Farmer John Shares Bad News and Good News

Please return your Vegetable Boxes and Mesh Bags to your Delivery Site. This helps the farm out a lot!

Bad News

The Environmental Working Group examined the umbilical cord blood of children just as they emerged from the womb. They found 287 industrial chemicals, including pesticides, phthalates, dioxins, flame-retardants, Teflon, and toxic metals like mercury. And this was before these infants even entered the world!

The findings of the study above are bewilderingly grim. Where can we begin to undo this monumental tragedy? My beloved wife Haidy suffers immeasurably from Hashimoto’s, in which her immune system attacks her thyroid, creating a chain reaction of myriad other devastating health dysfunctions. This affliction has brought Haidy and me into the somber world of autoimmune disease, an epidemic afflicting perhaps 50 million Americans and likely hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Was she born with 287 industrial chemicals in the lifeline between herself and her mother? Is this our legacy as humans? How intelligent can the immune system be, when it is penetrated with myriad endocrine disrupters from before birth on?

Good News

Save the date Saturday, Sept 21, for our Farm Open House

Pumpkin picking and decorating; hay rides; cello performance; U-pick foraging; farm animal bonding…

Details in Week 14 Farm News 

Annual Fall Biodynamic Preparation Making at Zinniker Farm

Rudolf Steiner’s lectures on agriculture form the basis for Biodynamic Agriculture, which we practice at Angelic Organics. Steiner said that a task of human beings is to create remedies for the earth that nature cannot achieve on its own. Below is an invitation to an upcoming Biodynamic preparation-making workshop. If you are not familiar with Biodynamics, check out http://www.biodynamics.com/ especially if you are considering attending the prep-making workshop.

Steiner left a legacy vastly different from the legacy of 287 industrial chemicals in our children’s umbilical cords. He contributed to so many areas of life, including movement, painting, sculpture, education, economics, architecture, medicine, drama, philosophy, and agriculture.  Russell W. Davenport, former editor of Forbes Magazine, wrote in The Dignity of Man, “That the academic world has managed to dismiss Steiner’s works as inconsequential and irrelevant, is one of the intellectual wonders of the twentieth century. Anyone who is willing to study those vast works with an open mind (let us say, a hundred of his titles) will find himself faced with one of the greatest thinkers of all time, whose grasp of the modern sciences is equaled only by his profound learning in the ancient ones.” When she is able, my wife reads to me in her lovely voice each night from Steiner’s voluminous body of lectures and writings, the perfect way to enter into the world of sleep.

The announcement below was submitted by Cheryl Henley, Angelic Organics shareholder and delivery site host.

From: email hidden; JavaScript is required

We would like to invite you to our annual Fall Preparation making Festival.

When: September 28, 2013 at 1:30pm

Where: at the Zinniker Farm (address below)

What: This a hands-on learning experience, make biodynamic preparations, meeting people and celebrating the fall season.

We will fill and stuff several different preparations and bury them in the soil. This work afternoon is followed by a potluck and a bonfire.

Please dress for the weather. Wear clothes that can get dirty and solid foot wear.

Please bring a dish to pass. No RSVP necessary. Hope to see you there.

Mark and Petra Zinniker

Zinniker Family Farm

N 7399 Bowers Rd

Elkhorn, WI 53121

262-642-5775

email hidden; JavaScript is required

www.zinnikerfarm.com

More Good News

Chicago Premiere of Symphony of the Soil at Facets Cinémathèque

Symphony of the Soil opens Friday, October 4 and runs through Thursday, October 10 at Facets Cinémathèque

Director Deborah Koons Garcia will be present for a Q&A post screening on Friday (10/4), Saturday (10/5) and Sunday (10/6) evening programs.

Symphony of the Soil is a new feature-length documentary from Deborah Koons Garcia (The Future of Food) that explores the complexity and mystery of soil. Filmed on four continents and sharing the voices of some of the world’s most highly esteemed soil scientists, farmers, and activists, the film portrays soil as a protagonist of our planetary story. In a skillful mix of art and science, soil is revealed to be a living organism, the foundation of life on earth. Most people are soil-blind and “treat soil like dirt.” With the knowledge and wisdom revealed in this film, we can come to respect, even revere, this miraculous substance. The film inspires the understanding that treating the soil right can help solve some of our most pressing environmental problems, from climate change, to dead zones, to feeding an ever increasing world population.

Advance tickets available from the Facets Cinémathèque:

http://www.facets.org/pages/cinematheque/films/oct2013/symphony.php

Are you a Gmail user? 

Here’s a heads-up about Gmail’s new feature of automatically filtering your email messages for you. Messages we send to you through Gmail are probably being marked as “Promotions” and will automatically skip your inbox — even when we send you original, content filled articles or information about our farm and your shares. That means that you won’t see any email from us in your main inbox UNLESS you adjust your gmail settings! It is super easy to make sure that emails we send don’t get missed. Drag one of our emails that you find in the “Promotions” tab to the “Primary” tab. Or right click on one of the messages and request that it be moved to the Primary tab. Then make sure you click “Yes” when the alert pops up. Done!

The Weather This Past Week

Hot, then cool, then rain.

The Crops

Peppers, eggplant, heirloom tomatoes and basil are nearing the end. Cool weather crops are flourishing, such as lettuce, baby greens, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and spinach.

The Crew

Shareholders Write

The family has enjoyed these bi-weekly boxes, glad I heard about you.

~Kyle

Hello Farmer John, Shelly and all of the Crew

I just wanted to write you a quick note and tell you how beautiful the box was these past few weeks, and I really appreciate the great variety of veggies in the boxes.  We have especially been devouring the melons.  Everything is so delicious and fresh-thank you, as always, for feeding us…I would ideally like to receive veges as long as possible.  Actually, I would like to move my family right onto the farm, but I will take being a shareholder for now!

Thanks again-we love you guys.

~Paula

Hi Shelly, Farmer John & Angelic,

I am a current CSA member receiving fruit and vegetables and have to say Angelic goes above and beyond.  Your produce is delicious!  Thank you for a great year.  I love the addition of Local Thyme.  It makes meal planning that much easier.

~Christine Mitchell

Thanks for all the hard work you guys do, my husband and I love our veggie boxes. It is always such a treat to find out what delicious goodies are in there each time.

Best,

~Kristen Goodfellow

Thank you for another year of beautiful, delicious vegetables! Our entire family is so pleased to be sharing in the farm’s bounty — from the 2 adults to the 4 year old and 8 month old: We love our veggies!

~Christina (and Dave, Keira, & Collin)

Upcoming at the Angelic Organics Learning Center

Putting Permaculture Principles into Practice 

Come to Angelic Organics Learning Center on October 19^th from 1p.m. to 5:30p.m. and take a deep dive into the principles and practices of Permaculture, a method for designing sustainable human landscapes using the patterns of nature. After a rich discussion about permaculture ideas and ethics, we’ll put theory into practice through hands-on exercises and projects. You’ll leave with inspiration and new skills for your home and garden. Beginners and practitioners are welcome. Taught by Judy Speer of Small Waters Education Center and on-farm educator Randy Mermel.  Register on the Learning Center’s website:  www.learngrowconnect.org $60

Please Note: this summary is written before you receive your box—please be aware that some guesswork is involved. As always, be sure to thoroughly wash all of your vegetables.

Salad Greens – Lettuce, Arugula

Brassicas – Broccoli, Cauliflower or Cabbage

Fruiting Crops – Heirloom Tomatoes, Acorn Squash, Delicata Squash, Maybe a Sweet Pepper or Eggplant

Root Crops – Potatoes, Carrots

Herbs – Parsley

Alliums – Onions