1/8/25 Carbon Farming, keeping it going
We have a lot of people joining our waitlist, as is normal for the New Years’ Resolution season. We love knowing how people know of our farm and recently one was new to us, it said the book The Regenerative Agriculture Solution by Cummins and Leu, founders of Regeneration International and president of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements. We know both authors but didn’t know they put out a book. Our farm has been featured in a number of books but I ordered this one to see what it was about. It refers to us a few times but I thought I would share their quick write up of us:
“No Kill, No Till
Singing Frogs Farm, run by Elizabeth and Paul Kaiser, is a highly productive “no kill, no till,” biodiverse, organic, agroecological horticulture farm on 3 acres (1.2 hectares) in Northern California. The key to their no-till system is to cover the planting beds with mulch and compost instead of plowing them or using herbicides, and planting directly into the compost, along with a high biodiversity of cash and cover crops that are continuously rotated to break weed, disease, and pest cycles.
According to Chico State University, the Kaisers have increased soil organic matter (SOM) by 400 percent - from 2.4 percent to 7-8 percent, with an average increase of about .75 percentage points per year-in six years. This farming system couple apply to more than 80 percent of farmers worldwide, as most have fewer than 5 acres (2 hectares). If the increase in Singing Frogs Farm’s soil carbon were extrapolated globally across arable and permanent croplands, it would sequester 179 Gt of CO2 per year.”
They go on to piece together enough Carbon Farming solutions to draw down more than the current emissions and result in negative carbon emissions. If 5% of small farmers adopted our model and had the success we have, it would be 20% of this solution. (And honestly, they have more conservative numbers than we’ve actually seen on our farm!)
Interestingly just two weeks earlier Elizabeth had spoken for some time with John Wicks, founder of Marin Carbon Project. At that site, they showed that applications of compost to rangeland created a state change that started to increase soil carbon. John Wick has been working at the state and now the federal level advocating (and succeeding) for increased support for compost creation as well as the application to appropriate landscapes to start increasing carbon capture. He, like Cummins and Leu, love using our example and the tests that we’ve done to show that it can be done.
We farm for many reasons: we farm for the food we produce for our community, we farm for the ecology we promote in the Atascadero Valley, we farm for the farmers that work here with us, and we certainly farm to keep the Carbon in the soil and to act as an example that this can be done. We haven’t spoken about it too much recently
Regenerative Farming, Carbon Farming and proper compost application can sequester carbon from the atmosphere at very high levels. Rangeland management is certainly a large part as there are so many acres and grassland is so amazing at sequestering carbon. And we also have a place in the story. After 15 years of being fully no-till, we’re keeping it going.
Speaking of people on the waiting list…
We have over 150 people on the waiting list, and it’s growing every day (it is New Years’ resolution season). With the upcoming change to our billing software (the final pieces are being put in place now) we will be letting new members in starting late this week for start in April when our boxes transition to every-other-week. We know not every 150 of the people on the waiting list will engage, but we are hoping to get through it with people joining April, then May and last June with a seasonal only CSA share (June - November). We growing the CSA this year!
One new offering to our CSA starting April will be an additional Bountiful Lettuce Share and a Bunched Greens Share. The former will gives an extra two heads of lettuce or one bag of Lettuce Leaf Mix and the latter an extra Kale or Chard in each box. We know these are items we always have on stock (we have a plan to have a better game in Lettuce in 2025). That means with every box you’ll have an extra without having to shop for them.
Produce Notes & Recipes
This Week’s Box
Baby Bok Choi
Pea Shoots
Brussels Sprouts
Brussels Greens
Vista Gold Potatoes (Suncatcher Farm)
Napa Cabbage
Family: Leaf Lettuce Mix
We are super excited to have the first Brussels Sprouts for everyone this week!! Brussels Sprouts are really hard to grow. We seed them in June, plant them in late July and they’re in the field through January. As such, they are exceptionally prone to pests and not many growers locally don’t grow them. This said, you may find someone tucked in and hiding. And we had one stalk with a little rot in the sprouts but many many more without, we checked as best possible but cannot tell. If you ever have produce that has an issue (ie rot), make sure to let us know and we’ll replace or compensate you. STILL, we grow them because they are truly delicious and they are such a treat in the middle of winter when the other heading Brassicas (Broccoli and Cauliflower) are done.
