11/8/2019 - Week 21 - Sweeping Changes

SAVE THE DATE!

end of the season harvest brunch potluck
Sunday, DECEMBER 8TH: 11:00am - 1:00pm

CSA members Carl & Sarah are so sweetly planning celebratory end of season CSA community Harvest Brunch Potluck in the big party barn on the south end of the land. Come mix and mingle and eat scrumptious fare. See your farmers in non dirt-stained clothing. Open mic! Look for an invitation in your inbox for more details. We hope to see you all there!

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST

Bonbon Buttercup Winter Squash, Desiree Red Potatoes, Scallions, Duganski Hardneck Garlic, White Russian Kale, Purple Bok Choi, Napa Cabbage, Romanesco, Green Magic Broccoli, Cabernet Red Onions, Red Round Turnips, Loose Rainbow Carrots, Little Gems & Summer Crisp Head Lettuce, Spinach, Arugula

Land before time. Looking southeast Thursday morning from the 2020 Metechi garlic patch

U-PICK

• Herbs: Tulsi Basil, Thai Basil, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Cilantro, French Sorrel, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Thyme, Anise Hyssop, Culinary Lavender, Lemongrass

• Flowers: Bouquets can still be scavenged, but our flower year is winding down as it’s time to put our garden to bed for the winter. Thank you, Kayta, for an incredible flower year!

• Strawberries: Snacks

Looking back on a fabulous summer of flowers!

HARVEST NOTES

• Bonbon Buttercup Squash: A cute little buttercup variety with a light green belly button. Thick orange, bread-like, sweet, floral tasting flesh. We cooked up our first last night and it was excellent. To roast, cut in half, scoop out the seeds, and roast cut side down at 400 degrees until you can poke a fork through the skin and the flesh is soft and creamy. Add dashes of water to the baking sheet while roasting to keep squash moist. Eat straight out of the shell with a spoon or use like you would any sweet winter squash (soups, stews, curries, pies, etc.).

• Red Round Turnips. These crisp, sweet turnips can be eaten raw, shaved on a salad, or straight as a snack. Alternately, try this amazing recipe for miso carmelized turnips that transforms them into savory deliciousness .

PRESERVING THE HARVEST

• Bulk White Satin Carrots: We’ll be putting out bulk White Satins on the back table for pickling, juicing, etc. Out of bag. Check out this wonderful recipe for pickling carrots… or any vegetable!

Hello, old friend. A monarch butterfly enjoys the zinnias

WHEN IS THE LAST WeEK of HARVEST PICK-UP?

Some folks have been asking when the last week of harvest pick-up is. The last week of our 2019 CSA harvest season is the week of December 14th.

• The last Saturday pick-up is December 14th

• The last Tuesday pick-up is December 17th

POSTPONED: COOKING WITH FALL FOODS WITH SARAH KATE BENJAMIN

Due to complications from the fire Sarah needs to postpone the workshop schedule for November 16th. We’ll let you know when a new date is set!

NOTES & REMINDERS

• Say No to Single Use Plastic: We will no longer be supplying plastic or plastic-substitute bags at farm pick-up. If you have a bunch of extra plastic bags at home could you please bring some to fill our recycled plastic bag station? Remember to please bring your own produce bags and to participate in our bag recycling station!

• CSA Pick-up Schedule: Saturday pick-up from from 9am - 1pm & Tuesdays from 1pm - 6pm. Last pickup of the year will be Tuesday, December 17th.

GarlIC PLANTING!

We will be slowly planting out 2020’s garlic this coming week and the next and there are ample opportunities for members to plug into the process. On Saturday and Tuesday pick-ups we’ll be “popping” garlic bulbs into their individual cloves in preparation to plant. And then on Wednesday morning, November 13th (and possibly the 20th too) from 9am - 11am we’ll be planting! Come join in the fun if you are interested!

FARMER’S LOG

BIG CHANGES IN THE FIELDS

What a difference three months makes. At left, field three in full potato flower on August 8th. At right, the same field on November 7th —irrigating up cover crop seeds with over 4 tons of potatoes, corn and squash harvested.

It was a big week of change and transition out in the fields. With everyone back in full force after the fires, we hit the ground running and made big headway with our Fall push — cover cropping and taking down the infrastructure of summer to prep for the winter and next season.

