~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your Share: A box full of stories
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Season is in it's 26th week... it's hard to believe. Writing the newsletter is a good way for me to reflect and keep track of the many activities and events going on from week to week. Sometimes it even becomes a useful record for comparing conditions and progressions of how crops grow from one season to the next. [All our weekly newsletters, going back to our 2001 season, are on our website - Debbie] To regular readers of our newsletter I probably sound repetitive, describing life on the farm, but  to us who work here we get excited observing the small and subtle changes that occur from week to week. It is what makes each season so unique. The harvest plan, which is never static but continuously updated, is probably one of the best reflections of the weekly and daily dynamics on the farm. It helps translate the reality in the field into a tangible share of what's freshest and ripest at the moment. Composing a representative weekly share of all the different crops growing on the farm is a challenging but exciting orchestration, not unlike the 'juggling of produce' represented by the genie in our farm logo.

Sometimes it's tricky to estimate the size of a harvest to meet the projected content going into the shares. Every day we are continuously figuring things out and adjusting while in the field. How many beets or carrots to a bunch? Will Monday's raspberry harvest, which has steadily been increasing, yield enough for the extra fruit share to get two, instead of one basket? The basil is showing small flower heads... should we pinch off the tops and save them for the shares, or hold off and wait until the new side shoots are long enough to bunch? Sometimes I am faced with the choice of whether or not to include a crop that has struggled and failed to grow to its full potential for one reason or another. Sometimes it's the weather, which is mother nature's doing. Or it could be our doing, if we missed the timing for planting, weeding, or watering a particular crop. One good example right now is the current lack of green beans, a regular crop for us. Not only did we fall behind in our weekly planting schedule, but we didn't think of the potential impact that the cucumber beetles, in an adjacent squash crop, would have on freshly germinating bean seedlings. Both events delayed the maturity and reduced the yield of that particular succession of green beans. Hence, no green beans until next week. Every crop has a story to tell, from seed, to harvest, all the way to a nourishing meal on your plate. Some stories will include descriptions of events already forgotten, such as a heat wave, a freeze, too much rain, or not enough. Some crops through their flavors and textures will speak of the micro climate and the soils they have been growing in. Others will show battle marks from pests or diseases that affected their life cycle.

Here are a few interesting stories from the crops in this week's share:

The tomatoes, which are so abundant right now, were not that long ago just these little seedlings battling our cold, wet spring, and in danger of suffering an early end from a disease called 'late blight'.

Where are the eggplants this year? These heat lovers and cousins to the tomatoes shivered pretty much all summer, not willing to bloom or develop any fruit. Only recently were we able to harvest a few of them, but not enough to put into all the shares. I expect only a teaser amount to make it into the shares this season.

The peppers, both hot and sweet, are making a remarkable effort to grow fruit despite the lack of warm weather, the intense weed competition, and heavy soils which never allowed the plants and fruit to size up properly.

Our summer squash has been a remarkably faithful producer, even though it has had to grow beneath blankets to stay warm during this cool summer; and after almost losing a battle with the voracious cucumber beetles, the last planting of the season looks nice.

The carrots have almost outgrown the patch where they have lived the last 4 months. They are now so big and heavy, they can't be bunched; the tops break off as we try to tie them together. That's why you've been getting them bagged. With carrots I always love experiencing the change in flavors and textures, from the tender crisp and slightly sweet young ones, to the crunchy texture and mild earth flavor when they've reached full size.

This week's spinach has almost disappeared amidst a lush stand of amaranth weeds, but still worth the search. A few amaranth leaves may show up in your spinach, but don't worry, the two "crops" are related.  Young amaranth, especially in the spring, is a tasty treat, enjoyed cooked or raw.

