Terra Firma Farm might be a tiny island of good news right now in an ocean of sadness and anxiety. I’m a little uncomfortable telling some people that right now, everything is going pretty well here, given the state of the world. But to this audience it seems entirely appropriate.
First of all, it feels like a huge privilege right now to able to work outside every day in the fresh air with plenty of space around us — and have it considered essential. I think everyone who works here is a little more appreciative of that in this moment. Believe me, that is not always the case. It helps that the weather has been beautiful.
Second, we are happy for the challenge of providing more fresh fruit and vegetables directly to eaters. Community-Supported Agriculture is the beating heart of our farm; the core of what we do. For several years our dedication to it has appeared questionable, but we stuck with it and now it is thriving again.
Third, we lucked out this year with the weather. Although it’s been drier than we would like, this spring has been close to perfect for almost all the crops. We’ve been able to plant extra spring crops to fill everyone’s boxes, and our summer crops are growing beautifully and look to arrive a little earlier than usual. That’s rare. So you’ll have potatoes and peaches in May, and tomatoes and sweet corn in June. At the risk of immodesty, I don’t think you will find another CSA farm in Northern California that can say that.
Our goal, always, is to grow a great assortment of items for our boxes each week and not overwhelm you with too much of any one item at a time. With all the new interest we’ve received, it has been tempting to sign up hundreds of new people all at once. But that definitely would have compromised the standard we hold ourselves. Other farms might consider it okay to pack a CSA box with 3 bunches of kale and some turnips during the Covid 19 pandemic, but not Terra Firma.
Instead, we took it slow to ensure that we were still able to follow our goal. And as we have increased the number of boxes we pack (as well as seeing dramatic increases in purchases on the webstore), we have made adjustments in real time to our plantings. That means we will be able to keep a tasty and interesting mix of items in your boxes through the seasonal change from spring to summer.
We are confident that we can keep your weekly TFF box a source of joy and inspiration as we continue to face the challenges of the pandemic.
Take care,
Pablito