At Home in Nature: the blog of TwoInTents

Le Menu (what's ready already?)

2012-02-11T09:24:00.000-07:00

There are now TWO easy ways to order from Maia!

5 Gallon Bucket - $30 member, $40 non-member…
3.5 Gallon Grocery Sack - $20 member, $30 non-member…
Fill them with whatever you like! Each order includes a sample of the best of the season!

OR
Make a specific order a la carte – minimum order is $20 for members.

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News from the farm and ranch
We finally dug out from the farm, and the bitter cold continues. We signed up a few new members this week, including Bee Buzzed farm out of Golden, which has some excellent honey to offer! Give it a try.

Peach Tree in Limon is now offering Maia eggs, tea and other products regularly. Thanks Allison! We will be offering classes at Peach Tree and other events, including ikebana flower arrangement and wild edible and medicinal plant identification and cooking classes. We are still offering them in the Denver area, but this is an exciting opportunity to participate out east. Sign up today!

Invitations to develop new tea blends has resulted in the member-made “sweet dreams,” a delicious new blend. Also the “relief blend” which is for cough, cold, fever, nausea and general uncomfort.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Honey from member farm Bee Buzzed (BBZD)
This natural honey is pure, raw, and unfiltered. You have your choice of mountain wildflower honey (from near Golden) or clover honey (from near Broomfield)

BBZD Bee Hives

BBZD Hand-made custom longbows

BBZD Hand-made custom knives

Rye (Maia group purchase)

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Tea mixes
While we encourage you to mix your own, give these popular mixes a try…

* Fruity blend. This one is extraordinarily popular! hibiscus, rose hips, elder berries, raspberry leaves, elm bark. What else do you need?

* Sweet dreams. This sleep aid is delicious. Chamomile, skullcap and mint.

* Relief. Elderberry, Echinacea, horehound, dandelion root, juniper, marshmallow root, oregano & rosemary

* Lincoln Park Blend. We love Denver’s parks, and this may have actually come from Lincoln park! Actually, it’s raised by members, but features some of Denver’s favorite landscaping. It’s actually quite refreshing. Dandelion root, chicory root, pine needles and willow.

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Beans

>>>>DRY BEANS<<<<

All dry beans are choose or mix…

Anasazi Black Black eyed peas Cannellini Cranberry Fava Jacob's Cattle Kidney Lentil – Brown
Lentil – BlackMung Pinto Soldier Beans

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Eggs

>>>>CHICKEN EGGS<<<<

PRODUCED BY MEMBER MP – ELBERT COUNTY – Paredes Farm Eggs

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Dairy

>>>>MILK<<<<
Still in negotiation for prices and availability. Contact the President to join the Dairy committee and help Maia provide milk and cheese!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Herbs, Teas and Coffees

>>>>COFFEE<<<<
* Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso, columbian (not only is drinking coffee natural, some would claim it is medicinal – especially after missing their daily cup)

* Not-coffee (roasted Chicory) (also good to blend with your coffee for a Cajun treat)

>>>>TEAS AND HERBS<<<<
PRODUCED BY MEMBERS – BS & CF and also Group Purchased:
> Alfalfa leaves (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, blood tonic)
> Burdock Root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (cure-all)
> Chamomile flowers (sweet flavor, sleep aid) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Chickweed (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (peculiar flavor, good for the blood and lactation)
> Cottonwood (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> Echinacea flowers (earthy flavor, good for immune system) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Elder berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (fruity flavor, good for the immune system)
> Elm, slippery (bark) (sweet flavor, good for the throat and stomach) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Dandelion root, dehydrated and cut (refreshing flavor, generally good for you) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Hawthorne berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very tasty!)
> Hibiscus (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious in any tea, high in vitamin c)
> Horehound (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (generally good for you, green flavor)
> Nettle leaves (refreshing flavor, a blood tonic, generally good for you – like dandelion)
> Marshmallow root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (good for stomach)
> Milk Thistle Seeds (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (tasty, very good for liver)
> Peppermint (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for stomach)
> CF Wild Harvest Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Raspberry leaves (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very delicious, good for the blood)
> Red Clover Blossoms (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for the blood)
> Rose Hips (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sweet fruity flavor, great addition to any tea, good source of C)
> Scullcap (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sleep aid, good for withdrawal, and more)
> Spearmint (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious! Good for the stomach)
> CF Wild Harvest Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)

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Honey and Bee Supply

Honey from member farm Bee Buzzed (BBZD)
> This natural honey is pure, raw, and unfiltered. You have your choice of mountain wildflower honey (from near Golden) or clover honey (from near Broomfield)

BBZD Bee Hives

Ambrosia honey – raw, unfiltered honey from the west slope. Group purchase through Maia.

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Animal Feeds
Feed from member Coastalfields Feed can be delivered with your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Container deposits may apply to purchases.

>>>>FORAGES: ARBRE CADABRA (CONVENTIONAL)<<<<
50 gallons (a small “bale”): $5 ($0.10 per gallon) MEMBER.

* A special blend of tree leaves. Nutrient tested by two independent labs.
* USDA graded “Supreme” (RFV was rated at 200 on a scale of 1 to 185 – off the charts!)
* Better nutrition than alfalfa.
* Suitable for dairy production, cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits and all other grazing animals: low sulfur, low copper, high calcium.
* Approximately 10% Protein, with a TDN of 60-67%!
* Sorry, “Organic” and “Natural” blends sold out.

>>>>GRAIN MIXES<<<<
* Numerous formulated varieties to choose from. Please contact Coastalfields directly. Tell them you are a member of Maia to receive your member discount.

