What are Microgreens?

Microgreens are a tiny (and I mean tiny!) form of edible greens. They range in size from one to two inches long, including the stem and leaves. Microgreens can have surprisingly intense flavors considering their small size. Our special 'Erdenheim Farm' mix includes a mix of colors and different leaf types. They make for great salads by themselves, or try them as a garnish on holiday plates or as a topping for sandwiches. We are growing them this year in our 'cool' greenhouses, since they like the colder weather. Ounce for ounce, they are a bit more expensive than traditional lettuces, but it is because it takes so much more seed to grow. Try some today!

Holiday Greetings from Erdenheim Farm!

So that our Farmers can enjoy our annual holiday luncheon, our farm stand will be closed on Thursday, December 23rd. Please visit us this Tuesday 3-6pm to stock up on a variety of micro-greens and lettuces for your Holiday Dinners. We will also be open normal stand hours between Christmas and New Years!

Farm Stand Closed Thanksgiving Thursday!

So that our Farmers can enjoy Thanksgiving with their families, we will be
closed on Thursday, November 25th, Thanksgiving Day. Please visit us this
Tuesday 3-6pm to stock up on all those root vegetable and greens for your
own Thanksgiving Feasts.

Why are all the Cattle on the Angus Tract?

You might have noticed that last week we rounded up all the cattle. This was for our annual TD and Brucellosis blood testing. Each year the cattle are vaccinated and then blood tested by our Vet. This is a full day for our farm hands of sending reluctant cattle through the cattle shoots that are located up at the Angus Beef Barns off of Flourtown Road. To date we have no cases of either disease.

Our Vet was not the only visitor to the Angus Tract this week. For those Birders in our audience, this week our Livestock Managers spotted a Cattle Egret in our pastures. A migratory visitor, this white cousin of the Blue Heron preys on small insects such as flies and ticks that often accompany cattle. So for our cattle, they are a very welcome guest in deed!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_Egret


So on this Thanksgiving, as throughout the year, we are thankful for your continued interest and support of Erdenheim Farm.

From our families, to yours:

Happy Thanksgiving!

Can't Find us?

Many of you have mentioned that you are having trouble locating us!

The Farm Stand is located in front of the large Sheep Barn that you see off of Flourtown Road. During Farm Stand hours, please come up the Flourtown Driveway (you will see our large green Erdenheim Farm sign at the bottom of the driveway), and past our sheep in the pastures. When you are in the Sheep Barn parking area, the Stand will be at the door to your left.

Pullets Arriving!

This week we are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Pullets to help increase our egg production here on the farm. Pullets are young or 'teenage' hens. Many of you might not realize it, but it takes chicks 18-20 weeks to reach egg production maturity. Our new chicken teens will start laying brown 'Pullet' egg in a couple of weeks. Pullet eggs are smaller sized than most eggs that you see in a grocery store. I had never seen one myself before working here on the farm, but I can assure you that despite their size, they are just as rich and creamy as our larger sized eggs plus they are kind of cute! While they might be difficult to bake with since most recipes call for large eggs, they are great for those of us looking for a little bit of portion control at breakfast time.

The Nature of Natural

This year all our garden vegetables, except for our sweet corn (which was low-spray), were grown without the use of commercial chemical-based pesticides and herbicides. Although we are not certified organic, we are trying to offer produce that is respectful to our environment and better for our customers (and our own families). Yesterday I was reminded of why we are putting in the extra effort with some wonderful Black Swallowtail Caterpillars on the carrot greens and fennel. Sure they nibbled a bit, but I am sure those butterflies will be worth it!

This week at the farm stand we will have radishes, turnips, peppers and some tomatoes. We are also starting to get some of those great fall signal crops such as apples, pumpkins and butternut squash. Think of us when you are getting ready to decorate your houses for Halloween because we are offering bundles of corn stalks! And we have firewood available in small piles, which are perfect for backyard fire pits or in bigger stacks if you are stocking up for the winter.

Farm Stand Hours are as follows:

Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:30 pm- 4:30pm
&
Saturday Mornings 9:00 am- 12:00pm

July 9, 2010 – Heat Wave!

During extremely hot weather, such as the triple digit temperatures we experienced this week, we humans are desperate to escape to air conditioning anyway we can (I guiltily write this with my own air conditioner unit blowing directly down my neck!). Unfortunately for the animals here at Erdenheim A/C is not an option.

If you have been driving by our fields this week, you would have to look hard to see our herds as they are gathered along the shaded tree lined ridge and hedgerows. During extreme heat, both the cattle and the sheep’s seek shade and try to move as little as possible so not to generate any additional body heat. Look for them in early morning and later in the evenings when the animals will go into open pasture to graze.

Our Livestock Managers and Farm Hands check in with the animals much more frequently with the heat, looking for signs of distress. This is especially true of the very young and older animals…such as our new Scottish Highland calf that was born this week! If they do notice an animal in heat distress, they will bring them into one of our barns, make sure they are hydrated and turn a fan on them! So far this week all animals have been handling the heat fine on their own.

One of the projects that we have been working on is planting more shade trees in our pastures for the animals (You have might have noticed the empty triangular tree protection fencing in the field along Flourtown Road). We are hoping to get all trees planted by this fall.

In the farm office this week in addition to our cage-free brown and white eggs, we have yellow squash, zucchini and by next week, we hope onions. Stop by on Tuesdays 2:30-4:30 pm and Friday 8-9:30 am!