Cherokee Purple Tomatoes are definitely out in front of the other plants, continuing to grow despite the cold. And our own Clover Wreath Farm’s Cherokee Purple seed is even more determined. It is true, seed that comes from your own field or garden will give you plants that are adapting to your soil, weather, pest problems, and etc.

We sold at the Farmers’ Market (Chattanooga’s South Side- Main and Williams, Wednesdays 4-5 p.m.)  Our CSA starts in eight weeks. (June 4th) It is most exciting time of the year but also the most nerve wracking.

We are draining our pastures and gardens, digging new ditches and the like to try to get things dry enough to plant. (You can seriously mess up your soil if you start mucking about in it.)

More pictures and videos of the farm to come soon…

Breann

Please let me know if you want to become part of the Clover Wreath CSA!

Breann

The cost is $378, unless you pass the entire balance when the payments are due in January. In the latter case, your are charges $358. Less bookkeeping for me, so less charge for you.

A deposit of $100 in required to hold your spot.

I need to order seeds and supplies in January, so every early payment is appreciated.

Otherwise, 3 payments are due January 1, March 1, and May1.
I apologize but our Dairy CSA is full. And the feed cost is just to high to be able to sell eggs to the public again.

Pick ups will be half in Chattanooga at our Main Street Market Wednesdays 4-6 p.m. and with the other half will pick up at Clover Wreath on Saturday 10-12 p.m.

Contact me directly if you need the address for mailing a check.

If the bees do well, you will also get a jar of honey to go with your vegetables this summer.

Remember to act fast, the CSA is almost full now!

In Good Eating,
Breann

We will not have produce of a significant amount until later in June. It was a late start at best this year. We will keep everyone updated as the crops come in.

 PROBLEMS WITH THE BILL

 1. The bill applies to all food, not just food in interstate commerce. On its face, the bill applies to any farm or food producer, regardless of location, size, or scope of distribution. If the intent truly is to limit the bill to food that is crossing state lines, then it must be amended. And even then, the bill would still negatively impact small farmers and food processors who live near state lines and who cross state lines to reach local farmers markets and co-ops.

 2. The major foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls have all been caused by the large, industrial food system. Small, local food producers have not contributed to the highly publicized outbreaks. Yet S. 510 subjects the small, local food system to the same, broad federal regulatory oversight that would apply to the industrial food system.

3. FDA regulation of local food processors is unnecessary and overly burdensome. Federal regulations may be needed for industrial, large-scale processing facilities that source raw ingredients from multiple locations (sometimes imported from other countries) and ship their products across the country, but federal regulation is overkill for small, local processors. Existing state and local public health laws are enough for local food sources.

4. Relying on HACCP will harm small processors. S. 510 applies a complex and burdensome Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system to even the smallest local food processors. Although HACCP may be good in theory a good theory for large, complex facilities, USDA’s implementation of HACCP, with its requirements to develop and maintain extensive records, has already proven to be an overwhelming burden for a significant number of small, regional meat processors across the country. In the meat industry, HACCP has substituted paperwork review for independent inspections of large meatpacking plants, while sanctioning small processors for paperwork violations that posed no health threat. Applying a HACCP system to small, local foods processors could drive them out of business, reducing consumers’ options to buy fresh, local foods

5. FDA does not belong on the farm. S. 510 calls for FDA regulation of how farms grow and harvest produce. Given the agency’s track record, it is likely that the regulations will discriminate against small, organic, and diversified farms. The House version of the bill directs FDA to consider the impact of its rulemaking on small-scale and diversified farms, but there are no enforceable limits or protections for small diversified and organic farms from inappropriate and burdensome federal rules.

6. S. 510 favors foreign farms and producers over domestic. The bill creates incentives for retailers to import more food from other countries, because it burdens family farms and small business and because it will be practically impossible to hold foreign food facilities to the same standards and inspections. The bill will create a considerable competitive disadvantage for ALL U.S. agriculture and food production (see analysis at http://ftcldf.org/news/news-20Oct2009-2.html ).

