Tag: sustainable methods

ARTfarm Holiday Pop-Up Farmstand Saturday Morning 11/25/2023, 10:30 – 11 am!

Watercolor painting by Luca Gasperi - a paper wasp on a leaf of green lettuce
Watercolor painting (c)2023 by Luca Gasperi – a beneficial paper wasp hunts harmful pest insects on a leaf of green lettuce. Come see the whole art show at Walsh Metal on Friday December 1st, 5-8pm!

We’re OPEN tomorrow at 10:30 in the morning for a POP-UP (no reservations, first-come first-serve) early season preview farmstand. Lots of sweet salad mix and dragonfruit! Plus, fresh herbs: Italian, Thai and lemon basils, lemongrass, and garlic chives.

ARTfarm ART opening next weekend, a family show is happening! “Hope For the Future” opens at Studio Walsh gallery in Peters Rest on Friday, December 1st from 5-8pm with art from the whole family. The gallery will also be open next Saturday Dec 2nd from 10am – 4pm.

Farm and garden volunteers are still needed. We have both meditative volunteering and/or cardio/workout volunteering possibilities. Call or email us! Non-smokers/non-vapers/non-tobacco users please.

Because it’s still in the quieter time of year, we are not expecting a big crowd in the morning. Looking forward to seeing you! Thank you so much.

Love, ARTfarmily

CORN!! Baby Spicy Wednesday 3-4:30pm

baby spicy salad mix
Baby spicy is our super young salad mix of mustard and arugula varieties with a bit of baby Chinese cabbage. Enjoy its mild wasabi-like flavor as a standalone salad or a garnish.

UPDATE: Farmer Luca may have slightly underestimated the amount of sweet corn we have available today. Please come and help us enjoy the bounty! No GMO’s, people!

The sweet corn we are growing at ARTfarm is a Hawaiian hybrid variety. It is deeeelicious! And we usually only have it for very short bursts of time.

Wednesday afternoon ARTfarm shopping: sweet salad mix, baby arugula, baby spicy salad mix, loads and loads and loads of tomatoes including lots of heirlooms, cherry tomatoes; watermelon, lots of fresh figs, cooking greens, dandelion greens, endive, cilantro, dill, garlic chives, Italian basil, Thai basil, lemon basil, French breakfast radishes, carrots, Thai pumpkin, butternut, all of our assorted spicy and sweet small peppers, and zinnias. Early birds will get cucumbers and sweet corn.

This mindblowing spread of diversity is grown here at the ARTfarm, using sustainable methods, fewest possible inputs, closing loops, minimizing machinery use, pulling from over 20 years of farming experience to keep it all as organic as possible.

ARTfarm Saturday Slaw-Breakers

Summertime is time to make slaw. Here is our list for Saturday’s stand, recipe follows! 

10 AM to 12 noon: Bunched sweet potato greens, red and yellow seasoning peppers, garlic chives, recao, basil, rosemary, loads of sweet potatoes in all sizes, sweet red pumpkin. Julie mangoes, Haitian Kidney mangoes, Viequen Butterball mangoes, plus lots of dragonfruit and sweet papaya, a few pineapples and passionfruit. Bethany’s amazing goat cheese, super fresh!

A sweet and sour raw Asian slaw salad of refreshing green fruits cools and delights the palate and is a great complementary foil for barbecued or grilled meats or other salty foods. 

Here’s Christina’s all-ARTfarm recipe:

Law-Breakin’ Slaw

2 green mangoes, peeled

3-4 large green papayas, peeled and seeds removed

1 lb. raw sweet pumpkin (yes, Yvette Browne!)

2–3 small red onions

Quarter cup or so of fresh raw peanuts, chopped and dry roasted with salt (yes, we have been experimenting with peanuts!)

Dressing:

Three small limes, juiced into a bowl

2 Tablespoons honey. Dissolve in lime juice

Few drops of potent pepper sauce or half a fresh chili pepper, diced

DIRECTIONS:

Grate the mango, papaya and pumpkin on a box grater (great upper arm workout) or using a food processor. Slice the red onions thin. Toss all together in a large bowl.

Mix together the dressing. Pour over and toss. Refrigerate. 

Roast the peanuts and sprinkle over top or reserve on side for garnish. 

Can also add blanched green beans, cucumber slices, a few cherry tomatoes. Or, in season right now, a bit of cubed mango or other sweet ripe fruits. 

Look for Luca at Mango Melee on Sunday! In the new farmer section!

Sheep & Cowpeas at ARTfarm

Over the sleepy summer and fall break, we grew some cover crops in the gardens at ARTfarm to help improve the soil for next year’s crops. Climbing up the golden dried stalks of harvested sweet corn were some large and very happy cowpea vines (Vigna unguiculata) replete with big green bean pods.

There is almost nothing in this world that our sheep enjoy more than fresh cowpea vines and beans. Friday afternoon we removed the upper part of the cowpea plants and offered them to all three groups of ovines. OMM NOM NOM NOM!

IMG_6398.JPG
Cowpeas are a forage that is high in protein, helping the sheep to grow and put on weight. The roots of the cowpea plants fix nitrogen into the soil.

Your ARTfarmers are busy planning next year’s season and preparing garden areas to receive young seedlings. We have been blessed with some beautiful rainfall in September. We look forward to seeing all of you in just a few more weeks when the farmstand reopens. Watch this space!