Author: bloomingglenfarm

04 Mar

Posted at 13:34h in Events by
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We’re excited to announce that Outstanding in the Field  is returning to Blooming Glen Farm for the third time, on Saturday, September 22. Chef Josh Lawlor from The Farm and Fisherman in Philadelphia will be cooking the night’s meal. The Farm and the Fisherman was a 2012 James Beard semifinalist for “Best New Restaurant” in America, and was ranked #4 out of the 50 Best Restaurants in Philadelphia: 2013 by Philadelphia Magazine. Tickets go on sale on March 20, the first day of Spring! Tickets for these events sell out quickly- last year’s dinner sold out in 24 hours! Join the OITF mailing list to get updates leading up to the release date.

September 2012 – Blooming Glen Farm. Photo Credit Jim Deneven

Outstanding in the Field is a roving culinary adventure following the sun and the seasons east across the country, setting their long table in fields, barns, beaches, ranches and vineyards. Their mission is to promote local food and agriculture and get people out to the farm to see where their food is coming from and meet and celebrate the producers and food artisans. Almost all the food for the dinners are sourced locally, sometimes within inches of your seat. Their long table has graced farms from Hawaii to Florida, and even has headed oversees to partner with the esteemed chefs at the famous Noma restaurant in Denmark. (Read about it in their blog.) This year, they will take their long table to 34 states and 3 Canadian provinces for a total of more than 80 events. And Blooming Glen Farm in Bucks County is one of them! The last two dinners at Blooming Glen Farm drew people from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Join us in the field for a farm dinner experience not to be missed. Tickets available on the Outstanding in the Field website on March 20.

12 Feb

Posted at 11:27h in Recipes by
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Greens, glorious greens!It’s a gray February and we’re smack in the middle of winter, the colorful and nutritious Blooming Glen Farm bounty providing only a distant memory of warmer and tastier times… sigh. This time of year can be a real downer!  Lucky for us, there’s an easy way to boost our winter wellness while we await the new CSA season: Greens, glorious greens.

We’ve espoused the value of greens here before, and we’re happy to do it again. Simply put, there’s no better or easier way to boost your diet than to add some dark, leafy greens. They provide cancer-fighting vitamins and minerals, the fiber we need for heart and digestive health, and assistance to our body’s detoxification processes. All of which helps us feel lighter, gives us energy, and protects our health, making them an important element to winter wellness.

Of course, nothing beats Blooming Glen Farm greens- they have some limited offerings at the Easton Farmers Market winter mart, but during this coldest time of year, if your farms or markets don’t have any, supermarket offerings will do ;). Common varieties of greens found at the grocery store include collards, kale, mustard greens, arugula, spinach, escarole, and Swiss chard. Here in the blog, you can check out several greens recipes, listed below. There’s also a great “Guide to Leafy Greens” at RealSimple.com, and an informational post on greens (nutrition and variety info, how to select, store and prepare, links to recipes, etc.) on the Guidance for Growing website.  Surf the resources and recipes and commit to adding an extra serving of greens to your diet to help ward of the winter blahs!

Blooming Glen Farm Beet greens recipes:

Post and photos by Mikaela D. Martin: Blooming Glen CSA member since 2005, board-certified health counselor, and co-founder and -owner of Guidance for Growing, an integrative wellness practice in Souderton. Read more about healthy eating and living on her site, http://guidanceforgrowing.com!

29 Oct

Posted at 11:16h in Recipes by
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The real winners of Blooming Glen Farm’s third annual pie bake-off contest were all of us tasters who had the chance to sample the 15 mouth-watering pie entries, including “Green Tomato Cranberry Maple”, “Wild Foraged Paw-Paw”, “Asian Pear and Ginger”, “Butternut Squash and Pecan”, “Chocolate Almond Custard Pear” and “Crab Apple”. With almost 100 people tasting and voting, the following three pies were the top winners.

Maple Custard Pie with Candied Bacon, by Michelle Guerriero, First Place and the trophy winner!

