Mano Farm + All Good Things Organic Seeds

"The distinction between the practical and the theoretical is used to warehouse society into groups...."

Mon, 28 May 2012 22:06:09 -0700

“The distinction between the practical and the theoretical is used to warehouse society into groups. It alienates and divides. It is fortunate, then, that it is nothing more than a fiction.”

- The Practical and the Theoretical

#Dark #Star #zucchini seedlings emerging with vigor! (Taken with...

Mon, 28 May 2012 07:24:37 -0700

#Dark #Star #zucchini seedlings emerging with vigor! (Taken with instagram)

SARE

Sat, 26 May 2012 21:11:15 -0700

Hi friends of Mano Farm…just wanted to let you know about this amazing organization and their mostly-open-source information library that has been invaluable to us. The SARE – Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education website is an absolute wealth of information for gardeners and organic farmers. Pass it on…

#purple #potato coming to mano farm #CSA shares tomorrow! (Taken...

Sat, 26 May 2012 17:35:25 -0700

#purple #potato coming to mano farm #CSA shares tomorrow! (Taken with instagram)

#Echinacea #angustifolia about to flower! (Taken with instagram)

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:02:29 -0700

#Echinacea #angustifolia about to flower! (Taken with instagram)

A #strange #cloud over the farm a few nights ago… (Taken...

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:33:57 -0700

A #strange #cloud over the farm a few nights ago… (Taken with instagram)

Fava Beans: A Little Spring On Your Plate : NPR

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:08:15 -0700

Fava Beans: A Little Spring On Your Plate : NPR:

Shrimp and Fava Beans with Thyme

David S. Deutsch Pink shrimp look beautiful next to pale green fava beans in this recipe adapted from Elizabeth Schneider’s Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables (Harper & Row 1986).

"Field Notes": Mano Farm's Community Supported Agriculture Newsletter, May 23rd, 2012

Wed, 23 May 2012 14:53:11 -0700

Hey CSA members,

Apologies for the belated mid-week newsletter. We harvested fava beans for your shares this past week and I meant to say something about them. I was pretty excited about them personally because we were only intending to grow favas for our seed company and as a winter cover crop (it’s an excellent nitrogen fixer), but on a lark I decided to save a bed and see how the beans did. When we went picking them I was really happy about the yields. Anyway, on to cooking them… One of our CSA members Ben makes a fava bean bruschetta by shelling the beans and blending them up, with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, to taste. That’s a simple way to start. Martha Rose Schulman, one of my all-time favorite recipe authors (I admit I sometimes rely on her sometimes too heavily, and I am actively trying to diversify my recipe pool), has published a great Moroccan Fava Bean and Vegetable Soup recipe.

We’re going to be putting a lot of green garlic (garlic that is harvested immature, before the inedible papery husks have formed) in the shares these coming week, and the New York Times has been going to town with green garlic recipes. This list is not exhaustive, but here are a few ideas:

“When Garlic Goes Green” (an introduction to the crop)
“Turning up the Heat on Lettuce and Green Garlic Soup” (this one was recommended by our CSA member J.B. White; nice find JB, it’s a double CSA item recipe).
“Soba With Green Garlic, Spinach, Edamame and Crispy Tofu” (sorry we don’t have spinach, but maybe try it with chard?)

On the technology front, I’ve also been doing a little bit of tweaking to our newsletter system. From now on ya’ll are going to receive a weekly mailing that includes a Mano Farm masthead and aggregates the postings on our web site. This mailing will also include installments of this newsletter when we write them. We’ve also created a seed catalog and newsletter request form that is specific to our seed company. Also, if you don’t want to have anything to do with these mailings, there will be an option to automatically unsubscribe to them at the bottom of each email.

This coming Sunday, in addition to the aforementioned favas, we’ve got carrots, chard, broccoli, chicory, a culinary herb medley, probably a few bunches of radishes (perhaps for the trade bakset?)

Hope ya’ll are dodging the heat… if it’s any consolation, it’ll be much cooler on the weekend whereas it looks worse in the Midwest and east.

From the farm,

Quin

Organic Food Nutrition: The Way We Eat - Is Organic Farming the Answer?

Thu, 17 May 2012 00:35:53 -0700

Organic Food Nutrition: The Way We Eat - Is Organic Farming the Answer?:

organicfoodnutrition:

Whenever we speak about “organic farming”, the exact sense of “organic” is surprisingly contrasting from the word’s original interpretation. Until the middle of the 20th century it actually meant anything living or resulting from living matter. In that sense, all our food - with few…

Mano Farm’s freshly picked, certified organic Swiss Chard...

Sat, 12 May 2012 11:26:51 -0700

Mano Farm’s freshly picked, certified organic Swiss Chard is now available at Rainbow Bridge, 211 E. Matilija St. Ojai, CA! Go pick up a bunch and show your support for local agriculture.

#anthemis #nobilis #perennial #Chamomile (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 12 May 2012 10:06:28 -0700

#anthemis #nobilis #perennial #Chamomile (Taken with instagram)

"If we don’t increase local self-sufficiency proactively, the reversal of globalization will result..."

