12/4/2020 - Week 26 - Harbour

FARMER’S LOG

HARBOUR

It was a bittersweet harvest morning today — the last Friday harvest of our 2020 harvest season. This Tuesday’s harvest pick-up will be the last of our 2020 CSA harvest season. Earlier in the year we wrote of the farm like a ship, setting out to sail in the Spring on a grand adventure. We have reached our harbour now.

Around 10 am, as we knelt in the frost kissed lettuce, Ingrid, our resident Great White Egret, glided down from the pond. She spotted something in the grass near us and walked over, closer than she has ever come before. Kayta and I, entranced, set down our harvest knives and watched her for the better part of an hour as she patiently, gracefully tracked the movement of a gopher. Her trust and comfort with us felt like a gift — a parting gift from our 4th season here.

As we watched Ingrid, her feathers smooth like one translucent porcelain, I began to ponder: What happened over this last six months? What did we, as a farm community, just do? And what does it mean?

In the world around the farm, 2020 was year of immense tumult, flux, and suffering in our world. Even the lucky had the rug pulled out from under them more times than they could count.

But here in the fields, on the farm, 2020 felt very normal. More than that, it was a year of growth; of uber-abundant strawberries and flowers; of new members, neighbors, opportunities, and friends; of softball sized onions; of Wesley the Weasel and Ingrid returning to the pond. We grew and harvested for over 260 adults and 100 Sonoma County kiddos.

That the farm remained a nourishing table and a place of respite, even in a year like 2020, was not luck and was not an accident. It was because of you, dear members.

You see, the community supported agriculture that we practice here, that we ask you to practice here, is not a gimmick or a fad. It is not a clever way to sell farm produce ahead of time. It embodies a direct relationship between a human community and the land and the farmers that feed it.

And while this CSA model is a blessing in a normal year, 2020 showed it’s true strength. While so many of our farmer friends were suffering incredibly stressful years — pivoting their entire business plans while planting fields for unknown buyers — this model, you, meant that we could keep our heads down, trim strawberry runners, and stay the course.

This is not to brag. No, this is to remind ourselves. This is to mark that even in a storm, in a year that shook supply chains and shattered every idea of normalcy, the simple model of a community supporting a farm held fast. This is to mark that people who know their farm are lucky people and a farm that knows it’s people is a lucky farm.

Each year, each Spring, human beings all over the world set out on adventures of gathering and growing food. When farmers kick off from shore, they know not what awaits them; whether their nets will come up empty; if they’ll make it back to shore. It is scary. As the climate changes, these voyages are only going to get more and more precarious.

Vanishingly few farmers have a community behind them on their voyages as we do.

So as we close out this Farmer’s Log on the voyage of 2020, let it be known that we couldn’t have survived this year were it not for you — who taught us that even in the nastiest of gales we can nourish ourselves if we take care of each other and the land. There is no safer harbour than that.

And now for our customary parting words: If, in the dark season ahead, you feel pent up, like you need to get out and stretch your legs, come visit the farm and stand still for a moment in the fields…

There you will find silence, broken only by the screech of a hawk or the chattering of quail. A coolness will emanate up from the wet soil, chilling your knees. Before you will lay the sleeping farm and the soft curves of the land draped in a blanket of green.

But listen closely...

For within that slumber next season churns. The cover crop stretches its living roots deep into the soil where subterranean creatures break down this year's roots and residue, processing them — like so many memories — into the raw materials that will make up next year’s story, next year’s bounty, next year's life.

Listen closely and you’ll hear the land dreaming.

Now, it is time for your farmers to rest, to reflect, and to do a little dreaming ourselves. Thank you all so much for the memories this harvest season. Here’s to many more to come.

See you in the fields,
David for Kayta, Kate, and Anna

LAST HARVEST WEEK OF 2020!

This Tuesday’s pick-up will be the last of our 2020 harvest season.

BULK WEEK: Pick-up will be a little different this week: We will be offering larger than usual quantities of potatoes, carrots, onions, and winter squash so that you can fill your larders and eat from the farm on into the Solstice. We recommend bringing an extra tote bag this week!

