It’s our 12th Spring!

See below for Farm & Farm Share updates, Events calendar, Recipes, and Vegetable Storage Tips

Like a child that we have tended through its growing-up years, our farm is now almost a teenager. 🙂 
We anticipate different challenges and rewards through the farm’s teenage years as compared to those of our children. (Any other parents and small business owners out there?? We know you are!) 

Spring 2022 is here. All of us are healthy, vaccinated, boosted as applicable, and happy to see Omicron receding from our community’s radar even while we wonder about BA.2. We feel luckier than ever for our loving community, present family, comfortable homes, healthy land, nourishing food, and steady work. We wish everyone these gifts, as well as the ability to keep steady while navigating a world that is lacking so many of these qualities for some people. We feel the weight of the world’s worries sometimes and try our hardest to respond by continuing good work in our domain: We’re here to grow super delicious and nutritious vegetables for our community, while, in the process, spreading as much love and goodwill as we can. There’s a lot going on in the world, eh? 

Here’s our hot list of what’s up and coming here on our almost-a-teenager farm:

Farm Updates:
Look at this amazing crew for 2022!

Already they’ve experienced sun and warmth and rain and cold. Through it all they are smiling! We’re getting the early spring crops harvested for our FarmStand and Farmers’ Market customers while seeding and planting at a frenzied pace to get late spring and summer crops on their way. 

We’ve got the first round of tomatoes just now planted in our hoophouse that has heat, though the night after planting them the heater stopped working. Anywhere around to purchase replacement parts on a Sunday? Not that we found! Farm Rockstar Dan spent a late night covering those babies up to allow them to survive without the heater. Most – but not all – of them made it. It’s the nature of the beast!

Farm Share: You amazing and dear people who sign up in advance for our vegetables! Our gratitude runs deep! Our Farm Share memberships are now full for the 2022 season. We harvest and pack 200 shares each week, and our shares start the second week of May. Need to remind yourself when your share starts? (Some of you pick up on Wednesdays, some of you on Saturdays, some every week, some every-other week.) Log in to Harvie (our FarmShare management software) here, and click on “Account -> Upcoming Deliveries” to see your personal schedule. 

Remember that the vegetables in your share are always grown by us, right here on our farm in Chesterfield, and all Certified Naturally Grown – that means free of any chemical or synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. We also know (and appreciate) the convenience of one-stop shopping and therefore offer additional items to add as “Extras” to your share on any given week: Eggs and Kimchi/Pickles/Krauts from our friends’ farms, as well as Bread we bake in our bakery here on our farm. 

Spring Events: Want to use your hands to make some great – and not very common – things while soaking in the atmosphere of our farm? One weekend a month in April, May, and June we are hosting fantastic instructors to guide you in various creations – from 17th Century style cooking (with authentic recipes!) to pack baskets, wooden spoons, bow drill fire-starting kits, and leather satchels. Re-connect with your capable hands while spending a day or two outside creating something enjoyable. See full details on our Folk School page here and register before spots fill up!  THIS WEEKEND is the 17th Century open-fire cooking workshop taught by Rebecca Sauerdieck, an historical interpreter at Jamestown. There are just a couple of spots left!

17th Century Cooking  —    April 9, 2022  —  10-4pm

Learn to cook 17th century recipes over an open fire as you make cheese, soup, roast chicken, and pie!

Register @: CookingandFire.com

                                                   

Do you want to make something tangible out of natural materials, custom to your liking, to keep and use? May 21 – 22 and June 4 – 5 we host hands-on project options: See full details on our Folk School page here and register while spots are available! 
       
Recipes: 
If you know us well, you know by now that our favorite recipes aren’t actually recipes and instead are more like suggestions. Right now we are loving our greens alongside meats from our farmer friends, sweet potatoes we bartered from Dayspring Farm, and a sauce that our kids whipped up: Sriracha Sauce (we made last fall from our Jalapenos), Bragg’s liquid Aminos, Sesame Seeds, a TINY amount of Balsamic Vinegar, & Onion Powder. Adjust ratios to suit your liking and slather it on anything!

We’re also making grain & veggie bowls a la Cava, yet at a fraction of the price. We love cooking up some less-common grains like wheat berries or barley. Start with a bowl loaded with finely chopped greens (kale, spinach, lettuces, microgreens, arugula…). Top with the grains. Then add protein: lentils, tofu, tempeh, hard boiled egg, ground sausage, slice steak… really, the world is your oyster. Add your favorite! Top with cheese, seeds, and/or nuts. Drizzle olive oil and vinegar, grind some salt and pepper, sprinkle some nutritional yeast. Or slather on the sauce mentioned above. Incredible! This even works great for a school or work day lunch — just keep the greens separate until you’re ready to eat. 

Here’s a photo of a recent meal, in our typical style, though it doesn’t match up exactly with either of the above suggestions!

Vegetable Storage Tips: 
We’re going to provide this information over and over to our FarmShare members throughout the season, but get ready now to take care of your produce! Storing them properly allows them to last longer in your fridge (or on your counter!), stay more crisp, and serve you best. 
Here’s what the pros do…
-> All GREENS and ROOTS need to be refrigerated in an AIR TIGHT bag or container to prevent going limp/wilty. ROOTS store best if you remove the tops and refrigerate them in a separate container or bag.
-> If you’re short on fridge space, you can also keep Peppers, Onions, Potatoes, Garlic, and Cucumbers (for a brief time) out of the fridge. (Though, our standard is to store Peppers & Cucumbers in the fridge. Just keep an eye on them. They’ll go bad after a time.)
-> Keep Tomatoes and Eggplants OUT of the fridge. (Eggplants have the shortest shelf life of anything we grow. Eat them soon after getting them from us.)

YOUR Spring Garden!
Are you ready to plant cold-hardy plants? We’ve got them for you! Broccoli, Kale, Arugula, Spinach, Lettuces, Cabbage, plus perennial Herbs: Mojito Spearmint, Peppermint, Sage, Thyme, Oregano. AND we have organic fertilizers for you to feed your soil well. 

Okay, friends – that’s all for now. Please visit our self-serve FarmStand at our farm (open daily from 9 til 7, with inventory changing daily…get updates via social media links below), visit our booth at The Farmer’s Market at St. Stephen’s each Saturday from 9-12, and visit our virtual booth on the online farmers’ market Fall Line Farms (order on the weekend, pick up the following Thursday at one of many pick up location options around RVA – use code ‘broadfork’ to waive the subscription fee or email us for a current promo code). 

We wish you blessings on your meals ~

Janet, Dan and the whole 2022 Broadfork Crew (Julie, Magda, S, Zach, Natalie, Mia, Sophie, and the farm kids)
Want to follow along during the week, including Farm Stand updates? Visit us on Facebook or Instagram