Muffins for breakfast!

Hope you're hungry in the morning. I just finished baking muffins for the market. I'm bringing Gluten-Free Chocolate, Chocolate-Chip Muffins & Green Tomato Spice Muffins with raisins.

Don't miss out! See you tomorrow!

Another new mix for the market tomorrow!

And now I have finished the new Gluten-Free Cookie Mix!

Please stop by the market tomorrow and get some to try at home. The market runs from 9:00am to 1:00pm. Hope to see you there!

Need more info? Check out http://www.tgmarket.org/

Tower Grove Farmers' Market

www.tgmarket.org

Don't forget, we are in a new location! We will be in the gymnasium of the City Garden Montessori Charter School located at 1618 Tower Grove Avenue. That is just north of I-44.

Exciting news!

One good thing about this crazy weather has been my having time to perfect the recipes for new mixes.

 I just finished making the first batch of my new Gluten-Free Bread Mix! 

I'm trying to decide if I should make more.  I'd love some feedback, if you will be at the Tower Grove Winter Farmers' Market tomorrow and are interested in getting the new mix, could you let me know?  I would greatly appreciate it.

Back to work.

What wild weather we are having this winter!

 Last weekend we started out sunny with temps in the 40's. Then we got a few flurries and the temps dropped quickly. By Sunday morning we were in the middle of a blizzard, lots of snow with high winds. We ended up officially with 12" snow, but it was such a dry snow the wind just kept blowing it around. We had places with just a dusting and places w...ith 5 feet of snow. We still can't see the end of the hoophouse, the snow piled up against it almost as high as the top of the door on one end. By nightfall, the temperature fell below 0, with a low of -9. Monday only got up to 4 degrees. It's slowly been warming up, high of 34. 

 This morning started out cloudy, then boom! Thunder, lightning and rain! and the snow is finally starting to melt, it's 43 degrees. You just never know what to expect with Missouri weather!

Good morning everyone!  It's a beautiful sunny day here in the country!  The rooster and quite a few hens are clucking right outside the window in front of me.  Birds are flitting back and forth to the bird feeders on the front porch.  The little wind mills in the flower bed are turning steadily.  All in all it's a very peaceful setting.  Almost all the snow has melted, there are just little patches left here and there. 

Over the weekend, the boys successfully talked me into making gluten-free bread.  The first loaf was good, but very dense and crumbly.  Then, I tried a new recipe my friend has been using for a while now.  She uses my Gluten-Free Mixed Grain Flour.  It turned out wonderful.  Thank you Pam!  It was so light and tasted great, it wasn't as crumbly and sliced very well.  In fact, it was so good I made another double batch the next day.

Danny had me set one loaf back (I had to hide it so it didn't just disappear the way the first loaves did.)  We wanted to see how well it would slice after a couple days.  It was perfect. We had it for breakfast this morning with butter and jam. 

Now I'm wondering how many of our customers would be interested in getting gluten-free bread at the market.  I've had numerous requests for a bread mix in the past, especially gluten-free.  I would really appreciate feedback on this!

Have a great day!  I'm looking forward to your comments.

Just sitting here enjoying the view!

As far as I can see everything is covered in white.  It's really pretty! It's still cloudy and everything is so peaceful. The bright red cardinals are flitting from tree to tree. The chickens are all nestled in the coop, the dogs are snuggled up in their doghouse, the cats are curled up inside the shop. There are no footprints to mar the surface of the snow.
What a great day to stay inside. I made waffles for breakfast with frozen fruit topping. Now my guys are trying to talk me into making homemade bread, gluten-free of course so Danny can enjoy it as well.
It's strange to be at home after a whole week of preparing to go to the market.

We won't be at the Farmers' Market today after all

Good Morning!  The snow has successfully changed our plans for today.  We won't be at the new Tower Grove Winter Farmers' Market after all.  We hope to see you there in January!

What a beautiful snow-covered day!

What a beautiful day! I love watching it snow! Nate is having a blast playing in it! I especially love it when I don't have to go anywhere and I can stay inside and just enjoy the view!

