Tomato stakes lined up and ready at JBG. Photo by Scott David Gordon
From the Farmer’s Perspective:
When I first started my garden on Holly Street, I didn’t know much about the organic certification process – I just knew I wanted to grow vegetables without pesticides, herbicides, or other harmful chemicals. It wasn’t until I moved to Hergotz Lane that in 2008 that I submitted my application for organic certification with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). Since I was already using organic growing methods, adhering to the TDA’s guidelines wasn’t difficult. What did prove challenging, though, was all of paperwork involved in maintaining certification! While it is tempting to see this paperwork as an unnecessary symptom of government bureaucracy, I know the certification process has forced JBG to develop invaluable record keeping systems. For the last four years, we have been building an increasingly detailed collection of farm records. This includes a history of the types of seeds we buy (we must purchase organic when available, and GMO seeds are never allowed), what transplants we grow in our greenhouse, the materials we use for our soil mix, what type of crops and when and where we plant in the fields, what organic fertilizers and soil amendments we use and the source or manufacturer, what we harvest each day, what we take to the farmers markets each week, what we store in our coolers, periodic soil and water tests, and how we maintain a clean barn/packing shed. These records have also helped us develop improved long-term crop rotations. Our records help me determine what to plant when and what types of cover crops to use to give the soil what it needs most. For example, right now we are starting on a summer cover crop of sorghum and Sudan grass to help smother existing Johnson grass on the new land we purchased last year. Once this planting gets tilled into the soil for the organic matter, it will be followed by a fall cover crop of winter peas and vetch that will add nitrogen to the soil so it is ready for Spring 2013. So, while I am certainly not a fan of paperwork, I am thankful for our continually improving record keeping systems – these help us to build healthy soils and grow nutrient-filled crops. Currently, we maintain certification on our entire 205 acres of land, and this year we also became certified as an organic food distributor.
Zucchini in the field. Photo by Scott David Gordon
1) Farm News
* Week of April 24th CSA Box Photo & Contents List
* Nitty Gritty: Beyond the Tap: Pep up your drinking water!
* Farm House for Rent at JBG
2) Updates, Meetings, and Events
* JBG Bulk Tomato Pre-Sale – Discounted Prices
* Help JBG Deliver Vegetables to Children in Need
* Homegrown Revival Dinner Featuring JBG Produce
3) Recipes by Dishalicious
* Quick-Pickled Beets
Thank you to the great group of volunteers from LIVESTRONG who helped us weed last week. Photo by Scott David Gordon
1) Farm News
Week of April 24th CSA Box Contents. Photo by Scott David Gordon
Week of April 24th CSA Box Contents
Carrots
Beets
Green Onions
Chard
Kale
Basil
Kohlrabi
Salad Mix or Lettuce
Fennel
Beyond the Tap: Pep up your drinking water!
As a massage therapist I often ask my clients to estimate how much water they drink per day. More often than not they don’t drink enough. I can often tell even without asking because their muscle tissue, dense and tough, suggests it. While stress or pour posture definitely are the main reasons for muscle tension, the role that fluids play in bodily health can not be underestimated. After all, 60% of our body weight made up by water. Experts recommend that men drink a minimum of 3 liters a day to stay sufficiently hydrated and women 2.2. That translates to 13 C for men and 9 C for women. Of course, even more is needed when exercising.
To many however, drinking so much water isn’t very exciting. Plain water is either boring or worse, bad tasting. So what can we do to make drinking water more pleasant?
For my husband Steven, the solution was drinking carbonated water. It has the same bubbly and refreshing mouth feel as a can of soda, but without the sugar and chemicals. He even says that carbonated water is almost as good as beer! But drinking 13C per day of carbonated water adds up to a lot of Topo Chico and bottles and hauling and just wasn’t feasible. Instead, we opted to make it ourselves with a family-scale system. Systems vary, but we went for essentially a small, dedicated refrigerator equipped with two 5 gallon kegs and a 5lb refillable bottle of CO2. For those who aren’t ready to take the plunge, Soda Club makes a countertop model that works great lesser volumes.
But of course drinking carbonated water is not the only solution to increase your daily water intake. Simply infusing your tap water with items from your weekly veggie box works beautifully as well. I experimented with different infusions and combinations of ingredients and settled on the following:
- a bunch of mint plus half a lemon, sliced
- a bunch of mint plus the juice of one grapefruit
- half a cucumber, thinly sliced
Crush the mint with your hands before adding it to the water. This helps the mint flavor seep out more easily. Let your water infuse with the flavors for about 12 hours or overnight before drinking.
