thishomemadelife | 2012 March

Farm to Table Project: Potato Planting

March 30, 2012

Yesterday I spent the morning at Rhizosphere Farm. It had been 10 days since I had last visited. During that time we’d had rain and lots of beautiful sunshine. Pulling into the drive I could see evidence of growth in the fields. The bright hues of salad greens and radishes could be seen in contrast to the dark soil. Seeds I had watched Terra sow were sprouting up, reaching for the warmth of the sun. The seedlings in the greenhouse are growing too and being transplanted to bigger, 4 inch pots as they are quickly outgrowing their current flats. Just outside the greenhouse sorrel is ready for the picking. I even got to try some for the first time and loved it’s tart flavor. Potato planting was on the agenda for the day…yukons, desiree, purple majesty and fingerlings. I didn’t really know a thing about the process of planting potatoes and had been looking forward to seeing how it was done. Terra invited a few friends to help with the planting process, extra hands making the job go more quickly. She gave us a demo on how the planting should be done and everyone got to work. Each potato is planted approximately 4 inches deep, cut side down, 12 inches apart. There soon became a rhythm of dropping, measuring and planting working down the tilled rows. I even planted a few fingerlings myself. I’d been dying to get my hands into that gorgeous black soil, it felt as beautiful as it looked. As the potatoes grow, they will need to go back through for hilling. It’s the process of covering the above ground part of the plant with dirt, keeping it underground to promote growth. This will be done several times during the growing [...]

Granola Cookie Bars

March 28, 2012

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

March 23, 2012

Farm to Table Project: Rhizosphere Farm

March 21, 2012

A little over a year ago, shortly after starting this blog, I watched a creative LIVE session that featured Penny De Los Santos. In one particular part of the presentation she talked about the importance of having personal projects. That each of us, as photographers, should create a project of our own to fuel our creativity, feed the passion within and continue our growth as artists. Something about what she said resonated with me. I wrote it down in the notes I was taking, in caps and underlined. I loved the idea of a personal project, but what could I do? Fast forward a couple months to spring and the beginning of my favorite part of the year…the growing season. In the midst of taking pictures of our garden and trips to the farmers’ market it dawned on me what my project should be. In the years since changing the way we eat I have developed a passion for food that I never could have imagined having. I love reading about how what we eat impacts our earth, our bodies and our communities. Why wouldn’t I want to take that one step further by photographing it? That’s where Rhizosphere Farm comes in. Located in the river valley of eastern Nebraska they are a small, but growing organic farm. Heading into their fourth year they have agreed to let me document the growing season of their land. My objectives for this project are to share the love and labor that goes into producing food, to tell more people about Community Supported Agriculture (CSAs) and how we can all benefit from supporting them. I want to document the days of a working farm in beautiful images and share [...]

Curried Tomato Soup

March 19, 2012

Something you should know about me…I’m kind of known in my family and small circle of friends for the projects I dream up. It can be small, like changing a light fixture, or bigger like revamping the basement. Whenever I begin a sentence with, “I have this idea…” my husband physically cringes. I know he doesn’t love projects, in fact, I’ve taught myself to do quite a few things to save him from them. Let me preface this by saying that my husband is a good man, with a heart of gold, but, as a friend once told me, “he is no match for your continuous, whirl wind of energy.” True, all true. I come by this quite naturally. My dad can cram more projects into one day, one weekend, than anyone I know, and still find time to fit in 9 holes of golf. Thankfully, we both married smart, patient people that tolerate us lovingly.

Farm to Table Project: Potato Planting

Granola Cookie Bars

Meyer Lemon Sorbet

Farm to Table Project: Rhizosphere Farm

Curried Tomato Soup

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