Some new (permanent) crops at Heritage Hill Farm - Asparagus & Rhubarb

I'm waiting so patiently for Spring and the arrival of a couple of new items for the farm. This year, we are going to be growing asparagus and rhubarb- some of my favorites!

These are perennials, so they will be in a permanent spot (aka a spot where they are not going to be disked in because they will emerge every year). It's going to take some time to establish and produce significantly.

Growing up, my grandma made the best cream sauce for asparagus. If you've seen asparagus growing in the Summer, it looks like a jungle- this huge patch of ferny foliage. But before that happens, the shoots first emerge and that is what you harvest. This can be easily done with a knife.The larger, thicker stems are from more mature plants. If you wait too long, it is tough to eat because its a little 'woodier'. Asparagus freezes very well and can also be canned or pickled.

We're growing a couple of varieties- a traditional green one and a purple one!
The plants have been ordered and they should arrive pre-Spring for planting.

When I was in France for a study abroad, white asparagus is normal- green asparagus is actually hard to find. Yes, it's really white and its not a special variety. It is grown under sometimes eight inches of mulch so the sunlight can't penetrate (to make chorophyll- what makes plants green). The reason they do this is because its thought to be more tender.

Adam and I like to cook with it too- our favorite recipe being prosciutto wrapped asparagus spears or simply, roasted asparagus. This works especially well with salmon.

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus

1/2 lb. Prosciutto, sliced
1/2 (8 oz.) package Neufchatel cheese softened (very similar to cream cheese)
12 asparagus spears, trimmed

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Spread the prosciutto slices with Neufchatel cheese.
Wrap the slices around 2-3 asparagus spears on a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake 15 minutes in the pre-heated oven, until the asparagus is tender.

Enjoy!

Or simply for roasting, trim the lower ends of the asparagus and drizzle with olive or vegetable oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet. Cook until tender. 


Coming soon- part 2- adventures with rhubarb at the farm. 

Crazy Coneflowers- A Must Have For Your Gardens

Sure enough, our weather in Iowa can be crazy...
The other day we didn't need jackets because it was so nice- yesterday we had close to three inches of snow! It was beautiful and unexpected- light, fluffy snow for most of the day. We were nice and cozy, and looking ahead to Spring. It was almost a perfect weekend, except for a spill on some very slippery ice where I thought I broke my arm (no worries- just a huge bruise that looks like I've been in a hockey match).

While being 'grounded' on the couch by my husband, I was looking into the best of our new plants and day dreaming about where they will be planted at our farm. One of my all time favorite categories for new perennials are the coneflowers or echinacea. Most, if not all of them, do well in zone 4- so perfect for Iowa- as well as further North and South. Butterflies love them- and so do we- because they make beautiful cut flowers that will bring a smile to anyone! Coneflower or echinacea, also has a strong presence in the pharmacy aisles, because they are proven to help in boosting immunity. See, they are pretty amazing and hard working! 

Coneflowers have come a long way from their very simple beginnings of prairie wildflowers.

And now thanks to hard working plant breeders, we have coneflowers in many unique colors such as orange, coral, reds, and yellows- single and doubled petaled flowers. Their names can be quite interesting- who knew 'Macaroni N Cheese' and 'Tomato Soup' can be best sellers in the plant world, aside from tasty dishes!

These new coneflowers scream summertime. Our bees and butterflies are going to be busy. Something tells me, they will be pretty happy about that...

These are some of my favorites that we have available for Spring.

Cheyenne Spirit

Double Scoop Orangeberry- double petals

Double Scoop Bubble Gum- double petals

Salsa Red - I love the bright red

Green Envy - lime green with pink centers!

I'm sure, breeders are going to continue being busy with this category. I sure hope so. I'm game for the newest and most unique- like I'm sure a lot of gardeners are!

Spring Fever- Gardening Edition

The last couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind.

I'm not at all complaining- in fact, I'm at my best when I'm busy.

Spring Fever is really starting to get to me. Spring is right around the corner and today it's supposed to be in the 50's. The harsh reality, is that tomorrow it will be like 10 degrees- winter in the Midwest can be very challenging and frustrating if you're a gardener.

Maybe my case of Spring Fever is especially difficult this year, because my customers are lining up Spring orders for their garden centers.We're also getting prepared to start hundreds of seeds for the Heritage Hill Farm's Community Supported Agriculture program. Either way, I'm surrounded by Spring and ready to get outside and get busy.

So, the next few weeks are going to be full of gardening adventures- to tide us all over.

Starting this weekend, I'm going to feature some of the best new plants for the season that are really getting us gardeners and our industry looking ahead to Spring.

I'll also show you how to make your own pots for seed starting- out of newspapers and egg cartons- that can be directly transplanted outside after our frost free date. After Valentine's Day, I will keep you updated on the seed starting progress- especially with all of our interesting heirloom vegetables. 

