This Is The Farm Blog

Open House 2009 - Harvest Fest - Party On The Farm

2009-10-07T02:08:54Z

October 11, 2009, 11 to 6pm or whenever, W8473 Smock Valley Road, Monroe, WI

Our Annual Open House - Usually conducted in the spring, this year we moved it to fall.

Parking - When you arrive at the farm, you will see a yellow and green building. Park there - do not attempt to navigate our driveway.

Directions - On our website. HOWEVER - if you are coming from Chicago, and you want to stop at our store, Bushel & Peck's - directions are at the very end of this post. Bushel & Peck's is at 328 State St in Beloit, but our directions are based on experience. Pick your poison.

Rain Or Shine - We will move it indoors if it rains. More details for our visitors:

This is a free event that we have hosted for our customers. It is intended for fun & learning about farm life.
You can:

Wander the brambles of our woods, and they are brambles.
Stroll the farm
Plant garlic with us
Collect eggs
View the beehives of Dan and Terri Dodge, which are situated in one of our growing fields.
Buy pumpkins and squash - for those of you from the big city, we are pretty sure you will find cooler and waaaay cheaper stuff. We invited a farmer from Beloit to the open house, and he's planning to bring a trailer of pumpkins & such.
Meet other like minded people
Take as many black walnuts as you can find on the ground
Eat
Drink
Be Merry

If you feel compelled to bring something, as many people have asked, bring

A dozen cookies to pass
One million dollars
A bottle of wine
A perennial plant from your very own garden that we can transplant

Dogs, kids and obnoxious grown ups are welcome...don't bring your cat we don't need any more cats
ALSO - IF - you are daring OR have alot of time

Bushel & Peck's is hosting a farm to table dinner the night before. You can have dinner, stay at a nice motel and drive to the farm on Sunday. Reservations for dinner are needed. Email.
CAMP - on the farm. And this is really remote camping. We have a lot of woods. Pick your spot or we know some great ones.

Everyone welcome but it would be really nice to know how many are coming. So send us a note if you know for sure. Last year we had about 150 people pass through and we had a darned good time.

DIRECTIONS FROM CHICAGO VIA BELOIT:

Take 90 West toward Rockford. After passing through Rockford, you will exit at South Beloit, 75...turn left....take this about 2 miles and turn right when 75 ends (At Papa John's pizza, just past the South Beloit fire station) Turn right and drive about 3/4 of a mile. You will enter downtown Beloit. Bushel & Peck's is on the west side of State Street with a black, red and gray awning. It is open on Sunday. From there, B&P staff can point you to GIGG.

Why We Don't Enter Much On Our Blog Anymore?

2009-08-12T03:36:26Z

Rich has gone native.....

Nearing Winter's End

2009-03-18T01:17:17Z

Today's 70 degree day makes us long for spring. Winter will be back, we know it.....

Minue 10 Try Minus 21

2009-01-18T02:05:46Z

Last entry I babbled about the temps hitting minus 10. Then - they hit minus 21. That's right, negative 21 degrees.....On the same day I contracted some boola-boola virus flu thing and went home early from B&P - and found two near frozen lambs just born. And with the flu - all the symptoms you can possibly imagine....worse than you can imagine...and this from a person who gets the flu - oh - never - it was bad......two preemie lambs, one blow dryer a bathroom, the flu - gads. One lamb lived and at a whopping 5lbs is as loud and bold as a little one can be. I lived too...its up 40 degrees today - FORTY DEGREES WARMER TODAY....what the....???

Something Like Minus 10

2009-01-14T03:35:38Z

Oh boy its cold out there. I arrived home today, parked the van, transferred to the truck and drove down the slippery slope to the house. About an hour in, I realized I forgot my PC in the van and it will freeze. I asked Rich to get it and he was like 'oh man I can't believe you're asking me to do that, you gotta be kidding...I'm not going out there." So I begin my negotiations....Please, please...he says he has to feed the lambs. And I then tells me he'll go get the PC if I feed and check in on the lambs. To which I agree because I am frozen and stupid. All he has to do is drive his car to my car, get a bag and return.....stupid..

So off I go barreling down the hill with a bucket and two bottles. And it is really, really cold out there. Holy cold - wow.

