What’s Growing This Week: Garlic Cherry Tomatoes Apricots Potatoes Basil Tomatoes Cucumbers Sweet Corn

 Pablito....
BUCKING THE TIDE
Agribusiness, like the computer and many other industries these days, seems in a race to merge the largest corporations into even larger ones in order to better dominate the world markets.  The latest trend is biotechnology companies merging with seed companies to grab a share of the newly emerging market for new, genetically engineered crop varieties.  “How does this affect me”, you may ask, “and how does it affect Terra Firma Farm?”.   Well, organic agriculture’s stance opposing genetically modified foods may be 100 percent morally and ecologically correct, but it may cause us a very real-world problem.  In the fight to dominate the seed market, these new mergers are putting smaller seed companies out of business, and will almost surely result in less diversity of vegetable seed — especially seed that has not been genetically altered.

 Many of you have subscribed to Terra Firma for long enough to know that we grow several varieties of common vegetables that are rarely seen in supermarkets.  In general, we grow varieties that taste better, that are interesting or different, and that are better suited for organic growing.  In regards to the latter, we grow varieties with better disease and pest resistance, that need less fertilizer, and that can better compete with weeds.  Not surprisingly, these traits are not only NOT in the top ten list of traits sought out by large seed companies, they are often polar opposites.  The most common supermarket varieties of vegetables are bred assuming ideal growing conditions and extensive chemical use.  They are designed to be harvested unripe, shipped long distances, and look pretty in the display case.  And now, as I mentioned last week, they are being genetically engineered to tolerate higher amounts of weedkillers.

 Our search for new varieties has been a long and ongoing process, aided by relationships developed with seed suppliers.   While there is lots of analysis and evaluation involved in this process, it essentially boils down to sophisticated “shopping” for the right seeds.  We do not breed our own vegetable varieties or save our own seed — a complex process that is often at odds with the production of vegetables for consumption.  So in the end, we are absolutely at the mercy of what the market has to offer.  And the fact is that few new varieties are being bred that emphasize the characteristics that we are looking for.  The ones that are available are often from European supplies or small seedhouses, which means they are expensive. More frightening is that in the last two years, our seed suppliers have told us that several companies simply stopped growing certain of our favorite varieties because the demand wasn’t high enough.

This will leave us with two options.  The proactive one is to learn to grow  our own seed, either by ourselves or with other like-minded farmers.  As I mentioned before, this is a tricky process, since growing crops for seed often requires radically different practices than growing for fresh market. (For example, if you grow melon seed, you can only grow one variety to ensure there is no cross pollinization.)  We will be prepared to undertake this new endeavor — but we would probably only do it when alternatives become completely unavailable or outrageously expensive.

 The second option is to continue to be a valued customer of seed suppliers like Johnny’s Selected Seeds, who specialize in varieties for fresh-market farms and organic growers in particular.  While we fully support Johnny’s and companies like it, choosing to buy seed from them often means spending 4 or 5 times as much on seed as we would spend to purchase a more generic variety.  Focusing on the positive, this continued movement towards large scale anti-diversification of seed varieties may create new opportunities for smaller businesses to fill the niches that develop.

 We may be in a minority, those of us who believe that the best food is not the cheapest food, that bigger is not always better, that quality is more important than quantity.  But I think it’s a pretty darn big minority.  And I think, and hope, that we are a minority that is willing to fight to preserve the right to choose the type of food that we want to grow and eat.  We need to be — because these rights are being quickly eroded without our consent or approval.  Our new choices:  Walmart or Costco, Burger King or McDonalds, Roundup Ready Lettuce or Flavsavr tomatoes...
 

What are those things? Two varieties of vegetables come to mind when I talk about vegetables that are designed to be organically grown — and you are or will soon be familiar with both of them.  First is the Multipik variety of Yellow Crookneck squash that we grow.  Bred to be prolific, this squash produces double the fruit of any green or gold zucchini — which means more production with less fertilizer.  But the best feature of the Multipik is its resistance the Mosaic Virus, spread by the cucumber beetles  so ubiquitous in our fields.  Mosaic stunts squash plants, turning them yellow and mottling the fruit.  Gold zucchini and the Sunburst pattypan varieties are especially susceptible to the disease.  Multipik is completely resistant to it.  That’s why you will be finding more and more of it in your boxes as the summer — and the Mosaic virus season — progresses. Red bell peppers are extremely difficult to grow organically.  They need tremendous amounts of fertilizer to grow the huge, bushy plants and protect the dark green bell peppers from sunburn during the long ripening process.  Instead, we grow  Gypsy peppers:  a pepper that is  greenish-yellow when unripe, and thus much less prone to burning in the sun.  The long, slender peppers are also more easily shaded by the plant, which grows tall and rangey.  Then there is the flavor difference.  When “green”, the light-yellow Gypsys are much milder and sweet than a green bell pepper.  Mid-way through their ripening, they turn a beautiful orange color and become even sweeter.  When fully ripe, they are beautifully red and sweeter than any red bell pepper.  All these qualities make Gypsys, and their blockier relative Flamingo our sweet peppers of choice.  Look for the first batch in a few weeks.

