We've
had a rough couple of weeks with Broccoli and Cauliflower. When the local ended 2 weeks ago, there was only mediocre Cauliflower available from California. They would have cost $5.15 each! We waited for better quality, and as it turned out much less expensive product, and we are back in the Cauliflower business. Broccoli was a different
story. Several deliveries of Broccoli came in with white stems (really
and truly white). We rejected almost all of them, but several boxes
slipped past our scrutiny. I'm a big supporter of biodiversity, and I
like some white vegetables, but I drew a line right there.
We were faced with a choice of white Broccoli or none. I went with
none, until we got lucky. Small amounts of organic Bunched Broccoli became available from Maryland and the Carolinas, and some Loose Broccoli Crowns became available from California. I bought every box of
each of these from all three sources and now it seems that the weeks of
white Broccoli are behind us....Cauliflower anyone?
The number of offerings from local farms is rapidly diminishing. Most of our produce will be arriving from Florida or California, and when their growing regions become too wet or cold, we hope to find what we need in Mexico. When even Mexico fails to produce, we have serious problems. We could of course eat only local produce but it won't be long until even the storage commodities disappear. Soon enough, supplies of local Potatoes, Onions, and Root Vegetables will have been exhausted, and all that will remain are Sprouts, Mushrooms and (we hope) Hothouse Greens. But this is not a time for California dreaming, not a time of sadness or loss. This is the time to plan!
There is still a good deal of work to do on the local farms. In warehouses, barns and coolers there
is still a lot of food to move, there are fields to clear, machines to
repair. When the food is about gone, and farms are too cold or snowbound
to work on, then I experience one of my winter joys. I talk
to Finger Lakes Organic Growers Cooperative, Lancaster Farm Fresh
Cooperative, Amy Hepworth and a couple of other farmers, and plan with
them what new crops they will try to grow for us next year.
Here are some items from my wish list for next year:
- REAL Baby Bok Choy, the kind we see in Asian markets, not the Mei Qing Choy that most organic farmers grow.
- more Mints- we never have enough
- Purple Brussels Sprouts, last seen here 13 years ago.
- Chinese Broccoli (aka Gai Lan). A few years ago all of our farmers planted a
lot of this, from a seed identified as "green lance". Marketed as "green
lance", most buyers didn't know what it was. It was over planted, and
undersold and all of the farmers we know gave up on trying it again. If I
can only get just one farm to plant it...
- more Red, Yellow, White, and Purple Carrots
- more Orange, Green, Purple, and Romanesco Cauliflower
- more Sorrel, which we see only one or 2 weeks a year (and Frissee and Purslane as well)
- more hothouse Ginger (young, uncured roots).
Do YOU have something you would like to see one of our local farmers grow?
Send us an email (click me) and we will see what can be done.
(Please note, we will do our best to consider and pass along suggestions, but we do not plan to reply to emails sent to this address.)
61 local items and fading fast
Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator
