We’re sending this quick note to let you know that due to both Cassidy and Kayta being sick (what a summer!) we are postponing the Flower Power Hour planned for tomorrow (Tuesday, July 16th). We’ll let you know when we’re able to reschedule it!
Harvest Week 5 - The Work: Part 1
THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Arugula, Assorted Little Gem Lettuces, Red Butter Lettuce, Sugarloaf Chicories, Bel Fiore Radicchio, Mei Qing Choi Bok Choi, Farao Cabbage, Fennel, Celery, Carrots, Pickling Cucumbers, Persian & Lemon Cucumbers, Costata Romanesco & Patty Pan Squash, Fresh Softneck Garlic
U-PICK
Albion Strawberries | 3 pints per share: ATTENTION! The areas near the entrances are pretty picked on, don’t forget to branch out to the back areas to find the jack-pots!
(Green) Sugar Snap Peas | Gleanings: When a crop is done with the bulk of its production, we open it up for gleanings, i.e. those who are interested can forage for the small amount that’s left.
🌟 Purple Sugar Snap Peas | 2 pints per share
🌟 Padrón Peppers | 1 pint per share
🌟 Shishito Peppers | 1 pint per share
🌟 Cherry Tomatoes | 1/2 pint per share
Herbs: Italian, Purple and Thai Basil, Dill, Tulsi, Chamomile, Parsley, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso (Perilla), Catnip, Pineapple, Sorrel, Assorted Mints
Flowers!
Top row, left to right: Padrón Frying Peppers, Purple Sugar Snap Peas, and Shishito Frying Peppers.
This year’s cherry tomatoes, left to right: Purple Bumblebee, Sungold, Indigo Cherry Drop, and Pink Princess. Not pictured: Supersweet 100, which ripen to red.
HARVEST NOTES
Pickling Cucumbers: We are so enamored with the fresh-eating quality of this year’s pickling cucumbers that we’re continuing to offer them in the barn this week as a pre-harvested item, but there will also be the opportunity for some members to take home their 2 gallon season limit this week for those ready to pickle! Season limits are how much a share can take home over the course of the season. If you are alternating weeks, please coordinate with your share partners about how much each group is taking.
Shishito Frying Peppers: These Japanese frying peppers are long and wrinkled with delicate, thin walls. Best picked between 3-4” long, they are almost never spicy. They are incredibly delicious fried in hot olive oil until browned, sometimes with a dash of lemon or smoked paprika, and always with a liberal sprinkle of salt. A plate of just-off-the-stove frying peppers is an irresistible appetizer or snack. Shishitos also make incredible tempura.
Padrón Frying Peppers: The famous Spanish heirloom, named after their town of origin. Padróns are served sautéed in olive oil with a little sea salt, and eaten as tapas in Spain. Harvested between 1” and 1 1/2" long, about 1 out of 10 fruits will be hot, but as the peppers’ size increase, so do their spiciness. While Padróns and Shishitos are both excellent prepared in the same way — fried in a hot pan — we recommend cooking them separately to achieve the perfect level of caramelization on each type.
Cherry Tomatoes: We’re growing five delicious varieties this year. Check out the photo above to see how each of them looks when ripe, and the chalkboard map in the field for where to find each one. The earliest cherry tomatoes ripen at the very bottom of the plant (on what were its first branches). Look down low this week to find the ripe ones!
Celery: While it may look a lot like supermarket celery, we find the flavor of farm-fresh celery astonishing. It’s even converted many former celery-haters among us. To highlight its freshness and flavor, check out this Alison Roman recipe from a past newsletter for Celery and Fennel with Walnuts and Blue Cheese.
Flower Power HAPPY Hour!
Are you a new member looking for some tips and inspiration on flower picking and arranging?
Are you a seasoned flower-nerd and feel like sipping bubblies and arranging flowers with like-minded friends.
Join us in the garden this Tuesday, July 16th, for our 2nd annual Flower Power Happy Hour!
A detail from one of Cassidy’s recent arrangements from the garden, featuring Forget-Me-Nots, Amaranth, Shiso, Fennel seed heads and Queen Lime Zinnias.
Bring your clippers, your fave vase or flower vessel, a cup to drink bubblies out of, and let’s arrange flowers together. Non-alcoholic beverages and music by will be provided
July, 16th, 2024
5:30 - Garden tour with farmer Kayta for all the horticulture backstories
5:45 - Pro-tips on picking and arranging arranging flower with Cassidy Blackwell
6:00 - Inspirational prompts & arranging!
