The Italian Plums are droppingly delicious! I am picking them as fast as I can and they will be on sale Sept. 30th, Sunday, at the Farm Tour happening here at South Ridge Farm from 10 - 3.
We'll have lots of fruit, dried and fresh, and potatoes and such for sale plus lots of tasty, fresh goodies.
On the hour there will be mini workshops from edible plant i.d. to natural irrigation.
I'm looking for volunteers to help with flow. Let me know if you can help!
Back to the plums....
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
South Ridge Farm on the Salt Spring Farm Tour
Our farm is on the Sept. 30th Salt Spring Island Farm tour. We are small but we are big with doings inside the decorated fence here on South Ridge Drive.
We're featuring tours on the hour from 10 a.m. until 3 pm. Sept. 30th -
Learn how to pick your own Wild Salad
The Wonders of Recycled Water Treatment and Rainwater irrigation
Harvesting Nettles and Herbal Tea Tasting
Grind local wheat and other grains and sample cheese scones made with local cheese and South Ridge vegetables.
Hands-on mini workshops will give you a chance to learn some plant identification, harvesting techniques, how to grind flour with a stationary bicycle and much more.
Right now we are starting the Italian Plum crop, finishing the green beans, getting the second round of raspberries and nettles and becoming purple with blackberry juice. We have a bumper crop of blackberries so spelt pies will be made soon.
For purchase on the Farm Tour will be Seasonal produce, Our famous bicycle-ground Four cheese scones, Mini pizzas with vegan & gluten free options, Pickles, Jams (unsweetened and alternatively sweetened), Bottled juices, Garlic Scape Pesto, Nettle Teas and Happy Heart Tea, Dried foods, Bliss Balls, Gluten-free Cheesecakes and Berry Blast Bars.
We're excited and the farm calls everyone over on Sept. 30th.
We're featuring tours on the hour from 10 a.m. until 3 pm. Sept. 30th -
Learn how to pick your own Wild Salad
The Wonders of Recycled Water Treatment and Rainwater irrigation
Harvesting Nettles and Herbal Tea Tasting
Grind local wheat and other grains and sample cheese scones made with local cheese and South Ridge vegetables.
Hands-on mini workshops will give you a chance to learn some plant identification, harvesting techniques, how to grind flour with a stationary bicycle and much more.
Right now we are starting the Italian Plum crop, finishing the green beans, getting the second round of raspberries and nettles and becoming purple with blackberry juice. We have a bumper crop of blackberries so spelt pies will be made soon.
For purchase on the Farm Tour will be Seasonal produce, Our famous bicycle-ground Four cheese scones, Mini pizzas with vegan & gluten free options, Pickles, Jams (unsweetened and alternatively sweetened), Bottled juices, Garlic Scape Pesto, Nettle Teas and Happy Heart Tea, Dried foods, Bliss Balls, Gluten-free Cheesecakes and Berry Blast Bars.
We're excited and the farm calls everyone over on Sept. 30th.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Snap peas, green beans, yellow plums, goji's and blackberries
The blackberries are plump and luscious - the bicycle-ground whole wheat spelt pies are scrumptious. Julie's plums from the north of the island are cooking down now into homemade jam. There's straight up unsweetened yellow plum, unsweetened plum-pear-apple-blackberry, and Peace River honey sweetened plum-pear-apple-blackberry.
I use the open kettle evaporation method for my spreads, jams, and preserves as I don't like fiddling with pectin, even Pomona's Pectin which I find doesn't hold well in the long term. Using minimal sweetening, I can stir ever so often and watch for exactly the right consistency that I like.
My jams, fruit butters and juices are lined up neatly on the shelves of the farm's commercial kitchen so that on farm tour day, Sunday, Sept. 30th, they'll be ready to sell. The South Ridge Farm crew will be demonstrating the grinding of our famous bicycle-ground flour and doing tastings of nettle chai, nettle mint, and happy heart tea and showing people how to brew it from picking of the nettle to sitting down with a cup! Our signature Vegan Nettle Chai Spelt Chocolate Cakes and Cookies will be on sale, along with nettle quiches - yum again.
Off to stir the jams...
