Sonoma Mountain CSA

Week 25

2011-11-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Winter Squash (Delicata)
Carrots (Nantes)
Onions (Red Marble & New York Early)
Beets (Detroit Dark Red & Golden)
Celeriac (Brilliant)
Radish (Watermelon)
Peppers (mix)
Eggplant (mix)
Kale (Curly)
Cabbage (Des Vertus Savoy)

Week 24

2011-10-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Cippollini Onions (Red Marble)
Carrots (Chantenay)
Turnips (Purple Top)
Daikon (Miyashige)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Sweet Red Peppers (Corno di Toro, Lipstick, Jimmy Nardello)
Green Poblano Peppers (Mulato Isleno)
Eggplants (Diamond)
Celery (Ventura)

Daikon Quick Pickles:
Peel daikon and slice into thin rounds or spears.
Place in a small bowl or container and dress generously with rice vinegar.
Sprinkle with a little salt, hot chile pepper flakes, and sesame seeds to taste.
Let marinate for 1 hour or longer.
What you don't eat right away may be stored in the refrigerator for 1-2 weeks.

Turnip and Apple Salad:
Peel and shred turnips.
Shred an equivalent amount of apples.
Finely chop one bunch of fresh parsley.
Dress with fresh lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Mix all ingredients together.

Veggie Stock
Get the most out of those fresh veggies. It's really easy to make a rich hearty soup stock as we move into the colder time of the year.
You can use leafy celery tops, onion skins, carrot tops, and just about any other vegetable scrap.
Put all the scraps in a big pot and fill it with water, and simmer for an hour or so. Let it cool, then transfer into containers to freeze for the next time you plan on making soup this winter.

Week 23

2011-10-18T19:36:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...
Cabbage (Jersey Wakefield)
Beets (Detroit Dark Red)
Eggplant (mix)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick, Corno di Toro, Jimmy Nardello)
Basil (Sweet)
Pears (Bosc)
Onions (New York Early)
Rutabaga (Champion Collette Rouge)

Week 21

2011-10-04T16:15:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Carrots (Chantenay)
Tomatoes (mix)
Peppers (mix)
Eggplants (mix)
Lettuce (Red Romaine & De Pierre Benite)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Cauliflower (Purple of Sicily)
Summer Squash (Crookneck & Zucchini)
Cucumber (Lemon or Suyo Long)
Strawberries (Seascape)

Week 20

2011-09-27T16:20:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Cabbage (Savoy)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Lettuce (Batavian)
Sweet Italian Frying Peppers (Jimmy Nardello)
Eggplant (mix)
Cucumber (Lemon)
Squash (Summer)
Tomatoes (mix)
Parsley (Forest Green)

Savoy Cabbages are some of the best fresh-eating cabbages for salads and coleslaw. Using a sharp knife or a food processor, shred the cabbage into thin slices. You can make this into a salad for almost any meal by adding different fruits & vegetables, and using different dressings. Here are a few ideas, with dressing recipes adapted from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions:

Coleslaw with creamy dressing
shredded cabbage
grated carrot
thin chopped apple slices

dressing:
1 t. Dijon mustard
2 T plus 1 t. wine vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. creme fraiche or plain yogurt
1/4 c. mayonnaise
salt and pepper to taste

Cabbage Salad for Fish Tacos
shredded cabbage
grated carrot
chopped scallions
chopped cilantro

dressing:
1/2 c. olive oil
3 T wine vinegar
1/4 c. plain yogurt
juice of one lemon or lime
1/2 t. agave or sugar
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed (optional)
1/2 t. cumin powder
1/4 t. chile powder
salt to taste

Asian-style Coleslaw
shredded cabbage
grated carrot
minced red onion
minced fresh mint
minced fresh cilantro
slivered almonds
mandarin slices (optional)
chicken (optional)

dressing:
2T rice vinegar
1 T soy sauce
1 t. ginger
1 t. toasted sesame oil
1 t. finely chopped green onions
1 t. honey
1/3 c. olive oil or peanut oil

Week 18

2011-09-13T16:58:00.001-07:00

In the Bag:
Tomatoes (mix)
Summer squash (crookneck & zucchini)
Cucumbers (mix)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Onions (Rossa di Milano)
Greens (Collards or Chard)
Eggplants (mix)
Strawberries (seascape)

You will find the first eggplants in your bags this week! It took me a while to figure out good ways to prepare eggplants, so here are a few hints & cooking suggestions:

About an hour before you are ready to cook, chop or slice the eggplant into a bowl and salt it generously. Cover and let sit. When you are ready to start cooking, drain any accumulated liquid, and rinse all the salt off of the eggplant. This removes any bitterness from the eggplants.
Try stir-frying the eggplant (think Thai-style eggplant & basil)
Try baking the eggplant (think Ratatouille: baked eggplant, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, olive oil)

We've been getting great feedback on the tomatoes as the harvest keeps rolling in. Our tomatoes are dry-farmed, which means no irrigation. The plants have deep taproots that reach down into the depths of the soil to access moisture, and the resulting fruits tend to be smaller and packed with flavor! Another difference between our tomatoes and those in the grocery store (even in tomato season!) is that we pick our fruit when it is RIPE. Large tomato farms that have to distribute lots of tomatoes have to pick their tomatoes green. This means that those huge, perfect-looking red tomatoes in the store did not ripen under the blazing summer sun, but in boxes. You can taste the difference. When the tomato harvest is at its peak and we find tomatoes sitting in every corner of our kitchen, here are a few of my favorite tomato-season recipes:

Gazpacho
8 large tomatoes, chopped (or the approximate equivalent volume in smaller tomatoes)
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
5 stalks celery, chopped
2 medium red onions, chopped
5 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T wine vinegar
2 1/2 t. paprika
1 1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. cayenne
1/2 c. cilantro, chopped
water (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients except water together and process in batches in a food processor or with an immersion blender until not-quite-smooth. If the consistency is too thick for your taste, thin to desired consistency with water. Serve well chilled.

Tabouli
1/2 c. bulgur wheat
3 bunches parsley, finely chopped
2 bunches green onions, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup or more lemon juice
1/2 cup or more olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Soak bulgur for about 10 minutes in warm (not hot) water. Pour into a strainer, rinse, and squeeze dry with your hands.
Mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate several hours before serving.

Fresh Salsa
Tomatoes, coarsely chopped
Red onion, finely chopped
Cilantro, chopped
Carrot, grated
Lemon Juice
Cumin, powder
Chile pepper
Salt
Mix all ingredients to taste. Be sure to have a bag of tortilla chips on hand! Enjoy immediately

Roasted Salsa
Tomatoes (whole or quartered)
Red onions (coarsely chopped)
Garlic cloves (optional)
Chile pepper
Cumin
Salt
Use enough ingredients to spread out into a baking dish of any size.
Bake at 350 degrees until onions are tender and tomato skins start to brown.
Let cool, and blend to desired consistency (I like to leave mine a little chunky).

Tomato Sauce
Tomatoes (whole or quartered)
Whole Garlic cloves (peeled)
Basil
Parsley
Marjoram or Oregano (a sprinkle)
Thyme (not too much)
Olive oil
Salt
Fill a large baking dish with tomatoes, add other ingredients (quantity to taste).
Drizzle olive oil over everything, and sprinkle with salt.
Bake at 350 degrees until garlic cloves are cooked through.
Blend to desired consistency.

Week 17

2011-09-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Tomatoes (mix)
Green Beans (provider)
Onions (Cippollini)
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Crookneck)
Cilantro
Dill (Bouquet)
Greens (Kale or Chard)
Cucumbers (mix)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Carrots (Chantenay)

Week 16

2011-08-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Collard Greens (Champion)
Tomatoes (mix)
Green Beans (Provider)
Basil (Sweet)
Sweet Corn (Double Standard)
Cucumbers (mix)
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Yellow Crookneck)
Carrots (Chantenay)
Asian Pears
Strawberries (Seascape)

Week 15

2011-08-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Broccoli (Thompson)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Carrots (Chantenay)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Lettuce (Summercrisp)
Tomatoes (mix)
Pears (Bartlett)
Corn (Double Standard)
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Crookneck)
Cucumbers (mix)

Week 14

2011-08-16T15:45:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Pears (Bartlett)
Cucumbers (mix)
Summer Squash (Crookneck & Zucchini)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Tomatoes (mix)
Basil (Mammoth)
Lettuce (Concept)
Strawberries (Seascape)

Week 13

2011-08-09T10:30:00.001-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries (seascape)
Green Beans (Provider)
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Crookneck)
Onions (Red Marble)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Lettuce (Batavian)
Cucumbers (mix)
Cooking Greens (kale or chard)
Basil (Sweet)

Week 11

2011-07-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Summer Squash (Black & Crookneck)
Green Beans (Provider)
Cabbage (Red Express)
Lettuce (Sierra & Paris Island Cos)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Basil (Mammoth)
Scallions (Evergreen Hardy White)

Week 10

2011-07-20T13:57:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Summer Squash (Black zuchinni & Yellow Crookneck)
Green Beans (Provider)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Broccoli (Mixed shoots)
Cilantro
Dill
Beets (Early Wonder)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Lettuce

Week 9

2011-07-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Cilantro
Dill
Kale (Nero Di Toscana)
Lettuce (Concept & Forellenschluss)
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Green Onions
Summer Squash (Black Zucchini or Yellow Crookneck)
Green Beans (Provider)

In The Garden
Cool weather, wind and fog has been blowing in the past couple days. My dad came to visit today and he noted that the summer afternoon wind on Sonoma mountain is one of the most familiar feeling he has in all his memories. Yesterday afternoon Miles, Elli and I finished preparing the last few beds in the winter garden section. The wind was blowing strong, leaves rustling up a roar in the trees, swaying young broccoli and cabbage held their own, and our brussles sprouts are off to the best start we have ever seen. Enough about those brassicas cool season crop harvest is just about done until the shorter cooler days of autumn return. I'm sure everyone would rather hear about hot summer stuff right now, but we always have to be planning ahead.

Week 8

2011-07-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Beets (Early Wonder)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Broccoli (Di Cicco & Limba)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Peas (Oregon Sugarpod)
Cilantro
Basil (Sweet)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Lavender (Provence)
Strawberries (Seascape)

Today's harvest had some wonderful surprises that come with this time of year when spring becomes summer. The peas and radishes this week are the last you'll taste until fall, but with the late spring we had this year they are still mild, sweet, and crunchy. We are very excited about our first Scarlet Nantes carrots of the year, our favorite variety with the very best flavor for fresh eating. All of the lavender has begun to bloom, and can be enjoyed for its fragrance as well as for culinary uses! To preserve your lavender hang it upside down to dry, and the dried flower buds can be used to make the lavender tea cookie recipe below. This week is the first of the season that we have not put lettuce in your bags, but it will be back on next week as the last of our spring romaines and the first of our summer batavian lettuces are heading up.
Photographer Aliza Eliazarov visited our farm this spring, and you can find some of her photos of our chickens and garden on her website: www.alizaeliazarov.com

Lavender Tea Cookies
After you have allowed your fresh lavender flowers to dry, try out this recipe:

1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender flowers
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Juice from one lemon
2 cups flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
Lavender Frosting (see recipe below)
Grind or finely chop lavender flowers. In a medium bowl, cream together ground lavender flowers, butter, honey, vanilla extract, and lemon. Add flour and salt; mix until combined (dough should be soft but not sticky.) Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours or until dough is firm.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove dough from refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, roll dough approximately 1/4-inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters and place onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned around the edges. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks. When cool, frost with Lavender Frosting.
Makes 2 dozen cookies.
Lavender Frosting:
1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
2 tablespoons dried culinary lavender flowers
2 tablespoons milk
In a small plastic bag, combine powdered sugar and dried lavender flowers. Let stand at least 1 day before using. When ready to use, sift the mixture into a medium-size bowl; discarding lavender flowers.
Add milk, mixing well. NOTE: Additional powdered sugar or milk may need to be added (enough milk to make frosting easy to spread). Spread on cooled cookies.

Week 7

2011-06-28T10:01:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Broccoli (Limba)
Radish (Easter Egg Mix)
Onion (Walla Walla)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Lettuce (Buttercrunch)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Cabbage (Early Jersey Wakefield)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Strawberries (Seascape)

In the Garden
Welcome to summer, how about another winter storm. Sure seems like crazy weather this year. We weren't expecting to have another rainy harvest until the fall, but I guess this is what we get. For the most part this rain will be good for the garden. Helping to push along our heading cabbages and swelling root crops. The peppers and eggplants would feel right at home, like it was the tropics if this weather system wasn't so cold. But since they are well established now and starting to grow big they will really take off once this storm passes, and the weather warms up again. As for the "dry farmed" tomatoes these rains will no doubt sprout a whole new flush of amaranth, purslane, and other summer weedy plants so we will have a busy couple weeks staying on top of them. But just like the peppers and eggplants they too will explode with growth, and pretty soon the tomato patch will be a jungle. One thing this rain will be great for is helping us finish preparing all the beds in our fall/winter section of the garden. Over the past few weeks the top few inches had really dried out. After a day of warm weather the surface will dry again, and we will be able easily to shape beautiful beds for seeding and transplanting into. And so we listen to the advice of an ancient Chinese saying
"Follow the appropriateness of the season. Consider well the nature and conditions of the soil, then and only then least labor bring best success. Rely on one's own idea and not on the orders of nature, then every effort will be futile."
Well, its not really the season for rain around here but we will gratefully yield to the weather for a restful afternoon inside.

Week 6: Summer Solstice

2011-06-21T20:12:00.001-07:00

In the Bag
Snap Peas (Cascadia)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Broccoli (Limba & DiCicco)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Basil (Sweet)
Leaf Lettuce (Red Sails)
Butter Lettuce (Buttercrunch)
Strawberries (Seascape)

I love fennel, with its braided bulb, refreshing flavor, and crispy texture. It is great raw, sliced thinly into a fresh salad, or you can roast it with the beets with some olive oil, salt, and pepper for a yummy dish.
Beets are in the same botanical family as chard, and you can eat the beet greens the same way you would prepare chard. If you are not going to eat them right away, they will store best if you separate the beet roots from the greens and store them separately in bags in the fridge.
The strawberry harvest was disappointingly small, and we picked barely enough to fill your baskets. This week we will be taking some time to set up bird nets over the strawberries we planted last fall at the Colli's, so we'll see if there's more berries next week.
The garden is growing rapidly with this warm weather- the onions, tomatoes, and sunflowers seem to be growing before our eyes, and we have taken care to provide extra water for the cabbages just beginning to form heads. Our first succession of green beans is beginning to flower, as well as the summer squash. The more weedy plants have been thriving with so much rain late in the season, and we have been spending a lot of time helping our food plants compete for space in the garden.
Today is the summer solstice, the turn of the tides as the days begin to get shorter and the nights begin to get longer.

Week 5

2011-06-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Baby Turnips (purple top)
Green Onions (cippolini)
Broccoli (di cicco)
Lettuce (red sails)
Chard (bright lights)
Dill (bouquet)
Snap Peas (cascadia)
Strawberries (seascape)

In the Garden
This June moon brings a frenzy of work in the fields. A couple inches of rain and a week of 8o degrees, everything is growing fast. Seed beds need to be thinned, and more seeds need to be sown. Weeds need to chopped down so they don't smother out our crops. We let them grow for a while, even eat some occasionally, young amaranth and lambs quarters are tasty, but when they start competing too much we have to give a hand to the broccoli and cabbage. Maintaining a balance in the garden. The flow of air, sunlight, moisture and space in relation to all the above and below. I look at the fields thinking, these plants don't take a brake. One day in the life of a plant that only lives for 2 to 3 months is like a year of your life. I can almost watch the corn grow, but then the reddish-green carpet of amaranth sprouts catch my attention and back to hoeing. Sprouting winter squash send roots deep into the soil. We plant the seeds a little thicker than necessary in hopes of a better stand of plants. Some sprouts I pulled out of the ground had shoots 5 or 6 inches long. Only a week old, and now we're already planning and planting some of our fall and winter crops. Lets just slow down and enjoy the end of this crazy spring for a minute. Finally we got a decent little harvest of sugar snap peas, so sweet and crunchy.

Week 4

2011-06-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Turnips (Purple Top)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Green Onions (Cippolini)
Broccoli & Greens (DiCicco)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Dill (Bouquet)
Butter Lettuce (Blushed or Buttercrunch)
Romaine Lettuce (Red)
Strawberries (Seascape)

Rainy Days
A brilliant storm came through this week, as we watched masses of dark clouds heavy with moisture, marching through the valley and up the hills to accumulate at the top of Sonoma Mountain. This storm brought us one and a half inches of rain, filling the creeks, watering the garden, and sprouting thousands of seeds. Most of the garden is thriving on these late rains, providing us with delicious lettuce, broccoli, and radishes, while some of the leaves on the young green bean and basil plants began to turn dull and coppery in response to the cold weather. The strawberries also do not thrive in the cold and wet, which is reflected in the flavor and texture of the fruit. At harvest we had many damaged berries from moisture and slugs, but were still able to find enough good fruit to put in your bags this week.

Culinary Herbs in the Kitchen
Fresh culinary herbs like dill, parsley, and scallions add a magic touch to meals. Usually I just chop them up and sprinkle in a salad or over almost any dish I'm eating, but here are a couple of recipes from Farmer John's Cookbook, featuring the dill and green onions that are in your bag this week:

Creamy Dill Sauce
use this as a salad dressing over fresh vegetables, or as a sauce for seafood. this can be made by hand or with a food processor.
1/3 c. olive oil
2 T. wine vinegar
1/2 t. minced shallot
1/4 t. dijon mustard
salt & pepper to taste
1 organic farm-fresh egg yolk
1/4 c. yogurt or sour cream
3 T. minced fresh dill
1-2 t. lemon juice
Combine the first five ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously until oil & vinegar have thickened.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolk with yogurt/sour cream until well combined.
Using a food processor or a whisk, add oil & vinegar mixture a little bit at a time, mixing until sauce is thick.
Thin the sauce with lemon juice, then stir in the dill.

Grilled Scallions with Sesame Oil
serve these whole as a side dish, or sliced as a garnish.
1 bunch scallions, cut in half lengthwise
toasted sesame oil
salt & pepper
Preheat the broiler or lightly oiled grill to medium-high heat. Arrange the scallions on a shallow baking sheet or a piece of aluminum foil.
Pour a little toasted sesame oil into a small bowl, and use a brush to completely coat the scallions with a thin layer of oil. Season with salt and pepper. Broil or Grill until they are golden brown on all sides, 3 to 5 minutes.

Week 3

2011-05-31T11:11:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Lettuce (Buttercrunch & Red Sails)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Kale (Nero di Toscana)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Baby Turnip (Purple Top)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Green Onions (Cipollini)
Strawberry (Seascape)

Baby Turnips are great roasted, sauteed, or steamed, but can also be used raw in salad just like a radish. Here is an idea for a little turnip salad side dish.
Chop turnips into little pieces (peeling the skin will take away some of the bite) and put in a bowl with some apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. Let them sit for about 30 minutes. Chop up some parsley and add it to the bowl. Mix it up and serve.

If you haven't tried mixing radishes and strawberries into your salad this week is a perfect opportunity. The crunchy bite of the radish makes a great contrast to the sweet juicy strawberry. And with Buttercrunch and Red Sails how could you go wrong.

In the Garden
Another rainy harvest this morning. It wasn't too cold though. Occasional showers, sometimes sprinkles, and a little sunshine. It probably would have been smart of us to do some harvesting yesterday before the rain came, but we were too busy with other garden tasks. Preparing beds, planting, weeding, and cutting grass. We did harvest from the uncovered beds of strawberries at the end of the day. We have started doing this to try and stay a step ahead of the birds. It really sucks when we go out to harvest in the morning and those beautiful ripe berries we were looking the day before are all half eaten. As the old saying goes.. If it's not one thing it's another. After a night of moist rainy conditions the slugs and pill bugs come back out to take their bites and some mold starts to rot the most susceptible fruit. A little loss, or gift of diversity, is a much more pleasant then a lot of chemicals. And we can't do anything about the weather, so look on the bright side. Our seed beds are staying moist and sprouts are coming out of the squash hills. The tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers we're planting are getting a nice transition into the field. And for the tomatoes this will probably be the only watering they will get. We planted a lot of tomatoes, around 200, and we are planing on dry farming all of them. We have talked about dry farming in the past, but never really committed to it. The practice of dry farming is an old tradition. By cultivating a fine dust mulch layer on the surface of the soil we can focus soil moisture through our chosen plants rather than through weedy plants or evaporation. Much of the agriculture of Sonoma County was at one time done with only the moisture available in the soil. There are some trade offs, like reduced yields, and extra labor spent cultivating. But we hope that the quality of the fruit will make it worth it, and reducing the amount of irrigation water needed from the well means reducing the amount of energy needed. We'll see.

Week 2

2011-05-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...

Turnips (Purple Top)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Baby Bok Choi (Ching Chiang)
Bok Choi (Prize)
Leeks (King Richard)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Romaine Lettuce (Jericho)
Leaf Lettuce (Red Sails)
Strawberries (Seascape)

In the Garden

Salad season is here again! There are so many tasty greens coming out of the garden right now- this week you've got two big heads of lettuce: the green is a romaine, and the red is a tender leaf lettuce. If you don't toss your radishes & turnips onto the roasting pan or into a stir-fry, try slicing them raw into your salad. The big bok choi is the last you will see until fall, because these flavorful asian greens don't hold well in the garden as it starts warming up. The baby bok choi is full of dimples from flea beetles (teeny-tiny insects that visit our garden every spring), but their texture and flavor is still fabulous- try it in a miso soup with ginger and garlic. I absolutely love parsley, and unfortunately it is too often passed off as an unappreciated garnish left on the side of the plate at the end of a meal. Not sure what to do with your parsely? Chop the leaves up and sprinkle it over your meal- the flavor is a refreshing complement to cooked meals like potatoes, pasta, and meats.
We're still busy planting to fill up our home garden and starting to get more seeds and transplants into the Colli's fields down the road. These late spring rains have been helpful in keeping the soils loose for hand cultivation, but planting in the big field that is tractor-cultivated has been delayed a couple of weeks to avoid damaging the moist soils with heavy machinery.
Outside of the garden we have been cutting down the tall spring grasses, watching fruit developing on pear & apple trees, and planting artichokes in the moist soils of our spring's spillway.

Week 1

2011-05-16T20:21:00.000-07:00

Week 1
In the Bag
Bok Choi (prize choi)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Radish (Cherry Belle)
Baby Turnip (Purple Top White Globe)
Leek (King Richard)
Fava Bean
Strawberries (Seascape)
Lettuce Mix
Baby bok choi, Tatsoi, Spinach

Welcome Back!
This morning's harvest was wet. We picked all the ripe berries, many of them were cracking or partially eaten by slugs or pill bugs. But we still got enough good ones for everyone to get their first basket of the season. With bird nets covering half of our 2nd year patch at home and two great looking beds down the road at the Colli's planted last fall it looks we are going to have a lot of strawberries this year. So there will most likely be extra baskets available for you to add on to your weekly delivery.
This time of year is the best season for greens, and so there is a variety of them in the bags today. Tender young spring lettuce mix for salads. Try putting some sliced strawberries and radishes in the bowl. Spinach is also really good raw, and can be lightly sauteed with leeks for a delicious side dish or mixed with eggs in a scramble.
We have an affinity for Asian greens, bok choi, tat soi, and prize choi, we cook them in stir fry and soup. Baby bok choi has a stronger flavor than its larger counter part and is really good for using in a chicken broth or miso. Prize Choi (the big one) is much more juicy and mild and is best used in stir fry. Radishes are another thing that is great in stir fry. Cut into chunks and cooked lightly they loose their spiciness and add a delicious crunch to the dish.
We are so happy to have fava beans this year. As last season was coming to an end we were planting these seeds hoping that the timing would be just right to make it into this year's bags. During a particularly windy winter storm, when we happened to be out of town, the fence was blown open allowing some deer to come in and eat the fava plants. We thought they might be lost, but after awhile they shot up multiple side shoots that soon filled with flowers and then beans. Who knows maybe the deer helped us out.
Preparing fava beans: Remove beans from the thick shell, and place the beans in a pot of boiling water. Cook until the outer layer of the beans begin to split, then place them in cold water for easier handling. Remove the split outer layer of the bean, revealing the bright green fava bean for eating. I love shelling & eating them raw as a snack, or sauteed in a risotto, an omelet, or a pasta dish.
It was so nice harvesting for all of our CSA members today. Knowing that the food we grow and pick already has a home of eagerly awaiting eaters is satisfying. Thank you all for your support. We hope you enjoy this first bag of veggies, with many more to come.

The Coop

2011-01-23T20:56:00.000-08:00

Week 25

2010-11-02T18:52:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Arugula & Lettuce
Carrots (Red Cored Chantenay)
Beets (Detroit Dark Red)
Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Radish (Daikon & Red Meat)
Onions (Clear Dawn & Rosa De Milano)
Winter Squash (Spaghetti)
Peppers ( Mix)
Parsley (Forest Green)

In the Garden
Cover crop seeds are sprouting up through decomposing crop residue left from plants that gave us so much through a long harvest season. Carrots and beets slip and pop out of sticky wet soil. We try our best with the Daikon but sometimes those crisp swollen roots just snap when they get down deep. Other than the last couple peppers and little lettuce mix everything we harvested today is from our new fields at Colliwood. We are so thankful to the Collis for providing us with this space. Nearing the end of this first season, we can look back on so much experience to learn from and look forward to a restful and replenishing winter. I say nearing the end because even though today is our last day of harvesting for CSA members we still have a lot of food growing in the field. We feel that continuing through the winter with farmers markets will give us more flexibility as far as what we have and need to harvest. However, we continue to think of how we might be able to develop a winter CSA program. We would need to grow a lot more winter squash, a lot more onions, and figure out how to grow potatoes with out letting the gophers eat them all. Speaking of pesky critters,who we lovingly share this mountain with, we have had our share of interaction lately.
A small hole in the fence in one of our fields was finally discovered by deer and they proceeded to nibble and munch on almost everything in the garden. And while the deer have been eating in the garden and sneaky bobcat has been preying on our chickens. We were hoping to have nice Chard and Kale for the past couple weeks but they just mowed it down. So finally we patched the hole, hopefully they don't start jumping the fence now that they know what they're missing. As for the bobcat, there is not much we can do to deter him while our chickens are out in the field. Last Saturday afternoon, we watched from our back door as the bobcat walked away with one of our Black Austrolorps hanging in its' mouth. It actually turned around and looked at us for a moment. We're thinking about getting a couple of pigs in the spring to live with the chickens, outside their new coop. Pigs are supposed to help keep some predators away. While we fear for the life of our chickens and tender garden plants, at the same time we are in awe of the incredibly rich and diverse environment we share. Every single organism has its own story to tell, and it is our job as gardeners, tenders of life's garden it is our job to listen and learn all of our interactions.