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Fruit
Fruit is always in season… somewhere! Try these organic Californian imports, they’re really tasty!

>>>>FRESH FRUIT<<<<
Organic Avocados (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch) (NO WAX!)
Organic Cherimoyas (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch) (NO WAX!)
Organic Lemons (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch) (NO WAX!)
Organic Oranges (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch) (NO WAX!)

>>>>DRY FRUIT<<<<
Organic Halawi Dates (soft, caramel flavor)
Super sweet raisins (not your standard Thompsons!)

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Firewood and Fuel Oil
Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
Canola Fuel oil - $4/gallon
MEMBER PRODUCED - DP Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

Ask us for free lessons on how to make oil lamps for light and heat!
Ask us for free lessons on using wood for light and heat!

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Flowers and Bouquets
* CF Ikebana arranged flowers
* CF Winter bouquets (raw flowers, unarranged)

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Grain

* Barley (Maia group buy) * Oats (Maia group buy)
* Rye (Maia group buy)* White Wheat (Maia group buy)
* Brown Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)
* Wehani Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)

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Meat

>>>>BEEF<<<<
Beef (group buy from Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)

>>>>CHICKEN<<<<
Chicken (Redbird) (group buy from Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)

>>>>GOAT/CHEVON<<<<
PRODUCED BY MEMBER MP – ELBERT COUNTY: quarters, halves, whole, or pieces.

>>>>LAMB/MUTTON<<<<
Out of stock.

>>>>PORK<<<<
Pork (group buy from Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)

>>>>RABBIT<<<<
CUSTOM BUTCHERED – REQUIRES ADVANCE ORDER
PRODUCED BY MEMBER AA – LINCOLN COUNTY

>>>>TOFU<<<<
Denver Tofu (from non-member the Denver Tofu Company)

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Mushrooms
Dried portabella
Dried oyster
Dried shiitake

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Nuts and Seeds

>>>>NUTS<<<<
Almonds
Cashews
Natural Cashews
Pine Nuts

>>>>SEEDS<<<<
Caraway (excellent toasted, or in bread!)
Sunflower Seeds (shelled)
Sesame

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Vegetables

Sprouts (Maia group buys from Sprouts Extraordinire of Denver)
> Alfalfa
> Clover
> Mung
> Radish
> Wheat Grass (ask)
> Numerous other varieties available upon request: chances are we have it!

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Wild Harvests

From Coastalfields Farm
> Cottonwood (twigs, buds or roots – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable. Cook at low temperature for antiinflamatory and pain reducing medicinal herb)
> Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Wild Harvest Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)

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Oil (cooking and eating)

Olive Oil (produced for Maia to Maia standards by Oils of Paicines of California). Sold in 50ml bottles – about enough for a week for most users

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Prepared foods

Some of our members sell prepared farm fresh foods from their own farm and ranch, using their own and also other Maia products. We purchase these at a bulk discount for our members!

>>>>BREAD FROM AA FARMS <<<<
* White
* Potato
* Wheat
* White Winter Wheat

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Garden Seeds and Trees

Seeds and trees for planting can be included in your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Packets of seeds begin at less than $0.25 ea.

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Cloth and Fiber
Price of purchase deducted from bucket or sack value

AA Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

CF Raw alpaca fiber. $1.50 per oz (member)

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Crafts
Price of purchase deducted from bucket or sack value

>>>>LOTIONS<<<<
AA Farms: Vanilla Pear Lip Lotion 16 @ $1 member. Contains avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E, stevia and flavor oil.

>>>>SOAP<<<<
> AA Farms: Soap: lavender, wild chamomile and geranium. $3 ea member Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, oil, castor oil, water, lavender, wild chamomile and geranium essential oils
> AA Farms Soap: Apple blossom & peony. $2.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Peach orchard. $2 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Aqua reef (like old spice). 3 bars at $1.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil
> AA Farms Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

>>>>CANDLES<<<<
> AA Farms: numerous scents. $2.50

Cherimoya: the ice cream fruit

2012-02-05T16:15:00.000-07:00

Many people often chill the cherimoya and eat it with a spoon, which has earned it another nickname; the ice cream fruit
The tree itself likes to serve its fruit chilled, but not cold: though sensitive to frost, it must have periods of cool temperatures or the tree will gradually go dormant. That’s why the indigenous inhabitants of the Andes say that although the cherimoya cannot stand snow, it does like to see it in the distance. It is cultivated in many places throughout the world, including California, where it was introduced in 1871.
Large fruit which are uniformly green, without cracks or mostly browned skin, are best. Unripe cherimoyas will ripen at room temperature, when they will yield to gentle pressure. Ripe fruits keep better in the refrigerator.
Cherimoya is an Annona, which is a genus of flowering plants in the pawpaw/sugar apple family, Annonaceae. Although cherimoyas are almost too good to eat any way other than out of hand, here are some recipes taken from The California Rare Fruit Growers 1983 Yearbook (vol.15)

Cherimoya Fruit Salad
Ingredients
1 cherimoya
2 oranges
2 apples
2 avocados
Lettuce or your favorite greens

Optional dressing:
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons cherimoya puree

Directions
Peel, seed and cut cherimoya in.to chunks. Cut apples into eighths (do not remove skin) and core fruit. Peel oranges and cut into slices. Cut slices in half, forming half-circles of orange. Peel and pit avocados and cut into eighths. On a bed of lettuce, arrange alternating slices of apple, orange and avocado in a circle. Top with cherimoya chunks. Serve with poppy seed or light vinaigrette dressing. Or try this dressing: Combine 1/4 cup each plain yogurt and mayonnaise; add 4 tablespoons cherimoya puree. Makes 6-8 servings.

