tomatoes vs squirrels

Tomatoes vs Squirrels and Other Garden Foes

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Spoiler Alert: The squirrels won

A Seasonal Roots staffer tells her story:

This is a story of tomatoes vs squirrels. It’s a sad story. But it has a suprise happy ending, so read on!

I grew up eating fresh-from-the-garden tomatoes. Biting into that sun-filled explosion of fully ripened flavor was one of the great joys of my childhood summers. So delicious!

But then I grew up and life got busy. I tried to keep a garden going but, you know — kids, work, traveling for work… I stopped gardening for a long time. At the grocery store, I’d always try to find the best tomatoes I could, but those homegrown, vine-ripened tomatoes of my youth had ruined me. Grocery store tomatoes looked beautiful but they just tasted like pale imitations of the real thing.

So I finally got back to gardening several years ago. I turned the soil, added compost, planted my seedlings, watered, and nutured. The tomato blossoms came, then the first hard green fruits that slowly grew bigger and began to turn a teasing shade of almost-red. I could practically taste them. Little did I know.

The squirrels were lying in wait.

Not just any squirrels. These were greedy squirrels. Ferocious squirrels. Greedy, ferocious, tomato-loving monster squirrels. And cruel! Sometimes they’d spot a tomato when it was about two seconds shy of being fully ripe and take a big bite out of it. But just one bite. Just enough to spoil it for anyone else. Other times they’d carry off their booty and leave a mangled, blood-red mess of a veggie massacre. They’d sit up in the trees and laugh.

I tried netting. More netting. Netting on top of netting. So much netting that I’d wind up tangled in it like a mummy. But not the squirrels. They came and went in that netted fortress like it had a revolving door.

I tried putting the fear of fake owls in them. They knew no fear. Even my three dogs got nothing for their squirrel-chasing efforts but a scolding from the fearless tomato bandits.

I should have put up a marquee over my garden and sold tickets: BIG FIGHT TONIGHT! TOMATOES VS SQUIRRELS! And don’t get me started on slugs, kale-devouring caterpillars, those worms that rot your squashes just before they’re ripe… my gardening Enemies List is long.

But now that I’m with Seasonal Roots, all my gardening woes are solved. When tomatoes are in season, whether they come from the field or the greenhouse, I get to enjoy that mouthwatering burst of vine-ripened tomato goodness with every order. Yum.

As for the squirrels, they’re now raiding the bird feeder. But that’s another story.

Leslie
Seasonal Roots Marketing Maven

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our neighborhood market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

Summer Mocktails or Cocktails

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Summer Mocktail or Cocktail Recipes!

It’s hard to beat a cold refreshing drink while enjoying the great outdoors this Memorial Day — or any day! Whether you’re at the beach soaking up some rays or just kicking back on the patio, you’ve got to try these yummy drink recipes. They’re fun, fresh, and actually pretty healthy, whether you serve them as mocktails or cocktails, because they start with super fresh local produce.

Strawberry Cooler Recipe

Ingredients: 

  • 3 cups water
  • 5 cups sliced fresh strawberries
  • 3/4 to 1 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
  • 1 cup ginger ale
  • crushed ice
  • additional strawberries, optional

Directions: 

  1. In a blender, process the water, sliced strawberries, sugar, lemon juice, and zest in batches until smooth.
  2. Strain the berry seeds if desired.
  3. Pour mixture into a pitcher; stir in the ginger ale.
  4. Serve in chilled glasses over ice. Garnish with strawberries and enjoy. Or add vodka for a refreshing cocktail.

 

The Green Giant: A Garden-Fresh Cocktail With Peas

Peas?! Yeah, seriously, you have to try this refreshing green cocktail. It’s perfect for spring!

Ingredients: 

  • 2 ounces vodka
  • 4 sugar snap peas
  • 1 sprig tarragon
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
  • 3/4 ounce honey

Directions:

  1. Muddle 4 sugar snap peas, 10 to 12 tarragon leaves, and honey in a cocktail shaker.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and shake with ice.
  3. Strain into an old-fashioned glass over crushed ice.
  4. Garnish with two sugar snap peas.