Week 24

2010-10-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Lettuce (mix)
Arugula
Turnips (Purple Top)
Radishes (Watermelon, Daikon, & Easter Egg)
Carrots (Red Core Chantenay)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick, Corno di Toro, Klari Cheese)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Chinese Cabbage (Bilko-F1)
Winter Squash (Delicata)
Onions (Rossa di Milano & New York Early)

Those Chinese cabbage in your bag this week are such a treat! I discovered my love for Chinese cabbage during my farming apprenticeship in Santa Cruz, when it was my job to make a big salad every day for lunch. I would gather some lettuce from the garden, then I would harvest a head of Chinese cabbage that would add crunchy tender sweetness to the salad bowl. It is also tasty added to a stir-fry or noodle bowl, just lightly cooked. This is the second hybrid vegetable variety that has slipped into our seed drawer over the past 3 years, as we are committed to growing open-pollinated heirloom seed varieties.
The 'delicata' winter squash in your bags this week is one of our favorites. To prepare it, slice it in half (the long way) and scoop out the seeds. Place each half flesh-side-down on a baking sheet & bake at 375 degrees until it is soft.
Did you know that turnips are mild, sweet, and crunchy when eaten raw? I usually peel them and slice them thin onto a snack plate, into a salad, or marinated in vinegar as a quick-pickle condiment.
There are a variety of radishes in your bag this week. The long white radish is a daikon, and bunched with the Easter egg radishes is also the delicious watermelon radish! Watermelon radishes are white and sometimes green on the outside, but reveals a bright pink flesh when cut open. This is by far my favorite radish, peeled and sliced it is quite a treat.
The carrots are a new variety, 'Red Core Chantenay,' from our fields down the hill. They have an incredible flavor which is best eaten fresh. We've been eating a lot of carrot sticks dipped in hummus this week.

Our garden got 4.8 inches of rain with the storm last weekend, which is quite a bit this early in the season. We broadcast our cover crop just as the rains were beginning, and the seeds quickly absorbed all the moisture and sent their first roots down into the soil. Our winter cover crop is a mix of nitrogen-fixing beans and peas, as well as oat and triticale grasses with their soil-building root masses.
We have also been learning some new carpentry skills as Miles helps us to build the foundation of a new chicken palace for Martha & the girls. Never a dull moment here at the ranch.

Week 23

2010-10-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Tomatoes (Mix)
Peppers (Mix)
Eggplant (Mix)
Hot pepper (Cayenne)
Green Beans (Provider)
Basil (Genovese)
Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Daikon Radish (Miyashige)
Butter Lettuce (Sweet Valentine)
Winter Squash (Spaghetti)

In the Garden
We just came in from a foggy dewy morning of harvesting, and now its finally burning off and the sun is shining. Luckily before Miles took off we remembered the box of lettuce that was hiding behind the rest of this week overflowing bags. Red butter lettuce, Sweet Valentine makes a return this week, they are some big beautiful heads. I see many delicious salads to come. Purple Top turnips are looking beautiful as well, they are great roasted or raw, and the big lush green are delicious steamed of stir fried. This morning we had our first harvest of Daikon radishes. These long white radishes are young and mild right now, great for just about any purpose. My favorite way to prepare them is to make quick pickles by marinating them in rice vinegar and a little salt, a chopped cayenne adds nice spice to this dish.
It looks like we will be getting some rain over the coming weekend. This could mean an end for our tomatoes this the year. Now is the time for us to clear the plants and broadcast our winter cover crop seed mix. In the past couple years we have let the plants hang on through the end of our CSA season, which ended later in November. But now there are only two weeks left, and have plenty of good fall crops to harvest. After being rained on the tomatoes are usually not even worth picking anyways. So this little adjustment allows us focus on peak season harvesting and get an earlier start with our soil building cover crops.
Winter squash is definitely a staple come this time of year. The hard cured shells protect some of the most satisfying fruits of our labor. We had some productive Spaghetti squash vines this year, and that what you get a taste of this week, or you could save for later. To cook a spaghetti squash we cut it in half and bake at 350 until it is soft. The flesh can then be scooped out and tossed with your favorite spaghetti sauce.

Week 22

2010-10-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Tomatoes (mix)
Green Beans (Provider)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick, Corno di Toro, Klari Cheese)
Poblano Peppers (for chile rellenos!)
Purple Cauliflower or Broccoli
Beets (Detroit)
Radishes (Easter Egg)
Parsley (Italian flat-leaf)
Lettuce (Little Gem)
Cucumbers (Metki Serpent Melon, Suyo Long)

The dark green 'Poblano' peppers in your bag this week are just the ones for making chile rellenos. They sometimes have a mild spice, and can also be roasted on the grill, or chopped up into a salsa for more simple preparation. There are many recipes for chile rellenos, but here's the way that I usually prepare them:
To prepare the chiles, cut the stem out (like you're carving a jack-o-lantern), remove all the seeds, but save the stem 'lid' to hold all the stuffing in later.
Blister the chiles in a dry pan on the stove top, until the skin easily peels away from the flesh.
Once the chiles are peeled, it is time to stuff them. Place some sliced jack cheese into each chile. Then in a pan, prepare whatever else you would like to use to stuff the chile. A couple of suggestions would be a scramble of eggs and potatoes, or chorizo sausage cooked with some greens and summer squash. Use a small spoon to carefully fill the chiles with the stuffing.
In a baking dish, spread a layer of black beans across the bottom. If you have any left-over stuffing, sprinkle it over the beans, along with some thin tomato and onion slices. Place the stuffed chiles on top, and place a lid on the dish.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Then remove the lid, sprinkle some cheese over the chiles, then bake for another 10-15 minutes.

The cucumbers in your bag this week can be used to make a tasty cucumber salad. My favorites are either with a yogurt-dill sauce, or japanese-style, sprinkled with a dressing of rice vinegar, garlic, and chile, drizzled with toasted sesame oil.

Week 21

2010-10-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Lettuce & Arugula
Carrots (Shin Kuroda & Scarlet Nantes)
Tomatoes (Mix)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Eggplant (Ping Tung Long)
Summer Squash (Crookneck)
Onions (Yellow Cippollini)
Green Beans (Provider)

In the Garden
We go back and forth about what makes a sweet berry. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but I think that a chilled ripe strawberry after a cool October night is about as good as it gets. WOW...
Our first harvest from our last succession of green beans. We are hoping that these will last through the end of the season, but there has been a good amount of gopher damage down the rows. These two beds of green beans are the last of our warm season crops to harvest from down in the Colliwood fields. Everything else has been turned into the soil and we are waiting for a little moisture to fall from the sky to sow cover crop seeds. But, here at home we still have tomatoes and peppers, a few eggplants, and those cute baby crooknecks willing to provide for a couple more weeks of harvest. Having more space to garden this year has been a lot more work, and a great opportunity to work on developing crop rotations that help build healthy soil. It takes at least a year to begin to get to know a new garden space. Observing the soil and slope, the trees around the field, and exposure to the sun and wind, and a lot of other things. But we have learned from every experience so far this season and look forward to more to come. We are so thankful to Vic and Peggy for opening up their land for this purpose, and can only hope that next year will be even better.
The onions this week (Yellow Cippollini) are dried and cured. This means that they will store for the winter, if needed. You'll probably use them right away, but if not they will last and look beautiful on the counter. This week we will be our last harvest of Scarlet Nantes and Shin Kuroda carrots. Those sweet little Nantes disappear so fast. Don't worry, we have more carrots sizing up to full flavor and maturity in our winter garden down the road.

Week 20

2010-09-29T16:42:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Carrots (Shin Kuroda)
Broccoli (Di Cicco, Thompson, Purple of Sicily)
Head Lettuce (Concept)
Hot Pepper (Cayenne)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick, Corno di Toro, Klari Baby Cheese)
Snake Melons (Metki Dark Green Serpent)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Summer Squash (Black Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck)
Greens (Kale or Chard)
Tomaotes (mix)
Arugula
Grapes

The snake melons are better known as Armenian cucumbers, as they are harvested young and they look and taste like cucumbers. We planted these late in the greenhouse after our first successions of cucumbers failed to germinate in the cold, damp spring soils, then transplanted them into the ground with Miles, a gardening friend and CSA member. The skin has a little bit of a fuzzy texture, but the whole thing is deliciously edible. Eat them fresh & raw, just like a cucumber. My childhood summers were spent at the beach in southern California, with a 'beach sandwich' packed in the cooler for lunch when I came up from the ocean with wet stringy hair, sandy, salty, and so hungry: a Tomato-Cucumber sandwich sprinkled with s&p on sourdough spread with mustard. I still love a beach sandwich on a warm summer day.
In the lettuce bag you will also find some tasty tender arugula, adding some of its peppery flavor to your salads this week.
The basket of grapes is from some vines growing up the side of the house here at Wild Rose Ranch. They are red seedless, although we are not sure of the variety. An unexpected treat for us, and we hope that you enjoy them too.

Another heat wave is bringing in the fall season for us this year, but we are aware of the days getting shorter as our tomato and strawberry harvests start to slow down. In our fall garden down the hill, the next succession of green beans is looking promising for abundant harvests through the fall; I'm crossing my fingers because I sure love pickled green beans in the winter months. Almost everything is in the ground for the winter, with the exceptions of strawberries, garlic, shelling peas, and leeks that we will be planting in October. The peppers are ripening into glowing red lanterns beneath their ornamental shiny green foliage. The extreme weather fluctuations this summer have damaged a lot of them with sunburn and rot, but there's still enough to pile some into each of your bags the last couple of weeks. Soon the Poblano peppers will be ready, harvested a deep blue-green color, sometimes beginning to blush red, and perfect for making Chile Rellenos.

As we turn our calendar to October this week, we realize that there is little more than a month left of our CSA season. We have had a fun and delicious harvest season so far with you, and looking forward at the next 5 weeks and into next year, it's only getting better...

Week 19

2010-09-22T11:24:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Beets (Detroit Dark Red)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Greens (Chard or Kale)
Dill (Bouquet)
Tomatoes (Mix)
Eggplants (Ping Tung Long)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick & Klari Baby Cheese)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Strawberries (Seascape)

In the Garden
Autumnal Equinox brings balance in night and day. A blend of summer heat and cool fall wind. Our first pepper harvest. We might have been able to have some already if not for those 106 degree days a while back. But, what can you do about that? Lipstick and Klari Baby Cheese are our two favorite peppers. Lipstick is dark red, tapered to the tip, medium fleshed, and so sweet. Klari Baby Cheese is squat, almost a tomato look-a-like, Thick flesh that turns soft and savory when cooked. And, those long skinny red Cayenne peppers are hot, so use with caution. We should get at least a few more harvest of these varieties, and there are a couple other new ones we are still letting ripen.
Last weekends chances of rain had us a little concerned with mold on the strawberries and tomatoes. Also if the tomatoes get any water on them at this point in the season they will burst and rot. I would say it didn't really rain though, just a whole day of cool mist. Which the strawberries seem to thrive in, and now that it has warmed up again they have gotten super sweet. There were a few rotten tomatoes, but they are all doing pretty good. And it looks like were in for a nice hot weekend so, which means good conditions for all these yummy fruits.
We also just recieved a wonderful gift of a new camera from Elli's parents Don and Patricia, so you might start seeing some picture updates in the next couple weeks.

Week 18

2010-09-15T07:32:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Tomatoes (mix)
Eggplant (mix)
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Crookneck)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Basil (Sweet)
Kale (Curly)
Lettuce (Cardinale)

Those cute little carrots in your bags are sweet & crunchy Scarlet Nantes. In our kitchen they have been disappearing quickly, dipped in chipotle hummus that Balyn likes to make when we harvest carrots. The paper bags are filled with a mix of tomatoes, along with a few hot Cayenne Peppers to spice up your meals.

In the garden it is feeling more like fall every day. This morning had a chill in the air that made me turn back into the house for another layer before going out to the garden to harvest. There's even a chance of rain in the forecast for this weekend. We're pulling out irrigation lines from areas of the garden that are finished for the season, chopping a mulch out over the surface with our hoes, so that when the rain does decide to come, we will be ready to go out & broadcast the first of our winter cover crop.
Last week five of our chickens disappeared in the late afternoon, leaving only a pile of feathers indicating a predator had come for an early dinner. The rest of the flock was pretty spooked and have been sticking closer to the barn, more weary of venturing too far away from the coop. We still don't know who the predator was, but there are many possibilities- we are fortunate enough to share this mountain with a diversity of wildlife, including foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and mountain lions. We only hope that whoever it was doesn't come back for seconds.

Week 17

2010-09-08T11:19:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Beets (Detroit Dark Red)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Heirloom Tomatoes (Pineapple & Brandywine)
Red Tomatoes (Stupice & Principe)
Eggplants (Ping tung long, Diamond, Listada de Gandia)
Summer squash (Crookneck & Zucchini)
Basil (Sweet)

In the garden
This mornings cool and breezy weather has us feeling the coming change of seasons. we welcome back broccoli and chard to the bags, and look forward to a bountiful fall harvest season. Giant sunflowers tower around the garden, as their large yellow discs follow the sun through the sky bees are busy visiting all of the opening flowers. Hummingbirds visit and defend the sweet tubular pink flowers of Nicotiana which line the top of our strawberry patch. Hummingbirds are extremely territorial, and will not hesitate to buzz anyone who gets close to their precious source of nectar. I think this as well as the cat nip on the other side of the patch, and perhaps all the other ripe berries has been keeping the rest of the birds from eating all of our harvest. There are always so many factors involved its not fair to pick just one, but staying observant, aware, and respectful of the diverse community in which we live is always a good start.
I think the heirloom tomatoes are the most exciting thing in the bags this week. Our tomato patch is a jungle, and quite a tip toeing task to walk through and harvest. But still we managed to pull out some big beautiful heirlooms. Pineapple is one of the best, bright yellowish-orange with red stripes moving from the blossom end up as it ripens. It has a little bit lighter flavor than those deep red Brandywines, but is a great balance when mixed together, and the colors are amazing.

Week 16

2010-09-01T10:44:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Pears (Bartlett)
Summer Squash (mix)
Eggplants (mix)
Beets (Detroit)
Green Beans (Provider)
Tomatoes (mix)
Basil (Sweet)
Lettuce (Concept)

The pears are buttery-ripe & ready to eat! We have wrapped them in paper to protect them from bruising, but if they get damaged or if you can't eat them fast enough, just cook them down into a tasty pear-sauce that can be eaten warm or chilled, on its own or with pancakes! I like to add some fresh ginger to my pear-sauce to give it a little bit of zing.
We've got some nice fat eggplants for you this week, a good time to dig out your favorite ratatouille recipe, or check out the extensive list of eggplant recipes on our link at the bottom of the page (A-Z Recipes from Live Earth Farm).
One of my favorite refreshing summer tomato recipes is cold Gazpacho soup! Here's the recipe I usually kind-of follow, from Nourishing Traditions cookbook:
8 tomatoes
5 garlic cloves
5 stalks celery
2 medium red onions
5 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 T cider vinegar
2.5 t paprika
1.5 t cumin
1/4 t cayenne
1/2 c cilantro
salt & pepper

Blend all ingredients until not-quite-smooth. Thin to desired consistency with water, if necessary. Serve well chilled.

Here on the farm we're busy as ever, enjoying the summer heat.

Week 15

2010-08-24T15:05:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Strawberries
Bartlett Pears
Summer Squash (Zucchini or Yellow Cookneck)
Lettuce (Cardinale or Concept)
Carrots (Nantes)
Green Beans (Provider)
Tomatoes (Stupice)
Eggplant (Mixed)
Basil

In The Garden
A little mid summer heat wave. Finally a harvest from the Yellow Crooknecks. Zucchini grows from slender little fruit to a fat over grown squash overnight. Some of the strawberries I ate this morning were so sweet they tasted like candy. We rise up early to attend to any watering that needs to be done. This morning I was up in time to see the setting full moon. As it was going down behind the hills to the west I could see it reflecting the yellowish orange heat that was about to rise from the other horizon. Throughout the afternoon we check on new seed beds and our nursery tables. Bees are sucking up as much moisture as they can from the soil surface between our young plants. Everyone needs adequate moisture to survive this heat. Out side of the garden panting chickens wander slowly from one shady spot to the next as the sun travels through the sky. Occasionally a half eaten Asian pear falls from the tree and they all scramble for a bite.
Yesterday we took advantage of the shade under the Bartlett pear trees and picked as many as we could get from the three old trees. Bartlett pears ripen from the inside out so they need to be picked while they are still green and allowed to ripen off the tree. With warm weather like this that will happen pretty fast, unless they are refrigerated. They can be eaten at any stage from light green and crunchy to yellow and buttery.
It looks like we will also get our first harvest of eggplant this week. Under broad fuzzy leaves it seems like those swollen fruits appear so suddenly. I cooked a couple up for dinner in a stir fry. We are growing four different varieties this year: Diamond (a classic dark purple eggplant), Rosa Bianca (big round white and light purple), Listada de Gandia (purple and white streaked), and Ping Tung Long (long and skinny purple). Eggplant can be prepared in so many different ways, but one key step we have learned to sucsessful cooking of eggplant is tossing it with salt after slicing or chopping it up and letting it sit at least 30 minutes. This process helps to tenderize the flesh of the eggplant, other wise it can be kind of tough unless it is cooked for a long time.

Week 14

2010-08-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Asian Pears
Lettuce (Concept & Cardinale)
Cabbage (Jersey Wakefield)
Tomatoes (Stupice)
Green Beans (Provider)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Onions (Red Cippollini)
Basil (Genovese)
Cilantro (Santo)
Parsley (Forest Green)

There is a big, beautiful Asian Pear tree just outside of our barn. We watch as it breaks dormancy in the spring with broad, glossy, lime-green leaves, and then puts out huge pink and white blossoms, very possibly the most beautiful spring display of any pome fruit I have ever seen. The fruits have been swelling and sweetening with the abundance of water available to the tree's deep roots after all the rains this past winter. Foraging birds always keep a close eye on ripening fruit, and just as we begin snapping the stems and tasting the crisp juicy flesh, we see evidence of birds doing the same in the higher canopy of the tree. We picked a sample of the fruits for you this week. The skin has a rough texture, and the flesh is refreshingly crisp, juicy, and sweet. The sugars in the fruit will continue to develop as the skin loses its green undertone to a deep caramel color. I enjoy eating them just like an apple, but Asian Pears are also delicious tossed into a green salad or a fruit salad, or a great addition to a cheese plate. If you like baking your fruit into tasty desserts, the Asian Pear does well holding its texture in the oven, so is great mixed with berries or Bartlett Pears (in your bag in another week or two) in a pie or gallette.

We are finally harvesting lettuce for you again, this time a Batavian or Summer Crisp type that does well with mid-summer heat which most lettuces can not tolerate. Not that we've had any mid-summer heat, but it was something that we planned for when planting mid-season lettuces, and we are still crossing our fingers for a little late-summer heat. The green variety is 'Concept', and the red is 'Cardinale,' both with great flavor and texture. Last year was our first season planting this type of lettuce, after receiving many requests from our CSA members for more salad greens, and we were very pleased with how tasty and tender it was, even in summer heat.

There is an assortment of fresh herbs in your bag this week. The small bunch of basil might not be enough for pesto, but those luscious leaves are perfect for a caprese salad: sliced tomato, whole basil leaves, sliced mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. The cilantro can be used to make a fresh salsa, just chop up some tomatoes, cilantro, hot pepper, squeeze some lemon or lime, add ground cumin and salt. The parsley bunches are all beautiful regrowth from our spring planting, and can be used to make an Italian parsley topping called Gremolata, I found it in our recipe link at the bottom of the page: mix two parts finely chopped parsley with one part minced garlic, one part fresh lemon zest, and salt and pepper to taste. This topping can liven up meat and bean dishes, soups, salads, and grains.

I think that the chickens have started a new nest somewhere over by the spring spillway. They like how shady and moist it is over there, and I have heard them singing their egg song over there while the number of eggs collected in the coop have suddenly dropped. Time to go on an August Easter-egg hunt.

Week 13

2010-08-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Tomatoes (Stupice)
Green Beans (Provider)
Dill (Bouquet)
Red Cippolini Onions
Broccoli or Summer Squash
Cucumbers (National Pickling)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Plums (WILD!?)

Garden to Table
Sun came out this afternoon, but it sure was cold this morning. Misty fog, almost drizzle, we call it foggin. The days are slowly getting shorter but some times they seem to be endless. Yesterday we finished transplanting cauliflower and lettuce, then harvested tomatoes and green beans as the fog was rolling back in for the evening. I was thinking how crazy it felt to be picking tomatoes in such cool weather, no complaints though, we're just happy to have them.
I think a hot tomato soup might be more appropriate right now than salsa or gazpacho. Some red cippolini and carrot would be a nice start for that. Then maybe some steamed green beans broccoli or zucchini with a creamy dill sauce. mmmm... I'm getting hungry.
Adapting to what you get might be on of the best qualities one could cultivate as a member of a CSA program. In this way you all are sharing the experience with us, your growers. Now that we have reached the middle of our harvest season we would like to get a little feedback from you. We have included a form in your bags this week for you to share some thoughts with us, so please let us know how this experience has been for you.

Week 12

2010-08-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Green Beans (Provider)
Tomatoes (Stupice)
Cucumber (National)
Beets (Detroit)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Scallions (Evergreen)
Basil (Genovese)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Strawberries (Seascape)

In the kitchen

The long-awaited Tabouli Salad recipe:
(adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon)
1 cup bulgur wheat
parsley, chopped small (you can use a food processor)
scallions, finely chopped
4-5 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup (or more) lemon juice
1/2 cup (or more) olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
To prepare the bulgur, soak it for 10-15 minutes in warm (not boiling) water. After soaking, strain the water, rinse the bulgur, and squeeze it dry.
Mix all the ingredients, cover, and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Garden

As I look out over the garden I see it is full-swing in summer mode. The pathways are a dry grass mulch, buckwheat cover crop is in full bloom, dandelion, dock, harding grass, and various other weeds are maturing with their elongated stems and maturing seedheads. Early tomatoes are ripening daily, pepper plants have green fruits hanging from their lush green canopies, and the bulbous dark purple eggplants are appearing beneath beautiful violet leaves in the understory of a buckwheat jungle. The onions are turning brown at the tips of their tubular leaves, as the mature plants begin to gently fold over just above the bulb. We stop watering them to allow the mature bulbs to cure for storage.
Down the hill at the new fields, cucumbers are now ripe on the vines. This is a pickling variety of cucumber, but are just as delicious eaten fresh in a salad or with a hummus dip. Our fresh-eating cucumber varieties failed to germinate this spring, but we have a new succession transplanted with hopes of a late-season cucumber harvest for you.
Over the last week we have been transplanting and seeding in our winter garden, an array of brassicas, leafy greens, carrots, and beets, with more to come throughout the fall. We plant these winter crops early so that they will grow quickly and establish as healthy plants before the fall season brings shorter days and cooler temperatures.
And car is broken down. Not having a car always makes us realize just how dependent we are on it. Whyohwhyohwhy? Envisioning a bicycle & rail transportation system in our future. Meanwhile, thank you Matt for loaning us your car this week! This makes our veggie deliveries possible today :)

Week 11

2010-07-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Tomatoes (Stupice)
Green Beans (Provider)
Basil (Genovese)
Plums (Yellow Satsuma & Santa Rosa)
Baby Beet Greens (Detroit Dark Red)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Carrots (Mixed)
Onions (Red Cippolinis)
Cabbages (Red Express)
Strawberries (Seascape)

In the Garden
One afternoon of sunshine and all the sudden a handful of tomatoes are ripe. Fruits are just begging for some heat, and even though it hasn't been getting too hot the fog has been clearing up a little bit earlier the past couple days. Possibly a warming trend. Which is good considering it didn't clear at all on Monday. Well I guess "good" depends on who you ask. Strawberries love it and we sure have enjoyed the cool days for catching up on tasks around the garden and down in the Colliwood fields. And it sure is nice while we are encouraging new seed beds to sprout, some of which came up in just two or three days under the full moon.
This weeks bag seems especially summery. Well early summery, Stupice is a flavorful early little red heirloom variety that is said to come from Czechoslovakia. This is our first year growing it here and I think it is doing well. Especially tasty with some basil and mozzarella or in a tabouli salad with parsley (see recipe below). The Yellow Satusuma plum are from a special little tree that Uncle Steve planted a while back it has since intermingled with a wild plum, probably planted by the Jays. The wild plums are much more vigorous and hardy so we have been trying to thin it out, but it is hard to do in the winter when they are dormant, and its not very easy to do in the summer when there is fruit hanging on either. With most of the Yellows picked we did what we could to remove the right branches. The Santa Rosa plums are from a big old tree down at Colliwood, planted by Vic and Grandpa Dan Colli. It has given us shade and snacks for the past week or so and more to harvest for the bags this week.
Carrots are the last from that mixed up bed, a good variety of fat and skinny ones. Starting next week we should have nice bunches of Natntes, as long as a hoard of gophers doesn't invade. Which is unfortunately what has been happening to our last bed of beets. Munched off tap roots and half eaten beets sometime still juicy when I find them, at least we have some to give to the chickens. You should see them all running around with bright pink beakstick.
Luckily for us we have two more solid beds of beets growing full speed ahead, and those tender baby greens are proof. So, enjoy the freshest roots, fruits, leaves, and stems we could find and lets hope for some more heat to come.

Week 10

2010-07-20T11:35:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Basil (Genovese)
Beets (Detroit)
Broccoli (Di Cicco)
Dill (Bouquet)
Green Beans (Provider)
Lettuce (Little Gem & Sweet Valentine)
Plums (Santa Rosa)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Summer Squash (Black Zucchini)*
*if there's not squash in your bag this week, it will be there next week!

In the kitchen- preparation & storage
There has been a lot of dill coming out of the garden lately. Dill is one of those tender garden annuals that does not hold long in the field, so when it's ready, it needs to be harvested! Dill adds a cool, refreshing flavor to sauces, soups, and salads. If you have had trouble using it all up, though, I would recommend drying it for use other times in the season when it is not so abundant. Drying culinary herbs is a very simple process, and can easily be done either by hanging it up with a string or clothes pin, or spreading it out on a drying rack (or a shelf), out of direct sunlight. Once it is completely dry (this could take a couple days, or a week depending on the conditions where you are drying it), transfer it to a glass jar to keep with your other culinary spices & herbs. Who knew that preserving the harvest could be so easy?

And the beets continue on, as we began harvesting from our third succession for you this week, a variety called 'Detroit Dark Red'. As we find ourselves between successions of our kale & chard leafy greens, we hope that you continue to enjoy those tender beet greens. When you unpack your bag at home, separate the greens from the beet roots and store them in separate bags to keep them fresh in the fridge until you are ready to eat them.

More butter lettuce in your bags this week- the small green heads are called 'Little Gem', a butter-romaine cross which forms their small, dense, sweet & tender heads. Mix them up in the salad bowl with the 'Sweet Valentine' for a beautiful & tasty meal.

The plums today are from the border of our fields just down the road; I stole a few from the crows last night. Some of them might still be a little bit tart, but if you let them turn a deep purple color they will be sweet goodness when you bite into them.