ACTION TO TAKE: 1. Contact both of your U.S. Senators. Ask to speak to the staffer who handles food safety issues and if you are able to speak to them rely on the talking points above to explain the problems with the bill. If you get their voice mail, leave this message: “I am a resident of _____. I am opposed to S. 510 because it will place unnecessary and burdensome regulations on our small farms and local food processors. Contrary to FDA’s testimony, the bill is not limited to food in interstate commerce. In addition, it does not address the root cause of foodborne illnesses, i.e., a centralized food system, and it will impact small and local producers. I urge Senator __ to take every action possible to stop unlimited FDA power from destroying our local food sources. Please call me back at _______” To find contact information for your Senators, go to www.congress.org or call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. 2. Also contact the Chair and Ranking Member of the HELP Committee: Chairman Harkin, (p): 202-224-0767, (f): 202-224-5128 Senator Enzi, Ranking Member, (p): 202-224-6770

Due to the amount of rain and lack of sun, we are cancelling our Harvest Party set for October 24th. We are really disappointed, as this was going to be the bright spot of our year this year.

We would party in the mud, but your cars and our fields would not appreciate it. Our fields and driveway have been flooded like they haven’t been in decades and we just don’t have enough room for everyone to park and turn around!

Even if we have no more rain, it is terribly unlikely that we will be dry enough for ample parking and drive space.

Again, we are so sorry to disappoint everyone, especially the kids.

Here’s hoping for a fine party next year!

Breann

For info, please visit: http://www.cloverwreath.com/ChickensforSale.html

We have laying hens, roosters, and chicks for sale but ONLY by prior arrangement. Please do not just show up. Please email ahead and make arrangements for pick-up.

So you think you can dance? Can you do the honeybee?

In preparation for the first-ever National Honey Bee Awareness Day that took place on Aug. 22, big bee backer Häagen-Dazs used the creative efforts of five brothers from Los Altos, Calif. to make a short video raising awareness.

Max Lanman, a 21-year-old senior at Yale majoring in film studies (and the third-oldest Lanman brother), directed, edited and photographed the result of the request, a viral video entitled “Do the Honey Bee.”

The video, which was released Friday, begins hypnotically like any mainstream rap song. The beat leads you to expect a candy-colored car might glide by, dollar bills could rain from the sky or a troupe of well-tanned bikini-clad women may appear, crowding a bored rapper draped in fur.

Instead, suited-up beekeepers spit rhymes about the honey bee plight and dressed-up bees perform an invented dance.

“The goal behind this was to make a mainstream rap video that appeals to the masses,” said Lanman in a phone conversation from New Haven.

The dancing in the video is a nod to a ritual of the honeybees, who after returning from a particularly good round of pollinating “dance” directions to the rest of their hive.

While other videos were shot by highly paid professionals, Lanman’s was a family affair; his oldest brother Fritz, 28, advised the budding bee activists; second-oldest brother James, 26, produced the song; younger brother Connor, 18, choreographed it and raps the first verse; youngest brother Christopher, 13, cameos as a dancing bee; high school friends were extras; and the video itself was shot in a family friend’s organic garden in Los Altos.

The friend, Jeffrey Warnock, has been teaching the Lanman brothers about bees since they were young enough to want ice-cream for every meal.

“It’s something my family has been involved with for a while. Ever since we were in elementary school we had first-grade field trips where we walked to his (Warnock’s) house and he’d show us his hives,” Lanman said.

The passion stayed with them. Most notably with Connor, who wrote a book called “Plight Of The Bee” that initially caught Häagen-Dazs’ attention. They contacted Connor and he contacted his brothers.

Then they all did the honeybee, so to speak.

Fifty percent of the ice-cream manufacturer’s ingredients come from the nuts and fruits which honey bee pollinations provide.

“We want to keep these little heroes buzzing,” reads a statement on the company’s Web site to raise awareness, www.helpthehoneybees.com.

And even if you don’t indulge in a little Caramelized Pear and Toasted Pecan, there is cause to worry.The United States Department of Agriculture estimates that honey bees are responsible for 90 percent of food crops.

According to the USDA, the disappearances– formally known as Honey Bee Colony Collapse Disorder–started occurring in 2006. Though causes are unknown, environmental groups like The Natural Resource Defense Council speculate that the unregulated use of plant pesticides are major contributors to the decline.

The save the bee buzz is catching on, and the Lanman brothers will continue to try and take it mainstream through different mediums like music.

“We’re hoping that “Do The Honey Bee” will help raise honey bee awareness in a fun and original way, and appeal to the greater population,” Lanman wrote in an email.

“The honey bee crisis affects the global community, and music is definitely the best way to transcend language barriers. We actually found a German forum where different people were talking about the video and the cause–it was really cool to see that our video generated discussion, and in another language!”