Actually a green and not really an herb per se, arugula's strong flavor makes it behave more like an herb than a green.   Growing similar to lettuce, arugula does best in cooler daytime temperatures and requires at least four hours of sun each day. Arugula, pronounced a-RU-gu-la, is native to Europe and is also known as rocket, roquette and rugola.

What’s Growing This Week:  Tomatoes Bell peppers  Fuji apples -- # Garlic Walnuts Delicata Squash Summer squash (M, L) Gypsy peppers (M, L) Potatoes (L) unless marked with box size initials, all items are in all boxes

 Pablito.... 

ATTENTION:  BOX  SIZE CHANGING
The official end of summer is at hand, and our fields are in full agreement.  Melons and watermelons are done for the season, meaning your weekly allotment of produce is suddenly taking up a lot less space.  Beginning next week, all boxes will be adjusted down one size -- back to the standard pre-summer size.  If you have any doubt about which box to take, remember to look for your name on the label.  As long as your name is there, you’re good to go.

ONE MAN’S DISASTER IS ANOTHER MAN’S JACKPOT
Someday I’ll comb through my newsletters and make a list of “the rules of farming”.  This week another one pops up as apropos:  “For one farmer to get rich, another has to go broke.”  Corollaries include: “If prices are high, you know there’s a disaster somewhere”.  One recent example is the high price of beef, which is directly connected to the problems with Mad Cow Disease in Canada.  In banning Canadian beef imports, the USDA eliminated a significant percentage of the U.S. supply, thus tightening demand and causing higher prices for American beef.  An absolute disaster for Canadian ranchers, many of whom are declaring bankruptcy and selling their land.  U.S. ranchers, on the other hand, are thriving.

The most recent example of the Disaster Rule of Farming, though, is the series of hurricanes hammering the Southeast.  Florida and the surrounding southern states are the source of much of the summer vegetables for the East Coast — especially tomatoes.  East Coast vegetable growers were at the height of their short but significant summer season when the first hurricane hit.  I’ve never seen the effects of a hurricane on a tomato or melon field, but I know these crops don’t like rain much.  It’s easy to imagine what back-to-back downpours and howling winds would do to them.  In short, the East Coast vegetable industry is out of business for a while.

Flashing back to California, we and every other tomato grower in the state have had what may be considered the worst tomato season in a decade.  We, too, can blame it partially on Mother Nature — for a warm spring and temperate summer that produced the highest yields tomato farmers have seen in recent memories.  Which brings up another Farmer Rule:  A bumper crop can be your worst nightmare.  When everyone has a good year, prices fall precipitously as supplies tend to exceed demand.  This year, the problem was exacerbated by the way in which we and every other tomato grower in the state responded to last year.  In contrast to 2004, 2003 was one of the worst years for tomato yields that anyone could remember.  Prices went up as demand exceeded supply.  Buyers demanded that growers plant more, more, more.  So they did.

In theory, a large crop yield can make up for a decline in prices.  In reality, this simply doesn’t happen.  In vegetable farming, the majority of costs are per unit, i.e., labor for harvest and sorting, packaging, and shipping.  This is especially true for tomatoes, which are hand harvested.  With yields running double or more per acre compared to last year, the price fell by a corresponding ratio.  Farmers spent twice as much on harvest and packing per acre, to earn almost exactly the same income that they did last year.  Not surprisingly, many tomato growers simply stopped harvesting large parts of their fields once they figured this all out.

Along come the Hurricane Triplets, handily knocking out local East Coast tomato suppliers.  In the span of one week, the entire market for fresh tomatoes flip-flopped, with East Coast buyers competing with West Coast buyers to drive up the price of California tomatoes.   The price doubled, and may go higher still.  Many California farmers are almost out of tomatoes.  Some, like us, saw the perfect weather of July and August speed up late plantings and cause them to finish early.  Others consider the fall harvest window to be a risky proposition, with a combination of insect and disease pressure, as well as possibility of rain and frost.
 
Anyone who has lots of tomatoes for sale right now is certainly cashing in.  Some of these folks just got lucky, and they probably deserve this chance to make up for some of what they lost during the rest of the season.  Then there are the other farmers, the ones that plant acres and acres of fall tomatoes every year — some of them far later than any sane person would.  They’re just waiting for the year that winter never arrives — or that year that Florida gets hit by three hurricanes in a row.  Now, I’m sure there’s good money to be made off other people’s misery -- I hear there’s a new type of capital market specifically focused on predicting disasters.  But I figure if you’re going to be a professional gambler, you might as well just move to Las Vegas.
 
IN YOUR BOXES
September is the apex of sweet pepper harvest, so Medium and Large boxes get a double dose of peppers today — ripe bells (red or orange) plus red gypsys.   Remember that the gypsy peppers are wonderful for sautéing or eating raw, but not so perfect for roasting or stuffing.  So this week, you’ve got a whole pound of bell peppers that you can save for roasting.

Roasting peppers is a task you can accomplish while you’re making another meal.  Simply lie the peppers on their sides on a baking sheet and place under the broiler in your oven — set the rack so that the tops of the peppers are about 3 inches away from the flames.  When the  side facing the flames is blistered and brown, rotate the peppers 90 degrees.  Repeat until all four sides of the peppers are done.

At this point, place the peppers in a plastic or thick paper bag and seal loosely.  Allow them to steam for 10 minutes or more.  Then remove the skins and seeds — do this under running water if they’re still hot.

Roasted peppers will keep in your fridge in a plastic container for a week or so.  Then pull them out for a quick addition to sandwiches pizza, sauces or soups.  You can also freeze them and save for a cold winter night when you need a reminder of summer.  If you want to get fancy, you can even marinate them in olive oil, vinegar, and/or herbs and spices.

Salad greens are one their way -- we should have the first baby arugula by the first of October.  For now, you could try this salad:  Slice 1 Delicata squash (cooked as per the directs to the right) crosswise.  Peel and slice 1 Fuji apple.  Toss these together with a vinaigrette of 1 T. lime juice, 1 T. balsamic vinegar, 2 T. olive oil and a little salt and cayenne pepper.  Toast 3 T. chopped walnuts in a pan.  Wash and spin dry lettuce or spinach leaves.  Place 1 C. of the squash/apple mixture atop a handful of greens, then top with walnuts and crumbled blue cheese or feta.
 

Thanks,

   Pablito

Recipes............................

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Produce 101: preparation & storage  FUJI APPLES are the first variety of the season from nearby Coco Ranch in Dixon.   They are CCOF certified organic.  This time of year, apples should be refrigerated to preserve flavor and crispness. DELICATA SQUASH are most user friendly winter squash available.  Almost single-serving size, they just need to be cut in half lengthwise and baked face down on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees until tender.  Scoop out the seeds and eat with a little brown sugar and butter, or lime juice and chile pepper, or even on their own.  A leftover half will keep in the fridge for a week or so.

Vacations & Billing Inquiries
We need seven days notice before a vacation hold or other change of service.
Contact Valerie through voicemail at (530) 756-2800, or e-mail Goldenbell@aol.com

Account Balance Inquiries The account sheet is hiding under the sign off sheet each week with your account balance on it.  Mid month I've been e-mailing statments, so if you're not getting it send me an e-mail requesting to be added to the list. To be able to read the statements you need to be logged in as an administrator on a PC, and virus programs may corrupt the file.

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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