Onions and Leeks in the Dome!

January,6,2012
Today we seeded onions and leeks! We want to share all the varieties with you.
We seeded:
New York Early
White Wing
Clear Dawn
Copra F1
Walla Walla
Yellow of Purma
Red Long Tropez
Candy F1
Borrettana Cippoloni
Jaune Paille Des Vertus
Bronze D' Amposta
Alisa Craig
Stuttgarter
Flat of Italy
Violet de Galmi
Bianca Di Maggio
Australian Brown
Purplette
Pearl Drop
Pacific Pearl
Gold Coin
Red Marble
Leeks:
Bleu de Solaise
King Richard
Giant Mussel Burgh
Prizetaker
Lincoln
Our Favorite is Violet Di Galmi from Southeast Niger. It has been grown for over 100 years! It has a purple-pinkish color to it and a bit flat in shape. We are very excited about it and we hope we can harvest many of them:)We grew this variety in Mississippi and we really enjoyed them. We are going to give them a shot in Colorado!!!! If anyone has onion recipes please email us and share them.

New Managers at Buckhorn Gardens!

Hey all! We are so excited to be here at Buckhorn Gardens. We arrived two weeks ago to take over. This week will be our third CSA pick-up for the winter! A big thanks to Breigh for all she has done for the Gardens. She will be missed but Idaho is lucky to have such an energetic person. Also, a big thanks to Buckhorn Mountain Ranch for enabling us to farm such beautiful land. We will be updating this blog weekly now to help share the activities of the gardens. We cannot wait to meet all of the customers that have supported Buckhorn Gardens thus far. We would like to give everyone a little bit of biographical information about the farmer's in residence!

HORTON: I was born in the great state of Mississippi in 1982, in Tupelo, the lovely home town of the one and only Elvis Presely. During my youth I grew up in Mississippi and Alabama and always enjoyed the home-cooking out of my grandpa's garden. I went to Mississippi State University where I obtained a degree in Banking & Financing. During my last summer of school a group of friends and I lived in Edwards, Colorado. After finally graduating school I moved back out to Colorado and landed in Telluride. I worked at a few different places in town but my main job was at Allred's Restaurant. It was at this nice restaurant where I gained a new respect for good food. At the same time I was also gaining a new found respect for mother nature and the way we humans are living on this planet. While working at Allred's I met a co-worker named Darren Cloud. Many long post-work discussions later, we decided it would be good idea for me to come visit Buckhorn gardens on our days off to help his girlfriend, Breigh. Before I knew it, I was spending all my down-time out at Buckhorn getting my hands dirty! By the end of that first Summer at Buckhorn, I had convinced myself that i needed to go back to school and further my education in agricultural ecology/ soil science. I spent two years at CSU, where I was so lucky to meet my love, Genevieve. During this education stint I spent one summer coming back to Buckhorn to be a full-time intern, and the second summer as a full-time employee on CSU's C.S.A. research farm. Also, while I was attending school I worked for Dr. Keith Paustian at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab and Dr. Frank Stonaker at the Specialty Crop Farm. After these two years of school and an exhausted student loan account, Genevieve and I thought it would be a great idea to move to some family land in Mississippi and start our own farm! And we did! For two years we ran a 25 member CSA, Isis Gardens. We started this farm from absolute scratch on five acres of pasture behind my great grandmother's house. The soil had never been cultivated, so it was challenging to say the least. All of our financing came from our community supported agriculture members and somehow we made it work. But after two grueling and pleasurable years we got a call from a friend (Breigh) saying her time was up at Buckhorn and she was moving to the north, Idaho that is. Breigh explained that there might be an opportunity for us to come back to Colorado and take over the great gardens that she had created. Of course this threw us for a gigantic loop, but after many sleepless nights we decided that we should pursue this opportunity to the fullest. After bringing our CSA to a close in Mississippi and painstakingly shutting down the farm we had built, we made the move early December 2011. With snow covered everything we have taken over a bustling CSA/market farm in the start of a winter CSA season......We are really looking forward to meeting everyone that has supported this farm in the past and we hope to see your continued support for fresh, local, and natural food!

Genevieve: HEY! I was born and raised in Canton, Ohio. I moved to Colorado my senior year of high school to au pair for a family in Edwards. After my time in Edwards I moved back to Ohio to train for triathlons, as I was part of the Jr. National Triathlon team for a few years. When I turned eighteen I decided to go to college in Westerville, Ohio. I studied at Otterbein University for one year and decided that I wanted to go back to Colorado for good. I enrolled myself at Colorado State University where I studied International Relations and Medieval History. While in college I took a couple of semesters off to study art history/wine in Florence, Italy. I also took time off school to work at the Basile vineyard in Cinigiano, Italy. I found my true love for agriculture in Cinigiano where I decided that growing food was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I met Horton in college at Colorado State University. We both share the dream to become more sustainable as well as living a life where making things and watching growth is part of our everyday living. We moved to Mississippi in 2010 where we started a small CSA farm on Horton’s great grandparents land. While in Mississippi, I was working part time teaching kids along the autism spectrum. Horton and I were able to get many of the kids I worked with out to our farm where they could be a part of their food. We are now here at Buckhorn Gardens with exorbitant amounts of energy to make a healthier environment around us. We cannot wait to be more involved with the community and share our very lucky fortune of having such beautiful land to grow food on.

