Harvest Week 6 - July Emptiness

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Fresh-Ground Floriani Red Flint Cornmeal, Cherokee Summer Crisp Lettuce, Kolibri Little Gem Lettuce, Dino Kale, Sugarloaf Chicories, Baby Beets, Assorted Zucchini, Patty Pan & Crookneck Squash, bulk Pickling Cucumbers, Persian Cucumbers, Mini Caraflex Cabbage, Carrots, Fresh Cipollini Onions, Lorz Softneck Garlic

U-PICK

Check the u-pick board in the barn for weekly u-pick limits.

  • Albion Strawberries | 2 pints per share

  • Purple Sugar Snap Peas | 1 pint per share | Just like green sugar snaps, these can be enjoyed raw or cooked, though their purple color will fade with cooking. Comb through the low-growing plants to find peas that have started to fill out for the sweetest flavor.

  • Frying Peppers: see harvest note!

    • Shishitos: 2 pints/share

    • Padrons: 2 pints/share

  • Herbs & Edible Flowers: Italian Basil, Purple Basil, Lemon Basil, Purple Basil, Dill, Tulsi, Parsley, Cilantro, Chamomile, Calendula, Borage, Nasturtium, Pansies/Viola, Stridolo, Lemon Bergamot Bee Balm, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso/Perilla, Catnip, Pineapple Sage, Sorrel, Assorted Mints

  • Flowers! Too many to list! Feel free to pick the sunflowers along the edge of the parking area in addition to everything in the garden.

Padrons, Purple Sugar Snap Peas, and Shishitos.

HARVEST NOTES

  • Bulk Pickling Cucumbers! Now that the Persian cucumbers are beginning to produce, we’ll begin offering pickling cucumbers in bulk for members who want to make a big batch of pickles. This year there is a 2 gallon season limit. Season limits are how much a share can take home over the course of the season. If you are alternating weeks, please coordinate with your share partners about how much each group is taking. While we hope to be able to offer pickling cucumbers for 2-3 more weeks, we recommend taking your share as soon as you’re able to ensure you don’t miss out! Check out this past newsletter primer for tips on pickling.

  • Fresh-Ground Floriani Red Flint Cornmeal: This beautiful Italian heirloom was bred especially for polenta, with a higher protein content than typical flour corns. The kernels are red on the outside and yellow inside, resulting in a vibrant yellow cornmeal with red flecks. Use it in your favorite cornmeal recipe or make polenta with the recipe below!

  • Fresh Cipollini Onions: A sweet, fresh delicacy that is often eaten raw — it is so mild you can cut it thin and eat in on pizza, salad, or straight up! Also delicious grilled or roasted.

  • Sugarloaf Chicories: We would die happy famers if we initiated all our CSA members into a deep and abiding love for Sugarloaf Chicories. The sweetest of the bitter chicory family, it’s delicious as a raw salad green, chopped up and paired with a rich, sharp dressing (like caesar), grilled, roasted or braised. To roast, cut a Sugarloaf head into quarters or eighths, brush with olive oil, and broil until the outer leaves are slightly caramelized and crisped, and the leaves soft. Then top with salt and grated parmesan (toasted breadcrumbs would be delicious too) and eat as a side.

  • Shishito Frying Peppers: These Japanese frying peppers are long and wrinkled with thin, delicate walls. Best picked between 3-4” long, they are seldom spicy. They are incredibly delicious fried in high-heat oil until browned, sometimes with a dash of lemon or smoked paprika, and always with a liberal sprinkle of salt. A plate of just-off-the-stove frying peppers is an irresistible appetizer or snack. Shishitos also make incredible tempura.

  • Padrón Frying Peppers: The famous Spanish heirloom, named after their town of origin. Padróns are served sautéed in olive oil with a little sea salt, and eaten as tapas in Spain. Harvested between 1” and 1 1/2" long, about 1 out of 10 fruits will be hot, but as the peppers’ size increase, so do their spiciness. While Padróns and Shishitos are both excellent prepared in the same way — sautéed in a hot pan — we recommend cooking them separately to achieve the perfect level of caramelization on each type.

FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP


THIS Tuesday, July 22nd, 5:30 pm

Are you looking for some tips and inspiration on flower picking and arranging?

Are you a seasoned flower-nerd and feel like sipping bubblies and arranging flowers with like-minded friends?

CSA member Cassidy Blackwell fell in love with flowers and flower arranging on the farm in 2020. It’s since become a passion of hers. Cassidy will share her stoke and some tips she’s learned about arranging. This is a special annual farm event.