Today The CSA - It takes a village??

2009-01-13T02:28:45Z

Wake up. brush teeth. Coffee. Shower. Dry Hair - so it doesn't freeze, not for cosmetic reasons. Drive to store...where we now pack for our CSA customers. In the comfort of HEAT - unlike prior years in the "clean room" of the shed at 25 degrees with big mittens.

Arrive at work, there's STAFF members there! People that work at B&P help with the CSA packing now - its a ritual, everyone enjoys it....They're getting to know names, and how to pronounce names....except for the Polish names - no one really tries which is ironic since Rich's last name is HORBAZAWICICWICKWEEEEESKIII - Oh shit how do you say that? .........or whatever someone makes up on the fly. We have fun. They help load my van. I drive away and go all the way to Chicago (which has a very glamorous feel, if I do say so myself)

And almost always, except last month, I get there on time. Where I connect with more people to help, Jeannie and Julie. Jeannie actually helps. Julie sort of waits for her baby to arrive - which I suppose is okay given that its supposed to be any day now. What's my point here? I've almost forgotten. Oh, then there's a customer that shows up two weeks early - which is fine - we sort it out and we've got enough to fulfill his share. His first time meeting the big white van and pee wee farmer. Not sure if he's expecting pot or his meat share....that's an inside joke. And the snow is barreling down - as always. This is great - underground food...respectable way to make a living...all I needed.....

Back to the tundra now...

Down on The Farm - Another Day

2009-01-08T03:04:11Z

Off to work I am today tending the local foods grocery we adopted in Beloit. The day starts with me waking up to the sound of lambs screaming for food. Rich at present has three bottle babies and at about 4:30am they start looking for food. I heard an extra and expected there was a new baby. So I slid down the ice covered hill. Well - it is more like skipping and skiing all in one. Once you get going, you can't stop. So I plummet down the hill and find three wee ones running a muck looking for Rich and his bottles....They've snuck out. They glom on to me and baaaa baaa baaaaaaaaa under my coat that looks like a sleeping bag. Looking for udders, they were.....and so I search for the baby sheep I know is new. I find her baaaaaaaa-ing away and her Mum turned upside down. Stuck.

Mum has been turning upside down for about a week and a half now. This isn't all that normal but it happens. She was top heavy. So me and my sleeping bag coat and a pink down mitten and a brown knit glove 'right' her...She's thrilled to be on her feet and immediately takes care of the wee one.

Up hill is much easier....momentum is gone when you're climbing up hill -so off I go to work.....

Life on the farm.

Winter - The Longest Day Of The Year...The Shortest Day of The Year

2008-12-22T02:14:22Z

Now its really winter. Really, really winter on the farm. Today was 5 degrees and the wind chill minus 28 degrees. And for the farmers out there that work with livestock, this is where the rubber meets the road. I left the house today for the store, Rich stayed behind. I drove 40 miles to the store into the sun. It was a bit like what I imagine Mars to be like on a frigid, winter day.

I wished for sunglasses and warmer gloves. I wondered what I was doing. Why not just go and get a job like regular people. I drove along highway 11, squinting, sun in my eyes, snow blowing in circles and into the air, the only car on the road. Ahead of me, nothing but sun, blowing snow and a strange vertical rainbow. Twas the vertical rainbow that struck me as kind of freaky. I thought of Rich feeding animals and oddly, I was jealous. Wishing I could be the one to trudge up and down the hill with 30 lb feed buckets yanking my forearms off at the elbow.

This is the time of year one wonders if its all worth it. And it is really the time of year when you know that it is in fact, all worth it. If the worst it gets is the sun in your eyes, a strange rainbow and a longing to be outdoors....you know you've got it made. Still - we look forward to spring.

The Eggs, Winter Approaches

2008-11-19T03:12:44Z

Egg subscribers and buyers will be happy to learn two things; The Madison CSA via Troy Community Farm is over for the season - we'll be back with Troy next year, but for now that means more eggs for Chicago and Beloit - woo hoo! Egg O Rama! Well - we also learned recently that a family of possum have been dining on our eggs. Rich has taken care of that situation and I will spare the details of how. Anyhoo - egg supply has improved and we're adding more hens for next year.

