Volunteer Event with CEFS Interns!

Volunteer Group Shot (Click image to make larger)

Hello Readers!

This past Friday, we hosted a volunteer event at the farm! Our volunteers were all interns from the Center for Environmental FarmingSystems (CEFS) plus one local resident.  There were 16 CEFS interns totaled who contributed greatly to our progress. It was an awesome time during which we made progress on quite a bit of work before the much needed rain began to pour.

We started the day off with staff introductions and a brief intro to the farm. After that, we went right into working! There were three work groups:

More Weeding (Click image to make larger)

- Group 1: Weeding in Green Planet Catering's plot.

- Group 2: Weeding in the student plots.
- Group 3: Weeding, clearing brush, and tree removal in our future picnic area. 

Volunteers Weeding (Click image to make larger)

The groups weeding in the farm plots did an excellent job! It was such a relief to see 90% of the plots completely weeded. As most of you know, one of our biggest problems is weeds. A weed is what we call any wild plant that is growing where it is not wanted and in competition with cultivated plants. Weeds are, simply put, opportunistic and must be dealt with in order to preserve and encourage the growth of our crops. Some of the more common weeds found on our farm are pigweed, Johnson grass, and Bermuda grass. If these types of plants are not managed in a swift manner, they can grow uncontrollably and really get out of hand. The hard work put in by our volunteers is definitely appreciated!

Timber! (Click image to make larger)

The other task that day was, generally, clearing out an area that we plan to turn into a picnic/gathering space. We had about 8 people on this job doing everything from pulling weeds, sawing down small trees, pruning branches, to cutting down medium size trees. All of this debris was piled in the back of a very large dump truck!! The area is looks much better now and only requires a bit more work until it is functional.

Hard working volunteer

We, at the NCSU Agroecology Education Farm, would really like to thank all of our volunteers for donating their time and energy! We’ve made a lot more progress with the farm overall and we have you to thank for it! We’d also like to send out a special show of gratitude to CEFS!

Clearing the brush

If you are reading this and think that you and/or your company, organization, class, church or any other group would like to take part in a volunteer day then contact us at:

agro.edu.lab@gmail.com.

We’d be glad to have you out at the farm!

Also be sure to:

Find us on Facebook:      https://www.facebook.com/NCSUagroedu

Follow us on twitter:        https://twitter.com/#!/NCSUAgroFieldLa

Thanks for your support!

-Agroecology Education Farm Staff

Green Planet Catering!!

Summer Day at the Farm. (Click image to make larger).

Hello Readers!!!

Happy Summer Solstice!! We hope that you all enjoyed the first day of summer and longest day of the year! With the onset of summer comes the promise of hot days, relaxing times beside the pool or beach, and fresh local foods.  Out at the farm, we are certainly enjoying a bounty of delicious, organic food.

In this post, we’d like to take the opportunity to introduce you to one of our partners, Green Planet Catering.  Of course, the best place to start with any story is at the very beginning. We are going to take you back about 2 years ago to the year 2010. Lot’s happened that year;  a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated Haiti,  Avatar was thrilling audiences across the world, the Saints won the Super Bowl, Apple launched the iPad, and in Raleigh, NC, a beautiful partnership was on the verge of being formed.

That year, Green Planet Catering found itself in a fantastic position to form a new partnership. Daniel Whittaker, Catering Manager for Green Planet Catering, contacted Nancy Creamer of the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) about partnering with CEFS. It all led to the two, along with Dr. Michelle Schroeder-Moreno, Director and Supervisor of the North Carolina State University Agroecology Education Farm (NCSU AEF), to come to an agreement where all parties might benefit.  North Carolina State University agreed to permit this partnership because from its perspective CEFS, the NCSU AEF, and Green Planet Catering have common objectives in sustainable agriculture education.  

-          Green Planet Catering focuses on educating the catering community which includes employees and staff, other partners, and clients.

-          The NCSU Agroecology Education Farm reaches out to both the university and the larger Raleigh community.

-          The Center for Environmental Farming Systems focuses on agricultural research, extension, and education for the state of NC.

