But for this two week period, we approximate the insanity of a monocrop grain or fruit farm, where the entire year’s crop is harvested in a short period.  Especially this year, when some special combination of temperature and rainfall appears to have yielded an exceptionally large crop of beautiful, huge garlic.  A bumper crop is always a mixed blessing.

All day, every day, a third of our crew is tied up with the allium harvest.  One person to drive the tractor and four people manning the harvest machine in a dusty, dirty job.  Our employees are more accustomed to harvesting in relative peace and quiet, surrounded by irrigated greenery.   The onion and garlic fields have been left dry for three weeks to assist in curing the bulbs, and the conveyor belt brings up a constant stream of parched soil, clods, and scratchy dry garlic and onion plants.  Dust masks and goggles are de rigeur.  Then there are the shuttlers — two people rushing from the field to the barn and back with loads of 4 foot square bins on trailers.  Even with two vehicles, 3 trailers, and a forklift to unload at the barn, the bins in the field are always overflowing by the time the driver gets back with another load of empties.

 Like squirrels storing up nuts for winter, our financial gratification for this work is delayed. Harvesting and storing all these crops that will not be sold for many months puts a strain on our resources.  With 7 people absent from our regular crew, we have to hire extra people about 6 weeks before our summer cash crops start pouring in. 
In effect, garlic and onions are a warm-up for what’s coming:  tomatoes, corn, and melons.  And once those crops begin to demand our daily attention in the field, we will be happy to have the barn already full of garlic and onions that only need be cleaned and packed — in the shade on hot afternoons — before being sold or sent off in your boxes.

PAYING ON TIME
Unlike our annual garlic crop, Terra Firma’s crop of CSA boxes is supposed to bring in money each and every week.  But as part of our annual efforts to deal with the burden that June’s harvest puts on us,  we have uncovered a big problem with our CSA subscription payments:   a significant number of subscribers seem to be significantly behind in their payments.  In fact, while I have been asking subscribers for loans to the farm, it turns out that the opposite is happening with many of you:  We are loaning many of you money.

WHAT??????
Our CSA is based on the principle of prepayment — you pay us in advance for one or three (or more) months, and we deliver you the produce.  This is roughly similar to paying rent on a house, as opposed to making a mortgage payment.  We are not providing you with vegetables on credit to be paid for at a later date — which is a good thing, because we have no organized billing or collection system.  Our sales to you are based on the trust that you will be or are sending your pre-payment for  vegetables, even if you have already received some of them before you send it.
If all this is news to you, you might get on our website and read our policy letter again (or for the first time).  We have very rarely cancelled anyone’s subscription because of overdue payments, but we also hate having to bug you about getting your checks in.  And the bottom line is that it’s simply unfair to all of our timely-paying customers (the majority, of course) for us to adopt more restrictive payment policies because of their less organized fellow customers.

A MIXED BOX 
 This week’s single basket of Strawberries in Medium and Large boxes very likely marks the end of a rather mediocre berry season at TFF.  Mediocre in yield, anyway.  The berries’ flavor, as is often the case, seems to have been just about the best around.

 The fruit section of today’s boxes is augmented by a healthy dose of Apricots as well as a small portion of cherries.  Our own cherry crop was a complete bust this year, and we had to get some from neighbor Everything Under the Sun, and supplies were limited and expensive.  Enjoy the seasonal treat.  Back to apricots, the Red Clouds in today’s boxes come from the orchard here by the office.    This variety is an exceptionally good variety for cooking and canning — it has lots of flavor and a good texture for pies, jam, and cobblers.  What it doesn’t have is a lot of juice, which is what makes apricots really great when eaten raw.  So unless you prefer apricots to peaches — a true ‘cot lover —  you will probably enjoy the Red Clouds better cooked than raw (see recipe).   I make this statement with the disclaimer that some people at TFF disagree with me strongly. 

 A word on ripening Apricots — the fruit is so tender and prone to bruising that they must be harvested before full ripening, especially with a heatwave coming on.  You may need to ripen some of your ’cots for a day or two before eating.  If the fruit is not tender enough to bruise with your thumb, it’s not ripe yet.  Let it sit at room temperature in a paper bag for a day or two before using. 

 The first Green Beans are here, just two weeks after the disappearance of peas.  We always harvest our green beans on the juvenile side, which means we get lower yields, but crisp and tender beans.  Bean lovers can look forward to steady supply through the summer. 
 

Thanks,            Pablito