Brandon writing. This week we caught up on some serious weeding, trelissed tomatoes, cleared the allium field of garlic and onions, harvested blueberries for the first time, took an amazing field trip down south to tour Jenny Jack Sun Farm, had a delicious farm-to-table dinner at Sim's Garden Patch, and harvested a few hundred pounds of gorgeous - and not so gorgeous - produce.

After weeks of peeling and eating carrots that look like people, I decided to do some research in hopes of finding what caused the abnormal growth. I learned quickly that misshapen carrots are more often the result of lumpy or compacted soil than any pest or disease problem, and that no other vegetable is as sensitive to poor soil structure (also known as tilth). So I guess one could quantify the excellence of tilth in terms of the percentage yield of carrots that did not look like dancing ladies or witch hands. On the farm, we resort to a less precise and tripartite analysis of soil, viz. "man this stuff is brick" or "um it's okay" or "glory pete hallelujah." Even with the best tilth - believe me we work like dogs to achieve the best tilth, and you may be interested to know that the word "tilth" actually derives from the Old English word "tilian," which means "to labor" - vegetable production can still deliver some bizarre results. At Publix you will not find conjoined radishes, intertwined parsnips or morulaed tomatoes. But that may change soon, and in Europe it already has.

Effective July 1, 2009, "European Union Commission Regulation 1221/2008 provides for a general marketing standard for all fresh fruits and vegetables and repeals specific marketing standards for 26 products. For 10 types of fruit and vegetables, specific marketing standards will remain in place (http://www.flex-news-food.com/pages/22053/European-Union/Fruit/Vegetable/eu-marketing-standards-fruit-vegetables-2009.html)."

Basically, the EU Agriculture Commisioner, Mariann Fischer Boel, proposed a reprieve in bureaucratic regulations, which she hopes will reduce waste and lower produce prices. Further, the reprieve occurs as the media frown upon big government, consumers relearn the importance of good food, and we continue to farm our little hearts out so that you can eat a straight carrot. Because here at Serenbe, the interns keep the crazy ones.

Take care,

Brandon, Natalie, Paige and Justin