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The North Farm CSA

Week 5 - What the Heck is a Kohlrabi, Anyway???

7/18/2017

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What's in the Box?

From The North Farm
Baby Kale
​Broccoli
Cucumber
Eggplant
Green Garlic
Head Lettuce
Kohlrabi
​Salad Turnips
From Bean Pole Farm
Parsley​

Notes From the Field

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Welcome to week 5 - it's hard to believe we are already on the downhill slide into August, but we can tell as we look around the farm and start too see the colors of vegetables changing, fruits fattening, and leaves swelling. It is a nice time to be on the farm!

We wanted to introduce to you the other two farms that are providing produce for your weekly shares. These two farms are participating in what we call the Apprentice Farmer Program, which is a business incubator hosted at The North Farm. Through this incubator, we welcome growers who are looking for access to land and resources to start or expand their farm business. They settle on The North Farm for up to five years, using this time to establish their business, create a marketing plan, fine tune their growing skills, and build revenue. They are their own, independent businesses, using the resources at The North Farm to get a solid footing. This week we would like to introduce Landen Tetil, of Bean Pole Farm:

Landen, owner of Bean Pole Farm, chose her path based on the desire to fully immerse herself in a sustainable agriculture career. Landen originates from a rural area of lower Michigan, and has been surrounded by agriculture her whole life. Growing up, she spent countless summer days on her grandparent’s farm; as a teenager, she worked on a hybrid corn and soybean farm, and spent her college summers on an organic vegetable farm. These experiences, along with a never-ending thirst for dirt under her fingernails, all contributed to the advent of Bean Pole Farm.

Landen is a 2013 Northern Michigan University graduate, earning her B.S. in Environmental Studies and Sustainability. After graduation, she moved to northcentral Wisconsin, where she studied the art of permaculture and received her Permaculture Design Certificate. These teachings of sustainable life systems and closed-loop functions spurred a shift in her, and a determined search to begin a career in sustainable agriculture commenced. When word got out of a new farm incubator opening in the Upper Peninsula, she knew it was time to bid Wisconsin farewell and begin her journey as a small-scale organic vegetable farmer. Now, she grows vegetables, flowers, and herbs through a lease from the MSU North Farm incubator program in Chatham, Michigan. To learn more about the incubator program, visit the webpage: www.msunorthfarm.org/apprentice-farmer-program.html

​Bean Pole Farm, now in year 3 of production, has big plans for its future. The farm’s main goals include becoming a fully self-sustaining closed-loop system, thriving off the natural inputs a working farm provides, while absorbing the outputs in a cyclic pattern. Beyond that, Landen is working toward the dream to provide a whole-diet food share, based on a CSA model including every part of the human diet. Components will include grains, protein, vegetables, fruit, nuts, herbs and a form of sweetness. Landen hopes that one day Bean Pole Farm will be an educational farm, where the community can gather and learn about food, sustainable life systems and farming.

Recipes and Resources

Five Ways to Prepare Kohlrabi
  • Feeling a little intimidated by what seems to be a spaceship in your box, check out these quick tips on how to make the most of your kohlrabi!
Glazed Hakurei Turnips
  • I prefer eating these sweet gems raw (they are very different from what you might think of as turnips). But if you are in the mood for something a little sweeter, try this recipe. We trimmed the tops this week because they were looking a little rough, so substitute the turnip greens for baby kale.
17 Delicious Eggplant Recipes
  • Eggplant is another one of the vegetables that causes folks to scratch their heads. Check out these options on how to use this seemingly banal and confusing veggie,
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Featured Item

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Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi evokes strong emotions from people. You either love it, hate it, or (more commonly) are terrified of it. We are here to help you on your kohlrabi journey. We know you can love it - you just have to get to know it better first.

It is in the same family as some familiar characters - cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower. Instead of being bread for its leaves or flowers, as these others were, it was bread for a fat, sweet stalk that has a delightful crunch, and a juicy sweetness.

We've included some recipes up above, but to be honest, I prefer eating it raw, peeled and sliced. It's great with a little seasoned salt, or dipped in hummus. It may look a bit strange, but we hope you can appreciate what it brings to the table.

​Storage Recommendations

In the Fridge:
Bagged:
  • Baby Kale
  • Head Lettuce
  • ​Parsley
​Broccoli
Cucumber
Green Garlic
Head Lettuce
Kohlrabi
​Salad Turnips 
​

In warmer part of fridge (top shelf):
  • Eggplant
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    The North Farm is a research, education, and production farm located in the central Upper Peninsula. 

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  • Home
  • Farms
    • The North Farm >
      • Production
    • Mighty Soil Farm
    • Previous Farms >
      • Bean Pole Farm
      • Full Heart Garden
      • Treasa's Treasures
      • Mastfell Farm
  • Education
    • Apprentice Farmer Program
    • Land Based Learning Centers
    • Start Seeds/Save Seeds for School Gardens
    • Visit the Farm
    • Request an Activity
  • Research
  • Resources
    • Michigan Small Farm Network
  • Contact
    • Donation Request
    • Visit the Farm
  • Jobs