Red Fern Farm Blog
Hello friends,
Wow, can I just keep this weather for the rest of the summer? It feels more like late September than late May! I really hope that y'all will be able to get outside this Memorial Day weekend and enjoy what are sure to be a few absolutely marvelous days. This kind of weather also means that there is absolutely zero chance of the market getting rained out again tomorrow!
We're in the final countdown to the CFSA Upstate Farm Tour and I'm so excited that the herbs are going to be putting on an excellent show for this year's tour. Yesterday, while I was giving some Furman students a tour I saw that the St. John's Wort has begun to bloom! These second-year plants are blooming for the first time and I've been looking forward to infusing and tincturing those beautiful yellow buds. St. John's Wort is a great nervine (good for the nervous system) and vulnerary (good for the skin), though these days it gets pigeon-holed as "that herb for depression." My primary interest lies in its ability to alleviate nerve and muscle pain when used topically, because I get into a lot of trouble of that nature! (If all goes well, it may make an appearance in a future salve...)
In addition to the St. John's Wort, the yarrow and echinacea are blooming, and the anise hyssop is gearing up for its own show. I'm bringing some bunches of the anise hyssop--a wonderful herb native to North America--to the market this week if anyone is interested in brewing up a tea that is cooling and soothing to the stomach! (Probably not a bad tea to have on hand in case anyone overindulges during a holiday barbeque...) It would also be delicious infused in a little bit of simple syrup and drizzled over ripe, local strawberries. Yum!
And speaking of herb teas...for my tulsi fans, I'll have potted plants available this week so you can grow your own! Our production plants are going in the ground next week, so it'll be a little while before I can bring fresh bunches of tulsi to market, but with a plant you can have your own consistent and prolific supply even sooner...
So let's make up for some lost time tomorrow!
Here's what we'll have at the market this week:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, tarragon, Italian parsley, dill, spearmint, peppermint, oregano, anise hyssop, lemon balm
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Starter Plants:
Rosemary, thyme, peppermint, spearmint, lovage, garlic chives, Genovese basil, Thai basil, purple basil, tulsi, lemon balm
See you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
It seems that summer is here to stay this time! Now if only we could get some rain from a passing thunderstorm this weekend, that would be great. The warm-weather herbs are finally starting to put on some growth, though my hibiscus still hasn't forgiven me for giving it such an early start and then forcing it to languish in the cold...But the others, like the tulsi, lemongrass, and spilanthes, have bounced back nicely, and the lavender plants I put in when I re-did the beds in front of the house last fall are positively loaded with growing flower spikes. It should be a good year for lavender!I wanted to remind y'all that I'll be teaching a class at the Grain Loft in Greer this coming Tuesday, May 21st: "Herbal Sauces, Dips, and Spreads" from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. We'll cover a nice array of easy recipes that are perfect for using up the fresh-cut herbs you get at the market or have growing in your garden. There will be lots of smelling and tasting involved, so it'll be a fun way to spend a Tuesday night! This is absolutely the class for you if you find yourself overwhelmed with an abundance of fresh herbs during the summer, or if you're overwhelmed in the sense that you just aren't certain where to begin with herbs!
And of course we're just two (all too) short weeks away from the CFSA Upstate Farm Tour. (Time to print out my infamous "Farm Tour Prep List of Doom...") The tour is June 1st and 2nd from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It's always a lot of fun, so we hope you'll join us and other sustainable farms in the Upstate as we showcase our work! You can purchase tickets online and get more information at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association website. We will also have tickets available for purchase and free farm tour directories at our booth at the market, so stop on by and pick one up.
Here's what we'll have at the market this week:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, tarragon, Italian parsley, dill, spearmint, peppermint, oregano
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Starter Plants:
Rosemary, thyme, Italian parsley, curly parsley, peppermint, spearmint, lovage, garlic chives, Genovese basil, Thai basil, purple basil
See you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
Finally, some warmth! (I can't believe I just said that...usually by this time of year I'm wishing for cooler weather to return.) A week has made a big difference in my mobility and I was able to get back out in the garden this week. There are a whole lot of weeds to tackle after the big rains, and a sizeable planting backlog, but I'm glad to be back in action!
