Serenity Valley Farm

Crickets, Crickets...Anyone there?

2012-02-12T22:09:00.001-05:00

It's been quiet around here hasn't it?

One would think that we would have plenty of time to whip up lots of witty and insightful posts during the slow off-season. But see that's the problem. Our off-season isn't exactly slow. We spend all year saying: we can do that in the winter, that will get done in December, we'll have plenty of time to do that in the off-season, etc. Our to-do list gets huge.

This winter has been filled with kitchen remodeling (we're finally done!), grant writing, PASA conference attending, business plan writing, but our biggest and most exciting project is...wait for it...a new website! That's right, Kristie has been busy setting up a new, fancy schmancy website -- at least we think so. But as with most projects, it's taking longer than anticipated and every post we put here has to be transferred to the new site. We hope to roll it out in the next month or so and you'll be the first to know!

In the mean time, keep in mind you can keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, and, as of now, Pinterest!

Wishing You a Happy New Year!

2011-12-30T11:00:00.001-05:00

Can you believe tomorrow is 2012? In a lot of ways, this year has flown by for us. It has been filled with all sorts of twists and turns and new adventures. Thank you following along and continuing to support us.

We hope you welcome the New Year safely, happily, and with heaps of delicious food!

From our little family, to yours, Happy New Year!

The Lawler Family

Dead Simple Raw Kale Salad

2011-12-28T22:40:00.000-05:00

As we were planning our holiday menu, I decided I wanted to round out our heavily roasted menu of beef, root vegetables, and potatoes with something fresh. A few weeks back I had a really wonderful raw kale salad while visiting a friend in New York City.

We had a bunch of kale to harvest, so I put a call out on our Facebook page requesting favorite kale salad recipes. Three lovely recipes were recommended to us: Raw Tuscan Kale Salad; Collard Green Coleslaw (swapping kale for collard greens); and Lemony Kale Salad.

But ultimately, when the day arrived, I decided to go with something super simple. Dead simple. And ya know what? It was delicious and super yummy.

Dead Simple Raw Kale Salad

Dead Simple Raw Kale Salad

2 bunches of kale
1/4 C of olive oil
1/4 C of lemon juice (1-2 lemons)
Zest of 1 lemon
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Strip the kale from the stalk and chop up the leaves. Chop until they are pretty small. Whisk the olive oil, lemon juice, and zest together. Stir in salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using). Toss the dressing in the kale. A nice feature of this salad is that you can make it ahead of time and the leaves won't get wilty like other salads. It also holds up well for leftovers.

Kaylee says: eat your greens.

AAR: Small Flock On-Farm Chicken Processing

2011-12-19T21:38:00.001-05:00

Task: Process A Small Flock of Laying Hens For Use as Soup Birds

Conditions: Given 14 x 2.5 year old Rhode Island Red laying hens, 1 x non-squeamish human helper, 1 x Improvised 'killing cone' (inverted plastic gallon milk jug with bottom and top cut away enough so that an inverted chicken may be inserted and its head accessed through the 'spout' of the milk jug, makes cutting the chicken's throat and bleeding them out easier),1 x 5-gallon bucket for blood, 1 x precursor to the precursor of the "WhizBang Chicken Plucker" (old timey electric drum feather plucker we bought for $50, DIY whizbangs can be built for ~$100), 1 x portable table, cutting board, fillet knife, boning knife, and 1 x propane fired turkey frier or LARGE stock pot with the ability to dunk one fully feathered bird in 140 degree water for up to 2 minutes to loosen the feathers to aid in defeathering)

The Drum is spun by a 4HP motor and plucks the bath loosened feathers off easily.

Standards: Process each bird, from killing stroke to fully eviscerated, de-feathered and placed into deep freeze, in no more than 30 minutes per bird and in batches no less than 7 birds per day initially, in any weather conditions above 0 degrees F, while retaining all desirable extras such as feet, hearts, and livers.

Basically, you catch a chicken, hold it upside down by its feet (all the blood rushing to its head 'calms' it making transport easier), place it head first into the inverted gallon milk jug with the bottom and top cut away. You might have to help guide its head out the bottom of the 'cone'. Place the still inverted chicken over the 5 gallon bucket, locate its jugular vein and carotid artery on the sides of its neck being sure to move as many feathers out of the way as possible, slice the veins/arteries ensuring not to cut the wind-pipe. Allow the chicken to bleed out for ~2min. Once spasms/twitching has ceased, we removed the heads, then dunked them into ~140 degree water fully for ~2min or until feathers along the wing tips pulled out easily. Transferred them to the plucker, plucked them, pulled any remaining feathers by hand, took the now naked chicken back to the propane burner and singed off any remaining hairs, (this also allegedly kills the naturally occurring low-level strains of salmonella that live on the skin of most ground based poultry) <-- could totally be an old wive's tale, I haven't seen the science, then took to the butchering table, eviscerated them in accordance with the multitude of 'DIY chicken processing videos' available on YouTube, rinsed them off, hydro-chilled them, bagged and placed them into the deep freeze.

We averaged ~20-25 min. per bird which we felt wasn't bad and was a comfortable pace. It was near freezing and our equipment layout was optimized and we were utter n00bs so I would venture that 15-20 min. per bird is a valid goal for our second attempt.

AAR:
Improves:
1. proper knife sharpening equipment on site. No matter how careful you are, your knives will dull fast unless you can somehow totally defeather the areas you are making the killing cuts in (you can't). I would bring every piece of knife sharpening gear I have as well as honing rods to the next event because trying to put an edge back onto blades with sub-standard stones in freezing weather is not a good time.

2. bring one of those long stick lighters for the propane stove. We had a normal lighter and a piece of wood that we had to use to try and light the burner every time we needed to heat the water back up or get as flame to singe the birds. This was not ideal.

Sustain:
1. I felt we conducted adequate research online via web sites and videos regarding small scale chicken processing so that we had a fairly good idea of what we were trying to do. Having smart phones on-site capable of pulling up those reference videos also helped if we needed to see a certain step-again. Googling for video results the phrase "humane chicken processing" will show you most of the videos we watched to get us started. The two below were the most helpful.

A Light and Late Thanksgiving Side

2011-12-06T00:10:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving seems eons away and Christmas is right around the corner, but I still wanted to share this lovely salad that we made for this year's feast.

We spent holiday in Buffalo this year and co-hosted with my brother and sister-in-law at their house. We were responsible for a turkey and a couple of side dishes (including mashed potatoes made from our own Yukon golds!). I wanted to do something with butternut squash, but was not finding anything too inspiring.

Then, the night before Thanksgiving (of course), I came across this recipe from the local blog Brown Eyed Baker. Check her site out for some wickedly delicious recipes. I liked the idea of a salad to help offset all of the heavy traditional dishes. Plus, it's pretty!

A couple of tips: I doubled the recipe since we had a large group. Next time, I'd leave the dressing on the side so leftovers don't get wilty. I ended up not roasting the cranberries or toasting the walnuts and it still turned out good.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette

Photo by Brown Eyed Baker

1 (1 to 1½-lb) butternut squash, peeled and ¾-inch diced
2 tablespoons + ½ cup olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
3 tablespoons dried cranberries
¾ cup apple cider (can substitute apple juice)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 ounces baby arugula (or mixed greens), washed and dried
½ cup walnuts, toasted
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Place the butternut squash on a sheet pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, the maple syrup, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Toss to evenly coat the butternut squash. Roast for 20 minutes, turning once, until the squash is tender. Add the cranberries to the pan during the last 5 minutes.

3. While the squash is roasting, combine the apple cider, the vinegar and the shallots in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the cider is reduced to about ¼ cup. Off the heat, whisk in the mustard, ½ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.

4. Place the arugula in a large salad bowl and add the roasted squash mixture, the walnuts and the grated Parmesan. Spoon just enough vinaigrette over the salad to moisten and toss well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Aaaand...We're Back

2011-12-04T11:33:00.001-05:00

It's been a bit quiet around here the past couple of weeks due to our post-season vacation. And by vacation, we mean some good quality video game playing for Brett and book reading for Kristie.

But we're back in the saddle and gearing up for projects both at home and on the farm. The biggest news from the past couple of weeks is that our chickens have decided they are done laying eggs. We're getting about one egg a week these days. We actually had to go buy eggs for the first time in 1.5 years!

No eggs means it's time for them to become chicken soup. Our goal is to process all of our 15 birds this week. And since it's our first time doing this, I'm sure there will be lots of lessons learned so wish us luck! We'll keep everyone posted.

Thank You!

2011-11-12T21:16:00.000-05:00

Kaylee wanted to say thanks too.

As the season draws to a close, we wanted take a moment and thank everyone for helping make our second season a success. We are incredibly grateful for our regular customers who visited our farm stand nearly every week, as well as all of the new customers we gained this year. Not only are we thankful for your support, but we also enjoy chatting with you all whether it's about the latest recipe, tips for backyard gardening, or the Pittsburgh food and drink scene. We will miss these conversations over the winter, but keep keep in touch and we look forward to seeing you all next season.

There were plenty of highs and lows this year, with lots of experience gained and wisdom learned. The heavy rains in early spring led to a late start and the drought in July stumped our plans for winter squash, but the sunshine and mild temps in August and September kept us in tomatoes and peppers until the first frost in late October.