And of course - this is the time of year when people ask - "Whatcha gonna do all winter?" and always, we say, "Eat bon bons and watch Oprah, what else?" Farming never ends. It gets harder in the winter. Colder. Rough and tough. Up and down icy hills. The winter is no picnic. Rich just declared that he wants snow shoes for Christmas....huff.........

Almost The Dog Days

2008-08-18T01:33:12Z

This is the time of year as farmers that we start worrying about the summer being over. I commented recently that summer is a season enjoyed by everyone except farmers. In the summer, farmers work from dawn to dusk in the fields or with livestock. Then, after dark do more work catching up on paperwork, bills, email, etc....

There's no time to eat. Which is ironic, because summer is the best time to eat right? Well, there's no time. If one is lucky, laundry gets done and the dirt that found its way into the house on shoes, dogs, cats and what not, gets swept up. But that's it. The house is pretty much abandoned in the summer.

August is also the time when a farmer wonders if the rain will ever come, or depending on the year, if the rain will ever stop. We also wonder if the giant zuchinni will ever stop coming. We wonder why the tomatoes haven't arrived, then a week later wonder what we will do with all the tomatoes, and think about how we will ever have time to can them.

On our farm right now we have about 1200 chickens, 75 turkeys and a passel of sheep and lambs. This is prime time for us. We're raising more birds than ever before, more sheep, more potatoes, more everything and we're tired.

We also had this little idea to open a local food's grocery store. Bushel & Peck's has been open a whole month now. Its cool. Its got a cafe. Its been a great project to start.

So right now on the farm we're up to our eyeballs, maybe further??? But its cool - its fun....

July CSA News

2008-07-06T14:27:17Z

Grass Is Greener Gardens CSA News

Down on the farm:

Well, we started off with a bang again this year. Its always something. This year it was rain, rain and more rain. We have been very fortunate to escape major damage. For a few days, areas of the farm were flooded, but overall we have been lucky. Its July now and we are in full swing.

Hens are laying eggs at their peak. They’re also starting to get treats from the garden. They spend their days pecking about the yards, talking a lot and plotting against the fox and raccoons.

Chickens for eating are abundant here right now. Between now and October, we will raise an additional 2000 birds for our CSA, restaurant customers and farmers’ market customers.

Sheep and lambs are roaming the pastures as well. When it gets hot, they get lazy and sleep in the shade of the walnut trees that overhang their pasture.

Our turkeys are by far the most entertaining animal on the farm. They’re about 6 inches tall now. They can fly. That’s different than standard commercial turkeys, which typically are not capable or interested in flying. Once in a while they all let out a gobble-gobble-gobble at once and it sort of sounds like they’re laughing at you. (They seem to do this when they witness a human doing something stupid.)

As for our growing fields, we focus almost exclusively on potatoes, garlic and sunflowers for cutting. We planted potatoes at our open house this year. Yesterday, we harvested the very first early, baby new potatoes. While there are in fact, an enormous number of potato beetles munching away, we still think this will be our best potato season ever. Maybe it’s the magic of having kids aged from 3 to 10 planting the seed potatoes? Maybe the rain? Who knows but we’ll take it. Garlic is harvested in just a few weeks.

Interesting Extras:

Here is a list of things we do not include in CSA shares: Whole Hams, Smoked Pork Hocks, Beef Liver, Fresh Lamb Dog Bones, Beef Soup Bones. Whole Hams are about 7 lbs and are 4.75 per lb. Everything else above is $2.00 per lb.

Chicken Notes:

We are raising chickens from 3 to 5 lbs. Our average size is 3.25 lbs. We will have some large roasters (about 5 lbs) coming in July. These are perfect for Sunday Supper. Use the leftovers for stock. In the September share we will be including chickens that are a heritage breed. We raise this type of chicken, called a Rhode Island Red, only twice yearly. They grow a bit slower than our standard chicken, and have a thinner breast and are a bit darker in color.

Turkeys

Heritage Turkeys will be available in November. We raise two heritage breeds; Bourbon Red and Standard Bronze. These turkeys are entirely different than a Butterball. Much longer in appearance they have a more natural breast size, a darker overall color and a skin that cooks more rapidly. They have a smooth, subtle, delicious flavor. Turkeys are $4.50 per lb and dress out between 8 and 20 lbs. I imagine this is the kind of turkey the pilgrims had at their table. In order to get a turkey, you have to make a reservation. If you would like to reserve a turkey, please let us know.

