Broadturn Farm

The Makings of a Moment

2012-01-26T10:26:00.001-05:00

The makings of a moment in the day that make you stop and consider it all....

The sight of fresh snow from the bedroom window.
The sound and smell of the stovetop espresso maker finishing its brew.
A fantastic ski through the woods, making fresh tracks, listening to Bon Iver and taking it all in.
The sight of deer tracks, rabbit tracks and the smallest little mouse tracks through the powdery snow.
Returning to the house to make ginger snaps, drink tea and build yet another fort.

Winter, makes us sit closer to each other, seek solace alone in the snow, in the woods and in our heads.

Every table is covered with seed and plant catalogs, the computer is open with research, the couch is always masquerading as a fort. We are learning about heating systems, grant writing, growing garden roses for cut flowers. We are eager to settle in to an indulgent hour of "The Wire" box set every evening. And, each day we count down to another day trip to the slopes so we can pretend to fly on earth.

The news is on and then off again....too much NPR=too much GOP primary= nausea. We are going to register as Republicans to participate in the Maine Caucus, a good opportunity for an educational moment for our children and a chance to sway the outcome...or maybe just an escape from the house for a rousing afternoon of politics. I think the caucus process is fascinating!

We are eagerly awaiting the release of the Maine Magazine Wedding Issue so we can share some of the scrumptious photos of our shoot. It looks so good I can hardly believe it. Of course, it is about catering and food so there are not enough shots of flowers and terrariums for my taste, but there's always next time! (that's right....terrariums!)

Next Tuesday, February 7, we will be at Portland GreenDrinks at the Mariner's Church. Afterwards, we'll head over to the Salt Exchange for the first ever GreenDinner event. Come join us and chat food, flowers, farming and whiskey.

Finally, we are making a few huge leaps this winter with our marketing and distribution. First off, we initially had planned to scratch delivery of CSA shares. Well, we've had a change of heart and will be investing in a delivery van to acommodate the interest. It seems only greener for us to make one trip to town versus all of our members making multiple trips. So, South Portland and Portland delivery is back on the table.

In addition to delivery, we are launching an on-line store. The store will allow folks to order produce to be delivered to our drop off sites or to be picked up at the farm. CSA members can take advantage of special bulk pricing for items that can be preserved such as berries, tomatoes and cucumbers. Or, maybe you are planning a special meal and need a few extra ingredients, this system will allow you to order and pay online and be guaranteed to receive the product. No more disappointment when you show up and we are already sold out of that delicious honey! In addition to the store, all of our transactions with CSA shareholders will shortly be managed through this system, allowing folks to schedule electronic payments. CREDIT CSA customers will be able to use their credit shares in the store. Caterers, restaurants and small retailers will be able to order items in bulk for better pricing and assured availability.

Between trips in the woods on my skis and trips to Shawnee Peak for home school downhill ski group, I'm eating, breathing and living the development of this system in anticipation of a whole new wave of convenience for our community with regard to accessing local food.

Stay tuned for more on our new online system, MaineMag wedding issue photos and an update on our project to-do list.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy
Photo Credits go to Emma....thanks for your lovely images!

An Inspiring Moment

2012-01-11T15:50:00.000-05:00

If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, just start at 29:30 for the best farmer-spoken-word-inspiring-moment of the new year.

This Farmer Speaks My Mind

2012-01-03T18:54:00.001-05:00

Stand up for what you believe in in 2012.

Epic Road Trip Lessons

2011-12-27T17:52:00.000-05:00

We are currently stationed in North Florida until tomorrow, visiting family and picking up a tractor John bought on-line. Our trip began with an epic 4 hour stint on the Maine Turnpike in York County, complete with an ice storm, a closed highway and a few car pile-ups. It really didn't seem that bad when we pulled out of the dooryard!

Needless to say, we didn't make it too far on the first day. However, here are a few things we have learned along the way:

An iPhone can make all the difference when you're on the road! Leading us to a delicious Vietnamese Pho restaurant in the suburbs of Atlanta that was open on Christmas Day and a coffee roaster in Greenleaf, PA .

Priceline can be fun while your riding in the car! Bidding on 3.5 Star hotel deals, always with a pool, for $45....Thanks Priceline App!

Enticing a 5 year old on a road trip requires the promise of a swim in the hotel pool, daily.

The hotel pool never seems to open before 10 making an early start a challenge.

Listen to your Dad, get the spare for the trailer.

Asheville, North Carolina is lovely. And so are her biscuits!

Never have I found a barn full of antiques that didn't have something I lusted after

The Blue Ridge Parkway will take your breathe away, especially when you are towing a trailer!

The Great Smokey Mountains might be calling me.

Waterfalls are all the rage. Especially when they are the destination on a hike with a 5 year old.

Seeing a dozen of these guys nibbling on the side of the road in the Smokey's on Christmas Eve was a real treat.

Oysters from Apalachicola.....enough said.

Vegetation.....hmmmm....I do love a hedge of rosemary in bloom and a pot of loveliness on a front porch. Zone 8 is inviting in December.

Tomorrow we start the venture home, leaving the Forgotten Coast of Florida. Our upcoming days will be complete with more family visits and books on tape, interesting restaurants found searching the iPhone.

We've heard tell of a bit of snow at home, but the word is the cow is getting milked and the cats miss their girl. The seed catalogs are with us, earmarked with pages of notes. The work of a winter farmer is good this week.

Blessings on the meal (especially the oysters!)

Stacy

Correction: The last blog that folks received by email noted that State Rep. Amy Volk, Republican from Scarborough voted in favor of NOT eliminating BPA from baby bottles. She was actually absent for the vote so is on record as not voting. We apologize to Amy.

CSA SIGN-UP's (aka.... a great holiday gift!)

2011-12-18T16:34:00.000-05:00

We are open for CSA sign up for the 2012 season! We have 3 options to choose from:

CLASSIC Share = for $500, you receive a share of mixed vegetables for ~20 weeks.
CREDIT Share = You receive a 10% discount in the store for a pre-commitment to shopping at Broadturn Farm. A CREDIT Share entitles you to purchase anything available in our Dooryard Farmstand, Flora*Bliss. Like a CLASSIC Share, this share is a way to support Broadturn Farm by commiting to shop with us for your produce and flowers all season. The store will be open 7 days a week, starting with seedlings and strawberries in the late spring/early summer. You can purchase a share at an increment comfortable for you. You can look at this as a CSA share with convenience and choice rolled in.
FLOWER Share = for $120, you receive a beautiful, season bouquet of flowers for your table for 12 weeks. (The best holiday gift I could ever imagine giving)

For more info and access to the sign up form, click here.

Stay tuned for new developments....including a Short Summer Share for summer folks who join us for an 8 week share from July and August.

Politics As Usual

2011-11-27T10:58:00.001-05:00

November kicked off with a trip to our favorite conference, MOFGA's Farmer to Farmer. We love seeing old farming friends and meeting new ones. The convivial nature of the weekend inspires and educates.

The most notable talk for me was a discussion regarding agricultural policy and the Farm Bill with my perennial favorite, Russel Libby. He was accompanied by Brian Snyder, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, MOFGA's sister organization in Pennsylvania. The issue of how to affect change in the public policy arena is a blog all of its own. The big take away message is that we need to keep talking about food policy and how it effects us all. The first step is to celebrate and support Maine's 1st Congressional District Representative, Chellie Pingree, in her attempt to push policy reform that favors farmers with diverse operations scaled to Maine's fields and markets, "Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2011", H.R.3286. This bill will aid in developing the playing field for young, new farmers and developing the market for locally produced food for our communities. There are currently 53 co-sponsors. If you live outside of Maine, please consider a call to your Congressman in an effort to get more co-sponsors.

On a state level, keep an eye on Aaron Libby's bill, LR 2516 introduced in the State House, "An Act To Help Promote Farming in Maine by Limiting the Liability of 'Pick Your Own' Farms." With appropriate additions, this bill could serve to be the first level of liability support for farms like ours that encourage community involvement, public interaction, agro-tourism in the form of weddings, class field trips and summer camp. Asking your district representative to co-sponsor this bill will help to ensure it gets to the floor for discussion and ultimately a vote.

If you live in Scarborough, please please please call Heather Sirocki and Amy Volk and encourage them to support LR 2516. With a little urging from their constituents, I believe the voting record of these ladies can change. Heather is credited with voting in favor of NOT eliminating BPA from plastic baby bottles. Whose interests is Heather protecting? Certainly not the youngest, newest residents of Scarborough. (But really, is there a heavily-lobbying baby-bottling plant in our neighborhood that we didn't know about?... that vote seems more encouraged by a lack of input from her constituents and the "party-line" thing than anything nefarious!) Make sure you let them know you want local food and local farmers to be supported in your town. Call Heather and Amy today, and remind them not to eat canned soup during their busy winter congressional session.

If you are anything like me, you empathize with the disenchantment felt by the Occupy Wallstreet unemployed students who have been sold a pack of lies along with a hefty load of student debt. You also probably feel like 'making a difference' politically is only for wealthy corporate interests, like American agribusiness. But, give it a try. The worst that happens is it doesn't work and we're on to living with Politics as Usual.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy

The Quality of the Light

2011-11-01T09:41:00.000-04:00

The farmhouse we live in is blessed with windows

on at least 2 and sometimes 3 sides in each room. The light in the morning, after a snow, makes the space glow with a Wyeth-like aura. When we are moving a little more slowly, sipping the second cup

by the stove and not on the run,

the chance to enjoy the special quality of this light is not lost.

Here's what a late-fall farm to-do list looks like:
Finish building root cellar walls
Build door for Pumphouse
Move Perennials
Take Screens off the windows
Send list of available product to Penny Jordan for the online market
Put implements away
Clean up Flora*Bliss and put away all that glassware
Burn Pile?
Greenhouse drainage
New greenhouse heating
2nd Layer of plastic in the greenhouse
Center Pivot Irrigation Project....when is that excavator coming?
Light for the chicken coop
Plan trip to Florida to pick up the new Allis G by December 31st (John bought online last week!)
Enlarge the compost pad
Build access road along Fogg field

Now, rest assured, this is not all accomplished in a week and I spared you some of the less exciting tasks like catching up on bookkeeping and emails. We do find it nice to change gears and let go of harvesting for other tasks. We'll keep you posted on the progress.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy

Last Week of Distribution

2011-10-25T07:25:00.000-04:00

This weekend is Of Farms and Fables!
This presentation is the result of over 2 year's worth of work for the Open Waters Theater Company. A core group including actors, the playwright, the director, and designers did "on-farm research" here at Broadturn as well as at Jordan's Farm in Cape Elizabeth and Kay-Ben Farm in Gorham. They spent lots of time with us and asked us tons of questions. They planted, weeded, mulched, and harvested last year, and (some of them) this year too. The original play was written over the winter, and rehearsed throughout Fall. The work and dedication of Jennie Hahn and her company is palpable in the final piece. But, she will be the first to tell you that the final piece is not necessarily the point. What she has done is brought people together in a way that has enriched the experience of farming for the farmers. This is community theater, as if there has ever been any other kind of theater.

Thank you to Jennie and everyone involved, including those of you who come to see the production this weekend at Camp Ketcha.

Friday, October 28, 7 pm

Saturday, October 29, 2 pm

Saturday, October 29, 7 pm

Sunday, October 30, 2 pm

For more information and some inspirational words, see the Of Farms and Fables Blog. For tickets, go to Brown Paper Tickets.
We'll be there, along with our 2 stars...Emma and Flora are both part of the show.

The Harvest List takes a bow for this, our last week's distribution:

Lettuce --some have been small or huge or strangely speckled but we only missed one distribution of lettuce this season! This week, two small heads to finish it off.
Kale --who joins a CSA without the expectation of kale?
Cabbage --if you still have the previous week's cabbage in your fridge, you could probably store this extra head on a cold porch for another week, or make it into kraut! The simplest recipes are usually the best.

Potatoes --If you don't still have some of these from previous weeks then you are eating too much carbs!
Parsley --Another CSA favorite. "What CAN'T you use parsley with?!"
Broccoli -- I understand that a worm that floats out of a boiling head of broccoli is very unappealing. If you experience this, just take it at proof that we try to use the absolute minimum of sprays (though there is an organic approved one we could use) on our vegetables.