 

Celery Cup No. 1

Ingredients: 

  • 2-inch piece celery stalk
  • 1-inch slice cucumber (fresh, English)
  • 1/4 cup cilantro (fresh)
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce vodka
  • 1-1/2 ounces cucumber vodka
  • 3/4 ounce agave nectar

Directions: 

  1. In a mixing glass, muddle the cucumber, celery, cilantro, and lemon juice into a pulp.
  2. Add the vodka and agave nectar.
  3. Cover in ice and shake hard for 10 seconds.
  4. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice and garnish with a piece of celery.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

 

Strawberry Mojito

This delicious and refreshing cocktail is perfect for a sunny day, or it can even cheer up a cloudy day.

Ingredients: 

  • 1 lime
  • 5 strawberries
  • 1 sprig mint
  • 1 teaspoon white sugar
  • 2 ounces white rum
  • 2 to 3 ounces club soda
  • strawberry, garnish
  • sprig of mint, garnish
  • lime wedge, garnish

Directions:

  1. Cut the lime in half, then cut each half into three or four wedges. Remove the stems and slice the strawberries. Pull six to eight leaves from a sprig of mint, leaving the top intact for a garnish.
  2. In a tall glass, add 3 to 4 lime wedges, the sliced strawberries, and individual mint leaves. Top with the sugar.
  3. Muddle well to mash the fruit and dissolve the sugar.
  4. Fill the glass with crushed ice and add the rum.
  5. Stir well to integrate the fruit and mint into the ice. Top with soda.
  6. Garnish with a strawberry, lime wedge, and sprig of mint. Serve and enjoy!

Credit: thespruceeats.com & tasteofhome.com

Donation List from Teacher Appreciation Week

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Donation Announcement and Other Shout Outs! 

This year, teachers have had to adapt to constant change. And now that teachers are in the final year-end sprint, we know they’re still doing it every day. We so love our teachers! So in early May, we organized a drawing for three lucky teachers to win a free membership to Seasonal Roots (usually $50) and a $100 credit toward fresh veggies, fruits, dairy, eggs, meat and more from Seasonal Roots.

Knowing how much teachers care about kids, we also asked them to nominate their favorite kid-related cause to receive a Seasonal Roots donation. After randomly selecting our three teacher winners, we randomly selected one of the teacher-approved organizations.

And the winner is:
REACH OUT & READ VIRGINIA!!!

We’re excited to donate and support their great work! Reach Out & Read Virginia believes all families should have the tools and information they need to make reading aloud a daily routine. They help integrate reading into pediatric practices, advise families about the importance of reading with their children, and share books that serve as a catalyst for healthy childhood development.

Check out all these worthy charities that were nominated by our local teachers!

Other causes that teachers care about:

  • Youth civic engagement
  • Child trafficking
  • Youth sports coaching
  • Ending childhood obesity

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

Teacher Appreciation Week starts May 3rd!

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It’s Teacher Appreciation Week!

Wow, do we need to send some extra love to our teachers this year! The Seasonal Roots community feels so connected with teachers. Among our team members and customers, many of us in the Seasonal Roots family are teachers. And many of us are parents with kids in the “classroom” — in all the forms that it took this year.

The past year has posed unending challenges for all of us – especially our teachers.

To respond to the shifting safety protocols, teachers had to…

  1. Change their curriculum weekly (if not daily… or hourly.)
  2. Teach and motivate students online and in the classroom (often at the same time.)
  3. Look out for, and advocate for, students facing extra family challenges because of the pandemic.
  4. Deal with the realities of periodic COVID cases or exposures involving themselves, loved ones, and extended school family.
  5. Technology challenges and hiccups every day!

What a year it has been. So during this Teacher Appreciation Week we want to send some extra recognition and thanks your way.

