Spinach and Chicken Curry

Ingredients1 cinnamon stick 8 cardamom pods 1 onion or six spring onions, finely chopped (leave the spring onion tops for garnishing at the end) 2.5 cm ginger finely grated or finely chopped 4 garlic cloves finely chopped 2 tomatoes – finely chopped or 1 cup of canned tomatoes 2 large chicken breasts cut into chunks (or similar quantity thigh fillets, or meat on the bone if you prefer) – chopped into bite sized pieces. 2 tsp cumin seed 2 tsp coriander seed 5 tbsp ghee 6 tbsp greek or natural yoghurt. One bunch of spinach or chard. Salt to taste Optional 2 chillies with or without seeds finely diced

Method 1. In a cast iron fry pan over very hot heat, gentle roast cumin seeds.  Tip into mortar once lightly toasted.  Then roast the coriander seed and add to mortar.  Grind until you have a powder. 2. Heat ghee, then add cinnamon and cardamom (you can put them into a piece of muslin for easy removal later). Cook for about a minute or two and then add onion. 3. Fry onion until lightly golden brown.  Add ginger and garlic.  Fry over a low to medium until they are cooked and the onion is a deep golden brown. 4. Add cumin, coriander and optional chilli.  Cook for a couple of minutes. 5. Add tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes collapse and the oil starts to separate. 6. Add chicken and chopped spinach or chard. Continue stirring until the spinach breaks down. 7. Then add the yoghurt one tablespoon at a time, stirring thoroughly in between to ensure the yoghurt is well integrated into the sauce. Season with salt. 8. Cook for a further 5 minutes and ensure the chicken is completely cooked.  Serve with rice

Bok Choy Salad

The crunch of the raw bok choy and the crunch of the chow mein noodles mix well with the sweet and sour dressing.  This is a light salad perfect with grilled food and alone as a lovely lunch. Ingredients 2 bok choy, cleaned and sliced 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1/8 cup slivered almonds, toasted 1/2 (6 ounce) package chow mein noodles Dressing 1/2 cup olive oil 1/4 cup white vinegar 1/3 cup white sugar 3 tablespoons soy sauce

Method 1. In a glass jar with a lid, mix together olive oil, white vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. Close the lid, and shake until well mixed. 2. Combine the bok choy, green onions, almonds, and chow mein noodles in a salad bowl. Toss with dressing, and serve.

Two Weeks Until The Summer Share...What's Growing

It is two weeks until the start of the Summer Share.  Here is a picture walk through the farm of the food as it is growing...

It has been a dry spring...while we need to irrigate more, the fungal threat has been minimal.  It has also been warm and the melons, capsicum and eggplant are loving the extra heat, growing new leaves and recovering well from being moved from the warm greenhouse and planted into the ground.  This year we row covered the eggplant and capsicum, to give them extra heat, especially at night which we hope will help them to have more flowers which means more "fruit".

And bee man Pat O'Neil came and checked on the bee hives.  They are all very healthy with the bees making lots of brood (baby bees) and starting to seal off their honey comb (the bees signal that the honey is ready).

We look forward to telling you more about Pat, the extra hives he is bringing to the farm, his bees and the CSA Honey in another post. We are very excited to have the bees here for all the fruit and vegetables, and the promise of honey produced on the farm for CSA members.

Broad Bean Dip

Ingredients350g podded broad beans (they will weigh about 200g when double-peeled) 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped sea salt pepper 3 tbsp cooking water ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil ½ tsp paprika

Method 1. Steam the podded broad beans for about 3-5 minutes. Reserving one-third of a cup of the steaming water. Run the beans under cold water for 30 seconds and double-peel. 2. Heat a small non-stick frying pan and toast the cumin seeds until fragrant, keeping them moving with a wooden spoon. Tip into a mortar and pestle and grind to a powder. 3. Place 2 tbsp of the cooking water in a blender with all ingredients other than the olive oil and blend to a smooth puree. 4. With the motor running add the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and adjust. If the puree is too thick, thin with the rest of the cooking water. Spoon into a shallow dish and drizzle the puree with a bit more oil and a sprinkle of paprika.

