2016 CSA Week #6 Maybe Summer Now?

I just checked the weather forecast and it is looking like it is actually going to move into the mid-80's for a week. Woah...finally. Still waiting on a couple of things to start producing....like those fickle cucumbers. A little heat is all that they need so hopefully this week will be enough to give them a little nudge. Same goes for the eggplant.
There are lots of green tomatoes but no ripe ones yet. This is pretty typical. They usually don't really start ripening at our farm until sometime in August. Once they start, we should have them for quite a while.

Willy is pulling all of the garlic off the field. The rain has been slightly problematic for this since it can hurt the curing process. However, this year, with the new building we have a large outdoor covered area that we can let the garlic sit and dry out a bit before cleaning it.

Not too much to really report. Everyone is tired right now but that is pretty normal. The days are still long and Willy and Laura have been getting to the farm very early and staying until late in the afternoon/evening. It is still planting season so they are doing their best to get things re-sown for late summer and fall harvest. Only a couple more weeks until we run out of time for planting so this part of the year is particularly fast-paced and slightly frantic.

We are starting to price out the cost of an additional high tunnel. They are very useful tools especially when dealing with erratic weather. Hopefully next season we may be able to add a 3rd one to our operation which will help give us a jump-start in the spring and another safety net for the fall.

Also, a quick note...in August our farm will be hosting its first Farm To Table Dinner. This dinner is a fundraiser for the Leavenworth Community Farmers Market and will help to raise funds for implementing a SNAP/EBT program at the market. All wine is being donated by Budreaux  Cellars and all food is being prepared via donation by Watershed Cafe. We will be donating produce along with the space. It should be a great event. Fliers went into the boxes this week.

Hopefully you had a great week and enjoyed the rain that came our way. This summer is very reminiscent of the ones I experienced growing up in Northern Wisconsin so I can't help but love the weather even if it isn't entirely awesome for farming (or going to the beach).

In Your Share This Week:
Arugula, Cucumber, Zucchini, Fennel, Carrots, Beets, Garlic, Kale, Basil and maybe a surprise or two

Recipes:
Do you remember the fennel and arugula salad recipe from a couple of weeks ago? Well this is the time to try it out. Also, fennel is great in creamy soups.

Fennel Soup

Carrot Fennel Soup

Fennel Arugula Salad

2016 CSA Week #5 Slow Motion

This week sort of stretched itself out a bit in my head. Our kiddos went to their first overnight camp ever and were gone from the house for 3 nights. It was a strange experience to finally see these little chicks fledge. The house felt extremely quiet and there was, of course, extra time available for weeding and farm work :-)
This week, we all finally finished off re-weeding the onion beds. It was a relief to reach the end of this long-standing project. We planted about twice as many onions as usual so the weeding took about twice as long. Many hands played a part in keeping these little guys from getting swallowed whole by rampaging amaranth, morning glory and various other wild plants. Now.....for the leeks and shallots!

We have had a very cheerful bunch of farm helpers this season. Jeanne is back at it again weeding salad for probably her 5th (6th?) season. She's like a garden angel....showing up like clockwork and always bringing treats for Comet the dog or snacks for the kids. Colleen is also back at it, helping on an every-other week schedule or as her busy summer allows. This is her second season at Tierra and I am still amazed that she takes the time to drive up valley all the way from Wenatchee to spend time at our little farm. Emerson is a near-permanent fixture at the farm now....seriously, I don't know what we would do without his company.He puts everyone in a good mood. Mijanou is always a pleasure to have around.  McCarthy and Taylor pop in from time to time and offer interesting conversation, Jenny and Ty somehow find a way to fit in a few hours to help each week even though their life is hectic, Jesse is new and has only just started to get his fingers dirty. Shreve reminds us that we should really get out and climb once in a while. Ruby who brings a smile along everytime she helps out. Carol is helping me for the 4th (5th?) year in a row at Plain Market and Jen is my company at the Leavenworth Market.  And then there's Laura who is the anchor in this mish-mash crazy crew. It takes a village to raise a farm and I am thankful for every last minute of help that we receive.

