CSA Box Contents Week of Feb 29th

Medium Box
Carrot, Orange
Greens, Arugula
Greens, Chard, Rainbow
Greens, Collards
Greens, Salad Mix
Greens, Spinach
Herb, Cilantro
Onion, Spring Yellow
Potato, Sweet
Turnip, Rutabaga

by Megan Winfrey

This is my spin on a classic American weeknight dinner. At least, classic for me and maybe anyone else who grew up with a mother who was a great cook, but also a health nut. In the late 90s and early 2000s, that meant a lot of grilled chicken breasts! A few days a week, I could count on that nice, juicy chicken breast with assorted vegetable sides and a side salad. Always a side salad. And I LOVED it! So much, that I find myself cooking the same way most of the time. As much as we deny it, we all become our mothers, don't we!?

Mozzarella & Spinach Stuffed Chicken

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1/2 package of fresh mozzarella, thickly sliced (12 slices)
• 1 c. spinach leaves, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, diced
• 1/2 lemon, juiced
• salt and pepper

Heat oven to 350ºF

Slice slits down the length of the chicken breasts, but do not cut all the way through. Sprinkle salt and pepper into the pockets, then stuff each one with a slice of mozzarella and a large pinch of chopped spinach.

Evenly distribute the chopped garlic over each chicken breast, and place them in a well oiled baking dish. Drizzle more oil over everything and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 165ºF. Serve immediately.

The salad mix is growing like crazy in the field. Also - go Longhorns! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week 9 was a busy one! The end of this week has been full of activity preparing for this weekend's Transplant Sale, which starts tomorrow at our Garfield greenhouses. We're potting up plants, unfolding tables, and cleaning up the farm so that you can enjoy the Spring landscape with your family. We'll see you tomorrow!

Artichokes are still coming along! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Bok choy harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Lots of beautiful choy this week. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Late winter fields. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Transplants ready to go in your garden! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Romaine lettuce. Photo by Scott David Gordon

This weather is greadt for our head lettuce! Photo by Scott David Gordon

The grape trellises we were working on last week are nearly completed. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Curly kale plant. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Volunteers helping us plot up transplants for this weekend's greenhouse sale!

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Rainbow chard for this weekend's Transplant Sale! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Heirloom tomatoes galore. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Thai basil will be available this weekend as well. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Basil transplants ready for your garden! Photo by Scott David Gordon

A few favorites from the past couple of months!

• Our friends at the ABGB know how to throw a good party. That's why we're going to be hanging with them for brews and live music during SXSW for The ABGB House Party. Hope to see you there!
• This farmer got sick of neighbors parking on his land, so he took matters into his own hands. Thanks to JBG staffer Katie for finding this one.
• When an old staff member shared a post on Facebook of these Psychedelic Spring Rolls, we knew we had to show someone!
• The ladies at JBG have their eyes greedily on Gamine Workwear's recent shop update. Hello, well-fitted work denim.
• Guy on A Buffalo - this hilarious video from local Austin group The Possum Posse has gone viral.
• Big Bend is the favorite getaway for many a JBG staffer. That's why we're signing this petition to tell our elected officials that we don't want the Trans-Pecos Pipeline running through thewest Texas.
• Craving some corn in a cup? Ada recommends Hay Elotes on east 7th street. Seriously, you gotta try it - best we've found in town.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

What an unusual winter we've had in Central Texas this year. As a farmer, I take weather watching to an extreme, and am checking the forecast multiple times a day to see what the next week will bring us. Usually in an El Niño year, we expect the winters to be cold, wet, and harsh. However, this winter has been the sixth warmest on record in Austin, with Camp Mabry only recording 4 light frosts! We had a few more out here at the farm, but nothing like the wintry beating we took two years ago. And while the usual last frost date in Travis County falls around March 7th, our current ten day forecast shows nothing below 50 degrees.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

So, CSA members and customers, we're going for it! This week we started putting all of your favorite summer crops in the ground. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, squash, basil and more - we're taking a chance on mother nature and getting these crops in the field now, in the hopes of delivering you fresh summer crops a few weeks earlier than expected. Why are we asking you to cross your fingers? Well, these little transplants love warm weather, but will die in the field if the temperature dips below freezing. Their cell walls will burst if punctured by ice crystals even if the thermometer hovers just at 32 degrees, unlike winter hardy brassicas and root crops. We usually wait until a few weeks after the average last frost to get summer crops planted in the fields, but this year early just feels right.