On Monday with Kate Beilharz (who worked with Kayta at Russian River Vineyards in 2018 and who has been helping us out this Fall) we harvested our bulk crop of purple-top turnips, our remaining red round turnips, and watermelon radishes, washed them up and made major headway on seeding cover crops in field 1.

On Wednesday, with a large crew consisting of Anna, Kate, myself and Kayta, and neighbors Sora Bolles, and Marcella and Sebastian we did more bulk harvesting, removed the cherry tomatoes (until next year, loves!), mowed old crop residue, broadcast cover crop seed, and started in on removing the field tomato trellises.

By the time the dust had settled on Thursday evening, fields 2 and 3 were completely cleared and seeded into cover crop; Highgarden (where the cherry tomatoes were) had been almost completely cleared and lies ready for 2020 strawberry and garlic patch creation; and we had prepped one-half on our garlic beds over by the leeks, which we’ll plant this coming Wednesday morning.

It’ll be a shock to lay eyes on the fields for those of you who haven’t seen them in a few weeks (or even a few days!). It is a shock, even to us, the speed and fatal finality with which we can break down and destroy what we’ve spent so long building; how fast (4 hours?) it takes to vanquish a cherry tomato world we spent 6 months painstakingly tending and trellising. But Old Man Winter is not sentimental. Strawberries must be planted. Cover crop must be sown. A new season bares down even before this one is finished.

Onward and upward friends…

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta

Click here for an archive of past newsletters

11/1/2019 - Week 20 - Farming in a Changing World

POSTPONED:
The Magic of Corn in the Kitchen with Lindsay Dailey

We’ll be postponing this Saturday’s masa and tortilla making workshop for a later date due to complications from the fire. We’ll let you know as soon as a new date is set.

FARMER’S LOG

Fire evacuation week

We hope this finds you and all your loved ones safe and settling back into some degree of normalcy.

Needless to say, it was a strange week for your Green Valley farmers.

After an eery Saturday harvest pick-up (spent watering ahead of the power outage and buttoning things up for the unthinkable) we headed straight home to pack the car and listen to the radio. We got the evacuation order at about 6pm on Saturday evening, turned off the sprinklers, threw Bilbo the cat in the car and beelined it to my (David’s) childhood home in Sunnyvale.

We spent the next 4 days at my parents, watching the news, killing time, and feeling for everyone feeling the brunt of displacement (like Aubrie and Scott and other livestock tenders who deal in such high stakes during these events). Over those tense days, the fire news was generally heartening (go firefighters!) and our anxiety turned to the projected hard frosts and lack of power for watering the farm.

On Wednesday, we borrowed a 4,500 watt generator from a family friend, scooped up Bilbo, and beelined it back to the farm — still without power.

Thursday morning found us taking stock of every crop and feeling pretty impressed — plants are tough. They all faired quite well, all things considered. The most damage we sustained was from the wind blowing off the row covers and Turkeys eating crops exposed and frost singeing a few things. But everything should recover. And there are some big cauliflower heads from missing Tuesday’s harvest! Power finally returned to our corner of the woods around 8 last night and the watering began.

We spent the rest of Thursday covering and re-covering crops and jumping right back on the horse with cover crop tasks. We are a little behind schedule of where we’d like to be with cover cropping and strawberry/garlic planting because of the lost week, but it all seems minor after being spared the worst of this year’s late October-November Apocalypse Season (knock on wood).

Let’s all pray for rain and a speedy recovery for those most affected by the fires this year.

* * * * *

For the Children

by Gary Snyder

The rising hills, the slopes,
of statistics
lie before us.
The steep climb
of everything, going up,
up, as we all
go down.

In the next century
or the one beyond that,
they say,
are valleys, pastures,
we can meet there in peace
if we make it.

To climb these coming crests
one word to you, to
you and your children:

stay together
learn the flowers
go light

* * * * *

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST

Note: The share this week will be nearly the same as last week because most of you missed out on Week 19’s harvest

Sunshine Kabocha & Delicata Winter Squash (and Jester Acorn Squash for those who missed it last week), Le Reine Fingerling Potatoes, Leeks, Italian Softneck Garlic, Dazzling Blue Dino Kale, Brussels Sprouts Tops, Purple & Green Cabbage, Romanesco & Cauliflower, Fennel, Mixed Loose Beets, Hakurei Japanese Salad Turnips, Loose Rainbow Carrots, Little Gem & Oak Leaf Head Lettuce, Spinach, Fancy Fall Salad Mix (with Shungiku, Mustard Greens, Lettuce, and Radicchio)

U-PICK

Note: There is a considerable amount of ash on the farm from the fire, you might want to wash u-pick herbs and produce

• Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkin: Limit 1 per share season limit. (If you are sharing a share, please coordinate with your group as to who takes home your pumpkin.)

