Night Owl Farm: Farm Fact Friday - Tatsoi Flowers

View this email in your browser ✨Farm Fact Friday✨ Tatsoi Flowers! Oh my gosh these are delicious. Tatsoi usually looks like a mini spinach leaf, and cooks just like it! The greens taste like a mix between spinach and Bok Choy. Many of you have tried tatsoi and have come back for more! We have had tatsoi in our greenhouse all winter (also called "overwintering") and we've been able to harvest about every 2-4 weeks. Now that the days are getting longer, the plant's natural response is to bolt (grow flowers) and try to produce offspring. Usually for other crops (lettuce in particular) bolting means it's no longer good as it turns extremely bitter and unappetizing. Lucky for us, however, tatsoi flowers are DELICIOUS. Like a sweet, tender broccoli. We will have a limited supply at the market tomorrow, so you have a chance to try this limited time crop! These are so yummy that cooking is unnecessary, but if you are not a fan of raw veggies, then a *quick* sauté will do it! Think of it kind of like broccolini. The flowers can be open or closed, they are equally tasty. Copyright (C) 2023 Night Owl Farm, LLC. All rights reserved.

Night Owl Farm: Farm Fact Friday - 02/03/23

View this email in your browser ✨Farm Fact Friday✨ (Before I get into this, I want to say that this is a watered down, straight to the point email, even given its length. I could talk about this topic for hours! If you have questions, or want to know more, please don't hesitate to reach out!) This week's highlight is our farming practices! We are a small farm growing our food on about 1/4 acre, looking to expand to just under 1/2 acre this year. All of what we do is by hand - no sprays, no tractors, just delicious food! And no, we haven't just lost our minds and decided to make everything harder for no reason! 😂 It turns out, that this approach is excellent for the soil. This approach is called, "no till," or, "low till," farming. Depending on who you ask (like with everything!) they will have a different opinion on what no till actually is. Some say that you can't grow root crops in a no till system because harvesting them disturbs the soil. That's not our opinion. For us, no till means we disturb the soil as little as possible. And in particular, avoid turning the soil over. This allows for all of the microscopic living things to thrive and support the soil. With conventional tillage, the soil gets mixed around and exposes those organisms to the air/sun which kills them. Life in the soil is essential to a healthy crop. That life is responsible for breaking things down and feeding our crops with their waste. This helps eliminate the need for adding supplemental food for the plants in the form of pelletized fertilizers. We do add amendments to the soil, but it's stuff like kelp meal, alfalfa meal, fish fertilizer… things that you can understand the name of! Once your soil has been restored (we are working on it by adding lots of compost, getting our soil tested, adding nutrients and minerals needed, and disturbing the soil as little as possible) this practice allows you to grow more intensely, creating a larger yield in a smaller space. This is why we were able to support 30 CSAs and 2 farmers markets on 1/4 acre, when many farms running the same number of CSAs need quadruple that space! We are also able to reduce the size of our walking paths and beds since we don't need to leave space for a tractor, which also helps maximize the use of space. We also don't have the overhead, or environmental impact of a tractor. Yes, it's a lot more work to do it by hand, but it's better for our soil, the environment, our wallets, and our time. We waste no time or money on equipment repairs, which has helped our bottom line significantly. We often get funny looks from old school farmers because this isn't "how it's been done." When in reality, agriculture has been around a lot longer than tractors have, and major tillage wasn't used until tractors became popular. So, we are actually getting back to our roots 😉 by going to till. Again, I could talk about this for hours! I feel like I've left so much out haha so if you have an interest in this topic, there are a lot of excellent YouTube videos out there, and I would be happy to answer your questions as well! Stay warm out there ❄️ ❤️ Copyright (C) 2023 Night Owl Farm, LLC. All rights reserved.

Night Owl Farm · 49 Prospect Street · Franklin, MA 02038 · USA

Consider subscribing to the Night Owl Farm series of "Farm Fact Fridays"

Night Owl Farm writes:

"Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting a common misconception, or an unusual vegetable to help broaden your knowledge about weird farm things!

