Localvore's Dilemma

Localvore’s Dilemma

I read an article a few years ago titled “The Localvore’s Dilemma.”  I can’t seem to locate it anymore but I felt like the author hit the nail right on the head. 

Yes, we want to support local agriculture for all the right reasons: flavor, nutrition, and preservation of the land, the environment and the local economy.

But let’s face it what do you do when your CSA box shows up filled with turnips.  You don’t particularly like turnips and don’t have the time to handle 5 pounds of them.  

I began eating locally 10 years ago (except when I eat out).  It was more of an economic decision for me.  I was already farming and surrounded by wonderful produce I was growing.  And being a farmer there are few monetary resources.  So when those piles of extra vegetables would come in I became extremely creative.  I always loved the idea of canning so I would can tomatoes, jams, tons of pickles, relishes and salsa.  I would freeze all the leftover greens from the CSA such as spinach, chard, and kale.   I have researched tons of recipes to keep the dinners creative.  I have made lettuce soup, baby pac choi dipped in chocolate and swiss chard baked into a sweet pie. 

This is creativity out of necessity but it has been so awesome.  I have really learned to eat outside the box and find it super exciting to think of sorbets made of beets or tomatoes.  But, how do I translate this to my customers.  How do I show them that to be a good localvore you need to do quite a bit of research and be willing to try almost anything?   We live in a world where we demand tomatoes and strawberries in January (even though they have no flavor or nutrition).  We live on fruits that are harvested before ripening and so offer discounted nutrition.  And to think we are willing to pay premium prices for these things.

We live in a super busy world.  I of all people know that.  How do you convince CSA members that the real value in being a member is to store produce and eat outside of the box (or out of their CSA box)?  I can tell you that I no longer can in the summer.  I simply freeze everything and make jams and salsa in the winter.  Yes, freezing lessens the nutrition of the produce but at the same time the produce was actually allowed to ripen to fruition so in the end it is better than Chilean produce anyway.  And a whole lot cheaper. 

After 10 years of being a localvore I am no longer willing to eat tomatoes and cucumbers in the wintertime. Why bother eating tasteless fiber produce when I can enjoy the carrots, beets, radishes and cabbage I have stored in my refrigerator for the winter.  I will wait to eat my strawberries when they are fresh and the tastiest.  I will hold out and make it a special occasion.  I see my produce as gifts not to be squandered.  And I won’t settle for cheap mass-produced fiber just because I need to have those tomatoes for my salad in December.  

Roasted Garlic Scapes

1 bunch of garlic scapes

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place whole garlic scapes on a cookie sheet on the top shelf.

Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. 

Bake at 400 degrees till crispy, about 20 minutes.

You can also grill them whole drizzled with olive oil. 

These are great on meats, salads, tofu and fish.  Use them whole or chop them up.

The Strawberry Difference

The Strawberry Difference

And the tough decisions of an organic farmer.

Perhaps you have noticed a difference in our strawberries this year.  Not just that they have come in earlier and that we have more of them.  But, also that they are larger, firmer and store longer. 

What is the difference?

When I started B & H I immediately knew I wanted to plant strawberries.  I had always known that strawberries were a perennial crop (meaning they grow year after year).  And of course you plant them in straw for which they are named.  So I planted my first small row and for 4 years I saved the runners and planted new rows.  I mulched with straw and picked the berries.  However, last year the berries were full of weeds, they were small and seemed to rot within a few days of picking.  Picking them was so tedious and labor intensive.  I decided I would not weed those rows anymore and in the fall I tilled in the whole patch.

And when I went to a conference on strawberry production this past winter I realized that I had 5 different diseases in my strawberry patch and 3 different insect infestations.  No wonder I wasn’t getting any production. 

I have seen annual production of strawberries on other farms and read about them before.  But the idea of planting a new patch of strawberries each season seemed like a waste and it seemed “inorganic” to me.  But, I was desperate. 

