Finding Turtle Farm

For seventeen years Angela Tedesco was the owner and operator of Turtle Farm. A founding member of the Iowa Network for Community Agriculture, she has served on the board of Practical Farmers of Iowa and was a contributor to Teresa Opheim’s book The Future of Family Farms: Practical Farmers’ Legacy Letter Project. Prior to her career as a farmer she worked in research laboratories and was director of religious education at the First Unitarian Church in Des Moines. Now retired, she lives in Johnston, Iowa.

• ContentsIntroduction: A Delicious RevolutionPart I. Planting1. Reaping the Harvest2. Finding Turtle Farm3. Food As Sacred4. The Support Network5. Finding Community6. The “O” Word7. Waiting Out the Storm8. The Wisdom of Biodiversity9. That Bug on Your Plate10. The Healing Path of NatureEpilogue: Land TransferPart II. HarvestThe Stars and How to Make Them ShineThe April CSA BoxAsparagusGreen GarlicWild DandelionsNettlesGarlic MustardThe May CSA BoxArugulaBok ChoyCilantroKaleKohlrabiMustard GreensLettucesRadishesSpring turnipsSpinachThe June CSA BoxBroccoliCabbageCucumbersGarlic ScapesPeasRaspberriesScallionsSummer SquashSwiss ChardStrawberriesThe July CSA BoxGreen BeansBeetsCarrotsCollardsGarlicPurslanePotatoesOnionsThe August CSA BoxBasilEggplantPeppersOkraTomatoesThe September CSA BoxBroccoliLeeksRadish (daikon)Soybeans (edamame)Sweet PotatoesWinter SquashThe October CSA BoxBrussels SproutsShallotsAcknowledgmentsHow to Get the Most Out of Your CSA

"In this era of weather whiplash called climate change, Angela Tedesco provides us a clear path forward. Through vivid storytelling and keen observation, she details the joys and the challenges of the Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) farmer, who harvests an amazing bounty of food from tiny seeds. After reading this book, you'll want to strengthen your commitment to those who grow healthy food, build the soil, and care for creation."-Teresa Opheim, director, Climate Land Leaders, and initial Turtle Farm CSA subscriber "From locating land to finding customers, planting, harvesting, and educating others, Angela Tedesco details the intricately complicated process of starting and maintaining a small farm in our world of corporate agriculture. She became a pioneer in the CSA movement, a woman who built a new horticultural model, learned to start a business while she nurtured the land, became an expert in organics, and broke free from our conventional food system. In Finding Turtle Farm, you’ll embark on a journey of a naturalist, a visionary, who calls in the sacred and delights the palette with her recipes. On each page Tedesco shows us how to stop, reflect, and heal ourselves and the planet through every bite we take."-Mary Swander, author of The Maverick M.D.: Nicholas Gonzalez and His Fight for a New Cancer Treatment"In Finding Turtle Farm, Angela Tedesco, a CSA pioneer in Iowa, conveys her journey from graduate school to a second career as an organic farmer. She shares information, wit, and stories that capture why farming is about so much more than growing food, illustrating the importance of being connected to your food and the farmers who grow it."-Sally Worley, executive director, Practical Farmers of Iowa "At the heart of Finding Turtle Farm is an essential gift: the opportunity to see a woman shaped by the sacredness of the land she nurtures and the community she feeds. As Angela Tedesco details the diversity of life she supports on her farm, a delicious revolution unfolds. Readers understand a fundamental truth-the health and vitality of food and nature and humans are interwoven as one. An inspirational blueprint for the land that feeds us, this book will motivate you to source your food from community-based, regenerative-organic farms as well as provide you with information on how to prepare it. And, just maybe, you’ll get bitten by the growing bug too!"-Atina Diffley, author of Turn Here Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works   "Finding Turtle Farm is a beautiful memoir of food, farming, and one woman who deeply connected with the importance of what goes on our plate, why, and how. "-New Books Network