Landscape Architecture
When the Bell family expanded their
farming operation in the 1950’s by purchasing the Elmwood property outside of
Georgetown, those that farmed it before had set the basic footprint of
infrastructure and much of the field layout we work with today. The original
home place was built in the late 1700’s, complete with well and spring house,
smoke house, out house, cisterns, and numerous other out buildings. The
fencerows were established in accordance with the topography and access to
water. Hilly areas were fenced off for cattle or sheep, while flat lands lent
themselves to cropping, haying and grazing.
Thankfully the value of access to
the water in the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek was considered when the farm was
platted, so we have some “bottom” land across the highway
near to irrigation water. Were this section of the creek not behind one of the
many old milldams, it might have been only good for canoeing. The milldam
allows a deep pool of water to form so that pump intake pipes can be immersed,
and the pool is replenished by normal creek flow between irrigation events.
Back in the heyday of Kentucky tobacco production, there was a lot of demand
for creek and river water, and the dam pools were often pumped dry during
droughty summers. This year was severe for drought, but there are fewer farmers
raising fewer acres of crops, so the milldam pool near Elmwood filled
sufficiently.
Trees were allowed to grow along the
fencerows to provide shade for livestock and wind breaks for crops and
livestock. Years ago large steel tanks were cut into rings, imbedded in
concrete with underground pipes supplying water into them. More modern tanks are made of cast concrete
or even heavy plastic. These water
reservoirs are placed in the fencerows so livestock can access them from two,
sometimes three fields, and they do not impact field-cropping activities.
Barns and sheds are strategically
placed around the farm to allow easy access relative to slope, wet conditions,
and patterns of use. The difference between a barn and a shed is that sheds are
open on one side for ease of access into the protected space. Equipment sheds
are long and narrow so each implement can be backed into its spot out of the
weather but easily re-attached to the tractor the next time it is needed.
Livestock sheds allow the animals free access to a protected space in inclement
weather. Our produce packing shed has sliding doors along one side to allow
multiple trucks to dock as items often go out about as fast as they come in.
All
of the sheds in our area are open to the east. Weather systems generally come
from the northwest, but the storms along the front come from the
southwest. Usually, very little rain
blows into a shed with the east side open.
Look as you drive through horse country and you will see all the horse run-in-sheds
face east. Occasionally in late winter and early spring, there are storms that
approach from the east and when that happens they are usually doozies, which
means we will have bigger storm problems than wet equipment or wet floors.
We
continue to develop and maintain farm infrastructure, from planting a few trees
each year to renovating old buildings, to putting in new waterlines. We are appreciative for what was already here
to work with, and have learned the importance of sustaining it.
In Your Share
Stringless Green Beans- organic
Cilantro – organic
Lettuce - organic
Onion – organic
Green Bell or Sweet Italian or Chocolate Brown Pepper - organic
Hot Pepper - organic
Potatoes – organic
Tomatoes – organic
Sweet Basil - organic
Bok Choy - organic
Garlic – organic
Cippolini Onion - organic
Recipes to Enjoy
Roasted
Jalapeno Tomato Salsa with Cilantro, our
thanks to a CSA member for sharing this Rick Bayless recipe
1
½ pounds ripe tomatoes
2
to 3 fresh jalapeno chiles, stemmed
Half
of a small white onion, about 2 oz, sliced ¼ in thick
4
garlic cloves, peeled
¼
C water
1/3
C chopped fresh cilantro, loosely packed
1
generous tsp salt
1
½ tsp cider vinegar
Heat the broiler. Lay the whole
tomatoes and jalapenos out on a broiler pan or baking sheet. Set the pan 4
inches below the broiler and broil for about 6 minutes, until darkly roasted —
even blackened in spots — on one side (the tomato skins will split and curl in
places). With a pair of tongs, flip over the tomatoes and chiles and roast the
other side for another 6 minutes or so. The goal is not simply to char the
tomatoes and chiles, but to cook them through while developing nice, roasted
flavors. Set aside to cool.
