Not sure which day your delivery will fall on during the holiday? Here’s a snapshot of our Newsletter, which contains the schedule. Note: Our delivery schedule is the same the week of Christmas as the week of New Years.
Tag: klesick farms
Grandparents
I heard John Maxwell share this story when he was talking about grandchildren. He was talking about how he is convinced that intelligence skips a generation, because his grandkids are considerably more intelligent than his children ever were.
Anyway, John’s son was in the audience and just after the session ended his son met him backstage. John of course reassured him, “That was all fun and games and, of course, nothing was meant by those comments.” But his son stopped him, “Dad, I think you might be right.” At this point John is looking a little perplexed. And then his son elaborated, “Grandpa and I had a similar conversation last week about you!”
Now that Joelle and I have three grandchildren, this Christmas is going to resemble some of those Christmases of old. For me, having grandchildren focuses me on the future, and all those same hopes and dreams we had for our children are coming forth again in this next generation. After all, Christmas is about the birth of a baby named Jesus.
When I hold one of our grandbabies, life just slows down and a whole bunch of “really” important things get put on the back burner. I just look into their eyes (while I am doing the Grandpa two step) and pray for them, connect with them and let them know they are loved and I am going to be here for them. Always.
Tristan Klesick
Together we are making a huge difference
We are currently running reports on all the food bank, water well and holiday donations that you have given through Klesick Farms in 2015, in preparation for sending out end of the year tax donation receipts. I am completely humbled by the generosity and kindness of each of you.
Our partnership is a force for doing “good.” So far this year, together we have donated over 975 boxes of high quality organic produce to 10 different food banks. Of these boxes, 799 were generously donated by you (156 of which were the Thanksgiving holiday donation boxes) and 176 were donated by Klesick Farms as part of our customer donation matching program. We also send our “seconds”/culled organic produce to the food bank weekly.
The real benefit of our partnership comes from blessing others, blessing those who need a little extra help to feed their families and blessing those who serve them. Those acts of kindness are what makes a community our “box of good” community. But we are not done yet, as you can now order a Christmas Blessing Box for this holiday season and continue spreading hope! You can also still donate a box to the food bank option of your choice, and for every four boxes donated we will donate one extra.
In addition to the Christmas Blessing Box, we have two other great social causes we are blessing this holiday season. Crossway International and She Is Safe are two great international outreaches. Crossway drills wells in Africa and She Is Safe helps women escape sex trafficking. Both organizations improve the lives of women on the other side of the world.
The Klesick family personally knows both the area directors for these organizations and personally supports their work. These two organizations do some amazing work in some of the hardest areas in the world. Maybe I can’t go to these places, but I can sure help them improve the lives of women in India and Africa.
This Christmas and holiday season if you would like to join us in doing good, as a thank you we will send you the fun and lively Christmas CD from Matty Ride, I’d be Fine with Christmas, for any donation of $20 or more.
These are the hardest newsletters for me to write, as I am brought to tears thinking about our partnership with passionate people who care about the lives of others and organic food.
Together we are a force for doing good!
Tristan Klesick
Eating Successfully this Holiday Season
You made it through the Thanksgiving celebrations—were you successful in eating well? I know that I had to try all three pies! Seriously, this season is brutal on healthy eating. The amount of sugar that is going to be given as gifts, devoured at schools, parties and work will be off the charts. I also know that January is coming and I really do not want to arrive there with extra holiday pounds to have to try and lose (now that I am 50 those pounds are a lot harder to chase away). So I have decided to share with you my strategy for avoiding those extra pounds, feeling better and having more energy (a.k.a. not feeling stuffed or lethargic) during the next four weeks. I invite you to join me in making eating healthier a little easier this holiday season.
Use this simple guide to eating successfully this holiday season:
- The first thing we have to do is admit it is going to be hard! Shake your head back and forth, sigh and then say, “It is going to be hard, but I can do it!”
- The second thing we need to do is get on the scale, yes the scale! Record your weight ________.
- Next, write down where you want your weight to be each week. The only rule is that it can’t be more than 5 lbs in the wrong direction and it can’t be more than 10 lbs. in the right direction. This is what I call a BRAG (Best Realistically Attainable Goal). What is your holiday BRAG for weight _______? Even on the scale or a few pounds less is my BRAG for the next four weeks.
- Choose real food first (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meat and cheese) at family gatherings or holiday parties.