Therefore, a formal partnership has been forged between North Carolina State University (through CEFS and the Agroecology Education Farm) and Green Planet Catering.  Working together, Green Planet Catering and the Agroecology Education Farm, wish to achieve their common goals of sustainable agricultural education with the NCSU and surrounding communities. Through collaboration, the creation of a better model for a student farm is realized.  Meanwhile, Green Planet Catering, with the help of students, grows food sustainably for the catering company which provides the students with invaluable experience in sustainable production farming.

Graduate Student and NCSU AEF employee Joey Owle.
(Click image to make larger).

As for Green Planet Catering… the locally owned and operated, awarded winning company embraces a philosophy of sustainability which will reset your standards on what catered meals taste like and leave you feeling good about the choice you've made. The catering company focuses on delivering high quality catering services that feature foods that are locally grown, pesticide and hormone free, and meet your high standards of quality. Many of their more commonly-grown produce items are grown at the staff and management’s homes or on the NCSU Agroecology Education Farm site. Supplying their own products provides the availability to control the way items are planted, grown, and harvested to ensure no harmful chemicals or pesticides are used during your event. Also, the companies vehicles are run on biodiesel, they offer disposable, biodegradable dishware, and ensure waste are composted or recycled.

We, at the NCSU Agroecology Education Farm, would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the Green Planet Catering staff and management team. We truly value our partnership with your company and look forward to a bright future together.

If you’d like to contact or find out more about Green Planet Catering, you may via the following:

Website:          http://www.greenplanetcatering.com/

Phone:             919.832.6767

Email:              Info@grennplanetcatering.com

Address:         317 W. Chatham St. Cary, NC 27511

Thank you to all our supporters!

-Agroecology Education Farm Staff

Daniel Whittaker, Green Planet Catering: Catering Manager hard at work.
(Click image to make larger).

Recipe for Sustainability!

                                                                                     Hello Readers!!

The Farm (Click image to make larger)

Yesterday most of our staff officially returned to work which everyone is excited about. Now, we have more hands to help manage the weeds and more mouths to eat our tasty bounty! Everyone returning from Costa Rica was thrilled to see the progress we have made in establishing the farm. They returned to a multitude of healthy (and edible) plants, a cleaned and organized work shed, and an installed irrigation system. Needless to say, our supervisor and director, Dr. Michelle Schroder-Moreno, was very happy.

Squash harvested 6/13/2012 (Click image to make larger)

                                                                 
Now, this post is especially for our fellow foodies and culinary enthusiasts. Well, really it’s for anyone who likes the taste of fresh, healthy food. You see, while at the farm yesterday, we harvested quite a bit of food. From goliath summer squash to sweet, earthy beets, it seems the bounty is endless! So when I arrived home, I decided to make a healthy meal using mostly fresh veggies from our farm. What I ended up with was a fantastic beet salad! The diverse flavors in this salad dance across your tongue and remind you of the fresh joys of summer time. It’s a great dinner to enjoy on your porch, patio, or balcony and take in the summer night’s air.

Here’s the recipe:

Roasted Beet Salad

Serves: 2    Total time: 1.25 hours    Prep time: 15 mins

(Click image to make larger)

What you’ll need:

3 beets of your choice                 ½ tsps. Extra-virgin olive oil         2 small radishes

¼ cup fresh orange juice              salt to taste                                 1 small tomato

2 tsps. Honey                              black pepper to taste                  2 ounces of goat cheese

1 ½ tsps. balsamic vinegar           8 lettuce leaves                           8 nasturtium leaves

1 tsps. Dijon mustard                   ½ cup red onion (thinly sliced     Capers

  1      Preheat the oven to 425°. Coat the beets in olive oil then wrap them in foil and roast for about 35

            minutes or until tender. Cool the beets in a bowl of ice, peel, and slice as thin or thick as you prefer. Set

            aside.

    2  Slice the tomato into about ½ inch slices. Salt lightly and place in the center of plates on top of lettuce.

    3  Add about 4 small scoops of goat cheese on top of the tomatoes.

   4        In a bowl, whisk together orange juice, honey, vinegar, mustard, and oil; season with salt and pepper.

    5  Add the beets to the dressing and toss to coat. Arrange 4 lettuce and 4 nasturtium leaves on each plate.           

            Slice each radish thinly and add to the plate.

