Saturday, January 30, 2016
Monday, January 18, 2016
Bounty From The Box Blog
Thanks to Bounty From The Box for including us on their blog. Here's to another great year of farming!
Monday, October 12, 2015
Northwest Harvest Interview: Notes From The Field 2015
I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Northwest Harvest about working with local food banks. Here is a link...
Notes From the Field
Notes From the Field
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Tierra Garden Organics CSA Week #18 The Last One
Sorry this is coming to you so late in the day. School is really changing our household dynamics and I ran out of time to write this up in the morning.
However, by now you are discovering what is in your box. It is fun to put in Brussels sprouts although they will require a little cleaning. Aphids love sprouts. It is a problem that is hard to avoid, especially in organic agriculture. We could have sprayed them with soap, but it tends to dry out the sprouts and give them a funny off-taste. Better to let the aphids attack the outermost layer and then peel that little bit off before cooking. If you have never had sprouts attached to the stem before, they are easy to remove. Simply use your thumb to pop them free. Then soak them in water for about 15 minutes to rinse. Drain the water and re-rinse in a colander. Then, peel off the outermost leaves to remove a majority of the remaining aphids. I love sprouts sauteed in butter...that is my favorite way to eat them. However, roasted is good too or maybe even in a creamy soup.....
This will be the last week of the CSA for our 2015 season. Those of you who contacted me about an extension, I will be in touch. Willy and I have gone through the fields and have decided that it would be best to send out an availability list each week so that you are free to order as you like rather than to put together pre-made boxes. We have started to sell out of things faster than expected and this seems like the best option given the variety of crops that remain.
Thank you for being a part of our CSA program. For us, it is fun to put together the boxes each week (tiring.... but definitely fun!). Every season is different. There is no telling what next year will be like. But this summer was definitely the warmest, longest and most bountiful one we have had in recent memory. And we are continuing the tradition of ending the CSA with a rainy day. It wouldn't be fall without a good soaking rain to harvest in once in a while. :-)
If you are interested in finding produce still, we will be delivering once a week to Sage Mountain. Otherwise, have a great winter and maybe we will see you again in the spring!
Thank You! Namaste!
In Your Share This Week:
Pie Pumpkins, Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Garlic, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Onions, Leeks, Kohlrabi
Recipes:
Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie
Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
However, by now you are discovering what is in your box. It is fun to put in Brussels sprouts although they will require a little cleaning. Aphids love sprouts. It is a problem that is hard to avoid, especially in organic agriculture. We could have sprayed them with soap, but it tends to dry out the sprouts and give them a funny off-taste. Better to let the aphids attack the outermost layer and then peel that little bit off before cooking. If you have never had sprouts attached to the stem before, they are easy to remove. Simply use your thumb to pop them free. Then soak them in water for about 15 minutes to rinse. Drain the water and re-rinse in a colander. Then, peel off the outermost leaves to remove a majority of the remaining aphids. I love sprouts sauteed in butter...that is my favorite way to eat them. However, roasted is good too or maybe even in a creamy soup.....
This will be the last week of the CSA for our 2015 season. Those of you who contacted me about an extension, I will be in touch. Willy and I have gone through the fields and have decided that it would be best to send out an availability list each week so that you are free to order as you like rather than to put together pre-made boxes. We have started to sell out of things faster than expected and this seems like the best option given the variety of crops that remain.
Thank you for being a part of our CSA program. For us, it is fun to put together the boxes each week (tiring.... but definitely fun!). Every season is different. There is no telling what next year will be like. But this summer was definitely the warmest, longest and most bountiful one we have had in recent memory. And we are continuing the tradition of ending the CSA with a rainy day. It wouldn't be fall without a good soaking rain to harvest in once in a while. :-)
If you are interested in finding produce still, we will be delivering once a week to Sage Mountain. Otherwise, have a great winter and maybe we will see you again in the spring!
Thank You! Namaste!
