chickens, organic certification, pics and other stuff

Unlike the posts of summers past, I've been lax at the mention of our chickens. As she grows older Lucy's interest in the chickens has waned and so my time spent with them this summer has been negligible. Though when we do visit them to collect eggs they are still as entertaining as ever.
Of the 16 hens, I think, it's hard to count when they keep moving, we've had 6 go broody, one of them twice. I think that may be somewhat unusual. Unfortunately, not many of the eggs have hatched. We have two roosters, which is one too many and that may be the problem. The smaller of the two, who I will refer to as "the intimidator" spends the majority of his time antagonizing sweet Red rooster and there in lays the problem. The intimidator is too busy grandstanding for the sake of his roosterness to give the hens any lovin' and Red is too busy being bullied and hen pecked, leaving him completely lacking the confidence to attend to his biological duties. This I believe is interfering with the 2 seconds of potential passion that is shared between each of the 16 hens and a rooster!

Movin' on!

We've had a lot going on this month. To start we've started the process of having the farm certified organic. When I say started the process, I mean we are reading about the certification process, filling out the paperwork and keeping in contact with a certifier who is great at answering our multitude of questions. Adam and I took a class on organic certification a few (or more) years ago. At the time we decided the certification wasn't for us, but now that we've established our farm we've decided the time is right. We learned a lot about the standards of organic farming when we worked for Amy Hicks of Amy's Garden and through the certification workshop. We've since put that knowledge into action on our own farm. So after four years of owning and operating our own farm we have decided that this would be a good time to move forward and get certified. Since we've pretty much followed the standards we are hoping to be able to get the USDA's stamp of approval right away.

In other news, we'll be on the local PBS program Virginia Home Grown tomorrow June 28th at 8 p.m. Richard Nunnally, along with his camera crew, came out to the farm for an on location visit. He and Adam talked mostly about our farming practices. They also filmed some of the farm and I believe what is said about the camera adding 10 pounds is true. It's not as weedy as it looks, those weeds are just 10 pounds heavier!!

Also this month pictures of our farm are included in an exhibition called Groundwork now up at Corporate Museum and Frame. The exhibition is based on a book of the same name by Gordon Stillman. Groundwork consists of photographs from the Virginia Sustainable Agriculture Documentary Project . The photos of our farm date back to 2009, when Gordon first started the project. There are several images of the Richmond farmer's market as well as farms in and beyond the Richmond area.

Goodness, the weeks go by so fast.

Do you remember these plants from a few post back? My how they've grown! This is Lou and her tomatoes in the Green house, showing of her handy work. She almost single handedly got all of our tomato plants off the ground, weaving them up towards the sky. Making them much easier to pick.







We also had a day of mob weeding. Several friends and CSA members came out to help pull the dreaded Johnson grass and boy did we have fun! Just look at the joy on those faces! No, I guess you can't see their faces for the most part. Well, I'm here to tell you of the expressions you can't see, believe me, there was nothing but pure joy radiating from those faces! Would I lie about that?!
Thanks for helping everyone!!!!!

















This week the onions were harvested and they're being cured, along with the garlic, in the hay loft of the big barn

the past few weeks on the farm we've....

been doing a bit of everything. With the help of Tim, a talented potter working part time here on the farm and our new farm help Lou, we've been weeding, planting and harvesting and attending the farmer's markets. This year we're continuing to sell our produce at the South of the James Farmer's Market, which I'm so happy to say is a producer only market this year (woo hoo!!!) and at the Byrd House Farmer's market, which is not producer only (boo hoo). We've also started vending at a new producer only farmers market in Goochland called My Manakin Market It's set in a lovely grove of trees right off of Broad street between the shrinking edge of the country and the growing edge of the burbs. We'll be there every other Saturday this season.
Along with the old regulars like lettuce, kale, collards and the like, we're growing a new (to us) vegetable to add to our seasonal repertoire - the tasty kohlrabi. You've probably noticed it at our stand and you may be one of the many people who ask "what kind of vegetable is that?" I must admit, neither Adam nor I know much about kohlrabi. It's our first year growing it and it's not something I would pick up at the grocery store if I saw it. Not because it has the love it or hate it status of a vegetable, oh, like eggplant or the herb cilantro, it's just never been introduced to our kitchen. I didn't realize until selling it that so many other folks had also neglected the introduction of this unusual plant into their lives so I decided to do a little sleuthing on the subject in order to answer your questions and here is what I have learned about this visually eccentric vegetable. The word Kohlrabi (Brassica oleracea variety caulo-rapa) is a German word unchanged and accepted into our food language, Kohl meaning cabbage and Rabi meaning turnip. A description of the vegetable dates back as early as the 16th century in Northern Europe but doesn't make it's debut in the United States until the early 1800's. It most likely, along with cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts, is the cultivated ancestor of a wild cabbage.



It has a deliciously mellow flavor cooked or raw like that of a mild turnip rather than that of a cabbage. The Richmond Food Collective has a great recipe for kohlrabi chips and I've also found an interesting recipe in a Bon Appetit magazine (yes, I do reference their recipes often, they are generally no fail and flavorful!)

