It’s harvest time in Paradise. Last week we began picking tomatoes, cucumbers, sweet corn, pickle cukes, zucchini, red beets, and carrots. Watermelon will be ready soon. It’s time for the last planting of green beans and cold weather crops - cabbage, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussels sprouts. We are also planting some diverse cover crops soon- oats, Sudan grass, daikon radish, and turnips.
As a new customer, it takes some trust to switch to buying your food from another farm. Usually by the time you have come to us, you have been disappointed and frustrated with your previous health food store, or on-line buying program’s lack of transparency, or you are growing more aware of what your priorities are and what real food is. The integrity in our American food and farming system has become underwhelming. We noticed from your questions that you are a highly intelligent shopper looking for the best quality food for your family. It’s sad that we have to do so much questioning to find a quality farm that raises real food like pastured meats and raw A2/A2 cheeses.
We’ve discussed the unique benefits of our pasture's forages in the Virginia Highlands and the precision process we follow for making our high quality haylage. Today, let me introduce to you…. Drum roll please…. “Stars of the Show” that turn all these wonderful nutrients into delicious and nutritious beef for our bodies.
Because of the local demand in Southern Appalachia, we decided to open our farm store. We purchased the building shell and with the help from volunteers (thank you all for helping!!), our children, and a few skilled designer-carpenters, we finished out our cozy mercantile.
We are in haylage-making season. What the heck is haylage? And what exactly are we doing when we say, “I’m sorry. We’ll get back to you because we are busy making hay.” When making HAY, the grass is allowed to grow taller and even go to seed and cut in very dry conditions. After cutting, it sits in the field for several days, dries out, and dies before baling.
We processed 15 beef since February and ya’ll have been eating it up like nobody’s business. It is no wonder with the endless list of nutritional benefits of liver, that we would be in this predicament. Liver has been considered a special or sacred food for many traditional cultures for thousands of years. Because of its value, when an animal was slaughtered, the liver was rationed out to the pregnant women, the newborn children and the elderly. The warriors and hunters ate the tough muscle meat and the women at the more tender cuts.
With the last cold spell behind us, our animals turned their heads and walked away from the last bales of Winter hay. Springs are recharged, streams are overflowing their banks, and life is bursting out all over. Alvin’s dairy cows are out on Spring greens. Verna and Sadie’s garden’s are planted. And, John has completed the important fence repairs (good fences make happy neighbors), to receive the new arrivals of young lambs, calves and piglets. The grass in the Virginia Highlands is growing in lush with blue-grass, orchard grass, clovers and healthy herbs like comfrey, dandelion, and plantain that draw up minerals from the earth to nourish the livestock and add microbial activity to the soil. They call this “Fat Cattle Kingdom” for a reason.
Freedom Ranger chickens come from a cross of heritage breeds. They are a broiler chicken, which is a chicken that’s raised for its meat. They grow slowly, which makes their meat more tender and flavorful. Let’s take a look at Freedom Rangers and learn about why these chickens are so unique.
Chances are you’ve had bone broth or know someone who drinks it regularly. How did it become so trendy, and is it really worth all of the hype? Let’s take a look at the medicinal broth, and if you haven’t already, maybe you’ll start drinking it too!
Have you ever wondered about the difference between raw and pasteurized cheese? Besides taste, there are also greater nutritional and health benefits from one compared to the other. Let’s take a look at the differences between raw and pasteurized cheeses.
You probably never think of topography and elevation when you think of farming. But does a farm located 3,000 feet above sea level affect your food? Let's take a look at how topography and elevation impact the soil and the animals of Burke's Garden Farm.
Our A2/A2 artisanal cheeses are made in homage to Alpine-style cheeses. Alpine-style refers to the region where this cheesemaking originated, and the particular practices followed to make cheese. Let's take a closer look at the history of this cheesemaking process and why it's so special.