As the weather continues to warm, we're starting to think about shearing. Because of the heavy lanolin content in raw fleece, we have to wait until night temperatures are pretty warm before we can schedule our shearers to come down and take care of our 75+ head flock. In cold weather the lanolin solidifies and gums up the shears, but in warm weather it's liquid and helps grease the blades during shearing for nice, even passes. Shearing day is probably the dirtiest and most exhausting day of our entire year, but the sheep sure are happy to not have to carry around all that heavy wool during the summer!
Because of the rain and cool temps, the fresh-cut herbs really are magnificent right now. We've been enjoying fresh tarragon and chives with egg salad, fresh lemon balm tea, and lots of fresh chopped parsley with spaghetti! (I really can't overstate just how fresh these herbs are.)
We will have tomato plants again this week but this will likely be their last trip to the market so if you need to snag a few more heirlooms to fill in your garden plan, now's your chance!
Here's what we'll have at the market this week:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, tarragon, Italian parsley, dill, lemon balm, spearmint, peppermint, oregano
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Starter Plants:
Tomatoes (Green Zebra, Arkansas Traveler, Juliet, Yellow Pear, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, Sungold, and Aunt Ginny's), rosemary, thyme, Italian parsley, curly parsley, peppermint, spearmint, Egyptian walking onions, garlic chives
Also, here are a few tidbits about upcoming events--if you have any questions, feel free to email me!
Herb Classes at the Grain Loft:
I'll be teaching a class at the Grain Loft in Greer in a few weeks: "Herbal Sauces, Dips, and Spreads" on the 21st. We'll cover a nice array of easy recipes that are perfect for using up the fresh-cut herbs you get at the market or have growing in your garden. There will be lots of smelling and tasting involved, so it'll be a fun way to spend a Tuesday night!
CFSA Upstate Farm Tour:
We will be a stop on the CFSA Upstate Farm Tour again this year! The tour is June 1st and 2nd from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It's always a lot of fun, so we hope you'll join us and other sustainable farms in the Upstate as we showcase our work! You can purchase tickets online and get more information at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association website. We will also have tickets available for purchase and free farm tour directories at our booth at the market, so stop on by and pick one up.
See you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
Well, this is it: the first market of the 2013 season! For those of you who are new to the list, the TD Saturday Market in downtown Greenville begins in the morning, kicking off our fifth year as a vendor. Please note that the market time has changed--it now runs 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The plant sale a few weeks ago was a rousing success, so a big "thank you!" goes to all of you who attended. We'll definitely be doing it again next year. And for those of you who missed out, we will have lots of tomato plants available at the market tomorrow as well as some culinary and medicinal herbs.
It seems we're having something of a perpetual spring and while it's certainly out of the ordinary, I've been very glad for it this past week and a half as I deal with the aftermath of a herniated disk. I was confined to bed for five days (which seemed like an eternity, especially during this part of the season) but the rain and cool temperatures helped but the brakes on just about everything but the weeds while I recovered. I'm not really 100% yet, but I was well enough today to harvest some amazing fresh-cut herbs for y'all!
The market will be held tomorrow rain or shine, so please come on out for the opening day! Hopefully the rain will wait until the afternoon and we'll have a lovely morning for shopping.
Here's what we'll have at the market this week:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, tarragon, Italian parsley, dill, lemon balm, spearmint, peppermint, oregano
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Starter Plants:
Tomatoes (Green Zebra, Arkansas Traveler, Juliet, Yellow Pear, San Marzano, Cherokee Purple, Mortgage Lifter, Sungold, Aunt Ginny's, and Black Krim), rosemary, thyme, Italian parsley, curly parsley, peppermint, spearmint, valerian, nettles
Also, here are a few tidbits about upcoming events--if you have any questions, feel free to email me!
Herb Classes at the Grain Loft:
I'll be teaching two classes at the Grain Loft in Duncan during the month of May: "Growing Herbs in Containers" on the 11th and "Herbal Sauces, Dips, and Spreads" on the 21st. These are going to be geared towards beginners, so if you want to learn about growing and cooking with herbs but have been waiting for just the right opportunity to start, this is it!
