Farm Store Closed 4/20-24

 

Farm store will be back open on Tuesday, April 25!

New hours for the farm store, at that time, will be

Tuesday-Friday 9-7 and Saturday 9-2.

Closed Sundays and Mondays.

Tips for Hardening off Garden Plants

Garden season is here! Whether you are going to plant some early garden plants at this time, or wait until later in May, when we can start transplanting warm season plants, successfully hardening off your transplants helps them make the big transition to full sun and wind!

You'll want to transition your plants over several days to a week, depending on goals, environmental conditions and time you have to manage and plant. A week is a nice amount of time.

Don't overcomplicate it, but DO make sure you've prepped your plants some, to go in the ground, to reduce the risk of transplant shock.

Start by introducing your plants to full sun and wind.

For the first day outside water well and place out in the sun for only 1-3 hours. You could place them in a fully sunny area, then take back in after that time has passed, or place in an area that will begin to get shade after that amount of time. If you're going to be gone all day and can't tend to it, perhaps place in dappled sun. Avoid days that are excessively windy.

I have a nice space on the East side of a building where I like to set them, where they are a little protected from the wind and get shade after midday. I have a small trailer with sides I sometimes like to use, as they can get full sun, but have some wind protection; I used to roll this in and out of the garage. We also have a smaller greenhouse-ish structure that keeps plants out of the wind, but can help to acclimate to temps. Everyone's system will look different! Make sure to keep plants protected from critters, and chickens, and locate them close to water.

You can gradually increase the amount of sun each day, an hour or so a day. You can do this for a few days, or a week, until you have worked your plants up to a full day in the sun.

Add in nights.

After a few days in the sun start leaving the plants outside overnight. Make sure plants at least get a couple nights outside before transplanting. You may want to bring in the night before transplanting to give them a break before the big day. Make sure they continue to be protected from wind. (Can you tell wind is an issue here?)

Keep in mind the needs of your individual plants. Are they cool or warm season? Some plants do not want to be exposed to nights below 50, as it could stunt or alter their growth. Some plants that can take some frost in the fall do not like it in the spring.

Water as needed, but don't baby.

Water your plants as they look like they need to be watered, but you don't need to keep them damp the whole time. Hardening off means we want our plants to be hardy!

Plant those babies out!

When the day comes to transplant make sure to do it in a cool part of the day, on a day that is relatively calm. Early morning is ideal, or after the heat of the day. Water in well and keep watered well as they establish. 

Inevitably,  you may end up with some leaves that turn whiteish (sunburn), or some of the larger leaves may die. This is just par for the course. Watch for the new growth to come on!

Keeping your transplants protected from wind while they are little is helpful, some folks use cans, which can work nice, but keep an eye on them, as they can also hotbox little plants.

A couple other items that may help reduce transplant shock...using a fan with your bedding plants, prior to transplanting, can help toughen up stems, simulating wind...and don't allow plants to become too rootbound in their smaller pots. 

We'll have garden transplants at Shellee's Greenhouse, Madelia, again this year! Watch for a listing of plants - heirloom tomatoes, brassicas, jalapenos, cucumbers, celery and more. We'll have a smaller selection of items available at the farm store. Certified Organic garden transplants to nourish your garden and family!

Brooke and Leo delivering plants to Shellee!

It Feels Like It's On Us: Loss in the Barnyard

We've been a little radio silent on the momma pigs and the new little piglets, because it's been a stressful time. Flora farrowed outside, in a beautiful nest of hay (after a galivant around the farm, don't forget) on a warmish winter day, a couple days before a storm. We built a sort of temporary strawbale shelter around her, to block precipitation and wind. During this time we lost one; this is no surprise, it happens. Losing 1 or 2 wouldn't be a huge shock.

When the storm rolled in we moved all the piglets to a shed, for mom to follow.

Then we lost another piglet. And then a couple more. All to her laying on them. She is a very careful momma, we see how tentative she is. She's also the largest sow we've ever had.