In Your Share This Week:
Pie Pumpkins, Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, Peppers, Eggplant, Tomatoes, Garlic, Kale, Brussels Sprouts, Onions, Leeks, Kohlrabi
Recipes:
Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie
Old Fashioned Pumpkin Bread
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tierra Garden Organics CSA Week #17 The Big Chill
The harvest super moon was amazing. We took the kids over to a friend's house and watched as the eclipse made its way slowly over the horizon. What an incredible event! Those beautiful clear nights also brought along several nights of heavy frost at the farm. Willy arrived Sunday morning to find the garden coated in thick ice. Subsequently, we have received frost just about every night since. As you may have guessed, this means that there will be no zucchini or cucumbers in the last 2 boxes of the season. Just like that, they are done and gone.
There was an outside row of slicing tomatoes that also took a hit and the basil turned black and mushy. Otherwise, nearly everything else survived.
We are starting to put a few fall surprises into the box starting this week. First, you are receiving a celeriac. This is related to celery. The root is the part you are interested in. Peel off the rough exterior to reach the tender soft interior. This vegetable has a mild celery flavor. It can be used for soups, in vegetable bakes or in stuffing. They are a pain to grow (started from seed in February and tended until now!) which is why you don't see them all that often and why we only grow a few each year.
Next week, we will put in some Brussels sprouts. We tested them out at dinner last night and I am giving them the thumbs-up.
Next week will be the last CSA for the regular season. We will still have produce available and can do an add-on on a week by week basis. Typically, we charge $20 for the first week or two and $15 for following weeks as produce availability diminishes. For now, it looks like the boxes will contain beets, carrots, winter squash, potatoes, onions, brussels sprouts, celeriac,leeks,kohlrabi, tomatoes, peppers and probably some greens of various kinds and other surprises if mother nature allows. If you are interested, in continuing on, please send me a message and let me know. We only do a limited number of add-on boxes so they are first-come, first-served. If you are only interested in a getting a few select items in bulk, now is the time to order. We are filling orders right now and are hoping to have all bulk items distributed by mid-October.
Thanks and have a great week!
In Your Share This Week:
Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Kale/Collards/Chard, Arugula, Winter Squash, Celeriac and maybe a surprise or two....
Recipes:
Simple Celeriac
Maple-Bacon Roasted Apples and Celeriac
Chunky Cheddar and Celeriac Soup
There was an outside row of slicing tomatoes that also took a hit and the basil turned black and mushy. Otherwise, nearly everything else survived.
We are starting to put a few fall surprises into the box starting this week. First, you are receiving a celeriac. This is related to celery. The root is the part you are interested in. Peel off the rough exterior to reach the tender soft interior. This vegetable has a mild celery flavor. It can be used for soups, in vegetable bakes or in stuffing. They are a pain to grow (started from seed in February and tended until now!) which is why you don't see them all that often and why we only grow a few each year.
Next week, we will put in some Brussels sprouts. We tested them out at dinner last night and I am giving them the thumbs-up.
Next week will be the last CSA for the regular season. We will still have produce available and can do an add-on on a week by week basis. Typically, we charge $20 for the first week or two and $15 for following weeks as produce availability diminishes. For now, it looks like the boxes will contain beets, carrots, winter squash, potatoes, onions, brussels sprouts, celeriac,leeks,kohlrabi, tomatoes, peppers and probably some greens of various kinds and other surprises if mother nature allows. If you are interested, in continuing on, please send me a message and let me know. We only do a limited number of add-on boxes so they are first-come, first-served. If you are only interested in a getting a few select items in bulk, now is the time to order. We are filling orders right now and are hoping to have all bulk items distributed by mid-October.
Thanks and have a great week!
In Your Share This Week:
Carrots, Leeks, Onions, Garlic, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Peppers, Kale/Collards/Chard, Arugula, Winter Squash, Celeriac and maybe a surprise or two....
Recipes:
Simple Celeriac
Maple-Bacon Roasted Apples and Celeriac
Chunky Cheddar and Celeriac Soup
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Tierra Garden Organics CSA Week #16 Retirement of a Generation
Yesterday, I was once again reminded that farming is a very special career choice. I openly admit to getting frustrated at least once or twice a summer (maybe 3 times!) with the workload and lack of time off. Willy is much better at coping with it than I am and he certainly takes the brunt of the work upon himself. Often, he is at the farm literally from dawn until dusk with me arriving at a more civilized hour and leaving before it is time to make dinner. He really, hardly, ever complains. He loves his work and feels an almost parental attachment to the fields and the crops. While most people enjoy a few days off every week (that little thing known as a weekend), Willy may take off a 1/2 day now and again but never, ever more. The idea of leaving the farm for an overnight (or 2!) does not cross his mind. Indeed, he has told me regularly that he doesn't feel like he has to go to work when he gets up in the morning. Farming to him isn't work, it has become who he is.
