A few weeks ago we gave out some arugula in the CSA shares that was delicious, except it did have some holes in it. This is not perfect produce, but cosmetically imperfect produce is also something that we're always making decisions around. There's an old farming joke about leaves with holes in them and how you should just eat the leaves and not the holes and that will solve the problem.
With the CSA shares we're always balancing what to put into the shares. We start the planning process in the fall, scheduling out plantings and projected harvests for the year. The day of harvest, and really the weeks before too, we're reassessing what looks best, what looks good enough to eat even though it might not be perfect and what we have to consider a loss. When there's a bounty it shows up in the shares, when there's a loss it doesn't. When the crop is questionable we're generally asking ourselves would we be happy eating it, and then assume that the majority of the CSA members would like to eat it too, rather than not seeing it at all.
Flea beetles are the hole producers on most of our brassica crops, arugula being a prime example. They're a small black beetle that makes pin holes in the leaves. The standard practice on organic farms is to use a barrier, usually a white fabric similar to the stuff that's underneath your couch or box spring. Sometimes they get past the barrier, and if it's really hot out they can decimate crops. Recently they've been miserable.
The photo above is a planting of Pink Lettucey mustard I uncovered today. This end has holes but they're cosmetic at this point and the flavor is still excellent. Unfortunately there was a small hole in the row cover at the other end of the planting and as you can see below the leaves are completely riddled with holes and are unharvestable. That means we don't have enough for the CSA so we've decided not to harvest this morning. Instead, we're harvesting beet thinnings, which have a few holes, but nothing like the brassicas.
With the CSA shares we're always balancing what to put into the shares. We start the planning process in the fall, scheduling out plantings and projected harvests for the year. The day of harvest, and really the weeks before too, we're reassessing what looks best, what looks good enough to eat even though it might not be perfect and what we have to consider a loss. When there's a bounty it shows up in the shares, when there's a loss it doesn't. When the crop is questionable we're generally asking ourselves would we be happy eating it, and then assume that the majority of the CSA members would like to eat it too, rather than not seeing it at all.
Flea beetles are the hole producers on most of our brassica crops, arugula being a prime example. They're a small black beetle that makes pin holes in the leaves. The standard practice on organic farms is to use a barrier, usually a white fabric similar to the stuff that's underneath your couch or box spring. Sometimes they get past the barrier, and if it's really hot out they can decimate crops. Recently they've been miserable.
The photo above is a planting of Pink Lettucey mustard I uncovered today. This end has holes but they're cosmetic at this point and the flavor is still excellent. Unfortunately there was a small hole in the row cover at the other end of the planting and as you can see below the leaves are completely riddled with holes and are unharvestable. That means we don't have enough for the CSA so we've decided not to harvest this morning. Instead, we're harvesting beet thinnings, which have a few holes, but nothing like the brassicas.
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