A True Family Farm




When our boys help in the gardens they represent the fifth generation of the family to work the soil on Kimker Hill. Four generations still live on the farm today. Strong family bonds and a deep love and respect for the earth influence all of our farm practices.

Our gardens provide us with the best and purest of food, matchless beauty, and the ultimate earth science classroom for our homeschooled boys.

Sustainability is a popular buzz word among small scale agriculture. To us it means giving more than you take. Putting back what you use. Remembering that this beautiful earth will last forever and it's our commision to care for. In our gardens we try hard to follow these ideals and work with the earth's design, not against it.



Saturday, August 13, 2011

Great day at the market today!

What wonderful weather we all enjoyed at the market today!  It was a very welcome change after the heat wave we have all been enduring and the storm we got hit with two weeks ago at the market.  It was nice to see so many return to the market and so many new visitors.  We hope to see you all again this next week!

Beginning next weekend, we will be able to start taking credit cards.  We hope this will make it easier to shop with us. We will be able to take Mastercard, Visa, American Express and Discover.

Come see what the cooler weather predicted for the week does for the produce.  Hopefully the tomatoes will finally ripen.  We have 22 heirloom varieties growing in the new hoophouse, they are all full of green tomatoes that have been just staying green.  We've been told that they need below 90 degree weather to ripen so the forecast has us anticipating a bountiful harvest by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, the basil and cucumbers have been loving the heat.  Even the kale and swiss chard have been surviving fairly well, at least when the bugs allow it.  If you got some of these from us today, Enjoy! 

Here's a recipe we've been enjoying lately.  It's a wonderful Summer Salad.  It includes kale, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and fresh basil.
 
Begin with the kale, wash in cold water, then remove the stems and cut into small pieces.  Cut the cucumber into small slices.  Chop  the tomatoes.  Finely chop a small onion.  Finely chop fresh basil.  Add minced garlic if you like.  Sprinkle with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.  Toss it all together and enjoy!

By the way, if you missed us last weekend, we were at the Washington Fair.  Nate competed in the talent competition for the first time.  He played a ragtime classic, "Cleanin' Up In Georgia."  He wore a tux and we spiked his blond hair.  He looked adorable.  He got 2nd place in his age group!  We are very proud of him! He's looking forward to doing it again next year.  He's already started practicing a new ragtime piece.