After Harlow Farm, Michael, Kate and I traveled to Florence Vermont to meet Jeff Jones at Vermont Hydroponics. His facility is situated in a beautiful valley up in the mountains.
If only our office had a view like this...
The cooler mountain air provides the ideal place to grow Hydroponic green house Tomatoes as it generally does not get too hot, though yesterday it was near 90 degrees. His facility had four greenhouses, one was in full production mode and the Vines were big and all started from seed.
Basil and lettuce starts inthe greenhouse.
Tomatoes on the vine in the greenhouse.
In another were the tomato starters and the beginnings of a lettuce and basil program for them. The whole facility was so clean and efficient. So what will the future hold for Red Tomato and Vermont Hydroponics hold? Not sure but as Jeff said the reason he contacted us was he thought a company named Red Tomato might like to be associated with his big red tomatoes.
Michael, Kate, and I took a trip to Vermont today to renew an old relationship and perhaps start a new one. First, was to see Paul Harlow, of Harlow Farms, in Westminster Vermont.
Leaf lettuce field at Harlow Farm.
Paul grows organic romaine hearts for us and last year was not a good year. There were quality issues with his product and we needed to figure out where they stemmed from. To help us figure it out, Rich Bonanno from Pleasant Valley Gardens, came up to help.
Team lettuce inspects the fields.
The farmers discussed their post-harvest methods for packing and figured out the best way to minimize quality issues from the growers end. Also discussed was the need to move towards Good Agricultural Practices or G.A.P. certification, which is an industry standard for food safety. To help us with that was a rep from Agricultural Consulting Services Inc. It just so happens that Rich is also a GAP certified grower and trainer so he was an enormous help. Read more about RT’s work with food safety here.
I grew up watching my grandma can and preserve food. As a Southerner, I was raised on it, in fact. During the growing season — which in Georgia was much longer than New England’s – it felt like my Grandma was always preserving something. There was not a meal where we were not served pickles. We always had a choice of dill or sweet. There was always a jar of pear relish on the table. We used this sweet mixture on fresh green beans, and dunked our cornbread in it. She was always putting food away from what seemed like her acre-sized garden. It was probably only half an acre when I look back with an adult lens.
I currently have my own garden. I share it with my partner, Tim, and our kids, Ilana and Aidan. It was not too much of a stretch to think about canning and preserving on my own. It seemed to be a natural extension of urban farming. All the intimidating details about proper temperature, hot water baths and sterilization seemed a bit over hyped. My Grandma did it and she never had a recipe book or set of instructions. Sadly, my Grandma is no longer around to advise me though the process, but my close friend, Irit, is a willing and very able partner. My Grandma, Martha, would be proud. Last summer, Irit and I preserved tomato sauce, beets and green beans.
Joe Maugeri's asparagus getting prepped for canning
We started this growing season with asparagus from Maugeri Farms. Irit badly wanted to pickle some, but neither one of us grew any of our own. Thanks to Tim and Red Tomato, we wrangled a case that resulted in 20 jars.
I have found the freshest and simplest ingredients yield the best quality finished product. I can’t speak to the flavor of the asparagus yet, but I am optimistic. We used garlic, vinegar and a red hot pepper for a little spice.
Spicy, garlicy asparagus to be enjoyed long after the season is done!
I prefer a less-is-more approach in the kitchen. I am not one for a ton of tools and fancy pots. That said, if you have never canned before, there are a few supplies that I would recommend getting. You need a big pot with a rack that allows you to lower the jars into the hot water bath. You can get these at your local hardware store. I would also invest in a jar grabber. I have not found any other way to reach into boiling water to remove the jars. Most importantly, I would invest in a partner. I canned 20 jars of pickles on my own, but it was not nearly as much fun as doing it with Irit. A partner also lets you ask questions like, “if I touch this jar lid with my bare hands will it poison us?”
I have included a link to the recipe we used. I think we tripled or even quadrupled the ingredients and everything work out perfectly.
Happy canning.
Resources:
Recipe for pickled asparagus. The University of Georgia does happen to be my alma
mater, but I find their resources on preserving to be some of the best.
Yesterday, Michelle Chambers and I went up to see Rich Bonnano of Pleasant Valley Gardens Farm. He was in his usual great mood and took us around his greenhouses, which were full of flowers plants and veggies – all in varying degrees of growth. Rich also showed us his Giant Pumpkin Sprout which he hopes to grow to a 1000 pounds and enter it at the fair. He did point out however that if you are a real working farmer you will never get it to a thousand pounds because you simply don’t have the time to put into it. He told of his friend who sold his farm and went on to grow the winning pumpkin that year.
Anyway, we jumped into the truck and went out to see the fields. First to check out the field he leases across the street where he is growing okra, leeks, mums, and a world crop chipilin. Then off to the field on the mighty Merrimack where he grows the lettuces, rhubarb, romaine hearts, and summer squashes. Rich, as always, is looking forward to a new growing season and has the highest hopes for a good one. At this early point in the season, farmers always go forward as if it’s gonna be the best year ever and wait for nature to change their minds. Oh, and as Rich pointed, out lettuce harvest at Pleasant Valley Gardens always starts on June 13th, always.
OK so we’ve been doing steady business with winter storage apples but TODAY Kate Howell, of our trade team, took our first asparagus order of the season! She summed it up pretty well by saying “I am so excited it’s ridiculous!” And with that, the whole office has taken on the energy that can only come from seriously delicious, and healthy, IN SEASON fruits and veggies.
Baby asparagus at Maugeri Farms. Donna Tramontozzi
Starting next week, shoppers at Kings, D’Agostino’s, Donelans, and other NE customers of Shapiro Produce will be able to get asparagus from New Jersey’s grower of the year Joe Maugeri of Maugeri Farms in Woolrich Township, NJ. And, Boston Organics customers will see organic asparagus from Rick and Laura Pedersen of Pedersen Farms in Seneca Castle, NY the first week in May (pending frost/fingers crossed!).
So, hit the stores for bunches of medium large fresher than fresh (no more than 48 hrs from farm to store) LOCAL asparagus. Have we mentioned that we couldn’t be more excited about the start of the season!?
As asparagus and strawberry season approaches (rejoice!), it’s time for RT staffers and our retail customers to get out of the office. Not only do we love farm visits but we find that our buyers develop a much deeper connection to our products once they’ve met the farmer and seen the whole operation in action. Farm visit season kicked off this week with a most successful trip to Wards Berry Farm in Sharon, MA and Clark Bros Orchard in Ashfield, MA:
April 13, 2010
8:30am. Michael and Tim, and Ciarin (our new Team Leader!) host a couple of farm visits for one of our top and favorite customers. First stop, Ward’s Berry Farm to visit with Jim Ward. While there, Jim highlights his new plantings and processes for watering the plants. He also introduces us to the Germinator, a handmade unit that creates just the right light, temperature and moisture to jump start natures process.
We then take a tour of his farm, seeing the fields that are being prepared for upcoming plantings and showing signs of early crops like strawberries (hooray).
12:30pm. Next stop for our group was Clark Brothers Orchards where we met Clark family, including Aaron, Dana and Brian. Barney and Chris Hodges of Sunrise Orchards drove from Cornwall, Vermont to join us for a wonderful lunch and storytelling time at the Clark’s home. After some delicious, homemade apple crisp (apples from the orchard), we got a tour of the farm to see the fields of apple trees that were just beginning to show buds and promise of coming apple varieties.
