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Winter Update

February 21, 2019 By Megan Allen

Except for a week in November and a week in January, we have had quite a warm winter, a very wet warm winter. It has been great growing weather, the type of weather we wish we had in the spring and fall, the type of weather that we have, in general, lost. We stopped harvesting and delivering shares in mid-January. It is a decision we have to make every winter, the result not of an inability to grow through that time, but instead, not enough human hours between Lalo and I to continue doing it and getting ready for the spring season and catching up on mountains of paperwork that get put off all season. It is one of the many farm-labor-economy conundrums that keeps local, organic food out of the supply chain. It is something that really frustrates me, and something we continue to try to solve. In fact, we still have plenty of food in our fields (kale, collards, chard, spinach, lettuce, bok choy and other Asian mustards, sprouting broccoli, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, and Jerusalem artichokes, not to mention hundreds of pounds of winter squash in our basement). Some of our winter CSA members have picked veggies weekly, taking advantage of the bounty. The rest of it has fed us and our animals. Much of it, in the end, will be donated or just get tilled in, as we begin planting for our April harvests.

Various heirloom radicchio harvested in January

Leaf lettuce from our high tunnel
A bunch of spouting broccoli, which is still producing heads in late February
Beautiful winter carrots
Filderkraut cabbage, which are very winer hardy
Heirloom Brightstone beans

Despite the winter veggies still left in the fields, we have turned all of our attention to the spring harvest. The greenhouse is full of transplants. Many of which we will transplant out as soon as there is a dry window. We have begun seeding in the fields (carrots, peas, and spinach). And our van is full of seed potatoes from New Sprouts in NC, ready to be planted. We continue seeding every week; we are now seeding summer crops like bell peppers and tomatoes. When we can’t get a tractor on the fields, we are doing odd jobs around the farm like fixing fences and tractor maintenance that we only get to this time of year and putting together paperwork for our annual organic inspection, taxes, and grant reports.

Plants in the greenhouse

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Featured

Heirloom Dry Bean Harvest

August 7, 2017 By Megan Allen

I am often asked what my favorite crop is to grow.  I love to grow heirloom beans.  Holding them in my hands, I somehow feel connected to the millions who have come before me and will come after me, grateful for their love, dedication, hard work, and sacrifice.  They represent so many things to me: tradition, survival, endurance, health, strength, humility, love.

We grew and harvested fourteen varieties of heirloom beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) this season – all of which we harvested as dry beans either for fall and winter CSA bins or for seed.  A few of the varieties are fairly well-known, while others are much more rare heirlooms from the Southeast, Mexico, and Italy.  We may be the only farm still stewarding two of the varieties (Anderson’s Cades Cove Bean and Lakeside’s Brown Bunch or Brown Runner Bean, not pictured below).  In addition, we also grew four cowpea or field pea varieties (Pinkeye Purple Hulls, Calico Crowders, Colossus Crowders, and the very rare Tennessee White Crowder).  Anna Laura photographed most of these varieties as they dry down in the greenhouse.  They are pictured below, along with their variety name and a brief description.

Black Turtle – there are several strains of this variety, including several “improved” strains.  This is one of the more original strains, originally from Turtle Tree Seed.  Black Turtle beans are a small, shiny, productive black bean from Central America that is perfect for any recipe calling for “black beans”.

Tiger Eye –  originally from either Chile or Argentina (or maybe both), also called Pepa de Zapallo.  It is a large, beautifully patterned chili-bean.  It has a great flavor and texture.  The color pattern is occasionally reversed (ochre swirls on maroon background).

Arikara – also called Arikara Yellow, were originally grown by the Mandan and Arikara American Indian tribes.  They are very drought resistant (although they did better for us this season with more consistent rain).  I like to use them as a substitute for navy beans or cannellini beans, which do not grow well here.

Nez Perce – the origins of this bean are a little mysterious.  It is named after the Nez Perce tribe, but there is no documentation of how the tribe used the bean.  It may have originally come from farther east.  It makes a good refried bean or pinto substitute.

Borlotto del Valdarno – an heirloom borlotto or cranberry bean from Valdarno, Italy, near Florence in Tuscany.  A productive bean that handles humidity well.

Kebarika – a large and absolutely beautiful heirloom bean from Kenya that grows well in our hot, humid climate.  It makes a good kidney bean substitute or baking bean.

Rosso di Lucca – one of the most beautiful beans I have ever seen, both as a shelling bean or as a dry bean.  This is another Tuscan bean that does well in our climate.  It can be used in salads or pastas like a cranberry bean or as a substitute for kidney beans.  The color pattern is occasionally reversed on this bean as well.

Sulphur – also known as China Yellow, a NC/TN/VA mountain heirloom that is still popular in this area.  It grows better in cooler, wetter seasons like we have had this season.  It cooks quickly and thickens well, making it a great stand alone bean.

Tarahumara Capirame – an heirloom bean from the Tarahumara people in northwest Mexico.  Although typically grown at high altitude, these beans produced well here this past season.  We have not eaten them yet, but they look very similar to a cranberry bean, which many people trace back to Mexico originally.  One of the other “cranberry” beans that we grow is from the Tarasco people in Michoacan.  The pink lines may darken as they dry down.