Onions --One of the first seeds we plant in February, before our interns arrive... 10,000 little seeds...
Parsnips --uh oh here's a hard one... usually we leave these in the ground and we harvest them in the spring-- but they are ready long before anything else is even planted so the CSA never gets them. I honestly have not eaten them in the fall, but I see them at farmers markets, so we grew them for you. I like them best as a part of a roasted root medley which includes onions, garlic, potatoes, beets, and/or carrots.
Garlic --After we distributed fresh garlic (sometimes referred to as "green garlic") in July, we cured (dried) the rest of it in the barn so that it could be planted in October. With garlic we save the biggest and best heads as planting stock so it's kind of a set-up for temptation. Everyone saw it sitting there, and I started getting questions about it. Well, we finally planted a nice 400 ft. bed for next year --that's 3/4 more than we had this year, and we have a little left-over. As much as I enjoy being a scrooge, everyone gets a left-over garlic head. Next year there will be more to go around.
Rutabaga --Our old neighbor when we lived in Cumberland was Elwin Hanson, the Turnip King. He grew 10 acres of rutabaga for supermarkets throughout the Northeast. At 40,000 pounds per acre, that's a lot of ugly roots. We grew just 50 feet of it, because according to Elwin, "yep, some folks like 'em".
Sweet Potatoes --Just 5 years ago no one was growing Sweet Potatoes in Maine. Our friend's the Snell's were some of the first farmers to try it out, and now it's all the rage. They get sweeter with a few weeks in storage which ought to be a warm, dark and dry place... probably in the kitchen inside a paper bag. They were only harvested last week, so let them sweeten up for another week or so.
Fennel --We made a great dish last week: caramelized fennel, leeks, kohrabi in butter and wine... a perfect mixture of sweet and savory.
Squash --We still have some survivors of our disastrous squash season. We planted enough to absolutely weigh you down with winter squash, but it was not to be... next year.

To end the CSA here is a poem I read the other day by one of our favorite Maine poets:

Potato Diggers

Robert P. Tristram Coffin

The men have marched from one dew to the other
With levelled backs and hands like forward feet;
Their thighs have been wide open to the sun,
October has burned them deep into the marrow.
They have run the dark soil through their hands
And seen it whiten and resign its mysteries.
They have run their fingers through the earth
And felt out fruits which have the feel of flesh
And warmth of flesh, and left them heaped behind.

The men are drunk with fragrance of brown earth.
They cannot stand erect, their necks lean over;
Their fingers are turned inwards on their palms
As if they still had preciousness to hold.
Their heads are ringing with the hymns of blood.
They feel the pull of earth along their bellies;
Their knees are bent apart, the savory earth
Is high up in their bodies as the heart.

These men have walked for one day with the beasts
They walked with long ago. They have been creepers
On the ancient nursery floor. No words
Are in them now; they are like infant children
Creeping surely home to food and rest,
Like children quiet on the lap of night.

Blessings on the meal,
John

Turkey 101

2011-10-18T21:21:00.001-04:00

Dare I say it, I think everyone had fun. The turkey processing workshop this past weekend was a success. The smiles were big on the way to the car, arms loaded with onions, potatoes, squash and herbs to dress the bird with.

There were families with kids, husband and wives, fathers and sons, and folks excited to take home their hard morning's work to share with their family for the holiday.

Everyone chose their own bird.

The hardest part is the kill. I believe whenever life is taken, the universe shifts a bit, and you feel this most when your hand is part of the process. The kill is heavy, loaded, and full of angst.

And then, you slowly find yourself on the other side of life. The first time you process meat, it feels like an eternity as you wait. But, as you make your way through the next steps, you begin to make peace with the your choice to eat meat and the sense of pride in having a hand in the process starts to build.

Pretty quickly, your beautiful bird transforms to something more closely resembling what is usually equated with a Thanksgiving feast.

Feet are saved to make a thick, delicious stock (minus the toenails).

Everyone moves through the work with questions, declarations, wonder and thoughtfulness.

And when we finish, I am filled with a sense of admiration at a group of folks, trusting enough to let John and I walk them through a loaded, intense experience. Helping these wonderful folks learn to process poultry reminds me of the importance of sharing skills. The sense of pride in the eyes and smiles of these attendees as they left with their bird in hand is enough to carry me for days. There is nothing I love more than to increase the self-sufficiency of our local community.

This week's harvest:

Lettuce

Chard

Arugula

Cilantro

Diakon Radish

Leeks

Potatoes

Onions

Squash

Broccoli

Cabbage

Blessings on the meal,

Stacy

ps...read more about meat processing here.

Of robots, wars, and broccoli

2011-10-12T11:30:00.001-04:00

We are down to one employee this season: Emily. So she is becoming a harvesting machine. Actually, THIS

is a harvesting machine. (For potatoes) As is this next photo, for grapes.

Emily, whose father works for Welch's grape juice, recently visited farms in New York State which uses harvesters on large farms with many acres dedicated to that one crop. It turns out that harvesting the diversity of shapes, textures, and sizes on our mixed vegetable farm will probably never be mechanized.

So Emily and seasonal workers like her, will probably always be needed.

That admission is heavy from a far futurist like me. Note that even though they had "droids", Luke Skywalker's help was needed on his uncle's moisture farm in the planet Tatooine. (Star Wars, duh.) Like so many other peasants throughout history, Luke is pulled away from the farm to fight the machine (Death Star, duh.), and I admit that it would have been a boring film series if he had stayed on the farm, and if the robots had gone and fought for him. But be that as it may, is there not irony that back on Earth in the 21st century we send our "drone" robots to wars, and people (undocumented, or Emily-types) are toiling in the field?

I have not personally been in any armed conflicts, but just based on what I've gleaned from Braveheart et al., fighting requires lots of judgement unique to any given situation. From maneuvering over uncertain terrain, to knowing which nursery school to blow up, based on where the bad guys are hiding out... Shouldn't we leave that work to individuals with a conscious (let alone a conscience)?

Call me crazy but lets just talk for a second about robots back on the farm.

Weeding on farms that are around 7 acres of crops up to thousands of acres in the midwest, is done primarily with tractors. As we, at Broadturn, grow in size we are becoming more familiar with the monotony of this work-- most of which by the way is still done by hand. It can't help but occur to me that the technology seems to exist for a small weeding robot that cruises up and down the rows while I smoke a pipe on the back deck, or nap. I am sick and tired of having Emily go out there and weed all day (while I smoke a pipe or nap.)

Check this out!

People indeed are working on this. This one is from a researcher in Illinois (note the corn), but mostly the innovation is in Europe. Why? A big reason for all efficiency innovation in agriculture is labor costs. The market for farm-robots may grow if seasonal labor started at $10 an hour. But even that would be irrelevant if agriculture was given some of the financial support that now flows into making war more efficient.

Beating swords into plowshares is an old metaphor, but wouldn't it be great if monotonous jobs on mid and large sized farms could be handled with more targeted management? I am the last one to advocate for a more industrialized, mechanized, and non-human agriculture. But until everyone has a backyard garden or their own little dacha in the countryside... until then, Emily needs some help!

This week's harvest--

Lettuce

Cabbage

Fennel

Kohlrabi

Kale

Broccoli Raab

Butternut Squash

Leeks

Potatoes

Onions

(Friday gets Broccoli; Tuesday will get it next week)

Blessings on the meal,

John

Nesting and Canning in the Rain

2011-10-04T08:47:00.003-04:00

Sunday arrived with the glorious gift of a slow morning and rain enough to deliver us from a day of work outdoors. But, with a plan to can, we still needed a few more items, including a some bushels of apples. John and Flora headed out to our generous apple-clad neighbor's for some picking.

Flora didn't last long in the rain, preferring the work of nesting with the girls.

John arrived back at the farm with 4 different varieties to choose from: Baldwin, Cortland, Red Delicious, and Wealthy. We all participated in a taste test, sampling slices of all four varieties. Red Delicious brought us all into the school cafeteria (not much changes over 22 years, hmmm). Wealthy went into a pie, deliciously prepared by Emma. And all the rest are slowly finding their winter home in a canning jar.

Before this weekend, we hadn't canned anything so far this season. Busy weekends full of weddings and flowers and busy weeks full of produce and summer camp had taken all the steam out of our canner. The impending frost, lingering in the background and the empty shelf in my kitchen were starting to spur a modest anxiety. Ah, but remember, last week....simplicity....we can always go to the store and allow ourselves not to feel any guilt or lose any homestead security stripes over the lack of home canned goods. All this went out the window as everyone generously dove in to a day in the kitchen, without prompting. Even Emma left the lair that is her room to support our healthy eating habits.

Last week, we sent all the lambs off to the butcher. In my opinion, there is nothing finer that grass fed lamb (I say that now before the bacon arrives). What we've come to realize is that convenience food is a really important part of our sanity and it simplifies our evenings immensely. Sausage has emerged as my favorite farmhouse kitchen convenience food. This translated into 35 pounds of ground lamb transforming into a well seasoned sausage mix. I have served up all variety of sausage recipes but what consistently clears plates on my family's table is a blend of rosemary, mint and garlic.

The recipe includes fresh mint and rosemary. When I open the lid to the Cuisinart after grinding the herbs, the smell is so heaven-scent, I want to climb inside the bowl and hang out for a bit.

Freshly ground pepper, salt, garlic and healthy dose of pork fat find their way in as well. The pork is mixed in at a 25% ratio to the meat.

(I love how her curls match the fat coming out of the grinder.... The original inspiration for all those playdough accessory kits?)

The pork fat aids in keeping the sausage together in the pan and keeps the meat from drying out. It also contributes to a familiar family reference, HMF or heavenly mouth-feel. At the table in the farmhouse kitchen one might hear the exclamation...."whooo....HMF dude!" upon savoring a delicious piece of bacon or some fresh cream drizzled over warm applesauce. We do love a little grass fed animal fat in our kitchen, I dare say.

I make the sausage in 5 pound batches, tasting each batch as its made to correct for flavor and to keep the kitchen full of company who appreciates sampling sausage for a few hours.

So that ended our weekend, following a week that was full. Full of flowers for Michelle Obama's fundraising lunch in Cape Elizabeth. Full of terrariums designed and delivered to a dinner party at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. Full of bags of freshly dug potatoes. Full of wooden crates brimming with onions. Full of lamb sausage in the freezer. Full of shelves of applesauce and tomato sauce. Full of time with family, eating, working and loving each other just a bit more after we feather our nest.

This week's harvest will hopefully include:
Lettuce
Potatoes
Beets
Leeks
Onions
Squash medley (aka a variety of squash that survived the devastation)
Broccoli Raab
Chard
Bok Choy

Please mark your calendar for the last weekend in October for a fun filled weekend of farm-inspired theater with the Of Farms and Fables premier. Read more about the creation of the show here. It is going to be such a blast. Jennie Hahn of Open Waters Theater has been working for 2 1/2 years to pull this project together. Along with a talented group of artists, she is emerging with a fabulous show. I can hardly wait.

Don't forget to sign up for our turkey processing workshop:
2nd Annual Turkey Processing Workshop
On October 15 at 10 AM, you, along with 9 other students can come to the farm and learn how to slaughter -- eh hem -- "process" your own Thanksgiving turkey. Get this: for $115 bucks, you choose your own turkey, learn to kill it, pluck it, and gut it, along with many of the finer points of the trade so that you can raise one next year in your front lawn! You'll also walk away with a sack of potatoes, onions, herbs, and beets, AND an amazing conversation piece for your Thanksgiving dinner. We're really excited about this because a) we enjoy hands-on teaching with our hands-in a bird; and b) Maine's new regualtions restricting on-farm sales of poultry processing forbids us from selling you a turkey that we kill for you. There is no reason you can't do it yourself though! Sign-up yourself or sign-up someone you love! Send Stacy a message to register and mail a check to us at Broadturn Farm.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy

A constant process of being humbled

2011-09-28T12:55:00.000-04:00

Thinking about simplicity has lead me to consider what it means to lead a simple life. I am often flabbergasted by this concept. What's simple about living in our times? No matter what path you choose, it seems as if you are always going to be shrouded in complexity. Let me illustrate, if you will: say you choose to farm as way to make a living...you will be eating the less-than-perfect produce that your customers would reject. You can raise livestock to produce meat, milk and eggs.