First place winner Michelle with the trophy, to be held for one year and passed on to next year's winner

“I love cooking, but have less of a passion for baking. As I pondered the type of pie I was going to bake for the contest, I decided to join my two favorite flavor profiles in cooking: sweet and savory. Somehow candied bacon came to mind. Slowly, the creation started coming together. I thought, ‘what goes better with bacon than maple?’ Voila: Maple Custard Pie with Candied Bacon was conceived. I didn’t plan to put the whipped cream on, but I had extra heavy cream, so I whipped it up with some maple syrup and nutmeg. I’m glad I did, as I think it made a ‘light’ (not ‘lite!’) element to the pie. I will admit, I played a little dirty including bacon in my pie. I mean, who can lose with bacon?! In any case, I’m glad people liked it. It gives me some motivation to cultivate my baking skills!”- Michelle Guerriero

Pie Crust:
1 1/2 cups organic flour
1/2 cup lard (I used Ledamete Grass Farm’s lard)
pinch of salt
4 tablespoons ice cold water

Add flour and salt in food processor, pulse. Add lard, pulse until blended. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until pearl-size beads form. Dump on lightly floured surface, roll into ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 hour. Take out, roll, then mold into pie pan.

Filling (from smittenkitchen.com):
3/4 cup maple syrup (organic)
2 1/4 cup heavy cream (organic)
4 egg yolks (organic)
1 whole egg (organic)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (organic)

In a medium saucepan, bring maple syrup to a low boil. Stir in cream and bring to simmer, making small bubbles form on side, but do not bring to a full rolling boil. Remove from heat.

In a standing mixer (or by hand, if you choose), whisk together egg yolks and egg. Add vanilla extract, salt and nutmeg. Keeping the whisk at a medium-high speed, slowly add the cream mixture to the eggs. Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and pour the hot mixture into your pie crust.

Bake at 325 degrees until firm to touch but jiggles slightly when moved, about 30-45 minutes (depending on the depth of pie it could be longer). Let cool to room temperature.

Whipped cream:
heavy cream (organic)
maple syrup (to taste)
grated nutmeg (to taste)

Whip until soft peaks form.

Candied bacon:
8 pieces of thinly sliced bacon or pancetta (I used all-natural pancetta from Whole Foods)
maple syrup (organic)
brown sugar (organic)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In one bowl, pour about 1 cup maple syrup. In a separate bowl, add approximately 1 cup brown sugar. One at a time, dip the bacon in the maple syrup, removing excess syrup from bacon with your fingers, then dip in the brown sugar to coat. Place on baking sheet with non-stick foil or parchment paper. Repeat with all pieces (doing two batches if there’s not enough room on the pan). Place parchment paper over top of the bacon and top with another cookie sheet. This will help keep the bacon flat while baking.

Place in oven for about 20 minutes. Check under top layer of parchment paper for doneness. They should be golden and done (not fatty). If they still look “fatty,” just give them more time. Remove and place on a separate piece of parchment paper. They will firm up more as they dry and the maple/brown sugar hardens.

To assemble:
When pie is cooled to room temperature, add whipped cream on top in a layer. Then add crumbled bacon over whipped cream (you could even place one piece of bacon per slice for presentation).

Almond Pear Pie with Raspberry Glaze by Bernadette Rodrigo, Second Place.

“I developed this recipe by mixing components from various sources. I chose to use pears because they are a wonderful seasonal fruit and often over shadowed by apples. I wanted to duplicate the rich almond filling found in European pastries and the raspberry glaze gives this pie an extra burst of fruit flavor.”- Bernadette Rodrigo

The pie tasting line.

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 sticks chilled butter
3 egg yolks
4 tablespoons ice water

Combine flour and sugar. Chop butter into 1/2-inch squares and add to flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter or your fingers, blend until it resembles course meal. In a small bowl lightly beat egg yolks and water. Add liquid to the flour mixture, tossing with a fork, until evenly distributes. Mixture will be crumbly. Use hands to press the dough into a ball. Turn out onto counter top and kneed a few times, smearing the butter forming the dough into a ball. Flatten into a disc. Wrap and refrigerate.

Poached Pears:
1 cup sugar
4 cups water
1/4 cup raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon orange blossom water
4 pears, peeled, halved and cored

Combine first four ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a slow simmer. Add pears and simmer 10 minutes. Turn off heat and allow pears to soak 10 more minutes. Then remove pears from pot and allow them to cool. Reserve poaching liquid.

