Farmer's Formal and a Wet Market

Market List; 

Grass Fed Lamb, Tomatillos, Perpetual Spinach, Perpetual Salad Mix, Tomatoes, Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans, Rainbow Mix Cherry Tomatoes, Bright Lights Swiss Chard, Bunching(or Juicing)Kale, Salad Kale, Red Arrow Radishes and Mixed Malagua &Crimson Giant Radishes

Tomorrow night we will be at Earth Dance's Farmers Formal at Union Station St. Louis where our Grass Fed Lamb will be featured in associations with Bailey's Restaurants. I hear that it will be Smoked and served with Pita and Tomatillo Salsa made of course from our tomatillos. Many Farmers who attend the Formal will be taking Saturday off but we will be at Tower Grove even if it rains. 

Above, is a picture of our tomato field with the shade cloth covering. This picture was taken the Monday after the frost that killed everyone else's vegetables. 

Everything is still alive at this point and we are harvesting everything except the cucumbers that we are always craving. Several vines still alive but they do not like the cold. The beans are doing well but fighting the cucumber beetles for them...Ironic, no?
It looks like we will probably lose most of it on Wednesday as there is a forecasted 28 degrees. Which is kind of a bummer as we are being Audited by Known and Grown on Thursday. Known and Grown is a St. Louis based operation that inspects farms as a method of getting the word out to the community as to who is growing the food that they bring to Market or sell to the public. As we have talked about a few times, the Local food scene is being polluted by people buying from the Amish Auctions and reselling at the Markets as if it is produce that they have grown themselves. This is not the same as maybe bringing something from your neighbor or foraging. The problem with this is that there is no accountability as to what was used to grow the food such as chemical fertilizers or synthetic pesticides. When you're at the Market, ask the Vendors, "Did you grow this?" Or, you can ask where their animals are raised and under what conditions; "Do you buy and Grain up?" "Do you have a Permanent Flock? "Are your Birds Free Ranged? These are just some examples of questions to ask. If in doubt, ask a vendor you trust who is growing their own stuff. Here's a short list of some of the people who do; Biver Farms, Buila Family Farm, Yoder Produce, Bee Simple, Three Rivers, Ivan's Fig Farm, Dang Good Produce, just to name a few.
Well that's all for me tonight. It's been awhile since I have blogged. It's just been so busy but if you look at our stand, you will see that we are growing probably 3x more than we've ever managed. Hard to keep up with everything.
We'll see you Saturday @ Tower Grove Rain or shine,

God's Blessings on you and yours,

TTFN,

Sam and Bill