You will lose crops to pests, weeds and disease, you will lose livestock to illness and age. You will have success and failure. You will be working all the time to preserve, process, produce, and prepare the stuff of life. In comparison, it appears ever more simple to pick up some butter from the grocery store than to milk the cow, separate the cream, churn the cream to butter and then mold the butter in the press before storing in the refrigerator.

If you are heading to the grocery for your foodstuffs, you are confronted with choice, so much choice. Do you choose the items for your cart based on price, taste, farm of origin, production techniques, or the ability to collect everything at one location? If you are trying to live a simple life, you are also probably looking for convenience, but at what price? The complexities do not disappear, they merely change.

Is it possible to live a simple life, to embrace simplicity? What does this mean for a farmer, for my neighbor, for you? Can we be busy, productive and simple in our living? Can we shop for something indulgent and still live with simplicity as a tenet. Or maybe, simplicity is a state of mind where we allow ourselves to make decisions without guilt or fretting, permitting the work of decision making to happen with a sense of peace....thus simplicity.

I just finished reading This Life is in Your Hands by Melissa Coleman (daughter to Eliot Coleman). It is a memoir about her childhood, homesteading next door to the Nearings and the unraveling of her family. Eloquent, with beautiful language about the days and seasons on a farm, her story made my heart ache. She unfolds for us the veil on her family, unwrapping the layers so we might share some of her sadness and healing. I hope the work of writing this piece allowed her the freedom to let a little bit of sadness drift away.

So often I worry about whether I am offering the proper balance of farm life and real world for my children so they understand the value of hard work and the benefits of good food within the context of functioning in our society. Obviously, this book played right into this fear. The simple choice is to put my tools down when my children need me but the complexities of needing to complete the tasks of the day are always pulling on me. Thank you, Melissa, for sharing your story and your family and for permitting a moment of self-reflection.

I have been charged with the role of sharing a piece of sad news. We have had our largest crop failure to date. The winter squash crop, over an acre at the time of planting, was attacked by squash bugs and consumed almost entirely. My dear husband has been struggling with this crop loss, a humbling experience, indeed. Testing your patience with the work of farming, your ego, and ultimately, the disappointment on the faces of your CSA shareholders throughout the fall as they sadly miss the joy of pie pumpkins and butternut squash. Needless to say, this has been devastating. We rely on the squash to round out the fall shares and to feed our family in the fall and winter. In all our previous 10 years, we often have more than we know what to do with. This year, we are reminded again that farming is a constant process of being humbled. We are sorry for the lack of squash and hope for a better crop next season. As an olive branch, we have purchased some squash from our friends at Checkerberry Farm to fill the share out this week.

At first it seems so simple...buy good seed, prep the field for optimum fertility and weed control, germinate healthy seedlings and plant them in the ground....then it gets complex. The cut worms attack the seedlings, the weather doesn't cooperate and seedlings fry in the summer heat and drought, then the striped cucumber beetles and the squash bugs set in. We spray, but not enough and not at the right time to tame them. Their population explodes like we've never seen and voila....it ends so simply...the squash bugs win the battle for control, even following the fruits back to the dooryard to finish off their snack.

A few items of note:

2nd Annual Turkey Processing Workshop
On October 15 at 10 AM, you, along with 9 other students can come to the farm and learn how to slaughter -- eh hem -- "process" your own Thanksgiving turkey. Get this: for $115 bucks, you choose your own turkey, learn to kill it, pluck it, and gut it, along with many of the finer points of the trade so that you can raise one next year in your front lawn! You'll also walk away with a sack of potatoes, onions, herbs, and beets, AND an amazing conversation piece for your Thanksgiving dinner. We're really excited about this because a) we enjoy hands-on teaching with our hands-in a bird; and b) Maine's new regualtions restricting on-farm sales of poultry processing forbids us from selling you a turkey that we kill for you. There is no reason you can't do it yourself though! Sign-up yourself or sign-up someone you love! Send Stacy a message to register and mail a check to us at Broadturn Farm.

This week's harvest:
Boston head lettuce (YUM!)
Hon tsai tai
Kale
Potatoes
Carrots
Onions
Carnival Squash from Checkerberry Farm
Radishes
Tomatillos (sorry for any confusion last week...we decided to wait for the cilantro to be mature enough to include with the tomatillos)
Cilantro

If you Google "hon tsai tai" you won't come up with thousands of recipes. But after cooking it a few times, I would put it somewhere between Pac Choi and Kale: you should cook it down until the stems are nice and tender and ideally use it in a stir fry. I heated oil (canola and sunflower), added some garlic. I chopped up the Hon Tsai Tai along with some course salt, which tends to extract more juice once you add it to the pan. I threw in the chopped up greens and stems, and splashed some soy sauce and ume plum vinegar. As it was cooking down, I toasted some walnuts. Then I had to go pick up Emma in Portland, so I turned to stove off, and left, thinking I would return to mushy greens. (Yes, sometimes our recipes take left-hand turns like this, and no, if we ever were to write a cook-book, we would not include "pick up daughter for 40 minutes.") ANYWAY, it turned out to be absolutely delicious as a side dish to roast pork and potatoes. I do think that it deserves more cooking than Raab which likes only a brief scorching to make it tender. Tell us what you did on our Facebook page!

Wolfe Pine Farm has begun sign-ups for Winter CSA shares. Keep eating delicious Maine food all winter!

Click here for an informational piece from our neighbor who is completing a nutrition project, as part of her studies at USM, to disseminate information about the nutritional content of vegetables to our members. Thank you Kathy for sharing...especially the delicious recipes!

And finally, the photographers from our 2 most recent weddings have posted some lovely images from the events. Tatiana and Graham's wedding and Hilary and Josh's wedding can be viewed here.

Blessings on the meal,

Stacy

When I Grow up....

2011-09-19T08:58:00.000-04:00

Hanging around with children at our summer camp or during a field trip full of preschoolers, it is evident that few of them aspire to be white collar workers when they grow up. They naturally look for concrete, authentic roles to emulate....they want to be brown collar, they want to be farmers. The children who visit the farm connect most closely with our small assortment of livestock, sometimes more closely than with other people. And, I think it is safe to say, many adults still harbor a little of this brown collar aspiration as well. What holds people back from this dream, from any entrepreneurial dream for that matter? In our country, at this time, I think the answer to this question and the jobs crisis in general lies in affordable, accessible health care for all.

As our interns prepare to move on to other ventures with the approaching cold weather, they are also approaching the age when they will be released from the roles of their parent's health care policies. This presents them with a myriad of challenges. At the age of 27, they are eager to consider farming as an occupation. However, they are drawn to institutional farming jobs that offer benefits, which are few and far between. Mom and Dad's encouragement to make certain they continue to maintain health insurance weighs heavily. Starting a farm business feels unattainable.

If access to non-employer based affordable health care is realized, I can only imagine that the number of small entrepreneurial businesses, like farms, will increase, allowing for the real possibility that agriculture can be looked upon as a legitimate career by the white collar parents of our young interns (not to mention our own parents when we where at that crossroads in life). As we continue our personal boycott of the insurance industry into another year (doesn't that sound so much more righteous than saying "we can't afford health insurance?") I look to Massachusett's Health Care Reform Law and The Vermont Health Bill, H202, as models for how states can take the lead, growing the potential for entrepreneurship, and allowing creative individuals to innovate without concern for leaving behind the security of a employer-based health benefits.

In the national discussion of job creation, rarely do you hear the mention of affordable, non-employer based health insurance access mentioned as a driver for new business. Our current model creates a paradigm in which workers are functioning as indentured servants to corporate America as a means to cover themselves in the event we have a personal health incident. If the employed individual in a family is the one to become ill and needs to leave work, the insurance only works as long as they are employed, and healthy, as many have come to find out the hard way.

If you followed along this far and you are still wondering why thoughtful folks like us don't have health insurance or maybe saying something about how foolish we are, let me say it is not without many hours of figuring, number crunching and discussion. It may not be for everybody but it works for our family. Health insurance companies have also spent countless hours number crunching and they seem to do quite well on their end, claiming profit year after year.

What I want to see is a society where parents and teachers and mentors espouse a sincere support to their children when they announce they want to be farmers. "That's nice, honey." Feed that love by planting school gardens, using sheep to mow and fertilize the playing fields, build greenhouses to allow for student research and learning about alternative heating methods and 4 season crop production, keep schoolyard chickens. Embrace the potential for a legion of brown collar workers that will grow our food, in our community, preserving open space as farmland and providing us with a secure food system as we move into the uncertainty of the future.

When I grow up, I'm looking forward to retirement. But, in the meantime, I'm going to keep on being a farmer, with the insurance of good food on my table and a hope that Obamacare kicks in and saves us from some untimely health care incident that may be in our cards.

This week's harvest:

lettuce

arugula

peppers

eggplant

potatoes

carrots

tomatillos

cilantro

spinach

leeks

butternut squash

Edamame (fresh soy beans)

Blessings on the meal,

Stacy

(Photos are from a wedding at Kinglsey Pines where our flowers and design graced the tables)

Smells of September

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

Fall is a great time for nostalgia. It is common to hear people talk of going back to school, of football, or of the new television season. To misconstrue these mundane transitions as "seasonality" is indicative of either our society's disconnect with nature, or else of some Southern California conspiracy.

At the farm, the change of the season is unmediated by the media. So awash in change is our Maine September that one hardly needs more than one of our five senses to instantly perceive the season.
My nose has never before been my strongest of sensory collectors, but recently it has been performing amazingly at taking in the season. There is the sweetness of apples that clouds around in the pasture where the chickens peck the fallen fruit near their pen.

The intense flavors on the air when I mow the old parsley down.

Bee hives are heavy with scents of pollen, wax, and honey.

Probably the most intense smells of the season for me have come from our squash field. Stink bugs (aka squash bugs) have made this a disappointing harvest for us, but the cacophony of smells indicate an on-going struggle. I smell the sweetness of rotting fruit, competing with the sharp twist of the scent gland of the bug. When we drive the truck into the field to harvest what we can, we leave a trail of strong stink!

Since last week when I smashed the rear window on the truck, smells billow into the cab of the truck. The sweetness of ripe and rotting fruits-- tomatoes, elderberries, apples, tomatillos...

follows me from the field to the compost pile. What is rot but millions of spores from fungus. I noted a distinct increase in that fungus smell after hurricane Irene rained on us and whipped our plants around. The air is thick with bugs, spores, and smells of decomposition. It kinda makes me want to go to the mall to smell those crisp fall fashions hanging on the sales rack.

Before it all goes back to the soil, though, we still have some harvesting to do!
This week we will have
Lettuce
Raab
Soy Beans
Tomatoes
Beets
Radishes
Potatoes
Onions
Parsley
Delicotta Squash

This broccoli raab (aka rabe) is the best of our leafy greens. We don't generally wait for this to "head" like true broccoli, which demands a very small harvest window and risks a tougher stem. The great flavor is found mostly in the leaves anyway. It is best lightly sauteed with garlic, a bit of vinegar-- just keep it simple! Great with eggs in the morning, and (I know this is obvious) bacon or sausage.

Fresh soy beans, or edamame is a great snacking vegetable. You might notice that we give you the whole plant. Put your family's hands to work picking off all the pods. Get a pot of salted water boiling, and throw in the pods until they look bright green; just a few minutes. Drain, and eat just like pistachios. If you have too much to eat now, just freeze them in a bag for later.

Goodness :: Gracious

2011-09-06T21:23:00.000-04:00

Where to start, dear friends....

The season is flying by and we're swimming hard to stay afloat. The food is being harvested at a steady clip, onions today, squash tomorrow. And the flowers are on fire. We are processing poultry , filling the freezer this week and next with fresh chicken. And, dare I gloat for a wee moment and say there are now 4 geese in there as well... hello Christmas Goose!

All of our summer house guests have come and gone and the school bus arrived this morning taking along with it one sophomore girl, who was sad to say goodbye to her summer vacation. Now, amidst all the harvesting, hosting,

food preserving and flower magic, we add on the hustle and carpooling that parents do to facilitate the interest of their children to the to-do list.

I must confess, all I am dreaming about is the first frost, the colored leaves, the quiet of a snowy day.

