January 2017 Newsletter
“Live each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of each.” -Henry David Thoreau
California Farm and Garden News:
Thank you for your food donations, we have a raffle winner! We are pleased to announce that we have a winning ticket from our food drive raffle! Leeann has won a beautiful 5-gallon lemon tree!We had so many generous contributions and deeply appreciate all of you, we are so proud of the bountiful donation we will be bringing to Feeding San Diego on behalf of our friends at California Farm and Garden. Your support will make an immediate impact in the lives of fellow San Diegans and will help provide hope to those in need.
In 2016, California Farm and Garden:
- Produced about 20,00 pounds (aka 10 tons!) of local, organic food
- Planted more than 50 fruit trees
- Helped curate the new award-winning restaurant Herb & Wood
- Continued donating time and supplies to Slow Food San Diego and San Diego Food System Alliance
- Gifted and installed an edible garden at The McAlister Institute Kiva Center for Women and Children
- Lead tours for the Point Loma Gardening Club
- Taught farm classes to the children of the Del Mar Unified School District
- Our fearless founder and leader for over eight years, Karen Contreras, retired and handed the reigns over to Mat & Paige, who will endeavor every day to follow in her footsteps
What’s Fresh:
Sweet potatoes are abundant this month!
The domestication of the sweet potato is thought to have been in Central or South America, possibly as far back as 8,000 BC.
Too bad fries wouldn’t be invented until thousands of years later…
Sweet potatoes boast more pounds of food per acre than any other crop, including corn, and even surpass the Irish potato. Sewn in Spring for Winter harvest, we suggest a dedicated bed to prevent complete take over!
We love that in Latin America, the juice of the sweet potato is mixed with lime juice and used as a natural fabric dye.
This colorful roasted sweet potato recipe from Bon Appétit is simple, sweet, and spicy!
Garden Tips:
- Selecting Fruit Trees: The Ark of Taste is an initiative of Slow Food USA that has cataloged endangered varieties of foods including stone fruit and citrus. This resource will provide an opportunity for you to make an impact in your orchard. If you are a UP Client, discuss the varieties you are interested in with your maintenance team!
- Weeding: Rain brings abundance, but not only with your edible landscape! Tend your beds using this Weed Gallery from the University of California, Davis as a tool to identify which plants stay and which ones go.
- Resolve to Compost: Make it a goal in 2017 to reduce food waste through composting! Worms are squirmy and fun, and this beginner’s guide from www.fix.com will delight the whole family! Contact California Farm and Garden if you need help!
Hello! I am Jessica, your new UP Marketer! I left my previous career last year to devote my efforts to the organic revolution, craving a deeper meaning for my work, determined to make a difference.
After studying sustainability and regenerative farming practices at Wild Willow Farm, I have found a new home at California Farm and Garden. I look forward to sharing news, learning, offering inspiration, and working side by side with an expert team of farmers!
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