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CSAs: An Inside Look at the Farm
Last week we talked about all the great experiences many of us have had with being CSA members, and today I wanted to share something that I wasn’t expecting to learn by subscribing to to one.
I knew that I would learn to eat and cook a wider variety of vegetables and that I’d be able to use our CSA as a means of teaching my kids about food and where it comes from, but I wasn’t expecting to learn so much about farming, and more specifically about how the weather effects our food supply and availability.
In our culture, we’re so used to being able to get any kind of produce, no matter what the season. But those of us who are trying to eat more locally and seasonally know how precious each crop is, as it only appears for its dedicated time– when it’s gone it’s gone. This year I was able to get a glimpse of how, even in Southern California, “extreme” weather can do some serious damage, testing the preparedness and creativity of even the most seasoned farmers.
I wanted to share a letter with you today that I received on April 11th of this year from my farm, just to give you all a peek inside the workings, struggles and successes of a small farm.
Hello CSA Members,
The 2010-2011 season may be the most difficult year in farming ever. Last year our first seedlings of tomatoes and squash were in the ground. This year, the ground just isn’t warm enough and so we lost all the seedlings. The heavy rains have been pounding the soil and flooding the fields.
Those of you that have been with us awhile may be wondering about the winter cabbage, turnips, kohlrabi and cauliflower. Well the heavy rains literally pounded the top soil, along with the nutrients, deep into the soil and brought up the decomposed granite. These plants were not happy and so these crops were lost.
On a brighter side, we’re so fortunate to have a forward thinking farmer and last year Joe spent considerable time, effort and expense covering over five acres of greenhouses. Now we have cucumbers that are just starting to come in. You should see them in your boxes more and more. There is a huge planting of basil that will be harvesting in about 4-6 weeks. Green beans are also growing in the greenhouses and we may be harvested around the end of May.
The sweet peas in the fields are looking great and should be producing shortly. As you know, our last crop was ruined by a hail storm. Joe has planted a serious bed of garlic and we should be supplied with green garlic for awhile (I can never get enough of that).
The strawberry fields are looking very good and the berries are extra large this year. However, too much rain and the fruit gets a soft spot where it touches the ground. So a few more sunshiny days and they will be perfect.
So hang in there everyone, more variety is just around the corner. Meanwhile enjoy your wonderful produce.
I loved receiving this letter because it continued to make so real the fact that our fruits and vegetables are products of the hard work of our farmers. They don’t just come from industrialized supermarket stock, but they have been carefully planted and tended to.
Our local farms our fragile, and utterly dependent on the weather, and I’m thankful to have such a resourceful farmer who somehow still delivers bountiful boxes of produce, even if it’s not exactly what was expected or planned.
Let’s hear it for the small farms– they were once so abundant in our country and now are rare gems in an over-industrialized, impersonal food culture!
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I came across this and thought it was really interesting and relevant. Enjoy!
Why Every Day Should be Earth Day
The following is a guest post by Stacie Tharp of Plant With Purpose
April 22nd will mark the 41st annual Earth Day celebration, a tradition that began decades ago with one U.S. Senator determined to put environmental issues on the map. Fast forward to today, and hundreds of millions of people in hundreds of countries across the globe come out in droves to local fairs and rallies, all in the name of going green.
With all the hoopla surrounding Earth Day, it makes me wonder- why isn’t every day Earth Day?
Each day, each of us is presented with opportunities to make decisions that will either help or harm the environment. From the way we dispose of waste to the type of food we buy, we all have a role in protecting the Earth.
This Earth Day, what if we all decide to do something that will make an impact beyond April 22nd? One of the most powerful ways to make a lasting change just so happens to be one of the easiest.
Plant a tree.
For just $1, you can plant a tree that will not only help protect the water supply and prevent natural disasters, but will also empower rural poor farmers to lift themselves out of poverty.Plant With Purpose is an environmental non-profit working internationally to reverse deforestation and poverty amongst the rural poor, and has been planting trees in six countries around the world for 25 years. The simple act of planting a tree can drastically improve the quality of life for the millions of poor farmers who depend on the land daily for survival. Check out this video to learn more.
This April, Plant With Purpose launched its “Trees Please! Campaign” in order to raise $10,000 to plant 10,000 trees by Earth Day. You can actively partner with Plant With Purpose, and millions of others across the globe, in an effort to protect the environment by taking any of these action steps:
- Bike to work four times in the next month instead of driving and plant two orchards ($20)
- For every hour you don’t watch TV you can save approximately $4.00. Challenge yourself to unplug your tube until Earth Day and you could save almost enough for a forest ($100)
- Sponsor a village for less than you spend on coffee in a month ($32/month)
- Check out our website here to learn about the many other ways you can make a difference
This Earth Day, let’s all make a decision that will last beyond tomorrow. Beyond the rallies and the fairs, beyond the poster contests and craft projects at elementary schools, and even beyond the borders of our own country. Join Plant With Purpose as we seek to improve the quality of life for the earth and the billions of us who call it home, one tree at a time.
Stacie Tharp is the Public Relations and Events Intern at Plant With Purpose.
Editor’s note: I really love the work that Plant with Purpose does. We’ve sponsored a village in Ojo de Agua, Mexico for several years now and I love getting updates on how the village is learning new skills to help them sustain themselves, and learning to use the land more wisely. By being involved in sponsorship, I’ve been amazed to learn how much of an impact deforestation has had on poverty.
If you’d like to learn more about Plant With Purpose’s mission and history, I highly recommend reading Tending to Eden: Environmental Stewardship for God’s People
, a book by the executive director of the organization, Scott Sabin.CURRENT SPONSORS:
- Family Camping Handbook - over 20 real food recipes + tips.
- Healthy Snacks to Go - 30+ recipes for real food snacks, fast.
http://www.salon.com/life/sustainable_food/index.html?story=/food/feature/2011/05/18/fracking_food_supply
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd give this blog a try :-)
The link is to an article explaining risks that farmers and consumers in our region face if fracking is allowed in the Delaware River Basin, as is currently being contemplated by the Delaware River Basin Commission.
Thanks for sharing your link, John! We'll have to check it out.
ReplyDelete