We have moved..........

There is a new and snappy looking website that we have moved our blog to. Please head on over to screaminridgefarm.com to continue to follow us and check in with what we are up to.
Thanks
Joe

Seedlings are coming up, soup is keeping us real busy.

Well now that we have finally had some snow arrive. The greenhouses are kicking into high gear. All the spinach and salad that have overwintered are really coming in. Plenty of early spring greens all over the place. New seedling shed needs some insulation and a bit of work but is really nice to have. First Arugala is up and running. Can't wait to see how the quality of my transplants improves this spring. All exciting stuff. Soup continues to sell really well at Hunger Mtn Coop. Need to increase the amount I make each week to keep up with you guys. Have to go run, wanted to see how blogging works with my new website as well. Joe

Soup is flying out of the Hunger Mtn Coop. Thanks Everyone.

Hello there, It has been a few very hectic soup making weeks. Finally managed to put some soup on the shelf at City Market in Burlington but I am thinking my biggest fans are right here in Montpelier. I cannot keep it on the shelf at Hunger Mtn. Coop. Thanks! I am already working on some summer soups like Gazpacho as well as some salsa and pesto to keep things going until the return of soup season in the fall of 2012. Things are going really well at the Mad River Food Hub in Waitsfield. Great people to work with. We just might be in the plainfield Coop soon. Keep an eye out. Also if you are in the stores and notice the stock is low shoot me a text or and email. I want to keep you guys happy one bowl at a time........had to say it.
So as far as the farming thing goes we are shifting into gear. Seeding flats and harvesting spinach and salad like crazy since we cannot seem to have a real winter (the snow storm tomorrow an exception) around here. I am seeing aphids in the houses already. Leaving the remay off to freeze them out a bit. Well back to work....I will deliver soup and salad tomorrow to all my appointed rounds....

A farmer and his soup......

Spring greens are cranking in the greenhouses and the soup is ready. This is what I was up to way too early this morning. WCAX 

There is indeed another farmers market this Saturday. Normal day. Hope to see you all there. Joe

Going to be crazy this week. I have way too much on the plate and am already focused on making it to Saturday afternoon. Big soup production day tomorrow and then I need to restock Hunger Mtn Coop and make my first delivery to City Market in Burlington. Trying to guess how things will sell so I can keep the cases full.
Thursday is CSA delivery day and I am doing a soup demo for WCAX that morning at 6:30AM...ouch. Soup tasting at Hunger Mtn on Friday afternoon. Right into the farmer's market on Saturday. I am going to be one tired old man when the weekend hits.
Summer CSA shares are up and running. We have a new sign up system that can be accessed by both the website and the blog for the Central Vermont Food Hub.
More rain on tap for later this week..........the winter that never was?

Soup, Salad, Bread, Cheese............sounds like lunch!

Good Morning, Yes there is an off week farmer's market today. At VCFA in the gym. There will also be a market next week as well. Just odd scheduling issues. Anyhow soup is on and I am bringing the most spinach and salad to market that we have ever had. The upside to this mild winter is an abundance of great greens.
My soups are now available at Hunger Mtn Coop in the grab and go section over by the cheese and wine.
Here is what they look like. They should also be available at City Market in Burlington soon.
Joe

Coop Soup.......

My first soup customer testimonial!!  Chicken Soup.

Farmer's Market this Saturday at Vermont College. I will have big packages of take home soup for sale. Soup will be available at Hunger Mtn Coop starting today also. City Market in Burlington next hopefully.

Winter Morning Update......well more rain on the way today and tonight. Snow has been nice since it helps insulate the sidewalls of the greenhouses. Salad and spinach are doing fairly well in the houses. Starting to see some fungal diseases in the spinach though. Too much moisture in the new house. Need to put drainage in this spring and shape the permanent raised beds.  New seedling shed is real nice now that the heater is hung up and running. Makes it very pleasant while washing salad.
Soup making is moving ahead this week at the Mad River Food Hub. I have my State approval and am going to start processing for distribution into local stores this week. Keep an eye out for "Joe's Soups".
Our winter CSA is  half over and we have just 5 deliveries left.
Farmer's market has been good this winter, I can't seem to bring enough salad and spinach to market. Next market is Feb. 11th. This is an off date. We had to change dates due to another organization using the Gym at VCFA. Then another market right after that on Feb. 18th.
Speaking of markets........I will be a the Vermont Farm Show this Wend. evening for the first ever Farmer's Market night. There will be 4 farmer's from each county in the state (48 of us) vending our products. I will have soup, pesto, salsa, salad, and marinara. Going to be rolling out my new soup line as well. Should be fun. Hope to see you there.

The new Soup LIne

Winter Sugar Spinach 

# 2 Greenhouse

Here are a few links to my 15 minutes of fame for 2012, the opening ceremony for the Mad River Food Hub... soup and salad is in my future I think...

