WFCSA News March 2!

Full Share: Chard, Kale, Pea Shoot and Spicy Mix micros, Rosemary, Fingerlings, Parsnips

Hello!

I hope you’ve all been enjoying the warmer weather!  The farm has begun its transformation from a peaceful, snow blanketed landscape painting (sharing a few of my favorite photos from the past couple months so you can all marvel at the beauty of deep winter) to its Spring persona, one that’s full of new life, new colors, new sights, sounds, smells and soon, a whole crop of new GVB farm crew members!  This tends to be a very contemplative time for me, so if you want to skip my musings on current farm happenings and go straight to the recipes etc. I will not take it personally and encourage you to scroll right on by the next couple paragraphs.

I think I’ve said this every week since I started writing this newsletter, but it’s a very exciting time at the farm right now.  That might be my favorite thing about working on a farm -- and on this farm especially.  There’s always a new project to help out with, a new experience to indulge, new skills to learn, new people to meet… I’m not always the most change-embracing individual if I’m being honest, but I’d like to think that the constant newness we’re surrounded by here is helping me embrace change more on the whole. Again, very exciting!

According to weather.com, we only have a couple more days before the temperatures drop again and we can strap our skis back on for some spring snow sports.  But before that happens, I hope you’ll all be able to spend a moment or two out in the warm air, taking in and reflecting on the changes that are beginning to happen around us.  Spring is only 18 days away!  

So if you have more than a moment or two to spend thinking about coming changes, maybe carve out some real time in the next couple of weeks to set springtime intentions before the Worm Moon rises (or the Crow Moon, depending on local tribes) and “the ground begins to thaw and earthworm casts appear, heralding the return of the robins” (Farmer’s Almanac). https://www.farmersalmanac.com/full-moon-dates-and-times 

"The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also.” - Harriet Jacobs.

As promised, this past weekend was the sheep shearing bonanza.  I was unfortunately unable to attend, so I’ve recruited the lovely Paige Southwood to share her experience and a few fun facts about sheep and their shearing.  Paige has been a neighbor-friend of the farm for over a year now (and an employee since September!)  Passing it off to Paige: 

Hi! I’m Paige Southwood and I’ve been working at Gallatin Valley Botanical since September 2021. I came to the farm as a photojournalist doing a story about farm workers and loved GVB so much I had to stay! You can still find me freelancing around the valley for local magazines and publications when I’m not feeding piglets or harvesting potatoes on the farm. I love what I do!

 Speaking of which, last Saturday I got the opportunity to join Jacy, Matt and family for the annual sheep shearing event on the farm. Much like branding day on cattle ranches, sheep shearing requires all hands on deck. We brought in a local professional shearer (yes, these are the strongest humans on earth), a vet and a bunch of friends to help, including a few under-18 hands ready to pull their weight in wool.

The day starts with gathering all the sheep into the barn, which can be an ordeal in and of itself. Sheep have a herd mentality so when one sheep is spooked, they all spook and scatter. This task is not for the faint of heart (thanks, Matt!). When the shearer arrives with his electric shears and safety equipment, we start picking off one sheep at a time from their cozy corral to funnel to his station in the barn where they’ll get a quick haircut. Shearing is a lot like a buzz cut on a human head -- it doesn’t hurt unless the shears accidentally nick the skin. Fortunately, this doesn’t happen often and the cuts are taken care of right away to prevent infection. Once the wool is trimmed (don’t worry, the sheep still have a thin base layer of wool to keep warm and dry), the sheep gets carefully transferred to the next station where we administer vaccines and dewormer (super important going into lambing season) and trim their hooves to prevent fungus in the wet season. The vet was onsite to make sure everything was sanitary and properly administered. She even let the kids administer the vaccines and dewormer! My 12-year-old daughter really took to it! I think we’ve got a future farm vet on our hands.

 Every sheep at the farm left clean, healthy, happy and ready for lambing season. It’s very important that the heavy winter wool is removed before the babies arrive in the spring as the wool can cause birth complications when not properly treated. We feel lucky to have such capable shearers and competent vets in the Valley ensuring our animals are thriving in our Montana mountains. With shearing day behind us, the clock starts ticking till lambing season which is when the real fun begins!

Thanks Paige :) 

Now for some recipes and tips for how to use this week’s CSA items:

Stop by the farm stand for some more herbs and slice up your fingerling potatoes for this Potato Crusted Herb Quiche

Check out these 19 awesome parsnip recipes from Bon Appetit.

Chard - stir fry with garlic and add to a box of your favorite mac and cheese for an easy kid friendly chard option.

Kale - (This kale planting sadly had to be removed from a greenhouse due to an aphid issue.  If even after us having dunked and washed the kale, this is also an issue for you, a good aphid removal method on any of our hearty greens or brassica heads is to dunk the leaves or heads in salted water!  ~Matt) To best enjoy as a raw or very lightly wilter salad, give it a chiffonade and then massage with your favorite dressing (I made the tahini maple dijon sauce from the recipe I shared last week -- highly recommend!) and add to a salad with some roasted squash, spiced chickpeas and pickled red onions to have exactly what I just ate for lunch! Top with micro greens.  

Check out our instagram post on what to do with wilted greens if that is an experience that befalls you this week (spoiler alert, you’ve got some delicious and nutritious smoothies coming your way).

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