- Bring real food to parties, someone else will really appreciate it too!
- Next, skip the treats at least once a day (saying “no” gets easier the more you practice).
- Eat your veggies, they won’t show up on the “scale” like cookies, donuts, etc. will.
- Drink water, smoothies or fresh pressed juices.
- Keep getting your Box of Good Staying out of the grocery store this season will not only save you money, but limit your temptation to buy those treats.
Remember, enjoying ourselves, plus feeling better and having more energy are the real prizes this holiday season. The “scale” will only serve as a reminder that we won!
Cheers to your success!
Tristan Klesick
Thanksgiving
Do the words of thankfulness come rolling off your tongue like a swift flowing stream or do you have to pause and reflect like a calm beautiful pond? Is your list brief or overflowing? Does your list include immediate loved ones, friends, your employment or retirement? Does it include your pets or the environment? Are you thankful for our Government or parts of the government, like fire fighters, police officers or politicians? Are you thankful for everyday conveniences, like hot and cold water, electric heat and ranges or overflowing amounts of food year round? Are you thankful that you have the freedom to vote, exercise free speech and run for elected office?
I think if each of us were intentional about our thankfulness, took a few minutes and began to log what we are thankful for, the list and its length might be very surprising
Thankfulness is a perspective—it is a choice. I know that this year has had many challenges for many families—hard things like cancer, death, job loss or loved ones moving away. But, if you are reading this newsletter right now, you are still “in the game” and right now it is your turn to bat.
As the pitch called Thanksgiving approaches your plate this week, are you going to swing with all your might and hit a homerun? I believe you can, in fact, I know you can, because hitting a Thanksgiving pitch is the easiest one to hit. It starts out like this, “I am thankful for….” Then watch joy begin to flood your heart and a smile appear on your face, and that joy and that smile, well, they are downright contagious. Before you know it, there will be more genuine smiles all around—smiles that begin with your thankful heart.
May this Thanksgiving be the best because we all have so much for which to be thankful!
Tristan Klesick
The Week Before Thanksgiving
The next six weeks are going to be brutal! For those of us who are trying to navigate the “Standard American Diet” (aka, S.A.D.) food system by making good food choices, it doesn’t get much harder than Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s! And since the high fat and high sugar groups have hijacked our food system, it can be really hard to eat well. Thankfully, this Thanksgiving can be more successful than ever, if we implement a few simple strategies.
Strategy #1: Avoid the grocery store! Most of you already are successful at this because you get a box of good delivered—saving both time and money
Strategy #2: Avoid the middle of the grocery store—saving more time, money, and calories.
Strategy #3: Practice, Preach and live Portion Control—preventing the “I ate too much” feeling.
Strategy #4: Think about how good dessert will taste—helping you not eat too much at dinner.
Strategy #5: Repeat strategies 1, 2 and 3 for dessert—making your own desserts or ordering them from us.
Sure this is a little tongue-and-cheek, but if we don’t have a PLAN for Thanksgiving and this holiday season, it will own us! And at our daily “weigh in” we will be wishing (and feeling) we had a little less to eat. And it won’t be the fruits and vegetables that did us in either! It will have been ourselves (don’t you hate the truth). Really, I am responsible for eating well, no one else. Yep, it comes down to the person in the mirror to make the choices. You can do it!
Holiday Donation Boxes
Consider partnering with us to alleviate hunger this holiday season. It is still not too late to order a Holiday Donation Box. Every week, we partner with you to get healthy produce out to eight food banks in our community, but at Thanksgiving we want to send even more good food to and through our local food banks. We make it ultra-simple: you order, we pack and deliver. And this season we are sending a Matty Ride Christmas CD, titled I would be fine with Christmas as a thank you for partnering with us.
Thank you,
Tristan Klesick
Planning for your Thanksgiving Meal
Planning for your Thanksgiving holiday meal, plus your easy Thanksgiving order form PDF!
Klesick Farms is grateful for the opportunity to help you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Just the thought of you and your loved ones gathered around the dining room table, sharing good food and good stories, warms our hearts. Perhaps more than any other holiday, Thanksgiving captures the true meaning of a box of good.
Our Special “Holiday Box” Traditional Meal Items
We are excited to once again offer our special annual Holiday Box ($40). This special box of traditional holiday produce can be purchased in addition to or in place of your regular order. You can also purchase a box even if it is not your normally scheduled delivery week. See pre-order form, below.)