We’re giving away 3 local food prizes worth $150 each for 3 deserving winners, who will be selected in a random drawing on May 6. Winners will need to live in our delivery area. https://www.seasonalroots.com/delivery-areas

We’ll also be donating to a cause that helps children. Which cause? We’ll let you teachers guide us.

Any teacher is welcome to enter the drawing. When you enter, be sure to nominate your favorite kid-related cause to receive our donation. We’ll pick one and also highlight them all to raise awareness.

Be sure to enter before noon on May 6!

 

Click here to enter the drawing!

Many, many thanks for all you do!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

free home delivery

It’s national Tell-a-Story Day: “Local food to the rescue!”

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Hey, gather ’round – today is national “Tell a Story” Day! Do you have a local food story? Like the first time your kids tasted truly fresh green beans? Or that hilariously ugly potato that was shockingly delish? Spin your yarn on our Facebook page, and feel free to illustrate with pix! To kick things off, Faye tells her story about the time she broke her leg… and yes, it actually does wind up being all about local food!  – The Veggie Fairy Editor

Once upon a time: A member tells her story

– By Faye D, Seasonal Roots member

A few years ago, I broke my leg. For two weeks I couldn’t put any weight on it at all and for eight weeks I was dependent on a wheelchair, a walker, crutches, and finally a cane. Needless to say I couldn’t cook or buy groceries.

Although my husband is not comfortable in the kitchen and only a little more comfortable in a grocery store, he did pitch in to do his best at cooking and the shopping. Still, it was a very difficult time for us both.

Online ordering with free home delivery saves the day

The best thing ever was that just before the accident I had signed up for Seasonal Roots. (In fact, I took that photo of my first home-delivered box of local food.)

What a life-saver! It was easy for me to go online and order the vegetables we needed. They always arrived on time, fresh and plenty to last the entire week. That was something I could count on.

The icing on top: Vegan options

Because we both follow a vegan diet, vegetables are a central and necessary part of our diet, and because of Seasonal Roots having good fresh vegetables to eat, that was one thing I didn’t have to worry about. I loved that. My husband loved getting his favorite vegan cinnamon buns!

This all happened back in the before-covid time. So one of Seasonal Roots’ market managers, Margo, even brought the box in for me and put it in the kitchen since I was still using a cane at that point. Thanks, Seasonal Roots…

THE END (sort of)

Vegan options, free home delivery, and lots of TLC will never end!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our market managers – who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

New Alerts on Delivery Day – Customer Announcement

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Exciting News!

Beginning the week of April 26th, you can now receive text notifications to keep you updated in real time regarding your weekly Seasonal Roots delivery.

On weeks you place an order, you’ll receive three delivery update texts:

Text 1: “Track your Order from Seasonal Roots”
This text is sent the day before your delivery and includes a link that allows you to conveniently track your order on delivery day.

Text 2: “On the Way”
On delivery day, this text will let you know when your address is the next stop in your Market Manager’s route.

Text 3: “Review Your Order”
This text will confirm that your order is on your doorstep or in your cooler and ready to bring in and enjoy. You’ll also receive the opportunity to provide feedback on your experience.

We hope that these updates help make your weekly Seasonal Roots delivery experience even better!

Please note, the CIGO text notifications you will receive are automatically sent from an unmonitored account. As such, please do not reply directly to the text as it will not be received. Instead, email your Market Manager directly, or our team at support@seasonalroots.com and we would be happy to assist.

Don’t want to receive the texts? No problem! You can opt out by following these steps:

1. Log in to your Seasonal Roots account.
2. Hover over the purple gear icon in the top right hand corner of the page, and click on “Account”.
3. Scroll down to the bottom of the page, and uncheck the box next to “Send me texts with updates about my Seasonal Roots order”.
4. Click the green box that says “Save Changes”.

Note: You can always update your account settings if you do want to receive text notifications.