CFSA Upstate Farm Tour:
We will be a stop on the CFSA Upstate Farm Tour again this year! The tour is June 1st and 2nd from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. It's always a lot of fun, so we hope you'll join us and other sustainable farms in the Upstate as we showcase our work! You can purchase tickets online and get more information at the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association website. We will also have tickets available for purchase and free farm tour directories at our booth at the market, so stop on by and pick one up.
See you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
Now that it's warmed up a bit things are growing like crazy in the greenhouse and garden! We're definitely in the swing of things here on the farm, and since y'all are no doubt feeling the stirrings of spring as well I wanted to let you know about some upcoming events.
First up is our Spring Plant Sale & Market Day on April 13th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.! We have SO MANY PLANTS (seriously, I'm running out of space in the greenhouse and hoop house) for y'all to choose from: lots of our amazing heirloom tomato starts; a wide variety of culinary and medicinal herbs; and squash, melon, and cucumber starts. During the sale we will also have a few tables set up with our usual market goods and a few new goodies. Old favorites like our herbed focaccia and lavender-mint shortbread will be available, along with dream pillows, salves, and my mom's newest endeavor, all-natural soaps. If you'd like to see/share the flyer for the event, visit our facebook page here (http://www.facebook.com/redfernfarm.sc). This is your chance to get a jump on the regular market season!
The weekend after the plant sale, we're offering a class called "Maximizing Your Microclimates." This is one of my favorite subjects and it's so crucial to success with culinary and medicinal herbs in your garden! (Veggies, too, if you're dealing with a shady yard.) The class will be from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 20th and the cost is $40. Check out the full description and agenda on our website (http://www.redfernfarms.com/2013-classes).
Enjoy this beautiful weather and we hope to see y'all soon!
Warmest regards,
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Well, March is here and I'm wondering where the time has flown. I was bad about blogging last year, choosing instead to post our market updates here in lieu of longer missives. It was a busy year, though--my first season full-time on the farm, so I had a lot of things on my plate!
I still have a full plate but am resolved to get back in the habit of blogging. I write at least 750 words a day for personal purposes, so it seems a little silly to say I don't have time to blog. I'll just be sneaky about it and count the words I write here towards my total for the day! I post enough photos via Instagram on our facebook page now that I'll stick with mostly text here. That way you're more likely to get more blog posts!
Speaking of writing, if you have a chance to check out the new issue of edible Upcountry, you can find an article inside written by yours truly and photographed by the stellar Brian Kelley ("Spring Tonics," Spring 2013). He really did the herbs justice; they look vibrant and a little bit otherworldly, which is a good way to describe spring in general. I wrote about spring tonics--specifically dandelion, chickweed, and nettle which are three of my favorites. Now is definitely the time to keep an eye out for them and start including them in your diet. But do be sure that you're not harvesting these plants in a place where they've been exposed to herbicides!
Farm life has been busy since about mid-January, but the advent of March has ratcheted up the pressure exponentially. Less than two months til the market season starts...Spring is the season for frenetic activity and desperate (and hopefully joyful) growth, though, so I'm doing my best to go with the flow and enjoy myself. It's hard not to smile when I see the perennials emerging from their winter dormancy. They're full of promise and so is the season ahead.
For today, though, we have some lingering cold so we're taking the opportunity to have one of our last fires in the hearth until next winter. Maybe a frothy mug of hot chocolate is in the offing as well. I know all too soon we'll be drowning in plant starts and potting soil--the greenhouse is already chock-full of seedlings wanting and needing to be potted up--so I'll enjoy these remaining wintry nights before we go full tilt.
Hello friends,
Well, this is it: the last market of the 2012 season. It's the date we work towards all summer, but I have to admit I was getting a little maudlin this afternoon at the thought of not seeing some of your familiar faces until next May. I might not make it to the market myself tomorrow, since someone has to be ready to run to the post office when our new baby chicks arrive in the mail (hopefully) early in the morning. If they get here early enough, though, I'm definitely going to try to get to the booth before the market wraps up. (Also, if you're headed to the CFSA Sustainable Agriculture Conference up Main St. at the Hyatt, I will definitely be there from 2:30 to 4 p.m. helping out with a cooking with local ingredients workshop, so come say hi! We'll be at some other events this fall and winter, so you never know where else I might pop up...)