In other farm news, the beans are starting to flower as are the second planting of sugar snap peas. It will be a little bit before they are available for harvest but it is always a good sign to see those flowers. We mulched and weeded the cucumbers this week. I pushed hard to include the first cukes in this week's box. They won't be huge and there won't be a lot of them yet but it will at least give you a taste of what's to come. Again, we are starting to see lots of flowers which is a really good sign.

Steve Foley checked on the bees and they seem to be doing okay still. Lots of pollination happening right now. The lavender is awash in buzzing.

That pretty much sums up the week.  I hope yours was a great one.

In Your Share This Week:
Head Lettuce, Salad, Chard, Beets, Shell Peas, Cukes (kind of!), Garlic, Fennel, Zucchini, Basil and probably a few other surprises

Recipes:
Use those beet greens! 

Roasted Beets and Braised Beet Greens

Garlicy Sauteed Swiss Chard

The 10 Best Leafy Greens for Smoothies

Raw Garlic Salad Dressing

2016 CSA Week #4 And the Wind Keeps Blowing....But Things are Still Growing

Well, it seems as though we are having a 'cold summer' this year.  The great news is that nothing is on fire yet....even after making it through the 4th of July. The bad news is that this wind is just wreaking havoc with plants at the farm....nothing that is permanent or fatal but certainly the effects can be noticeable. Some of the taller squash leaves have tattered and torn edges and the kohlrabi have an incredibly unusual shape due to being whipped in circles as babies. All told though, things seem to be moving along on schedule. Actually, looking at last year's newsletter (when it was super hot and we were way ahead of normal) we aren't too far off from what we were putting in the box this time last year. I found this surprising given that this season is a much different beast than the last two. Turns out, that it is just me who feels like things are moving slowly....to the plants, they are maturing right no time.
Another good side-effect of the cooler weather is that we are having a great pea year. Last season,the shelling peas were tough and mealy from the heat. This year, the pods are green and the peas are sweet. You will see them in this week's box and probably next week as well.
We did end up putting a few in the box last week...to my surprise. So, I hope you figured out how to open them up and use them since I didn't include any information about them in the last newsletter.

For future reference, shelling peas are also known as English Peas. The shells are tasty but too fibrous to really eat. So each shell must be opened to be enjoyed. This is a great job for kids. Save the shells though and use them for making a broth or soup stock. They give a nice sweet flavor when simmered in a broth. Strain and remove the shells before using the broth and then add  the shells to the compost. Shelling peas can be frozen for later use. After the peas are removed from the shells you can lay them out on a cookie tray and then place them in the freezer. After they have frozen, remove the tray from the freezer and then roll the peas into a ziploc freezer bag. This is a nice way to save a little summer for another day.

One last update from the farm, the eggplant inside the high tunnels are now loaded with flowers. I would expect that within 2 weeks you will see the first eggplant making their way into the boxes. Same goes with cucumbers. The first little babies are showing up out in the field. Expect to start seeing these in the next two weeks as well.

In Your Share This Week:
Salad Mix, Carrots (No Beets this week), Kale, Garlic, Shelling Peas, Sugar Snap Peas, Basil, Pak Choi, Arugula and maybe a Hungarian Wax Pepper just for fun! Looks like Zucchini and Fennel next week but I am including some Fennel recipes to get you thinking....

**Also, the basil is not washed. We debated over this for quite some time but decided to give it to you 'as is' mainly because it stores much better. Wash as needed by swishing in cold water.

Recipes:
13 Fennel Recipes- This is more eye-candy than anything but thought I would share for inspirational purposes....
Arugula Fennel Salad

How to Buy, Store, Shell and Cook with Fresh Peas-more information for you on shelling peas

How to Dry Basil- In case you end up with too much basil for fresh eating, here is some info on drying the basil for later use (spaghetti and pizza this winter!)