And we have big plans this upcoming year. We have applied for a $5,000 grant through Lundberg Family Farms to build a hoop house, which will allow us to extend our season. We find out in December so wish us luck! We will be doing a complete overhaul of our website, which we hope will become a great resource for recipes, farm news, and food system information. And on the home front, we will be finalizing our kitchen renovation, organizing our basement, and constructing a walk-in cooler. Oh and we'd like a little time to rest and rejuvenate too. We'll have time for all of this right? Especially with a increasingly mobile infant?

So thank you again for a great season. We look forward to an even better and bountiful 2012.

Veteran's Day 2011

2011-11-11T20:10:00.001-05:00

Eighteen veterans commit suicide each day. We at Serenity Valley Farm strive to build a place where veterans can come and not only find employment but a new sense of purpose and camaraderie, one that builds, nurtures, and focuses on creative energy, instead of destructive energy. Our overall mission in these early years is to establish systems, build infrastructure, and increase productivity to the point where we are able to reach out to returning veterans and offer them a place to come and heal. We are incredibly grateful to our readers and customers who have supported us and our mission thus far. Happy Veteran's Day.

Kristie and I the night I returned from my second tour in Iraq

Farm Stand Postponed to Sunday, October 29

2011-10-29T08:56:00.000-04:00

We thought we were tough, but then we saw the snow on the ground. Since it's our last week, we still wanted to set up at some point this weekend so we're going to try out Sunday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The forecast is calling for sunshine so hopefully you guys will still be able to come out. You might even get to see one adorable 9-month-old dressed in her Halloween costume!

As a reminder, here's this week's list of produce:

White Fingerling Potatoes

Red Potatoes

Turnips

Daikon Radishes

Kale

Butternut Squash (from Clarion River Organics)

Kuri Squash (from Clarions River Organics)

Heirloom Tomatoes
Green Tomatoes (Makes some awesome fried green tomatoes!)

Green Peppers
Paprika Peppers

Jalapenos

Lettuce
Garlic

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Homemade Sassafras Jelly

LAST FARM STAND OF THE SEASON 29OCT

2011-10-28T01:03:00.001-04:00

We cannot believe it's already the end of October. We cannot believe that we still have tomatoes. This weekend will be our final Saturday stand for 2011. We've just picked the very last of our tomatoes and peppers from the bush and we've dug some tasty white potato fingerlings and some frost sweetened turnips! Come on out and say hi and bye till next spring!

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

White Fingerling Potatoes

Red Potatoes

Turnips

Daikon Radishes

Winter greens

Butternut Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Kuri Squash (from Clarions River Organics)

Green Peppers
Sweet Peppers

Jalapenos

Lettuce
Garlic
Tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, yellow pear)

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Homemade Sassafras Jelly

National Food Day and Easy Crockpot Applesauce

2011-10-24T23:37:00.045-04:00

Did you know today, October 24, 2011, is the first National Food Day? In case you haven't heard of it, the goal is to inspire a broad movement for producing healthy, affordable food in a sustainable, humane way. More specifically, here are its six goals:

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods
2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness
3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger
4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms
5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids
6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers.

In the spirit of this day and in the spirit of Kristie's favorite season, we decided to make some homemade applesauce. Unfortunately we don't have our own apples yet (trees are in the ground but it will be several years), so we turned to our trusty source for all things local and organic that we don't grow, Clarion River Organics. These apples are truly organic. They're not the prettiest and not the biggest, but dang they are delicious. Such a pure, raw apple flavor. And their Red Delicious variety is sweet, which is perfect for our applesauce because we don't like to add sugar. So when choosing apples, make sure to choose sweet varieties not tart ones like Granny Smith or you'll need to add sugar to the recipe. And please buy organic if possible. Apples topped the Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen list this year as being the fruit or vegetable that is most contaminated with pesticides.

Easy Crockpot Applesauce

Peel, core, and slice at least 8 apples, or you can fill up the crock pot. This part takes the longest. We are definitely in the market for one of those deluxe corer/peeler/slicers.
Toss all apples into the crockpot.
Throw in 1/2 to 1 Cup of water.
Sprinkle in cinnamon to taste (optional).
Set on low for 8 hours.
Mash it with a fork or potato masher.

And you're done! Applesauce can be frozen or canned for later use.

October 22 Farm Stand

2011-10-20T22:52:00.002-04:00

First I'd like to say thank you to everyone who came out last week. That wind was ferocious. But our tent survived as well as the jalapeno jelly that went flying after an extra strong gust. And we're still going! It may be frigid out there right now, but we have veggies to harvest!

That being said, the end is near. This Saturday will be our second to last farm stand. We have decided to close up at the end of the month, so our last farm stand will be October 29. This will allow us to both a) not freeze our pants off each week and b) get some work done around the farm before the snow comes. Hope to see you before the end of the season!

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Red Potatoes

Turnips

Daikon Radishes

Winter greens

Butternut Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Acorn Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Green Peppers
Sweet Peppers

Jalapenos

Lettuce
Garlic
Tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, yellow pear)

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Homemade Sassafras Jelly

October 15 Farm Stand

2011-10-13T22:46:00.000-04:00

We've got potatoes! Red, delicious potatoes. With all of the rain in August, our potato plants got a big kick in the ass and really flourished. Our greens are slowly starting to mature and our tomatoes are hanging on for dear life. And honestly, our heirloom tomatoes taste better now than they did 2 months ago. Who knew?

We hope to keep the farm stand open a couple more weeks, as long as the weather is nice and the produce is plentiful. We'll keep you posted on this site week to week.

Gift-ready Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Red Potatoes!

Turnips

Daikon Radishes

Winter greens

Butternut Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Acorn Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Green Peppers
Spicy Paprika Peppers
Ancho Peppers
Jalapenos

Tomatoes (heirloom, yellow pear, cherry tomato)

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Lettuce
Garlic
Eggs

Healthy Butternut Squash Muffins

2011-10-12T22:40:00.000-04:00

I recognize that I've only been posting muffin recipes lately. I think it's because I always forget to take a picture of regular food before I scarf it down. I'm not going to eat a dozen muffins at one sitting -- at least on most days.

These muffins are so incredibly good and a healthy alternative to the store-bought, calorie-laden version. The original recipe is actually for a pumpkin muffin, but butternut squash is what we had in the house. Muffins freeze really well so they're a great healthy snack/breakfast to have on hand.

If you're looking to reduce the sugar for kids or yourself, view the notes at the bottom. We make the reduced sugar and salt version for our 8-month-old and she loves them.

Butternut Squash Muffins

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-grain pastry flour (can substitute all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt*
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar*
3 tablespoons maple syrup or unsulphered molasses*
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 cup pureed butternut squash
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup low fat buttermilk

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose and whole-wheat flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk the sugar, maple syrup, oil and 1 egg until combined. Add the other egg and whisk well. Whisk in the squash and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the buttermilk. Whisk just until combined.

Fill the prepared muffin pan using a 1/4 measuring cup. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 15 minutes.

*Reduce-Sugar/Salt Substitutes: 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 2 T of maple syrup, 1/4 tsp of salt
.

October 8 Farm Stand

2011-10-06T22:23:00.004-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came to our house last weekend to purchase veggies! That was some nasty weather and we appreciate the peeps that braved the elements. Amazingly this Saturday promises to be the exact opposite, high of 80 and sunny! Come on out, say hi, and pick up some fresh veggies.

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Turnips

Daikon Radishes

Butternut Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Acorn Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Green Peppers
Spicy Paprika Peppers
Ancho Peppers
Jalapenos

Tomatoes (they just keep growing!)

Groundcherries

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Lettuce
Garlic
Eggs

Throwing in the Towel

2011-09-30T20:40:00.000-04:00

Alright. At 8:29 p.m. on Friday night we're calling it. No farm stand tomorrow. The weather just looks too nasty with a high of 45 degrees and 70% of rain. But this does not mean we're done for the season. Barring any major weather issues, we will be back out there next week so we can keep bringing you fresh and delicious produce.

But don't worry, there's still a way to get the goods this week. Come by our house (in Blawnox) between 10-2 to purchase this week's goodies (see post below for full list). P L U S !!!! Every order over $20 will come with a commemorative brown bottle similar to the ones homebrewers fill with tasty concoctions such as Oktoberfest HomeBrews. Will the bottles tomorrow contain such deliciousness? I cannah say for sure. Gotta show up to find out. WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE. Email us or call us for directions 724-954-3238.

October 1 Farm Stand

2011-09-29T22:43:00.001-04:00

It's getting chilly out there! And the forecast doesn't look so swell for this Saturday. But as long as it's not raining horribly, we will out there, so bundle up and stop by for the last of the summer produce and some fall staples. If for some reason we won't be setting up, check here, Facebook or Twitter for the announcement.

We've got chestnuts this week! They are delicious roasted over a fire -- or even a gas burner. We will also be supplementing our produce with butternut squash and pie pumpkins from Clarion River Organics and butternut squash and acorn squash from Five Elements Farm.

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Turnips

Radishes
Daikon Radishes (new this week!)

Green Peppers
Various Sweet Peppers
Jalapenos
Bok Choi (Chinese Cabbage)
Swiss Chard

Butternut Squash (from Clarion River Organics and Five Elements Farm)

Acorn Squash (from Five Elements Farm)

Pie Pumpkins (from Clarion Organics -- use these babies for pumpkin muffins, pumpkin butter, or freeze for pie)

Tomatoes (last week, get 'em while you can!)
Groundcherries

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Lettuce
Garlic
Eggs

September 24 Farm Stand

2011-09-29T22:10:00.000-04:00

Fall is officially here! And guess what's not? Our dang winter squash - the whole crop failed this year. Soooo...we talked to our friends at Clarion River Organics and we will have some of their delicious butternut squash and pie pumpkins at the farm stand this Saturday.

