I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Red Thumb fingerling potatoes, cukes, a little broccoli, savoy and regular cabbage, squash,  garlic, hard red winter wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, flat iron, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, osso buccco, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Ground beef special this weekend – Buy 5 lbs, get 1 lb free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $466. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

Looks like cauliflower might do something for next week. The rain has really helped the potato yields hopefully it will help the orchardgrass come back for another cutting although I haven’t heard him say. He’s been cutting triticale, and this year he’s baling the straw. Straw bales are made from the grain stalks left after farmers harvest their wheat, rye, triticale, etc. The amber waves of grain 🙂 Some years he puts the chopper on the combine and it chops the straw and throws it back on the field where it stays,  and some years he bales it to sell, depending on if he has time and help. Right now he has a good helper so they’re getting after it.

I’ll be gone all week, to Oregon to visit my aunt, yay! So I’ve been super busy this week trying to get everything taken care of so it won’t die while I’m gone.

see you tomorrow 🙂

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

cukes, savoy and regular cabbage, squash,  garlic, kale, mint, parsley, lemon balm, hard red winter wheat. Since I have a good bit of cabbageto sell I’m sharing 2 of our favorite cabbage recipes: Dijon Roasted Cabbage  (double the sauce) and Tangy Mustard Coleslaw.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, flat iron, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, osso buccco, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Ground beef special this weekend – Buy 5 lbs, get 1 lb free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $466. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

Horses get gray at the temples too 🙂

See you tomorrow!

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

cukes, broccoli, green cabbage, squash, freshly dug garlic: Chet’s Italian, Ichelium Red, Susanville and the last couple Thai Purple. Curly and Red Russian kale, and the last sweet potatoes. Mint, lemon balm, hard red winter wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flat iron, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, osso buccco, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Ground beef special this weekend – Buy 5 lbs, get 1 lb free.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $466. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

If I don’t include a horse photo in the newsletter, people be like, No horses this week??  🙂 My kind of people!  Shane was helping take some pics of me and the horses for my new website but since I don’t enjoy seeing myself in photos, of course none of them will ever do. And I have about 10 seconds of patience sitting in front of a computer trying to create a website so…that’s not really getting anywhere. Ugh. It’s a good thing my hammer is in the Gator.

That’s my girl. I always tell her, us girls have to stick together <3 She’s the only mare in a pasture with 4 geldings and she’s so sweet and sensitive, not aggressive or dominant at all, so she’s at the bottom of the pecking order; I always feel like I have to look out for her but she doesn’t need me to. She’s a former racehorse so even though she’s 22, she’s still super fast – and bred to be an athlete so she has moves.  Horses are pretty rough on each other in the pasture, most people don’t realize that. It’s common to see scrapes, nip marks or even hoofprint-shaped bruises here or there, but she’s much too quick for those old geezers. I’m going to try to post a video of them all galloping across the pasture. Sadie leaves ’em in the dust 🙂

See you tomorrow!

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

Mini cukes and slicers, a few heads of broccoli and green cabbage just starting to come in, a few squash, Tuscan freshly dug garlic, beets, kale, sweet potatoes, mint, lemon balm and stevia, hard red winter wheat.

10% off roasts  – sirloin tip, eye of round and boneless chuck

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, ribeye, NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flat iron, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, osso buccco, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $466. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

We haven’t had any rain in about 4 weeks, so I have some potatoes, okra, melons and sunflowers that have never had any rain on them, and since all of those crops (except melons, they’re on plastic) are cultivated with the tractor I don’t lay drip on them; makes it super annoying to cultivate around the drip tape. It’s dry, but it’s also been really windy every day and that dehydrates the foliage like crazy in the heat. On a better note, I’m going to try digging early potatoes next week YAY!

See you tomorrow 🙂

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Memorial Day Special on beef: 10% off all roasts (eye, chuck and sirloin tip), sirloin steaks and short ribs. You could make these Crock Pot Brown Sugar + Roasted Garlic Pulled Pot Roast Sandwiches for your festivities!

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

Mini cukes and slicers, a few squash, Tuscan and Thai Purple freshly dug garlic, garlic scapes, beets, kale, sweet potatoes, hard red winter wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, ribeye, NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flank, flat iron, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, osso buccco, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $460. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

See you tomorrow 🙂

It’s time for fly boots! For whatever reason, flies feast on his legs all summer- no one elses! – and literally eat through the flesh. If he doesn’t wear fly boots, he has nothing left by fall. Just bones.  He’s gray at the temples 🙂

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

Cucumbers, a few squash (I’ve been using all the squash making squash noodles like crazy), beets, swiss chard, kale, mint, chives, lemon balm, sweet potatoes, hard red winter wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flat iron, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $460. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

I planted tomatoes in the hoop early this year- early March- and the plants were loaded with green tomatoes and the Bloody Butchers were turning red. I haven’t been in the hoop house in 2 days – busy laying plastic, planting melons and clearing out the other hoop – and today I went to check on them; squirrels have taken every tomato off of every plant.  In fact I saw one of those little bastards running out with a tomato.

I’m raising the price of the mini cukes, they’ve always been $3 lb but on Saturday I noticed that came to 66 cents for 3. Obviously not worth growing them for that.

I’ve been making the MOST delicious pad thai-type situation with snow peas, zucchini noodles,  squash noodles and sweet potato noodles on the spiralizer, and a sauce made from coconut milk, sunflower seed butter, hot pepper, coconut aminos and ginger. SO GOOD. I do add rice noodles to help boost the calories.