 
 
 

Recipes

Roasted Corn Salsa
Turn your oven to broil and place 2 ears of corn, husks intact, under the broiler.  When the husk is browned on top, turn the ears and roast the other side.
Meanwhile, thinly slice and then mince onion to make 1/2 C.  Mince 1 clove of garlic.  Toss onions and garlic with 1 T. lemon juice or light vinegar.   Dice 4 tomatoes and add to the bowl.  (Or, if you prefer, roast the tomatoes in the oven with the corn and then dice)
When the corn is browned on both side, remove the husks.  Rinse under cold water, then use a sharp knife to cut the kernels off the cob into a bowl.  Add the kernels to the salsa.  Mash lightly with a fork, adding salt and pepper to taste.

Here's another one from Valeire - it's not easy but it is inspired, in case anyone else out there is...

Grilled New Potato Salad with Cherry   Tomatoes, Summer Beans, and Basil

                              2 lbs. new potatoes
                              light olive oil
                              salt and pepper
                              1/4 lb. fresh summer beans: green, yellow wax, green or
                              yellow Romano
                              1/2 pt. cherry tomatoes: Sweet 100 or pear tomatoes
                              1 handful of frisee or salad greens (optional)
                              Basil-Garlic vinaigrette (recipe follows)
                              Champagne vinegar
                              12 Nicoise or Gaeta olives
                         Basil-Garlic Vinaigrette:
                              2 tbsps. Champagne vinegar
                              6 tbsps. extra-virgin olive oil
                              1/2 c. fresh basil leaves
                              1/2 tsp. salt
                              1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
                         Prepare the grill. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the
                         potatoes in a baking dish with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a few
                         pinches of salt and pepper. Cover and roast until tender, about 35 to
                         40 minutes. Set aside to cool. Cut the potatoes into halves, or
                         quarters if large, then slide them onto skewers for grilling. (Skewers
                         won't be necessary if the grill grates are close together.) While the
                         potatoes are roasting, remove the stem ends from the beans and cut
                         them in half diagonally or leave whole if they're small.

                         Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add 1/2 tsp. salt. Drop the
                         beans into the water and cook until just tender, about 3 to 4 minutes,
                         depending on their size. Rinse under cold water and set aside to
                         drain. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves or leave whole if small.
                         Wash the salad greens if you're using them and dry them in a
                         spinner. Make the vinaigrette.

                         Place the potatoes on the grill, cut side down, and grill until they're
                         golden and crisp and defined grill marks appear. Slide the grilled
                         potatoes from the skewers and toss them with the beans, cherry
                         tomatoes, and vinaigrette. Adjust the seasoning, if needed, with a
                         splash of Champagne vinegar and salt and pepper. Loosely arrange
                         the greens on a platter, spoon the vegetables over, and garnish with
                         the olives. Serve 4.
 

Produce 101: preparation & storage  TOMATOES should never be stored in the fridge, unless you plan to make sauce with them.  It will make them mealy.  Keep your ‘maiders in a cool, well-ventilated spot and eat them as they ripen. Our CUCUMBERS are not waxed and must be stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag, or they will become limp overnight. BASIL only keeps for a few days — in the fridge in plastic, preferably with the stems in water.  A better way to store it is to make pesto.  See last week’s newsletter for recipes. TFF ONIONS are sweet varieties.  The reds can be eaten raw, and both kinds are great grilled, roasted, or for any other use. SWEET CORN loses sugar every day after it is harvested.  You can cook it all at once and then keep it in the fridge, reheating the ears briefly as you need them.  Otherwise, store in the fridge in a plastic bag to preserve moisture.  Boil water, throw the ears in, and remove as soon as the water returns to a boil.

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Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800, or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com

MAILING ADDRESS:
Terra Firma Farm
P.O. Box 836
Winters, CA 95694
(530) 756-2800
www.terrafirmafarm.com
Goldenbell@aol.com em
 

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