"New Climate Diet": Why we grow what we grow when we grow it. (Talk 9/13)

Earlier this summer, a member and I had a quick discussion about why our fruits and vegetables don’t often look like what is typically offered at the grocery store.  A few weeks later another member commented to be about the different colors of eggplant.  At about that same time, Lalo and I were discussing our central goal of the CSA.  All of these thoughts came to a headway and all of a sudden I realized there was a gulf (perhaps a very wide gulf) between our decision making and many of our members expectations.  

At first, I thought the answer was simple.  A significant percentage of the produce that we grow (now almost 70%) is made up of heirloom and open-pollinated varieties.  They look different.  Although most people do not think about it, produce like fashion has trends.  Eggplants are currently big, globular, and purple.  They haven’t always been, so most of our eggplants (all of which are heirlooms) aren’t purple or globular.  Watermelons used to be large, various colors beyond red, and seedy.  Those are the ones we grow, but what is popular now are single-serving, seedless, red watermelons.  I could make similar extrapolations about almost all of the produce we grow.    

It isn’t that simple, though.  We aren’t just trying to go against the grain, and we aren’t (entirely) ignorant of the trends.  Our decisions of what varieties we grow are actually based on a balancing act of several factors, as well as significant experimentation (what I call “trialing”).  Our goal for the CSA (different from our goal for the farm) is to provide a box of produce each week that is rounded-nutritionally, seasonally-appropriate, and provides a useful variety for members to enjoy, while also making sure that what we grow is low-input and is at least comprised of 50% heirloom varieties.  

So what are we thinking about and how is that different from wholesale growers (which make up the vast majority of farmers in the US)?  You can go into almost any chain grocery store in the country and see the same varieties of produce.  This is because wholesale growers grow what are referred to as “industry standards”.  Of the ____ varieties that we grow, we grow one industry standard (“Clemson Spineless” okra), which we are trying to replace and one EU (European Union) industry standard (“Rozy” bibb lettuce), which we grow for two weeks in the spring.  

Most of these varieties do not grow well here.  They are mostly intended for climates that are distinctly different from ours at every season (California, Arizona, and Washington State).  We, instead, have trialed over 2,000 organic varieties (and continue to do so) looking at overall production, disease resistance, insect resistance, what I call “climate resistance” (ability to handle our climatic extremes and unpredictable weather, particularly our shortening springs, our often hotter and drier summers, a reduction in actual absorbed rainfall [a loss of about 25%], and colder winters), nutrition, input needs based on our soil, member preferences, and genetic/cultural preservation.  Currently, we grow a balance of organic hybrids (30%), well-known and rare heirlooms (about 60%), and some more recent open-pollinated varieties (about 10%).  In general, we are satisfied with most of this mix.  However, we continue to perform large comparison trials of varieties (as well as growing techniques) and smaller, more specific trials in search of better options.

Some of our long-term trials (most of which need significant irrigation for high yields) include potatoes (which grow best in Colorado and Idaho with irrigation; climates that are cooler and drier and more consistent) [vs. Jerusalem artichoke, much better in our climate], greens (our goal being greens year-round that most of the members enjoy...we may have exhausted the search for summer greens and need to instead focus on changes in techniques, are baby greens in the summer with irrigation feasible?), lettuce (our goals is lettuce year-round, with similar issues to greens), carrots (as much of the season as possible, some out of storage; we need to trial other varieties, especially for harvesting and pulling out of the cooler), and legumes (peas [need significant water in our hot, dry springs], green beans, shellies, and dry beans/peanuts). 

Each season we perform more specific trials as well.  This season we are trialing three bok choy varieties against each other, six kale varieties, seven okra varieties, and six winter lettuce varieties.  We are looking for a bok choy variety that doesn’t bolt in spring with up and down temperatures and hot, dry weather.  With the kale, we are hoping to find a variety that produces in both hot and cold weather.  Most kale survives but does not produce in either of these extremes, but we would like to find one or many varieties that will actually continue to produce through them, particularly in sub-45 temperatures.  With the okra, we are looking for a variety that outperforms “Clemson Spineless” but is still equally consistent, easy to pick, and tasty.  With the winter lettuce, we are looking at survivability both with and without protection and re-growth possibilities. [We are always trialing tomatoes for organic production post-August; there is significant disease pressure here at that time, especially if plants are already stressed by heat and drought.]

