October 28

Farm Notes

It feels like #peakfall around here, and I for one am loving it. Every year when fall rolls around, I’m like… give me all the sweaters, all the pumpkin spiced lattes, all the leaf piles, all the hearty soups, all the root veggies! Especially after a long and tiring (but still wonderful) summer, this time of year I can feel myself start to relax, take a breath, and even sleep in a bit (as much as one can with a toddler)…

After planting a few more successions of lettuce, asian greens, radishes, arugula, and baby kale over the past week, I can officially say that we are finished planting for the 2022 season! As this point, we (fingers crossed) should be able to cruise through the last 4 weeks of our fall CSA, which goes through the week of Thanksgiving.

Planting garlic into landscape fabric for weed control

But just as we finish planting for this season, it’s already time to start planting some of our crops for next year! Today I’m going to dig into all things garlic, because now is a great time to get your cloves in the ground. My rule of thumb for most climates around the US is to try and plant garlic between Halloween and Thanksgiving (you don’t want the ground to be so cold that it is frozen, but you also don’t want to plant the garlic too early, and risk getting too much growth too soon, which could get nipped and damaged by frigid winter temperatures).

To help control weeds over garlic’s long growing season (it won’t get harvested until next June) we plant them into landscape fabric – though you definitely don’t need to do that if you’re just growing a small amount of garlic in your home garden.

TYPES OF GARLIC

• Hardneck garlic produce a stiff stem that grows up through the center of the bulb. Compared to softneck varieties, they have a sharper flavor, with more variation in flavor among the varieties. They are also hardier than softneck, so they are the best option for growing in cold climates. This is the variety that produces garlic scapes that need to be pulled (and then enjoyed!) in early summer before the garlic is harvested.

• Softneck garlic don't produce a stiff central stem. Softneck garlic is the best choice for regions with mild winters, it has a more mild flavor than hardneck garlic, and it's the type to grow if you want to make garlic braids.

• Elephant garlic resembles a giant head of garlic and, indeed, it does belong to the same genus, Allium. However, it isn't a "true" garlic but rather is more closely related to the leek.

Head of garlic

Garlic cloves

HOW TO PLANT GARLIC

1. Plan to plant garlic in the fall, ideally between Halloween and Thanksgiving

2. Prepare your soil by loosening it with a fork/broadfork, and work in a good amount of compost into the bed. Garlic is a “heavy feeder” and requires a lot of nutrients, so having good quality soil is important to get a good crop.

3. Purchase garlic seed from your local farm/garden store (not the supermarket)! Just prior to planting, break up the garlic heads into individual cloves, leaving as much of the papery covering on each clove intact as possible.

4. Plant cloves 3"-4" deep and 4”-6” apart, orienting them so the pointy ends face up and root end is pointing down.

5. Water gently to settle the soil, and then cover the bed with a 4" to 6" layer of leaves or straw. You will likely see some green shoots starting to grow before the end of the year, which is great! They will really start to take off in the spring.

PS – I just took y'all on a virtual walk around the farm! It's a gorgeous day around here, and to see everything that's happening + get some tips for your gardens, you can tune in here.

PS – On a totally non-farming related note… an encouragement to everyone to put your civic duty to practice and VOTE! I voted early yesterday, and was in and out of my polling station in 5 minutes... it couldn’t be easier to make your voice heard! Folks in NC can find out your local polling station options here.

Kitchen Notes

Because I love any excuse for carrots and crispy chickpeas and herbs and a yummy tahini vinaigrette… here’s a delish salad/side recipe that is chock-full of awesome autumnal vibes. It may look like a lot of ingredients, but I promise they are all ones you (most likely) already have in your pantry/fridge, and this dish comes together super easily + keeps super well in the fridge (though the chickpeas get a little less crispy). This recipe is adapted from the always wonderful Deb Perelman, of Smitten Kitchen.