FLOWER HARVESTING BASICS
Here are some basic tips and tricks to help you make the most of this height-of-the-season abundance in the flower garden.
Pick when it’s cool. Picking in the cool morning or evening hours will keep your flowers from wilting right away. If you do pick during a hot moment, dunking your flower stems in boiling water when you get home can help revive them.
Strip the stems. Taking off any leaves that will fall below the surface of the water will keep it and the blooms fresh longer.
Clean your vase and refresh the water. Your flowers will appreciate being in as clean an environment as you can provide for them. This means keeping your vase scrubbed, and replacing (or at least topping off) the water as often as possible. You can also give the stems a fresh cut every few days to ensure they’re able to keep drinking.
Pick at the right stage: The vase-life of flowers is affected in part by how far along they are in the process of blooming. While we love the exuberance and ephemerality of a flower in full-blown glory, you’ll usually get a longer vase-life from one that’s just starting to open. For short-lived flowers like Cosmos, picking stems that include unopened buds will extend the life of your bouquet, as you watch them come into bloom in your vase, changing before your eyes.
VOLUNTEER WEDNESDAYS
Have a hankering to ground down, get some dirt on your hands and work with us farmers on a nice cool morning? Join us for the following volunteer days in July. Kids welcome!
July 24th, 7:00 am - 10:00 am
FARMER’S LOG
THE WORK Pt. 1
This is the time of year of tuckered out plant-farmers in the Northern hemisphere. We’ve been planting, battling weeds, and charging since the early spring, and winter rest is far off. In the hero’s journey of the farmer year, July - late August might feel like “the Abyss” before the climactic victory of Fall harvest season.
Aye, if you talk to a vegetable farmer this week you’re likely to find some soul searching happening in that tan cranium — soul searching about the work that they find themselves shoulder deep in.
In a more practical mode, they might list for you the systems and equipment that they’ll improve to take the edge off the work next August. If it’s been super hot and they’re loopy, they might wax poetically about the nature of the farm work itself as a discipline — its qualities, it’s quirks, it’s graces.
* * * * *
It’s interesting how we use the word “discipline” to describe certain lifelong pursuits and trades. Mastering a musical instrument is a discipline. Mastering a martial art is a discipline. We use that word colloquially for some things more than others, but walking the long path of any vocation — teaching, carpentry, law, farming— I think is a “discipline”.
Disciplines are called disciplines because they require us to consistently, persistently, show up to do things we don’t want to do. Practicing scales is not why someone takes up the piano, but it is necessary for someone who wants to make the piano really sing. There is no way around it. Turning off irrigation at 8:00 pm during a heat wave isn’t why I fell in love with farming, but I love harvesting a field of happy onions so much that I’ll do it for many weeks on end if I need to. I want to make the fields sing.
Disciplines requires discipline, but more importantly, they require love. We must love a craft enough to let ourselves succumb it — to let it shape our lives and our bodies and our minds with whatever quirky rules and requirements that come with it. Of course there are myriad outside factors that determine what disciplines we can or can’t pursue in our lives — it is said that Marianne Mozart was at least as talented than her younger brother Wolfgang. But in the imaginary land of Platonic ideals, with all things being equal, it could be said that we must love a craft enough to accept the tremendous discipline it forces upon us in order to go far. We must love it enough to let it change us.
In the Vedic traditions of yoga there is the concept of tapas, the purifying fire of work and discipline that burns away delusion and the kinks of self and ego. Gurdjieff called it the “Work”, capital “W”. True tapas, by definition, makes the student uncomfortable, but it is a purifying fire and on the other side is truth — even liberation.
Most of us, in our work, or in practicing some discipline, know this feeling regularly, I think, of pushing through pain, overcoming discomfort, entering “the zone” or “flow” and the calm and clarity afterwards. After last year’s epic multi-day potato harvest I remember coming home and sitting on the couch and feeling straightened out, clear, distilled.
* * * * *
One interesting thing about disciplines, tapas, or capital “W” Work, is that while the goal might be the same (flow, truth, clarity, self-knowledge) the paths there are infinite: At the piano, in an office, in the ashram, in the potato field. And every path is quirky. Each with its own flavor.
In many a heat wave-induced revery this week (can you tell?), I’ve had fun thinking, “What are the unique qualities of farming as a discipline? What are its quirks and its graces?”