And by now you all know this year's strawberries, although incredibly flavorful, have been developing insidious soft spots (nearly undetectable when first picked) which quickly rot the fruit and render them inedible in a couple of days. The problem is caused by piecing and chewing insects such as yellow jackets, bees, and cucumber beetles, which at this time of year have a very limited food supply and so are particularly attracted to our sweet and juicy strawberries. We pick them the morning of delivery, so you get them as fresh as possible. I recommend you sort through and refrigerate them right away, and consume ASAP. I'll ask Debbie to repeat her 'strawberry handling' instructions in the recipe section.

. . . . . . . .

Tuesday of this week is the first day of Fall, the Fall equinox. This year it was the barn swallows which reminded me that the days were getting shorter. We had two healthy pairs of adults nesting by our house (Debbie included a picture of one brood a few weeks back). Both raised two broods of young. For a while it was really busy; the birds have an unsurpassed aerial maneuverability... they swoop, dive, glide and turn at incredible speeds. They are wonderful birds to watch, and best of all they catch a large number of annoying insects -- especially mosquitoes. Yet merely a week or two ago I was out in the yard and suddenly noticed that the swallows were gone. Somehow their internal clock already told them to head south. I hope it's not a sign that the rainy season is soon to be upon us. Happy Fall Equinox to all of you!!

- Tom

Friend, farmer and mentor involved in tragic accident - please help if you can
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ken Kimes, who I have known from the first days we started Live Earth Farm, recently lost his right arm in a tragic farming accident. Ken, together with his wife Sandra, own New Natives sprout farm, which is only a few miles away from us. Many of you probably have heard their names, bought their products and or tasted their wonderful sprouts or micro-greens when we have put them in our Winter or Spring shares. I remember their involvement in one of the first local CSAs in the mid 1990's, and for years we have been neighbors selling next to each other at the Downtown Santa Cruz Farmer's Market. Ken has dedicated his life to supporting and mentoring fellow farmers, and is an inspiration to everyone in the sustainable farming community. He needs our help! There are two ways you can help. You can attend a benefit in Santa Cruz on Oct 1st (see flyer below), or make a direct donation to a medical fund which has been set up at Santa Cruz Community Credit Union in his name. To send a donation, please make a check out to "Ken Kimes Medical Fund" and mail it to: SCCCU, PO Box 1877, Santa Cruz, CA 95061.

Thank you - Tom

[click on image to download pdf]

Winter and Next Season... signup time coming soon!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As my dad would say, "Tempus Fugits!" People have already begun asking me about when they can sign up for a Winter Share, and how to sign up for next spring, so I wanted to give everyone an update.

You may have noticed that our website currently only has pricing and information for this season (and last year's winter season); Tom and I have been working on the upcoming seasons' structure and plan on and off for the last several weeks, and now it is my job to put everything together into a cohesive whole, update the website, get the new signup wizards ready to go... and then notify you all! ;-)

If the time gods smile favorably upon me, the plan is to have everything ready so you can begin signing up next month (October) for both seasons. I will send out an email announcement to all CSA members, as well as mention it again here in the newsletter.

Here are some highlights of the coming seasons:

Winter Season changes
<> 10 weeks instead of 8 - we're not going to do the 'every other week' thing like in past years; it will still be the 3 weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, then 3 weeks off for Christmas and New Year's, but starting in January we'll go 7 more weeks in a row, ending the last week of February. Then there will be a between-season break for the month of March, and the 2011 Regular Season will start in April.
<> 2 sizes of Winter Share - because it will be every week, Tom has decided to offer two share sizes, so we'll have a "Family" and "Small" share for Winter as well!

2011 Regular Season changes
<> Discounts - we will be offering payment discounts for Early Registration and One Payment.
<> Budget Share - new! Tom wants to offer a third share size, something much smaller and more economical for families who are struggling in this economy, but still want to feed their children fresh, healthy, organic produce. He will talk about this in greater detail in a future newsletter.
<> Installment Payments - new! Another feature for tough times, this will allow you to spread your payments out over more months so that they are proportionally smaller and easier to budget. Tom will talk more about this one too.

- Debbie

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~