First of the Season

I saw it dangling there one hot Wednesday afternoon.  Like a sign from a radio beacon, my internal transmitter picked up on the hum of a ripe tomato ready to be swallowed.  I instinctively looked and found, to my ultimate satisfaction, a perfectly ready, perfectly ripe, perfectly plump little tomato, a “Black Prince” tomato to be exact. Before I could say “YUM” it was in my mouth.  It’s acidy sweet finish danced on my tongue.  I’d forgotten how good a freshly picked black prince was.  Like a giant sungold, they have just the right balance of high sugar on top with an acidic end; they’re simply tomato perfection.  I looked around for more to no avail; there were just green clusters hanging in the heat.  My little specimen was like a sneak preview for the producer.  It was as if I were alone in a darkened theater watching a clip of the finale.  And if this little tender treat is any indication of what is to come, The Corner and Weird Fish are about to have the best tomatoes in town.  Just a couple more weeks and they’ll be good to go.  

The new crops that are in full force this week are at The Corner ready for consumption. Chard and baby squash are really in full gear.  I had a salad there just last week just to see how the greens were looking on the plate.  My bias is natural of course, but the salad was superb and dressed to perfection.  But don’t take my word for it.  Go on in and try it out.  

Happy Eating, 

D

Summer in the City

This week’s harvest: Baby salad mix, Red Russian Kale, Flying Saucer baby squash, Calendula.

Hot Blooded

So I turned around and they grew.  I mean literally.  I came into the tomato garden one night to check on things and then again the next morning I went into the garden and they had grown.  It felt like I turned my back for one split second and they grew an inch.  In my head,  hazy childhood memories of “A Little Shop of Horrors” were starting to get clearer.  I started to hear “FEEEEEEEEED MEEEEEEEE Seymour!!! Good thing my name isn’t Seymour.  I just kept on weeding and ignoring the cry.  

But seriously, I am thrilled amazed amused and enchanted by the growth of our amazing tomatoes.  My grandfather would be proud.  And if there is a realm where the wise spirits dwell and look down upon us mortals, I am sure that he’s sporting an ear to ear grin.  In my family my late grandfather was the tomato guru.  He (an urban farmer himself in Pittsburgh, PA) was probably the most notable figure in my developing interest in food and gardening.  His tomatoes were some of the best I have ever had.  Now our Amyitis beauties are some of the best I have ever grown.  It seems like maybe he is sending me good graces from the ether.  

But beyond my grandfather’s Midas touch for nightshades, I guess we do have to take some credit for their success too.  Temperature and food make all of the difference with plants like tomatoes and squash.  It should go without saying that a plants will perform best in with optimal support.  Success in our case is being created by numerous insurances of those supports.  The first step to success was in transplanting.  These tomatoes were transplanted into raised beds filled with pure compost.  Compost is like a a plant super food.  For those unfamiliar with the hubbub around compost, compost is literally decomposing organic matter.  Plants, food scraps, yard waste can be (when treated properly) turned into nutrient rich soil through a number of methods.  While not everything can handle the nutrient blast of being planted in pure compost, tomatoes seem to love it.  Decomposing material also produces heat.  And because compost is still on its way to becoming soil it is producing a large amount of heat.  In combination with a sheltered and sunny Mission District back yard and nutrient rich warm soil, we’ve repaired and added to an old irrigation system to insure that these plants are getting the perfect amount of water.  All of these factors seem to be helping.  Just look at the pictures below.  Notice how the tomatoes in black pots are almost twice the size. The black plastic retains the suns heat better than the boxes.  These plants were all planted in the same soil on the same day.  

 

Eat your Kale

About a week ago I stumbled into The Corner to hold a meeting with Chef and Kitchen Manager Devon Newby.  As we chatted about greens and food she had to take a call and went outside.  My eyes scanned the restaurant and came to a table of patrons gleefully enjoying and Amyitis Salad.  My eyes widened like Gollum around the ring.  ”THIS is why I do this!” I thought.  Feeding people is the fuel in my tank.  Even their toddler child was munching away on baby chard and arugula. I almost shed a tear.  They were graceful enough after learning that we had grown their salad to let me take their photo.  

Link of the week…… err Month.  