But then, I put my hands to those flowers and I'm back, skin in the game and loving every minute of it.

The work is effective at keeping me in the present but in the sunrise moment between asleep and awake, when I'm emerging into another day and making sense of the list of to-do's in front of me, that's when I can conjure up the memory of waking up to crystals coating every leaf, snow piled high on the eaves outside the window and the slower pace of the off season. John likens the first frost to Christmas Day, an exit pass off our personal super highway. We never stop working, summer or winter, we just get to relax the pace.

Last week marked the end of our 12 week flower CSA. We really enjoyed making weekly bouquets and we hope our flower shareholders enjoyed receiving them. Please provide us with feedback about your flower share experience as we would love to improve the offering and rely on your feedback to do so.

This week, we are playing host to Maine Farmland Trust's Forever Farm event. Please join us for dinner on Thursday, September 8th from 5-8. There will be live music and Maine grown food and drink. The event is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC (gulp). We look forward to meeting new folks and seeing old friends come out and celebrate the work of the Maine Farmland Trust.

The Citizens for a Green Scarborough are sponsoring a movie at the Scarborough Library. On September 14th, join folks to watch and discuss A Chemical Reaction.

This weeks harvest is abundant and colorful and includes:

Lettuce

Potatoes

Onions

Eggplant

Heirloom Tomatoes

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Yellow wax string beans

Peppers

Rainbow Chard

Acorn Squash

Radishes

Basil

Tomatillos (best used in Salsa Verde)

Blessings on the meal,

Stacy

PS....John and I have an little ongoing debate about how "flower-centric" my posts are...I say we show 'em the magic while its here and enjoy a little flower indulgence while we can.

Irene blows bye

2011-08-30T21:38:00.002-04:00

Batten down the hatches! Hurricane coming!

Front door...

Back door...

Side door...

oops, should have done the whole side, not just the door.

everyone safe and sound inside...

while the wind rages...

some definite destruction:

There's the squash, but where are the plants?
... but how does this happen after such a weekend?!

The distribution includes:
Lettuce, Radishes, Parsley, Onions (shallots for most), Spaghetti Squash, Tomatoes, Potatoes, Carrots, Beets, and Beans
Lots of tomatoes got knocked off the vines, but we'll harvest what we have left until there are no more. The carrots and potatoes were safe underground!
Blessings on the meal.

p.s. On September 8th, Broadturn Farm will be inducted into the Maine Farmland Trust program "Forever Farms." Come by to help us celebrate. There will be food, drink and music. See the program website for more info.

The Farmer's Therapist

2011-08-23T16:18:00.000-04:00

Many farmers dream of having an on-site mechanic who will diagnose and fix tractors and aging equipment. John Snell, our neighbor at Snell Family Farm has one.

Our International has been waiting for a grease monkey

Some other farmers we've met take this one step further (or closer as the case may be) by wishing for a chiropractor on staff. Each week everyone gets worked on to ease aches and pains and encourage smart physical habits. Mark and Kristin Kimball of Essex Farm have one.

The harvest hunch

Well, we here at Broadturn Farm believe that every farmer needs a shrink on site. Yes, the tractor might be broken, and our backs might be sore as hell, but so long as we can make ourselves comfortable "on the couch" with a sympathetic ear and an occasionally an encouraging word, the farmers will keep their heads above water.

Perhaps that is at root of why we have a CSA farm in the first place: we used to take advantage of folks coming to pick up their share to tell them about how awful the weather has been, or how horrible the pests are in the fields. But we soon realized that you all are just good-intentioned customers who do not deserve our emotional dump of bad news, so we've learned to be more positive with our CSA members.

I've even been known to vent to the press about (for example) the rain, "It sucks!" They printed that, and no one likes seeing one's problems on the front page, so I have learned to button up when reporters and their paparazzi show up in the dooryard.

Who can we go to when we feel overwhelmed? MOFGA's Eric Sideman is an organic crop specialist who knows everything about diseases, pests, and other problems, and I certainly rely on his consultation, but too many details do not help... details about botrytis leaf blight in the onions,

powdery mildew in the squash, leaf hoppers, bean beetles, flea beetles, and in the tomatoes alone: late blight, early blight, and septoria leaf spot! Bugs...

Monster Tomato Hornworm..

...eating our tomatoes

And oh, those weeds! See this week's pest report for a taste of Farmer stress.

No, what we need is a shoulder to cry on. Enter work-share members!

Work-share CSA members are valuable additions to our crew for many reasons. They get the crops harvested with us every Tuesday and Friday. They pick up bread for the pigs on their way out to the farm and they commute Emma to her urban appointments on their way back to town. But this year especially we have been blessed by Farm Shrinks among our work-shares. Let me tell you about two such kind souls.

Colin can whip up sour kraut, and dig potatoes with the best of them, but he can also assuage insecurity through guided meditation, and repair our sometimes broken masculinity with wholesome common sense advice. He is a gem. We love Colin.

Croix "on the farm-couch"

Kana is another one. She won't slow her pace in the bean field even while her soothing questions target our most profoundly personal life queries. Though she herself is a true intellect (fittingly, a religion scholar) she's humble enough to make us feel really smart, indulging us with conversation all about ourselves. Kana is cool as can be.

Sunny Kana with the Sun-golds

A farm-mechanic or even a farm-masseuse gets beat out by these two farm-coaches. There have been others over the years of course (and others this year), too many to mention. They show up once a week, they feel our pain, but they recognize our progress. With an assuring gesture of support, they depart after a morning of harvest and therapy, and leave a bounty behind for the CSA community.

This week this includes:

Carrots, Lettuce, Onions, Potatoes, Cucumbers, Squashes, Tomatoes, Dill, Beans, Radishes, and Peppers (or Eggplant).

They also leave the farm crew: Andie, Emily, Croix, Stacy, and John, feeling better about the farm. And sometimes they bring donuts.

Thank you!

Blessings on the meal,

John

When John and Stacy go on Vacation...

2011-08-15T16:13:00.008-04:00

John and Stacy have gone on their annual summertime vacation, leaving the interns to run the farm. We figured, if they've gone on vacation, why shouldn't we have our own mini vacation right here on the farm?

We started out the morning with a little joy ride in the truck around the farm, while Croix entertained us with his musical talent.

We each interpreted "vacation time" with our own personal meaning. Emily, not surprisingly, took her time to catch up on her reading. And just for kicks, you know since we're on vacation, she decided to try out the walk-in cooler as a new spot to curl up with a book.

Andie took the early morning hours to go on a nature walk through the woods behind the cabins. Along the way she spotted some exciting birds and wildlife!

Croix has been enjoying the spaciousness of all the new-found free time, and decided to meditate on the spot, in the rain, in the middle of the dooryard.

And surprisingly, as much as we've been enjoying ourselves, we have found some time to be sure you all can still enjoy your delicious weekly vegetables. This week in your share you can expect to find a colorful late summer assortment of:

Radicchio

Daikon Radishes

Assorted Squash- Zucchini, Summer Squash, and Patty Pan

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Golden Beets

Scallions

Swiss Chard

Parsley

For a quick and delicious fresh salad, try dicing your tomatoes and cucumbers and sprinkling with chopped parsley. Add a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar and some salt and pepper. This salad is a delicious accompaniment to a simple cheese omelette with some toast.

Blessings on the summer vacation,

Andie, Emily, and Croix

Happiness is to Hold Flowers in Both Hands

2011-08-13T13:46:00.022-04:00

Today, I realized something. Something extraordinary and wonderful. Something that most girls my age would NEVER acknowledge. I am my mother’s daughter, through and through. If the red hair and flat feet aren't enough, the passion for flowers and obsession with the new studio certainly is!

We just love flowers. My favorite quote is about flowers. My favorite dress is a floral print. My favorite gift? You guessed it, flowers! I cannot imagine a world without the beauty of flowers.

Whether the flowers are passionate and magical, like the rose or strange and marvelous, like the bleeding heart.

Or even as plain and sweet as daisies woven into a chain that will grace Flora’s hair.

As a teenager, I do love sleep. Yes, I stay up late and wake up later than I should. But, this morning, I got up on time. I came downstairs, said my good mornings and in a sleep induced fog, followed my heart to the studio. Upon stepping inside, my breath was taken away by this:

And boy was I awake! I mean what’s more awakening than a bucket full of zinnias?! Perhaps a good cup of coffee or someone yelling “FIRE,” but I prefer zinnias. I began to make the CSA bouquets. I grabbed flowers, some sunflowers over here, one or two zinnias there. Maybe some snow-on-the-mountain? Yes, that just about does it. All of the sudden I am in love. I’m in love with the yellow of the sunflowers, the way the dahlias demand you to gaze at them, t

he way the whole bouquet comes together in a sunny swirl of charm and exquisiteness.

Each flower has a personality; they talk among themselves while I make bouquets. The zinnias are bubbly and happy, but not very smart!

The cosmos are oh-so-kind and sweet but a tad too sensitive.

The dahlias are smart and strong, but arrogant.

The sunflowers are tall and powerful, but they are simple and kind. Humbling in their graceful beauty, their willingness to not only grace our table with their elegance but my stomach, in the fall, when their seeds become the tastiest of snacks.

I love these flowers. I love their personalities. The way they make any place look ten times more beautiful.

My mom said that her favorite thing about flowers is that they make her smile. They make me smile too.

My mom taught me to love flowers, just as my Nana taught her. Already Flora wants to pick flowers and learn their names. She says that her favorite thing about flowers is that they a

re beautiful.

During this wonderfully sunny and hot summer, I've heard my friends complaining. They want cold.

But, I want to hold on to the flowers a little bit longer.

I dream of flowers in the winter when the world is white and cold, the smell of them

and their soft petals.

Don't you?

I don't want them to ever leave. Yet, I suppose that the things that are most special to us are things that are ephemeral.

Next time you come out to the farm feel free to walk through the flowers.

Find the butterfly bush and echinacea and perhaps you’ll see a butterfly or

bumblebee sipping

some sweet nectar.

Marvel at the beauty of the flowers, their show will be over soon enough.

Because, in my opinion, "happiness is to hold flowers in both hands"

(a Japanese Proverb).

Blessings on the blooms,

Emma

An August Harvest List

2011-08-09T08:07:00.000-04:00

What's coming out of the field this week:
Basil
Tomatoes
Maxibel Green Beans
Lettuce
Summer Squash
Zucchini
Patty Pan Squash
Cucumbers
Parsley
Dill
Fennel
A taste of Eggplant
Carrots

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy and John

Raw Material Transforms

2011-08-08T09:57:00.000-04:00

In the middle of last week, it was decided that we would begin to move into our new store and studio space. Our hands are full of the work of the regular season, so changing patterns and flow in our tried system came as a hard sell. But, cleaning up the sawdust and prepping the raw space felt so good.

The first big use for the space was floral design for 3 weddings. With the help of an able crew of ladies, and John of course, we cut flowers and prepped raw material to be used for the weddings. This starts early on Thursdays for our wedding cycle.

Flowers come in from the field and go to the cooler. We moved them to the studio by the truckload after they were cooled off from the field. And then the magic little flower factory started churning out arrangements.... (fueled of course by coffee, snacks and the late night bottle of vino)

Once all the design work is done, everything gets packed up to travel and sent back to the cooler until we're ready to go to the sites.

Wedding one: Peak's Island, purple, lavender and blue

Wedding two: In the Country, red, orange, yellow and white in vintage milk glass and antique blue glass ball jars

(Can we just love on all that color for a moment?)

Wedding three: At the Beach, peach, lavender, green and white for the personal flowers and color galore in vintage apothecary bottles and tins for the tablescapes.

(And, we did not grow those big David Austin roses here, alas they were ordered in from our wholesaler)

(darling little summer crab apples make my heart sing)

And can I just mention that a girl can really fall in love with a ribbon rack!

After a full weekend of flowers, we are gearing up to open the retail side of the studio/store this morning.

Introducing:

Hours are 7AM to 7PM, seven days a week. Stop in, tell us what you think, take home something delicious to eat and some flowers for your table. Everything is self serve but we'll be around to help if need be.

Opening a store feels a little like you're about to have a big party and you don't know if anyone you've invited is going to show up!

