Old MacDonald's...Farm Two

On the way home from Rainbow Meadow Farms yesterday, John Alexander, Melissa, and I stopped at the Renston Homestead on the way back to Greenville. Lots of freshly picked veggies awaited us as we pulled in, including fresh tomatillos, patty pan squash, zucchini, green peppers, and the most beautiful grape tomatoes that we had ever seen. If I thought that the strawberries that they sold here weeks ago were gorgeous, these tiny tomatoes were equally stunning to the eye. While we brought blueberries, onions, and squash home with us, the best thing we left with was pictures of the animals that Steve McLawhorn keeps for all to admire and enjoy.

The "stars of the farmyard show" were definitely the piglets who had grown at least a foot since we were here two weeks ago. They first hid under the chicken nest boxes until we came close enough for them to run out into the chicken yard where they spend their days. They ran straight toward their "kiddie swimming pool" and jumped right in...enjoying the water and "smiling" gleefully. No sooner had they doused themselves before they ran toward us, dodging chickens and ducks in their paths...These "bacon-to-be" candidates were still jumping and playing among their many chicken companions. Outnumbered, but seemingly unaware, they skulked back underneath the shade of the nest boxes..snorting like full grown pigs.

Before we left the Renston Homestead, we visited the goats, peacocks, and rabbits housed in the barns near the road. The baby goats, born just weeks ago, had grown big enough to lose their umbilical cords and rabbits snuggling in their cages looked to us for "niblets" or perhaps an escape into Mr. MacGregor's garden. We left admitting that, while there are many other riches in the world, farms like this one are "rare jewels" that are disappearing right before our very eyes. How fortunate we are to leave such a farm with warm tomatoes and veggies in tow having walked among real farm animals who know what it is like to wake to the crow of a rooster and dine on real bugs for dinner.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm...or One or Two

Tuesday was a blast as Melissa, John Alexander, and I headed down Highway 903 early in the morning through Greene County. We were headed toward Kinston to meet Genell Prigden at Rainbow Meadow Farms. In earlier posts I mentioned the wonderful meat that we bought from her in the past. Last year's free range turkey was worth every penny that we paid for it and every mile to the farm to pick it up. Today's venture was equally worthwhile. Coolers brimming with farm eggs, pork tenderloin, pork chops, ham steak, Italian sausage, Moroccan sausage, young chickens, and French chicken breasts filled the back of the car as we pulled out of the farm.


Coming home with pasture raised meat was only a minute reward gained from visiting Rainbow Meadow. Visiting the farm itself was even more delightful. After talking with Genell Pridgen, one of the farm's owners, about the farm's history and the care with which they raise their Dorper sheep , we could better understand how true her statements (posted on the farm's website) were. Here is what she says...

"Rainbow Meadow Farms is located in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. The farm has been in our family since 1746 raising tobacco, corn, soybeans, cows, chickens, and, starting in 1996, Dorper sheep.

Very little money was being made on row crops, so we turned most of our two farms into pasture land and now utilize MIG practices. As we look out the kitchen window and see the sheep grazing in the pasture, we never regret that decision! We feel that raising Dorper and Katahdin sheep will be what helps us to keep the family farm profitable for the next generation."

We visited among the sheep, lambs, and pigs while we were there and on the way home. How wonderful it must be to live in the midst of such a beautiful, pastoral setting. We learned a great deal about Dorper sheep, the need for ruminant veterinarians (They have to fly vets in from Texas and South Africa for their A.I. work...and I don't mean artificial intelligence!), and the possibility of organizing a "slow food" group here in eastern North Carolina. Right now there are active "slow foods" groups in the Triad, but none here. We are hoping to hear more from Genell about this possibility soon!

More about "farm two" in the next post....

More Projects...Tomatoes, Blueberries, Grapes

My sights have been set on getting some heirloom tomatoes for quite some time. Those that we had purchased in the past at Whole Foods in Raleigh were not only beautiful, but delicious. After shopping on the Internet from Garden Harvest Supply, ten varieties of tomato plants arrived at our door. They have been planted in our small garden and we are tending them carefully. We are concerned about the lack of rain here in eastern NC, so we followed Kingsolver's recommendation about mulch. After watering the soil WELL, we put down layers of newspaper and covered them with straw. Now we are watching closely, crossing our fingers, and hoping for more rain. Here are the varieties that we are "babying."

Black Krim
Brandywine Pink
Cherokee Purple
Green Zebra
Old German
Pineapple
Sausage
Siberian (I'm really excited about this one..read the description!)
Tiffin Mennonite
Yellow Stuffer


In addition to the tomatoes, Stephen planted two varieties of blueberries and three varieties of grapes. He is hoping that his miniature vineyard will survive. All of the grapevines that he has planted in past have not survived.

Lovavore Project One....

As we planned for our fifth week of local shopping, several projects had hatched in our household as we sought to put into place some of the suggestions mentioned in Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Having already made TWO delicious Chocolate Zucchini Cakes (both received rave reviews) with farm eggs, the conversation about building a chicken coop in the backyard intensified. To be honest with you, the chicken conversation has been ongoing for months. John Alexander and Stephen attended a meeting of backyard chicken farmers this past spring at North Carolina State University and our friend, Melissa, has keep the conversation going, asking "the boys" repeatedly when they were getting their chickens!

So project one involves a great deal of "chicken and coop research." If you read back to earlier posts, cake one contained beautiful pastel farm eggs brought to us from Blacksburg by Melissa after her most recent trip to Southwest Virginia. Thus, in Chapter 6, "The Birds and the Bees", when Kingsolver describes the chickens that her daughter (Lily) acquires to begin her own chicken business, we took careful notes. Indeed, when Lily made her chicken choices, her thoughts were much the same as ours. "First of all, some Araucanas," she decided. "Because they lay pretty green eggs. My customers will like them (p. 96)."After EXTENSIVE research, John Alexander thinks that he wants to get three hens...one Araucana, one Plymouth Rock, and one Rhode Island Red. Now the issue is determining whether or not he can get three grown laying hens (that can get along) OR if he will get chicks that will not lay eggs for quite some time. Thankfully, no chickens will arrive until a coop is built. With an architect for a dad, John Alexander will most likely have LOTS of time to decide about the size and breed of his chickens. Today was spent measuring and drawing "coop designs."

More about project two in the next entry.....

-images from http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/poultry/chickens/araucana/ and flickr.com

Saving Jewels Until Later....

Barbara Kingsolver discusses the notion of being smitten with fresh fruits or vegetables in season in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. The beautiful strawberries that we eat here in Eastern North Carolina fit into this category of "smitten-worth" without question. Steve McLawhorn, who owns a local farm, Strawberries on 903 (also known as Renston Homestead), appreciates the worth of his "red to the center" strawberries when he told us during a recent visit that he would close his business before he stooped to growing those "California strawberries with hard white centers" when you slice them open. Nothing could be further from the truth with his the dead-ripe jewels gathered from his strawberry patch. They are red, and juicy through and through. I sliced the last two quarts of fresh strawberries gathered from his farm this past week and sealed them carefully away into zip-loc bags. Six cups of these succulent slices have been hidden away in our freezer. Later this fall or winter, they will remind us of the fresh berries that we'll wait until next spring to taste again.