Produce Labor on Labor Day

September 1, 2025

Well, we’ve hit the time of the season when too much is in season. What to pick? Can I pick it all in time? Welcome to farm labor 101. It can be a slog, but something certainly to appreciate on this Labor Day, a day we set aside to appreciate the worker.

As some of you know from reading this blog for a while, I grew up a blue collar kid in a blue collar town (East Grand Forks). Lots of times when people learn I farm, I’m often asked if my parents farmed. But I often say I come from a long line of landless peasants – we worked FOR the farmers, we weren’t the farmers. My grandpa made a career of being a hired man and working in the potato warehouses of EGF.

And that’s certainly a point to be made on this Labor Day. We’ve mechanized and modernized American agriculture a lot since my grandpa’s day. The migrant farm workers of my youth in the Valley are long gone, replaced by chemicals and vacuum seeders – no need to thin beets anymore. But in the world of fruits and vegetables, we’re still very much a labor dependent. Drones are not (yet) harvesting and bunching radishes or picking apples. That’s why we see such an impact on California produce with recent ICE raids. Those strawberries still need human hands.

But this newsletter is not about me adding my own hot take to a world awash in political pundits. Today, I simply want to appreciate all those who have labored the fields of Lida Farm with me including my family and all the apprentices over the last 10+ years: Kelsey, Mason, Sarah, Molly, Camila, Archer, Jane, Zach, Gretchen, Marissa, Maya, Emily, and Luke.

In the box:

  • Regular tomatoes
  • Golden Sweet Grape Tomatoes
  • Cantaloupe
  • Watermelon
  • Radishes
  • Salad mix
  • Mizuna: A Japanese green used in Asian cooking (could be mixed into a salad). A much younger me once made a video – see https://youtu.be/PlYV75UpST8?si=3-cQucxy8mcUoyot
  • Red Bell Pepper
  • Anaheim Peppers: Green long ones
  • A Couple Summer Turnips: The loose white radish looking things with tops. Actually quite similar to a radish, you’d simply slice and eat raw, not unlike a kohlrabi.

In the Box

August 26, 2025

Hey all – sorry time disintegrated on me yesterday! I got the box out the door and delivered in good time, but zero time til now to write you anything. At the very least, I need to let you know what’s in the box if you’re wondering about things. My apologies.

The only news worth noting is about this most recent study on the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/well/mediterranean-diet-diabetes.html Kind of validates my advise to just go with a whole food diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables – hopefully what we’re all getting through this CSA.

In the box:

  • Watermelon: I think most got our orange variety, New Orchid, but don’t be surprised if it’s yellow or red inside – the patches blend into one another.
  • Sweet Pepper Mix: All these peppers are sweet. About half are Shishito peppers, which are good sauteed aka frying pepper and the others are just straight up snacking types. See picture of cooking idea below.
  • Cherry Tomato Mix
  • Sweet Corn: This first patch is getting mature but certainly still has sweetness. Some really like corn at this stage, while, for those of you who don’t may consider a succotash situation (see below) or try it grilled. A lot of the grilled corn I’ve had seems mature – maybe that’s just how my Mexican neighbors like their corn? IDK. Pelican people – I don’t know if that corn is going to hold out til Friday -I’ll substitute something if it doesn’t.
  • Cucumber
  • Cilantro
  • Arugula: Tall oakleaf green. You can use in a salad with the lettuce, but this is standard arugula (not baby) so certainly lends itself to cooking. Think something like this https://www.sipandfeast.com/lemon-arugula-pasta/
  • Salad Mix
  • Radishes
  • Green Onions
  • Regular Tomatoes: Boy, these have taken forever to ripen and these are still the early small varieties.

This time of year I get tired of corn on the cob and try other things, such as this succotash I made for breakfast. I don’t do recipes…I typically just start sauteing things 🙂 I first did the shishito peppers on high heat with olive oil for a bit, followed by the corn cut off the cob (the picture is 4 peppers plus corn from one cob). After those got some color, I added in a clove of garlic and one tomato for the last couple of minutes and finished with a salt. Ate with toast. Could certainly add some feta or other cheese.

Lazy Dog

August 18, 2025

One of the common questions I field from customers is “How do you deal with deer?” And for 20 years I’ve smugly replied, “Our dog.” First Cosmo, then Argo took their job seriously. The last few years of his life, Argo would never come in the house at night, being so keyed up about patrolling the farm’s perimeter.