SHAVED CARROT SALAD WITH TAHINI, CRISPY CHICKPEAS AND FRESH HERBS

Photo Credit: Deb Perelman, Smitten Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

Roasted Chickpeas

• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and patted dry on paper towels

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salad

• 2 pounds carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

• 1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

• 1/2 cup shelled, salted pistachios, coarsely chopped

Tahini Dressing

• 1 large garlic clove, minced

• 1/3 cup lemon juice

• 1/3 cup well-stirred tahini

• 3 tablespoons olive oil

• 2-4 tablespoons water, plus more if needed

• Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

PREPARATION

1. Roast chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with one tablespoon olive oil, salt, cumin and paprika until they’re all coated. Spread them on a baking sheet or pan and roast them in the oven until they’re browned and crisp. This can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of your chickpeas. Toss them occasionally to make sure they’re toasting evenly. Set aside until needed.

2. Prep the salad: Grate the carrots, chop the parsley and pistachios, and combine in a bowl.

3. Make the dressing: Combine ingredients together in a jar and shake until well combined, adding more water if needed to thin the dressing slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning – don’t worry if it tastes a little sharp on the lemon, it will marry perfectly with the sweet grated carrots.

4. Assemble salad: Add the roasted chickpeas to the bowl of grated carrots, parsley, and pistachios. Mix in the dressing and stir gently to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning (adding more salt, lemon juice, etc) as needed. To serve, sprinkle with additional pistachios and parsley.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 44F

• High temp: 60F

• Sunrise: 7:36am

• Sunset: 6:25pm

• Moon phase: Waxing crescent

• Additional notes: Mostly sunny

October 21

Farm Notes

We’ve officially hit a major milestone in our growing season.. the first frost has arrived! After wrapping up our CSA boxes on Tuesday, I spent the rest of the day hustling around the farm, frantically preparing for the first frost of the season that evening. There were peppers and hibiscus to be harvested, tunnels to close up, hose/irrigation lines to empty, and row after row of veggies that needed to be tucked in with frost cover. I was outside long after the sun had set, scurrying around until it was so dark that I couldn’t see anymore, but I got it all done! When I woke up on Wednesday morning, everything was calm, quiet, frost-covered and sparkling in the morning sunlight.

Thankfully, all of our veggies fared well after two nights of hard frost, and even some of the rows that didn’t get covered that I was a bit worried about did just fine! For example – I wasn’t able to cover our fennel because it had gotten so big and tall, that I literally didn’t have frost cover that was wide enough to cover it… so I just said a little prayer and wished it good luck, and wouldn’t you know it did great. It goes to show that quite often, plants are far more resilient than I give them credit for, and if anything these chilly temps will make them even sweeter.

As our growing season winds down, this week I spent a lot of time reflecting on just how far we’ve come… it was about 10 years ago that I first began dreaming of having my own farm-based cooking school, and it’s been a long and winding and exhausting and wonderful journey to get where we are today.

The past few weekends I’ve been hosting cooking workshops here at the farm, and I’ve been overwhelmed with happiness seeing folks in the garden, helping to harvest fresh herbs and veggies that we’ll use to cook vibrant and nourishing dishes that we sit down and enjoy together. Seeing this crazy dream of mine finally coming to fruition after 10+ years has been pretty wild, and I could not be more grateful for all the support that I’ve received along the way. I’m especially thankful for this community of Farmbelly Club members – thank you for being here and for continuing to support and cheer me on! PS – If you want a glimpse behind the scenes of my journey the past 10 years, I made a reel on instagram that you can watch here.

One of the things I’m especially excited to offer more in the coming season is hands-on gardening / farming workshops. Thank you for the awesome response to my new Beginning Market Gardener Workshop on November 19th… the feedback has been amazing, and there is only one spot left! And while this workshop is geared more towards folks who are looking to take their growing to the next level (and potentially sell their produce), in Spring 2023 I will definitely be offering hands-on workshops focused more on small-scale home gardens in raised beds and pots.. so stay tuned!

And stay tuned for next week, when I’ll be digging into the nitty gritty of planting your own garlic.. I can’t believe it’s already time to get garlic in the ground, but here we are! Be well and stay warm everyone, have a delicious weekend. :)

PS – I took y’all on a virtual farm walk this morning, with lots of new veggies to see + helpful gardening info for you! For a full tour of the farm + tips for your own gardens, here’s the link to watch!

