12/4/24 Farming in the Winter
On the farm, winter means many things for our farm crew. To begin, transitioning to every-other-week CSA allows for bigger projects to happen on the “off” weeks, since we now have two days that are not longer dedicated to CSA. Although winter can feel long and endless, that is not the case for farmers in California. The slowest seasons of farming are limited to December and January (the days before and after Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year). We are truly sunlight farmers and hours are sun is where it’s at for growing photosynthesizing plants that make food for us. As such, we are working the fields minimally these two months. We also have fewer products to harvest, hence the switch to every-other-week boxes. Once February comes around, we will be ramping up our planting. Until then, the farm crew is taking a much needed seasonal break.
Enjoying the slowness of the winter season has many looks depending who you ask on the farm. There are plenty of winter projects to keep those who want to work busy all week. This includes several tasks, but ones we are especially looking forward to is a continued update on some of our infrastructure (hoop house and even nursery), a heavy prune of fruit trees and hedge rows, and a deep clean of our production barn. We like to think of this period as a deep reset that allows us to be in full swing by the time summer comes around.
Another way members of our farm crew are slowing down this winter is by taking extended vacations. For 2025 we are blessed to have 6 of our crew members returning! Most of them have asked for a break over winter including the flexibility of shorter days when the weather is foul and longer vacations. Don’t get us wrong, we have the work for anyone who wants it. But farming is an incredibly taxing and labor intensive job, so we’re happy to give this break. Bobby is going to be traveling and living in Tucson, Arizona for about three months this winter. He will be working with an organization called BorderLinks, check out the 10/2 newsletter for more on him and the work that he will be doing. Our field manager Sarah will be traveling through Mexico for two months, taking some much needed leave and practicing Spanish, enjoying tacos, and meeting fellow travelers. Jose will be traveling back to his home country of Chile for a month, visiting his family and friends. Our harvest manager Sean will also be traveling to Mexico for two weeks for a friends wedding and a short vacation. Maddie will be taking a short and sweet trip to Peru to visit Machu Picchu with a group of friends. And lastly, Leo will be taking many long weekends to shred the pow in Tahoe. The farm crew is continually grateful to be able to have flexible vacation during the winter, allowing for a proper reset and the ability to come into the next season refreshed and ready to power through the long summer months. Elle is currently in Chile for a month with her partner. Farmer Elizabeth and family just came back from a week in Mexico visiting family but will be holding down the fort over the holidays. Of note, we’ll have two new crew members join us in February when we ramp up.
Bomb Cyclone & Now Cold Sunny Days
Last CSA was the big day of rain in the Bomb Cyclone. In 17 years on this property we have not seen that amount of water in such a short time, we had well over 14” of rain on our property those three days. Our field soil soaks it up easy, our infiltration rate with high carbon regenerative soils is 56 second per inch of rain. The problem for us comes with all the runs on from neighbors plus run off from impermeable surfaces such as our hoop houses, nursery and gravel parking lot. Thankfully it was the first storm and so our four empty ponds soaked up a lot of the water, so we didn’t flood. It would have been fine if we did, we were ready for it with cover crops in the bottom fields. Still it was very hard for working, we’d rush out in lighter moments and are thankful we have a lot growing in the hoops.
Now we have a moment of sun (albeit short days) to let that water soak in and let our growing plants photosynthesize. That said, it’s cold. But honestly sun and cold makes for better growing than wet and cloudy. Unless we’re taking deeper freezes below 15 degrees. The last week we’ve dipped down to the low 20s is all. Let’s see what the rest of this winter brings for us!
New CSA Billing/Management Platform
As a movement towards easier management for us and a better experience for you, in 2025 we’ll be transitioning to a new CSA management and billing platform in March 2025. You’ll hear more on this as the time comes but we just wanted to start to give you a heads up. We will not increase the price of CSA boxes this year, but with this system the cost of billing will be added to your side rather than ours which will be an increase of about $2 per box.