• Herbs: Tulsi Basil, Thai Basil, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Cilantro, French Sorrel, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Thyme, Anise Hyssop, Culinary Lavender, Lemongrass

• Flowers: The zinnias by the cherry tomatoes were mostly killed by frost (along with the frying peppers and cherry tomatoes). There are still flowers to be found but it’s time to put our garden to bed for the winter!

• Strawberries: Snacks

A preying mantis hunts cucumber beetles on the zinnias

HARVEST NOTES

• Jester Acorn Winter Squash: A true gem. The sweetest Acorn squash we've ever tasted. A hard ribbed shell hides pudding-sweet flesh. A good Jester can be among the sweetest of all winter squashes. Try halving long ways, scooping out the seeds, and roasting cut side down at 400 degrees until you can poke a fork in the skin and the flesh is soft and creamy. Add dashes of water to the baking sheet while roasting to keep squash moist. Eat straight out of the shell with a spoon like pudding! See week 18’s Newsletter for a description of each Winter Squash

• Hakurei Turnips: Hakurei are back! These beloved, crisp, sweet turnips are meant to be eaten raw, on a salad, or straight as a snack. They can also be roasted, and the greens are also delicious cooked. The Indian dish saag was traditionally prepared with turnip greens.

• Brussels Sprouts Tops: The growing tips of young Brussels sprout plants are like sweet delicate collard greens. Try sautéing them with oil, salt and garlic or using them how you would collards.

PRESERVING THE HARVEST

• Bulk White Satin Carrots: Don’t underestimate the White Satin Carrot. We feel it is consistently our best tasting, sweetest carrot. It also happens to be extraordinarily vigorous. We’ll be putting out bulk White Satins on the back table for pickling, juicing, etc. Out of bag. Check out this wonderful recipe for pickling carrots… or any vegetable!

FALL COOKING WORKSHOP

COOKING WITH FALL FOODS with Sarah Kate Benjamin
Saturday, November 16th: 10am - 12pm | $15

Join CSA members, herbalist, chef, and cofounder of The Kosmic Kitchen, Sarah Kate Benjamin for a cooking workshop featuring Fall farm produce and herbs. The kitchen has long been seen as the heart of the home and a sanctuary. It is a space to feel nourished, connected and inspired by the magic of healing foods and herbs. Though most of us have busy and full lives, having a foundation of everyday herbs and rituals helps us to feel less overwhelmed about nourishing ourselves and our loved ones. Together, with our hearts and hands, we’ll create simple side dishes and a quick supper with produce and fresh herbs from the farm for the cooler seasons. Cost $15 and includes small meal; please bring your own bowls and utensils to save on waste 

NOTES & REMINDERS

• Say No to Single Use Plastic: We will no longer be supplying plastic or plastic-substitute bags at farm pick-up. If you have a bunch of extra plastic bags at home could you please bring some to fill our recycled plastic bag station? Remember to please bring your own produce bags and/or participate in our bag recycling station!

• CSA Pick-up Schedule: Tuesdays, 1pm - 6pm // Saturdays, 9am - 1pm. Last pickup of the year is December 21st.

• Volunteer Wednesday: Interested in some farm therapy? Come out on Wednesday mornings to help us tend the garden and farm together. Come find us in the garden or out in the main fields on Wednesdays from 8:00am 'til 10:00 am. All abilities welcome, we’ll find something comfortable for you to do!

Garlic Poppers wanted

To help us prep for planting 2020’s garlic crop we need to “pop” hundreds of garlic bulbs into their individual cloves. This is a nice chill in-the-barn job for anyone interested in a nice light volunteering task. Come on Wednesday mornings for volunteer morning, or any other time just let us know and we’ll set you up!