A flowering hedgerow of brassicas attracts lots of beneficial insects! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Of course, while getting our crops in early is a blessing, warm and frost-free winters have some potential downsides to them as well. One in particular is showing it's face at the farm this week, and that's pests. Deep winter frosts help farmers by keeping pest populations under control during the cold season, killing off some of the bugs. Without many freezes, we're expecting the pest pressure this spring to be substantial. Just this week, Temo and I saw a number of cucumber beetles that had survived the winter. With no cucurbits to eat, they've started nibbling on our cilantro and artichoke leaves - something we have never seen before on the farm!

Luckily, Temo has been here for years and his keen eyes caught this early. We're going to get this problem under control. I'm especially excited to see the crops we've let flower for our new bees attracting other beneficial bugs like parasitoid wasps. These wasps lay eggs inside the larvae of cucumber beetles (and other pests), killing off the larvae before they reach beetle stage. Good bugs helping us fight bad bugs? I'll take it.

Transplant squad? (yes, that is Brenton in the middle) Photo by Scott David Gordon

We hope that you're planning a garden too! Today we're setting up for the opening day of our annual Transplant Sale, which starts TOMORROW morning at our Garfield Farm greenhouses! We're selling all of your summer favorites - heirloom tomatoes, basil, okra and more, along with potting soil and tomato stakes to make it a one-stop garden shopping trip. This year, we've also got a great selection of Texas fruit trees for your garden. Don't miss out on your chance to purchase table grapes sourced from our neighbor David Sides - he's given us two great varieties - a red Victoria, and a white Blanc-du-Bois. Both are disease resistant and bred to thrive in Austin gardens. We've just brought in some Angel Red pomegranates as well - we're planting these all over the Garfield Farm and wanted to save some for you. So, we'll see you tomorrow - come for the transplants, stay for a picnic and enjoy this warm weather!

Also, if you haven't heard, tickets are now on sale for the annual JBG Spring Picnic and 5k Garden Gallop!! On Saturday, March 26th, we're hosting our favorite spring celebration at the Garfield Farm, a chance to celebrate the season with your local community. Come for a fun run, stay for the food, drinks, music and dancing. We can't wait!

CSA Box Contents Week of March 7th

CSA Box Contents Week of March 7th

Medium Box
Beet, Red
Carrot, Orange
Greens, Chard, Rainbow
Greens, Kale, Curly
Greens, Salad Mix
Greens, Spinach
Herb, Parsley, Flat
Onion, Spring Yellow
Potato, Sweet
Turnip, Purple Top

by Megan Winfrey

I've got a twist on an old classic for ya'll this week. It's just as rich, creamy, savory, and delectable as the original, but with an earthy sweetness that I know you'll love. And I only changed one ingredient! Hello, turnips. These guys get just as silky as your grandmothers mashed potatoes when cooked long enough and puréed. That's the secret - turnips are too fibrous for a potato masher and must be blended to achieve that smooth, creamy texture. And let me tell you, this recipe with grilled pork chops and gravy is a game changer.



Creamy Turnips with Bacon & Onions

• 3 large turnips, peeled and rough chopped
• 2 slices of bacon
• 1 bunch of green onion, chopped
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 4 tbs. butter
• salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the turnips until fork tender, about 15-20 minutes. While the turnips are cooking, cook the bacon. Drain the bacon of excess fat, chop and set aside.

Once tender, use a slotted spoon to transfer the turnips to a blender. Add the cream and butter and purée until smooth. You can also use an emersion blender for this. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the purée to a serving dish and top with the chopped bacon and green onions. Serve immediately.

 

It was a muddy week at the farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon

How about this rain?! We're cooling off this week at JBG after a hot February with pounding storms all week. Our hard working crews were prepping and planting until after dark on Tuesday to make sure we had plants in the ground to take advantage of all this water, and we thank them for their dedication! We're looking forward to our second weekend of the JBG annual Transplant Sale, going on this Saturday at our Garfield Farm. The weather should be a bit sunnier, and we hope to see you out here!