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Turnips (on sale for $2/bunch!)

Radishes
Daikon Radishes (new this week!)

Green Peppers
Various Sweet Peppers
Jalapenos

Butternut Squash (from Clarion River Organics)

Pie Pumpkins (from Clarion Organics)

Tomatoes (at the end of the season, get 'em while you can!)
Groundcherries

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Lettuce
Garlic
Eggs

September 17 Farm Stand

2011-09-15T23:26:00.006-04:00

The summer is winding down. Tomato plants are starting to droop and we're gearing up to put some of the beds to rest for the winter. But the season isn't over yet. We've still got gorgeous looking potato plants we're waiting to harvest and lots of cool weather greens we're hoping do well.

And now that Kaylee is 7 months old she's been sent to the fields to oversee the workers.

Farm girl in training

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Eggplant (Japanese and and Italian)

Various Sweet Peppers
Turnips
Radishes
Tomatoes (at the end of the season, get 'em while you can!)
Groundcherries
Jalapenos

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Lettuce
Garlic
Eggs

Zucchini for Dessert

2011-09-12T21:29:00.002-04:00

Like so many others, our zucchini plants have been good to us this year. We have harvested pounds and pounds of zucchini and I've struggled to come up with various ways to use the prolific crop. Then I came across these two recipes that appealed to my sweet tooth. Just stick your zucchini in the food processor to grate. Grated zucchini can also be frozen so we will definitely be enjoying these treats throughout the winter.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies
I found this recipe while reading the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which is a great story about what it takes to eat local. I always love when a book about food includes recipes. If you're not a fan of whole wheat flour, you can substitute white flour one to one.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cookies [Photo Credit]

Ingredients
1 egg, beaten
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey

1 tbsp. vanilla extract
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg

1 cup finely shredded zucchini
12 oz chocolate chips

Directions
Combine first five ingredients (through vanilla) in a large bowl. In a separate small bowl, combine dry ingredients including flours, baking soda, salt, and spices. Blend into liquid mixture. Stir in shredded zucchini and chocolate chips. Drop by the spoonful onto a greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350°, 10 to 15 minutes. Bake longer if you like your cookies a little more browned.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
If you do a Google search for this recipe, you'll find several different recipes. I chose this one for its use of chocolate chips and buttermilk. These freeze really well so you always have a semi-healthy chocolate treat on hand.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffin Photo Credit

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup cocoa, sifted
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups zucchini, washed and dried, ends and stems removed, cut in half lengthwise and seeded, and grated
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 20 muffin cups with muffin liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large bowl whisk together flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, allspice and cinnamon; set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk together the sugar, butter and oil. Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined. Stir in vanilla, buttermilk, zucchini and chocolate chips.

Gently stir the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups. Bake until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and muffin tops are springy to the touch, 20 to 24 minutes; rotating halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

September 10 Farm Stand

2011-09-08T22:30:00.000-04:00

Talk about a weather shift! Lots o' rain, cool weather. Good for our cool weather crops, but making it a bit difficult for the rest of our peppers to turn colors.

This week we have lots of delicious yellow slicer tomatoes. If you've never had a yellow tomato, they taste just like the red, but are very low acid. This is great for people who have acid reflux and other similar issues. Tomatoed out? Get some to freeze for the winter.

Yellow Slicer Tomatoes

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Eggplant! (Japanese and and Italian)
Various Sweet Peppers
Turnips
Beets
Radishes
Tomatoes (red cherry, yellow slicers, pink heirlooms)
Green Beans (Fin de Bagnol French String Bean and Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean)
Jalapenos

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly

Lettuce
Garlic
Eggs

Kaylee eats her first sweet pepper

September 3 Farm Stand

2011-09-01T22:26:00.008-04:00

Can you believe September is already here? It's amazing how summer just flies by. August went especially fast for this family. In addition to our regular activities of harvesting, weeding, and planting, we've also been spending a lot of time canning and freezing so we have lots of tasty produce in the winter. We finally bought a Foodsaver V2244 that we've been wanting for awhile. I've only been using it a week and I love it already. Looking forward to seeing how fresh it keeps everything this winter.

The big news for this week is that our cantaloupe has ripened and our peppers are finally starting to turn!

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Cantaloupe
Various Sweet Peppers
Turnips
Beets
Radishes
Tomatoes (red cherry, yellow pear, yellow slicers, pink heirlooms)
Green Beans (Fin de Bagnol French String Bean and Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean)

Jalapenos

Homemade Jalapeno Jelly
Bok Choy
Zucchini
Lettuce
Garlic (best dang garlic you've ever eaten)
Onions
Eggs

August 20 Farm Stand

2011-08-18T23:15:00.001-04:00

Unfortunately I missed the farm stand last week thanks to my timing belt snapping on the way home from Buffalo last Friday. But me and the baby are back (complete with her first tooth!) and we're looking forward to seeing everyone Saturday. It's been awesome weather this week. In addition to our bountiful tomatoes, we've got some beautiful Fin de Bagnol green beans that are delicious!

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Tomatoes (red cherry, yellow pear, pink heirlooms)
Green Beans

Jalapenos
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Lettuce
Groundcherries (these are the tastiest little things ever)
Potted basil (awesome for the window sill)
Garlic (best dang garlic you've ever eaten)
Onions
Eggs

August 13 Farm Stand

2011-08-11T21:52:00.000-04:00

I left Brett to fend for himself this week while I took the baby up to Buffalo to spend time with my family. He spent the week drinking and playing video games. I kid, I kid. He actually kicked some major booty on the farm this week, continually improving the land so we can continue to expand. In between the big projects, we continue to reap summer's beautiful bounty.

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Tomatoes (red cherry, yellow pear, yellow slicers, pink heirlooms)Green peppers

Zucchini

Crookneck Squash
Lettuce
Groundcherries (these are the tastiest little things ever)
Herbs
Potted basil (awesome for the window sill)
Garlic (best dang garlic you've ever eaten)
Onions
Handmade charcoal

August 06 Farm Stand

2011-08-04T23:37:00.001-04:00

It's tomato season! They're coming in fast and furious in all sorts of shapes and colors. I can't wait to make my first caprese salad of the season (fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper).

Here's the full list we'll have this Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Tomatoes (red cherry, yellow pear, yellow slicers, pink heirlooms)
Zucchini
Crookneck Squash
Greens (Kale, Bok Choy, Swiss Chard)
Lettuce
Groundcherries (these are the tastiest little things ever)
Red potatoes
Golden Purslane (High in Omega 3s, great in salads)
Potted basil (awesome for the window sill)
Garlic (best dang garlic you've ever eaten)
Onions
Eggs
Handmade charcoal

July 30 Farm Stand

2011-07-28T22:41:00.004-04:00

We are thrilled with all of the rain we got this week. Plants are lapping it up and enjoying every drop. Unfortunately, it may have been a little too late for our melons and winter squash, but we're keeping our fingers crossed they pull through. We thought our tomatoes would be in full force by this week's farm stand, but only a few have started to ripen. There are lots on the vine though so hopefully we'll be drowning in them soon.

For now, here's what we'll have at the farm stand Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Zucchini

Crookneck Squash

Yukon Gold Potatoes
Pear Yellow Tomatoes
Heirloom Tomatoes (Our first few!)

Baby Onions (great for roasting!)

Purslane (high in Omega 3s with a lovely lemony flavor)

Fresh Garlic

Eggs

July 23rd Farm Stand

2011-07-21T23:13:00.000-04:00

Holy hell it's hot. But we're plugging away trying our damnedest to bring you tasty deliciousness. Here's what we expect to have at the farm stand on Saturday (weather dependent, if we get weathered out we'll send out a FLASH message across Twitter, Facebook, and a blog post here on Sat. morning)

Raspberries!

Zucchini

Crookneck Squash

New Potatoes (white)

Baby Onions

Fresh Garlic

Cucumbers

Raspberry Jam

Sassafras Jelly

Eggs

Handmade Charcoal

July 16 Farm Stand

2011-07-16T00:44:00.000-04:00

It's beginning to look a lot like summer in the form of beautiful and delicious red raspberries!

Here's the full list we'll have at the farm stand tomorrow. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. in Blawnox.

Raspberries!

Zucchini

Crookneck Squash

New Potatoes

Baby Onions

Fresh Garlic

Radishes

Raspberry Jam

Sassafras Jelly

Eggs

PolyFace Farm Visit 2011 Overview

2011-07-13T09:58:00.000-04:00

This last weekend Kristie, Kaylee and I had the opportunity to go visit Joel Salatin's Polyface Inc. farm in Stauton, VA.

Joel is one of the leading pioneers in the sustainable farming movement and is very good at what he does. Their farm focuses mainly on meat production (pastured beef, poultry, pork and rabbits) and is a second generation operation. According to him, the farm was started by his father back in the 60s from near scratch. Today it is arguably one of the most famous sustainable agriculture farms and an operation that employs 20 people and has operations on 7 separate farms.

Joel hosts a 'field day/open house' every 3 years where they hold talks and allow people to just roam free all over the farm. We took a ton of pics and will post little mini-pieces on each of his operations as we sort through the data. So here's a few pics to get us started and stay tuned in the future for more detailed descriptions of all the knowledges we gained this last weekend.

