News from Terra Firma Farm

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

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

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

News From Terra Firma Farm

Community Supported Agriculture

Greetings!

"Paper vs. Plastic?" Terra Firma subscribers are aware that most of the time, when it comes to the packaging we use in your boxes, we usually make the choice for you. This is the process we use to decide:

Whenever possible, we leave produce items unpackaged. Sturdy items that are large enough, can be positioned to not roll around, and don't need to be kept moist are left to fend for themselves in your boxes: squash, onions, garlic, corn, cabbages, oranges, apples & pears, etc.

Small items that we have to weigh, or that are delicate, must be bagged at the farm. If possible and practical, we put these items in paper bags: tomatoes, strawberries, figs, peaches, etc.

At the end of the packaging matrix at TFF, however, are the items that must be bagged in plastic. These are either wet when we bag them (potatoes), or need to kept moist (green beans/peas), or both (greens, broccoli, etc).

We are certainly aware that plastic is the least renewable/ sustainable packaging option -- it is made from oil, and there are concerns about its effects on human health. And even though recycling is available for it now, it tends to become pollution, especially in the ocean.

On the other hand, plastic has one very large merit: it can double or triple the life of many perishable produce items when they are stored at the correct temperature.

For years we have chosen to pack our Table Grapes in paper bags. We even switched from bleached to unbleached paper.

Last week, our Packing Shed Manager discovered a pile of dust-covered boxes while he was cleaning the warehouse. Inside were clear plastic clamshells that our packaging supplier had given us many years ago as a "demo". We had never used them.

We decided that instead of letting them continue to molder, we would pack last week's grapes in the clamshells -- which turned out to hold exactly the right weight of fruit. We also happened to be temporarily short on the paper bags.

We received several complaints from subscribers asking us to switch back to paper bags, giving us plenty of valid reasons. We appreciate the feedback, and at this time do not intend to purchase any additional plastic clamshells. However, we do plan to use up the ones that we have on hand -- although maybe not to pack grapes. To throw them into the recycling bin without using them at all would be -- we think -- worse than having you recycle them after a single use.

Unfortunately, food safety laws do not allow us to re-use containers that are not lined with an additional layer of material. However, you may find another one or two uses for the clamshells before sending them to the recycler.

As always, we appreciate feedback from our subscribers on what we are doing and how to make it better. In the future we will continue to use as little plastic as we can without compromising the quality of the produce we send you.

Thanks,

Pablito

Open Farm Day: October 19th

On the third Saturday of October this year, we invite you to come up to the farm for a relaxing afternoon touring the farm, picking strawberries, and picnicking in the shade from 2 pm. until 5 pm.

The raindate will be the following Saturday, October 27th.

Tickets for the event are $5, and are exchangeable for pumpkins or produce. Kids under 12 get in free, but if you register them in advance they also get a free pumpkin.

The event is not open to the public, but subscribers can buy tickets for friends and extended family.

We will make tickets available through the web store on or before September 19th, and we will be announcing more details about the event in the next few weeks. Put it on your calendars!

In Your Boxes

Green Beans have just started doing their thing; there were just enough in the field to send some in the Large boxes. Next week there will be plenty for everyone.

The Peaches in your boxes today are the last of the season at Terra Firma -- enjoy. We feel that 2013 was the year we finally came into our own as growers of this quintessential summer fruit. We hope you enjoyed all of the summer fruit in your boxes and are as sad to see it go as we are.

Next week you will likely see the first of our Asian Pears, which we have been busy harvesting for the last few weeks.

Just about everything we grow this summer has been a week or two ahead of schedule, and winter squash is no exception. We are almost done with our Acorn Squash harvest, and we are sending you one in your boxes today. Unlike many winter squashes, which need to cure for several weeks after harvest, acorns are sweet when first cut.

Acorn squash are a natural for stuffing, what with their large round cavity. But their ridges also give you a convenient outline for slicing them up into wedges, the better to toss in olive and salt and then roast.

It's been a good summer for Sweet Peppers on our farm, and we are just now hitting full stride in our main planting. We are sending you along a few more than usual this week -- and probably for a few weeks after. They are almost all Italian frying peppers -- red, yellow, or orange -- and are great for roasting, sauteing or eating raw. If you somehow can't find a way to use the whole bag, simply slice them in half, remove the seeds and stem, and pack into a zip lock bag (sorry, more plastic...) You can fit a lot of peppers in a small bag this way, and it takes just minutes. Months from now when summer is long gone, you will pysched to add the peppers to your favorite soup or stir fry.

If anyone is interested in getting 5 lb. boxes of bulk mixed peppers, please let us know and we will add it as an item in the Web Store.

Recipe: Roasted Acorn Squash with Garlic and White Pepper
This is inspired by a Thai dish called Kra Tiem. It offsets the sweetness of the squash nicely. The amount of white pepper is not a typo; it is the "spice" in this recipe, which is spicy in a different way than recipes using chile peppers. Cooked this way the skins of the squash are soft and edible.

Use a large knife or cleaver to carefully cut one acorn squash in half along its ridges. Discard the stem and remove the seeds and pulp.

Slice the squash into wedges along the ridge lines. Cut each slice in half again lengthwise; you want them about 1/2" thick. Toss the squash slices in a bowl with 2 T. olive oil and salt.

Arrange the squash on a baking sheet and roast in the oven.

Meanwhile, mince 3-4 cloves of garlic and thinly slice 2-3 sweet peppers to make 2 C. (removing the seeds and stems first). Toss the garlic and peppers together with 1 teaspoon white pepper, ground medium.

When the squash slices are nicely browned on one side, flip each one. Spoon the garlic/pepper/pepper mixture in between the slices in a shallow layer.

Continue to roast the squash until is browned on the second side, then stir all the vegetables together and roast for another 5-10 minutes. The peppers and garlic should be fully cooked and starting to caramelize.'

Serve with chopped tomatoes, sliced cucumber and lime, cilantro sprigs and drizzle with Thai fish sauce or additional salt.