2016 CSA Week#3 The Weather Rollercoaster

Good Morning!
Hopefully you had a great week and got a chance to beat the heat for a little bit. The farm crew made it up to Lake Wenatchee on Monday and escaped the worst of the afternoon sun for a couple of hours. Looks like we will start to cool down again after today and will go back to a pleasant temperature for both working and playing.
The weather plays a huge role in the abundance and availability of many of our summer crops. The cool and wet weather we had at the beginning of April and again last week have both played their part in delaying several crops including cucumbers and zucchini.  However, this little bout of heat was enough to wake everything back up again and those plants that had hunkered down to survive the wind and rain are starting to put on some new growth. With any luck, there may be zucchini  in  two weeks....and once it starts it is unlikely to stop!
Tomato set looks good in both high tunnels and the cherry tomatoes are loaded with future goodness. The first of the Japanese eggplant will start coming off by the end of the week (not enough for boxes yet...) and the pepper plants inside the high tunnels are covered in fruits.All in all, progress is being made toward a good future harvest.
It looks like the shelling peas aren't quite ready for harvest this week....which is pretty typical for this type of summer (the last 2 years were incredibly early given all the extra heat we had). Hopefully by this time next week we will have enough to include them. If not, then within 2 weeks for sure. They are super satisfying to harvest and really yummy to eat.
We started to pull carrots from the first of our outside beds and will continue to do so for the remainder of the season. As crops get added in, expect to rotate semi-regularly between beets and carrots in the boxes. Same goes for kale and chard. We tend to rotate between the two (and maybe even some collards) as the season progresses. This year we are growing several varieties of both to keep things interesting.
AND! the first of the full-sized garlic has come in off of the field and will be included in today's box. This is a little early for us but the bulbs look great and Willy is excited to include them in the shares.

Enjoy your 4th of July holiday! It is shaping up to be mild and pleasant.

In Your Share This Week:
Salad Mix, Beets, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas, Garlic and probably a few surprises.
Per tradition, the 3rd box is always a little bit smaller. It is the calm before the storm...the vegetable storm!

Recipes:
Gingered Carrot and Kale Ribbons

How to Roast Garlic

2016 CSA Week #2 Root Crops and Spring Peas

Hello!
I hope you had a great week. Ours was action-packed to say the least. Now that school is done for the summer, we are all trying to settle in to our new routine. The first week is always the hardest as our kids try and figure out their place at the farm. The good news is that from time to time, we can wrangle them in to helping with tasks such as picking peas or weeding kohlrabi. Every little bit of help adds up during June; the busiest month of the season. There are no shortage of tasks on the to-do list. It is the time of year when weeding, seeding and harvesting all coalesce into a mountain of chores. Having a few extra hands around to help lighten the load is always welcome, even if those hands aren't quite full-grown yet.

This week we will be jumping right into summer-worthy crops. The box will contain many of the early favorites that we were hoping would be ready right around now. Delaying the start of the CSA a week really paid off and now we are starting to pull the first beets from the outside beds rather than adding beet thinnings to the box. It will still be quite some time before we start being able to add in the heat loving crops (especially with all this cold weather we have been experiencing) but for now, I hope you are all content with root crops and green things.

**REMEMBER CSA boxes will not be dropped off before 4 PM at Sage Mountain and Plain Grocery. Even if you go in early and hope that they will be there, our schedule for the day will not allow us to get there any earlier than the time stated. We harvest fresh on the day of delivery and washing and packaging all of that pretty produce takes time.....like, all day. Practice patience and trust that we will deliver in the afternoon. Thank you for understanding!

In Your Share This Week:
Salad Mix, Arugula, Garlic Scapes, Beets!, Carrots, Sugar Snap Peas and probably a few surprises....

Sugar Snap Peas do not need to be shelled. Enjoy them in the pod. In the next few weeks we will start to put shelling peas in the boxes. I will include instructions on how to deal with them at that time.