Kayta and I have been kicking around some themes (it is elemental; it has a non-negotiable relationship with time; it is brutally honest — for example) which will get into the weeds on in a future The Work Pt. 2 newsletter!
If the summer keeps being this hot, you can bet it will be headier than this one!
See you in the fields,
David
CSA BASICS
Still need an orientation? Please contact us by email with a few days notice to set up a time for an orientation tour. We are available for tours during Tuesday CSA pickups from 1-6 pm and Saturday CSA pickups from 9 am - 2 pm.
No dogs: Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed on the farm.
What time is harvest pick-up?:
Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Where is the food? The produce pick-up barn is just to the right of the solar panels and above our big greenhouse. You can’t miss it!
2024 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 15th through Tuesday, December 10th this year.
Harvest Week 4 - Half-year in the Rearview
THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Spinach, Salad Mix (with Red-to-the-Heart Little Gems, Bel Fiore Radicchio and Frisée), Cegolaine Little Gem Lettuce, Chalupa Green Romaine Lettuce, Black Magic Dino Kale, Mei Qing Choi Bok Choi, Mokum Carrots, Corinto Cucumbers, Pickling Cucumbers, Costata Romanesco & Green Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck & Patty Pan Squash, Fennel, Fresh Softneck Garlic
U-PICK
Albion Strawberries | 2 pints per share: ATTENTION! The areas near the entrances are pretty picked on, don’t forget to branch out to the back areas to find the jack-pots!
Sugar Snap Peas | 1/2 pint per share: Read below for important tips on the first picking
Herbs: Italian, Purple and Thai Basil, Dill, Tulsi, Chamomile, Parsley, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso (Perilla), Catnip, Pineapple, Sorrel, Assorted Mints
Flowers!
HARVEST NOTES
Pickling Cucumbers: These adorable cucumbers will soon become u-pick for members interested in bulk pickling, but we couldn’t resist sharing them with you this week in the barn as they’re also delicious for fresh eating. We’re offering them alongside the first of our slicing cucumbers, which, like the first pancakes, are ugly and delicious. Feel free to mix and match them in any recipe calling for cucumbers.
Don’t forget to visit (with a pair of clippers) the two beautiful beds of sunflowers in the new north section of the garden!
EASY CEASAR DRESSING
From Smitten Kitchen
This super-simple Ceasar dressing comes together quickly and works well on any greens — try it on both this week’s gorgeous salad mix and sweet Romaine hearts. We’ve scaled the recipe up here to make a full pint of dressing — enough for several days of generous salads, but if you’d rather make a smaller amount, check out the recipe link above. As with all dressing recipes, using high quality ingredients — particularly olive oil and mayonnaise — will make a big difference.
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 small garlic cloves, minced
4 teaspoons worcestershire sauce or 1 to 2 anchovies, minced
4 teaspoons smooth dijon mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice or champagne vinegar
1 cup olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Whisk all the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth, or measure directly into a pint jar and shake til smooth. Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper; they’re going to wake the whole thing up.
Flower Power Hour!
Please join us for the 2nd Annual Flower Power Happy Hour with Flower Ambassador Cassidy Blackwell and Farmer Kayta on Tuesday, July 16th!
5:00 pm: Garden Tour with Kayta — been wondering about the names of a certain flower that you’ve fallen for? Bring any questions and curiosities and we’ll try to answer them.
6:00 pm: Arranging led by Cassidy with creative prompts and floral inspiration to help you make your most artful arrangements!
Bring your clippers if you have some, your fave flower vessel and a cup to drink out of and let’s enjoy the gorgeous garden vibes! Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided.
VOLUNTEER WEDNESDAYS
Have a hankering to ground down, get some dirt on your hands and work with us farmers on a nice cool morning? Join us for the following volunteer days in July. Kids welcome!
July 10th, 7:00 am - 10:00 am
July 24th, 7:00 am - 10:00 am
Music Classes on the farm!
Farm member, Hanna, will be hosting Music Together classes for 0-7-year-olds and the people who love them on the farm this summer. Classes will be Thursday mornings at 9:30 and 10:45 starting July 11th and running for 6 weeks. Find out more and sign up here: www.MTofWestSonomaCounty.com.
FARMER’S LOG
HALF-YEAR IN THE REARVIEW
At this point in our farming year — with half the year in the rearview and so many of our crops planted and growing vigorously — we can take a moment to take stock, look back on the hands we’ve been dealt, and tell some stories.