Filling:
1/2 cup blanched almonds, finely ground
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Mix all ingredient until well combined.

To assemble:
Roll out pastry dough into pie pan. Cover with almond filling. Slice pears and arrange on top. Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Crust and filling will brown. While pie bakes make glaze.

Raspberry Glaze:
3/4 cup raspberry preserves
2 tablespoon poaching liquid

Combine in sauce pan over low heat. Stir to incorporate ingredients. When mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat. Use a pastry brush to gently paint glaze over hot pie. Allow pie to cool completely. Enjoy!

Pecan Pie, by Corbin Williams, Third Place.

A classic, Corbin’s pecan pie comes from his mother’s recipe. It arrived at the contest still warm and gooey from the oven.

Apple Caramel Pie with Pecans by Meredith Stone

Pastry for one 9-inch pie crust
3 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter
1 cup dark or light corn syrup
1 cup pecan halves or broken pecans

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare pastry. Combine eggs, sugar, salt, butter and syrup; beat thoroughly. Stir in nuts. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Bake 40-50 minutes or until filling is set and pastry is nicely browned. Cool and enjoy.

25 Oct

Posted at 09:15h in On The Farm, Weekly Share by
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Well folks, it has been 24 weeks, and that’s a wrap for season 2012- that’s 24 weeks and 48 share harvests for this farm crew! We started early due to that wonderful spring weather (anyone remember spring and those delicious strawberries?!) so that brings week 24 in October instead of later into November. No complaints here, since that means we avoid those cold mornings waiting for the crops to thaw, no tortuous frosty hands or ice water washings. A few of our crops that we’d hoped to have for you by now are still puttering along- brussel sprouts and cauliflower specifically. You’ll have to visit us at the farmers markets this winter (Wrightstown has a mini-market the second and fourth Saturday of the month starting in December, from 10-11am, and Easton has a new weekly indoor winter market starting the Saturday after Thanksgiving at the Nature Nurture Center, from 10-1pm). We will also offer a limited number of Thanksgiving boxes for sale with some special goodies available- keep an eye out in your emails for ordering information and other details. We will be emailing a link for CSA registration information for 2013 in mid to late November. We do not anticipate any major changes from 2012.

CSA share, week 24, 10/23/12

Despite the pace slowing down a bit, there are still many jobs to be done at the farm in preparation for the colder months. Fields are continuously being cleaned out, of irrigation tubing and stakes for example, then tilled and sown with cover crops for the winter. This week the crew was busy planting all the greenhouses with crops like kale, spinach and scallions. All our garlic seed is broken up and ready to go in- the goal is to have it planted before next week’s predicted rainstorms. We will also be battening down the greenhouses in case of high winds.

Leaves being delivered from Perkasie boro; Greenhouses being planted.

This week is like Christmas for Farmer Tom. Perkasie Borough  and Hilltown Township have begun its leaf collection- you may see the big trucks vacuuming up the leaves from the sides of the streets. Instead of those leaves ending up in the landfill, they bring them here to the farm, truckload after truckload. Using a big windrow turner, Tom will mix the leaves with cow manure and straw bedding from Tussock Sedge Farm. After a few weeks of steadily turning the piles, with temperatures reaching between 130 and 170 degrees, we are left with a beautiful rich compost.

Photos and text by Tricia Borneman, Blooming Glen farmer and co-owner.

19 Oct

Posted at 09:32h in Recipes by
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I am a pretty indiscriminate veggie lover; however, every once and awhile a root or shoot passes my path that I just can’t wrap my head around liking. Turnips have always been that way for me. I never hated them, but they generally fall under the “why bother” category in my book. That is, until I realized I’ve never actually given turnips a fair go of it.

Determined to change my relationship with the lowly purple-top turnip, I devised this recipe. It would be perfectly delicious with any combination of root vegetables, but it is particularly suited to the turnip. Maple syrup contrasts the bitterness that is associated with turnips (although, upon closer inspection, ours are quite sweet right now). Cardamom enhances the spicy and earthy taste of the oft-maligned root. Roasting brings out the sweetness in everything.

Maple and Cardamom Glazed Root Veggies

Serves 2-3 as a side dish.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.