Please bring a bucket to pick into, a favorite vase, and clippers. Members are welcome to bring a non-member friend. Suggested $30 donation for non-members.

FLORIANI RED FLINT POLENTA

We love making a big pot of polenta to eat with veggies for dinner— this week, we’ll be roasting zucchini, cipollinis and fennel and topping with parmesan or feta — and then eating the leftover polenta sliced, pan-fried and topped with a fried egg and greens in the following days.

Polenta is simple to prepare, but it does benefit from a long cooking time — about 45 minutes. Here are the basic steps, and ideas for different variations.

  • Bring water to a boil. For our course-ground cornmeal, we recommend 4-5 cups of water to 1 cup of cornmeal. Rather than water you can also use stock to bring extra flavor, or include some milk for added richness.

  • Gradually whisk cornmeal into the boiling water, and continue stirring for a minute or two as the mixture thickens. Add some salt.

  • Continue cooking on low, stirring every 10 minutes, for approximately 45 minutes, or until the polenta reaches the desired consistency, and the grains are swollen and soft. Add water as needed if it thickens before it’s fully cooked.

  • Towards the end of the cooking time you can add in any additional flavorings you’d like: crushed garlic, olive oil, butter, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs like rosemary and thyme, or cheese! (Parmesan, feta, cheddar, blue cheese...) Taste for flavor and salt and adjust as needed.

  • To make your leftovers into firm, sliceable polenta, pour the still-warm and not-yet-set polenta into a shallow layer in a lightly buttered dish. (Rectangular glass storage containers are great for this.) Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 days.

FARMER’S LOG

July Emptiness

At this time of year it is hard to find the headspace for a thoughtful Farmer’s Log — the steady rhythm of the bulky harvests drowns out softer notes of reflection.

To sneak in planting, seeding, and weeding in the margins of harvest your only thoughts are farm thoughts, your only feelings are farm feelings. You must remain disciplined, focused… you can’t miss a beat (no pun intended).

This week, while the harvest share starts to get a little more summery (despite this very cold July) we turned towards fall in the field. We transplanted over 650 ft of Brussels sprouts for Thanksgiving. Asa seeded our fall carrots. We saw the first potato tubers swelling up in the flowering potato field.

Whimsical thoughts.

It’s a strange feeling, this time of year: Our internal lives, our emotions, dreams, and whimsies — feel far away, shoved aside by the harvest and urgent needs in the field — but at the same time we never feel more full. 

There is a sort of innocence, a fullness, in being so busy as to be empty.

Then, the swelling of the corn stalks can you lift you up to the eaves. The heat is your sorrow. The flowering potatoes are your whimsical thoughts. And the little things — a good sip of coffee, a crew mate’s joke, a good harvest —  can fill you up to the brim.

See you in the fields,
David

CSA BASICS

What time is harvest pick-up?:

  • Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

  • Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

U-pick hours: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.

2025 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 14th through Tuesday, December 9th this year.

Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.

Slow on Cooper Rd. Out of respect for our neighbors and the many kids and animals that live on Cooper Rd., please drive slow (20 mph)!

Harvest Week 5 - The Season of Flowers

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Arugula, Mustard Mix, French Breakfast Radishes, Dino Kale, Kolibri Little Gem Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Green Butter Lettuce, Assorted Chicories, Fennel, Green Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck Squash, Pickling Cucumbers, Mini Cabbage, Carrots, Fresh Lorz Softneck Garlic

U-PICK

Check the u-pick board in the barn for weekly u-pick limits.

  • Albion Strawberries: 1 pint per share

  • Sugar Snap Peas: Gleanings | Gleanings is how we indicate that a crop is done with the bulk of its production, but members are welcome to forage for a bit of what is left.

  • Herbs & Edible Flowers: Italian Basil, Purple Basil, Lemon Basil, Purple Basil, Dill, Tulsi, Parsley, Cilantro, Chamomile, Calendula, Borage, Nasturtium, Pansies/Viola, Stridolo, Lemon Bergamot Bee Balm, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso/Perilla, Catnip, Pineapple Sage, Sorrel, Assorted Mints

  • Flowers! Too many to list! Feel free to pick the sunflowers along the edge of the parking area in addition to everything in the garden.

Supercrest Celosia getting ever more elaborate in the garden. / Dried chamomile: just one of the many herbs for tea growing in the garden right now. / Salad with chicories, lettuce, carrot ribbons & chopped fennel fronds.