By castration and ear notching time we thought we were through the trauma of loss - a heavy week, with a lot of processing. The day after castration we lost the sixth piglet, of her liter of 14. I could have been anthropomorphizing, but I'd check on Flora and she looked sad.

What could we have done differently? Would it have changed anything? Maybe we shouldn't have sheltered the piglets, left her outside in the space she chose specifically for this purpose. We've never co-farrowed before and Fauna being up in her space could be a factor. She chose the little shed, which she moves around in fine, but perhaps it's just a little too small. Many questions floating around in our heads.

It feels like it's on us.

Raising animals always comes with loss, but it never gets easier. Raising breeding animals is a whole other level. We witness miracles and feel devastation. We're witness the intense innate instincts these creatures have, the bonds and communication. We have a decade of experience under our belts with pigs, but we're still learning all the time.

It's a blow, emotionally and financially. It was a hard week processing that, while looking out at the home orchard which has sustained significant rabbit damage this winter. 

While things seem to have leveled out, one piglet is too skinny and needs extra attention and has been brought inside. Fauna looks like she's starting to dry up (too early at 4 weeks) and we suspect her piglets may be competing with Flora's for her milk. Fauna (the jumping pig) is not the attentive mother Flora is. Last night we started bottle feeding Flora's little nugget and as soon as he puts weight back on he'll head back out with his crew. He seems like he'll be just fine, he has vigor. 

Chickens in the kitchen. Pigs in the basement. Things are pretty normal here at the farm.

Why Homemade Dressing + ACV Dressing

Making homemade salad dressing is a simple act that can benefit you in multiple ways!

1. It saves you money. If you eat a few - or a lot - of salads this can really add up to big savings! Many ingredients you likely have on hand already, so it may not take much more investment. Items like olive oil, vinegars, yogurt, salt, pepper, hot sauce, honey, etc.

2. It keeps garbage out of the landfill. You can only keep and reuse so many salad dressing bottles. Reducing packaging use is a real act of environmentalism! Many glass bottles are tempered and can't even be recycled - just "wish cycled."

3. Making your own (of anything) is empowering. Even as simple as salad dressing. "If I can do this, what else can I accomplish?!"

4. It's a great way to involve the kiddos! We measure into a canning jar and shake! 

5. You know all the ingredients! This is of such importance. Even Organic dressings in the store add organic soy oils I don't want to consume, not to mention all the unreadable ingredients in most dressings.

6. Control your supply chain. Just another aspect of taking further control of your own supply chain. I keep commonly used dressing ingredients stocked in my pantry.

Of course I still need to pick up some Annie's Goddess Dressing or some thick blue cheese every once and a while, just cause, but once we committed to making the bulk of our own salad dressing and it became part of the routine we've never looked back!

Raw Apple Cider Vinaigrette

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

¼ cup raw apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1-2 tablespoons raw honey, to preference

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

 

Combine in a pint jar and shake it up! Shake before each use. Store in the fridge for up to a week.

Tip: We freeze garlic blended with olive oil in tablespoon portions. I grab one of these for making dressings, making it even easier!

From the Detoxinista

Favorite Ways to Use Microgreens

Microgreens. Tiny little baby plants, which are full of flavor and nutrition. They're cute too. Typically used raw they are very, very versatile. 

With Eggs

If you have been following me for any given amount of time you've probably seen my post 800,000 pictures of eggs and microgreens. This is undoubtedly my favorite way to use them. My morning plate most often has a bed of Zesty Mix! microgreens, topped with 3 over-easy eggs and hot sauce. It's an easy way to start the day with veg. Top a frittata, toss in with scrambled eggs, tuck into a breakfast burrito - they are a perfect companion to eggs.

Sandwiches and Wraps

Tuck the tiny tasty micros into a taco, wrap or sandwich. Or top an open-faced sandwich, as I have pictured. We love micros with all variety of taco and burrito! You could make a wrap entirely of micros and it would be grand. Try layer in a BLT.

