Morning Song Farm News

Our CSA members, their friends and family are invited to a Morning Song farm day on Saturday, December 10th between 9-12. Rain cancels. As always, if you could RSVP at: donna@morningsongfarm.com so we can plan ahead for parking issues, that would be appreciated. Sometimes we have only a single participant, and sometimes the skies part and we have a deluge. It's always nice to know ahead of time which it might be, as we are a hillside farm with limited flat spots for parking. We always figure it out, but it IS easier to know ahead of time. Many have asked about saving their left over veggies for us; we'd love to have them--- so if you're planning on coming, start saving! If you aren't composting yourself, we sure can use it here. Meet our pets; llamas, goats and chickens. We'll have llama treats here if you'd like to interact with Dreamie and Couscou, and the goats aren't picky. Goat favorites are crunchy granola bars, saltine crackers and pretzels. Actuall...

We trialed another sprout mix, (all certified organic seed: clover, alfalfa, broccoli, fenugreek, sesame and garlic chives) but goofed on the timing as this mix takes longer than last week's trial mix. So only large shares will receive these amazing sprouts unless between today and tomorrow half our trays demonstrate miraculous growth. Barring that, our chickens will be dining on a week's worth of amazing sprouts in a couple days. Because we harvest on Tuesdays for San Diego/Temecula and Wednesdays for OC, we split our sprouting start days in half, with the first half ready on Tuesday and the 2nd half on Wednesday. Unfortunately only the first half will be ready at all this week. Uggr! The good news, is that we are moving beyond radish sprouts and have sourced organic sprout seeds from a trusted provider that has some very nice mixes that I think we'll all enjoy. We just need to get the timing down right! And of course, as it gets colder, the timing will change, but hopeful...

Well, last time I wrote about our goats, I was satisfied with the understanding that I thought we had reached after some discussions. I don't sleep in the goat barn, and they don't hang out in my house. Everyone at Morning Song was satisfied with that arrangement and I thought we could move on to more pressing issues. Apparently not. I came home today to discover the entire herd LOCKED in my otherwise unoccupied house. I think it's Carl AKA Goat Man as pointman. He's never been much of a rule observer, and I think he has figured out how to open doors with his front hooves. He doesn't do this in front of humans. I think it's some kind of goat rule. But the evidence can't be argued with. Once he entered; and I'm saying he, because I think it's Goat Man, the whole herd followed. Had he made a quick mission into forbidden territory and exited, I might not have known. But for one reason or another (a breeze? a door tussle? a piece of paper behind the door...

Tropical Guavas are here! We're excited to bring you the first of our tropical guava harvest this week. We have mixed three varieties in our boxes, as we don't have enough of any one kind. The three varieties are: 1. Mexican Guavas which are green on the outside and pink on the inside. They have a passionfruit kind of flavor. 2. Malaysian Guavas which are reddish green on the outside and bright pink colored on the inside. They have a berry flavor. 3. Taiwanese Guavas which are green on the outside just like Mexican Guavas, and yellow on the inside. They have a smooth, lemon/banana flavor. These are being harvested just hours before putting in your boxes and are best (in my humble opinion) when they've been allowed to ripen on your counter. You can tell they're ripe if they give slightly, and have a sweet aroma. From my days at the farmers' markets, I know some people like them hard..right off the tree, but if you eat them right away, you'll miss out on the perfu...

Collard greens aren't as common as spinach, and I have no idea why! I have to admit their name isn't as delicious sounding as Swiss chard. Maybe we should rename them? Ambrosia leaf? Just kidding. Collards are great just steamed as you would Swiss chard or spinach. Just make certain you don't overcook this amazing green, because like all cruciferous veggies, overcooked collards give off an unpleasant sulfer smell when overcooked. You won't want to overcook them anyway, because doing so reduces the vitamin content of this just picked, leafy green. Steamed collard greens have a more powerful cholesterol lowering ability than any of the other cruciferous veggies; including mustard greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts and cabbage. The cancer preventive qualities of collards can be attributed to 4 glucosinolates found in the veggie's leaves, which are converted into an isothiocyanate that is said to lower cancer risk by aiding in the human body's detox and anti-imflamm...

