Sustainable food films at The Wild and Scenic Film Festival

The Nevada Wilderness Project is a local non-profit whose mission is to partner with others in Nevada to preserve precious pieces of the Nevada wilderness. On November 4th, NWP will host The Nevada Wilderness Project’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival at UNR’s Joe Crowley Student Union. Many of the films are of beautiful places that bring us peace and put us in touch with the natural world, but this festival will also include two films about sustainable food and its influence on individuals, families, and communities. If you haven’t had a chance to meet Nevadans who are passionate (or perhaps curious) about their local food and/or wilderness this is a really good opportunity to watch and mingle, and maybe win an excellent prize or two.

Learn to extend the growing season on your (future?) Northern Nevada farm

I was reading something a few weeks ago (I didn’t save it so can’t site the source…bad librarian!) that said 108,000 new farms were developed last year. Not huge agribusiness farms but small 3 – 100 acre farms that grow real food. Woo hoo!

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:

Organic ginger grown on a Northern Nevada farm and it's ready now

At Custom Gardens Organic Farm in Silver Springs we’re growing NEVADA/Hawaiian Yellow Ginger!
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.

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.

Really tasty simple recipe for that grass-finished rump roast!

To all my colleagues who were drawn to the break room yesterday by the aroma of pot roast....here's the recipe for my lunch that day.

It's hard to find contemporary rump roast recipes...it's just not a sexy cut and gets no love in newer cookbooks.  Thank goodness Epicurious includes older recipes.  This one was published the year I was born! We made this basic pot roast a couple of days ago and it was fantastic! Didn't fiddle with it this time but will the next time around.

Annual Lattin Farm corn maze family event

From my mailbox to you...a little late 'cuz it got buried in my overflowing mailbox.

Lattin Farms in Fallon celebrates 100 years and five generations of farming with the opening of the Centennial Corn Maze.

The Centennial Maze is part of the Fall Festival at Lattin Farms and is open to the public every weekend in October, 5-8pm, Fridays, and 10am-8pm, Saturdays. For the full moon on the weekend of Oct. 2-3, it stays open an hour later for visitors to try their luck at getting through by moonlight.

This is the 11th year for the Maze which has a different design cut into the corn each year. To celebrate their centennial year, the family chose a design with a picture of Bill and Edna Lattin, the third generation of Lattins to farm in the Lahontan Valley. They are now retired and live a short distance from the working farm.

Northern Nevada local farms offer winter produce

From my mailbox to you:

Consumer demand for local food continues to rise, and Nevada farmers are finding innovative ways to supply fresh produce year-round, after farmers markets have ended.

Local farmers will be selling during the winter with on-farm sales, buying programs and through retail outlets. Customers can buy produce such as potatoes, onions, garlic, winter squash and apples that can be stored safely for weeks or months in a cool garage or basement. Some summer crops such as tomatoes and peppers are still available to freeze or can for the winter.