So last fall we planted 5 rows of new plants onto plastic and covered them with row cover for the winter.  And now this spring we have beautiful plants producing large quantities of flavorful berries. 

The difference is that the new plants came with very little disease and so we got a fresh start.  Also, we planted on plastic instead of using straw mulch.  This kept the weeds down kept the berries clean and gave us an earlier picking time because the plastic was black.  The row cover protected the plants from the cold winter just as the straw would have.  So the short story is that in order to grow organic disease free strawberries you have to use non-organic materials such as plastic mulch and row cover.  And because you have to plant each year you are doing more tillage.  There is a serious compromise to be made.

The alternative though is to have commercially produced strawberries, which are heavily sprayed, and the soil is fumigated before planting.  Strawberries are very susceptible to diseases and therefore they are the most heavily sprayed crop in the industry.  Here is a great article on strawberries and chemical contamination http://www.choice.com.au/reviews-and-tests/food-and-health/food-and-drink/safety/strawberries.aspx.

So for now I will stick with my annual method and provide beautiful tasty berries, which you can feel good about eating and sharing with your children. 

Tip for preserving berries:

Wash them with vinegar. When you get
your berries home, prepare a mixture of one part vinegar (white or apple cider
probably work best) and ten parts water.  Dump the berries into the mixture
and swirl around. Drain, rinse if you want (though the mixture is so diluted you
can't taste the vinegar,) and pop in the fridge.  The vinegar kills
any mold spores and other bacteria that might be on the surface of the fruit,
and voila!  Raspberries will last a week or more, and strawberries go
almost two weeks without getting moldy and soft.  So go forth and stock up
on those pricey little gems, knowing they'll stay fresh as long as it takes you
to eat them. 

A Well Balanced Meal

A Well Balanced Meal
by David Fromuth ( B & H Intern )
So my previous blog showed us one of the similarities between plants and humans. This week, we will see another one. Like us (and all other living things), it is important for plants to received a good balance of all of their sources of nutrients (water, sunlight, air, fertilizer). Like us, too much or too little of any one of these can, and usually do, hurt the plants.
Here's a practical example. I noticed this week a couple of trays of plants that only half of the plants have really survived. Though hard to say for sure what caused this, a good educated guess would be that it either did not get watered properly or received uneven amounts of sun. Another possibility is that the seed was bad, but since there are a few varieties that are like this I feel as though that is not the case.
To sum up, just as we saw in my previous blog, we see the importance of good observation skills. It is important at all times to know what is going on with your plants. Plants are like children. They need constant watching and care.

Strawberry Rhubarb Miniature Tarts
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels 3/4 cup butter, melted 1/2 cup crushed walnuts 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed 2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 pinch ground cinnamon 1 pinch ground cardamom
2 egg whites 1 cup raw sugar 2 tablespoons self-rising flour 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3/4 pound rhubarb, finely diced 2 cups finely chopped fresh strawberries
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups. 2. Stir pretzel crumbs, butter, walnuts, brown sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and cardamom in a bowl until mixture is well combined and loose. Spoon pretzel mixture into the bottom of prepared muffin cups, filling them about 1/4 full. Press the crust down. 3. Beat egg whites in a large mixing bowl until frothy, and mix in raw sugar, self-rising flour, and vanilla extract to make a batter; stir in rhubarb and strawberries. Spoon fruit mixture over pretzel crust, filling muffin cups to the top. 4. Bake in the preheated oven until the fruit filling is bubbling and golden brown on top, about 30 minutes. Cool 10 to 15 minutes; serve warm.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/strawberry-rhubarb-miniature-tarts/detail.aspx

And don't forget our strawberries!!  They are the best ever!!!

Goats as weeders.

My new experience with goats.

With spring being so busy with planting I have seriously been neglecting mowing.  We have a lot of mowing and weed-wacking on our 150-acre farm.  It would be a full time job for someone if that were in our budget.  As I have been driving around Lancaster County the last few weeks I have noticed quite a few front yards with goats to do the mowing.  I have thought of the idea for years but put it off because I felt it would be too much of a hassle. 