So, of course, our produce looks different.  We are growing different varieties because we are driven by different goals and motives.  If you have any more questions about this topic or any suggestions on the varieties we have grown this season, just let us know!           

The Chicken and the Egg: Pasture and Supplemental Feed

Well, the chickens have started laying again.  We are up to about a dozen a day and gathering more every day.  Clearly, the supplemental feed we were using did not have the proper nutrition profile to support laying.  However, right now, we are feeding 100 pounds of feed a week at a cost of $90.  We have mixed feelings.  The cost doesn’t bother us as much as some of the other issues.  We have always said that the chickens save us $5,000/year on fertilizer and as long as they continue to cost less than that then we feel very good about having them here.  

It is the larger, more philosophical issues that have us a little ruffled.  Supplemental feed is made from organic, non-GMO wheat, oats, corn, alfalfa, and soybeans.  All of these crops are grown on large, monoculture plots using a lot of inputs.  They are then harvested, shipped to one place for manufacturing, then another place for distribution, and then finally here.  Too many inputs (and often waste) for us to feel comfortable.  

Then, we move to FCR or food conversion ratio.  It is a term that is thrown around a lot in the chicken industry but also used by “greenies” to support arguments for grass-fed meat products as well as those trying to convince people that meat is irresponsible from a caloric-input point-of-view. (I have made both arguments so guilty as charged.)  It is hard to use FCR data for eggs, but I can guarantee you that 100 pounds of feed for 20 dozen eggs a week (the top production we have ever gathered in a week) is poor (irresponsible?) use of resources (water, energy, soil, etc.).  

So, what do we do about it?  I have always been a “we do it right, or we don’t do it at all” type, which has made motherhood challenging for me and mothering and farming at the same time downright frustrating.  I am trying to learn how to let go but letting go so often seems like compromising to me, and I don’t really like to compromise.  I have been thinking a lot, though, about what Mary Farmer shared with me.  I am paraphrasing (and thus possibly reinterpreting): you do the next best.  In other words, you do the best you can do now, and you work on making that next change to do a little better.  Is that where we are?  Possibly.  

Hens free-ranging on pasture last fall.

When we had the hens on “chicken pasture” last summer and the old (a.k.a. bad) supplemental feed, we were gathering at least 2 dozen eggs a day.  Everything else was pretty equal...weather, of course, always being the uncontrollable input.  Our conclusion is that the chicken pasture (an assortment of legumes, brassicas, and chicory) worked.  But, and there is always a but when trying to make this sustainable farm puzzle fit together, it attracted a lot of brassica pests that then attacked and mutilated (without destroying entirely) our fall brassica crops.  So, do we try the mix without the brassicas and hope the brassicas weren’t the key?  And hope that we can then feed significantly less supplemental feed so that we feel like we have tipped the moral scale on chickens and eggs.  I think that is where we are at right now.  So, we will seed more chicken pasture in the early fall.  It will be flourishing next spring, and we will hope for more eggs and less feed.  That’s farming - the way we do it, at least.

Minutes from Sustainability Meeting, Next Meeting August 2

“Minutes” from Summer Solstice Gathering 6/21/14

We opened with discussion about what individuals/CSA members could be doing in their own homes (or businesses) to reduce their 1. water use and 2. energy use.  See list of ideas below.  We concluded that we would like to have a water and energy reduction challenge within the CSA throughout the rest of the season so that members can monitor their water and energy use and try to reduce it.  We will create a Facebook group where people can share numbers and ideas, as well as a Google spreadsheet open to everyone who is participating where each person/household can report their energy and water use and watch the numbers go down.  We hope to have this all up and running in the next few weeks.  Prize for the participating household with highest % reduction.

Ideas for reducing water:

capturing water for reuse when waiting for water to heat up or cool down (often up to a gallon of water), can be used for cooking or watering house plants

only using dishwasher when full, otherwise washing dishes by hand in a way that conserves water

using water-efficient appliances

planting drought-resistant grass/clover and plants in your yard to reduce watering needs, watering only early in the morning and only when needed (not just on a timer), mulching to reduce water-loss

rain barrels

reducing shower time 

fixing faucets that drip

is there a gadget that measures water use at each sink?