Recipes:
30 Beet Dishes That Will Convince You To Try A New Recipe- A Smorgasbord of beet recipes to get you thinking....

Carrot Cake -I always tend to substitute brown sugar every time a recipe asks for white sugar. The flavor is fuller and richer.

2016 CSA Week #1 Here comes Summer!

Welcome or Welcome Back! 
Some of you are new to this year's CSA program. Thank you for joining us. Every year is different for us here on the farm. Usually, our ups and downs coincide with the weather that we have been given to work with. This season promises to be no different in that regard.
We decided to delay the CSA by one week so that we could (hopefully) be one step closer to diving in to the bounty of summer; limiting the amount of time spent swimming in greens. Although the boxes will still contain a fair amount of the green stuff as we wait for the heat of summer to approach, we have saved up a few goodies to throw into the mix that will make it feel maybe a little bit more like July than June. And, as always, the boxes will be smaller in these first few weeks as we ramp up into full production mode. This will give everyone a chance to ease back into the CSA mindset and will allow you a chance to dust off your cook book and start clearing out your fridge.


For those of you who are picking up boxes off-site (most of you), there are a couple of loose rules to follow:

1. Boxes will be dropped off by 4 PM on Wednesdays at either Plain Grocery or Sage Mountain. Both places have been super generous in allowing us to use them as a drop off location over the past 10 years. Please tell them THANK YOU! On-Farm pick up is after 3 PM and bins will be in the BRAND NEW GARDEN HOUSE. Woo Hoo! Very excited about this.

2. Boxes need to be picked up within 24 hours of being delivered (that would be Thursday at 4 PM). If the boxes are not picked up by that time, the chance of it still being located where it should be will be less likely. Both of these are busy stores and floor/storage space is a hot commodity. They are not personally responsible for making sure the boxes are either refrigerated or stored long-term.

3. At Plain Grocery pick up will be in the back room. This is also the location where you can leave your empty tubs. At Sage Mountain pick up will be in the room with the sliding glass door. Tubs will be stored outside in the back of the shop. There are A LOT of pick ups at Sage this season and if it is too crowded in there  for people to shop because of all of our CSA bins, I will make other arrangements and will let you all know the new plan.

4. Please, please, please return your empty bin so we have a container to pack your produce in each week. We have a back stock of waxed boxes that Sage Mountain saved up for us over the winter. We can use these for people who forget to return their bins. However, when multiple people forget to return their bins (week after week) we go through our back stock of spare boxes fairly quickly. Once we run out of spare boxes then we can no longer deliver your produce.  Everyone forgets now and again to return their bin; that isn't a problem. If it gets to be a chronic situation, I will be in touch so that we can work out a solution.

I think that's it for now. I hope you enjoy the CSA. Willy and Laura (our first full time employee!) have been working really hard to get ready for this day. For us, the start of the CSA is our official signal that summer really is here. Hooray!
Have a great week.

In Your Share This Week:
Salad Mix, Carrots, Garlic Scapes, Swiss Chard, Pak Choi, Arugula and maybe a surprise or two (Diakon Radish?)

Every week I will do my best to let you know what will be in the boxes. This is a 'best guess' meaning that we may, at time of harvest, decide to make a last minute adjustment (either adding or subtracting items depending on what we find while in the field). Often the list is not entirely complete. Please do not panic if the list in the newsletter varies slightly from what is in the box. Farming is a job that requires calling lots and lots of 'audibles'.  We do our best to strive for consistency but life is often messy and does not unfold as intended. Thank you for your understanding!

Recipes:

Every week I will do my best to pick out and link to a few recipes that will highlight items from the box. If you have any favorite recipes that you would like to share with others, pass them along and I will include them.

