Sloshing through the mud

We woke this morning with the dogs barking furiously....they had cornered one of our horses "Sunshine" who had managed to escape from his 20 acre pasture... again! While we were sloshing threw the mud catching the horse, a wild turkey crossed our path. Twenty years ago there were herds of hundreds of wild turkeys in our area. Now you are lucky to see one or two. I guess this is our lucky day, "Sunshine" never made it to our garden.

Today the grass really is greener on the other side. We have had over 4 inches of rain the last couple of days. Our fingers are crossed that all the seed we planted yesterday have not washed away (Hill Country Heirloom Red Okra, Cow Horn Okra, Cajun Jewel Okra, Patty Pan Squash, Opal Basil, Zephyr Squash, Easter Egg Radish, D'avignon Radish and more edible Calendula Flowers).

Three Sister's

The native Americans used companion planting when growing their crops. Three Sister's was the name for combining corn, beans and squash together in the same garden plot. Beans, a legume, brings nitrogen to the soil, the squash keeps the weeds out and the beans climb the corns stalk.

All day yesterday was Three Sister's day! We planted hundreds of heirloom organic floriani red flint sweet corn with kabocha orange sunshine winter squash and patty pan summer squash at the base, fortex snap pole beans to climb up the corn stalk.

It looks like it is going to be bumper crop of dewberries this year...we have already picked and eaten our first dewberry of the year. They are fully mature and ripe around Mother's Day. We will soon be busy making lots of jam, jelly, wine, cobbler and ice cream to eat and drink for the next months.

The first of our garlic scapes are coming up...so we picked and grilled them with a piece of Eden Creek Farm tenderloin.

SPECTACULAR!!!

Morning Shift

Thursday morning... 2:00am! Indian flute music cranked up, the morning shift begins! Thirty pounds of Eden Creek salad mix, baby arugula, mizuna, tat-soi, boc choi, pizzo and red mustard must be cut by hand, cleaned, packaged and delivered before 9:00am.

How do we harvest greens in the dark??? Headlamps!

With produce loaded we arrived in Dallas at Bolsa's around 10:00am. Chef Carlos met us at the door for his delivery including his own personal two dozen farm fresh eggs.

Then we were off to our next stop... Local. The owner and head Chef Tracy Miller and Chef Aliza greeted us at the door for their delivery of goodies. What a great place and great people!!! Make sure and stop by Local for a delightful dinner at 2936 Elm Street in Dallas(214-752-7500).

Anyway, we returned back to the farm around 12:00pm to till under a cover crop of rye...and finished planting by seed (over 200 each of ) Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, Celebrity, San Marzanos, Green Zebra's and Early Girl tomatoes. As a companion plant to the tomatoes we planted sweet basil a long side all of them.

Our first tomatoes should be ripe in July!

Everything is Green!

The wonderful 3 inches of rain we got this last week has turned our grazing pastures green,green,green the horses are loving all the fresh rye grass.

Steve and I were transplanting some garlic to another location here on the farm and found this hummingbird nest???

We transplanted over 200 heirloom garlic plants close to where the winery is going to be built. It make great edible landscaping.

We are tilling in the rye grass cover crops today getting ready to plant our tomatoes, beans,squash,corn,calendula flowers, and much more!

What's in season?

The spring rain has woken our crops. The green onions, turnips, arugula, carrots, red & green mustard, mizuna, tot-soi, red potatoes, radish, asparagus and many other salad greens are looking healthy and happy!

Today we harvested 20lbs. of spring onions...they are sweet and delicious! We also harvested lots of baby turnips with greens. Ummmm-ummmm-Good!

Face To Face

On our walk threw the woods today, we ended up face to face with a wild pig. This is the first time one has ever been seen on our property! A couple of ferrel hogs can sure root up and destroy a large garden in a matter of minutes. It is time to build a live trap for my new snorting neighbors!

Suuue-eeeeeee!

