Gardening

One of my goals for 2012 was to try my hand at gardening and, as promised, I will be sharing updates on my blog. Here's the raised bed, 8' by 4' and filled with fertile soil, ready for the planting. But first I had to clear the area of rocks, roots and weeds. What a workout!

Red Seed Potatoes

Helping Hands - She'll have loads of fun when it's time to dig the potatoes.

What's in Your Box?

Just thought I'd share what I did with all my goodies in my produce selection for this week.

First, spinach frittatas for breakfast using the spinach, eggs and sweet onion.

I was out of lettuce so I used spinach on my homemade tacos instead. I always substitute fresh spinach leaves for lettuce. Once, I had a bacon/tomato/spinach sandwich with mayo. Yum!

Quick lunch on Sunday was hot dogs on grill. Mine was smothered with homemade cole slaw using the cabbage.

Sliced and diced carrots into strips for snacking and for packing in lunch.

Dessert on Sunday night was strawberry shortcake. I swear those strawberries from Lewis Farms are the best! Sliced more strawberries to mix in with my vanilla Greek yogurt for a quick breakfast.

I hope I'm making you hungry. These boxes are delivered on Wednesday to NCSU and any day of the week at the State Farmers Market. Also, have a delivery site in Cary, and neighborhood deliveries in Garner.

What's in your box? What yummies did you stir up? Comment and let me know.

Daikon Radish

Yes, they look like white carrots, or parsnips, but they are actually daikon radishes, and a great complement to Asian dishes. Ever tried pickling these babies? A customer highly recommends Pickled Daikon Radish (recipe can be found on page 288 of Jennifer MacKenzie's "The Complete Book of Pickling," published in 2009 by Robert Rose, Inc., Toronto, Canada). You can also find great recipes at allrecipes.com for pickled daikon radishes and carrots. These recipes look simple, and use only a few ingredients. Those are the kind of recipes I like! I especially like to dice a variety of roots and roast them together with the family's favorite spices. What are your favorite recipes for winter's roots? Leave your comments, and I'll post!

Farm Animals

Another area of concern for farmers today revolves around the care of farm animals. Recent allegations and arrests for mistreatment of turkeys at a local turkey farm have proven that people are genuinely concerned about how our animals are being treated. And rightly so.

One of our most requested items in our produce boxes is for cage-free eggs. Wise Farms gets all their eggs from Starrlight Farm just down the road from our family farm. Here's a past post about what Robin had to say about her hens. She says it so well I have nothing to add.

http://www.patricialait.blogspot.com/2011/03/how-about-dem-eggs.html

Pesky Pests

I'm much afraid that some of the farming practices of big-time, mass-producing corporate farms have given all conventional farming a bad rap. Especially when it comes to spraying for bugs, worms, etc. That is all the more reason for you to buy local and build a relationship with area farmers in order to gain a better understanding of how your food is being produced today.

Truth is that all farms have some sort of pesky pests that require attention. Farmers cannot afford to turn the other cheek and let the bugs eat up their crop. There simply has to be some kind of pest control.

Many times farmers will choose to spray their crops with some form of pesticide. Yes, organic farmers spray, too. What makes all the difference is what type of pesticide is applied. At Wise Farms an all-natural spray is used, one that meets organic-approved standards. And there are many crops from our family farm that are completely pesticide free due to years of sustainable farming methods such as crop rotation and no-till farming.

More to come...

Organic vs. Conventional

Organic seems to be the buzzword for today. People often ask, "Do you sell organic?" I want to ask back, "What do you mean when you say organic? What does that word mean to you?" Because to different people organic can mean different things. Oftentimes organic standards will vary from state to state, and definitely from country to country.

A much better question to ask your local farmer is, "What are your farming practices?" You might be surprised to discover that many farms, Wise Farms included, are practicing ways of producing food that equal or even exceed organic farming practices. But to be on the same page of understanding, you must be specific in your questions, and in your answers.

This week I'm going to sit down and interview "The Farmer", Mr. Gary Wise himself, and share with my readers some of the things he's doing on the farm and his reasoning behind it. Also, I'll be comparing and contrasting organic vs. conventional. You might be surprised, as I have been, with much of my research.

So, ya'll come back now, hear?

A Video Worth Viewing

I don't normally do this, but when I find something with this much value, I have to promote it. Please take 5 minutes to watch this video. It is well worth the time. As always, would love any comments.