Farm News & Tom’s Reflections

When I drive Elisa, our daughter, to school in the morning I get a glimpse of the kind of things she pays attention to as we make the 20 minute drive through the back-roads of Watsonville, Corralitos, and Aptos to avoid the stop and go traffic on HWY 1. Her curiosity often surprises me as she comes up with questions about the farming activities she sees along the way. Just the other day the plastic hoop-houses covering a large field of commercially grown blackberries were being removed, the blackberry bushes still lush and vigorous got mowed to the ground and plowed into the soil. She was curious why these healthy looking plants were suddenly removed. It puzzled me as well since blackberries can stay productive for many years and this was still a young patch. I told her my guess was that the farmer probably wants to plant a different crop or a different variety of blackberry that sold better. Maybe, I speculated, the farmer didn’t have enough helpers to pick all the berries. I knew these were not very interesting reasons for her, so in order to keep the conversation going I threw out the idea that maybe the farmer wants to raise horses and was putting in a pasture. It immediately got her attention, knowing her passion for horses.

Ever since she begged us to let her ride a horse 3 years ago, she hasn’t stopped riding and her passion has only increased. If it was up to her, I am sure, she wouldn’t mind seeing the farm, at least some of it, converted into a horse farm with pastures, riding trails, and horse jumps. She’s heard me enough times saying that pasturing our chickens is a good thing for the soil. So why not horses! I am very careful making promises. When the subject comes up I jokingly tell her that maybe one day when we run out of gas and our tractors will need to be replaced with draft horses we will have horses and pastures.

For the last few weeks Elisa has been eyeing what was going to happen with that plowed up blackberry field, and so one morning on our way to school she noticed that the entire field was covered with a sheet. She asked me, ”What is that dad, looks like a sheet of water. Is that, that poison that kills everything?”  I remember she asked me the same question a few years ago and I can’t help but feel some anger and frustration.  It pains me to see how many conventional growers rely on poisonous and lethal soil fumigants to grow their crops. Instead of nurturing the biological health of the soil – the very foundation of our existence, we somehow can’t rid ourselves from this pesticide addiction. It doesn’t make sense, it especially doesn’t make sense to a child or to my 9 year old daughter.

A conventional farmer’s field, recently injected with methyl bromide and covered in plastic sheeting, with a wholly insubstantial warning sign at one corner!

After taking a deep breath, I explained to her that this was indeed a bad thing and that farming organically, like we do, helps nurture the soil and the life in it. Growing healthy food requires growing vibrant soils that are full of humus and alive with microorganisms.

I reassured Elisa that more and more farmers are using organic farming practices and more people want to buy organic food, so hopefully this blackberry farmer and every farmer one day will only grow crops organically.

Above, our fields: the correct way, the organic way – plowing in cover crop and spreading compost.

“So”, she asked, “does that mean this farmer will not put in a horse pasture then?” “Probably not.” was all I could answer. Feeling like I couldn’t let her down, it slipped out of my mouth, “But, maybe we can on our farm.”  I knew right away that she will hold me to it.  It is a promise I don’t mind keeping – A happy daughter and it’s good for the Soil!

The pumpkins are harvested, and few crops when piled together make a better seasonal statement than a pumpkin patch.

It always amazes me when I carve a pumpkin how many seeds are stored inside the thick, fleshy walls of this colorful “fruit”. We often dismiss the seeds we find inside our vegetables, and most of the time they are thrown away or put in the compost bucket.  But when you think about it, our food supply depends on the health and availability of these small living treasures.

I reflect on it almost every season, and I can’t help doing so again. Every time I order seeds (we propagate almost all our own veggie starts) I realize how our entire operation depends on their availability. Plants are little miracle makers if you consider for a moment that for every pumpkin seed planted we harvest, on average, 1-2 pumpkins, each of which contains hundreds of seeds.

Every seed stores the energy and information on how to grow an entire plant along with thousands of new seeds. Each seed, encoded with its DNA, tells a long, winding, and subtle story. It includes the history of how seeds have crossed human hands, how they have been cultivated, selected, and traded, often shaping the destiny of human civilization and cultures across the world.