When I moved to SF in 2006 I was hunting for people doing interesting gardening projects that I could get involved with.  A friend of mine led me to the doorstep of a woman named Novella Carpenter in 2007.  Novella was in the process of writing a book about her urban garden.  However, “Urban garden”  is an understatement.  Novella is an urban homesteader.  She had livestock, fruit trees and veggies all grown in an abandoned plot of land in West Oakland.  For about a month and a half I visited her once a week to tinker in the garden and shoot the breeze.  Now her book has hit the shelves and I am urging everyone to read it.  Simply from the title “Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer” I know I am going to love it.  Because urban farming really is about education.  There are few if any road maps to how it should all work and I learn something new every time do anything.  All of us urban farmers are drawing the maps as we go.  With Novella’s book hopefully she’ll inspire some more map makers.  It is at the top of my reading pile.  I hope it makes it to the top of yours soon.  

RAD-ISH

As the season kicks in to high gear here at Amyitis there seems to be less to say and more to do.  Well that is not totally true.  In fact, I have so much to say I don’t know where to begin.  Do I begin with the huge debt of gratitude I owe to all of my volunteers and clients?  Do I begin with the extreme quality of the baby greens we’ve been harvesting from the gardens?  Or, do I begin by talking about the challenges of growing for a new restaurant?  While all of the above are topics worthy of further missives, I will stifle my will to blather on and simply say that Amyitis is moving rapidly forward.  And, if the results we’ve seen so far are any indication of what is to come, we are in for an exciting summer full of challenges and triumphs.  

The recent SF heat wave has shot things into full summer at the gardens.  The heat is such a stark contrast to the cold snap that came just before it, I often wonder how plants manage to hold on.  Well, I guess that some do and some don’t.  The cold nights we recently had paired with the wind in the evenings has wreaked havoc on our squash and basil.  Most all of the squash and basil transplants either stunted or died.  Hopefully, after some more in-depth investigation we can actually grow a decent squash plant this summer.  They’ve always grown like weeds before. I am unsure of what we are doing wrong there.  

In other news, the tomatoes we started in the basement are outside hardening off… and just in time for the heat wave.  That was lucky timing.  They are a bit leggy but I think that they will adjust to full sun quite well.  We’ve transplanted them into 4″ pots to give them a bigger root ball and a thicker stem before we let them go off on their own.  

We couldn’t be happier about the quality of the arugula, mizuna and lettuce that are coming out of the gardens now.  I can shamelessly say that they are without a doubt some of the best greens I have had the pleasure of eating.  It is these times here at the gardens that I would like to take a moment to enjoy.  There is no prouder moment than harvesting something delicious that you’ve nurtured and cared for.  In the contrast of a relatively harsh urban environment, to eat such a fine salad is almost enough to make the tears flow.  Well, at least salavatory tears.  

Lastly, while harvesting the lovely greens I speak of last week for a delivery to Weird Fish and the Corner, I stumbled upon a large and lovely toad enjoying the refuge of a canopy of mizuna. I nearly stepped on him as I made my way through the rows.  And while fully aware of my towering presence next to his, he sat seemingly indifferent eating flies.  I have no idea how he got there.  In fact I am not sure I care.  It’s undoubtedly a good omen.  

Happy gardening.  

David  

Lovely D’avignon Radishes

A Friday Harvest

Fat Omen Toad

Farmers Anonymous

There really is no stopping a moving train.  At this point we’ve gained enough critical momentum that there is no stopping or turning back.  Not that we’d ever had plans to stop.  Simply put; the reality of the encroaching growing season and, its unique backyard slant for us, is setting in quickly and deeply.  We predicted we’d be busy, but as we’ve learned recently with our economy, predictions are one thing, reality is another.  

During the past two weeks, both Jessie and myself have moved homes and started building a new garden space in the Mission.  We’ve developed strategic tag-team watering plans for all of the spaces (plants don’t give us a day off!!) And we’ve begun to take the first of our weekly shipments to The Corner (18th and Mission www.thecornersf.com).  We are jumping with glee each time that we do.  Moments like that are when what we do most feels like a selfish act rather than an environmental or communal one.  Mainly because it is.  When what you happen to enjoy is also something that is good for communities and the environment, there is no reason not to be as selfish as possible.  The pure satisfaction I get from bringing our own city-grown organic produce to a restaurant 4 blocks away is narcotic.  All idealism aside, I like this…. a lot.  