Cooking ideas:
Steamed: Cut into quarters, steam 5 min. Toss with butter, olive oil or Mediterranean Dressing: (for 1 lb sprouts) 3 Tbs olive, 2 tsp lemon juice, 2 med cloves garlic, chopped, salt and pepper, 1 Tbs dijon mustard (opt), 1 Tbs minced parsley (opt)
Boil 8-10 minutes, drain and serve with butter.
Roast: Mix with olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast at 400F for 35-40 minutes, shake pan every 5-7 minutes for even browning. Done when dark brown on parts.
Sautéed: Cut in half, rub cut edge with olive oil, cook in large pan over medium heat for ~5 min, until bottoms are slightly brown and tender throughout, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then turn up heat and cook till deep brown and caramelized, tossing occasionally. Dust with cheese of your choice.
Combine quartered cooked Brussels sprouts with sliced red onions, walnuts, and your favorite mild tasting cheese such as a goat cheese or feta. Toss with olive oil and balsamic vinegar for side dish or salad.
Braised Brussels Sprouts with Cider and Bacon
(this is a cross between a recipe from Cooks Illustrated Best Vegetable Recipes and a recipe from member Dani )
1 lb (about 1 stalk)
3 slices bacon cut into ½-in pieces
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 apples, diced (I left peels on)
½ tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
¾ c apple cider
1⁄8 tsp ground black pepper
Cook bacon in large skillet with lid over med-high heat until crisp, transfer to paper towels and set aside.
Add garlic and thyme to the rendered bacon fat in the skillet (2-3 Tbs) and cook at med-high heat until fragrant, ~1 min. Add the cider and pepper and Brussels Sprouts, cover and simmer (shaking the pan once or twice to redistribute sprouts. After 4-5 min add apples and cover again. Cook until knife tip inserted into the center of a sprout meets no resistance, 8-10 min total. Sprinkle with bacon and serve.
Maple Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes
4 cups brussels sprouts, halved
4 cups potatoes, chopped
3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
3 Tbs stoneground mustard
3 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs fresh rosemary
1 Tbs fresh thyme
2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
Prepare sprouts and potatoes. Chop the stem off the Brussels sprouts and remove outer leaves. Chop in half and rinse thoroughly. Set aside to dry. Chop potatoes to the same size as Brussels sprout halves.
Preheat oven to 375º and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Spread Brussels sprouts on one sheet and potatoes on the other.
Whisk together balsamic, mustard, olive oil, maple syrup, herbs, pepper, and salt. Pour half over the Brussels sprouts and half over the potatoes. Mix them up to coat evenly.
Place the potatoes in the oven and bake 10 minutes. After 10 minutes have passed, add Brussels sprouts and cook 30-40 minutes until everything is tender.
Serves 6-8 as a side.
There are smaller bunches of Brussels Greens today. Each stalk over the season gives us 2+ bunches worth of greens. Cook them with the same season ideas as Brussels Sprouts but as if they were collards or kale.
We have 2 pounds of Vista Gold Potatoes from Suncatcher Farm. Vista Gold are a small Yukon Gold cousin. They are thin skinned and have light yellow flesh. They are suitable for any cooking style. They did get a little on the small side, some of you have medium sized potatoes, some have little babies.
This week Family members have a 1/2 lb bag of Leaf Lettuce Mix. This winter we tried growing Salanova Lettuce heads which can be cut to the base for leaves and regrow and regrow, rather than a seeded lettuce mix. We found the latter had a lot of mold issues. Leaf lettuce does so much better in the winter when heads don’t really for densely in the low light conditions.