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Community Supported Agriculture Newsletter |
Pablito with the farm kids Tuesday drops are moving to Wednesday Starting June 6th: Same place, same times, different day |
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SO….
I had a point here. I’m sure there are thousands
of lives, lifestyles, and communities with fascinating stories that never
make into the eye of our popular culture. And I firmly believe that
an organic farm like ours would make an amazing TV drama, novel, or other
story. I just finished reading “Prodigal Summer” by Barbara Kingsolver,
whose books I have always enjoyed. I was fairly shocked to discover
that the book accurately and empathetically documented many of the day
to day conflicts and joys that we experience here at Terra Firma — mostly
due to the fact that two of the (female) characters were farmers.
One was an organic apple grower, and the other a transplanted city girl
who learns to raise goats.
Some people have suggested that I should write a book about Terra Firma (in my “free” time). Maybe by the time I retire I will have the subtlety and wisdom to accurately describe what I have seen happen around me. Kingsolver scratches at the surface of the contradictions of living in the country, but she simply didn’t have the time and space to explore them all. One important message that underlies her book is that there are no black and white issues on a farm or in the woods — despite understandable efforts by urban environmentalists to outline them in these tones. Once you live in a community where history, nature, and place define your daily life, edges tend to blur.
The flip side of this message is that people who
move to the country to “get away from it all” usually fail miserably.
To a rural community, the land you own now is still “Joe’s Farm” — Joe
being not the guy you bought it from, but his father or grandfather.
He built that house, graded the road, planted those oak trees. And
your efforts to make it yours seem impossibly juvenile to the neighbors
who are living on in houses that their grandparents built, benefiting from
the shade of trees that their parents planted, and harvesting crops from
orchards and fields that were someone else’s long before they came into
possession of them.
Unfortunately, modern technology has made it easier
for farmers to pretend they are independent. Mechanization has greatly
reduced the number of people needed to grow most crops, which means that
fewer people live in the country, and it takes more land to support those
who do. In the near future, this “progress” will destroy agriculture
in the U.S. completely, since rural areas will have little political power
to stop the relentless push of the suburbs.
TERRA FIRMA TV
Just imagine, though, a weekly drama about an
organic farm with a host of diverse characters. There’s the traditional,
hardworking Mexican American family with several generations working together.
One of the owners, a recently reformed bachelor approaching 50 who’s just
now become a father. The guys on the crew, young and macho and full
of snappy comments. And the Anglo interns (usually female) who arrive
at the farm out of shape and unsure of their ability, and leave ready to
conquer the world. Then there are the numerous, quirky neighbors,
like the two eighty-plus patriarchs on either side of the farm, one who
turns arrowheads into artwork and the other who sings show tunes.
And don’t forget the attention grabbing plots and subplots — the conventional farmer neighbors who threaten a lawsuit over pest incursion, only to later become great friends. A landlord’s advancing Alzheimer’s that puts the farm’s land tenure in jeapordy
That would be how I would write it. But then, even if it did get accepted, the networks would probably delete the older and younger people, and eliminate all racial diversity. “Organic Farmer Friends”. Or worse — “Winters Hills 95694”. Yikes!
ADD THIS TO THE RECORDS
The newspaper last week told us what we already
knew- — this May was the hottest in Central Valley history, and several
days in particular (107,108) saw the hottest temps ever recorded in May.
It’s not too surprising, then, that we are proud to offer you our Earliest
Ever Sweet Corn. You’ll notice that it is a yellow variety (yellow
is earlier than white), and that it may have irregular kernels due to pollination
problems. Some ears may also have a worm in them, making this the
Earliest-ever Earworms at Terra Firma (usually they don’t show up until
July). Let’s not celebrate that last one.
SUMMER IS HERE (duh)
So it’s official. That also explains the
bunches of basil, although we have had earlier basil in other years (from
the greenhouse). In the next few weeks, expect earlier than usual
green beans, tomatoes, melons, and watermelons. Amounts of corn will
increase in another week or two. This will be the last week for cherries,
but we will have apricots through the end of the month. Plums, peaches,
and figs will be coming soon.
ALL BOX SIZES ARE NOT THE SAME
You might think from looking at the list that
the small, medium, and large boxes have been the same lately. While
they do have many of the same ingredients, the amounts of each item differ
significantly. And since our summer boxes don’t have quite the diversity
of boxes during other times of year, this trend will probably continue.
As usual, we encourage you to switch boxes as you see fit. If you’re
not getting enough corn or tomatoes, upsize it. If you’re getting
too many potatoes, perhaps the small box might suit you better for a while.
Thanks, Pablito
| BULK APRICOTS
Available for two more weeks — last order date
is Friday, June 22. Get 20 lbs. For $25.
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| Recipes |  |
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Pasta Summer-avera —
Boil water for pasta. Cook 12 oz. Penne
or other tubular pasta.
Pound 6 cloves of garlic in a mortar with 1 C.
basil leaves and 1 T. olive oil, or chop roughly together in a food processor.
Heat 3 T. olive oil in a pan and add the garlic/basil mixture. Saute
over low heat for 3 minutes, then add 2 C. summer squash, cut in long,
thin pieces, and a small amount of water. When the squash begins
to soften, add 2 C. roughly chopped spinach and cook for another minute.
Combine the pasta and the vegetables in a bowl
and add 1 C. or more parmesan cheese plus salt and pepper to taste.
| CHERRIES in today’s boxes are Bings, and
they come from our neighbors at Everything Under the Sun. They
are QAI certified organic.
No one ever complains that our GARLIC is too big. The big cloves are easy to peel and cut, and the heads are perfect for roasting whole in the oven, brushed with a little olive oil. Also, newly harvested garlic is never bitter and easy on your stomach. Store in a dry, well-ventilated place at room temperature. Keep BASIL in a glass of water in a cool spot in the kitchen, or in the fridge covered with a plastic bag. |
| 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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