As I sat down to write this evening, I tried to recall what all has been accomplished this week.  I can't seem to remember much past today!  So, here's a short list:

• cultivated dry bean planting (3/4 acre)
• tilled areas for fall crops
• tilled area for last sweet corn planting
• planted sweet corn
• harvested for restaurant/store deliveries
• harvested Musik garlic
• final picking on 4 patches of sweet corn
• froze some of the sweet corn (50+ quarts) - thanks Mom!
• final harvest on early cabbage
• shredded cabbage for 5 gallon crock of sauerkraut
• harvested squash, squash and more squash
• borrowed a one-row potato digger 
• fed young farmers (alot!)
• loved those same young farmers

We have also sweated out any toxins that could possibly have been in our bodies.  A break in the heat would certainly be welcome - along with some rain.

Since we harvested squash, squash and more squash, it's time to hand out some recipes!  Our very favorite recipe for the summer squash is Mom's Squasherole.  I like to make this in a 13 x 9 pan (takes 4 recipes) without the cracker crumbs on top.  Then, I freeze serving portions for winter.  So far, we've baked several of these for the freezer. For the "Zuke-zillas" we found this week, try Mock Apple Cobbler or Gluten-Free Mock Apple Cobbler. 

The crops in the high tunnel are growing out of control.  Here's a picture where I'm harvesting cucumbers.  I'm between the rows of cucumbers and eggplant.  They're both taller than me, so it's like going through a tunnel to pick.  We grow the Asian Cucumbers in the tunnels as well as the French Cornichons and the Armenians.  Eggplant is grown indoors, exclusively.  The pressure from flea beetles is pretty much non-existent inside.  Growing eggplant outdoors requires chemicals (which we won't use) or reduced yields from stunted plants.  The one drawback to growing indoors is aphids.  But a couple of shipments of ladybugs generally keeps them under control.

The Grass-fed Black Angus beef continues to win rave reviews from all who try it.  Why not cook up a pot of Bar-B-Qued beef for an easy dinner?  We'll have sweet corn, tomatoes and try Tangy Squash Salad to go along with it.

Brent and I thank everyone for their continued support of our farm.  We strive daily to grow healthy food without artificial pesticides, fungicides or herbicides.  We care deeply about what our family eats, just as we know you care about your family's food.

We'll see you in uptown Oxford on Saturday morning, or at the farm. 

Brent & Suzie Marcum
www.salemroadfarms.com
Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

Hot! What's the old joke? If you don't like the weather, stick around for 10 minutes and it'll change? Is that not the truth for us.  The hot, dry weather forced us to hook up irrigation this week.  When laying out the rows, the drip tape is buried about 4-6" deep under the ground.  The tractor does this work.  But, to get the water to the root zone requires a header line, valves for each drip line, closing off the end of the tapes and in this particular case, burying part of the header line so that we can drive over it.  Then, all the connections to get the water from the house to the header line.  Now it's done for the season. 

This week we have White Peaches and Yellow Plums.  Absolutely delicious and FREE of toxic chemicals.  Available at the farm on Friday and if there are any left, at Oxford Farmers Market Uptown on Saturday morning.  We have made the decision not to use toxic chemicals on food that we feed our family, even if that means losing a crop.  If you value pesticide-free fruit, come see us.

We have cucumbers, several varieties of summer squash, kale and lots more.  The sweet basil is threatening to overtake the greenhouse, so plan for some pesto this week.  Basil is easy to put away for winter.  Finely chop basil leaves in the food processor and add just enough olive oil so it sticks together.  Pack into ice cube trays and freeze.  When frozen, pop out cubes and store in a freezer bag.  Use all winter in recipes or to make pesto.

Thanks for your support!

Brent & Suzie Marcum
Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

Wow! Have I ever been quiet lately.  Quiet in word, not in deed, though.  After the incessant month(?) of rain we finally have some gorgeous weather this week.  Now the job at hand is battling the weeds that grew MUCH faster than the vegetables.  A couple of small areas were bush-hogged today.  The weeds were just too big to get rid of any other way. 

