“Food What?!” – Welcome Back
With every passing week the workload is ratcheting up another notch. The increasing number of tasks mimics the abundance in the field and, since most of them are manual by nature, work often starts at dawn and sometimes doesn’t stop until dusk.
You will notice green beans and red raspberries in your shares this week. Both are popular crops, but time consuming to pick. With apricots also ripening and ready to be added to the harvest schedule, you can imagine how excited we are to welcome back 25 youths from the “Food What?!” program to give us a helping hand.
Food What?! Team Leaders
Similar to last year, every Friday for the next 5-6 weeks this wonderful group of teens will circle up at 9AM under the large oak tree by our Green Valley Barn ready to take on field tasks scheduled for that day.
What I like about this partnership is that teens are empowered to directly engage in the operation of a real working farm, where they have the opportunity to work side by side with our employees, experiencing literally from the ground up the fruits of their labor. Whether it’s weeding a 1 acre block of peppers or cutting and packing lettuce for a weekend market, these apparently simple tasks teach a lot about one’s stamina, ability to work in a team, learning new skills and paying attention to detail, under often unaccustomed outdoor conditions. I like the name “Food What?!”, it reflects what is at the core of our well-being – understanding our connection to healthy food and where it comes from.
Food What?! teens helping with the carrot harvest.
Weeding rows of pepper plants.
Planting seedlings.
The team planting many flats of seedlings.
Oh Joy – Picking & Tasting in the Fields
It feels as if the season is turning into summer a little earlier than usual … yesterday I was fixing an irrigation line in one of our apricot orchards and was surprised when a branch of orange fruit caught my eye.
These ‘cots may look ripe, yet they’ve got another week or two to go before they’re ready to pick.
My hand instinctively reached for them, and to my surprise a few of the fruit were soft. I had to stop everything – my whole body was excited with anticipation of tasting the very first ripe “Blenheim” of the season.
Farmer Tom enjoying his first apricot of the season. Though others have looked, we have yet to find his secret patch of ripe ‘cots.
What a treat, all my senses celebrated savoring this exquisite fruit. For a moment all my worries were set aside, I was just filled with gratitude and joy. It’s hard to explain in words, it’s something you’ve got to go out and try.
Come out and join us this Saturday for the Season’s first Community Farm Day and Strawberry U-Pick event. It’s fun to experience and taste something directly from our fields and orchards – a way to understand what it takes to enjoy a good meal each day.
Details
When: Saturday May 31st, 10am – 3pm
Where: Enter the farm at our “Green Valley Entrance” at 1275 Green Valley Road (click here for directions)
Parking: Please follow the parking signs when you get here
Cost: No entry fee. U-harvested strawberries will only cost $2.50 basket (50 cents will benefit the Discovery Program).
Limit: There may be a limit on how many strawberries one gets to pick, however we will offer extra strawberries at our Farm Stand if you like to stock up. We will also offer refreshments and some healthy foods and snacks if you like to explore and picnic on the farm.
Other: We ask that you do not bring dogs to our farm; please leave them at home.
The Community Strawberry Field is ready and waiting for you. 🙂
Just the Beginning!
Here is a picture I couldn’t resist sharing with you all since many of you have met Chella, our “ferocious” Farmdog, and Clover, the farm’s 2 week-old baby Pony.
And, I hope you will join us here on the farm for our first Community Farm Day/Strawberry U-Harvest on May 31st (click here for more details).
Happy members with their strawberry harvest.
Now, on to News & Reflections –
Farming can feel like a dynamic entanglement of priorities where there is always more work waiting to be done. At the moment we are in the middle of Spring’s crescendo having to orchestrate planting and sowing schedules to coincide with field and soil cultivation, time weeding and watering schedules, and balance harvest, packing, and deliveries to meet weekly orders for stores, restaurants, CSA shares and Farmer’s markets.
In the orchards we are watering, thinning fruit, weeding, and keeping an eye out for insect and deer damage. The tomatoes and raspberries are being staked – plants are growing so fast it’s important they get trellised to grow upright and not fall over.
At this time of year equipment breakdowns are always a bit stressful since timing of certain tasks are thrown off. Yesterday, for example, our flail-mower developed a big crack in the housing that holds the shaft and bearing which will take several days to fix, resulting in a delay to set up the irrigation in one of our orchards and tilling a field where the next lettuce crop will be planted. Breakdowns are unavoidable, however we try to minimize them by doing daily routine inspections and performing most maintenance and preventive repairs right here on the farm.