The chickens seem to be happy with their new spot, they are finally laying more eggs! I should actually have some to bring to the market with us next weekend. Enjoy this lovely day!

Crazy weather this week!

What crazy weather we've had in the past week. Over the weekend it was sunny and cool and finally dry enough that we were able to dig the last of the sweet potatoes, plus we found some yukon gold potatoes we missed earlier in the summer. It is so great to still be eating right out of the garden in December!


Then we had 3 days with temperatures over 60. We went to work clearing out the gardens, ...pulling out old plants, picking up all the plant markers, collecting forgotten and scattered gardening tools, pulling out bamboo stakes and so much more.

We cleaned out the asparagus bed, layered on fertilizer from the chickens and covered the whole bed with a thick layer of hay. Then I finally got the strawberry bed mulched. Now we just wait for spring.

My dad came and helped move the chicken coop over onto the big garden right behind the house. I love being able to watch the chickens as I work in the kitchen. Unfortunately, now they can't seem to find their way home when the sun goes down.

The boys and I spent hours last night as the temperature kept dropping and the wind picked up searching for them with flashlights and carrying them back to the coop. We finally had to give up on the last one. Tonight, we had to brave the cold and blowing snow and wind to go find them and carry them back to the coop again. At least this time they were more cooperative and it didn't take too long.

Now I'm looking forward to waking up to everything covered in a blanket of snow!

We will be back at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market tomorrow morning!

Have you missed us?

Hi everyone! Just a reminder that we will be back at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market tomorrow morning.
We have lots of produce we will be bringing with us. There are 22 varieties of heirloom tomatoes, including lots of cherry & grape tomatoes. There are tomatillos, verde & purple, lots of green beans, purple royalty beans & Chinese long red noodle beans, lettuce, kale, beets, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, okra, Rainbow Swiss Chard, bell peppers in several colors, plus herbs.
On top of all that, I will have all my mixes, regular & gluten-free, as well as all the freshly ground, organic flours & organic grains, beans & peas.
Don't forget to stop by & see what Danny & Nate will be sampling.
Hope to see you tomorrow!

Good news for the market tomorrow!

In case you didn't get the e-mail from the market, here's the great news:

The extremely popular Chipotle token giveaway is back this Saturday at 8am! The first 300 shoppers will receive a FREE $10 token that they can use at any of the vendor booths at the market that day.


Hope you can join us!

New veges are ripe!

Hey, we are excited now!  In spite of a very slow start to our growing season this year, we now have green beans and Chinese long red noodle beans!  We also finally have cucumbers.  I made Bread & Butter Pickles today (using my Great Grandma's recipe.)  We have yellow squash & zucchini & for the past few days we have been picking everyone's favorite, heirloom tomatoes!  They taste amazing!!!!  Definitely worth the wait! 

Well, we just finally finished preparations for the market in the morning. Hope to see everyone there!

I'm not sure why, but we got left off the Occassional Vendor list on the Tower Grove Market e-mail. However, we will be there.

This will be the first week we have zucchini and yellow squash. We'll also be bringing eggs! and a lot more!

The market opens at 8:00.

No market tomorrow!

Hey everybody, we've had a change in plans. We won't be at the market tomorrow after all.

We will be back July 20th! Fully stocked and ready to go.

Hope to see everyone then!

Come visit us at the farm!

We have our little shop set up in the garage and we're ready for visitors. We'll be available this Saturday afternoon if you'd like to stop by. Or, just give us a call at 636-629-7838 to see if we'll be available when you have time to come.

Right now we have Rainbow Swiss Chard, curly kale, mesclun mix and several varieties of lettuce ready to pick when you call, and Bonnie just picked broccoli this afternoon.

Also, if you'd like to buy grains, beans, peas... in bulk, you can bring your own containers to put them in and get a per pound discount.

We also have about 17 varieties of heirloom tomato plants for sale. They are ready to go right into your garden!

Come check it out!

We had a great turnout at the market Saturday. The weather was perfect. We are really loving our new spot.

Did you manage to get any of the baby kale, or the spinach? It disappeared quickly. How about the fava beans? or the spring salad mix? or the Rainbow Swiss Chard?

