I See Miles and Miles of ........ Mulch Film

Well our spring planting is finally progressing, just about on schedule. From the photo, you see that our new mulch film layer has been put in service. This is a photo degradable mulch film for weed control. The film will degrade and decompose from sunlight as the season progresses so there is no issue with disposal. Using this method of weed control, we don't have to use any herbicides around the plants. We also do not use any fungicides to extend shelf life. We just don't want these toxic chemicals in your (and our) food. This is the first year we've used our plastic layer that we purchased last winter and it works very well. So we should get higher yields since the plants won't have to compete with the weeds for moisture. Its been a cool wet spring so far which delayed things a bit but hopefully we'll catch up in the next few days.

Maple Season

New England gets most of the media coverage for maple syrup and that is indeed a marketing triumph on their part. Needless to say, WV, MD and PA are also loaded with maple trees. To me this really is what really begins the actual farming season. The link to the article is a good summary. There are plenty of maple festivals around our area but that is mostly a sales outlet for the finished product or for churches and other fund raisers to serve pancake breakfasts and the like. What I prefer, and would recommend that you go see, is the actual production, from the tree to the maple shack and then to the bottle. There is something about the process that is quite peaceful and appealing. Mostly the fact that the process can not be rushed so I guess it primarily teaches patience. It might also be the tradition of it, or the quiet nature of the work, or maybe its just the sweet smelling steam. The season typically starts with snow still on the ground and when its still quite cloudy and dark. It takes a special dedication to be out in the woods in this cold damp climate. But for those that do it, it is part of their nature and they simple go about doing what needs to be done. Planting anything is still a month or two away. So go visit a maple camp, and see this process first hand for yourself if you can. Its a very special tradition.

2008 Katahdin Lambs

The lambs are keeping us entertained! They are so comical - lambs hop and spin around when they play. Five new babies so far... three Ewes still haven't lambed yet but should any day now.

To date we have three Ram lambs and two Ewe lambs. These little ones would be real good for a new starter flock for someone interested in a small farm sheep operation. The Katahdin breed is easy to maintain as they do not require sheering or tail docking, are parasite resistant, are very maternal/easy lambing, and have a very calm disposition.

The meat of a Katahdin sheep is mild in taste and lower in cholesterol than some other lamb meat due to fewer glands that produce lanolin. Being a hair sheep breed, the Katahdin grows only a small amount of wool fiber, mostly for warmth in the winter time. This results in a milder less oily meat product.

First Lambs

Our ewe named Molly was the first one to have her lambs. She had triplet lambs, two ewe lambs and one ram lamb. Ruth is holding the ram lamb in this picture. Pretty exciting that the first ewe to lamb had triplets. Temperature is in the low 20's and windy but we have a heat lamp installed in the lambing pen. All the lambs seem vigorous.

New Products, New Outlet

Gourmet Central has made up some new products for us. They are Blackberry Syrup, Strawberry Syrup, Apple Cinnamon Syrup and Hot Pepper Jelly. We stocked inventory in a new outlet this week, Dillon's Country Treasures. They are located in a remodeled house on Route 50 just East of Romney. They have a lot of craft and home decor items also. In the old kitchen area of the house they have prepared a display of food items for sale. A lot of travelers through town stop there. They will be having a Spring Open House so a lot of folks will get to see our products on display. If you're passing through town, have a look!

Aroma's Coffeehouse Display

This is the very nice display that Aroma's Coffeehouse in Moorefield, WV (www.aromascoffeehouse.biz) set up for our jarred products. As you go in the front door, these shelves are on the left.

Ice and Wind

Last weekend, I think we had everything that mother nature could possibly throw at us packed into one single day; rain, sleet, snow, freezing rain and high winds. Before it all really started we had some high winds and coming back from Romney, Ruth captured this photo of the tree on the power line in Three Churches. Our power was out for 4-5 hours while the tree branch was removed. Amazing that it didn't pull the line completely down in which case our power probably would have been out for several days. The photo was used in this week's Hampshire Review.

Romney Farmers Market Web Site

For 2008, the Romney Farmers Market itself will have a new web site. Ruth and I are doing the web site on a volunteer basis and the first version is now live. Check it out at www.romneyfarmersmarket.com to see our results so far. This will give other local web sites such as the Hampshire Visitors Bureau and cometohampshire.com a link that they can use to support the market. The biggest challenge will be to compile the overall list of local farms and growers. The Farm Service Agency and the WVU Extension office will be helping collect that data and we'll continue to refine and add to the web site over time. It will give consumers a good resource to find Hampshire County's local farms and growers. This will help local farms connect with consumers that are interested in the growing local foods movement.

WV Places Video

A Couple of Local Finds

Hello everyone, If you are traveling locally and want a nice lunch stop, I have two places to tell you about. The first is called Trout Provisions in Wardensville, WV (www.troutprovisions.com). We took them some samples of our jarred products recently. There are a lot of facets to Trout Provisions. Its is a combination coffee shop-bakery-general store-art gallery. It is located in what was historically a dry goods store on main street in Wardensville. There you will meet pastry chef extraordinaire Monica Cassell. She makes a lot of what is called a crostata. I had to look it up on Wikipedia. This is a pastry with different fillings. Monica is able to be very creative with these. For example one is ginger-sweet potato-apple filled. Ruth had a cheese-potato-bacon crostata as a breakfast pastry. Then we moved on to the homemade croissants such as spinach-feta cheese and I eventually succumbed to a dark chocolate one. If they are interested, we'll get Monica some fresh and local materials to work her pastry magic with in 2008. Her eyebrows raised at the possibility of getting our fresh local red raspberries this season. The art is comparable to what you find at the Mountain Made store in Thomas, WV (www.mountainmade.com) You are free to browse and enjoy the entire place. When we were there, a nice combination of locals and travelers came in. One of the owners, Carolyn, greeted most of the locals by name. Very friendly. They have been sourcing fruits and vegetables from PA as they got up and running. Hopefully as they learn the area, they will see that much of what they want and need is available locally in WV.
If you are in Davis, WV be sure to stop at Hellbender Burritos. Its right in the middle of town. A Hellbender is a large salamander that is native to Appalachia. Its about 2 feet long and also called the Allegheny Alligator. There are big plans to build a waterfront park in Davis, see www.daviswva.com for details. Traveling to Davis, you'll see dozens of windmills now. Davis is over 3000' feet in elevation and close to the ski resort at Canaan Valley as well as Blackwater Falls. Much of Davis is still rustic but that is changing. Proprietor, Rob has built a nice cozy place; you'll likely be sitting by the wood stove while you eat your lunch. Rob is the type of person that values high quality and fresh ingredients. What I admire in both places is the vision and work required to take an existing building and create an inviting space to warmly welcome visitors. In speaking with them, I sense that would much rather serve fresh and local ingredients as opposed to relying on the standard food service deliveries. For example, any place that would serve a tasteless food service tomato when fresh and local ones are available in season just doesn't get it. These are places that the locals know, and a bit under the radar. When we are traveling this is exactly what we look for. They are unique and special, truly a cut above the standard fare travelers would find at a chain restaurant. At a chain, say Olive Garden, its just mass production of a standard product using the cheapest possible ingredients. At a small town place, the person that prepared your lunch will personally ask you how you liked it and truly want to know if they have met your expectations. When we sell at the farmers market or at the farm, we feel the same way, and try to ask to make sure that we are meeting expectations.