The Great Garlic Harvest of 2012!

Last Fall Michael found a local farmer friend who was selling a bunch of garlic seed (which, by the way, is actually the individual cloves of garlic) at a very low price ($3/lb vs the usual $11/lb).  Being the bargain shopper that he is, he couldn't resist a good deal, even if it meant that we would have garlic coming out of our ears this season.

We had to endure the smell of the garlic as it dried out, in preparation for planting, in my parents' basement.  I am not sure how we avoided eviction -- I think it's because I can count on one hand the number of times my parents actually entered their basement in the six or so years that they've lived there.

When Amelia was brand new, we had to find the time to separate every single garlic clove from the 100 pounds of garlic.  It was surprisingly tedious and it hurt! After a short time of separating the cloves, my hands were aching and getting calloused.  I think I checked on Amelia sleeping more in those hours than I did during her first few weeks of life -- anything (maybe even pinching her to wake her up) to get out of the garlic torture chamber!

Then, we rallied troops to plant the garlic in October.  Amelia and I treked out to the Farm to check on the troops...we put her in the Bjorn and she "helped" plant, too! In total, the "deal of the century" resulted in the planting of an entire field of garlic -- 17 rows of garlic at approximately 175 feet per row.  Which means (based on some calculations that I did not do, mathmatician that I am) that Michael and his crew just harvested -- wait for it -- almost six thousand individual garlic bulbs!!

Which means, members, buckle up! I have just invested copious amounts of money in Orbit, the gum company.

Let Me Tell You 'Bout the Birds and the Bees...

Well, not so much emphasis on the birds, but definitely a lot of emphasis on the bees!  As most of you probably know (don't feel bad if you don't), bees are very critical to the growth of our food.  Their hard work pollinates the flowers which ultimately become the fruit (or vegetable) of the plant.  I don't think I realized that most vegetables grow out of the plant's flower (squash blossoms turn into hearty zucchini, tomato flowers turn into juicy, ripe tomatoes, and so on and so forth).  I obviously remember something about pollination that we were taught in elementary school science, but I honestly thought bees were nothing more than a nuisance...one that you aren't supposed to swat away but that your natural instinct is to swat like hell until they get out of your face.

This year, Michael sought out local beekeepers who were in need of a place to keep their hive.  It'd be beneficial for the farm and could also be a potential source of fresh, raw honey for our members. After listening to Michael "interview" several beekeepers (the conversations were somewhat interesting), I thought he was going to lean towards the beekeeper who had an already-established operation and needed more land for his hives.  Shortsightedly, I thought this because it seemed like the best chance for access to significant amounts of honey...which our members in the past have loved.  In retrospect (and maybe if I was listening a little closer rather than playing Scramble with Friends (can I even say that or is it trademarked? I should probably know...), his choice was obvious: the beekeeper who was interested in learning about bees but didn't have any because he didn't have any land.  It was meant to be: a struggling farmer without access to land finally has a large plot of land (that he obtained access to through a very thoughtful and amazing friend) and is able to "pay it forward" to the struggling beekeeper who needs land in order to start his desired craft.  And, so, this is how One Acre Farm came to have bees.  (Michael also just informed me that there are actually two beekeepers (one that is more experienced) that have hives on our property, but, for the poetic license of my story, let's just pretend I didn't know that).  (Ed. note: I need to give credit where credit is due and the more experienced beekeeper is not as random as I am making him out to be. He is actually very legitimate, uses novel methods and is an all around "hard core dude".  Michael's words, not mine).

The other day, Michael called me excitedly to tell me that he and the more experienced beekeeper (again, for poetic license, let's just say it was the new beekeeper) had pulled a fresh, hot honeycomb from the hive. It sounded incredible. I can only picture the two of them like my favorite childhood character Winnie-the-Pooh (trademarked, copyrighted, patent pending I am sure -- see above), hands cupping the honey and dripping -- no, running -- down their fingers.  Hopefully this mutually beneficial relationship will also mean that we'll have fresh honey to offer at some point in the future.  Stay tuned...

Your share this week will consist of: garlic, (the last of the) garlic scapes, bok choy, lettuce, turnips, cabbage, fennel, and mustard greens.  Until next time...

Season's Greetings!

Nope, I am not confused.  Nope, it is not Christmas in June.  It is the start of that other season...the CSA season!  It is upon us and underway...we started our first distribution last Thursday (Capitol Hill and Potomac) and had our first pick-up at the farm (well, sorta...we are temporarily using a member's garage near the farm until our landowner can make the farm's entrance somewhat safer due to the hidden driveway) on Monday.  I can speak from personal (non-biased, of course) experience that this week's share was by far the best first share that Michael has ever had!  The greens are delicious -- I used the lettuce and radishes in my lunch salads, I made my first batch of kale chips (mighty fine, by the way, but a little salty...I will have to cut back on the sea salt next time around.  Another digression -- any suggestions on how to store them? However I stored them last night turned them into a soggy mess by the morning), creamed chard pasta with chicken and garlic scapes, and bok choy with hot sausage and barley.  We have been eating well this past week! Please feel free to share your recipes in the comments or on our Facebook page.  Everyone loves to hear suggestions of what others are making with their veggies.

A lot of hard work has gone into making the very first share so successful.  A lot of planning (field rotations, crop rotations, seed selection, natural fertilizer selection (I swear, there were mathematical equations in a very complex Excel spreadsheet), plowing, planting, weeding, etc.) happened during the "off-season" all while Michael was playing the very important role of a stay-at-home Dad!  The most rigorous of these tasks will continue throughout the season.  I doubt anyone out there believes that farming is easy work.  For those of you who were able to come to the first Farm tour, you now should have a greater sense for the scale of work that Michael does -- for the most part -- on his own.  I know that his vegetables are so delicious not only because they are locally grown and extremely fresh but because I know how much he literally toils (and stresses) day in and day out to churn out the best "product" that he can.  I am insanely proud of him and hope that you all appreciate the fruits of his labor as much as I do!

You can expect some of the following in this week's share: broccoli, collards, lettuce, red bok choy, radishes, garlic scapes, swiss chard, and arugula.