Leaving July Behind

2011-08-01T06:03:00.000-04:00

On Tuesday, there was a film crew at the farm to shoot a cable TV spot about the farm. It was orchestrated by our next door neighbor and videographer, David Huot (of Xcetera Productions), and will be part of a series about food and farming hosted by Ben Hewitt. He is a writer who wrote about Hardwick Vermont in The Town That Food Saved: How One Community Found Vitality in Local Food. Many who, like us, are farmers and committed to a local food economy, know all about Hardwick as a place with an inspiring story (Ben's title says it all, but here's a 2008 news story about what's happened there over the past 5 years). We've sent articles about Hardwick to our town office and we have cornered the business community organizers at SEDCO with eager plans to push Scarborough in the direction of a food-based economy; growth coming from food production and related agricultural enterprises. Hardwick is very rural with a dead industrial past... there are not too

many parallels with Scarborough, but we are optimists in this mission, so we'll take what we can get!

There has been growth in agriculture since we moved to town five years ago. "Doubling" the number of farms, or claiming 100% growth, is not saying much when there was only one other vegetable farm in town, but we see growth in other ways. Most notably by the enthusiasm of our community for our efforts. And our great employees, volunteers, and work exchangers.

And, this season, we welcomed another new farmer to town, Daniel Mays, over at the Frith Farm. Add to that the steady number of "part-time" farmers who expand their operations to fill voids in the marketplace. Two farmer's markets: The official one on Sundays at the town hall parking lot, and the other one improvised by our friends at the Cheese Iron. Between the enthusiastic neighbors we have to the Facebook community of producers and co-producers, we certainly see and feel momentum.

That being said, Daniel over at Frith Farm has a newly certified poultry processing facility! For everyone who has hungered for some amazing pastured poultry, you should drop him a line and reserve a few birds. He'll have thanksgiving turkeys as well. With our last year's intern, Courtney, Frith Farm has the poultry processing well in hand-- as with other aspects of helping to start up a new farm. We could not have socially engineered better farm neighbors!

While we're on the subject of progress, lets hear it for the new root washer!

In go the carrots! The barrel turns, and sprays water onto the carrots.

And out the other end!

Lacking a waterfront for our Farm Camp, we think this could be the Camp's next water activity.

Blessings on the Meal!

John

July wedding

2011-07-27T08:16:00.001-04:00

We hosted our first wedding party of the season this past weekend. It featured our food and flowers.

Best thing about the night was dessert: gelato from Gelato Fiasco in Brunswick... in the renovated English Barn! Everyone emerging from the barn had a huge smile on their face!

The party was great and went off "without a hitch". (The actual ceremony was at the beach, so indeed the party was hitch-less!)

The CSA harvests are chugging along. We made a nice QUICK dinner last week: pizza on some day-old bread with amazing toppings!

This week we have:
Red leaf lettuce
Green head lettuce
Arugula
Squashes and Cucumbers
Beans
Tomatoes
Basil
Dill
Carrots
and a few extras: radishes and cabbage both of which did not fair well with the recent heat, and so are in limited supply.

We said "bon voyage" to our Belgian friend, Aurthur, this weekend. Thanks for the help these past three weeks! Here he is the way he would want to appear...

After the wedding we were able to scoot away for Flora's 5th birthday, to round out another busy week!!!

Blessings on the meal!

Crushing on the Red Dahlias

2011-07-19T16:31:00.000-04:00

This week has lent itself to beautiful mornings....full moons setting, sunrise rainbow, and of course, the landing of the hot air balloon. I love working outside at sunrise. Watching the bees wake up, enjoying a moment pre-sunscreen and sans mosquitos.

This week's share includes:

Summer Squash

Zucchini

Patty Pan Squash

Garlic

Lettuce

Beets

Chard

Sugar Snap Peas

Cilantro

Radicchio

We've been busy with lots of flower orders. I did have a moment to snap a few photos of an arrangement made as a gift for a local friend from one of her far away internet friends. Both of these women provide me with endless inspiration. In addition to my friend crushes, I am absolutely in love with the prolific red dahlias in the flower garden.

Blessings on the meal-
Stacy

2011-07-16T15:23:00.000-04:00

For the last 5 years, this lovely balloon has been sailing by at least once a week all summer.

Usually, the dog freaks out.

But never had the balloon chosen out farm to land. I guess the stars and the wind and the full moon were aligned, making this the morning. We all put down our work, and the sleepy teenagers emerged from their rooms, traffic stopped and we all ran out to the pasture to greet the arrivals.

They were accompanied by a big truck, equipped to carry the deflated balloon and basket and travelers back to their place of origin.

Stella finally had a chance to sniff that big alien thing that had been taunting her. The sheep, well, they kept on munching grass.

And the rumor about the bottle of champagne.....rumor no more....we'll be having mimosas at breakfast.

Blessings on the meal-
Stacy

The Length of Days

2011-07-12T14:48:00.001-04:00

Spinach

This Week's Harvest:

Lettuce

New Potatoes

Baby Carrots

Sugar Snap Peas

Radicchio

Basil

Scallions

Zucchini/Summer Squash/Patty Pan Squash

Spinach

Sugar Snap Peas

Radicchio

Everything is on fire these days. The farm is popping with color and growth. The turkeys have left the bird nursery.

The barn swallows are also sending their babies flying out of the nest. Some don't always take to it well. Of course this gives plenty if opportunity for learning about baby birds and, most importantly, building them nests made of flower petals.

The broilers (chickens raised specifically for meat) arrived last week by post and are already losing their fluff and stuff. And this week, everyone's favorite, the ducklings make their appearance at the farm.

(Upon arrival last week)

(Outgrowing their cage this week)

It is in these few months of warmth and light that we make all our food and money. It is a fast and crazy pace but every now and again, we get away for a day to rest, regroup, swim, eat fish and read.

(my favorite chair in all the world)

This lovely bit of flowers is a delivery to our friends at SPACE gallery to celebrate the opening of their new annex tonight. A card attached shares a bit of love as the flowers were ordered from a far away friend.

Last but not least...what to do with radicchio...I love it very lightly cooked. I like to cut it into wedges, coat with olive oil and grill for a short minute. Then, I drizzle with a vinaigrette.

Blessing on the meal-
Stacy

2011-07-05T18:09:00.000-04:00

This week's harvest:
Cabbage
Lettuce
Broccoli (for Tuesday-- Friday got theirs last week)
Chives
Dill
Strawberries
Sugar Snap Peas
Beets with greens
Collards

Sugar Snap Peas are eaten in the pod. They are sweetest closest to the time of being picked. The sugar in peas turns to starch post harvest, changing the flavor. This is why they are best raw, off the vine while walking up to weed the field, and feeling the need for a quick pea snack. I love to saute them lightly and toss with goat cheese and a little lemon zest.

Strawberries are still popping red in the field for one more week. They are getting smaller, but dare I say: sweeter! Thanks so much to our pickers this season for spending many long hours bending over weeds and fruit. Red knees and fingers from soreness or sweetness?

Our strawberry field has served us well, but they will be tilled under in a couple weeks. What started out two years ago as a weed free field has gone from pick your own last year, and into this year's jungle of weeds. Where do they come from!? Stella's night-time patrol cuts right through the field, so John is happy to point the finger at her. But most weeds illustrate the ancient concept of spontaneous generation very well, and that takes the blame off of everyone.

Maybe it is just that John Snell's bean field in it's cultivated prime lies right next door, that we are amazed by our strawberry field's weeds.

But maybe again, it is because next week we will again wrest control over the ground, and bury all the mess and start again with some cover crops for the coming months and years.

All hail the giant thistle: King of the Strawberry Field and feared by many-a-picker!

I overheard one of our crew comment about beets that hit home. Prepared well, you'll never forget how much you love beets. Prepared poorly, and maybe they are better forgotten. Try a recipe with the lemon zest that seems to be one among our favorite accouterments this summer. Simply toss the beets with olive oil, course sea salt, pepper, crushed garlic (still have those scapes?), and lemon zest, plus a little lemon juice. Roast low down in a hot oven (450 degrees), until they are soft. Then toss them with plenty of goat cheese, and some fresh tarragon (from our herb garden-- help yourself.) Maybe the dill would work well too. Tell me that's not delicious.

A few images from a weekend wedding...the traditional floral crowns for the Greek Orthodox wedding ceremony included a white ribbon connecting the groom's crown to the bride's. Each wedding is slightly different and new, presenting us with interesting creative issues. Oh, and the wedding was also out on Peak's Island... Getting flowers out to an island presented us with lots more creative problem solving!

Blessings on the meal.
PS: The baby turkeys, on view in the ell of our barn, say hello.
FYI: Officially they are called "turkey poults", but we think "turk-lettes", or "turklings" works well too.

2011-06-28T16:38:00.000-04:00

This week's harvest:
Strawberries
Lettuce
Spinach
Kohlrabi
Bok Choi
Cabbage
Radishes
Hakurei Salad Turnips
Extra basil and tomato seedlings

What is Kohlrabi? I liken it to a tender broccoli stem. They are in the same plant family. We like to peel the skin off, slice them up and eat raw with dip. Also, kohlrabi tastes great grated into a salad or a slaw. If you prefer your kohlrabi cooked, try cutting into match sticks, sauteing with oil, garlic and toss with some grated parmesean cheese. I always peel it as the skin is too tough for my taste.

Here's one tip...from the kitchen of the farm house...for how to make the most of your share:

Keep a stock of condiments on hand that pare well with the produce. A short list for our pantry includes:

a variety of vinegar, ume plum being my favorite
limes and lemons and juice of both (I use the zest and the juice)
mayonnaise
yogurt
grating cheese like asiago or romano and some other strong cheese like blue or gorgonzola, and feta
ginger root
tahini

With these ingredients, you can fashion a variety of dressings and sauces to go with the various items in your share. We are short on time in the summer so most often I'm winging it in the kitchen. These staples can work in many ways to simplify the use of the summer bounty. Remember to share your delicious creations with is on Facebook.

Our summer camp is in full swing as of yesterday. The lively energy of all those children always brings an extra nip of excitement to the work of farming. They all want to meet the "boy farmer". John, the elusive "boy farmer" attains a level of celebrity in the eyes of the campers. He runs by in a scurry from one job to the next, looking important all the while. I think he secretly likes his stardom. Flora is also enjoying camp although she proclaimed to me yesterday that now she has "absolutely no more privacy". Welcome to summer, I say. And Emma and her friends have been madly harvesting berries for our wholesale accounts. All hands and hearts are in the work these days.

This weekend we will create flower magic for our first wedding out on Peak's Island. We'll surely share some of that loveliness as it happens.

There are plenty of berries for sale here at the farm. You can stop by or place an order, especially if you are looking for a large enough quantity for making jam or freezing for mid-winter smoothies. In addition, we still have basil and tomato seedlings if you need some more plants for your garden.

The store, Robbie tells me, is 2 weeks away from opening. She looks more real every day. I can't wait to move in!

And to Jennifer, we are holding you and yours in the light.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy

Ephemeral Blooms

2011-06-24T15:37:00.000-04:00

Peonies

by Mary Oliver, from New and Selected Poems (Beacon Press)

This morning the green fists of the peonies are getting ready
   to break my heart
     as the sun rises,
        as the sun strokes them with his old, buttery fingers

and they open--
   pools of lace,
      white and pink--
       and all day the black ants climb over them,

boring their deep and mysterious holes
    into the curls,
      craving the sweet sap,
        taking it away

to their dark, underground cities--
   and all day
      under the shifty wind,
       as in a dance to the great wedding,

the flowers bend their bright bodies,
   and tip their fragrance to the air,
     and rise,
       their red stems holding

all that dampness and recklessness
    gladly and lightly,
      and there it is again--
        beauty the brave, the exemplary,

blazing open.
    Do you love this world?
      Do you cherish your humble and silky life?
       Do you adore the green grass, with its terror beneath?

Do you also hurry, half-dressed and barefoot, into the garden,
   and softly,
      and exclaiming of their dearness,
       fill your arms with the white and pink flowers,

with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling,
    their eagerness
      to be wild and perfect for a moment, before they are
        nothing, forever?

Longest days of the year...

