6/18/25 Working Alongside Wildlife
Late spring and the farm abounds with life. Our family of Canada geese have moved on (thankfully because they decimated over 100 heads of lettuce). Our daughter is home from school and has been scoping out our bluebird nesting boxes. 3 of the 6 boxes have active sets of young mouths looking for food. We have a family of quail living in our perennial flower beds. The birdsong has been incredible, especially on a cool morning like this morning. A farm tour visitor last month put me on to using the Cornell Merlin Bird app on the phone (which I’ve enjoyed before) but just leaving it running for 30 minutes. We’ve found up to 18 species in a session.
Asides from birds, the snakes are very happy this time of year. We have primarily garter and striped racer snakes with the occasional gopher snake. Julie was harvesting Clarkia flowers this morning and almost grabbed and cut a snake tale that was a foot up in the plants.
We have a couple of young weasels we’ve seen a couple times and we really hope they make themselves at home (they are amazing gopher hunters). And in the street leaving our property there is a mama skunk with four babes we often see scuttling into a culvert.
Our lower ponds are starting to dry out but there are a handful of turtles that are enjoying basking on some branches leaning into the water. Every time I walk by I hear a couple plops and splashes and see circles emanating from the west side, occasionally I’ll catch a glimpse of a Western Pond Turtle.
We love working alongside all this wildlife. No, we really love it. The backstory for this farm involves a deep desire to create food and economic value while supporting and building mother nature. So much of our society is built around the idea that you either have economic productivity and humans OR Mother Nature, but not both. We are part of nature.
Mid-June Crop Update
It’s a busy time on the farm. In the last week we’ve planted some of our last Winter Squash; replaced much of our first round of Summer Squash with our third (the second is outdoor in the field, just starting to produce); pruned and mulched our Peppers and our 2nd and 3rd successions of Cucumbers; weeded, pruned and mulched about half our Tomatoes; seeded our 3rd succession of Sweet Corn; trellised several varieties of summer Flowers including snapdragons, statice, dahlias, Veronica and more. It’s been really busy on the field side of things.
We’re really hoping to have our first Tomatoes a week earlier than last year but we’ll see if the weather cooperates (today is good). 2024 first tomatoes and eggplant hit family boxes 2nd week of July with all boxes the week after. 2023 first eggplant and eggplant were 3rd week of July with all boxes getting tomatoes the following.
We harvested all our soft neck Garlic (a new variety for us this year) and it’s hanging in the flower barn. We’re seeding our second succession of Brussels Sprouts plus oh so many more varieties of lettuces, brassicas, greens, and more for early fall.
We’re having some challenges in our Nursery where we tried out a new potting soil 3 weeks ago after minor trials and we’re having some fails. Plants are small and yellowing. We’re super bummed but have already taken three steps to ameliorate, fertilizing the plants that are yellow, and made one and then a second change to the mix. This was in a move to use fewer plastic bags of potting mix, buy a more local product with fewer inputs and reduce cost. We’re continuing to review but the nursery is a big deal.
Produce Notes & Recipes
This Week’s Box
Lettuce Leaf Lettuce
Kale: Toscano (Santa Rosa) OR Rainbow (West County)
Mixed Beets
Raw Rolled Oats
Cucumber (Santa Rosa) OR Summer Squash (West County)
Herb: Parsley (Santa Rosa) OR Basil (West County)
Family: Green Cabbage & Red Leaf Lettuce
Today’s Lettuce Leaf Mix is in Plastic Bags. Putting it in a paper bag on a hot day seemed like a death sentence. We recognize that light greens fare much better in plastic but generally give paper bags in hopes that you’ll appreciate that they are compostable. We recommend that you take your light greens out Wednesday evening and wash them right away to rejuvenate them and get them ready for the week. Even as the farmer I can tell you I’m much more apt to make myself a salad for lunch, throw some greens on a sandwich and on a busy weeknight make a side salad if I have washed and prepared greens waiting in the fridge.
Today we have locally grown, harvested and Rolled Oats from the SRJC Shone Farm and milled at Mendocino Granery. These are last of our late winter into spring pantry items from Sonoma and Mendo county growers in CSA boxes. It’s a way to diversify our box from so many spring light greens and to share with you some of the wonderful local grains we have that are hard for consumers to find.
