Smells, Scents and Aromas
When we drive by the neighbors’ dairy farms, my kids will often turn up their noses and comment on the smell. I remind them of my Dad’s saying, “that’s the smell of money” which of course is lost on them. But for me, those smells are an important touchstone both on the farm and of the “economy” around me. While our eyes can tell us a lot, its often the other unappreciated senses that tell a more complete story than our eyes can discern.
Today, neighbor Tom is running the tractor and chopper, making sure that all the weeds are cut before they can flower and create seed heads, along with getting pastures ready for chickens. The job creates not only clean looking pastures and field-drives, but imbues the air with a smell of green. My high school classmate Glenn Nelson wondered why they didn’t make perfume with the same fresh-cut hay smell. I’m not sure I’d dab it behind my ears, but would certainly purchase an air freshner so scented.
When Farmer Paul tills a field, there is a musty earthy smell that fills the air behind the plow. He says its actually caused by the bacteria Actinomycetes, a type of filamentous bacteria that grows in soil, releasing spores and scents when turned or rained upon.
The scent of the neighbors’ cowyards and manure is an indication that rain is in the near forecast. And while it sounds like something old people talk about after church, the science is such that the low barometric pressure keeps aroma/smells closer to the ground, thus allowing me to smell the barnyards. Plants release their waste in a low pressure atmosphere, while swamps release gases, all generating a smell indicating an upcoming rain. Those same old people at church will remind you that “Flowers smell best just before a rain
There are times whenmy nose warns me of danger as well. Driving through some parts of the Fox Valley, I’m assailed with a sulphur smell that becomes almost a taste, indicating the papermill smokestacks are in full swing. And stepping onto a soccer pitch to watch a game, I’m easily warned of lawn toxins recently applied to control weeds and keep the field lush and beautiful. A springbreak drive past a large livestock confinement operation in Oklahoma brought home the scent message of how a majority of this country’s meat is raised. It helped remind our fast food companions that most burgers start out with an unhealthy stench.
This week on the farm it’s a good week for smells. Tom on the chopper, Holly and the crew smell like tomatoes as they prune and trellis in the hoophouses (another smell my friend Jack thinks should be a perfume) and the scents that come from the packshed as Adrianne and the crew harvest and clean the green garlic and scallions. Take time this week to use your nose. Bury it deep into each item as you unpack your CSA share. Inhale the fresh smell of even the frozen strawberries and the roasted red peppers. Add the sense of smell to your eating this week. And enjoy.
What’s Good to Eat
This week’s box:
- Lettuce Extravaganza
Oakleaf
Green leaf
Red leaf - Spinach
- Arugula
- Yellow Frilly Mustard
- Asparagus
- Hakuri Turnips
- Scallions
- Green Garlic
- Celeriac
- Frozen Red Peppers
- Frozen Strawberries
CSA Produce Pictures and Labels – 051512 CSA pictures