Have you made basil pesto yet this year? It's so easy to make, takes less than 20 minutes from start to finish, and can make a great pasta or pizza sauce, or use as a spread on crackers for a snack. Put 1/2 cup of olive oil into a small sauce pan with 1-2 chopped garlic cloves, and cook on low until oil is infused with garlic, then let cool. In a food processor (or blender) mix 1 cup packed basil leaves with 1/3 cup nuts (I've tried pine nuts, pecans, or walnuts, and they each turn out wonderfully). Add a little salt, some parmaesan cheese, and the olive oil & garlic mixture. Tah-da! (p.s. this recipe also works great with parsley substituted for the basil!) Pesto can be frozen, and is the best method I have found for preserving basil for the frosty winter months when it can not be grown in our region.

The summer squash is just starting to do its thing, as we had to re-sow our seeds 2-3 times throughout the spring due to very poor germination. We think that the poor germination may have been due to a combination of factors, including cold soil temperatures, old seed, and soil in need of continued amendment with compost & cover crops. But we are finally just beginning to harvest, and we hope that there will be a good amount more to come.

Last week Balyn gave you his recipe for blistered green beans which I hope that some of you tried, because it is so delicious! Here is how I will prepare them from time to time, as a dill & green bean salad: I begin by lightly steaming the beans until they are just tender, then let them cool. I'll dress them with olive oil & apple cider vinegar, maybe a spoonful of stone-ground mustard, a generous amount of chopped dill, and plain yogurt. Season with salt & pepper to taste, and serve chilled.

Around Here

I just got back from my summer vacation. Every summer since we began farming, Balyn and I have allowed ourselves one long weekend in the middle of the growing season, at different times of course so that one of us will be here to take care of the garden & animals. It usually serves as a much-needed break from our busy 7-days-a-week/dawn-to-dusk schedule, and we return from our respective trips feeling refreshed with new energy and perspective, and always grateful to return to this wonderful life that we live on the farm.

This past month we have also been dealing with sickness in the midst of our nation's flawed health care system, which has provided unexpected additional challenges to our daily life, but has also introduced us to some of our county's community health clinics which aim at providing quality & affordable health care to make it accessible to everyone, regardless of their income or health insurance coverage. We were also overwhelmed by the generosity of the busy doctors who used their time off to visit with us for examinations & discussions of treatment plans. You can check out the websites of the West County Health Centers (http://www.wchealth.org/) and the Sebastopol Community Acupuncture Clinic (http://www.sebastopolcommunityacupuncture.com/) for more information.

Week 9

2010-07-13T22:43:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Green Beans (Provider)
Lettuce (Sweet Valentine & Buttercrunch)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Scallions (Evergreen Hardy White)
Basil (Sweet)
Dill (Bouquet)
Cabbage (Red Express)

In the Garden
Another foggy morning on the mountain, though it has been clearing up earlier the past couple days and we are expecting a nice warm weekend. Which is partially why you have two big heads of butter lettuce in your bag this week. Sweet crunchy salads may help to keep you cool, and most of those heads wouldn't last through another week of heat. We'll see though, were thinking there will probably be at least one more week for the red butter, Sweet Valentine, but the green butter doesn't seem to hold it's quality quite as well in the heat.
Today was a first harvest for three great additions to the list, carrots, green beans and basil. I think I have said enough about carrots over the past couple months. How they have been unfortunately absent from your bags, but at last they have made it. Sweet crunchy Scarlet Nantes, no doubt one of the best tasting carrots. There was just enough in the ground to make some nice bunches of their long skinny goodness. There were also a couple other random varieties, I lost track after resowing our first bed, short stubby Shin Kuroda, fat tapered Red Cored Chantney, the bunches are mostly Nantes, see if you can tell the difference. It will most likely be a couple more weeks before we get back into carrots, but from then on we should be pretty solid. Ah the basil, what a wonderful fragrance and flavor to entice our palates for the coming of summer and autumns bounty. Some of it was starting to flower, and some of it was getting a little munched, but it will make a great addition to just about any dish; pizza, pasta, stir fry, or just a nice batch of pesto. And green beans, some got a little bigger hanging on the plants, but most of them are just right. We were going to try to pick them last week but there wasn't quite enough. The plants are big and bushy now and covered with more little baby beans and purple and white flowers. So you should be able to try a few different recipes over the coming weeks.
And of course the beets go on... Happy munching

Recipes
Blistered Green Beans
Ingredients: Green Beans, a little water, Garlic, Olive Oil, a little salt
This is my favorite way to cook green beans. First trim the stems, then put them in a skillet with a little bit of water cover and turn up the heat. When the bean start to look lightly steamed remove the lid to let any excess water evaporate. Then let the beans get a little blisterd from the hot pan before adding some olive oil and garlic. Cook on medium heat until the beans are well blistered and the garlic is a little crispy. Toss in a little salt. Eat em while their hot.
Dilly Bean Salad
Another great way to prepare green beans
Ingredients: Green Beans, Dill, Yogurt, Salt and Pepper
Steam beans until tender. Chop up your fresh dill and toss it in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of yogurt. Add in beans, mix and salt and pepper to you liking.

Week 8

2010-07-07T16:40:00.000-07:00

In the bag

Beets (Early Wonder)
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Cilantro (Santo)
Scallions (Evergreen)
Lavender
Kale (Lacinato)
Strawberries (Seascape)

Our garden is bursting with beets this season. Sweet beet treat. One of the easiest & tastiest ways to prepare them (you just need to plan ahead a little) is to put them in the oven on a baking sheet at 350 or 375, and roast them for 1-2 hours until the skin separates from the tender & sweet flesh. You peel the skin off, slice & season them, & enjoy. I have also included a few other beet recipes in the newsletter: Pickled Maple Beets & Onions, Beet Roesti with Rosemary, and For the Beet Haters (& Lovers): Chocolate Beet Cake!

Fresh Cabbage Salad (Coleslaw)
This is one of my favorite ways to prepare fresh cabbage. It goes great with summer BBQ, and it is always great to pull out of the fridge when I'm craving a light & refreshing snack.

Ingredients:
-1 head cabbage, shredded or finely chopped
-salt
-1 carrot, grated
-3-4 scallions chopped up (greens too!)
-fresh cilantro
-olive oil
-apple cider vinegar (or fresh lemon juice)
-cumin powder
-chile powder
-plain yogurt

Place shredded cabbage in a bowl, and sprinkle with salt.
With clean hands, mix in the salt & gently squeeze the cabbage to soften the texture.
Add carrots, cilantro & scallions.
Drizzle with olive oil & vinegar to taste.
Sprinkle with cumin & chile powder to taste.
Mix in yogurt (maybe 1/2 cup?).
Chill before serving.

Pickled Maple Beets & Onions
These are Balyn's absolute favorite. I made them with my sister a few years ago, and they are now always on the list of preserves to make when beets are abundant in our garden. They are quite sweet from the maple syrup, and the star anise & ginger add a fantastic flavor. Once we open a jar, they almost never make it into the fridge.

6 pints

Ingredients:
-beets, cut into approx. 1 inch chunks
-onions (and/or fennel??)
-3 c. apple cider vinegar
-1.5 c. maple syrup
-1.5 c. water
-2 t. salt
-6 whole star anise
-6 slices fresh ginger

Boil onions & beets until almost tender (5-20 minutes).
Slip off beet skins.
Fill 6 pint jars with prepared beets & onions, leaving ~1 inch space at the top.
Boil cider vinegar, maple syrup, water, salt, star anise, and ginger- simmer for 10 minutes.
Place one star anise & 1 ginger slice into each jar.
Pour liquid over beets & onions in the jars, leaving 1-1/2 inch space at the top.
Wipe rim of jar clean, place new lid on each jar, and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes.
Wait at least 1 week before eating. Eat within 1-2 years (if they last that long).
Eat them straight out of the jar, or slice into a salad.

Beet Roesti with Rosemary
I have never made this, but I was browsing through beet recipes, and this one caught my eye with positive reviews & a short preparation time- maybe we'll give it a try tonight.
Makes 4 servings
Time: 20 minutes

An almost unbelievably sweet and wonderful side dish. The sugar in the beets caramelizes, and the flavors of the rosemary, beets, and butter meld beautifully. With thanks to Michael Romano, the brilliant chef at New York's Union Square Cafe.

· 1 to 1 1/2 pounds beets
· 1 teaspoon coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 cup flour
· 2 tablespoons butter
1. Trim the beets and peel them as you would potatoes; grate them in a food processor or by hand. Begin preheating a medium to large non-stick skillet over medium heat.
2. Toss the grated beets in a bowl with the rosemary and salt, then add about half the flour; toss well, add the rest of the flour, then toss again.
3. Place the butter in the skillet and heat until it begins to turn nut-brown. Scrape the beet mixture into the skillet, shape it into a nice circle, and press it down with a spatula. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the bottom of the beet cake is nicely crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Slide the cake out onto a plate, top with another plate, invert the two plates, and slide the cake back into the pan. Continue to cook, adjusting the heat if necessary, until the second side is browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.

For the Beet-Haters (& Lovers): Chocolate Beet Cake

"The beets give it their moisture, their sweetness, and their rich color- but none of their beet flavor." Recipe from Farmer John's Cookbook

Ingredients:
oil & flour for preparing the pan
4 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 c. mild-flavored vegetable oil, divided
3 eggs
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 c. pureed cooked beets (~ 3 medium beets)
1 T. vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly coat a 10-cup bundt or tube pan with oil and dust it with flour. (if you don't have a bundt pan, you can use 2 loaf pans, checking for doneness after ~25 minutes.)
2. Partially fill the bottom of a double boiler with water and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce to a simmer. Put the chocolate and 1/4 cup of the oil in the top of the double boiler. Heat just until the chocolate melts; remove from heat and stir until well combined. (if you don't have a double boiler, just put a metal bowl or saute pan on top of a small pot filled with water)
3. Combine the eggs and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until fluffy. Slowly beat in the remaining 3/4 cup oil, chocolate mixture, beets, and vanilla.
4. Sift the all-purpose flour and whole-wheat pastry flour into a large bowl. Stir in the baking soda and salt. Gently stir the flour mixture into the egg and chocolate mixture just until flour is mixed in. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set it on a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes.
6. Carefully remove the cake from the pan and let cool on the rack. When completely cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Week 7

2010-06-30T06:25:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Strawberries (seascape)
Baby beets and tender greens (Detroit Dark Red)
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Baby Cippolini Onions
Lettuce (Red Sails)
Lavender

Suggestion for preparing baby beets:
Baby beets are tender and sweet from top to bottom. One of my favorite ways to prepare them is to spread them out on a baking sheet, drizzle olive oil over them and bake them at 350 for 10-15 minutes. The edges of the leaves get a little crispy and the baby roots soften so that you can eat the whole thing. YUM.

This Mornings Journal Entry
"Plant a seed in fertile ground"
Food for your body and mind, and thoughts to cultivate compassion in our heart gardens.
6:45 am
Sun light barely hits the tops of the Alder trees along the creek. A light cool breeze blows towards the slightest increase in temperature. Scrub Jay squawks as it lands overhead on the wire. Three quarter waining moon is high in the clear blue morning sky. Penelope mews and comes to perch on my knee. Two swallows squeak as they fly down hill. Squirells talk squawk in the trees around the garden, Red Shoulder hawk cries in the distance. Two spotted towhees, dark black heads greyish chest and red spots on the wings, fly over and perch on the t-post just below the berry patch. I'm tempted to shoo them away, but they can sense me already, plus we already picked enough for todays harvest yesterday evening. Two jays fly on to the fence and I throw a stick, they are ruthless rulers of this mountain garden, at least when it comes to berries.
I'm sitting next to one of the bigger summer squash plants. It looks like a tiny little zucchini is starting to form, but it is no bigger than my finger nail. It has been a while since since I sat in the garden to write in my journal. It is probably one of the most challenging, and rewarding things to do. Accepting the notion that our life is guided by the forces of sun and moon and all the wonderful creatures of our community is humbling. We do not control we simply roll with the flow. Mindfully, so we know when is the right time to come and when is the right time to go.
7:30 am
Tea and toast and back to writing. Inside now, recently I have been feeling a little under the weather. Long hot days endless tasks around the ranch and down the road at Colliwood (the new fields). Sore muscles and tired bones, and a little bit of a sore throat, all and all things are going well though. I know that the struggles and challenges of farm life can seem ideallic and far removed from whats "really" going on around the world. Catastrophic oil spills, neo-colonial wars, melting ice caps, economic slavery, the newest I-pod. But they are all so closely related, and farming is essentially responsible for all of the above. Well not really, as the old saying goes its not what you do its how you do it. Nevertheless, it was the development of agriculture that led to the development of civilization. Creating the time and space for industrial and technological developments of our modern world.
So it is at this point in the cycle of time that agriculture is responsible for starting the next revolution. And since eating is an agricultural act, as Wendell Berry said, that means that everyone must play a role. We have chosen this livelihood in order to cultivate positive connections in our community, and at the same time to conscientiously object the assault on people, animals, plants, and our entire interconnected world through our daily actions. Thank you to everyone in our community who joins us and supports us in doing so. Enjoy you veggies this week and fun celebrating Interdependence Day.

Week 6

2010-06-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

What's in the Bag...

Strawberries (Seascape)
Cauliflower (Amazing)
Beets (Early Wonder Tall Top)
Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Lettuce (Jericho Romaine)
Kale (Lacinato)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Onions (Red Cippolini)

In the Kitchen
Two baskets of ripe strawberries! If you don't munch them all on your way home, or if you would like to save them for a special weekend meal, we have found that the best way to keep strawberries is to remove the green top (do not wash) and keep them in a covered container in the fridge.
And let me tell you how much I love Lacinato Kale (also known as 'dino' kale). This kale variety is an Italian heirloom traditionally used in soups. It is tender but still retains a good texture when lightly cooked. To prepare it I will remove the thick midrib down the center of the leaf (although it really is not too fibrous, and can be eaten if you choose to skip this step), then I stack the leaves on top of each other and slice them into thin ribbons. Now they are ready to cook! Sometimes I prepare them as a side dish by tossing them into the cooking pan with some olive oil & garlic; I cook the greens for a short time, just until the leaves turn bright green, before removing them from the heat. I love adding this type of kale to my pasta sauce too, adding it to the pot just about 5 minutes before dinner is ready to serve, so that it doesn't overcook. The same goes for adding greens to soup- add them at the end of the cooking time so they still have their delicious flavor & texture when you're ready to eat.

In the Garden

Today was our first real strawberry harvest in over a month. The berries are sweet and ripe, picked this morning before the sun had risen above the treeline around the garden. There is still no netting over the berries (we took that off a couple weeks ago when the birds started tearing through it to get to the fruit!) but the birds have finally backed off of their aggressive strawberry binge. We have seen them eating ripe oats from their seedheads around the garden, and down the road there are already some wild plums ripening that have captured the attention of the scrub jays and crows, hopefully drawing them away from our strawberry patch (until next year).
This week we are preparing the soil for a new planting succession on Thursday as we continue sowing seeds for harvest through the fall and winter months. In our fields down the road there was great germination this spring, and now everything is starting to grow strong and healthy through these long, warm summer days. This time of year all the plants in the garden are growing so quickly, so we do our best to keep them weeded, thinned, and watered to help them along.
We enjoyed seeing some of our CSA members up at the ranch for the Summer Solstice. Monday was the longest day of the year, with daylight stretching from 5:00 in the morning until 9:00 in the evening. The days are now becoming shorter again as we enter into the warm months of summer.

Week 5

2010-06-16T09:29:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Broccoli (Di Ciccio & Thompson) or Cauliflower (Amazing)*
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Romaine (Jericho)
Radish (Cherry Bell)
Beets (Early Wonder Tall Top)
Kholrabi (Early Purple Vienna)
Cilantro (Santo)

*whichever one you did not receive last week

In the Garden
Ripe red strawberries finally. After we finished weeding yesterday afternoon I looked back over the patch. Bright exposed fruit laying there waiting to be picked, or pecked, which ever comes first. I think that the tall weeds had camouflaged the berries, but if we let the weeds stay they would overgrow the plants. Balance is a constant challenge. I woke up at first light this morning to the raucous chorus of chirps and songs, the Towhees were out ready for the feast, but I think we got the best of it today.
Early Wonder Tall Top beets are generally not known for the biggest roots, but today's harvest sized up pretty nicely. How about roasted beets and fennel. And those tall tops are delicious green for cooking, I think they are even more tender than chard. If you don't plan on using them right away cut the leaves from the roots and keep them in a plastic bag in the fridge.
The big heads of romaine will be enough for several salads. They were harvested from between some red cabbage. My camera broke yesterday so you will have use your imagination to visualize the amazing contrast of color and shape they made growing next to each other. Alternating patterns of light and dark, bright green pointing up and purplish red spreading out. In a few more weeks you will get some nice tight red heads to complete the picture.
But for now you get some big heads of green cabbage. Golden Acre has come again and fairly well sized up too. If that big head is a little intimidating, don't worry, cabbage will keep for a while, so you can use just a little at a time or shred it all at once and make it last even longer by turning it into Sauerkraut.
Lately we have been doing a lot of weeding. As the days have grown longer and warmer summer weeds surge to cover the soil. This is one of their valuable qualities, as long as they are not covering the soil right around our crops they are welcome members of the garden.
The newest addition to the garden this past week is our peppers and eggplants and a mix of flowers. Tucked into warm soil the healthy young plants are looking ready to fill their space and provide us with bounty and beauty trough late summer and fall.

In the Kitchen
Roasted beets and fennel
The best way to keep the sweet juice and flavor of beets is to roast them whole. However, this can take a long time so if you don't want to wait try chopping them into big chunks and tossing them with oil. Bake at 350 for about 45 min. Chop the fennel in chunks and cover the beets. Put them back in the oven for about 30 min. Check the beet with a fork, they should be cooked until tender and the skin will easily rub off.

Caesar Salad
I made a great caesar dressing the other night by blending a couple cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon vinegar, a tablespoon of mustard, a pinch salt, a bunch of shredded parmesan, and one egg yolk. Croutons are always a good addition, but even with out this will make a delicious salad with this weeks romaine.

Simple Sauerkraut
Shred or chop cabbage into thin slices. Add approximately one tablespoon of salt for every gallon (or large mixing bowl) of unpacked cabbage. Mix cabbage and salt thoroughly and let sit over night. The next day pound the cabbage into a container (glass or ceramic is best) and press it down until it is submerged in juice. Use a weight to keep the cabbage completely under juice. Seal the container so no air can get in, but gases can escape during the fermentation process. Let sit for 3 weeks to 6 months. The texture and flavor of the kraut will get softer and more sour the longer you let it sit.

Week 4

2010-06-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

What's in the bag...

Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Radish (Cherry Belle)
Kohlrabi (Early Purple Vienna)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Lettuce (Red Sails)
Cauliflower (Amazing) or Broccoli (Di Cicco & Thompson)*
Chard (Bright Lights)
Strawberry Sampler (Seascape)

*if you did not get cauliflower in your bag this week, you will be getting it next week!

In the kitchen...
The purple kohlrabi in your bag this week is in the brassica family (along with broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and many many others), and is harvested for the swollen stem that makes a sort of bulb just above the soil. To prepare it, peel the purple stem to reveal the mild, sweet, and tender stem, and slice it very thin (we use the wide blade on our cheese grater). You can eat it as its own dish with a drizzle of olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, or add it to a salad.
We left some of those luscious kohlrabi & cauliflower greens on the veggies in your bag that you can prepare the same as you would kale, chard, or collard greens. They are delicious & nutritious cooking greens that can be added to just about any meal.
Everyone got a basket with some strawberries that the birds spared for us this morning. Unfortunately we were unable to fill the baskets, but we hope that they were a sweet treat & we look forward to more to come.

In the Garden

The Kohlrabi in your bag this week was a trial in our garden this year, as the first time that we have grown this brassica. We bought the seeds from the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company from their Seed Bank in Petaluma. We sowed the kohlrabi in the greenhouse in January, and they were the first sprouts to emerge with broad cotyledons, glowing a healthy green. They grew quickly in their flats, and were the first transplants into the garden this spring. What a beautiful plant, and so tasty in our salads last night- we hope that you enjoy this one!
Greens have been healthy & bountiful in our harvests this spring. They thrive in the moist & mild weather that we have been having. The late frosts also contribute to a sweeter taste in the brassicas we have been harvesting for you like broccoli, kale, and turnips.
The tomato plants have been establishing nicely in the garden, their stems now growing thick & strong to support the weight of their mid-summer fruits. Squash sprouts are coming up in the hills, two large seed leaves unfolding from the soil followed shortly by the first palmate true leaf, while the roots begin branching out into the moist soil below.
Our work over the past week has been a blend of cultivation in the last sections of the garden that have not yet been turned over this spring, weeding around young plants, irrigating as the soil dries out, and cutting the tall spring grasses with our scythe and kamas, while the chickens feast on their ripening seedheads.
It has been a beautiful spring with seasonal winds, rains, and crisp sunny days, and it is now beginning to feel like summer is on its way.

Week 3

2010-06-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Broccoli (Di Cicco & Thompson)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Cilantro (Santo)
Spring Garlic (Chesnok Red)
Green Onions (Red Cippolini)
Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Spinach (Bloomsdale)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Lettuce (Red Sails)

Recipes & Ideas for the Kitchen
Fennel can be eaten raw or cooked. Thinly sliced into a salad, roasted in thick chunks tossed with olive oil or on a pizza. The bulbs have a mild anise flavor and the leaves are a little stronger. We left only the youngest leaves intact with the bulbs so that you could get a taste for them, and not be overwhelmed by the bush that was their top, like the cabbage and cauliflower in the garden.

Cilantro has a unique and strong flavor. I usually associate it with Mexican food, but I have also heard it called Chinese parsley. A friend I saw at the market told me that cilantro root is commonly used in Thai curries, so we left these intact in case you felt lke experimenting. Here is a recipe for a delicious salad dressing. Try it over Red Sails and some thinly sliced Zefa Fino.
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons citrus juice (lemon or lime)
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon oregano
a little cayenne powder
a little sugar, honey, or agave
blend or mix all ingredients together
In The Garden
Once we finished our recent sowing of seeds it was time to look back over the last couple successions and give them some much needed attention. We pull weedy plants away from crop plants to give them a little advantage; room to grow, improve air circulation, and allow them access to sun light. Roots like beets and radishes have been thinned to their proper spacing. Thinning along with ample moisture ensures constant unchecked growth and the best quality crops, like the turnips we have been harvesting the past couple weeks. Unfortunately carrots have not this joined this list, yet. We have been struggling to get a solid bed of carrots going since April. Slugs and poor germination due to cold soil have been our limiting factors so far, but we are definitely not giving up. Carrots are probably one of my favorite things to grow, like all root crops, they symbolize two of the most important traits of a gardener/farmer; persistence, and a well developed relationship or connection with their soil.
Just like the carrots we will have to wait a little longer for our first harvest of Strawberries. The net fortress we had covering them was no match for the Scrub Jays so we decided to take it down. Since doing so the cats have resumed patrolling and rolling in the paths between the beds. I'm hoping that by letting some grass and other shade plants grow taller around the edges of the patch we will create potential hiding spots that might make the birds think twice before flying down to the ground. We'll see. As the days have been getting warmer berries are ripening faster and other fruits are starting to ripen too, so hopefully we don't have to wait too much longer.
In spite of this we still have a bountiful bag this week. I credit this to the diversity of plants we cultivate in our garden. Which is made possible by all the supporting members of our community. So, many thanks to you all. We hope that our produce provides a rejuvenating and refreshing taste of how small scale community supported agriculture can nourish your mind, body, and soul. There is only a few more weeks of spring left so enjoy it while you can.

Week 2

2010-05-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

What's in the bag

Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Radishes (Easter Egg)
Kale (Lacinato)
Broccoli (Di Cicco & Thompson)
Lettuce (Red Sails & Green Pointy)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Dill (Bouquet)
Baby Onions (Cippollini)
Spinach (Bloomsdale)

In the kitchen...
Do you like turnips? Even if you think probably not, we encourage you to give these a try. There is nothing quite like spring turnips fat from the rain and fresh out of the soil. They are mild & delicious raw, steamed, or baked. If you don't like them on their own, one of our CSA members discovered that he loved turnips blended in with his mashed potatoes. And before you toss those turnip greens into the compost pile, pick out some of the best looking greens and prepare them in a stir-fry or lightly steamed with garlic- you will be surprised at how tasty they are, not to mention their incredible nutritional value.
The radishes and dill in your bags would be a fresh-tasting addition to your salads this week, or you could use some dill with the baby onions to make a creamy springtime pasta sauce.
The spinach we planted this spring had poor germination, but there was a little bit in the bed that we were able to harvest for you today. We allow our spinach to grow to its full size, and you might be surprised by the rich, buttery flavor & texture of the leaves.

Planting Rains

A planting week. We prepared garden beds for a new succession of seeds to fold into the warming spring soil. Beginning by cutting the tall winter growth with the scythe, then undercutting the roots with a spade. A generous application of compost, then incorporate & break up roots with our digging forks. The soil at perfect moisture crumbles beautifully into a fine seed bed. We then create furrows the length of the bed to spread an even row of seeds, rolling thumb & fingers together so the seeds roll out one, two, three at a time. Following with a bucket of compost to cover the seeds in their furrows, protected from the drying winds to hold their moisture for sprouting. Rains follow shortly to water them in, hiding the full moon.

In the midst of our third season gardening here on the mountain, we have become familiar with our spring planting rains. We have gardened through two dry seasons, and now a beautiful wet season, accumulating close to 40 inches (and counting) of rain this past winter in the rain gauge. But whether it is a wet or dry season, in the spring months of March, April, and May, a seasonal rain will closely follow our full moon plantings, falling gently on the seedbeds to fill the seeds with moisture and push their first roots down into the soil.

Sonoma Mountain Acres

We have recently received a generous gift of cultivated soil, about a quarter mile down the road from our ranch. Just a short bike ride away, we are now experimenting with 'field-scale' gardening. Our neighbor Vic recently disced a few beautiful acres of rich Sonoma Mountain soils on his property, in perfect timing with the soil moisture so that with just two passes the soil crumbled beautifully, ready to plant. This is a very light cultivation- beds were not shaped, and there will be no further cultivation until it is time to plant cover crop in the fall. After the seeds were gently tucked into the ground in our hand-cultivated garden, we headed down the hill with another big bag of seeds as rain clouds began to accumulate in the sky.

In these fields we are taking the opportunity to plant crops that benefit from having lots of space to grow, as well as seedlings that did not have adequate space in our garden. In the future we also hope to use this space to improve our seed-saving practices. We transplanted our remaining tomatoes and cabbages, and direct seeded pickling cucumbers, green beans, and of course a few rows of flowers. We also had plenty of space for the three sisters: a traditional interplanting of dry corn, dry beans, and winter squash, each 'sister' providing improved growing conditions for the others in a mutual growing relationship. Vic has been farming his land for many years, improving the soil with cover crops, and irrigating with the natural slope of the land. We look forward to learning a lot from him about growing here on the mountain.