Winter at Buckhorn

Once again vegetables are thriving here at Buckhorn!

The nights have been cold, but we at Buckhorn Gardens are still growing food, and now we are back to blogging as well! The herbicide contamination made for a difficult summer. Test came back positive that milestone, created by the DOW chemical company (makers of all those wonderful chemicals from agent orange to napalm and the worlds largest maker of plastics) was the culprit.

Fortunately for us here at Buckhorn, the herbicide exposure was through wind drift (verses brought in through compost). It took about 70 days for the chemical to break down sufficiently so that our crops could again begin to flourish. It was too late for most of our tomato, legumes, potato, and pepper crops, and anything we had seeded within that 70 day period, but we were able to produce enough greens, squash, leeks, kohlrabi, bok choi, eggplants, and tomatillos to continue participating in our local farmers' markets. We also produced enough to put away canned goods for the winter. Lots of salsas, pickles, beets, apples sauces, jams, and of course fermented foods. It was also a great season for mushrooms so we were able to dry lots of hawk wings and porcinis, we also froze many chantrelles.

Getting ready to make some pickles

The beginnings of tomato sauce

An abundant mushroom harvest

We were also able to produce and store enough winter squash and garlic to provide the Winter CSA members. This year the Winter CSA runs for sixteen weeks from December through March. Shares include large bags of our salad mix every week, along with turnips, radishes, celeriac, chard, bok choi, leeks, herbs, head lettuce, collards, kohlrabi, and more. Many thanks to Straw Hat Farms and Circle A Garden for supplying us with organic potatoes and parsnips since these were crops we lost due to the herbicide. We are so fortunate to have these great neighboring farms!

Alyssa watering scorpio this winter.

Snow helps insulate the sides of high tunnels, however it can also block the sunlight when the sun is low in the horizon.

The last two nights have been our coldest yet here on the farm at 14 and 15 below zero. If you make it out to the farm during the day, be sure to take a peek inside the high tunnels -- there's nothing nicer than seeing the rows of greens standing happy and healthy despite the frigid temperatures. We love working in the greenhouses on these sunny, cold days, so come on up and say hi!

Herbicide Drift

Summer has arrived here on the farm. We've been sweating buckets out in the fields, and normally we would be harvesting tomatoes, peppers and potatoes right about now. Unfortunately, our hot-season bounty will be considerably lighter this year, as we believe many of our crops were contaminated with herbicide drift.

About a month ago, we started noticing that the leaves on our tomatoes and potatoes were curling inward. This is one of the signs of a virus known as curly top, so, with much sadness, we pulled up the affected plants. Still, something seemed fishy; curly top usually doesn't show up this early in the season, and it seemed weird that it was spreading so rapidly. So Breigh sent in a few plants to be tested. When the tests came back negative and two soil scientists said the plants looked like they had chemical residue, we started doing some heavy detective work.

It turns out the ranch next door sprays an herbicide called Milestone to control thistle in the pastures that surround the farm. They use hand sprayers and only spray targeted plants, but it's been extremely windy this year, and we believe the herbicide drifted onto our farm. The active ingredient in Milestone, aminopyralid, is a hormonal herbicide that affects broad-leaf plants. It is effective in extremely small concentrations, and tomatoes, potatoes, beans and peppers are especially susceptible. The herbicide also shows up in manure of cattle who have eaten sprayed plants, and aminopyralid is released when the manure is dug into the soil and microorganisms start to break it down. The chemical can then prevent seed germination.

We have pulled up all of the plants that showed signs of contamination, but since we do use manure from the ranch, the question now is whether our soil is contaminated as well. We have sent plant and soil samples in for testing and we are anxiously awaiting the results. Until then, there is a little good news. Studies have found that aminopyralid is not metabolized by humans (that's why it shows up in manure -- it goes right through). It is also not present in milk or eggs of animals that eat contaminated plants.

It's scary that this could happen here at Buckhorn, where we thought we were part of such a safe, closed system. If you care about healthy, chemical-free food, spread the word. This particular herbicide was banned for a period in England and is currently illegal in the state of New York. There is no reason we should be using it here in Colorado. I just talked to a friend of mine who is spending the summer on a ranch in Montana. Her farm rents out goats to graze pastures and take care of thistle. No chemicals needed.