My garden and Troy Community Garden CSA:

In past years I have grown as much as time and space would allow. This year, I contained my garden in a 40 by 40 foot plot. Smaller is better. I can take care of 40 by 40 feet and get good results. We also joined a produce CSA. Because we already make deliveries to Troy Community Farm in Madison, we selected their CSA. I should have done this a long time ago. Every week I get a bag (or two!) of fresh, local, certified organic produce. I am so excited to get it each week and tear through it. Like a kid in a candy store! Which leads me to an interview with a Grass Is Greener Gardens member, Cheers, Jackie, Grass Is Greener

Harry Rhodes Talks About Growing Home

Harry Rhodes, a new member of Grass is Greener Gardens, is Executive Director of Growing Home a non-profit organization which provides job training and creates employment opportunities for homeless and low-income people in Chicago within the context of an organic agriculture business. Growing Home operates two urban farms on the south side of Chicago, and a 10-acre certified organic farm in Marseilles, IL. Here, Harry speaks about Growing Home and his family’s reasons for selecting a meat CSA.

How do program participants find out about Growing Home?

We recruit people who have been homeless or incarcerated via social service agencies that we partner with. We also receive many phone calls and requests to join our program from people who have heard of us through the internet or word of mouth. Each year we have a long waiting list of people who want to join our program.

How long do participants typically take part in your program? Are there time limitations? Do they leave once they achieve certain goals or develop particular skills?

People can participate from the beginning of April through the end of October. Our goal during that time is to give people a true job experience and teach them new skills so that they can find full-time employment. Some people leave the program before the end because they find employment. Since we began this past April four people have found outside employment.

Growing Home also offers a CSA in Chicago. How many members does Growing Home have?

Growing Home has 100 CSA members in Chicago and Evanston. We also have members who pick up at our Les Brown Memorial Farm in Marseilles.

What drew you to Growing Home?

When I moved with my family to the Chicago area in 2001 I was looking for work in the not-for-profit world. I was introduced to Les Brown, who was the founder of Growing Home, and thought the idea of urban organic agriculture and job training for homeless people sounded like a real challenge, and a good opportunity. I have been working there ever since, and enjoying seeing the development of the organization and the change it has had on program participants.

Why did you join Grass Is Greener Gardens?

We get great organic vegetables from our home garden and from Growing Home, but were looking for a good source for meat. Our son told us about Grass is Greener Gardens, so we visited the farm in the spring. We loved our visit there, and were excited to hear that they offer a meat CSA. We are very pleased that we joined. The meat is all excellent.

How has Growing Home and Grass Is Greener Gardens affected the way you eat or cook?

We eat much more fresh food than we used to, and try to avoid processed foods. We try to eat only organic and locally grown and raised foods. I have also been influenced by Michael Pollen’s books.

Visit Growing Home Here

Featured Meat: Summer is about...Brats

Summer is for grilling isn’t it? Brats, or bratwurst…a German style sausage- pork or beef. It’s all delicious. But, what’s the brat really?

The oldest known recipe for Bratwurst was discovered last year, according to Reuters. The recipe, inscribed with pen and ink on parchment, dates to 1432 when strict laws were already in place to insure that bratwurst makers used only fresh and pure meat. Should you happen to visit the town of Erfurt in Thuriniga, Germany you can view the recipe at the Bratwurst Museum (http://www.bratwurstmuseum.net/).

Directly translated, bratwurst means “finely chopped meat sausage”, a little repetitive, right? But traditionally, made of pork and beef, bratwurst is seasoned with spices including ginger, nutmeg, coriander and caraway. However, regional variances and traditions result in distinct brats. For example, Thuringer Rostbratwurst, what we normally associate as a brat, is eaten with hot or sweet mustard and ketchup on a bread roll. While Bratwurst from Nuremburg are much thinner, typically served three on a bun, are soaked in milk and roasted. This style gets its special flavor from marjoram.

