News from Terra Firma Farm

"Jack of all Trades", the saying goes, "Master of None." Our 21st century economy pushes everyone towards specialization, from doctors to farmers. "Diversification" in agriculture -- as recommended by most experts -- mostly means specializing in three or four crops instead of focusing on just one or two. Despite the growing number of farms like Terra Firma, where we grow more than 20 crops, we are still a tiny minority.

There are lots of good reasons for diversity on a farm, most of them ecological. Our farm is a better home for birds and wildlife than many others, and the soil is healthier thanks to our mix of crops. But diversification also requires a much higher level of knowledge and experience, from everyone on the farm. It takes more equipment, better organization, and more management.

When I first started working at TFF in 1993, we had a single cold storage space, about 15 x 20 feet. We are able to divide it in two to create one slightly warmer and one slightly cooler room, but for the most part, none of our produce was stored at exactly the right temperature.

Over the years, we have added additional coolers so that we properly store different crops: Tomatoes at 50 degrees, peaches at 36, watermelons at 45, etc. The last time I checked, we now have five cold storage units, including the original space. They are turned on and off as necessary through the year, temperatures are modified as necessary, and produce is moved around as required.

Commercial Refrigeration is a specialized industry, like electrical or automotive, that requires several years of training and apprenticing to get the necessary credentials. This appears to have led to a relative shortage of qualified professionals available for repairs, at least in the Yolo and Solano county area. And because most coolers are only used when they are needed -- i.e., when they are full of perishable product -- any time they break down, it's an emergency. Yet it has been our experience that repair professionals can take as long as two or three days to make urgent service calls. Regular maintenance? Fugettaboutit.

Most of the time, we are left to monitor the coolers ourselves. Obviously large spikes in temperatures inside the coolers can be catastrophic, causing produce to freeze or wilt. Leaving a door open for 10 minutes can cause the machinery to ice up, requiring a defrost that puts produce at risk. And even small changes in the outdoor temperature or humidity -- even the time of year -- requirement small adjustments to the refrigeration settings. Then there is the never-ending process of learning exactly what the best temperatures are for each item we grow.

Do we get this right all the time? Absolutely not. Ninety-five percent of the time, we do okay. A few times a year, we have to compost some produce that spoils or gets frozen. Very rarely do our customers ever see the results. Unfortunately, Sunday night we had a problem with the cooler where the corn (harvested Saturday) was stored, and temperatures got below freezing for a short period. And while the corn looked okay when we packed it in the Wednesday boxes, you may notice that the silk tassel on the tip of the husk has turned black and slimy. Corn in the boxes for the rest of the week was unaffected.

Removing the husk and silk from your corn and storing it in a plastic bag in the fridge should eliminate the problem. The corn inside the husk should not be affected. If the kernels of the corn have been affected, please let us know immediately.

Thanks,

Pablito

Coming Attractions: Fruit
Once again this week the fruit section of your boxes is made up entirely of melons and/or watermelons. But I wanted to give you an update on what is coming in August:
Grapes: like many other crops on our farm this year, they are as late as anyone can remember. In addition, we lost as much as a third of our crop this year to a freeze. And the size of the berries is small. Still, we do have plenty of grapes and they are just now starting to ripen. Next week or the following week, you can expect to get a bag of either Summer Royal black grapes or Flame Seedless red grapes. Our grape season will continue through September and into October, although we may have gaps along the way.
Figs: We have a nice crop of Figs hanging on the trees, black and white, and we expect them to start ripening before mid-August.
Asian Pears: There's a heavy crop this year and they are right on time, which means harvest should begin in less than two weeks.
Gala Apples: Fruit from both our own small orchard and our friends at Coco Ranch will make its debut next week in your boxes.
Peaches: Peach season isn't over yet, and we have a relatively good crop on our August ripening varieties. We will get them into your boxes as soon as we have enough, two weeks at the latest.

In your boxes
Melons in your boxes (Medium and Large) this week may be one of the following: Passport, green fleshed and yellow netted skin; Orange Honeydew, orange and green flesh with a smooth cream-colored skin; or Sharlyn, pinkish-cream colored flesh with orange netted skin. Let your melon sit outside the fridge until you can smell its aroma a few feet away, then it is ready to eat.
We don't grow Eggplant at Terra Firma. While we know that some subscribers love it (as do I), others don't care for it. But there is no way to plant "just a little bit" of eggplant. The plants are basically little trees that produce their fruit continuously over the season. So growing enough to have it in the boxes one week means having roughly the same amount of it every week during the season. And from our experience, the folks who don't like it really don't want it in their boxes every week.
Other farms in our area with CSAs are in the same boat. A couple of them planted eggplant this year, and we've worked in out so that we can get eggplant from them once every two or three weeks. In this way, we hope to hit that happy medium -- leaving neither the eggplant lovers nor the eggplant haters happy ;)

If you consider yourself an eggplant "hater" and you've never prepared eggplant the way the recipe below explains, all I would ask is that you give it a try. You might be surprised.

Bulk Tomatoes Now Available
Our tomato season is in full swing now, so we're offering subscribers 12 lb. boxes of Early Girl tomatoes for $15. If you're interested, log into your account and go to the "Store" section on the account screen to buy a box...or five!

Recipe -- Roasted Eggplant Ratatouille
Roasting or grilling the eggplant gives it a smoky flavor and a chewier texture than simply stewing or sauteeing it. Alternately you can grill the eggplant.
Slice 1 large eggplant lengthwise in 1/2 inch thick slices. Brush with a mixture of soy sauce and olive oil.
Place the eggplant in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until brown on the bottom, flipping once.
Meanwhile, dice onion to make 1/2 C. and saute in 2 T. olive oil with a dash of hot pepper flakes until the onion is soft and beginning to brown. Add 1 T. minced garlic and saute on low heat.
Cut 2 summer squash in half rounds the same thickness as the eggplant. Raise the heat in the pan and saute for 3 minutes.
Dice 1 1/2 lbs. of tomatoes and add to the pan, including the juices. Cook 3-4 minutes on high heat, until the tomatoes release their liquid but before it starts to thicken.
Chop the eggplant roughly and add to the pan, cook for just 1-2 minutes and then season with salt and pepper.