Start with 2 pounds of root vegetables–I used half purple-top turnips and half carrots. Peel veggies if need-be (definitely recommended for turnips, not so much with carrots). Dice all veggies into similar sizes, about 1/2 inch cubes. In a mixing bowl, toss veggies with 2 tablespoons vegetable oil of choice (I chose coconut). Spread the veggies in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the preheated oven.

While the vegetables are roasting, make the maple glaze. In a small sauce pan on medium heat, whisk together 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1 pinch red pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract, and 1 more tablespoon of oil. Heat for just 30 seconds to 1 minute, and remove from heat.

After about 20 minutes in the oven, flip the veggies with a big spatula so that the bottom sides won’t burn. Reduce heat to 400 degrees and continue roasting for another 10 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown.

Toss roasted vegetables with the maple glaze, the juice of half a lemon or lime, and salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley, and voilà, you’ve just made turnips delicious!

Note: After I served up the veggies, I had a ton of leftover glaze, which I couldn’t bear to pour down the drain. Instead, I combined it with more lime juice and used it for yummy dressing on a simple kale salad.

Text and photography by Kate Darlington – Blooming Glen Farm second year intern, fresh food enthusiast, and budding food blogger. She also writes for the Digging Deep Campaign as well as for her personal blog, Growing Things.

18 Oct

Posted at 09:58h in On The Farm, Weekly Share by
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It is truly in the fall that I appreciate the opportunity to eat local more then any other time. Why? Because that same frosty white coating on the fields in the morning that has me pulling out my favorite scarves and sweaters, also signals exciting changes that are happening within many of our crops. The resemblance to a dusting of sugar gives a clue to what will be reflected at the dinner table. (You know when your family is fighting over the last scrap of kale in the skillet that something’s going on).

CSA share, week 23, 10/16/12

The first frost came October 12th. Every autumn we know it’s coming- last year it was the 28th (followed by that crazy October snowstorm), the year before, the 13th. The cold brought an end to the last of the beautiful field flowers- the dahlias that were still blooming profusely- and the bumper sweet pepper crop of 2012. Even though the frost signals the end of many things, both good and bad (adios, galansoga weeds- see you next season!), it also means sweeter tasting veggies.

The leafy greens taste substantially different. The kale is divine; all trace of bitterness is gone. Cabbage family crops- kales, brussel sprouts, collards, actually increase the amount of sugars in their cells- which acts like an antifreeze. In the same act of self-defense, our root crops are converting stored starches to sugars. The sharp edge to the turnips and radishes has mellowed, but the difference is most pronounced in the carrots – they are pure vegetable candy.

To buy produce trucked in from California this time of year would be a shame. Now more then in any other season, you can directly taste the weather’s effects on your food, in a positive way!

Purple-top Turnips and Carrots

The harvest festival was a great success! Thanks to everyone who volunteered, contributed, or attended. It was a gorgeous day and a rocking community event. In the next few days we will be posting in the blog the recipes for the top three winning pies from the third annual pie bake-off contest. Over 90 people tasted and voted!

Just a reminder that next week is the last week of the CSA distribution! Registration information for 2013 will be posted online sometime in mid to late November. We will send out a few reminder emails when that happens. Thanks for a great season!

Photos and text by Tricia Borneman, Blooming Glen farmer and co-owner. Additional photos at the harvest festival by Elizabeth Lombardi (thank you, Liz!).

12 Oct

Posted at 14:14h in Recipes by
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Butternut Squash & Leek CasseroleNothing says autumn harvest like a butternut squash, right? Like its buddy, the delicata squash, butternut is low in calories, carbs, and fat, and high in vitamins A and C. Butternut squash also provides a very healthy dose of the minerals, potassium and manganese, and is a good source of vitamin E, thiamin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, and magnesium. Additionally, the carotenoids that provide its gorgeous color also deliver antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. As if that weren’t enough, butternut squash also lives up to its silky, delicious, buttery name. Beauty and brains — you just can’t beat it!

Butternut squash tastes divine after roasting, which really brings out its sweetness. It also makes a great soup, where you can add savory elements for a great depth of flavor — a loaf of Bakers on Broad bread completes this tasty meal! Finally, pair butternut squash with whole grains; the smooth texture of the squash makes an excellent partner to hardy whole grains. The cool weather inspired the butternut squash casserole recipe below, which also uses in-season leeks. Let the oven warm up the house and serve this comfort food with a side of green’s from this week’s share.

