This fall’s two acres of beet were a huge success, but my point of view is biased seeing how it is my responsibility to seed, water and help keep bugs and weeds from harming all the crops on our 240-acre organic farm. The reality is that the beginning of this crop’s life was quite dramatic.
Published: November, 2006
A beet in the field does not look like a beet at all. Just the very top of the root shows, which makes judging the size difficult. And then, there are the leaves that stretch out from the root, which, like battle flags, show the signs of their fight.
The population of moths living in the neighbor’s alfalfa field saw our young beets as an ideal location to lay their eggs. I was worried that the sudden infestation of hundreds of thousands of little moth worms would clear cut the entire field before a single beet could mature. Reaching into our limited arsenal of organic insecticides, we were able to ease the pressure from the worms enough to turn the tides in favor of the beets – victory! The plants are now healthy and ready to make a hearty fall meal, but the remaining bug bite holes in the leaves tell the story of the crop’s early toil.
The harsh reality of our nation’s food distribution system is that the moths may have sentenced my farm’s beet crop to going to seed in the field without ever being given the opportunity to take center stage on your plate. The damage on the leaves is purely cosmetic, but it’s enough to get the whole plant rejected by wholesale buyers. The argument that most people don’t eat the leaves, and the part that they do eat is perfect, generally, doesn’t work – we have tried it. The other reality is that the organic division of some huge corporate factory farm has a field, larger than my entire farm, filled with beets attached to perfect leaves, for a cheaper price.
Despite the reaction from our wholesale customers and the price of our competitor’s product, our crew will be making their first harvest through the field as they hone their skills at judging the size of the beets before plucking them from the ground. Like many small family farms, we have secured a market for our product that can bypass the moody wholesale buyers and sell directly to customers. This is the best way to distribute our handcrafted works of art to people who care about the quality of food they eat and the procedure in which the food is grown.
Warm Beet Salad
One bunch beets
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Cut leaves and root tip from the beet
Boil beet roots until tender
Remove from water, let cool
Peel the skin and cut the beets into slices or cubes
Dress with oil and vinegar, salt and pepper to taste
Serve warm or cold
Thaddeus Barsotti is a second generation organic farmer, and an owner of Capay Organic, a 240 organic farm in the Capay Valley, which was started in 1976. Farm Fresh to You is his organic produce delivery service that serves 2,000 customers in the Bay Area. Capay Organic and Farm Fresh to You retail stores can be found in San Francisco’s Ferry Building. Thaddeus welcomes your comments. Thaddeus17@gmail.com . www.farmfreshtoyou.com