So it is with great sadness yesterday that I was reminded that more than a handful of very dedicated farmers in our area are retiring this season with no one stepping in to replace them. This isn't the type of job you advertise for. There rarely is that one special person who wants to step in and 'buy the farm'; accepting the responsibility, long hours and low pay that come along with this commitment. Farming as a career choice makes very little sense; it is a lifestyle choice, or nothing.
To put our predecessors lifetimes into perspective, Grant Gibbs just celebrated 40 years of farming on his homestead in Leavenworth. 40 years of fighting the weather, building the soil, scrambling to find help, and persisting against all odds. Those farmers who are retiring are some of the pioneers of organic agriculture in this region. Watershine Woods, Jerry Pipitone, Ken Toevs... (and across the state Terry Carkner, Nash Huber and others...) they have all decided that it is time to move into the next phase of life. An entire generation of farmers who's time has come and gone. The gap that they are leaving behind makes me feel nauseated and humbled. Farming is a career built on experience. Year after year an accumulation of knowledge increases one's skill and chances of success. Those who have spent a lifetime in the soil hold a wealth of knowledge greater than any doctorate degree can decree and broader than any book can hold. So who is left to turn to for advice and support when these scholars are no longer available?
'We are all counting on you now.' was the message I was left with yesterday after discussing this situation with my dear friend Kim Lohse (another pioneer in her own way as she, in her retirement, continues to champion for local food) 'But no pressure!' she says with a smile. And isn't that the truth of it? One generation retires and the next must step up and try and fill their shoes. But I don't nearly feel ready to lead the charge. Somehow, an entire generation gap has presented itself between those who are retiring and our younger generation who are still learning the ropes. Where are the farmers who come in between? An entire middle-age missing from farm life.
I sincerely hope that our generation and the one following us can pick up the slack. I don't really know if we can, but I know that we will try. I am continuously inspired that there are people like my husband who find that their place in life comes with calloused hands and dirty work clothes. With any luck, there will be more choosing this path behind him.
In Your Share This Week:
Winter Squash, Peppers, Zucchini, Tomato, Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Arugula?, Kale/Collards/Chard, Cucumbers (they made a comeback!), and probably a few surprises
Recipes:
Zucchini Pancakes
Silky Zucchini Soup
So it is with great sadness yesterday that I was reminded that more than a handful of very dedicated farmers in our area are retiring this season with no one stepping in to replace them. This isn't the type of job you advertise for. There rarely is that one special person who wants to step in and 'buy the farm'; accepting the responsibility, long hours and low pay that come along with this commitment. Farming as a career choice makes very little sense; it is a lifestyle choice, or nothing.
To put our predecessors lifetimes into perspective, Grant Gibbs just celebrated 40 years of farming on his homestead in Leavenworth. 40 years of fighting the weather, building the soil, scrambling to find help, and persisting against all odds. Those farmers who are retiring are some of the pioneers of organic agriculture in this region. Watershine Woods, Jerry Pipitone, Ken Toevs... (and across the state Terry Carkner, Nash Huber and others...) they have all decided that it is time to move into the next phase of life. An entire generation of farmers who's time has come and gone. The gap that they are leaving behind makes me feel nauseated and humbled. Farming is a career built on experience. Year after year an accumulation of knowledge increases one's skill and chances of success. Those who have spent a lifetime in the soil hold a wealth of knowledge greater than any doctorate degree can decree and broader than any book can hold. So who is left to turn to for advice and support when these scholars are no longer available?