Click here for an archive of past newsletters

10/25/2019 - Week 19 - Cover Crop Prayer

FARMER’S LOG

A COVER CROP PRAYER

It is a scary time we live in. After thinking for a moment last Saturday, as it drizzled, that Sonoma County had escaped the worst of this fire season, we once again awoke in our new reality and began harvest at dawn to a red sunrise with smoke rising from the Kinkade fire raging 30 miles Northeast and the biggest wind event of the year heading our way.

At times like these, it is hard to find hope in the smoke. What prayer can clear blackened air thousands of years in the making? What force can stop a tide like this?

On Thursday morning, Kayta and I attended the Daily Acts annual Ripple the World breakfast, catching glimpses of the smoke plumes in the hills near Geyserville on our way up Hwy 12. The Veterans Memorial Center was packed. Local leaders, mayors, congresspeople, farmers, teachers, healers, gardeners, and quite a few CSA members ate quiche and breakfast cake together. The founder, Trathen Heckman, spoke of the feeling of being in the middle of a swarm of bees as they focus in on a new hive spot.

The force of all those little wings beating in the same direction, he said, is a powerful thing.

We returned to the smoky farm around 11 am and knocked out the last field transplanting of 2019 —kohlrabi and lettuce. We put away the transplanting shovels, gathered ourselves, and felt a huge internal switch flip on the farm: With all of the human food planting for the year accomplished, we can now turn our focus full force to cover cropping.

Buckwheat summer cover crop in the morning haze.

Kayta and Anna cleared furrows and broadcast potash. I mowed old crop residue. Then we broadcast cover crop seed.

Broadcasting cover crop seed the old fashioned way is like a dance — and one of the most pleasant things you can do on a farm. You walk back and forth in the furrows and step - reach in the bucket - step - throw - step - reach in the bucket - step - throw. When you get the hang of it you get a spray of seed fanning out before you, like droplets of water, suspending for a moment, and then falling down on the earth. The more mesmerized you become, the more even your spray.

When kissed with water, those little seeds sprout. First the grasses: Barley, oats and triticale. Then the legumes: Bell beans, vetch, peas and clover. The grasses rise fast, suppressing weeds, providing shelter for the legumes, and sinking deep roots in the earth to nourish and hold the soil through the winter. The legumes weave their tendrils and teardropped leaves between the grasses and form succulent clusters of nutrient rich nodules on their roots.

With the warmth of late winter and early spring the cover crop explodes with growth. The farm becomes a waist-high sea of green, crested with white bell bean, purple vetch, and crimson clover flowers.

Then we mow this beautiful mass into the soil, where it feeds the life within it — and our crops — for years to come. In four years of doing the cover crop dance (and some other dances) we've increased the soil organic matter in our soils by 3%. That's 75 tons of organic matter (mostly carbon) sequestered in the soil — home where it belongs.

Yesterday, walking through the smoke, the cover crop dance became a prayer. Step - reach in the bucket - step - throw, "Forgive us." Step - reach in the bucket - step - throw, "Please accept these seeds as an offering.” Step - reach in the bucket - step - throw, "May they give back some of what we have harvested.” Step - reach in the bucket - step - throw, "May they help heal our broken relationship to this earth.” Step - reach in the bucket - step - throw, "May these steps be steps in a new direction, steps on a better path, a path towards home."

We've broadcasted cover crop many times but the prayer never felt this urgent or so powerful. Because instead of the prayer of solitary farmers, we felt the power of this growing CSA community behind us, supporting this farm, supporting regenerative practices like these, praying with us, and stepping together in a new direction.

That gave us hope.

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta

P.S. Come broadcast cover crop seed with us this Wednesday morning during volunteer hours!

THE MAGIC OF CORN IN THE KITCHEN AND GARDEN with Lindsay Dailey
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2ND: 10AM - 12PM | FREE

Want to make tortillas and tamales from Green Valley corn? CSA member, ecological educator, and deep student of corn, Lindsay Dailey will demonstrate how to grind corn for flour, discuss recipes, and explore the alchemy of nixtamalization which makes corn sticky in order to make masa for tortillas and tamales. While we work, Lindsay and the farmers will talk about the natural history and mythology of corn and discuss planting, growing, and saving seed from this amazing plant in the home garden! And then we'll eat some fresh made tortillas! Yum!

