Coming Soon: Sugar Snap Peas

 

Sugar snap peas are a cool weather crop that we grow in the spring and fall.  If we don't get a hard frost, we should have some sugar snap peas in the coming weeks.  Eat them raw, pod and all!

Mail Order Chicks

In addition to the various chicks that hatched on our farm this summer, 50 day-old chicks arrived via the U.S. Postal Service!  (They're still nervous around us, so they tend to huddle up in the corner while I'm trying to take pictures.)  The chicks are black and white, but the adult birds will be all black with a beautiful iridescent green sheen.  In addition, the hatchery sent a bonus, unknown breed.  We will have to wait and see what it grows up to be!

They should begin laying eggs in about 5 months.

Homegrown Chicks

Here are two of the chicks hatched out by mother Henrietta.  She took the chicks on their first outside tour today, now that we've finally gotten a break from the rain.

New chicks!

We had eight baby chickens hatch last week! They are zooming all around in their enclosure, and Henrietta (the mother hen), is teaching them all about the ways of the chicken. We'll get some pictures posted soon!

We're Expecting (Again)!

Last week, one of our New Hampshire Red hens "went broody," meaning she stayed on the nest to hatch some eggs. Hatching eggs is quite an undertaking, so hens don't do it very often.  (We've only had three hens go broody in two years!) She sits on the nest for three weeks, getting up only once a day to eat and drink.  She flattens her body out to make sure the eggs are covered, and she turns them frequently--not that easy when you don't have hands!

We moved her to a separate location so she wouldn't be disturbed, and sneaked a few more eggs from other hens under her. Adding eggs is a delicate process. We place the eggs in the nest box near her, and she pecks us fiercely as we're doing it to "protect" the eggs she already has under her. (Gloves are recommended for this operation.) After we back away, she uses her beak to push the eggs under her where it's nice and warm. Timing is also an issue. To move the hen to her separate enclosure, we have to relocate her at night so she'll be too sleepy to get upset. The next day we add some additional eggs, once we're sure she's going to stay on the nest. We want all the eggs to hatch around the same time, so we don't add any more after the first day. 

We hope to have some more little chickies running around here in a couple of weeks.

Chicks @ 2 Months

Here are some new pictures of the chicks--they're almost two months old now. 

We think this chick is a hen, due to the small comb.  She's a mix of Barred Rock and ...something. We're calling her "Barred What" or "Not Rock" for now. I love the delicate feather pattern.





Our black chick has developed a lot of red in her head, neck, and breast feathers. Again, small comb size, so it's probably a hen.

We keep some cinder blocks on bare earth, and flip them over to reveal tasty (in a chicken's opinion) worms underneath! Probably a rooster: well-developed comb and wattles, and a hint of iridescent green on the tail. 

Boy or girl?  I'm still not sure!  

Fresh Lima Beans

 

If you think you don't like lima beans, do not count them out until you've had fresh limas. They are tender and delicious--we consider them a totally different food than frozen and canned lima beans from the grocery store.

Cooking is simple:  put the shelled beans in a pot and add enough water to cover them. Boil them until they are tender.  Season with butter, salt, and pepper.

Here's the hard part: the shelling process before cooking.  We sell our lima beans still in the pod, which must be removed to get the beans inside. The fastest method we've found is to cut part of the pod edge off (opposite where the beans are actually attached to the pod). You can determine where to cut by holding the pod up to the light--you don't want to cut the beans inside. Once you've removed some of the edge, use that opening to pry open the pod and retrieve the limas inside. (It's pretty easy once you get the hang of it.) Limas freeze well, too!

Green Zebra Tomatoes

We just discovered this tasty little treat! Every season we select new varieties of tomatoes to test, while keeping our old favorites. One of this year's newbies is the green zebra tomato. When ripe, it has yellow skin with green streaks and spots running down the sides. The inside remains pretty green, reminiscent of a kiwi fruit. The flavor has a little zing to it, faintly lemony, that makes it different (and better, I say) than your average tomato. The tomatoes aren't that large, so you might have to use two to three slices to ensure full coverage on your sandwich.

Bruschetta

No measurements, just whip this up with fresh ingredients!

