Farm Stand This Week:

So many goodies at our eastside farm stand this week! Come see what’s growing in the fields while enjoying the beauty of the 1902 Bergstrom barn a.k.a. Big Red Barn. You’ll find:

• broccoli
• swiss chard
• cauliflower
• head lettuce
• arugula
• green onions
• butternut squash
• eucalyptus! Delicious in teas or hanging in your shower
• pecans

Open every Saturday from 10-12 (8310 Canoga Ave., 78724) Venmo preferrred, all monies accepted

Farm News:

• Tater Planting Time is Here! All ages are invited to help plant our red, blue and yellow potatoes at our River Farm. Fun for all! Saturday, February 20, 9-noon.
• Adult Farm Camp, Sunday, Feb. 14, 9-12: Spend the morning getting your homesteading, gardening and farming questions answered by the founders of Green Gate Farms. You’ll get to try out tools and make new friends. Bring your sweetie for a couples discount: https://greengatefarms.net/product/adult-farm-camp-june-17th-single-person
• Spring CSAs for Veggies and Flowers Sign up has begun, don’t dally! https://greengatefarms.net/shop
• We’re hiring! Seeking a farm manager and seasonal workers. See www.greengatefarms.net
• Green Gate Gift Cards Available Need something special for your friends and family? Give the gift of fresh, organic food! We have Farm Bucks for all your celebrations.
• FARFA Lobby Day: Please let elected officials know that you care about local farms! This is a fun, informative event that makes a BIG difference to farmers....https://greensourcedfw.org/events/farm-ranch-freedoms-citizens-lobbying-day-austin

Flower Spotlight:

- Flower Power School is About to Open…..Spend one morning a month on the farm learning all you can about growing cut flowers. First class begins in March…Stay tuned!

- Flower Workshare Shifts Available: Learn how to cultivate organic cut flowers this spring with Farmer Erin. Morning shifts available at Austin and Bastrop farms, send your details to flowers@greengategarms.net

-Spring Flower CSA Sign up has begun, don’t dally! https://greengatefarms.net/shop

Oh Beautiful Bok Choy!

By Farmer Kalina

This week I am proud to present the most beautiful bok choy that I have ever grown! Farming is an experiment. Season by season, we try new things. We learn from our successes and our failures. It’s a mix of sunlight, water, nutrients, pest management, timing, love, and luck. From all these factors we sometimes make miracles happen, and sometimes we lose crops we were excited about. With this bok choy everything came together to create the beautiful results you’ll see in your CSA bag this week.

For me this week feels like a triumph. From the first week of the winter CSA I have been busy making careful plans and spreadsheets. I walk the fields each week and map out the best way to share our produce with our community. From week one, when I saw these bok choy beginning to size up in our hoophouse, a plan for this share was made. I thought of my favorite recipes and what to pair this bok choy with. In the recipe section below you will find one of my favorite winter meals. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Winter CSA - Week 4 Veggie Share

1. Bok Choy
2. Arugula
3. Red Russian Kale
4. Kabocha Squash OR Acorn Squash
5. Green Onions
6. Broccoli
7. Lettuce
8. Hakurei Turnips

Real Organic Project Makes Organics Real Again

By Farmer Skip

More than two years ago, Elgin chicken farmer Cameron Molberg asked if Green Gate Farms would be interested in joining the Real Organic Project — a new but growing organic integrity movement created, in the words of its founder Dave Chapman, “by a scrappy bunch of farmers.” Being scrappy and organic ourselves, we were intrigued but simply too overcommitted back then trying to save one of our farms while ramping up the other. This week, we got off the fence and joined this exciting farmer-led movement.

In three short years ROP has built a grassroots organization into a powerful voice for small farmers who are ready to draw a bright green line across this country’s muddied and eroded organic landscape. Its remarkable debut this month is owed to passionate farmers and food activists who are riding a wave of systems reform brought on by climate change, the social injustice movement, and, more recently, a global pandemic. In times of gut-wrenching economic crisis and political turmoil, the voices of small farmers have often sounded the alarm and blazed new paths toward reform.

“After losing so many battles with the NOP over the years, many of the pioneering organic farmers in the country have come together and formed the Real Organic Project,” Cameron wrote me back in 2018 when he was starting — appropriately enough — Greener Pastures Poultry near Elgin. “Some big name farms are part of the pilot project including several current and former NOSB members.”

When members of the NOS (the National Organic Standards Board) are speaking out over the decisions it makes, you take notice and ask why. The recent ruling that led to that line in the soil was, ironically enough, the board’s decision to certify soil-less hydroponic farming operations.

Continue reading on our website here:

https://greengatefarms.net/post/real-organic-project-makes-organics-real-again

Food and Flower Snapshot

• Veggie CSA Winter season, 10 weeks: January 4th - March 10th
• $25 each week, prorated
• 5 pick-up locations, Wed/Sat; no deliveries
• Additional vegetables, herbs, flowers and specialty items (e.g., pickled okra, plants for your garden, etc.) posted every Wednesday on Green Gate’s private Facebook page; touchless pickup at our intown farm is on Saturdays, 10-noon. (8310 Canoga Ave., Austin 78724)
• Volunteers welcome at both farms. More information on our website.
• Veggie CSA shares still available – tell your pals!
• Got a question about your CSA share? Contact your Community Organizer, the volunteer who manages your pickup site and handles any issues that might arise.

Recipes From Kalina:

Kabocha Miso Soup - One of my all time favorite winter meals - in fact, I centered this share around this recipe. You can use kabocha squash or acorn squash, I’ve made it with both. I also recommend adding your stir fried bok choy, thinly sliced hakurei turnips, a handful of arugula, and some sliced green onions, for a truly flavorful, fulfilling, and hearty meal.

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• Kabocha Miso Soup かぼちゃの味噌汁 • Just One Cookbook
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• Hearty and flavorful, this plant-based Kabocha Miso Soup is filled with naturally sweet kabocha, umami-rich mushrooms, and nutty sesame seeds!
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Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese - A staple in my home during the winter. Sometimes a good old fashioned broccoli mac is what the heart desires.

Broccoli Cheddar Mac and Cheese Recipe | SimplyRecipes.com

Perfect comfort food! Cheesy mac and cheese with sharp cheddar, parmesan, and broccoli.

Arugula Pesto Recipe - If you were with us during the fall CSA, you probably remember my passion for pesto. Here’s a simple recipe for you to try for yourself. I’d also like to add that this website is my favorite place to peruse for new recipes!

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• Arugula Pesto recipe | Epicurious.com
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• Arugula Pesto
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