They will be long posts, but very educational for those who are interested. 

This first week, we will be highlighting our eggs. Our eggs will come to you unwashed (unless otherwise labeled - we wash the eggs that end up extra dirty) and significantly fresher than any eggs you will find at the grocery store.

An unwashed egg has a longer shelf life than a washed egg due to the coating the eggs have on them after a hen lays them. This Bloom is a protective layer to keep the eggs fresh before a hen decides to sit on them to try and hatch them.

If we were to stop collecting eggs each day and leave the chickens to their own devices, the chickens will “collect” the eggs themselves to hatch them (assuming there’s a rooster with them - No rooster means no babies)

The chickens will choose a favorite nesting box or two and consistently lay their eggs in those places. As the eggs collect, sometimes for a couple weeks, 1 or more hens will become Broody. Her temperature rises, she will get extra feisty and protective, and will stop eating and drinking (almost entirely) for the 21 days until the chicks hatch.

In order for the eggs to stay fresh until the hen goes broody, their bodies add a mostly invisible layer to the egg to keep it from rotting while they collect their eggs. This bloom allows fresh eggs to stay unrefrigerated for several weeks without issue.

We made the decision to refrigerate our eggs because it turns “several weeks” into “several months.” Once unwashed eggs are refrigerated, they should stay refrigerated.

So next time you get a dozen of our eggs and there’s a little bit of dirt on them, just know that this means they will be lasting quite a while in your fridge! Store then dirty - all they need is a bit of warm water and soap right before you use them :)

**Something in particular you want us to highlight? Send us a message and we’ll add it to our list!**

Visit Night Owl Farm on the internet (at their location, or one of the farmers markets where they participate). Scroll to the bottom of their home page to sign up for their newsletter -> http://www.nightowlfarm.org/

View this Night Owl text in your browser -> https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=9924a495b2&u=9e517f8ba72777e1fdd23368a&id=9fa68ba154

Consider subscribing to the Night Owl Farm series of "Farm Fact Fridays"

Night Owl Farm: 2023 Workshops Are Open! (And Farm Update)

View this email in your browser 2023 Farm Plans ✨Happy New Year!✨ We have lots to update you on! We may have less to do at the farm this time of year, but that doesn't mean we aren't busy planning for the future! Take a look below to see our plans for some of the bigger happenings at the farm for the 2023 season. The biggest to note is the start of our very first workshop series! Workshops Our 2023 Workshop series is officially live! Keep a new year's resolution of becoming more self-sustaining by improving (or starting!) your own garden! Our workshops are open to ALL levels. Some will target those with experience, but we encourage beginners to join as well, and vice versa! :) We have included workshops on: Caring for Chickens Seed Starting Succession Planting Gardening for Beginner Common Garden Pests & Diseases Soil Health (Coming Soon!) View Workshops Copyright (C) 2023 Night Owl Farm, LLC. All rights reserved.

This newsletter was shortened for publication here. To review the full set of contents, visit this link ->  https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=9924a495b2&u=9e517f8ba72777e1fdd23368a&id=f297589f54

Night Owl Farm awarded $46K grant from MA Dept of Agricultural Resources

The Night Owl Farm in Franklin is to receive a $46,000 grant for help with their washing and packing facility per the announcement Thursday.  Senator Becca Rausch and State Representative Jeff Roy were both quoted in the announcement.

The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $1,000,000 in grants to 23 Massachusetts farms to implement practices that improve food safety within their operations. The Agricultural Food Safety Improvement Program (AFSIP), administered by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR), is a competitive grant program that allows produce and aquaculture operations to address food safety on their farms, enabling the operations to meet buyer demands, increase consumption of local food, and protect public health by reducing food safety risks.