Topping:
Tomatoes (Our cherry toms are nice and sweet)
Basil
Elephant garlic (It's mild)
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Chop up the tomatoes
Coarsely chop basil (leaves only)
Finely chop garlic (it remains raw, so start small and add more as needed)
Mix up the toms, basil leaves, and garlic in a bowl, and drizzle in the olive oil
Throw in some freshly ground salt and pepper

Bread:
Slice some good bread that will hold up to grilling. (I think our Maison Nord rosemary bread is perfect!) Brush each side with olive oil and toast it on the grill.  It should be a little crunchy, but not blackened.

Assembly:
Spoon topping onto the bread.

Eating:
Hunch over your plate--half the topping will fall off as soon as you take a bite. 

Variations:
Add a little balsamic vinegar to the topping, especially if the tomatoes aren't as sweet
Mix in some cheese, like fresh mozzarella
Kick up the flavor by spreading pesto on the grilled bread before adding the topping
Use yellow tomatoes or a red & yellow mix

Chicks @ 1 month

The chicks are now 1 month old. We're getting a better sense of what their adult feathering will be, and we're checking for comb development, size, and fancy feathering/large tails. Bigger and fancier usually means they're roosters. We have nine chicks altogether, but some are pretty camera shy. 

Not camera shy:  I think this chick was posing for the picture! 

This one is at least part Barred Rock, but the pattern doesn't look 100% Barred Rock to me.

I'm hoping the smallish comb means this is a hen instead of a rooster.

Here's a great example of the awkward teenage phase.  This chicken's wing feathers are developing, but the chick still has lots of the lighter down, giving a scruffy appearance as the new feathers poke through.  This one is at least part New Hampshire Red.

A NH Red rooster breeding with a Barred Rock hen should produce males with the Barred Rock pattern, and black females with some red neck feathers. I think that's what we've got going on here, but I can't be sure. And I'm not a chicken breed expert (yet).

This white one is part Delaware, and has black feathers at the wing tips, which is a Delaware characteristic.

Delaware Heritage Breed Chicken

Many of our chickens are heritage breeds--those that have been largely replaced by commercial breeds in modern farming. The flock includes Delaware, New Hampshire Red, Wyandotte, Sussex, and Barred Rock hens. (We've got three roosters, also.) 

This girl here is a Delaware chicken, a breed considered threatened (fewer than 1,000 breeding birds in the U.S., with seven or fewer primary breeding flocks, and estimated global population less than 5,000) by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. We have some other Delaware hens, and one of our new chicks is feathering out white with a few black accents. The new chick is some kind of Delaware mix, since we don't have any pure Delaware roosters.We'll have wait a little longer to see if the new part-Delaware chick is a rooster or a hen. 

There's more information about heritage breeds at the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy website:  http://albc-usa.org/.

Keepin' Cool

We're not the only ones suffering from all the heat.  It's pretty tough on our chickens, especially when the temperature jumps suddenly with little acclimation time. To help them out, we have a fan on the floor of the barn on the hot days. Some chickens park themselves right in front of it, feathers ruffling in the breeze. We've been adding electrolytes to their water (like Gatorade for poultry), and set up the hose to create a fine spray out in the yard. The chickens take dust baths by digging a hole to get to some cool earth, then stretching out in it. We periodically spray down the yard with water to help keep the soil cooled down. We've also created some lean-to style shelters by stringing up shade cloth, as shown below.

The new chicks are doing well, despite the heat. (In fact, they probably like it.) We just created a separate area of the yard for them so they can explore the outdoors (with mother hen's supervision). Gotta get some new pictures!

Caterpillar Invasion!

When I went to the herb garden to cut parsley, I found this cool caterpillar. Then I saw another. And another! Closer inspection revealed seven caterpillars in the parsley. There are three on this plant alone:  the obvious one, one down at the base of the plant, and another on the left side. I'm not sure what the one on the left is, but the other two are the larvae of swallowtail butterflies. We like swallowtails, but we'd also like to keep our parsley. Fortunately, there's an easy solution for dealing with them:  they will feed on Queen Anne's Lace, a wildflower. I found a container, picked off all the caterpillars, and moved them to some Queen Anne's Lace on our property.