We'll touch base again when we get our test results back. On a happier note, some of us interns made enormous quantities of pesto yesterday with of our genovese basil. At least we have a couple summery crops on the farm. Here's our recipe:

- 1 clove garlic

- 1 large handful pinenuts (or you can use almonds or walnuts)

- pinch of salt

- splash of lemon juice

- zest of half a lemon

- about 2 cups of basil leaves

- olive oil

Process the garlic and the nuts in the food processor until ground up. Add the salt, the basil the lemon juice and the lemon zest and process again. While the food processor is running, add the olive oil until you reach the consistency you like. Enjoy!

June Hailstorm

Saturday's hailstorm put a bit of a damper on the Montrose Farmers' Market, but up at the farm it was fifteen minutes of pure panic! Breigh, Abby, and I were prepping the cucumber bed when we heard the storm coming. We wondered aloud why it was unusually noisy, then took off toward the dome at a full sprint as we dodged the mothball-sized hail. It wasn't enough to get ourselves under cover though -- we had to keep going out in the storm, braving the hail to bring in all the pepper and melon starts sitting outside to harden off. After the storm passed and our adrenaline rushes subsided, we headed outside to survey the damage to our crops outside. The chard, cabbage, and broccoli were hit the hardest, with some holes poked in their large leaves, but everything seems to have made it through ok. Then, to soothe our frazzled nerves, Abby and I went home to make delicious farm-fresh kimchi! You can read about our food adventure on Abby's blog.

Despite the unpredictable weather, we managed to have a productive week of planting. After much weeding, we transplanted eggplant, summer squash, winter squash, pickling and slicing cucumbers, over a hundred tomato plants, and five kinds of basil. We've all been working long hours to get all the crops in as soon as possible, but the days of planting rows and rows of vegetables are some of the most satisfying. Many thanks to CSA member Gail for coming out to plant summer squash! We're planning a big final push to get everything weeded and planted on Saturday, so this weekend would be a great time to come out and get your work day in.

A warm welcome to our fourth full-time intern, Mindy! Mindy is a Ridgway native who has been volunteering on weekends for over a month. We're so glad to have her around all the time!

The Telluride Farmers' Market Kicked off last week, and we had a great time. We sold out of all our root crops, and had to pick more beets, carrots, and turnips to have enough for the Montrose market. We'll be there every Friday, so come check out the market and pick up some extra treats to supplement your CSA share. All of the interns will rotate working at Telluride, so you'll have a chance to meet the whole Buckhorn crew!

Now that the days are so hot, we've been having lots of salad for farm lunches. Here's a quick and easy salad recipe using our root crops and herbs. Items available in this week's share are in bold. Enjoy!

Beet and Radish Salad

8 small beets or 2 medium beets

8 radishes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lime or lemon juice

1 tbsp chopped mint

1.5 tbsp chopped chives

salt & pepper to taste

Trim and roast the beets in foil until tender (about one hour). When cool, peel and cut into wedges. Cut radishes into bite-size pieces and combine with beets. Make dressing by combining olive oil, lime or lemon juice, mint, and chives. Toss dressing with beets and radishes, season with salt and pepper and serve!

The Return of Ridgway 4th and 5th

Many thanks to the 4th and 5th graders from Ridgway who came out to help last week! These students come out twice a year to help us with projects on the farm. Last fall they came out and planted cloves of garlic, and this week they weeded those same beds of garlic. The garlic they've been working on is now over a foot tall! The students also used teamwork and wheelbarrows to move huge rocks away from the fence line, and planted more than sixty trees along that fence. The trees are part of our edible landscaping effort and will someday produce wild plums, chokecherries, many colors of currants, and Siberian peas (a legume similar to lentils). We're looking forward to our next visit from the Ridgway students!

This week we also welcomed a new intern, Abby. She spent some time farming in Central and South America, so she's been a great help right away. On her first day working, we all went to the new greenhouse and planted more tomatoes. The greenhouse is looking good -- it's really starting to fill up! The holes in the black plastic are where we are going to plant peppers.

The weather is getting warmer, and the crops planted outside are starting to recover from the cold May nights. The broccoli, cabbage, kale, and chard are looking good, and this week we began picking spinach from the beds outside in addition to the beds inside the greenhouse. The potatoes I wrote about two weeks ago are starting to come up already!

We've got lots of root crops in the CSA share this week, but still have plenty of greens including some new greens selections. This week we'll have a few bags of a braising mix including beet greens, collard greens, kale, chard, mustard greens, and kohlrabi greens. We've also got turnip greens for those of you who want the greens without the turnip! And for those who are looking for a new way to eat all these greens, here's an easy and delicious warm salad dressing adapted from a recipe by The Seasonal Chef. They suggest serving over turnip, mustard, or collard greens, but arugula and perpetual spinach would work as well.