Week 1

2010-05-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Broccoli (Di Ciccio)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Fava Beans
Lettuce Mix
Radishes (Easter Egg)
Bok Choi (Prize Choi)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Spring Garlic (Chesnok Red)

In the Garden
The only thing missing from the list above is strawberries. We had a couple weeks of harvest at the end of April, but once the birds caught on the berries have been disappearing. We have been trying to figure out a functional net system, hopefully we will soon, I think were close. Either way once there is some other little fruits for the birds they tend to lay off, and you will be getting your share throughout the coming months.
Spring is in full swing. Work has been so constant that it has been hard to slow down or stop for a moment to reflect and write. Now that harvest season has begun we welcome this as an opportunity to share our experience with our community. We're glad that we are able to start harvesting in May this year to take advantage of all the early season goodies.
Like Broccoli, this broccoli is so fresh it might smack you in the face. Go ahead give it a test. Stick your nail under the bottom edge of the skin on the stalk and start peeling up. It will not break or crack, just peel and reveal a sweet crunchy stem worthy of a name like "baby candy", at least thats what my little sister calls it.
Fava beans are probably one of my favorites right now. They are easy to grow and fairly easy to harvest, great for our bodies as well as the soil. We sow seeds in the fall and watch them grow tall over winter. They protect the soil from heavy downpours and shade it from the sun. Now we get to eat the beans and when they are finished and cleared they leave behind beautiful soft soil. Amazing!

Recipe Suggestions
Fava Beans and Spring Garlic
Fresh Favas are true delight. They can be eaten raw by squeezing them out of their shells, the shells have a strong astringent taste and aren't very good to eat. My favorite way to enjoy them is lightly steamed. First remove beans from the pod and steam for 2 minutes. Next chop up a couple cloves of garlic, and heat a pan with olive oil or butter. Saute the garlic in pan until it is lightly browned. Toss the steamed beans in and stir them around. Remove from heat once thoroughly mixed and the beans shells have split. Now you can pop the beans right out of their shells.
Parsley
An exceptionally bright and flavorful herb. Unfortunately it is often disregarded as a garnish. Healer, teacher, and nutrition researcher Paul Pitchford says it is "a source of remarkable nutrition: it contains several times the vitamin C of citrus and is one of the highest sources of provitamin A, chlorophyll, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and iron"(cited from Healing with Whole Foods). So what do we do with it? Add it into a soup or salad, or the fava bean recipe above.
Broccoli
I'm sure everyone knows what to do with broccoli. Eat it, its good for you. Right, we've heard that before, but here is a suggestion for something to do with any leaf or stems before you toss them in the compost.
Chop up some onion and saute them in oil or butter in a pot. Next add the broccoli scraps, stir them around and put the lid on for a couple minutes. Now you can add some stock or water to the pot. Bring it to a boil then simmer until the stems are tender. Next puree everything in the pot. Add salt and pepper, and maybe a spoon full of yogurt. mmmm... Cream of Broccoli Soup

Spring 2010

2010-03-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is the season of cultivation, dew drops on the grass, and clover sprouting beneath the broccoli transplants. Native spring wildflowers leaf out and begin to dazzle us with their delicate blossoms, and petals fall like snow from the plum trees as shiny new leaves emerge from the recently dormant branches. The greenhouse is filled with potential of germinating seeds, and the tables outside are filled with vibrant seedlings, eager to spread out their roots in the garden bed. The familiar spring planting rains followed closely behind our full-moon seeding, giving our backs a brief rest before the soil dries down again and tells us pick up our spades, forks, buckets of compost, and return to the garden!

The chickens had their moment of glory this spring as we rotated their pasture through the winter garden. They spent their days boxing with brussels sprout stalks, munching aphids, and pulling juicy worms out of the freshly scratched soil, before returning to the hum-drum life of wandering wherever they please besides inside the garden. Martha, the big rooster and official Union Leader for our hens, does his job of making sure that they have ready access to plenty of water, fresh pasture, green grass shoots, and a pleasing variety of bugs and seeds to scratch out of the soil throughout the day. The hens have especially been enjoying the plum blossom petals falling to the ground in this last series of storms- our chickens have a good life.

This winter we have been staying connected with our community food system on Saturday mornings at the Santa Rosa Farmer's Market. Until our harvest season begins again in May, we have been bringing nursery starts from our greenhouse for the home gardeners in Santa Rosa, fresh eggs from the hens, as well as our Raw-Fermented Sauerkraut, Apple Kraut, and Kimchi made with veggies from our garden and from our friends at Oak Hill Farm on the other side of the mountain. You can visit us there from 8:30am-noon year round.

We are anticipating the start of the third season with our Community Supported Agriculture in May, and are pleased to be sharing the harvest this year with both new & returning members. Our CSA is a small group of folks in our community who choose to invest in our farm each spring. Their membership & support is invaluable to us as we are planning & planting our garden in the winter and spring months, and as we begin our harvest season we return their investment and our appreciation for them in bags of vegetables and fruit, harvested from our garden on Sonoma Mountain the same morning that they are delivered into town for our members to pick up. The garden is off to a good start, and we feel like it is going to be a great season here at the ranch.

Week 25

2009-11-16T09:50:00.000-08:00

Sign up now for our 2010 CSA Season!
Memberships are now available for
those wishing to join our CSA in 2010.
Space in our CSA is limited. If you want to reserve your membership, please fill out our agreement form and send it in with your first payment now!

Whats in the bag...

Dried Pears (Bartlett)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Parsley (Forest Green)
Broccoli (Di Cicco)
Bok Choi (Prize)
Radishes (Cherry Belle)
Lettuce & Chicory (Red Sails & Pan di Zucchero)
Peppers (Mixed Green)
Marmalade Preserves

The End of our 2009 CSA Season
The autumn harvest in your bag marks the end of our 2009 CSA season. You'll find some more salad makings, herbs, and brassicas that love this cool weather. We have also included a couple end-of-season treats- dried Bartlett pears are a sweet, tasty snack by themselves, but they are also delicious cooked in a warm pot of oatmeal for breakfast or if you want to get a little more fancy you can partially rehydrate them in white wine and serve with cheese and crackers. The marmalade is made with Meyer Lemons from the home of one of our CSA members in Santa Rosa (a few of you received orange marmalade- made with oranges from our tree right here at the ranch). If you were with us last year, you will remember that you only get green peppers from us once all season, and it is this last week. We love to pick our peppers ripe, which means red in the pepper world. This last harvest of peppers is those that do not have the time or the heat to turn sweet-red-ripe before the plants are killed by frost, but of course green peppers still have their place in the kitchen.
In the garden we are waiting for rain. Our small winter garden is growing more slowly with these shorter, colder days, and the rest of the garden has been sown with cover crops. The bare-root strawberries that we planted for next season are beginning to send out their first green leaves through the straw mulch, and the garlic is sending up tall green shoots. The chickens and goats love the green growth around the ranch, dormant seeds germinated from the first fall rains.

Thank You!
The support we receive from our community is always overwhelming. There is nothing we would rather do than grow food for our community, and you make this possible. Thank you for sharing the season with us, and please stop by to visit us at the farmer's market on Saturday mornings in Santa Rosa (8:30am-noon) throughout the winter- we love seeing familiar faces!
We look forward to sharing next CSA season with many of you, but whether or not you plan on renewing your CSA membership, please tell your friends, family, and neighbors about us! We do not advertise, and rely solely on word-of-mouth to increase our community support.

Baked Fennel Recipe from Marcia
One of our CSA members sent us this recipe. She wrote "I made this baked fennel recipe today and it is YUMMY! Highly recommend." So we wanted to pass it on... Enjoy!

A very simple but totally delicious dish. Fennel is baked with cream, creme fraiche and Parmesan cheese. An ideal accompaniment to many tomato based Italian dishes as the creaminess balances nicely with the tomato.

Ingredients:
2 Fennel Bulbs
1 T butter
3/4 cups cream
3/4 cups creme fraiche
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the base off of the fennel bulbs, and cut a cone shape into the base to remove the core. You can see the core because it is whiter than the surrounding green. This is optional, but helps the fennel cook faster. Slice the fennel vertically (upright) into 1/4 inch thick slices.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the fennel, and fry for about 5 minutes. Stir in the half-and-half and creme fraiche until well blended. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the top is golden brown and the fennel is tender enough to pierce with a fork.

Week 24

2009-11-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

In the Bag
Winter Squash (mix)
Mini Onions (Cipollinis)
Greens (Kale)
Lettuce (Red Sails)
Chicory (Pan di Zucchero)
Radish (Red Meat)

The winter squash this week is a mix, we had to piece together what we could but there was enough for everyone. Slice them in half, scoop out the seeds, and bake until tender. Try baking them with some of the mini onions. This weeks Red Sails is not quite as big as those giant heads we had earlier this season, but we thought it would be a perfect compliment for the Chicory. Chicory has a slight bitter taste but that should have been sweetened up a bit by the cold nights this past weekend. Chicory adds a great texture and flavor to any salad. The name of this variety means "sweet loaf", which the hearts of the largest and tightest of heads might live up to, but since this is also an open pollinated variety not all of the plants have filled in uniformly. When the leaves are exposed to the sun the they develop chlorophyll which give them a bitter taste, so the hearts will be the most sweet and tender but even the larger outer leaves are good to eat. Red Meat radishes are another fall treat. Also known as watermelon radishes these big radishes are great sliced thinly as a snack on there own or tossed into a salad. Bright colors always seem to liven up a cold days meal.

Week 23

2009-11-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

In The Bag
Broccoli
Celery
Romaine Lettuce
Basil
Fennel
Baby Bok Choi
Hot Peppers
Zucchini, Eggplant, or Pepper

The moon is big and bright tonight. We hope you all had a fun and safe Halloween this weekend. We watched the moon rise as we planted next years strawberry plants into their neatly shaped beds. After a morning market and an afternoon of garden work we could do nothing but make some pesto, salad, and broccoli and go to bed.
The peppers are still hanging on, but there wasn't enough for everyone so we decided to split up the harvest with the other two options. A few zucchini and some of the last eggplants. Which ever one you get enjoy it and savor the trailing end of this summers bounty. Then rejoice in the beautiful fall weather that has been blessing our skies. The shorter days and longer nights. The swollen fennel bulbs, hopefully you have been finding a variety of uses for. A bunch of crunchy celery stalks, great for snacks or soup. I'm sure everyone knows what to do with broccoli, eat it, its good for you, lightly steamed. And those baby bok choi bunches are great in soup or stir fry. They aren't quite as watery as the larger ones from last week, and they have a little stronger flavor.

Week 22

2009-10-25T19:20:00.000-07:00

Whats in the Bag...

Broccoli (Thompson)
Rutabega (Laurentian)
Scallions (Evergreen)
Bok Choi (Prize)
Kale (Red Russian)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Holy Basil
Winter Squash (Delicata or Baby Butternut)

Preparing your veggies this week
-Rutabegas are those big gnarly roots in your bag this week. Some of them are monsters, some are mid-sized. They are kind of like really big turnips. They can be prepared similarly. If the outer layer is fibrous, they can be peeled and sliced thinly to be eaten raw, or cut into wedges to bake with olive oil and seasonings. One of our members who struggled with all the turnips in his CSA bag this spring finally discovered that he loved eating them mashed up with mashed potatoes!
-Caramelized fennel is my favorite way to eat it. Saute in butter on medium-low heat until tender, then add a pinch of sugar and cook a bit longer. They can be served over salad, with your baked winter squash, or just about anything.
-Your winter squash can be sliced in half, scoop the seeds out, place on a baking pan in the oven at 400 degrees until tender. I actually like to eat the skin of the delicata squash once it has been baked, give it a try. The flesh can be used to stuff pasta, in a soup, or on its own.
-Just about the entire head of bok choi in your bag this week is edible. The white stems at the base are sweet, crisp, and watery. The green leaves are similar to kale; the whole thing can be chopped up and lightly steamed or sauteed in a stir fry.
-Before you chop off that big broccoli stem and toss it in the compost, try peeling the outer layer off to reveal the sweet and tender flesh hiding in the center. Balyn's little sister can occasionally be found running into the garden to find what she calls 'Baby Candy,' or the sweet stalks of flowering brassicas. It is very satisfying to peel the fibrous outer layer of the broccoli stem, from the base right up to the flowers, which can only be done with freshly picked broccoli (it can not be easily done with broccoli that you buy at the store that has been harvested days or weeks ago).
-Another bunch of holy basil for you, hang it up to dry and you will be grateful for the cups sweet herbal tea to warm your soul on cold winter evenings.

Sonoma Mountain CSA: 2010 Season
In your bags you will find a CSA Agreement form for the 2010 CSA Season. We are very excited to be announcing plans for our third growing season here at Wild Rose Ranch, and you will notice a few changes we have made as we continue our attempts to improve the structure of our CSA and provide members with the best of what we have to offer from the garden throughout our peak growing season.
The Community Supported Agriculture program that we have organized here at Wild Rose Ranch is a cooperative system of community members investing in our small farm before our harvest season begins each year. This helps us with our start-up costs at the beginning of the season: seeds and propagation materials, infrastructure development and improvement, and many other projects that require an investment of time and money in the months of the year when the soil is replenishing for next season's bounty. Your investment in our farm allows us to avoid debt in the winter and spring months, and in the summer and fall we return your investment in the form of fruits and vegetables picked fresh from our garden the same morning that we deliver them to you.
We are keeping our CSA small because we love getting to know our members. Every CSA is different in its season, structure, growing practices, and products. Keeping our CSA small allows us to ensure that we keep your weekly bags full of only the best veggies from the garden throughout the season, and it provides the opportunity for us to have personal interactions and build relationships with members. We feel that an important part of a community food system is trusting and knowing the people growing your food, and also having access to see where your food is coming from, and asking questions about how it is grown. We like being here to answer your questions about the food we grow for you, and work to create a community food system that benefits everyone involved.
Many of our members choose to get involved in the garden beyond the minimum investment that we ask for. We have CSA members who have come up to volunteer in the garden to become a part of the food-growing process. Others provide their unique and specialized services helping us to build our greenhouse, introduce animals into our gardening cycle, bringing a beehive to the garden for pollination, even helping us with our taxes!
It is always great connecting with members at our seasonal potlucks, showing them around the garden, and hearing about different ways that the produce from our farm is nurturing their home lives. This year two households receiving our weekly bags were nurturing new additions to their families- babies Noah and Henry had their first tastes of veggies from Wild Rose Ranch via the umbilical cord. Other members have told us the pleasure they get from sharing some of their produce with family and friends, even sharing some carrots with their mail carrier!
We are also keeping our CSA small so that we can continue gardening with methods that match our land and our working capacity. We do not want to over-extend our resources in a way that compromises our ecological gardening practices, or burns us out physically and mentally. We want to start incorporating summer cover crops into our crop plan in addition to our winter cover crops; we want to give our vegetables the room they need to grow instead of cramming them together in our garden beds; we want to interplant our crops with living mulches that provide habitat for beneficial insects and nectar for the bees; we want a crop rotation that builds the soil so that the quality of our fruits and vegetables improves with every season. Ecological agriculture must have a long-term vision, taking all of the living and non-living elements of the garden and its surrounding habitats into account.
We have raised the cost of our CSA membership to $500 for our 25-week season, an increase of $2 per week. This was a difficult decision to make, because we understand that many of our members have felt the direct results of our declining economy, and every dollar counts. We have addressed this concern by offering three payment plan options: payment in full, in two installments, or in four installments. The first payment will reserve your share for the season; the last payment must be made no later than August 1, 2010. If you reserve your share now, you have a 9-month period to make your payments, and we hope that this is a reasonable arrangement for CSA members who would like to continue supporting our farm and sharing the harvest with us next season. We would love to discuss any questions or concerns that you may have about our 2010 CSA agreement terms, you may call or email us.

Santa Rosa Farmer's Market
Saturdays 8:30am-12 noon at the Veterans Building, all year
Last week we began selling our preserves at the Saturday morning farmer's market in Santa Rosa. We will not be bringing vegetables until the CSA ends in a few weeks, but for now you can come by to check out our pickles, preserves, dried fruits, herbal teas, and raw fermented kraut. We are also selling some nursery starts for your winter gardens. See you there!

Week 21

2009-10-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Broccoli (Thompson)
Bok Choi (Prize)
Green Beans, Sweet Peppers, or Tomatoes
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Salad Mix
Eggplant
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Autumn Roots (Beets, Carrots, or Rutabega)

On the Mountain
Saturated soil from last weeks rain, and more rain falling this morning. Last week the rain gauge in the garden filled up to 4.2 inches in less than 24 hours. It was pretty intense at times even over flowing our newly installed gutter on the barn. But the chicken and goats stayed dry and relatively happy for being stuck inside on a rain day. It was nice for us because it forced us stay inside and rest. Fortunately the garden keeps on growing. Big broccoli heads are pushing up above their leaf canopy offering themselves for this weeks harvest. The gophers took out the first couple bulbs of our fennel, but there is plenty for a good looking crop this week. All that rain combined with cool weather and shortening days creates great conditions for our fall garden. Greens like Bok Choi are allowed to fill in before bolting like they did earlier in the year. A patch of tender young salad mix filled survived the deluge and looks like it should be making some delicious salads in the coming days. Unfortunately these conditions are not so hot for our waning summer crops. A handful of eggplants split wide open revealing their seeds and flesh to a bunch of rolly pollys. There are still some peppers hanging on the plants but they are ripening much slower now. And like the eggplants most of the tomatoes are bursting open with all this moisture. Nevertheless, we love fall on the mountain.
One of our favorite signs of this season is the emergence of the magnificent Oyster mushrooms from dead stumps and fallen logs in the woods. Most mushrooms that are commercially produced and available in markets are grown on straw or some other substrate. This allows for faster, consistent fruiting and more easily managed production. However, many will agree that Oyster mushrooms grown on wood are more flavorful and higher quality. Oyster are one of the most common and delicious mushroom fruits found around here, when they are in season. Like all fungi they are some the most valuable members of this ecological community. Renewing tree's stored energy to continue the the cycle of life. Their distinct smell and physical characteristics make them easy to identify so there is not a concern about toxicity. We found a small harvest this weekend, and if we find more before the end of the season we'll share a taste of this autumn bounty with you.
Eating Fennel
It has been a while since we have put fennel in your bags, so here are a couple of suggestions for preparing it:
Enjoy raw, sliced very thin and tossed into a fruit or vegetable salad.
Caramelize in a skillet with butter, and serve over fish, pizza, pasta, rice, or ?
Bake in the oven with root vegetables.

Week 20

2009-10-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

Whats in the bag
Seasonal Transition Assortment:
Strawberries or Apples
Tomatoes or Green Beans
Cucumber or Summer Squash
Sweet Peppers
Hot Peppers
Onions
Basil
Kale
Spaghetti Squash

It's cold & wet and it's going to start raining tomorrow, and continue raining for 3 days...
In your bags this week will be an assortment of some of the last of our warm season crops. I'm afraid that this will be the last of our wonderful tomato harvest this season, and we'll see about the peppers if it decides to warm up again after the rain. I harvested the strawberries this evening for Monday CSA members, but since there won't be (m)any ripening throughout the rest of the week, Thursday CSA members will be getting some of our mystery apples. They are quite tasty, but the variety is unknown. Take a guess. Let us know what you think.

One seasonal treat that is in all of your bags this week is a Spaghetti Squash- yum! This is the big yellow thing in the bottom of your bag. It is called a spaghetti squash because the flesh is stringy. Here's a couple of cooking suggestions:

Baking your Spaghetti Squash
Slice it in half (from stem to end) and place flesh-side down on a greased baking sheet.
Bake at 375-400 degrees for 45 min to 1 hour, or until the flesh becomes tender and can easily be scooped out with a spoon.
A very basic & easy preparation that I love is to melt some butter into the baked squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and eat as a side dish.
If you want to eat it as your main course, you can bake some tomatoes & garlic in the same baking dish as the squash, then loosen the flesh from the tougher outer skin, but leave in the shell. Mix with butter, salt, pepper, and add the baked tomatoes & garlic. Top with parmaesan cheese, and enjoy! (serves 2)

What else is going on in the garden?
Cover crop seeds have been sown where space is ready. Our winter cover crops include Crimson Clover as a living mulch in pathways and among winter crops, and a mix of grasses and legumes to build the soil and cycle nutrients in our garden beds. Two days of rain will help with quick germination for a strong stand of cover crop. Last year we found that if the cover crop seeds did not germinate quickly, the birds would eat them before they could sprout (we ended up having to re-sow the cover crop a couple of times in some spots). This afternoon we cut the tops off the Brussels Sprouts. This will encourage all the sprouts down the stalk to fill out in the next few weeks (we like to call this 'brusseling', a verb, but not one that you'll find in any horticultural text). The fall succession of Broccoli is starting to head up and we hope to start harvesting from them next week.
Enjoy the rains this week!

Week 19

2009-10-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

What's in the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Bok Choi (Prize)
Eggplant (Listada di Gandia)
Tomatoes (Heirloom)
Sweet Peppers (Lipstick, Klari)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Lettuce (Cardinale)
Holy Basil

Fall is my favorite time of year here on Sonoma Mountain. The temperature is pretty much perfect in the daytime, the evening winds bring a chill into the air. The fall brassicas love these cooler temperatures and have been growing strong, but the tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries are beginning to slow down as days become shorter. We have been able to go out on our bikes a couple of times, and this morning watched a bobcat hunting in a field down the road. Over the weekend a couple of CSA members came up to the garden and helped us prepare garden beds for next year's strawberries, and we also planted some radish and spinach seeds that we hope to be harvesting the last couple weeks of the CSA.

The bunch of Holy Basil in your bag is for making tea on these cool mornings and evenings. If you untie them and lay them out to dry, you may use them fresh until dry. The stems, leaves, and flowers can all be used to make a delicious sweet herbal tea.

Bok Choi is a leafy green vegetable great for steaming or for asian-style stir frys. One of my favorite ways to cook bok choi is stir-fried with shitake mushrooms with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil.

Week 18

2009-09-29T18:11:00.001-07:00

What's in the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Tomatoes (Heirloom)
Sweet Peppers (Gypsy, Klari Baby Cheese)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Cilantro (Santo)
Basil (Genovese)
Lettuce (Cardinale)
Beets (Detroit Dark Red)
Cucumber or Summer Squash

The air has cooled down significantly over the past couple days. Sudden gusts of wind shake weary leaves from their trees. Our fall garden is coming into its prime. Brussels sprouts and broccoli stand tall and vibrant above scattered crimson clover flowers. Two big beds of young lettuce and radicchio are recovered from the last heat wave, and should start to take off with more mild weather. We are hoping for a return appearance of our early season favorite Red Sails. Cabbage and Cauliflower fill in their space between tall light green fennel stalks and the big bunches of basil that are being harvested this week. It's pesto time! The tomatoes are still looking good and tasting great. As well as the peppers, which aside from a lot of sun burned fruits are quite a treat. This week we are harvesting Klari Baby Cheese peppers. They are the thick walled round peppers with a mild sweet flavor when raw, but when stir fried or grilled they will practically melt in your mouth. Over the weekend we tried a head of the 'Cardinale' summer crisp lettuce and decided it couldn't wait any longer to be picked for your enjoyment. A few summer sqaush and cucumbers is all we can pull out of the back field. So you will get a random selection. We had hoped for some melons but gophers killed most of the plants, and the other day I found the only two decent looking melons destroyed by birds. Our chickens enjoyed the rest of them, but the goats thought they smelled a little too strong for their taste.
This morning was spent preparing beds for the rapidly approaching planting of next years garlic and strawberries. Even though we feel the restful season approaching there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. This afternoon our friend came over and helped us put a gutter on the roof of the barn so the animal shelters won't flood once the rainy season begins. It feels good getting these types of projects accomplished, and completely exhausted by the end of the day. Ready to rest, like the light of the setting sun.

Week 17

2009-09-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...

Tomatoes (Heirloom)
Sweet Peppers (Gypsy, Lipstick)
Hot Peppers (Cayenne)
Eggplant (Listada di Gandia, Rosa Bianca, Diamond, Pingtung Long)
Green Beans (Provider)
Cilantro (Santo)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Greens (Kale, Chard, Collard Greens)
Basil (Genovese)

In the Garden

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the Fall Equinox potluck this weekend! It was great to see everyone, both new and familiar faces in our garden, sharing delicious food and conversation in the shade on a hot afternoon.
Our winter transplants are in the ground, and we have been doing our best to prepare these little ones for the heat that is expected this week. We have fed them with nutrient & mineral-rich fish & kelp to encourage them to spread their roots and leaves out, and have been giving them regular water to keep them growing on these hot days.
The gophers have been busy in the garden, and we have become frustrated with the results. They have been over-thinning our root crops, green beans, brassicas, and cucurbits, while leaving little trace of their runs in which we might set traps.
The peppers are ripening quickly now, and we are harvesting their sweet red fruits every week now. The hot Cayennes are always abundant on their bushy green plants, too, and the Jalapenos are just starting to show some color.
Last week Tantalus the goat began limping, so we called up Joel to teach us how to inspect and trim his hooves in case he got a thorn or rock lodged in his foot. There was no apparent injury, so we have just been keeping an eye on him, and today is the first day that he has been showing improvement to our relief (and his, I'm sure).
I made a big bowl of chilled Gazpacho soup for the potluck, so if you're searching for a recipe to use the big bunch of cilantro & two pounds of tomatoes in your bag, here is the basic recipe I use:

Gazpacho Soup

8 (or more) Tomatoes
5 cloves Garlic
5 stalks Celery
2 medium Red Onions
5 T. Olive Oil
2 T. Lemon Juice
1 T. vinegar
Hot Pepper to taste
1/2 c. Cilantro
Salt & Pepper
optional: Cucumber and/or Sweet Red Pepper

-Cut tomatoes into halves or quarters, and blend until smooth
-Cut remaining vegetables into small pieces and add to tomatoes
-Add remaining ingredients
-Lightly blend to mix everything together but leave texture a little chunky
-Serve chilled

Week 16

2009-09-13T19:35:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Tomatoes (mixed)
Peppers (Gypsy)
Green Beans (Provider)
Strawberries (Seascape)
Squash/Cucumbers
Beets (Detroit Dark Red)

On The Mountain
Lighting flashes in the cloudy night sky, thunder roaring and rumbling. What an exciting weekend. Early fall weather from the north meeting late summer tropical storm Linda from the south, moist air pushed up over the mountains and this is what we get. Light showers fell most of this afternoon, occasionally a little blue sky was visible in the south east. The goats were inside early, but the little chicks seemed to really enjoy their first rain, as did recently transplanted lettuce and winter broccoli and cabbage. Our sprouting seed beds of salad mix, and winter roots were showing bright green rows and swaths of cotyledons emerging from the soil as it darkened under the falling rain. I harvested tomatoes, green beans, and peppers throughout the drizzle, appreciating the moisture while at the same time dreading the potential effect it might have on our heat loving plants and crops. Cold wet weather slows the ripening of fruit and excessive moisture will dilute the flavor of our tomatoes and cause them to crack. These conditions can also foster fungal growth which could bring an early end to tomato season. Oh no, say it aint so. Well we hope not, the forecast looks good for the rest of week but we'll just have to wait and see.