Montana cleans up a muddy tractor. Photo by Scott David Gordon

The tractor yard. Photo by Scott David Gordon

The lettuce patch is loving the moisture! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Golden beets will be at markets this weekend! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Customers pick out plants at last weekend's Transplant Sale. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Thanks to JBG staffer Katie for working hard to make the Transplant Sale a success! Photo by Scott David Gordon

What garden would be complete without a few heirloom tomatoes? Photo by Scott David Gordon

A future farmer picks out his plants. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Spring farmscapes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Beautiful rows of fennel. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Artichokes are here! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Brenton and the crew are building two harvest trailers for a big upcoming cucumber and squash season! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Our Spring Picnic + 5k Garden Gallop is coming up on March 26th! Photo by Scott David Gordon

As a Community Supported Agriculture farm, we're always looking for opportunities to get the community - YOU - enjoying the farm as often as possible! With 3 great events coming up, we hope that you will have a chance to join us this month. The farm is as beautiful as ever right now - we just barely beat the rain this week to finish transplanting squash, peppers, okra, tomatoes and more warm weather goodies, and the fields look amazing. Bring your families along for the fun and enjoy one of the loveliest times of year in central Texas with JBG! We promise you won't regret it.

Organic Gardening Workshop with Brenton Johnson

Missed your chance to grab transplants last week? Fear not! This Saturday, March 12th, in conjunction with the second weekend of our Transplant Sale, Farmer Brenton is hosting an Organic Gardening Workshop for all levels at our Garfield Farm. He'll be offering wisdom on everything from site selection to fertility, variety choices and more. Gain the confidence you need to start growing some serious backyard veggies with hands-on demos from our own backyard gardener gone wild. Participants will have plenty of opportunity to ask questions as well - so you can finally find out why your tomatoes just won't set fruit and what those darn black spots on your basil mean!

We invite you to bring your families along, and stay after the event for a picnic at the farm. This rain looks to be clearing up for the weekend, so don't let the weather deter you! Workshop participants also receive a 10% discount on transplants and a special "crop insurance" discount for a CSA share from the farm.

Tickets are available at jbgorganic.com/workshop

Photo by Scott David Gordon

Pop-Up Transplant Sale at Salt + Time

If you can't make our weekend transplant sales, your garden space isn't quite ready yet, or if you just like fine, locally sourced and cured meats to go along with your garden planning, we've got a solution for you. JBG is partnering with our good friends at Salt + Time Butcher Shop and Salumeria to host a one-of-a-kind pop-up transplant sale on Wednesday, March 23rd from 3-7 pm. Coincidentally, Salt + Time runs a fantastic happy hour from 4-7, and new neighbors SPUN Ice Cream will be dolling out free scoops for select customers at the same time.

This will be the last chance to purchase certified organic transplants from the farm this spring, and what better opportunity could you think of? Happy Hour! Salumi! Ice Cream! Plants! Farmers! Butchers! You!!!

Pre-orders for this pop-up event start this Wednesday, March 16th at jbgorganic.com/transplants

JBG's Annual Spring Picnic and 5k Garden Gallop

On Saturday, March 26th, join us for one of our absolute favorite events of the whole year - our spring Picnic and 5k Garden Gallop! Celebrate the return of Spring with your community and your famers with a full day of family-friendly fun at JBG.

Tickets to this year's event are just $10 (kids under 12 are free!) and include admission to our third ever 5k on the farm - the Garden Gallop. With the help of our friends at Rogue Running, we've created an exciting fun run to give you a tour of our 186 organic acres of farmland! Run, walk, skip or hop around the field and enjoy seeing your veggies growing all around you. Our Kid's Fun Run is back again as well - a 1 mile course for the little ones that includes prizes for participants!



Following the run, we've scheduled some swingin' local groups to liven up the day with their music. Doug Moreland and The Bottom Dollar String Band are both back for a second show at JBG, with a third band TBA.  Bring a chair or blanket, and a cooler of food and drinks from home so you can sit back and enjoy the tunes and weather while your kiddos play on our famous sand pile. Frank Hot Dogs and Cold Beer will be bringing their trailer along if you don't want to bring your own food - or if you just love their hot dogs.

It's always easier to throw a party when you know how many people are coming, so buy your Picnic and Garden Gallop tickets today! We also have a limited number of volunteer slots - please email the farm if you are interested in helping out. We can't wait to see you on the 26th!

Position Title: Farm Courier

Location: Cross Location                                    Department: Facilities                                                

Reports To:  Assistant Farm Manager                       Supervises: N/A

Position Summary: JBG Organic is now seeking a Farm Courier, responsible for ensuring all produce and materials are safely loaded and delivered between our various locations. The Farm Courier is a crucial part of our daily operations. They report to the Assistant Farm Manager but will work closely with a variety of managers and other employees at each location to ensure that all departments are appropriately served.

