Life on the Farm....

Not sure if you all remember, but last summer I lost my job.

(Well, I didn't lose it...it just wasn't mine anymore)

I blogged about what a blessing in disguise it was...

I spent the summer hanging out at the beach, playing with my son...

And asking the universe to give me my dream job.

I asked for a job where I was outside.

I wanted exposure, bug bites and sunburns.

I wanted to work in the food production industry.

I wanted to learn more about growing food organically.

I wanted to be happy about going to work and feel like 

I'm making a difference in the way people see food.

And to get paid...that too.

This year...I'm thankful to say I FOUND IT!

As of May 4th, I am now a full time employee at The Kitchen Garden!!!

(If you want to know more about these local guys...and where you can find them...click here)

I'll say this in advance...I won't be sharing any trade secrets.

I won't be talking about their farming practices.

And they do not require me to promote their business.

They DO pay me for my work.

Hard work.

Brutally hard work.

At the end of the first 4 days, I have some thoughts about working at a commercial vegetable farm.

I find farming to be experiential...if you are open to it.

Its transcendental.

Each day my senses were heightened.

I drove home every day exhausted and deliriously happy.

The shower when I got home...BEST SHOWER EVER.

When I finally sat down to eat....BEST MEAL EVER.

When the rain started to drop on my burning arms...BEST RAIN SHOWER EVER.

I learned so much my head was spinning.

I giddily looked forward to my polysporin/bandaid regimen at the end of each day.

I counted up each and every bruise and blister with a sort of pride I hadn't felt before.

As for the actual work...

I tried keeping up with the other full time employee.

The first day or so, I felt woefully slow.

(thinking "these guys are never gonna let me stay")

By the end of day four, I felt like Wonder Woman!!!

I will try to keep track of my experiences throughout the summer.

And don't worry...I'll still be gardening here at home.

So stay tuned for more adventures from this crazy gardening girl.

More from my Bookshelf...

The second in my series examining my bookshelf...

Super fun.  Super easy.

This is one silly read.

This book was written for men out at the hunting camp.

I'm not trying to be sexist or anything.

It says so in the forward!

It's geared towards the guy who gets elected "Camp Cook".

Some men relish this task...but for others...this is the book for them!!!

Some features:

• It has a list of basic kitchen utensils you will need.  (The bare minimum...like it should be in the wild!)
• It has a killer wild game marinade on page 67.  Totally tastes out the "wild" out of the game.
• It also has a recipe for Russian Tea on page 13 that can be made ahead and stored in a mason jar for a long time.  A nice warm treat!

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Although this book was directed at teen buyers, it is totally worth the read!

This book informs us in plain language why it is important to know more about the things you buy.

With young people having so much purchase power these days, 

it makes sense that "Get Real" would target younger readers.

Shedding light on how everyday items are produced, and the waste these items produce, helps to inform your choices when shopping.

That's good info whether you are 15 or 55!

Some features:

• The story of t-shirts and jeans...its actually scary...and involves the government!
• Cellphones and the incredible waste they produce...its CRAZY!!!
• Green washing - the practise of labelling to make it seem like the products are "green"

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Now this was a book I was really excited about!

Eating within the seasons is something about which I am very passionate.

I have been struggling for years to find a cookbook that actually compliments 

my garden and the veggies as they ripen. 

Once I read it, I was more than a little disappointed.

Almost every recipe in every season only featured one seasonal ingredient.

All other ingredients were not what I would call staples.

In fact, some of the ingredients I had never even heard of!

My definition of a practical, easy-to-use cookbook does NOT

include looking up what an ingredient actually is and if I can buy it in Canada.

When I grab a recipe I like, it usually has to meet a few prerequisite standards:

1 - at least 2 foods that I grow

2 - involves pantry and fridge staples I already purchase in bulk.

3 - no more than 1 ingredient has to be newly purchased (preferably none)

For more info on how I pick and store recipes, click here.

But staying positive...here are some features:

• beautiful photography, interesting recipes
• a brief background on main veggies start out each section

Garlic Mustard....Mustard

In the last few years, I was introduced to the lovely 'weed', Garlic Mustard.

It's one of those plants that came over with European settlers...

and has taken over ever since.

Seriously!  

There is no where in North America where you will have to adhere

 to strict conservation collecting with this one.

In fact, the Ontario Government has come out with a super cool website to tell you all about it!

It might take you a few seasons to make sure it is what you think it is.

Spring time looks like the above picture.

The cute, scalloped leaves are hard to mistake.

Once you identify these leaves, its hard to miss them.

You start to see them literally

EVERYWHERE!

The bright green spring leaves are a treat too.

They taste garlicky and goes great in a salad.

By August, they start looking like the above picture.

They shoot up and send out spindly shoots.

They sprout these wee seed pods.

Once the pods are dry...collect immediately!

I've checked one day and by the next day the wind has scattered them all.

Again, I can't stress enough...collect as many as you want...

You don't have to worry about this hearty plant coming back.

The seeds look like long poppyseeds.

They have a light mustard taste.

I've heard you can made mustard from grinding the seeds...

