First planting day of the 2024 season here at Cold Brook Farm. Yesterday we got Yaya Carrots, French Breakfast Radishes and Sugar Snap Peas into the ground on an otherwise cold, raw early Spring day! The soil looked and felt amazing!! #coldbrookfarm #growyourownfood🌱 #homegrown #homegrownvegetables #plantingislife #vegetablegardening #shittonofpeas
Mar 28
Turned over the oats and clover cover crop for our Spring test crop of Kamut. This will go alongside the 4 test rows of Kamut we planted in October (to the left of the tilled soil). Oh, and that gorgeous chocolatey soil? It was lifeless, hard red clay just four years ago! The power of regenerative, organic practices to heal our land never ceases to amaze us!! #coldbrookfarm #kamut #regenerative #regenerativeagriculture #organicfarming #restoringthesoil #growinggrains #grain
Mar 8
Worked on our Raised Veggie Beds these past couple of days. The winter was so mild that our oat and red clover cover crop never died! So, we had to cut them back and till them into the soil in time to allow us to start planting our lettuces and kale later this month.#coldbrookfarm #raisedvegetablegarden #growyourownveggies #covercrops #soilhealthmatters
Mar 5
We had a special opportunity to visit @ranchoraicesosa while in Costa Rica. What a magical place! This permaculture farm was created by the father of our hosts, who grew his produce using permaculture methods without knowing that what he was doing had a name. He tended to his farm based on his passion for and understanding of the plants. The lovely family who run the farm are dedicated to creating a healthy ecosystem not just for people, but for the creatures that live in this 10 acre (4 hectares) parcel of land. They specialize in growing cacao and heirloom varieties of pineapples, bananas, papaya, and many other plants. They took great care of us and fed us a delicious lunch, too. Muchas Gracias, RoseMarie, Glenda, and Jafeth! In the middle of the farm is a magnificent 300+ year old tree. It seems to be the soul of the farm. And they treat it with the utmost love and care. #ranchoraices #coldbrookfarm #travel #supportfarms #permaculture #goodpeopledoingwonderfulthings
Feb 24
Certification Application submitted 2 weeks ago!! Fingers crossed. We’ve managed the Farm organically and regeneratively since 1/16/20. Now, we hope, we’ll officially be Certified Organic! #coldbrookfarm #goingorganic #certifiedorganic #keepingitclean #healthofsoilequalshealthoffoodequalshealthofpeople
Feb 20
A day later and the doughs Glenn (left) and Redeemer (right) are almost ready to go into the oven. The coarse bran has been reserved for sprinkling on the top right before baking. The Redeemer was definitely a “wetter” and more “spongy” dough than the Glenn. The Glenn was firmer with more structure as you’d expect given its higher protein (13.8% compared to 11-ish%). They both smell fantastic and we cannot wait to taste them tonight for dinner!!
Dec 6
Experimental Baking Day at Cold Brook Farm. Glenn Wheat (a modernish) variety that we grew in 2022 and Redeemer Wheat (from the 1800’s) that we have on the field now and hope to harvest this coming July (2024). We almost never bake with 100% varietal flour as I we prefer blends (usually 45% Einkorn, 45% of a hard red wheat and 10% rye), but we’re interested to see how these two perform on their own in a good, crusty sourdough loaf! Stay tuned…#coldbrookfarm #homemadebread #breadbaking #glennwheat #redeemerwheat #localgrains #growyourown
Dec 5
