FIRST SHARE JUNE 12TH, JUNE 14TH

We have beautiful stuff coming up.  First market is next week and first share is around the corner!  I (Julia) sent out emails last week to our CSA members to confirm the date of their first pick-up:

"June 12th if you are a Tuesday person, June 14th if you pick-up on Thursdays."  

This spring has been a rollercoaster for our crops as they try to adapt to 95 degrees one day and 60 degrees the next.  The week of 80 degrees in March upset our rhubarb and jump-started the garlic.  We have garlic scapes already, earlier than ever.  And bunnies are rampant out here!  Our mild winter gave them more than enough opportunity to do what all bunnies like to do in their free time.  So, lots of bunnies...
People have asked us what we think the mild winter will mean for our crops.  We aren't sure.  More bugs?  Maybe.  But more bugs mean more beneficial bugs, too, so we are hoping it will all balance out.  We have more hands on board this year to tackle that problem, armed for anything.  Can't wait to meet our members and share our harvests--soon very soon!

RAdishes!

Cilantro!

Dill!

Spinach!

Mixed Greens!

Arugula under row cover.

Garlic scape, ready to eat.

Introducing Joe (again!)

Welcome Joe!

Katie and Carolyn

Spinach getting to size for our first week's share in June!

Joe has returned to The Plot after a year of working on another farm, his fourth farm.  (He was an intern for us in 2010, one of the few and proud to have lived a whole season in a motor home.)  This year and, for as long as we can hold onto him, he will act as our Assistant Farm Manager.  We are very thankful for him as he can do the work of two, while looking fashionable.  In partial payment for his experience/expertise,  we are giving Joe 2 acres for his own use.  On this ground, he has started Three Plaid Farmers with cohorts Carolyn and Katie above.  Read about their adventures on their blog:  blog.threeplaid.com
This type of exchange follows--although not exactly-- the idea of the "incubator farm" like Prairie Crossing in Grayslake.   In our scenario, instead of rent for the land, Joe is exchanging a significant amount labor for us, and responsibility.  We are banking on such overlapping efforts and cooperation to yield more local and organic produce for all.
In addition to Joe, we have welcomed Meredith, Laura and Justin as part-time interns.  More on these three next post.

Meredith

Justin
Laura..photo to come!

The Head Peasant himself, Todd.

In Case You Think You Don't Like Kale

I'm working on recipe cards to go with your weekly shares.  Sample above!  -Julia

What is a CSA again?

What is Community Supported Agriculture?

A little history:  The acronym was coined in a recent decade by Robyn Van En, a farmer in New England who was looking into a way for small farmers to successfully and sustainably re-enter the agriculture scene.  She and others realized it was no longer viable to sell grains and vegetables in a market that thought of food as just another commodity.  Many vegetables in the grocery stores come from only a handful of corporations and are sourced from all over the world.  So, as many documentarians and writers are asking nowadays: 

Where is our food coming from?  What are we all eating?

Joining a CSA farm basically means paying for a share of the harvest prior to the growing season, an investment used for seed and labor.  This investment pays off in the form of a regular delivery of fresh vegetables straight from the farm in a box, a tote, a help-yourself cooler, or straight off the farm stand.  There are many variations of CSA.

I checked out a few other farms’ websites to see how they defined CSA.  I liked Tomato Mountain’s description of the CSA model as more of a “relationship-based approach” to the business of growing, selling and distributing food.  Grass-roots at its best.

WHY DO IT:

Benefits to the consumer are many.  First of all, it’s an easy way to get a good amount of vitamins, nutrients and anti-oxidants into your diet, not to mention a healthy way to source your calories. Freshly-picked vegetables have more nutrient content than those that travel in trucks and sit in grocery stores.

A real connection to your food and health is possible.

The CSA model can be rewarding because the consumer can actually establish a relationship with their farmer through farm visits, emails, recipes, notes on the website, and even tips on preserving your vegetables through the winter. Buying local reduces the chain of people and energy consumption between farmer and consumer.  Want to know how your food is grown?  Visit the farm to see.  Worried about pesticides and disease?  Ask the farmer directly.  Know that your vegetables have been picked only a couple days before you get them for the most flavor and vitamin content.

It is rewarding for farmers, too. In contrast to farmers markets, CSA delivery is a sure thing, a secured income for farmers in the already volatile business of manipulating nature.  The farmers truly appreciate their members and strive to give them the best selection possible. 

I think it is a rich experience for all involved.

Tax Season and Court Cases

Instead of paying my annual sales tax and filling out 1099s for the deadline tomorrow, I am blogging. After blogging I plan to surf the internet for “insulated tote bags” while cooking up a batch of vegetable paella.