References and recommended links:

Butternut Squash & Leek CasseroleButternut Squash & Leek Casserole
Ingredients
1 tbs grapeseed oil
3 leeks, sliced into half-moons
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can coconut milk
1/4+ tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
1-2 tbs chopped herbs (rosemary, sage, and/or thyme work great)
1 box (13.25oz) dried whole wheat elbow macaroni
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

Method
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. Lightly spray a 9- x 13-inch casserole dish with grapeseed oil.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottom pot over medium heat. Add leeks and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add squash, coconut milk, cayenne, salt, and pepper and turn up heat to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until squash is tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in herbs and simmer another minute.

Meanwhile, cook macaroni al dente, about 7 minutes. Rinse in cold water, drain, and put into a large bowl. Transfer squash mixture to bowl with macaroni. Add salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer to casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. Bake until it begins to brown and is cooked throughout, about 25 minutes.

Post and photos by Mikaela D. Martin: Blooming Glen CSA member since 2005, board-certified health counselor, and co-founder and -owner of Guidance for Growing, an integrative wellness practice in Souderton. Read more about healthy eating and living on her site, http://guidanceforgrowing.com!

10 Oct

Posted at 18:30h in On The Farm, Weekly Share by
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This week at the farm we are gearing up for our harvest festival. We are very excited that local bluegrass band Goose Creek Pioneers will be joining us this year. They will be performing on and off from 2-5 pm this Saturday October 13th. We will also have a drum circle with Valerie Hopkins, Professional Musician and Rhythm Facilitator, of Drum Circles Heal. Join us for crafts, relay races, garlic seed splitting, a wagon ride and more! The Coffee Scoop, Bucks County Cookie Company and Owowcow Creamery will be selling their treats and hot coffee. And, drumroll, you asked and they’re here! Blooming Glen Farm t-shirts, printed by Green Changes on gorgeous organic cotton, and designed by CSA member Chris Caruso, will be for sale!!

For $1 you can participate in tasting (and voting on) all the fabulous pies in our pie bake-off contest. During dinner the winner will be presented with the “pie” trophy (a beautiful piece of ceramic artwork by tile artist Katia McGuirk), to be kept for one year, then passed on to next year’s winner! It’s not too late to enter a pie- just shoot us an email! Potluck dinner will be around 5 pm (bring a dish to share, and your own place settings and beverage). CSA members and musicians Cliff Cole and Brian Pearson will entertain us with their musical talents during dinner. See you this Saturday at 2pm!

CSA share, week 22, 10/9/12

Fall radishes are here, in the share and at our market stands. The long white daikon radish is an Asian staple: its name is Japanese for “great root”, and it’s no wonder when they can reach lengths up to 3 feet long. Daikons are said to aid the digestion of fatty foods and can be eaten raw- grated or in fine matchsticks. The daikon radish can also be used as you would a turnip, in stews and soups where they provide a bright, refreshing note. They can also be stir-fried, pickled, baked or simmered.

Watermelon Radishes on the left; Daikon Radish growing in the field

The watermelon radish is round and and could easily be mistaken for a turnip, but when sliced open it looks just like a watermelon with a green rind and a bright rosy-pink interior.  It’s a bit milder and sweeter than regular radishes, and much larger. Though they can be braised, roasted or mashed, I think they are best enjoyed raw, for in its natural state you can trully appreciate it’s stunning pink color and flavor. Slice them up and enjoy with your favorite dip, or grate them into a salad (peel off the tough outer skin first).

Photos and text by Tricia Borneman, Blooming Glen farmer and co-owner.

04 Oct

Posted at 17:35h in Recipes by
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Cabbage and apples are a classic combination–and it’s no coincidence since they are both staples of the fall and winter diet. This week, the Blooming Glen Farm cabbage of choice is the crinkly-leafed savoy. Savoy cabbage comes from Northern Italy, where it is known as cavolo verza.

The inspiration for this recipe came from one of my favorite food blogs, Nourished Kitchen. I took some liberties, though, replacing onions with leeks and green cabbage with savoy. Because savoy is sweeter and more tender than other cabbages, I eliminated one apple and some cooking time from the original recipe.