 

Responsibilities:

• Load / Unload harvest bins cross locationally.
• Coordinate with administrators to ensure cross-location deliveries are executed properly.
• Drive delivery trucks as scheduled with the Assistant Farm Manager.
• Execute deliveries and drop-offs for harvest and supplies between locations.
• Execute errands as requested.

 

Qualifications

Required

• Ability and experience driving a variety of vehicles, including large trucks as well as manual and automatic transmissions.
• Valid Texas driver’s license with a clean driving record.
• Experience using a forklift and pallet jack.
• Able to work flexible hours during weekdays.
• Self-directed and independent worker.

Preferred

• Professional 24', 26,000 GVW, refrigeration, and hydraulic lift gate equipped box truck driving experience.
• Farm tractor driving experience.

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to repeatedly lift 60 pounds and mobility to ascend and descend the rear end of a box truck (up to 4 feet).
• Ability to load and unload trucks in a timely manner to ensure earliest delivery possible.
• Ability to work outdoors in a variety of weather conditions.

 

Schedule: Full time, Typically Monday-Friday 9AM-6PM

Compensation & Benefits: Compensation is dependent on experience. Expected starting salary is $12 per hour. Paid bi-weekly. Permanent employees are eligible for Individual Health Plan benefits and receive weekly CSA boxes of organic produce and biweekly organic eggs. 

Directions for Applying:

Please send an email to jobs@jbgorganic.com with the following format. Following specific directions is the first way to impress us!

 

• Subject Line should read “[Job Title]: [First Initial]_[Last Name]” … For example, “Planting Crew Coordinator: J_Smith”
• Email body should be short & sweet - help us notice you! Ensure that it contains your contact information.
• Attach three documents to your email, ensuring that their file names are clear: 1) Cover Letter 2) Resume 3) List containing contact information of two professional references

 

The responsibilities & duties listed above are intended to communicate general priorities of this position, but should not be understood as an exhaustive list of all work requirements to be completed at JBG Organic. Farms require flexibility! We are committed to training, developing, and promoting from within the company based on performance.

JBG Organic provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, marital status, or sexual orientation.

Part of our amazing barn staff. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Position Title: Volunteer Coordinator

Location: 9515 Hergotz Lane, Austin, TX 78742   Department: Packing Shed                           

Reports To:  Cooler Inventory Manager 

Supervises: Volunteers

Position Summary:

Johnson’s Backyard Garden (JBG) is seeking a hardworking and outgoing candidate to work with our barn crew and manage our volunteers.  This individual will also work one Saturday farmers' market shift.  The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for managing the farm's volunteer program, ensuring that volunteers have fun and necessary tasks get complete. The Volunteer Coordinator will be supervised by our Bulk Crew Manager, though he/she will work closely with our CSA and Farmers’ Market managers too.

 

Responsibilities

• Arrive at farm promptly to prepare for volunteer groups.
• Greet and manage all volunteers, ensuring that they are working efficiently and safely.  We also want our volunteers to have fun!
• Work with managers to predict volunteer needs and work with office administrators to make sure appropriate numbers of volunteers are scheduled.
• Serve as an ambassador-of-sorts of the farm for all volunteer visitors.
• Receive, process, and package vegetables harvested on the farm on the barn crew.
• Maintain a clean and sanitary working environment.
• Ensure quality of all produce.
• Prepare and package CSA orders.

 

Qualifications:

Required

• An outgoing and friendly attitude! Ability to create a positive team dynamic is key, utilizing both interpersonal skills and maintaining excellent organization.
• Excellent judgment in prioritizing responsibilities and ability to multitask.
• Self directed worker, effective in both independent and collaborative settings.
• Willingness to work extra hours during seasonal peaks
• An interest in agriculture and promotion of local and organic farming

Preferred

• Previous experience managing volunteers
• Previous farm experience

Physical Requirements:

• Ability to repeatedly lift 50 lbs.
• Ability to repeatedly kneel, bend, and squat.
• Ability to withstand exposure to varying weather conditions.
• Ability to withstand prolonged standing or walking.

Schedule: Full-time, Tuesday through Saturday. Saturdays are a market shift, offsite. Tuesday-Friday hours are usually 7:30 - 4:30, Saturday tbd depending on market.  