Produce Notes & Recipes
This Week’s Box
Panisse Lettuce
Baby Bok Choi (SR) OR Escarole (WC)
Rainbow Kale (SR) OR Toascano Kale (WC)
Pea Shoots
Masquerade Potatoes
Red Kuri Squash
Green Peppers
Family: Romanesco Cauliflower
This week we have some beautiful and luscious heads of Panisse Lettuce from the Enterprise (the biggest of our hoop houses). We also have some luscious Pea Shoots! Enjoy them in a salad together.
We are so excited to introduce Masquerade Potatoes to the boxes this week. A few of you have gotten them through our Add-Ons, but this is the first full rotation for the CSA. We purchased a bulk order of these potatoes from Farmer Patrick of Suncatcher Farm in Petaluma. This variety of potato is known for its one-of-a-kind bicolor and brilliant contrast of purple and white. The moist, white flesh is perfect for baking, mashing, and roasting. There are lots of ways to use these versatile potatoes. They are best used roasted, baked, boiled, or mashed. To maintain their unique coloration, keep them whole with the skin on and simply bake with a drizzle of olive oil! Here is another recipe for smashed potatoes:
Smashed Potatoes (via Martha Stewart)
2 pounds small multicolored potatoes
6 tbsp olive oil
Sour Cream
Chopped chives
Coarse salt and pepper to taste
Heat oven to 425.
Bring potatoes to a boil in a large pot of water, seasoned generously with salt. Cook until fork tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.
Drizzle rimmed baking sheet with 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Arrange potatoes on baking sheet and lightly crush each potato with fork until potatoes are about 1/2 inch thick. Brush potatoes with remaining oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Roast, turning pan halfway through baking time, until golden and crips, about 25 minutes.
Serve with a dollop of sour cream and chopped chives.
We are also excited to be giving our first full round of Red Kuri Winter Squash. This is one of our favorites on the farm. We love it for it’s delicate and mellow nutty flavor. The skin on these is not edible, so I could cook and use accordingly. Many members of the farm have been enjoying them for the past several weeks. The easiest way to prepare is to slice in half, use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and innards. Drizzle in a generous amount of olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes or until fork tender. After slightly cooled, use a spoon to separate flesh from the skin. Add to a warm salad, winter pasta, soup, etc. The options are truly endless!
Green Peppers, really?? And a few colored ones too. Yes, two weeks ago we cleared the last of our peppers in hoop houses and were astonished at how many peppers were remaining. Peppers are a perennial in some areas and so as the season continues they just keep going until the cold kills them. We’ve been astonished at how good these still are. You may have Bells, Cornos or Jimmy Nardellos. It wasn’t part of the box, just an extra bonus!
For families, the star of the show is our heads of Romanesco Cauliflower. It is a beautiful crop, and often you can find the farm crew spending a few minutes getting lost in the endlessly repeating conical forms that make it look like a fractal galaxy. Romanesco is one of the crops that requires the most space to grow, and as such it is hard to give out to our entire CSA. For non-family boxes, we will have it in our add-on section of the CSA for the next few boxes and I would definitely snag one while we have them! Below is one of my favorites from the Six Seasons cookbook:
Fried Romanesco with Spicy Fish-Sauce
1 medium romanesco, cut into chubby florets
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley or other herb
2 garlic cloves
Extra virgin olive oil
Vegetable oil for deep frying
For spicy fish sauce:
1/4 cup seeded and minced chilis (I use pickled jalapeños)
4 large garlic cloves
1/2 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
Put the romanesco in a bowl large enough to hold all the romanesco and add enough olive oil to cover.
Pour at least 3 inches of oil into a medium saucepan with tall sides. Slowly bring the oil up to 365F on a thermometer.
Arrange a double layer of paper towels on a tray and set near the stove.
Carefully immerse a few of the romanesco florets into the oil and fry until they are really dark brown, about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on the paper towels. Repeat to all the romanesco.
Toss the fired florets in the bowl with the chopped garlic and its oil, herb, and a big glug of the spicy fish sauce.
Save remainder of spicy fish sauce in air-tight container in the fridge for one to two months.