I managed to get 2 new mixes ready in time for the market, Gluten-Free Healthy Waffle Mix and Gluten-Free Spice Muffin Mix. Did you get one? I'm anxious to get feedback from those who did. I've been using the recipes at home for over a year now. We actually prefer them over the originals.

We'll be back at the market again on June 1st!

In the meantime, give us a call (636-629-7838) and we'll let you know when you can come pick up on the farm. Just let us know what you'd like and we'll pick it just for you and have it ready when you arrive.

Market tomorrow morning!

Quick reminder, we will be back at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market tomorrow morning! 

Danny and Bonnie have been picking for hours.  We have lots of fresh, organically grown produce!

I have also been working on my new Gluten-Free Mixes this week.  I've been grinding flour for days.  Come try them out!

Hope to see you tomorrow!

May 16, 2013

You should see how quickly the gardens are changing. We are getting more beds prepared every day and more plants transplanted into their new homes. Now if we could just keep the chickens from getting through the fence and scratching them up.

Well, it worked, we made it through the market without getting soaked. Thanks to everyone who joined us. The market season got off to a good start.

Did you find us Saturday? Our new spot for the season is right near the main entrance, close to the pavillion. We're very pleased with the new location. We will have shade all season and a little more room to spread out! We're also close enough to hear the music this year.

Did you manage to get one of our flyers with our schedule for the season? We thought we brought plenty, but we ran out halfway through the morning.

Our plan is to be at the market on the first Saturday of each month as well as a few select days for special events.

We will be back again next Saturday, May 18th.

Rain, rain and more rain! Please let it stop by morning!

Tower Grove Farmers' Market begins it's 8th season tomorrow!

Rain or shine. We'll be there bright and early, ready to set up. We found out our new spot will be near the main entrance. Don't forget to look for us!

We are very grateful right now to have the hoophouse. Danny and Bonnie won't have to do the picking in the rain.

We will be bringing lots of fresh veges. We have Rainbow Swiss Chard, a variety of lettuces, spinach, several types of kale, spicy mustard greens and herbs.

We will also have numerous varieties of heirloom tomato plants for your own garden. Come check them out.

Hope to see you tomorrow!!!

May 2, 2013

Hey, cheer with us. This time we beat the rain and actually got the potatoes planted! We completely filled garden #3 and still had seed potatoes left. Now if we get the rain they're forecasting, it will just help them grow.

I also managed to weed my asparagus bed today. To my surprise and delight, there were quite a few ready to munch on while I worked! By the time I went back in the house, I didn't even need lunch. They are very tasty this year. I hope they keep on producing for a while, you wait all year for them and then it seems like the harvest is over way too fast.

Tomorrow we finish preparing for the market.

Getting ready for Opening Day at Tower Grove Farmers' Market

Hi everyone! We have a very busy week planned. We will be preparing for opening day at Tower Grove Farmers' Market.  It begins this Saturday, May 4th. Opening day will have extra shopping hours. The market opens at 8am and stays open until 2pm.

Have you been missing all the fresh, local and organic produce? Time to stock up on fresh vegetables, grains and freshly ground flours, as well as my healthy mixes. I will be working on them all week.

Hope to see you there!

New chicks in a new home!

Our new little chicks have outgrown their brooder.  Bear and Danny had to build them a new home this evening.  It should work for a little while, but they'll be flying out of it before long.  They're already getting their first real feathers.  I went out and took pictures a little while ago.

If it ever stops raining we're going to move all the chickens onto garden #5 for a while and let them fertilize it for us.  We're doing a lot of rotation this year within the gardens. 

March 21, 2013

Everthing has sprouted, I have hundreds of seedlings that now need to be transplanted.

 Danny & Zach & I have been working in the hoophouse. There is so much weeding & mulching to be done. We're also moving trellises so we can rotate crops. The greens are continuing to be harvested, as well as carrots, radishes & turnips. Danny's also been direct seeding new crops.

We're looking forward to the new marketing season. We'll be changing our schedule quite a bit this year. More info on that coming soon.