I am sure you can come up with many more ideas of how to pep up your drinking water. The basic idea is simple: make your water taste better and you will drink more! Your body will thank you for it.
Two bedroom bungalow for rent at JBG
Farm House for Rent at JBG
Ever wanted to live on a farm? Now’s your chance! The two bedroom, one bath bungalow at JBG is available for a one year lease starting May 1, 2012. This great bungalow has bamboo wood floors, a garden spot, an outdoor shower (in addition to a full indoor bath), and a nice big shady yard. It is conveniently located just five minutes from downtown Austin at 9515 Hergotz Lane, Austin, TX 78742. The rent is $1,000 per month. No pets, please. If you are interested, email us at farm@jbgorganic.com, and we will send you a rental application. Check out these photos of the place:
Sun-filled kitchen
The living room
The big backyard
2) Updates, Meetings, and Events
San Marzano Sauce Tomatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon
JBG Bulk Tomato Pre-Sale – Order Now at a Discount!
This year for our Bulk Tomato Sale, we our offering an opportunity to pre-purchase bulk certified organic tomatoes prior to the beginning of our harvest at a discounted price. All orders will be available for pickup at the peak of our season, June 6th through June 10th, at the farmers’ market you select for your order.
We planted over 30,000 tomato plants at our River Road farm and have a wide assortment of heirlooms, large red slicer tomatoes (perfect for a BLT or hamburger), and Italian heirloom sauce tomatoes (San Marzano). For small tomatoes this year, we have Juliet miniature plum tomatoes and multi-colored cherry tomato pints including super sweet Sun Gold cherry tomatoes, Red Super-Sweet 100s, Yellow Pear, and Black Cherry. I am happy to report that the tomato crop looks even better than last year! The plants are extremely healthy and loaded with fruit.
For more information and to place an order, click here.
Caprese with Johnson's Backyard basil made by girls at the Settlement Home
Help JBG Deliver Vegetables to Children in Need
Every week, JBG delivers CSA boxes to the Settlement Home, a wonderful local non-profit and residential program that cares for and promotes the healing of abused and neglected children. With the organic produce they receive from JBG, the Settlement Home provides nutritious meals and teaches the girls how to cook with all of these different kinds of vegetables. Thanks to the support of CSA members, this program has been a great success. We really need your help to keep it going! To donate, click here or go to http://www.jbgorganic.com/settlementhome. Participation at any level is greatly appreciated.
The Homegrown Revival
“Salt Seeks Pepper”
April 29 at 7pm at the HOPE Farmers Market
Featuring Johnson’s Backyard Garden
Announcing the next dinner festivus hosted at and benefitting HOPE Farmers Market. DJ Chinocasino returns with musical pairings for this artistic supper club and the decorations will be alive with Texas springtime.
This time Johnson’s Backyard Garden joins us with the fresh, seasonal produce bounty. Started in a backyard, JBG grew rapidly in East Austin to provide certified organic produce to the masses. A large delivery service provides Austin restaurants and CSA members with weekly supplies. At the HOPE Farmers’ Market Johnson’s booth is popular and everyone from newcomers to the local scene to seasoned verterans visit.
Accentuate. Entice. Compliment. Aroma. Taste. Spices mingle and create. Salt Seeks Pepper sees Chef Coté utilize just the right amount of spice to create tasteful harmony in each dish. The produce will be star, but the spices will create lasting impressions.
For more information or to reserve your seat, click here or go to http://lp2.thehomegrownrevival.com/thehomegrownrevival-com/.
Quick-Pickled Beets
by Louis Singh | photos by Jeff Stockton | dishalicious.com
Beets are still coming on strong at JBG, but with summer on the horizon they’re bound to drown in an array of sexy tomatoes, young & bright squash and a rainbow of peppers. Once the beets are gone, you’re gonna miss them. So plan ahead and get to pickling. Here’s a ridiculously simple technique that’ll keep you deep in beets through the winter.
You need:
4 medium beets, roasted & peeled
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Technique:
Cut the cooked beets into wedges or slices. Layer them into a 1-quart mason jar. Boil the remaining ingredients together and pour hot liquid over the beets. Lid the jar, let it cool for 10 minutes and stick it in the fridge for at least 3 days before serving.
And that’s it. Try them on salads. Pair them with citrus & yogurt. Put them in our Beet Salad recipe from last week. Puree them for a vinaigrette or a sauce. Take this basic pickling recipe, and apply it to cucumbers, or any other vegetable. Make it your own and get cooking.
Got any cooking questions you want answered? Ask us @ DISHALICIOUS.COM
Tomatoes plants at JBG. Photo by Scott David Gordon