Cherimoya-Orange Parfait
Ingredients
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons orange juice
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup pureed cherimoya
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
2 cups cherimoya chunks
11/2 cups orange sections
mint leaves, to taste

Directions:
Combine creams in deep bowl, refrigerate with beaters until well chilled. Beat creams until frothy; gradually add sugar, vanilla, juices and salt; beat until quite stiff. Blend in cherimoya puree and 1 teaspoon orange peel. Put half the cherimoya chunks in bottom of 4 to 6 parfait glasses. Spoon in layer of cream, all the orange sections, a second layer of cream and remaining cherimoya. Top with a dollop of cream and garnish with remaining orange peel and mint leaves. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Ikebana (flower arrangment) classes

2012-02-05T08:57:00.003-07:00

Differing from a simple bouquet or collection of flowers, flower arrangement is an art unto itself. Classes are offered year-round by TwoInTents - RSVP required! $5 members, $10 non-members. Adults only, and also Children's sessions also offered in Limon, Agate, Bennett and Greenwood Village. Call (720) 722-FARM or email twointents@gmail.com.

Flower Power!

2012-02-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Flowers are a joy to grow, and can earn their own place on a farm or in a garden. Besides attracting beneficial critters and making work more enjoyable in the field, they provide a source of income from people who enjoy the flowers in their homes as well.
Flowers always brighten the home, and even in the winter the quiet and contemplative seasonal bouquets bring peace and the persistent hope of nature into a room. Pre-arranging flowers can make them value-added, and so a flower farmer ought to study Ikebana. Ikebana (which, translated, means, “living flowers”) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, also known as kadō (the “way of flowers”). More than simply putting flowers in a container, ikebana is a disciplined art form in which nature and humanity are brought together. Contrary to the idea of floral arrangement as a collection of particolored or multicolored arrangement of blooms, ikebana often emphasizes other areas of the plant, such as its stems and leaves, and draws emphasis toward shape, line, form. Though ikebana is a creative expression, it has certain rules governing its form. The artist's intention behind each arrangement is shown through a piece's color combinations, natural shapes, graceful lines, and the usually implied meaning of the arrangement.
Another aspect present in ikebana is its employment of minimalism. That is, an arrangement may consist of only a minimal number of blooms interspersed among stalks and leaves. The structure of a Japanese flower arrangement is based on a scalene triangle delineated by three main points, usually twigs, considered in some schools to symbolize heaven, earth, and man and in others sun, moon, and earth. The container is a key element of the composition, and various styles of pottery may be used in their construction.
The spiritual aspect of ikebana is considered very important to its practitioners. Silence is a must during practices of ikebana; it is a practice of inward meditation as the attempt is made to become more patient and tolerant of differences, not only in nature, but in the self.
The first styles were a tall, upright central stem that had to be accompanied by two shorter stems. During the Momoyama period, 1560–1600, splendid castles were constructed. Noblemen and royal retainers did large decorative Rikka floral arrangements that were the most appropriate decoration for the castles. The Rikka (standing flowers) style was developed as a Buddhist expression of beauty of nature. It includes seven branches representing hills, waterfalls, valleys, and other objects of nature arranged in a specific way. When the tea ceremony emerged, another style was introduced. The style used for tea ceremony rooms was called Chabana. The Chabana style is the opposite of Momoyama style which emphasized on rustic simplicity. The simplicity of the Chabana helped create the Nageire or “thrown-in” style. Nageire is a non-structured design which led to the development of the Seika or Shoka style. The style is characterized by a tight bundle of stems that form a triangular three-branched asymmetrical arrangement which was considered classic. Seika or Shōka style consists of only three main branches, known as 'ten' (heaven), 'chi' (earth), and 'jin' (human). It is a simple style that is designed to show the beauty and uniqueness of the plant itself. Jiyūka is a free creative design. It is not confined to flowers; every material can be used.
Introducing your own philosophy of nature and understanding of beauty, patience and tolerance will allow you to develop more sophisticated bouquets, either for your customers, or for your home. Contemplate what each component of the bouquet means to you as you arrange it; use it as a means to study nature from the convenience of your living room, and you’ll find you enjoy nature even more when you are away from home.

Orange you glad?

2012-02-04T19:13:00.002-07:00

Oranges and lemons are not only great for eating and juicing (and the ones that are shipped monday, delivered friday are REALLY good for eating and juicing!) but also great for seasonings and cooking. A squirt of lemon or orange livens up the dish, and the rest of the fruit can be made into a refreshing drink or snack for the hard working cook. Orange you glad for citrus?

Wild edible and medicinal cooking classes

2012-02-04T19:08:00.002-07:00

Sign up for wld edible and medicinal cooking classes today! Learn how to harvest and prepare a feast in nature (or in your own suburban or urban neighborhood, for that matter). There's never a reason to buy food when nature gives us all we need when we need it.

Classes are held twice per month in the summer, and once per month in the winter. Each class comes with a seasonal identification guide and recipes. RSVP required. $20 member / $30 non-member.

Snow on sale!

2012-02-04T19:07:00.001-07:00

We have a lot of snow! Pick your own... fire sale prices.

Le Menu - what's ready already?

2012-02-04T11:05:00.002-07:00

There are now TWO easy ways to order from Maia!

5 Gallon Bucket - $30 member, $40 non-member…
3.5 Gallon Grocery Sack - $20 member, $30 non-member…
Fill them with whatever you like! Each order includes a sample of the best of the season!