Ideas for reducing energy:

putting all gadgets, devices, etc. on power strips and turning off whenever not in use

turning off lights when not in use, consider having at least one no-tech night a week (more in summer?) where you use no forms of technology or lights for entertainment

go to bed and wake with the sun

use only energy-efficient appliances

composting

recycling, reusing, only purchasing items when you really need them (consider 2nd hand)

purchasing locally, especially food; reducing internet purchasing (and thus shipping)

carpooling or doing all errands in one trip

purchasing energy efficient vehicle when you are faced with purchasing a new car

using CFL lights (replace 5 in your home), dispose properly

keep thermostat low in winter and high in summer to reduce use of HVAC unit (68/86), keep off when not at home for significant time

This is just a start.  We thought Facebook page could be used for sharing reduction ideas as well.

We then moved to discussing climate change adaptation and mitigation at the farm.  I opened up with general ideas offered by the FAO, then moved into specific projects that Lalo and I would like to address.  The specific projects include: making the greenhouse more sustainable, water capturing from wash water and rain, high nutrient pasture and cover cropping, pig for food waste, woodland/watershed rehab, perennials, introducing “New Climate Diet” to members, organic certification?.  

As a group, we prioritized the projects, so that the first project would be making the greenhouse more sustainable.  This would include water barrels for temperature control (and possible water capturing), shade cloth, and solar panels.  We would do this project in stages, focusing first on the water barrels.  There are also several other places on the farm where rain barrels could be installed.  This would be our first “weekend” project.  We will set a time and date once we have materials ready.  

Out of this discussion came two other discussions.  One, we concluded that we need a fundraising committee (please let me know if you are interested), as most of the sustainability projects that we would like to pursue cannot be funded from the CSA.  Two, we discussed CSA composting.  It is something that we have tossed around several times and even done on a small scale.  We could definitely make it work.  We would need 5 gallon buckets with lids for everyone who wanted to participate, a list of approved items, and volunteers to bring compost out to the farm (preferably people who already come out to the farm to eliminate extra travel).  From the farm perspective, we need a source of dry material (leaves or woodchips).  Libby Stancell is going to look into this.

Finally, we discussed the topic of the next meeting, which will be “The New Climate Diet.”  We would like to share with you our list of worst offenders when it comes to water and energy needs, and discuss how eating locally-sourced food and especially in a CSA greatly reduces your carbon and water-use footprint.  We would also like to discuss how we use factors related to sustainability to determine planting and harvesting dates, as well as vegetable selection and variety selection.  We would like to do the meeting the last week of July/first week of August.  Please let us know if there is a day and time that works better for you.  Otherwise we will do it Sat, Aug. 2 in the afternoon.

Lentils and Radishes

Last week at pick up, a new member suggested a warm lentil and radish salad.  She wasn't sure if she still had the recipe, but it led me on a new culinary adventure.  I have never paired the two!  Here are a couple of recipes to try.  There are many online.  You could add goat cheese to either.

Warm Lentil and Radish Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup lentils
• 2-3 cups water
• 2 red radishes, trimmed and thinly-sliced
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tablespoon fresh oregano, minced
• 1 tablespoon tamari
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• Dash of maple syrup
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, or more to taste
• Pinch of black pepper

Preparation

1. Sort through the lentils for stones or debris; rinse thoroughly, and drain. Add lentils and water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Partially cover and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 30-35 minutes (or until lentils are soft when pinched between your fingers). Drain in a colander and rinse lentils briefly. Drain well.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the tamari, mustard, syrup, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. Combine the lentils, radishes, tomatoes and oregano in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Pour in the dressing, mix well and season to taste.

Serving Suggestion

Perfect with stuffed grape leaves and baked pita chips, or scooped into a pocket bread with a little hummus or baba ganouj and/or a squeeze of lemon.

http://strongertogether.coop/recipes/lentil-salad-with-radish/

Lemony Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Radishes and Herbs

From cookieandkate.com

Ingredients

Lentils (cook your own, using the ingredients below, or use one 17-ounce package of steamed French lentils instead)

• 2 cups dried black beluga lentils or French green lentils
• 2 large garlic cloves, halved lengthwise
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Lemon dressing

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 medium lemons’ worth)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
• 1 clove garlic, pressed or minced
• ¼ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Salad

• 1 (14 ounce) can cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 big bunch of radishes, sliced thin and roughly chopped
• ¼ cup packed fresh, leafy herbs, chopped (combination of mint and dill recommended)
• Optional garnishes: sliced avocado, crumbled feta or goat cheese, handful of fresh leafy greens

Instructions

1. To cook the lentils: Pick over the lentils to remove any bits of debris. Rinse the lentils under running water in a mesh colander. In a medium pot, combine the lentils, halved garlic cloves, olive oil and 4 cups water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the lentils are cooked through and tender, which will take somewhere between 20 to 35 minutes. Drain the lentils and discard the garlic cloves.
2. To make the dressing: Whisk together the ingredients in a small bowl. If you're using pre-steamed lentils instead of cooking your own, add an extra clove of minced garlic and an extra tablespoon of olive oil.
3. In a large serving bowl, combine the lentils, chickpeas, chopped radishes and herbs. Drizzle in the dressing and toss to combine. Serve with avocado, crumbled cheese or fresh greens if you'd like.

