I know it's confusing to change a blog's appearance too often but I just had to. The previous "happy day" template looked nice but was impossible to work with unless I learned to write html code. I have neither the time nor the inclination to learn html, so that won't be happening.
I picked this template out of desperation so it's temporary. Hope to find one that looks great and functions, so it will likely change again sometime soon. I'm sure the conversion also messed up some of the information and all the features…I'll be fixing that soon, too.
I'll continue to make posting incoming local food resources the priority and work on the format as time allows. Thanks for sticking with me!
Yes, LFNN does look different....again!
'Tis the season for grass-fed beef raised by a Nevada family...Cowpool, anyone?
From my mailbox to you:
"Tis the season to cowpool! Especially if you'd like some premium grass-fed beef from Home Grown Nevada in Smith Valley. It's great for the barbecue or roasts and stews, and it's available in quarter, half, or whole. Cowpool and share with friends if your freezer is too full. The grass-finished beef is free of unnecessary hormones and antibiotics, and the cows live happy cow lives. Call Tina Smith, (775) 901-1631, to order for winter delivery. Call soon, as quantities are limited. Happy grass-fed beef does a body good!"
Chance to taste heritage turkeys
From my mailbox to you:
Date: Wednesday, December 9th, 2009
Time: 6-8pm
Place: Baxter’s Bistro in the Village at Northstar
Cost: $60 per person (tax and tip not included)
Includes full buffet dinner, wine and live music. Come help support Slow Food Lake Tahoe and enjoy heritage turkey roasted to perfection by Mark Estee of Baxter’s and Moody’s Bistros.
The Shaw Family Farm is donating five different heritage breed turkeys and Truckee River Winery is donating wine for a fun Holiday party!!! Baxter’s will be preparing side dishes to compliment the turkey.
For reservations made on or before November 20, 2009, email Baxter’s Bistro at cstringer@boothcreek.com.
After November 20, please call Baxter’s at 530.562.3200 There are only 60 seats available for this extraordinary event.
Locally grown Thanksgiving produce still available - sorry, no turkey for 2009
A few producers in the area grow traditional Thanksgiving fare and it’s not too late to buy some for your family. Briefly, here’s what I know.
The turkey farmers are sold out for the 2009 season (great news!), but now is a really good time to get your name on the list for 2010.
Mike and his family at Rise and Shine Farms raise heritage breed Royal Palms and will raise Broad Breasted Whites on request. Contact him through email.
If you can’t buy from a local farmer then Whole Foods is the next best alternative IMO. They carry both “organic” and “natural” turkeys. Organic and Natural seem like the same thing when printed on the label but they are not. As we heard last night at the Slow Food Reno get-together “organic” means pasture raised on organic pasture; “natural” means pasture raised, but fed grains and produce that is not necessarily organic so is more likely to be GMO. Neither type receives hormones or unnecessary antibiotics. Get your 2009 turkey at Whole Foods now, if you’re still in the market.
Great Basin Basket will have a Thanksgiving CSA basket again this year. Go to the website to find out how to get one for your family.
The Great Basin Community Food Coop will also carry some produce grown by local farmers. Call to see what’s available.
Lattin Farms and Custom Gardens are still growing this time of year. Contact them to see what’s in season, and then take the family for a trip to the farm. It’s beautiful this time of year.
Alternatively, Whole Foods also carries some Lattin Farm products. Ask for them when you go to buy your turkey.
Sustainable food films at The Wild and Scenic Film Festival
The Nevada Wilderness Project’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival is on Wednesday November 4th. The doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the show starts at 7:00. Purchase tickets online at http://www.wildnevada.org./
Hope to see you there!
Learn to extend the growing season on your (future?) Northern Nevada farm
Hoop houses are just one season extension technique. This is a picture of Leslie Allen inside one of the Lattin Farms tomato hoop houses. Thanks to Ann Louhela for the picture!
Here’s a chance to learn techniques helpful to future small farmers in Northern Nevada. From my mailbox to you:
Small Farm Season Extension Workshop - Western Nevada College Workshop November 13-14
FALLON – Western Nevada College Specialty Crop Institute announces a two-day workshop that will teach farmers how to extend their growing and sales seasons.
“Extending the Season, Hoop Houses and Community Supported Agriculture" will meet Friday and Saturday, Nov. 13-14, at Lattin Farms, 1955 McLean Way, Fallon. Cost is $50 for both days or $35 for one day. There is a $10 late fee for registrations after November 6. Lunch is included.
