My dear community,

Envisioning the future of our farm and what the next 10 years look like gives me sincere gratitude for our CSA subscribers and farmers’ market support. Times are getting tougher for farmers to stay in the field. The government has implemented programs like Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) which may seem like a helpful act for farms to practice safe and secure implementations from dirt to table, but it comes with many challenges. Within the last 5 years, insurance companies insist on compliance or they won’t offer you coverage. If compliance isn’t adhered to, you aren’t able to sell to any grocery stores. Practices like keeping produce boxes off the ground, inability to reuse boxes, eradicating any wooden surfaces in favor of stainless steel, keeping animals off the farm and the compost pile completely separate if not totally disassembled- are just the tip of the iceberg. This turns farming into an administrative job, can be a complete nightmare and seems to cater to big ag. As a small farm we strive to farm regeneratively with earth’s longevity in mind which in turn provides us with a high level of food safety. Because of measures like GAP being put into place I see our farm getting smaller and more like Apricot Lane Farms, maybe you’ve seen their documentary The Biggest Little Farm. Through diversity, innate care for our planet earth and soil restoration will bring the greatest rewards. They won’t necessarily be fiscal, but a different type of investment for future generations. Thanks for supporting local food – it makes all the difference.

Be good to each other.

CSA Contains:
ARUGULA
CELERY
HEIRLOOM TOMATOES
GREEN ZUCCHINI
GREEN LEAF LETTUCE
GREEN BEANS from SUNRISE ORGANICS
CARROTS
RED CABBAGE
RED BELL PEPPERS
FUJI APPLES from GOPHER GLEN ORGANIC APPLE FARM
BIG BOX: BABY SPINACH, MOUNTAIN MAGIC TOMATOES, ROMAINE LETTUCE, CUCUMBERS, CARROTS
*You may have received avocados in your Large share instead of baby spinach

FRUIT EXPANSION: FUJI APPLES and POMEGRANATES
LETTUCE of the WEEK: GREEN LEAF

JUICE FEAST:
CELERY
ROMAINE LETTUCE
CARROTS
RED CABBAGE
BABY SPINACH
CUCUMBERS
FENNEL
FUJI APPLES from GOPHER GLEN ORGANIC APPLE FARM
LACINATO KALE

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My dear community,

We are squeezing in one more round of sweet, juicy cantaloupe before the melon season officially ends. I found an unexpected recipe for cantaloupe sorbet below (see the last recipe in our lineup this week). As the weather cools down we are planting brassicas anticipating winter’s arrival. We are constantly checking the weather, hopeful for rain in the forecast.

I was discussing the ups and downs of farm work with John Givens and he mentioned the loss of various baby plants to mildew just as they went in the ground. He was also losing the growing zucchini in a greenhouse battle. Crows flew in just to pull the plant out of the ground. He was setting gopher traps but other animals pulled the trap out of the ground to check it out before he had a chance to catch anything. We also lost 15 goats recently to some bobcats. It reminded me of the Biggest Little Farm documentary- permaculture farms are really like that. With some hard work and a lot of patience comes our offering to you in our boxes. So many delicious varieties and extended seasons come with the mild climate Santa Barbara Country has to offer. With pure love from our family to yours.

Be good to each other.

CSA Contains:
YELLOW ONIONS
CELERY
GREEN LEAF LETTUCE
BROCCOLI
CARROTS
RED BELL PEPPERS
GREEN ZUCCHINI
CANTALOUPE
RED TOMATOES
MOUNTAIN MAGIC TOMATOES
(You may have received a combo of mountain magic, cherry tomatoes and/or red tomatoes)
BIG BOX: ROMAINE LETTUCE, BUNCHED SPINACH, HEIRLOOM TOMATOES, CARROTS, SWEET BI-COLORED CORN

FRUIT EXPANSION: FUJI APPLES from GOPHER GLEN ORGANIC APPLE FARM & EARLY WONDER POMEGRANATES from COMACHE CREEK
LETTUCE of the WEEK: ROMAINE