This really has been a tremendous season. October 1st marked the completion of my first year full-time on the farm--going full-time on the farm was something I'd worked towards since 2007, and it's been a great start. I hope I will have decades more. We've had some great successes and a few failures, but I have learned so much this year and I feel blessed to have been able to share it with y'all. I'm very, very excited for next season, because I have so many ideas for making our existing offerings better and bringing new things to the table!
One of the biggest things I'll be working on this winter is next season's class schedule. It didn't quite work out this fall to pull some on-farm workshops together, but it is extremely high on my priority list for next year. (And a special shout-out to Teresa, whose encouragement to get some classes going has always kept it in my mind.) If you have certain topics you would like to see classes on (particularly related to growing herbs, cooking with herbs, or some introductory herbalism topics, but also regarding basic gardening/farming, fiber arts, or other things you're interested in) please do let me know! I love hearing from y'all, because you're what keeps me here on the farm in more ways than one!
For those of you who have signed up for our off-season mailing list, we'll be seeing more of each other soon! Expect an email in mid-November. I hope that some of you will also be able to come for a little on-farm holiday market we're planning in December. And for those of you who I might not see until next year at the market, I hope you will have a marvelous fall, a restful winter, and a holiday season filled with love and light.
Here's what we'll have at the market in the morning:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, tarragon, flat-leaf parsley, sorrel, thyme, spearmint
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, lemon-thyme cookies, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Hope to see you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
What a windy fall day! The weather has been so lovely this week, and the leaves are starting to fall in earnest. Hard to believe this is the penultimate week of the market!
A little bit of business first...during the off-season, we're going to be taking orders and doing some baking days (particularly around Thanksgiving and Christmas) so that those of you who are really hooked on the baked goods don't have to go six months without them! We're going to be using a separate mailing list to send out information about that after the market ends, since not everyone on this primary list is local and/or interested in the baked goods. So if you would like to be notified of these off-season opportunities, please email me and I'll include you on the secondary mailing list as well.
(We're also open to custom baking orders at any point during the off-season, so if you know exactly what you want and when you want it, just get in touch and we can hammer out the details.)
As for the market tomorrow...if you're there between 10:30 and 11:15, be sure to stop by the cooking demonstration stage in the center of the market because I'll be there! I'll be demonstrating two great fall recipes--a parsley pesto and a garlic-thyme oxymel. The first is a great way to keep making pesto even though the season for basil is over now; the second is a delicious medicinal food that can be taken for winter coughs and colds or used at any time as a tangy salad dressing. Both are super easy to make, and packed full of herbal goodness. I'll have recipe cards as well as samples of each, so come by and give them a taste! (If I have time, I may even brew up a bit of warming herbal tea...)
Here's what we'll have at the market in the morning:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, flat-leaf parsley, sorrel, thyme, spearmint
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, lemon-thyme cookies, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Hope to see you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
Wow, being away from the farm for the better part of two weeks results in LOTS to talk about! I'll try not to ramble too much while I hit the highlights.
It's hard to believe that there are only three markets left in the season! Do make note that there will be no market next Saturday, October 13 due to Fall for Greenville, but you should still come downtown that weekend and enjoy this special event. We always view the end of the market season with mixed feelings: sadness that it will soon be coming to an end, and gladness that the seasons are changing and there is a period of rest ahead. We have had an amazing season thanks to y'all! Add to that the fact that I've come back from Asheville full of new information and ideas, and I'm so excited to spend the winter working on lots of projects and products that will make the farm and our offerings even better.