Cider-Braised Cabbage and Apples

Cut the roots and most of the greens off 3 leeks, slice lengthwise, and rinse any grit from between the layers. Slice crosswise thinly and fry in a hot skillet with 2 tablespoons of butter. When the leeks begin to brown, add 1 medium apple, cored and thinly sliced. Cook for another 5 minutes until apples start to soften.

Reduce heat to medium. To the skillet, add 1 savoy cabbage, cored and thickly sliced and 1 bay leaf. Stir to bring apples and leeks to the top. As the cabbage begins to wilt down, pour 1-1/2 cups apple cider into the skillet. Simmer for about 15 minutes until apples and cabbage are soft and most of the liquid is evaporated. Sprinkle on 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, toss to combine, and remove from heat.

Pair this dish with pork, and you’ve got yourself a time-honored flavor combination that can’t be beat (I chose a juicy bratwurst). If pork isn’t your style, it would also go very nicely with a roast chicken and/or savory white cannellini beans.

Text and photography by Kate Darlington – Blooming Glen Farm second year intern, fresh food enthusiast, and budding food blogger. She also writes for the Digging Deep Campaign as well as for her personal blog, Growing Things.

03 Oct

Posted at 17:15h in On The Farm, Weekly Share by
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Coming up next week, Saturday Oct. 13th, is Blooming Glen Farm’s annual harvest festival. With fall festivals springing up everywhere you look this time of year, I needed to take a few moments to remind myself why our farm values this season-end celebration.

Harvest festivals and agriculture traditionally go hand in hand. From the ancient Greeks and Romans to modern times, numerous communities and religions honor a tradition of thankfulness at harvest time. The holiday of Jewish religion called Sukkot or “Festival of Ingathering’, is both historical and agricultural. A celebration of family, community and culture, the word “Kwanzaa” comes from the African language Swahili and means “First Fruits of the Harvest.” In Great Britain, until the 20th century, farmers celebrated the end of the harvest with a big meal called the harvest or “mell-supper”, named after the last patch of corn or wheat standing in the fields. Cutting it signified the end of the work of harvest and the beginning of the feast.

Harvest festivals are typically held around the Harvest Moon -the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox (this year’s harvest moon was Saturday, Sept. 29th, so we’re not too far off). Ancient harvest festivals were celebrated to give thanks for an abundant crop. In our world of seeming overabundance, where our every food whim can be satisfied by a quick stop at the local grocery store, it can be easy to forget to honor this connection between the health of our farms and the health of our families.  

In ancient times, an abundant crop was crucial to sustain the community through the lean winter months. But abundant crop or not, giving thanks was ritualized into the fabric of these ancient communities. Whether it be the labor of the farmers and volunteers, the support of the eaters, or the benevolence of a greater life source (whatever name you may choose to call it)- all these factors and hands contribute to the thriving organism that is a farm. Thanks-giving truly happens best through collaboration and shared experience, taking time out of our busy lives for joyfulness and sharing, with the ultimate result being a healthy, strong, and unified community. And ultimately a community that is thankful for healthy food will always have healthy farms.

Please consider joining us next Saturday from 2pm until dark for our Harvest Festival and Harvest Supper– bring a potluck dish to share as we all sit down to a meal together made from the fruits of the season. Dance, feast, socialize, drum, craft, collaborate, and reflect on the bounty that the land has given us these past six months. Volunteers are still needed to help make this celebration possible- sign-up sheets can be found at the farm. All are welcome!

Speaking of bountiful harvest, the farm crew is particularly thankful for the broccoli crop this week. It’s the first week of October- the leaves are changing, cooler temperatures at night means sweeter veggies, and kinder weather for crops like broccoli. Broccoli is something we plant every two weeks in the fall. But due to unforeseen elements like weather and insects, there are no guarantees that each sucession will bring a bumper crop. This week’s harvest is the third planting, and by far the most beautiful so far. Less bugs and minimal disease made for large broccoli crowns, and a very enjoyable and speedy harvest, even in the rain on Tuesday.

Photos and text by Tricia Borneman, Blooming Glen farmer and co-owner.