6/10/26 Nutrient Density and Regenerative Ag

Jun 10

About a week ago, I connected a couple of groups that we admire and got to be part of a fascinating conversation. The first was our farm mentor, Tom Willey of T&D Willey Farms, a retired organic farmer, soil enthusiast, and longtime proponent of regenerative vegetable growing. The second was Steven Chen and Nat Irwin from the Alameda County Health Department. Together, these groups have worked to bring nutrient-dense vegetables to people with chronic illness through CSA veggie prescription programs while supporting BIPOC regenerative farmers whenever possible.

This group visited our farm in January with a delegation of Japanese farmers practicing “Nature Farming,” an approach that studies soil health and nutrient density. We explored the similarities between their work and what we do here at Singing Frogs Farm.

As part of this journey, they read What Your Food Ate by David Montgomery and Anne Biklé, a book that examines the connections between soil health and nutrition and included a study that we were a part of. Check out the nutrient density page on our website for more on that. David has written several influential books on regenerative agriculture and has a new one, ReGen, coming out this year.

While part of the call was simply getting to know each other's work, we also discussed how to expand awareness of nutrient density through better growing practices. I guess that's what I'm doing now.

All six of us, through various research projects and observations, have come to the same conclusion: growing food regeneratively: minimizing soil disturbance, avoiding sprays, and keeping healthy plants photosynthesizing and feeding the soil to create robust soil biology and healthier soil. That soil health translates into healthier food. It's not just about calories; it's about nutrients, micronutrients, and phytochemicals.

This is exactly what David and Anne's research, which included our farm, showed. We grew cabbage from the same seed packet as another local grower and submitted our spinach and carrots for testing against national averages. Researchers also evaluated the soils on both farms.

The differences weren't just in vitamins and minerals. Our vegetables contained 41% more vit K, 31% more vit B1, 60% more vit B3, and 41% more calcium. But some of the biggest differences were in phytosterols and phenolics, plant metabolites that help plants defend themselves and respond to stress. Our vegetables contained roughly twice as much of these compounds. These compounds are part of what David and Anne call the "dark matter of nutrition”, the thousands of substances in food that aren't vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, or carbohydrates and that we still don't fully understand. They include phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, terpenes, glucosinolates (found in brassicas), phytosterols, and thousands of other phytochemicals. Just as astronomers know dark matter exists because of its effects, nutrition scientists know these influence human health but are only beginning to understand how many exist and what they do.

This is one reason nutrient-density research is so exciting. Two carrots may contain similar calories, protein, and vit C, yet differ dramatically in their levels of phytochemicals. Those differences arise from soil health, microbial interactions, plant stress, and growing practices.

Yet much of agriculture is still moving in the opposite direction, producing cheap food. Even when customers know our vegetables taste better and may be more nutrient-dense, it can be difficult to justify paying more for a bunch of chard or a head of broccoli. We grow food with tremendous care because it's the right thing to do, even as labor costs continue to rise and food prices remain stubbornly stagnant.

It's an exciting field, and we're thrilled to have you along for the ride. Perhaps the best part is that nutrient density and flavor often go hand in hand.

Confusing Email

Saturday morning an email was accidentally sent that Farmhand has helped me curate to help new CSA members get situated. It was meant for those who started in April and May and yet through a glitch that they’re researching to make sure it doesn’t happen again it went out to our ENTIRE email list of 6000. Yikes! I had a lot of confused folks. You may have been as well. And yet, it certainly asked you to send us some feedback and I’m so glad so many of you have. I haven’t yet had the time to really process that but hope to in the coming week. Thank you. We always want your feedback but I also wanted to give those of you who are not new an explanation.

Confusing Email

This Week’s Box

Mini Lettuces: Kolibri & Green Gems

Kale: Toscano Kale (SR) OR Red Russian Kale (WC)

Fava Beans

Beets (SR) OR Carrots (WC)

Summer Squash (Classic) or Cucumbers (Family)

Herb: Dill (SR) OR Parsley (WC)

Family: Napa Cabbage & Santa Rosa Plums

Produce Notes & Recipes

This is the second and last time this year we’ll have Fava Beans in the boxes. I really do recommend reading through our write up earlier this spring with our first round in the 4/29/26 newsletter. You can find that on our newsletter blog. Also the email on Friday has a recipe for a spring ragout with favas. Bonus note… we also gave out beets that week and there is a Roasted Beet and Citrus Salad recipe in that newsletter.

We’re excited to have our first round of spring Carrots for West County Boxes this week and Santa Rosa next week. Our over winter carrots didn’t do great and generally we’ve been having a hard time with germination, but this round made it! It’s always a favorite.

The lettuces in today’s boxes are all minis. Kolibri is the round flat head that is speckled. It is a Bibb lettuce, the same family that includes Butter Lettuce but it is much more crunchy. We love these little lettuces. Then there are two Green Little Gems or Mini Romaines that are crunchy and sweet. These should make a lovely little salad.

With the heat wave this week… let’s talk about grilling summer squash. There is no specific recipe here.

Slice them lengthwise or into ovals (going diagonally), but keep in mind if you have them too small they will easily fall between the grate. They should be 1/4-1/2 inch in thickness, personally, we prefer thicker.
Marinade them with olive oil and salt and maybe an acid, we like lemon juice. You can also add herbs, fresh parsley, garlic salt, oregano, Italian seasoning per your taste. You can marinade several hours, but I often just do 15 minutes.
Oil the grill and keep brushing olive oil on them. This keeps them moist.
Grill with direct medium temperature. If you’ve sliced 1/4 thick it should only take about 3 minutes per side. If you’ve sliced thicker it will take double that. Keep checking but turn only once and keep brushing with oil. We like the quite soft.
Often we love adding a little Balsamic vinegar or other fresh herbs drizzled over the roasted squash.
If we’re grilling proteins and cannot do together with squash at the same time due to space, we like to do the squash first, it holds well either at room temp or in a warm oven.

In trying to grow more herbs this year we’re really enjoying this crop of Dill so much so we just sowed another round of it in the nursery. Dill is one of those herbs that can completely transform a dish with just a handful of feathery leaves. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, dill has been flavoring food for thousands of years and is especially beloved across Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East. Its bright, slightly sweet flavor carries hints of anise and citrus, making it a natural companion for potatoes, cucumbers, yogurt sauces, fish, eggs, and roasted vegetables.

Beyond flavor, dill contains antioxidants and has long been used as a digestive aid. The name "dill" comes from an old Norse word meaning "to soothe," a nod to its centuries-long use as a medicinal herb as well as a culinary one. To keep it fresh, store dill in a glass of water on the counter as with other herbs.

One pairing that deserves more attention is dill and beets. The earthy sweetness of beets is beautifully balanced by dill's fresh, aromatic flavor. Try tossing roasted beets with olive oil, lemon juice, plenty of chopped dill, and a little goat cheese or feta. Or combine grated raw beets, dill, yogurt, and a splash of vinegar for a simple salad that highlights both ingredients.

Families this week have a small pint of Santa Rosa Plums! Please note, some are ripe and some not. Go with

We needed to get these guys off of the trees before this week’s heat wave. And we’re assuming the heat wave will bring the rest of them to fruition so we hope to have a little treat for Classic’s next week. We’ll see what the trees have to offer.

6/10/26 Nutrient Density and Regenerative Ag

Confusing Email

Produce Notes & Recipes

Extra Shares

6/3/26 Farmer Notes at the cusp of June

Singing Frogs Farm