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

German Butterball + Harvest Moon + Desiree Potatoes, Zoey Yellow Onions, Bolero Carrots, Loose Mixed Beets, Watermelon Radishes, Green Daikon Radish, Turnips, Celery Root, Assorted Salad & Cooking Greens, Cabbage, Butternut + Jester Delicata + Kabocha Winter Squash, Hopi Blue Cornmeal, Lorz Softneck Garlic

HARVEST NOTES

• Storing your roots: Potatoes and Carrots and other roots should be stored in a bag or container in your fridge.

• Storing your squash: Keep your extra Winter Squash in a cool, dry place. Eat the smaller ones (Delicata & Jester) first as their flavor doesn’t last as long.

• Hopi Blue Heirloom Cornflour: This beautiful corn flour is from the tall stand of corn that watched over our Jack-O-Lanterns all season long. Ground today, then frozen, this cornflour contains fresh oils, fats, and flavor that only fresh ground grain can have. Store frozen to preserve freshness. See last Week 24’s newsletter for our favorite Hopi Blue Corn Recipe.

NEXT YEAR’s CSA SIGN-UPS

We will send out an email in January letting you know when sign-ups open for our 2021 harvest season. Returning members will have first chance to sign-up before we open it up to folks on the waitlist . If you have friends who are interested in joining the CSA next year, please have them sign-up for our waitlist on our website.

WINTER FARM STAND

Starting Monday, January 4th, we will be running a self-serve farmstand for CSA members out of our cooler in the barn. For sale will be any leftover root vegetables like potatoes and carrots, as well as cabbage, winter squash, and other goodies we can scrape from the fields as long as they last. We’ll send an announcement in January with details.

SPECIAL ADD-ONS THIS WEEK

All while keeping this ship afloat, Anna and Kate have both had side project this year from which they will be selling their lovingly crafted harvests. Please bring cash or be ready to Venmo.

ENJOY FARM CITRUS AND TURMERIC

Looking to add a little zest or spice to your winter cooking? You’re in luck! This week, Kate will be selling fresh, local organically grown citrus and turmeric from her mom’s property in Occidental! From Indira Yellow to Hawaiian Red (and even a small amount of a rare White Mango variety) these turmerics make a wonderful addition to curries, soups, teas or blended raw into creamy turmeric lattes! The specialty citrus ranges from Yuzu limes quintessential of Japanese cooking, little sweet mandarins perfect for snacking or making into marmalade, kaffir limes ready for your next Thai dish, and Persian limes that can go in almost anything but will definitely add something special to a good gin and tonic! Turmeric and citrus available both Saturday and Tuesday while supplies last!

ANNA’S LAMB

Anna will be selling rotationally grazed lamb from the sheep she raises on pasture (with the occasional treat of leftover farm greens) just five minutes down the road from the farm. Cuts ranging from stew meat, leg of lamb, various chops, bones, etc. will be available in the freezer at the back of the pickup barn (where the frozen bread was). Prices range from $12-20 per pound.

STAY CONNECTED

There are many ways to connect to this beautiful land:

• Green Valley Farm + Mill, the umbrella entity that manages this land, hosts events, workshops, provides event space, and other offerings that connect people with land. Check out their website and sign-up for their newsletter.

• Bramble Tail Homestead’s creamery and their amazing herdshare runs year ‘round. To sign up for the herdshare contact Aubrie at brambletailhomestead@gmail.com

• The Green Valley Marketplace will remain open this winter with amazing local dried goods, crafts, and bevvies.

• Food and Farm Tours’ Alex Fox and Kim LaVere host beautiful tours of area farms combined with one-of-a-kind feasts from our amazing food shed. Check them out. They’ve also been offering an incredible experience right here on this farm. Pamper your pod, or give an unforgettable gift, with a Feast on the Farm.

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11/27/2020 - Week 25 - Belonging

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST

Winter Sweet Kabocha Squash, Desiree Potatoes, Celery Root, Assorted Cabbage, Lorz Italian Softneck Garlic, Cured Cabernet Onions, Collard Greens, Brussels Sprouts, Turnips, Kohlrabi, Green Luobo Daikon Radish, Loose Bolero Carrots, Little Gem Lettuces, Baby Spinach, Dakota Black Popcorn

Tomatoes of yore

U-PICK

Gleanings: After the hard frosts we got last week, only a few of the most cold hardy plants remain for u-picking. A few intrepid strawberries can be found among the browning leaves.