In the United States, bratwurst is ubiquitous in areas where German emigrants settled. Brats are typically served on a hot dog bun or hard roll with ketchup, onions, sauerkraut, relish, cheese and mayonnaise. Sheboygan, Wisconsin claims the title of “Bratwurst Capital of America,” celebrating the brat annually during the first Thursday through Saturday of August.

Generally sold fresh, brats are best grilled or sautéed. Look for lamb, pork and beef brats in your next share. And eat summer!

Grilled Bratwurst, Scallions and Tomatoes
Take advantage of July’s harvest and serve with grilled corn and skewers of grilled okra.

1/4-cup beer
3 tablespoons coarse-grained Dijon mustard
1-tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
8 scallions
4 medium sized tomatoes
4 bratwurst
2 hard rolls

Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Whisk beer, mustard, oil and thyme in small bowl to blend. Brush scallions with this mustard dressing.
Grill scallions, tomatoes and bratwurst until golden brown. About 20 minutes for the bratwurst. Brush bread with mustard dressing and grill until lightly browned, about 1 minute per side.
Place toasted bread on plates, top with bratwurst cut in half lengthwise. Arrange two scallions and one tomato over the bratwurst. Serve additional mustard on the side. Serves 2.

Our Writer:

Grass Is Greener Gardens member Gentle Wagner wrote our July 2008 newsletter. A recent transplant to Chicago from San Francisco, the fruit and veggie CSAs are common on the west coast, but Gentle was especially excited by a meat CSA. Quite simply, Gentle loves meat and in the Midwest why wouldn't you get it from a local farmer? Gentle is a Curatorial Consultant for museums and private collectors. She spends her spare time reading about food, cooking and eating.

In August, Gentle will return to San Francisco but will continue to write our newsletter for the season. Thanks Gentle!

Too Much Rain?

2008-07-02T00:32:04Z

A lot of people have been asking how we've been impacted by the rain. Well, the driveway is washed out, the store is opening later than expected but the worst problem is best described by this:

Rich, "Get some Off while you're out."

Jackie,"Ok" (forgets to get Off)

Rich, three days later, "I got the Deep Woods stuff - it burns a lot when it goes on, but you'll get used to it."

CSA New - June

2008-06-07T01:51:30Z

News for our CSA members

Friend of the Pig: Jim Dahl
Spafford Valley Farm

Jim Dahl and his family join Grass Is Greener Gardens in its 2008 spring and summer season, offering pork to CSA members for the first time. It all started when the Dahl girls were in the FFA (previously the Future Farmers of America) raising sheep. The Dahl's soon bought some feeder pigs for breeding. Today, Spafford Valley Farm breeds Landrace, Duroc, and crossbred pigs. In the near future, the farm will raise Berkshire hogs.

The Landrace, considered the "butcher's pig" for its high quality fresh pork, was a popular pig in Europe, designed for Denmark's export trade in Wiltshire bacon to England. The Duroc breed originated in the United States. Red in color, the Duroc is reputed to have been named after a thoroughbred stallion. The Berkshire hog is a rare breed from England known for its flavorful and high quality hams and bacon. For many years, Royal Family kept a herd on hand at Windsor Castle. More recently, farmers have used Berkshire pigs against beetles, in place of pesticides.

At Spafford Valley Farm, a litter typically contains 10 piglets each year. Soon, the two most recent litters will start eating grass. For now, the hogs eat a corn and oat diet to keep them lean. When the pigs are 7 months old, weighing around 270-300 lbs, they are butchered. Spafford Valley Farm produces bacon, hams, smoked meats, sausages, brats, tenderloins, chops and roasts.

Featured Meat: Lamb Chops

A cut of meat cut perpendicularly to the spine, a chop usually contains a rib or part of a vertebra. It is served as an individual portion. Lamb chops are classified as shoulder, blade, rib, loin or kidney, and leg or sirloin chops. The rib chops are narrower, fattier, and tastier, while the loin chops are broader and leaner. Lamb chops are best cooked with dry heat, grilled or pan-broiled.