Karla Robinson from Seasonal Roots Team, Discusses Healthy Eating, Immunity on “Coast Live” TV Show

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On April 19, people all across Hampton Roads got a healthy slice of Seasonal Roots.

That’s because our very own Karla Robinson, Director of Teams at Seasonal Roots in Hampton Roads, appeared on Coast Live, the popular lifestyle TV show on WTKR NewsChannel 3 (CBS news outlet in the Norfolk/Va Beach area).

Karla chatted about the variety of healthy local produce and artisan goods we offer to customers in Virginia and Maryland. She also discussed the importance of healthy eating to boost immunity, fun smoothie ideas and more.

Click here to watch Karla’s Seasonal Roots interview

 

In honor of Earth Day, you can use

Promo code EARTHDAY

to join for just $25 (that’s half off). Be sure to join before May 1st to take advantage of this promotion.

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

fresh produce

Eating Local Helps Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

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Eating local helps reduce your carbon footprint. Local food doesn’t travel as far as most food you find in the grocery store.

Compared to the global industrial food complex, food from local farmers and artisans uses less fuel and produces less CO2 – 17 times less! So local food belches fewer greenhouse gasses and fights global warming.

Supporting local farmers also saves nearby farms from getting paved over and developed. That’s especially helpful when you’re saving small family farms, because they farm differently from factory farms.

Factory farms plant miles and miles of monocrops. That’s unnatural, and it forces them to fight nature with more pesticides and artificial fertilizers.

Our family farmers use sustainable methods that work with nature. Sustainable methods create healthy ecosystems that are good for the soil, water, and air – a rich patchwork of fields, meadows, woods, and ponds. That kind of greenspace actually takes carbon out of the atmosphere. Plus it’s the perfect habitat for wildlife.

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

Spring Celebrations

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Spring Activities While Staying Socially Distant

After the year everyone has had: working from home, missing family and friends, and the “new normal” brought on by the pandemic, Spring could not be here soon enough. The time has finally come for friends and family can enjoy the sunshine. Groups that have already been vaccinated have been given the green light to gather without masks. Many families are finally are enjoying time with grandparents and family members that feels so overdue.

With the weather so beautiful, it is easier and more enjoyable to host events outside, while still following social distance protocols. So important after feeling cooped up in the house for what feels like forever! With another round of graduations drawing near, this is the perfect time to start planning some fun get togethers. And with the vaccine distribution expanding, it’s starting to look like we’ll have a more “normal” spring than expected. But with a year of little to no socializing with friends and family, what will your first get together look like?

Plan a Community BBQ! 

A great way to get out of the house without having to go too far is to plan a Community BBQ! Use your homeowners’s association or neighborhood FB group and plan an afternoon where everyone can set up a grill or picnic in their front yard. Use some fresh produce from your Seasonal Roots basket like some fresh strawberries for a fresh snack or use some of our organic greens to make a delicious fresh Spring Salad. If you decide to grill, you can even use some of the local protein options from the extras section of our online farmers market. There’s nothing better after a year of quarantine and our “new normal” than a sunny day outside spent with family and friends.

Neighborhood Happy Hour

You can schedule a neighborhood happy hour to celebrate the warm weather. Schedule an evening one weekend for all the adults to enjoy a cocktail or two together. If you need some drink recipe inspiration, check out our blog with some delicious recipes! You can even include the kids by making homemade popsicles with fresh fruits and juice from your Seasonal Roots basket!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.

organic vs sustainable humane

Which one is organic?

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Here’s an easy way to find out if your food is good for you and the planet

– By the Veggie Fairy Team:

Which image do you think shows an organic egg-producing farm approved by the USDA?

The top image is from a multi-generational family farmstead in the rolling hills outside Richmond, Va. Their hens spend their days in open pastures, foraging and engaging in natural behaviors like dust baths and flying short distances.

The bottom image is from a complex of 9 big barns crowded with 1.6 million hens up in Michigan. The closest those hens come to being outside is in a “porch” attached to their barn that’s screened on one side.

