Acorn Squash This pointy, blue winter squash is very sweet. It doesn’t store as well as the buttercups.
Buttercup Winter Squash This winter squash variety has a sweet, nutty taste- almost like a sweet potato. The vibrant orange color is full of vitamin A. Ideal conditions for long term storage of any squash is around 50 degrees. Curly Kale We have plenty more kale to come throughout the fall. Oregano A savory, easily dried herb for stuffed squash, soups, or sauces. Napa Cabbage These Asian cabbages are perfect for slaws and salads or for lightly stir-fried veggie mixes. Onion We should have plenty more onions for the rest of the season. Salad Mix This mix of baby salad greens has been triple washed so they should be ready to eat. Eggplant We harvested every last eggplant the plants had before the frost. You may want to make a large batch of ratatouille, lasagna, or eggplant soup to freeze. Enjoy the bounty that marks the end of these for the season. Peppers We should have a few more peppers next week before they call it quits for 2016. Tomato We have a small number of tomato plants that are still producing in our greenhouse so we should have at least one more week of these. Spinach These giant leaves are probably better for cooking than for salad but you could use them either way. Reflections from the Field: Adamah in the Context of Global Agriculture The particulars of any farmer's situation inform each management decision they make. Ours is an educational and mission-oriented production farm nestled in among the Berkshire mountains. We grow and sell fresh vegetables because they are high value crops that require the kind of attention we're able to provide on our small and minimally mechanized plots while providing healthy nutrition to the surrounding community. We use organic methods to buoy the ecosystem services we enjoy such as increased pest control from beneficial insects who thrive in our unsprayed fields or feeding the soil with organic matter. At the same time we reduce our carbon footprint by replacing the use of industrial fertilizers, which require incredible amounts of fossil fuel to produce, with carbon sequestering practices such as cover cropping and composting. We grow a diversity of crops to feed ourselves and our customers a balanced diet of vitamin-rich vegetables all season-long while allowing us to rotate plant families around our fields, thus avoiding the kinds of pest buildup and soil nutrient depletion that monoculture farmers experience. With everything that we do, we have an eye toward how our choices will create a fertile, grounding, and expansive experience for the Adamah fellows and for visitors to the farm. Other farmers find themselves with entirely different sets of conditions to respond to- thousands of open acres far from direct marketing outlets in Iowa, densely planted orchards in among apple packing cooperatives in the Washington State, wet rice producers in south Asia, mixed cassava and cocoa systems in West Africa, and so on. No matter the milieu or the goals of the farm and its' customers, we all have one thing in common: the affects of climate change are part of our decision-making process. No individual extreme weather event can be connected directly to the increase in greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. There is, however, clear consensus that unpredictability in the weather is connected to the global phenomenon of climate change. Droughts like the one we're experiencing now, floods like the ones we've seen in recent years, and unseasonable temperatures like we all noticed last winter all make it difficult for farmers to decide what crops to plant, what equipment to invest in, and what fields to work with. The UN's Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Jose Graziano da Silva, has said in no uncertain terms that global agriculture must change. “The model of agricultural production that predominates today is not suitable for the new food security challenges of the 21st century.” We need more efficient, low-emission farms producing plant-based diets to avoid the kind of deforestation and input intensive farming that contribute to the the causes of climate change. And we need more nimble, resilient farms that are ready to adapt to the vicissitudes of climate change. So what are we to do? American thinker Wendell Berry famously said that “Eating is an agricultural act.” It is not only the responsibility of farmers to veer toward climate smart farming practices, but it is also the responsibility of everyone who eats to join the effort. As a CSA member, you support small scale, organic, local agriculture. You are also clearly making a plant-based diet central to your way of life. Thank you! We take your faith in us as the arbiters of your diet's carbon footprint very seriously. We are inspired everyday to make climate-resilient choices. What more can you do as a consumer? You can learn more about the carbon footprint of different foods and make conscientious food choices. You can get involved in advocacy at any level of government or business. Learn more from articles like Joel K. Bourne's Cheap Food article in National Geographic about the future possibilities for agriculture and food systems. And, of course, we know of some great pickles and jams you can buy to supplement what you are already doing to support local, organic agriculture! Comments are closed.
|
Categories
All
Archives
February 2024
|