Greetings CSA members and friends,

The monsoon rains finally made it to our gardens and we had 2 inches in the last 10 days. Everything changes and all plants respond with vigor including the weeds, of course. Often the highly ionic charge of nitrogen rich rainwater makes everything radiant and vibrant. It creates a new atmosphere and experience in the garden. The humidity reminds us of so many microclimates depending what is growing where. Its fun to discover what each plant or plant family does in relationship to other plants. In the CSA movement across the world many people awaken to seasonal food for the very first time, and it assists in all around health and vigor. The varieties of vegetables increase and so we need to make choices what to send every week. We switch them around so you’ll see some varienties every other week or just once a month. I hope you enjoy this as we do. If there is a special need just let us know and we look into what we should do. Feedback is good; we are learning and growing together.
Another feature we want to introduce soon is our own grassfed beef. We have rich and beautiful pasture land here and after starting a small herd of cattle about three years ago we can offer now this very special food for those who love beef. In a few weeks we have it all packaged and available. We will offer grassfed beef - shares with different cuts. about 5-8 # at a time. We are still discussing the sizes, cuts and price. If you are interested send us an email and we take reservations. We hope we can offer this throughout the next few months. Like the seasons change there is lots of grass growing and all the animals are very happy on our pastures

Hope to see you all,
-The Avalon Gardens Family

CSA Harvest List:

• Greens Mix ( Mizuna, Pak Choy, Michihili, Red Amaranth )
• Garlic
• Basil
• Yellow Onion with Greens
• Summer Squash
• (new) Cabbage
• Cucumbers
• (new) Okra

Okra can be served raw, marinated in salads or cooked on its own, and goes well with tomatoes, onions, corn, peppers, and eggplant. Whole, fresh okra pods also make excellent pickles. Its mild flavor can be compared to eggplant, though the texture is somewhat unusual.

Okra Recipes

Stir-Fried Okra Recipe:

• 2 cups fresh okra, washed, trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1 large tomato, peeled and sliced into 8 thin wedges
• 1/4 cup green onions, sliced, white and green
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon leaf thyme, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• dash pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons butter

Prepare all vegetables as indicated and have ready for cooking. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Fried Okra Recipe:

• 1 pound okra pods, stem ends cut off, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• salt
• cold water
• yellow cornmeal
• salt and pepper

Put sliced okra in a bowl, sprinkle generously with sal; cover with very cold water. Refrigerate the okra for at least 1 hour. Drain; roll okra slices in cornmeal seasoned with salt and pepper until well-coated. Fry in a deep skillet in about 1/2-inch of hot oil until browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.

Farmers Market Tucson(Thurs.) / Farm Stand Tubac (Sat.) Harvest List

• Beets
• Arugula
• (new) Baby Leaf Hot Red Mustard
• (new) Baby Leaf  Red Amaranth
• (new) Hot Peppers
• Daikon Radish
• Fresh Garlic
• Purslane (Verdolaga) Greens
• Fresh Onions w/greens
• Okra
• Eggplant
• Fresh Elephant Garlic
• Summer squash

Upcoming Events that Support Avalon Organic Gardens & EcoVillage:

 Click here for More Info

Sustainable Agriculture News: WhyHunger on Community Supported Agriculture

When you join a CSA - a Community Supported Agriculture program - and buy a share in the harvest of a local or regional farm, you cross a threshold of discovery. You discover where your food comes from, who your farmer is, and who is in your community.

Fresh Basil from a Church Basement

The first discovery is the pleasure of local food. You subscribe to a share of a farm’s produce, typically paying up front or in stages, and then receiving a box of produce every week throughout the growing season. The CSA farmers harvest the vegetables that are ripe and bring them to the pickup site, which may be a church basement, a college courtyard, a community center, or the farm itself. Each week you receive the bounty of a local farm and it is always a surprise — fresh, nutritious, full of taste and health.

You enter the rhythm of the seasons — the first tender greens of spring give way to the tomatoes, peppers, herbs and fruits of summer, the squash and root vegetables of fall, and the potatoes, carrots, onions, and greens of winter. You learn that individual CSA programs can supply not only vegetables, fruits and herbs, but also bread, milk and yogurt, eggs, cheeses, meats and honey.