    6  Top each plate with beets. Add about 3 more small scoops of goat to cheese and top with red onion.

    7  Top it all with a few capers and light drizzle of the dressing.

When I made this recipe, I used beets, nasturtium, lettuce, and radishes from our farm! It’s easy to eat local and sustainably…especially when you use what you grow. I mean, how much more local can you get?

I hope everyone who tries this recipe enjoys it! Let us know what you think if you do try it by commenting here or…

Facebook:           http://www.facebook.com/NCSUagroedu

Twitter:                https://twitter.com/#!/NCSUAgroFieldLa

As always, thank you for your support!

-Agroecology Education Farm Staff

Farm Updates!

Hello Readers!

Volunteers at the farm (Click to make image larger)

We're now near the middle of June and keeping busy!  At the farm, the work never stops but luckily the weather has held out and, for the most part, has stayed pleasant. We’ve even had the good fortune of decent rainfall, so far, this season.

One job that never stops is weeding. With most of our staff out of the country for a few weeks, it has been a never-ending battle against these clever, opportunistic plants.  It seems weeds are one of the biggest problems for all farmers and our farm is no exception. From resistant Pigweed to giant Johnson Grass to stubborn Wire Grass (Bermuda Grass), we have them all. But now our staff has returned and so more hands means that we will be able to manage these weeds better.

Piles and piles of weeds (Click image to make larger)

We've also electrified our deer fence! Deer have a never ceasing appetite and so we’ve found it necessary to protect our crops. In order to remain sustainable, we’ve electrified our fence using a photovoltaic cells or a solar panel.  It produces the energy needed each day to protect the crops from deer at night without continued dependence on fossil fuels.

Then there is the main point of any farm…the crops! There is one thing that any crop needs in order to grow…water! And we have quite a few crops growing out there. So to conserve water, at the moment, we are doing our very best to water 

only the areas where the roots of the plants are found. By doing this we hope to conserve water and prevent excess run-off. We are also in the process of installing an irrigation system. The system will follow the same principles that I just explained. The only difference is that it will more automated reducing run-off drastically.

Weeds in between the rows (Click image to make larger)

Our farm is looking great! We’d love have you all over!! Feel free to come any Wednesday, Friday, or Sunday anytime during the day. Our volunteer hours are specifically between 4pm and sundown but we’d love to see you any time!

Like our facebook page and follow us on twitter!

Facebook:     http://www.facebook.com/NCSUagroedu

Twitter:          https://twitter.com/#!/NCSUAgroFieldLa

There are lot's of new exciting developments coming soon!! So stay tuned for more details!!!

-Agroecology Education Farm Staff

The Hardest Working Plants You'll Grow : [Cover Crops]

Hello Readers!!!

We are well into the growing season and the work doesn't stop. With weeding, watering, and maintaining the farm, we definitely are staying busy! But it is all worth it if we can teach people about sustainable agriculture and why it so vital to our livelihoods and future generations.

With that, one of the important principles we live by is to practice agriculture in a way that is environmentally sound. Specifically speaking, at some point all crops require fertilization. In conventional agriculture the solution to this is to apply amendments to fields. However, these amendments are often applied in excess and then run off into water sources. When this happens, the water sources are polluted and sometimes the aquatic environment even transforms from an aerobic to an anaerobic environment (meaning an oxygen deficient environment).

* It's also important to note that in order to produce these amendments, large quantities of fossil fuels are required.

Now you might ask, well what is the alternative?

At the Agroecology Education Farm, we implement the use of cover crops! A cover crop is a crop grown for protection and enrichment of the soil. These crops suppress weeds, build productive soil, and help control pests and diseases. They are easy to plant and require only basic care to thrive.

At left: cover crops; At right: orchard grass (Click image to make larger)

At the farm, our fields are split in half between perennial orchard grass and cover crops. The half planted in orchard grass is cut periodically, bailed, and fed to cows at the NCSU dairy production. The other half is rotated two times per year between summer and winter cover crops. Our cover crops consist of two types of plants:

Bailing the orchard grass (Click image to make larger)

 - A biomass producer ie carbon and
 - A leguminous plant which produces nitrogen.