HARVEST NOTES

• Winter Sweet Kabocha Squash: Winter Sweet Kabochas deliver a combination of sweetness, flaky texture, and depth of flavor that has made it a favorite on our farm. "Unparalleled eating quality," says the legendary Johnny's seed catalogue. Best after two months of curing, so it should be yummy now, but also feel free to store it for another month or two!

• Dakota Black Popcorn: We will be distributing whole ears of this beautiful, black popcorn this week. To eat:

  • Thumb the kernels loose from the ears into a bowl.

  • Heat a generous amount of oil (something that can handle high heat) on the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pot.

  • Pour the kernels into the pot and put a lid on it!

  • PopPOPpopPOPpOP pOP!!!

  • Enjoy with your favorite seasonings!

NOTES & REMINDERS

• When does the CSA end? The last week of our 2020 CSA harvest season is the week of December 5th. The last Saturday pick-up is December 5th. The last Tuesday pick-up is December 8th.

ENJOY FARM CITRUS AND TURMERIC

Heads up! Kate and her family tend a beautiful homestead up in the Banana Belt above Occidental with amazing citrus trees and a greenhouse full of lovingly grown Turmeric. Local turmeric!? Yes. Stay tuned; she’ll be selling citrus and turmeric here next week, our last week of CSA pickup.

FARMER’S LOG

With the frost, the time of rest, reflection, and gratitude settles on the valley.  

As a farmer, it is hard to not feel filled with gratitude on the deep frosty mornings. Most of the year’s work is behind you. You can breath, and look up.

How lucky we are to live here — to experience the beauty, and the bounty of this valley, and to share it with our friends.

Looking out over the misty fields, the mind wanders: Who lived here before us? What were their names? What were their joys? What were their songs? What did they dream of?

This valley lies in the southern end of Southern Pomo territory and the northern end of Coast Miwok land — these people lived, hunted, tended, and dreamed on this spot for thousands and thousands of years. Everyday we walk over obsidian shards and flakes glinting in the worn path on the knoll past the little gate leading out to the fields. Midden sites, giant stone mortars and pestles, and other marks of their lives can be found dotting the valley.  

I like to imagine a small group camping on the knoll by the gate overlooking the valley preparing to hunt in the morning: A father teaches his growing son how to fashion elegant bird points from precious obsidian. The wetland below brims with life; tall oaks dot the valley; chittering quail families bustle in the brush; spawning salmon leap up the clear creek bed; deeply worn grizzly bear trails line the creek bank. At this time California is one of most linguistically and culturally diverse places on the planet — home to over 300 dialects and 90 languages. The most precious thing here? The elders: Carriers of immense wisdom, passed down for centuries, of how to tend, how to nurture, how to care for, and how to belong to a place.

Photo by Amy Winzer

The story of how California Indigenous people were murdered, enslaved, and displaced from their land is as brutal as it comes. The Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok were spared no exception. It is seldom taught or discussed. And it is not ancient lore. As recently as 1958, Congress passed a law stripping the last collectively governed land (in what is now Graton) from a confederacy of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo (the Graton Rancheria) and granted it to three private owners, making the tribe landless.

Nevertheless, Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok people, communities, languages, and cultures have persisted. The Graton Rancheria is again a federally recognized tribe with land of their own. Language groups meet monthly. Elders still teach their ways.

One of the most intellectually and emotionally fulfilling subjects you can learn about, as a Californian, is California indigenous stories, songs, and culture. I wasn’t taught much at all about Indigenous Californian cultures in school and sought it out as an adult. Books like Tending the Wild by M. Kat Anderson, The Ohlone Way and The Way We Lived by Malcolm Margolin, feeble as books are, offer glimpses into cultures and land tending ethics of colossal wisdom, part and parcel to their places, woven within and from them — the sheer beauty and genius hinted at hits a European styled farmer, with just enough sense to grasp what he is reading about, like a ton of bricks. There are chapters and stories so rich I had to put the book down, ask myself, “What the hell am I doing?”, and grab my coat, and head outside.

