The boxes changed quickly this year, from themes on tomatoes, melons, eggplants and peppers to a preponderance of chard, arugula, radishes and winter squash. It’s as if we mark the seasons as much by what we eat as by the weather. Hints of Fall first made themselves known with a change in the quality of the light and sun, both more gentle than before. In a flash, the temperatures might rise again — we can’t say goodbye to hot weather, but the days are shorter and there’s a Fall smell in the air. It’s enough to make one believe that the summer may soon pass on its way as Autumn comes around.
Theme: fall
News From the Farm | September 4, 2017
September 4, 2017
It’s been a hot week just about everywhere — not just here at the farm, but pretty much all around. We’ve had our crew arrive at dawn, hoping to get them home earlier. But I think the first heat wave that we had in June was worse than this one. The June days were longer, thus the heat window was much longer. Now the days are already starting to shorten, and the first day of fall is not much more than two weeks away. I think we’re more acclimated to the heat as well — there have been a lot of triple digit weeks this summer in the Capay Valley.
We transplanted our first seedlings of greens into the field on one of the 109° days thinking on the one hand that it was awfully odd to be planting cool weather crops on such a hot day, but on the other hand, the shorter day length is a signal to the plants that fall is coming. The lateness of summer also means that school started up, so all of the wonderful high school students that worked in the packing shed for the summer, are gone. We had some great young helpers, we miss them and hope that they can come back next summer. [Read more…]
News From the Farm | November 2, 2015
November 2, 2015
What is happening at this time of year in Full Belly Farm’s fields? Our CSA boxes give a hint of changes, containing cool weather greens alongside the last of summer’s harvest. Does the change in season bring a change in rhythm to the farm? We still have a big crew working every day, and one person who can answer these questions and who is very important in organizing the day’s work, is Juan Jacobo Berrelleza, known to us all as Pancho.
Pancho lives a few miles up the road from the farm with his wife Nina, and two kids Joel (16) and Julia (12). He has worked at Full Belly since 1992 when he was 18, with only a short break for several years when he farmed with relatives.
I asked Pancho to talk with me about his work so that I could share some of his story with our CSA members. He was a bit reluctant to take time away from a long list of things that he was hoping to get done. This interview wasn’t on the morning’s list. After talking with him, I understood that he carries in his head, knowledge of all of Full Belly’s equipment, the crews, the fields and their condition, and a timeline of what needs to be finished in the window allowed by our climate and cropping plans. [Read more…]
News from the Farm | September 15, 2014
September 15, 2014
Shifting Seasons
The farm is shifting and easing into the start of a fall season. As days shorten, so do our work hours – now starting at 7 am and finishing by 5. The crops that we cultivate and seeds planted reflect the fall and winter approach. Andrew and Jan are planting fall greens, carrots, beets and broccoli. Potatoes are emerging and we hurry them along to size up and set tubers before any frost determines their lifespan. Gone for 2014 are melons and stone fruits. Tomatoes are beginning to show their decline as they head toward the end of a long and fruitful season.
Thoreau wrote “Love each season as it passes, breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit and resign yourself to the influences of each.” Indeed, the conversation about seasonality is a deep and significant historical awareness that we may be remembering, in turn enriching and connecting all of us to the ‘food shed’ that supplies our communities. We may be moving to the shared responsibility that is central to a vibrant and healthy food system – where those who eat are responsible for those who produce, and those who produce know their farm patrons, acting as stewards of the resources that support those patrons. [Read more…]
News From the Farm | Week of November 4, 2013
November 4, 2013
At this time of year, as is the case year round, the harvest of crops dominates daily activities for many crew members, but we also have time to get a lot of projects done.
News From the Farm | Week of October 28, 2013
October 28, 2013
A stroll around the farm this last week of October provides striking colors, seasonal shifts and summer’s slow adieu. I took a Sunday stroll with my 14-month-old grandson, Rowan, tasting our way around the fields, spying on beavers working in the creek and exploring the elements of a changing season. Walks around the farm are usually accompanied by farm dogs that tag along for security purposes – chasing off a killdeer, squirrel or gopher that may have violated territorial understandings.
We stop, 5 dogs and a curious new-to-walking child, and pick some of the last cherry tomatoes, a lingering watermelon, a crimson Jimmy Nardello pepper, an unpicked Valencia orange, a dried fig, hanging apple, pomegranate, persimmon, plum or grape and we savor these waning treats. All around trees are dropping their summer’s green for the rich hues of fall-golds, straw browns and deep reds. Tomato plants are engaged in the last flurry of flowering to see if they can set a few more seeds before frost. It is all, at the same time, beautiful, redolent, quiet and tasty… quite a treat for the senses. [Read more…]
News From the Farm | September 30, 2013
September 30, 2013
A walk around the farm usually happens when the work day is done. The forklifts are parked, the trucks are loaded and ready for their next trip, and the crews have gone home. At other times, the office is buzzing and the fields are full of people. On a walk at dusk, the farm is quieter.