Like weeds, the list of chores right now never stops growing and their harmonious orchestration wouldn’t be possible if there wasn’t an amazing team of dedicated and super motivated employees who wear many hats, paying attention to the well-being of the farm’s soils, crops, animals, and the diverse community of people – workers, members, school children, and the many customers throughout the Bay Area we deliver our fresh, delicious produce to.
Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!
Every Vote Counts – So does every Meal
Wednesday morning I was helping load the delivery truck and it made me happy to think of all our members who will receive their shares. Freshly harvested the day before, they will most likely be transformed into a healthy home cooked meal by the evening.
Most of you will agree that a weekly CSA share makes a small but not so insignificant difference in our daily lifestyle. To prepare and cook with the produce we receive takes time, it slows us down, and it creates a breather. In our family it’s a ritual to come together to prepare and share a meal at least once a day – usually dinner. Sharing food becomes the conduit for bridging time and space and renewing our bonds as a family. It’s a moment to catch up on what happened that day, an opportunity to complain, praise, reflect, laugh, and share the latest news about work, school, friends, and family.
It may seem like an insignificant and humble act how we decide to eat our meals and what we decide to eat, but I am convinced that collectively it plays an enormously important role. Most of us eat three meals a day and although we know food is grown on farms we don’t know what farms, what kind of farms, where the farms are, or what kind of skills and practices are involved in farming. Many in our society have grown so removed from the source of where food comes from that food is pretty much an abstract idea until it shows up on a grocery shelf or on the table. What motivates me as a farmer is to grow food that nurtures and reestablishes the intimacy of food and community. It is, I believe, a vital building block to a healthier and more peaceful world.
The election may be over and one might question how much an individual vote really matters in the current political spectacle, but outside of that spectacle I can’t help but be an optimist when I see so many people in the food and farming communities making a real difference in establishing a participatory nourishing food system for all.
A double rainbow at the Farm during Saturday’s rain storm.
Sharing and Celebrating
Teaching children about the natural world should be treated as one of the most important events in their lives.
– Thomas Berry
Many thanks to all who participated and helped make last Saturday’s Solstice Celebration another wonderful community event.
The farm was buzzing with activity as people explored, picking strawberries, apricots, and raspberries. Many children didn’t need to get their faces painted, since theirs were naturally stained with berry and apricot juice.
The usual and expected tractor rides, pizza baking, mingling with the farm animals, exploring the strawbale fort, lighting the bonfire and enjoying the rhythms of marimba music, continue to inspire a sense of community and instills a connection to the land and the crops grown here that nourish us.
With summer upon us we have been enjoying an early harvest of apricots and green beans and as I assess the development of our peppers and dry-farmed tomatoes, they’re not far behind. Strawberries are slowing down, going through their normal cycle of adjusting to long days, the raspberries and blackberries however will be picking up the slack. All our winter squash plants are sown, and by next week basil should fill your shares with its wonderful aroma. Enjoy these long summer days, especially the flavors, colors and textures unique to this season.
Planting Seeds of Nourishing Opportunities
Our Annual Discovery Program Fundraiser, happening this Saturday, is sold out. This is a first! We are excited and grateful to receive the increased support to continue expanding our on-farm educational efforts in our community and the region.
On the farm, close to nature, where you can see how plants and animals live, the Discovery Program offers an opportunity to directly participate in growing, harvesting, and cooking to inspire a deeper connection and understanding of how food choices influence our diet, the health of our bodies, and ultimately that of our planet.
Every year over 1,500 children and young adults come to the farm to experience hands-on where and how food is grown. Less than 50 years ago we didn’t have the vast amount of processed and fast food options we have today. Our meals now are often “tainted” with processed additives, sweeteners, fats and salts, many of which are making the dubious claims of being healthy. If it was up to today’s industrial food industry, no one would be eating meals prepared and cooked “from scratch” using fresh produce, fish, meat or dairy products supplied directly from local farms.
Our mission has always been about nourishing direct relationships and experiences that put healthy sustainable food and farming at the center of what defines our social, economic, and environmental wellbeing. It is exciting to see signs that this awareness is starting to translate into an increased demand for organic, locally grown food, with more farms, grocery stores, schools, restaurants, CSAs and Farmers Markets supporting the framework of a more resilient regional food system.