Recipe: Lamb Chops with Wild Herbs

1 1/2 tablespoons fennel seed
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 teaspoons lavender
1 orange, juiced
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (3/4-inch-thick) shoulder-blade lamb chops

Grind herbs and 1 tablespoon coarse salt with a mortar and pestle. Transfer to a bowl and add the juice of one orange and the olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Pat lamb dry and season with herb salt. Marinate one hour in the refrigerator, or overnight. Remove from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature, about twenty minutes.
Heat a lightly oiled well-seasoned ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then grill lamb, turning once, about 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Alternatively, grill lamb over hardwood charcoal. Serves 4.

Meet Your Fellow Member: Jeannie Reardon

Jeannie Reardon and her partner, Julia, are entering their second year as CSA members. Jeannie studied theology and is training to be a chaplain; the couple lives in Hyde Park and is starting a family, which is due in January.
As a couple, they are trying to leave a smaller carbon footprint and lead as sustainable a life as possible in urban Chicago. Responsible stewards all the way around in their lives, Jeannie grew up amongst farmers in Southern Illinois.
When Jeannie and Julia decided to move away from commercially produced beef, they began researching sustainable meat eating. Jeannie made calls to meat CSA’s in Chicago to learn about the farmers, products and practices. In addition to an engaging conversation with Jackie in which Jackie’s enthusiasm for the product was clear, Jeannie was especially excited by the idea of lamb. Their share met all of their needs and tasted great.

You may meet Jeannie at your next pick-up in Lakeview or Hyde Park. Or you can find her at The Southport Green Market, in the Blaine School Parking Lot at Southport and Grace, from June through October. She looks forward to meeting all those folks enjoying Grass Is Greener Gardens.

Grass Is Greener Gardens News

2008 brings a lot of exciting changes to our farm operation. In addition to running our farm, we're opening a new local market in Beloit, Wisconsin. Bushel & Peck's Local Market, slated to open in mid June will offer local food and specialty products.

The Farm

In 2008 our farm will operate in a completely different way than prior years. We're very excited about the changes.
First of all, our CSA has grown to over 60 members. In addition to our own CSA, we offer our eggs to 35 customers through a Madison CSA (Troy Community Farm.) We also sell lamb and chicken to L'Etoile in Madison. It is our hope that our CSA will grow to 100 members, but beyond 100, we feel it would be too large. We've added locations this year in Monroe (our hometown) and Madison and we're working to add a location to Oak Park. The Lakeview location now has two dates. The farm is very focused and virtually all of our products are sold exclusively to CSA members and L'Etoile. This is very important to us because it provides us with predictable sales of our farm products, something most small farmers don't have. Having a growing CSA is not only a privilege, but a pleasure as we get to meet all of our customers and make a real connection.
In prior years, we've grown a wide variety of field crops but this year we're focused in the field growing 2 acres of potatoes, an acre of pumpkins and squash and a half-acre of sunflowers for cutting.

The Store

About two years ago, we starting talking with the city of Beloit about developing a local market in a vacant building that is owned by the city. In December of 2007, we entered into an agreement with the City of Beloit. Bushel and Peck's Local Market is a 6000 square foot retail space, complete with a kitchen and cafe. The focus is local and organic foods. Our goal is to serve the market of Beloit and the surrounding communities with the best "common sense" food. The space will also offer us a place to pack CSA orders. Today, we do this from an 8 by 40 foot "clean room" on our farm. We're out of space, so this is very exciting. Eventually we would like to offer custom orders from the store to Chicago.

In summary, many thanks to all of our members for supporting our farm and our partner farms. I know some days I wonder why we're doing this, and every time I do a CSA drop off and get to meet members I realize how cool my job is. Cheers for now!

Jackie, Grass Is Greener Gardens

Our Writer:

Grass Is Greener Gardens member Gentle Wagner wrote our June 2008 newsletter. A recent transplant to Chicago from San Francisco, the fruit and veggie CSAs are common on the west coast, but Gentle was especially excited by a meat CSA. Quite simply, Gentle loves meat and in the Midwest why wouldn't you get it from a local farmer? Gentle is a Curatorial Consultant for museums and private collectors. She spends her spare time reading about food, cooking and eating.

Alas - Spring

2008-05-07T01:03:17Z

FINALLY!

The Morels arrived. One day after the open house. It is spring!

Real Cage Free Chickens

2008-04-19T23:32:15Z

Here's a few images of our chickens, their eggs, spring - etc.....

See the eggs?

Here they are..

Spring Pasture