Last week young farmer A and I were in St. Louis working with Habitat for Humanity.  Each day was at or near 100 - and not the heat index, either.  We weren't able to make it back for last Saturday's market and certainly missed seeing everyone.  But, the car's repaired and Brent survived.  All's well.

This week we'll be bringing freshly dug, new potatoes.  Purple Viking is my very favorite potato with a slightly sweet, snowy white flesh and purple skins with bright pink splotches. It always suprises me how each variety of potato tastes different.  This one is an excellent all-purpose potato.

The Sweet Basil is ABUNDANT this week.  We'll have some big bags for pesto making and freezing.  If pesto's in your future this weekend, drop me an email and reserve a pound or two.  We'll be bringing lots of zucchini and summer squash, cabbage, and plenty more.  The fresh herb selection just gets better and better.  Add some zip to your cooking by using fresh herbs.

The Grass-fed Black Angus beef is awesome.  Have you grilled up a steak yet? or some burgers? A healthy choice for you, the environment and the animals. 


We'll see you at Oxford Farmers Market Uptown on Saturday morning.  The farm stand's open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am - 6pm.

Thanks for you support.
Brent & Suzie Marcum
Salem Road Farms Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

Greeting from Salem Road Farms,
Hi, this is Young Farmer A sitting in for mom today.  The week of dry finally broke into a couple small thunderstorms and everything is growing like mad, especially the weeds.  I am done with school, and I can feel my destiny rising around me.  Anyway, fresh from the farm this week we will have tons of lettuce, broccoli raab, spinach, broccoli, two varieties of kale, and komatsuna, plus more.  Fresh herbs consist of: tarragon, rosemary, oregano, thyme, sweet and thai basil, lemon verbena, lemon balm, and spearmint. There will also be bedding plants.

I helped pick the garlic scapes this week.  Well, I didn't really pick them, I just carried the bucket and my mom picked.  Garlic scapes are the immature flower stalks of a hard-neck garlic.  They are disappearing from our farm to your fork, so you get to enjoy the Roasted Garlic Scapes.  I have been taking pictures of the farm with my new camera, and got some nice pictures of the garlic scapes in their natural habitat.  If you are new to garlic scapes, just stop by and learn more.

We also will have grass-fed Black Angus beef.  There will be chuck roasts, T-bone steaks, rolled round roasts, hamburger, flat-iron steaks, liver, rump roasts, club steaks, ribeye and porterhouse steaks.  Plus, there will be bags of dog bones for our furry, four-legged friends.  We have 1/2 of a Grass-fed Black Angus beef available for custom-cut.  This will be the last of the split-half or half beeves until late this fall.  Send us an email if you're interested in more information.

The store is still open Tuesday-Saturday 10-6.  We will also be at the Oxford Farmer's Market Uptown this week with our fellow vendors.  So try to stop by and say hi this week.

Thank you for your continued support.
Young Farmer A
Salem Road Farms

P.S.  become a fan of the farm on facebook!

Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

What a beautiful week for working outdoors!  We've planted tomatoes, peppers, sweet potatoes and more; weeded and hilled up the half-mile of potatoes that are planted.  Several varieties of herbs found a new home in the herb garden. 


Here I am tedding alfalfa hay for the grass-fed Black Angus cattle this week.  We also have hay for sale, square-baled, high-quality alfalfa or round bales of grass/alfalfa hay.


In the midst of all, we found veggies ready to harvest.  Fresh this week, we have spinach, asparagus, broccoli raab, lettuce, kale, joi choi, komatsuna, mizuna, garlic scapes plus various other things we find.  Many long-time customers are familiar with the unfamiliar garlic scape, truly a spring delicacy.  We love them roasted, or made into Garlic Scape Pesto.  If you're new to garlic scapes, stop in and find out more.
 