HARVEST NOTES

  • French Breakfast Radishes: Delicate little radishes with the most evocative name. Not sure how to eat radishes? We love them sliced on good bread with butter and flaky salt, roasted with miso, or sliced and eaten atop almost any meal — we’re always amazed at how much beauty, crunch and freshness they bring.

FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP

SAVE THE DATE!
Tuesday, July 22nd, 5:30 pm

Are you looking for some tips and inspiration on flower picking and arranging?

Are you a seasoned flower-nerd and feel like sipping bubblies and arranging flowers with like-minded friends?

CSA member Cassidy Blackwell fell in love with flowers and flower arranging on the farm in 2020. It’s since become a passion of hers. Cassidy will share her stoke and some tips she’s learned about arranging. This is a special annual farm event.

Please bring a bucket to pick into, a favorite vase, and clippers. Members are welcome to bring a non-member friend. Suggested $30 donation for non-members.

PEAK SALAD SEASON IS HERE!

As salad season continues, we wanted to bring you 2 more versatile dressing recipes from Samin Nosrat that are amazing to have on hand during peak salad season and beyond.

House Dressing

By Samin Nosrat

Yield: 1½ cups

  • 1 large shallot, very finely diced

  • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon aged sherry vinegar, plus more as needed

  • 1 tablespoon warm water

  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1½ teaspoons honey

  • 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard

  • 1½ teaspoons whole-grain mustard

  • 2 thyme sprigs, washed leaves picked and finely chopped (about ½ teaspoon)

  • 1 garlic clove, finely grated

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed

  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place the shallot in a fine-mesh sieve and quickly rinse with cold water. Allow to drain, then place in a medium bowl. Add vinegar and warm water, and let the shallot mixture sit for 2 minutes

Whisk in oil, honey, both mustards, thyme, garlic, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar as needed.

Cover and refrigerate remaining dressing for up to 1 week.

To make a crunchy and refreshing green salad: toss Little Gem lettuce (or your favorite variety of baby lettuce), thinly shaved fennel, tender dill fronds, whole cilantro and parsley leaves, 1-inch pieces of chives and dressing. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Delicately mound onto a serving platter and serve immediately.

CRUNCHY CABBAGE SLAW WITH CREAMY SESAME-GINGER DRESSING

By Samin Nosrat

Yield: 1½ cups

  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed

  • ¼ cup seasoned rice vinegar, plus more as needed

  • 5 tablespoons white miso

  • 2 tablespoons honey

  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil

  • 6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

  • 1 (3-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

  • 1 fresh jalapeño, stemmed (seeded if desired) and sliced

  • ½ cup neutral oil

  • Kosher salt

In a liquid measuring cup or wide-mouth jar, combine the lemon juice, vinegar, miso, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and chile, and use an immersion blender to blend until smooth. With the immersion blender running, add the neutral oil in a thin stream. (Alternatively, you can use a countertop blender.) Taste and adjust with salt, lemon juice and vinegar as needed.

Cover and refrigerate remaining dressing for up to 1 week.

To make a crunchy cabbage slaw: combine ½ head thinly sliced cabbage, 2 coarsely grated carrots, ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro, 2 scallions thinly sliced on sharp bias, 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds and 1 cup salted roasted peanuts in a large bowl. Toss with a generous amount of dressing. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Chill for 30 minutes before serving.

FARMER’S LOG

THE SEASON OF FLOWERS

A couple weeks ago we wrote about the Season of Power; that time of year on the farm when the turbocharged alchemy of water and solstice light erupts in unfathomable foliar growth.

If the last two weeks were the Season of Power, we’re now entering the fleeting and breathtaking Season of Flower.

Every a nook and cranny on the farm is starting to bloom. The garden, obviously, is on full display. It is more like a fireworks factory caught on fire than a fireworks show — but quieter. 

In the fields too, flowers are everywhere. Our Masquerade potatoes in Creek Field are like two oceanic strips of royal purple flowers and yellow anther arrows. Our main crop of potatoes, in Farfield West across the creek, is half abloom, and will likely be in full bloom late next week. (We suggest a visit.)

The winter squash are sounding their fuzzy yellow trumpets; the cherry tomatoes are fully bedazzled in yellow stars; our first batch of sweet corn put on their tassel hats this week.

Life can be full of pain and distraction. But the season of flower, if you let it in, reminds us of joy.

We hope you can take a quiet moment these next couple weeks — listening to the bees in the borage; breathing in deep the smell of a field of potato flowers; arranging flower with us next Tuesday — to really soak in the jubilance of the Season of Flowers.

You deserve it.