1700 people showed up for the 2011 PolyFace Inc. farm visit

The pasture where all the magics happen.

Joel leading the 8AM farm tour

Farm Stand Closed Tomorrow and Next Saturday

2011-07-01T18:56:00.000-04:00

We will be spending this holiday weekend with family so the farm stand will be closed. Next week we are heading to a farm workshop, so we will also be closed July 9. We'll be back in business July 16!

We hope everyone has a wonderful July 4th!

This Week's Goods

2011-06-23T22:36:00.001-04:00

Here's what we've got for this week's farm stand. Come see us Saturday, 9 am-1pm

Garlic Scapes (use to make into a delicious and powerful pesto)

Radishes

Lettuce

Handmade Hardwood Charcoal (no chemicals, lights fast, burns hot, overall awesome)

Eggs (limited)

Transplant Sale! Gotta get these babies in the ground (peppers, tomatoes, herbs)

Mint Pesto with Green Garlic

2011-06-04T22:45:00.000-04:00

We harvested a lot of mint this week. I was determined to figure out what to do with the piles of herb besides spending a day drinking mojitos.

My search revealed some recipes for mint pesto. I love traditional basil pesto and I always forget you can make it with other herbs as well. Since we had some green garlic leftover as well, I thought that would be a perfect spring/early summer substitution for regular garlic. We placed it on sauteed tilapia, but it would also work well with chicken or lamb.

The following recipe is adapted from two different recipes I found on Epicurious.

Mint Pesto with Green Garlic

3 cups (lightly packed) fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup blanched almonds (could also use pistachios, walnuts, pine nuts, etc.)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (original recipe called for 1/2 cup, I like less oil)
Half of the end of green garlic, chopped, roughly 1-2 tablespoons
Coarse kosher salt

In a food processor, combine the mint, almonds, and garlic; process until finely chopped.

Gradually pour the olive oil through the feed tube with the food processor on. Season with salt to taste. Store leftover pesto in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks; let it come to room temperature before serving.

Tomorrow's Goods

2011-06-03T23:28:00.000-04:00

Everything is bagged, packed, and ready for tomorrow!

Here's what we'll have:

Bagged, fresh-cut lettuce. We have a lot and its delicious!
Limited green garlic & spring onions
Cut Herbs: Mint, Sage, Oregano, Catnip
Handmade, hardwood charcoal
Eggs
Seedlings: tomatoes, winter squash, dill, cilantro, mint, basil

Come and get from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Freeport Road & North Avenue in Blawnox.

FLASH, FLASH, FLASH

2011-05-31T21:33:00.000-04:00

Customers, this is Serenity Valley Farm.

Farm stand info for our second season opener to follow.

Take out pen and paper and prepare to copy.

Serenity Valley Farm Stand
Saturday, June 4th
0900-1300hrs. at the Blawnox Veteran's Memorial
Corner of Freeport Rd and North Ave.
Blawnox, Pittsburgh, PA 15238

Will update with produce list, this channel, on Thur. evening.

No further information at this time.

Good eating. Serenity Valley Farm. Out.

Our New Logo!

2011-04-29T21:59:00.000-04:00

Now that we have one growing season under our belt, we decided we needed to be a little more official. Enter our new logo:

A local Pittsburgh graphic designer Melissa Ott designed the logo and we think she nailed it. We'll be rolling it out just in time for the new season. We're also working on a new website that will be chock full o' awesomeness -- farm trials and tribulations, recipes, photos, etc. With Kristie back to working full time, Brett busy with the farm, and an infant at home, it may take us awhile, but we'll have it up and running one day!

There's a rule....

2011-04-23T09:30:00.000-04:00

In the military and many law enforcement organizations there is a rule that if you are going to carry / use non-lethal weapons like mace or stun guns or tasers, you need to have them used on you so that you know what the capabilities and limitations of the weapon system are. Well we have electric fence up at the farm and as our facebook fans know, we had an issue with some electrified poultry netting (located inside a 4-strand poly-woven electric fence with a beefy energizer on it) failing and allowing a predator to kill one of our hens.

So there I was yesterday in the mud and freezing rain trying to figure out why our portable-solar fence energizer (a solar charged battery with a grounding wire and a 'hot' wire attached to the fence) couldn't fully energize the poultry netting. The cows were there in the general vicinity on the off chance I had some treats on me and also seemed interested in what I was doing with the netting. I had been out there for a few hours and had already checked each fence pole to ensure that the wire of the fence wasn't touching the metal spike on each pole and had tried daisy chaining another grounding rod to the system and had tried just about everything I could think of. Plenty of juice was coming out of the energizer it just wasn't electrifying the fence and that is usually a case of poor grounding rods, or too much drain caused by wet grass and weeds. I was holding the tester in one hand and the alligator clip in the other and was trying to get the fence close enough to attach the hot cable to. So I switched the tester to the hand I was holding the hot alligator clip in (you see where this is going don't you) and turned to reach for the fence with my now free hand. As I did so there was a ZAAAAP!!! that seemed to originate in my chest and a bright flash as the probe of the wet tester being held in my wet hand must have touched the metal part of the alligator clip. The cows were like "HOLY SHIT! We're getting outta here. This dudes crazy." I think the pop and flash scared them as much as it scared me. It had felt like I got punched in the chest with a broom handle and had grabbed a hot iron with my right hand at the same time. I was all like: "Friggin outstanding. I just stopped my heart with that shock." And actually wondered if there was some way I could do a self-chest compression to re-start my heart. Well, needless to say the world didn't go dark and I didn't get eaten by rogue raccoons but I can tell you that rain, mud, cold whipping winds, are not the ideal conditions for working on any sort of electric fencing. Jeeze, imagine if that had been the horse fence. Dang sucka! I got the poultry netting up to just about 2000v which is the minimum range for being effective and called it a day. Will have to look at fixes cause we can't have that fence failing every time it rains. I'll contact the manufacturer to ensure it wasn't operator error before I publicly trash their product.

We have Interns!!

2011-04-17T23:53:00.000-04:00

All good organic farms have interns right?

We had a problem in that I was spending an awful lot of time last year mowing the two pastures that we don't currently grow on and also trying to collect enough of that cut grass to use as mulch and compost for our production fields. If only there was some way I get someone to collect all that grass for me and package it up ready to be put into a compost pile. So's I went onto the interwebs and asked if there was anyone who might be willing to fill this position at the farm.

Turns out the universe was smiling on us that day and Carrie G., who had two young little steers who needed more room to roam, found us. On the left is Skid and the right is Tucker. Skid is like the leader of the two but Tucker is younger and is supposed to grow up to be bigger than Skid so we'll see how long Skid lasts trying to gulp down his paycheck (a lil scoop of sweet corn/oats mi everyday) then going over and "helping" Tucker finish his. Their job on the farm is pasture management and 'compost production' and so far they've been doing a great job. I call them interns because we didn't pay for them, Carrie G. donated them to us as pets on the condition that we never eat them. Which is not a problem, if you've been assigned to a team and you have a name it's kinna hard to eat you. We're pleased to welcome them to the team and look forward to working and growing along with them!

Skid and Tucker

River: Little soul, big world. Eat, sleep, and eat. Many souls. Mal: Cattle on the ship three weeks, she don't go near 'em. Suddenly we're on Jianying, and she's got a driving need to commune with the beasts? River: They weren't cows inside. They were waiting to be, but they forgot. Now they see sky, and they remember what they are. Mal: Is it bad that what she said made perfect sense to me?

--"Firefly" Safe (2002)

Welcome to the unit. Grab your hive, we're going to the field.

2011-04-16T23:29:00.001-04:00

There was a saying in the Army that rang true more often than not, (even before 9/11). "Welcome to the unit. Grab your ruck. We're deploying to Iraq / Afghanistan / the field." And so it was with the bees. They show up and not 24 hours from when they had left their home in Georgia, they were deployed to their new homes in our fields.

I believe the statement that if the bees and other insect pollinators were wiped out then humans would have precious few months before the food crops that we relied on would be in trouble. I also believe that the 'Colony Collapse Disorder' is a very real threat and is due in large part to BigAg's pesticide and errant genetic breeding programs for both bees and plants. I also feel that you can never really have enough pollinators on a primarily open pollinated vegetable farm. Soooooooo...back in early March I ordered two packages of bees. A package is basically 3-15k worker bees and a queen from one of the southern states (where it is warm over the winter and where the bees have a steady food source so that they are not famished when they get to where ever they are going up north). Each package can be used to populate one empty hive. Here is a pic of what a package of bees looks like when you pick it up.

The stuff on top of the package is just gravel that I was going to use inside the hive (in their feeders to keep them from drowning) and the spray bottle is the sugar syrup mixture that I use instead of the smoker to keep them calm/preoccupied right before I'm going to do something they might not like. Liiiiike:

Dumping them out of their Bee Transport Vehicle into a strange new home. I'm wearing the ACUs because the pockets are handy as well as the light color and the velcro around the wrists and neck are good at keeping

curious bees from crawling into places you don't want them. PLUS they're handy for tucking the insect screen into (the stuff around my head). And basically I have a functional bee suit at no cost.

So anyways, you take the bee package, squirt them a few times with the sugar syrup, remove the queen cage from the package and secure it into the new hive then dump the bees around them.

And voilà!

The bees are busy setting up shop and preparing themselves for a busy season of pollinating our crops and fruit trees.

Welcome to the team lil buzzers!!