Holiday Box Contents:
Yellow Onions, 1 lb.
Yellow Potatoes, 3 lbs.
Yams, 2 lbs.
Carrots,2 lbs.
Green Beans, 1 lb.
Organic Bread Cubes for Stuffing, 1 lb.
Granny Smith Apples, 2 lbs.
Cranberries, 8 oz.
Celery, 1 bunch
Delicata Squash, 2 ea.
Navel Oranges,2 lbs.
*Due to the special ordering necessary for this box, menu items cannot be changed or substituted.
Delivery Schedule: Holiday Box deliveries will be made November 3rd through December 5th. The week of Thanksgiving, all deliveries will be made Monday through Wednesday. Please check the newsletter that comes in your box of good for your alternate delivery schedule the week of the holiday.
An Opportunity to Give! ~ Sending a Holiday Donation Box to Neighbors in Need
If your celebration includes helping the less fortunate who live in our community, we make it easy for you to give. For the discounted price of $32, you can purchase a Holiday Donation Box for us to deliver to a local food bank prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. How good and easy is that? Plus, for every Holiday Donation Box you purchase, we will send you Matty Ride’s Christmas CD as a gift (a great stocking stuffer)!
Donate a holiday box to the food bank today! Click here to add the Holiday Donation Box to your cart, or call our office at 360-652-4663 and we’ll be delighted to add that for you!
Thanksgiving Week Pre-Order Form PDF
You can leave this order form out for your delivery person, mail it to us,email a photo of it to us, or use it as a guide when emailing or calling us:
[email protected] 360.652.4663
Fall is Here
We’re in it now, aren’t we? Fall, I mean. I say that as I look out my rain-covered window and see a few leaves still clinging to the branches of my dogwood. Down the street another tree flaunts its ombre hues, beginning with a brilliant red cap until red fades to green underneath. Three little pumpkins stand as soldiers leading to our front door where I just waved goodbye to two football players and a bat as they headed off to school and on to their harvest party.
Yesterday, while squash, beets, and carrots roasted in the oven, I candied lemon and orange peel to dip into bittersweet chocolate. Today there are plans for a Brussels sprout salad, a gratin of squash, and white beans laced with nutty Gruyere. So, basically, I’ve fallen deep into the fall clichés and I couldn’t be happier.
That’s the beauty of living in the Pacific Northwest – we get to enjoy the seasons. Each one comes with its own pleasures, and just when the doldrums of one season start to sink in, we start another. I know from experience that today’s rain won’t feel cozy and inviting come February and March, but at that point I’ll be distracted with thoughts of spring gardening.
The point is, seasons come and seasons go and in them there are things we love and others we don’t, but for right now I’m relishing the new season, sipping my spiced cider with giddiness and delight, as I plan for pumpkin muffins and apple cakes.
Ashley Rodriguez
Chef, Mom, Food Blogger, Author
www.notwithoutsalt.com
Klesick’s Special Thanksgiving Holiday Box
Every Thanksgiving holiday season we offer a special Holiday Box ($40) full of traditional organic Thanksgiving meal items for your celebration. Not only can you schedule a Holiday Box to be delivered the week of Thanksgiving, but it is available for the entire month of November (available Nov. 1-Dec. 5). You can have this box delivered along with your regular order or in place of your regular order (please specify your preference when placing your order). The box menu is as follows:
Remembering Neighbors in Need.
If your celebration includes helping the less fortunate who live in our community, we would like to partner with you by giving you the opportunity to purchase a discounted Holiday Donation Box for only $32, to be given to local food banks the week of Thanksgiving. Last year 122 Holiday Donation Boxes were distributed and this year we’d love to have a greater impact. The volunteers at the food banks have expressed again and again how wonderful and satisfying it is to be able to supply people with fresh produce. You can order a Holiday Donation Box online or by contacting our office.
Special Thank You Offer!
For every Holiday Donation Box you purchase, Klesick Farms will send you a copy of Matty Ride’s Christmas CD
Tristan Klesick
A Farmer’s Perspective
This past week has been a blur in the valley. It felt like all the farmers were busting it! Spring and fall are two seasons that really are critical to the farmer. We have to get our early spring crops in and we have to get our fall crops off. We then replant with either a cover crop to protect and nurture our soil biology or get another crop planted for spring harvest. It is a cycle of farming that never rests.
