Movin' On Up...

So, the day has finally come when I feel comfortable announcing the Farm's (and our) big news! We have signed a long-term lease for raw land in Clarksburg, Maryland for over TWENTY-FIVE wide open acres! We are definitely movin' on up!!!

Over the summer, we were approached about a possible land lease in Clarksburg through an amazingly open-minded and generous family friend.  We immediately set our lawyer (not me, but Michael's persistent and patient dad) to work out the terms of the deal, draft the lease and attend meetings with Michael to get the lease secured.  His tireless efforts paid off because about four (?) months later, we have a fully signed lease and are ready to go!  Kudos to our lawyer for all of his hard work in making our dream come true and thank you (is there a bigger, better word to describe our thanks?) to our family friend who saw an opportunity and jumped on it for us to make it happen!


Here is a picture of Shirley, sitting at home in one of our new fields:

The new property is located right off of I-270, the Clarksburg exit, and has an access point off of West Old Baltimore Road (more on that later). It is directly across the street from Black Hill Regional Park. Because it is just raw land, we are spending a lot of time in the off-season making improvements. Our list is rather ambitious, but some things are necessities (i.e. a well to bring water to the fields) and power (to bring electricity to the Farm shed/office). Oh and about that shed/office, yeah, we need to build that, too.

But, first things first, there is currently a barrier blockading access to the property from West Old Baltimore Road (to prevent passersby from using the large, vacant land as a dumping ground). As part of the lease arrangement, the property owner agreed to let us get rid of the barrier so long as we put up a cattle guard, or equivalent. Apparently, right after the winter’s first snowstorm is the best time to install a cattle guard!

Here is Shirley with the “Awesome Auger” that I grew to love (and hate) by the end of the day! The first hole dug extremely well, the second hole…not so much!

I still cannot believe that my first time driving a tractor with a clutch, I was also responsible for operating the auger…apparently, Farmer Mike trusts me implicitly!

One side of the cattle gate is up. If only resting it on rocks would satisfy the property owner and sufficiently deter those junk dumpers.

 But, alas…

We finally dug the second hole, which took twice, if not three times, longer than the first!

Good contractors (and farmers!?!?!) know the adage: measure twice, cut once! We wanted to make sure we dug the hole deep enough for the post and the concrete we set it in. If you look closely, you can see the tough rock we had to cut through.

The future entrance to One Acre Farm!

Success! I literally felt as though I conquered the world!

Until next time…

Derek's Delicious Sweet Potato Tartlets

Courtesy of our Member, Derek:


Sweet Potato Pie
from Good Housekeeping Magazine


2 cups mashed fresh or canned sweet potatoes
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup half-and-half
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 9-inch pie shell


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat sweet potatoes and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and half-and-half; beat 5 minutes or until sugar dissolves, scraping sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Add butter, eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon, and beat until blended. Pour mixture into pie shell.

3. Bake 1 hour or until filling is puffed and set around edge, but center jiggles slightly. Cool completely on wire rack.

To make into tartlets, roll out pie shell and cut out circles with a 2.5" round cookie or biscuit cutter. Press dough rounds into mini muffin tin and fill each with pie filling. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until set. Cool in pan then remove to wire rack. (continue to re-roll pie dough scraps until you have cut out as many circles as you can)
 
If you still have some of our sweet potatoes left (they were plentiful this year, weren't they?), I suggest making these as a holiday dessert...or appetizer...or both! They were really that good.  Until next time...

Welcome Home....SHIRLEY!!

This past weekend, the One Acre Farm family grew significantly. No, no, it is not what you are thinking, but Michael and I added a sister to our farming (equipment) family. Last year, my uncle gave Michael a cultivating tractor, who he called Big Red. Big Red is a 1950s-era Farmall tractor, with an offset seat. Apparently, the offset seat allows you to actually see what you are cultivating in front of you. (Footnote for those not hip to the farm lingo…cultivate doesn’t actually mean what you (or was it just I?) think – to harvest. Cultivating is actually the process of disturbing the soil, i.e. weeding). But I digress! Who knew there were special tractors for different aspects of farming? Certainly not me as Michael became increasingly frustrated by my repeated questions of “Can’t Big Red do that?”


Because Big Red can’t do everything, Michael spent hours searching for the perfect tractor. And by searching, I mean searching. He went online; he called his mentors; he drove two hours away to “test-drive;” and yes, he signed up for an online network of farmers called Tractorbynet.com. The man was obsessed! And obsessed he should be when making such a big investment as a tractor!

It turns that out on his test drive two hours away, he fell in love with a big girl named Shirley. Shirley is red (like her future brother, Big Red), has a canopy, a front loader (essential for turning compost) and a relatively short working life dispute being twelve years old.

After waking up in the 6s on Saturday morning, Michael and I were in Ashland, Virginia a short two hours later to bring Shirley home. We needed a BIG trailer to bring our big girl home, and luckily – by chance – I knew someone who had the proper equipment to load her up and make the trip back north.

I do have to admit, when the salesman brought her out of the garage, my heart was swelling with pride. This was a big deal, our very first tractor…to call our own. My eyes tear up a little just thinking about that moment and how I am so very glad that Michael decided to do a weekend pickup so that I could be there.

Here are a few pictures from our exciting Saturday…and welcome to One Acre Farm, Shirley!!

Yes, that is Michael in the center of the picture, supervising the loading of his precious cargo!

Michael and Shirley - December 11, 2010!

Shirley is ready for her close-up!

End of the Year Celebration!

For the second year in a row, our members Martha and David graciously opened their home to our members to celebrate the end of the season.  Last year I was unable to come (oh, the life of a litigator) but this year's party fell on our four year wedding anniversary so I was going to be there come he** or high water!

Here are some pictures of the last bountiful harvest:

Here are some beautiful Tat Soi, Cabbage and Peppers:

Martha and David provided delicious wine and beer for our adult members and cider for our younger members.  Some members brought food to share from the farm's harvests.  Derek made amazingly scrumptious sweet potato pie tarts that I couldn't get enough of!  (Tim, we missed you, but you'll be glad to know that Derek's tarts were not too cinnamony!)  Derek promised to provide the recipe for his delicious tarts... Derek, if you'd be so kind, please leave the recipe in a comment below or send me the recipe so I can post it here!

The party was a great way to cap off the end of (what we thought was a) successful second season!  Thanks to all of you for your continued support of our humble venture!  Until next time...

Stay Tuned...

It has been awhile since I last posted -- almost two whole months.  I apologize for that.  I have great pictures from the end of the year party in Capitol Hill and promise to put those up by the end of the week.

I also have a lot of farm-specific posts lined up but wanted to peak your interest and keep you coming back for more.  Cruel, I know.  Let's just say, we have some potentially new developments in the works...

Please check back later this week -- and hopefully early next week -- for all of the winter happenings on the Farm.