THIS WEEK’S HARVEST
Cipollini Onions, Sunrise Carrots, Easter Egg Radishes, Garlic, Fennel, Olympian Cucumbers, Green Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck Squash, Collards, Cegolaine Little Gems, Green Butter Lettuce, Salanova Mini Lettuces, Arugula, and Mustard Mix
U-PICK
Albion Strawberries
Sugar Snap Peas
Jalapeño Peppers
Frying Peppers: Shishitos and Padrons
Herbs: Dill, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Italian Parsley, Tarragon, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Vietnamese Coriander, Culinary Lavender, Culinary Sage, French Sorrel, Lemon Verbena, Cilantro, Tulsi, Various Mints, Catnip, Chamomile, Purple Basil, Genovese Basil, Thai Basil
Flowers!
David surveying the potatoes in the far field on a foggy morning.
HARVEST NOTES
Frying Peppers are here! Every year we grow two different varieties of these beloved peppers. Both 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. Because of their differing thicknesses, we recommend frying them separately so as to get each variety perfectly done. A plate of just-off-the-stove frying peppers is an irresistible appetizer or snack.
Shishitos: these Japanese frying peppers are long and wrinkled with delicate, thin walls. Best picked between 3-4” long, they are almost never spicy, and will eventually ripen to a sweet red. Also incredible as tempura.
Padróns: 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. Ideally harvest when they are 1" to 1 1/2" long. About 1 out of 10 fruits will be hot. All the fruits become hot if allowed to grow 2-3" long.
Herb Inspiration: This is probably the last week to pick from our abundant cilantro succession before it begins sending up its white flowers (and later coriander seeds!). To take advantage of it before it goes, we highly recommend making a green sauce that’s a play on chimichurri or pesto. While you can use any combinations of herbs from the garden, we’ve been enjoying equal parts parsley and cilantro, with a little bit of mint, chopped or blended with raw garlic, lemon and lemon zest, olive oil and salt. Use as a zingy topping on any hearty food — roasted cipollini onions or grilled summer squash for instance. Will keep one week in the fridge, so if you make a big batch it’s best to freeze some for later use.
Fresh Cipollini Onions: “Round roses of water.” Fresh, turgid, a summer treat. The innocent, uncured form of the onion.
From left to right: Shishitos, Jalapeños, and Padrons.
FARMER’S LOG
ODE TO THE ONION
It was a busy week on the farm as we started to turn our attention to maintenance after Spring’s big planting push. In between harvests, we planted the last of the years melons (watermelons and Sarah’s Choice Cantaloupe); the 2nd to last cucumber succession; and our Fall leeks! We trellised lots of tomatoes and finally got around to hilling our potatoes, and we had some amazing help cultivating some overgrown areas of the farm.
Today was a fun harvest. Lots of new things to share with you all.
It is always a happy day the day we harvest the first fresh onions of the year, their bellies “grown round with dew”. So this week, in honor of this week’s Cipollinis, we'll leave you with the one-and-only, Pablo…
Schizanthus, also known as Poor Man’s Orchid, or Angel’s Wings.
Ode to the Onion
by Pablo Neruda
Onion,
luminous flask,
your beauty formed
petal by petal,
crystal scales expanded you
and in the secrecy of the dark earth
your belly grew round with dew.
Under the earth
the miracle
happened
and when your clumsy
green stem appeared,
and your leaves were born
like swords
in the garden,
the earth heaped up her power
showing your naked transparency,
and as the remote sea
in lifting the breasts of Aphrodite
duplicating the magnolia,
so did the earth
make you,
onion
clear as a planet
and destined
to shine,
constant constellation,
round rose of water,
upon
the table
of the poor.
You make us cry without hurting us.
I have praised everything that exists,
but to me, onion, you are
more beautiful than a bird
of dazzling feathers,
heavenly globe, platinum goblet,
unmoving dance
of the snowy anemone
and the fragrance of the earth lives
in your crystalline nature.
See you in the fields,
David & Kayta
FARM ORIENTATION TOURS
If you are a new or returning member who hasn’t had an orientation tour yet, please check in with one of the farmers when you come to a pickup.
FARM BASICS
Times & Dates: Our 2022 CSA harvest season will run from June 11th - December 6th.
Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00am - 2:00pm
Tuesday harvest pick-up run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Members and their guests may visit the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to enjoy the farm and u-pick.
Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472. It is the long gravel driveway to the left. Kiddos crossing. Please drive slowly.
Parking: Please find a parking spot under the solar panels to your left, or along the straw bales further down.
Where is the food! The pick-up barn is to your right with the beautiful mural on it.
What should I bring to the farm?:
Extra plastic produce bags (if you have them) to cut down on plastic waste
A pint basket or other pint measure and a basket for u-pick crops
A vase or water bottle to keep your flowers and herbs happy on the drive home!
Clippers to cut flowers and herbs
Water / sun hat / picnic supplies if you plan to stay awhile!
