Friday, April 15, 2011
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Farming is never finished
Ok, that phrase could mean a lot of things. but this morning it means to us that even though the season is wrapping up, and people ask if we're done farming, for some reason we still have a lot to do. I'm sure farming is a lot like other things, parenting comes to mind. Maybe if we hadn't bitten off more than we could chew, we'd be finished. But from the get go, we always wanted to offer people another option to join a winter CSA, and we're doing it. The share distributions begin a week from today, and will last until the first week in February. We don't have a lot of things to harvest yet, but we really should finish up with some projects before the next growing season rolls around. Our neighbors are building another large hoophouse, and we're thinking about getting one up next spring if we get a grant. Something tells me that our lives this winter won't have a farm-free week in them.
But we're getting to bed earlier, mostly because it gets dark, and my favorite part about fall is here: clasping a warm mug of coffee in my hands as I'm outside in the chilly air.
Last year we were reading some publication in British Columbia from small-scale farmers. I remember how a new farmer wrote about the challenges he faced, and the amount of work that farming required. He came to realize that farming is not a occupation, it's a way of life.
I guess any work that is so closely related to humans' most basic necessities probably isn't something you can just stop. People still need to eat, and I for one am excited to have our greenhouse filled with spinach this winter. If you know any farmers who are trying to do it in winter, give them a high five. They're probably tired of it, but since they like to eat food, and feed others, they are still going. Still going, still going, better get going.
But we're getting to bed earlier, mostly because it gets dark, and my favorite part about fall is here: clasping a warm mug of coffee in my hands as I'm outside in the chilly air.
Last year we were reading some publication in British Columbia from small-scale farmers. I remember how a new farmer wrote about the challenges he faced, and the amount of work that farming required. He came to realize that farming is not a occupation, it's a way of life.
I guess any work that is so closely related to humans' most basic necessities probably isn't something you can just stop. People still need to eat, and I for one am excited to have our greenhouse filled with spinach this winter. If you know any farmers who are trying to do it in winter, give them a high five. They're probably tired of it, but since they like to eat food, and feed others, they are still going. Still going, still going, better get going.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Gelato Fiasco Event
Some exciting news for food lovers: our tomatoes have risen to a whole new level: Bruno and the gang at the Gelato Fiasco in Brunswick created an heirloom tomato sorbetto with our tomatoes last week, and from the reports, it's pretty good (no surprise). We'll be doing it again this coming Thursday. Pete and Sarah will be at the Gelato Fiasco from 6 to 8 (pm, don't worry) on the 26th. Tomato sorbetto will be available, and some tomatoes for sale, as well. We'll be there to chat, take a break from the fields, and hopefully meet some of the folks as they sample our goods. If you're looking for a chance to try some gelato inspired by local ingredients, check it out.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Something smells so good...
Pete is cooking dinner for us tonight. Actually, he cooks pretty frequently. He's good that way. One of the main reasons we started this farm was to eat well. It's hard to do sometimes since we're so busy. When we go grocery shopping, we get some strange looks from folks at the register for only buying pounds and pounds of dry beans, pasta, rice, and a good 10 pounds of peanut butter at a time. We eat a lot of PB&J's, but have been trying to eat our produce as much as possible, since it's so delicious.
We have a few tomatoes. Heirlooms. Ripe, actually overripe.
We have garlic that we're pulling up every week to check to see if it's 'ripe'. I didn't think we'd have garlic, since we didn't get our land really until March. But spring was early, and we planted the first week of March, and even though our garlic is behind other people's, and a bit smaller, it's still the real thing, and delicious with our salsa, our masa tortillas, our garlic butter, and left over salad greens. They're so green, it's almost neon. Growing up in Alaska, I didn't know what real vegetables looked like until moving 'down south'. (to washington state).
I'm secretly glad to see so many of those tomatoes splitting open from overwatering. (I think that's what we did). We need to eat our produce, too. Unfortunately, many farmers in this country don't eat well. Granted, a lot of those farmers do it conventionally, and are monocropping, because the world of agriculture has changed so much in the last century, and no longer do farmers also grow their own food. This is a strange posting our our blog, but I think it's important to think about. How many farmers grow their own food in this country? We have to make it a point to eat as much of our own produce as we can, because we have a hard time finding the time to cook. But at least we're growing all of the things we would want to eat, and we're still growing some things just for our own consumption (dry beans). All of the flowers I'm growing are not for 'consumption' but unfortunately don't make it to market much for lack of time, but I am sooooooo glad I planted all of those flowers, because they make the farm just so much more beautiful. Really. And they smell good. Kinda like that dinner that Pete's finishing up.
Oh, one more thing. We got accepted into two winter markets: Bath and Gardiner we'll also be at this winter. Starting in November, we'll move inside. See you!
We have a few tomatoes. Heirlooms. Ripe, actually overripe.
We have garlic that we're pulling up every week to check to see if it's 'ripe'. I didn't think we'd have garlic, since we didn't get our land really until March. But spring was early, and we planted the first week of March, and even though our garlic is behind other people's, and a bit smaller, it's still the real thing, and delicious with our salsa, our masa tortillas, our garlic butter, and left over salad greens. They're so green, it's almost neon. Growing up in Alaska, I didn't know what real vegetables looked like until moving 'down south'. (to washington state).
I'm secretly glad to see so many of those tomatoes splitting open from overwatering. (I think that's what we did). We need to eat our produce, too. Unfortunately, many farmers in this country don't eat well. Granted, a lot of those farmers do it conventionally, and are monocropping, because the world of agriculture has changed so much in the last century, and no longer do farmers also grow their own food. This is a strange posting our our blog, but I think it's important to think about. How many farmers grow their own food in this country? We have to make it a point to eat as much of our own produce as we can, because we have a hard time finding the time to cook. But at least we're growing all of the things we would want to eat, and we're still growing some things just for our own consumption (dry beans). All of the flowers I'm growing are not for 'consumption' but unfortunately don't make it to market much for lack of time, but I am sooooooo glad I planted all of those flowers, because they make the farm just so much more beautiful. Really. And they smell good. Kinda like that dinner that Pete's finishing up.
Oh, one more thing. We got accepted into two winter markets: Bath and Gardiner we'll also be at this winter. Starting in November, we'll move inside. See you!
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