2. Turn the oven down to 425
degrees. Separate the onions into rings. On a similar pan or baking sheet,
combine the onion and garlic. Roast in the oven, stirring carefully every
couple of minutes, until the onions are beautifully browned and wilted (even
have a touch of char on some of the edges) and the garlic is soft and browned
in spots, about 15 minutes total. Cool to room temperature.
3. For a little less rustic texture
or if you're canning the salsa, pull off the peels from the cooled tomatoes and
cut out the "cores" where the stems were attached, working over your
baking sheet so as not to waste any juices. In a food processor, pulse the
jalapenos (no need to peel or seed them) with the onion and garlic until
moderately finely chopped, scraping everything down with a spatula as needed to
keep it all moving around. Scoop into a big bowl. Without washing the processor,
coarsely puree the tomatoes — with all that juice that has accumulated around
them — and add them to the bowl. Stir in enough water to give the salsa an
easily spoonable consistency. Stir in the cilantro.
4. Taste and season with salt and
vinegar, remembering that this condiment should be a little feisty in its
seasoning. If you're planning to use your salsa right away, simply pour it into
a bowl and it's ready, or refrigerate it covered and use within 5 days.
Green Bean and Potato Salad with Pesto
a Martha Stewart recipe, you can use basic basil
pesto, or experiment with arugula pesto, beet green pesto, or even garlic scape
pesto you might have in the freezer.
1
½ pounds small red new potatoes, scrubbed
1
½ pounds green beans, trimmed and halved crosswise
salt
and freshly ground black pepper
2
– 4 T pesto of your choice (see recipe that follows)
In
a large saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water by 1 inch.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until tender when pierced with the tip
of a paring knife, about 15 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon (reserve pan
of water). When cool enough to handle, cut potatoes into quarters; place in a
large bowl.
While
potatoes are cooling, return reserved water to a boil. Add green beans; cook
until crisp-tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Drain well; transfer to bowl with potatoes.
Add pesto, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper; serve immediately.
Martha Stewart’s Easy Basil Pesto this recipe uses pecans rather than the traditional pine nuts; you can also try walnuts or omit the nuts altogether
½
C packed fresh basil leaves
1/3
C pecans, toasted
1
small garlic clove, chopped
2
T fresh lemon juice
2
T olive oil
Coarse
salt and ground pepper
In
a blender or processor, combine basil, pecans, garlic, lemon juice, oil, ¼ tsp
salt, 1/8 tsp pepper, and ¼ C water; blend until smooth.
Mexican
Style Stuffed Peppers, thanks to a CSA member
for sharing this internet recipe, she reports using several types of peppers
with equal success.
1
pound ground beef (or cooked chicken or turkey)
1
oz taco seasoning
¾
C water
2
tsp chili powder
½
C cooked rice
¼
tsp salt
¼
tsp garlic salt
1/8
tsp ground black pepper
16
oz tomato sauce, divided
3
large red bell peppers
6
(1 inch) cubes Colby-Jack cheese
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease
a 9x13-inch baking dish.
Place the ground beef into a
skillet over medium heat, and brown the meat, breaking it apart into crumbles
as it cooks, about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Stir in the taco seasoning,
water, chili powder, cooked rice, salt, garlic salt, black pepper, and half of
the tomato sauce (8oz); mix until thoroughly combined. Bring to a boil, reduce
heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the bell
peppers in half lengthwise, and remove stems, membranes, cores, and seeds.
Place a steamer insert into a large saucepan, and fill with water to just below
the bottom of the steamer. Cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
Place the peppers into the steamer insert, cover the pan, and steam until just
tender, 3 to 5 minutes. (This can be
done if the microwave).
Place the steamed peppers into
the prepared baking dish, and fill lightly with the meat filling. Press 1 cube
of Colby-Jack cheese into the center of the filling in each pepper, and spoon
the remaining 8 oz. of tomato sauce over the peppers. Cover the dish with
aluminum foil. Bake in the preheated oven until the peppers
are tender and the filling is hot, 25 to 30 minutes.