Just the thought of getting a painful itchy poison ivy rash will keep quite a few people from getting out and enjoying the outdoors. Even those who do not know if they are allergic to poison ivy are wary of roaming into areas where this plant is abundant. This is tragic. We should never miss out on any outdoor fun because we fear a plant. Especially when we can neutralize the effects of poison ivy naturally. Usually, a person’s resistance to the plant will diminish with each exposure. This is why some individuals, who for years have never been affected by poison ivy, acquire a blistering rash. At any rate, the best way to make sure that you do not get a case of poison ivy is to immunize yourself. And the easiest way to immunize you is to ingest poison ivy.
The first step in immunizing yourself is to gather a young budding poison ivy leaf in the spring with a pair of tweezers, and eat it. Then, as the leaves grow, you will consume one leaf per day until you are “stuffing down” a mature leaf. And, I mean stuffing. The less chewing you do, the better. Big leaves should be cut down to pieces that you can swallow whole. After you have “finished off’ a mature leaf, the immunization process, which can take three to four weeks, is completed. Anyway,this is what I have done for the past five years or so. I can roll around in poison ivy just like my new wild pig neighbor...and not even itch.

You can taste the difference!

"Why does Eden Creek Farm's greens and salad mixes taste so good?" Well, it is pretty simple! First off, you can't beat our freshness because we deliver the day we harvest. There are no harmful chemicals or man made synthetic fertilizers, herbicides or insecticides ever used on our property. Organic veggies are scientifically proven to have more nutrition than conventional produce. Happy healthy plant simply tastes better!

Everything here on Eden Creek is grown how our ancestors used to. It is called sustainable farming. This including using composted livestock manures, crop rotation and cover crops to improve the land. The earth is alive with earth worms, beneficial fungi, and billions of other microbes that complete the cycle . The living earth supplies the plants with nutrition they needs...no waste! Eden Creek Farm naturally feeds the soil that feeds the plants rather than fertilizing the plant directly with synthetic chemicals.

The water used on the property is either harvested rain water or clean fresh spring water that comes from our solar well. There is never chlorine used in our water! Every single seed is planted by hand with love. Finally, the reason our produce tastes so good is because we hand harvest every fruit, veggie, nut and herb with respect, love and care!

Place an order today for seasonal produce, farm fresh eggs and grass fed beef call (903) 695-0730 or go to edencreekfarm.com

YOU CAN TASTE THE DIFFERENCE!

Salad Dealer

Chef Graham from Bolsa's called yesterday and ordered an additional 7lbs of organic arugula, 3lbs of eatable flowers for a garnish and 8lbs of or Eden Creek Farm organic salad greens...it is going to be a busy weekend! We arrived at Bolsa's around 8:00pm on Friday evening to deliver the "Green". It was packed with a line out the door. EVERYBODY was having a blast! Chef Graham insisted we stay for dinner. Within minutes we were sitting at our table out on the patio, we ordered a peperoni pizza with Eden Creek Farm's organic arugula on top. Graham surprised us with a beautiful bowl of mussels swimming in butter sauce(ummmmmmm), the best I have ever had. And to top everything off... white chocolate carmel banana dessert! Everything was out of this world!!!! The service, the food, the music...spectacular. If you are in the Dallas area you need to check this hip and wonderful restaurant out!

Wanted Girl Squirrel

Wanted...very cute girly squirrel! Must love pecans, and grapes. Also, must enjoy long walks in the tree tops. I have two story bachelor pad with swingin' bed and lots of toys. Looking for serious relationships only! Possible twelve children in the future. If this is you please call Squeeky (903)695-0730.

Wagon Ride

Yesterday we looked at a covered wagon and a team of horses for the farm. Mitch and his son brought the team to us. What a beautiful spring day for a ride around the farm. Grandma was here helping pick weeds in the garden when they arrived,so she took a spin around the farm in the wagon with us. They weren't exactly what we wanted...so we are still looking!

Thursday we will be making another delivery to a great restaurant on Elm St. called "Local". They are one of Dallas' best...so go check them out 214-752-7500.

Bolsa Farmer's Market

Bolsa's first farmer's market was a great success! Thanks to everyone who showed up and helped support the local vendors! If you didn't make this market, try to make the next one. There was live music and twelve different vender's...including hats makers, chocolates, local organic coffee roasters, conventional farmer's and of course us Organic produce, eggs and grass-fed beef. We sold out of everything in a couple of hours( arugula, red mustard, asparagus, green garlic onions, mint, oregano,rosemary, Eden Creek salad mix, farm fresh eggs, and grass-fed beef), so when you come next time, show up early! Henryetta (one of our egg laying hens), stole the show. She actually laid and egg while a group of children and adults were watching. Baaaaa-Gawk! We passed around the warm egg...and then gave it to a little girl.

Our C.S.A's are going quick. Sign up soon so you don't miss out on the most nutritious, great tasting organic food delivered to your area weekly!

What a great time!