We are currently taking orders for halves and split-halves of Grass-fed Black Angus beef.  The price for a half is $3.75/# and $4.00/# for a split-half.  The price includes all processing and is based on the actual weight of the beef you receive.  A split-half generally works out to around 125 - 150# of beef.  To place an order or ask a question, send us an email or stop by the farm.  As usual, we will have a wide variety of cuts from our delicious beef at  Oxford Farmers Market Uptown on Saturday morning.  We're still in the process of getting our building finished to the point we can get our retail food permit and be able to sell beef from the farm, so it's only available at the farmers' market.

Thanks for your continued support at the market and on the farm.  Hope to see you soon.
Brent & Suzie Marcum
Salem Road Farms

Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

It's been a dreary, rainy week - but that's not really news, is it?  Beginning mid-February, it's a non-stop juggle until about the first of June growing bedding plants for sale and transplants for the fields. The rain came at a good time for this farmer.  Nearly all the bedding plants are ready to go, the greenhouses have been planted to summer crops, and the soil was too wet to work.  Only one chore left - housework!  The young farmers joined in, albeit reluctantly, and helped to accomplish some much-needed tasks.

One of the crops we grow a lot of transplants for are the Asian greens.  That's really a broad category.  It gets even broader when realizing many greens are known by more than one name.  Last year, a customer requested Ching Chang Bok Choy, but it's also known as Shanghai Pak Choi.  This particular variety is a baby pac choi.  The heads are about 6 inches tall with green stems and darker green leaves (not on the ball with photos.)  It's ready this week.  If you've been looking for a baby variety, check us out this week.  We'll also have Joi Choi, Mizuna, Komatsuna, Kale (curled and black palm), Romaine Lettuce, Green Garlic, fresh herbs, and lots and lots of bedding plants.  One of our family's favorite ways to eat any of the Asian Greens is in our Farmers Market Greens in Shitake-Ginger Sauce.

How about the grass-fed beef?  Have you tried it yet?  Fire up the grill for some burgers.  Our Grass-fed Black Angus beef is naturally low in fat.  Be sure to ask for cooking instructions, as it's very easy to overcook grass-fed meats. 

We look forward to seeing you either at the Farm Stand or at Oxford Farmers Market Uptown this week.  Are you on facebook?  Why not become a Fan of Salem Road Farms?

Thank you so much for your continue support.

Brent & Suzie Marcum
Salem Road Farms

P.S. Young Farmer A turns 14(!) this week.  If you see him at the market, wish him a Happy Birthday.

Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

Whew!  Spring is rolling right by.  Is your garden planted?  We are working diligently to get many of the crops in, but, as you know, one planting isn't enough for most vegetables. Succession planting is the key word in May.  Seeding crops a couple weeks apart allows us to harvest over an extended period of time, with a new patch regularly maturing.  Managing maturity dates begins in the basement on our farm.  That's where the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and so many other crops start.  Trays are filled with organic potting soil and seeded with teensy weensy seeds.  Placing seeds in trays happens to be a favorite job of Young Farmer B, and are we ever glad!  After the plants have grown a bit and developed a true set of leaves, a portion of them are hand-transplanted into larger pots for sale.  What is planted for the farm, stays in the trays.  The trays of plants are then moved outside into a non-heated greenhouse.  Here watering occurs automatically with overhead irrigation.  We consistently hear praises for the high quality of our bedding plants.  Care is taken from the beginning of the process to the very end to ensure satisfied customers.  This week and next will see the largest selection of tomato plants available.  Both heirloom and hybrid varieties are available.  A few of the varieities are:  Amish Paste, Brandywine, Black Cherry, Big Boy, Big Beef, Arkansas Traveler, Roma, Garden Peach, Bloody Butcher, Taxi, Sun Gold Cherry and too many more to name.  The complete selection is available at the farm and as many as can fit into the truck will be at Oxford Farmers Market Uptown.  Look for a huge variety of herbs too - both culinary and medicinal. 