Getting started for the new season!

It's official.  Yesterday I finally made myself begin the planting season.  I've started 7 varieties of cherry & grape tomatoes, broccoli & cabbage.  Now I'm working on roma & large tomatoes. 

We've already had a couple pickings this year in the hoophouse.  Zachary has been whetting everyone's appetite with pictures of what's growing on Facebook.  He went out during the sleet storm & picked & ate a salad with everything straight out of the hoophouse.  Soon we'll be bringing some of it to the market again.

Time to go get busy again!

We would like to thank everyone who worked so hard to make the summer market at Tower Grove Park such a success!  We look forward to next year's market season.

November 1, 2012
Come join us this Saturday for the last day of the Tower Grove Farmers' Market this year. We still have lots of beautiful, delicious, heirloom tomatoes. We also have plenty of greens, rainbow swiss chard, spinach, several varieties of lettuce & our spicy greens mix.

We are loving this cooler weather! This is the first year that Danny has been working on the farm full-time. He actually has the time to do the things we always planned on doing with the gardens, but never had time to carry out. He has really gotten into succession planting. He tries to keep something new sprouting all the time. Then, as soon as he has an open space available, he gets the sprouts into the ground. The cooler weather has really been helping with the new greens. He has several varieties of lettuce, spinach and spicy mustard greens all looking beautiful now. The bugs are also beginning to let up a little, maybe the swiss chard and kale can finally recover.


Come enjoy the fruits of all this labor at the market on Saturday!

September 12, 2012
The yard and gardens are looking greener everyday. I'm so thankful for the rain that we've gotten recently. The gardens are beginning to reward us again for all the hard work this summer.


We were finally able to harvest potatoes after the first rain. They taste wonderful. We've been eating potatoes almost everyday for the past 2 weeks. So far we've had them mashed, baked, scalloped and yes...terday, pressure-cooked with a roast and carrots. Tomorrow it's supposed to cool off, so we're planning on potato soup. If you missed out getting some of them for yourself last Saturday, don't miss out this weekend. We have 5 different varieties, all organically-grown, in assorted sizes. Come pick out your favorite at the Tower Grove Farmers' Market this Saturday. We're open from 8am to noon.

August 16, 2012
The gardens are looking much better now. A friend has been helping us to get rid of lots of weeds. If we get rain tomorrow, we'll start digging potatoes on Friday and then we'll be bringing some of them to the market on Saturday. It's been months since we've gotten any new potatoes because of the extreme heat and lack of rain.

August 10, 2012
We'll be back at the market tomorrow.


Last Saturday, Nate won first place in the talent show at the Washington Fair! He played the Maple Leaf Rag in the key of F, then C & then finished it off in the key of G. We're very proud of his accomplishment!

Get ready to stock up, we'll be bringing lots of veges tomorrow!

July 25, 2012
Will this heat ever end? We have been crunching our way all over the farm. Danny's watering what he can, but there's no way to water everything. The gardens look like an oasis in a sea of dead grass.


Danny crunched his way out to check on the bees several times this week. The hive is thriving, but we've had to start feeding them again due to the lack of rain. There's very little blooming for them to collect from. I sure hope we get some of the rain the weatherman says is a possibility for tomorrow!!!!

July 20,2012
We need rain!!!!! I spent so much time today watering the gardens. Thankfully Danny usually takes of the watering, but he was busy elsewhere. His watering has been paying off, most of the plants are continuing to produce quite nicely now in spite of the never-ending, oppressive heat. The peppers and cucumbers and the chinese long red noodle beans are thriving. I started making dill pickles this past week. I made old-fashioned and spicy dills. If you'd like to make your own, come get cucumbers from us at the market this Saturday. We grow an heirloom variety that we really like and we think you will too.

June 21, 2012
Big picking day tomorrow! Come get your fresh produce at the market Saturday! The weather forecast looks much better than earlier predicted. It should be really pleasant in the morning. Remember, we open at 8am.

June 20,2012
The gardens are looking great despite the lack of rain. Danny or I are watering something everyday. This past week we picked the first ripe tomatoes and cucumbers. There's nothing better than a vine ripened heirloom tomato. We've been picking and eating as we're working in the gardens.

