EatWell Natural Farm Week 7

Harvest

This week I harvested some really pretty stuff. Carmel Spinach, which I planted on Easter, three kinds of radishes, herbs and flowers. I also needed to thin the turnips and turnip greens are delicious so I harvests 9 lbs of those too. 

Carmel Spinach in the harvest bin

D'Avignon Radishes

Easter Egg Radishes

Sage Flowers

Production and Distribution

For now I am washing veg in buckets. It works perfectly well but I intent to build a wash station in the near future. We actually have a very exciting infrastructure upgrade happening next week. I can't wait to share it with you. 

There was enough produce this week to share among three of our EatWell Restaurants. Grillfish, Logan Tavern and The Pig all got deliveries on Saturday morning. 

Turnip Greens, Radishes and Herbs for The Pig

Cultivation and Maintenance

Part of my daily routine is to walk the farm and see how things are doing. This week I was happy to find little strawberries on my rounds. It won't be long before the thousands of flowers out there turn into delicious fruits. 

In addition to the compost and manure we added at the beginning of the season I have decided to try compost tea to help build up beneficial microbes in our soil. One of my mentors in Atlanta uses the Progress Earth Compost Tea system and believes it has helped reduce disease and pest problems while increasing production. It makes sense to me. There is so much diversity in the soil that we are only just beginning to understand. Inoculating the soil with and nurturing these beneficial microbes will lead to more nutrients available to the plants and less need for other inputs. I was very excited to brew my first batch of compost tea this week. 

Inputs and supplies

Bubble bubble toil and .... wait, there's no trouble here

Planting

Microgreen 

This week I also started an experiment in microgreens. A few of our chefs are excited about using very very young plants in their dishes. I'm talking no more than 14 days old. I mentioned earlier that the first few leaves from any seed are called cotyledons. With micro greens you wait for the first few true leaves to form and then harvest the plant before it gets any bigger. The thinking is that the flavor and nutrients, even colors, are more concentrated. There actually does seem to be some research to back this up. Here is an interesting article if you want to know more.

The experimental microgreen farm 

Eating Well

This week I have a some lovely pictures of where some of our veggies ended up. Logan Tavern jumped on the chance to do a seasonal salad featuring farm fresh Spinach and Radishes. 

Salad Special at Logan Tavern

The Pig took a different approach and let the radishes shine in their full form with Ramp Butter. I may have to try and emulate this one at home 

D'Avignon and Easter Egg Radishes with Ramp, Herb Butter at The Pig

Puddy Time

A little rain doesn't stop this pup

She really just does this while I work. Vida boa.