The Whoas of Bok Choy in East TN

I occasionally receive growing questions from some of our gardener-members, and there is one question that seems to repeat itself each spring, “Why did my bok choy bolt?”  Oh, bok choy...

Bok choy is a quick-growing member of the brassica family that can handle some frosts, grows best in moderate temperatures, and cannot be grown in the summer both because of the heat and because it is day-length sensitive.  So why is it so difficult to grow here in the spring?  Well, the answer is easy: temperature fluctuations.  Bok choy cannot handle our sometimes 60 degree swings in temperature during a seven-day period and is particularly prone to bolting when we have a couple of cold nights (like we did 2 weeks ago) followed by really warm weather. 

Bok choy bolting or going to seed.  At this point, it is bitter and not of good eating quality.  This can literally happen over night in our climate, commonly after a cold snap.

The”what to do about it” has plagued me for ten years and led me to give up growing bok choy twice.  I am conducting what I believe in my heart-of-hearts to be my last bok choy trial (because I don’t really have any other ideas).  This season I am growing every organic variety on the market (hybrid and heirloom) in three different successional plantings in an attempt to corner someone.  It is plain and simple: I want a bok choy that doesn’t bolt.  

That seems like such an easy request in a vegetable that takes about 65 days from start to finish.  However, all of the varieties in our first succession bolted.  Three of the four varieties in our second succession bolted after the freeze.  However, we are currently harvesting “Prize” bok choy - an heirloom, loose head bok choy that was the only bok choy that we were able to harvest last season as well.  I don’t love it.  Like many heirlooms, it is variable in size and even appearance, it maintains some of the heirloom qualities that more refined hybrids have eliminated like spiny leaves and looseness, and it bolts, too, if you let it get very big.  That said, if it is going to make it two seasons without too much bolting, I may at least have a candidate with which I can work.  In our third succession, one variety has already bolted (at about 4” high...definitely off the list), but the other two varieties are doing well (one is “Prize”).  

Prize Choy, the only bok choy variety that we have had any success with here

So enjoy your “Prize” bok choy this week, as it is just that: a special spring treasure that is hard to come by and years in the making.  I hope to keep working with this bok choy.  I want to feel so confident in it that I am willing to plant 1200 of them every spring, cover them, weed them, water them, and then just wait to harvest them.  Instead of worrying over them for 65 days, which is what I do right now.

Saving Seed: M-GEN Field Observation Studies

Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) is a non-profit organization founded in 1975 that helps to preserve, maintain, and distribute many thousands of rare heirloom seeds. They sell many seeds from their collection through their catalog (available in both print and online), but they also have a member-based annual seed catalog called The Yearbook where members list thousands and thousands of seeds, most of which are not available commercially, obtainable for a small fee.  At the Seed Savers Exchange Farm in Iowa, they conduct field trials from both collections each season, looking for varieties that are promising either because of their marketability (taste and appearance) and/or their productivity for gardeners and market farmers.  
Recently, they began M-GEN or the Member-Grower Evaluation Network as an attempt to expand these trials.  Through M-GEN, SSE members around the country like us participate in SSE's plant evaluation process, collecting valuable data about a variety's characteristics and productivity from our own field observation studies.  The data is used to improve SSE's database of information on its varieties, to guide other SSE members, and to determine catalog offerings.  
We first participated in M-GEN in 2012.  That season we evaluated "Ole Timey Blue" Collard Greens, which we still grow from seed saved that season.  Prior to growing them, we had grown several market standards.  "Ole Timey Blue" outperformed them on appearance, taste, and productivity.  The only category where the market standard was better was uniformity.  
This season, we have been asked to grow out four okra varieties: one is the market standard for organic growers "Clemson Spineless" (which we already grow) and the other three are rare, family heirlooms that are part of SSE's large collection.  The three rare varieties are: "Giant Red," "Hodnett Special," and "Rains."  "Giant Red" is a long-podded, red okra grown in Florida since at least the 1930s.  "Hodnett Special" is from the Hodnett Family of Rising Star, Texas that they have grown since 1947.  They cook it in their black-eyed peas.  "Rains" is from Dorris Smith of Alabama.  It was grown by her great-great-grandfather in the late 18th and early 19th century in Virginia and has been in her family ever since.
We are particularly excited about "Rains" for its history and "Giant Red".  We would like to compare "Giant Red" to a red okra that we currently grow "Bowling Red."  "Bowling Red" is beautiful, productive early and in cooler years, and less slimy when cooked.  