Just want to let everyone know, I have added two new kinds of flour.  After many, many requests, this past weekend I added Almond Flour.  This weekend I will also be bringing Tapioca Flour. 

The number of people who need gluten-free products just keeps on growing.  I'm doing my best to try to fill that need.  The past few weeks I have been making Gluten-Free Muffins for the market.  I'm using my Gluten-Free Mixed Grain Flour.  So far, the response has been very favorable.  I'm considering making a different kind each week.  Thus far I've brought Banana and Banana Chocolate Chip, and this past weekend I made Low Sugar, Dark Chocolate Chocolate-Chip.

I'd love to hear some feed-back on them, as well as suggestions on what variety of muffin you'd like me to make.  This week I'm thinking about Blueberry.

Hope to see you at the market in the morning!

We're just about to pack it in for the night.  Danny has been picking since the early afternoon.  Bonnie has been picking for hours and Colin and the kids came to help too.  We got the very first new potatoes this afternoon and the kids had fun picking them up and carrying them inside.

The gardens are bountiful right now.  Besides new potatoes, we will be bringing Rainbow Swiss Chard, several varieties of kale, a spicy greens mix, baby bok choy, beet greens, red leaf lettuce, fava beans and snow peas.  We will also be bringing a few dozen eggs, so be fast if you want them.

The beans have sprouted! It's taken a couple of plantings, but they are finally out of the ground. Just seeing the sprouts make me hungry for the beans. We are growing long stringless green beans as well as Chinese Long Red Noodle Beans. Both are tasty and I am ready to eat them. Too bad I'll have to wait for a while for them to produce.




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It's been a busy planting week here at the farm. Danny's been starting numerous things from seed, and I've been doing lots of transplanting. We'll be bringing more plants with us to this week's market, get your gardens or pots ready and pick up what you need to get started planting at your house. See you Saturday!

Opening Day of the Tower Grove Farmers' Market was a huge success. We hope you managed to be one of the first 500 who got the free $10 tokens. It was very nice to see our returning customers and to meet so many new people. We hope it is just the beginning of a wonderful market season!

What a hot day!  I spent the morning weeding and watering in the hoophouse until I couldn't take the heat in there anymore.  At first, the breeze felt so good I didn't notice the temperature was climbing fast.  When I gave up and came inside, the sensor showed it was 105 degrees in the hoophouse. 

The plants are loving the heat.  Everything is growing quickly and looks beautiful.  The Rainbow Swiss Chard and Kale look as good as they did at the April market.  So far, for the most part the bugs are still leaving them alone.  The Fava Beans are growing like crazy and they're loaded with beans ready to pick.  The tomato plants that we have transplanted in the ground are getting big and lots of them have blooms already, a few even have little green tomatoes on them.

We have plenty more planted in and out of the hoophouse.  I hope the weather stays nice this week so we can bring lots of produce with us to the market!

Well, the push is on.  Opening day of the Tower Grove Farmers' Market is this Saturday!  The hours are extended for Opening Day, we begin at 8am and continue until 2pm. 

We recently got an e-mail from the market, you'll want to be there early, the first 500 shoppers will get a $10 token to use at any vendor booth at the market that day! Come early, they will go fast.  If you haven't signed up to get their weekly e-mails, I encourage you to do so.  Just go to http://www.tgmarket.org/   You can see a list of vendors, activities and a whole lot more.

Danny is working on improvements for our set-up under the tent.  I think everyone will appreciate the new look, stop by and say "Hi" and check it out.  Let us know what you think.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Another beautiful day!  Danny's out weeding the potato patch! 

What amazing weather we're having, everything is growing like crazy and all the trees are in bloom!  I just can't believe this is March.  Even the potatoes have sprouted already!

I spent most of the day today weeding flower beds and transplanting perennials.  I'm looking forward to seeing them bloom. Tomorrow I'll be transplanting trees and bushes.