Walking along Green Valley creek, my feet crunch along the hardpack gravel road. Gone are the grizzly bear trails. Ascending the hill to the lookout, the Tan Oaks I pass, a staple food for the Southern Pomo, are all succumbing to Sudden Oak death. Who said post-apocalypse is sci-fi? We are living in one.

Reaching the top of the hill, I turn around, sit down. The rows and fields of the farm lie below. The beauty of the people and cultures that called this place home coupled with the recent horror of their removal is too much too bear.

The resinous tang of rotting Bay Nut fruit on the moist soil fills the air. The light is falling and the air is cold. I get up and start heading down the hill — it is slippery and steep.

It is too much to bear, my friends, but I think there are two beacons of hope: 1.) The opportunity to celebrate and lift up indigenous people, voices, projects, and culture; to face our history and to help rebuild and re-land what we has been displaced. (More on that below.) 2.) The opportunity to learn from indigenous wisdom and land tending ethics and practices so that someday we too might begin to belong to this place, as they did, not just occupy it. 

Walking along Green Valley creek, my feet crunch along the hardpack gravel road. I pass under the two towering twin Live Oak trees on the farm road. Acorns roll and dart out from under my shoes. There are thousands and thousands of them — each a seed, each the hope, of a towering Oak tree. I pick one up and plant it, sideways, in the soft soil of the spillway.

The next time you walk on the farm, I invite you to think of the Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo who walked this valley for so long, and to think of ways we can support their communities and projects in Sonoma County in the coming year.

Similarly, as we eat our first cornmeal and popcorn this week, let us think of the hands and cultures who stewarded those crops, and so so many of the crops we have enjoyed in our harvest shares this year. As we eat, let’s give thanks to the Indigenous seed keepers, land tenders, and cultures that have nourished us and take action to return the favor.

Resources and organizations to learn from and support:

• Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria: The federally recognized confederacy of Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people. They have a Donation page in the works. Their website contains a concise history of the Rancheria and news of current cultural initiatives.

• California Indian Museum and Culture Center in Santa Rosa which in addition to its other work offers programs for Tribal youth.

• Sogorea Te' Land Trust is an urban, indigenous women-led land trust that facilitates the return of indigenous land to indigenous people in the East Bay.

• We have been grateful to follow along and learn from the amazing Indigenous farmer and seedkeeper Rowen White. She can be found here and at Sierra Seeds.

• We highly recommend the documentary Gather. In the filmmakers words, "Gather is an intimate portrait of the growing movement amongst Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide."

• mak-'amham / Cafe Ohlone: Vincent Medina and Louis Trevino created Cafe Ohlone as, in their words "an Ohlone cultural institution empowering our community with tradition—and we teach the public, through taste, of our unbroken roots." They have a thoughtful post about their relationship to the Thanksgiving holiday that includes a list of great Native-run organizations to support.

  * * * * *

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta

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11/20/2020 - Week 24 - A Farmer's Thanksgiving 2020

THIS WEEK'S HARVEST

Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkins, Butternut Winter Squash, Hopi Blue Cornmeal, German Butterball Potatoes, Leeks, Celery, Purple Cabbage, Lorz Italian Softneck Garlic, Cured Yellow Onions, Dazzling Blue Dino Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Purple Top Turnips, Watermelon Radishes, Loose Bolero Carrots, Loose Beets, Little Gems, Salad Mix (with Mustard Greens and Chicories)

Mushrooms and cover crop sprouting up in Highgarden

U-PICK

Gleanings: After the hard frosts we got last week, only a few of the most cold hardy plants remain for u-picking.

• Rosemary, Parsley, Oregano, Marjoram, Thyme

• A few assorted flowers

HARVEST NOTES

• Winter Luxury Pie Pumpkin: This lacy, soft-orange beauty is the best pumpkin we’ve found for pumpkin pie. See below for Kayta’s tried and true pumpkin pie recipe.

