touch the earth farm blog

Birth Announcement

Administrator — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:31:02 +0000

Our sow, Maya, gave birth to 9 piglets last night, unaided on pasture. She’s such a good homestead hog—I really couldn’t ask for more. There are a couple of small ones, but all were up and walking around this morning and look to be strong and vigorous. Big Boy, our boar, is in with them and seems to be handling it all in stride, keeping an eye on everything but not being aggressive toward the piglets or aggressive toward us.

In this week’s market bag:

Administrator — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 11:02:21 +0000

farm fresh eggs
mixed beans
red new potatoes (L)
squash (L)
1 qt sungold tomatoes
mixed heirloom tomatoes (German stripe, German red strawberry, green zebra, Brandywine)
Amish paste tomatoes (L)
green peppers
Serrano hot peppers
Anaheim hot pepper (L)
onion
basil
thyme (L)

Dead Zones

Administrator — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 02:24:23 +0000

A recent article about the growing number of dead zones around the world over the past two years demonstrates that just because we can grow more food doesn’t mean we should. Here’s one more argument for local, sustainable farming practices that don’t rely on heavy fertilizer applications.

“We’re not finding enough oxygen to support life, aquatic life,” said scientist Lora Pride aboard the Pelican, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium research vessel that studies the Gulf.

CNN traveled aboard the ship August 14-15 as consortium researchers sent sensors to the bottom of the sea, scooped up sediment and collected water samples for analysis at nine testing stations in the Gulf.

As an oxygen meter sank far below the Pelican, Pride pointed to an onboard computer screen displaying the meter’s findings in real time.

“This green line is the oxygen right here and at the bottom it’s reading less than 2 milligrams per liter,” Pride said.

Six of the nine stations revealed such oxygen-deprived, hypoxic water, compared to a normal reading of 6 milligrams per liter.

As Pride and her crew aboard the Pelican monitored the Gulf waters, the journal Science last week published a study that reveals there are more than 400 dead zones around the globe, double the number found by the United Nations two years ago.

One of the major dead zones is in the Gulf of Mexico. It is 8,000 square miles, nearly the size of New Jersey, according to the marine consortium’s annual measurement completed in July.

“There’s no oxygen in the water for shrimp, crabs, fish to live,” said Nancy Rabalais, executive director of the consortium.

Fish and shrimp “can sense that and they start to move out of the area. Otherwise they would die. The animals that still remain in the sediments have to keep breathing. There is not enough oxygen and eventually they will die off,” Rabalais said.

Scientists have been studying the Gulf’s dead zone for about 20 years, although its existence has been known for decades. So why is oxygen disappearing from fishing waters in the Gulf of Mexico? The answer, scientists say, is found hundreds of miles to the north, up the Mississippi River in corn country.

Farmers in Iowa and across the Midwest use tons of nitrogen and phosphorous to make their cornfields more productive, which allows the farmers to take advantage of high corn prices resulting from growing demand from ethanol factories and developing countries.

Rain always causes some fertilizer to run off farmland, but this summer’s historic flooding caused even more runoff into rivers that flow into the Mississippi.

“That’s the primary source of the nutrients that go to the Gulf of Mexico,” said Rabalais. “And so the size of the low-oxygen zone has increased in proportion to these nutrients reaching the Gulf.”

Fertilizer flowing into the Gulf of Mexico triggers an overgrowth of microscopic algae, which eventually die and fall to the bottom.

“When they die, they decompose, and decomposition requires oxygen,” said Pride. “So these things will fall to the bottom and as they decompose they consume oxygen.”

So much oxygen is taken from the water that slow-moving sea life like clams, small crabs, starfish and snails suffocate….

With demand for corn growing, scientists say the dead zone could expand in coming years.

Rosa Bianca Eggplant

Administrator — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:17:58 +0000

Rosa Bianca eggplant is an Italian heirloom sought after by gourmet cooks for their mild, delicate flavor. Small by eggplant standards, they have a creamy consistency and hold up well sauteed or grilled on their own or as part of classic dishes like eggplant parmesan. They tend to take on the flavors of the dish they’re in, so be sure not to overwhelm this tender beauty.

Eggplants are low in calories and fat but high in fiber as well as being a good source of potassium, iron, and protein, hence its association with vegetarians. They should be cooked to eliminate trace toxins solanine, which it gets as part of the nightshade family. They don’t store for very long, so use them within the week.
Stuffed Eggplant:

1 medium eggplant
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 can (14.5 ounces) tomatoes
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup soft bread crumbs

Wash eggplant and cut in half. Scoop out pulp to about 1/2 inch of the skin. Dice pulp. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes; add eggplant pulp, tomatoes, bread crumbs, and salt. Mix well; fill eggplant shells. Bake at 375° until browned, about 30 minutes.

