| What's Growing This Week: | |
Navel Oranges
Lemons
Potatoes
Broccoli
Spinach
Green Garlic
Cauliflower (S)
Tangelos (S,L)
Carrots (M,L)
Spinach (M,L)
Apples (M,L) #
Leeks (L) Italian Parsley (L) Items may be substituted without notice.
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# -- Pink Lady Apples come from Cuyama Valley Growers and are CCOF certified organic.
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Bulk Citrus
Get one or more 6 1/2 pound boxes of navel oranges, one time or every week for the duration of the season. You can get bulk citrus or make changes to your current bulk citrus subscription through your account management page. |
Contact Us:
| terrafirmafarm.com
csa@terrafirmafarm.com
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| CSA Rates 2011 | Boxes are charged on Monday for the week's deliveries at:
$14 Small
$24 Medium
$32 Large
For a payment of $300, get a 3% bonus. Your account balance will be $309.
For a payment of$850, get a 5% bonus. Your account will be posted as $892.00
For a payment of $1,400, get a 7% bonus. Your payment will be posted as $1,498.
Vacations are charged weekly when notice is given as a fee, no charges occur during the vacation week.
$4 Small
$8 Medium
$11 Large
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Pledge of Authenticity
Terra Firma is a real farm. We grow 99% of the produce that goes into our boxes on our 220 acres of certified organic land in Winters. If we do buy produce from other farms, it's almost always from a neighboring farm and we give them full credit in the box list.
The owners of Terra Firma are involved in every aspect of making your boxes a reality: walking the fields, planting the crops, selecting and checking what goes in the boxes and finally delivering them to you. We eat the crops from our fields every day, just like you do. Thanks for supporting our efforts and enjoying the food we grow.
Paul, Pablito, & Hector
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Payments, Billing, and Changes
| Schedule vacations, change box sizes, make payments or sign up for autopay by logging in to your subscriber account at terrafirmafarm.com
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News From Terra Firma Farm
Community Supported Agriculture |
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Greetings!
In case I haven't mentioned it lately, I'd like to remind all our subscribers that we had a really rough six weeks back in December and January.
Most of our greens -- kales and chards -- got clobbered by the cold. Now that warm weather has returned, many of them are responding by beginning to flower -- meaning they have given up producing harvestable leaves. Adding insult to injury, the flowering greens have attracted aphids and are now covered in them.
Speaking of aphids, they have also been a big problem in our cauliflower field, which is why you haven't seen much of the white stuff in your boxes this winter. I know this makes some of you very sad, and I share your feelings of loss. We still have one planting of cauliflower left in the field, but I wouldn't bet on any bumper crop. A trained eye can see the freeze damage from fifty feet away, the plants curled and deformed.
Broccoli is thankfully less susceptible to aphids, but like the greens and cauliflower the plants were seriously stunted by the cold and are producing tiny heads as a result. I know there are folks who are getting tired of it, but it is always a staple of our winter boxes. The season this year will be over before the end of March.
On the plus side, we really got lucky that most of our citrus crops were spared damage during the multiple freezes. They are helping keep the boxes full and interesting.
Spring is coming. The peach trees are in bloom, strawberries and peas are not far behind. Very soon we will start planting our first summer crops as well. But first we have to make it through March, which is famous both for its Ides and for its lionish behavior. Keep your fingers crossed.
Thanks,
Pablito
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In Your Boxes
I told you the first Green Garlic of the season would be in your boxes this week, and so it is. I know this isn't most exciting thing that you've ever gotten in your boxes, but I also know that some people are going to be very excited.
Don't know what green garlic is? Well, garlic is planted just once a year in Northern California, in the fall. And bulb garlic is harvested all at once, in the late spring. The dry bulbs store well until Christmas or so, but then start to shrivel and sprout. That's because they really want to be in the ground, growing.
We plant a special field of garlic a month or so ahead of schedule, in August. Then we plant the rest in October. Once that August planting gets to be the size of a large scallions, we start harvesting it fresh -- as green garlic. Think of it as garlic-flavored scallions. There's no mistaking its flavor once you've tried it.
As the garlic grows and the bulbs begin to swell, the greens will get tougher and stronger flavored, but right now the entire plant is edible. Just trim the roots and remove the outer wrapper leaf if it looks mushy or dirty.
We've also started harvesting our Minneola Tangelos. A cross between tangerines and grapefruit, they characteristically have a pronounced knob on the top and a dark orange skin. They are easy to peel like mandarins, but they have a pronounced acidity due to their parentage. They are probably the juiciest orange available, and are usually seedless. If you find them too acidic, try mixing them with navel orange juice.
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Recipe -- Mashed Broccoli and Potatoes with Green Garlic
This is a way to make a homey favorite a little healthier. Adding green garlic and lemon zest makes it almost gourmet.
Scrub 2 lbs. potatoes and cut into chunks.
Cut 1 or 2 stalks green garlic at the spot where the greens meet the stem. Dice the stalks and reserve the leaves for later.
Boil the potatoes with the green garlic until they are tender.
Meanwhile, cut 1 lb. broccoli into pieces and steam until tender. Rinse under cool water.
When the potatoes are done, drain them and the garlic and place in a bowl. Add the broccoli. Use an immersion blender (hand blender) to puree to the consistency you like, adding 3 T. of butter or olive oil.
Add the zest of 1 lemon and 1/2 C. Asiago cheese while the vegetables are still warm and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
Finely mince the green garlic leaves and sprinkle over the mash, as you would chives.
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