I know what you’re thinking: it looks like an angel food cake, but it can’t be…it’s green! Well, perhaps angels do eat kale. After all, it is good for you. This leafy green is a hearty crop that can grow in the early spring and into early winter. It is packed with vitamins A, C, […]
Stories from the Farm
Top 5 Things Kids Love at the Farm
August 23, 2009 – 7:58 am
Yesterday there were 5 kids at Green Mountain Girls Farm–the human kind, that is. Here is a compendium of their favorite things to do: 1) Riley: Likes to “pick up chicks” and is very proud of her accomplishment, “I catched the black and white one with my hands.”2) Thessalie: Enjoys playing with the piglets, especially […]
Life, Death, and Roosters
August 13, 2009 – 8:34 pm
I caught my first rooster this morning as Mari, Laura, and I rounded up 25 of our birds that were on their way to slaughter. It sounds so awful, I know- slaughter. It brings up this gruesome image of a fearful and messy death, an image that does not match with the love and care […]
Sunday Chores
August 3, 2009 – 6:13 am
Farming, like many other jobs, is hard work. Like my previous job, I love it, but some days I am tired and wish that substitute would arrive. Yesterday was one of those days — a rainy Sunday after some busy, busy weeks. After an afternoon of lunch out (Skinny Pancake, a great crepe restaurant in […]
Time heals all wounds
July 31, 2009 – 6:07 am
Time heals all wounds, is how the saying goes and two weeks has healed many of the hail wounds in the garden. In some ways it is miraculous. I thought many of our brassicas (Broccoli, cabbage, Brussel Sprouts, etc.) were going to be a loss, and I was sure all of the lettuce was on […]
Hail Humbles
July 17, 2009 – 8:04 am
In just a half hour yesterday evening, our field crops went from beautiful to decapitated and shredded. Hail. Powerful hail. Not only were the pieces big, ranging from dime size to 1/2 dollar size, but it was pelting down. I think we and the pigs have some bruises from getting hit by the hail. And […]
Craig’s List has Everything!
July 15, 2009 – 5:09 pm
Garlic Scapes, Yum! I love garlic and I love garlic scapes, and it turns out, I love Craig’s List too – and they do go together. Garlic scapes, for the unintiated, are the flower stalk of the plant. They are curvy, tall and beautiful in flower bouquets and they are the first taste of garlic […]
How Much Green Can I Eat In a Week?
July 9, 2009 – 7:30 am
The snap peas stole the show at our little farm stand at the Northfield Farmers Market this week. We all laughed when a woman approached us waxing poetically about early peas but then probed deeply with a question many of us are asking ourselves as summer crescendos… “How much green CAN I eat in a […]
A Wet, but Fun Open House
July 5, 2009 – 8:30 pm
Despite the ongoing rain, about 100 people took the opportunity to tour our farm last week. The piglets were a star attraction (of course), receiving plenty of attention for their playfulness. Visitors’ encouragement and their media debut on the front page of the Montpelier Times-Argus may be going to their heads though. Dozens of names […]
The Act of Eating
June 26, 2009 – 5:55 am
This past Tuesday Mari and I went to a Rural Vermont raw milk processing workshop at Earthwise Farm and Forest in Bethel, and we learned how to make butter, fromage blanc, ricotta cheese, and yogurt. It was amazing how simple these things are to make! That night for dinner I had a muffin with butter […]