One of the great things about growing a huge diversity of crops is that no matter what hand you’re dealt weather-wise, usually someone is going to be loving life. There will be losers, but there will also be winners. Some crops will be just alive, but others will be thriving and living their best life. It’s different every year and it’s endlessly interesting to observe as a farmer.
So what has this year been like so far and how are our charges faring?
In a nutshell: 2023-2024 was very consistently wet winter with virtually no dry spells to speak of; the spring had some unusually strong rains; and the late spring / early summer has been very hot.
Whiplash, anyone?
While we got more overall rain over the 2022-2023 rain year (49 inches last year vs. 42” this year) this spring was much wetter. In 2023 it basically stopped raining around April 1st. This year we kept getting big rains throughout April and even a 2” downpour in early May!
The effect of these late saturating rains meant that our fields were too wet to till much, much later than our therapists would have liked.
Our tillage season, the spring period in which we take our fields from fallow cover crop to shaped beds for planting, is ideally spread out over a comfortable 6 to 8 weeks, from late March or early April to mid-May. This year, our two main vegetable fields were not dry enough to work until April 22nd and April 29th. This condensed our tillage season into a grey-hair inducing mad dash to stay one step ahead of our bursting greenhouse plants and planting schedule. Tristan made sure the tractor was constantly running and pulled many an early morning and long days.
Even still, pivots were necessary. We had to plant our first succession of carrots and cucumbers late and in a distant and untested field 530ft away from our nearest irrigation riser because it dries out sooner than our main fields. The cucumbers and squash have hated that field for unknown reasons (cursed?), and first carrots, which you are eating now, seem to think it is fine there.
The other effect of the wet winter and late saturating spring rains was a bad case of rust in our garlic and small garlic bulbs. Garlic thrives in places with nice sunny dry downs in the winter (think Gilroy). This winter was the opposite of that on the Laguna. So while we’ll have to suffer through another year of medium to small garlic bulbs, we’ll take what we can get. (Side note: Your farmers like growing gigantic garlic bulbs and are actively looking for a site to lease higher up on Cooper Rd., just to grow garlic.)
On the winners side of the wet winter/spring were the wild plants, the big oak trees, and the little froggies of the Laguna. The leaf-out of the oak trees this year was so thick the shade seemed palpably darker than year’s past. Deep dark. Similarly, the Pacific tree frog babies have been SO prolific this year. A sight for sore eyes after a decade of drought. This year will forever be known as the year of tiny frogs on the Laguna. There are 5 on every tray in the greenhouse.
After that long-wet winter and early spring, someone decided to turn the thermostat way up.
As you probably know, this current heatwave has set records around the Bay Area. But the one that caught us off-guard was the 97 degree day in early June.
Henry looping around to cover potatoes on Potato Day, May 30th.
We had just planted potatoes. Usually when you plant potatoes you worry about the soil being too cold or too wet for the plants to avoid fungus. Pushed to a rather late May 30th planting, we were content in our knowledge that our green-sprouted potato seed babies would be tucked into pleasantly warm soil.
Then it got hot.
A week later it was 97 degrees with soil temps probably approaching 120. Baked potatoes anyone? We lost a lot of seed potatoes that day — about 30% of our first planting — the leafless tubers unable to transpire their way out of that kind of heat. Luckily we had 30% extra seeds stored back in the cooler which we replanted and are growing beautifully. Pivot.
The sugar snap peas have also hated the unusually hot early summer and threw in the towel early.
On the winners side of this heat seems to be our heat-loving sweet corn, melons, and other nightshades. We shouldn’t count our eggs before they hatch, but the hot peppers, sweet peppers, and tomatoes all look very happy and, if it keeps being this warm, will come into fruit much earlier than last year.
There are many more tales of this half-year in the fields, but they will have to wait for another day. This sleepy farmer needs to hit the hay.
Stay cool out there!
David
CSA BASICS
Still need an orientation? Please contact us by email with a few days notice to set up a time for an orientation tour. We are available for tours during Tuesday CSA pickups from 1-6 pm and Saturday CSA pickups from 9 am - 2 pm.
What time is harvest pick-up?:
Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm
Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.
Where is the food? The produce pick-up barn is just to the right of the solar panels and above our big greenhouse. You can’t miss it!
2024 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 15th through Tuesday, December 10th this year.