“The Commonwealth’s agricultural industry continues to grow and upgrade its practices to both meet marketplace demands and regulatory requirements,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “These grants underscore our Administration’s commitment to helping farmers implement important upgrades within their operations to ensure that food safety risks are managed, that their marketplace needs are addressed, and their businesses continue to grow.”

“Improving food safety practices is important for Massachusetts’ farmers in order to provide the highest quality produce and protein sources for consumers across the Commonwealth and beyond,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “These food safety grants provide a proactive approach for the sector to upgrade their practices to help ensure safe local food production continues for years to come.”

Continue reading the press release ->

https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-announces-1-million-in-grants-to-improve-massachusetts-farm-food-safety

Visit Night Owl Farm on the internet (http://www.nightowlfarm.org/) and at the Winter Farmers Market

Night Owl Farm awarded $46K grant from MA Dept of Agricultural Resources

Night Owl Farm announces a New Place to Buy Your Veggies

We have officially partnered with Fresh Start Market in Franklin to offer you better hours for grabbing your veg!

They have provided us with a produce display case that we will regularly fill with produce from our farm and others like us.

They are at 369 West Central Street (in the same plaza as Liquor World)

They are open Monday-Saturday, 10-7, and Sundays 10-6! Now you can shop for your produce according to YOUR schedule, rather than ours. 

Find out more about the produce and programs Night Owl Farm offers in their newsletter  https://us7.campaign-archive.com/?e=9924a495b2&u=9e517f8ba72777e1fdd23368a&id=a8e24fde49

partnered with Fresh Start Market

Thanksgiving Pop-up!! announced by Night Owl Farm

Thanksgiving Pop-up! Thanksgiving Pop-up! We may have closed the farm stand for the season, but that doesn't mean the season is over! We still have veggies growing in the greenhouse, they are just growing MUCH slower now with the reduced heat and daylight. This inspired our decision to have "pop ups" as the veggies mature rather than have a less than stunning selection for your each week. Our very first pop-up is live NOW! Our pop ups are all pre-order only, and the ordering window for this pop up is Monday, November 15th to Friday, November 19th at 7:00am. This gives us time to pack orders and then have your orders available for pick up by Sunday morning at 10am! We have LOTS of delicious veggies for sale (all organic!) as well as all of the items we had for sale in the stand. If you're interested, place your order using the link here -> https://night-owl-farm.square.site/   or below (in the button) Shop our Pop-up Sale Fall Farm Update I had these grand visions of sending a monthly update about the farm to our Newsletter sign-ups…. But seeing as it's now November, that clearly didn't happen! Haha So, instead, I'll just share a little bit about how this season went. This season was (and continues to be!) so much better than I could have hoped. We have had some struggles throughout the season, but that's to be expected with any first year farm. The good news is it was nothing we couldn't come back from. We've had some support and mentorship from really talented farmers in the area. I couldn't imagine doing this without them. Special thanks to Grateful Farm, Ramble On Acres, Upswing Farm, and White Barn Farm for the endless support, and for helping beef up my CSA when I've needed it! The truly incredible thing is that you all have been so supportive. I've been absolutely blown away by the amount of interest and encouragement I've received from the community. I'm so lucky to be starting a business like this in a community that cares so deeply about the local economy and great food. We have some VERY exciting plans in store for next year. More on those details as we get closer, but we are thrilled to be seeing the farm grow and expand so quickly. At the end of the day, this first year experience was better than I could have imagined. I am so thankful for you all for the support that's allowing me to do what I love. 2022 CSAs We had an overall excellent first CSA. I enjoyed packing each individual box for our members, and getting to know them a little bit more at each pick up. So much so that we will be expanding our CSA next year! 2022 CSAs will go on sale in January to those who are on our waitlist. If you haven't joined yet, please do so by following the link below! Sign up for the CSA Waitlist Copyright © 2021, Night Owl Farm, All rights reserved.

Night Owl Farm · 49 Prospect Street · Franklin, MA 02038 · USA