10/30/24 Cover Crops & New Caterpillar Tunnel

This week we’ve had some more more regular frosts (last week they were very light), and as such we have had a lot of movement on the farm. Yesterday the 4 of our last 5 beds of tomatoes came out plus shishitos, bells and jalapeños, which have or will become winter beets, frisée, raddichio, lettuces and fennel! But we’ve also been moving in other directions...

Last week I mentioned our first Cover Crops went in, this week before the rain Friday many more will. We grow Cover Crops in our lowest fields over winter because we cannot grow food crops down there. Most every winter we flood there and if flood water touches food, it may not be safe to consume since we don’t know where the water came from.

Cover Crops do just what they are named, they cover the soil. One of the principles of regenerative farming is keep your soil covered, ideally with photosynthesizing plants to feed the soil. That’s exactly what a cover crop is doing. AND since it’s not a food crop, we make it as diverse and different from our food crops as possible. Lastly, it helps keep our soil in place (with the roots holding the soil and decreasing erosion) and aerated even when covered in flood waters.

So what do we sow for our Cover Crops? Since we want a diversity of plants in the ground, we go for as much of a mix as we can. This year’s mix includes: three kinds of oats (Black, California Red and Cayuse), Rye, Barley, Triticale, Bell Beans, three kinds of peas (Biomaser, Magnus and Dundale), and Vetch. The majority is the grains because those crops are in families so very different than what we grow. Additionally, our friend and no-till guru, Ray Archuleta, recommended a focus on oats and other cereal grains for our low fields that flood, especially one that has been known to get a little anaerobic when it’s very wet for a long time. He wanted as many of the carbonaceous grain roots as possible. Plus, our soil tests tell us the same (do 90% grain and 10% legume they say).

We’ve had a lot of weed pressure in these areas the last few years, so in addition to the amazing benefits of feeding the soil, and keeping the soil covered, the Cover Crops will help decrease weeds. First off they will outcompete weeds, but also, many have allelopathic properties. Allopathic plants are those that have effects of a plant on the development of neighboring plants through the release of secondary compounds.

Getting our bottom lands into Cover Crops is just one more notch on the fall to do list. We want our bottom fields buttoned up for what looks to be a very wet winter.

We are trying some new crops this year, plus our winter CSA is bigger than last year, so we are putting in a new Caterpillar Tunnel for growing even more light greens this winter. This week and last we got the site prepped and got all of the hoops up. I’ll write more next week once it’s up but in the meantime check out the photos in this week’s email.

Winter Schedule

In the winter, our CSA schedule slows down to every-other-week with a two week break over mid-winter holidays. Every-other-week members will either have to make a jump in November or  April.

Here is our Winter CSA Schedule for all CSA members:

Please mark your calendar with below dates!

There is always a copy of this at the top of CSA store.

November: 20th (last weekly box!),

           Tues 26th Optional Holiday Box,

December: 4th, 18th, 23rd potential Optional Holiday Box

January: 8th, 22nd

February: 5th, 19th

March: 5th, 19th

April: 16th and likely weekly (based on winter weather)

Lastly a reminder that next Wednesday, Nov 6th we’ll have our 1st Wednesday of the Month Farm Walks at 2pm and 5pm. Come see what the farm looks like ready for winter!

Produce Notes & Recipes

This Week’s Box

Head Lettuce (SFF or Worker Bee)

Asian Green: Baby Bok Choi OR Tat Soi

Rainbow Chard (SR) OR Rainbow Kale (WC)

Carrots

Green Bell Peppers

Parsley (SR) OR Basil (WC)

Apples (Classic) OR Pomegranates (Family)

Family: Radishes & Frisée

This week we have a diversity of large Head Lettuces going into CSA boxes, including Red Butter, and Panisse from us and Ruby Sky and Grazion from Worker Bee Farm run by our friend Will Scott. Over the winter we bring in a few products from farming friends we trust in the county. Will primarily sells through  his farm stand in Freestone but this past weekend was his last and he still has quite a few crops in his field and could use the income from moving it. We haven’t had a lot of lettuce and it allows us to flex and share the harvest. We will be doing the same with him the next couple weeks as well as with our former crew member Alice who started her own Fledgeling Farm this year with her CSA ending this week. Then as we get into the winter we’ll most notably have potatoes from Suncatcher Farm and Onions from West County Community Farm.

