Our boxes are kept cool until they arrive at the drop-sites, and we guarantee the quality of the produce in your boxes assuming they are picked up by the end of the 2 hour pickup window.  Please remember that we do not guarantee quality of boxes picked up late, and we will not give credit for spoilage in this case.  We trust that all our subscribers understand this policy and appreciate the limitations we are dealing with in this matter.  

THE DASHBOARD TEST
So much for “shelf life”, the catch phrase in the produce industry for most of the 1990s used to describe a fruit or vegetable variety’s ability to hold up on display in the produce section of the supermarket.  Now the new trend is “the Dashboard Test”, meaning basically “can you eat it while driving”.  It’s being used to explain, among other things, the recent decline in popularity in consumption of navel oranges.  Consumers, it seems, much prefer so called “zipper skin” citrus like Satsuma mandarins and Minneola tangelos.  Less attention is given to the citrus industry’s tendency to harvest underripe navel oranges.  And how does the theory explain the growing popularity of grapefruit, which can really only be eaten comfortably with a spoon?  Nonetheless, the geniuses in the UC plant breeding division are using the Dashboard Test as a litmus test for all new citrus varieties.

 How does Terra Firma’s CSA box stand up to the dashboard test?  Of course, this week and this month aren’t the best representation.  Snap peas, strawberries, and asparagus can all be easily eaten while driving.  But in general, joining a CSA means making a (relatively minor) commitment to not driving, at least not out to dinner, at least once a week and preparing a meal at home.  And while CSA membership remains a minor trend, it is a growing one.  The number of CSAs nationwide is growing annually, and membership in many individual CSA farms is growing as well.

 Don’t get me wrong.  I would much rather see folks eating oranges and apples on their frenzied commutes than Snickers and Big Macs.  But it seems to me that a significant number of people eat when they drive because they have to, not because they want to.  And some of these same folks recognize the value and importance of cooking and eating their own meals at home once or twice a week (the average number of meals eaten at home now in the U.S. is less than three per week.)  This is a trend I haven’t seen explored.  But meanwhile, the plant breeders are busily exploring ways to make all our produce easy to eat while behind the wheel.

 Personally, it seems to me that whether or not something can be eaten while driving depends to a certain extent on someone’s manual dexterity and/or willingness to risk their life.  I have, on several occasions, eaten a pomegranate — quite possibly one of the most difficult fruits of all to eat — while driving. (Kids, don’t try this at home!).  I wouldn’t want to see plant breeders design a pomegranate with a “zipper skin” if that same fruit had dry, tasteless seeds.  

 The breeders are currently working on a zipper skin “replacement” for the navel orange, a mandarin that will ripen during the same time (Satuma season finishes just as Navel season beings) If they can make that mandarin just as sweet and juicy as a Navel orange — great.  We’ll pull out some of our navel oranges, and plant some of the new mandarins.  That’s assuming that the research isn’t funded by some large corporation that is buying the exclusive rights to plant the variety — it wouldn’t be the first time.

But if the new “zipper skin” mandarin is mealy, tart, chewy, etc., I’d rather go through the trouble of peeling or cutting a Navel orange than sacrifice the eating experience.  And the mass marketing of the new, mediocre fruit would create a niche market for our navels.   I guess if I was more of an opportunist, I’d be happy every time a university plant breeder comes up with a variety that sacrifices taste in the name of “quality” or some other attribute — it creates more demand for the things we grow at Terra Firma.  But I’d rather know that everyone eating fruits and vegetables had access to food that tastes really good.

IN YOUR BOXES 
  The return to spring has also revived our asparagus patch, just when we thought the season was over.  As usual, we will follow the plants’ lead in this, and end the season when they “tell”us to.  In the meantime, you’ll continue to see asparagus in the boxes.

 Beets!  That’s right, beets are back for a short time, tops and all.  The beets in your box today were planted  in early February, and should be especially tender as spring beets often are.  Remember to save your beet greens and cook them as you would chard or kale.  They have more nutritional value than almost any other greens (sure, dandelion greens have more, but have you ever tasted dandelion greens?) and are sweet instead of bitter.    Pablito
 A week of warm weather was all it took to get our first planting of summer squash moving, but there were a few problems.  The plants are heavily insect- and weather-damaged, but it was the hailstorm two weeks ago that threw us for a loop.  We harvested enough squash for all the boxes, but most of them were covered with “pockmarks” on them from the hail.  By the time we sorted the damaged ones out, we only had enough left for the large boxes.  Everyone should get some squash next week.

 On the other side of the box size spectrum, Small boxes get a bunch of juvenile carrots today, a harbinger of  more to come in a week or two.  These carrots are tender and sweet, and great for snacks.  And unlike the “baby” carrots in the store, these are not giant roots cut into small pieces and trimmed to look like little ones.

 Have a good week, 

Thanks,            Pablito