Stuffed Zucchini Boats Recipe

Preparation: 15 minutes; Baking: 30 minutes; Serves: 8

4 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise
2 tsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
3/4 C crumbled feta cheese
1/4 C shredded Swiss cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking dish with vegetable cooking spray. Scoop out the insides of the zucchini, leaving a 1/2-inch shell. Reserve zucchini flesh. Place shells in prepared baking dish. Set aside.

Chop reserved zucchini. In a medium skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and zucchini. Sauté until softened, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, feta and Swiss cheeses, parsley, egg, egg whites, and pepper. Mix well. Add zucchini mixture; toss to combine. Spoon mixture evenly into zucchini shells. Bake until heated through, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tip: Select zucchini about 7 inches long and 2 inches in diameter. Large zucchini will hold the stuffing better and will not curl during baking.

Source: Healthy Meals in Minutes(TM) International Masters Publishers AB

New Arrivals!

As we wrote about a few weeks ago, one of our hens "went broody" and decided to sit on some eggs. We helped by slipping in some extra eggs from other hens. After three weeks, chicks started hatching.  At first we thought we had only three or four chicks, but mother hen was hiding some more chickies underneath her. (You can see how she spreads out her body to keep eggs and babies warm.) We ended up with nine chicks! We have several different breeds of hens and three different roosters, yielding an adorable hodgepodge of chicks: one all black, four black with some white markings, one yellow-white, two reddish, and one reddish with brown markings.  We can't wait to see what their "adult" feathering will be. On the other hand, the babies are so cute that we don't want them to grow up yet. 

Now the chicks are scampering all over the place, and the mother makes a special clucking noise to alert them when she's found food. She'll repeatedly pick up a berry or seed, and then drop it to tell the chicks it is something good to eat. If she feels threatened (like when we're cleaning out their coop), she calls the chicks. They run over and hide underneath her for safety. During nap time, the chicks sleep in the hay, sometimes cuddled up next to each other or against mama. One chick likes to climb up and sleep on the mother's back. (This only occurs when I don't have my camera.)

Giddy up!

Check out the spurs on Big Red, our alpha rooster! He hasn't been causing harm to himself or others with them, so we'll let them be for now. I did find numerous suggestions on the Internet about how to trim a rooster's spurs. Unfortunately, they all start with: "Pick up your rooster..."

Big Red is NOT the cuddly type.

Kids Creativity Workshop (And Free Cookies!)

Green Spring Station is sponsoring a special children's event during the farmer's market (see details below).  In support of this event, we'll be offering free cookies and flowers to kids during this week's market.
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Kids Creativity Workshop Saturday, June 26, 2-5pm Inside the station near Stone Mill Bakery and Wee Chic Enjoy an afternoon of creativity as Green Spring Station welcomes the talents of Zoll Studio of Fine Art, Little Hands Cookie Co. and Imagine Speech for art and cooking classes and language games for children of all ages.  The first 25 kids for the cooking class will receive a complimentary chef's hat.  All participating children will take home a completed art masterpiece and decorated cookies!  And if that's not enough to help beat the heat head over to The Nut Farm and Creamery for tasty ice cream.  From 2-5pm enjoy buy one get one half off any ice cream treat! http://www.greenspringstation.com/

Coming Soon (to a market near you)

This is one of the transitional periods on the farm.  The cool weather crops (such as spinach) can't tolerate the heat or are simply finished their growing season (like sugar snap peas), but the warm weather crops haven't really started producing yet. We are currently growing a large selection of produce using sustainable methods. The small, green tomatoes tell us that fresh, red tomatoes are not too far away. The bean plants have flowers that will be forming green beans and wax beans before we know it. We pick a few ripe raspberries daily--not enough to sell, so we're forced to eat those ourselves.

In the coming weeks, we'll have:

• Beans (green, wax, and lima)
• Summer squash (yellow, patty pan, zucchini)
• Tomatoes (many varieties, including several heirloom types)
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Basil and cilantro
• Okra
• Peppers
• And more!

Arugula and most types of lettuce are sensitive to the heat, so they divert their energy to making flowers and seeds in the hot weather. This is called "bolting," and it causes a bitter taste in the leaves. We are experimenting with a few techniques to extend the growing season. We have some new raised beds in a shady area, where the temperature is a few degrees cooler. We also continually plant seeds, in hopes that we'll have a chance to harvest the young plants before they bolt. Availability of lettuce and arugula will probably fluctuate throughout the season.