In our valley we also have flood pressure. It was October 2003 and we had just moved to the valley. I remember it clearly. Rain was coming, but no worries – it’s only October. Our neighbor calls, “Looks worse than predicted.” It was and most farmers were caught off guard. We expect flooding November through February, but not October.
Our valley was full of crops that needed to be harvested. They were in rotation and were to be out by November. There were also winter ditches to dig and fields to plant. The weather, however, had another plan—the end of the season, with water everywhere and covering everything. So for us, October is a month that we pay attention to because it has left an indelible mark on our souls.
Late last week, coming home from town, it was dark and I noticed all the headlights in the fields. A lot of my neighbors were “pushing” it around the clock to get ahead of the weather. So with that picture of my neighbors working around the clock, I penned this:
Headlights in the Field
Headlights in the Field
Headlights in the field tonight.
Working ground – discing, plowing, planting.
Headlights in the Field
Old man winter is coming soon
plant the wheat, the barley, the rye
before he shows,
before he sends the rain.
The weather windows are small,
the clock keeps ticking,
planting has to get done.
Headlights in the Field
I will see you at the crack of dawn
after the fields are planted.
Headlights in the fields tonight.
Tristan Klesick
GMOs Then, GMOs Now.
My dad has been talking about GMOs for a long time. I dug up this newsletter from October 2000. Enjoy! ~Andrew
The Genetically Engineered Foods (GEF) debate appears under other names like Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or Frankenstein Foods. GMOs are around today primarily because of a societal problem: DEPENDENCE and SHORT SIGHTEDNESS. What do we do when we’re sick? We run to the doctor. We do this because we are hoping for some cure-all that will take care of the problem NOW! Never mind that we have been abusing our bodies with a poor nutritional diet for years.
We, as a people, have long forgone the ability to think for ourselves. If it is in a package and says “low fat” or “natural” and the picture is appealing we will put it in the shopping cart. It doesn’t matter that the manufacturer has added a huge amount of sugar to make the flavor palatable or some sort of chemical to replace the natural fat. We trust a product just because it says natural, without reading the label. And when we pass through the checkout stand another vote is tallied for nutritionally poor food. After all, the USDA and the FDA have assured us that if it is in the store it is good for us or if it is in the pharmacy it is safe to use. I’m afraid that the GMO products are no different. Many will pull them off the shelves, trusting the government for their health.
GMOs are the panacea for poor farming practices that have plagued this country for 60 years. In the beginning of this petro-chemical age, around the early 1940s, there were a few farmers experimenting with chemical fertilizers. The chemicals were used as “vitamins,” if you will, to provide a boost to the plants, and they did. However, the reason that the chemicals provided the boost was because the farmers had been adding compost and manures back into their fields maintaining its fertility levels.
The problem occurred when the farmers decided to forgo sound farming practices and just start using chemicals to grow crops. This type of thinking is similar to living on vitamins only. After a few seasons the health of plants started to deteriorate (and so did their nutritional value) and the pests arrived to feed on these unhealthy plants.
What was the solution? Was it to return to farming organically? Unfortunately, not. Instead, pesticides were developed. We also decided that we needed herbicides to chemically control weeds. Can you see the parallels in the American population due to poor food, easy living, convenience, etc? The farmers pressed ahead; after all, the USDA said the chemicals were safe to use, the universities said they were safe to use, and of course the fertilizer sales people said they were safe to use. While the farmer is partially to blame for using the chemicals, the government, industry, and the consumers are equally to blame. Today many farmers are trying to switch to better farming practices, now that they have found their land basically dead, with no microorganisms left.
It sounds a lot like people. When a life-threatening disease occurs, it is usually then that we decide to eat more naturally and become motivated to change our lifestyle. Each small step we take towards a healthier lifestyle the easier it becomes and the more satisfying life is.
Together, we are making a choice for a better, healthier food supply, for now and for our future.
Tristan Klesick
Here We Go!
Harvest is in full swing at the farm! At last I can start to recoup some of my investments from the spring. Sounds crazy doesn’t it – paying bills from the spring. But that is how it works for most farmers. We spend a lot of money early in the season on fuel, seed, fertilizers, etc., hoping to nurture our crops through the season and get to harvest. That was no small task this year! But we are here.
