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Community Supported Agriculture Newsletter |
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Hang in there, the newsletter is HERE! |
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Right around that moment, I was informed that the lift belt on the harvesting machine had snapped in two, with more than half the onions still out in the field. I was up to my waist in belted chain, racing the clock to get it off the machine and into town before 5 p.m. when I remembered I still had to write the newsletter.
I’m sure I’m not the only person who spaced out today on our schedule change (although luckily, I am the only person here at the farm who did. All the produce was picked and packed right on schedule). Luckily, if you did go to pick up your box on Tuesday, you only experienced mild annoyance at us or yourself — rather than finding a day-old box of rotting fruit and veggies.
SEEN BETTER SALAD DAYS
We apologize if the salad mix the last week or
two has not been up to our usual standards. The crazy spring weather
— August in May — has made it very difficult to maintain quality salad,
despite our frequent plantings. It is important in our crop mix to
include some sort of greens in the box this time of year, at least until
tomatoes, corn, beans, etc. start coming in. And we know there are
many there among you who lament their disappearance during July and August.
| One Hundred and Seven Degrees is the not the ideal temperature for growing spinach and lettuce, but that’s what it was here last Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Not only do the greens grow too quickly, going from tiny to huge in a few short days, but the insect activity increases dramatically. On warm nights like we had during the last two heat waves (one day the temperature at 6 a.m. was 87 degrees) the bugs feed without taking a break.The worst offenders are the striped and spotted Cucumber Beetles, who are accustomed to having to slowly chew their waythrough tough, prickly squash, tomato, and bean leaves. Tender-leafed crops are no match for the voracious appetites of these summer pests. They, more than any other bug, are responsible for the holes in your spinach. | 
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A dramatic illustration of how the weather affects insect populations is our tomato field. We normally have to spray once each season with Bt (a biological insecticide) to control the huge, voracious tomato hornworms. One caterpillar can strip the leaves off 10 row feet of tomatoes plants if left unchecked. Normally, I wouldn’t even begin monitoring for the pests until late June, and most years we don’t spray until July. This year’s heat has accelerated the entire lifecycle, and by early last week we had extensive damage from caterpillars that were already three inches in length. |
Needless to say, we are not thrilled about this development — especially since it means that pest populations are going to build to difficult levels much sooner in the summer than usual. That will mean more spraying in the tomatoes. It will also mean that cucumbers, squash, and melons are going to suffer as insect-born viruses spread more quickly than normal. These viruses often bring our melon season to an end well before the arrival of cool fall weather does.
In addition to the planting that produced the salad in your boxes today, we have one more planting of spinach and lettuce in the field. We are hoping that the current “cool” weather will give these tender greens a break and allow us another week or two of harvest. We will do our best to maintain the quality of the greens, and we hope you will bear with us.
WHAT HE SAID
If you haven’t seen it already, try to get a copy
of the New York Times Magazine cover story (May 13, 2001) on the organic
processed food industry. While not exactly condemning the concept
of organic TV dinners and Twinkies, it explored the contradictions that
come up when mainstream food companies get into the organic market.
And it may have been the highest profile endorsement I have seen of the
merits of supporting locally produced crops through farmers markets and
CSAs.
An interesting moment in the article came when
the author asked a very skeptical food scientist, whose job was to test
both organic and conventional foods for pesticide residues, if he thought
there was any difference between the two. “Yes,” he said, “the conventional
has pesticide residues and the organic doesn’t”.
I have never been one to try to scare people into
buying organic by pushing the residue issue — I prefer to focus on overall
sustainability. But I’m sure that readers concerned about their kids
eating pesticides must have sat up and taken notice at this frank admission.
You can buy the article online here,
APRICOT REVISION
After running last week’s newsletter past several
Terra Firmans, I find it necessary to revisit last week’s comments about
apricots. I have been accused, quite directly, of giving preferential
treatment to peaches. Paul Holmes, in particular, would rather eat
a good, ripe apricot than a peach, any day. In particular,
I was reminded that the sweet/tart combination makes an apricot a more
complex and involved eating experience than a simply sweet peach.
And the apricot-lovers stressed that a ripe apricot
puts up no resistance, has no crunch. It should be not just soft
but on the verge of mushy, and melt into your mouth. The safest way
of eating a ripe apricot is to tear it in half, remove the pit, and then
eat it — lest you squirt apricot nectar on yourself or unsuspecting passerby
when you bite into it.
FLAVOR SAVER
If you’ve never canned apricots before, you’d
be amazed how easy it is. You don’t even need to buy any pectin,
since apricots are naturally loaded with it (ignore any claims to the contrary).
Just pit and roughly slice apricots and cook down over low heat in a pot
with 1-2 Cups of sugar for every 10 lbs. Of fruit. After 8-10 hours
of ignoring them, you will have several quarts of apricots that can be
easily heat processed (boil the jars and lids, fill with simmering jam,
and seal) and stored for months. Unlike other fruits with a higher
water content, apricots don’t cook down to nothing. And canning jars
are still one of the best bargains around, at about $15 for a dozen reusable
pint jars. So order some...
Thanks, Pablito
| BULK APRICOTS
Order now for next week — 20 lbs. For $25. Order by Friday noon for Weds. Delivery and by Tuesday noon for Thurs/Friday delivery. We expect to have bulk apricots available for at least two more weeks. |
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| Recipes |  |
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Roasted Potatoes with Aeoli — Gilbert from
Chez Panisse just happened to call about an unpaid invoice while I was
working on the newsletter, so I asked him for a few ideas for today’s boxes.
Wash 2 pounds of potatoes. Cut large ones
in half. Combine with 4-6 whole garlic cloves and toss with olive oil and
a little salt. Roast at 400 degrees until just tender, then remove
and cut into chunks.
While the potatoes cook, very thinly slice onion
to make 1/4-1/2 C. and marinate in lemon juice.
For the aeoli, peel 12 garlic cloves and chop,
then put in a mortar with 1/2 t. salt and work to an even paste.
Add 1 egg yolk and gradually mix in 2 C. olive oil, using the pestle or
a wooden spoon.
Serve the potatoes with very thinly sliced, raw
summer squash and the aeoli.
| CHERRIES in today’s boxes are Bings, and
them come from our neighbors (and subscribers) Gene and Anne Breznock.
They are CCOF certified.
Monster ONIONS more than you can eat in one serving? No problem. Simply store the cut, unused section in the fridge in a plastic bag until needed. Note: This year’s onions received no additional fertilizer beyond the built-up fertility of the soil in the field where they were planted. In other words, we didn’t try to grow them this big. They just turned out that way. |
| Monthly | Quarterly | Yearly | Vacation | |
| Small box | 52 | 150 | 580 | 12 |
| Medium Box | 78 | 222 | 870 | 18 |
| Large Box | 104 | 295 | 1160 | 24 |
| 43 | 124 | 480 | 18 |
Prepay by 5th of month please,
for the month, or get the quarterly rate for prepaying for any three month
period.
Up/downgrades are $5 per week per
increment ~ ie up one size +5, up from small to large +10.
Vacations & Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before
a vacation hold or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com,
or voicemail at (530) 756-2800
To donate your box to Foodrunners,
please call 415-929-1866 or go to www.foodrunners.org
MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com
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