On this celebration of our nation’s birth, I think it is worthwhile to reflect on local food choices and their implications. Wendell Berry wrote, “Eating is a political act,” and it’s true. By choosing to join a CSA and eat local (for at least part of your diet) you are, in a real sense, voting.
You are supporting an alternative system, one that relies less on fossil fuels for growing and transportation; one that directly contributes to your local economy; one that guarantees the continued preservation of farmland and farming knowledge (which in turn provides greater food security for our communities).
I suppose I don’t need to remind you that these are uncertain times. Two big concerns that are always on my mind are the current war in Iraq and the future impacts of global climate change. Sometimes I feel powerless to fix or solve problems such as these, but I do feel some security in these alternative systems that we are building together. As eaters and farmers, we are not necessarily changing the world, but we are beginning something that strengthens the bonds within our community and increases our overall security. As farmers, we know that we have a group of people invested in helping us succeed in a tough business. As eaters, you are investing in your own health and future. Together, we can face more adversity than we can apart.
So, on this Fourth of July, we at Oakhill Organics are thankful for the choices we all have as Americans. And we are even more grateful for the choices you have made in voting for quality, sustainability, and health.
One of our favorite writers, Barbara Kingsolver, is also a farmer. Regarding the food choices facing us as a nation, she says: “The decision to attend to the health of one’s habitat and food chain is a spiritual choice. It’s also a political choice, a scientific one, a personal and a convivial one.”
Meet this week’s vegetables
Another delicious season
Although the Fourth of July has been much on our minds (it’s hard to ignore when there are fireworks going off outside our window!), we have also been thinking about fall lately. We are already in the midst of major planning and sowing for our fall vegetable garden.
Growing late into the season requires organization and forward thinking. Several cold-hardy varieties of cabbages take many months to mature, which means that we are sowing for October and November today. (It is a bit bizarre to be sowing cold weather vegetables while sweating, but I suppose it’s no stranger than sowing tomatoes in the midst of cold early spring downpours!)
In addition to cabbage, we’re sowing kale, broccoli, beets, collard greens, green onions, parsnips, radishes, carrots, and more. We also already have storage veggies growing in the fields: winter squash, potatoes, onions, and shallots. Are you drooling yet?
Yes, fall is a delicious time of year.
We hope that you will join us in celebrating the delicious late season harvest. We’ve begun opening up the fall season share to folks outside the current summer share. If you haven’t signed up yet but would like to, we recommend that you do so soon, just in case.
Just for fun: A poem in honor of CSAs
(well, not really, but it could be …)
The many travelers on our way,
Let every brief contact be
A glorious helpful ministry:
The contact of the soil and seed—
Each giving to the other’s need,
Each helping on the other’s quest,
And blessing each
As well as blessed.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Thank you again for your continued support this season! We hope you all have a safe, fun, and delicious Fourth of July! May there be some vegetables on your grill next to those hot dogs or garden burgers tonight!
Your farmers,
Katie & Casey Kulla
Oakhill Organics
