December 12th, 2022 Newsletter

Box Contents:

1 hd Cabbage

1 bu White Carrot

.50 lb Arugula

.75 lb Spinach

1 lb Scarlet Queen Turnip

1 bu Dino Kale

2 hds Batavia

***Heads up on December Schedule:

Riverdog Farm Winter Break: December 23, 2022 to January 2, 2023. Our last market of the year will be at the Berkeley Farmer’s Market on Thursday, December 22, 2022. Our last day of CSA deliveries in 2022 will be Friday December 23rd. Berkeley Farmer’s Market and CSA deliveries will resume on Tuesday January 3rd, 2023. All Store Access and Frog Hollow Fruit Box deliveries will be closed at this time.

Farm Notes:

Cache Creek has risen!  After almost another inch of rain on Thursday Cache Creek subbed up out of the gravel as far south as our fields in Brooks, just south of CR68.   The creek is not flowing yet, but there is water in it now, a sign that our shallower aquifers are replenishing.  The more traditionally seasonal creeks in the the Capay Valley are not yet flowing but I imagine another few inches will bring them back to above ground life as well.  Very exciting, but it will take a lot more rain to quench this thirsty ground fill our local reservoirs.

Sunrise today revealed a beautiful and ephemeral mantle of snow on the highest ridges of the the Blue Ridge to our west.  With fields wet and mornings often frosty the harvest crew doesn't start until 08:30, a real shift from our summer starts of 05:30 for supervisors and and 06:00 for the balance of the crew. Tractor drivers are either doing preventative maintenance on our tractors or joining in the harvest, as needs be. The irrigators are pruning orchards and trapping gophers in the alfalfa, cover crop and wheat fields while their growth is low enough to see the fresh gopher mounds. Why alfalfa and wheat?  

The alfalfa is a three year rotation out of veg to break disease cycles and reserve feed for our hogs and sheep.   Similarly the wheat serves as a rotation crop for the veg crops as well as a significant source of feed for our chickens and winter grazing for our sheep.  Some of our wheat makes its way to flour through Capay Mills, Morrel's Bread, Fournee Bakery and others I'm afraid I'm forgetting. Enjoy!

-Riverdog Tim

Box Notes:


Finally, those crunchy carrots you've been waiting for. If you're prone to craving sweets when its cold, can't go wrong by adding vegetables with a sweet flavor profile, like carrots or turnips, to your meals. Ever thought about carrots for breakfast? Shred them and add them to your overnight oats. Or get yourself on Santa's naughty list by glazing your turnips in brown sugar. In the winter, I live on cabbage soup. This soup can be made easily and simply by sauteing onions, garlic, olive oil, spices (don't leave out the coriander), adding cabbage and stock, and letting it simmer. For a truly "feel good meal," combine your cabbage with our succulent, organic ham in a crock pot or skillet. Amazingly, all those leafy greens can survive the frost, imagine what benefits they can bring to you.

-Maya, CSA Manager