Everybody Eats

In the words of CSA pioneer Robyn Van En, “growing food is the common thread throughout the world, in that everybody eats. It connects everyone across all party lines, all ethnic and religious differences.” There can be challenges in eating seasonally and experimenting with new vegetables — many of us feel we don’t have the skills or the time to cook and eat together. CSA programs have responded with cooking and nutrition classes, sharing recipes, and potluck suppers. We are rediscovering the joy of cooking, of connecting with our ingredients, of sharing food with our families and friends. Connecting with each other over the week’s fresh eggplants and the best soup recipes builds community along the way. CSA can then be a great entry point to get people talking to their neighbors across race and class about food justice issues.

Food Justice for All

A priority of many CSA initiatives is to bring healthy food into low-income communities. Through various pricing options — including spreading out payments over time, work shares, sliding-scale prices, accepting SNAP (formerly “food stamps”) and selling shares to food-assistance agencies — low income CSA members often get the greatest produce bang for their buck (or for their SNAP benefits).

Well-managed CSA can be the beginning of real food system change for everyone from the lowest income member to the farmer. With just a pickup site, a willing farmer, and active community organizers, CSA can bring just-picked, delicious produce to an area where vegetables are scarce — making CSA a relatively simple change to a neighborhood’s food system, as compared to opening a market or grocery store.

CSA initiatives are essential to farmers as well. As Tom Spaulding of Angelic Organics learning Center points out, CSA is not a middle-class movement of rich farmers. “CSA farmers who themselves lack healthcare and sustainable livelihoods are subsidizing the production of the highest-quality food in a society that is focused on cheap food.” A strong relationship between farmer and shareholders can ensure that the CSA is just and advantageous for the farmer. Beginning-of-season payments provide cash at the beginning of the season when the farmer needs it most, and members contribute volunteer labor and administrative duties as they share the risks and benefits of the harvest.

Knowing Your Farmer

CSA farmers describe how much contact with members means to them, how the hard work of farming is changed “by this human web.” CSA members cross another threshold of discovery in getting to know their farmer. The farmer may visit the pick-up site and talk to the members, write a newsletter about the farm, or invite CSA members to visit. Knowing the farm is an extraordinary experience for many of us living in cities: learning how a farm can flourish, how soil can become more fertile through sustainable growing methods, and how animals are an integral part of the whole cycle of life.

CSA Past and Future

CSA came to the USA from biodynamic farmers in Europe and from models in Japan, where it is called teikei, meaning “food with a farmer’s face.” CSA pioneer and farmer Elizabeth Henderson estimates that there are about 1700 CSAs in the US now, with each farm having as many as several hundred or as few as a dozen shareholders. CSA programs continue to thrive around the world, and CSA is connecting with many diverse institutions — schools and colleges, soup kitchens and food banks, farm stands or farmers’ markets, restaurants, hospitals, and businesses. CSA is succeeding and expanding because it represents not just a different way of farming, but a different social and economic model, one based on principles of community, cooperation, and justice.

People join CSA programs for various reasons: they need fresh, nutritious food, they want their children to know where their food comes from, they want to support local farmers. Often they find that fresh, high-quality produce is just one of the many benefits they receive. Through contact with other members, farm newsletters and special events or work days on the farm, members often make new friends, gain a sense of community, feel more connected with the source of their food, learn new ways to prepare and enjoy produce, and feel the satisfaction of supporting a model of farming that reflects their values.

—-

Many Thanks to WhyHunger

Founded in 1975, WHY is a leader in the fight against hunger and poverty in the United States and around the world.

WHY is convinced that solutions to hunger and poverty can be found at the grassroots level. WHY advances long-term solutions to hunger and poverty by supporting community-based organizations that empower individuals and build self-reliance, i.e., offering job training, education and after school programs; increasing access to housing and healthcare; providing microcredit and entrepreneurial opportunities; teaching people to grow their own food; and assisting small farmers. WHY connects these organizations to funders, media and legislators.

At WHY, we envision a world without hunger and poverty. If we can shift the prevailing viewpoint on why hunger and poverty exist, then we can influence the policymakers and put an end to this human tragedy.

WHY sponsors two major fundraisers each year. Hungerthon is WHY’s largest annual public outreach. It is broadcast during Thanksgiving week to more than 6 million people with essential information about hunger and poverty. At the WHY Awards Dinner each spring we honor excellence in grassroots organizations and the media with cash grants.

WHY is a not-for-profit registered 501(c)(3) organization founded by radio talk show host and present Executive Director Bill Ayres, and the late singer-songwriter Harry Chapin.