• Hopi Blue Heirloom Cornflour: This beautiful corn flour is from the tall stand of corn that watched over our Jack-O-Lanterns all season long. Harvested by members, ground last week and then frozen, this is a rare, heirloom cornflour with a freshness and flavor that only fresh ground corn can have. Store frozen to preserve the fats and oils. See below for our go to Hopi Blue Corn pancake recipe. It can be used in any way that you would use cornflour (polenta, grits, muffins, cornbread, etc.) Enjoy!

• Purple Top Turnips: These versatile turnips are sweet and delicate enough to be eaten raw shaved or micro-planed on salads and hardy enough to handle the stoutest stews and vegetable medley roasts.

The Dream Team planting 2021’s garlic

KAYTA’s AMAZING PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE

This is an incredibly simple recipe which relies entirely on the quality of its ingredients for its flavor. We find that it tastes amazing with a high quality squash and Brambletail’s fresh milk.

THE CRUST

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 75 ml water, about 1/3 cup, very cold (I usually start with this amount and add a touch more as needed)

• 227 g all purpose flour, about 1 and 3/4 cup

  150 g unsalted butter, 1 stick plus 2.5 tablespoons, very cold

Cut the cold butter into pea sized chunks and mix into the flour and salt mixture. With your fingers, squeeze the butter chunks so that they flatten into the flour. Add the water gradually, pressing and kneading the dough as you go, until all of the flour has been moistened and is able to be formed into a ball.( I usually use slightly more water than the recipe calls for.) Make the dough into a ball and then flatten into a disc and refrigerate, wrapped in a bag, until you are ready to roll it out. Once the crust has been rolled out and placed in your pie pan, refrigerate or freeze it until right before you put it in the oven. Pro tip: you’ll achieve more layered flakiness if you fold the dough over on itself several times before shaping into the pie pan. Just remember to not let it get warm enough that the butter starts to melt.

THE FILLING

• 1 3/4 cup baked Winter Luxury Pie pumpkin (or other sweet squash, the sweeter the better — we also love the Sunshine Kabocha and the velvety Marina di Chioggia!)

• 1/2-3/4 cup sugar

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/2 heaping tsp. ground ginger

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup cream

• 1/2 cup milk (feel free to adjust the ratio of cream to milk, or substitute coconut milk for all of it!)

Mix the sugar, salt, and spices into the pumpkin. Then mix in the eggs, milk, and cream, and whisk until smooth.

Pour the pie filling into your chilled, raw pie crust, and bake at 400* until only an inch in the center of the pie remains liquid and the crust is golden brown. Let set before eating.

HOPI BLUE CORN PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup blue cornmeal

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon white sugar

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1 beaten egg

• 1/2 cup milk

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted (coconut oil would be a delicious, dairy-free substitute)

• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1/2 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans, toasted (optional)

  
  DIRECTIONS
  
  

  In a medium bowl, mix together the blue cornmeal, salt and sugar. Stir in the boiling water until all of the ingredients are wet. Cover, and let stand for a few minutes.

  In a measuring cup, combine the milk, egg and melted butter. Stir the milk mixture into the cornmeal mixture. Combine the flour and baking powder; stir into the cornmeal mixture until just incorporated. If the batter is stiff, add a little more milk until it flows off the spoon thickly but smoothly.Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium heat, and grease it with a dab of oil or butter. Use about 2 tablespoons of batter for each pancake. Quickly sprinkle a few pignoli (or other nuts if using) onto each cake. When the entire surface of the pancakes are covered with bubbles, flip them over, and cook the other side until golden.

  Serve immediately with maple syrup or fruit preserves.

NOTES & REMINDERS

• When does the CSA end? The last week of our 2020 CSA harvest season is the week of December 5th. The last Saturday pick-up is December 5th. The last Tuesday pick-up is December 8th.

FARMER’S LOG

A FARMER’S THANKSGIVING

Kayta and I both grew up in the suburbs and, like everyone, we would encountered those ubiquitous expressions — “three shakes of a lamb's tail”, “like a horse who’s seen the barn”, “chomping at the bit”, “make hay while the sun shines”, "coming home to roost", etc. It wasn’t until we started farming that we began to realize the roots of these expressions and their visceral poetry. And it wasn’t until we started farming that we began to understand — like really understand — the visceral reason to give thanks in the Fall.