So which operation has been certified organic by the USDA? If you guessed the top one, you’d be wrong.

Most of us would assume that a label that says “organic” would be the easiest way to make sure you’re getting the best food for your money. Completely understandable! But that’s just not the case.

Herbruck Poultry Ranch in Saranac, Michigan, (the bottom image), is USDA organic and was featured recently in The Washington Post. The article explains how big, industrial farming operations like Herbruck are using the government’s official organic certification process to their advantage.

At Avery’s Branch Farms in the rolling hills of Amelia Court House, Va., (the top image), the Alexander family live and work there alongside their chickens, turkeys, ducks, pigs, and cows, using sustainable, pasture-based farming methods to produce nutritious, delicious food.

Pasture-based: The real gold standard

The Alexanders and their animals live close to the land. In the woodlands, the pigs root around for acorns and other piggy goodies the way they were meant to. Out in the pastures, the cows graze on a diverse mixture of grasses, their natural diet. During daylight hours, the flocks forage in the pastures, too, under the watchful eyes of the family’s Great Pyrenees guard dogs, who protect them from predators. At night, the birds nest safely inside their hen houses.

By the way, those hen houses are on wheels so they can be moved from pasture to pasture, following behind the cows. The hens’ low-stress, healthy, natural lifestyle is great for the girls… and their eggs, which are much more nutritious and flavorful than commercial factory-farmed eggs.

For example, their pastured eggs are up to twice as rich in vitamin E, and two to six times richer in beta-carotene! You can see it for yourself in the egg yolks. Crack an egg from a pasture-raised hen into a pan and then next to it crack an egg from any other kind of hen — conventional or so-called free-range or cage-free, organic or not. The pastured egg will be a deeper, brighter yellow. The others? Much paler.

(Discover the difference between pastured eggs vs cage-free, free-range and organic eggs — there’s no contest!!!)

The Alexanders’ animals are raised from start to finish on lush pasture. They’re fed no hormones, antibiotics, or synthetic chemicals. This is the old school definition of organic, before Big Industrial Agriculture got hold of it. Not only does the old-fashioned way produce more nutritious food, it’s also much more humane for the animals and better for the environment — the farmer is working with nature instead of against it.

“It’s our goal to provide the community with the most nourishing products possible, while also protecting the land,” the Alexanders explain. “We have never used any chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides on our farm.”

So how can you know if your food is genuinely good for you and the planet?

Okay, so the organic label is no guarantee. Cracking open eggs and comparing them is eye-opening, but you waste a lot of eggs that way.

The best way to find out if your food is any good is to get to know each farmer and food artisan who produces the things you eat. That sounds hard and time-consuming, and it is if you do it yourself. But it’s easy if you have someone you can trust to do it for you.

At Seasonal Roots, that someone is Sam, our Farmer Connector, backed up by Duane, our founder and Head Veggie Fairy. Sam researches and gets to know everyone who makes the food we home-deliver to our members, including the Alexanders. You can get to know them, too. Next to every item on our menu is a small image of the farmer or food artisan who provided it. Click on that image, and you can read their story and find out what you need to know.

Eating fresh local food from people you know and trust is the easiest way to live your values — whether that’s a healthy diet, a low carbon footprint, supporting local farmers and your local community, protecting the local environment… or all of the above. As a Seasonal Roots member, you’re supporting sustainable local agriculture and making a difference for yourself, our community, and the planet!

ABOUT SEASONAL ROOTS

Since 2011, Seasonal Roots’ online farmers market has connected Virginia families with local family farmers who use sustainable, humane practices. Our veggie fairies – mostly moms who believe in living better through scrumptious, healthy eating, being kind to animals, protecting the environment, and spreading joy – home-deliver freshly harvested produce, pastured eggs, grassfed dairy and meat, plus artisan fare. We empower our members to eat better and live better with more nutritious, flavorful food that’s good for us and good for the planet. More info at seasonalroots.com.