See you in the flowers,
David and Kayta

CSA BASICS

What time is harvest pick-up?:

  • Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

  • Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

U-pick hours: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.

2025 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 14th through Tuesday, December 9th this year.

Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.

Slow on Cooper Rd. Out of respect for our neighbors and the many kids and animals that live on Cooper Rd., please drive slow (20 mph)!

Harvest Week 4 - Spacewalks

THIS WEEK’S HARVEST

Fresh Lorz Softneck Garlic, Pink & Gold Swiss Chard, Collards, Frisée, Green Zucchini and Yellow Crookneck Squash, Volcana Little Gem Lettuce, Romaine Lettuce, Rouxai Red Oakleaf Lettuce, Giorgione & Bel Fiore Chicories, Fennel, Pickling Cucumbers, Mini Tiara Cabbage, Carrots

U-PICK

Check the u-pick board in the barn for weekly u-pick limits.

  • Albion Strawberries: 2 pints per share | The strawbs are in their seasonal 4th of July lull. We’re keeping the limit at 2 pints this week but it will mean a little harder picking. Check out the middle and back of the beds for areas that are more abundant.

  • Sugar Snap Peas: The peas had a sudden drop-off in productivity last week, which meant that not all members were able to pick their shares. If you got your peas last week, please leave the gleanings this week to those who didn’t. We’ll have another succession coming soon!

  • Herbs & Edible Flowers: Italian Basil, Purple Basil, Lemon Basil, Purple Basil, Dill, Tulsi, Parsley, Cilantro, Chamomile, Calendula, Borage, Nasturtium, Pansies/Viola, Stridolo, Lemon Bergamot Bee Balm, Onion Chives, Garlic Chives, Tarragon, Thyme, Oregano, Marjoram, Culinary Sage, Lemon Balm, Lemon Verbena, Vietnamese Coriander, Shiso/Perilla, Catnip, Pineapple Sage, Sorrel, Assorted Mints

  • Flowers! Many perennial flowers and the first of the year’s annuals!

One Eric, one tractor, lots of potatoes, zero weeds.

HARVEST NOTES

  • Frisée: This is our once-a-year succession of frisée — a frilly, slightly bitter endive. While it’s probably most familiar as a salad mix component, it’s also delicious cooked as you would an escarole. Check out this recipe from last year’s newsletter for Herby Summer Beans with Garlic & Frisée.

  • Collards: Cooked slowly and for a little longer than you might cook kale, collards transform into one of the most decadently sweet and silky cooking greens. To truly revel in the transformation, try making Gomen — Ethiopian collards with onions and fresh ginger. We promise that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP

SAVE THE DATE!
Tuesday, July 22nd, 5:30 pm

Are you looking for some tips and inspiration on flower picking and arranging?

Are you a seasoned flower-nerd and feel like sipping bubblies and arranging flowers with like-minded friends?

CSA member Cassidy Blackwell fell in love with flowers and flower arranging on the farm in 2020. It’s since become a passion of hers. Cassidy will share her stoke and some tips she’s learned about arranging. This is a special annual farm event.

Please bring a bucket to pick into, a favorite vase, and clippers. Members are welcome to bring a non-member friend. Suggested $30 donation for non-members.

FLOWER HARVESTING BASICS


Here are some basic tips and tricks to help you make the most of the abundance in the flower garden.

  • Pick when it’s cool. Picking in the cool morning or evening hours will keep your flowers from wilting right away. If you do pick during a hot moment, dunking your flower stems in boiling water when you get home can help revive them.

  • Pick directly into water: Your flowers will last longest at home if they go right into water after being picked. Try bringing a 5-gallon bucket, filling with a little bit of water, and picking directly into the bucket for arranging later.

  • Strip the stems. Taking off any leaves that will fall below the surface of the water will keep it and the blooms fresh longer.

  • Clean your vase and refresh the water. Your flowers will appreciate being in as clean an environment as you can provide for them. This means keeping your vase scrubbed, and replacing (or at least topping off) the water as often as possible. You can also give the stems a fresh cut every few days to ensure they’re able to keep drinking.

  • Pick at the right stage: The vase-life of flowers is affected in part by how far along they are in the process of blooming. While we love the exuberance and ephemerality of a flower in full-blown glory, you’ll usually get a longer vase-life from one that’s just starting to open. For short-lived flowers like Cosmos and California poppies, picking stems that include unopened buds will extend the life of your bouquet, as you watch them come into bloom in your vase, changing before your eyes.