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST

Jester Acorn Winter Squash, Le Reine Fingerling Potatoes, Leeks, Italian Softneck Garlic, Dazzling Blue Dino Kale, Brussels Sprouts Tops, Purple & Green Cabbage, Cauliflower, Fennel, Mixed Loose Beets, Hakurei Japanese Salad Turnips, Loose Rainbow Carrots, Little Gem & Oak Leaf Head Lettuce, Spinach, Fancy Fall Salad Mix (with Shungiku, Mustard Greens, Frisee, and Radicchio)

U-PICK

• JACK-O-LANTERN PUMPKIN! 1 per share season limit. (If you are sharing a share, please coordinate with your group as to who takes home your pumpkin.)

• Cherry Tomatoes: LAST WEEK!

• Herbs: Italian Basil, Tulsi Basil, Thai Basil, Purple Basil, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Lemon balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Cilantro, French Sorrel, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Oregano, Thyme, Mints, Anise Hyssop, Culinary Lavender, Lemongrass

• Flowers! There some really nice new Zinnia and Cosmo beds to the left of the cherry tomatoes

• Frying Peppers & Jalapeños: LAST WEEK!

• Strawberries: Snacks

HARVEST NOTES

• Jester Acorn Winter Squash: A true gem. The sweetest Acorn squash we've ever tasted. A hard ribbed shell hides pudding-sweet flesh. A good Jester can be among the sweetest of all winter squashes. David's favorite. Try halving long ways, scooping out the seeds, and roasting at 400 until you can poke a fork in the skin and the flesh is soft and creamy. Add water dashes of water to the baking sheet while roasting to keep squash moist. Eat straight out of the shell with a spoon like pudding! See week 18’s Newsletter for a description of each Winter Squash we grew this year.

• Hakurei Turnips: Hakurei are back! These beloved, crisp, sweet turnips are meant to be eaten raw, on a salad, or straight as a snack. They can also be roasted, and the greens are also delicious cooked. The Indian dish saag was traditionally prepared with turnip greens.

• Brussels Sprouts Tops: The growing tips of young Brussels sprout plants are like sweet delicate collard greens. Try sautéing them with oil, salt and garlic.

PUMPKIN PATCH!

Don’t forget to come adopt a Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin, waiting for you out on the farm! Find the double blue flags down in the Eastern-most beds of field 2. 1 per share season limit. If you are sharing a share, please coordinate with your group as to who takes home the pumpkin.

PRESERVING THE HARVEST

• Pesto Basil: Our Italian basil plantings in the garden are done, which means you can take home full plants to make pesto! Please limit yourself to 5 plants to start and we’ll see how much interest there is.

FALL COOKING WORKSHOP

Fall Foods Cooking Class with Sarah Kate Benjamin
Saturday, November 16th: 10am - 12pm | $15

Join CSA members, herbalist, chef, and cofounder of The Kosmic Kitchen, Sarah Kate Benjamin for a cooking workshop featuring Fall farm produce and herbs. The kitchen has long been seen as the heart of the home and a sanctuary. It is a space to feel nourished, connected and inspired by the magic of healing foods and herbs. Though most of us have busy and full lives, having a foundation of everyday herbs and rituals helps us to feel less overwhelmed about nourishing ourselves and our loved ones. Together, with our hearts and hands, we’ll create simple side dishes and a quick supper with produce and fresh herbs from the farm for the cooler seasons. Cost $15 and includes small meal; please bring your own bowls and utensils to save on waste 

Congratulations to Sasha and all the 4 winners of our Great Dr. Pumpy Weight Guessing contest! Dr. Pumpy weighed 65.46 pounds and Sasha, her husband Dylan, George Sullivan, and Natalie Hoytt all guessed 65lbs! Come find us to claim your squashy prizes!

NOTES & REMINDERS

• Plastic Phase Out: We will no longer be supplying plastic or plastic-substitute bags at farm pick-up. If you have a bunch of extra plastic bags at home could you please bring some to fill our recycled plastic bag station? Remember to please bring your own produce bags and/or participate in our bag recycling station!

• CSA Pick-up Schedule: Tuesdays, 1pm - 6pm // Saturdays, 9am - 1pm. Last pickup of the year is December 21st.

• Volunteer Wednesday: Interested in some farm therapy? Come out on Wednesday mornings to help us tend the garden and farm together. Come find us in the garden or out in the main fields on Wednesdays from 8:00am 'til 10:00 am. All abilities welcome, we’ll find something comfortable for you to do!

CLICK HERE FOR AN ARCHIVE OF PAST NEWSLETTERS