'We are all counting on you now.' was the message I was left with yesterday after discussing this situation with my dear friend Kim Lohse (another pioneer in her own way as she, in her retirement, continues to champion for local food) 'But no pressure!' she says with a smile. And isn't that the truth of it? One generation retires and the next must step up and try and fill their shoes. But I don't nearly feel ready to lead the charge. Somehow, an entire generation gap has presented itself between those who are retiring and our younger generation who are still learning the ropes. Where are the farmers who come in between? An entire middle-age missing from farm life.
I sincerely hope that our generation and the one following us can pick up the slack. I don't really know if we can, but I know that we will try. I am continuously inspired that there are people like my husband who find that their place in life comes with calloused hands and dirty work clothes. With any luck, there will be more choosing this path behind him.
In Your Share This Week:
Winter Squash, Peppers, Zucchini, Tomato, Onions, Leeks, Garlic, Arugula?, Kale/Collards/Chard, Cucumbers (they made a comeback!), and probably a few surprises
Recipes:
Zucchini Pancakes
Silky Zucchini Soup
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Tierra Garden Organics CSA Week #15 Saying Goodbye....
Well, I have been mentioning this for a few weeks but now I really mean it. It is time to start saying goodbye. Goodbye zucchini, goodbye cucumbers, goodbye summer.
There has been a dramatic shift at the farm over the last 10 days. Like a migrating fledgling, summer found its wings and flew south leaving us with crisp nights, short days and a cool breeze. We might even get a little rain.....
What this weather means is that anything that loves warm nights and hot sun is slowing to a crawl. Willy harvested less than 8 lbs of patipans yesterday and only one bin of cucumbers. He and Laura had headed down to those beds with their usual stack of 5-10 bins and came back up with only a bin and a half full of produce. Laura was a little baffled by how fast production can shut down when the weather shifts a few degrees and Willy just laughed.
So prepare yourselves for winter squash, leeks and onions...the staples of fall. Think warm soups and biscuits. And if you haven't put food up for the winter yet, there is no more time to procrastinate; do it now. Farmers market will last a few more weeks before everyone puts away their canopies for the season. Although finding a good peach is getting to be a rare treat, there are still pears, apples and even some berries showing up.
And, if you haven't been keeping track, there are only 3 weeks left of the CSA after today. Once we get to the end, we often offer an extension on a week by week basis. I will let you know if this is a possibility as we get a little closer in. The farm has been exceptionally busy this summer and although we are usually sitting on a large abundance going into winter, this year we may (for the first time ever) be sold out by the middle of October.
Have a great week!
In Your Share This Week:
Carrots, Beets, Kale/Collards/Chard, Onions, Winter Squash, Peppers, Eggplant?, Zucchini, Tomatoes, and items still to be determined....
Recipes:
Winter Squash Soup
Jalapeno Poppers
There has been a dramatic shift at the farm over the last 10 days. Like a migrating fledgling, summer found its wings and flew south leaving us with crisp nights, short days and a cool breeze. We might even get a little rain.....
What this weather means is that anything that loves warm nights and hot sun is slowing to a crawl. Willy harvested less than 8 lbs of patipans yesterday and only one bin of cucumbers. He and Laura had headed down to those beds with their usual stack of 5-10 bins and came back up with only a bin and a half full of produce. Laura was a little baffled by how fast production can shut down when the weather shifts a few degrees and Willy just laughed.
So prepare yourselves for winter squash, leeks and onions...the staples of fall. Think warm soups and biscuits. And if you haven't put food up for the winter yet, there is no more time to procrastinate; do it now. Farmers market will last a few more weeks before everyone puts away their canopies for the season. Although finding a good peach is getting to be a rare treat, there are still pears, apples and even some berries showing up.
And, if you haven't been keeping track, there are only 3 weeks left of the CSA after today. Once we get to the end, we often offer an extension on a week by week basis. I will let you know if this is a possibility as we get a little closer in. The farm has been exceptionally busy this summer and although we are usually sitting on a large abundance going into winter, this year we may (for the first time ever) be sold out by the middle of October.
Have a great week!
In Your Share This Week:
Carrots, Beets, Kale/Collards/Chard, Onions, Winter Squash, Peppers, Eggplant?, Zucchini, Tomatoes, and items still to be determined....
Recipes:
Winter Squash Soup
Jalapeno Poppers
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