Crop Talk: Sunny Days!

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Sunny Days!

Do you see how the clouds in that picture are glowing with sunlight? That's the biggest news on the farm this week.

It usually takes about a month for strawberries to go from pollinated blossom to red-ripe berry, and they'd like to have eight hours of sunlight a day during that time. Last week they got enough full-strength sun to sweeten up, so we started picking berries on Saturday. We hope to keep picking all week, but there's more rain in the forecast, so if you want to pick it's best to call before you come.

You-pick bonus for members this week is a bag of spinach. We also have a lot of fresh asparagus for sale in the market, so take some of that home and try one of Marla's asparagus recipes.

CSA members, if your summer vacation plans are already set, please log into your account and make your vacation hold requests. If you've forgotten your log-in codes, let us know and we'll re-set you. Delivery days for group sites and and home delivery members will be determined at the end of May, after we've sold most of our shares. Watch Crop Talk for that information and other news.

Time for Asparagus!

I love the first week markets open because it means asparagus is ready! Most folks just grill or roast it with lemon and garlic, and that's fine since it doesn’t need a lot done to it to make it delicious. However, I like to make it center stage for my meals. Here are two favorites in my house:

Asparagus and Avocado Quesadillas

Asparagus Pesto

Enjoy! --Marla Vargas-Mundey, LAJ Foods

Would You Eat Liquid-Silk-Dipped Strawberries?

From Modern Farmer

By Dan Nosowitz

Half of the world's food supply is thrown out every year, owing largely to inefficiencies in transport and storage. Food, well, spoils.

Many, many concepts have been floated to attempt to improve the food-waste situation. Some are simple consumer-facing solutions, like convincing people to eat less-than-perfect produce,reducing the size of the average refrigerator, or encouraging people to shop more often and for less food at a time. Some are more complex: improving the shipping infrastructure or refrigerated compartments, genetically modifying plants to spoil slower, and now a new, luxurious-sounding proposal from Tufts University researchers: liquid silk.

Read more here.

Meet us at the Farm!

Joyful Dog LLC announces the second year of

Great Country Fidos for you and your best friend.

T hree weekly specialty classes: Canine Parkour, Con fi dence Foundation, and Right on Target. Tuition for farm members is $108 for each four-week term. Register for 1, 2, or 3 terms! First term starts May 22.

How Rising CO2 Levels May Contribute to Die-off of Bees From Environment 360

By Lisa Palmer

As they investigate the factors behind the decline of bee populations, scientists are now eyeing a new culprit — soaring levels of carbon dioxide, which alter plant physiology and significantly reduce protein in important sources of pollen.

Specimens of goldenrod sewn into archival paper folders are stacked floor to ceiling inside metal cabinets at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The collection, housed in the herbarium, dates back to 1842 and is among five million historical records of plants from around the world cataloged there. Researchers turned to this collection of goldenrod — a widely distributed perennial plant that blooms across North America from summer to late fall — to study concentrations of protein in goldenrod pollen because it is a key late-season food source for bees.