For example, the dry-farmed Early Girl Tomatoes we are enjoying right now trace their ancestry all the way back to wilder relatives in the highlands of Peru, where Incas and Aztecs used them for cooking and religious ceremonies.  With the Spanish conquistadors, tomato seeds got dispersed throughout colonies all over the world. The Early Girl Tomato, bred in France in the 1970’s, became an instant hit when it arrived in the United States. For us, and many other small-scale organic farmers, the Early Girl is the variety of choice since it is one of the very few varieties, if not the only one, that can be dry-farmed.

Every vegetable and fruit you get in your box has a story to tell. We all participate in shaping the story of these crops. They become part of our lives as we grow, cook, and eat them.  By choosing to eat with the seasons we tune into the story of food grown locally, the history of the land, and the living community we are a part of.  It may not always be easy and convenient to be a “locavore”; it asks us to be more flexible, to be open to trying new things. It is amazing however, to think that the food we enjoy is a gift that manifests through the living stories contained in each tiny seed we plant.

I often like to compare CSA members and their participation to that of a seed. The upfront financial commitment and support you place in our hands at this time of year when we ask you to renew your membership is like that of a seed which we in turn are committed to plant and care for until we can harvest and return it back to you as nourishing food. We will open Sign-ups for our 2013-14 Seasons within the coming week, and we hope you join us once again for another nourishing cycle.

Also, our Annual Fall Harvest Festival is on Saturday, October 26th.  Join us here on the farm to connect with the community and celebrate the success of another season.

Elisa found her perfect pumpkin!

The moment the hand harvests a crop destined to become food the act of farming, the growing of food, shifts to nourishment, the act of consuming food.

I love to cook dinner with what is freshly harvested and packed into the CSA shares. By cooking, I link the natural world of the farm with the social world of family and friends.  For me cooking is a special way to connect with the crops we grow and transform them into a nourishing meal to share with the people I love.

With October here our Coastal Summer has arrived, and I know I only have a few weeks left to enjoy the last of our summer favorites. Although there is no rain in the forecast, I savor the tomatoes even more now that I know they won’t last much longer. Also, the last planting of summer squash is a reminder that summers aren’t forever and, of course, the peppers have dwindled in size but are still sweet and crunchy.

Last weekend a medley of different peppers made a colorful and tasty addition to a dish of quinoa tossed with roasted cauliflower and kale. The Delicata Squash in your share this week is one of our daughter’s favorite dishes at the moment, and so easy to prepare. Don’t have to peel it, actually the skin is delicious if you let it get brown and a little crispy.  Just slice the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, sprinkle with salt and a little brown sugar, then place a few small pieces of butter on it and slide into the oven for 25-30 min at 425F. Before serving I like to mix up the ingredients (butter, sugar and salt) with the now soft baked flesh of the squash – oh, so tasty.

Enjoy your time cooking!

Delicata Squash – in the boxes this week

Sweet Dumpling squash – currently available to CSA members through our Web Store

I want to give everyone a heads-up that next week, as we always do at this time of year, we will open the registration for the 2013-14 Winter and Main Season CSA membership. I want to remind and reassure everyone that your participation and commitment plays a fundamental role in the health of the Farm; it is directly woven into the life of this land, its people, plants, animals, and soil.

Like planting and sowing seeds in the field to ensure an abundant harvest, this is the time when we “plant the seeds” to ensure that the life-cycle of our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program continues healthy, vibrant and abundant. The CSA is, in essence, who we are as a Farm.  It is a partnership with you, our members, and a journey through the growing seasons, where we commit to sharing both the risk and bounty inherent in growing your food. Every week you receive a sampling of our efforts, which in turn becomes a part of your family meals throughout the season.

The sign-up details will be spelled out in next week’s newsletter and e-mails. We are grateful for your commitment and continued participation in Live Earth Farm’s mission to build a healthy, sustainable, local food-shed; to inspire and educate others, especially children and youth through our hands-on farm education programs; and to celebrate as a community the importance of growing and eating healthy, tasty, and just food.

The welcoming path through the lush green rows of V-trellised Galas had an almost magical feel as the ripe apples glowed red in the afternoon sun.

The setting in the middle of our apple orchard for the Discovery Program’s 5^th Annual Fundraiser was graced by amazing weather, and all the hard work for this challenging event culminated with an outpouring of community support by an amazing crew of volunteers, chefs, winemakers, staff, friends, sponsors, and the approximately 100 guests in attendance.

Virtually everything was donated, which means almost all the money raised will pay for kids to participate in our programs.  Your support gives kids in our community the opportunity to experience a “Slice” of Live Earth Farm’s work –to understand and study how healthy food is grown to support a healthy diet, which in turn is the fundamental building block for healthy living communities.