2011-06-21T12:07:00.000-04:00

This week's harvest:
Garlic Scapes
Strawberries
Mizuna
Lettuce
Basil Seedling
Cilantro
Beets with greens
Napa Cabbage
Rhubarb
Radishes

Garlic scapes are a quick season delicacy. Fresh, green, garlicky and possible fun to wear. They can take the place of garlic in whatever recipe you are preparing. Or, you can highlight them in a pesto, garlic scape butter, or flower bouquet.

Mizuna is best eaten raw as an accouterment to salad or as an addition to a delicious Asian slaw made with the Napa cabbage. In some recipes you will find the Napa referred to as Chinese or Savoy cabbage. Both can also be braised.

Mainers love beet greens. But what about the beets?! John has never been able to just give out greens without the beets, but when you get home you can eat those greens and tuck the beets back into the fridge for later.
Strawberries are best eaten raw, fast, in the car on the way home...so as not to have to share any! But, then again, the gift of fresh strawberries at the table, shared with smiles and exclamations is worth the wait. Just a pint on Tuesday, but more to come!

And about those berries...we will no longer be offering pick-your-own berries. If you are interested in purchasing berries, they are $5/lb. They will be available in the barn as long as we have them. In addition to purchasing berries from us, you can check out our newest retail location, Bathras Market....can we just say ADORABLE!!!

Bathras is in Willard Square, next to Scatch Bakery in South Portland. If you are local, please drop in and meet Kate,

her lovely husband and her father-in-law. And, if you are hungry or want to grab a picnic for the beach, pick up a sandwich made by Sasha, who happens to be a Broadturn alum!

Very inspiring place for a girl about to open a little neighborhood store herself!

And finally, let's close with a little bit of lovely.... an arrangement for the folks at SPACE.

And Tuesday's CSA Flower share bouquets...

Merry Solstice and Blessings on the meal,

Stacy

Celebrating the longest day with flowers and berries....

Baby Shower Bouquets

2011-06-16T10:46:00.000-04:00

The annuals we have planted are a little slow to come this season but we are cutting spring perennials and loving the look of greens and purples and whites. And, who doesn't love a pink lupine?

Bouquets to-go

2011-06-14T20:36:00.000-04:00

Today we had our first CSA Flower and Vegetable harvest.

Just a little peak at the charm of spring perennials wrapped in kraft.

Blessings on the meal-
Stacy

Taking a breath...and then another sip of coffee

2011-06-13T16:41:00.001-04:00

These days are so busy and hectic and full of work and scheming and fun. All that we plan for in the winter culminates in these few short months we call a growing season. This week marks one of our milestones for the season, our first CSA harvest. Our to-do list grows longer each week even as we continually cross things off each day. It is these days when I can never imagine how it all gets done but every year, we seem to make it happen. More and more I think it is about the breaths we take and definitely, the stove top espresso maker.

The farm is hopping with projects. Every direction I look I see another bit of unfinished. Luckily, someone stops by occasionally and reminds me how much progress we have made here in the last 5 seasons. This is enough to keep me sane and continuing to plug along.

Meeting with brides and mother's of the bride and potential brides has my brain spinning with ideas and inspiration....mostly at 3AM as I wake up with some vision. I am a big fan of repurposing the old and found and treasured. Always, I am trying to sell an idea to a bride that allows me an opportunity to collect and salvage and explore my favorite places.....flea markets, antique stores, yard sales and yes....the transfer station (otherwise known as the town dump's swap shop).

I am so excited to show you all the photos of this season's weddings as we move forward.

In addition, thinking about the aesthetics of our soon-to-open dooryard farmstore, Flora*Bliss, has sent me into the land of flea markets.

A holiday of the best kind for a lover of the old, a trip to Brimfield, had me arriving home with a trailer full of fun stuff to use for displays. I also scored the most beautiful Benjamin lamp shades for the exterior of our barns at Brimfield.

Our fantastic electrician, Cory, from Energize ME and his crew of able dudes have re-wired my lights and I can hardly wait to flip the switch!

There is a little bit of loveliness happening to our English Barn. This barn is unusual as it has two large doors on the side ends rather than the gable ends, where most New England barn doors are located. We have, with the help of Scott and Trevor from Eider Construction, revamped the space, inside and out, to accommodate both our summer camp and some beautiful barn weddings to be.

We needed to make improvements to meet the requirements of the State Fire Marshall's office and the Town of Scarborough. The inspection will be within the next week. Keep your fingers crossed! The only thing left to do is find the perfect globe string lights to illuminate the space in the evenings.

To top it off, the peonies have found their peace and are sharing it with us. A little slice of heaven for this week's inaugural CSA bouquets.

In addition to peonies in the flower bouquets, the produce CSA harvest looks like this:
Tomato seedlings
Lettuce
Rhubarb
Chives
Sorrel
Spinach
Kale
Bok Choi
Broccoli Raab

The following is from an email sent to CSA members earlier today....in case you didn't receive it.

This week will be our first harvest week for the CSA. We are open for on-farm CSA share pick up between 2-7PM on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.
If you are collecting your share at Maple's Organics or Aurora Provisions, the shares will be there at 2PM on Tuesdays. You can pick up your share anytime after 2PM. Aurora closes at 6:30PM and Maple's is open until 8PM.

If you want to be kept up to date on what's in the harvest, announcements about the CSA and farm happenings, please read the blog newsletter each week. You can subscribe to it and receive the news each week in your email inbox. The link to subscribe is along the left hand sidebar of the website. The other options is to check it out on the web each week.

In addition, we post announcements on Facebook, which you can see if you are a fan of Broadturn Farm.

I have tried to organize all 150 shares and hopefully there won't be too many glitches. But please be patient as we iron out the details. It usually takes a week or two before everything falls into place.

A few key notes about CSA pick-up:

1. Please bring your own bags/boxes/baskets to collect your share at the farm as we do not provide these for on-farm pick-up.

2. Please park in the lot off of Hanson Rd. Our driveway and dooryard are occupied by construction crews currently and pulling in and out onto Broadturn Rd in traffic can be challenging.

3. If you are planning to be away on a pick up day and want to change from one day to another, please let us know before the Tuesday harvest. You can also send someone else to pick up your share if you are on vacation. If there are leftovers from shares unclaimed, we make them available as extras to the CSA and we donate them to Project Grace in Scarborough.

4. John or Stacy will be in the barn on pick up days to help with identifying produce, answering questions and general chit-chat.

5. Please feel free to help yourself to culinary herbs and edible flowers in the herb garden adjacent to the CSA pick-up area. There is oregano, sage, thyme, tarragon, and mint. Soon there will also be rosemary, nasturtium flowers, borage flowers and calendula flowers. Take as much or as little as you can use each week.

6. If you have a flower share, please take your flowers in the jar provided and then return it the following week. Flowers do best when kept in water, out of the wind, and in a cool spot. Don't forget to untie your bouquet when you arrive home and arrange it for the container you choose to put it in. The stems will enjoy a trim to allow them to absorb more water. Change the water regularly to ensure minimal bacteria build-up that is known to decrease the vase life of the arrangement.

And, finally, please share with us the delicious recipes you are using so we might make them available to other members. When in doubt, everything tastes great with olive oil, a little salt and a sprinkle of cheese!

Blessings on the meal-

Stacy

The first 5AM start...I promise there are more smiles after coffee. This year's crew, from L to R: Andie, Emily, Stacy, John, Croix and Stella the dog sporting a new hair cut.

Beginning the Season

2011-06-05T21:12:00.000-04:00

CSA distributions will start next week, Tuesday June 14th.

Deciding when to begin bringing in the harvest is sometimes a tricky thing. This year we were looking forward to starting this first week in June, but we have decided to push harvests back until next week. The Spinach is definitely ready-- we had some in a salad last night and it was scrumptious. But the Lettuce is smallish, as are few other things. This spring, compared to the past few years has been a cold one. But compared to "normal" seasons, the rain, the cold, and more recently the heat, is pretty on target for what spring should be. So things are going reasonably well, and starting next week, June 14th, we'll begin to harvest for the CSA distributions, both produce and flower shares. You can celebrate Flag Day by eating delicious, seasonal produce!

We start the month of June being honest farmers: rising at 5 to get seedlings planted or greens harvested . We'll follow this schedule until the days start getting shorter, usually September. Our crew is surely looking forward to this Monday morning wake-up, as are we all. Although it can be difficult depending on what happened the night before, we all want to brag to our grandchildren about those early mornings on the farm.

(We have not formally introduced the crew yet this year because we traditionally wait for an early morning photo-op of the crew for that weeks blog posting... )

Also a photo tradition: All smiles showing off a nice piece of equipment before we drag it through the dirt! It's only shiny once!

If you are a meal planner, or just looking to get eating and searching out recipes, here's some of what you can expect in next week's share:
Rhubarb
Chives
Sorrel
Lettuce
BokChoi
Spinach
A tomato seedling....there are some sungold cherry tomatoes and some large heirlooms

And a quick glance under the white row cover, protecting the greens from a hearty population of flea beetles, reveals a few things that are almost ready...arugala, broccoli raab, kale and Napa Cabbage. The strawberries are flowering and the garlic looks like it might send up scapes at any moment. Get your knives sharpened and your cutting boards ready!

Blessings on the meal-
John

Flora*Bliss Opens This Summer::A Dooryard Farmstand

2011-05-09T18:00:00.000-04:00

For 5 years, we have been looking out of our bedroom window every morning, checking on the weather, the animals in the pasture, the snowfall and the blooms in the dooryard garden, always wondering if what we refer to as the Schoolhouse Barn is still standing. It is an iconic building in our dooryard, topped with a cupola.

The cupola is one of the first things you see as you crest the hill on Broadturn Road approaching the farm. Since arriving here and taking up residence, the future of the building has been uncertain.

But, thanks to a few stars aligning in just the right way, we will be opening up Flora*Bliss at Broadturn Farm this summer, a farm stand and floral design studio space, selling organic produce, cut flowers and general farm goodness.

We have a ton of folks to thank....first off, the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust, who has worked closely with us in developing a long term lease arrangement, making it more suitable for us to invest in the property as a way to invest in our business.

Larry Wagner, formerly of Eider Construction, saved the barn from falling with some elegant bracing last winter.

Jon Courtney and Robbie Alden, of timberframer fame, are re-building the barn.

Limington Lumber generously donated the flooring and Deering lumber provided free delivery of the boards. We are forever grateful to all of these folks for their hands.

We can't wait to welcome you in to Flora*Bliss when the doors are ready to open. (There are no doors to speak of currently).

We'll keep you updated on the progress. Until then, plan to include a stop at Flora*Bliss on your weekly food shopping ventures this summer.

Blessings on the meal,

The Bliss Family

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:15:00.000-04:00

The first from my garden to you....

Green Futures Fund (a.k.a. planting small trees)

2011-05-05T20:48:00.000-04:00

Planting trees is an investment in the future...mine, ours, our children's and the farmer's who will manage these fertile fields long after our time here has ended. Buying and planting saplings is like a green futures fund.

Last week, my trusty companion, in true-to-form composure,

road tripped with me in the pick up truck all the way to see the Maine Potato Lady in Northport, ME, via Clinton to pick up our cover crop seed, potato seed and an order from the FEDCO tree sale.

We order a variety of flower and vegetable seeds from FEDCO and every few years, we put in a large order for trees, woody flowering perennials and other sundry things. The order is due in the winter and the catalog comes in the late summer/early fall. Suffice it to say, that time of the year I do my best reading in the bathroom, making this catalog's primary location on the back of our commode. I love to read the descriptions, the anecdotes and the wisdom.

Flora and I left for the 5 hour round trip drive in the morning. I promised a viewing of the Royal Wedding upon return (uhhmmm, yes that would be called a bribe (a bride bribe)). Our first stop was the tree sale. When I called John to ask if there was anything he needed me to get in addition to our order, he said, "more potato seed"

and then added...."and, get whatever you want". Well, give a girl some go-ahead and guess what happens? Indeed, I made a few indulgent purchases.....including: a black flowering Japanese tree peony, a dwarf weeping Japanese maple,

a magnolia tree and some speedwell. This was on top of an already enormous order of which I still haven't finished planting.

The thing about buying trees from FEDCO is they are small when they come to you. They take patience and they require vision. We created a Google Earth Map of the farmstead to plan where to put everything. The approach so far to the tree order has been to order first and plan for placement afterwards...all based on the fine descriptions of the trees in the catalog. We experiment with new flowers, we envision shade trees and we consider flavor.