Today’s Raw Oats from SRJC Shone Farm were harvested fresh and dried raw- a method which preserves their natural oils and exceptional flavor. Creamy and flavorful these oats will give you everything you want out of your morning meal - they also make amazing cookies!
These oats are truly RAW. It is recommended not to consume without cooking. Most rolled oats have been post-harvest processed, they've been steamed and dried. Certainly this loses flavor and nutrients. Store these raw oats in the fridge for maximum freshness. If you want them cold, we recommend doing overnight oats: soaking them in water, milk or yogurt. Cooking them, they cook a similar amount of time as store bought thick oats.
We’re excited about a good bunch of Mixed Beets for you today. Our mix of beets on the farm include: The classic Red Beet, deep earthy flavor and known for sweetness. Golden Beets are sweeter and milder than red, often described as carrot-like, and they don’t bleed when cooked. Chioggia Beets are lightly and fruity. They have a striking candy cane stripes when raw, which fade when cooked, leaving a pink
On the farm we’ve really been enjoying our beets roasted. Roasted beets have a sweet, earthy flavor that pairs well with tangy, creamy dressings. While harvesting lettuce this morning Sean shared this recipe he’s been loving.
Farmer Sean’s Roasted Beet and Squash Salad
1 bunch beets, tops removed (use like chard if nice)
1 lb summer squash
Olive oil to coat
1 bag lettuce mix
Dressing:
2 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 tsp honey
½ tsp Dijon mustard
Salt & pepper to taste
Optional Add-Ons:
Cooked farro, quinoa or lentils
Crumbled goat cheese or feta
Toasted walnuts, pecans, sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Fresh Parsley, Basil, Mint or Dill
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Peel and chop beets in ½ wedges, chop summer squash in 1½ inch wedges. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. This sizing and the seemed to take about the same amount of time.
Put on rimmed baking dish and roast for 35-40 min, giving a flip at 20 min until tender and lightly browned.
Allow to cool and add to washed lettuce mix or other lettuce green.
We are continuing to rotate Basil and Parsley in boxes. In conversations with one new CSA member I brought up Parsley Pesto and they seemed surprised, sooo…
PESTO is really a concept, it’s traditionally done with basil (and best in my opinion, but you can also use parsley, spinach, arugula, and many other greens). If you have lots of time try it in a mortar, it’s said to be heavenly. I do not have excess time, so I use a food processor. Grind basil leaves, small amount of parsley leaves (optional), toasted nuts (traditionally pine nuts but cheaper alternatives are walnuts or almonds), garlic cloves and grated parmesan cheese. Slowly add olive oil, then salt and pepper. Some like lemon juice. The amounts can vary depending on your taste, fat intake, interests, etc. We make a big batch every summer and freeze much of it for winter time enjoyment. For freezing I keep the olive oil to a minimum and add once defrosted. Here’s a more official recipe.
Basil Pesto
3 Tbs pine nuts or almonds, lightly toasted
1 C lightly packed basil leaves
2 Tbs Italian parsley leaves
1 lg. clove garlic, thinly sliced
1/3 C olive oil
parmesan cheese & salt
In a food processor (or blender), combine nuts, basil, parsley, and garlic. Pulse, until well chopped. With motor running, add oil in a stream. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in cheese and salt to taste. Store with a thin layer of oil to keep fresh and green. (The parsley helps keep the bright green color too.)
Parsley Walnut Pesto
1 1/2 cups walnuts
2 – 3 cloves garlic
Leaves from 1 large bunch parsley
1/2 cup walnut or olive oil
1 – 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or cider vinegar
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
You may wish to toast walnuts (I often do them raw) in pan over med-high heat, toast walnuts, turning/shaking often for 3 to 5 minutes.
In a food processor or blender, pulse garlic, then parsley, then whirl with oil and lemon juice until smooth. Then add walnuts and pulse until as smooth as you like. add parsley leaves and pulse. Last add cheese and pulse just to combine. Taste and add salt as you like.
Extra Shares
Flower Share: DOUBLE Single Varieties: Bunch of Clarkia and Bunch of Sweet Peas before they go! 🌸
Lettuce Share: Panisse Oak Leaf & Red Minis 🥬 Bunched Greens Share: Green Curly Kale
Egg Shares: 🍳