The apple orchard was a beautiful setting to celebrate and acknowledge the Discovery Program’s accomplishments. My heartfelt thanks to all who participated, contributed and inspired to make this our most successful fundraiser event yet.

Follow this link to a great article about the event by Edible Monterey Bay Magazine’s Amber Turpin.

Fall Season is here!

The Fall Equinox is this Sunday, the length of night and day are equal, commencing the return of shorter days. I invite you this week – either when you pick up your share or prepare a meal – to just stop for a moment and reflect on how much of what we do on this farm and in our lives is directly linked to the very cyclical rhythms of our planet, which turns once a day on its tilted axis, wheeling around the sun once a year, circled by its own large moon. I am grateful this farm is supported by such a wonderful community, where the food we grow is the link that joins us in this nourishing seasonal dance.  A happy beginning of Fall to everyone!  Be sure to join us on the farm Saturday, October 26th for our Annual Fall Harvest Celebration.

Yesterday we completed our annual organic certification audit, always a relief since it involves a diverse and organized trail of paperwork and on-site inspections to demonstrate how we meet all the national organic rules and regulations – a list that never tends to get simpler or shorter.   We passed with flying colors and I will, as my wife Constance suggested, write in more detail in a future newsletter what is all behind the certified organic label and what it means to a farmer and to you, our members and Live Earth Farm customers.

It is a busy week, in the field and off the field.  Apple harvesting and sorting is straining many of our other planting, weeding and harvesting schedules.  Luckily, the raspberry and pepper crops are slowing down.

SLICE (still time to sign up) –this Saturday’s Discovery Program Fundraiser, is very timely since the event is located between our Gala orchard and Fuji apple orchard. The Gala’s are ripe and currently being harvested, and the Fuji orchard, hanging heavy with fruit, is still 2-3 weeks off.  It’s a great setting, and the menu is highlighting this wonderful fruit to honor an important slice of our Valley’s farming history. Hope you can make it. (Click here for more info and tickets)

Here’s some pictures from last year’s fundraiser – DIG!

Last Saturday’s Apricot U-Pick mustered an impressive turnout even though temperatures reached the lower 90’s.  I was “all smiles” to suddenly have dozens of enthusiastic helping hands lessen the harvest load. Judging from the amount of fruit left on the trees and the final tally of sales, an estimated 1000lbs got picked by members.

I am glad we held the U-Pick last Saturday, when most of the trees still had an abundance of fruit. The warm weather is quickly ripening all the remaining Apricots, two weeks early, and we will be busy trying to keep up with the harvest.

Unfortunately after this week there will be little fruit left on the trees, which means we won’t be holding a second U-pick. After waiting for 4 years the Apricots have “come and gone” all too quickly.  Soon we’ll only remember them preserved in a jar as jam.  My hope is we don’t have to wait another 4 years before we can enjoy them again at their best –fresh, ripe, straight off the tree.

Given the Blenheim’s uncertain track record my friend Billy, a longtime farmer in this valley, half jokingly commented that it would be a good time to pull all the Apricot trees and cut my losses before I keep investing more time and resources.  I certainly won’t do that, yet Billy brings up a good point of how to assign value to farming and the crops we grow.

Our regular farm events always remind me that, beyond the profit and loss analysis, there is value in experiencing the pleasure of real food when we get to smell, touch, and taste it right there in the field or orchard where it’s growing.  This pleasure value is often difficult if not impossible to quantify.  It is the small, often spontaneous experiences, which manifest when we harvest, cook, eat or just simply spend time, alone or as a community, connecting with the nourishing soil under our feet.

Thank you for coming out and making this another enjoyable Live Earth Farm event.

Saturday’s 18^th annual Solstice Celebration was alive with joy and excitement.  It was probably one of the best attended, judging by the circle of people that just kept growing and growing, winding in all directions around several pot-luck tables of delicious and carefully prepared food.

The weather was beautiful and everyone who attended, especially the children, brought the farm alive by exploring and participating in the many activities offered throughout the event.

Although I spent most of my time giving tractor rides, people were spread throughout the farm picking berries, face-painting, climbing around in the newly erected straw-bale fort, making pizzas in the cob oven, playing with the farm animals, going on self-guided tours to explore the native corridors around the fields, and as the sun set, children helped me light the bonfire and we danced to Kuzanga’s uplifting and lively marimba music.