A little about Asheville...it was intense! There were 11 other students in the class with me, and we had a different instructor nearly every day. It was a wonderful way to be exposed to different viewpoints among practicing herbalists, and each one had a different approach to herbalism and area of expertise. After the first few days of class, I seriously thought my brain would melt under the stress--but it was a good kind of stress. Most of the sessions were organized by system (digestive, circulatory, respiratory, etc.), with six hours of botany classes at the NC Botanical Garden and several sessions on medicine making and other topics. We all took copious amounts of notes (I managed 60 pages myself), tasted a lot of tinctures and teas, and had it drilled into our heads that if you only ever take one herb in your entire life, it should probably be nettles.
Coming from a grower's perspective, one of my favorite parts of the class was the botany section. Herbs are amazing in pretty much every form, but there's something really special about encountering them growing in their native habitat. We were lucky to see at-risk herbs like wild yam, black cohosh, partridgeberry, spikenard, lobelia, and stone root, along with much more common ones like goldenrod, Joe-Pye weed, jewelweed, witch hazel, mountain mint, sassafrass, and more. When I returned to the farm on Wednesday, it was like seeing with new eyes--not only with my regular culinary herbs that are very familiar at this point, but also with the myriad plants that exist on the margins and inside our woods. Recognizing goldenrod and smartweed growing wild here on the farm, just like they did in the botanical garden, is like running into an old friend on the street. It's a great feeling.
While I was gone, you may have seen a great article about agricultural entrepreneurship in the Greenville News--many thanks to Lillia Callum-Penso for featuring our farm! It's an excellent article, so if you haven't seen it yet, check it out online (http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20120929/BUSINESS/309290013/Upstate-entrepreneurs-turn-small-farms-into-cash-cows).
Here's what we'll have at the market in the morning:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, thyme, Genovese basil, oregano
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve, dream pillows
Hope to see you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
Hello friends,
Well, tomorrow is the first day of September (finally!) but August is making us pay for it before reliquishing its grasp: this is the first really HOT Friday we've had in a while, so market prep has been more than a little uncomfortable today! But that's okay--we did get a little rain this week (0.25") so it's not as bad as it could be.
The basil and parsley are still thriving, although the parsley is being beseiged by swallowtail butterfly larvae. (It's hard to begrudge them their meals, though, since they do provide such beauty as butterflies...) I think we'll have the most cut basil we've ever had in a single day tomorrow, and it's just gorgeous once again, so come on out and get some! We managed to sell out of the basil last week thanks to y'all, and we'd love to have a repeat performance. Of course we will have plenty of focaccia and shortbread as usual, along with other goodies.
I put in a late planting of calendula this week as an experiment--typically, we plant it early in the spring and harvest and dry the flowers through about midsummer before the heat gets too much for it to handle. (And I did dry quite a lot of it so far this year--more than two gallons!) But calendula is really a cool-weather plant, and I'm hoping to get a second harvest to refill my jars for winter salve-making. I also have half a mind to try some natural dyeing this fall--calendula is not only a natural food coloring often used to lend color to soups and desserts, but also a natural fiber dye. Fresh calendula blossoms can be harvested for the dye bath at any point, but some of our dye books suggest that frostbitten blossoms yield the most vibrant color. I'd like to try it out...
Of course, in addition to being a dye, calendula is also an amazing vulnerary, or wound-healing herb. If you've ever grown calendula, you likely already know how sticky the undersides of the blossoms can be! But that stickiness is good medicine--that resin is what is healing to the skin. (It's also healing to the gastrointestinal tract when the dried flowers are used in teas!) Calendula has become my go-to herb for cuts since it's safe to use on open wounds. And as with foods and fibers, calendula lends its beautiful yellow-orange color to the infused oil that goes into my salves. It's good stuff, and is so easy to grow, so it's a great plant to start with if you're looking to learn how to grow and use your own medicinal herbs.
Here's what we'll have at the market in the morning:
Fresh-Cut Herbs:
Chives, sorrel, flat-leaf parsley, rosemary, thyme, tulsi, Genovese basil
Baked Goods & Herbal Products:
Lavender-mint shortbread, herbed focaccia bread, "Farm Hands" herbal salve
Produce:
Yellow onions, green onions
Hope to see you in the morning!
Meredith Mizell
Farm Manager
Red Fern Farm
