- CSA patch on a bicycle
Contents:
1) In Your Box this Week
2) Farm News
- JBG Now Accepting New CSA Members
- Holiday Gift Certificates
- Holiday Schedule Changes and Other Housekeeping Details
- Workshares Needed and Appreciated
- JBG at the Austin Farmers Market this Wednesday!
- Local Thanksgiving Turkey Orders
- The Internets: Blogs and Photo Essays about the Farm
- Forming a Non-Profit: Making a More Organic Austin
3) Events
- Edible Austin Eat Local Week, December 5-12
- BookPeople Presents Multi-Media Food Night
- Concert to Support Austin Sustainable Food Center
4) Quotable Food
5) Recipes
- Roasted Veggies on a Bed of Tomatoes
- Green Tomato Pickles
6) Produce Storage Tips
7) Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Info
- Brenton holding a fennel bulb
1) In Your Box this week:
Chard
Okra
Spinach
Mustard Greens
Kohlrabi
Hakurei Salad Turnips
Butternut Squash
Tomatoes
Fennel
Coming Soon:
Dill
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Krystin weeding carrots. They are coming soon!
2) Farm News
- JBG Now Accepting New CSA Members!
JBG seeks to grow a diverse assortment of high-quality produce while working to help minimize the distance from farm to consumer. We are currently expanding in an attempt to increase the impact we have on Austin’s local food scene and to help do our part in meeting Austin’s demand for locally grown, organic produce. As such, we are accepting new CSA members and are asking you to share the word so together we can continue to spread the values of the local organic farms and expand our community of mindful Austin consumers. One way for you to do that would be to print the flyer off the link below, in color or black and white, and put it up on any bulletin board: work, church, coffee shop, bagel shop, children’s school, etc. Word of Mouth is our best advertising. Thanks for your help. http://jbgorganic.com/PDFs/JBG%20Flyer.pdf
- Holiday Gift Certificates
We have a glorious idea for a holiday gifts…yes indeed…CSA gift certificates! Buy a four or ten week subscription for your friends and family and help spread the beauty of local organic produce this season. Gift certificates are regular price. If you’d like to order, call us at 512-386-5273 or email at farm@jbgorganic.com.
- Holiday Schedule Changes and Other Housekeeping Details
1. Holiday schedule change – Christmas falls on a Friday this year so in order to keep everyone home with their families we are switching that Friday drop-off day to Monday, December 21st. Therefore, pick-ups at East Austin, Hyde Park, Zilker, Bouldin, and Brodie/Slaughter will be on Monday, December 21, during the week of Christmas. There will be no pick-up that Friday, December 25th.
2. Its important that we have accurate contact information for all of you, particularly at this time of flux on the farm. We want to be able to contact you as we shift schedules to ensure everyone is able to pick up their boxes. You can log in to your account in order to update your phone number and email address yourself.
- Workshares Needed and Appreciated!
We don’t know what happened around here, but things just started growing! This week will be full of big harvests for our CSA boxes. We need some volunteers to come help us handle it all! Workshare opportunities are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8am to 1pm. All workshare volunteers get a share of freshly harvested vegetables in exchange for their help. If you are interested in participating on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, please email us at farm@jbgorganic.com or call Carrie in the office at 512-386-5273.
- Workshares in the field
- JBG at Austin Farmers Market This Wednesday!
We will be selling our fresh produce at the Austin Farmers Market at Triangle on Wednesday, November 25 from 4-8pm. Come downtown and support your local Austin farmers.
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Order Your Thanksgiving Turkey from a Local Austin Family
Alexander Family Farm is taking Thanksgiving turkey orders now. Alexander Family Farm has all-natural, pastured, White Broad Breasted turkeys for sale for Thanksgiving. These are your standard white turkey raised in a very UNstandard way. A custom made, designer ration and the finest “salad bar” forage pasture make these birds an omnivore’s delight. To get on the list, email Kim at alexanderfamilyfarm@yahoo.com or call 512-247-4455.
- The Internets: Blogs and Photo Essays about the Farm
Check out new intern Neysa King’s blog about moving from life in the city to living off the land at www.dissertationtodirt.com
Also take a look at photography student Shiyam Galyon’s photoessay of Johnson’s Backyard Garden at flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/naturallyshiyam/sets/72157622677350299/show/with/4102915707/
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Forming a Non-Profit: Making a More Organic Austin
We are exploring the possibility of adding a non-profit component to our farm. A non-profit is an organization that exists to provide a beneficial service to its community. We would like to serve Austin by making organic, local food more appealing and accessible to its residents. We would accomplish this mission through three major initiatives:
1) Accessibility.
Creating a program that offers reduced CSA box prices for low income families in Austin. Ideally, we could cooperate with another non-profit to establish eligibility and handle distribution.
2) Education.
a. Sponsoring on-farm activities for schoolchildren to give them a glimpse of where their food comes from and how it grows. Our hope is to establish an appreciation and respect early on for good food.
b. Establishing an Internship Program to educate the next generation of organic farmers. Our program will teach sustainability and traditional organic growing methods, as well as practical business principles for the initiation and maintenance of a successful organic farm. We hope to offer a growing population of young “back-to-the-landers” a place to get their start.
- Travis sorting habanero peppers
3) Research.
Conducting research that will help Johnson’s Backyard Garden move towards higher sustainability. These topics already include moving from plastic to organic mulches, the reuse of drip tape, and composting. Our main interest is to understand the connections between sustainability and productivity, as they relate to organic growing.