Laura Tabacca, a loyal market shopper, shared a recipe she developed last week using green garlic and komatsuna available from us at the market last week.  I made her Springtime Bacon and Egg Fried Rice this evening for dinner and it really is as easy as it sounds and tastes awesome.  This week we'll have Joi Choi, another Asian Green in the Bok Choy family.  Here's the recipe for Crunchy Joi Choi Slaw.  Also look for green garlic, big heads of romaine lettuce, and kale.   Along with the delicious vegetables, we'll have a full selection of Grass-fed Black Angus Beef.  This includes T-Bone, Rib-eye and Sirloin steaks; Rolled Round Roasts, hamburger, liver and raw bones for our 4-legged doggie friends.

Remember, the farm stand is open Tuesday - Saturday with fresh vegetables and bedding plants, and we'll be at Oxford Farmers Market Uptown on Saturday morning.  Thanks for your support!

Brent & Suzie Marcum
Salem Road Farms

Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

We are excited.  Now you can shop here at the farm.  A large selection of herbs and bedding plants - all grown right here with organic soil and loving care.  Beautiful hanging baskets just in time for Mother's Day.  Find directions to the farm here.  

Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

Yeah! It's finally here.  Opening Day of the Summer Season for Oxford Farmers Market Uptown.  Not only that, but, next Tuesday we will officially open the farm stand.  Mostly plants for now, until we get our retail food permit, no meat sales are allowed.  Come see us!

Bees.  Honeybees.  Our fellow farmer, Rick Green, brought two hives of honeybees and placed them on one of our farms last week.  The bees have a range of about two miles, so from that central location they can fly to the four different growing locations we have this year. There are 20,000 bees in that little box, and there's a box for each hive.  Rick explained the shapes painted on the hives are so that the bees will recognize their own hive after they come back from a foraging expedition. Bees are extremely critical for pollination of so many crops, therefore, these bees are a win-win situation.  We get superior pollination and Rick gets the honey to sell to you!

It's been an extremely busy spring here.  The young farmers have online tutors for some of their classes this year and the reality has set in on the demanding schedule.  In past years, we would quit schooling during April and May - not now.  Schoolwork must be done and turned in on time no matter what needs to be done outside, or how soon the rain's supposed to start falling.  It's been tough juggling all that needs done on a daily basis.  But, enough whining....we may be gearing up slower than we'd like, but veggies are going in every day.

It's time to plant that garden.  We'll have early tomatoes including everybody's favorite Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes uptown on Saturday.  Herbs too.  If you want bedding plants that have been grown in an ecologically-friendly manner - choose ours.  They're grown in Certified Organic Potting Soil with NO Chemical fertilizers.  The potting soil is compost based to provide nutrition and biological activity from day one.  That same potting soil is available for purchase.

The priviledge on Wednesday of talking with the HawkWalkers at Miami about Grass-fed Beef was awesome.  A hand-me-down George Foreman grill cooked Flat Iron Steaks up quickly and perfectly.  Do you want to know more about Grass-fed Beef? Simply ask.

Veggies this week are:  green garlic (try a pesto), lettuce, swiss chard, komatsuna, kale and more. 

Are you a Facebook fan?  If not, become a fan and find out what's fresh on a daily basis.

Thanks for your support. 
Brent & Suzie Marcum
Salem Road Farms


Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum

Oh, so many things happening here on the farm.  Too many to describe all of them.  I could tell you about the new building, the hoop house under construction, the field work, the spring beauty of the farm, growing transplants, growing boys, and grass-fed beef - but time is short and this will be too. 

It's time to plant your garden.  Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, peas, potatoes, onions and so much more can go into the ground now.  If you're short on space, I recommend reading Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.  Look for a selection of transplants, hardened off and ready for your garden.

Also new and exciting is the grass-fed beef.  The journey has been long, the learning curve steep, but healthy beef is here.  Did you know:

Grass-fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date. The 2009 study was a joint effort between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina. Compared with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef was:

1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

S.K. Duckett et al, Journal of Animal Science, (published online) June 2009

Various greens including lettuce and swiss chard are ready for harvest.  Get fresh herbs to enhance those spring dishes.  Green garlic - a seasonal delight.  The LA Times published this terrific article on the subtle and seasonal aspect of green garlic.

Posted by: Brent and Suzie Marcum