I didn’t know I was doing it when I was 22 years old, but our farm name was inspired by Wendell Berry. I read two of his books, several of his essays and handful of his poems when I was a young, romantic and wide-eyed wanna-be farmer. He writes in defense of the Small Family Farm at length. He spent his life arguing against industrial agriculture and our hyper-focus on ‘the industrial economy’. Wendell believed on a foundational level that the land and farming communities were once a beautiful integration of economy, religion, spirituality, morality and democracy. He painted the most beautiful pictures with his words of what the Small Family Farm means.
In honor of his death last week at the age of 92, I wanted to take a moment to write in tribute of Mr. Berry because he impacted my life in a profound way. Possibly he helped steer me in the direction of farming. It’s hard to know what invisible forces are at work in a young person’s mind, influencing them, capturing them and motivating them to move through the world in the ways that they do. When I read him as a young woman, I was struck at how honest, raw and bravely he writes. I can only hope that Wendell Berry’s words find their way into the hearts and minds of more young people so that we may have more small family farms in the world and those that appreciate the small farmer.
Berry warns us, in his works, that industrial ‘agri-business’, greed and the pursuit for greater profits will divorce us from the land, our communities and from the beautiful sim-biotic relationships that nurture both the people and the land when farming is done right. Agri-culture, as it once was, cultivated not only food for people in it’s community, but a home for a family and a nurturing place to teach people how to work and contribute to the world in a way that gave them a sense of purpose. He says that the word ‘husbandry’ is used in farming so the farmers treat their land and their farm with respect and adoration. He says we are to be stewards, protectors and cultivators of rich, fertile soils and we are not to treat the land like it’s a resource for us to ‘consume’, exploit and degrade with chemicals.
I especially love when Berry teaches us that to be involved in the production of one’s own food is a form of freedom. Here is a quote from his essay “Think Little” that I love:
Odd as I am sure it will appear to some, I can think of no better form of personal involvement in the cure of the environment than that of gardening. A person who is growing a garden, if he is growing it organically, is improving a piece of the world. He is producing something to eat, which makes him somewhat independent of the grocery business, but he is also enlarging, for himself, the meaning of food and the pleasure of eating. The food he grows will be fresher, more nutritious, less contaminated by poisons and preservatives and dyes than what he can buy at a store. He is reducing the trash problem; a garden is not a disposable container, and it will digest and re-use its own wastes. If he enjoys working in his garden, then he is less dependent on an automobile or a merchant for his pleasure. He is involving himself directly in the work of feeding people.
Wendell felt the world deeply. He cared in a way that few people even strive to care anymore. He helps us to remember and recall that there once was and still can be, a different way. A way in which we can cultivate beautiful landscapes, beautiful marriages, beautiful homes, beautiful gardens, and beautiful communities. Small Family Farms are capable of helping us reach a depth and a richness in these realms that is difficult to achieve in dis-integrated communities. The Small Family Farms integrate us.
I will leave you a lovely short poem of his that is appropriate for the times.
When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free. ~Wendell Berry
What’s in the Box?
Tomatoes- 7.5-8lb bags. The tomato bounty keeps on coming! We hope you’re surviving okay! I know there are seasoned CSA members who love the tomatoes, but maybe there are a few of you who are struggling to know what to do to keep up with them all! Today we’re offering a few suggestions as to what to do! Much thanks to one of our CSA members, Alla Pochayevets for sharing her favorite way of preserving the bounty. Cherry Tomatoes- .8lb bag of Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes. They will be over before we know it! Potaoes- 1.5 lb bags of potatoes. These were fresh potatoes that were dug last Thursday in muddy conditions. We decided to try to wash them for you in our barrel washer, but new potatoes that have not had a chance to cure are very susceptible to bruising and they did not handle the washing very well. We culled out a large percentage of our potatoes due to bruising. If a few bruised potatoes snuck through, we apologize. We recommend eating them up right away in case they don’t keep as well. Green Beans- 1.6lbs green beans. This is the final giving of green beans for the year! We also had to wash the green beans this week because they were picked IN the rain last Thursday. Green beans also do not like to be stored moist or wet, so they looked a little rusty when we bagged them up. We also recommend eating them up right away. Did you notice that the Dragon Tongue beans turn yellow when you cook them? They have purple stripes down the side when they are raw, but those disappear when they are cooked! Brussels Sprouts Tops- 5-6 tops per member. Think of these greens like brussels Sprouts or kale or any cooking green. They can be cooked and used like any other cooking green. Will stay fresher if you put them in a plastic bag in the fridge. See recipes below. Broccoli- 2 pieces per member. The Fall Broccoli was looking absolutely gorgeous in the fields, but broccoli does not not love all of this rain and moisture we’ve been getting on the farm. We’re hoping it stops raining for a bit here pretty soon! Sweet Peppers- 2 or 5 peppers. The people who only got two peppers received one large red watermelon. Pepper varieties vary from red to yellow to orange bells. There are even some purple and green bells mixed in. Garlic- Armenian is the variety name. I love the Armenian variety because the cloves are all large. Typically four large cloves per bulb. The Melon or Red Cabbage- If you received a melon, you may have received a round, red watermelon, a cantaloupe or a yellow canary melon. This is the final week of melons. Next Week’s Best Guess- Tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, potatoes, carrots, winter squash (probably spaghetti squash), Napa Cabbage, Kale?, Garlic
Here is Alla’s recipe for making a Tomato Base with your Tomato Bounty
Wash the tomatoes, peel one large onion, and place a skillet over medium heat.
Slice the onion and cook it in your choice of vegetable oil until soft and caramelized.
Add the sliced tomatoes and continue cooking over medium-high heat. As the first batch of tomatoes softens, you can add more to the skillet.
Keep cooking the tomatoes until the mixture turns into a bubbling sauce. Continue cooking to evaporate about two-thirds of the liquid, or until it reaches your preferred thickness.
Remove the skillet from the heat and let the tomato base cool. Transfer it to a small container and freeze for future use.
A Free Family Friendly Event for our CSA Members and their families. We want you and your kids to come out to the farm! We invite you to join in the fun of tossing apples into the press and drinking fresh pressed organic apple cider in the fall on the farm made from from our old fashioned cider press! Farmer Adam will meanwhile also be offering wagon ride tours of the farm. We will top off the evening with a Pot-luck dinner that is always amazing from 5-6! Bring your own beverages and a dish to pass! We always make a couple roasters of chili, one with beef and one vegetarian. No RSVP necessary, just come!