Of course I knew that I liked it when I was farming in VT, but this is something different.  I am continually awestruck by how little I know each time I learn something new. Each piece of food we pull from a backyard feels like a triumph, a victory.  It feels like we are regaining control of our spaces and inspiring others to do the same. And not simply because it is trendy or altruistic, but because it feels good.  It feels right.  

Here are some pictures of what we’ve been up to:

“talkin’ it over”

“step one”

“a little help”

“bad-ass”

“almost done”

“Green garlic for The Corner”

“Proud grower”

“Proud grower”

Will work for food

Volunteer Update

We’re gaining more sunlight everyday and with each new sunny moment we’re seeing great changes in our backyard farms.  These changes mean more work to make sure we can pull off great harvests for The Corner and Weird Fish, the restaurants we grow for.  More work means that we are in ever greater need for more hands.  Our volunteers have responded to those needs in numbers.  

This week Joel, Sierra, Tina, and Adrienne showed their lust for learning about food by getting dirty.  They donated a Friday to getting some plants and seeds in the ground at both of our current garden locations.  Blessed by a warm sunny day in the Mission we were able to get some of our seedlings in the ground. Throughout the day we planted head lettuce and scallions that we’d started from seed on our grow table.  After that

we got crazy with some direct seeding of arugula, tat-soi, kale, and mizuna.  While seeding doesn’t take all that long in a small backyard garden I had a great time showing people the ropes.  Beyond that, I was really grateful for all the help and good company.  Before long I reckon we’ll have some real black belt volunteers.  Thanks guys.  

Can we get a light?

While the sun sticks around a little longer now, we’ve been having some light issues on our light table in our grow room.  Our squash starts just have not seemed happy.  When a plant thinks winter is coming (i.e. when light decreases) it reacts by producing as much offspring (veggies in this case) as it can before the light is no longer enough to sustain the plant.  In controlled environments, one strictly controls the amount of light a plant receives in order to give the plant time to mature before it decides to produce fruit and ultimately die.  By systematically reducing the daily light cycle, we encourage the plant to “flower” and then “fruit”.  

In our case, our squash was flowering prematurely.  Which meant it thought death was immanent.  We had set our lights on a 12 hour time cycle to ensure that the plants had ample light to photosynthesize and grow large before we planted them outside.  But for some reason it wasn’t working.  Scratching our heads, we just couldn’t make sense of why our squash thought the end was nigh.  That is… until now.  

I donned a dunce cap the moment I realized, while laying in bed at 3am, that the master switch to the power was being turned off every night at 8:30 by our cleaning service at the restaurant.  This master switch includes our timer.  So regardless of what our timer decided to do, it was lights out every night at 8:30… no questions.  Some days our squash was getting a full day of “sun” and others it was getting maybe only 3-5 hours.   Now, with problem solved, we need to seed a new bunch of squash.  And now the death-row squash will be granted a pardon and set outside to start hardening off.   With any luck they’ll brought back to health.

I believe that Homer Simpson said it best when he said “Dooooough“!!  He knows as well as I do, its hard to sleep with a dunce cap on.  

Link of the week

This week I’ve decided to try something a bit out of the ordinary for us and suggest a link that is off the beaten path.  ”Fringe” Author Daniel Pinchbeck (2012: the return of Quetzalcoatl) writes mainly about altered consciousness and the point break of our political, social and environmental culture-wave but has also been known to wax poetic when it comes to sustainability.  While I will leave the research on his credentials up to the masses, I will advocate his very interesting blog www.realitysandwich.com.  In addition to his provoking ravings and rants about consciousness expansion, he has interesting views about the state of the environment and what we can do about it.  While he’s no Michael Pollan, his views about personal responsibility and urban farming are worth more than a mention.  Explore his blog and decide for yourself.  

Happy reading, 

David

Down and Dirty

Mud:

Exciting new things are always happening here at Amyitis. It seems that, with each week, we’re faced with a new challenge, a new experiment, and a new opportunity. Stepping back to admire the growth of this project is truly inspiring and motivational. This week we were inspired and motivated by the show of support we received from our volunteers. Joel, Sierra, and Dillon came out on Tuesday to help us with our biggest job yet; moving 8 cubic yards of soil mix into the new raised beds at one of our gardens. It was a tricky project with only the use of 5-gallon buckets and tarps to move all of that soil through a tight (and very clean) carriage house and two doorways.  Scheduling this project has been tricky as well. We have fully welcomed the much needed rain but it sure makes a muddy muddy mess out of a huge and heavy pile of planting mix. Trying to dance around volunteers schedules and make peace with the weather for long enough to get it done wasn’t easy but ended up working perfectly. We had to cancel the soil move a couple times before we just had to go for it. Even though it rained throughout the day, we were able to keep things dry enough to get the job done. And while we suspected that it would be really difficult without sufficient help, we now know that we couldn’t have done it without them.  As the pictures below will illustrate, we had a lot fun doing it too.