OR
Make a specific order a la carte – minimum order is $20 for members.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

News from the farm and ranch
Out at the farm, there’s 5-8 feet of snow, but luckily we still have electricity so we can email this, post it to the blogspot, and keep in touch with all of you! It’s amazing how much a modern farm relies on electricity for internet, cellular phone, text messaging, and other telecommunication.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Pine nuts
Cashews
Caraway Seeds

NEW: Firewood and animal feed may be included with your order.

President’s recommendations for the week
This week I highly recommend

* The fresh-picked organic maia-bought avocados make an excellent guacamole, and you can simply add in some store-bought salsa and a squeeze of fresh-picked maia-bought lemons. A glass of fresh-picked orange juice finishes this California treat!

* Still on the must-try list is the eggs from Paredes Farm of Elbert County.

* Give those pine nuts a try, too! They sure are good.

* Our fruity tea is also quite good, as is our pine needle and willow tea. I just tried our Lincoln Park Blend and I liked it a lot. So did the Secretary / Treasurer. Maybe you will too?

* Glazed Mushroom sandwiches - - - rehydrated glazed mushrooms are a breeze, and takes about 10 minutes to make with Maia’s farm fresh olive oil and twist of orange. On your favorite bread (ask for bread to be included if you like) with sprouts and your choice of wild or garden herb blends. Ask Maia to prepare all the ingredients for your kitchen and dinner can be ready in a moment!

* Roasted Tofu or Chicken - - - A bit of wild or conventional spices, some fresh olive oil from California, a few delicious mushrooms… dinner is ready inside an hour or two, and finished inside a minute or two. Ask Maia to prepare all the ingredients for your kitcen and dinner can be ready in a moment!
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Tea mixes
While we encourage you to mix your own, give these popular mixes a try…

* Fruity blend. This one is extraordinarily popular! hibiscus, rose hips, elder berries, raspberry leaves, dandelion root, elm bark. What else do you need?

* Lincoln Park Blend. We love Denver’s parks, and this may have actually come from Lincoln park! Actually, it’s raised by members, but features some of Denver’s favorite landscaping. It’s actually quite refreshing. Dandelion root, chicory root, pine needles and willow.

* Walden Pond blend. Thoughtful, meditiative. Earthy. A blend of wild and cultivated. Peppermint, pine, dandelion roots, elder berries, raspberry leaf, hawthorne berries, rosehips, elm bark, and the secret ingredient: cannellini. Weird, but actually it’s good.

* Limon 5-way. Named for Limon’s five highways, we put in five ingredients famed for their benefits to your blood, liver, stomach, heart and mind. Includes dandelion root, milk thistle seeds, elm bark, fresh willow and pine needles.

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Beans

>>>>DRY BEANS<<<<

All dry beans are choose or mix…

Anasazi Black Black eyed peas Cannellini Cranberry Fava Jacob's Cattle Kidney Lentil – Brown
Lentil – BlackMung Pinto Soldier Beans

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eggs

>>>>CHICKEN EGGS<<<<

PRODUCED BY MEMBER MP – ELBERT COUNTY – Paredes Farm Eggs

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dairy

>>>>MILK<<<<
Still in negotiation for prices and availability. Contact the President to join the Dairy committee and help Maia provide milk and cheese!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Herbs, Teas and Coffees

>>>>COFFEE<<<<
* Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso, columbian (not only is drinking coffee natural, some would claim it is medicinal – especially after missing their daily cup)

* Not-coffee (roasted Chicory) (also good to blend with your coffee for a Cajun treat)

>>>>TEAS AND HERBS<<<<
PRODUCED BY MEMBERS – BS & CF and also Group Purchased:
> Alfalfa leaves (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, blood tonic)
> Burdock Root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (cure-all)
> Chamomile flowers (sweet flavor, sleep aid) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Chickweed (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (peculiar flavor, good for the blood and lactation)
> Cottonwood (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> Echinacea flowers (earthy flavor, good for immune system) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Elder berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (fruity flavor, good for the immune system)
> Elm, slippery (bark) (sweet flavor, good for the throat and stomach) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Dandelion root, dehydrated and cut (refreshing flavor, generally good for you) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase)
> Hawthorne berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very tasty!)
> Hibiscus (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious in any tea, high in vitamin c)
> Horehound (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (generally good for you, green flavor)
> Nettle leaves (refreshing flavor, a blood tonic, generally good for you – like dandelion)
> Marshmallow root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (good for stomach)
> Milk Thistle Seeds (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (tasty, very good for liver)
> Peppermint (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for stomach)
> CF Wild Harvest Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Raspberry leaves (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very delicious, good for the blood)
> Red Clover Blossoms (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for the blood)
> Rose Hips (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sweet fruity flavor, great addition to any tea, good source of C)
> Scullcap (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sleep aid, good for withdrawal, and more)
> Spearmint (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious! Good for the stomach)
> CF Wild Harvest Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Animal Feeds
Feed from member Coastalfields Feed can be delivered with your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Container deposits may apply to purchases.

>>>>FORAGES: ARBRE CADABRA (CONVENTIONAL)<<<<
50 gallons (a small “bale”): $10 ($0.20 per gallon) MEMBER. $14 NON MEMBER
1000 gallons (a large “bale”) FOB Agate: $160 (0.16 per gallon) $200 NON MEMBER

* A special blend of tree leaves. Nutrient tested by two independent labs.
* USDA graded “Supreme” (RFV was rated at 200 on a scale of 1 to 185 – off the charts!)
* Better nutrition than alfalfa.
* Suitable for dairy production, cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits and all other grazing animals: low sulfur, low copper, high calcium.
* Approximately 10% Protein, with a TDN of 60-67%!
* Sorry, “Organic” and “Natural” blends sold out.

