Went to New Town Farms (between my house and Waxhaw) today to pick up my CSA box for the week. Took some pix while there -- it's such a wonderful place I thought readers would enjoy the tour:
The CSA box is getting more full each week as the season progresses:
In this week's box, from left to right: in the big clear bag, three HUGE heads of lettuce (green leaf, red leaf, and Romaine); bag of spinach; the red root veggies -- until Sammy sends his list later today I don't know if these are a red radish or a turnip; lacinato kale; white turnips/turnip greens; bundle of turnip greens. Just picked this morning!
Update from Sammy's email that just arrived: in the bag with the three heads of lettuce there is a head of Escarole -- a heavier leaf with a little more flavor than lettuce -- great as a salad green (along with Romain and leaf lettuce). The "bundle of turnip greens" are, in fact, Broccoli raab, a "hearty Italian cooking green usually cooked wtih garlic and red pepper and tossed with pasta and cheese." The long red radishes are shunkyo radishes.
Farmer Sammy on the phone:
Gespar, Sammy's Mexican helper for many years, lives on the farm with the family. I get to use my very broken Spanish with Gespar:
Beautiful rows of nutrition:
Kale:
Garlic:
Cabbage and more greens:
Many varieties of potatoes:
Eggplant:
Even the best organic farmers battle the eggplant leaf hoppers: (this was the only bad eggplant leaf I saw)
Blueberries (there are twice this many bushes):
Grapevines:
Movable chicken "tractor:"
Porkers -- a small herd of pigs supposedly descended from the ones kept by George Washington at Mount Vernon. While these will end up on the table, they have a full two acres of woods in which to manifest their pigness and porcine sensibilities. One had just given birth that morning back in the woods to a litter of babies:
The lake separating Sammy's farm from his late father's 25 acre homesite:
Sammy's greenhouse for starting plants in the spring:
Sammy's late father's home which he and Melinda are turning into an event site, rentable for dinners, family reunions, and other events. Their oldest daughter Zoe is headed to college this fall to study hotel/hospitality management and she will come back to run this facility in the future. A gorgeous setting. In a couple of weeks, Slow Food Charlotte is having a big wine-tasting event at "the Inn" featuring an organic California vintner and food from local farms and chefs -- a typical use of the property that they plan to expand in the future.
Ah, the traditional Southern tree-lined lane to the "big house:"
Another (larger) mobile chicken "tractor" on his father's property:
Great farm, great family -- since they homeschool their eight kids the older ones are all active in the farm, helping to load the CSA boxes, etc. Had a nice visit with Melinda but didn't have my camera with me when I chatted with her. She's a gracious, hard-working and hands-on woman/wife/mom -- with the farm and with her children. A great place to hang out.
P.S. There is another entry further below with additional pix from New Town Farms.
The CSA box is getting more full each week as the season progresses:
In this week's box, from left to right: in the big clear bag, three HUGE heads of lettuce (green leaf, red leaf, and Romaine); bag of spinach; the red root veggies -- until Sammy sends his list later today I don't know if these are a red radish or a turnip; lacinato kale; white turnips/turnip greens; bundle of turnip greens. Just picked this morning!
Update from Sammy's email that just arrived: in the bag with the three heads of lettuce there is a head of Escarole -- a heavier leaf with a little more flavor than lettuce -- great as a salad green (along with Romain and leaf lettuce). The "bundle of turnip greens" are, in fact, Broccoli raab, a "hearty Italian cooking green usually cooked wtih garlic and red pepper and tossed with pasta and cheese." The long red radishes are shunkyo radishes.
Farmer Sammy on the phone:
Gespar, Sammy's Mexican helper for many years, lives on the farm with the family. I get to use my very broken Spanish with Gespar:
Beautiful rows of nutrition:
Kale:
Garlic:
Cabbage and more greens:
Many varieties of potatoes:
Eggplant:
Even the best organic farmers battle the eggplant leaf hoppers: (this was the only bad eggplant leaf I saw)
Blueberries (there are twice this many bushes):
Grapevines:
Movable chicken "tractor:"
Porkers -- a small herd of pigs supposedly descended from the ones kept by George Washington at Mount Vernon. While these will end up on the table, they have a full two acres of woods in which to manifest their pigness and porcine sensibilities. One had just given birth that morning back in the woods to a litter of babies:
The lake separating Sammy's farm from his late father's 25 acre homesite:
Sammy's greenhouse for starting plants in the spring:
Sammy's late father's home which he and Melinda are turning into an event site, rentable for dinners, family reunions, and other events. Their oldest daughter Zoe is headed to college this fall to study hotel/hospitality management and she will come back to run this facility in the future. A gorgeous setting. In a couple of weeks, Slow Food Charlotte is having a big wine-tasting event at "the Inn" featuring an organic California vintner and food from local farms and chefs -- a typical use of the property that they plan to expand in the future.
Ah, the traditional Southern tree-lined lane to the "big house:"
Another (larger) mobile chicken "tractor" on his father's property:
Great farm, great family -- since they homeschool their eight kids the older ones are all active in the farm, helping to load the CSA boxes, etc. Had a nice visit with Melinda but didn't have my camera with me when I chatted with her. She's a gracious, hard-working and hands-on woman/wife/mom -- with the farm and with her children. A great place to hang out.
P.S. There is another entry further below with additional pix from New Town Farms.
Posts
Wow, what a place. Amazing to see all those beautiful plants. Did his father have a CSA also? How many years has Sammy been doing the CSA? Glad to know other farmer's eggplant look like ours! I want a greenhouse like that...
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
Jen
No, Sammy's father wasn't a farmer -- successful businessman of some sort. I think he purchased a large piece of land before the Union County explosion began -- Sammy's farm is on 13 acres and the father had 25. Now Sammy has it all to work with and expand his operation if he wants to. Pretty remarkable set-up.
ReplyDeleteForgot -- he's been doing the CSA for 5-7 years I think -- keeps it fairly small, under 50 subscribers I think.
ReplyDelete