Now that our second garden is ready for planting, we’ll be able to start planting some of the seedlings we’ve had growing in our grow room. They are continuing to grow healthy and tall but it is clear that they are ready to spread out their roots. So far we’ve started five heirloom tomato varieties, lipstick peppers, red butter lettuce (MFS for those that care), calendula, Athena cucumbers, and several varieties of patty pan and flying saucer squash. It is also nearly time for some direct seeding now that we’re gaining considerable sunlight with each passing day. We’ve already moved some butter lettuce seedlings to a cold frame we built last week. In the coming week we’ll be making the plans for how to make the most productive use out of our new space.

Enjoy some of the pictures below from this week’s soil project as well as another peak at our grow table as it moves along.

Grow room
The crew

Whooah
The Destination
Almost there
Proud ladies
Dirty Dirty Dillon

Link of the week:

With the fear that I might spoil some grand surprise, I have been hesitant to announce a prideful secret: Amyitis is the subject of a documentary film now underway!  And yes, theyand their gear braved the rain to film us move all that soil.  Alex Beckstead and Joelle Jaffe of 4SP Films have started filming our trials and triumphs throughout a full growing season for the subject of their latest documentary.  Alex and Joelle most recently produced Paperback Dreams, the story of two independent Bay Area bookstores trying to make ends meet in the digital age.  Paperback dreams, which aired on PBS,  is a thoughtful and in depth film that is a perfect fit for anyone interested in the future of literacy and the ever burgeoning history of the San Francisco Bay area.  Paperback Dreams just might help inspire you to save your local bookstore as well as whet your chops for the in-depth look at the life of Amyitis.  Find out how to watch and buy the movie at www.paperbackdreams.com.  

We don’t know if they have a title yet or a release date, but you can be assured we’ll keep you posted.  We have some title ideas of our own, but we wouldn’t dare yet release such nuggets of gold.  

Happy Gardening, 

David

Wild Leeks

Last Friday, David and I broke ground, so to speak, at our newest garden in the Mission. Conveniently located within a few blocks of our first garden and the restaurants we supply, this space so far has been a dream. It is beautifully sunny, with easy access to water and supplies, and generous homeowners who kindly shared stories and delicious coffee as we went about our first day of work. 

The condition that we found the yard in on our first day was also uplifting. The realtors put down sod just before the house was sold, but then neglected to water it in between owners. So the grass died in the hot sun, leaving behind large strips of soil that effectively kept any weeds at bay and were very easy to remove and carted off to the compost pile. (We thought that we could salvage the grass but unfortunately discovered that it was a little too far gone.)

Perhaps most thrilling, was what we discovered sprouting up all around the graying patches of sod. What looked like sprouts of some particularly invasive grass that I was initially imagining battling all summer, turned out to be ramps; sweet and tender wild leeks. David and I were thrilled- in the northeast, where we are both from, these only appear but once a year, in the early spring, and are gathered in shady groves or along streams, or purchased for a hefty price at the farmers market. The yard was covered in them and, upon our discovery, we started walking gingerly around them, trying not to crush their greens. We harvested a few pounds, which is quite a lot considering their individual weight. We delivered most of them to Weird Fish for a dinner special, and brought the rest to our house for our own dinner. We sauteed them with King Trumpet mushrooms and white wine and served them over some locally made fresh pasta. It was quite a seasonal treat!

Look for them in the coming weeks in Weird Fish specials.