>>>>GRAIN MIXES<<<<
* Numerous formulated varieties to choose from. Please contact Coastalfields directly. Tell them you are a member of Maia to receive your member discount.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fruit
Fruit is always in season… somewhere! Try these organic Californian imports, they’re really tasty!

>>>>FRESH FRUIT<<<<
Organic Avocados (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch)
Organic Cherimoyas (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch)
Organic Lemons (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch)
Organic Oranges (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch)

>>>>DRY FRUIT<<<<
Organic Halawi Dates (soft, caramel flavor)
Super sweet raisins (not your standard Thompsons!)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firewood and Fuel Oil
Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
Canola Fuel oil - $4/gallon
MEMBER PRODUCED - DP Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

Ask us for free lessons on how to make oil lamps for light and heat!
Ask us for free lessons on using wood for light and heat!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Flowers and Bouquets
CF Winter bouquets

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grain

* Barley (Maia group buy) * Oats (Maia group buy)* White Wheat (Maia group buy)
* Brown Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)
* Wehani Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honey
* Busy Bee (Larkspur)
* Ambrosia Honey (West Slope)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meat

>>>>BEEF<<<<
Beef (group buy from Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)

>>>>CHICKEN<<<<
Chicken (Redbird) (group buy from Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)

>>>>GOAT/CHEVON<<<<
PRODUCED BY MEMBER MP – ELBERT COUNTY: quarters, halves, whole, or pieces.

>>>>LAMB/MUTTON<<<<
Out of stock.

>>>>PORK<<<<
Pork (group buy from Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)

>>>>RABBIT<<<<
CUSTOM BUTCHERED – REQUIRES ADVANCE ORDER
PRODUCED BY MEMBER AA – LINCOLN COUNTY

>>>>TOFU<<<<
Denver Tofu (from non-member the Denver Tofu Company): $2.50 ea

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Mushrooms
Dried portabella
Dried oyster
Dried shiitake

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Nuts and Seeds

>>>>NUTS<<<<
Almonds
Cashews
Natural Cashews
Pine Nuts

>>>>SEEDS<<<<
Caraway (excellent toasted, or in bread!)
Sunflower Seeds (shelled)
Sesame

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Vegetables

Sprouts (Maia group buys from Sprouts Extraordinire of Denver)
> Alfalfa
> Clover
> Mung
> Radish
> Wheat Grass (ask)
> Numerous other varieties available upon request: chances are we have it!

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Wild Harvests

From Coastalfields Farm
> Cottonwood (twigs, buds or roots – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable. Cook at low temperature for antiinflamatory and pain reducing medicinal herb)
> Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Wild Harvest Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)

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Oil (cooking and eating)

Olive Oil (produced for Maia to Maia standards by Oils of Paicines of California). Sold in 50ml bottles – about enough for a week for most users

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Prepared foods

Some of our members sell prepared farm fresh foods from their own farm and ranch, using their own and also other Maia products. We purchase these at a bulk discount for our members!

>>>>BREAD FROM AA FARMS <<<<
* White
* Potato
* Wheat
* White Winter Wheat

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Garden Seeds and Trees

Seeds and trees for planting can be included in your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Packets of seeds begin at less than $0.25 ea.

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Cloth and Fiber
Price of purchase deducted from bucket or sack value

AA Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

CF Raw alpaca fiber. $1.50 per oz (member)

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Crafts
Price of purchase deducted from bucket or sack value

>>>>LOTIONS<<<<
AA Farms: Vanilla Pear Lip Lotion 16 @ $1 member. Contains avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E, stevia and flavor oil.

>>>>SOAP<<<<
> AA Farms: Soap: lavender, wild chamomile and geranium. $3 ea member Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, oil, castor oil, water, lavender, wild chamomile and geranium essential oils
> AA Farms Soap: Apple blossom & peony. $2.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Peach orchard. $2 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Aqua reef (like old spice). 3 bars at $1.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil
> AA Farms Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

>>>>CANDLES<<<<
> AA Farms: numerous scents. $2.50

Time to get ready for planting!

2012-01-31T18:11:00.002-07:00

Everyone says they are ready for winter to end, but we are putting our fields where our mouths are! We're getting our beds ready for planting. No, we're not crazy. Early crops are possible in Colorado with hoop houses and cold frames, and this is the best time to get them prepared for a March harvest. Hoop houses are easy to construct, and a 4 x 8 structure won't cost you a fortune, either (ask us how!).

Valentines Day Special Bucket!

2012-01-29T18:15:00.002-07:00

Valentines Day Bucket… $30 (members)

Complete with AA herbal soaps and homemade washcloths, Coastalfields fresh herbs and bath oil, and a romantic ready-to-eat or ready-to-cook dinner (choose vegetarian, vegan, gluten free or meat-lovers) and hand-made card

SPECIAL VALENTINES DAY DELIVERY UPON REQUEST

Call 720 722 FARM or email twointents@gmail.com

Maia Seed Order!

2012-01-29T10:40:00.002-07:00

We are getting ready to order our seeds, and invite you to join with us so we can have really low prices!

IMPORTANT! Seed potatoes, onion starts, live plants (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, chilis, etc.) do go very quickly this time of year, so you will want to order them right away if you can, even if you want to take some time to plan out the rest of your garden or farm order later.

All prices include delivery with your regular TwoInTents CSA bucket or sack, and all prices are member prices (non-members pay approximately 1/3 more).