Yay for Carrots! These are some of our last carrots for 2024. We do have many crops in the ground for early 2025 (February and March). But there will certainly be a break.

As we are clearing out our beds we still have a few green crops remaining. This week we have Green Bell Peppers. If it were September and still warm these would develop into Red Peppers but that’s not the case. Any green pepper from bell to jalapeño has a colorful later form. Although less sweet, they are great as an addition to many a dish.

Everyone has one Asian Green this week, either Baby Bok Choi or Tat Soi, this is not a rotation, we just don’t have enough of both. I use them the same although they have very different flavors, Bok Choi is mild and Tat Soi has a rich tangy flavor. I interchange them in recipes They are both amazing in stir-fries, soups, fried rice and even smoothies (these are our favorite greens for green smoothies).

Tat Soi or Bok Choi Fried Rice (adapted from Asparagus to Zucchini)

• 2 tsp peanut oil, divided
  2 tsp sesame oil, divided
  ½ cup diced carrots or other veggie
  ginger (diced),

• scallions
  2 cup diced tat soi or bok choy

• 1½ cups leftover brown rice
  ½ cup leftover cooked meat or tofu (optional)
  1 egg
  chili garlic sauce (optional) and soy sauce

1. Heat wok over medium high heat. Add 1 tsp each of the peanut and sesame oil. Add carrots and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the greens and stir fry for another 2 minutes.

2. Push veggies to the side of the pan and add remaining peanut oil followed by the rice, meat (if using), some ginger and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add some green onions.

3. Push the veggies to the side of the pan. Add the remaining sesame oil, and crack an egg into the center of the wok. Scramble it.

4. Once egg is cooked, break it up and mix into other ingredients. Add a little chili garlic paste if you desire and some soy sauce.

5. Cook for another minute or two and serve hot.

Chilled Wilted Tat Soi Salad with Sesame-Ginger Dressing

(Makes about 2 servings, recipe adapted from Big Oven, who got it from the New York Times.)

• 1 bunch Tat Soi leaves

• sesame seeds, for garnish (black, white or mix)

• 2 T soy sauce (I used Tamari)

• 1 T rice vinegar (not seasoned)

• 1 tsp. grated ginger root

• 1 tsp. sugar

• 1/2 tsp. Sriracha, Gochijang or other hot sauce

• fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and fill another bowl with cold water and a handful of ice cubes. Wash Tat Soi leaves and cut into thick strips. Dump Tat Soi into boiling water, time for exactly one minute, then drain immediately and dump into bowl with ice water.

2. While Tat Soi is cooling in ice water, get a bowl with a tight fitting lid that's large enough to hold all the Tat Soi. Mix dressing ingredients in this bowl, then drain Tat Soi well and add to dressing. Chill in the refrigerator an hour or more, turning bowl over a few times so Tat Soi remains coated with the dressing.

3. To serve, use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove Tat Soi from bowl and arrange on serving plates. Toast sesame seeds for 1-2 minutes in a dry pan and sprinkle over salad. (If using a mixture, the black seeds burn more quickly than the white ones.) Serve immediately.

We have very small crops of both Fuji Apples and Pomegranates so we split them between Classic Boxes and Family Boxes today. The Fuji Apples are small but sweet and tart. The Pomegrantes are not your typical dark red but both white and heirloom varieties, we’re to hot to do them well but have 5 small trees. Enjoy them alone or to top a salad.

As you might guess, this is our last Basil of the year. Some of the crop had frost damage even though it is in our protected hoop houses. We’ll continue to try to have one fresh herb a week for you (although soon that will include garlic).

Families this week have Easter Egg Radishes as well as a head of Frisée, it was such a tremendous crop but will not be done.