Right now you can get an 8 lb. box of Peaches or 12 lb. box of Tomatoes delivered with your CSA box.

Order one week at a time, or subscribe for the season. Go to the Web Store section of your TFF account to sign up.

CSA Rates 2013

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

This week our elected officials in the State Capitol once again played kick-the-can on one of the biggest issues facing our state: the future of our water supply. There had been hopes that politicians could cobble together a bond proposal to put before voters in the November election that would address most or all of the many issues related to water: upgrading aging infrastructure, building new storage, improving conservation, and protecting wildlife. The latest proposal appears to have failed.

There were many political obstacles to overcome. Some environmentalists are opposed to building new water storage, for example. And many people in Northern California are firmly opposed to Governor Brown's plan to build giant tunnels through the Delta to ship more water to the south.

But the biggest problem was probably that revealed by several polls this spring: a majority of Californians don't believe there is a problem and thus professed unwillingness to vote for the state to borrow money for a water bond. Across party lines, most Californians general attitude is: "I have plenty of water in my house. What's the problem?".

I have written before about how seriously Southern California water agencies, particularly LA's Metropolitan Water District (MWD) has taken this issue and how aggressive they have been in building new reservoirs, buying water rights, and paying for conservation technology. Since a large percentage of Californians live there, they are perhaps justified in not wanting to participate in a statewide effort. After all, while Northern California was pretending that drought would never happen again, SoCal was busy securing a permanent, drought-proof water supply.

I don't have any answers to the water crisis confronting our state, but I know that we can't keep increasing the burden on the existing system and expecting it not to collapse. The state government is the only institution that can guarantee that everyone who needs water -- average people as well as farmers and fish -- gets it. Water is not a partisan issue, and our leaders need to step up and forge a compromise that everyone can live with.

There is still time.

Thanks,

Pablito

Ripening Tips

It just so happens that Tomatoes and Peaches ripen under the same conditions and in more or less the same way. Here is the drill:
1) Do not refrigerate
2) Store in a warm but well-ventilated place (not a closet)
3) Remove them from the bag. A wire basket or colander is the ideal place to keep them. If you put them in a bowl, don't stack too high.
4) Check them individually every day. They may not all ripen the same day.
5) In 1-3 days, they will be ready to eat. Press gently with one finger on the bottom of the fruit. If it gives slightly, it is ready to eat!
6) If you have a good sense of smell, you can use your nose instead of your finger to test ripeness.

This Week's Boxes

We are harvesting an old-timey variety of Peach called Saturn from our orchard this week. Saturns look very different from all the other peaches we grow. They have pale yellow flesh instead of orange, and have no red blush on the skin or very little. For both these reasons you may think they aren't ripe when they are. They are delicate and juicy, but have a more acidic flavor than most of our other peaches.

Also in your boxes today are the first Melons of the season. You receive either a green-fleshed, netted Galia melon or a smooth -skinned, cream-colored Orange Honeydew. Both varieties are extremely aromatic when ripe. Let them sit out at room temperature. Once you can smell them from 3 ft. away, refrigerate. They will keep in the fridge for several days.

Recipe: Sweet Corn Stir-fry with Soba noodles
Sweet Corn lends itself nicely to Asian flavors in this Succotash-goes-to-Shanghai recipe. Soba nooodles are not gluten free, but have less gluten and carbs than wheat pasta. You can also leave them out.

Peel and dice 1 red onion. Shuck 3 ears of sweet corn and cut the kernels off the cobs. Trim 1 C. of green beans and dice them. Dice summer squash to make 2 C. Mince 2 cloves of garlic. Mince fresh ginger to make 3 T.

Cook 8 oz. of soba (buckwheat noodles) until just barely tender, following instructions on package. Drain and rinse with cool water.

Heat a wok or cast iron skillet then add 2 T. safflower or peanut oil. Add the onions along with 1/4 tsp. hot chile flakes. Stir fry for 2 minutes then add the sweet corn. Continue cooking until the corn dries out and begins to brown.

Add the green beans and cook another 3 minutes, then add the squash and the cooked soba. Stir to combine and when the wok is really hot again, sprinkle with 3 T. soy sauce and the juice of 1 lemon or 2 limes. Stir fry until the squash is tender.

Serve topped with diced tomato.