Compensation & Benefits: Compensation is dependent on experience. Expected salary range is $10/hour. Paid bi-weekly. Permanent employees are eligible for Individual Health Plan benefits.

Directions for Applying:

Please send an email to jobs@jbgorganic.com with the following format. Following specific directions is the first way to impress us!

• Subject Line should read “[Job Title]: [First Initial]_[Last Name]” … For example, “Planting Crew Coordinator: J_Smith”
• Email body should be short & sweet - help us notice you! Ensure that it contains your contact information.
• Attach three documents to your email, ensuring that their file names are clear: 1) Cover Letter 2) Resume 3) List containing contact information of two professional references

 

Thank you for your interest in JBG Organic! You will be contacted for further information if we find that you might be a good fit for this position.

The responsibilities & duties listed above are intended to communicate general priorities of this position, but should not be understood as an exhaustive list of all work requirements to be completed at JBG Organic. Farms require flexibility! We are committed to training, developing, and promoting from within the company based on performance.

JBG Organic provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sex, national origin, age, disability, genetics, marital status, or sexual orientation.

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 14th

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 14th

Medium Box
Beet, Golden
Carrot, Orange
Greens, Chard, Rainbow
Greens, Kale, Curly
Greens, Spinach
Herb, Parsley, Flat
Lettuce, Mixed head bag
Onion, Spring Yellow
Potato, Sweet
Turnip, Rutabaga

by Megan Winfrey

That cold snap last week inspired me to make my go-to, hearty vegetable soup. Is it just going to be hell this summer or what? It's not even April and I've already (probably) made my last vegetable soup of the year! What is this blasphemy?! Not to mention the bluebonnets that are already blanketing the medians on I-35 OVER A MONTH EARLY! Well, at least the green belt is full (for now), we always have Barton Springs, and maybe the tomatoes will come a month early, too! Which means gazpacho! Wow, I'm feeling better already.

Sweet Potato Thyme Soup

• 3 large or 4 small sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 bunch of kale leaves, torn
• 1 fennel bulb, sliced
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 bunch of fresh thyme
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 cup brown rice, prepared
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• cheese cloth or tea strainer

Add the stock to a large pot and bring to a boil. Add the chopped sweet potatoes and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. When they are done, turn the heat down to low.

In the meantime, oil a large skillet and set to medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and fennel. Cook low and slow, stirring often, until caramelized - about 20 minutes. Add to the pot when finished. Wrap the thyme in cheese cloth and tie it off with a knot or string - or put it in your tea strainer, and add to the pot.

Squeeze the lemon into the pot, add the kale, and salt and pepper to taste. Let everything simmer together for a few minutes to let the thyme flavor infuse and the kale wilt. Serve hot over rice.

The Gardening Workshop participants enjoyed a tractor ride around the farm! Photo by Scott David Gordon

We've been planting like crazy this week! The crews have been busy getting our tomatoes, okra, eggplant, peppers, green beans and more in the ground in anticipation of more rain this weekend. The farm is looking great and we look forward to showing you next weekend at our Spring Picnic! Photos below are also from last weekend's gardening workshop - thanks to everyone who came out, we had a great time!

Lettuce is abundant this time of year! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Brenton tells the group how to grow the best tomatoes. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Gardening Workshop. Photo by Scott David Gordon

We're finishing up our new harvest trailers this week! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Fresh carrot harvest. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Fennel. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Mowing to make room for more summer crops! Photo by Scott David Gordon

The farm dog gets a little bit of love. Photo by Scott David Gordon

JBG's transplanting crew. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Mint bunches destined for farmers markets this weekend. Photo by Scott David Gordon

The mint has been loving this weather! Photo by Scott David Gordon

The squash plot we put in the high tunnel is doing great. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Lots of yellow squash coming. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Look for our early squash this weekend at market! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Transplanting peppers this week in anticipation of some rain. Photo by Scott David Gordon

One of the many incredible things about our city, SXSW provides a venue for talent from Texas and around the world to present their work. In a town that loves food as much as Austin, of course this is going to include a few gastronomic masterpieces. We have two incredible film recommendations for you from this week's festival!

The Seer: A Portrait of Wendell Berry

If you care about eating local food from local farmers, chances are you've read some of Wendell Barry's work. Even if you haven't - if you eat food, we think you should see this movie. Laura Dunn has painted a portrait of the legendary Wendell Berry by looking at the world and the state of our food system through his eyes. Their collective lens shows the work of small farmers in an emotional, captivating, and inspiring way. It made us proud to be doing this work!