Curried Red Lentil, Kohlrabi, and couscous salad
for those of you who are gluten free as I am quinoa would be and excellent substitute for couscous

•1/2 cup white wine vinegar
•1 1/2 tablespoons sweet curry powder
•2 garlic cloves, pressed
•2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
•1 16-ounce package red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
•3 large kohlrabi (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds); leaves stemmed, thinly sliced; bulb peeled, cut into 1/3-inch dice (about 3 cups)
•1 cup plain couscous (about 6 ounces)
•1 cup chopped green onions
•1 5- to 6-ounce package baby spinach
•1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

•Whisk white wine vinegar, curry powder, and pressed garlic in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper.
•Cook lentils and kohlrabi leaves in heavy large saucepan of boiling salted water until lentils are barely tender but not too soft, about 6 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to cool. Drain again.
•Bring 1 1/4 cups water to boil in same saucepan; remove from heat. Add 3 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle with salt, then stir in couscous. Cover pot and let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to medium bowl. Fluff couscous with fork to separate grains and cool slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
•Meanwhile, transfer lentils to large bowl. Add 1/2 cup dressing, diced kohlrabi bulb, and chopped green onions; toss to coat. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper.
•Arrange baby spinach leaves over large rimmed platter. Drizzle spinach with 2 to 3 tablespoons remaining dressing. Sprinkle spinach leaves with salt and pepper. Mound lentil mixture in center of platter over spinach leaves. Stir mint into couscous. Spoon couscous around lentils and serve with remaining dressing.

Five things to do with the vegetables found in your share or at the farmer's markets this week

Arugula and orzo pasta salad

This recipe comes from one of our CSA members. In his words (I hope you don’t mind me sharing this Robert)
“It’s a romantic dish to be sure, containing four alleged aphrodisiacs: arugula, cherries, basil, and pine nuts. Basil has long been considered sacred to lovers (see Keats’ poem Isabella, or the Pot of Basil). “
If only all recipes could manifest so much amore!

While it’s not warm enough for us to have basil ready for market quite yet, this will be a good recipe to revisit very soon.

• 1 lb orzo, dry
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¾ cup dried cherries
• 2 cups Arugula (or more, to taste)
• 8 oz feta cheese, crumbled
• 12 leaves basil, sliced thin
• ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
• 3 tbsp lemon juice (fresh)
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
Cook the pasta and allow cooling. Toss pine nuts in a non-stick pan on medium heat to toast, and then allow cooling. Combine ingredients and toss

Mustard greens pesto

• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup pecans
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled, quartered
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups (loosely packed) coarsely chopped mustard greens

Blend 1/2 cup oil, pecans, and garlic in processor until finely chopped. Add vinegar, then Parmesan; process to blend. Add mustard greens alternately with remaining 1/3 cup oil in 2 additions each; puree until almost smooth. Season pesto with salt and pepper. Transfer to small bowl. DO AHEAD Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before using.

Green garlic seems to all of the rage right now! Recently it's been written up in the New York Times Recipes for Health. For us it wasn't so much as being on the cutting edge of the latest hip food, it was more like a happy accident! We had one patch of garlic last year that didn't fare well. We pulled a few garlic from the ground, but the bulbs were really too small and the patch was full of weeds that were often being mistaken for stalks of corn. So instead of pulling them we left the garlic alone, allowing the patch to succumb to the assault of the weeds. The wonderful green garlic we've had for the last few weeks is the result.

Green Garlic Mayonnaise

whip together
• 2 whole eggs
• 1 teaspoon or a little less Dijon mustard
• 4 stalks green garlic, cleaned as you would leeks and chopped roughly
• 3 teaspoons lemon juice or rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons more rice or white wine vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups corn or other vegetable oil
add a little salt and ta-da, everyone will want to know what your secret ingredient is in your devilled eggs!

Radish and Mango Salsa
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 small bunches radishes, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine all of the ingredients except the cilantro, salt and pepper in a glass or plastic bowl. Stir gently to combine. Just before serving, add cilantro and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Southern style collard greens

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1 pound collard greens, chopped
• 3 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 shredded carrot

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil and butter. Sauté the onions until slightly softened, about 2 minutes, then add the red pepper flakes and garlic, cook another minute. Add collard greens and cook another minute. Add the vegetable stock, cover and carrots and bring to a simmer. Cook until greens are tender, about 40 minutes. Add tomatoes and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

spring has arrived

I have just been frettin' myself thinking about how long it's been since I last posted a blog entry. We've been working a lot and I have to admit I'm always a little too tuckered out by the end of the day to turn on this pollen encrusted computer and share a little bit about what we've been doing 'round here. This beautiful weather has been an inspiration to get outside and get our hands in the dirt. After (what always feels like) a long winter Adam and I are always chompin' at the bit to get this farm back into operation. As with this one you may find the season's posts to be short of words but abundant in pictures!

The Strawberries look great this year. I'm seeing countless little green strawberries right now. Can't Wait!!!!!



This picture of some spring greens was taken a couple of weeks ago.



here they are today



here they are little closer



and closer



Adam moving plants out of the greenhouse a few weeks ago to harden them off



A little of what was being moved out. These are now out in the field.







Compost tea brewer hard at work. Adam, the mad scientist, has concocted a new recipe for the compost tea increasing it's microbial activity which is making it really foamy.







Once the greenhouse was cleared of plants that needed to be hardened off we planted tomatoes. Here they are last Thursday.



Here they are today



Tomatoes on their way out to be planted





I couldn't have planned this any better. Lucy just stepped into the shot!



Our first planting of tomatoes this season