Thank you for all your support to continue our farming and educational efforts on this land here in the wonderful Pajaro Valley.
The freedom to celebrate and express our unique individuality, our INDEPENDENCE, is closely linked to and made possible by the support and participation of a healthy community of INTERDEPENDENT members. As a farmer treating the land as a “living organism” always reminds me of that dynamic – the food we grow nourishes members in our community and is the result of an incredible diversity of functions performed by innumerable individuals – individuals all connected within Nature’s Web of Life. Happy 4thof July!
Quick Crop Update
Warm weather and long growing days have sped up the maturity of many of our crops. The Blenheim Apricot harvest, which typically starts near the end of July, was almost three weeks early and is over for this year. We picked the last ones on Tuesday, and I am so glad we were able to sneak in a Community U-pick the same day we celebrated this year’s Solstice. (Note: there will be no U-Pick on the Farm this Saturday, July 5th.) The peppers are starting to ripen, also very early. Our Farm Manager, Juan, and I tested some Padrons last week, and the first, small harvest of Yellow Wax peppers happened this week. This means dry-farmed tomatoes are just around the corner. Lots to look forward to!
Hungarian Yellow Wax Peppers
Padron Peppers
Dry-farmed Early Girl Tomatoes
Community Supported Agriculture: A healthy partnership of land, plants, animals, and people
It’s “Sign-up time” once again, and it’s wonderful to see how many of our current members have responded so quickly to participate in our 19th CSA season. It is a confirmation and a reassuring feeling to be able to count on the pivotal support of our CSA partnership.
Aldo Leopold in his classic book, A Sand County Almanac, spelled out a “land ethic” which is at the core of our Community Supported Agriculture Program and a guiding principle for land stewardship. The land, Leopold says, “is like a community of interdependent parts, with the soil, the plants, the animals, and the people all playing equally important roles. We share an equal responsibility in contributing to the strength, sustainability and health of the community as a whole.” For the last 18 years the farm’s CSA program and everyone’s participation in it has directly contributed to the health and life of our land, its people, plants, animals, and soil and we are excited and committed to continue on that journey.
We invite you to sign up for our upcoming seasons, starting in December with the 2013-14 Winter Season and continuing with our 2014 Main Season that starts in April 2014. In addition to offering our traditional Small and Regular ShareBoxes, we are also offering, for the first time, a Member “Choice Share”.
What made us introduce this new type of Choice Share, you might ask?
Although we grow a large diversity of different crops throughout the year some crops just don’t match the tastes and cooking habits of everyone. In our family for example, lettuce, arugula, kale, and radishes are a kitchen staple, whereas in others a weekly supply of these is too much. Giving a choice to remove an item in exchange for something that is more desirable, and possibly available in in varying quantities, will increase the value of the share and overall satisfaction for members.
A member who just signed for the Choice Share last week summed it up well: “It’s like having the choice of shopping at the Farmers Market, but still receiving the convenience and reliability of the CSA membership with the Farm.”
Choice Share or Traditional Share, we will of course always strive to give everyone participating in our CSA the best possible experience of eating the freshest, tastiest, and most diverse fruits and vegetable this farm can grow. Thank you for signing up and continuing with us on another nourishing seasonal cycle.
[button link=”http://liveearthfarm.net/new-season-sign-ups/”]New Season Info[/button]
[button link=”http://liveearthfarm.net/choice-share-faq/”]Choice Share – FAQs[/button]
[button link=”http://www.farmigo.com/join/liveearthfarm/2013winter”]Sign-up for 2013 Winter Season[/button]
[button link=”http://www.farmigo.com/join/liveearthfarm/2014main”]Sign-up for 2014 Main Season[/button]
[button link=”http://www.farmigo.com/join/liveearthfarmchoice/box”]Sign-up for a Choice Share[/button]
New Beginnings without Winter Dormancy
We are delighted to welcome both returning and new members to celebrate our 20th anniversary of Community Supported Farming. As many returning members have noticed, we have taken the CSA in a new direction by introducing the entire membership to the more flexible and choice based program we offered on a limited basis last year. The decision to change was made because of the overwhelming positive feedback we received from participating members, and because it streamlines the management of the CSA as a whole. We are thrilled, and we hope you are as well, that the shared CSA commitment of eating and cooking with the farm’s seasonal bounty is now a lot more flexible and convenient. (Click here for FAQs about our Shares)
Spring on the farm can be compared to the early phase of pregnancy: we are planting, planning and laying the groundwork for the healthy abundance to come. The freshly tilled soil smells rich and musky, and the first germinating seeds, transplants, and blooming orchards are brimming with the promise of bountiful flavors, smells and colors. I recognize the familiar Spring Season nervousness as I am asked to commit to nature’s irresistible embrace- to dance, once again, the seasonal cycle of fertility and nourishment.