C-331 CHICKEN SHACK

2011-03-31T19:26:00.001-04:00

Spent the last two days adapting, improvising, and overcoming (in a heated garage with some power tools).

Issue: The current chicken coop is a static structure located feet from the barn. The chickens obliterate anything approaching the color red or green within a day of it sprouting. They have a fondness for pooping in the barn and laying eggs anywhere where more than four leaves have gathered. This is not ideal.

Discussion: Things that are less than awesome about the current chicken situation include: mucking out of the static chicken coop. With so many awesome places to lay eggs in the barn, it could be years before we discover all the places that they have. The coop's current position allows them access to eat any cash crops they can get to which is all but one of our fields.

Recommendation: A way to FOCUS the power and energy of the chicken into an area that suited both them and us would be ideal.

I present to you, the C-331 ChickenShack:

Given a set of pallet forks for the tractor, and a solar charged electric poultry netting rig, this setup allows us to move the flock around the farm to focus their chicken-powers in areas that suit both them and us. In the Spring the C-331 will follow the cattle around and partake in the goodness that pastures exploding into life will produce. In the Summer, the C-331 can be placed into areas where early crops had grown and already been harvested where the chickens can clean any beds of bugs that might have popped up. In the fall and early winter the C-331 can be placed into the orchard and harvest fields to clear it of fallen fruit and seed heads. In the winter, we'll move them back into their 'winter lodging' seen here (the one on the left):

Here's a pic of the inside:

It's still a prototype so there's a bunch of tweaks to be made but I think it's a step in the right direction and the chickens already seem to like it. Keep an eye out for future updates on how we tweak the system and the results for better or for worse.

Ghetto Greenhouse Fail

2011-03-28T23:19:00.002-04:00

So uhhhh.....rollin up on the Ghetto Greenhouse and seeing that the low temp reading on the thermometer (the one that sits RIIIIGHT on top of the seed flats) for the last 24 hours is a balmy 17 degrees means three things. 1. Current design is an EPIC FAIL. 2. One half of our early seedlings just got wiped (meaning I still have trays that had just been seeded and thus were non-light dependent in a heated garage) 3. I'm going to be able to select some pepper and tomato seedlings that could be grown in the Arctic as not ALL of the seedlings in the trays that underwent 17 degree F temps shriveled up and died.

Good times. There's some kinna feel good quote out there that says something like lack of 'frequent and epic failures' indicate too much time spent on the sidelines with your "Lil' Sally Lad Pants" on.

Oh what the heck.

2011-03-07T22:23:00.000-05:00

Gonna try some Quinoa and Okra this year in far corners of the fields cause the stuff is supposed to be hard to kill and it'd be cool if it works.

A plant order today...

2011-03-04T17:34:00.000-05:00

is better than a rapidly devaluing dollar tomorrow. Or at least that is the attitude I seem to be taking with respect to ordering from various nurseries this year. The MEGA-tree order I put in at the in-state nursery was only able to be half filled due to them being out of stock of some of the cherry, plum and apple trees that I wanted, so I had to re-order those from http://www.raintreenursery.com/. I threw in a few bamboo trees as well for garden stake production and so that in 5 years when I am growing 70' tall 7" in diameter bamboo trees, I can take the logs and begin construction of my bamboo tree-city in the upper story of the tall maples and poplars down in the valley. I also went ahead and ordered a metric ass-ton of mushroom starts. We started some Shitake last year that should theoretically begin fruiting this year but that was really just a test run. What I ordered today was two different types of Oyster, two different types of Shitake and some Lion's Mane oysters. Each order is enough to inoculate 25x40"x4" logs which means I now have to go find 150 40"x4" logs which is no big deal cause it's not like I have to get spring crops in the ground or prep planting sites for 20+ fruit trees or anything. Okay then, bye bye for now.

"They better grow."

2011-02-23T11:53:00.000-05:00

Just ordered 21 fruit trees, some pears, cherries, apples and plums. They'll begin bearing fruit 2-3 years after planting. When I told Kristie how much we spent on them she said: "They better grow." I agree. GOTTA SPEND MONEY TO MAKE delicious pies MONEY!

The Bee's Knees

2011-02-15T09:34:00.000-05:00

It's official. We've ordered two packages of bees and will be setting up two Top Bar beehives this spring. It was something I'd considered doing last year but didn't wanna overload myself with too many tasks. The Top Bar method is a little more hands off than the traditional langstroth hives (the traditional stacked box ones) and is a more natural habitat for the bees. This fits with our purpose for them as while the honey will be nice their primary purpose will be pollination and wax production. I'll post pics and a more detailed post once I get this kitchen renovation done and get started on the hives.

Food Storage Made Easy

2011-02-10T18:46:00.000-05:00

Just found this blog about food storage that I thought I'd share. No matter where you live, there exists the chance of getting snowed in or stuck in your house either due to natural disaster or bringing a newborn home. Point being, with food stored at home, it's better to have and not need, than need and not have. Much of the time, blogs dedicated to "Prepping" are written by guys and in a style that the female homemakers out there might not find inviting. "Food Storage Made Easy" is the answer to that. It's written by two young mothers and is in pink so it's totally chick-ta-fied. Swing on by and check them out.

http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/

The Newest Little Farm Hand

2011-02-09T14:09:00.000-05:00

Brett and I are pleased to announced we've added a new little farm hand to the Serenity Valley Farm family.

Kaylee Julia Lawler was born February 4 at 2:50 a.m. weighing in at 7lb, 2oz and 20 in. long.

She's looking forward to seeing everyone this summer at the farm stand!

Eggs and Wood for the Holidays!

2010-12-18T10:49:00.000-05:00

We are nearing the end of 2010 and we are so thankful to all of our customers for helping make this a wonderful first year.

Even though the fields are covered with snow, we still have some farm goodies to help with the holidays.

Eggs - $3

Cooking up a storm this week? Get some farm fresh eggs for all of your baking and Christmas breakfast needs.
We will be increasing the price next season, so take advantage of the lower price while it lasts!

Wood Bundles - $5

We have bundles of wood ready to keep you warm. Each bundle is a bit larger than the ones they sell at the grocery store and includes a fire starter.

Both the eggs and wood can be picked up this week at our house in Blawnox through Dec. 23. We are available during the day and evening, just shoot us an email or give us a call at 724-954-3238 to schedule a pick up time.

From our family to yours, we hope you everyone has a safe and happy holiday season!

Winter To-Do List

2010-11-30T10:57:00.000-05:00

These are in general order (and as a reminder, we GROW in Kittanning but we LIVE in Pittsburgh,PA):

1. Finish getting nursery ready (the one for the human baby, not the plant babies)

2. Remodel kitchen and install a dishwasher. (you have no effing idea how critical your dishwasher is to your sanity until you've lived w/out one, unless you mostly eat fast-food but then you wouldn't be reading this site if you did)

3. Organize basement of Pittsburgh house to better support Market stand support operations once the gear for the kitchen remodel is out of there.

4. Support Kristie through baby delivery and first weeks of having baby in house.

5. Set up New Improved Serenity Valley Farm website (that will include online store and heirloom PA Proven seed sales) and FaceBook pages.

6. Research How to Care For and Raise Livestock as we hope to buy a few cattle this spring to keep the unused pastures mowed.

7. Build/buy 1-2 green/hoop houses to support seed starting operations and season extension.

8. Research/install multi-strand electric fencing to deter the massive amount of critter damage our beds are under.

So's it's looking like I'm gonna hafta strap on the "One-Legged-Man-->Ass Kicking Contest" hat and get busy.

How hard could it be?

Check back every so often and I'll let you know.

CLOSED FOR THE SEASON!!

2010-10-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

We wanted to thank every one for a GREAT first season! We didn't even plan on selling this year but things went well enough that we had enough to provide for the community. Thanks again for the warm welcome and we look forward to seeing all our customers again this next spring. COME GROW WITH US!!

FINAL WEEKLY FARM STAND THIS SATURDAY!

2010-10-15T18:42:00.000-04:00

Welp, we've decided to call the ball and have chosen THIS Saturday (16OCT10) as our final market-stand for the 2010 season. Come by, say hi, and sign up for our winter newsletter so you can find out when we are gonna hold our first stand for the 2011 season next spring. We want to thank all the wonderful people we've met this year and look forward to seeing y'all next year as you come grow with us! But keep checking in on the blog cause as winter approaches, I'll have lots more time to get blog posts up where you'll be able to see the improvements we are making for 2011. I'll give you a hint, it involves livestock, and build-it urself greenhouses.

Homemade Yeast in Western PA

2010-10-13T21:25:00.000-04:00

I planted buckwheat this year because I'd heard it was really easy to grow in virgin soils (it is) and it was a prolific producer of grain that could be turned into flour for use in breads and pancakes. I thought it'd be cool to be able to make bread using flour that you had grown yourself. For the ultimate in do-it-yourselfdom I wondered if it was possible to make your own yeast, that way you could make bread that was sourced entirely from stuff you made. I remember looking up 'homemade yeast' on the interwebs and finding some pages that talked about the white powdery stuff on the stems of wild raspberry being a wild yeast and how you could take a stem of that and stick it in a bowl of flour and water and a 'yeast starter' could be made that way. That sounded a little weird to me and I kinna stopped reading about it at that point. Then we heard a bit about baking bread with homemade yeast on the Splendid Table podcast and it sounded super-cool. Here's a link to that site which does an awesome job laying out how to make your own yeast, step-by-step.

http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/listings/101002/lost-art-of-bread.shtml

Garlic has arrived.

