CSA Organic Produce Share - WINTER SEASON 2012 - Week 4

CSA Grows Organic Capacity 
Ridge to Reef Farm upgrades tractor with CSA funds

Thanks to the pre-pay model of the CSA, we all are going to get a lot more food . The past two weeks we have been able to spend $700 on hydrologic repairs to our front end-loader, which we have been using to repair the roads needed for delivery and open up some bushed-in garden areas. All of the inherited equipment here is old and well used, and some is more fit for the scrapyard than the crop field. so we are rebuilding and fixing our tractor attachment fleet with the flush of funds among other critical improvements.

Last week, we purchased an $1,900 bush cutter, which hooks up to the back of the tractor and has already enabled us to open up 2 additional acres for vegetable production, in a matter of hours! This is so important, since it saves our staff's valuable time (and backs) so we can be doing more seeding and harvesting than weed control. It also gives us an abundance of mulch from the tall guinea grass that can grow up to 6 inches in a week! This mulch will be used to cover bare soil around plants, while retaining moisture around the plant and suppressing weeds. Not to mention it adds in organic matter, which is the key to growing organic food!

Not only are tractor parts and fuel expensive to keep and maintain, but insurance packs a wallop too. Our bill due this month was over $5000 for the year, and without the CSA, I have no idea how we could have paid our first installment. Land rental alone is one of our largest expenses!

This week we are going to spend around $500 for new hand tools and safety equipment for the chainsaw. They will come immediately useful in the Sierra Club volunteer vacation which starts on Saturday. During their stay of 2 weeks we can get all that newly cut grass gathered and spread around our acres of new plantings with their help. You are invited to help too.

Ridge to Reef Farm is a completely customer-supported, family owned farm. We currently have no government funding for food production. Our only investors are you, our other customers with www.vi.loccallygrown.net, and our donation dinners. The tourism market also brings in funds with our educational advocacy programs. 

The Virgin Islands CSA is more than a name. You are really supporting your local organic farmers. We hope that the support we offer in return to you each week in the form of healthy food is well received and enjoyed by your body, mind, and spirit. Without you, well, we'd be lost up to our necks in grass! 

In good medicine,

Nate, Farm Director

P.S. It was great to see CSA members spend some time at the farm this week. Remember shareholders, you all are always welcome here to enjoy YOUR farm. 

Tatsoi: high in beta-carotene and Vitamins A, C, and K; also contains calcium, potassium, phosphorous and iron.

WTF (What's That Food)? 

This week's strange food item: Tatsoi

Tatsoi is a member of the Brassica rapa family and commonly known as spoon mustard, spinach mustard and rosette bok choy. It is native to China and has been cultivated in Japan for centuries. This Chinese cabbage is considered an ancient green. 
 



How to use it:
Mix with lettuces and other greens and drizzle with dressing or vinaigrette. Steam, wilt, lightly stir fry or sauté and serve as an accompaniment to chicken, fish, or other proteins. You can also toss it in soups for flavor and texture at the end of the cooking period or use it as a garnish.
We recommend to use it quickly and refrigerate it. 

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Julia, during the first CSA harvest

Meet the Farmer...
Julia comes to the farm from the northeastern US where she grew in the quaint colonial neighborhood of Spring Glen in Hamden, CT. As a girl, between playing soccer and baseball with her brothers and catching frogs in Johnson’s Pond, she had dreams of being a marine biologist.
 
Since a young age she has had a special connection with nature, in particular plants. “Her eyes sparkled when she talks about plants,” says Shelli Brin, who also lives and works on the farm. Besides spending time taking care of plants, Julia enjoys going for long walks around the property’s trails listening to the wind.
 
After attending the University of Vermont, Julia worked on a medicinal herb farm in the ‘northeast kingdom,’ a very beautiful part of the state. There, she discovered her love for agriculture and sustainable systems within the framework of local culture. Because she is of French heritage, born of a French father and American mother, quality of food and quality of life are very important to her. On the farm, she frequently cooks, creates new recipes, and delights in the flavors and aromas of fresh, organic foods.
 
She has goals of one day owning and operating her own small herbal business, using wild plant medicines as well as cultivated ones. In her spare time she likes to run, explore, read, sing and write poetry.

http://thejuliadventures.blogspot.com/ 

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R2R Farmers Jacob Collums & Matt Johnson (left to right) inspect cucumber harvest

From the field...

The fields have been a busy place since our CSA began, and now that we are about a quarter way into the season, the pace has not slowed a bit! Farm intern Jacob and Jess and part-time worker Matt have been putting in some long, dedicated hours weeding and preparing new beds, planting new seeds and transplanting hundreds of small potted vegetables and herbs into the ground.

Our first ripe and juicy tomato came in on Saturday and was shared among the farm staff. More are ripening every day! Soon, the staked tomato plants will be heavy with the round, reddish fruits. Did you know tomatoes are technically a fruit? [and technically classified as berries, Ed.] This is because, like fruits, tomatoes develop from the ovary in the base of the flower and also contain the plants’ seeds (like raspberries and blueberries). Besides tomatos, the eggplants are bearing as well. Each little eggplant is beginning to plump out its dark, silky body.

We’ve also recently seeded more bok choy, tatsoi, dill, green onions, squash, sunflower seeds. The cucumbers we had planted in a succession at the beginning of the CSA season have unfortunately been fighting a losing battle with a pesty green worm that has been chomping down vigorously on the plants leaves. Even with an organic fertilizer and natural pesticide, we’ve been unable to fight mother nature on this one. You win some, you lose some. Until next time! 


PO Box 2903 - Frederiksted USVI 00841 - www.visfi.org - info@visfi.org - 340 220 0466
Ridge to Reef Farm @ the Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute

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Friction Fire Making at Bush Skills 2012: Earth, Shelli Olive, & Veronica Gordon

The Week's Harvest

"Tango" Head Lettuce
Radishes
Chard or Kale
Arugula
Chaya
Tatsoi
Green Bananas
Basil
Moringa Flowers (edible raw or cooked -EAT does battered & fried... really tasty!)

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Farm Recipes

Tatsoi/Arugula/ Basil Pesto
by Chef Brian

You need:
Walnuts
Tatsoi/Arugula/ Basil
Garlic
Onion
Salt & Pepper (& Chili powder)

Directions:
1. Roast the walnuts in oil or butter

2. Use mortar and pestel to grind/stomp tatsoi/ arugula/ basil, roasted walnuts, garlic and onion until you get a smooth paste.

3. We suggest to enjoy it on bread, noodles, pizza or on the side of a salad.

THANK YOU HOSTS!

Pick-up times

Polly's at the Pier Frederiksted, St. Croix 
Wed 3:30-5:30pm

Barefoot Buddha Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 
Thurs 11:30am-1:30 pm 

Miriam's Restaurant Christiansted, St. Croix 
Sun 4 -5:30pm


M2M (member to member)

We invite you to take part in the creation of our weekly newsletters.

Share your recipes and pictures, your experiences with the R2R Farm or your thoughts on sustainable farming matters.

We then will do our best to fit it in and share it in one of our upcoming newsletters.

We look forward to your responses!


Wishlist 

Got some things laying around we can re-use in the CSA

• egg cartons
  
• shallow, sturdy plastic trays for upcoming tomato harvest
  
• milk crates
  
• coolers
  
• zip-locks
  
• popsicle sticks
  
• tarps
  
• any working garden tools
  
• generator, chainsaw, weed-eater
  
• carpentry
  
• sign-making
  
• massages :)
  
• your CSA bags

• feedback