• WCAX television news video New hub fuels Vt food businesses

• Seven Days' Alice Levitt's Blurt staff blog post: Mad River Food Hub's Grand Opening is a Meaty Matter

• Barre-Montpelier Times Argus write-up, Food hub opens new doors

(wow! I wonder how I ended up with flower bullets.)

Good Morning! Things have been incredibly busy on a personal and farm level. Farmer's Market today from 10-2. We will have plenty of Winter Sugar Spinach, Winter Salad mix. We will also have Sweet Corn Chowder, Chicken Ginger Soup, Winter Tomatillo Salsa, and finally some of our Buley House Vinaigrette. Plenty of good healthy food for the new year.
Still working up at the Mad River Food Hub and trying to get permits, plans, etc in place so that all my soups and sauces will be available at outlets soon. Stay tuned for news on all of that. Here is a photo of the Corn Chowder coming to market today.
Joe

Market

Hello There, 

Pre-Christmas farmer's market tomorrow. I am loaded up with salad and spinach from the greenhouses. Also a few other treats as well. Late season Kale that we picked and bagged. Leaves are small, tender, and really sweet from the freezing temps. Baby leeks and sweet winter radish also. I will two very tasty soups as well.

Greenhouse lettuces

Winter Sugar Spinach

To market to market with a fat pig..........

Good Morning, Soup, Leeks, Spinach, Salad, and sweet frosted radish.....here are a few photos from the greenhouses during the second warmest November on record!

                                          Freshly Dug Fall Leeks.......

                                          Green House Number 1 loaded with winter salad.

                                          Greenhouse number 2 with Winter Sugar Spinach  not quite sweet enough yet since we have not had enough cold weather.

                                          Brand new Greenhouse number 3.....loaded with spinach

                                          The Mad River Food Hub Kitchen where I will be making soup, pesto, salsa, marinara and other goodies. 

Market, Soup, and Wisdom teeth extraction.

Well hello there! I am still trying to gear down from the normal growing season. Laura has saved my lazy ass once again. Things are going well but there has been a great deal  of adjustment trying to switch into a proper processing/cooking facility.
My middle child had her wisdom teeth out yesterday, all I have to say is OUCH, it was the correct thing to do but man!
So market tomorrow and I will have alot of tasty soup (potato leek and beef and bean) along with salad and spinach. I will have a few late season baby leeks and some radish. The radishes are big and sweet. This is due to them being frosted a few times. Man are they good.
As for eggs.....well I sold off my flock. I just needed a break. 300 birds was too much for my time and my tiny operation.
Soup is going well up at the Mad River Food Hub and getting better. Just have to figure out the regulations around everything.
Anybody have a restaurant space they want to rent out to a seasoned professional? Let me know.
Well have to go get a few more things done and pull another cork. Joe

Ok next holiday on tap..............

So one inch of rain on the way this evening into tomorrow. Yes, Rain no snow yet. Thinking I should go mow the lawn for the hell of it. Turkey day at the beach was really nice. Weather was great, traffic coming home was not. We seemed to keep getting stuck in Camden and couldn't get any further. Finally took a break went to the IHOP then took back roads North until we were clear of traffic. Another 7 hour drive that took 10 hours. That is not counting the side trips we took to visit a college and see my spouses childhood home. Ahh well.
Greenhouses look great for this time of the year. The new one is loaded with spinach and will be ready for harvest in a few weeks.
On another note it is so nice having only 28 chickens instead of 400. I miss the eggs but not everything else that went with them.
Winter CSA appears to be going well and we have our second delivery this Thurs. First winter market starts this Saturday up at Vermont College from 10am to 2pm. Hope to see you there. I will have plenty of greens for sale and some very tasty soup.
As for the holidays this year the family has decided that we are staying home with just us. My oldest will be home from college and we hope to do a bit of skiing. Too many long car rides this year already and the thought of traveling for the holiday is not appealing.  Should be alot of fun. Means we will actually decorate and enjoy the house. I will even put up some outdoor lights.
I will get some photo's up of the greenhouses in the next few days. Stay tuned.  Joe

Ahhh... A short break is near.......

Well the mild weather continues and so does the work around here. Alot of extra things are all done and put into place for next spring. Still need to cover the small greenhouse and get the wood pile in the house. Blowing my back and hip muscle out for the last 6 days has been an aggravating and very painful experience. I just do not bounce anymore.......
Heading south for a crazy turkey day. The wife's family (25 of us) in a 4 bedroom condo.........on an air mattress.......with a tiny kitchen.......
Plenty of harvesting going on the next 2 days to get ready for market. Looking good. Should all of the following...
Salad, spinach, kale, chard, radish, turnip, braising greens, soup, pesto, salsa verde, cilantro, fresh horseradish,
and rapini.
Gotta go prep some soup.