FEDCO does a fantastic job of employing our farmer friends in the winter and seeing them and their blessings on our order form are always a treat.

Consider a visit this weekend to FEDCO as there are always plenty of trees, shrubs, perennials, potatoes, soil amendments, books, tools, supplies, and seeds available for purchase, even if you haven't pre-ordered.

Inevitably, you'll see a friend or two while your there,

pick-up a seedling grown from FEDCO seeds

and find just the right fruit tree. I recommend the Red Haven peach, which fruited the second season with peaches more flavorful than words can describe. I might say the same about some of our other previous purchases but I haven't tasted them yet.

....On another note....If you live in the area, consider joining us for the Scarborough Land Conservation Trust's Annual Meeting, May 25th at 7PM at the Town Hall. SLCT owns the land we farm and live on. The foresight of this almost-all-volunteer organization preserved the farm with an agricultural easement, allowing us to rent the property for an affordable price. Their portfolio of properties in the town allow for birding, hiking, dog walking, hunting and space for wildlife and agriculture. There will be food, drink and merriment. Free and open to the public.

Finally, if you haven't already heard enough...read a newsy little piece about us in MaineBiz from this past week.

(Flora helped me unload these pallets of seed potatoes and cover crop seed into the barn and then we collapsed in front of the computer to watch the Royal Wedding on YouTube, as promised, momma equipped with the requisite glass of wine.)

Blessing on the meal,

Stacy

Borrowing Spring

2011-04-25T09:52:00.000-04:00

At heart, I am really a reluctant vegetable farmer, and more of a lady gardener. I love growing flowers and the presence of blooms in the house whenever possible. For years I've been aspiring to join the garden club, in hopes that we lady gardeners might sip tea and talk roses.

Of course, the garden club has advanced to more salient topics like the raising of food crops on a small scale and herbs in containers and it is of mixed gender, leaving superfluous discussions about woody flowering perennials over tea and finger sandwiches behind. Now, my intellectual self can rationalize the benefits of learning to produce food but my heart wants flowers.

This weekend I had to travel 2 hours south to Boston to pick Emma up at the airport. I was delighted to realize I had driven in to spring. The trees were all flowering and the grass was deliciously thick and green. For a few days, I had been envisioning how to create spring tablescapes for our annual Eastover luncheon. When we hit South Boston, I knew my ship had landed. Emma and I, equipped with clippers, walked the streets of South Boston, past dog walkers and couples out to dinner, and helped ourselves to an armful of woody flowering perennials. We were borrowing spring. Thank you kind residents of South Boston.

In our little corner of the country, spring is coming slowly this year. We have daffodils and crocuses in the yard and a walk in the woods reveals the beginning of dock and trout lily by the stream's edge. With a shovel in hand, Sunday morning found us collecting a bit of our forest goodness to add to our Eastover tables.

We are in our 7th year of enjoying Eastover lunch together. Each year, the guest list grows.

The food is always superb and the wine tastes just right. A Broadturn Farm lamb was served along with other classics like ham, potatoes au gratin, matzo and coconut creams. An eclectic bunch of folks, with a variety of food traditions for the Easter and Passover holiday, coming together to feast and make merry, with a little borrowed spring abounding....couldn't ask for anything better.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy

One set of smiling eyes was missing from our group this year. Bob, we missed you!

May Day Open House! April 30th 1-3

2011-04-25T07:36:00.000-04:00

Come by and visit the farm on Saturday, April 30th from 1-3. Learn more about our organic farming practices, sign up for Broadturn Farm Camp, take a walk on the loop trail in the woods. We still have a few CSA shares available, come learn more about how the CSA works. And, take a ribbon in hand and be part in our annual Maypole dance. Looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones.

Blessings on the meal-

Stacy

A Trip to the Feed Store

2011-04-17T20:59:00.000-04:00

Today, I want to take you all on a trip to our local feed store, Longhorn. Here at Broadturn, we love the

Metcalf's and all they bring to our community. We see farm neighbors, customers and friends at the feed store. And always, we find a few treasures.

A trip to the feed store is an easy sell for a child whose preference is usually to stay at the farm whenever given the choice to accompany one of us on an errand run. I admit to occasionally dragging a patient cat along in the car as a bribe when the feed store is not a stop on our list as an alternative to leaving a 4 year old home alone.

Most importantly, the feed store is a celebration of our local economy. Keeping farmland in active, commercial production, encouraging a gardener, bolstering the possibility of backyard chickens in urban and suburban areas, and facilitating the resurgence of homesteading are all possible with a strong feed store in the community. In turn, our feed store relies on our work, our purchases, our success. This is the essence of a true partnership within a vibrant community.

Do you need a half a dozen pullets to replenish your laying flock?

Looking for some local eggs, butter and syrup? Do you make beautiful, wooden, handcrafted chicken crates and want a place to sell them?

Longhorn's selection is varied, eclectic and always
worth a visit.

Rob, CeCe, Bev, Jared and the gang are always available to answer questions and help you source a product.

Make a day of hiking the trails here at Broadturn Farm this week during April vacation, park on the circle and find the trailhead for the loop trail right behind the outhouses. Then, enjoy your picnic at the farm before you head over to check out all there is to see at Longhorn. I hear there is a deal on baby guinea pigs this week!

Blessings on the meal-
Stacy

Before and After

2011-04-08T14:15:00.000-04:00

I must admit that in the winter, when the darkness forces more time by the wood stove, I lurk around crafting and design blogs. It feeds the voyeur in me and offers a touch of inspiration from time to time. Seeing the 'other side' of the photo doesn't have the same effect of making me utterly depressed in the same way looking through the Pottery Barn catalog or an issue of Martha Stewart Living does.

One trend I have noticed, depending on the take of the blog, is the before and after series. Sometimes its a full renovation, sometimes its a thrifted piece of furniture with a new paint job. At any rate, this phenomenon of displaying one's untidy mess and then publicly sharing the result of time spent organizing and cleaning up came to mind when I was writing the last entry while also working to get our greenhouse space ready for spring seeding.

So....in the spirit of all those before and after's out there in the blogosphere....here is Broadturn Farm's best attempt:

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Our next big business development is the building of a new seed starting greenhouse. We are open to ideas and suggestions. Here's what we want....to use as little fossil fuel as possible and have good drainage. Here's what we don't want...to get out of bed in the middle of the night to load the wood stove in the greenhouse. And, to top it off, it needs to be built for a song. Any ideas?

Blessings on the meal-

Stacy

Time to Think About Summer?!! April 1st Snowstorm

2011-03-17T13:34:00.022-04:00

SNOW DAY!!!

Most kids are off from school today, enjoying a spring gift from Mother Nature, her own special April Fool's Day joke. We're used to it here, though the warm weather lately has been tricking most of us into thinking that a spring snow was unlikely.

Even though there's snow on the ground, thoughts of warmer weather are permeating most of our minds these days: camping, swimming, gardening, fresh produce, school vacation....

Don't get me wrong, I love winter (the skiing, sledding, warm mugs of cocoa or soup, snowmen & snow forts...), but I long for a blue sky summer day like the one pictured above.

Before I chatter on any further, let me introduce myself. My name is Megan Dunn and I am Co-Directing Broadturn Farm's Camp program this summer. Yes, camp is back!!! After a season long hiatus, John and Stacy have decided to bring camp back, hiring myself and Beatrice Perron Dahlen (whom most of you former farm camp folks will fondly remember from the program in years past) to co-direct the program.

We both bring an educational background to the program, and a love and respect for the natural world and sustainable farming. Bea, as I mentioned above, has worked at Broadturn Farm Summer Camp since 2008, and is currently teaching public pre-kindergarten in Lewiston. I have been a working CSA member at Broadturn farm for three years and am currently completing my student teaching to obtain state certification to teach art to grades K-12. We are both super excited for this summer, and looking forward to all of the energy our young farmers will bring to the program!

In the clutter of my kitchen table, where other camp fliers reside (I have a 12 year old daughter, Isis, who is already asking about activities for the summer- we love for her to have diverse experiences), you'll see our flier and brochure, which we have been distributing to local public places, but there never seems to be enough time (so if all of you could help out and spread the word?...)

So... in your thoughts of summer, here's a little plug for our program! For those of you not familiar, here's a program description:

Broadturn Farm Summer Camp offers age appropriate activities for campers ages four through fourteen. The camp's curriculum focuses on farm and forest ecology, sustainable agriculture, and creative play, and runs from June 20th through August 12th. Half-day programming for the youngest campers ages four and five is structured to include lots of hands on learning and creative play, including feeding the pigs, collecting eggs, making simple recipes, and exploring the woods and stream. Full day programming, offered for older children ages six through nine, allows campers to experience all the workings of a small, organic, working farm and includes campers' participation in simple farm chores such as weeding, picking potato bugs, and planting seedlings.

New this year, Broadturn Farm SummerCamp is offering a pre and young teen program for ages ten through fourteen. During the two week Market Camp session, campers take a more active role in caring for the gardens and animals, harvesting and understanding the more complex aspects of operating a small farm business. The session culminates with a fundraising dinner event which campers design by preparing the menu, cooking the meal, learning about marketing, and budgeting for the event. The fundraising dinner is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 10^th

^{We also are offering a limited number of JC (Junior Counselor) positions this summer for 15-17 year olds, by application only. We're looking for responsible, mature young adults with some experience working with young children, and a willingness to have fun, get dirty, and learn a lot about child development, sustainable agriculture, and farm and forest ecology.}

Check out our summer camp page on the Broadturn blog for more detailed information about fees, schedule, registration, and the Junior Counselor program.

For those of you who need just a little more convincing, check out this article that Farmer John found in USA Today which states that "Farm children... are much less likely to develop asthma and allergies than non-farmers... says the study of 933 European children in today's New England Journal of Medicine." For the full article, click here.

Finally, stay tuned for information about a Broadturn Farm Open House, tentatively scheduled for April 30th (we'll keep you posted as we haven't cemented this date yet). Bea and I will be on hand to talk to families about the camp program, and John and Stacy will available to talk with CSA members. We'll be giving tours and celebrating the Spring season!

I look forward to meeting all of you this summer as you visit the farm! Here's a picture of me feeding T-Bone, the farm's newest family member:

Take care and be in touch with any questions,

Megan

broadturnsummercamp@gmail.com

Muddy Snow Cone Season

2011-03-12T10:21:00.002-05:00

And then there is the scene in our livestock barn...

Now, every year when the ice is thick and the snow is in that ebb and flow place, brown and crusty and hanging on like a sore cuticle you just want to go away, things are a little disheveled. But, this year, the barn has reached a new level. This is the point in today's story where we take a turn to the confessional, feeling a little shy, but wanting to share some of the truth of winter at our farm.

All of the ewes have had their lambs so there are 7 little lambs popping around the place. The lambs have taken a liking to the chicken feed and are well skilled at squeezing through the gate to collect themselves a snack. The lambs are growing quickly and seem to be everywhere, all at once.

The poultry, 12 hens, 2 roosters (the little chick, named Peep, born in the summer, is a rooster),

3 very loud geese, and 4 ducks

already jockey for a place at the grain bar, and now they are checking the lambs to get to the feeder each morning. This never constructed crib end found its way to a cheap fix for our freewheeling lambs.

When we stopped raising poultry commercially we figured we would just let them be free range and roost in the barn. The birds appear happy with the plan but the effect is a solid litter of poultry droppings on every horizontal surface and some vertical surfaces as well. It didn't really start to get bad until the snow covered the ground and the birds self-relegated to the barn in December. Back in November, I talked John out of Christmas Goose, thinking the geese were so handsome, they would perk up the dooryard through the winter.

Muck up would be a better description of their treatment of the dooryard. The geese don't greet people, they hiss and squawk at them, the geese are downright mean. This week, John watched as Emma got off the school bus and was accosted by the geese. He caught Emma throwing her vintage metal Cracker Jack lunch box at the geese as they attacked her. Lucky for her 15 year old self esteem, the bus full of high school and middle school students had already pulled away. The geese also joined the other poultry in the barn once the snow arrived. On occasion, the geese venture out to scare guests in the dooryard and sun themselves on our front step when the weather is fair. I must admit this week I feel a sick sense of joy when I see the geese struggle on the ice rink that is our driveway to hiss and squawk at someone who drives in (sorry vegans, sorry PETA). The poultry residue has reached an unprecedented level, initiating a quick agreement that we will return to our former mobile coop model once the snow melt is substantial enough to uncover the frame of the coop, keeping that fertilizer where we most want it, on the pasture.