In this week’s market bag:

Administrator — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:18:02 +0000

farm fresh eggs
1 qt mixed tomatoes (sungold, gold nugget, sweet olive)
red new potatoes
purplette onions
bell peppers
serrano hot peppers
Anaheim hot pepper
rosa bianca eggplant (L)
mixed beans (S)
mixed heirloom tomatoes (green zebra, German red strawberry, German striped, Brandywine)
slicing cuke/ Asian cuke (L)
basil
chives (L)

Farm to Table

Administrator — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:06:16 +0000

Wow, it’s the beginning of August, and it’s starting to feel like the summer’s already over. Kids are heading back to school all across America, and even the weather is turning fallish. Not to mention the days getting shorter. But I’ve just started to harvest my tomatoes! Surely we have a few good weeks left to revel in the glorious food of summer.

Last year, we enjoyed tomatoes into October, so I remain hopeful.

This week’s meal for the One Local Summer blog challenge features some of those glorious tomatoes, though I was so excited about my mozzarella that I let it hog the camera. This is a fabulous(ly easy) bruschetta, featuring multicolored heirloom tomatoes: German red strawberry (red), German striped (yellow with sunsplashed rays of red), ananas noire (green—donated by CSA member Carrie P.) and the non-heirloom sungold (orange, sweet, and tasty!).

Also in the bruschetta are purplette onions, basil, garlic and fresh mozzarella from our cow’s milk, which was absolutely divine. I’ll be making that much more often, I can tell you. We enjoyed this atop some bread baked local to my in-laws, who were kind enough to bring a giant bag down for my freezer last time they visited. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to pull something out to reheat rather than baking from scratch.

To round out our meal (though I would’ve been happy with just the bruschetta and wine!) was a whole chicken, roasted with butter, rosemary, thyme and Russian banana fingerling potatoes, another heirloom veggie—all fresh from our farm. If you’ve never tried fingerling potatoes before, you’re missing a real treat. They are creamy, buttery goodness: roasted in homemade butter and herbs, they approach Nirvana.

Russian Banana Fingerling Potato

Administrator — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:25:06 +0000

An heirloom potato, this little gourmet nugget is a scrumptious treat. If you’re a potato lover, once you have these, you’ll be in love forever. They’re creamy… buttery… an absolute delight in the mouth.

Originally from the Baltic region, Russian banana fingerlings were brought to America by early Russian settlers. These potatoes are featured at high end restaurants for good reason: they melt in your mouth with little fuss. Just wash them well, boil them just until done, toss with a little butter, maybe some fresh herbs, sea salt, and voila! They also cost a pretty penny if you can find them in the markets, so enjoy!

Here’s a link to a fun article about them: “Fingerling Potatoes Pack a Fistful of Flavor.” It offers recipes and storage tips, so definitely worth checking out.

In this week’s market bag:

Administrator — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:48:09 +0000

farm fresh eggs
1 qt sungold tomatoes
1 qt Russian banana fingerling potatoes
mixed beans (L)
Asian cuke (L)
slicking cuke
purplette onions
bell peppers
Serrano hot peppers
Anaheim hot pepper (L)
summer squash / slicing tomatoes / eggplant (S)
basil
tarragon / rosemary
chives (L)

In this week’s market bag:

Administrator — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:08:36 +0000

farm fresh eggs
Anuenue lettuce (L)
swiss chard (S)
mixed tomatoes (gold nugget, sungold, sweet olive)
mixed beans (L)
summer squash (S)
purplette onions
green onions (L)
red new potatoes (L)
slicing cuke
Asian cuke (L)
mixed carrots
green peppers
Anaheim pepper (L)
dill
basil

Purple Dragon Carrot

Administrator — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:47:58 +0000

This is our first year growing purple dragon carrots, and while the Belgian White Carrot was a dismal failure, purple dragon looks to be a permanent addition to our seed stock.

Purple carrots originated in Asia Minor and have been grown at least since the 10th century, and probably much longer. Besides their colorful appearance, these carrots are sweet with a rich, spicy finish. Use them raw or cooked to dress up a dish.

Carrots have a high vitamin and antioxidant level, and these are picked within the day of delivery to ensure the highest nutrition. They will keep nicely if stored in a cool dark place, but really, they’re too good to keep around long.