The workshop will feature sessions on how to extend the growing and sales season beyond the traditional summer harvest months, in response to increased consumer demand for local food. Hoop houses and CSAs are increasingly popular, and farmers are looking for more training on these innovative methods.
Community Supported Agriculture and other sales opportunities will be discussed during Friday's workshop. Farmers will learn the business of CSA, how to recruit and retain customers, share type and pricing, production and plant varieties, recordkeeping and more.
Hoop house management will be featured in Saturday's workshop. Students will learn the different types of hoop houses, best crop varieties to plant, crop rotation, pest management and more.
Featured speakers Lynda Prim and Daniel Carmona, veteran farmers and educators from New Mexico, will bring extensive experience, knowledge, and a regional perspective to the workshop. Nevada and New Mexico share similar growing conditions and economic climates for small farm agriculture.
The WNC Specialty Crop Institute is an innovative education program for current and future small-scale farmers, as well as students and professionals. Participants learn alternative farming methods to diversify from low-value crops to high-value, direct-marketed specialty crops that can increase profitability. Workshops combine classroom and on-farm learning experiences. The Institute is made possible with funding from the Nevada Department of Agriculture and USDA/AMS through the Specialty Crop Block Grant.
To register, contact Ginny Dugan, 775-423-5186, or visit Western Nevada College website. For information regarding the Specialty Crop Institute and future workshops, contact Project Director Ann Louhela at 775-351-2551.
Organic ginger grown on a Northern Nevada farm and it's ready now
For a new treat (if you have never experienced truly fresh young ginger root).
Now, we are ready to share our end of October limited dig.
We will be looking at another harvest of more mature ginger mid-December for Christmas.
Order direct from OUR fall & winter hoop house. JUST GIVE US A CALL: 775-577-2069 We will dig fresh, and have your order ready for you to pick up at the farm! At $ 7.00 a pound for NV certified organic fresh (baby) young ginger – this is a good buy!
It started as a curiosity. Having read in Growing for Market, a long time subscription, at our farm; a producer in the North East was able to produce this spicy root in his hoop house – even though it takes 9 to 10 months to mature, we were energized.
We thought, will it grow in a NEVADA hoop house? So, unable to set the curiosity aside, Virginia sent for root pieces from a certified organic grower of ginger and turmeric, in Hawaii. It arrived in early April, and by the 13th, the “hands were cut into seed pieces and then tucked into a 45’ a trench in one of our hoop houses. Covering it slightly with soil, we watered it in and covered it with a blanket of Remay. The extra warmth in April is often a must, even for cold hardy vegetables - let alone a tropical plant like ginger. It took what seemed like forever to sprout, (or shoot) out of the soil, flimsy little green blades that looked like a wheat sprout. Soon the top growth was 2 ’+ tall and at least as wide, and we had to keep filling in the trench and finally hilling the bed/row. The Ginger seemed to like the companion crops of greens, beans and carrots …… which helped to hold humidity in the hot summer months.
With no problems from pests, the seed pieces and the new growth (now at 6 months stage) we “gingerly” teased out a few of the plants. We discovered bright healthy looking young ginger roots at what is called half growth. Beautiful and delicious, and we found – it was not at all tough or pithy, as are many of the “long stored” roots in supermarkets. A perfect cup of tea! Discovery - one can keep it fresh, if frozen, to be taken out of the freeze rand grating the still frozen root -- just what you need, into your food or cookie batch - returning the remaining ginger root to the freezer.
If you buy it Tim will come -- produce still available at the Saturday California farmers market
If you don't know it is still possible to get fresh produce at the farmers market on California. Tim from Boughton Amber Oaks says he'll set up his booth for as long as we pop by and purchase his produce. Look for him close to the House of Bread.
Tim sells great products this time of year….they’re all about fall. Yesterday Mark and I picked up some late-season summer crops like raspberries and tomatoes, and some longed-for cool weather food, specifically butternut squash, chestnuts, Hayashi persimmons and a bunch of unknown-apples. He calls them unknown because they come from a random tree planted before he was born; the variety is unknown but he says the apples are wonderful.
Next week we’ll be stopping buy to pick olives grown and cured on his farm and more persimmons (which I love). Maybe we’ll see you there!
Produce still available at the California Street farmers market - if you buy it Tim will come!