I use the open kettle evaporation method for my spreads, jams, and preserves as I don't like fiddling with pectin, even Pomona's Pectin which I find doesn't hold well in the long term. Using minimal sweetening, I can stir ever so often and watch for exactly the right consistency that I like.
My jams, fruit butters and juices are lined up neatly on the shelves of the farm's commercial kitchen so that on farm tour day, Sunday, Sept. 30th, they'll be ready to sell. The South Ridge Farm crew will be demonstrating the grinding of our famous bicycle-ground flour and doing tastings of nettle chai, nettle mint, and happy heart tea and showing people how to brew it from picking of the nettle to sitting down with a cup! Our signature Vegan Nettle Chai Spelt Chocolate Cakes and Cookies will be on sale, along with nettle quiches - yum again.
Off to stir the jams...
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Beans, Raspberries, Salal berries and more
Beans, Raspberries and Salal a Plenty
Luscious French filet green bush beans steamed in salted water eaten fresh out of the pan are the latest offerings from the garden.
The Kamut is standing tall and breezy in it's blue-green splendour while at its feet are mustard greens, so spicy in our wild salad mix.
Nettles are drying on the outdoor racks; wild trailing blackberry and raspberry, too. The garlic is curing and the raspberries are plump and sweet. We need to harvest them and the salal berries every day.
We are most thankful that Shane, our New Zealand friend and gardener is back to work on clearing the heavy bush and berming it against the fences. Touring the garden, the farm manager shared her plans for the continued permaculturing of the property with more goji, blueberry, red and white currants and sea buckthorn being planted. Shane cleared a whole new pocket garden that will be warmed by the sun between a small rock valley. We are composting and mulching as fast as we can to fill it in with rich soil.
It's very dry here now and the deep mulch means success for the young and old seedlings that are dry farmed.
Late snap peas are tasty and just about ready.
Out I go to harvest more fingerling potatoes.
Luscious French filet green bush beans steamed in salted water eaten fresh out of the pan are the latest offerings from the garden.
The Kamut is standing tall and breezy in it's blue-green splendour while at its feet are mustard greens, so spicy in our wild salad mix.
Nettles are drying on the outdoor racks; wild trailing blackberry and raspberry, too. The garlic is curing and the raspberries are plump and sweet. We need to harvest them and the salal berries every day.
We are most thankful that Shane, our New Zealand friend and gardener is back to work on clearing the heavy bush and berming it against the fences. Touring the garden, the farm manager shared her plans for the continued permaculturing of the property with more goji, blueberry, red and white currants and sea buckthorn being planted. Shane cleared a whole new pocket garden that will be warmed by the sun between a small rock valley. We are composting and mulching as fast as we can to fill it in with rich soil.
It's very dry here now and the deep mulch means success for the young and old seedlings that are dry farmed.
Late snap peas are tasty and just about ready.
Out I go to harvest more fingerling potatoes.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Summer Fruits
Summer Fruits
Summer fruit has really come: gooseberries, salal berries, wild oregon grape, wild trailing blackberry, plums, raspberries, zucchini, banana fingerling potatoes, garlic, wild kale, spinach, fava beans, lettuce, wild mustard, parsley, calendula, butterfly bush, They are all ready and we're harvesting every day.
Nettles are continuing well, too; because I've been cutting them all spring and summer and they are getting watered by the grey water system they are vibrant, green, and growing succulent fresh leaves seemingly overnight. Every three days I can harvest the tops of the cut patches. What has gone to seed I either prune and add to the mulch - for it is excellent soil food - or let it the seeds fully ripen to harvest later on. Some people like to crush the seeds with a mortar and pestle and use it in pestos and the like. Others say that pregnant women should stay away from the seed.
In the drying loft, lemon balm, mints, and lots of nettle continue to dry out to be used immediately in the herb teas that have been selling well at the market. It's always lovely when a return customer from afar seeks my stand out and is happy to see me still producing the teas and baked goods.
Saturday market here we come!
