Second northern Nevada local-food year - what we've learned

It's March and local food is scarcer, but some is still available. We ate our one remaining chicken last week with friends and are down to about seven packages of beef. The freezer still holds frozen veggies, nuts, and a turkey so we have plenty to eat through April, and fresh local food starts coming in this Sunday; old friends and new acquaintances will be at our house for the annual grass-finished beef “party”.

All the local food in the house is what’s left of the 2007 CSA and farmers markets fruits, vegetables and nuts we froze or canned last year. Our CSA basket delivery will start in May so I’m starting to think about what I might do differently next year. 2007 was the second local-food year and the first year we ate primarily local throughout the entire year so I really had no experience preparing for off-season. Here’s what we've learned.


Jam – I made way too much and discovered too late that traditional recipes use more sugar than I like. I’m on the hunt for a lower sugar recipe for 2008. The best jam I made? Hands down is strawberry sun-dried jam.

Frozen vegetables –I froze everything we didn’t eat, except the greens, which went into our backyard composter. I was worried we’d gone overboard but now that it’s March I’m really happy we did it. Ziplock bags worked okay but often emerged from the freezer with holes in them. Food-Saver bags worked much better because they’re sturdier.

Canned tomatoes –A friend and I canned about 60 pounds and it still wasn’t enough…. ran out in December. Our home canned tomatoes were delicious and since January I’ve missed what could have been. This year we’ll probably double that. “Yikes, 120 pounds!”, you say. Yes, that’s a lot of tomatoes and canning but not nearly as daunting as you might think. My husband, a friend and I spent about 4 hours canning tomatoes last year, our first year out. Grab a friend, put on some music, and make it an opportunity to spend some time together. We had a great time….really!

Storage - We need a much better cold storage system than a giant plastic bucket in the garage. Our apples were mush by December, though the squash was good until the end of February. My grandma used to have this really cool outbuilding where she kept the all things fruit and veggie, and where grandpa hung the venison. As kids we only appreciated it for its capacity as a haunted house, but now I can appreciate its other qualities; consistently cool temperatures, rack space, and darkness. Storage is one of those food subjects I knew absolutely nothing about before last year, but I found a great book at the library, Root cellaring: the simple no-processing way to store fruits and vegetables, by Nancy Bubel. Many of the storage methods can be adapted to the urban dweller and gardener. I hope to have better storage results in 2008.

Garlic – we’re down to the last of our second braid and it’s starting to sprout. If you didn’t know garlic is still really tasty even if it has sprouted. The only effect is that the shoot is milder than the rest of the garlic. We learned that from Jacques Pepin. If we run out before garlic is available at the Carroll’s farmers market stall we’ll pick some up at the coop.

Herbs – we made some into herb-ice cubes and dried some. The frozen herbs are best for soups and stews. Dried for everything else.

Our family’s local range is defined as 150-200 miles from Sparks in any direction and this changed our off-season shopping habits a bit. We try to make our first stop the Great Basin Coop but could wish for earlier hours as my husband does the shopping and gets out early to beat the rush. Yes, throughout the year we still shop at Trader Joe’s and Raleys for food that isn’t produced locally and we wouldn’t choose to live without, like all things dairy, cured meats, and winter fruit. Even then, we purchased only what was produced in California, Washington, and Oregon. Kats Coffee and Wood Fire Roasted coffee for the tea, coffee, and social fix. We still frequent our favorite locally owned restaurants and coffee houses, and we happily eat whatever our gracious host makes for dinner, no matter where it comes from.

What do I miss? Tropical fruit, but there other options so I don’t miss them as much as I’d feared, and it tastes that much sweeter when we eat it while on vacation. And, on the rare occasion when we crave nachos we eat nachos, even though not a single ingredient is local. Life without nachos and beer? Never!