Warm Pecan Dressing

2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. honey or agave nectar
1 tbsp. Dijon or stoneground mustard
2 tsp. vegetable oil
½ cup pecans, roughly chopped or broken

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, honey or agave, and mustard. Heat oil in a saucepan till hot but not smoking. Add vinegar mixture and pecans and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Pour over chopped or torn greens -- I used 6 oz. collard greens and 6 oz. turnip greens -- and toss well so all the greens are slightly wilted. Serve immediately.

Tomatoes!

We got the plastic on the greenhouse last week, and the 74 tomato plants inside are looking happy! Last Thursday morning was remarkably devoid of wind, so we took a little break from harvesting to get the plastic cover over the high tunnel. On such a calm day, it only took five of us to get the plastic up and well secured over the frame. After Jon and Evan finished up the doors and sides, we were ready to transplant tomatoes. The beds had already been dug by the crop mob, so all we had to do was amend the soil, lay down drip, and put down red plastic over the beds. The red plastic helps tomatoes grow by reflecting far-red light up into the plants, which triggers the release of a natural growth protein in the plant. We lay down sheets of red plastic over the beds, cut holes where we want to plant the tomatoes, and drop in the tomato starts. Next up in the new greenhouse: peppers!

Harvest day went incredibly smoothly this week, thanks in large part to our great volunteers! Christel, Lisa, Rachel, and Sarah all came out to help pick, wash, weigh, and bag greens. With the weather getting warmer, it's all the more important to get the greens picked and clean early in the day, so they can go in the cooler before the heat really hits. With all these extra hands to help we had a nice easy harvest and got to take our time enjoying lunch with friends.

Another big timesaver during harvesting is our new washstand. We'd previously been washing greens inside the dome, in a low, two-basin sink. The new washstand is outside and has two three-basin sinks. No more bending low to wash pounds and pounds of salad mix! We also bought a second salad spinner, so now with twice the sink space (and our wonderful volunteers!) we can almost double our greens-processing throughput.

This week in the CSA we are adding in a few bags of collard greens to choose from, and we'll have some fresh basil and cilantro available as herb selections. We've also got quite a lot of carrots, radishes, turnips, parsnips, and leeks! Evan, our resident chef, came up with an interpretation of green goddess salad dressing featuring herbs and leeks from the farm. It got raves at a recent potluck, so here's the recipe, with items available from Buckhorn in bold.

Green Goddess Dressing (version 2.evan)

2 c. Extra virgin olive oil
4 oz. Oregano, de-stemmed
2 oz. Thyme
2 oz. Basil, de-stemmed
4 ea. Egg yolks
1/4 c. Vinegar (I like apple cider vinegar, but any will do)

Kosher salt and pepper to taste (approx. 1 t. salt, 1/2 t. pepper)

Juice and zest of one lemon
Juice and zest of half an orange

3 ea. Leek tops (the green part), blanched
Sugar to taste

Gently warm the oil until slightly hot to the touch but certainly not hot enough to burn. Pour over half the herbs, and infuse for as long as possible (preferrably overnight but at least for a few hours). Strain. In a blender, combine egg yolks, salt, pepper, vinegar, citrus juice, and citrus zest. Blend on high for a few seconds. While blending, slowly pour in about half the oil in a thin stream. Add the leek tops and remaining herbs. Continue blending in the remainder of the oil. If at any point the dressing becomes too thick to blend, thin or "loosen" it with a small amount of liquid (vinegar, lemon juice, water, etc. - a tablespoon at a time) with the blender running, and continue adding the oil. Taste the finished product, which will be very thick, and adjust the seasonings as you like. You might find a little sugar useful here. Since salad dressings tend to used in relatively small amounts, they are generally very strongly flavored and seasoned. I enjoy Green Goddess because it derives its potency from fresh aromatics rather than an overabundance of vinegar.

About blanching: To blanche a green vegetable, bring very salty water (approximately 1/2 - 1 cup salt per gallon of water) to a full, rolling boil that you can't stir down. Plunge the leek greens into the water for 15 to 30 seconds, until the green becomes very vivid. If cooking something other than leeks, simply leave it in the water until it attains a texture that you enjoy, almost never any more than two minutes. Strain out the greens; plunge them immediately into ice water, and chill them well. The leeks have now been blanched. If I were condemned to perform one and only one task in the kitchen for eternity, it would probably be blanching green vegetables in a huge pot. Nowhere else in the kitchen is proper technique so readily and noticeably apparent.

Buon appetito!

Rest in Peace Raja