We have lots of tomato plants that are hardening off in the hoophouse.  By next week they should be ready to start planting in the ground.  I'll be bringing quite a few to the market in April.  We also have pepper seedlings that have finally sprouted, it seemed to take forever.  I guess I'm just overanxious because it's already so hot.  It's been getting over 100 degrees in the hoophouse--with the sides open!  I forgot to open it Saturday morning and when I got home at noon it was 118 degrees in there!

We had a great day at the market on Saturday!

It was so nice to see everyone. What a beautiful sunny day it turned out to be. We hope you enjoyed all the wonderful swiss chard and kale. I'm anxious to get feedback on the new Gluten-Free Mixed-Grain Flour.

Market tomorrow! Come join us!

We'll be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market tomorrow from 9am to 1pm. 

We're bringing all the usual items.  We have lots of bright, beautiful veges.  The Rainbow Swiss Chard and all the different varieties of Kale are loving this weather and the lack of bugs and are growing like crazy.  They both taste so wonderful we've been eating them almost everyday. I've been combining them together and adding chopped onions, seasalt and a little butter.  Mmmmmmmm delicious!  Get some for yourself tomorrow!

I also finally decided to let everyone try my Gluten-Free Mixed-Grain Flour.  We've been cooking gluten-free now for a couple of months and I had to come up with a good flour mix.  After lots of requests, I'm bringing some for others to try tomorrow.  I'll be waiting for comments and suggestions.

We will also have our Kimker Hill Farm raised, grass (& tomato)-fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, beef again.  If you missed it last month, you have another chance tomorrow.  It's available for a limited time, it will be a while before we raise more.

Danny will have his candles, I'll have handmade soap, freshly-ground flours, mixes, grains, jellies, jams, gift baskets and more! 

Hope to see you!

Thank you for the comment on The Virtues of Mulch

Here's the comment that caught my attention today.

Interesting, I read a book called lasagna gardening and I follow the book every steps. First, gather all your newspaper or even junk mail soak them in water. I soaked mine in a cooler. Then, I just lay them in the ground no digging at all after I just keep piling on top with different organic matter. Your leaves, grass clippings, kitcthen scrap, egg shell, fish scraps, coffee grinds. After I saw the outcome of my summer garden I believe on lasagna gardening now. Check them out..


I read that book years ago, and I love the concept.  We've been working on applying it in the hoophouse the past couple weeks.  First, we finished clearing out the dead tomato plants.  Surprisingly, a few of the plants in the middle row were still alive, a couple of them even had new shoots growing up from the roots.  I didn't like having to pull them out, but I knew they wouldn't survive the extreme cold on the way.  Then, Danny and the boys layered on the compost and manure they emptied out of the chicken coop.  This week, I put on a new layer of junk mail and newspapers, then I started covering the walkways with cardboard.  When the weather permits again, we will layer on the big pile of leaves we collected in the fall.

It's great to be getting a head start for the spring!  This time last year, we didn't even have the hoophouse finished.

We won't be at the Winter Market this weekend

Sorry to dissapoint, but we won't be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market this weekend.  We'll plan to see everyone next month.

Winter market this weekend! Hope you can join us!

This Saturday we will be at the St. Louis Community Farmers' Market in Tower Grove.  This will be the second winter market for the season.  Surprisingly, we will still have a limited amount of fresh produce.  Bonnie checked the hoophouse this afternoon and said she will be picking tomatoes, lettuce, swiss chard, bok choy, kale, green beans and fava beans tomorrow afternoon.

We will also be bringing handmade soaps and candles with us.  Danny has been making candles in wonderful scents that make the house smell amazing.  Come and check them out!

We are also working on gift baskets!  If you have a favorite product (or products) of ours you would like to see in a basket, please let us know!

Grass-Fed Beef available soon!

Sir Loin of Beef, The Duke of Hamburger and Secretary of Steak are all about to live up to their names.  They are all being "processed" and will be ready for pickup next week. 

We are looking forward to enjoying our very first Kimker Hill Farm raised, grass (& tomato)-fed, antibiotic-free, hormone-free, beef.  If you would like to enjoy some too, I will know prices soon.  You can e-mail me if you'd like to be on the list of buyers.