Swiss Chard Fritter from Ottolenghi’s Jerusalem

"There's something pure about these fritters – they're all about the chard and herbs" - Yotam Ottolenghi Ingredients 400g /14oz Swiss chard leaves, stalks removed 30g / 1oz flat leaf parsley 20g / 3/4oz coriander 20g / 3/4oz dill 1 1/2 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated 1/2 tsp sugar 3 tbsp all-purpose flour 2 cloves garlic, crushed 2 eggs 80g / 3oz feta, crumbled 60ml olive oil Lemon wedges, for serving

Method 1. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil, and simmer the chard for five minutes. Drain, squeeze dry, then whizz in a food processor with the herbs, nutmeg, sugar, flour, garlic, eggs, a third of a teaspoon of salt and some pepper. Fold in the feta by hand. 2. Pour a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan over medium-high heat and spoon in three heaped tablespoons of the mix, one per fritter. Press down gently to shape into 7cm wide, 1cm thick fritters, and cook for three to four minutes, turning once, until they take on some colour. Transfer to kitchen paper and repeat with the remaining fritter mix and oil. Serve hot with a wedge of lemon.

YIELD  About 14 fritters, 4 appetizer servings

Taken from The Guardian http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/01/pickled-bream-chard-fritter-recipe-roti

Salad Greens

One of the things we were keen to learn more about on our winter "Farm, friends and family" tour to the United States was salad greens and in particular, mesclun mixes.  Lettuce alone is a wonderful vegetable,  nutrient rich because leaves contain the light-catching, energy-converting machinery of plants. Lettuce contains Vitamin A, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, calcium, folate, fiber, and phytonutrients.  And the different colours of lettuce contain different phytonutrients, unique compounds that are becoming recognized as part of a nutritious diet which promotes long-term health.

Special names for mixed greens are a part of everyday language in France and Italy. For the French, mixed greens are often described under the heading of 'mesclumo'.  This has translated into the 'mesclun' mixtures available in Australia.  The idea is to combine four basic flavour types through a careful mixing of greens: mild, bitter/tart, piquant, and pepper/spicy.  Lettuce provides the mild flavour.  Spinach, tatsoi, rocket, mustards, endives, orach, dandelion, mizuna - These are some of the rich assortment of other "greens" added to the mix to contribute to the other flavours.  These greens also bring a variety of phytonutrients, making the mixture a rich assortment of life sustaining goodies!  And then there is the feast to the eyes as different textures and colours mingle together.

We have been experimenting with combinations and growing techniques.  Our current collection of seeds includes 28 different varieties of greens.  Some are seeded in the field and some in the green house.  Here are the newly germinated babies.

With careful weeding and watering, they grow into a dense stand like this.

And while they are still young and tender, we cut and mix them all together.They are immersed in very cold water to take the heat of the sun and soil away, then spun dry.  Add flowers and a light vinaigrette and you have a very flavourful, nutritiously dense salad.We are hoping to fine tune the growing process so that we can harvest enough to include mesclun in the Summer, Autumn and Spring shares.

French Market Gardens and Heirloom Melon Varieties

"Always tend the smallest amount of land possible, but tend it exceptionally well." - The first principle of success as given by a leading Parisian grower in the 1870's. I have been reading Eliot Coleman's The Winter Harvest Handbook.  Mr Coleman is an organic market gardener in Northern Maine, USA, producing very high quality produce year round.  He is also a champion for new growers like ourselves.  His book are manuals on small scale, organic vegetable growing techniques, tools, rotations and historical inspiration.

Here is a summary of what he has to say about the "French garden system". Practiced by Parisian maraîchers (market gardeners), it reached it's height in the mid to late 1800's with around 1800 growers producing food on one to two acre blocks.  Covering about one-sixteenth of all land within the city limits of Paris, the gardens fed Paris year round with a huge variety of produce, both in season and "out" of season vegetables and fruits.  This system not only incorporated incredible intensive planting techniques, it was sustainable.  The Parisian maraîchers were referred to as "goldsmiths of the soil".  Both the heat for winter production of vegetables in hotbeds and the amendments to maintain the fertility of the soil were by-products of composting another by-product - the horse manure mixed with straw that came from the city stables.  After delivering crates of produce to the market,  wagons would collect the manure on their return to the garden.

Paris was home to 2.5million people in 1891 and these small, intensive, "organic" market gardens provided all the produce, and produced enough to export to other neighboring countries.  And not just any sort of produce...last week the latest Diggers magazine arrived with a wonderful article on seeds before genetic engineering and the re-printing of the French seed company Vilmorin's album of exquisite drawings.  The diversity of varieties known and grown by the French in the late 1800's was extraordinary.  As Clive Blazey writes, "Vilmorin listed over 1400 vegetable varieties in 1885...when compared to the 236 varieties offered by The Diggers Club today."

