The Power of Purple: Visiting Crooked Sky Farm

While the color purple may be a rare sight in nature, it was wonderfully overwhelming when Sara and I visited Farmer Frank at Crooked Sky Farms recently.

For those who have never been, or maybe it has been a few years, the farm is like an oasis in an encircling industrial land. Over the years, more and more industry has crowded the area, but you soon forget about it all once you are immersed in a sea of green…and purple? Yes, purple!

Depending on your perspective, the color purple has long been associated with royalty, spirituality, wisdom, wealth, pride, and/or creativity. Like magic, it combines the calm coolness of blue with the fiery energy of red.

When it comes to our food, the color purple is sought after for its health benefits – from higher levels of antioxidants and nutritional components to its psychological ability to lift our mood and know we are doing good for our bodies.

Fortunately, you will not need to look farther than your Tucson CSA share to find these vibrant naturally occurring purple sensations. You may have already notice purple tones in some of your broccolini or the purple mustard or choy greens.

What is coming up next…purple cabbage, maybe a purple cauliflower, beets, purple carrots, colorful chard, and before we know it, maybe even some tomatoes with purple hues to give you that boost you may need. Tomatoes starts have been transplanted into the fields just this past week. Which means that this lush land will continue to transition into its next season and provide all of us with healthy, delicious, and, yes, even purple foods.

By Daniela Diamente