Hopi Black – a shiny, rounded black bean with beautiful purple pods from the Hopi American Indians.  They are larger than Black Turtle beans, and they prefer wet seasons.  We also grew one other black bean this season, Jamapa beans (pronounced Hamapa), which is the black bean Lalo grew up on and is still widely-grown in parts of Veracruz.

Blue Moro (Morro) – an heirloom bean from Central Mexico (or Brazil?).  They are very rare but are gaining a following thanks to Rancho Gordo Beans.  They can be used as a black bean or a pinto bean.  They hold up well to cooking and have a wonderful flavor.  There are also brown and red moro beans.

 

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Featured

How We Ate Our CSA Share – Week Eight

June 16, 2017 By Kristina McLean

PRODUCE I RECEIVED:

  • new potatoes
  • scallions
  • beets
  • summer squash
  • cucumbers
  • fennel
  • green cabbage
  • lettuce
  • green beans
  • kale

PRODUCE WE HAD:

  • new potatoes
  • scallions
  • beets
  • green cabbage
  • broccoli
  • sugar snap peas
  • garlic scapes
  • fennel
  • napa cabbage

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Eat your CSA, Uncategorized

This week on the farm

May 30, 2017 By Megan Allen

We will start transitioning from solidly spring crops to early summer crops this week.  As we approach the Summer Solstice, most annual leafy greens, lettuce, and some herbs start to go to seed (passing their prime eating stage).  These crops will be replaced with alliums (leeks, onions, and garlic) as well as with summer crops like summer squash, cucumbers, and green beans.
We started harvesting garlic yesterday.  Our earliest two varieties (Early Thai Red and Chengdu) are the only two ready.  Most other varieties will be ready closer to the middle of June.  They are in the greenhouse drying now (pictured below).  We also started our more extensive documenting and record keeping for our SARE grant on winter squash and will focus on other seed crops later this week.  Tomorrow, we will harvest the collard green seed from the hoop house and place it in the greenhouse to dry as well.  Other than that, we have some planting and seeding to do, as well as cultivating, weeding, and other maintenance activities for summer crops.  Although hard to believe, we will start seeding fall crops next week.
This week’s share will include: Dark Red Norland new potatoes (not washed…if we wash them, the skins will come off, wash when you are going to prepare…unlike regular potatoes, need to be stored in the fridge), scallions, baby beets, mix of summer squash (mostly yellow and patty pan right now since our zucchini seed arrived late), pickling cucumbers/small cucumbers (eat just like a slicing cucumber), green cabbage, broccoli (this will be the last week for broccoli…in the spring, its season is totally dependent on day length…I hope to stretch some for Saturday harvest), sugar snap peas, summer crisp lettuce, choice of salad green, choice of bunching green, and choice of herb.  May have cauliflower by Saturday, at least for Sustaining Members, picked 8 today of very varying size.  Next week will likely be last week for cilantro until the fall.  Contrary to popular belief, cilantro is not a summer herb.  It bolts as Summer Solstice approaches and will not germinate at high temperatures.  It can be frozen for salsa by putting in ice cube trays and covering with water.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Featured

Spring’s Bounty

May 25, 2017 By Megan Allen

We are in an odd pattern: hot and dry one week, cool and wet the next.  All the plants are glad for the rain, and most of them will appreciate it being a little cooler.  We have a lot of “maintenance” work to do this week, so a cooler, wetter week is nice.  Lots of staking and trellising to do: tomatoes, beans, and peppers, and quite a bit of weeding and bug scouting and squashing.  In addition to that, we will be harvesting broccoli, broccoli, and more broccoli.  We have to harvest broccoli every day to keep it at its prime.  Between yesterday and today, we harvested 300 heads…some bigger than my head!
This week’s share, again, didn’t quite fit in the bin.  The rain kept us from harvesting new potatoes, which I like to get to members for Memorial Day, and it is probably good.  I don’t want to burden you all with too much.  Several items in the bin will store for several weeks, just remember to separate roots and leaves for storage on items like turnips, beets, and radishes, and to loosely bag all leafy items, lettuces, and cabbages.  In today’s bin, carrots (last ones for a couple weeks until spring carrots are ready), garlic scapes, scallions, fennel, baby beets with greens, salad turnips (white) with greens, red radishes, Napa cabbage (will store 3-4 weeks), green cabbage (will store 4-6 weeks), broccoli, lettuce, choice of salad green, choice of kale or chard, sugar snap peas, and choice of herb (basil just starting to come in).  Sustaining members will receive summer squash, mostly patty pan right now as others are a little later.  We also picked the first couple cucumbers today, although I wouldn’t expect them in quantity for another week or so, and the first cauliflower…again, most seem at least a week away.
A few fennel ideas:
Mediterranean salad: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/fresh-mediterranean-salad
Shrimp and Fennel Saute: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/249955/mediterranean-sauteed-shrimp-fennel/
Chicken with Fennel and Rosemary: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/sauteed-chicken-breasts-fennel-and-rosemary
Remember fennel comes from the Mediterranean (including SW Asia/the Middle East and Coastal Europe).  Fennel pairs well with these flavors and cooking styles.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Featured

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“The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is
our only hope.”

-Wendell Berry

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Corryton, Tennessee 37721
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