I love learning these sorts of facts.  I love knowing that we, as farmers, are not re-inventing the wheel.  We are trying to learn practices that once thrived on a large scale.  We are trying to grow produce for the local community while continuing to build soil fertility.  And we are also trying to keep alive varieties of many vegetables which are not being offered to the consumer, varieties that make eating vegetables and fruits a real experience.

As Blazey writes, "The rock melons offered in today's Australian supermarkets are a travesty of the delights that 'could cause drooling' to quote melon expert Amy Goldman.  The latest melon from Seminis (Monsanto [the makers of Round-up and one of the leading corporations involved in genetically modified seeds] ) is actually called Hard Rock so completely and humourlessly has this multinational bred the latest hybrids."

And that brings us to our 2013 melon varieties...Most are heirlooms and we hope they will all be that small slice of juicy, perfumed summer sun...We transplanted them last week and they are loving this heat.  Depending on the season, they should ripen by the beginning of February and continue into the Autumn share. Honey Dew    "Eden's Gem"   Heirloom. Small, round, netted fruit the size of a softball.  Spicy, sweet flesh. Honey Dew    "Early Hanover"  Heirloom.  Sweet, sugary flesh that can be eaten right to the rind. Cantaloupe    "Hearts of Gold"  Heirloom. Highly aromatic, sweet, firm, juicy, salmon coloured flesh. Cantaloupe    "Schoon's Hardshell"   Sweet, flavoursome, apricot coloured flesh. Cantaloupe    "Hale's Best"  Sweet orange flesh. Cantaloupe    "Delice De Table"    Heirloom. Very sweet orange flesh. Cantaloupe    "French Charentais"   Heirloom. Sweet, thick, deep-orange, flesh.  Flesh has deep, aromatic, flowery aroma. Watermelon    "Criss Cross"    Heirloom. Attractive, pale green skin & jagged, dark green markings.  Flesh is deep, rich red with excellent flavour & crispness. Watermelon    "Crimson Sweet"   Large, round, light green melon with dark green stripes and firm, deep red flesh with high sugar content. Watermelon    "Sugar Baby"   Round - oval melon with dark green rind, juicy, sweet, bright scarlet flesh & firm texture. Watermelon    "Moon and Stars"  Heirloom. Very sweet, rich, red flesh. The rind is patterned with yellow markings and the foliage can be speckled yellow as well. Watermelon    "Klondike"   Heirloom.  Large, striped, oval melon with sweet, scarlet coloured flesh & thin, tough rind.

Crunchy Salad

Here is a recipe adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe...which he prefaces by saying that it is a very adaptable salad..."One of the things I love about a good crunchy salad is that you can simply change it according to where you live  and what fresh ingredients are available to you."  So have a go at inventing your own crunchy salad - be inventive with how you slice, chop, shave your ingredients.  Explore texture and flavours and revel in a truly seasonal compliment to any meal! Ingredients 1 cucumber 1 red onion, peeled and shaved 3 small carrots 1 fennel bulbs outer leaves peeled back, quartered lengthways 1 zucchini ribbon sliced 6 radishes, quartered 1 tbsp white wine vinegar 1 heaped tsp castor sugar 3 tbsps extra virgin olive oil small bunch of fresh dill or thyme small bunch of flat leaf parsley finely chopped

Method 1. Chop, shred  and/or ribbon slice all of your vegetables. 2. Mix olive oil, vinegar and castor sugar in a small jar.  Shake until well blended. 3. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix by hand with the herbs.  Serve.

Photo credit and recipe suggestion - Emma Travers

Ottolenghi’s Perfect Lettuce Salad with Radishes, Semi-dried Tomatoes, and Capers

"It is essential for every good cook to have a solid lettuce salad up their sleeve, a good in-between course to cleanse the palate and lighten the spirits.  This one should do the trick; it also makes for a good starter." - Ottolenghi Ingredients 400 grams of mixed baby lettuces 3 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle 15 radishes trimmed and cut very thinly 2 cups semi-dried tomatoes, whole or roughly torn 2 tbsp capers Dressing 1 garlic clove, crushed 1 1/2 tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp grapeseed oil salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Method Dressing 1.  In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients, being quite generous with salt and pepper. Salad 1. Wash the mixed greens and spin dry.  Keep whole or tear into smaller pieces. 2. Place into large mixing bowl and add radishes, semi-dried tomatoes and green onions. 3.  Just before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. 4. Transfer to a larger serving bowl and sprinkle the capers over the top.