And remember, if you don't have the labor to establish your garden this year, Maia offers affordable labor assistance for Class 4 members! So go nuts!

Maia accepts paypal (credit cards) for a fee, check, cash or money orders...

Let us know if you have questions!

Aaron Brachfeld, President
720 722 FARM

HERE'S THE SEEDS FROM MAIA...

Beets OG Chioggia Guardsmark 1/10 oz 219 SEEDS $0.99
Organic, heirloom beet: red and white rings make a bullseye pattern when cut. Good for leaves and roots.
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Carrots Caracas 1/10 oz 1,800 SEEDS $3.27
Baby Chantenay type carrot, 4" long. Strong tops for salads or bunching: good for leaves and roots.
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Carrots Hercules 1/10 oz 1,800 SEEDS $3.03
7" long, does very well on shallow, strong or rocky soils where growing long carrots is challenging. Good leaves, too.
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Corn Spring Treat (se) 1 oz 156 SEEDS $1.72
This is the earliest yellow sweet corn, suited for Colorado's short season. Good cool soil vigor. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Corn OG Northstine Dent (for flour) 1 oz 81 SEEDS $1.65
Organic, heirloom dent corn with excellent flavor for flour
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Corn Red Broom Corn (ornamental, or for forage) 1/10 oz 135 SEEDS $0.83
Broom corn is preferred not only for making brooms and decorations, but also for livestock forage=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Corn OG Popcorn (red) 1 oz 319 SEEDS $1.78
Organic popcorn that holds its red color upon popping.
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Corn Popcorn (yellow) 1 oz 281 SEEDS $1.78
Produces a tender yellow pop corn.
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Dry Beans Yellow Eye 2 oz 119 SEEDS $1.30
This alternative to black eye peas scored high on our taste tests. Especially good for baking or soup.
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Dry Beans Vermont Cranberry 2 oz 122 SEEDS $1.30
These are a favorite every year, with excellent flavor when baked or made into soup. Very pretty bean, look like rose-tinted pinto.
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Dry Beans European Soldier 2 oz 94 SEEDS $1.30
Mellow flavor, boiling is the best way to eat these! Red emblem on white looks like a soldier… or maybe a cow's head?
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Dry Beans Light Red Kidney 2 oz 94 $1.30
Light red kidneys are milder in flavor and sweeter than dark red kidneys, and are best when served in 3 bean salad.
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Dry Beans Midnight Black 2 oz 281 SEEDS $1.30
Strong flavor, great for burritos, or spicy soups, stews and other ethnic cuisine.
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Echinacia OG Purpurea 1/10 oz 650 SEEDS $1.39
This herb is reputed to help the immune system. But it's also pretty in a bouquet. As an herb, use flower, petals, roots, or leaves.
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Flowers Amaranth (red) Opopeo 1/10 oz 3,900 SEEDS $3.80
This produces a tasty seed, delicious leaves, and is also striking in a bouquet with its crimson blossom=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Flowers Centaurea (bachelor buttons) (mix) 1/10 oz 650 SEEDS $1.63
The flowers are excellent in tea, can be used in making gruit or beer instead of hops, and are always pleasant in a flower arrangement.
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Flowers Cosmos - Sensation 1/10 oz 430 SEEDS $1.10
These easy-to-grow flowers are delicate for bouquets, but are also wonderful for decorating the garden or farm and attracting bees!
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Flowers Marigolds - Durango outback series 1/40 oz 248 SEEDS $3.84
The flowers are traditional indian cuisine, a favorite of their weddings; in America, they are used to honor the dead. We like them all the time, as they also are excellent at attracting beneficial insects, and are very pretty!
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Flowers Zinnea - Sunbow mix 1/10 oz 590 SEEDS $1.41
Zinneas (also known as Dahlias) are always nice. This mix is fully doubled dahlias, rose, purple, yellow, orange, pink and white
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Flowers - Supply Flower sleeves for bouquets 5 sleeves 5 SLEEVES $2.63
Putting your bouquets into sleeves allows you to sell your bouquets easier, and transport them
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Green Beans Fresh Pick 2 oz 200 SEEDS $1.65
Delicoius when green, allow to mature into dry beans for excellent cannellini. A fun way to eat your vegetables!
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Green Beans Fillet / French bean - Maxibel 2 oz 238 SEEDS $2.78
Fillet / french beans are more delicate than traditional green beans. Maxibel has brown mottled colored seeds
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Greens Nasturtium - Empress of India (red) 1/2 oz 100 SEEDS $2.54
Nasturtium is Colorado's alternative to water cress: the same species, similar flavor, but no need for intensive watering. Flowers and greens are edible. Nasturtiums are delicious, and extraordinarily good for you. They are also pretty in Bouquets!
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Greens Nasturtium - Jewel mix 1/2 oz 100 SEEDS $2.46
Nasturtium is Colorado's alternative to water cress: the same species, similar flavor, but no need for intensive watering. Flowers and greens are edible. Nasturtiums are delicious, and extraordinarily good for you. They are also pretty in Bouquets!
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Greens Vitamin Green (Brassica rapa, Narinosa gr.) 1/2 oz 397 SEEDS $6.70
In appearance, like a small, tender pac choi. Great for mixes or for bunches.
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Greens Green Wave (Mustard) 1/2 oz 531 SEEDS $1.13
A favorite for sandwiches and cooking, tastes like dijon mustard
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Greens Lambsquarter 1/10 oz 5,600 SEEDS $1.40
A best seller every year: this is an American variety of spinach that has more nutrition and is sweeter than European spinach.
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Greens Purslane (Red) 1/2 oz 32,500 SEEDS $0.72
This is one of the healthiest things to eat: leaves, roots, seeds and flowers have delightful citrusy flavor, nearly complete nutrition!
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Greens Kale (Toscano / Dinosaur) 1/10 oz 700 SEEDS $1.05
The heirloom variety of kale is also a very popular one. Kale is an acquired taste, with strong flavor!
