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CSA - helping to connect the "Networks of Growing Relationships"
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It struck me the other day how sophisticated farming tools have become when we hired Bob, a local farmer, to help us grade a field (which used to be an old apple orchard) that was suffering from poor water drainage.  In order to get the entire field to drain evenly on a 2-percent slope, Bob used a GPS (Global Positioning System) to first survey the field, and then programmed that information into his on-board computer to guide the tractor and a hydraulically operated scraperbox to cut away or fill soil, depending on the topography and terrain of the field.

It is impressive how much we are "plugged" into the global, wireless world of instantaneous information. Just like any other business, we at Live Earth Farm have adopted today's information age technology to network, store and process data at mind-boggling speed. At the same time, we also depend on a much slower-paced living biological network held in a thin layer of soil that covers the surface of our planet and stores the evolutionary, life-renewing intelligence of an unimaginably large and sophisticated network of living organisms. Every cubic inch of organic soil teems with billions of microorganisms that play many different parts in the soil's cycle of fertility. These interacting organisms, ranging from the visible to the unimaginably minute, perform important functions which drive most of the activity in the soil and specifically the transfer of nutrients to the plants we grow. So when we plant a seed or transplant a tomato seedling into this biotic network called soil, we trust that it will reward us with food; similarly we expect a search on the internet to feed us the desired information when we hit the return key.

 

It is inevitable that these two networks, one technological the other biological, will grow increasingly closer. Our hope is that along the way we are able to build a meaningful sustainable food system.  If this merger of networks helps us reconnect and rebuild our relationship with food, Community Supported Agriculture takes on a whole new meaning where we nurture, enhance, and celebrate the healthy webs of connection with the land, the soil, and all the members of the biotic community.

- Tom

  

What's up in the Fields: A week of Lots of Planting
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Now that the danger of frost is over, we are busy planting peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, summer squash, basil and green beans - all main season crops. I am glad we didn't rush these plantings over the last few weeks as I was contemplating, when conditions were still uncertain and less than optimal. Patience paid off; the seedlings we are planting are now being tucked into crumbly soil that has rested under lush winter cover crops, soil that has been cultivated and amended with plenty of gypsum (high in Calcium) and compost.

Six different varieties of sweet peppers got planted last Saturday, among them my favorites: the thick-skinned pimento peppers, and the popular elongated "Corno de Toros".  Among the spicier peppers we are again planting Poblanos and the irresistible Spanish Padron peppers.

By end of day today (Monday) we should have finished planting a large block of dry-farmed Early Girl and New Girl tomatoes. Our heirlooms - Striped German, Cherokee Purple, Yellow and Red Brandywine - got planted with the peppers on Saturday. The earliest maturing tomatoes we can expect in our shares considering our cooler coastal climate are the "toe-curling" (as Debbie calls them) and mouthwatering Sungold cherry tomatoes. My guess is, we'll see them the first or second week in July.

This year we're planting three Eggplant varieties: two classic Italian with dark purple skin, and one with an attractive purple-white variegated color. It is deceiving to think that soon we'll be enjoying the bounty of summer, but like with any living organism, plants have their seasons.  So this is just a current field report and a teaser of what's to come. Over the course of the next few months I will keep you all posted on the progressive maturation of each of these crops.

- Tom

Juan and Juanillo preparing a field for tomato planting.

Tractor with cone spreader applying gypsum and lime.

The LEF worker crew planting out the peppers.

Chella, the farm's Maremma, hunting gophers in a newly plowed field.

Sheep to Shawl event this Saturday!
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Hello Members!

This Saturday, April 23rd, join us on the farm for our Sheep to Shawl event.  Shearing will begin at 11 am. In addition we will have hands on demonstrations of scouring (washing), carding (combing), spinning, dyeing, felting, knitting, crocheting, and weaving until 3 pm. Meet our sheep, and help us craft with their wool. This event was very popular last year (see pics below) so please RSVP if you plan on attending: Jessica Ridgeway 831-728-2032, lefeducation@baymoon.com. This event is free for CSA members and $10-$15 per carload for non-members. (The parking fees go to LEFDP, so it is for a good cause!)

Also, look for flyers in your boxes this week for our fundraiser next week.  Bring a flyer to Saturn Cafe next Wednesday, 4/28 and 10% of the cost of your meal will be donated to LEFDP, our not-for-profit educational organization.

Jessica Ridgeway

Director

Live Earth Farm Discovery Program (LEFDP)

Where's my "Extra Fruit"?
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Every season during the month of April we have the same problem... there are members who call or email me saying they signed up for our Extra Fruit Option, but then they complain that they're not getting what they paid for. And they're almost right: they're not getting what they paid for... yet.