Last week I just couldn’t take the weeds anymore and with the rain I had a few minutes to spare.  So I drove to my neighbor’s house.  He has quite a few goats and sheep and not so much grass.  I asked to borrow a few goats for the summer.  (I don’t have a place for them in the winter.)  He was quite skeptical.  I think he thought I was a bit crazy.  But, luckily he said “Why not?”  So we wrestled 2 goats into my Subaru.  I assumed they were friendly, but they were not used to being handled.  Luckily they have handles built into them.  I drove to the nearest hardware store and purchased dog collars and chains.

And now we have two goats, Nanny and Frederica (Freddy for short.)  It has only been a week and I am just experimenting with the possibilities.  I am pleasantly surprised at what little work it actually takes to care for them.  We have plenty of food, grass and weeds, and the only thing they need is to be moved every day and water.

 I am most interested in how efficient they will be as weeders.  So far they don’t seem to eat everything but what they do eat is amazing.  When I take them to a new area the first things they go for are poison ivy leaves, mulberry trees, prickly lettuce and multiflora rose.  These are some of our worst weed issues and the ones that none of us want to handle. 

So far the plan is a success and if I ever need to retire from vegetable production I think I will raise goats and rent them out to mow lawns and fencerows.  I am just surprised that more people aren’t using this simple method.  I am surprised it took me so long.  Now we need to make ordinances in the city to allow goats to mow. 

Here is an article about how goats can and should be used by our government.

http://saveaward2010.ideascale.com/a/dtd/Mow-and-remove-unwanted-vegetation-with-sheep-and-goats-where-possible/67783-9432

And here is another great Kale chip recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/crispy-kale-chips-recipe/index.html

Hand Hoes

Hand Hoe.

My newest exciting toy this year is the hand hoe.   It is not that I have never used one before.  I am not sure why it took me so long to add this nifty gadget to my tool chest.  I could be that in the past I used a less handy version of this tool.  Whatever the case I purchased one this year and I am in love.  I carry it with me all day. 

I have always been a big advocate of hoeing.  (We usually use an upright collinear or stirrup hoe).  A hoe is the most useful tool we use in the garden. 

Hoes are excellent for weeding and when they are used correctly they simply undercut the weeds and don’t mix the layers of soil.  This is great because it also uses a lot less energy to weed than normal back breaking weeding.  To use a hoe for weeding it is important to get the weeds in the “thread” stage, which means they are usually 1 inch tall and their roots are mere threads.  And if your hoe is nice and sharp you can dig out those root masses of chickweed.

Hoeing is also important for breaking the crust of the soil.  This is especially important in the spring when we get heavy rains, which compact the first inch of soil.  This often prevents germinating seeds from breaking the soil surface.  Hoeing will break the crust of the soil and allow oxygen to move down the soil to the roots. 

I can’t say enough about hoeing. 

However, you must know that you cannot buy the wonderful upright hoes or the hand hoe at any local hardware store.  The ones sold at these stores are the old time hoes, which in my opinion are only good for hilling potatoes.  They are too big and bulking for any proper weeding and they are not angled correctly to cut the crust of soil.  To buy the proper hoes you must order them from a company such as Johnny’s Selected Seeds. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/c-468-hoes.aspx or http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-5504-hand-hoe.aspx.  You will always be grateful for this investment. 

This week’s recipe:

RHUBARB RELISH 

3/4 c. vinegar
½ qt. rhubarb, diced
½ qt. onions, chopped
3/4 cup maple syrup or 1 lb raw sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. allspice
1/2 tsp. cloves
½ tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Cook rhubarb, onions and vinegar for 20 minutes before adding sugar and spices. Simmer for about 1/2 hour longer, then pour and seal in sterilized jars. Very tasty on meat.

Makes 1 qt.

Focus on Local: Native Grown Goodness

I had to share this amazing blog post from Barb Liszcz she is truly talented.

Focus on Local: Native Grown Goodness