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Greens Lettuce - Black Seeded Simpson 1/10 oz 2,400 SEEDS $0.19
Black seeded simpson is very hardy and easy to grow, has sweet lettucy flavor that is simply delicious.
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Greens Lettuce - Red Boston / Butterhead (red cross) 1/10 oz 2,400 SEEDS $14.22
Red Cross replaces Marvel of Four Seasons, which is the most delicious lettuce available. Cool weather makes it more red.
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Herbs, Basil Genovese 1/2 oz 9,000 SEEDS $2.12
A standard italian basil
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Herbs, Basil Lemon Basil "Mrs. Burns" 1/2 oz 7,500 SEEDS $2.54
Lemon basil has a lemon flavor that is great in tea and in cooking! Try it once and you'll love it every year.
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Herbs, Basil OG Cinnamon Basil 1/2 oz 8,550 SEEDS $5.51
Organic, this cinnamon basil, as the name implies, has a delightful, spicy flavor that is a must-try if you've never had it before.
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Herbs, Cilantro / Corriander 1/2 oz 1,750 SEEDS $0.83
Santo is the variety that is best for both cilantro and corriander: for corriander, let the plants grow big and set fruit!
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Oats OG Hulless - ready to cook and eat! 1 lb 15,000 SEEDS $4.75
These are ready to cook and eat because, unlike regular oats, they have no hulls. How easy is that?
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Onion Onion sets - "Forum" Yellow 50 sets 50 SEEDS $3.64
Onions are affordable vegetables that can also be used as a spice. Yellow onions are the most popular type.
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Peas Snow Peas - Snow Sweet 2 oz 250 SEEDS $0.88
Snow peas are an easy and delicous spring and autumn vegetable, but in the summer, enjoy the leaves as a green.
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Peas Snap Peas- Oregon Giant 2 oz 250 SEEDS $0.88
Snap peas are an easy and delicous spring and autumn vegetable, but in the summer, enjoy the leaves as a green.
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Potatoes Dark Red Norland (red skin, white inside) 1lb 20 SEEDS $2.21
Potatoes OG Dark Red Norland (red skin, white inside) 1lb 20 SEEDS $4.26
Potatoes Red Gold (red skin, yellow inside) 1lb 20 SEEDS $2.21
Potatoes Gold Rush (russet) 1lb 20 SEEDS $2.21
Potatoes Kennebec 1lb 20 SEEDS $2.21
Potatoes OG Kennebec 1lb 20 SEEDS $4.26
Potatoes are a great investment for the home gardener: they are so creamy and sweet when fresh, no butter is needed. You can never plant too many. They won't make it to winter!
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Pumpkin Racer 2/10 oz 35 SEEDS $2.02
Racer is great for pies and jack o'lanterns, and has lots of tasty seeds. A standard orange pumpkin!
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Pumpkin Kakai (excellent seeds) 1/10 oz 35 SEEDS $1.99
Kakai is renowned for its good tasting seeds and fruit, and its green and yellow color makes a striking jack o'lantern
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Radish Easter Egg (mix of white, red and purple) 1/10 oz 250 SEEDS $0.18
The easter egg mix has all your favorite globe radish colors
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Radish D'Avignon (variety from Southern France) 1/10 oz 250 SEEDS $0.63
French radishes are better when they are french! These are so good that you simply can't plant enough.
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Radish Daikon - Miyashige 1/10 oz 156 SEEDS $0.87
Daikon can be sweet or hot. For hot daikon, reduce water, and, after harvest, put into the fridge for 1 week to a month. It will be hotter than horse radish! Use the seed pods as a stout addition to your salads or stir fries.
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Rutabega American Purple 1/10 oz 938 SEEDS $0.54
Rutabegas are still cool to eat… and great in soup!
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Spinach Tyee 1 oz 2,200 SEEDS $2.11
Tyee is a jack of all trades for the typical farmer, and for the Colorado farmer, sometimes the only spinach that does well.
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Spinach OG Tyee 1 oz 2,200 SEEDS $2.76
We also offer Tyee in organic
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Squash, Scallop Sunburst (especially good for flowers) 2/10 oz 58 SEEDS $7.32
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Scallop squashes are also known as patty pans and this one stays yellow, even if it is hot out!
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Squash, Winter Acorn - Jet 2/10 oz 51 SEEDS $1.69
Jet is a good performer, and if you like acorn squash, you'll love Jet.
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Squash, Winter Delicata 2/10 oz 94 SEEDS $0.82
Delicatas are delicious, and even if you're not a squash lover, you'll probably love these.
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Squash, Winter Buttercup - Bon Bon 2/10 oz 94 SEEDS $1.69
Butter Cups are a delight to grow and present an improvement over the acorn squash in flavor and reliability.
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Squash, Yellow Yellow Crookneck 2/10 oz 56 SEEDS $0.62
Crookneck yellow squash is a little more difficult to harvest than straight neck, but the flavor is very much more worth it.
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Squash, Zucchini Spineless Perfection (replaces "cashflow") 2/10 oz 38 SEEDS $3.31
This is a good spineless zucchini, excellent for cooking, making into zucchini chips, baking, or BBQ'ing.
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Squash, Zucchini Costata Romanesco 2/10 oz 38 SEEDS $0.51
Costata Romanesco has better flavor and texture and is the best zucchini for soup. Let it mature into orange and green winter squash for "Italian Pumpkins" which have a nutty flavor that can't be beat.
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Sugar Beets Sugar Beets 1 oz Sold by weight SEEDS $2.58
Sugar beets are a good bet: they are a great way to eat your veggies! The beets are famous in Colorado, providing a reliable income after the silver bust. Today, the huge beets are great for fresh eating, canning and also wine and beer making, or home sugar production. This is a great treat for the kids (and adults, if there's any left over).
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Swiss Chard Bright Lights (mixed colors) 1/10 oz 188 SEEDS $1.08
A relative of the beet, chard is great for stir fries, baking and other cooking and fresh eating! If you like beet leaves, try chard…