Some CSA type farms charge their members $500 to $800 upfront and then manage the money for the remainder of the farm season. Our model is different, as we let you pay as you go and rely on earning your business with every delivery.
Sure, it would be nice to collect a pile of cash up front instead of digging into our savings every year, but that isn’t the model Joelle and I chose. We chose a pay-as-you-go model for several reasons, the primary one being access to organic food. I want as many families as possible and as many families that want to eat locally and healthfully to not be deterred by a hefty up front lump sum like $500 -$800.
Anyhow, now is the time that the Klesick farm starts to replenish our ability to farm next year. We have been harvesting all summer, but the peas, apples, raspberries, and garlic help us keep the cash flow positive. The potatoes and winter squash are the crops that really serve as the work horses to pay the bills. So now we are busy taking advantage of the remaining good weather to get those crops up and out of the field.
For folks that like to stock up (and there are a quite a few of you), the following Klesick farm items are online and available for purchase:
Bulk potatoes: red, yellow or mixed (unwashed) 50 lbs. for $50.00
Winter Squash Collection 30 lbs. for $37.50 (This would make a great harvest display on your table or porch, which is where Joelle stores our winter squash)
Winter luxury pie pumpkins (not pumpkin pie, but they make a mighty tasty oneJ) $5 each
SquashFest is October 3rd and 4th, at the farm from 11am to 5pm. Come on down and help us harvest some winter squash and potatoes. We will also be planting next year’s garlic that weekend and you are welcome to help us plant – many hands make light work.
Cheers to another Harvest!
Farmer Tristan
Baker Awakening
About 20 years ago, while training to make artisan bread, the concepts taught were a return to the old ways of baking—developed over thousands of years prior to the invention of large scale milling and centralized agriculture. I learned about long, cool and slow fermentation of dough drawing out the hidden essence of the grain and bringing natural sweetness to the loaf as the starches broke down into simple sugars. How these sugars caramelized the crust, deepening the layers of taste and aroma throughout the bread. This drew me to the craft: my love of fine food and rich flavor.
I soon realized there was even more to this magic of baking than I was imagining. My lessons since have taken me on a journey of understanding and imparted upon me the responsibility to feed people not only delicious bread, but more importantly, a healthful and nutritious loaf.
Touring Kansas on a busload of bakers was an eye opener. I saw the shear impact large agriculture has on our environment and communities. Wheat can grow any place, it’s a grass. It is mono-cropped in the Midwest not because this is a great place for it to grow, it’s one of few things that can be kept alive there…on a life support system of synthetic nitrogen, herbicide and pesticide. The farmers themselves would not eat the grain from their fields, but instead cultivated a side crop, unsprayed, compost fertilized and home milled for their own consumption. Their towns are nearly vacant.
Weston Price and Sally Fallon introduced me to Phytate, a molecule in the kernel of wheat binding the vitamins and minerals that the future plant will need to grow. When this seed begins to germinate, an enzyme releases the bonds. If the wheat is instead ground into flour, and the dough fermented quickly, there isn’t time for these nutrients to unlock. They are not available to your body. Extended dough fermentation, especially sourdough, mimics germination, releasing the nutrients for human absorption.
Andrew Whitley (Bread Matters) quantified the Price/Fallon work for me. The brain receives the hunger signal when the body is asking for nutrients, not just calories. For most of us, hunger means “eat food”. When we choose food with little nutritional value (or availability), we gain the calories, though the hunger signal returns. We eat again, until the nutrition finally adds up to what the body needs to operate. The calories add up as well. In our country, this has led us to obesity, childhood & adult-onset diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, etc. It’s vital for me to make food providing more nutrition per caloric bite.
I shouldn’t mention gluten. I love the stuff. This substance allows me to turn a hard seed of wheat into a light, soft, airy, palatable and nutritious food. My life revolves around gluten. People have consumed gluten for over 5,000 years and prospered. But we aren’t actually set up to digest straight grains.
Every culture from the dawn of agriculture has pre-processed any grain prior to eating. We learned to boil, soak, sprout, grind, and/or ferment our grain; maximizing digestive and nutritional qualities. This was bread making until the 1940’s when the world at war had to produce food faster with fewer people. Automation and chemical additions to bread dough produced edible loaves in less than 4 hours. It’s no ‘wonder’ we can’t digest this stuff. In fact, gluten may not even be the culprit.
