Gone Solar!
For me, the farm began as a romantic, back-to-the-land dream. It began as a vision in my head where we would work for ourselves, we would work outside in the fresh air with only the open sky over our heads. I dreamt of raising children on a farm where they could run around barefoot chasing chickens, where we would grow our own food and eat from our fields year-round and where we would get to do work that felt purposeful, fulfilling and non-violent. This was a vision that felt spiritually, socially and economically sustainable to me. While still well rooted and founded in these ideals, the realities of the hard work that come into earning our livlihood are a little less romantic. We knew we were going to have to work hard to make it happen, so we did. The first 15 of 45 Solar Panels being mounted on the roof of our Barn.
In many ways the vision has come true. All of those things that we manifested and dreamt of and worked hard for, we now have. While I would not call our farm “sustainable” (because I’m still too much of a literalist to honestly claim that) I would say that we continually strive towards sustainability. At times we make decisions that make the best economic sense for running our farm smoothly and efficiently while balancing these decisions with ones that make social and spiritual sense and that feel ‘sustainable’ and nourishing to our mission.
This year we made a really big decision that felt like more a nourishing and wholesome one than it did economic and conservative. We decided to invest in Solar Panels on our farm. We took a good look at the numbers and decided if we could make it happen and then we thought about our long-term usage and dependency on coal. We thought about our sustainability vision on this farm and what kinds of things we would like to invest in as we build our lives and our farm and actualize our dreams.
This week the solar panels are going up. The lift, the guys, the hardware, the panels, they’re all here. It’s happening right now. I imagine this as one of many different ways in which we strive towards sustainability and independence. Reducing our dependency on coal and fossil fuels and investing in renewable energy felt like a smart move. We thought you, the CSA members who invest in our farm, would also like to know that your food dollars are going to support a farm that is fueled by the sun in more ways than one. Just as the plants turn sunlight into food energy, we are now turning sunlight into energy that fuels the farm. From the greenhouse to the well pump, to the coolers, to the fans and the lights in the barn, we are solar powered.
Installing solar panels is expensive. While we did receive a USDA grant that covered about 20% of the panels for Farm usage, and a $2500 reabate from our electric company, 30% system cost tax credits that we’ll slowly get back over some years and a 2.5% group-buy discount that all made the investment more affordable. We’re still spending a lot of money on these things, but the money was only part of the decision for us. We sometimes make decision with our hearts instead of our heads, ones that some people congratulate and ones that some people shake their heads or raise their brows at. We like to think that we made this decision with a little of both. We remain faithful and hopeful each day that we peel away the covers and roll ourselves out of bed that the sun will continue to shine, the investment will pay itself off in a short number of years, and that the CSA boxes are packed to the brim with fabulous looking produce each week so that you wish to continue supporting this small family farm.
Impressive Line-up this week!
Delicata Winter Squash– Delicatas are one of the sweetest winter squashes out there. Of course this fact seems to vary from squash to squash based on size and color. You can slice these lengthwise, scoop the seeds out and then bake them face down in a pan with water at 350 for about 45 min. Scoop the flesh out and eat with lots of butter. Some people even like to eat the skins on the delicatas because they’re so tender.
Red Norland Potatoes– Another week of potatoes. Lots of loving hands and fun conversation went into picking these guys up out of the moistened earth just a few days ago.
Carrots– Yummy, sweet carrots. Carrots keep well in a plastic bag in the fridge for months when freshly dug like these. Not that you need storage info on these carrots because you’ll probably demolish them by the end of the week because they’re so good! The flavor and texture of these carrots beats any bunny luv carrot from California blindfolded every time. We believe our carrots are among the best in the world;)
Celeriac Root- Yep, another one of those funky, brainy looking roots. Remove the tops from the celeriac and they will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for months as well. The tops can be used in cooking like you would use celery in a soup or stew. They have a nice celery flavor.
Kohlrabi- (or Fennel) We came up about 25 kohlrabi short, so we harvested some fennel to fill in. You can eat the greens on your kohlrabi and use them like kale. Kohlrabis in the fall are so crunchy and sweet. So much fun!
Ayla eating some of Julie’s carrots out of her CSA box. Nice spread!
Red Onion– A sweet, red onion for slicing thinly onto your salads this week.
Broccoli, Cauliflower or Romanesco– Another giving of sweet broc, cauli or romanesco. I hope you got one that you haven’t had before or the one that you wanted most. We’ve been loving the cauliflower this year, it’s looking really nice!
Sweet Peppers– At least 2 sweet peppers per box this week. A little better than last week with the warmer week that we had. We’re still escaping frost for a bit longer now, let’s hope for more ripe peppers next week!
Eggplant- Very likely the final week of eggplant for everyone. There are still a few more eggplants out there that we will pack in, but this warm-season plant won’t continue producing enough to go around.
Lettuce- More lettuce! We really missed lettuce while it was gone for those last few weeks. The wonderful spinach has been great to have while the lettuce has been gone. Keeps best in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Arugula- Who would have thought that this skunky smelling green would smell so delicious and taste so good on pizza? Arugula is also wonderful mixed into salads and pairs well with cheeses.
Radicchio- Radicchio is a bitter green that is also nice thinly* shaved into salads to add flavor and color. It’s an Italian green that is a member of the chicory family. It goes well roasted and tossed with pasta.
Hot Peppers– A Hungarian hot wax, a jalapeno and a cayenne.
Tomatoes- Just a “handful” of tomatoes for everyone again this week. We debated on wether or not we would even give them. The quality is down now that we’re just picking fruits off of completely dead plants. But I figured you would rather have them than not have them at all. I know I would!
Spinach- A generous .55lbs of spinach for everyone again this week. What a nice green to have in the box!
Baked Radicchio with Mozzarella Pasta
I think I love Martha Stewart’s Recipe search: http://www.marthastewart.com/343561/garganelli-con-proscuitto-radicchio-e-pa