Kitchen Notes

Every year when the weather cools down, I crank up my oven and make this soup on repeat. By roasting the butternut squash, leeks + apples to bring out their natural sweetness and blending the sweet veggies and fruit with warming fall spices (plus a touch of apple cider vinegar), the end result is a luscious (and super simple) soup I highly recommend enjoying while cozied up in your PJ’s. Keep scrolling for the full recipe, which was inspired by and adapted from Sara Britton and her blog My New Roots.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, LEEK & APPLE SOUP

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 3 leeks, sliced into thin rounds and rinsed

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

• 1 large butternut squash (2-3lbs), peeled and diced

• 1 large Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced

• 4 – 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom

• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Apple cider vinegar, to taste (start with 2 tsp up to 2 Tbsp)

• Fresh ground pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.

2. Prepare the vegetables into a large bowl: slice and rinse the leeks, dice the onion, peel garlic (but leave it whole), peel the butternut squash and dice into 1/2-inch cubes, peel and dice the apple. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt to the vegetables in the bowl and toss gently to coat.

3. Pour the prepared vegetables out evenly onto two rimmed baking sheets. Set the trays in the oven to roast for 30-40 minutes until tender and beginning to brown, stirring halfway through and making sure the leeks don’t burn.

4. While the veggies are roasting, pour 4-6 cups of vegetable or chicken broth into a saucepan along with the salt, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar. Cover and bring to a low simmer.

5. When the vegetables are roasted, blend the soup in batches by transferring a few cups of roasted vegetables into a standing blender, along with a few cups of the warmed broth, blending on high until completely smooth. As you work in batches, transfer the blended soup into a stockpot. Alternatively, you can combine the vegetable and broth in a stockpot and blend with an immersion blender.

6. Once all the soup has been blended, taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Add additional stock if you prefer a thinner soup. This soup is delicious topped with toasted nuts or seeds, creme fraiche, and caramelized onions or leeks.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 36F

• High temp: 65F

• Sunrise: 7:29am

• Sunset: 6:33pm

• Moon phase: Waning crescent

• Additional notes: Clear skies and beautiful

October 14

Farm Notes

As the temperatures start to dip lower, our fall greens and root veggies are only getting sweeter! This week we picked our first harvests of big leafy collards and kale for our CSA members, and I’m so proud of how far they’ve come since they were first planted as tiny seedlings in the searing August heat + humidity. After a summer filled with tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplant, I hope that our CSA members are as excited about these leafy greens as I am… though I know they may not be the sexiest veggies out there! For anyone needing a little inspiration + information about cooking with dark leafy greens this fall and winter, here’s a great resource I found that’s filled with great ideas.

It looks like Tuesday night may be the first frost around here! October 15th is my rule of thumb for the first frost of the fall, so we’re pretty much on track for our area. A lot of our fall leafy greens like the collards and kale pictured above can handle a light frost without any problem, though I’ll definitely be covering our more tender lettuces, arugula, and baby radishes, turnips, etc with frost cover to protect them from frost damage.

Yesterday I checked on our main fall carrot crop, and as you can see (below) these beauties are ready! Carrots are always a tough one to grow – they are difficult to germinate (especially when they get planted in the heat of summer), they take 70+ days to mature, and they need loose soil rich in organic matter to get those nice, long, straight roots. Thankfully this batch of carrots seems to be a good one, and I’m excited to get to share them with our CSA members starting next week.

This week marked the halfway point in our Fall CSA – 6 weeks down, 6 weeks to go! Overall I’m feeling good about all the veggies we have still growing in the field to fill out the remaining weeks of the CSA… so many yummy greens, cabbage, broccolini, fennel, beets, carrots, herbs, etc still to come. I have one more big succession of greens, radishes, turnips etc to plant inside our tunnels, but after that, there’s really no more planting left for the fall (except our garlic, which is a whole other thing).

Today I’m also excited to announce something I’ve been working on behind the scenes, that Farmbelly Club members get to learn about before anyone else! Hopefully you all know by now that education is really important to me, and I’ve been itching to offer more gardening / farming workshops to focus more on the growing side of things.