The winter cover crop consists of rye (biomass) and crimson clover (legume). You can also find hairy vetch within the cover crop. Our summer cover crop consists of pearl millet (biomass) and cowpea (legume).  These crops help build our soil making it much more suitable for agricultural production. At the end of the season, we simply cut the crop down and leave it in the field, planting the next season's cover crop into it.

From top left to bottom: Crimson Clover, Rye, Cowpea, and Pearl Millet
(Click image to make larger)

You may think that cover crops are just for farmers and other large-scale growers. Think again! Cover crops can be implemented in your home garden, no matter the size.  Crimson clover produces beautiful red flowers which will look great in any home setting. But there are a few things to remember...

1) If you plant a cover crop, you must kill it before it seeds. You can kill it by mowing it over at flowering or when seed heads emerge. Then just dig it into your soil.
2) After turning under a cover crop, wait 2-3 weeks before planting vegetables or flowers. 
3) Common cover crops are clover, buckwheat, sorghum, field peas, rye. 
4) Cover crops are low maintenance but still require some maintenance. Be sure to mow the cover crop to keep it's growth in check. Also, be sure to water the crop in times of drought.

Soil and baby cabbages at the farm (Click image to make larger)

Happy gardening and remember...sustainable agriculture starts with the soil!!

-Agroecology Education Farm Staff

Grungy-Looking Roots: Beets!

Hello Readers!!

Beet plants in the field! (Click image ti make larger)

One of the joys of farming is that during the warm months you’ll be able to harvest something almost daily. We are beginning to move into the stage of the growing season where we can actually do this and the first thing we’ve been able to harvest are beets.

 Beets are an often overlooked food packed full of flavor, nutrients, and disease fighting antioxidants underneath their rugged exterior. These root crops are one of the best sources of folate and betanine that work together to lower your blood levels of homocysteine, reducing                                                                                 you’re risk of heart disease.

Beets can be eaten raw or cooked. For a simple single-serving beet salad, wash and peel one beet, and then grate it with the widest blade of a cheese grater. Toss the shaved beet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.

Grungy-:Looking Roots (Click image to make larger)

You may run into the problem of having too many beets (Is this really even a problem?).  Generally speaking, beets will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. If storing beets in the refrigerator, keep them in a plastic bag and do not wash them ahead of time.

Another option is to pickle your beets! Through pickling, you can enjoy these delicious vegetables in the winter. I recently pickled my beets and it was very simple. The recipe is below:

Ingredients for Canning Pickled Beets:

3tsp-pickling spice (mustard seed, allspice, coriander, cloves, red pepper, bay leaf)

2 ½ cups- white vinegar

1 cup- water

1 cup-granulated sugar

10 cups- prepared beets (boiled peeled, sliced)

Directions for Canning Pickled Beets:

  1.       Prepare canner, jars, and lids.

  2.       Put the pickling spice in cheesecloth, creating a spice bag.

  3.       Combine the following into a large stainless steel pan:

a.       Vinegar

b.      Water

c.       Sugar

d.      Spice bag

  4.       Bring to boil over medium heat stirring until the sugar is dissolved.

  5.       Reduce the heat and boil for 15 more minutes.

  6.       Remove the spice bag

  7.       Add the beets to the mixture and return to a boil.

  8.       Remove beets from mixture with a slotted spoon and put into jars. Leave ½ inch of room at top of jar.

  9.       Ladle the hot pickling liquid into each jar, making sure the beets are covered. Remove air bubbles (with a rubber spatula) and add more liquid if necessary. Again, leave at least ½ inch of head space at top of the jar.

  10.   Wipe the rim of each jar and place a lid and band on each.

  11.   Put the jars in the canner and place lid on top.

  12.   Make sure the jars are completely covered with water by at least 1 inch. 

Jarred Beets: (Click image to make larger)

  13.   Bring to a boil and process for 30 minutes.

  14.   Remove canner lid and let cool for 5 minutes. 

  15.   Remove the jars and let cool before storing.

Be adventurous, try new foods and remember; you can’t judge a book…or a vegetable…by its cover.

-Agroecology Education Farm Staff