Week 15

2009-09-06T16:15:00.000-07:00

Whats in the Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Tomatoes (Heirloom)
Green Beans (Provider)
Eggplant(Mix)
Peppers (Lipstick, Round of Hungary, Klari Baby Cheese, Gypsy)
Onions (Cippolini)
Greens (Kale, Collard)
Celery (Golden Self-Blanching)
Cucurbits (Summer Squash or Cucumber)

At the Ranch
So it seems that almost every month is the busiest time of the season. It's exhaustingly endless. There's a lot going on here at the ranch. In the garden we just planted winter successions of carrots, beets, and turnips, and fall successions of salad mix, peas, and lettuce. It's also time to transplant the seedlings that we sowed last month, so we're carefully planning the layout of our winter garden as we transplant parsley, broccoli, cabbage, bok choi, lettuce, cauliflower, and romanesco.
Last Tuesday we also welcomed Tantalus and Muriel, Toggenburg goats who have been keeping us on our toes as they have forced us to quickly learn their wants & ways. It has been fun taking them on walks around the property, as we walk they eagerly follow without any sort of lead or leash, munching on oak leaves and horsetails as we meander through the shade, then playfully bounding through the open fields as we head back to the barn. They have given us our trials as well, as we learn the best techniques for getting them into their stall in the evenings (it is impossible to catch a goat that does not want to be caught), and staying in their electric fencing throughout the day until they decide they just want to walk right over it, then walk right back in (a blatant statement: I do what I want.)
The cats & chickens have been getting along well with the goats. Even the baby chicks who have begun adventuring outside to bask in the warm morning sunlight, forage for insects & seeds, and clean their new feathers in their dust baths were not too traumatized when Muriel the goat squeezed through the narrow doorway into their coop (again telling us: I do what I want). So we have made the modifications that are necessary for the functioning of everything, and everyone begins to feel comfortable & at home again.

Week 14

2009-08-31T18:52:00.000-07:00

In the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Potatoes (Desiree & Rio Grande Russet)
Tomatoes (Mixed Heirlooms: Oregon Star, Amish Paste, Cuore di bue, Japanese Black Trifele, Cherokee Purple, Pink Brandywine, Pineapple)
Green Beans (Provider)
Summer Squash or Cucumbers
Greens (Collard Greens, Kale, or Chard)
Basil (Genovese)
Lettuce (Concept Batavian)

On the Ranch
Summer is in full swing, and yet the first signs of fall are already upon us. Cool air coming down from the north after last weeks string of strangely hot muggy days. A friend remarked that it was like a nice day on the east coast. I thought we wouldn't need the heat lamp for the young chicks anymore, but they told us different. Loud peeps and calls for warmth, as cold moist air settles in at night. They are growing so fast, sneaking under a little hole in the divider fence in the coop to play and explore the big chickens side. Occasionally they get pecked, but so far everyone seems pretty accepting of the situation. Just wait till 8 o'clock tomorrow morning when our friends Joel and Carleen show up with Mu and Tantalus. Thats right, goats are coming tomorrow morning. This afternoon we set up our new solar powered poultry/goat pasture fence. We are hoping to learn how to develop a rotational pasture grazing system that will work towards preserving health and increasing fertility of the land which supports this diverse agroecosystem. As we gradually gather the necessary components we are realizing that there is only one way to learn this art, and that is by doing.
On the other side of the fence, in the garden that is, our potato harvest was not quite as productive as we hoped. But everyone will get some this week. As we dug the last of the tubers from the ground we debated whether or not we will grow them again next year, or maybe trying a different method, we'll see. However, the tomatoes are bountiful and have been ripening at a rapid rate. Once we see ripe tomatoes we cut off all water to the plants, this allows their fruit to develop great flavor and texture. After the first big fruits are picked the rest might not be as big, but they will keep those great qualities as they ripen throughout the rest of our harvest season.

Week 13

2009-08-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Lettuce (Summer Crisp)
Carrots (Atomic Red)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Eggplants (Diamond, Listada de Gandia, Rosa Bianca, Ping Tung Long)
Onions (Cippolini Red and Yellow)
Tomatoes (Bellstar and Principe Boghese)
Green Beans (Provider)
a little basil (Sweet)
Cilantro (Santo)
Summer Squash (Costata Romanesca, Crookneck, Zucchini)
Cucumber (Marketmore, Lemon, Armenian, Suyo Long, Mini White)

Garden Notes
In the garden we have finally gotten all of the transplants in the ground, and these foggy mornings and mild days have given those fall brassicas a gentle transition into the soil. The summer garden's bounty snuck up on us again, and our kitchen has been in full production preserving the harvest. In our back field we have begun watering more often, with a positive response from the squash, cucumbers, and melons. The gopher has been at work back there too, working down one of the melon rows & through our dry-farm plot. This week we will be digging up the rest of the potatoes, so we'll cross our fingers for a better harvest from these rows (you'll see the results in your bags next week).
The green beans have been tremendously generous with us this month, and the next two successions are looking strong and healthy as well. There are stands of buckwheat scattered throughout the garden as a summer cover crop, buzzing with pollinators. This is our first week of eggplants, those beautiful shiny purple globes. We have four varieties growing in the garden: 'Diamond' is our tried and true most productive dark purple eggplant that we grew last year, 'Listada di Gandia' is a new purple and white striped variety suggested to us by our friends farming out in Tennessee, 'Pingtung Long' is a Japanese eggplant that is long & skinny with dark purple skin, and 'Rosa Bianca' is another variety from last year that we loved- plump round fruits that are sometimes creased, with purple & white skin.
Cooking Eggplant
Eggplant can be tricky to prepare, and I have certainly had my trials & errors with eggplant in the kitchen. We have finally figured out a simple solution to eggplant preparation, though: salt. About an hour before you want to cook your eggplant, cut it up into discs or cubes, sprinkle generously with salt, then cover it in a bowl and let it sit for an hour or more. Some liquid will accumulate in the bottom of the bowl, and you can drain that when you rinse the salt off of the eggplant before cooking- it can be stir-fried, grilled, baked, or steamed. Eggplant is the type of food that will soak up all the flavors of whatever you are cooking it in, so a nice marinade or cooking wine will give it a great flavor in your meal.
In the Barn
The chicks are enjoying their space in the coop, and we have been giving them small ladders and tools that they like to roost on when they're resting. We have been bringing them some fresh greens from the garden, and they also love to eat fresh seeds- we know they will love it when they are finally able to pick & scratch in the outdoors.
Also- we are adopting two goats very soon! Our friends Joel & Carleen (check out the link at the bottom of the page for the Weirauch Small Farm Project) are moving with their flock of dairy sheep, and needed a home for their Toggenburg goats Tantalus and Muriel. Toggenburgs are Swiss dairy goats, and although Mu is not in milk right now, after they have had time to become comfortable in their new home we will breed her for fresh milk. Aside from being a welcome addition to our barn, they will also help us out year-round with our land management & garden soil fertility. They will love the fresh blackberry shoots that seem to sprout everywhere, and they will also help to clear the poison oak away from areas where we work. We have ordered a portable solar-electrified pasture fence so that we can graze them rotationally around the property so that they will be well-fed and the vigorous invasive plants can be kept at bay.
Autumnal Equinox Community Potluck
Can you believe it? The Autumnal Equinox is fast-approaching. This is the day between Summer and Winter when the hours of daylight are equal to the hours of night. We will be celebrating the arrival of the new Fall season with a potluck here at the Ranch on Sunday, September 20, from 6:30-8:30pm. Mark your calendars, and we hope you will be able to come!

Week 12

2009-08-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Pears (Asian & Bartlett)
Cabbage (Red Express)
Cilantro (Santo)
Tomatoes (Bellstar & Principe Borgehese)
Green Beans (Provider)
Lettuce (Concept)
Carrots (Atomic Red)
Summer Squash 1 of these 3 (Zucchini, Crookneck, Costata Romanesco)
Cucumber 1 of these 3 (Suyo Long, Marketmore, Lemon)

This morning we had a bountiful summer harvest. The second round of green beans are full of beans and blossoms. Early tomatoes are getting more and more plentiful, and the bigger sauce and heirlooms tomatoes are getting closer every day. Our summer squash and cucumbers have not been as productive as we were hoping, but at least we had enough to put them in the bags. Atomic Red carrots have been a favorite with the gophers so far, so we're glad to finally get some out of the ground. I think they are a better cooking carrot than the crunchy sweet orange ones we are used to. Their deep red color and sweetness make a great addition to a stir fry.

We have been working like crazy to get the last of our fall crops transplanted. Tonight we actually finished planting with head lamps on. Then I collapsed on the warm soil as the cool night set in. In addition to all of the pressing garden work. the pears have been ripening at a rapid rate. We have been up late the past couple night canning sauce and chutney with all the bruised pears. Now it's time to rest.

Week 11

2009-08-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...
Strawberries (Seascape)
Green Beans (Provider)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Cabbage (Jersey Wakefield)
Tomatoes (Bellstar & Principe Borghese)
Basil (Sweet)
Summer Squash
Pears (Bartlett) *not ripe: set on your counter until soft & yellow*

At the Ranch
The summer heat has finally arrived, and with it our first tomato harvest! This year, due to our limited space combined with high demand from our members for tomatoes, we cut the cherry tomatoes from our crop plan and increased our planting of early tomatoes 'Bellstar' & 'Principe Borghese' which are showing up in your bags almost a month earlier than last year.
It is also time for the pear harvest. On the property there are three old Bartlett Pear trees, and
one Asian Pear (or apple-pear) tree that are consistent & reliable producers, as long as we get to the fruit before the birds. When left on the tree, Bartlett pears ripen from the inside out, which means that if we waited for them to ripen on the tree there would be a lot of rotten pears. So instead when they have reached full-size & easily snap off the tree with their stem intact, we know it is time to harvest. Refrigerating the pears will slow their ripening, but we do not have any large refrigeration capacity on our farm, which is why we begin putting them in your bags when they are still green, and next week when we put them in your bags they will be closer to ripe.
The chicks are growing so fast, and with the warm weather this week we will be moving them out of our house into the chicken coop, with a barrier separating them from our mature hens until they reach full size. They are active & talkative, and eat & drink constantly. Their space in the coop will give them more room to run around until we are able to let them free-range with the rest of the chickens. They will still need their heat lamp on at night for a couple of weeks, as they finish growing in their feathers. We are very sad to say that we have lost one of our chicks who became sick with what appeared to be a respiratory illness. We kept a close eye on the rest of the chicks to make sure that the sickness did not spread, and they all seem to be growing healthy and strong.
In the greenhouse we have sown some of our last fall & winter successions of broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and lettuce, with just a few more seeds going in the ground next month. We have lots of veggie starts growing out of their flats, eager to be transplanted this week, alongside new sprouts that have just emerged from the soil within the past few days.

Week 10

2009-08-03T17:00:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Strawberries 'Seascape'
Lettuce 'Little gem' and 'Sweet valentine'
Beets 'Early Wonder'
Mini Onions 'Red and White Cippolini'
Basil 'Sweet'
Greens (Kale or Collards)
Green Beans 'Provider'

On The Ranch
The cool weather of July seems to have slowed fruit development on a lot of our summer crops. Usually by this time of year we should be loaded with summer squash, but unfortunately the plants have not been exactly thriving with all the fog over the past month. This is supposed to be the time of year when you can't even give away a zucchini, but most of our plants will barely give us one. Our first round of green beans are doing ok, but we're hoping the next one will be a real bumper crop. We need some hot August nights. On the other hand this weather has been especially good for the cooler season plants like cabbage, which some of us are a little overwhelmed with at the moment, and greens, which as far as I'm concerned you just can't get enough of. Also the strawberries have been exceptionally sweet and plentiful. I guess we'll have to enjoy what we have for now.
The baby chicks have added a whole new list of responsibilities to our days. Filling their feeders, changing out fresh water, and just keeping an eye on to make sure they are all growing happy and healthy. They grow so fast, already they have little wing and tail feathers and are starting to fly out of their pen to roost on the top of the walls. The other day Elli noticed one of them started to have splayed legs and was having trouble standing and walking. After a little research Elli decided we needed to make a brace for the little one. So I held the little chick while Elli looped string around each leg and secured them to give enough support for developing strong legs. The night before last I heard some loud chirping, and when I went to look the little chick flew out of her pen to join the rest of the flock.
This past week has been rather exhausting. Last Wednesday our water tanks ran dry. When something like this happens it is almost automatic stress and worry for the well being of the garden, our chickens, and even more vulnerable baby chicks, not to mention the rest of us who depend on it for drinking water and, life. Fortunately, on Thrusday when our pump technician came out to have a look we discovered that our well was not dry, but the well pump's motor had died. While this was a hassle it was relatively painless considering the alternative. We watched as he used the crane on the back of his truck to pull about 175 feet of iron red stained pipe out of the ground to replace the little pump at the bottom. Realizing how dependent we are on this pump rekindled talk of finding a way to use water from the spring that trickles through the middle of the property, and setting up a rain water catchment system to slow and spread the flow of water down the mountain. It also made me appreciate the strength and hardiness of our dry farmed patch of Hopi Blue flour corn and our mix of heirloom dry beans. However, now that the water tanks are full again we will be able to continue irrigating allowing us to provide juicy strawberries, bunches of sweet rich beets, and crunchy lettuce throughout the summer.

Week 9

2009-07-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

What's in the bag

Carrots (Shin Kuroda)
Mini Onions (Cippollini)
Green Beans (Provider)
Summer Squash (Black Zucchini/Yellow Crookneck/Costata Romanesca)
Greens (Kale/Collard Greens)
Lettuce (Sweet Valentine)
Strawberries (Seascape)

Notes from the Ranch

Last Friday the phone rang just a couple minutes before 6am. Hello? We have your chicks at the Santa Rosa Post Office. So Balyn and I hopped into the car and went to pick up our 31 new babies, who hatched from their eggs on Wednesday morning in Iowa, and then began their long journey to California. When the woman at the post office handed us the small, loud box, the chicks, 2 days old, were chirping with all their might to tell us they were ready for some food, water, warmth, and rest. Which is exactly what we had waiting for them at home. The 31 chicks are a variety of breeds, including Barred Rock, Black Australorp, Buff Orpington, Rhode Island Red, Amaraucana, and one "free rare exotic chick" according to McMurray Hatchery, otherwise unidentified. So now they are living in our guest room, eating, drinking, running around, sleeping, and growing quickly. We are happy they're here.
In the garden the green fruit on our tomato and pepper plants are starting to develop a warm hue, and three successions of green beans are at their various stages of growth. The summer squash is unexpectedly poking along, but we are finally able to harvest some of the tender young squash for you this week. Birds are singing & dancing in the treetops, the cats are hunting gophers, the garden grows, and all is well & beautiful on Sonoma Mountain.

Week 8

2009-07-20T06:24:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Strawberries (Seascape)
Green Beans (Provider)
New Potatoes (Dark Red Norland & Rio Grande Russet)
Carrots (Shin Kuroda)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Scallions (Evergreen Hardy White)
Salad Mix
Cabbage

In The Garden
Clouds covered the garden until about ten. The forecast says we will be getting a little break from the heat this week. Tomatoes are still green, though I saw one starting to develop a orange hue, kind of like last nights sun set. We thought we might have summer squash this week but we're not quite there. Still just the few small early fruits, but don't worry they'll be coming around the mountain when they come.
We had a nice cool harvest this morning. A heavy load of green bean for our first pick of the season. Crunchy and sweet, these beans will be great lightly steamed, or stir fried with garlic and oil. Some nice big Shin Kurodas, a new variety of carrots from Japan. Their name means "new carrots or fresh carrots", because many regard them as the best fresh carrot variety. Now that many of them had sized up they have developed a nice mild flavor and a great crunchy texture. Yesterday we dug our first three rows of new potatoes. Well, actually it was three half rows. The gophers had eaten the rest of the rows before they had a chance to make tubers. Everyone will get a few this week, and we hope that our mid and late season taters make up it in a few more weeks, but we'll have to wait and see. This weeks salad mix has little bit of spicy greens mixed in, mustards, tatsoi, arugula. When we sowed the seed for this bed of salad, half was mixed with spicy greens, many of which seemed to be favored by little garden bugs. A deer is outside right now browsing through the golden grass, young tender greens are a treat in the heat of summer. Roasted beets are one of my favorite things to add to a salad. Roast the beets ahead of time let them cool and peel of their skin then chop them up and toss them in the mix.

Week 7

2009-07-12T14:57:00.000-07:00

What's in the Bag

Strawberries (Seascape)
Salad Mix
Parsley (Forest Green)
Scallions (Evergreen)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Basil (Genovese)
Cabbage (Red Express)
Radish (Easter Egg)

Hot days, warm nights, early sunrises and late sunsets, this is summer. In the garden we are in the midst of our transition from late spring to early summer crops, as you find cabbage and radishes in your bags alongside basil and strawberries. Last week we finished harvesting our bed of 'Scarlet Nantes' carrots, but if you were getting used to your crunchy carrot snacks, you can expect a new variety, 'Shin Kuroda' in your bag next week.
This week I have been tending the garden alone while Balyn went south to visit family, friends, and catch a few waves, of course. Last Thursday our good friend Kristen came up early in the morning to help me harvest for CSA and the farmer's market, which was a great help. This morning Balyn's brother, Aaron came down to the garden to help with the strawberry harvest.
In the greenhouse we have begun sprouting the first of our fall successions of brassicas- broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, while out in the garden the maturing solanums- tomatoes, eggplants, potatoes, and peppers, are flowering & developing green fruits. The greenbeans have lots of flowers and the beginnings of small little beans on their plants, despite gopher's preference for those tasty & tender bean plants.
Last year in our mid-season survey CSA members requested more lettuce & salad mix, so we have been planting successions every month. The heat of the summer certainly offers its challenges to growing lettuce however. Lettuce seeds are sensitive to heat, and will go dormant when the temperature gets up to 85 or 90 degrees, and once they have sprouted, their delicate leaves wilt easily in the sun & high temperatures. To address these challenges, we have been sprouting our lettuce seeds outside of the greenhouse, where they get shade most of the day with just a few hours of sun. We have been transplanting them into beds near the edge of the garden where they get some shade during the day from overhanging oak branches, and we have been checking their moisture frequently to prevent them from getting too stressed. So far we have been having good results, and now have two successions planted and a third just beginning to sprout.
And this of course brings up the issue of harvesting greens in the summer time. Have you ever picked up your bag to find some of your kale, head lettuce, or beets with their greens looking sad & droopy? We certainly do what we are able to prevent this- we water our leafy greens the day before harvest, and then harvest them first thing the next morning to ensure that they have had the opportunity to drink as much as they need to stay lush & perky in your bags. But we understand that some days members are unable to pick up their bags until evening, and some days are just too darn hot & the greens start to wilt. An easy remedy for wilted greens is to simply place them in a large bowl with water, making sure that the part of the stem where they were cut during harvest is submerged. A few hours later they will be refreshed from their hydration, and ready to eat or bag up in the refrigerator.

Some cooking suggestions for this week's harvest:

-Have you made pesto yet this summer? You'll find an extra big bunch of basil in your bag this week. Pick the leaves off the stems, and toss them in a blender with some olive oil, pine nuts (or walnuts), a squeeze of lemon, salt, and parmesan cheese.
-Yum, I love parsley. It is great chopped up and used as a garnish on soups, or if you have been buying some of those tasty new potatoes at the farmer's market, you can toss them in a pan with parsley to make some home fries for breakfast.
-At the farmer's market a woman told me that she loves radishes, but whenever she buys them they just end up going bad in her fridge. If you are also finding that you just don't know what to do with your radishes, just eat them. They are a tasty raw veggie snack that require no preparation- just eat them plain or dip them in some hummus or other veggie dip. If their flavor is too intense on their own, they can be sliced or shredded to add a bit of spice to a salad.
-If that basket of strawberries manages to make it home before you've munched them all, you can slice them up & drizzle them with some balsamic vinegar. Mix it up & let it marinate for at least a couple of hours. The vinegar taste vanishes & is replaced by an intense strawberry sweetness. They are now ready to be mixed in with some yogurt, spooned over vanilla ice cream, or as a topping for strawberry shortcake! (this marinade is also a great way to keep your strawberries from going bad- I've kept them in my fridge this way for up to a week.)

Week 6

2009-07-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

In the bag
Basil (Genovese)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Radish (Easter Egg)
Cabbage (Red Express)
Greens (Collard or Kale)
Strawberries! (Seascape)

Around the Ranch
Misty mornings on the mountain. Almost sounds like rain on the roof of the barn. A cool start for July, kinda nice though. The cabbage, and broccoli seem to enjoy it, as well as a beautiful young bed of salad mix. The warm season plants don't seem to mind too much, although the top two rows of tomatoes have been practically getting rained on by the overhanging oak branches. We welcome the cool weather of this July moon by preparing seed beds and furrows in the garden and flats for greenhouse sowing. Our woofing friend Melissa had to leave early, but we were joined yesterday by Aaron and Caroline. Recently returning from China to make a home somewhere in California, it seems like Sonoma Mountain has drawn them in. It's always nice having a couple extra helping hands in the garden. Speaking of which
Gophers have taken close to half of the early potatoes, as well as a few pepper plants. I guess a few nibbles of carrots and beets aren't enough to satisfy the hungry little burrowers appetite. Or maybe they are telling us something, like struggling plants or too much soil compaction. We all learn our lessons, one way or another. I was cutting some grass the other day and disturbed a wasp nest in the ground and got stung by one of it's protectors on my pinky. It swelled up pretty good, and is still a little sore. But the birds seem to have finally let off the berries. After we fixed up a manageable bird net, of course. Clearing Scotch Broom in the back field the other day we came across a little nest with three little blue eggs. Today I walked passed and saw our chirppy strawberry eating friend California Towhee fleeing, hoping to distract me from its babies. Maybe thats what has been distracting them from our fruit, or maybe its the ripening of blackberries and plums, nevertheless berries will finally be making it into the bags this week, woohoo!!

Week 5

2009-06-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

What's in the bag

Dill (Bouquet)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Lettuce (Buttercrunch)
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Fennel (Zefa Fino)
Greens (Collards & Kale)
Beets (Early Wonder Tall Top)
Scallions (Evergreen)

The garden is growing fast now that summer has arrived with its long days and warmer nights. The summer squash in the back field are sending out their first flower buds, a sign that we will have summer squash coming out our ears in short time. Balyn and uncle Steve spent a day cutting down the huge wild plum thicket outside the garden gate, giving the surrounding apples & pears much-needed space & sunlight for their ripening fruit. CSA members Dayna & Bill came out to work in the garden this week, helping to weed & clean up the strawberries before covering them with bird netting. The results: good news! We have had a couple of small strawberry harvests since then to encourage the plants to continue producing fruit, and we hope that they will be showing up in your bags next week. Bill also spent some time with the bees, and decided that combining the existing hive (which was producing honey but no babies) with another would create a much stronger, healthier hive. They are looking good and continue to buzz around the garden, loving the flowering crimson clover, broccoli, and lavender.
This week we also welcome the arrival of a new volunteer from the WWOOF program to our garden. Melissa is visiting from North Carolina, and will be working in the garden with us this week helping to grow & harvest your vegetables!
Flowers are blooming on the green bean plants, and basil is growing strong & healthy. The buckwheat that we planted with the eggplants as a living mulch is now in full bloom, and will soon be cut to reveal the eggplants growing vibrant leaves beneath their canopy. We are preparing the soil for sowing seeds with the July moon, building up the compost piles, and mulching the bare soil in newly planted flower beds.
The heat wave this weekend was an intense one, but the garden seemed only to thrive throughout those 100+ degree days. A couple of things that we did differently to get through the heat included watering at night rather than in the early morning (this gives more time for the water to seep down into the soil for the plants to drink), adding electrolytes to the chicken's water to help them manage the heat, and laying low in the barn most of the day, getting garden work done in the cooler pockets of time before & after the heat of the day alongside the mosquitoes. We weren't sure if the butter lettuce would make it through the weekend, but now it is in your bags and ready to make a tasty salad.

Some cooking suggestions & a bit about the contents of your bag...

There is an enormous bunch of dill in your bag this week, which is a fantastic addition to salad dressings, sauces, and marinades. If you do not expect to use it all immediately, hang it up to dry! Dill will dry very easily so that you can use it as needed.
What's up with all those loose carrots in the bottom of your bag? The carrot greens left on will continue to take water & nutrients up from the root even after it has been pulled from the ground. We remove the tops of your carrots so that they will stay fresh & hold their quality & flavor for longer. We always harvest your vegetables the same morning that we deliver them, so that when you eat them they still have the fresh-from-the-garden flavor.
Why, then, have we left the beets with their greens on? Because beet greens are oh-so-tasty! Beets are in the same family as chard, and the beet greens are just as sweet, tender, and flavorful as young chard leaves, and can be prepared in the same way.
Fennel is a bulb with a very fresh & mild flavor, almost like licorice. It can be sliced thinly and added fresh to salads, or it can be caramelized with butter for a savory-sweet addition to a meal. The fennel would also be great combined with roasted beets as a small side salad.

CSA is full!

We have had some new members sign up in the last two weeks, and our CSA is now full for the season. We welcome our new members, and are happy to be sharing the abundance of our garden with all of you!

Week 4

2009-06-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Food is not a commodity, Food is community
I can't help but think, it is no wonder why commodity markets make community seem like an oddity. Food, or all the ingredients that make our food and daily diets have a story. Germination, birth, life and death are unique for every individual. However, plants, animals, fungi are all connected by essential ingredients of life; sun, air, water, earth. Some say these are different, but they are all the same. One becomes another, everything is everything. Division of life may help us keep track of individuals and numbers, but when all we worry about is numbers it is too easy to loose track of words, stories. Stories are crucial for making connections in community. Stories give context and meaning, providing us with sound reasons to value and respect all life. I appreciate and enjoy the opportunity to share the stories of our garden. It gives me the time and space to observe, reflect, and communicate. As we continue to feed our community and share our experience we have been getting great feedback as well, this is encouraging as well as nourishing for my heart and mind. This is a great feeling.

In the Garden
With the passing of the longest days the garden has been growing at a rapid pace. Flour corn is getting close to my knees and it seem like the tomatoes need another line on the trellis every other day. Sometimes we feel like it is hard to keep up without becoming totally exhausted. Yesterday we walked to the top of the mountain enjoying the long evening and orange pink sunset. My legs were exhausted by the time we got back, but it was a nice mental break and put me right to sleep.
The soil is warm and germination and evaporation happen at a rapid pace. Once all the weeds are pulled away from crop plants we mulch with clover or straw. The eggplant bed (or eggplant, basil, buckwheat) is probably one of favorite to look at right now. The buckwheat has created a dappled shade canopy to keep soil surface cool yet still allowing the eggplant and basil to thrive below. Just like the spring broccoli and clover bed this type of intercropping provides food for many members of the garden community, insects, bees, birds, humans, and soil.
Harvesting carrots has got to be one of my favorite things to do in the garden. I tried pulling a few up by hand but their strong tap roots would rather loose their leaves then be released from the cool dark soil. So I grabbed a fork. Carefully stepping the fork into the soil I then lean it back revealing a glowing row of orange roots. Some of them still a little too close for perfect straightness wrap around each other, a few were half eaten by gopher, but for the most part a beautiful harvest. Gopher has also eaten a good amount of beet from our first bed, so we will be harvest all of them this week, but don't worry there is another bed that should be ready to pull soon, just don't tell gopher.
A little break from salads this week, but don't you worry. There is a beautiful bed of Buttercrunch on it's way. For now enjoy

Whats In the Bag
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Greens
Beets (Early Wonder Tall Top)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Basil (Sweet)
Mini Onions (Cippollini)
Lavender

Week 3

2009-06-15T09:36:00.000-07:00

What's in the bag this week?

Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Lettuce (Red Sails)
Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
Basil (Sweet)
Beets (Early Wonder)
Baby Onions (Cippollini)
Broccoli (Thompson)
Greens (Kale, Collard Greens, or Chard)
Lavender

Summer Potluck at Wild Rose Ranch
Many thanks to everyone who joined us at our Summer Potluck here at Wild Rose Ranch. It was a delightful group of folks, and a delicious feast to share together on the porch overlooking Matanzas Creek. The chickens enjoyed socializing with everyone too, and we got to explore the garden and our new cultivated back field, now filled with vibrant sprouts.

Birds & Bees
This week a swarm of bees created a thick cloud over the garden, and descended down onto a young redwood snag in a thick, buzzing, writhing mass. Balyn called Bill, one of our CSA members who is a beekeeper & maintains the hive near our garden. He came up to capture the swarm and put them in one of his hives where they will hopefully keep themselves warm & comfortable as they settle in to their new home. Meanwhile the birds are still eating the berries, we are still frustrated about the loss of 3 weeks of our strawberry harvest. Our cabbage patch is now filled with dozens of cute little heads of cabbage, and we hope to extend the harvest over a couple of weeks as we let some of the smaller heads fill in. We recently began transplanting flowers that were sown in May, with hopes of colorful blooms this summer.

Some cooking suggestions for this week's vegetables...
-Cabbage fresh from the garden is always a treat! I usually prepare it raw, slicing it thin (almost shredded). I put it in a big bowl, toss it with salt, and then squeeze it with my hands, releasing some of the moisture in the crisp leaves & softening the texture. This is a great base for any kind of cabbage salad or coleslaw.
-I love beets when they are prepared simply: roasted in the oven or lightly steamed, tossed with a little bit of butter and salt.
-Still overloaded with lettuce from last week? We have been using those enormous leaves as wraps with some grains, sandwich fillings, & dressing for lunch, and also have been trying out different kinds of salads. My favorite still is a mustard vinaigrette dressing with blue cheese, walnuts or pecans, and fresh fruit.
-The lavender in your bags has been cut as young, mild flower buds. Cut at this stage they are ideal for culinary use- lavender tea cookies, lavender salt or sugar, or lavender buds sprinkled over a tasty cheese on crackers. If you don't plan on using it immediately, or would rather enjoy its fragrance than its taste, hang the entire bouquet upside down in a well-ventilated area, and it will dry beautifully.

Week 2

2009-06-07T20:17:00.001-07:00

What's in the bag this week?
-Lettuce (Red Sails)
-Turnips (Purple-Top White Globe)
-Cauliflower (Amazing)
-Broccoli (Thompson)
-Radish (Easter Egg)
-Cilantro (Santo)
-Leafy Greens (Kale, Collard Greens, or Rainbow Chard)*
*see photo i.d. to the right

Garden Notes
With the passing of the June moon another round of seeds have been sown. In the green house more basil and lettuce for mid to late summer harvest, celery and celeriac to be ready around thanksgiving, and brussels sprouts hopefully maturing right around the first sweetening frost. Carrots, beets, radishes, and another bed of salad mix were directly sown in the soil. In the greenhouse we are able to fill flats and easily make space for seeds, but the garden pretty much full at this point all new sowing must go in immediately after earlier crops are harvested and fresh beds are prepared. For example, once last weeks salad mix was harvested and cleared compost was forked in and a fine seed bed was cultivated for beets. Needless to say a lot of work in a short amount of time. In the midst of all this full moon madness I feel the need to step away for a break and keep an eye on what else is going on in the garden and around the ranch.
In the big brassicas wasps buzz in and out of closing cabbages head, a few crimson flowers and the first yellow broccoli flowers. Chickens flock to the shade house to get out of the sun and examine what this mornings harvest has left them. I had to herd them away with half eaten gopher turnips to keep them from eating the big red sails hanging over the harvest box on the table.
The salad mix bed seed bed is drying down early this morning, sunny and windy. Those giant red sails add a nice color to the morning sun as do the bright lights of chard. Tomatoes are trellised and glowing green. Young pepper plants look strong and ready for summer. 'Rio Grande' a mid-season potato variety is the first to flower. The potato hills look especially big on the slope. 'Cippolini' are getting bigger with some room to grow. This bed we harvested from last week sown on our early spring work day. The next bed below them we planted a month earlier from our overwinter nursery bed. I guess we let them get too big before planting and they all decided to bolt. The tall stalks with big heavy flower ball on top dance in the wind. And the chirpping Towhees looking out from the oaks and willows for their chance to nibble some lush fruit.
The Strawberry plants are full of flower, some big white fruit, some even getting pink. But, Scary Barry the scarecrow has been sleeping on the job. It has been a week and a half since our last harvest of berries. AHHH. I was up predawn snapping peas from their vines between the strawberry beds. It was cold and foggy no birds came around, but once i left they came down to get a few more bites.

Cooking those Leafy Greens
(basic preparations for Collard Greens, Kale, & Chard)
We love eating leafy greens- they are a year-round staple in our diet, as they can be grown throughout all the seasons in our climate! Simply prepared, they can be added to almost any meal-with eggs in the morning, in a soup for lunch, or on the side with dinner.

Stack leaves on top of each other, and chop into thin ribbons.
Heat a little bit of oil in a skillet with chopped onions or garlic.
Add chopped greens to skillet, and cook very lightly until they slightly wilt & turn bright green.
Salt to taste & remove from heat.
The most common mistake is overcooking greens- this will make them taste bitter & slimy. Lightly cooked they will maintain their texture & flavor added to any dish. You can also try steaming them, eating them raw, or used as a wrap. Enjoy!

Week 1

2009-05-28T14:45:00.000-07:00

What’s in the Bag this week?
-Salad Mix
-Snap Peas (Sugar Ann)
-Turnips (Purple Top White Globe)
-Cilantro (Santo)
-Spinach (Winter Bloomsdale)
-Green Onions (Cipollini)
-Bok Choi (Prize Choy)
-Broccoli (Di Cicco)

We are excited to begin our 2009 CSA season with you!
Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is an attempt to create a local, healthy, and interactive community food system. Many farms throughout Sonoma County and the entire country have developed CSA models, each with their own unique programs, practices, & philosophies.
The Sonoma Mountain CSA provides members with food that has been grown on-site at Wild Rose Ranch. We do not buy in any fruits, vegetables, animal products, or processed foods for the CSA. Everything in your bag we have grown in our garden from seed to harvest, so that members can visit the garden and see exactly where their food is coming from. We harvest your veggies the same day that we deliver them, so that we can provide you with only the best quality of produce.
Our gardening practices are not certified organic because the nature of our direct market & ongoing relationship with community members allows us to employ the most important certifiers of healthy food- You! We use ecological gardening practices with a focus on building healthy soils & biodiversity in our garden; we never use synthetic chemicals or fertilizers in our garden, and cultivate all of our soil by hand with spades & forks. These practices allow us to work with a living soil while we breathe the clean Sonoma Mountain air and listen to birdsongs and breezes- the ultimate environment for growing delicious vegetables for our community. We invite you to taste the difference.
We encourage you to ask us questions about our gardening practices & inputs, about an unfamiliar vegetable that shows up in your CSA bag, or anything else that you are wondering about.
Please come and visit the garden! Do you remember checking the box on your CSA agreement form that said “I agree to spend time in the garden this season”? This year we made this a part of our CSA agreement because we feel that seeing food growing in its garden environment is a valuable link that is missing from our current food system- call or email us to arrange a visit, or come to our seasonal potlucks for a garden tour & socializing with other community members.

Garden Notes
Whenever I walk into the garden, or out of the house for that matter, I become overwhelmed by long list of things that need to be done. I try to slow myself down to write in my notebook, but I am inevitably distracted by a carrot seedbed that has dried out, or thick clump bindweed entangling a strawberry plant, or a the last glimpse of a young broccoli plant being shaken side to side before sliding down the gophers hole. Set a trap, pull some weeds, start the micro-sprinklers. It’s spring! Almost summer, and the garden is looking better than ever. The return of the fog is helping slow the bolting of our tender spinach and bok choi, which means they will make to your bags and into your bellies soon. We did however loose a whole bed of Chinese cabbage that went to flower during the early heat wave. The bees enjoyed that.
Our first round broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, are big and strong. Crimson clover has created a nice cool understory preventing moisture from evaporating for the soil. Once the crops are harvested which should be in the next few weeks the clover will be left to flower providing forage for bees and enriching the soil. ‘De cicco’ broccoli, one our favorite heirloom broccolis, has already been sending up many side sprouts. These tender little heads and stems are delicious and so easy to steam or stir-fry. ‘Golden Acre’ cabbage looks like it will prove it’s worth this year, with a few fat heads already formed and tight and many more behind them. ‘Amazing’ cauliflower hides most of its white curds well, but a few have tried poking out into the sun. I tied some straw around the big leaves to keep them shaded and blanched, but I don’t think I could do that to the whole bed, so start thinking of your favorite cauliflower recipes.
This years spring success has also been shared by our root crops. We learned our lesson last year, getting small harvests of baby roots by not thinning enough, and vowed to never let that happen again. This year instead of purple top white marbles we actually have some big beautiful ‘Purple Top White Globe’ turnips, and the ‘Early Wonder Tall Top’ beets are sizing up and filling in their space beautifully. Our favorite sweet crunchy ‘Scarlet Nantes’ carrot tops get bushier everyday, but our patience will be the true test for carrot perfection. And hopefully we’ll be able to sneak out another radish harvest before the summer heat turns on.
We were hoping to have plenty of strawberries for this first weeks harvest, but on my last inspection the Towhees and taken pecks out of almost every ripe berry out there. We haven’t had any problems up until now with the birds, I’m hoping its just a phase, and that once the wild plums and other fruits ripen they’ll get distracted, but for now it looks like the cats have a new job, Strawberry Patrol.

Recipe: Cilantro-Lime Dressing
½ c. olive oil
3 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. cilantro, finely chopped
¼ t. oregano
dash cayenne pepper
a bit of sweet (agave or sugar)
combine thoroughly & use as salad dressing or marinade.

Recipe: Bok Choi & Turnip Stir-Fry
-Chop bok choi into thick chunks
-Slice turnips into thin discs
-Heat oil in a pan or wok with some hot pepper, garlic, and ginger.
-Make a stir-fry sauce with tamari, rice vinegar, & toasted sesame oil
-Add vegetables & stir-fry sauce, and cook lightly.
-Serve over steamed rice

Spring Cultivation

2009-04-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

Spring is a time of transition in the garden. Daily we are experiencing the cycles of life and death as we scythe the winter cover crops, undercut their thick mat of roots with our spades, and cultivate the soil to plant spring vegetables for the new season. Native wildflowers have been waking up & showing off their delicate blooms. On these hot days we go out into the garden before the sun rises to water seedbeds and turn over the soil until the heat pushes us indoors for a drink of water and some breakfast.
Compost
We had ten yards of Sonoma Compost's 'Mallard Plus' delivered to the ranch, which we have been using as a soil amendment in all of the garden beds that we cultivate. This is a part of our fertility plan, to maintain & build the richness of our beautiful clay-loam soils here on the mountain. We have also been building some of our own compost piles, layering green cover crops that we have removed from the garden with straw from our chicken coop, along with kitchen and plate scraps from GG's Earth & Surf restaurant in Santa Rosa where both of us work part-time. Whenever we come home from the restaurant we bring bins filled with oyster and clam shells, fish scraps, organic bread, and vegetable scraps from many local farms.
In the Garden
As we venture into the thick stands of cover crop that has been growing throughout the winter, we have encountered many animals & insects who share the garden with us. Some of our winter fava beans are a favorite food for aphids, who in turn are a tasty treat for all of the ladybugs that over-wintered in the garden. Balyn uncovered a Pacific ring-necked snake in the garden, which flashed its bright red belly at him before we moved it to a part of the garden where we would not disturb it again. These snakes will eat salamanders, small frogs, small snakes, lizards, worms, slugs, and insects, all of which can be found in our garden. We have also been trapping some of the gophers in our garden who show a preference for our young cabbage transplants. Penelope & Salmon (our garden cats) have been practicing their gopher-hunting as well.
In the Greenhouse
The greenhouse protected our seedlings from those frosty spring nights, and now the tomatoes and tomatillos are big and strong in their flats, ready to go into the ground. The peppers and eggplants will stay in the hot greenhouse for a bit longer until our days and nights stay more consistently at warmer temperatures.
More Chickens...
We have ordered 35 baby chicks, who will be arriving at the ranch just 2 days after they have hatched from their eggs in late July. We selected a mix of breeds, including Black Australorp, Amaraucana, Delaware, Rhode Island Red, Barred Rock, and Buff Orpingon. They will not be laying for their first 4-5 months, but you can expect an egg-option added onto our 2010 CSA agreements!
For now we continue with our spring cultivation, moving on to the back field where we have expanded our garden this season.

We still have CSA shares available!
We have not been advertising our CSA this year, instead appreciating our members who have signed up again from last season, and the trickle of new CSA members who have heard about us through word-of-mouth. We welcome you to share news of our CSA with friends and neighbors who value fresh & local produce that has been grown with care.

Spring 2009

2009-03-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

Spring Work Day and Potluck
The spring work day had a good turn out of old and new faces. Together we took down old overgrown fencing to reuse for the back field, removed scotch broom, built a gate, prepared 2 garden beds and sowed onions and peas, and shared a wonderful lunch by the creek. Thanks to Sean their is great photo album available for you viewing pleasure, Click here to see Sean's photos from the work day.
Our potluck had a good showing as well. A wonderful mix of spring fare to celebrate the season, and as one of our friends said: the real new year. One dish we were excited to feature was quiche made from eggs from our recently adopted chickens. We love having these opportunities to share our garden, home, and food with our community.
In the garden
Our first round of broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower was transplanted two days ago. This morning they are standing tall saluting the rising sun. I had to replace a few cauliflower transplants that had been broken, perhaps a cat dashing by or a chicken. The little plants are strong, but delicate.
Our first WWOOFers, Hunter and Fred, left us the other day to comtinue north on their farm tour. WWOOF ( World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) is a an organization that connects farms with people who are interested in working on farms and learning about farm life. Check out their website for more info http://www.wwoof.org/.
Hunter and Fred showed up at a fortuitously busy time. Over the course of their week long stay we welcomed the arrival of a beehive from supportive CSA member Bill W., finished the chicken coop and adopted 9 chickens from friends Angelo & Lina, almost finished the fence around the back field, prepared 7 garden beds and planted 6 of them, built a nice big compost pile, and weeded the strawberries, which are growing big and lush and showing their first little green berries. It was a great having Hunter and Fred' s help and sharing some quality mountain time. Thanks guys and good luck on the rest of your journey.
The Food and Farm Bill
"Eating is an Agricultural Act" Wendell Berry
"Cultivate Compassion" Ryan and Julie Power
The other day I got a call from Steve Schwartz. Steve is the director of our local FarmLink office, check out their link below for more information on FarmLink. Steve was asking for some help. Farm Bill negotiations are currently under way in our nations capitol, as far away as that seems from us out here on west coast, the results of these appropriations will inevitably affect us all. One area of the Farm Bill that affects us here at the Ranch specifically is the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers section. A few years ago Steve and the FarmLink staff created the IDA (Individual Development Account) program. The IDA is designed to match the investment of beginning farmers with the goal of helping young farms get the necessary infrastructure established to become a viable operation without having to take on too much debt. We could use this money to invest in a windmill or solar panel to power our water pump.
An IDA pilot program was included with the original 2008 Farm Bill, but has subsequently been moved to the chopping block. 5 million may sound like a lot, but considering that the Farm Bill allocates $288 billion over the course of 5 years to an array of programs ranging from commodity crop subsidies to food stamp, and ethanol production it's barely a drop in the bucket. Besides these are our tax dollars, and it is time that we demand that these funds be used to support healthy communities not the same farming/food system that has created so much sickness and inequality, across our country and the world. So right now is a crucial time to let your representatives know that you support the future of sustainable farming by asking that they ensure the allocation of $5 million for the Beginning Farmers IDA pilot program. You can do this by calling the capitol switchboard number (202) 224-3121 and asking to speak with your representatives.

Winter Months

2009-01-22T10:33:00.000-08:00

At Wild Rose Ranch

Winter has been a wonderful time for us to re-connect with friends and family who we do not get to see much of the year. Things have slowed down around here in these months, but the cycles continue and work never comes to a complete stop. Yesterday we welcomed the return of moisture to the dry earth, and are optimistic in our hopes for more rain this winter to replenish our soils, roots, creeks, and groundwater stores. Balyn and I have been enjoying the winter fare from our pantry- winter squash, potatoes, fruit jam, pickled beans, smoked peppers, and from the garden- snow peas, collard greens, kale, chard, broccoli, brussels sprouts, celery. But we are also anticipating the summer harvests as our seed orders begin to arrive in the mail, and as we watch our young strawberry plants sending out more leaves in the garden.

In the Garden

In the garden the broccoli never stops sending out new side-shoots, giving us a seemingly endless supply of small tender broccoli crowns (one of the virtues of open-pollinated broccoli). The cover crop we sowed in late October before our first rains has developed a lush, beautiful stand of beans, vetch, peas, and oats. Cover crop sown in November has not done so well, a combination of the lack of rain & hungry Juncos. Fortunately the soils are not completely bare, covered with a mulch of last season's crop residues & sprouts from the soil's immense seed bank, so erosion is not a huge threat.
Our perennial herb bed in the middle of the garden was planted in the fall, and is establishing itself beautifully. We have also been refreshing our memories & sharpening our Felco blades for winter pruning.
One of the most visible changes that has taken place recently in the garden was the construction of new vents for our greenhouse and a rigid cover that we hope will last for many years. These designs would not be so beautiful or functional without generous help from Rick, our friend, neighbor, & CSA member.

Out of the Garden

This fall we participated in a Volunteer Patrol Training for Sonoma County's Open Space at Jacob's Ranch. Jacob's Ranch is a large property neighboring us here at Wild Rose Ranch, extending from Matanzas Creek at our lower property line up to the ridge of Sonoma Mountain. We have been enjoying being land stewards past our own property boundaries, as all are intricately connected.
This winter we have been taking steps to establish a second garden space in our back field, which is currently a Scotch Broom forest. Scotch Broom is an extremely invasive legume that has spread over much of the property, and is difficult to remove. Luckily there is a special tool that was designed specifically for extracting the deep tap-roots of Scotch Broom from the soil, so although we still have a big task ahead of us, the Weed Wrench has provided great encouragement.
Late-autumn rains brought us a huge flush of wild-harvested oyster mushrooms, but the recent dry weather has delayed the fruiting of many seasonal fungi. We have hopes for Chantrelles if the moisture continues.
We have plans to raise chickens too....

2009 Sonoma Mountain CSA sign-up

We have shares available for the upcoming season! You may view the agreement with the link at the top of this page, or contact us for more information.

Celebrate the Arrival of Spring!

Save the date!
We will be holding our Vernal Equinox Celebration & Potluck
on Sunday, March 22.
More details TBA

Week 25

2008-11-18T19:54:00.000-08:00

In The Bag...

Chinese Cabbage ('Fun Jen')
Roots (Beets/Turnips)
Greens (Kale, Chard, Collard Greens)
Fennel ('Zefa Fino')
Butternut ('Waltham')
Scallions ('Evergreen')
Spiced Bartlett Sauce (half-shares)
Spiced Bartlett-Plum Sauce (full-shares)

In The Garden
Last Thursday, a big box of organic bare-root strawberry plants arrived from Prather Ranch in north-eastern California. Over the past week, in addition to continuing our cover-cropping, we have planted about 500 strawberry plants into our garden, with hopes of harvesting their delicious fruits next spring and summer. Almost all the strawberries that you see growing in California (with the usual exception of the home garden) are mulched with plastic. And ugh, you know how we feel about using too much plastic in our garden... So, we did some research, and decided to use an alternative method. We planted the strawberries into well-cultivated garden beds with fluffy, well-drained soil, and then lightly mulched them with cocoa bean hulls. Mulching with straw might have harbored slugs & snails, so the cocoa bean hulls are supposedly a better alternative. We will let you know (& hopefully taste) what the results are next spring. But right now our garden smells like chocolate.
This morning we woke up to the sound of dew dripping on our roof, which soon became louder & more steady-- is it raining?! We put on our muck boots, grabbed bags of cover crop seed, and went out to the garden to sow some beds that had not been seeded yet. Any moisture we can take advantage of to get our cover crop going before the real winter rains come...

Thank you for supporting us in our first CSA season here at Wild Rose Ranch. It has been a challenging year, full of unexpected rewards. There is truly nothing else that we would rather do than cultivate the land for our community, and we look forward to continuing & building upon our practices next year. We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving, and a rainy winter season to moisten the soil & restore our aquifers.

Butternut Recipes
I love winter squash, and Butternut are so easy to prepare and oh-so-delicious. Here are a couple of my favorite things to make with sweet Butternut squash:

Baked Butternut With Mint-Garlic Yogurt Dressing

Cut squash in half; scoop out seeds & place both halves flesh-side-down on an oiled baking sheet. Bake at 375-400 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until soft.
Once it has cooled down a bit, peel the skin off, leaving only the sweet orange flesh on a serving dish.
To make the Yogurt Dressing, combine 1-2 cloves minced garlic, 5-10 leaves finely chopped mint, and 3/4 cup yogurt. Add a little bit of olive oil.
Serve the squash with the yogurt dressing drizzled over it, and mmmm, enjoy.

Elli's Not-Too-Sweet Pumpkin Pie Filling

Ingredients (measurements are always approximate in my kitchen):
2 cups baked & pureed sweet winter squash
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
Cinnamon, ground
Ginger, ground
Nutmeg, ground
Cloves, ground

Combine all ingredients thoroughly.
Pour into pie crust, and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hr 15 min, or until knife comes out clean.
Since heavy cream usually comes in pints, I will use the left over cream to make an equally not-too-sweet whipped cream by adding just a spoonful of vanilla extract, and possibly a dash of maple syrup.
Serve on top of warm pumpkin pie, and enjoy.

Week 24

2008-11-12T10:15:00.000-08:00

In The Bag
Chinese Cabbage
Carrots
Green Peppers
Marmalade
Lavender Sachet
The last Summer Squash

In The Garden
The past few days we have seen rapid transformation around the garden. Pepper and tomato plants were pulled and piled on the compost. First we harvested all the good looking green peppers for your stuffing pleasure. There are a few things I always struggle with this time of year. Watching all the unripe fruit go into the compost and seeing the vibrant summer garden canopy disappear. But it is better to be prepared for winter than trying to hang on to summer as the days get short and cold. As we skimmed the beds we uncovered all kinds of critters; spiders, ladybugs, frogs, stinkbugs, mushrooms and all the worms just under the surface of the moist soil. Skimming is a lot of work. Luckily we had our friend Sara stay with us, and help out in the garden for the past couple days. Like many people these days Sara has become intrigued by the idea of taking a more active role in our food system. Together we harvested, took down trellises, skimmed, ate, sowed cover crop, made a beautiful compost pile, ate some more, prepared beds for strawberries and garlic, and planted garlic. We all had a great time. It is rewarding in so many ways to be able to provide this opportunity and experience.

Reflections- Mountain Time
Some people have been asking if this whole farming thing is really a worthwhile endeavor. With all the time and energy invested in the garden is it really paying off? This is a very important question, but in order to answer it I feel I must ask another question. How do you define time and energy in the garden? Time, measured by the watch on your wrist or the clock on the wall, is just that, a construct of our civilization, a figment of our imagination. Sun comes up sun goes down. It is all relative. Human time scale (hours, minutes, seconds) is of course important in our society for everyday interaction. However, in gardens and mountains our generally easily accepted concept of time is put to the test. Time spent weeding or thinning carrots seems to go much faster in the morning or evening than during the heat of the day. That is, we can get the same amount of work done in a less time when it is cool and comfortable than when it is hot and unbearable. But, what does this all mean to the carrots. They may experience the same day as I do, but perhaps value it much more because they only have 60-80 days to grow and store as much nutrients and energy in their swollen tap roots before being pulled from the soil. As a gardener and caretaker of this land, work is not something that can be monitored on a hourly/wage scale. Growth is constant, and requires constant attention. Knowing where to be and how to behave is what is truly important. Of course the only way to know is to be, to experience, communicate and interact with all those who are a part of this community. So, we are learning.

Week 23

2008-11-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

In the Bag...

Winter Squash ('Delicata')
Green Beans ('Provider')
Scallions ('Evergreen')
Greens (Collard, Chard, or Kale)
Pepper ('Cayenne')
Salad Mix ('Balyn's Blend')

In The Garden

So much has changed in the garden this past week! On Thursday morning, expecting the arrival of the rains, we leveled the winter squash hills (which have all been harvested & are now in storage), and broadcast the first of our winter cover crop. We also scattered our organic cover crop blend throughout our dry-farm plots, and sowed clovers around the border of our new garlic bed, and beneath the canopy of our winter brassicas.
Cover cropping is a fantastic garden practice to incorporate into both annual and long-term cultivation plans. Cover crops serve many purposes in the garden, including (but certainly not limited to) preventing erosion of bare soil throughout the rainy winter months, adding & cycling nutrients in the soil, preventing the loss of nutrients through leaching, building soil structure, holding moisture in the soil, increasing organic matter in the soil, suppressing weeds, and attracting beneficial insects, birds, and soil munchkins to maintain a healthy and diverse community in the garden.
We bought our certified organic cover crop blend from LeBallister's in Santa Rosa, our favorite bulk supplier of seeds and soil amendments. We purchase our summer & winter cover crops from them, as well as the liquid fish emulsion that we use as a fertilizer for transplants. Our winter cover crop is composed of Bell Beans, Yellow Peas, Austrian Peas, Vetch, Cayuse Oats, and Juan Triticale. All of these seeds were grown in California, with the exception of the Peas which were grown in Montana and Oregon, respectively. The beans, peas, and vetch are all legumes, which maintain a mutualism with bacteria in the soil that allows them to fix atmospheric nitrogen into a plant-available form. The oats and triticale are grasses which have a fibrous root system that build & maintain soil structure.
In addition to sowing cover crop, we used straw to mulch the bare soil of our newly cultivated garlic bed and perennial herb bed, to prevent erosion. By the early afternoon on Thursday, the rains had come, moistening the soil with a total of 3" by the time they passed on Monday.
Now, in the garden, the seeds that were sown less than a week ago have germinated and are sending their radicle root down into the soil. The leafy greens stand strong, robust, and vibrant after the storm. The tomatoes that were ripening on their plants, which have not been irrigated for months now, have begun to burst open with their rapid intake of water over the past few days. Throughout the next couple of weeks we will be turning in the rest of our summer beds to plant more cover crop, to complete the transition into a winter garden.

Also...

I hope that all of you felt empowered to participate in the democratic process yesterday as we cast our votes in this immensely important local, state, and national election.
Remember that your political voice is not limited to the poll booth...
You can "Vote With Your Fork" with every meal you eat: for an ecological, socially responsible, local, and humane food system.