The Fall is an incredible time of year in the temperate world. It is a season of unimaginable bounty. The plants of forest and field have spent all Spring and Summer harnessing the sun’s energy into their fruits, seeds, roots, and leaves and we have harvested. In the Fall the root cellar is full, the larder is full, the granary is full — the land has burst forth at its seams and we have gathered the overflow.

The farmer, sitting at home with her feet up next to the fire, is keenly aware of the bounty in the root cellar below. She feels a great contentment in this but no pride because she realizes how little she did to create it. Sure, she worked hard all year — moving things here and there — but it was others, present now and before, that filled that cellar. It was others who dug it out and laid the roof. Others who forged the tools and taught her how to use them. Others who saved the seeds and taught others, who taught others, who taught others, who taught her how to care for them. And what (or who) made those seeds sprout? Not she.

For all this, there is nothing to give but thanks.

We’d like to take a moment to give thanks those who made this year's harvest season possible.

First, to the indigenous people and cultures who stewarded into existence, and who continue to steward, so-so many of the seeds we grow for our harvest shares. As we enjoy the first cornmeal of the year this week, let us think of these people, give thanks, and think of ways we can actively support their communities. Similarly, to the people and cultures on whose ancestral land we live and farm — the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok — the next time we walk out to the farm, let us think of these people, give thanks, and think of ways we can actively support and empower them.

To all the volunteers who helped on the farm this year — we really leaned on our community to help us with big harvests and plantings this year because we know you all will come through. You do not disappoint.

To Sora Bolles — and the whole Hom-Bolles family — what can we say? Thank you for brightening so many of our days. We will miss you.

To Ryan Bundrick for the incredible arbor; Cory and Amy for our second-breakfast bench and all your PRAXIANS for everyday spirit boosting and giggles; to Jared Sutton for the sink that kept our dirty hands clean; to Ann Hamilton and all the Fall regulars; to Michael Crivello for the big cooler push — couldn’t have done the season without that thing; to Josiah Cain, Jeff Mendelsohn, and Farmer Daron Joffe for the all the loot from the greatest farm estate-sale of all time!

To Cory and Ryath of Moonfruit Mushrooms for growing the best mushrooms anyone has ever had; to Eli at Revolution Bread for making us fat; to Kim LaVere to her incredible Marketplace and vision for food and connection here.

To Anna and Kate: Pulling off a season such as it is takes hefty amount of grit, grace, and guffaws in a normal year — let alone one as physically and mentally difficult as 2020. As Royal Tenenbaum would say, you two are “true blue'“. We can’t express how lucky we feel to have been able to spend our days in the field with you two. You are the Fairy Godmothers of this farm and always will be.

To our neighbors and landmates at Green Valley Farm + Mill: Temra & Jeremy, Teo, Quin, Aubrie, Scott Kelley, Jeff, Gaya, Frankie & Desha, Josiah, Genevieve, Michael, the ladies of Greenhaven, Daron, Stephanie and your kiddos, and Chris LS Panym up in the Wildnest: It takes a village to sustain a small farm and your support, encouragement and our daily interactions make up the web of friendship that sustain this farm and farmers!

To our friends and families: For your unconditional love and support as we tend our toddler farm-baby. We can do things now!

And finally, to you, our members. Whatever bounty we’ve enjoyed this year is because of you. You made a real connection to, and shared in the risk of a growing season, with your farmers — something extremely rare and important, we think, in this crazy world. You helped us plant the seeds, spread compost, lay the irrigation tape, the tomato trellising twine, and were there with us in the work that went into planting this harvest season. You helped keep each other safe. You helped harvest your garlic, potatoes, corn, and squash and did quite a bit of u-picking! You showed up each week with sweet smiles, words of encouragement and appreciation. You are the heart of this farm.

You reminded us, day after day, week after week, that real, life-sustaining bounty comes from a community of neighbors rolling up their sleeves and building something beautiful together.

Thank you.

See you in the fields,
David & Kayta

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