuts: Walnuts’ flavor comes from
their oil, and the best way to bring it out is to toast them. This
process also removes the slight astringency. You can do this by including
them in baked goods like cookies or cakes, or by toasting them in a pan
over medium heat until they begin to brown. Then add them to salads
or savory dishes. Store walnuts in the freezer to preserve the oils
and keep from spoiling.
Green Garlic: This is a young garlic
plant, used like a green onion but with a fresh garlic flavor. It
can be used raw or cooked, and one stem is equivalent to one or two cloves
of garlic. Carefully rinse the area between the leaves and stem,
then use the entire plant.
| Recipes |
Pasta, Spinach, and Cauliflower Soup
Saute ½ C. chopped green onions or
leeks, 1 chopped stem green garlic, ¼ C. diced carrots, and a dash
of red pepper flakes in 2 T. olive oil along with, for 5 minutes.
Add 2 C. cauliflower florets and 4 C. water. Cover and cook 5 minutes.
Stir in 1 C. small pasta shells plus 1 tsp.
Dried basil and ½ tsp. Salt and bring to a boil. Simmer until
shells are tender. Meanwhile, soak and drain 2 C. chopped spinach.
When the shells are tender, add the spinach and remove from heat.
Sprinkle with fresh romano cheese and serve.
| San
Francisco PRICES:
$70 monthly $200 quarterly ; Annual $ 780 $37 every other wk, $106 quarterly eo, $412 yearly eo $ 16.00 wk vacation adjustment Vacations: For vacation notices, billing questions, etc: contact Valerie through voice mail (530) 756-2800 or e-mail at Goldenbell@aol.com. We need seven days notice before a vacation hold or other change of service. |
You can find some sage advice online at : www.terrafirmafarm.com
Newly Installed:
Back to Basics food
storage, prep, etc.
Newsletter Archives if you
missed anything, you can find it in the newsletters…
MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
We re-use our boxes, so please fold them up and return to drop site. Thanks!