Author Archive: Alyson Earl

It seems an appropriate activity to be harvesting the last of the ghost peppers on November 1, which is also known as All Souls’ Day,  the Day of the Dead, El Dia de los Muertos, or Samhain depending on the tradition. In any case, it is a day to remember and honor the ancestors, and our friends and relatives who have died. It also marks a time to celebrate the harvest season. Tonight’s frost will mark the end of a bountiful harvest of many things including the ghost peppers and habaneros we grew for a local hot sauce company, Old Grumpy Mark’s.

There are a few more opportunities to join us at the farm this season on November 9 Foraging: Roots,

and on December 14 Foraging: Winter Offerings

We hope to see you soon!

Upcoming Events:
November 2 – The Living Landscape
November 9 – Foraging: Roots
November 19 – Bread Baking
December 7 – The Living Landscape
December 14 – Foraging: Winter Offerings
Custom Classes & Workshops

See you at the farm!

This morning we spent some time in the kitchen practicing our fermentation skills. We enjoy being able to eat from the farm long after the harvest. This process makes food into delicious medicine.

Shannon Stonger in her book, Traditionally Fermented Foods, explains the process this way:

“A vegetable has its own microbial makeup from the soil in which it was grown. Place it in salt water at a temperature anywhere between 50 and 80°F, and not long after that, bacteria will begin to multiply. While these bacteria multiply, an acid called lactic acid is produced. This is where the term lacto-fermentation comes from; it does not refer to the inclusion of whey or dairy, as is sometimes assumed. Rather it is a reference to the type of bacteria being  multiplied and the resulting lactic acid which preserves the food.

Eventually, the jar of vegetables begins to bubble. This is because carbon dioxide is produced when the bacteria feast on simple sugars. It is a byproduct of fermentation that comes in handy; it displaces the oxygen in the sealed vessel, thereby perpetuating the anaerobic environment needed for proper fermentation…. The process is both beautiful and technical…it does it all while predigesting the food and adding enzymes, probiotics and vitamins that make the final fermented product better for the human body than the raw food.

It really is quite miraculous.’

Upcoming Events:
November 2 – The Living Landscape
November 9 – Foraging: Roots
November 19 – Bread Baking
December 7 – The Living Landscape
December 14 – Foraging: Winter Offerings
Custom Classes & Workshops

See you at the farm!

Even though the temperatures were in the 90s just two weeks ago, we’re expecting frost tonight. Fall is here, and the season is winding down. We still have a few classes on the calendar including three foraging for wild edibles classes.

On October 19,  Foraging: Wild Soups,

on November 9 Foraging: Roots,

and on December 14 Foraging: Winter Offerings

We hope to see you soon!

Upcoming Events:
October 19 – Foraging: Soups
October 26 – Holiday Harvest Table I
November 2 – The Living Landscape
November 9 – Foraging: Roots
November 9 – Holiday Harvest Table II
November 19 – Bread Baking
December 7 – The Living Landscape
December 14 – Foraging: Winter Offerings
Custom Classes & Workshops

See you at the farm!