 Lots of great things are to come!

Here is a link to our farm:
http://www.heritage-hill-farms.com/

Etsy Shop Is Now Officially Open!

Home in the Heartland, my etsy shop is officially open! 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/120288609/hunters-star-quilt-made-with-cheery

I went to Iowa State for Apparel Merchandise, Design & Production and Horticulture. I have always been interested in textiles and finished my share of sewing classes. Long before that, I entered 4-H competitions at our county fair.

I've been getting back into my projects. Typically I work on the fabric coordination and piecing on the winter weekends. I leave the quilting part to my friend, Jenny. She does such an amazing job.

Here is one that I sold earlier, made with Moda's Bliss, a 2009 collection.
I was having a hard time finding some of the fabrics since it was from a couple years back.
Where there's a will, there's a way! 

This is going to be my next project- MoMo's Oh Deer collection!
I really like the colors and fun prints. 

Anxious for Spring!

2013 is officially here!

It's that time of the year when the Holidays are over and that long dreary period of anticipation for Spring begins. We're going stir crazy- or at least I am. What's worse is that the snow is melting we love our snow!

Here's a pic from a couple of weeks ago- the land is absolutely beautiful.
We can't wait to build out there.

So this wait period means that we are planning for our CSA program and markets, which seems like absolute torture right now!

Adam is "Mr. Details" and has been busy calculating where everything is going to be grown. I'm the type of person who will smuggle some plants in a little closer than they need to be, because I don't want them to go to waste or I pick up something interesting at the garden center. I'm guilty and coming clean- sometimes I don't exactly follow the planting widths/ spacing. I have a feeling I will have to this year, especially if you have seen some of these garden plans that Adam is working on. And he has lasers to measure. I'm doomed.

Our first seed starting projects are going to start around Valentine's Day. We know that will come fast, too fast. That's alright though because I have tons of work to do in the meantime- with my work and Adam has his work and deadlines. 

A Very Tucson Christmas

For the Holidays, Adam and I traveled to sunny Arizona.

Adam and I have been so bogged down by deadlines- my work's upcoming meetings and travel, marketing support for work, setting up the farm and the farm website (coming soon- Jan 1st), working on the production plans for our crops, and so many other aspects of our work and farm that could easily be overwhelming.

We needed a break... And I thought December was going to slow down just a bit- I was wrong!

We ended up having a great time with friends and family. We went horseback riding, golfing, shopped at Bon- one of my favorite boutiques of all time, baked cookies, cooked the Christmas pasta for dinner (amazing but very involved- I'll post the recipe), went to Mount Lemmon, enjoyed a giant cookie, and believe it or not- actually relaxed!

Here are some pics of our trip:  

Horseback riding with Lindz (Adam's sister), CiCi (Adam's mom) and myself.

Cookie Cabin!

The Cookie & Snowman

Mt. Lemmon

      My temporary office                

                                                Hope you all had a very nice Holiday
                                                                            & Happy New Year!

The First Crop At Heritage Hill Farm

It is official... we have a farm name and the first crop has been planted.

Heritage Hill Farms came to be, because Adam and I wanted to simply honor the agricultural heritage. We purchased this land from a farm family who has been farming in the area for five generations. As you probably know, I'm also very passionate about heirloom vegetables because of their unique tastes and flavors, plus the stories and folklore that accompanies the varieties. I find it remarkable that gardeners have worked hard generation after generation, to preserve and maintain these varieties that are typically not found in grocery stores because they don't have the shelf life and other commercial attributes. There is also a small hill on the property, where the house will eventually be built.

This Fall, we planted the first farm crop: garlic.

I ordered 3 cultivars of heirloom garlic: Music, Purple Glazer, and Armenian Porcelain. There are two categories: hardneck and softneck. Hardnecks typically have more complex flavors and have a higher perishability, and grow the best in more Northern climates. Softnecks are usually found in the grocery stores because of their longer shelf life.

Music garlic- a wonderful hardneck cultivar

In Iowa, we plant garlic in the Fall. This has been a challenge in the community gardens because the season begins in the Spring. We marked off a small area that was spared from Fall disking, and manually cleared a patch in the cornstalks. We tilled in some sand (because of the heavy clay) and made four and a half rows. Elizabeth and I separated the garlic into cloves and planted several inches apart and approximately 1'' deep. The rows were covered up and mulched. They should be nice and cozy, tucked in for the winter!

We planted approximately 450 cloves of garlic- I hope it's enough!

After they appear in the Spring, we will uncover them and use the mulch as a weed suppressant/ in between the rows. In the Summer, the foliage will dry down and that is the cue for harvesting!

I'm already looking forward to cooking with these great garlics, as well as having others enjoy them! I have lots of fresh dishes and canned pizza sauces that will be just wonderful with the garlic- I just need to be patient- something that I'm not good with.