"Bowling Red" Okra

We seeded these trial varieties today and will keep you updated periodically as their evaluation goes forward.

New Buckling at the Farm

Flor, our beautiful tri-color Dwarf Nigerian, has delivered a healthy buckling! He was born on March 6th.

What a beautiful little kid. He has his dad’s body markings, brown with white spots on his sides, and his mom’s tri-color markings on his head, along with a tiny little voice and long, knobbly legs. He's jumping around like a rabbit, these days, and even trying to jump up on his mom's shoulders. Megan tells me sometimes Dwarf Nigerian kids RIDE on their moms' backs! The first time Megan and Lalo saw Flor, she was riding on her mom's back! AMAZING!!

When I was out at the farm taking pictures of everybody last week, he hadn’t been weighed yet, but he’s fully TWICE the size everyone was expecting—almost certainly because he was a single, and had lots of room to grow. This made for a rough delivery, though, since he was born head-first with all four legs behind him, rocketeer-style. 

The most common kidding position is “diving” position, when the two forelegs come out just before the head—a handy arrangement because you can pull on the legs if you need to. But this buckling's size and position meant that Flor couldn’t push him out by herself. After she'd pushed for about 30 minutes and only gotten the his head out, it was time to intervene. A baby this size probably wasn't sharing a womb with any other little goats, but there was still the possibility, and after 30 minutes of labor, any other babies in there were probably dying, or dead. So Megan and Thea took turns pulling and trying to work him out, and after about 40 more minutes and one hard pull, he came out, alive and in one piece. He’d become unresponsive during the tugging, so they were afraid he wasn't going to make it at first, but nope. Flor licked him up  and he’s been active and healthy ever since. Thea named him Ferdinand, after everyone’s favorite Spanish bull (see The Story of Ferdinand, if you haven't read it---it's a classic).

Flor has been recovering wonderfully from this traumatic first-ever-birth! She’s moving around freely, eating a lot, and has been “talking” to Felix and Ferdinand a lot. I love hearing this family vocalizing—what a neat mix of bleats, yells, nickering, and little murmurs. Flor is healing physically from an external tear, and Megan is planning to make her a salve of healing and antiseptic herbs. She also gets a special tea made with raspberry leaf and other herbs.

Baby Ferdinand gives us a lot, even though we’re not going to keep him, alas. While bucklings are lovely animals, the farm already has a great buck—Felix! So Ferdinand will probably be for sale to a good farm/home in 6-8 weeks. But his birth gives us some experience with one of the more difficult birthing positions, and it establishes Felix and Flor’s line: once a first kid is born, farmers or breeders can look at subsequent kids and get a sense for the quality and characteristics of a line. This is important for Care of the Earth, since Megan and Lalo’s tentative plan is to keep one doeling and to sell the kids that come after that. It’s good to know that Felix and Flor can make a healthy baby, deliver him alive, and that Flor is a good mother. She’s taking great care of Ferdinand, and—just like chickens—not all animals that make babies are good mothers! 

Also, while first kids of Dwarf Nigerian does are usually singles---and subsequent litters are much more likely to be twins, triplets, and even quadruplets---it could also be a genetic indicator for Flor & Felix's line, since Felix was a single baby, too.

Ferdinand is big and strong enough to live outside with Flor and won’t need any bottle feeding, which is great. He’s nursing, pooping, is active and vigorous, and all these things bode well for him in the long run. Healthy kids are less likely to get sick or fail to  thrive, and will do well without medicated feed—a common thing with large commercial enterprises whose kid-reading practices mean they have to use constant antibiotics to keep their goats healthy and alive.

Come to the open farm day in April to see this cute baby for yourself!!

--Anna Laura