To begin moving forward, Johnson’s Backyard Garden will pursue dialogues with established, successful non profits in the Austin area. We are anxious to learn about their missions, organization structures, programs, and milestones in order to help us move forward with our own non-profit concept.
We would therefore like to appeal to any CSA members with pertinent legal, accounting, or non-profit experience who have an interest in helping us move forward. Please call us at 512-386-5273 or email at farm@jbgorganic.com
- Brenton is very proud of his fall potato crop
3)Events
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Edible Austin Eat Local Week
Edible Austin is hosting its 3rd Annual Eat Local Week, December 5-12. Come out and support Austin’s local businesses! Events that week include Alamo Drafthouse BENEFEAST, live entertainment and samples at Whole Foods, and a celebrity cook-off at the Austin Farmers Market! For updates and a full calendar, go to www.edibleaustin.com. Proceeds for this year’s Eat Local Week benefit Urban Roots: Cultivating Young Leaders to Nourish their Communities.
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BookPeople presents Multi-Media Food Night
BookPeople hosts a Multi-Media Sustainable Food night, previewing Edible Austin Eat Local Week, with special guests from the food film and book worlds, including Ana Sofia Joanes, director / producer of FRESH; Pamela Walker, author of Growing Good Things to Eat in Texas and more! Local farm food tastings and local beer and beverages will be offered. Friday, December 4, 7 pm.
- Concert to Support the Austin Sustainable Food Center
The Aster Donovan Foundation is putting on the March Forth Benefit Concert on December 11th with proceeds going to the Sustainable Food Center. The show includes three different bands and will be held at the Parish at 214 E. 6th St. Visit their website for more information. www.asterfoundation.org
How to Start a Community Garden Workshop (from sustainablefoodcenter.org)
Learn how to start more gardens at this workshop on Saturday December 12th. The workshop will cover
- How to Secure Land
- Finding Funding & Resources
- Organizing Friends & Neighbors to Create a Community Space
You will also take a tour of an established community garden.
See the website for more details. http://www.sustainablefoodcenter.org/events.asp?ItemID=298
- carrots and beets and turnips…oh my!
4)Quotable Food
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.” –Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food
5)Recipes
- Roasted Veggies on Bed of Tomatoes
Ingredients:
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced fire roasted tomatoes with their juice
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds-then quartered
2 summer squash, cut into 1-inch rounds-then quartered
4 tomatoes, cut into wedges
Different colored bell peppers cut into large slices, or seeded hot peppers
1 red onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
Chunks of sweet potatoes
6 garlic cloves
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
Mixed chopped fresh or dried herbs (basil, oregano, thyme…)
4 to 6 slices sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and grilled.
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Pour the canned tomatoes into 3 ½-quart roasting pan lightly coated with olive oil.
3. In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients (excluding the bread). Toss to coat.
4. Pour the vegetables over the canned tomatoes in an even layer.
5. Bake until the edges of the vegetables are golden, about 50 to 60 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Serve over toasted sourdough bread for a main dish, or ladle over pasta.
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Green Tomato Pickles
Ingredients:
1 gallon green tomatoes thinly sliced
6 large onions, thinly sliced
½ cup salt
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tablespoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon celery seed
1 tablespoon mustard seed
1 tablespoon ground mustard
1 cups distilled white vinegar
3 cups brown sugar
½ lemon, sliced
2 red/green bell peppers, minced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
Method:
1. In a large ceramic bowl or crock (glass is ok) combine the tomatoes and onions.Sprinkle with salt. Refrigerate overnight.
2. Pour cold water over tomatoes and onions and let stand for 1 hour. Place black pepper, allspice, cloves, mustard seed, celery seed, ground mustard in a small cheesecloth bag.
3. In a large pot stir together vinegar and sugar and then add the tomatoes and onions, the cheesecloth bag with spices, the sliced lemon and minced pepper. Bring to a low boil and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
4. Fill sterilized jars with tomato mixture, leaving ½ inch headspace. Garnish with thin strips of red pepper arranged vertically along sides of jars.. Screw on lids and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes.
6)Produce Storage Tips
We aim to grow and package our vegetables to maintain the highest taste and nutritional quality possible. However, once they’ve left the farm it’s up to you to keep them fresh and nutritious. There’s no refrigeration at the CSA drop points so it’s best to pick up your box as early as possible. Here are some additional tips on how to store this week’s share:
Chard should be kept in a plastic bag in the crisper for 3-5 days. Any bunch greens can be freshened by cutting an inch of the bottom stalks and soaking the entire bunch in cold water for 10 minutes. Place in a plastic bag in the fridge for a few hours to revive.
Beets and Turnips should be stored in plastic bags. They’ll last two weeks in the fridge. Take tops off carrots before storing. Leave greens on radishes, turnips and beets, with both roots and tops in the bag.
Fennel can be stored in the vegetable crisper for about 4 days.
Peppers should be stored in the crisper, and washed before use.
7)Johnson’s Backyard Garden Contact Information
Johnson’s Backyard Garden
9515 Hergotz Lane, Box E
Austin, TX 78742
Office Phone: 512.386.5273
Office Hours: M-F 8am to 12:30pm
e-mail: farm@jbgorganic.com
Travis and Neysa at the end of the day
- Concert to Support the Austin Sustainable Food Center