19 Degrees and the farm is looking good........

Good Morning, The pace of farm life is finally shifting gears and I am getting some time to sit and think. Real good hard frost up here this morning and then into spring like weather for the next 5 days or so. Really getting alot done around here and things are getting put away correctly for once. Still some finish work on the greenhouses to be done but they are all up and running and planted. Late season grasshoppers are the issue in the salad and spinach. Damn things are inflicting some damage. Deer population is enjoying my winter rye as usual. Really makes me wonder if cover cropping is worth it.
Really going to have to figure out something to for me outside soil fertility next year. Need to get some soil samples done this fall as well.
I should be able to start processing sometime next week at the Mad River Food Hub, this is going to be great! A full blown professional kitchen to move the soup business into! Should be very interesting.
Next market is the Thanksgiving one on the 19th of Nov. Then a short break and the winter markets start on the first Sat. of Dec. That would be the 3rd.
Lot's of planning to do this winter. This was the last year of large scale infrastructure for a while. A few other projects on tap but nothing pressing. We built 2 new greenhouses this year. A new 30x96 and a seedling shed that is 21x24. Still need to get a heater into the seedling shed but have not quite figured that one out yet.
Really need to work on developing the Food Hub. Very positive feedback for the most part and a number of logistical issues to get figured out. Plenty of vendors to source product from. Trying to figure out how to use all of them and make it worth thier while. In trying to do that I end up having to raise the price of the share which we do not want to do.  The value would be there but the price point gets difficult.

Winter is coming and soup is warming up

Good Morning,
Last Montp. outdoor market today. Really hoping the weather holds out until about 1:30pm. Greenhouses are planted and covered. Just need to finish doors and hardware.
Wood pile is still not in the basement. Computer needs a new motherboard and it's brand new! I was told they will replace it for free but not the computer! Whatever happened to customer service.
This winter is going to be very interesting around here. The economy has finally caught up with my family here in Vermont. My wife lost her job this week. Still trying to process this latest event. So anyone know of a business looking for a good scientific editor let me know.
Guess I need to make more soup and grow more salad. Really not sure how this is going to play out. The really nasty surprise is that she was given a severance package but due to our fine tax code and something called "supplemental tax" about 40% of her final pay is going to be taken in tax deductions.
Winter CSA shares are still available for a few more weeks and then we will be closing off sign ups. Things are looking good just need to get some spread sheets finished and some details figured out. We will have a drop site in Montp. on Main St. Finallizing the details for that.....stay tuned.
Soups today at market.....
a Hearty Lentil soup with chicken, sausage, tomato, and wild mushrooms
also the Thai Coconut Curry with roasted squash.
Gotta go...............

A soggy market today.....nice hot soup!

Hello All,
Off to market with plenty of spinach and salad. I will also have a few other items as well. This season is winding down and we have been working extremely hard to get the third greenhouse built and planted. Trying to do it right so we do not have to come back and fix things but the pressure is great to hurry up and get it planted as well.
Sold all the chickens to Dog River Farm except for about 30 of them. The ones I kept are Buff Brahmas. Really quiet docile birds. It is so nice and quiet up here again.
Soup season is upon us and I am getting ready to move into the Mad River Food Hub. A former student of mine has collaborated with the building owner and after a great deal of very hard work has set up a proper processing facility. This is all really exciting and going to allow me to increase production and realize a more efficient production model as well as improve my access to local ingredients. All pretty exciting.

The new frame is almost all up! Ends walls and Plastic skin next.

Market Day....wind, rain and Cheddar Ale Soup

Having a coffee and getting ready to head to market. I will be bringing a Cheddar Ale soup with Grafton Cheddar and Otter Creek Ale in it. Also a spicy black bean chili with tomatillos in it. Plenty of salad, arugala and spinach also along with some other late season fresh vegetables.
As for the doings here at the farm this week a great deal of progress was made getting projects done....both houses are skinned and my neighbor Dave is getting the doors built and hung. The crew and I managed to get all the ground posts in for the new house. So the frame should go up early next week and I should have it planted by the end of the month. Now to figure out how to make some money with all this infrastructure.
Bye

Farm news and a few dry days......

Good Morning,
Well scrambling to get the greenhouses repaired, skinned and a new one built. Really pushing hard to meet the deadline of hard frost and short days. Plenty of clean up and trying to get things to bed for the season. Garlic is getting planted this week and spinach is getting harvested.
Chickens are slowing down with day length getting shorter. CSA is still open with plenty of shares left if you are considering it.
Wood pile has started to move closer to the basement but has a ways to go still. Actually managed to get some stones down in the back yard and shrink that large pile. It may turn into a patio still.
Giant holes in the ceiling still from where the pipe burst and came pouring down onto the desk and wood floors.
Well gotta go, pack out orders and get things going today.