Artisan baking is a revival of earlier baking methodology. These bakers ferment grain. I have many customers who eat our bread and none other because it’s digestible without issue. I suspect they would manage fine with most long fermented breads.
(note: Celiac Disease is a unique case of gluten effecting the lining of the intestine and subsequent nutrient absorption by the body. Our bread does not keep this from occurring.)
Now, I am a different baker than I was when I started. As I learn, I adapt. I understand the importance of my loaves as community builders, as environmental stewards, as nutrition, as health. Staff of life, indeed—by making bread well, the world around us vastly improves.
by Scott Mangold, Owner of Breadfarm
“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
That storm came in with a vengeance and left a wake of damaged trees from Stanwood to Vancouver B.C. Snapped branches and busted power lines were everywhere. I usually think of a storm like that coming in December. I wasn’t around when the big storm of ’63 came through, but I do remember my mom finishing a Thanksgiving turkey on the top of a wood stove in ’83.
Well, about the time I took assessment of all the damage around the house, it dawned on me, “I wonder if the greenhouses are still there.” A greenhouse is like a big kite – the wind can catch a corner and twist it all up or it can break free and start flying. A little worried, I walked around the corner of the barn and, with a sigh of relief, I saw that they were still standing with all the plastic still attached.
We built our greenhouses out of wood and used some big rebar anchors to secure them to the ground. That surely helped hold them together, but probably the biggest factor for them to hold together was maintenance!
Earlier in the spring a piece of the channel we used to secure the greenhouse plastic had pulled free and was flopping in the wind, so I decided to fix it. I can almost guarantee that if I hadn’t taken the time at that moment to go get the cordless drill and re-secure the plastic, I would have lost most of it in that storm. Mostly because once we get to farming, the adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” wins the day and when the weather is as beautiful as it was from April to mid-August, I wouldn’t have given the greenhouse another thought. Boy, am I ever glad I fixed that greenhouse!
It is the same with our health. All too often we put off changing a health habit that we “know” isn’t good for us because we really aren’t “broken.” Many of us ignore all the little symptoms that are “talking” to us, push through them, and keep on going. It’s only years later that we realize that these things didn’t get the attention that they deserved. Moms and dads are especially guilty of this. We rarely take care of ourselves because being a parent by definition means that the needs of others come first.
But in the end, it is up to us to care for ourselves, to make a better food choice, a better health choice, to go see the M.D., N.D., chiropractor, etc. Most of you already are making better food choices for yourself and your family because you are getting a box of good. What about the rest of the healthy choices? It is your story and a healthy you is one of the best gifts you can give to those you love.
Tristan
I am Grateful
Lately I’ve been noticing that every time someone asks me, “How are you?” or “How was your summer?” or “How have things been lately?” the response is always the same: “Busy.” In fact that’s been the response for quite some time.
At first I believe I viewed being busy as the sign of adulthood. As a kid I remember hearing adults responding in the same way so often that I grew to think that was the right answer or, at the very least, the answer to aspire to. To be busy is the goal then, I thought. Somehow I began to put value in being busy, so that when I would respond to those questions with “I’ve been busy,” it came with a certain bit of pride.
I’m not sure that summer could have any other answer than “busy” when you have three children to keep entertained and a freelance job to manage, but I have a new goal for the fall: I want to respond in a different way. For that to occur, I think there is a mindset shift that needs to happen. Busy is no longer the goal – joy is, satisfaction is, health is, gratitude is.
If we saw each other on the street and you asked me, “How are you?” and I responded, “I’m grateful,” what would we think? I think both of us may be a bit surprised at such an unexpected response, but that is my goal – to reach for grateful over busy, joyful over overwhelmed, and satisfied over frenzied.
Fall will indeed still be busy with birthdays to celebrate, school starting, and the holidays nestled in there too, but there will also be slow-simmered roasts and braises, pots of soup, and loaves of bread that can’t be rushed and aren’t too keen on busy days. They beg to be sipped, savored, and doted on with a sort of ease that causes me to pause.
May this next season, however busy it may be, remind us that there is more to life than the busyness. Let’s focus on that.
Ashley Rodriguez
Chef, Mom, Food Blogger, Author
www.notwithoutsalt.com
Everything is Early!