Source: recipe adapted very slightly from Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi

Asian Cucumber Condiment

This is a recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.  If you want to enliven a dish, this relish can do the job.  It's sweet, sour and spicy all at once. Ingredients 1 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, and seeded 1/4 cup peeled and shredded carrots 1/2 fresh chilli, seeded and minced 1/4 cup fresh lime juice or 3 tbsps rice vinegar 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method 1.  Slice both halves of the cucumber crosswise on the diagonal to make thin crescents. 2. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, carrots and minced chilli.  Set Aside. 3. Whisk together the lime juice, brown sugar, and fish sauce or salt, and stir until the sugar completely dissolves.  Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss well.  Add coriander. 4. Chill for 30 minutes to allow the flavours to meld.

Southeast Asian Fish Rolls

This is a recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites.  These little fish rolls are another lovely finger food that can be served on a platter.  Each fish roll can have a tooth pick inserted after baking to keep them together. Ingredients 8 * 50-100gram fish fillets, such as flat head, whiting or perch 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes) 2 tbsps soy sauce 4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil 1 tsp grated fresh ginger root 3 tbsps chopped fresh coriander 1/2 tsp freshly grated lime peel

Method 1.  Preheat over to 190C. 2.  Rinse the fish fillets, pat dry and set them aside. 3. In a medium bowl, mix together the lime juice, soy sauce, garlic, basil, ginger, cilantro and lime peel. 4. Lay the filets, skin side up (if they have it), on the counter and spoon 1/8 of the filling on to one end of each fillet.  Roll up each fillet and place close together in a nonreactive baking dish. 5. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the fish flakes easily with a fork.

Delicious served with Asian Cucumber Condiment

Blue Cheese, Proscuitto and Rocket Bruschetta

Here is a recipe by Valli Little published in Delicious - November 2004 Ingredients 4 thick slices woodfired bread 1/3 cup (80ml) extra virgin olive oil 1 garlic clove, halved 2 tbs balsamic vinegar 1/2 tsp brown sugar 80g wild rocket leaves 4 slices prosciutto 120g blue cheese, crumbled 10 walnut halves, lightly toasted

Method 1.  Brush bread with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and chargrill or grill for 1 minute until golden. Turn over and cook for another minute, then rub one side with garlic. 2.  Place remaining oil, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl, season and whisk to combine. Toss rocket with half the dressing. Top each slice of bread with a slice of prosciutto and rocket. Sprinkle with cheese and walnuts, drizzle with remaining dressing and serve.

Spinach and Feta Triangles

Fillo pastry is folded with spinach, garlic and feta, then baked to perfection. They serve well as finger food or party nibbles. Ingredients 4 tablespoon olive oil 1 to 2 cloves garlic, pressed 400g fresh spinach salt to taste zest from one lemon 200g feta cheese, crumbled

2 eggs 8 sheets fillo pastry, thawed if frozen melted butter fresh oregano and nutmeg (optional)

Method 1. Preheat oven to 200 C. 2. Gently wilt spinach in a large fry pan. Remove from heat and remove excess water.  Season with salt and garlic and mix well. Transfer to a bowl and mix in the egg, pine nuts, feta, lemon zest, nutmeg and oregano. Adjust seasonings to taste. 3. Lay a sheet of fillo pastry out and fold in half. Brush with a mixture of butter and olive oil. 4. Put two to three heaping tablespoons of the filling on one end of a strip leaving about 1cm of pastry. Start a sail fold by taking the lower left hand corner and folding it to the right hand side, making a triangle. Then take the right hand corner of the triangle and flip it up to the top.  Then take the lower right hand corner and flip it to the left hand side.  Lower left hand corner flip straight up. Keep going until you run out of pastry.  Place on a greased baking sheet.  Continue making triangles until you have used all of the filling (about 12 triangles). 5. Brush with butter and bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Served in the photo with Carrot and Radish Salad with a Glorious Moroccan Inspired Dressing on a bed of baby chard and beetroot greens.

Spinach, Herb and Goat's Cheese Tartlets

Other greens such as silver beet, nettles, and/or rocket also work well in a recipe like this.