Week 22

2008-10-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Carrots
Radishes
Beets (Full Share)
Green Beans or Broccoli
Summer Squash or Eggplant
Hot Peppers

In The Garden
copied from my post harvest journal this morning
Stellars Jay calls harsh and loud from the oaks on the west side of the garden. The tree canopy is opening as the Oregon oaks loose their leaves and a couple of the Live oaks succumbing to the "Sudden Oak Death Syndrome" loose their limbs. Black Pheobe perches on the wire of above, sallying off to catch a moth. Honey Bee circles the orange disc at the center of 'Torch' Tithonia's red petals. Penelope climbs in the garden through the fence, wanders through the shade of eggplants to my boots. "meeow"
Sun is bright and warm. Sky is clear blue. Scrub Jay flaps over head crossing the garden from east to west. I am sitting next to the recently cultivated and planted perennial bed. These hardy plants to strong in their new home. A central hub in the garden. Several Sages, Yarrow, Rosemary, Lemon Verbena, Oregano, and Thyme. Their flowers and fragrence will surely enhance the garden for years to come. Sprouts of Buckwheat and Wild radish emerge from the soil between the herbs. While the former of the two will most likely die with the first frost it is a sign of our soil's fertility. Seed, Soil, Sun
Dry corn stalks shuffle in the breeze. It is warm, almost hot, but our leafy greens are not growing as fast as they were in the late spring. Hence their absence from the bags this week. Next week, they'll be back. Sal prowls up the path. Butterflies dance over the row of Zinnias. Fascinating!

Week 21

2008-10-21T13:51:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...

Radish ('Cherry Belle')
Greens (Collards, Chard, or Kale)
Tomato (mixed)
Basil ('Genovese')
Scallions ('Evergreen')
Hot Pepper ('Cayenne')

In the Garden

This past week we fed our garden with a series of herbal teas that we brewed with water collected from the first rain. They included horsetail tea, nettle tea, and worm castings tea. These teas were applied as a foliar spray (sprayed on the leaves) first thing in the morning, when the leaves are still receptive to liquid nutrients before the sun comes out and it becomes too warm. These teas are rich in minerals and micronutrients that help to strengthen our plants to withstand the pressures and stress of insect pests, fungal diseases, and the cold fall nights. It is always amazing how vibrant the garden looks after these feedings; you might notice the bright glow of the greens and radishes in your bags this week..

We have also been preparing some of the soil in the garden for planting a perennial herb garden as a hub of habitat, growth, and life in our always-changing garden of annuals. It will include Oregano, Lemongrass, Rose Geranium, Chives, and Rosemary plants that have been given to us by friends & members, as well as Thyme, Lemon Verbena, Sages, and native flowering plants and grasses. I have always wanted a lemon tree, so we've been talking about planting a lemon tree in the center of the bed in the spring time, so that it would be able to establish its roots throughout the summer before dealing with the threatening winter frosts.

Also...

While fall is a beautiful time in the garden, Balyn has also had his eye on the seasonal ocean swells, heading out to the coast with his surfboard and wetsuit to catch waves at Salmon Creek whenever he has a chance.

This week I plan on making a big pot of minestrone soup.

Week 20

2008-10-14T21:29:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Tomatoes
Peppers
Eggplants or Summer Squash
Cucumbers
Parsley
Spaghetti Squash

The Harvest Moon
Big white disc rises out of the east as the orange glow settles to the west. We appreciate the weather at all times of the day. Cool and calm in the morning for tansplanting Bok Choi. Pileated Woodpecker cackles and flies out of the forest crossing overhead. After all the plants are fed and settled in I walk around the garden. This months green beans are a little slower than our last succession, but they’re comin, and the honey bees are making sure of that. Right now there are little beans no bigger than the nail on my pinky, and lots of flowers. The second succession of tomatoes is finally ripening, the dry farmed hierlooms are right on their tail and they are all loaded with fruit, mmm… juicy fruit. At this point the plants look much healthier than the first succession, I just hope we get enough good weather to see them ripen. The forecast looks good for now, we’ll see. The peppers seem to be quieting down, though there are still some nice Cheese and Lipstick. Unlike their hybrid counter part Gypsy their fruit seems to have a more staggered ripening pattern.
Across the path are four rows of Chinese cabbage, young and vulnerable, but perky after a cool night. Last weeks winds brought down some cold arctic air and we saw night temperature dip into the low 30s. A few little green beans are kind of wilted but most mature plants around the garden show no sign of stress, the Collards and Kale will actually get a sweeter after a few more frosts. But we want it stay warm for the tomatoes. Daytime temperatures have been consistently in the mid 80s in the garden, but the warm days don’t last as long as they used to. Light breezes blow through, ideal conditions for the birds and bees. Sunflower heads hang over picked clean of their seeds, as cosmos senesce they come next. A bee buzzes over the cucumber row, another into a little purple and white bean flower. In between, a dandelion amidst the pepper patch has its flower stalk covered with aphids, tended by ants for their sweet honeydew, and preyed upon by hungry ladybugs. We are all looking forward to our pumpkin patch visitors this weekend.

Recipe: Spaghetti Squash
Looks like a yellow watermelon, but no. Its a spaghetti squash. The name comes from its stringy flesh. Once baked (aprox. 45 min.) the flesh can be scooped out of the thin shell and mixed with any sauce for a delicious spaghetti like dish.

Week 19

2008-10-05T10:45:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...
Basil ('Genovese')
Carrots or Beets
Eggplants ('Diamond', 'Rosa Bianca')
Sweet Peppers ('Gypsy', 'Lipstick', 'Klari Baby Cheese')
Hot Pepper ('Cayenne')
Tomatoes (mixed)
Greens (Kale, Collards, or Chard)
Scallions ('Evergreen', 'Deep Purple')
Summer Squash (Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck)

Rain
Waiting for the rain, we brought all of our tools inside, stacked our winter firewood under the shelter of the barn, felt the warm insulating layer of air held in by the overcast sky, put off watering the garden, and kept waiting. Finally it came, the first rain of the season, offering a gentle shower to the dry, thirsty soil. Leaves on the trees were washed clean, and birds danced from limb to limb. Frustrated and confused kittens cried at the windowsill, not understanding this wet that was deterring them from going outside. Buckets filled up with rainwater from the roof, to make teas from freshly harvested nettle and horsetail for the garden.
The next morning we venture out to the garden and check the rain gauge: six-tenths of an inch. Not bad for the first rain. The fog continued to hold the moisture in the surface layers of the soil for a few more days before the sun came out and the plants began asking us for water again.

In the Garden
Almost all of our crops have been planted for the season. This moon we will plant a couple more small successions of winter crops as we experiment with our winter-season growing schedule. Only garlic, strawberries, and cover crop remain to be planted. All of the crops in the ground are growing healthy and strong; the brassicas seem to love this fall weather as much as I do.

Week 18

2008-10-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Greens (Chard, Collards, Kale)
Cucumber (Lemon, Marketmore, Suyo Long)
Sweet Peppers (Gypsy, Lipstick)
Hot Pepper (Cayenne)
Eggplants (Diamond)
Winter Squash (Delicata)
Cilantro (Caribe)
Zucchini & Crookneck

October Heat
Thats what we're hoping for. Speaking with Uncle Steve yesterday, I was reminded that October is often when we get the most consistent heat. This will be good for all the green tomatoes that are hanging on the vines. The past few days have definitely been some of the most beautiful and pleasant for working outside. In the mornings rows of bright pink and magenta cosmos and dried bent over sunflower heads attract all the seed loving birds and pollen gathering bees. One rather large seed muncher stood out among the crowd. Black headed with a white stripe above her eye, big strong beak, white chin and neck, and a buff yellow breast. This female Black Headed Grosbeak is probably filling up before continuing her journey south in search of warmer weather. Hard to believe that rain is in the forecast for the next couple days, its hard to believe its already the 1st of October. Considering the season we thought it would be a good time to introduce our winter squash, starting with Delicata, one of the sweetest most delicious fruits of all the garden has to offer.

The Cost of food keeps going up!
The cost of fuel keeps going up, the cost of life keeps going up. What, exactly is the cost of life? Billions of dollars spent on illegal wars and occupations, death and destruction. Billions of dollars spent on crop subsidies, displacing environmental values, tradition, and culture. And here we are again, an election year, 2008. Listening to the news might lead one to believe that whenever you attempt to actively oppose the corrupt established system you run the risk of getting assaulted and or arrested. Politics, Poli tricks, its hard to stay away from this theme.
A few weeks ago our friends invited us to a lecture given by Dr. Vandan Shiva. Dr. Shiva is a physicist/activist/author/amazing and inspiring woman. She is a founder of Navdanya, an educational farm and seed saving institute and has been working with farmers in India to save seed and oppose Monsanto/Cargill’s assault on traditional food systems around the world. Suicides induced by downward spiral of dept and reliance on corporate controlled technologically advanced and chemically reliant food production systems. Dr. Shiva said that from her experience farmers most commonly gave in once they lost their land. Soil not Oil, the title of her newest book looks at the need to address our current situation with a focus on the positive actions we can make in our daily lives. A predominant message in her speech was the need to move away from a war economy and into a peace economy. “Celebrate life”, “get to know your local farmers, and support them”, she said after speaking on the horrors of massive farmer suicides in India. Soil, like water, and air is a medium that connects us all. In essence we are all gardeners, cultivating food and our field as well as the connections that tie the web of life together.

Recipe

Delicious Delicata
I could be accused of writing the most basic and simplistic recipes. But when it comes to Delicata I can't think of anything more enjoyable than cutting it open scraping out the seeds and putting it on a baking sheet, flesh-side-down, in the oven. Baked 35-45 minutes to tender perfection it will go well with just about any meal.
Enjoy!

Week 17

2008-09-23T21:57:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...

Sweet Peppers ('Gypsy', 'Lipstick', & 'Klari Baby Cheese')
Hot Peppers ('Long Red Narrow Cayenne')
Eggplant ('Diamond', 'Rosa Bianca' & 'Rosita')
Tomatoes (Mix)
Tomatillos ('Puebla Verde')
Cilantro ('Caribe')
Cabbage ('Golden Acre' & 'Red Express')
Cucumbers ('Lemon', 'Marketmore', & 'Suyo Long')
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Yellow Crookneck)

Welcome, Fall

This Monday, September 21, marked the first day of fall. The Autumnal Equinox, like the Spring Equinox, is indicated by the day length being equal to the night. We enjoyed a lovely potluck & garden walk with some of our members this Saturday to welcome the new season. Pumpkins are shedding the last of their green hues to take on their flashy orange fall color, while the Butternut & Delicata winter squash are curing on their vines. Seeds planted with the moon this month are sprouting in their flats & in the garden beds, showing off their cute little cotyledons. Brassicas are taking up more garden space as beds are transplanted with our fall & winter crops. The warm days are back up to the 80s & 90s, but the evening chill tells us that it is truly fall. As long as those daytime temps stay up, though, the tomatoes & peppers will continue to ripen into sweet red fruits until winter brings its frost.

In the Garden

Harvest morning: Wednesday, 7:30am
We watch the sun rise through a thick cloud of dust, which slips into our lungs with every breath. The tireless diesel machinery spits out its toxic fumes and churns up the soil surrounding our property, throwing the topsoil into the air to be carried off by the slightest breeze. Preparing for more rows of grapes? Most likely. Meanwhile in the garden we harvest beautiful red peppers, fragrant cilantro, and an unexpected second harvest of cabbage. I'm having visions of a tostada with shredded cabbage, roasted red peppers, topped with a big scoop of salsa fresca. Mmmm...

Making the best salsas with your tomatillos:

Here's a quick review of our Salsa Verde recipe that was included in a previous week's newsletter:

-boil tomatillos in a saucepan until skins start to crack
-put tomatillos in a blender or food processor with chopped cilantro, garlic, salt, and some of your cayenne pepper to taste
-pulse blade until your salsa is chunky but not liquefied
-pour into a bowl & open a bag of tortilla chips to enjoy
If you accidentally (or intentionally) puree your salsa into a liquid form, it can be used as a great simmer sauce for any meat or vegetable dish!

To include your tomatillos in a Salsa Fresca, there is no need to cook them at all. Just chop them up into small chunks and mix in with tomatoes, cilantro, cayenne, salt, cumin, onion, and a squeeze of lemon.

Week 16

2008-09-16T22:28:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Tomatoes (Mixed Heirloom, Paste, & Cherry)
Hot Peppers ('Long Red Narrow Cayenne')
Basil ('Sweet')
Eggplants ('Diamond' & 'Rosa Bianca')
Cucumbers ('Marketmore' & 'Lemon')
Sweet Peppers ('Gypsy' & 'Lipstick')
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Crookneck)

Seasonal Transition
The recent heat wave has passed and temperatures have dropped an average of twenty degrees since last week. Yesterday at noon it was still foggy and in the 70's. This months full moon was the largest one of the year. A moon of transition from summer to fall. This morning a flock of Canada Geese flew over honking at each other in a V formation heading west. The cucumber harvest was a little light and the first succession of summer squash seem to be calming down. The peppers on the other hand are glowing red, eggplants emerge and enlarge as the shed their delicate purple flower petals, and tomatoes keep on coming. Along with some amazingly fragrant 'Sweet' basil. This basil makes great pesto, or it can be used with tomatoes and mozzarella for a delicious appetizer. While this may sound like summer and all it's warm season fruits coming to an end this is definitely not the case. We are still expecting the next couple of months to stay warm and dry enough to keep the bounty going, but I guess we'll have to wait and see.
For now, our fall succession of greens should be ready for harvest in the coming weeks along with our next round of carrots. Broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage sure do like the cooler weather, as they no longer fear the blazing mid day heat. A couple weeks go by with out carrots and I start to go crazy. We actually had planted a succession that was supposed to be harvested this week, but it was getting overshadowed by some giant cosmos. So, I thinned out the cosmos to let more light, water, and air reach the carrots. They will a take a little time to catch up but they'll be ready soon. I hope you all have come to love and appreciate those green sun worshiping leaves as much as we do. They will not be as prominent and plentiful as they were in the beginning, but they will be back soon.
Ranch Clean Up...
A twenty yard dumpster was delivered last week. Our goal is to sort through all the piles, clean out the barn, and throw away all the junk that has been laying around here for years. Hard work, and a rewarding cleansing process. The barn becomes more of a barn with space to store tools, seeds, and supplies in an orderly accessible manner. An old feeding trough, uncovered yet still full of wood, foreshadows the goats we are preparing for and planning on getting next spring. A pile of usable materials grows as things are salvaged from a destiny at the dump. Wood, metal, and tin roof will someday soon turn into a chicken coop. Cardboard boxes are broken down and piled to be weathered and used for sheet mulching paths around the garden. As the junk and chaos is cleared and organized we make way for new projects, while most of our time this year has been spent in the garden it feels good to work outside the fence and expand our view of tending to this place. It may seem crazy to think of starting new project, but somehow I feel they will help tie this place together as a whole.
Recipe
Tomatoes and basil is one of my favorite combinations. Chopped cherry and paste tomatoes with basil over pasta. Sliced heirlooms with basil and cheese. Such classic summer time treats.
Here is a recipe for a simple pasta dish:
1 handful of tomatoes
1 bunch of basil
a few cloves of garlic
olive oil
1/2 pound of pasta
salt & pepper
Boil water & cook pasta
Cut tomatoes into good size chunks, chop or rip up the basil, dice garlic.
Combine fresh ingredients with olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.
Strain and rinse pasta, then toss with the other ingredients in a large bowl.
Delicious lunch!

Week 15

2008-09-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

In the Bag...

-Potatoes (Mixed Medley of 'French Fingerling', 'Banana Fingerling', 'Green Mountain' & 'Romance')
-Green Onions ('Evergreen Hardy White Scallion')
-Parsley ('Forest Green')
-Tomatoes (Mixed Heirloom Cherry & Sauce)
-Cucumbers ('Lemon' & 'Marketmore 76')
-Summer Squash (Zucchini & Yellow Crookneck)

In the Garden

...it has been HOT with a capital Caliente. Basically 2 weeks between 90-110 degrees F, with a couple short days offering relief in the 80's. We had just finished transplanting, and those poor babies going through the shock of moving from their seed flats into the garden beds had to deal with this heat, and I might say that they did a spectacular job. We did what we could to help them through those days when it was over 100 in the shade, offering them emergency H2O from the watering can in hopes that in the evening they would lift their wilted leaves off of the dry soil surface to stand up tall again. They made it through, and are stronger than ever.
Last night we sat out on the porch and felt the cool air moving in, and a moisture in the air settled down on us. We awoke this morning to the drip-drip of the dense fog on our tin roof, and ventured out into the garden, the bright green leaves glistening with moisture. It was a beautiful day to work in the garden; one of those days that the heat never tells us to go inside & chill out for a while. It was impossible to linger inside for too long, the garden kept calling us out again- dig another row of potatoes, prepare those seed beds for planting! Days like this are always appreciated, although watching the temperatures in the forecast rise again into the mid-80's helps to ease our concerns about the ripening peppers & tomatoes. Who knew that we would be waiting until September for these sought-after fruits?

On Eating...

"Eating is an agricultural act," according to Wendell Berry. Eating also provides us with nourishment, and gives us energy for our daily activities whether we are working in the garden, reading a book, walking, talking, thinking, or breathing. What we eat has a great effect on our ability to perform these functions. Unfortunately in our culture & society, food has become a sort of taboo, something that everyone must participate in to survive, but also something that many people have become weary or even afraid of, sometimes with good reason. In the midst of a globalized & industrialized, processed food system, more of the items on the shelves in the supermarkets seem to fit into the classification of 'food-like substances' rather than something that comes from any recognizable source, i.e. a plant or animal that used to be alive. Even more frightening is when we look at the list of ingredients and can not even pronounce, let alone recognize what it is that we are voluntarily ingesting.
So if we go back to the idea that eating is an agricultural act, as Berry suggests, then choosing to eat whole foods, and demanding to know their source & means of production adds value to this nourishment that we put into our bodies. Eating is no longer only the energy that our bodies need to thrive, but it becomes a political act as well. Being conscious of what we consume places expectations on the producers of our food, and demands that what we eat is intended to be healthy not only for us but for the plants or animals that we eat, and the community where it was grown.
We would like to let you know that we love growing your vegetables, and we hope that you equally enjoy eating them.

Home Fries for Breakfast

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Summer Squash
Parsley
Cooking Oil
Salt & Pepper

Chop Potatoes into chunky pieces, and toss them into a heavy skillet with oil.
Stir occasionally, letting them brown in the pan.
When Potatoes are mostly cooked, add thick slices of Summer Squash.
As the Squash is browning in the pan, add a bunch of finely chopped parsley, and season with salt & pepper.

Week 14

2008-09-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Eggplant (Diamond & Rosa Bianca)
Lettuce (Little Gem)
Peppers (Cayenne)
Cauliflower (Amazing)
Green Bean (Provider)
Zucchini & Crookneck

Garden Notes
9:30 pm
I could barely pull myself out of the garden this evening. Kestrel flew over and perched atop a distant live oak. As the sun set beyond them, and barn swallows finished the evening meals above, bats came out and I was still weeding the fall brussels sprouts & cilantro intercrop, Elli was feeding the winter broccoli we had just transplanted. I could hardly see, but it was beautiful. Elli, the cats, and our new barn mate Tim, sat enjoying the encroaching darkness and songs of night.

9:30 am
I must say this morning’s harvest was a little frustrating. Cucumbers are full of flowers and some small fruits, but none ready to pick. Cauliflower not quite as big as we would like, but the heat threatens their creamy white curds. Our second succession of green beans, thinned out by gophers are struggling to provide the abundance of their preceding batch. Tomato harvest is slowly picking up, the heat is helping colors and flavors ripen, but we now realize that we need to start with larger successions to compensate for such variability. ‘Diamond’ eggplants are proving true to their hybrid vigor making up the majority of our recent harvest. Diamond is one of two hybrids, the other being ‘Gypsy’ peppers, we accidentally ordered this past winter. The hybrid qualities are enticing; uniformity and production are good in one sense. However, we still feel that the drawbacks of hybrids, the inviable seeds they produced and the larger picture of supporting an industry that sees seeds as commodities rather than a part of our common cultural heritage is enough reason to stick to our values and principles. We just need to get to know our plants, soil, and climate better, for now we will eat our mistakes.

How to use Eggplants
Eggplants are amazing beautiful fruits, but they can be a little tricky to use in the kitchen. From the moment I saw their purple flowers dangling beneath their bushy broad leaves I have been looking forward to grilling, roasting, and stir-frying. One thing I have learned is that in order to cook eggplants to a palatable texture it helps to salt them. This is done by slicing them, either in thin rounds or small cubes depending on how you plan on cooking them, and sprinkling them with a spoon full of salt. Next toss and let sit for about an hour. This process will draw out the bitter juice that has occasionally led us to send it straight to the compost. Once the eggplant has sat and salted pour off the liquid, rinse, dry, and you're ready to go.

Here is one easy recipe for Broiled Eggplant Slices:
Slice lengthwise, salt, let sit, rinse, and dry
Place on a well oiled cookie sheet and brush with olive oil or other desired flavor dressing
Broil until golden brown, turn and brush the other side, and broil until golden
serve and enjoy

Week 13

2008-08-26T20:44:00.000-07:00

What's in the bag...

Squash (Zucchini & Yellow Crookneck)
Parsley ('Forest Green')
Tomatillos ('Puebla Verde')
Green Onions ('Evergreen Hardy White Scallion')
Cucumbers ('Lemon' & 'Marketmore')
Green Beans ('Provider')
Cabbage ('Golden Acre')/Tomatoes (Heirloom Cherry & Pear)/Eggplants ('Diamond')*

*Due to the small size of initial harvest or staggered maturity, we will distribute these three veggies to all of our members over the course of a couple of weeks. If any of them do not show up in your bag this week, you can count on them in the next week or two. We have decided to distribute them with this method so that we can give them to you in a sufficient quantity.

New Moon Transplanting

The New Moon is a time for root development, perfect for transplanting. The veggie starts that we are transplanting this month already have two or three sets of large green leaves; they have grown quickly and are healthy, hopefully robust enough to ease through their transition from seed flat to garden bed, despite the mid-90s heat that we are getting this week.
Transplanting is a time of garden re-configuration. We have been re-claiming spring beds that have overgrown with morning glory and amaranth, working with our mid-season crop rotation pattern of alternating the carrots & herbs with all the brassicas we have growing in the overhead block. The finished crops that we pull from their beds go to the growing compost piles to get sliced with the machete before getting layered with a new delivery of horse manure from our four-legged friends Red and Mimosa who have been staying a few miles from us here on Sonoma Mountain this summer.
On these hot days, we have been hearing the tomatoes changing color, the heirloom cherry and pear tomatoes turning their deep reds and yellows. You will get your very first taste of them this week, with more on their way.
The cucumbers, too, are offering their first harvest this week; 'lemon' cucumbers and 'marketmore's are filling in on their trellised vines, with the cool sweet taste of the perfect garden refreshment.
It is a busy time of month for us, which also means a short newsletter post.
Enjoy your veggies :)

Week 12

2008-08-20T09:30:00.000-07:00

In The Bag

Potatoes ‘All Blue’ & ‘Rose Gold’
Bunching onions ‘deep purple’
Carrots ‘shin kuroda’ & ‘red cored chanteney’
Zucchini & Crookneck
Lettuce ‘buttercrunch’ & ‘sweet valentine’
Pears ‘Bartlett’

A few more pears…
The other day I was asking my dad about the history of these pear trees. He told me that since he was a little kid he remembered picking pears from their lichen covered limbs. That means these are some old trees, relatively speaking. He told me they would pick them ripe from the tree and put them in deep freeze for a sweet icy pear snack on hot afternoons. My dad, uncle, and aunt have been visiting this land since their childhood summers when Great Aunt June and Mr. Roy Mow lived here. The garden we now tend was at that time Mr. Mow’s sheep paddock, and much of the rest of the fields on the mountain, which are now vineyards, were either sheep pasture or covered with prune plums, apples, and pears. There were no fences on the mountain in those days and the kids would ride horses all the way over to what is now Jack London Park. This is a very brief history when considering what this mountain has seen. Much has changed since those “good old days”. Land that was once sold for a few thousand dollars or even traded for false hopes of firewood and some neighborly companionship is now worth millions. So what does that mean for us? Hmmm. Good question. We are sandwiched between vineyards and preserved open space trying to start a community supported food system. Vegetable and fruit production are hardly profitable enterprises in these times, unless they’re fermented. Nevertheless, they are more important and in demand then ever. So we are gonna keep on diggin', cultivating the land and relationships that sustain our community. After all at the end of the day what is most important, a good meal and friends to share it with.

Cool Weather
The North Pacific had an “unseasonable” hiccup last week. Pressure gradients swirling off the Kamchtaka peninsula sent a mass of cool air towards the west coast of North America. Maybe it was the Russian response to Bush and Cheney’s neocon revival of the cold war. Can they really do that? I’ll try to stay away from the political commentary. On the mountain we saw thick fog, waking up to the sound of moisture dripping on the tin roof from the Bay trees. Clouds hung low until noon and even later over the weekend. These conditions were ideal for sprouting seeds of the august moon, and gave us a good opportunity to weed and thin the next succession of carrots and beets, and dig some tasty tubers. These conditions however, did no good for our slowly ripening tomatoes and peppers. There are a few fruits starting to show some characteristic color, but for the most part they are still hanging green. Sorry, but what are you gonna do? Our head lettuce is still hanging in, and pear in the salad is a special treat I must say I look forward to all year.

Week 11

2008-08-12T17:08:00.000-07:00

What's in the Bag...

Green Beans ('Provider')
Carrots ('Red-Cored Chantenay')
Tomatillos ('Puebla Verde')
Cilantro ('Caribe')
Summer Squash (Zucchini & Yellow Crookneck)
Green Onions ('Evergreen Hardy White Scallion')
Mesclun Salad Mix (spicy blend)
Head Lettuce ('Sweet Valentine' & 'Buttercrunch'- full shares only)
Pears ('Bartlett')

A little more about the contents of your bag

We are harvesting a new carrot variety this week, called the 'Red Cored Chantenay.' These carrots are bigger than the other two varieties you have received this season ('Scarlet Nantes' & 'Shin Kuroda'), and have a slightly different texture & flavor. Let us know what you think! We'll see which varieties make the cut for next year...

Your Bartlett Pears were harvested this week. Bartlett Pears are best picked green (or unripe) and allowed to ripen off of the tree. This is why they will not be so tasty if you take a bite out of it immediately after opening your bag. They are not quite ready to eat, but you can admire them on your kitchen counter until they develop their sweet, buttery Bartlett texture that makes them oh-so-delicious as a mid-day snack, sliced into your spicy salad mix with walnuts & blue cheese crumbles, or baked in the oven for dessert.

We Would Love Your Feedback!

In the eleventh week, we are almost halfway through the season, and we are requesting your feedback on your experience with our CSA. In your bags this week you will find a purple form with a series of questions about your experience with the Sonoma Mountain CSA. Please understand that your feedback is invaluable to us as we are making new developments with our CSA model continuously. We will take your comments seriously and make changes wherever possible.
Please fill out this form, and return it with your bag next week.
We look forward to learning more about your experience with us this season.