Visit the film's Kickstarter page - one of the perks of donating is a download of the film!

Boone

From the film's website: "A unique sensory and unsentimental peek behind the veil of the Utopian dream of farming. Stripped of interviews with farmers or agricultural experts, a sense of time and place serve as a meditation on the gritty reality of three young goat farmers."

With beautiful footage of a goat dairy in Oregon, Boone did a great job illustrating the round-the-clock work that comes with being a farmer. No utopian dream here - this film will show you how often things don't go according to plan and give insights on the labor of love that is a farm. We were excited to offer a tour of JBG to filmmakers Chris and Kate after seeing Boone.

You can see the film tonight at 4pm at the Alamo Drafthouse - don't miss out!

At last weekend's Gardening Workshop. Photo by Scott David Gordon

From the Farmers Perspective

Do you ever feel like your life is going 100 mph? I had that experience this week - literally! On a drive back to our Hergotz farm, I noticed that my truck was moving fast, really really fast. Our farm driver Jake was driving behind me, and thought I was just trying to be a cool guy, burning rubber and speeding around east Austin. Actually, it turns out my accelerator pedal was malfunctioning and was stuck, pedal to the metal! Luckily I was able to toggle between drive and neutral and make it back to Hergotz in one piece, but the experience got me reflecting on the experience of building a farm over the last 11 years. I thought - pedal to the metal, that's what it's been like since I started the farm!

It's really hard for me to believe that in March 2006, ten years ago, I was only growing food in my front, side, and backyard on Holly Street. Since then, the team at JBG has grown immensely, and expanded to two new, larger locations when the demand for our produce grew. We've built coolers, offices, and greenhouses; repaired cars, trucks and tractors; developed databases and driver routes and irrigation systems, and somehow managed to keep our heads above water through all of this while still running a business. Ten years has flown by, and there have been times where it felt like the acceleration was almost out of control.

Photo by Scott David Gordon

But these days, the farm doesn't feel like it's moving so fast. We have an incredible staff who is really keeping everything organized and on point. In the fields, we've fine-tuned our production and are using less of our land than ever, allowing fields to rest for longer. The quality of our veggies are the best they've ever been, which is due in large part to a dedicated staff who really cares about this work. Our Garfield farm finally has most of the infrastructure we've needed (though I do have a just a couple more projects in mind!), and overall it feels as though the madness has settled from my first few years as a farmer. When I read about the decline of small family farms around the country (see this article), it makes me proud that the team at JBG has finally hit our stride and are sustaining what we've built during the fast and wild growth period.

Come join us for some dancing next Saturday at our Spring Picnic! Photo by Scott David Gordon

That being said - all of this growth wouldn't be possible without you! Our community is the driving force that has brought JBG to where we are today, and we want you to come celebrate with us! Next weekend, we're hosting a shindig to do just that. Join us for our Spring Picnic, which is sure to be a great time for the whole family. Tour the farm on the Garden Gallop 5k, and see all of the vegetables destined for your CSA boxes - we've got a great 1 mile Fun Run for the kiddos as well. Afterwards, bring out the lawn chairs and coolers and enjoy a BYO-picnic while listening to our great lineup of bands! We're excited that Chansons et Soulards will be joining Doug Moreland and The Bottom Dollar String Band on our farm stage, so you better bring those dancing shoes. You can buy your tickets now for the Spring Picnic at jbgorganic.com/picnic - I can't wait to show you all of the things we've been working on!

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 22nd

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 22nd

Medium Box
Beet, Golden
Carrot, Orange
Greens, Collards
Greens, Kale, Curly
Greens, Spinach
Herb, Dill
Lettuce, Mixed head bag
Onion, Spring Yellow
Radish, Daikon
Turnip, Rutabaga

by Megan Winfrey

The Spring Picnic and Garden Gallop is this weekend, and I am so excited to take in some fresh air and pay a visit to the land that so kindly furnishes weekly meals for my family! I hope you all join me in a nice, lazy Saturday of eating picnic food, drinking cold beer, playing games, and admiring the 5k runners from a cozy lawn chair. I'm bringing a few dishes that really represent Spring for me, and that also pack up and store easily so that I'm not cooking in a frenzy on Saturday morning. And I sure can't wait to snoop on what everyone else is bringing! See ya'll there.