Ingredients

30g butter 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 large onions, thinly sliced 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 eggs ¼ cup cream

2-3 cups fresh spinach leaves 2 teaspoons lemon thyme 120g goat's cheese, crumbled  (For beautiful local goat's cheese, try Main Ridge Dairy)

Shortcrust Pastry

1 cup plain flour

125g cold butter, chopped

2 tablespoons chilled water

Method

1.  Preheat oven to hot, 200°C. Lightly grease 4 x 10cm tart cases.

2.  In a large frying pan, heat butter and oil together on high. Saute onion and garlic for 4-5 minutes, until caramelised. Set aside.

3. Shortcrust Pastry: Combine flour and butter in a food processor. Pulse until crumbs form. With motor running, gradually add water, until mixture comes together around blade. Remove, and form into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for 20 minutes.  OR you can rub the butter through the flour with your hands until the flour forms into crumbs and hand mix in the water.

4.  Roll out pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper until 3mm thick. Using a 14cm cutter, cut out 4 circles. Ease into pans, trimming edges. Arrange on baking tray and chill for 10 minutes.

5. Line cases with baking paper and dried beans. Bake blind for 10-12 minutes, until golden. Remove paper and beans. Bake, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes. Reduce oven to moderate, 180°C.

6. In a fry pan over medium heat in a bit of butter, carmelise the onion.  Then add the spinach and gently wilt.

7.  In a large jug, whisk together eggs, cream and thyme. Season to taste. Divide onion and spinach between cases. Pour egg mixture over and top each with goat's cheese. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until just set.

Summer Share Tomato Planting

We thought we would introduce you to the 2012-2013 Summer Share Tomato Plants....from their beginnings as tiny seeds, to the strong plants transplanted into the new land.  Here are old Italian favourites, heirloom varieties, and some of the most "exquisite" tasting tomatoes we found to grow... It all started back in August when Rye and I seeded the tomatoes.

Once they germinated and had their first true leaves, I pricked them out and planted them into 4 inch pots.  And through the hail and frost and rain and cold, they grew bigger and stronger in the greenhouse.

We planted some early cherry tomatoes under row covers in September in the hopes of Christmas tomatoes.

But the big tomato planting happened this week.

Peter used the tractor as a ladder to hammer in all of the stakes.

Our favoured technique of trellising the plants is called the San Diego Weave.  The weave uses twine to gently cradle each plant as it grows.  We move up and down the rows of plants weaving in and around plants and the wooden stakes through the field. Our hope is to support the plant and keep it away from soil borne diseases and fungi...and also make it easier to pick the delicious fruits. Here are the varieties we are growing this year: Marglobe - Old American heirloom variety popular in Italy. Large, deep red, juicy fruit. Excellent taste. Marglobe is the ancestor of many of today's hybrid tomatoes. Saint Pierre - French salad tomato. Round, good sized, renowned for it's super flavour. Principe Borghese - Small plum shaped fruit. Eat fresh in salad or dry for sun dried tomatoes. They also make outstanding oven roasted tomatoes. Roma - Plum tomato used primarily for sauce, but also good fresh. Scipio - Plum tomato ideal for sauces and cooking. Tommy Toe - Attractive medium sized red fruit. Tommy toe is a renowned great taster. Those that judge these things use words such as “complex”, “tight” and “oh! just so sweet!” to describe its flavour. Sun Gold - Exceptionally sweet, bright tangerine-orange cherry tomatoes. Yellow Pear - Petite, distinctive salad tomato. Black Cherry - The flavor is dynamic...much like an heirloom. Red Cherry - Small, round tomatoes with very good flavour Lemon Drop - Lemon shaped small fruits with a zesty sweet flavour. Wild Sweetie- Stephanie Alexander and other top chefs preferred this to Tommy Toe.  The world's smallest tomato is also the world's sweetest with a Brix level twice that of others.

Hoping for another bumper crop!

Sesame Salmon with Honey Bok Choy

Our friend and a CSA member made us this delicious meal.  I am afraid that I have a photo of this recipe, which came from a magazine, but not the magazine name so I can not credit the author but will try and find out! Ingredients 1/2 cup1/3 cup each black and white sesame seeds 4 x 150g skinless salmon fillets, pin-boned 1/4 cup olive oil plus extra to brush 4cm piece ginger, grated 1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced 1 tbs honey 4 bok choy, trimmed, sliced lengthwise into 1cm strips

Method 1. Preheat the oven to 180. 2. Put the sesame seeds onto a plate.  Brush the salmon with oil.  Season. The turn in the seeds to coat. 3. Heat 2 tbs oil in a large fry pan over medium heat. 4. Add salmon and cook for 2 min each side or until opaque 5. Transfer salmon to a baking paper lined baking tray and bake for 5 minutes or until just cooked. 6. Remove from the oven and rest for 3 minutes 7. Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a fry-apn over medium-high heat.  Add the ginger and cook for 30 sec or until fragrant. 8. Add the Spring onion and cook stirring for 1 to 2 minutes until slightly softened. 9. Add honey and bok choy and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until leaves are wilted and stems are tender. 10. To serve divide bok choy mixture among plates and top with salmon.