The Midwest Organic farm conference is next month.  Todd and I normally save up to go to this since it is the meeting place for all sorts of beginning and prospering small farmers from Main to California.  It is where I once heard a scientist definitively link pesticides to cancer, where I learned about the endangerment of organic beet seed and the success of high tunnels, and where I learned to have optimism in this line of business.  It is where Todd and I go to feel inspired.

Alas, we will not make the trip this year, but we can garner inspiration from other sources.

One such source is the publication by MOSES (the same organization that does the farm conference) called  Organic Broadcaster.  I read an article that detailed the new class action suit against Monsanto.  To get all the details you can visit the Public Patent Foundation website at www.pubpat.org/mnsanto-seed-patents

It is a complicated case but the reason for it is this:  “The organic plaintiffs were forced to sue preemptively to protect themselves from being accused of patent infringement should they ever become contaminated by Monsanto’s genetically modified seed, something Monsanto has done to others in the past.”

The article I read and am now quoting from is

“Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association et al. v. Monsanto  -- David Takes on Goliath”

Organic Broadcaster v. 20, No. 1.

 “Society stands on the precipice of forever being bound to transgenic agriculture and transgenic food.  Coexistence between transgenic seed and organic seed is impossible because transgenic seed contaminates and eventually overcomes organic seed.  History has already shown this, as soon after transgenic seed for canola was introduced, organic canola became virtually extinct as a result of transgenic seed contamination.  Organic corn, soybean, cotton, sugar beet and alfalfa now face the same fate, as transgenic seed has been released for each of those crops, too.  Transgenic seed is being developed for many other crops, thus putting the future of all food, and indeed all agriculture, at stake.”

Scary stuff, huh? 

A more amusing quote from the same periodical:

Chick-fil-A Says “Eat More Kale” Shirt Confuses Public

A silkscreen design artist from Vermont is being warned by national fast-food chain Chick-fil-A to stop selling his bestselling t-shirt that simply states “Eat More Kale,” citing the phrase muddles the company’s famous “Eat Mor Chickin” campaign. 

I think I'll go google "Eat More Kale."  And THEN I'll do my bookkeeping.

Peasantly,

Julia

ps  KEEP THE RENEWALS AND SIGN-UPS COMING! NOW'S THE TIME!

Two Winter Markets!--Happened Today!

Thanks to everyone who made it to the markets today:

January 8th

Chicago – The Glenwood Sunday Market – Glenwood Ave at Morse “Your Green Stop on the Red Line at Morse” 6962 N. Glenwood 9am – 2pm

Chicago – The Logan Square Farmers Market – 2135 N. Milwaukee at The Congress Theater 10am – 2pm

__________________________________________________________________________________

Todd and I try to support our local farmer friends whenever we can.  We know that buying produce and meat directly from the farmer is a decision with huge impact. 

So it is with trepidation that I confess sometimes I go to Whole Foods on the premise of market research.  I do the research, and then I buy the bathsalts.

Todd says that

“Whole Foods is where to go if you want to see a bunch of people trying really hard not to smile.”

He’s including us in this, of course, because it is hard not to be impressed by the selection and the display at Whole Foods especially when you can buy mason jars for refilling your honey. The cupholders, the blood oranges, the express checkouts!  The wine bar, the cheeses, the fresh figs!  Every turn has been anticipated by a team of designers so that you barely have to remember where you parked your car and you are ushered invisibly right where you want to be.  I am sure the brilliance of the marketing experts is rewarded well.  I sometimes wonder about the farmers.

People who love food will always love Whole Foods, but the best way to support truly local farming on small acreage is to do so directly, at markets or –even better—by joining a CSA farm.   

Still Life With Squash

Kale for Christmas or Whenever

Missing fresh veggies?  Is everyone now grateful for the time they spent blanching and freezing this summer?  Ready to pull out the chard yet?
Since December was so mild, you will likely find fresh local kale or spinach for sale at a Chicagoland Winters Farmers Market.  Check this website for dates and locations:

www.faithinplace.org

or

https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6265/images/All%20Markets%20Flyer-2.pdf


Wherever you find your kale, below is an idea to convert kale haters to kale lovers.  Avoiding the usual tricks like adding bacon and butter, I followed this simple procedure this Christmas for tenderizing kale leaves and converting kale haters:

Kale Recipe For Brothers-in-Law Who Don't Eat Kale But Should

• First de-stem the leaves and chop. 
• Then "massage" in balsamic vinegar, a small splash of lemon and a healthy dose of salt.  When you massage it, you'll notice the salad reducing in size which is what you want, because it means it has started to break down and soften.
• Sautee chopped garlic in about 4 TBS olive oil.  
• After the garlic cooks for two minutes or so, add the marinated kale.  
• Reduce heat to medium low and stir frequently.  The leaves should still be a nice green, but soft.

• (If you want even softer kale, add a little water or wine and cover the pan.  Check by listening for water simmering.)

Enjoy and try not to gloat!

A photo from last year, actually.  No snow on the farm right now.