Nevada Certified Farmers Market Assoc market calendar is now available

The Nevada Certified Farmers Market Association has been busy. Reno now has five new farmers market time slots, and of course, the markets we’ve shopped at for the last few years. The LFNN calendar has been updated with the latest information, check it out! Northern Nevada farmers markets start opening in May so you’ll need to change the calendar view to see the dates for Dayton, Elko, Fallon, Fernley, Gardnerville, Hawthorne, Reno, Sparks, Tonopah, and Winnemucca. Carson City wasn't added because the market is still tentative. If you want to find out more about it call Ann at 775-351-2551.

2008 Northern Nevada CSAs - now is the time to subscribe

Have you considered buying your family’s produce directly from the people who grow it and live in your community? If you live in northern Nevada now is the time to get your subscription in. The 2008 Great Basin Basket ordering season is now open. There are also other great CSA programs available, like Custom Gardens, that may also suite your needs.

If you already love CSAs and are ready to subscribe contact Great Basin Basket soon because the Early Bird deadline is approaching fast (the form is in Acrobat format, which Blogger doesn’t support, so I couldn’t include it here). If you prefer, go to the new website.

If you need to know a little more, read on.


The good people who grow for and manage the Great Basin Basket CSA have expanded the program this year and made it flexible to suite a variety of needs. Families can sign up for up for a single season or the full program for 32 weeks, May through the second week in December. You can even buy a weekly delivery of flowers! This year CSA subscribers will also received other food products produced right there on the farms we partner with.

Why subscribe to a CSA? There are the obvious reasons. CSA produce is tasty and fresh because it is harvested and delivered to you within a day or two, and the growers choose and grow varieties for taste rather than uniformity and ability to handle the rigors of shipping.

Then there are the more “fuzzy” reasons. CSAs are a partnership between the people who grow the food and those who eat it; we all take part in the bounty and the risk. It is a healthy, fulfilling partnership that creates a sense of community possible only when the consumer knows the producer. Whether you need a dinner out, coffee, or veggies there is a feeling beyond consuming when you get to talk the people who have a personal interest in your experience. I know that my family’s life is richer because the people we’ve met and the amazing food that comes in our box each week.

And finally, let’s talk about the doubts. Buying by the season means paying all at once and the price often triggers an initial “ouch!” response. But when you break that figure down to the weekly cost the price is actually very reasonable, and it accurately reflects what it really costs to grow quality food. You might be concerned you’ll get too much food, so you might split your basket with a friend or coworker. My family uses most of what comes in the basket, but this year we’ll be searching for a second-harvest program for our extras.

One final bonus. As the season progresses the price of food will continue to increase due to the huge amount of petroleum it takes to get the produce to the supermarket (chemical fertilizers, storage facilities, transportation), etc. Great Basin Basket prices are fixed at the beginning of the season so subscribers will not likely experience a price increase during the 2008 growing season.

Sod-Buster Chicken ordering form

It's not too late! The first ordering deadline has passed but you can still order this year. The Sod Busters Chicken order form has recently been distributed in electronic form so I'm including it here, for your convenience.

Farmers, farm land, Farm Bill...now we know!

Do you ever wonder about the hidden mechanisms that control the most basic aspects of our lives, like food? I do! I drive my husband nuts when we go on vacation to Mexico and I find myself preoccupied with the question “How is the household garbage disposed of?” If I lived there it would be important to me so I want to know. The same curiosity drives me to wonder about the future of local food, how will our community meet the demand.

I’m thrilled and amazed by the incredible increase in interest for local food and often ponder what will need to happen if our community farmers are going to have what they need to keep up with production. Some of you must wonder about this too. If you do, read on for more insight.

What do we need more than anything else if local food is going to thrive…farmers! The great news is that more young people are going back to the land and taking up farming. Leaving Behind the Trucker Hat is a heartening article about young farmers and how some NGOs are working to support them.

My mom sent me this op-ed written by Jack Hedin, a farmer in Minnesota. His article, My Forbidden Fruits (and Vegetables), sheds some light on an aspect of the Farm Bill that stacks the deck against “real food” farmers and those of us who want local food.

Both are interesting and important facets of our food future!

A word of caution -- you may need to sign up as a NY Times member to read these but it's free.


Life is good!