Braising Mix Stir Fry

This is a very simple and quick stir-fry and works well alone or as a side dish. Ingredients 1 tablespoon oil 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1-2 tablespoons ginger, minced 6 cups Braising greens 1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce (or soy sauce for vegetarian) 1/4 cup vegetable stock 1 tablespoon corn starch, dissolved in water

Method 1. Over high heat add oil to a pan. Saute garlic and ginger for about a minute. Add greens and toss to coat evenly with oil, garlic and ginger. Stir in the oyster sauce and vegetable stock and cook for 2 minutes. 2. To thicken the sauce stir in corn starch mixture. Serve immediately over steamed rice or with preferred dish.

Here is more information about our braising mix.

Spring Farming

Spring...a photo tour of the farm and Spring farming!

The new land is proving to be a great case in point for why communities should protect farm land. The previous farmer did nurture the soil, as evidence by the many worms and great soil condition. But when that farmer left, nature took over trying to protect the soil by covering it in couch grass. The couch did its job, sent out vigorous runners which hold the soil and keep it from blowing away. But the vigorous runners are hard to eradicate.  Instead of decomposing and adding condition to the soil, when tilled, they just break into small pieces which all sprout again.

To get rid of the pieces, we need to hand weed...hoeing does not help.  And so we crawl along the planted rows...and we know that this will be the case for the summer. This is organic farming!!  But we also know that each year, this land will only get better. Not only will it be more weed free, we will also build the nutrients in the soil, build its microbial activity, boost its capacity to store water.  And we are grateful for the fresh, nutrient rich food we are harvesting along the way for our family and many more.  Thank you to all of our CSA members for supporting this type of land stewardship and local food production!!

Feeding the soil

One discussion that comes around in farming is whether you feed the plant or feed the soil.  Here on Transition Farm, we feed the soil believing that healthy soil is the beginning of a healthy plant.  Much of our energy as growers is spent nurturing the life in the soil, balancing the minerals, bacteria and microbes that create a living and dynamic soil.  We make compost, apply Biodynamic preparations which seed soil bacteria, grow and till in cover crops, make special herb and seaweed brews to mineralize the soil. Cover crops are amazing.  Peas, for instance, love growing in cooler weather.  We seed them in the autumn on land that has grown food throughout the summer.  They sprout and make some growth before the real cold of winter sets in, suppressing other weeds.  Then they just sit there, covering the soil, protecting it from strong winter storms that might erode the top soil away with wind and heavy rains.  They also harness atmospheric nitrogen...it is just what they do.  So while they are sitting there, they are making nitrogen, pulling it from the air and storing it in these little root nodules in the soil.  Come spring, they shoot off growing, even before we humans might feel the spring coming.  We till them in just as they are flowering.  You can see the leaf matter in the soil in the above photo.  The worms will come and digest that more, as will the various other soil life.  The added hummus helps the soil retain water and provides a base of nutrients accessible to plant roots.

We have been planting cover crops on the mandala soil for four years now.  When we arrived, the soil was a sandy loam, grey in color, dry, hydro-phobic (water literally pooled on top of the soil instead of sinking into it).  Now it is rich and dark and full of worms,  smells alive, holds together in your hand when you clasp a fist full, and is ready to grow food, full of all the nutrients we want fresh food to have.

Healthy soil not only fills food with goodness, but, more importantly, it also supports the health of the plant growing that food.  Healthy plants can fend off fungus attacks, insect attacks, weather stresses.  So by feeding the soil, we are feeding the plant, at the onset of its life cycle.

We continue to under sow crops with cover crops throughout the growing season. Last year we sowed clover under the cabbage, corn and pumpkins.

Cover cropping can be done in any size space, from small raised garden beds to large acreage.  While cover cropping is a biodynamic farming practice, it is also an organic and sustainable agriculture farming practice.  Healthy Soil - Wholesome Food!