Summer fruit has really come: gooseberries, salal berries, wild oregon grape, wild trailing blackberry, plums, raspberries, zucchini, banana fingerling potatoes, garlic, wild kale, spinach, fava beans, lettuce, wild mustard, parsley, calendula, butterfly bush, They are all ready and we're harvesting every day.
Nettles are continuing well, too; because I've been cutting them all spring and summer and they are getting watered by the grey water system they are vibrant, green, and growing succulent fresh leaves seemingly overnight. Every three days I can harvest the tops of the cut patches. What has gone to seed I either prune and add to the mulch - for it is excellent soil food - or let it the seeds fully ripen to harvest later on. Some people like to crush the seeds with a mortar and pestle and use it in pestos and the like. Others say that pregnant women should stay away from the seed.
In the drying loft, lemon balm, mints, and lots of nettle continue to dry out to be used immediately in the herb teas that have been selling well at the market. It's always lovely when a return customer from afar seeks my stand out and is happy to see me still producing the teas and baked goods.
Saturday market here we come!
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Berries and Garlic
We've begun the garlic harvest and the gooseberries are ready, too. No, we're not going to mix the two, but we will have them both at the Saturday Market July 28th.
Although our garlic is somewhat smaller than usual this year, it is strong and flavourful. We have an abundance, too; hence, we are selling it fresh and clean, as well as cured. I like my garlic fresh, for it's a bit sweeter.
The gooseberries, on the other hand, are huge! The gooseberry lovers will be pleased on Saturday and there are lots of you out there; I know from previous years.
The wood chips the local tree pruners dropped off a few weeks ago are almost used up in the pathways, and they are fragrant and inviting. In later years, they will break down and feed the soil and I can move the pathways if I wish or dig them out and lay the soil on top of the beds. Permaculture on the way...
There's still time to plant onions and leeks for the winter, so I'm off to do that now. Happy gardening.
We've begun the garlic harvest and the gooseberries are ready, too. No, we're not going to mix the two, but we will have them both at the Saturday Market July 28th.
Although our garlic is somewhat smaller than usual this year, it is strong and flavourful. We have an abundance, too; hence, we are selling it fresh and clean, as well as cured. I like my garlic fresh, for it's a bit sweeter.
The gooseberries, on the other hand, are huge! The gooseberry lovers will be pleased on Saturday and there are lots of you out there; I know from previous years.
The wood chips the local tree pruners dropped off a few weeks ago are almost used up in the pathways, and they are fragrant and inviting. In later years, they will break down and feed the soil and I can move the pathways if I wish or dig them out and lay the soil on top of the beds. Permaculture on the way...
There's still time to plant onions and leeks for the winter, so I'm off to do that now. Happy gardening.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Growing Galore
Lots growing on South Ridge Farm right now! Last week was our main harvest of black currants - some went into nice, tart jam, others to the Saturday Market, and the rest in the freezer for further creations, possibly in the Berry Blast Bars which sell out quickly each Saturday morning.
The gooseberries are prolific this year and soon will be ready. The zucchinis are tender and sweet, even the larger ones which I tend to use as veggie dippers. The oats are up and the kamut is tall and strong. We've been using the rhubarb in our baked goods and it is still growing well in it's somewhat shaded spot.
Winter crops like carrots, beets and broccoli stand 3 to 4 inches and the fall chard is doing well. The fall favas are standing up well, too.
I'm off to harvest more mint for the Nettle Mint tea and to pick pie cherries after lunch. I'll pick wild trailing blackberry, too, for the Berry Blast Bars, which due to lack of heat until recently aren't as sweet as usual. The Wild Raspberries and Thimble berries are very sweet, though, so it all balances. Eat well!
The gooseberries are prolific this year and soon will be ready. The zucchinis are tender and sweet, even the larger ones which I tend to use as veggie dippers. The oats are up and the kamut is tall and strong. We've been using the rhubarb in our baked goods and it is still growing well in it's somewhat shaded spot.
Winter crops like carrots, beets and broccoli stand 3 to 4 inches and the fall chard is doing well. The fall favas are standing up well, too.
