Yesterday, we had just started harvesting the first big flush of tomatoes we’ve had — up until now it’s been a dribble except for the cherry tomatoes.  We were aware of the forecast of rain for Tuesday, but it was Monday, so we didn’t think much of the ominous black clouds rolling overhead.  I was filling boxes with ripe tomatoes when the bottom of the unwaxed, non-waterproof cardboard box began to show spots of rain.  A few minutes later, it was drizzling steadily.  We picked slippery wet tomatoes into soggy boxes for four hours.  The boxes sat, uncovered, at the edges of the field until they were transported — in an open flatbed truck — to our tomato packing area, a concrete pad with a porous shadecloth stretched over it.  While everyone enjoyed the change in temperature from the past two months, the entire event was a sloppy, messy one.

 Growing tomatoes in places where it rains regularly is a dicey proposition.  When rain falls directly onto ripening tomatoes, it causes the fruit to absorb water through the skin and split.  More than 1/4 inch of so of rain at the wrong time also saturates the soil and causes the plants to take up a slug of water, which also splits the fruit.  If the moisture sits on the split fruit for a day or so, the cracks will mold and the tomatoes rot.  It also encourages foliar diseases.  Lastly, rainfall in the tomato field germinates new weeds in the furrows between plant rows, which are difficult to control organically.

 So there’s a reason why such a large percentage of the tomatoes grown in the U.S. are grown in California’s Central Valley.  We carefully control the amount of water the plants get, and once the fruit begins ripening, we pretty much cut it off altogether.  Heirloom varieties, with their thin skins and delicate flesh, are especially sensitive to water.  With a real storm on the horizon for this afternoon, we might get even more water on the tomatoes.  We’ll keep you posted, and I am personally adding this episode to my long list of the times that Mother Nature has humbled and surprised me, always reminding me that human beings should never, ever think they’ve got it all figured out…

TOMATOES IN YOUR BOX
The fruits of our rainy harvest will be distributed among you, our subscribers.  The predominant variety is Early Girl, our standard red tomato.  But you may also get one of several other varieties today:  Black Prince are a small, brownish purple tomato, juicy and tangy.  Costoluto Genovese — anew variety for us this year — are like a crumpled Early Girl, flat and crinkled.  Purple Calabash is a darker colored version of the Costoluto.  Lemon Boy is a round yellow tomato with an acid bite.  Other varieties may include Cherokee Purple, pinkish-red Brandywine, and any number of orange tomatoes.  I will do an expanded tomato directory in a later newsletter, when other varieties are more plentiful.

 Most heirloom tomatoes (everything except the Early Girls) are actually soft when ripe.  So if you don’t know what color a particular variety turns when it is ripe,use the bruise test to determine when to cut into them.  Press firmly on the bottom of the tomato.  If that spot darkens visibly, the tomato is ready to eat.  Note:  Ripe heirloom tomatoes break down, so use them when they are ready.

 As the summer goes on, you will remember or learn the different tomatoes from their appearance, and it will be easier to figure out.  We normally try to send a mixture of ripe and less ripe tomatoes in our CSA boxes.  Eat the riper ones first, and let the less ripe ones sit at room temperature until ready.  We have found that this gives folks a supply of ripe fruit throughout the week.  Overall, the Early Girls have the longest shelf life (3-4 days when fully ripe), so you may want to reserve them for the later part of the week.

 That said, you may get mostly ripe fruit this week, since many of the heirloom varieties caught us by surprise.  Moreover, the tomato portion in the boxes will increase as summer continues.  This week, I can imagine that those tomatoes will disappear in just a few days...
 

ANOTHER TFF RECORD
Cantelopes are like tomatoes and zucchini, seasonal summer crops that have become such an anchor for supermarket produce departments that they are now grown all around the world and shipped here so that they can be sold 365 days a year — regardless of their flavor or sweetness.

 More and more people are remembering, though, that melons are only really good when they are in season locally (or at least not too far away) so that they can be picked at full ripeness.  A cantelope grown in Chile or Southern Mexico has to be harvested green so it can endure the long trip north to your supermarket and still sit on the shelf for a week.  These cantelopes may turn orange inside, but they will usually be crunchy or mealy, and not very sweet.

 For the last few years, we have been challenging ourselves and Mother Nature to provide our customers with melons earlier in the summer.  Most years, the temperatures in late June and early July are plenty hot to ripen melons.  The problem is early spring, when the soil is not warm enough for the plants to grow.  We have tackled this problem by using plastic mulch to warm the soil (and prevent weed growth), and planting transplants into it.  Last year, we put out plants on April 1st and harvested melons in early July.  This year, the first plants went out in mid-March, and despite a close call with frost that could have done then in, survived and thrived through the spring.  And we are pleased with the results — dead ripe, sweet and juicy cantelopes on June 27!  This is the earliest we have ever harvested melons — aided, no doubt, by the absurdly warm May — and we hope you are happy to see them.

 Cantelopes will be followed by Orange Honeydew and Sharlyn melons from the same planting, and starting next week we’ll have stonefruit from Eatwell Farm on a regular basis.

Thanks,            Pablito

Recipes

Provencal Seafood Stew — I made this with fresh scallops from the Farmer’s market, but you can use any firm fish or shellfish.
Heat 3 T. olive oil and add 5 minced cloves of garlic and a dash of hot pepper flakes.  Cook the garlic on low for 3-5 minutes, but don’t let it brown.  Add 1 lb. Of tomatoes, including juice and seeds, and raise the heat.  Add 1/2 t. total of dried French herbs — majoram, thyme, etc, and 1 C. chopped green beans.  Cook until the tomatoes release their juices, then add 1/2 C. chopped basil leaves or 1 T. pesto, and the kernels from 2 ears of corn.  Stir in and lower heat.
In another pan, heat 2 T. oil and add 1/2– 1 lb. Of shellfish or fish cut into chunks.  Cook until just done, then add 1/2 C. water, reduce heat and stir for 2 minutes.  Add the fish and broth to the tomato mixture, raise heat and cook for another 2 minutes to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve with orzo or rice, in bowls.
 

Produce 101: CUKES and CARROTS can be combined into a refreshing salad.  Peel and thinly slice the cukes into half rounds.  Grate 2 carrots.  Toss with 3 T. rice vinegar, 1 t. sugar, 1 t. sesame oil, and salt or soy sauce to taste.  Add toasted sesame seeds and fresh or pickled ginger. MELONS tell us they are ripe by turning from green to tan or orange, and “slipping” off the vine with little or no effort when touched.  TFF Melons will always be ripe when you get them.  Cut melons will store beautifully in the fridge in a plastic bag; uncut melons keep best for 2-3 days at room temperature.

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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