7 Things To Do With Garlic Scapes

50 Salad Dressing Recipes

Sauteed Swiss Chard With Parmesan Cheese

A Scathing Letter to the Editor of Vegetable Growers News

Recently I read the Editor’s Letter in Vegetable Grower’s News entitled ‘The unintended effects of activism’.  Any of us who are in the organic farming world know that this publication is provided free of charge to growers because it is subsidized by advertising and ‘informational’ pieces provided by large ag companies ranging from seed providers to herbicides. There is often very little ‘news’ that applies to the organic industry but I still choose to skim through it from time to time to keep on issues that are affecting larger, industrial crop producers. This op-ed piece in particular I found completely troubling from a human rights perspective to the point that I felt driven to write this counter-piece.

The whole editorial revolves around the ‘battleground for a living wage’ and the rate that producers will now have to pay to their employees if legislation does in fact take place to raise the minimum wage from the measly $7.25/hr to $15/hr; a move that is poised to take place in increments over the next 6 years. Frankly, I am personally appalled that the minimum wage nationally can still exist under $10/hr. On a recent trip to the grocery store, I purchased cereal, cream and milk, bottled water, two frozen pizzas and a watermelon for my children. The total at the check-out counter came to over $60 to cover the expenses of one shitty ‘take-out’ style dinner and maybe enough breakfasts to feed my kids for a little under a week. At the federal minimum wage level I would have had to work nearly 10 hours (over a full 8 hour workday) to make enough to pay for this very basic grocery trip. There would be nothing left over to pay for our mortgage, my car, the gas to put in my car, health insurance, and the clothes to keep my family from walking the streets naked much less any type  of free-time activities (like taking my kids to the city pool).  Fuck that.

So it angers me to see this balding, aging middle-class white dude telling me what an atrocity it is that the ag industry will actually have to give their farm hands a raise. Sir, have you ever worked in ag or have you only written about it? If you have spent any time laboring on your hands and knees in the blazing hot sun or a freezing cold November rain, you know that your time spent working a full 8 hour day better be damn well worth more than a couple of frozen pizzas. Which, frankly, is why you sir did not choose farm labor as your career but instead chose the very cushy job of journalism (As I sit here at my comfortable desk drinking my fair trade coffee w/ organic cream…I know how hard of a struggle it can be to write some words on a piece of paper in my pajamas).

Your letter states that the reason to avoid raising the minimum wage is a loss of jobs, an increase in mechanization and moving production out of the US. Sir, this has already happened. All large farms have been working tirelessly to rid themselves of the headache of actually having employees. Who wants to pay L&I and Federal Employment Security Taxes anyway? And if you think that it is so overly simple to move production out of the country, please remember that moving production actually means having some good arable land with water and fertility resources to actually move to. These aren’t shoe factories, they are farms!

And your argument that farmers cannot recoup costs because they cannot set the price on goods is weak. You big farmers set the system up this way for yourselves during the last century, now deal with the consequences. You yourselves are no more than slaves to the industrial food complex. Stop whining about your lot in life and organize a revolt. Start asking to be compensated for your commodities at a fair exchange rate. Work with each other as growers rather than against each other. Form a fucking farm union. Remember what unions used to be good for…they used to keep ordinary people from getting screwed by big business! Take a stand rather than continuing to play the victim. This spineless mentality is getting so old.

And, rather than continuing to spew the dogma of the antiquated machine known as modern agriculture, why not encourage farmers to step up and do the right thing. Raise the minimum wage and encourage your workers to make a living rather than remain enslaved in poverty. Farming is a highly skilled, physically intensive job. Stop whitewashing the facts. Stop perpetuating the myth that farm work is unskilled labor unworthy of a reasonable rate of pay. This is a fallacy and it is offensive to those of us who have spent our lives with our hands (our white hands) in the dirt. I am fucking sick of migrant labor (the majority of the workforce in large ag) being treated like less than human. When will this end? Never, without a change in attitude toward one’s employees. Shame on you, Mr. Lee Dean for continuing to perpetuate this system of capitalism at its worst. I hope when you are sent to hell, you will be bent over for 8 hours, picking strawberries by hand on a 90 degree day for $58 before taxes.