But, since losing Argo this spring, we’re now stuck with Miso, more of a carefree lover than a fierce deer killer. Instead of patrolling the perimeter, he makes sure he gets his full 10 hours of sleep on a soft bed. He’s a great farm ambassador, friendly with whoever is here or at the stand – I’m afraid he’d only wag his tail at somebody breaking into the house at night. A guard dog he is not.

The consequence has been deer damage from this mom and three fawns that hang around here all the time. The biggest casualty has been the beans – man, they are just constantly eating the tops, over and over! Why don’t they just munch on the overgrown zucchini I throw out? They are not much into reasonable conversation, these deer.

In the box:

  • Montauk Sweet Corn
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Green Bell Pepper
  • Jalapeno Peppers
  • Orange or Yellow Watermelon **Pick up in separate bin!
  • Green Beans
  • Cilantro
  • Bunch of Beets
  • Onion

One Task at a Time

August 11, 2025

I know what I need to do, we all do. Focus.

But too often we find ourselves stringing together long series of tasks, or, one favorite, doing two to three tasks at the same time, all of them badly. I know that do simply get things done that it’s best to focus on one task at a time and I’m way better than when I started this farm experiment, but I still find myself doing this multitask thing and actually accomplishing nothing.

Just yesterday I felt motivated and put a bunch of things in motion: planting fall brassicas, weed the herbs in the front field, set a trellis for the peas, fix the mower, and harvest for the CSA box. How did I do? Well…2 flats of brassicas planted (two trays still sit in the field), herbs 5% weeded, 6 posts sit next to the peas, and the mower is disassembled now awaiting my attention. But, hey, I did get the cherry tomatoes, carrots, and half the beets harvested for the box!

Maybe if a person lights many fires, stuff will get done, but too many days of too many tasks is a recipe for lots of activity but few things off the to-do list. I know. I’ve been doing it for 20+ years. The best of days, however, are ones where I methodically work through the morning to-do list. Check, check, check. Love that feeling at the end of the day.

So, if this resonates with your own work in finance, HR, or education, just know that the struggles are the same here in farming. Here’s to better work plans, and I wish us all a complete to-do list this Monday.

In the box:

  • Sweet Corn: Yeh! This is a variety called Allure.
  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • Beets
  • Carrots
  • Butterhead Lettuce
  • Garlic
  • Onions
  • A Green and Purple Pepper

Slow Pouty Plants

August 5, 2025

“Where’s the sweet corn?” After being asked the fourteenth time at the farmers market on Friday, I had to admit to myself that plants are running late. Today is August 4th and I’d estimate that we have always had corn in the box by the beginning of August.

So what’s going on? Seems like we’ve had hot days, right? Yes, but think about the nights lately. Out after dark on Saturday night, it felt downright cold and I wore a jacket harvesting yesterday – on August 3rd! We certainly had a little hot streak in July that caused all those weeds to jump up a foot in height, but we’ve also certainly had a number of rainy cool stretches mixed in too. So I think the number of growing degree days is starting to catch up to us and we’re seeing the affects on slow development of heat-loving crops like corn and melons.

But, have no fear. Those ears on on the stalks and the plants are looking good! Melons are vined out well, fruit has been setting well on tomatoes, and, hey, we did finally get a pepper and cherry tomatoes in the box. As for the mid-season beans, I can’t blame the temperatures, but I do think my dog Miso bears some responsibility because deer keep eating the tops off. This never happened when Argo was alive and patrolling the wire.

In the box:

  • Cherry Tomatoes
  • A Couple Green Peppers
  • Sweet Onion
  • Red Potatoes: Maybe the most boring thing for a recipe, but I pretty much make a hash everyday…https://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2012/09/potato-hash-with-bell-peppers-and-onions.html
  • Carrots
  • Bok Choy: I know this is a head-scratcher for many and it’s the third time in the box (these things just grow extremely well this year). Here’s a bunch of ideas: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/photos/bok-choy-recipes
  • Mini Romaine Lettuces: Most people have 2 mini-heads, but a few had to receive an oakleaf lettuce.
  • Fresh Garlic: This is fresh out of the ground today, so fresh and not cured yet. You’ll see the wrappers around the cloves are not papery/dry. Fine to use just as it is, but you can certainly let dry down. Just leave a in dry, sunny location in your kitchen for 5 days or so.
  • Sprig of Basil: Would pair well with these cherry tomatoes and maybe a cuke from last week.
  • Flat-Leaf Parsley: Dark green bunch with red band.