That covers lambs and poultry....but I haven't gotten to the rabbit. Our luck with rabbits is traditionally poor. This rabbit arrived as part of set, an independent project of one of our interns from last season. He escaped in the middle of the summer and has eluded us ever since. This guy was seen for weeks earlier this winter mingling with the cats in the long barn, snuggling and socializing. We thought this curious. Then, about 4 weeks ago, we noticed that he had relocated to the livestock barn and had taken to sleeping on the backs of the sheep.

That's right, there is a bunny bedding down on top of the sheep along side the feisty lambs, 2 big cows and poultry menagerie. On occasion, we have spotted him mounting the lambs and wonder what has become of our farm.

The cows are content to share space with this menagerie. Lucy still gives us delicious, creamy milk 2 times a day and Blackberry gave birth to an adorable little bull calf on Thursday afternoon. The bull calf, named T-bone by the girls who love beef, will stay at the farm with us. Blackberry will be leaving shortly, all freshened, to live at another neighboring farm and feed another farm family her goodness. Our family has more milk than we know what to do with milking one cow. We have appreciated Blackberry's milk and her manure for our garden and her gentle company but are happy to know she will be loved.

We have started onions, leeks, lavender, rosemary, coleus, and brugmansia. The trays are piling up next to the woodstove in our house, capturing the warmth necessary to trick them into germinating. There is still a pile of seeds with the label March 1st to be started, but there is always another morning. John says he feels like a maple tree, his sap is running. The season is under way, the project list is growing, including a poultry coop for all those free rangers in the barn and the new laying hens that just arrived via US Postal Service.

If you don't mind a little brown, crusty snow, an ice rink in the driveway and a real throw-down in the barn, come on by and meet the lambs. Maybe you'll time it right to catch us feeding the calf or maybe just the bunny defiling a sweet lamb and you can laugh a moment with us about the wonder of it all.

Blessings on the meal,
Stacy

Road Trip

2011-03-02T21:42:00.010-05:00

Before the crush of spring planting comes, the blog needs to catch up with the events of February. The highlight was a drive west through tundra-like weather in the pick-up truck.

Unfortunately we left the camera's battery at home, so we don't have the usual parade of photos to accompany this posting. But we did have the iPhone: a traveler's dream come true. Stacy's favorite use was to find restaurants and cafes along the way, avoiding the rest-stop garbage that is par for the course to many. John's favorite was the Wikipedia app which allowed a flowing historical narative of the landscape we were passing through:

Blood libel in the small New York village of Massena. (1928)
Cuyahoga-- "the river that caught fire" (1969)
Fruit Ridge Michigan, one of the most prime apple growing regions in the world.
Beech-nut processed food company, in New York's Mohawk Valley: the innovator of the vacuum sealed rubber gasket. (1900)

John + (iphone + wikipedia) = history comes alive!

First stop: Vermont's NOFA Conference. Stacy had put together a presentation along with Casey Steinberg from Old Friend's Farm about flowers, so we were honored with the title of "presenter" on our name-tags. We were most looking forward to the keynote by Shannon Hayes (author of Radical Homemakers previously featured in this blog!). She's a dynamo, and her book should be read by all Home Economics classes. (oh, sorry-- was that class cut from the budget a few years back?)

Following up on her heels is another of our new favorite authors, also presenting at the conference. Stacy was just finishing up reading the memoir "The Dirty Life" by Kristin Kimball. Easy to read, and easy to feel a kinship with this fellow farmer who dove in headfirst and is making a go of this ... career choice. Kristin, and her very tall husband, Mark spoke about their farm, their book, and their growth as a couple and as farmers. Stacy sheepishly approached her afterwards, like a groupie, stuttering and without anything eloquent to say, and had her sign their book which, feeling too frugal to buy a copy, was borrowed from the Scarborough Public Library. (Shannon Hayes, at least, would be proud!) Afterwards, we found ourselves walking with Kristin and Mark to lunch, chatting about our businesses, our trials, and the love of farming. It was a pleasure to swap stories and share ideas about the future of our businesses.

As soon as Stacy's talk was done, the nervous nausea which had followed her for a full week leading up to it suddenly passed. Vermont is amazing; Bernie Sanders got the crowd at NOFA whooped up; Burlington was cozy despite the freezing wind; and even at McDonald's-- the maple syrup flows just like milk and honey. But the societal affluence was just a warm-up as we continued westward: Oh Canada!

Now, I know, this sounds so ignorant-American, but the difference between the two sides of the border always amazes us! Driving along the northern expanse of the New York State, it is very rural, minimally populated. Magically, you cross the border and voil`a, houses, well paved roads, amazing arrays of solar panels at almost every farm, and HEALTH CARE!

Kingston, Ontario was hip and friendly, regardless and uncaring of the fact that we had never heard of the place. Yum:

We spent the night with friends in Toronto, were fed a delicious fish stew with a side of quail eggs and a maple syrup pie. We fell asleep grateful for the hospitality and the comfort found in seeing Stacy's old high school friend and his family.

There is nothing like the Canadian border crossing into rust-belt Michigan to clearly demonstrate our national recession and its far-reaching consequences. Suddenly the road got chunky and busted up.

Flint, Michigan came up on the iPhone's wikipedia with lots of depressing naration from John in the passenger side. (photo: the former Buick City.)

Close to our furthest destination, we found some beauty in the rusted demolition. I guess industrial collapse takes a few decades before the hard edges wear away and we can see the art (divinity?) within the arc of history.

We picked up the set of basket weeders we had bought, and did a little more shopping. (You know the shopping carts at Hannaford that are little race cars that your kids can ride in-- they actually "drive" up and down the aisles? Well picture the two of us, John and Stacy, driving the truck up and down "aisles" of used farm equipment. The only difference is that one of us actually had to keep a pair of eyes on what was in front of us!)

The trip home was nice, if a bit rushed. Through Cleveland, to Buffalo, to meet up with another school friend; then up to Grindstone Farm (Pulaski, New York) to pick up a root vegetable washer; and on through Mass, and back home.

And thats as good as it gets as far as Winter Vacation 2011! Though somewhat depressing, the glimpse of American culture, does nothing but encourage us in the direction we take on the farm every season. Economics are tough, and we experience and expect difficulties just as most everyone of our customers. But it is almost spring: a time when there is little room for anything but hope for the future.

Blessings on the meal,

John and Stacy

News Flash: Social Media Creates Community!!!

2011-02-06T22:19:00.007-05:00

No, I am not jaded about the (sometimes) revolutionary changes being made by the Internet, and I don't want to sound blasé about the (hopefully) strong impact that social networking on the 'net has helped our business grow. But I can't help choke back the impulse of irony I feel as the Internet slowly moves from a globalizing force to something that to me feels much more... real: a localizing force.

But it is very ironic: The Internet initially gave the awe-inspiring impression of connecting people who were thousands of miles apart, making the world smaller. Of course, it only stays small if you stay at your desk clicking away, and you forget that it is still really really far to physically travel those thousands of miles. I wonder if during those early years our local connections actually languished more than ever; making easy friends with someone half a world away while you gradually forget your neighbor's name. Not to say at all that this phenomenon doesn't still have us in its grip, but I think that the intensity of the network has become so pervasive that we now can just as easily make those friends locally. Maybe even meet your neighbor both through the Internet, AND at your local CSA farm.

I just spent the last few minutes checking out a couple companies/websites which do "peer-to-peer renting" (OK, so it was actually the last 45 minutes.) I came across SnapGoods after reading a review for a new book called What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption.

I was getting very excited about the prospect of borrowing a neighbor's drill when I learned that SnapGoods was still limited to big city areas, especially its birthplace New York City. Before I let those Brooklyn hipsters swapping Vespas and Roomba vaccuum robots get me down about our rural state of Maine, I realized that a few other websites were promoting the same thing: NeighborGoods, ShareSomeSugar, and Zilok... But this is clearly still in an early stage of development, especially for Scarborough. Still, if this is the light at the end of the tunnel, it really is exciting, and Broadturn Farm would be happy to post some of our handy tools to the cause of consuming less:

Chicken-plucker. (wobbly front leg, a little bloody) $10/day.

Back-pack flame-weeder. (disclaimer included) $5/day and a full tank on return.

10 Lawn-munching sheep. (with electric fence- if they jump, you chase) $? make an offer.

Bean-seed hand thresher. (you could actually keep this one) $0 if you can figure out how it works.

As I say this I suddenly remember my audience: our very local CSA community. (its true- I do sometimes forget that an audience matters when it comes to blogging, but...) What we have in our CSA community is a network of neighbors and friends who are connected through email, our website, and this Broadturn Broadside, as well as on a weekly face-to-face basis.

That is a very valuable thing, and we ought to honor it and call it what it is. Egyptian Revolution? Maybe not, but it is a strong community, reinforced by on-line and off-line experiences, and GOOD FOOD! As we continue marketing the CSA this month of February, please enlist your friends, and your neighbors (even if you can't remember their name!) to join Broadturn Farm. Let us know if, despite our busy lives, if there are other ways we can strengthen our CSA community.

Blessings on the meal,

John

PS... does anyone have an LT40 Hydraulic Woodmizer portable sawmill (with the 35 horse diesel option motor) collecting dust in the garage? I'll trade you for that sweet plucker I mentioned earlier. I'll even throw in a few chickens that have stopped laying!

Birth Called

2011-01-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

The full moon delivered the gift of twin lambs during the evening chores. Most nights, we don’t have much planned, but this night included a chauffeuring of one child home from Portland and an important Land Trust board meeting that we both needed to attend about our long term lease. It was timed just the way it should be, to slow us down and remind us that when the universe is shifting a little with the change of energy that surrounds birth, we have no control. On this here blog format, we often tell you of the joy, the controversy, and the bounty. We sometimes share the trials of weather patterns unfavorable for growing crops. This summer, we went out into un-chartered waters to tell you about the fate of the broiler chickens who live at Broadturn Farm. Raising livestock is seeing the circle of life to its fullest. As I sit here composing this note to you, trying to find the path to the story, I’m realizing I may have an obsession with getting as close to this circle as you can. Many full moons I spent on the edge of a laboring (human) mother’s bed, being with her and her family as we waited for their new babe to be born. The nights I spent working as a midwife are treasured memories. But alas, a mama ewe is not a mama human and I don’t currently have plans to try hospice nursing next. Mama ewe had a hard birth, malpresentation and meconium (yucky baby poop) both complicating things. She is in a state of shock post-partum. We lost one lamb pretty quickly the first night. The second lamb is in what constitutes an neonatal incubator on a farm...a cardboard box from Amazon.com with straw on the bottom, located in our living room next to the woodstove. The cats are uncertain about this fellow bahhing away in their sanctuary. The littlest human is charmed by it, singing all songs lamb and playing music for him on her harmonica. The rest of us, well, modestly stressed by the whole event would be realistic. We’ve never had any birth complication with our ewes. They have been strong mothers and always have twins. This ewe is in her third year of breeding.

In a house where we have kids who ask when the bible will start to be called the Christian Book of Mythology, our leanings are towards Quakerism and I was raised in a very secular, Jewish home. We find meaning in our work, our love and our community. While we come to spirituality with ease, we feel shy of religion, especially after hearing Nixon was a Quaker. When our world is shifting subtly and our eyes are aware of the process and when our brains understand the science behind it, we come close and take to heart the beauty of all that life is. What does this translate into? Well, a cancelled trip to visit family and beloved cousins in Philadelphia, a rescheduled reconnaissance mission to visit a few farm businesses for inspiration along the way and a compromised smell in our living room, a conversation about what to do with a dead lamb in the frozen tundra that is a Maine winter and possibly, what to do with mama ewe if she doesn’t pull though. In addition, its all a reminder of my midwifery days, when I would stand vigil on my nights on call waiting for a mother who needed loving hands and set everything aside when birth called.

Holding Mama ewe and her babe in the light.

-Stacy