With no rain during March, everything shifted into an accelerated schedule as the soil started drying out quickly. Field preparations, incorporating cover crops, planting, seeding, weeding, cultivating, irrigating all started much earlier. We finished apple pruning mid-March, just in time to get the farm ready for the Sheep-to-Shawl Spring kick-off celebration – which drew a record crowd of almost 400 people.
The farm has also sprung alive with lots of kids exploring the fields, orchards, and wildlife corridors. Besides the on-going programs with homeschool groups, “Food What” teens, and the longstanding Santa Cruz Montessori Wavecrest program, added school tours and overnight stays have kicked into high gear.
Earlier this week it felt like a temporary relief when the storm system a couple of days ago dropped almost 1 inch of much needed rain – a blessing for many of our early plantings of dry-farmed tomatoes, potatoes, summer squash, and green beans. While harvesting carrots in the pouring rain on Tuesday morning, I realized we really never had what one might consider a “normal” winter – one that is cold and wet for long enough to slow us down to rest. Now here we are at the beginning of the Main Season, ready for another journey together through Spring, Summer and Fall. Thank you all for joining us – here’s to another bountiful Season!
There’s a reason it’s called “Tradition”
The traditional Welcome Circle at our Solstice Celebration is always special, because it gives meaning to everything Live Earth Farm stands for: a deep bond with nature, where food is the common link that nurtures our health, our environment and our community. Last Saturday, four long potluck tables were loaded with dishes to be shared. Like in all cultures around the world, this gesture – the sharing of a meal – enriches our sense of community; it celebrates and brings joy and beauty to relationships, as well as a more meaningful connection to the earth under our feet. It was a moment of gratitude for the generosity of the land, it’s people, and the power and grace of what sustains our lives, and the miracle of sunshine, water, soil, seed and air contributing to what becomes our food.
The Summer Solstice celebration was abuzz in activities, with something for everyone to do. Whether it was dipping u-picked strawberries into chocolate ganache donated by “The Buttery”, tractor hayrides with me around the fields, or milking goats and making cheese with Laura, fun was had by all. We were happy to see our neighbor Susan, a local painter and owner of Susun Art Gallery, come by to inspire the kids with art projects, while our son David coordinated an all-hands-on creative bread baking session in the farm’s wood-fired cob-oven. The hay fort was as always a popular hangout for kids, especially this year, thanks to the fun design Dale (the farm’s builder and craftsman) came up with. Unlike last year, the day was pretty warm, so ice cream-making with a hand-cranked ice cream maker was very popular.
It was a fine day to come and just relax, or leisurely explore the farm, visiting the children’s garden, fruit orchards, redwood barn, the pasture-raised chickens, baby goats, or hedgerow plantings. Music accompanied us throughout the day. In the early afternoon, “Mountain Folk”, a local band (two of it’s members are Roger, the Discovery program’s Farm & Garden assistant, and Brian Smith, a longtime CSA member), entertained us with lively folk-music. Later in the day, as has been a tradition for at least 10 years, Kuzanga played their wonderful Zimbabwean marimba rhythms by the fire circle. This year I passed the baton for starting the bonfire to our son David, and some of the children, as is customary, helped him light it. Kuzanga’s music always makes people dance, 
and so it accompanied the fire until darkness settled in. For a special treat Linnea Beckett returned to honor us with her graceful fire dance. Linnea apprenticed here 8 years ago, and brought the art of fire dancing with her to the farm. To our surprise, David and longtime member Azalyne were inspired to add to the magic by accompanying her. We let the land weave its magic and revitalize and nourish our bodies and spirits as we embraced the coming of summer. Many thanks to all who participated, and helped to make this another great celebration.
– Tom