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:36:00 -0700

“If we don’t increase local self-sufficiency proactively, the reversal of globalization will result in the collapse of essential support systems—so building local food systems should be our first priority… local organizing creates the necessary basis for political, social, and economic change at higher levels.”

- Peak Oil—The Top 11 FAQs

All About Fennel: “Field Notes,” Mano Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture newsletter: May 6, 2012

Sat, 05 May 2012 22:50:18 -0700

Dear CSA members,

The fennel bulb on the table this last week and present one is a variety called “Perfection,” which we have grown from our own seed on the farm (and if anyone is interested in growing this at home, we also offer this in our seed catalog). I meant to write about this last week, but things have been so busy here that the task just slipped away.

I like fennel because when the foliage is trimmed away (you should definitely do this for storing the vegetable) the remaining bulb looks like some kind of artery. Plus the cool, crisp texture and licorice flavor is a perfect field snack.

The bulb can be used either raw or cooked. In our farmer meals we often sauté finely sliced portions of the cheeks (just take off any outer layer of the bulb and that’s what I call a cheek) with onions prior to adding vegetables. Raw, it’s a nice addition to the base of a salad dressing.

The foliage can also be used: small portions can be finely minced into salads or added to a stir-fry, or alternatively, the foliage can be dried and used as a seasoning or for teas. Fennel is a strong digestive aid – the seeds, bulb and foliage all have similar effects.

Sometimes there’s a small portion of bolt in the center of the bulb, which is a fibrous woody stalk when the plant goes to seed. Watch out for this, as this experience of fennel will undoubtedly leave you gnawing on some fibrous flowering stalk wondering why everyone likes fennel so much.

Here’s a recipe for oven-roasted fennel that I have yet to try. However, I will note that I have unsuccessfully roasted fennel in the past, finding it too dense of a food to be broken down by the heat of the oven alone. So I’ve had an idea to par-boil a quartered bulb for 5-10 minutes prior to roasting in the oven.

We’ve got broccoli back in the CSA shares this week, which I suspect many folks will be happy about. There’s a bit of bitterness in the CSA share too – red-veined chicory greens. Use sparingly raw or cooked, and the bitter is something your taste palette (if it hasn’t already) will acclimate to.

This will likely be the last week of artichokes. Carrots and parsnips are on deck.

-Quin

P.S. This is again, a week late, but my Mom mentioned that last week’s episode of KCRW’s “Good Food,” discussed people foraging for wild fennel.

Day on the Farm in Ojai, California: Saturday, May 19th, 2012

Thu, 03 May 2012 10:07:00 -0700

Day on the Farm in Ojai, California: Saturday, May 19th, 2012:

We are participating in this event, which is an open-house of six organic farms in Ojai. Please come visit us on Saturday, May 19th, from 4-6pm.

New Scientific Research Strengthens Link Between Pesticides and Colony Collapse Disorder

Wed, 02 May 2012 01:26:07 -0700

New Scientific Research Strengthens Link Between Pesticides and Colony Collapse Disorder:

Three new studies released in the past two weeks, including one today by Harvard University, add to the growing body of evidence that implicate pesticides, specifically neonicotinoids—a class of pesticides used as a seed treatment in crops—as one of the most critical factors contributing to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

Amazon.com: Farms, Farmers, Farming in the Movies

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:51:20 -0700

Amazon.com: Farms, Farmers, Farming in the Movies:

For anyone who’s interested in taking a historical cinematic foray into farming, check out this list compiled by RichardCG.

Morels; Wild Fennel; The Future of Food Writing - Good Food on KCRW

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:27:00 -0700

Morels; Wild Fennel; The Future of Food Writing - Good Food on KCRW:

In continuing celebration of our Perfection Fennel crop, check out this episode of “Good Food,” which discusses foraging for fennel, among other things… (By the way, we guarantee you Mano Farm’s fennel bulbs taste better than anything you might find in the wild… and foragers, don’t confuse poison hemlock(!) for fennel!)

#perfection #fennel grown from our own seed, in today’s...

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 14:23:20 -0700

#perfection #fennel grown from our own seed, in today’s CSA share (Taken with instagram)

Get to Know Fennel, Plus a Recipe for Salmon With Tomato-Fennel Salsa

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 11:05:13 -0700

Get to Know Fennel, Plus a Recipe for Salmon With Tomato-Fennel Salsa:

Once in a blue moon we grow fennel bulbs to put on our CSA table. In celebration of its return (and it’s from our own seed, a variety called “perfection”) here’s a little bit of lowdown on its health benefits.

Fennel is underutilized by many home cooks. I’m not sure why because it’s fresh (ever seen canned fennel?), uniquely flavored and super nutritious.

Senate Committee Approves 2013 Agriculture Spending Bill

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 00:12:00 -0700

Senate Committee Approves 2013 Agriculture Spending Bill:

We are thrilled to report the bill approved by the Appropriations Committee endorsed the Administration’s proposal to fund for the first time the Sustainable Agriculture Federal-State Matching Grant Program as a new component of the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Combined, the Committee bill provides for $22.7 million for SARE, including $3.5 million for the matching grant initiative. The latter was authorized by Congress, along with the rest of SARE, back in 1990, but to date it has never received an appropriation. The Committee’s proposed funding level represents a long overdue 18 percent increase in funding