2010-10-06T17:11:00.001-04:00

So, October is the time for the planting of the garlic bulbs. You want to give them about 4-6 weeks in the ground before the first good frost and in Western PA, that's about..... NOW. So, thinking I was slick, a few months ago, I ordered A WHOLE POUND of Organic Heirloom Garlic Bulbs from High Mowing Organics and planned to do my exponential grow thing to that WHOLE POUND of garlic, (which it turns out is only like 4 bulbs, each of which contain 7-10 cloves, and it's those cloves that you individually plant and they become the new bulbs which you then harvest, separate, and re-plant etc..) where I plant all whopping 28-40 cloves this year, harvest approx. 25 bulbs (or 175 cloves) next year and re-plant those and some time around the year 2020 I have enough tasty heirloom garlic to sell to our loyal customers.

Sat down, did some brainstorming as to how I could reduce the time until I had marketable garlic, and the two winning ideas were #1. try and order more garlic online line and get it planted as soon as it gets here and hope there's enough time and/or #2. hijack one of them garlic freighters carrying garlic from China to here and sell it here. Both ideas had their own specific problems, #1 for instance, turns out there is/was a massive run on heirloom garlic bulbs this year and all of my normal suppliers were wiped and #2's problem was my ship boarding skills are a little rusty and my helicopter is in the shop.
Decided to go with idea #1 and adapted and overcame its problem set by using this new technological innovation called "The Google" to find new untouched garlic suppliers. Now, assuming the site I ordered from was not a hastily designed shell site for a "let us exploit the small farmers who failed to initially order enough garlic by stealing their online sale info whilst making them think they are slick ordering garlic in October" scam I should be golden.

No Farm Stand This Weekend 09OCT2010

2010-10-04T18:59:00.000-04:00

So, given that we are approx. 9" low on rainfall across the state, the fall crops that we planted back in August are languishing a bit. As a result of this stunted growth we've decided to take this week off from the farm stand and give the crops a little time to digest this rain we've been getting. We should be back on 16OCT10 at the Veteran's Memorial location at Freeport Rd. and North Ave. with a bunch of fresh spinach, lettuce, beets, carrots, fennel, pumpkins and squash. See you then!

PePe Le Peeeew

2010-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

So earlier in the season we were having issues with what I thought was a bandit groundhog taking a single bite out of each of my eggplant. So I got one of those live traps (seen in the very left of the above pic) and put it in the lower field in hopes of catching him so's I could relocate him, I'd placed the trap about 2 months ago, baited it with a fresh red bell pepper and left it. Nothing ever happened with it and I'd kinna forgotten about it. Yesterday, while out spreading some Milky Spore to combat the Japanese Beetle, Dora (the Dog) comes trotting up and a wave of skunk scent hit me. Dora knew she'd been hit by a stink bomb as she has a pretty sensitive sniffer. She was rolling her nose and head around on the ground going 'oh god oh god get it off! get it off!'. Once she'd determined that I couldn't magically make the horrible smell go away she went off to go seek relief elsewhere. I kept doing what I was doing and made a mental note to look up skunk remedies before I let her in the truck again. As I got down to the lower part of the field my eye caught movement from the trap and after my mini-heart attack I saw it was the skunk in the trap. I went back to the barn, got some telescoping poles and let the little dude go free. He was pretty hungry and went straight to looking for food as he worked his way back to the woods.

Here's a link to the article that saved the skunks life, cuz I had the .22 with me in case the results from my search of "What do skunks eat" was "primarily they eat garden crops planted by human males whose name begins with B" but, as it turns out, they eat mostly grubs and bugs and rodents so : Skunks are okay for crops, most of the time.

WE'RE SMALL TIME NOW!!!

2010-09-24T19:31:00.001-04:00

So our little local paper did a story on us! Check it out. In there you'll see mentioned some topics that I'll expand upon once the growing season winds down and I have more time to type.

Here's the link:
http://www.yourfoxchapel.com/herald/article/farm-stand-brings-fresh-produce-blawnox-nearby-residents

As for tomorrow's farm stand, we're at the Blawnox Community Field and new this week we have Baby Bok Choi, Butternut Squash, and bundles of firewood in bigger and cheaper bundles than you'll get at Giant Eagle AND it comes with a fire-starter block (not sure if the GE ones do that or not.)

See you tomorrow!

Planting Winter Cover Crops in Western PA

2010-09-23T08:35:00.001-04:00

So, it's apparently about that time. Once a bed is finished for the growing season the least ideal thing for you to do is to put it to bed for the winter with bare un-rejuvenated soil. That's why you hear growers talk about cover crops. Cover cropping is basically where you take a bed that is resting and grow something on it that serves a purpose whether it is erosion control, weed suppression or adding nutrients to the soil. We chosen to use a "Hairy Vetch/Rye" combo this year on the farm with our beds that are coming out of summer production. Technically we're in the last few days that this mix can be planted as it needs a certain amount of time to establish vegetative growth in the fall before it goes dormant during the winter and explodes back into growth in the early spring while the fields are still too wet and cold to be worked for other crops. It's then that you till that vegetative growth into the soil as green manure or just roll it down as a weed suppressing mulch. Here's a link to the guys at Rodale who did a really great write up on it. (Almost) never too late to plant hairy vetch.

Photo from Rodale Institute

Saving Watermelon Seeds

2010-09-05T19:27:00.000-04:00

If you are among those lucky enough to have purchased one of our Moon and Stars melons, you may be wondering what to do after the deliciousness? Well, aside from coming out and buying another Orb of Tastiness next Saturday at our stand (we'll be down at the Blawnox Community Field, next to the high rise from 9AM-1PM) you can save the seeds from your Tasty-Session and plant them next May/June and grow your own melon vines.
As you eat the melons, spit the seeds into a cup, when done, pour the seeds into a stainless steel strainer and swirl them around under running water with your finger. Once they're cleaned off pour them into a cup and fill with water, remove any seeds that float to the top then pour them back into the strainer. Shake/swirl to remove as much moisture as possible then dump them out onto a piece of wax paper and leave them in a dry room with good air circulation. Give them a stir with your finger twice a day for week and then when they are dry enough to snap in two when bent, go ahead and put them into a paper envelope and store in a cool dry area till middle of next spring and you can grow your own tastiness! Refer back to this post where you can find a link to the seed company where we got ours from.

Blawnox Farm Stand: 04SEP10

2010-09-03T22:01:00.000-04:00

We'll be located at the War Memorial tomorrow 9AM to 1PM at the corner of Freeport Rd. and North Ave..

New this week will be the premier of the Moon and Stars Melon

Some red and green Thai Chili peppers that will weld your face shut they are so hot.

And the normal goodness we usually have.

This coming Saturday's Market: Sept. 4th. WaterMelonMania

2010-08-29T22:40:00.001-04:00

Gonna have a theoretical ton of watermelons for sale this Saturday. I say theoretical cuz it's gonna be 90+ degrees all week without any rain. I understand that my chances as well as the watermelon's chances of surviving the week are...limited. Hope to see you Saturday!

August 28 Market Stand

2010-08-27T22:39:00.001-04:00

We're shaking things up folks and heading back to the Blawnox Community Field this week. We like providing access to the senior citizens that live next door who can't get up to the Freeport location. Hope to see you tomorrow from 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Here's what we've got this week:

Red tomatoes

Yellow tomatoes

Cherry tomatoes

Large heirloom tomatoes

Green peppers

Chocolate peppers

Poblano peppers

Jalapenos

Swiss chard

Lemon, pickling, slicing cucumbers

Basil, sage, parsley, cilantro

Free-range eggs

Hardwood Charcoal

BEEEEEHOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLDDDDD The Delish!!!!!!

2010-08-22T11:41:00.000-04:00

I present unto you photographic evidence of the tasty treats that were offered for sale at our 21AUG2010 Farm Stand.

Kristie setting up in the morning.

L to R: Jalapeneos, CrookNeck Squash, Lemon/Dill/Slicing Cukes, Poblano/Chocolate/Green Bell Peppers

These tomatoes are change your life forever good.

Me about to put our SFMNP signs up.

We got approved to accept the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks! So come on out and get you some deliciousness.

Yes, they are that good.

The End.

August 21 Market Stand

2010-08-21T08:15:00.000-04:00

Sorry this is a little late, but if you're looking to come and get some fresh veggies we'll be at our market stand again this week. We are back to our regular location -- the corner of Freeport Road and North Avenue in Blawnox from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Here's what we've got this week:
Red tomatoes
Yellow tomatoes
Cherry tomatoes
Large heirloom tomatoes
Green peppers
Chocolate peppers
Poblano peppers
Swiss chard
Lemon cucumbers
Radishes
Basil
Free-range eggs
Hardwood Charcoal

So...uhh...

2010-08-16T21:24:00.000-04:00

I haven't been in the fields since Friday. I'm pretty sure the weeds took the weekend off and the grass mowed itself and the self-planting seeds just went ahead and did what they are supposed to do. Actually, I'll be happy if I get out there tomorrow and confirm that the groundhogs didn't hold Lolla-Pa-Eat-All-Brett's-Crops-Looza 2010.

August 14 Market Stand

2010-08-13T22:27:00.000-04:00

The market stand is back folks and we've got lots of tasty treats!