So that was our big experiment this year!

We collected the seed pods and slowly, patiently removed all of the seeds from each one.

Each pods contains anywhere from 2-10 seeds.

This process is time consuming...so plan a movie marathon or binge watch session.

A few weeks ago I actually got around to making the mustard I had set out to make using these seeds.

It turned out great!

I was amazed at the distinct wasabi taste.

Imagine...making wasabi in your own backyard!

I will admit I was a little disappointed...it didn't taste more like mustard.

Just being honest.

I guess I'll have to grow mustard greens in order to actually make mustard.

Even still...a very cool experiment indeed.

Thanks go out to The 3 Foragers for inspiring me to move beyond my comfort zone!!!

BIZ SPOTLIGHT: Robert Deroche - Soil Warrior

One overcast morning...I found myself driving to meet someone in Maberly.

It is early spring here and I am not alone when I say I miss the garden.

The earth is shedding its last bits of white.

The soil is waking up everywhere.

Although it wasn't sunny...it was a BEAUTIFUL day for a drive.

I met a man named Robert Deroche.

He had advertised his services in The Frontenac News.

But what caught my eye was the email address 

soilguardians356@gmail.com

(reprinted with Robert's permission)

I had to meet this guy!

I was fortunate enough to get a tour!

He had sprouts all over in his green room.

Wheatgrass, buckwheat, kale...

I was in heaven!

We chatted for hours, like old friends.

I was enthralled listening to his thoughts on "the circle".

Feed the soil, which feeds the food, which in turn feeds us!

Robert shared with me that he had tried unsuccessfully to grow carrots.

It wasn't until he waded into the world of vermicomposting that things turned around.

"I tried three times (to grow carrots) and then every year I do rotating, 

the carrots came back to this garden and last year 400 pounds of carrots 

and beets so this is really amazing stuff to me."

Worm castings

Wikipedia says:  

1. Vermicompost is the product or process of composting using various worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and other earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast (poo).

 By using worms to break down organic material, 

the compost is formed much quicker than traditional composting.

Think of it like you are hiring some labourers to compost for you!

Compost tea contraption

Not only can you use the castings (poo) in your garden around your plants,

 but you can also make compost tea!

Used in a ratio of at least 5:1 water to castings, this brew can be used directly on the plants.

(except stuff like peppers...who don't like getting wet on their leaves anyway)

Way better than hosing your garden with herbicides or steroids!

Speaking about those commercial things you could spray on your garden, he says,

"You set up a situation where you're dependent upon those inputs to maintain your garden."

Robert has a pretty high tech contraption for making compost tea.

He has his reasons.

It's all about the oxygen, baby!

Robert's sifting contraption

We continued the tour in the basement of his home.

I was shown the sifter he uses to separates out the woodier parts of the soil.

Secret worm food

He also has a secret formula to feed the worms.

Don't worry...worm composters don't really require these special amendments.

He just spoils his worms with some of the best stuff going.

I won't ruin his trade secret...you'll have to talk to Robert about that.

Worms hotel

Housed in long crates...his worms are hard at work!

Robert uses red wigglers and African wrigglers.

There is a tiny sliver of silver - that's a worm toddler!

Not sure if you can see it but there is a tiny silver sliver on his finger

(above the dirt clump)

Its a worm larvae!

When you gently move the soil around, you can actually see

many of the forms worms can take.

Worm castings

Not only was Robert welcoming, but a gratious host.

I was able to part with a bucket of castings...complete with worms!

Super juice!

He also served up some of his pressed juice made with vegetables he grew last year.
It was kale, carrot, ginger, apple and I'm sure I'm forgetting something.
It was delicious nonetheless!

He pulled out a Brix meter.

After he explained how it worked...I am now convinced it is the future of food production.

Wikipedia says:

Degrees Brix (symbol °Bx) is the sugar content of an aqueous solution. One degree Brix is 1 gram of sucrose in 100 grams of solution and represents the strength of the solution as percentage by mass

(We tested the juice he made)

Its amazing to think that not all veggies are the same.

The tomato you bought in the store has very low nutritional content,

compared to one grown in the castings of worms and fed worm compost tea.

The difference is astronomical!

Here is a chart:

Considering much of what we get at the grocery store has traveled very far to get to us,

doesn't it hurt that they would then sell us food listed less than poor on the Brix chart?

I believe that in the future, we won't have foods sporting ORGANIC labels any more.

We'll be checking to see what Brix rating it has!!!

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All in all, Robert is an enthusiastic lover of gardens, worms and the path to overall health.

It was a treat to meet him and share in the information he has gathered.

Get in touch with this guy if you are at all interested in learning more about

-Worm composting (Vermicomposting)

-Juicing

-organic gardening on a whole new level

-Brix meters

Use the above posted email address for more information...

Robert's Recommends:

Charles Eisenstein "Sacred Economics"

http://sacred-economics.com/

Dr Elaine Ingham  "SFI"

http://www.soilfoodweb.com/

PS.  I couldn't resist...I started a worm farm with the worms I was gifted!