Spring Picnic Grub

First, I prepared two leek tarts, whose recipe I shared with ya'll in my first blog post here! It's one of my all time favorite things to make not only because it's absolutely delicious, but because it travels well and is perfect to eat at room temperature. You couldn't ask for a better picnic dish! Here is the recipe. I added eggs this time, breaking from the traditional French way. Both ways are stellar, I promise.



The other dish I plan to bring is more of an appetizer or snack and utilizes the amazing artichokes that just arrived at the JBG market stand. I freakin' LOVE artichokes. I love their natural tangy/sweetness and texture. And I hate that many people have only tried them in that funky, greasy spinach dip. Hopefully this will change that! Baby artichokes are the holy grail, because they don't have that weird fuzzy part that you have to scrape out of the big guys. Once cooked, you can pop the whole piece into your mouth!



You'll need:

• A bunch of baby artichokes, the more the merrier
• 6 cups water
• 6 tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425ºF

First, cut the stems of the artichokes to 1 inch. Peel off the bottom leaves until all of the loose, brittle leaves are gone and a tight, green artichoke remains. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the tough outer layer off the stems and base of the artichokes. Fill a large bowl with the water and 5 tbs. of lemon juice. Quarter the artichokes and let them soak in the water/lemon juice mixture for a minute or two. Drain them, pat them dry, and arrange them on a baking sheet. Drizzle on 1 tbs. of olive oil, a sprinkling of salt and pepper, and mix thoroughly. Bake for 15 minutes, tossing them after 10 minutes.

While the artichokes bake, prepare the dipping sauce by mixing the yogurt, garlic, 1 tbs. olive oil, 1 tbs. lemon juice, and lemon zest in a small bowl.

Once the artichokes are done, arrange around the dipping sauce and enjoy! These are just as good hot as they are cold.

Now Hiring: Volunteer Coordinator

Johnson’s Backyard Garden (JBG) is seeking a hardworking and outgoing candidate to work with our barn crew and manage our volunteers.  The Volunteer Coordinator will be responsible for managing the farm's volunteer program, ensuring that volunteers have fun and necessary tasks get complete.. (read the full job description here)

Looking for work this summer? Join our Tomato Crew!

Photo by Scott David Gordon

We're also just beginning to think about our busy summer Tomato season at the farm. Know anyone interested in working in agriculture for a summer? Tell them to get in touch! We'll be hiring a limited number of seasonal positions at the end of May - early June and would love to hear from them! Email jobs@jbgorganic.com for more information.

Spring onion bunches destined for this week's CSA boxes! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Week 12 brought some new challenges at the farm! We narrowly avoided some serious damage from a frost this past Sunday, finished the farm's new harvest trailers, and continued to enjoy the awesome March weather here in Austin! We're cleaning up all the corners of the farm in preparation for this week's Spring Picnic. Hope to see you at the farm tomorrow!

Early morning at the Garfield Farm. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Spinach ready to be bunched. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Kate bring pepper transplants back out of the greenhouse. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Happy summer squash in the high tunnel. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Come see us at markets this weekend for the first squash of the season! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Curly green kale. Photo by Scott David Gordon

We finished our new harvest trailers this week! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Our spring carrots are coming along nicely. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Harvesting salad mix. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Cover crops in full bloom, ready to be turned in. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Carrots are always a little bit sweeter after a frost, so make sure you get some this weekend! Photo by Scott David Gordon

A few weeks ago, I decided to take a little bit of a gamble and start planting all of our summer crops - even though the average last frost date hadn't yet passed in Travis County (if you remember, I asked you all to cross your fingers for us). Taking gambles like this is part of being a farmer, and to be honest it's one of my favorite parts of the job! Average last frost around here falls near March 7th, and with this warm winter, we all thought we'd cleared the danger when we last week remained warm and sunny.

So I'll admit I was a little nervous when I checked the weather on Sunday to find that low temperatures were predicted to be 34 or less! We have a lot of summer crops in the field, and had even more transplants hardening off outside our greenhouses, so this forecast spelled bad news for our little gamble. JBG Greenhouse Manager, Brandon, was able to make it out to to farm on Sunday to get the tender young transplants back into our warm greenhouses, but obviously we couldn't do anything about the plants out in the fields. After that it was just a waiting game.