That’s one half of my herd 🙂 See  you tomorrow!

Half (that’s his actual name) turned 30 this week. That’s about 90 in human years. I’ve had him since he was born. I know that doesn’t seem possible since I’m only 25,  but….it’s just weird math.  Lookin’ good old fella! <3  I’ve noticed that since he’s been getting regular massages and some acupressure, he’s running around a lot more and throwing out some little bucks and crow hops. He hasn’t tried any of those moves in a long time. I’m thinking I’ve increased his life span 🙂

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

Cucumbers and snow peas are starting to come in so I have just a few of those, lots of beets, swiss chard, kale, mint, lemon balm, sweet potatoes, hard red winter wheat, some tomato plants and chamomile plants. I’ll have tea hibiscus plants in a couple weeks.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flank, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $460. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

Desiree Dwarf Blauwschokkers garden peas, I should have some next week.

I got sweet corn planted yesterday, right before the rain. That’s over a month late so it should have plenty of extra worms in it.  I’m planting border rows of sunflowers around all my garden plots, and just all over the place. Probably a bad idea for some reason I haven’t thought of yet but I just felt like it. I do what I want! Haha.

Shane got pranked by one of his farmer buddies – he came by in a 6 row planter and planted a swath of sunflowers in the field Shane had just planted in soybeans. Super funny!

See you tomorrow 🙂

I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm with:

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm.

Leeks, beets, swiss chard,  kale, mint, sweet potatoes, hard red winter wheat, some tomato plants, chamomile plants and I’m not sure what else.

I made this Avocado Kale Caesar with Sweet Potato Fries  the other night. The dressing is really good, we dipped our fries in it, too.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, ribeye,  NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flank, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $460. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

I’ve been getting requests for new farm photo notecards, but all the animals had their winter coats and were so dirty and wooly. Now that they’re all shedding out and shiny, I got the horses all curried and brushed and had Shane go out in the pasture and chase them around so I could take photos.

Carats had a great time pretending to be scared, blowing like a wild mustang, and running in circles around everyone else trying to get them going. He’s the youngest in a herd of geriatrics so neither he nor Shane had much luck – the other horses were like, DUDE it’s nap time. Shane was so whooped from tromping around 5 acres he came back and fell asleep on the couch.

The first hay cutting of the year turned out really nice. I got dibbs 🙂

I love the fragrance of the sage blossoms! I made a bouquet for the table. See you tomorrow!

Say goodbye to our beautiful cows.

Shane has sold about 1/5 of the herd and will be selling a majority of what’s left soon, just keeping a few. It’s not worthwhile anymore; the sales aren’t there. We’ve been talking about it for the past year. It’s a huge amount of energy, time and expense making hay and baleage to feed them, taking care of them, the fencing, the pastures… we have almost 100 acres devoted to pasture that could be producing actual income. It’s pretty sad and really a shame, knowing what kind of lives they have here, the quality of the food they produce, then just taking them to the auction. I know customers always wonder what happened when a farm stops showing up at the market, but if the market can’t support the farms, they leave. I don’t know what will happen with us this year, but we’ve been putting a lot more into this than we are getting out of it and we’re both ready for some balance.

Anyway I will be there tomorrow! And I will try to be more motivated than I am feeling right now. I AM kind of excited about going to the plant sale at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens afterward 🙂

SO: Charlotte Regional Farmers Market until 1 pm.

Eggs – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm.

Plants this week – thyme, oregano, cutting celery, sungold cherry and a mix of heirloom tomato plants in 4″ pots.

For veggies I have leeks, beets, collard greens, swiss chard, Red Russian kale and curly kale, parsley,  sage and chives bunches, sweet potatoes, hard red winter wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, ribeye,  NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flank, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.85/lb), and almost half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $460. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

See you tomorrow!

Hi! I’ll be at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market tomorrow until 1 pm and I’ll be back in my usual spot across the aisle, A16.

I have eggs again this week – organic fed, soy-free, free range, from Carlea Farm

Beef specials this week – Briskets are 25% off and I found a recipe for crock pot BBQ brisket that looks similar to how I would make it in the crock pot, except as you know I’m way too high maintenance to use bottled sauce. Like my dad says, “Why do you have to be so difficult?” I don’t know, Dad, I don’t know. At this point it’s just a rhetorical question. No one knows. Also regardless of the recipe I slow-cook everything on high.

Plants this week – thyme, oregano, parsley, cutting celery and chives plus sungold cherry, red cherry and a mix of heirloom tomato plants including Bloody Butcher, Giant Green, Cherokee Purple, and more all in 4″ pots. I think there are also 2 container cherry plants in 4.5″ pots.

For veggies I have red oakleaf lettuce,  leeks,  beet greens, big, beautiful bunches of collard greens, swiss chard, Red Russian kale and curly kale, parsley,  sage and chives bunches, Covington and Beauregard sweet potatoes, hard red winter wheat.

I’ll have our 100% grass fed & grass finished black Angus beef in these cuts:

Filet, ribeye,  NY Strip steaks, sirloin steaks, skirt, flank, flap steak, philly steak, short ribs, cube steak, stew beef, brisket, sirloin tip roast, eye of round roast, boneless chuck roast, soup bones, hot dogs.

Bulk pricing on our beef: quarters, halves and wholes – $3.50 lb hang weight plus the cost of processing (.75/lb)

We are now also offering (almost) half-quarters – not quite 1/8 of a cow (60 lbs) for $460. This is a great savings over the regular price you pay per piece, but quarters, halves and wholes are still the best deal.

See you tomorrow!