I'm off to harvest more mint for the Nettle Mint tea and to pick pie cherries after lunch. I'll pick wild trailing blackberry, too, for the Berry Blast Bars, which due to lack of heat until recently aren't as sweet as usual. The Wild Raspberries and Thimble berries are very sweet, though, so it all balances. Eat well!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Stinging Nettles Galore
We harvested many kilograms of stinging nettles for tea yesterday. The wet, coldish spring and early summer has the nettles flourishing. The wild rose and honeysuckle petals near their end and that harvest is air drying safely inside - too wet, cloudy and cold for solar drying outside.
Last week we finished packaging big batches of nettle mint tea from the farm's various mints: peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint - yum! The boxes of teabags are selling speedily and mail orders abound. Our customers at the Salt Spring Saturday Market have difficulty choosing between the herbal teas, so some buy all three, the Nettle Chai, Nettle Mint and Happy Heart tea. All of South Ridge Farm's teas are herbal and of course the star ingredient is stinging nettle, except for the Happy Heart tea.
The wild berries are strong this year: wild strawberries are still producing and the wild raspberry (blackcaps) and wild trailing blackberries have just begun. Our tame raspberries are the late variety and they won't be ready until September or so - the timing is perfect. Those blackcaps are sweet and seemingly seedless. I've made space for them to expand into a hedgerow wall near my King apple and hazelnut/heartnut grove. This is their third year and they are prolific!
Back to the fall leek, carrot, pea, and broad bean (fava) planting...
Last week we finished packaging big batches of nettle mint tea from the farm's various mints: peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint - yum! The boxes of teabags are selling speedily and mail orders abound. Our customers at the Salt Spring Saturday Market have difficulty choosing between the herbal teas, so some buy all three, the Nettle Chai, Nettle Mint and Happy Heart tea. All of South Ridge Farm's teas are herbal and of course the star ingredient is stinging nettle, except for the Happy Heart tea.
The wild berries are strong this year: wild strawberries are still producing and the wild raspberry (blackcaps) and wild trailing blackberries have just begun. Our tame raspberries are the late variety and they won't be ready until September or so - the timing is perfect. Those blackcaps are sweet and seemingly seedless. I've made space for them to expand into a hedgerow wall near my King apple and hazelnut/heartnut grove. This is their third year and they are prolific!
Back to the fall leek, carrot, pea, and broad bean (fava) planting...
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
New Kamut Crop
Spring planting! I’m excited about the four 25 foot rows of kamut my neighbour Paul (Small Earth organic Farm) helped me plant last week.
Although a little bit compacted under its mulch of maple leaves, the black soil was crumbly and moist - a legacy of chicken pasturing rotation and layering compost beginning six years ago and ending last year. We planted on contoured rows between soaker hoses that irrigate clean water from our black and grey sewage system skillfully engineered through a series of holding tanks and massive sand filter and emitters.
It’s my first grain crop - I want to peek under the floating row cover to see the sprouts but its a few days too soon yet. Back to the stinging nettle and the nootka rose petals harvesting for the Nettle Chai, Nettle Mint and Happy Heart herbal teas.
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Welcome to the farm
South Ridge Farm is a permaculture farm on Salt Spring Island, BC, Canada. We craft herbal teas, cookies, cakes, and crackers made with farm produce. Wild salad mix and assorted vegetables also grace our stand at the Salt Spring Island Saturday Market and the Tuesday Market in the Park.
We practice organic and permaculture growing methods, such as layering cardboard, vegetable compost, prunings, spoiled hay and shredded paper from our office. We rake our broad-leaf maple leaves for mulches in the autumn. During the summer, we use our stored rainwater and our custom engineered septic system water for irrigation.
Less than seven years ago, our gardens were unnavigable thickets of blackberry sprinkled with poplars and comprised fir trees. Now nut, plum, apple and pear trees take their places amongst the gooseberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries, blueberries, wild salal, thimbleberries, salmon berries, wild raspberries, wild currants, saskatoon berries, and native trailing blackberries.
To produce our baked goods such as cookies, cakes and crackers, we grind local spelt, wheat and barley grain by bicycle as we need it which allows us to bake with fresh flour and get a great work out at the same time!
Come visit South Ridge Farm in the Saturday and Tuesday Markets on Salt Spring Island!
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