Katie helps to empty the greenhouse back out this week. We moved everything back inside for Sunday's frost! Photo by Scott David Gordon

Luckily, we really dodged the bullet on this late frost. In some of our low-lying areas on the farm, we lost some early tomatoes and cucumbers, but that was the worst of the damage. Higher areas on the farm must have sat right above freezing point, as we saw some minor frost burn on the leaves of a few potatoes, beans, and squash, but all of these plants will bounce right back and be fine. What a relief! Late frosts can be extremely damaging to farms - I remember one year we had a frost hit in late April, when all of our tomatoes, peppers, and more were mere weeks away from their first harvest! I know that a few farmers here in Austin still wait until April to plant out their tomatoes after that one very late frost, and I certainly don't blame them. Although part of the inherent risks of working with Mother Nature, weather events like that can cost farmers loads of time, money and labor in a business that runs on small margins to begin with, so we are extremely grateful that Sunday's weather went mostly in our favor.

Come see is this weekend at the Spring Picnic and Garden Gallop this weekend! Photo by Scott David Gordon

So, to our farm community, I'm happy to let you know that the farm will be as beautiful and bountiful as ever for our Spring Picnic tomorrow, March 26th! For those of you running, hopping, skipping or walking the Garden Gallop 5k or 1 mile Kids Fun Run, this year's route around the farm is a great one. You'll have the opportunity to see a huge diversity of fruits and veggies growing, flowering crops for our bees, the woods and creek that run through our farm, and yes, maybe even a few plants that didn't make it through Sunday night as well (we can't be perfect all the time!).

It's going to be an absolutely gorgeous day out, so make sure you plan to hang out after the race for our great lineup of bands -  Doug Moreland, The Bottom Dollar String Band and Chansons et Soulards will be bringing the dance tunes while you picnic on the lawn! Frank Hot Dogs will be selling food on site if you don't want to bring a picnic, and we're excited to see the whole family out in Garfield for a day of farm festivities celebrating Spring in central Texas.

Running past a new cilantro block. Photo by Scott David Gordon

Tickets are still available for the Garden Gallop 5k and Spring Picnic at jbgorganic.com/picnic. We've also have some last-minute volunteer slots just open up! Volunteering will not only get you a free ticket to the event, but also a free t-shirt made special for our volunteers. Email us at volunteer@jbgorganic.com to RSVP for shifts. See you tomorrow!

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 28th

CSA Box Contents Week of Mar 28th

Medium Box
Beet, Red
Carrot, Orange
Greens, Collards
Greens, Kale, Curly
Greens, Spinach
Herb, Fennel
Herb, Parsley, Curly
Lettuce, Mixed head bag
Potato, Sweet
Radish, Red
Turnip, Scarlett

 

by Megan Winfrey

Stir-fry is one of my favorite go-to weeknight dinners. You can stir-fry practically any vegetable, which makes it a super versatile yet simple dish to prepare. My trick to keeping this recipe simple is always having a bottle of store bought stir-fry sauce on hand. There are tons of varieties, and I love to get a different one every time! This is the kind of recipe you'll want to get creative with and try lots of substitutions. Have fun!

Crispy Beef & Vegetable Stir-Fry

• 1 package of vermicelli noodles
• 1 package of beef strips
• 1 bottle stir-fry sauce
• 5 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 bell pepper, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 cup green garlic, chopped
• 1 tbs. fresh ginger, grated
• 3 tbs. rice vinegar
• 2 cups dried seasoned chick peas, ground (bulk section)

OR

• 2 cups panko
• 1 egg, whisked
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• toasted sesame oil (optional)

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet to medium high. Coat the beef strips in the egg, and then the ground chick peas or panko bread crumbs. Immediately drop them into the hot skillet and brown on all sides until crispy. Remove onto a towel lined plate and save for later.

Wipe the skillet or get out a fresh one for the vegetables. Add more oil to the pan and sauté the carrots and bell pepper over medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, until tender, but still with a bite. Add the green garlic, ginger, and chopped garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, then the stir-fry sauce and turn the heat to low.

Prepare the pasta according to he instructions. For the kind I used, I submerged them in luke warm water for about 2 minutes, then added them right to the pan with the sauce and vegetables.

Return the heat to medium and stir everything together with tongs until heated through. Top with the crispy beef, drizzle everything with a bit of toasted sesame oil if you have it, and serve. This feeds a crowd and makes great leftovers!