The Winter Garden

Even though it still feels like (and is!) the middle of summer, now is the time to start planning & planting for the winter garden. This week we will be sowing our storage carrots, beets, and onions for overwintering. We have placed our order for garlic which we will plant in October for next year (we are planting more than 5 times the amount of garlic we had this year... just you wait!) We have selected a small block of the garden where we will plant our winter crops, and the rest of the garden will be sown with a cover crop as the season comes to an end. We are pulling the Kale and Collard Greens from their beds (we know at least a couple of you are sad to hear this), before we will transplant our fall/winter succession of leafy greens next month.
But what about the tomatoes?! I'm sure you are in a panic, wondering how I could be writing about the winter garden before you have even tasted Sonoma Mountain's tomatoes this year. I can assure you, they are coming. Our first cherry and pear tomatoes are beginning to show some color. It is only a matter of time before they appear in your bags. The peppers, too, are loaded with fruit, and with some hot weather they will begin to show their colors in no time. Our cucumbers are in full bloom and just beginning to develop fruit, and the winter squash are bumpin'.
Meanwhile, our midsummer crops are at their peak. Enjoy your green beans and salads, and we hope that your pears are a treat.

Save the Date!

Our Autumnal Equinox Potluck is rapidly approaching, so now is the time to mark it on your calendar for Saturday, September 20, from 12:30-2:30pm. This is a great opportunity to see the garden in its harvest-season glory, socialize with other members, and share delicious food. We look forward to seeing you there!

Week 10

2008-08-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

In The Bag
Sweet & Sour Plum Glaze
Green Beans ‘provider’
Carrots ‘shin kuroda’
Zucchini & Crookneck
Chard ‘bright lights’
Basil ‘sweet’
Tomatillos ‘puebla verde'
Mini Onions- a couple for your salsa verde
Tomatoes ‘not yet’
Salad Mix ‘maybe next week, if we get your green bags back’

Garden Time
8/5/08
2:00pm
A mix of puffy white clouds moving west and a wispy thin layer to the east. Black crow flies over the garden. Black cat mews and purrs brushing up against my boot. The air is warm a gentle breeze ruffles through broad sorghum and popcorn leaves. Most of the little birds have retreated to the surrounding tree canopies for now, but I hear them talking to one another. Steller’s Jay impersonating Red Tail, not quite as loud, but close. Sharp squeaks coming from down by the creek. As usual when I try to sit down and write in the garden I am distracted by the endless tasks that need to be done. Summer weeds are taking over garden beds when ignored for a day or two, although not all are bad. Some help shade the soil some provide perches and seeds for birds, all grow and will eventually enrich the soil. My role is to favor crop plants to the extent that they will eventually claim their space to mature and feed us. While at the same time being considerate of the bugs, birds and bees that make this a dynamic agroecosystem.
7:00pm
Evening light glows as clouds blanket they sky getting ready to tuck us in for the night. Birds return from their mid day siesta. Black headed Juncos move across the soil pecking as the go. Grey flycatcher with a yellowish belly flies into the sunflower bed surveying his surroundings. Then quickly up hill to the next row of flowers grabbing a bite along the way and then on to a tall weed to look for the next bug to catch. Barn Swallows swarm over the garden fast turns and wing beats, occasionally squeaking at each other. Anna’s Hummingbird visits the zinnias, pulling back from the pretty pink flower as I pass by to show his matching throat glistening in the evening light. Spotted and California Towhee on the wire above. We return to the garden to transplant ‘Sacred’ Basil, harvest the few remaining ‘Gold Coins’ and ‘Purplette’ mini onions. Thin the next succession of beets and give the cilantro some room to grow under the broccoli canopy. I notice one of the old broccoli leaves covered with aphids and one tiny Braconid wasp. Braconid is a native wasp that parasitizes aphids and other crop “pests”. With respect for life and death we all live in balance.

Food Citizens
What the heck is that? The idea of food citizenry implies that as members of a food system we all have rights and responsibilities. First and foremost we all have the right to healthy food. The corresponding responsibilities are to make choices that support; food that is grown with respect to the ecological foundation that makes all life possible; food that is produced with respect for the individuals who together create the network that is our community; and last, but definitely not least, food that is able to sustain the previous two in the economic world in which we currently live. Community supported agriculture is one of the best ways to foster a healthy food system.
CSAs provide a direct connection for flow of nutrients and information to and from the farm/garden and the kitchen. We feel that so far, in our first season we have been doing a respectable job to keep the goodness coming from our garden. We also acknowledge the fact that we have made some mistakes, or better put we have had some good learning experiences in the garden. However, we would like to ask for your thoughts and feedback as well. Over the next week we will be putting together our mid-season survey. Please use this opportunity to give us your thoughts, opinions, and constructive criticism.

Cooking with Tomatillos
A very simple way to prepare tomatillos is to slice them and fry them in a pan. They can then be added to eggs for breakfast or tacos for dinner. The most common way you will find tomatillos prepared, however, is in a ‘salsa verde’.
Salsa Verde
tomatillos, husked
onion, chopped
garlic, chopped
jalapeno peppers, chopped
chopped fresh cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
1. Place tomatillos in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Simmer until tomatillos soften and begin to burst, about 10 minutes.
2. Drain tomatillos and place in a food processor or blender with onion, garlic, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, salt and pepper. Blend to desired consistency.
Enjoy this salsa over a meat dish, on tacos, enchiladas or burritos, or as a dipping sauce for chips!

Plum Glaze
Elli made this plum glaze with the abundance of Santa Rosa plums we got from our members and neighbors, Rick & Marcia. It has 3 ingredients: plums, a bit of honey, and Pomona’s citrus-based pectin. Plum glaze is traditionally used on pork chops; however, it is a wonderful addition to any meat or vegetable dish. We have tried it out with just about everything, even mixing it into our salad dressing! Whatever your tastes may be it is sure to delight. Enjoy!
As usual, we will be grateful to those who return the jar when it is empty. We will then be able to sterilize and re-use it for future preserves.

Mid-Summer

2008-07-30T12:24:00.000-07:00

What's in the Bag...
-Green Beans ('Provider')
-Summer Squash ('Black Zucchini' & 'Yellow Crookneck')
-Carrots ('Shin Kuroda')
-Broccoli ('DiCicco' & 'Thompson')
-Green Onions ('White Scallion' & 'Deep Purple')
-Fennel ('Zefa Fino')
-Parsley ('Forest Green')
-Salad Mix

Green Bean Garden
The green bean harvest is upon us. This morning I was crawling in the narrow pathway between the dense canopies of the green bean jungle, lifting up leaves and peering underneath to find clusters of green bean pods hanging below the upper canopy that is in full bloom. As the sun came up, bumble bees and other buzzing pollinators arrived, cruising up and down the green bean rows, stopping regularly to visit an attractive blossom. Their legs were already heavy with bright orange pollen, which I suspected to be from an early morning visit to the squash blossoms. Last night with dinner we blanched some of our first green beans of the summer, and dressed them with a creamy dill sauce. Although we made extra thinking that they would be good left-overs for the next day, those tasty beans never made it to the fridge.

It has been a busy week for us here at the ranch, as we are taking our first time away from the garden (not at the same time, of course). It is a summer of weddings and marriage celebrations, so Balyn spent this past weekend in Los Angeles, dressing in his finest for his good friend's wedding party. This upcoming weekend Elli will be in New York to celebrate a marriage in her family (did we mention that they are Sonoma Mountain CSA members?)
Congratulations Becky & Jeff!
I will admit I am tired after tending to the garden (among other responsibililties) for four days without Balyn, and am happy to have him home again. This weekend he will be joined by some generous helping hands on Sunday for harvest while I am away, after which we will both be sticking around the rest of the season.

Throughout these mid-summer happenings, we have been continuing to sow seeds in the garden, transplant young seedlings that are ready to stretch their roots out into the soil, and enjoy the season's delicious vegetables. Hope you are enjoying them too.

Week 8

2008-07-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

In the Bag
Red Romaine & Green Romaine (full share) ‘Majestic Red & Jericho’
Dill ‘ Bouquet’
Parsley ‘Forest Green’
Radish ‘Easter Egg’
Carrots ‘Scarlet Nantes’
Zucchini & Crookneck
Cippolini ‘Gold Coin’

Fresh Herb Recipes from Nourishing Traditions
(with Sonoma Mountain CSA modifications)

Tabouli (Parsley Salad)
½ cup bulgur
big bunch of parsley
1 or 2 finely chopped cippolini
3 diced tomatoes
½ cup or more lemon juice
½ cup or more extra virgin olive oil
Soak bulgur for about 10 minutes in warm water. Pour into a strainer rinse and squeeze dry. Chop parsley finely. Mix all ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for several hours before serving.

Creamy Dill Sauce
1 egg
1 tablespoon grated cippolini
4 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons finely chopped dill
1 teaspoon sea salt
¼ pepper
1 cup fresh cream
Beat egg and combine with remaining ingredients. Add more salt or lemon to taste.

Recipe Reflection
There are a few ingredients in these recipes that we are currently unable to provide. For example tomatoes and olive oil for the tabouli, or eggs for the creamy dill sauce. However, if you visit your local farmers market you will probably be able to find these items of the highest quality and affordable prices. Tomatoes are still green on our plants, which means they should be ripe and in the bags in a few more weeks. In the mean time if you don't yet have your own tomatoes visit Crescent Moon or Ortiz in Santa Rosa or Cotati for those juicy summer fruits. For eggs visit Storybook Sustainables in Cotati or Triple T in Santa Rosa. Like fruits and vegetables fresh local eggs are much tastier and healthier, for individuals and the environment, than those from factory farms. Olive oil may be a bit pricey at farmers markets, but when comparing price with similar products at a supermarket one must consider some of the hidden costs. For example, transportation and packaging. These hidden cost are essentially subsidized by the established global industrial food system. Which in turn is supported by oil (not olive) and all the "costs" that come with it. These "costs" are real. To list a few; war, environmental, and social destruction. So, if your not too keen on mixing war and oil with your food, support your local growers and food providers. Together we can grow a bountiful and beautiful local food system.

July Moon

2008-07-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

The night becomes illuminated by the moon, growing larger in the sky. It is time to plant again.
Seeds planted last month have just moved out of the greenhouse to strengthen their tender young leaves and roots for transplanting. Preparing a bed for salad mix reveals a red newt from beneath the loose oak duff. Fruit is developing on pepper & tomato plants, winter squash begin to take form, and apples begin to blush on the trees.
This morning greeted us with an overcast sky and a temperature that required two layers of warm clothing- a welcome change from the heat of the past week. We transplanted flowers in among the eggplants, which never fully recovered from their stressful childhoods of heavy flat mix in a cold greenhouse this late winter. Although it does not look like we will have a huge eggplant harvest this summer, I am now able to eagerly anticipate a late-summer show of the bold, delicate blooms of the strawflower, the broad yellow sunflower-like saucers of the rudbeckia, and the pink spires of hollyhock blossoms. After transplanting and watering, I spent some time in among the winter squash hills, removing some tall grasses that have grown up in clusters so that the squash have plenty of space to sprawl outwards. We were able to broadcast seeds for a succession of salad mix in some shady beds above the greenhouse before the fog cleared and the hot sun told us it was time for lunch.

What's in the Bag...

New Potatoes ('Dark Red Norland')
Carrots ('Scarlet Nantes')
Fennel ('Zefa Fino')
Broccoli ('DeCicco' & 'Thompson')
Greens Bouquet (Collards, Kales, Chard)
Head Lettuce ('Sweet Valentine' Butter; 'Jericho' Romaine in full shares only)
Salad Mix (spicy-sweet blend of arugula with leaf lettuce)

"Fennel is Tasty!"
gopher liked it so much that he came back for more...
Fennel has a fantastically distinct yet mild flavor, which I absolutely love. If you are at a loss for how to incorporate your fennel bulb into a meal, I would like to offer two suggestions for how it can be prepared:
-Raw, sliced very thinly, and tossed into a salad. Delicious!
-Sauteed lightly in butter, and used as a topping on pizza. Yum.

People Power
Your very own Wild Rose Ranch is now the only vendor at the Cotati Farmer's Market that arrives by bicycle. Last Thursday was the first day that we secured our baskets, signs, and bins of veggies onto our new bike trailers and set out for a beautiful ride down the hill. Of course coming home up the hill was a bit more challenging, but the sweet blackberries along the way sustained our energy until we got home.

Season of Fruit & Preserves
Summer fruit season is now in full swing! We have been collecting blackberries and wild plums from around the ranch to make jam and jelly preserves that will keep this tasty summer fruit in our home long after the season has passed. For those of you who love canning but don't like to use the mass quantities of white sugar that most recipes call for, we have found a great way to make fruit preserves with very little sweetener, and all local ingredients. Pomona's Universal Pectin is a citrus-based pectin that does not require white sugar to set. When we make our plum jelly with this pectin, we sweeten it with a small amount of honey that has been produced in Cloverdale, and thus are able to make fruit preserves that are tasty, not too sweet, and continue to support our local food system.

2008-07-09T12:40:00.000-07:00

July 6, 2008
“The world faces 3 simultaneous crisis; food crisis, climate crisis, and development crisis. The three crisis are deeply interconnected and need to be addressed as such” U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon
“You can’t be neutral on a moving train” Howard Zinn

Summer Interdependence
Fireworks explode in the middle of the night. The dogs freaked out scratch at the door, run around looking for safety, a sense of security between the booms. Hardly dangerous compared to most places in the world with such sound. A celebration, the fourth of July 2008, Two hundred thirty two years of independence from the evil repressive British empire, and where are we now? Two hundred thirty two years of repression, genocide, environmental destruction. Freedom and independence from what, reality? Is it really acceptable that one nation, under god, with liberty and justice for all, be responsible for some of the most horrendous acts of military aggression and economic slavery. Is it acceptable that we, as citizens of this nation and members of the world community allow this to continue? I think we all know the answer to this question, No! Yet at the same time feel we helpless under the powers of this fascist dictatorial Bush/Cheney regime. Politicians, warmongers, and transnational corporations have profited immensely, but it is naive to give them all the blame. After all in a marketplace there must be a buyer and seller, otherwise there is no business. The first thing G.W said after 9/11 was to go to the mall and continue life as usual. So what do we do, continue life as normal.
All actions are related, there is really no such thing as independence, only interdependence. It is the illusion of independence and the division of our natural world that created the foundation on which this country was built. On Friday the 4th we listened to Amy Goodman’s radio show Democracy Now. It was a special hour of readings from Howard Zinn’s classic A People’s History of The United States of America. From Columbus’s description of his first interaction with indigenous people of this land, to Fredrick Douglas’s disgust at being asked to speak for a fourth of July celebration. A twelve-year-old girl’s account of revolt in the textile factory, a native response to westward expansion and what would become known as the Trail of Tears, Martin Luther King Jr. speaking for peaceful protest against injustice, and Malcolm X calling violent uprising. I was fortunate to have this book as one of my U.S history text books in high school. It gave me valuable background information to put my life’s journey in context. Most importantly it gave me the tools to see through the illusion created by this proud and free United States of America. Our states are hardly united; we are constantly battling over red or blueness, and the use, or misuse of natural resources. We are among the most highly developed modern nation, but for the most part this so-called 1st world has been made possible by exploitation of the “underdeveloped” 3rd world. I find it tragically ironic that now, 2008, we are faced with the challenges of recreating localized food systems and ways of living, and it is the traditional knowledge and experience of the underdeveloped peoples of the world that teach us some of the most valuable lessons.

Week 6
In the Bag
Head Lettuce
(half share- 'Jericho' Romaine;
full share- 'Majestic Red' Romaine & 'Buttercrunch')
Dill (Bouquet)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Beets (Early Wonder Tall Top)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Cabbage (Golden Acre)
Summer squash (Black Zucchini, Yellow Crookneck)

Garden Talk
Red Shoulder’s sharp short high pitch calls start the morning as she returns to her nest in the Bay trees across the creek. The heat, not so bad, yet. It is amazing that all the cabbage, broccoli and lettuce have not bolted into reproduction mode, breaking heads and tight buds to flower and turning sweet crunchiness bitter. We have been struggling to keep bare sprouting seed beds moist, however our first attempt at oversowing, more appropriately undersowing beets and cilantro beneath the canopy of maturing broccoli seems to working great. Microclimates are incredibly fascinating, taking place on every level and scale from landscape to garden to blocks of beds to individual beds and plants within the beds. Such interactions of a diversity of species are what lead to the emergent qualities of a dynamic agroecosystem. Watering has become a late afternoon/evening activity. With a week straight of over 90 degree weather and looming smoky dry air, day time conditions do not favor infiltration and percolation of moisture in the soil. Lots of photosynthesizing, sequestering the sun’s energy and carbon from the air, storing them as simple sugars for cooler night time temperatures to become plant parts we know and love. Zucchinis grow faster than can be picked, each plant putting forth two or three fat fruits per week. Yellow Crooknecks explode with six to eight bumpy skinned squash per plant, and the first flowers of winter squash have begun to appear. Two Anna’s Hummingbirds zoom over the garden in a chase; Red Tail’s long cries come from the small grove of Redwoods and Doug Firs to the southwest. I can’t see her but this been going on for weeks. Turkey Vultures circle above the open meadow and Scrub Jay perches on the tall post of the garden gate. A big black and yellow bumblebee moves up and down the row of tomatillos visiting every open flower. A strong smell wafts through the air; I look over remembering the recently finished and newly started piles of compost. Ah the smell of manure in the morning.

Julio- Week 5

2008-07-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Contents:

What's in the bag
In the Garden
Food Security

What's in the Bag...

zucchini (black)
carrots (scarlet nantes)
mini onions (gold coin)
greens (kale 'red russian,' 'white russian,' 'lacinato')
greens (chard 'bright lights', collards 'champion')
basil (Genovese)

In the Garden

In the garden the tomatoes have been trellised to ensure that there will still be narrow pathways for us to step when it is time to harvest. We have stopped plucking off their delicate yellow blossoms; it is time to develop fruit. I love watching the beans grow, spreading their broad green leaves out to form a shady canopy, the first few blossoms promising our first green bean harvest within a couple of weeks. Sometimes we will spot a small black or orange head peek below the gate- the curious kittens have begun to follow us up to the garden. Of course they don't stick around for too long, before a gust of wind or a sudden move sends them in a comical sprint, fluffy-tailed and wide-eyed, back to the safety of the barn.
By the end of next week, our first compost pile will be complete. Layered with your kitchen scraps, horse manure from our neighbors down the road, and the plant material we collected after clearing the turnip and snow pea beds, we will begin a second pile while we let this one decompose with the activity of all the fungi, beneficial bacteria, and invertebrates that have taken up residence. There's nothing like seeing a big, steaming pile of compost cooking next to the garden on a chilly morning.

Food Security

The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) allowed the United States to unload cheap, government-subsidized corn onto the market in Mexico, undermining the livelihoods of small subsistence farmers and forcing families to make the desparate choice of starving or emigrating north in search of work. Although undocumented farm labor in California was not unheard of before NAFTA was passed, the numbers of illegal border crossings have surged since then. There are entire regions in Mexico that used to be populated by small farmers who have been economically forced off of their land into cities or north into California to feed their families. This situation is loaded with important issues regarding basic human rights, farm labor, immigration, trade policy, and subsidies (to name only a few), and all deserve a close look and demand appropriate action to be taken.
The issue of food security is one that most of us are unfamiliar with, living in a wealthy nation with supermarkets that are overflowing with a seemingly limitless selection of food. The labels in these supermarkets make it easy to mask the journey that these foods have taken: from Monsanto's patented genetics, to N-P-K soil injections, fungicide sprays, clouds of poisonous gas, mechanically harvested, sent down the assembly line, coated with petroleum wax, shipped to central distribution plant, and trucked to market. Multiply this process by ten and add five more cross-country deliveries for the processed foods. Every step of the way is weighted down by barrels of oil for which we have been at war almost seven long years, and you begin to realize that our food system is far from stable, or secure.
In a recent interview, farmer and writer Wendell Berry comments on how communities can ensure their food security: "Sooner or later, we're not going to be able to afford to haul food in from everywhere in the world. Another reason to think in terms of local food economies is that an extended food system concentrates food at collecting points and transportation arteries, so it's extremely vulnerable... [Communities] have to maintain the health of their local landscapes, and they have to provide a livable income to the people who work those landscapes."
What we are doing here at the ranch would be impossible without the involvement and support of our community, and that is you. Not only have you made the choice to enjoy local, healthy food this summer season, but you helped to start a small farm in your local landscape, one of the first steps toward building a local food economy.
Thank You.

2008-06-25T11:36:00.000-07:00

June 24, 2008
Many thanks to everyone who joined us over the weekend to share in celebration of the first annual Sonoma Mountain CSA Summer Solstice potluck. Garden tours, conversations, networking and good food; what better way could you spend a beautiful summer day. In the garden: potatoes shoot up to the sky from their hills some starting to bloom, purple flowers of All Blue, bright white flowers of the late storage variety Green Mountain. Gopher Snake was spotted in the greenhouse burrow that used to belong to toad; seasonal changes and cycles of life. In the kitchen we discussed details about CSA delivery and pick-up. What can we do to make things more efficient and less wilty? A cooler at the pick-up spot, or a more regular schedule for fresh veggie connections. Our newsletters allow us to share observations and reflections on current events at the ranch, but it is these types of gatherings that really bring our community together. This is community.

Rude Awakening
My eyelids first crack open to greet the morning light, next Penelope, our little black kitten, pounces down from the windowsill above our bed onto my face then scampers out to the living room. Perhaps she was retaliating for the shortage or lack of kibble in her bowl. Of course I scolded her for the attack. What good is it if I only refill the bowl? This would only ensure the same thing to happen next time the dish runs dry. So, I open the window, and hope her breakfast does not become one of our winged friends, instead possibly the cute furry little ground burrowers that have been taking out scarlet runner beans and baby Jalapeño plants. Connectivity is often referred to as the interconnectedness of life. Trying to follow the effect of our actions is like watching ripples in a pond as raindrops break the surface. There is so much going on its hard to see what one drop does. Nevertheless, each drop like every action we take plays significant role in the dynamic process of life. So I continue out to the garden.
Smoky air diffuses sun light to a glowing orange hue. Dragonfly hovers over the summer squash. Snow peas, though still full of dangling pods have stopped flowering and are finally ready to senesce under the heat of summer. Our first succession of green beans bush out to form their canopy, the second succession sprouts up through the dry surface soil. Predatory wasps search the underside of cabbage leaves for larvae to bring back to their babies. Yellow and black winged swallow tail butterfly flutters around then lands on the delicate little leafs of bushy fennel tops. Groups of Towhees, Song Sparrows, and Juncos forage among crops and weeds. Loud buzzing Allens Hummingbird zooms by overhead. It is time to pull roots, shoots, and leafs for the days harvest.

In The Bag
Beet (Early Wonder Tall Top)
Carrots (Scarlet Nantes)
Basil (Genovese)
Green Onions (Mini Gold Coin, Evergreen Scallion, Deep Purple)
Rosemary
Garlic (Early Italian)

A little explanation of bag contents
Generally fresh carrots are sold with the greens left in tact. This is done to show freshness at the market, but since you all know that they were harvested this morning we decided this was unnecessary. Why did we remove their bushy tops before packing the bags? 1. To return them to the garden by adding them to our first summer compost pile, 2. to save you the trouble of stuffing them into the compost container, and 3. once you get them, like all root crops they will keep longer without the loss of moisture through the greens. We left the beet greens attached, so you may snip them your self, but don’t put them straight in the compost or you will be missing out on some of the tastiest and most nutritious greens. The garlic in the bag came from our small trial bed we planted last fall. More than half of the bed was lost to gophers. The bulbs are not completely cured so they probably will not last very long on the shelf, but why should they. We thought it would be nice to have some fresh garlic with those big basil bushes.

Rootsy Recipe
This is just one way to enjoy those tasty roots. It works with all roots, but since its carrots and beets this week use them.
Chop roots into small chunks, toss with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and a pinch of salt.
Lay out everything evenly on a baking tray
Bake until tender
Enjoy

Summer Solstice

2008-06-17T07:11:00.000-07:00

We hope to see you this Saturday at the
Summer Solstice Potluck here at Wild Rose Ranch!
12:00-2:00pm

Contents:

What's in the bag...
Solstice a poem
The Summer Garden
Cooking with Greens

What's in the Bag...
Snow Peas ('Oregon Sugar Pod II')
Radish ('Cherry Belle')
Zucchini ('Black')
Lettuce (mixed)
Bunched Greens (Collards, Kale, Chard)
Lavender

Solstice
cold soil
slow moving
the sun's warmth
awakens life
churning, releasing, cycling
binding, exchanging
emerging!
the strong succulent neck
drinks its first rays of sunlight
and curls upwards to pull
infant leaves
from below the surface
roots run deep
long days, broad leaves, green canopy
casting shadows
insulating
Earth turning
a reminder that spring becomes fall:
the Summer Solstice
delicate blossoms shed white petals
swelling
nurturing
glowing with promises of future generations
days get shorter
nights grow longer
tired leaves lose their vibrant luster
tucking seeds into their pods
with a warm blanket of energy
dormant
cold soil
slow moving

The Summer Garden
Fruit is swelling on the trees. The winter Fava bean bed has been cleared and re-planted. Late successions of summer squash and tomatoes are planted. Field mice and gophers munch the tops off of bean sprouts. Lavender in full bloom. Popcorn growing a few inches taller every day. Winter squash is claiming its space in the garden. Onions with round, succulent leaves. Basil bunches are filling out. Cabbage is heading up. Too late to plant dry beans and flour corn this year.. wait until next. Tomatillo blossoms hang their heads. The air buzzes with pollinators. A cucumber beetle lands on the amaranth. Morning fog, time to work. Mid-day heat radiates. Peaceful evening tending to the garden. 9:00 dinner. Good night, sleep tight.

Cooking with Greens
Greens- Collards, Kale, Chard- are a staple in our diet, sometimes appearing in our meals three times a day. They haven't always been, of course, but once you start cooking with them you realize that greens taste good in just about everything! So, here's a few suggestions for all those greens that keep appearing in your bag.

Preparation:
To prepare greens, I stack them one on top of another, with all the stems on the same side. Then I slice them horizontally (perpendicular to the mid-rib) into thin ribbons. I discard the thicker, more fibrous end of the stem into the compost.

Cooking:
The key to delicious greens is not to overcook them. Once they have been cut into thin ribbons, they really only need to be cooked a few short minutes to become more tender. Overcooked greens taste slimy and bitter, while lightly braised greens will taste sweet and fresh. In a pan, heat some cooking oil with chopped garlic or onion until tender. Then add the greens and you will watch them change shades from their dark forest-green to a bright leaf-green. Cook a couple minutes longer, then eat as a side dish or as a garnish on soup.

Here are a few other ways we incorporate greens into our meals:
-cooked with scrambled eggs for breakfast
-in a quesadilla for lunch
-added to almost any type of soup
-as a pizza topping (yum!)
-added to a pasta sauce

Enjoy