Garden Poetry

It's cold outside and if you are like many of us in Central NC, you are watching the first snow of the season!  We are still working hard in the garden this past week, despite the quick onset of winter weather.  We are continuing to turn over beds and prepare them for the Spring.  The garden is slowly taking on it's winter form and even as the Summer and Fall plants succumb to wintry temperatures, the garden continues to be a beautiful place full of life.  

We sometimes forget about the warm days in the garden when winter is here.  So, while you warm your feet by the fire and find shelter from the snowy weather, enjoy this poem from one of the Emerson Waldorf High School students who participated in the Biodynamic Gardening Elective this Fall with Mary Beth Mueller.

The Garden

By Brooke Hollar

The root of life,

Moulded into one setting,

Is spurred on by the cycle of the cosmos.

The womb of the earth

Thirsts for the fluid of Adam's ale,

The energy of life's kindled glow

And it's sincere warmth.

The bare turf of the earth

Is enriched by the spoil of greenery.

Within Steiner's plant kingdom,

Stinging nettle is like an iron kettle,

Sulfur is vital in yarrow just as it is in one's marrow;

From the hearts of space,

Dandelions absorb energy from darkness where light is erased;

Chamomile stabilizes the growth of plants as does a meal,

Oak bark chases away illness and its mark,

And valerian will mend the soil with the help of the toil of man.

In haste,

The ecliptic arouses fear and tribulation,

Threatening growth and production.

Soon,

Balance is restored across the land

Of life and vitality,

Due to the succession of wonders in creation. 

 Picture by Sandra Coc Cucul 

Class of 2012

Winter garden, holidays, and recipes!

We are working hard to prepare the garden for the winter and the upcoming Spring growing season!  Several of the beds have been turned over and feather meal was added to help balance the soil in preparation for Spring planting.  Vetch seeds have been spread as a cover crop for the winter.

The weather has been beautiful and the garden is so peaceful.  If you get a chance during the next few weeks while the weather is still mild, be sure to stop by and take in the beauty of the gardens and all nature has to offer this time of year!

The leaves are in full Fall colors and you know what that means...the Holidays are right around the corner!  Do you have any favorite holiday recipes?  We would like to give our readers and members of the Emerson Farm community the opportunity to share your favorite holiday traditions and recipes!  If you would like to share a recipe, send it in an email to emersonfarm@yahoo.com (see link to the right)  Be sure to tell us any background stories about your recipe...is it a family recipe?  one from a dear friend?  one you made yourself?  You can also send a picture of your favorite foods too!  (Be sure to send pictures as an email attachment in jpeg format).

When we get your recipes we will post them to share with all of our readers!  To get us started, here is a great recipe for peanut butter cookies!

This recipe comes from the King Arthur Book of Whole Grain Baking...

Peanut Chews
Yield: 28 cookies
Baking temp: 350
Baking time: 11-12 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup smooth all-natural peanut butter
1/2 packed brown sugar
1/2 granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/4 water
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 lightly salted, dry roasted peanuts, finely ground in the food processor

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease or line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Cream the peanut butter, sugars, egg, water, honey, vanilla, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, beating until smooth.  Add the flour and ground peanuts, beating until the mixture is well combined.  The dough will be very stiff.

Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets.  Press the top of each cookie with a fork to make a crisscross design, flattening cookies to about 1/2 inch thick.  Dip the fork in water if it starts to stick.

Bake the cookies until lightly browned 11-12 minutes.  Remove from oven and transfer them to a cooling rack!  Enjoy!

picture from King Arthur Flour

Beloved Sorrel

This year's 5th graders with what they call "lemon grass".  This class is exceptionally fond of sorrel and head for it the minute they get to the garden.

Basil Cheese Spread

If you missed the Music in the Garden on Oct. 6, or you were there and you really wanted the recipe for basil cheese spread, here it is at last.  Basil is on sale at reduced prices at the Friday Market until cold weather takes it out.  Enjoy!

·        6 fresh basil leaves

·        3 medium cloves garlic

·        1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened

·        1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

·        1 cup chopped walnuts

·        1/2 cup olive oil

·        fresh basil leaves for garnish

Preparation:

In food processor, process basil and garlic until finely chopped. Add cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, walnuts, and olive oil; process until smooth. Transfer spread mixture to a serving bowl and garnish with fresh basil leaves. 

From southernfood.about.com

Fall Harvest

At the very end of September, 3rd grade harvested our bed full of sweet potatoes.  Digging up all of those roots feels a little like digging for buried treasure.  Just last week, after the roots had a chance to cure, the high school group washed them and carried them to market.  On Saturday farm volunteers also harvested the pumpkins that Ms. Ritz's class planted at the end of their second grade year last spring.  There were 10 small but beautiful bright oranges babies when the harvest was done.  Look for them at the market this week (Every Friday in the lower school parking lot 2:45 to 3:45).

EWS Olde Time Music Ensemble

The garden was blessed with some beautiful tunes on Sept. 29 after the Michaelmas Festival.  It was the Ensemble's second show and they put on a wonderful performance.

Wheat and Rye planted!

Third grade planted winter wheat and rye yesterday at the farm in the rain.  We are all looking forward to seeing those heads of grain come spring.

Welcome!

We are so glad you stopped in for a visit at the Emerson Farm blog!  

Our goal is to update the members of the Emerson Waldorf School and the surrounding community with all of the exciting happenings over at the farm.  Keep a close watch for photographs, recipes and updates on the fun little day to day things that happen at the farm.  We also hope this blog will create a central venue for folks to share their farm experiences through stories, photographs, art, and poetry.

Be sure to click on the "Follow" blog or comment below to let us know when you stop by!  We hope you visit often!

If you are interested in joining the Emerson Farm email list to hear about upcoming events and activities, you can find our email in the right column of the blog.  We welcome your suggestions, questions, and comments!