So I’m thrilled to share that I’m hosting my first ever Beginning Market Gardener Workshop on Saturday, November 19th! This workshop will give beginning + aspiring market gardeners the tangible resources and hands-on knowledge to start a new farm/garden or to improve an existing growing space. This workshop is designed for current or aspiring market gardeners and/or home gardeners who are looking to take their growing to the next level – whether you are just growing for your family and friends or if you want to sell your produce. PLEASE NOTE: This workshop is not designed for home gardeners looking to grow in small raised beds or pots – as we will be focused on growing on a larger and potentially commercial scale.

Just in time for winter dreaming and scheming, this is a foundational class for beginning market gardeners. The entire workshop will be spent outside on our farm, digging into strategies for setting up a new farm/garden from scratch, as well as ideas for improving (and/or expanding) an existing garden space. Much of our time will be dedicated to demonstrating how to use key market gardening tools like the broadfork, tilther, and jang seeder – with built-in time for you to practice using all of the tools yourself! This workshop will be very intimate (max 10 people) to ensure that everyone has an intensive, hands-on experience.

The workshop will cover the following topics:

• Strategies for starting a market garden from scratch on new ground (or expanding a current space)

• How to build permanent raised beds (without a tractor or rototiller)

• How to prep and/or “flip” a growing bed (ie using a broadfork, adding amendments, finishing with a tilther, etc)

• Irrigation set up and strategies, with a focus on drip irrigation

• Weed control and how to use landscape fabric

• How to set up and use a jang seeder

• How and when to use frost cover, shade cloth, and tarps to maximize your growing capacity

• Wash-pack station set up tips and tools

• Strategies (and access to my personal spreadsheets) for planning and mapping out your market garden space

Because there is only so much we can pack into a 2.5-hour workshop, this class will not be going in depth about soil science or deep-diving into how to grow specific crops (though I will be sharing a cheat-sheet on the spacing we use for various crops). A few days before the workshop, attendees will be asked to fill out a short survey asking about topics you would like to cover during this workshop, to make sure all of your questions get answered!

Space in this workshop is very limited, so secure your spot HERE. Farmbelly Club members get early access, and tickets will be open to the public on Monday.

PS – I just took y’all on a virtual farm tour, tune in HERE on Facebook to see what’s growing + get lots of tips for your own farms and gardens!

Kitchen Notes

This recipe is a perfect way to use up fall root veggies like beets, carrots, radishes, or turnips – turning them into something unexpectedly delicious. The sesame ginger vinaigrette is super simple to make, and gives the slaw a unique, asian-inspired flavor that pairs beautifully with the earthy fall veggies.

FALL VEGGIE SLAW WITH SESAME GINGER VINAIGRETTE

Photo Credit: Lavender and Macarons

INGREDIENTS

For the slaw

• 2-3lbs assorted winter veggies (carrots, kohlrabi, beets, turnips, radishes, etc)

• 1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

• Sesame seeds, to taste

For the vinaigrette

• 1 garlic clove

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar

• 2 teaspoons finely minced ginger

• 2 teaspoons soy sauce 

• 2 teaspoons yellow miso paste

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 5 tablespoons canola oil 

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

PREPARATION

1. To prepare the slaw, carefully shred the vegetables with a box grater into a large bowl (or use the shredding attachment on your food processor).

2. One handful at a time, squeeze any moisture out of the shredded vegetables and place them in a separate bowl (this prevents the salad from getting watery).

3. Add the chopped cilantro to the bowl with the shredded veggies. 

4. To make the sesame ginger vinaigrette, combine ingredients together in a small processor and blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. 

5. Pour the vinaigrette into the salad bowl and toss together to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Top with toasted sesame seeds and a bit more fresh cilantro and enjoy!

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 46F

• High temp: 69F

• Sunrise: 7:23am

• Sunset: 6:42pm

• Moon phase: Waning Gibbous

• Additional notes: Clear skies and beautiful

October 7

Farm Notes

After a tumultuous weekend filled with wind and rain and no power thanks to Hurricane Ian, this week was the epitome of glorious fall weather here in the Piedmont of North Carolina. Blue skies and sunshine, zero humidity, chilly mornings + evenings and pleasantly warm afternoons… can it be like this ALL the time?