Jessie

Thanks Thanks Thanks

Thanksgiving: the seasonal holiday to end all seasonal holidays; the feast to fatten us for the long winter to come; the hard earned fruit of so many strenuous days of field work and labor, is upon us again.  And despite its associations with some less-than-enchanting traditional American habits of over consumption, excessive TV watching, and heavy drinking, it none the less remains my most favored holiday.  Not only is it my favorite because of its focus on humility and gratitude for bounty both gastronomic and familial, but for its unapologetic plunge into the copious delights of eating.  To put it otherwise, the Dionysian indulgence in a hedonistic love affair with that which sustains us. After all, this is a blog dedicated to creating local and sustainable FOOD!  In essence this is a journal about food itself.  And with all of the politics associated with each and everything that goes in and around our bodies, it is important the we remember that we are talking about food; tastes, smells, nutrients, vitamins, art; that from which all else is built upon.  What better thing to celebrate?  A celebration of food where careful thought and great pride is expressed to each component is elemental in the human experience. 

Through our relationship with Weird Fish and Boogaloos we are trying to create more awareness of seasonality.  By keeping a seasonal menu we can keep things local, fresh and interesting (something that fine dining has known for years).  Thanksgiving expresses the finest that the season has to offer. Traditional elements of a Thanksgiving meal (turkey, cranberries, potatoes, apples, onions, beans, and corn) reveal a true cross-section of seasonal foods from coast to coast.  This is a time to truly revel in the freshness and flavors of autumn.  Remember to support your local butcher and your local farmers when possible.  

This holiday is one of those times that drive my imagination back through our collective consciousness to a primal scene in a time when humans’ knowledge of their fate was indivisible from the fate of their crops.  I am reminded of a time when people knew their food.  While we are no less linked now that we were then, there is a vast separation of those simple yet vital relationships.  We thank everyone who is here to help close that gap.  

We send out a deep thank you to those that pioneer and evolve this food movement, to those that support and read this blog, to those who support our gardens, and to those that unfearingly are mending a tired system by creatively reviving time tested traditions.  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!

Link of the week:

This week I was lucky enough to be given a mention in the SF Chronicle regarding the garden project.  Although it was only a brief mention about the gardens, it is good to know that ears are open to what is happening in the Mission.  This is a prime time to get involved with what we are doing.  Please take part by spreading the word about Amyitis (pdavid.stockhausen@gmail.com, jessiealberts@gmail.com) if you know Mission District people that may be interested in joining our project. Happy reading!

SF Chronicle Article

Food not lawns

We’re happy to announce another garden in the Mission!!

 As word begins to spread about and what we are trying to do, Mission residents are hopping on board.  On Monday we officially gained generous access to another garden.  Although small we’re confident that we’ll be able to make a great use of this space.  In addition to being generally beautiful it already has some apple trees that can be restored to health.  The residents were excited and eager to support us and participate with our project.  We share their enthusiasm and they have our deepest gratitude for their generosity.  

Early next week we’ll start in on transforming this space into a super garden.  First we’ll be taking a stab at the sod to get at the earth below.  It is good for us that it is mostly dead. This should make removal a bit easier.  After we get down and dirty with the sod, we’ll have to send away that soil to ensure that it is healthy to grow in.  After that I’d like to invest in some perennial herbs to start planting back there so they get a good head start for spring.  In the mean time, I’ll be drawing up some plans of what the space might end up looking like.  My initial guess is that it will be a good space for growing peppers, squash and tomatoes in summer.  Next week I should be able to post more pics of our progress.  

Fungus among us:

It seems that we’ve got some fungal friends popping up at our other garden.  The combination of the recent rains and the full shade we’ve been getting back there has encouraged some growth of some pretty great looking mushrooms that look to me like they might be Agaricus Californicus. Unfortunately, I didn’t have my camera on me when I discovered them so I don’t have a photo.  If in fact they are Agaricus Californicus they are mildly poisonous and should not be eaten.  However, the good news is that it seems as though the garden will be a great habitat for some cultivated culinary mushrooms.  I plan to experiment with oyster and shitake mushrooms back there in the coming weeks.  We’ll keep you updated as to how that pans out.  

Link of the week:

This week I thought that I would mention Local Foods Wheel.

The local foods wheel is a really creative way to have consumers be conscious of what they are eating.  It is 12″ illustrated cardboard chart that informs Bay Area eaters what is in season when.  I think this is a great idea.  It is a really creative way to teach people to alter their palates with regards to seasonality.  Eating seasonally has many benefits that we know of not to mention many that, I am sure, await discovery.  Stay local, stay seasonal with the local foods wheel.  Check it out.  

Be well, 

David