The Goods
Red and Yellow Heirloom Tomatoes
Green, Chocolate, Ancho, and Jalapeño peppers
Zucchini and Crook-neck Squash
Eggplant
Lemon Cucumbers
Carrots
Beets
Radishes
Swiss Chard
Basil, Parsley, Catnip, Sage
Homeade Hardwood Charcoal
Conventional Corn

Details

Saturday, August 14

9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Blawnox Community Park (different from previous location)

View Blawnox Community Park in a larger map

Early Jalapeno Pepper

2010-08-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

These suckers are 'MeltChoFaceOffHott'. I'm from Texas and thought I was used to jalapeno peppers. It seems the peppers I was used to were the ones that had sat on a truck from Mexico or California and thus the "heat" I thought they had was not a true representation of the power these things possess. Behold these little nukes, our Early Jalapeno Pepper.

Ancho Poblano Peppers

2010-08-10T08:00:00.000-04:00

Not as hot as they look (as "spicy" as a green pepper), but plenty damn tasty. I'm pretty excited about these peppers as I love anything that can be dried and used during the long, cold winters.

These Ancho Poblano Peppers also are doing very well under black plastic.

Pingtung Long Eggplant

2010-08-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

You can't see it, but it's adorable.

The second type of eggplant that we are growing this year is called Pingtung Long Eggplant, a Japanese variety. The green link goes to a description (all our links here on SVF are in the green color seen above so if you see it and you want more info, click any text you see in that color).

This stuff is tough as nails (at least under black plastic) in Western PA and even though the Japanese Beetles took a swipe at it, it appears they decided to leave it alone as they are from the same country.

Who's that there? Tasty?

2010-08-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

OH HI!! HOW'YA DOIN?

In the category of cool-unique looking eggplant, this variety ranks up there. Check out our

Listada de Gandia:

As we only plated about 6 of these this year, their availability will be limited to the early birds who get to our farm stand right at 0900AM but we're gonna save a few for their seeds and plant the heck out of them for next year.

Whatd'ya mean I'm late?!?

2010-08-05T08:00:00.001-04:00

So ummmm.... if you've got your finger on the pulse of Western PA agriculture/gardening you know that you and most everyone you know is BURIED under a mountain of cucumbers. Except me. For my name is Johnny, Johnny Come-Lately. Took me a few weeks past the normal planting date to realize that I had no cukes in the ground. Welp, better late than never. These are a theoretical 2-3 weeks from setting fruit and harvest. If I was all tricky like, I'd say I planned it this way and did it to take advantage of the warmer than usual pattern we'd been seeing and KNEW JUST KNEW that I could plant them late and harvest them long after all other producers had succumbed to powdery-mildew and other such cucumber killers. We'll see how that works out for me.

Yeah but can you EAT it?

2010-08-03T19:27:00.000-04:00

So, here it is all National Farmers Market Week and what are we gonna be doing? Setting up our farm stand for the fourth week in a row? Nope. Heading off to a wedding in NY cuz we're crazy and that's just how we roll. Sooooo to keep your appetites whetted for the tasty deliciousness that is SVF produce during the week that we are to be away, I finally got a camera out into the fields and snapped some pics of the fruits and veggies that will be headed to our Saturday farm stand table come 14AUG10. Check back each day for pics of a new featured crop. Today I present to you:

Moon and Stars Melon

As the link above explained, this is an heirloom variety that is super-cool to look at. As this is my first year growing watermelons, I am a little trigger-happy in harvesting them. I pulled one last night and it was too young, I pulled another one today and I have a bad feeling it was too young too but rest assured I promise not to harvest any more for at least another week and by the 14th of August these babies are gonna be in the 20-30# range and are gonna be AWESOME. Plus, as an heirloom variety, you'll be able to save the seeds and plant them next year in your own backyard gardens.

Farm Stand Info for 31 July.

2010-07-30T19:31:00.003-04:00

Dear valiant and discerning customers of the Serenity Valley Farm Stand,

This Saturday, 31JUL10, we will be operating in our normal location in front of the Veteran's Memorial at the corner of Freeport Rd. and North Ave. in Blawnox from 9AM-1PM. Click HERE for a map.

We will be selling our first Ancho Poblano peppers of the season so you might wanna dig up your favorite recipe for those now, or click HERE for some repertoire expanding suggestions.

I know I said I was gonna get some pics up but I was a bit pressed for time as I had to accompany Kristie to a certain doctor's appointment that marked the end of a certain first trimester that allows us to deliver certain news that means not only are we growing crops but we are now growing future human labor to help raise those crops. That's right, Kristie is pregnant with our first! Come say Hi! And buy some tasty treats from us this weekend!

Next weekend, 07AUG10, we will be attending a wedding so there will be no farm stand.

The FOLLOWING weekend, Sat. 14AUG10, we will be setting up at the Blawnox Community Park (click HERE for a map).

Upcoming crops

2010-07-27T21:08:00.000-04:00

So... it's been crazy busy between getting the farm stand off the ground and trying to beat back the continuous onslaught of weeds so I haven't been able to get a camera out into the fields to show you the deliciousness that is ripening on the vines/plants. But stuff that is ripening includes jalapenos, eggplant, and TOMATOES!! I don't wanna jinx anything but I think we mighta beat the blight this year. I'll try and take some pics tomorrow.

PA Farmers Market Nutrition Program

2010-07-26T18:41:00.000-04:00

To better serve our community we have applied for permission to accept the Farmers Market Nutrition Program and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program checks from the USDA and PA Department of Agriculture. You can read about the program by clicking HERE. We'll let you know if/when we're approved!

Produce Available for 24JUL10 Market

2010-07-22T21:51:00.004-04:00

So, we'll try and post this every Wednesday or Thursday to let you know what tasty and delicious treats we'll have for that Saturday's market. We'll also try to post an approximate number of units that will be available so if you just gotta have some fresh beets and you see that we'll only have 4 units available you'll know to get to the farm stand sooner rather than later.

Keep in mind these crops and figures are approximate, it's entirely possible that between the time I do the 'inventory walk' on Wed or Thur. and Friday morning's harvest time that all of crop such-and-such could be wiped out by a roving horde of groundhog-deer-hail-rabbit-monsters.

Update (7/23/10): We figured out we were pretty off with our units, so we're just going to include the list.

Crops

Green Beans
Dill
Lettuce
Rainbow Chard
Carrots
Flat Parsley
Raddishes
Basil
Lime Basil
JALAPENOS
Raspberries

How to store fresh basil

2010-07-19T08:00:00.002-04:00

Sooo, we're selling fresh basil this month and one of the challenges of market farmers is knowing all the different quirks and requirements for keeping individual types of produce the freshest and best looking. Some crops are best harvested as early in the morning as possible (unless on the cusp of a cold-front) like lettuce, some are best harvested after the morning dew/dampness has dried off (beans). Some plants, once harvested, prefer cold damp storage conditions and some, like basil, do not. Here's a great Chowhound discussion on how best to keep your tasty and delicious Serenity Valley Farm Lime-Basil fresh for the longest amount of time.

Serenity Valley Farm Farm Stand

2010-07-17T14:50:00.000-04:00

We had our first farm stand today at the corner of Freeport road and North Avenue in the borough of Blawnox in Pittsburgh, PA. We'd like to give a great big thank you to the warm welcome we received from the people of Blawnox. As residents, we look forward to bringing fresh, nutritious, organic produce to the neighborhood for many years to come. If you'd like to come say 'Hi!' and partake in the tastiness, we'll be at the Veteran's Memorial at Freeport Rd. and North Ave. in Blawnox on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th Saturday of every month from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. On the 2nd Saturday of each month we will set up at the Blawnox Community Center providing easier access to the highrise residents. For the most current information including available produce, check back regularly or call 724-954-3238.

Rain Glorious Rain

2010-07-09T19:32:00.000-04:00

3" before I left for home today. We needed it.

Kubota B2920 Starting Issues...

2010-07-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

Pro-Tips: Tractor Maintenance #243

So, those of you out there who ALSO own Kubota B2920 HST tractors (hereafter known as the FarmAssaultVehicle-29 or FAV-29) may one day come upon a situation where you can't get your tractor to start after you've been operating it in some 'challenging' conditions. Seems that one can get enough dust on the hydraulic arms that return the HST 'Forward-Reverse Pedal' back to neutral thus preventing the pedal from cleanly reaching the 'rest/neutral/stop position'. If the pedal isn't perfectly in the neutral position, when you try to re-start the engine, it won't work as that is a "safety" check (you can't start the engine is the pedal is depressed in either direction) that the engine checks on before it allows the starter to turn over. So, if you find yourself with a Kubota B2920 that won't start and you can't figure out why, try putting the key in the ignition, heating the coils, then turning the key to start it as you normally would except at the point the engine would normally try and turn over, rock the "HST go-reverse" pedal back and forth till the engine turns over. Worked for me and saved me having to have the B2920 shipped back to the dealer for warranty work.

How Hot is it?

2010-07-08T16:18:00.000-04:00

My CamelBak holds 100 oz. I drank two of them today. That's 12.5 lbs. of water. My weight is the same as when I got up this morning. I wonder how much salt it takes to push 12.5 lbs. of sweat in a 6 hour period. Dunno but I'm gonna go suck on some rock salt till it doesn't taste good any more.

More Planting

2010-06-29T01:27:00.000-04:00

Finally completed the Three-Sisters (Corn, beans, and squash) planting and got some slicing and pickling cukes in under the black plastic mulch. Still have buckwheat and black beans to get planted once we get a little bit of a dry spell.