I'll just tuck this in with tacos...top all fashion of "bowls" that are so popular. We love atop our Korean Beef.

Meats and Seafood

A customer sent us this dinner pic (I don't know why they didn't have us over?!) and it is on point. A juicy steak or chop and a bed of micros pairs well. Some scallops or walleye can make a great companion too.

With Salad

Microgreens are fantastic on top of a salad, easy peasy. They could certainly serve a a small side salad too, as pictured above. Don't forget taco salad. Or sprinkled on a pasta salad.

All in all microgreens are SO very versatile, just try them with your particular favorite dishes and you are sure to find a good pairing. I've only added them to about one item where I thought they didn't really pair well, but it wasn't bad. We'll sprinkle on just about everything! 

Aim for 1 cup of raw greens, or a 1/2 cup cooked each and every day - studies show it keeps our brains younger! Microgreens are an easy way to keep greens in the diet, add flavor and nutrition...and feel a little fancy when you sprinkle them around. 

P.S. Pro tip...you could take this same advice for pea shoots!! 

Final Winter Markets!

 March 4th and 18th are our FINAL winter markets of the season!

We have appreciated SO MUCH all of you who have shopped with us at our new location at Bomgaars in Mankato. It's been such a blessing to grow microgreen, pea shoots and salad greens all winter for folks; as well as having apples to the end of the year and all the other goodies that show up regularly.

It's also been a blessing to not have to wear long-underwear at winter markets!! lol.

This month we'll continue to have greens. Here's a little snapshot of the market table below.

IF YOU HAVE NEVER BEEN to the Mankato Winter Farmers Market you are missing out!! We still had over a dozen vendors last time and it is well worth the trip. Storage vegetable - that's right, still carrots, beets, popcorn, meats, eggs, herbal wellness products and soaps, mushrooms, granola, teas, herbs, handicrafts, woodwork and more.

On my table...

Microgreens - Zesty, Mizuna (mild) and Arugula
Pea Shoots
Salad Mix

Free-range Eggs
Applesauce - no sugar added!
Apple Butter - no sugar added!
Elderberry Syrup Kits
Herbal Tinctures - Willow Bark, Motherwort, Holy Basil, Astragalus, Ashwaganda, Stinging Nettles
Herbal Healing Salve
Calendula Lotion Bars

Cash, check or venmo accepted at ARF. Same as the farm store.

Farm store offerings are about the same as listed above! The farm store is open year-round.

Spring Piglets

Believe it or not SPRING is right around the corner.  

Thinking about spring pigs for your farm?  Looking for a heritage breed that has a mellow disposition, great on pasture and makes great pork?

We have you covered.  We are expecting up to three (3) litters of purebred Gloucestershire Old Spot piglets this spring from our sows.  Our piglets can be purchased as feeders or if you are looking for a registered purebred (breeding stock) we can do that too.  Our pigs are raised outdoors throughout the year in the fresh air.  They are winter hardy and do excellent on pasture – ours even like to eat thistle!

Why do we raise Old Spots (GOS)?  We over the last 13 years we have raised five different Heritage Breed hogs including, Mangalitza, North American Guinea Hogs, Mulefoot, Ossabaw Island, and Gloucestershire Old Spots (and mixes of all of these).  After starting to raise GOS it became clear that they are the breed for our little farm – the GOS are thrifty eaters (not picky), lighter on pasture, eat many different types of plants or weeds, can put away thousands of pounds of apple pulp, great mothers, large litters and have a mellow disposition that makes them easy to be around and move.  

Piglets will be farrowed from our three sows,  Flora, Fauna and Trixie.  Our sire is Sir Renfred II and is about the most mellow boar I have ever seen.

Please email us directly if you are interested in the upcoming piglets!

info@alternativerootsfarm.com

John