While our family was picking Gravenstein apples last week, I couldn’t help but notice that the Honeycrisp trees were full of red fruit. The telltale sign of ripeness is when the underlying color turns from green to yellow. On a red apple that can be a little harder to discern from a distance, but up close it is pretty obvious. Another sign that the fruit is getting ready is with how easy it comes off the tree. Most of the time, when an apple is not ripe, picking it resembles a tug-o-war match. At that moment, wise farmers concede defeat and wait a few more days J. The worst way to determine when an apple is ready to pick is to wait till they are all on the ground! With that said, there are always a few overachievers that ripen early and fall, which is a sure sign to get picking!ravenstein and Honeycrisp apples are three weeks early, potatoes are early, winter squash is really early, garlic and raspberries are not so much early, and corn loves this weather. But most things are early, especially for the later maturing crops. The good thing is that they are early and not dead! The dry spring and early summer has taken its toll on crops, but with good management we were able to use the heat to our advantage.
Having some late August rain has certainly helped take the edge off the fall harvest. The squashes—Delicata, Acorn, the three varieties of pie pumpkins, Kabocha (yes, Eileen, I planted those for you!) and Sweet Dumplings—have loved this weather. If truth be told, they are ready to be picked, but it just messes with my mind to think about havesting winter squash in August. So I will continue to walk past them, smile, and pretend they have a few weeks to go!
If the weather pattern continues trending with wetter winters and drier summers, us farmers will begin to shift the timing of our plantings and eventually even the crops we grow, to better fit the “new” growing season. Things like June strawberries will be replaced with May strawberries – I can hardly even say, “May strawberries.” On our farm we will definitely plant spinach, beets, chard, and peas earlier to take advantage of the rain and warmer springs. I will probably plant tomatoes and peppers outside the greenhouses.
There is an upside to drier summers: the heat produces sweeter tasting fruit and little water stress “kicks” the sugar off the charts. It just requires us farmers who are normally “water rich” to adjust to less water and watch for signs of stress. I am confident we can make the switch!
The long and short of it is that local farmers are going to have a few challenges with when and what to plant for the next few years, but dealing with weather isn’t new and growing food isn’t either.
Farmer Tristan
NYC
The Klesick family carved out some unusually hard-to-find space during the summer and went to visit Joelle’s sister in Manhattan last week. Mostly, it took a lot of early planning of what crops to plant and when to plant them. It also helped that we have an amazing team of people we work with to keep the farm going.
NYC: what an eye opening experience that was. Of course, I have been to big cities, but nothing quite like New York City. We logged over 60 miles on our feet (Joanna, our intrepid 5 year old, walked every one of them!).
I keep thinking about the story, Country Mouse, City Mouse. We live on 40 acres in the floodplain and they live in a 15 story high rise apartment in Manhattan. We pick berries, apples, kale, cucumbers as we walk the fields and they stop by the grocery store in the bottom floor of their apartment. Amazing!
I am sure when they come to see us, it is too quiet for them to sleep, as for us, that city never sleeps – it just slows down a notch. We did the tourist thing from Central Park, to The Met, the Museum of Natural History, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty. The 9/11 Memorial was intense and beautiful. We even went to a Yankees vs Red Sox game via the subway. Now that was an experience! Just imagine trying to squeeze twelve more people into a Prius that already has five passengers. Definitely no personal bubble space!
On our way to DC and Philadelphia, I got to see some farmland in NJ, PA, DE, MD and VA. Yes, there is still farmland back east and it is a good thing, because when I was in NYC, I had this heavy thought on my mind: “We have to save farmland, because someone has to feed all these people, FOREVER!”
As a farmer, I couldn’t help but think about what it would take logistically to keep NYC fed. That is a daunting task. No one has a car, let alone a freezer or a garden. Yes, there are farmers markets, but they pale in the need to feed millions of people surrounded by high rises and streets. The city is dependent upon outside resources. In fact, I would venture to say that most New Yorkers don’t even think about it. Why would they? They have to trust the system.
America has amazing infrastructure in place to grow, harvest, process, and deliver food to people everywhere, but if that chain is disrupted even for a day or two, NYC is in a world of hurt. Imagine what a simple snow storm does to grocery store shelves. What would happen if California and Florida were both in a drought and couldn’t produce their traditional volumes of food?
As your farmer, I am working to not only grow healthy food, but preserve the ability to feed future generations. After my visit to NYC, saving Farmland is of even more paramount importance, every acre everywhere!