A Tree Falls in Joppa

Did we seem a little disorganized at last Saturday's market? We had just started picking produce for the market when a storm--complete with torrential rain, hail, and high winds--hit us on Friday night. We could see out the window that a beautiful, huge oak from the front yard was knocked over. The electric went out. After the short storm, we headed out to survey the damage. The oak had taken out tree limbs from two other trees, some fencing, and a couple of blueberry bushes. Tree limbs were down everywhere. A pine tree had fallen over, its roots forcing a section of fence into the air.

Q: How did a log get into the garage?
A: Through the roof!

Fortunately, the crops seem OK. Some plants got a little beat up, but most have recovered.

We're expecting!

One of our Barred Rock hens has gone broody. This means she is sitting on the nest, trying to hatch some eggs. We've helped her (we hope) by moving her to a separate area for some peace and quiet. Some hens are quite determined to use a certain nest box, even if there's already a chicken in it. Our broody hen would be pestered all the time by other hens trying to get in there, too! (This should not give the impression that there aren't enough nest boxes--hens do this even though there are numerous other boxes available. Chickens are not known as great thinkers.)

We try not to get our hopes up, since this is only the second hen to try hatching eggs. Many things can happen to thwart the process, such as unfertilized eggs, damaged eggs, a hen just giving up... We tucked in a few extra eggs from other hens in hopes that will increase the chance of getting chickies. It takes about three weeks for the eggs to hatch. Here's hoping for some new additions to the flock!

Cut Herbs by Special Order

We're testing a cut herb special order system. We'll still have the popular stuff--thyme, oregano, catnip, and dill--on a regular basis. Other herbs aren't as abundant, so we'll bring them as requested by special order. Please send us an e-mail if you'd like to order any of these herbs:

Rosemary
Sage
French tarragon
Lavender
Chives

We'll also have basil, parsley, and cilantro later in the season--we'll update the list as they become available.

Herb bunches are $1 each, or three bunches for $2.50 (mix-n-match).

May is National Strawberry Month

May is National Strawberry Month, and May 20th is Pick Strawberries Day. We did not forget to celebrate, and we unofficially declared a companion holiday: Eat Strawberries Night! We'll pick more strawberries for Saturday's market at Green Spring. The strawberries are just starting to come in, so availability will be limited.

Now that it's strawberry season, we expect to be making strawberry jam in the near future. Yum!

Our old friends are returning for another year! It's great to walk around the farm and rediscover treasures that have been dormant over the winter. One of our favorites is clematis: it produces astonishing flowers in purples and pinks.

One of the black-eyed susans put out a single flower--way ahead of schedule!

Special Event: STYLE at the Station (April 29th)

We'll be at Green Spring Station this Thursday evening (April 29th) for a special event, STYLE at the Station. The event, presented by STYLE Magazine and Green Spring Station, will feature a book signing for Dishing up Maryland, 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay, at 5:00.

A farmer's market will be held a the same time, with a theme of Going Local. We'll have fresh-baked breads, eggs from our free-range chickens, asparagus, lettuce mix, spring onions, cut and potted herbs, potted flowers...

Hope to see you there!

We'll also be at Green Spring Station this Saturday (May 1st) from 1:00 to 3:00.

Rocky the Rooster

Rocky (so named because he is a Barred Rock) was an unexpected addition to our chicken family. We were supposed to get all hens, but someone slipped up at the hatchery. We're glad to have him anyway! Well, maybe the other two roosters aren't exactly thrilled, since Rocky is younger AND bigger.

All the chickens have been enjoying their newly expanded yard, which is full of grass and bugs and unexplored territory.

From baby to rooster: Starbuck

Our homegrown chicks are all grown up! After a rough-looking "teenager" phase, Starbuck transformed into a beautiful rooster with an iridescent green tail.

Great Eggspectations

We've declared a new egg size: the SuperJumbo. Our youngest hens just started laying eggs in March. While most of the eggs are size small or peewee, we occasionally get something WAY more ambitious--they are usually double-yolkers. A peewee egg averages 35 g and a jumbo is about 71 g. Our "SuperJumbo" weighed in at 82 g!