I always cherish the Summer Solstice; it is a moment when I feel connected to our community, revitalized to embrace the rigors of summer. Many thanks to all who participated and helped make it another great celebration. – Tom

Join us Saturday, June 22nd from 2:00 PM till Dark

“From you I receive, to you I give, together we share, and so we live.” – Herbalist Song quoted from “The Apple Grower” by Michael Phillips.

You know the start of Summer is just around the corner when you open your shares this week and get a strong whiff of Basil. Things are really picking up, and I find myself with little time to write my piece for the newsletter this week. I can’t miss the opportunity, though, to invite everyone who is in some way connected to the farm to join us for our 18^th Annual Summer Solstice Celebration on June 22^nd.

It is a Live Earth Farm tradition to celebrate the changing of the seasons and witness the diversity of crops in the fields and orchards, of which many are approaching maturity to be harvested over the coming months (see Crop and Field Notes: Blenheim Apricots).  The Summer Solstice always marks the moment at which we like to pause to acknowledge all the hard work already put in throughout the Spring. It’s time to take a short breather in preparation for the greater harvests ahead.

By celebrating as a community, I like to believe that we recognize the common link we have with the land, the food, the people, and how this connection weaves Live Earth Farm into the larger foodshed we all live in. The Summer Solstice celebration has something for everyone to enjoy. I hope to see you all here on the 22^nd.

It is 5:30am, and we are enjoying another clear fogless morning.  Clemente, who’s in charge of irrigation, is up early to water the crops. With a flick of a switch he turns on the main well pump and it doesn’t take long for the water, stored in the aquifer 400 feet below, to gush to the surface at 300 gallons a minute.

Main farm well and pump (center, blue) in fields

Pumped ground water coming to the surface

It is an impressive amount of water that, like blood in the body, is pumped and directed through an intricate network of underground pipes to every field and orchard on the farm.

Aluminum piping for sprinkler irrigation

With the bulk of our spring plantings now in the ground, we are tending over 40 different crops all needing water to develop into tasty nourishable harvests over the course of the season.  Clemente is constantly moving around from field to field, adjusting the water volume and pressure by turning valves on and off.  He is busy hauling and setting up sprinkler pipe, installing drip and sprinkler irrigation lines, and always making sure there are no leaks in the system. Especially frustrating are the gophers that chew through driplines in the strawberry fields.

Control valve in sprinkler pipe

Besides having to be intimately familiar with the infrastructure of the farm’s irrigation system, Clemente also needs to assess and schedule watering needs based on soil type, crop maturity, field location, water demand and supply capacities, harvesting and planting, and cultivation schedules.  For example, arugula and spinach have different watering needs than green beans. A mature crop will need more water less frequently, whereas a recently planted crop needs less water more frequently.

Typical sprinkler irrigation

Cool weather crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, and most leafy greens, like to be irrigated with above-ground movable aluminum pipe sprinklers, while crops such as strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, and eggplants get drip irrigation.

Drip line in cherry tomatoes

Drip line in recently transplanted peppers

This year is turning out to be a very dry one, and we are starting to irrigate many of our orchards 3 months earlier than in a wetter season. Typically we don’t irrigate our orchards until June or July, but the soil profile has little remaining moisture stored from the brief winter rains. We finished watering the apricots, which I expect to ripen by the end of June together with our Santa Rosa Plums.  Next up are the apple trees, which will get a deep soaking after the thinning is finished.  Even the dry-farmed tomato fields this year had to be pre-irrigated to ensure the moisture in the soil will be enough for them to survive on.

Drip line irrigating squash seedling

With the help of a USDA grant, we are evaluating how new technologies for both drip and sprinkler irrigation can help reduce our current water budget. According to our records, last year we used approximately 62 acre-feet of water to raise our crops. Imagine a football field (an acre is only slightly smaller) covered 62 feet high with water. That’s a lot of water! More than 80 percent of our water for the farm comes from groundwater. The rest comes from rainwater collected in ponds.

Every drop of water counts

We have grown foolishly accustomed to water that is available whenever we want it. Our ability to manipulate it by pumping, damming, storing and rerouting it has allowed us to farm along these narrow strips of precious fertile soil hugging the Pacific Coast.  Water conservation is essential if we want to preserve agriculture, otherwise we just live on borrowed time as we pump water unsustainably for short-term economic gain.