Pro-Tips: Harvesting Tip #363,

2010-06-26T14:59:00.000-04:00

So, our Ryobi Xpand-It curved shaft weed trimmer failed back in the beginning of June. Being the cheap ass that I am I was trying to score a used one on CraigsList fo' cheap. Being the even cheaper-ass I was waiting for one for sale that was within 20 minutes of driving time. Fast-forward 3 weeks, do you know what weeds growing along side garden beds can do if left unchecked for 3 weeks? It was starting to get a bit out of control so I broke down and joined Consumer Reports, read that the Echo series of weed trimmers was supposed to be pretty sweet and went out and got the Echo SRM-230. The thing is a friggin hoss. Given that weed trimming/weed control is about my least favorite task on the farm, it made sense to get the proper tool for the job. In the few days we've had it I can tell you that there is a reason you see Echo straight shaft trimmers on the sides of landscaping trucks and not other silly brands. What I will tell you is that it is not the best of ideas to weed eat along side of beds you plan on harvesting from the following day unless you wanna spend the time and water to wash the shredded grasses out of the folds of your lettuces and other veggies, ask me how I know.

Cool Pics of Sugar Snap Peas

2010-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Here are some pics of the peas that are planted along side the oats. The recent cold snap we had at the start of June sent them into production, not sure how much longer they'll last as we head into mid-June. But plowing them under when they and the oats are done should make for some pretty sweet soil for any follow on crops.

Dill and Cilantro

2010-06-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

So, even though Cilantro was a pain in the ass to grow in Texas because it was too hot, I've had some success getting them started here in PA. What I don't know, is how long the weather can keep them from bolting. Given that the strain is an heirloom, I can select for late bolting (bolting is where the plant rapidly moves from the vegetative to the flowering state) but we do love some cilantro and dill. The dill will be awesomes for canning later on.

Rainbow Chard iz Pretty

2010-06-15T08:00:00.001-04:00

So, back in Texas I grew a bunch of Swiss Chard and the stuff was a battle tank, very easy to grow and you could pick leaves off it all season long. I saw other people growing the Rainbow variety and was a bit jealous cuz their stuff was so much prettier than the Swiss stuff. So when I got up here to PA I decided to give the Rainbow variety a shot. It's turned out well. The stuff is not only a tasty treat but you can take the especially colorful stalks and put them in a flower glass and enjoy the colors.

First Beans

2010-06-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

The first beans of the season are coming along nicely even though they are under some pressure by rabbits. S'okay, I got sumthin for them rabbits.

Sowed my (not so) wild oats.

2010-06-11T08:00:00.003-04:00

So, given that we are trying to turn virgin soil into viable organic agricultural soil, we need to grow a lot of cover crops such as oats. So's I ordered some oat seeds and planted them in with the peas back in early March. Normally I would have turned the oats under a few weeks ago but I'se trying to let them go to seed to do that whole exponentially expanding the amount of oat seeds I was in control of thus eventually leading to world domination thing. Here are some pics of the oat seeds. Bathe in their splendor.

Black Plastic Mulch Application

2010-06-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Coming from Texas where suppressing soil temps was the goal, I am not used to having to try to keep soil temps elevated. But if you wanna grow peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, or melons in PA, keeping soil temps elevated is what you gotta do. To help you in this pursuit, you can apply 'black plastic mulch' which is basically big ole rolls of black plastic that put down over rows that you've hilled the dirt up in the middle (see pics below). The trick is to wait till after a good rain to get your hill an initial soaking then put the plastic down and secure it either with dirt, rocks, or pegs. Wait a week or so for the earthworms and other dirt dwellers to re-stabilize, then go down the row and cut a hole at the spacing rate for whatever you want to plant there. So far we've put in tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants. Sometime next week, I'll put some cucumber and melon seeds in and see how hard it is to plant from seed using the sheets.

Pro-Tips: Hops Growing #299

2010-06-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Did you know that hop vines have to wrap themselves CLOCKWISE around the rope/string/whatever that they grow up? If one did not know this and one was going to begin growing their own hops and go through the effort of building their string trellis support system and wrap the young hop vines around the support string any old way (meaning some CLOCKWISE, some COUNTER-CLOCKWISE) one might be surprised to find that some of the hop vines grew fine up the rope and some of them got pissed off and had to unwind themselves. One might be confused until one realized that the vines that were initially wrapped COUNTER-CLOCKWISE were the ones that were having to unscrew themselves, literally. So young Hop Barons, take this lil pro-tip to bed with you and when your young hop vines begin reaching for their ropes to grow up, you wanna wrap them CLOCKWISE around that rope.

Baby Bok Choi

2010-06-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Onion Pics...cuz it's like that.

2010-05-31T08:00:00.003-04:00

In theory...

2010-05-28T08:00:00.001-04:00

What you see below was in theory a good idea. Plant nitrogen fixing legumes into new soil along with oats. The peas will feed the oats the nitrogen the oats need to grow strongly. When the peas have run their course you just till everything under and you're sitting pretty for your next crop. Plan runs into problems if the peas don't have the nutrients they require to grow in the first place. Trying to combat this problem with the compost tea

All photos by Kristie Lawler

Seed Starting Exposé!! Part III Hardening Off

2010-05-27T08:00:00.000-04:00

For the third and final installment in the "Seed Starting Exposé" I'll try to not scare you. This is, in short, the haaaard part. How to transition your tender sprouts in their seed trays to rough and ready young plants ready to be transplanted out into the wild. It's not easy and is the most likely place where you will end up frying your young recruits. It's this phase that is the reason why plant nurseries are called nurseries. These lil ones require near constant supervision as you transition them to the harsh realities of the outside world. I'm not gonna pretend to be an expert at this phase and tell you how to easily get your sprouts ready for the real world in just 3 short days, but I will tell you that this phase is definitely more an art than a science. I will tell you that no matter how 733T your indoor lights are, they are no match for direct sunlight so when you first move your recruits outside, set them in shade. Next day or three, you can move on to dappled shade gradually working your way up to full sun. The trick here is to keep them watered to the point where you don't cause dampening off (don't get the leaves wet once they have 2 true sets of leaves, water from the bottom) but keep them wet enough so that new root growth never dries out. It's not easy to do. The last few nights before you are ready to set them out into the ground, you want to drastically decrease the water you give them so that when you do put them in the ground and water them in, the transplants roots will sense the moisture in the real live soil you've planted them into and when they send roots out to try and get at that water the plant will be pleasantly surprised to find live soil and not potting mix that holds it. You should be rewarded with a growth spurt once the transplant has sent roots out into the new living soil, a trick I like to use is to sprinkle a little earthworm castings into each transplant hole to give the new arrivals some food and energy to tackle setting up in their new house.

Here are some pics of a cold frame I built up against the side of the garage.

Photos by Kristie Lawler

Western PA's Average Last Frost Date is Today!!

2010-05-26T07:52:00.001-04:00

May 26th is Western PA's Average Last Frost Date. There's a saying, "He who plants first, plants twice," meaning that planting BEFORE the Average Last Frost Date carries a fair amount of risk in having your seedlings killed off by a "freak freeze" in early May (like we had just a few weeks ago) or even worse mid to late May. Whilst freezes/frosts have occurred after that date in the past, they are "statistically improbable." This means if you plant after May 26th and have your crops killed off by a freeze in early June you are just horribly horribly unlucky as opposed to the petulantly impatient fools who have their crops killed off by freezes before May 26th. Now get out there and plant with confidence that if a freeze comes along and smites your tender seedlings it was not because you were impatient and like to waste money planting in the snow but because you have angered the planting Gods in some other fashion, most likely by using a non-organic product on your soil :-)

Meet the Team: Red Team (Rhode Island Reds)

2010-05-25T08:00:00.005-04:00

Some pics of the chickens. We currently have 18 Rhode Island Reds on counter-bug patrol and egg production. They also provide some valuable manure for the compost piles that feed the compost tea production vat that nourishes the crops. Photos by Kristie Lawler

Leaving patrol base for first day's mission: Eat bugs.

On patrol

On the objective munching grasses and stuff

Consolidating on the objective.

Heading back to patrol base.

Conducting the post patrol debrief.

This part is secret. You should leave. Now.

How to Make Compost Tea

2010-05-24T08:00:00.004-04:00

Tasty treats for tha plants. The goodness is made as follows: take a few forkfuls of mature compost and put it in a burlap bag. Place burlap bag into a tub and fill with water. Place one ounce of unsulfured molasses into the mix, take a small aquarium air pump and at least one air tube with air stone into the mix to oxygenate the tea. Run it for 2-3 days then apply to your plants as soon as possible. Repeat.

Sage Seedlings

2010-05-21T23:07:00.001-04:00

These are some Sage sprouts in the jiffy plugs. They have since been transplanted into larger pots and will stay there until they grow a few more sets of leaves before being placed into the ground.

Rain = Rest days for farmers

2010-05-18T23:59:00.000-04:00

Unless of course you've just bought a 1920s Dutch Colonial house. Then rain = "recently bought and occupied" home repairs. I spent the day stripping 4-5 layers of various types of paint off the bathroom door edges so that it will now close and lock. But on the upside, we had the cable installed today so there might be some bread and circuses in the form of Glee and popcorn, hypothetically of course.

Compost Tea

2010-05-13T09:07:00.000-04:00

It's a brewing and should be ready day after tomorrow. I'll let y'all know how it goes.