The story is, our Season begins in April, but the Extra Fruit Option does not begin until May. [If you click on 'View Details' for the Extra Fruit option when you sign up, it states this.] So any fruit you are getting during the month of April is fruit that comes with your share, it is not your "Extra Fruit" fruit.

- Debbie

PS - the first several weeks of the season -- at least until mid-June -- the fruit will be only strawberries. Sometime in June is when our other fruit starts happening. ;-) 

How do I know how much Fruit to take?
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Since I have everyone's attention regarding fruit -- this is the perfect time to explain how our fruit 'works' in general.

<> Both the Family and Small Shares receive some fruit. So even if you didn't sign up for "Extra Fruit", you will still get some fruit (Family Share always, Small Share, almost always). [The new Budget Shares do not receive fruit... except for maybe on rare occasions if Tom decides to give you some anyway. ;-)]

<> Any "Share" fruit (as opposed to "Option" fruit) you see in the "What's in the Box" list above that we don't pack inside your box will be listed beside your name on the checklist.

<> The Extra Fruit Option, as its name implies, adds additional fruit to any fruit you may already be getting with your share.

<> The rule to remember is: only take the amount of fruit listed next to your name on the checklist. DO NOT TAKE FRUIT BASED ON WHAT YOU REMEMBER READING IN THIS NEWSLETTER. Why? Two reasons: 1) sometimes fruit type and quantity may change between the time the newsletter goes out and the time we deliver the shares. 2) Because the system we use adds together any fruit from your "Share" with any fruit in your Extra Fruit "Option" to come up with a TOTAL amount of fruit to take.

Example: You get a Family Share plus Extra Fruit. One week, the Family Shares are getting one basket of berries, and Extra Fruit is getting three. It will say "4 baskets of strawberries" next to your name on the checklist. Another week, we may have a higher production of berries, and so the Family Shares might get 2 baskets, the Small Shares one basket, and Extra Fruit 4 baskets. So in this case if you get Family Share plus Extra Fruit, it will say "6 baskets of strawberries" beside your name.

If you ever take more than what is listed beside your name you will be taking fruit that belongs to another member at your pick-up site. Please do not do this. Remember: we are a community, and what we do impacts others in our community. Thanks in advance for everyone being mindful of this!

- Debbie

"Small Shares" are NOT the smallest boxes
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We seem to have had a rash of members who signed up for a "Small Share" coming to their pick-up site and just taking the 'smallest box' they see... but this is not correct. You are actually short-changing yourself when you do this, because the new "Budget" shares are actually the smallest boxes! We used to only have two sizes of share -- this is the first year we've had three, and we have made every effort to communicate the difference to everyone.

So to recap:

Family Shares are our largest share. In the biggest boxes.

Small Shares are the middle-sized box.

Budget Shares are the smallest boxes.

The following picture is inside every binder for reference. If you ever send someone else to pick up your share for you, please have them refer to this before taking a share:

Still more new pick-up sites!
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We keep adding pick-up sites, so I want to be sure everyone knows about new site availability, in case they want to switch.

The new site I want to feature this week is:

This pick-up site is actually inside Companion Bakers new storefront, which is located in the former "Brendan's Bakery" (some may remember it as the old "Beckman's Bakery") on Mission. Companion Bakers are the same folks that bake the bread for our Bread Option, as well as a couple other goodies that Taylor makes available to you via our Web Store. 

This would be a wonderful way to 'supplement' your share with still more Companion Baker goodies if you want to, when you pick up your share!

Prunedale-Royal Oaks - on San Miguel Canyon Rd.

Salinas - south side, near Blanco Rd and S. Main St.

Pacific Grove - inside Happy Girl Kitchen Cafe!

Marina - easy access from Hwy 1

Palo Alto - Barron Park neighborhood

Redwood City - Mt Carmel neighborhood

San Francisco - Bernal Heights

Oakland - Temescal neighborhood

- Debbie

"You never know with internet"... Bernard y Nati - a heartwarming CSA story
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Sometimes it just goes to show that our movement to spread the gospel of local and CSA is truly taking wing. Late last fall I received an email out of the blue - with the intriguing subject line, "You never know with internet." Turned out to be from a woman in Puerto Rico who says she stumbled across our newsletters on the internet years ago and followed us, engrossed and happy, because at the time there were no CSAs in 'her country'. [Yes Puerto Rico is a US territory, but to her it feels like her own country, Nati says.] Anyway, she wrote me all excited because she was about to pick up her very first CSA box ever. We have kept in touch, and I asked her more recently if she'd be willing to share her story and a picture with you. She was, and here it is! - Debbie

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(click here for cost and scheduling info)
We'll be engaging campers in creative expression among our 100 organic acres of fruits, vegetables, farm animals, and wild spaces. During the week campers will plant, harvest, and create in the kitchen and beyond; make cheese, make masks, print, paint, and sculpt with natural materials.