This week’s CSA boxes were filled with some gorgeous lettuce and some fun / less common fall veggies like watermelon radishes and kohlrabi. Somehow we still have some tomatoes and peppers and eggplant, though we are in the process of clearing out our tunnels (where those summer veggies have been growing) and will replace them with more successions of lettuce, arugula, baby kale, radishes, and turnips that we’ll harvest for the last few weeks of our CSA through the end of November. After a slow start, our leafy brassicas like kale and collards will finally be ready for harvesting next week, and in a few weeks our cabbage, broccolini, and fall carrots will be ready. For a full tour of what’s growing here at the farm, I just took y’all on a virtual farm walk – tune in via Facebook HERE, or later this weekend via our shared google drive HERE.

We haven’t had a frost yet, but tomorrow night will be the coldest yet, with the predicted low around 38F. If you are expecting frosts in your area and have tender plants that need to be protected, make sure to pick up some frost cover! The best place to pick of frost cover will probably be your local farm/garden store, but here’s a link to snag some online if needed.

Yesterday we had the most gorgeous evening for a hands-on cooking class here at the farm. After a tour around the garden, everyone helped harvest fall veggies like kale, kohlrabi, beets, watermelon radishes and cilantro, and then we whipped up three different yummy fall salads and some homemade vinaigrettes. It makes my heart so darn happy to be able to host these in-person farm to table events again… seeing folks get inspired to grow their own gardens and try new things in the kitchen is truly the best feeling, and is exactly why we have worked so hard to create this special space.

I only have one more cooking workshop on the calendar for the fall next Saturday (Oct 15), which will be focused on Knife Skills! There are still a few spots left, so if you’re local and would like to join us, here’s a link to more details and tickets.

Okay, one last piece of exciting news that you get to hear first as Farmbelly Club members… Farmbelly has a brand spankin new logo, with lots of fun swag (think t-shits, sweatshirts, totes and hats) coming soon! I have been working for months with some talented graphic designers to create a new logo that captures the spirit of Farmbelly, and I’m so happy with how the new designs turned out. Would love to hear what you think?!

Kitchen Notes

For yesterday’s cooking class, I think the biggest hit of the night was this salad! It’s a super flexible recipe – just use quinoa as the base (or rice, lentils, farro, etc) and whatever veggies, fruits, nuts/seeds you have on hand. The dressing is just a simple apple cider vinaigrette, which has a nice tang that pairs beautifully with the roasted butternut squash, tuscan kale, green apples, avocado, pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and goat cheese.

AUTUMN QUINOA SALAD WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH, TUSCAN KALE, GREEN APPLES, AVOCADO, PEPITAS & GOAT CHEESE WITH APPLE CIDER VINAIGRETTE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 bunches of lacinato kale, de-stemmed and chopped

• 4 cups cooked quinoa

• 2 cups diced and roasted butternut squash

• 2 green apples, diced

• 2 avocados, diced

• 1 bunch of parsley, finely chopped

• 1 cup toasted pumpkin seeds/pepitas

• 1/2 cup goat cheese, crumbled

Apple Cider Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or honey)

• 1 clove minced garlic

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

PREPARATION

1. To cook the quinoa: Put 3 cups of water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add 2 cups uncooked quinoa, reduce heat to a simmer and put a lid on the pot and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork and set aside until needed. 

2. De-stem the kale, roughly chop, and set aside in a bowl. 

3. Combine the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a jar and shake until well emulsified – taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Pour a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette into the bowl with the chopped kale. Using your hands, massage the kale for 1-2 minutes until the leaves are dark green and broken down. 

4. In a separate large salad bowl, add the cooked quinoa and other ingredients – massaged kale, roasted butternut squash, diced green apples, avocado, parsley, pepitas, and goat cheese. 

5. Pour remaining dressing over the salad and toss well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Today’s Stats

• Low temp: 50F

• High temp: 80F

• Sunrise: 7:17am

• Sunset: 6:52pm

• Moon phase: Waxing Gibbous

• Additional notes: Blue skies and beautiful