JUICE FEAST:
CELERY
ROMAINE LETTUCE
FUJI APPLES from GOPHER GLENN
CARROTS
RED BELL PEPPERS
CANTALOUPE
BUNCHED SPINACH
LACINATO KALE
CUCUMBERS
FENNEL

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My dear community,

Hints of fall have crept in. Nights are colder but daytime remains warm enough to ripen a bell pepper into beautiful shades of red. Whenever I see cabbage and bell peppers in the same recipe it throws me off, as I try and only use seasonal veggies, but we are in the brief overlap of summer and fall and we get both veggies in the same week. All we need are a few cold days in November and those colorful summer veggies will go back into hibernation and our boxes turn into vibrant shades of green. These nuances aren’t always so apparent if you shop at a conventional grocery store. But eating locally and seasonally means enjoying produce at its peak and exactly how it’s supposed to taste. We grow all our varieties for taste not for shipping. That means more flavor for you.

Be good to each other.

CSA Contains:
CARROTS
GREEN CABBAGE
RED TOMATOES
GARNET YAMS
RED BELL PEPPERS
GREEN ZUCCHINI
HASS AVOCADOS from FRECKER FARMS
ROMAINE LETTUCE from FRECKER FARMS
BUNCHED SPINACH from SUNRISE ORGANICS
FUJI APPLES from GOPHER GLEN ORGANIC FARM
BIG BOX ADD: CANTALOUPE, CILANTRO, BROCCOLI, GREEN LEAF LETTUCE, CARROTS

FRUIT EXPANSION: FUJI APPLES from GOPHER GLENN ORGANIC APPLE FARMS and MISSION FIGS from MAYWOOD FARMS
LETTUCE OF THE WEEK: GREEN LEAF

JUICE FEAST:
CARROTS X2
CELERY
GREEN CABAGE
RED BELL PEPPERS
BUNCHED SPINACH
FUJI APPLES
FENNEL
LACINATO KALE
CILANTRO

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My dear community,

I wanted to remind everyone that we are now selling Baba Hummus in our CSA store. Dip those veggies right into that delicious hummus as soon as you open your box. Now that’s my kind of fast food.

I’ve spent this past week appreciating my new bank, one that scrutinizes all loans making sure they are good for the community. It made me realize that I let filing paperwork slip over the last year after our baby Seth was born. It seemed like a big task to tackle at first, but staring at smoke filled skies and a struggling democracy has made the endeavor that much more enjoyable out of necessity.

We’ve been really short on eggs lately. If you’re a current subscriber chances are we’ve had to issue a credit lately. That will change but is taking more time than I thought. Our newest flock is delayed in starting to lay as our older flock slows down for the season. We have almost 100 new chicks growing and hope to fill all egg needs towards the new year. I’m putting so much more thought and effort into how I can build and nourish our land here. Check out our Instagram story to see the new chicken tractor being built and check back to see it in action.

Lastly I wanted to mention that we grew our first crop of garnet yams here in Buellton this year. They aren’t the giants we’ve had in the boxes before but I’ve actually found the smaller ones roast up quickly and have such a sweet earthy flavor. I’m excited to share them with you.

Be good to each other.

CSA Conains:
BUNCHED SPINACH from Sunrise Organics
RED ONIONS
GARNET YAMS
ENGLISH CUCUMBERS
GREEN ZUCCHINI
CARROTS
RED or GREEN LEAF LETTUCE
RED TOMATOES
MOUNTAIN MAGIC TOMATOES
CANTELOUPE
BIG BOX ADD: CARROTS, ROMAINE LETTUCE, BROCCOLI from SUNRISE ORGANICS, STRAWBERRIES from Blosser Urban Garden, AVOCADOS from FRECKER FARMS

FRUIT EXPANSION: JONOGOLD APPLES from GOPHER GLEN ORGANIC APPLE FARM and BROWN TURKEY FIGS from MAYWOOD FARMS
LETTUCE OF THE WEEK: ROMAINE

JUICE FEAST:
LIMES
CARROTS
ENGLISH CUCUMBERS
ROMAINE LETTUCE
MELONS
LACINATO KALE
FENNEL
CELERY
ITALIAN PARSLEY
JONOGOLD APPLES

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