I know I posted this last week, but I want to just circle back and say it again: to avoid the Wednesday holiday traffic next week, we are doing a marathan harvest on Tuesday and splitting the OC/San Diego deliveries into two trucks, but both on Tuesday. That doesn't make any difference at all to San Diego subscribers who receive their shares on Tuesdays anyway, but Wednesday subscribers will be picking up a day earlier! On a related topic: Morning Song Farm will actually be shutting down from Tuesday evening until Saturday for the Thanksgiving holiday. I haven't actually taken a day off in years, not even when I've gone out of town with my daughter. I bring a laptop and an I-phone and continue my office and customer service work unabated. This holiday will be different as my partner, Lance, has suggested that all computer connections and phones will be checked at the door as we exit for 4 days out of town. Actually, I think the word, "suggestion" is a little light...

Sorry, I'm having printing problems today and can't post our normal image ticket until later. But I thought I'd post the ticket, sans images right now: Below is what went into the large share, then a slash, then what went into the small shares: x/x Carrot Bunches: 1/1 Beets, tops removed, 2 pounds/1 pound Green Beans: 1.25 pounds/.75 pounds Swiss Chard Bunches: 2/1 Pink Lady Apples: 2 pounds/1 pound Mizuna leafy green: 1/0 on Wednesday, 1/1 on Tuesday Limes: 9/6 Sprouts: 1/1 clamshell Pineapple Guavas: 2 pounds/1 pound Parsley: 1/0 on Wednesday only Arugula 1/0 on Tuesday, 1/1 on Wednesday

Yes indeed. Although we've only had one inquiry, I think it's worth posting about in case other subscribers were worried and just tossing our sprouts. Lots of people who have tried growing radish sprouts have thought that their radish sprouts had sprouted some weird white mold. See the photo at left. Those hairy white things are actually tiny root hairs, not fungus. After 5 days, the root hairs of each seed combine in a kind of mat. A mat of healthy, white, root hairs; not fungus. Not mold. If we harvest sooner than 5 days, there isn't enough leafy green to classify the sprout as, well a sprout. Sproutpeople.com makes this comment in their tech section intended for growers, in response to a complaint by a new grower that her radish sprouts were moldy: . "99.9% of you aren't seeing mold--you are seeing root hairs. If you are browing broccoli, radish, or another brassica or grain, and you see this "fuzz", just before you rinse that is ROOT HAIRS. Just rinse...

In an effort to get our truck, and our amazingly serene driver Bruce, off the pre-holiday packed freeways, we are scheduling all of our deliveries for the week of Thanksgiving on TUESDAY instead of splitting between Tuesday and Wednesday. Normally, OC subscribers' boxes are delivered on Wednesdays, but November 23rd's deliveries will be done on November 22nd. Please note your calendars!

We're excited to begin our passionfruit harvest now that it's getting a little cool in the evenings. We harvest when they're dead ripe; they'll sweeten a little on your counter, and can be refrigerated for weeks if you choose. When they are especially wrinkled and ugly, they are at their sweetest. Any other fruit that landed on my table that wrinkled and old looking, would get tossed in the compost pile post haste. But passionfruit is best after a few days of sitting on your counter; although I have to admit I love these gems as a much anticipated dessert, I rarely wait for wrinkles. That said, the easiest way to serve is simple to cut lengthwise, like you might a hard boiled egg. Sometimes I sprinkle a little sugar, sometimes I don't. As a dessert, nothing but the naked fruit will serve admirably. Click on image to enlarge for easy viewing.

Click on image to enlarge for easier viewing. This is a pre-harvest estimate of what we have slated to harvest later this morning and tomorrow. I'm heading out of town at dawn, to yet another day at trial; and wanted this posted prior to. If I hear later today that I errored in my estimates, I'll circle back and revise.