Chicken and Herb Salad With Nuoc Cham

By Yewande Komolafe

Nuoc cham, a Vietnamese sauce bright with lime juice and chile, is tossed into this simple, satisfying salad to give it a salty-sweet finish. Thinly sliced bell pepper and shaved cabbage provide crunch, while meat pulled from a store-bought rotisserie chicken — or any leftover chicken — soaks up the dressing. Serve this by itself, or alongside steamed rice or room-temperature cooked rice vermicelli.

Yield: 4 servings

Total time: 5 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 1 garlic clove, minced

  • 1 bird’s-eye chile or other small hot chile, minced with seeds

  • 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (from 2 limes)

  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce

  • 3 loosely packed cups chicken meat (12 ounces, pulled from store-bought rotisserie chicken or roast chicken)

  • 2 cups thinly sliced red or green cabbage

  • 1 small English cucumber, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 cups)

  • 1 medium bell pepper (any color), thinly sliced

  • 1 1/2 cups peppery leafy greens, such as watercress with tender stems, arugula or mizuna

  • 1 loosely packed cup Thai or sweet basil leaves

  • 1 loosely packed cup mint leaves

  • 1/2 cup crispy fried shallots or onions, store-bought or homemade

PREPARATION

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Whisk to dissolve the sugar. Add the garlic, chile, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir to combine.

2. Add the chicken, cabbage, cucumbers and bell pepper to the dressing. Toss to coat. Add the leafy greens and the basil and mint leaves. Toss to combine.

3. Divide the salad among bowls, garnish with the crispy shallots and serve immediately.

FARMER’S LOG

Spacewalks

It’s a special time in the garden right now.

If the first few weeks of flowers were the lift off phase — the launch pad, the rockets pushing, gaining speed, and hurtling towards space — then we have now cleared the stratosphere.

It is quiet now. We are surrounded by a galaxy of glittering stars. Many flower beds are going supernova… the full mass of their energy erupting in a blinding display of blooms before the end; This week it’s the trailing amaranth, scented nicotiana, snapdragons, marigolds, angel’s wings, and Russian statice…

From left to right… Top row: Select Watercolor Nicotiana, Oeschberg & Emerald Tassels Amaranth, Schizanthus aka Angel’s Wings | Middle row: Summer Breeze sunflowers, Cupcake cosmos, Queen mix zinnias | Bottom row: Apricotta cosmos, Supercrest celosia, Russian Statice.

And new many new star clusters are flickering into existence this week. The zinnias — enticing in their endless variety and intricacy — are opening more every day; the celosia is pluming, cresting and crashing like waves; and the rudbeckia are going up like 4th of July fireworks, crisp golden balls.

Bees and pollen seekers of all types fly around like space craft all day — and land on soft little moons to sleep each night. Come in early in the morning or late in the evening to catch them in their little beds, or close your eyes in the warm morning sun, and listen to their hum.

We hope you enjoy your spacewalks. Just don’t forget a handful of dill when you return to your ship.

See you in the fields,

David and Kayta

THE BASICS

What time is harvest pick-up?:

  • Saturday harvest pick-ups run from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

  • Tuesday harvest pick-ups will run from 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

U-pick hours: Oriented members can come to the farm any time, 7 days a week, sunrise to sunset, to u-pick and enjoy the farm.

2025 CSA program dates: Our harvest season will run from Saturday, June 14th through Tuesday, December 9th this year.

Where is the farm? The member parking lot is located at 1720 Cooper Rd., Sebastopol, CA 95472.

Slow on Cooper Rd. Out of respect for our neighbors and the many kids and animals that live on Cooper Rd., please drive slow (20 mph)!

Where should I park?: Follow our sign on Cooper Rd. down a short gravel driveway. Please find a parking spot under the solar panels to your left, or on either side of the road in front, or below, the greenhouse.

Where is the food? The produce pick-up barn is just to the right of the solar panels and above our big greenhouse. You can’t miss it!

What should I bring?:

  • Former members, please bring your WCCF tote bag! (New members will be given a new one.)

  • Pint baskets or small containers for strawberries and herbs (if you have some, we will provide a few pint baskets to be used as measures)

  • A vase, bucket, or water bottle to keep your flowers and herbs happy

  • Clippers or secateurs to cut flowers (if you have some)

  • Water / sun hat / picnic supplies if you plan to stay awhile!

Newsletters & email communication: All our important CSA communications are sent through this email address, which is sometimes spam blocked. Please make sure this email address is in your address book so you get important CSA communications. All newsletters and important updates, like this one, are also posted on the Newsletters page of our website weekly.