LOOKING FOR TOMATOES, CUCUMBERS, PEPPERS, CHILIS AND OTHER PLANTS? Tomato plants, cucumber plants, pepper plants, chili plants and other plant starts are also available: 4 pks begin at about $0.75 per plant, large starts (3"-4" pots) begin at about $4. Larger plants do better! Order early…

LOOKING FOR TREES AND BUSHES? Don’t forget your fruit trees and bushes, nut trees and bushes, lumber trees, and your herbal trees and bushes, too! Even a 6 to 8 foot tree can cost as little as $15 to $20 through Maia! Ask us also whether you may qualify for Forest Service programs and $1 trees and bushes!

Members! Don't forget also to ask for free training and classes! We are looking for students and teachers!

Need help this summer in starting or keeping your garden? Ask about our low cost labor assistance program!

What's ready already? Le Menu

2012-01-27T10:21:00.001-07:00

5 Gallon Bucket - $30 member, $40 non-member…
3.5 Gallon Grocery Sack - $20 member, $30 non-member…
Fill them with whatever you like!

This week we had all four seasons out at the farm. We had one new member join us, and they are very excited about mushrooms! The horned larks loved the occasional snow that we had, and it seems they are happiest when the wind chill gets below zero. It’s important to remember that some critters are adapted to the cold, others to the warm, and that we need to make our fields and pastures homey at all times of year to all creatures.

The oranges, avocados and herbal teas were most popular, and the eggs from Paredes Farm were a big hit last week, and everyone liked so were the sprouts again. Chicken topped meat sales. So, if you want to try what everyone else is having, give them a try too!

Thinking ahead toward valentines day? You might also want to go out on a limb and try the natural soaps of AA Farm of Lincoln County: their herbal soaps and home-made washcloths make for a wonderful present. AA Farm is also taking advanced orders on home-made alpaca blankets, socks and other alpaca products.

The Recommendations…

* If you are not a meat eater, or even if you are, the President’s favorite this week was the tofu. Denver Tofu, a landmark for nearly a hundred years in Denver, uses imported ingredients from Japan for an authentic taste that can’t be beat.

* Also on the must-try list is the eggs from Paredes Farm of Elbert County. Their kids have been learning lots of good tricks at 4-H on raising chickens and eggs, and it really shows. The brown (and sometimes white) eggs make the very best donuts when you use Maia white wheat.

Finish it off with some organic herbal tea, or fresh squeezed OJ. These oranges are picked Monday in California by Pedro, and delivered to your door Friday by Maia. Can’t be beat. Especially at $1.10 per pound.

~=~=~=~ READY FOR THE COOK ~=~=~=~ Glazed Mushroom sandwiches - - - rehydrated glazed mushrooms are a breeze, and takes about 10 minutes to make with Maia’s farm fresh olive oil and twist of orange. On your favorite bread (ask for bread to be included if you like) with sprouts and your choice of wild or garden herb blends.

Roasted Tofu or Chicken - - - A bit of wild or conventional spices, some fresh olive oil from California, a few delicious mushrooms… dinner is ready inside an hour or two, and finished inside a minute or two.
Try some herbal tea: this week’s special blends include

* Fruity blend. This one is extraordinarily popular! hibiscus, rose hips, elder berries, raspberry leaves, dandelion root, elm bark. What else do you need?

* Walden Pond blend. Thoughtful, meditiative. A blend of wild and cultivated. Peppermint, pine, hawthorne berries, rosehips, elm bark, and the secret ingredient: cannellini. Weird, but actually it’s good.

* City Park blend. We love Denver’s parks, and this may have actually come from city park! Actually, it’s raised by members, but features some of Denver’s favorite landscaping. It’s actually quite refreshing. Dandelion root, chicory root, elm bark, milk thistle seeds.

* Limon 5-way. Named for Limon’s five highways, we put in five ingredients famed for their benefits to your blood, liver, stomach, heart and mind. Includes dandelion root, milk thistle seeds, elm bark, fresh willow and pine needles.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ BEANS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
CF Anasazi CF Black CF Black eyed peas CF Cannellini CF Cranberry CF Fava CF Jacob's Cattle CF Kidney CF Lentil CF Mung CF Pinto CF Soldier Beans
NEW Denver Tofu (from non-member the Denver Tofu Company)
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ EGGS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ Availability unreliable. Order early through Maia from various non-members.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ DAIRY ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
> NOT YET AVAILABLE <
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ HERBS, TEAS and COFFEE ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

>>>COFFEE<<<
> Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso, columbian (not only is drinking coffee natural, some would claim it is medicinal – especially after missing their daily cup)
> Not-coffee (roasted Chicory) (also good to blend with your coffee for a Cajun treat)

>>>TEAS AND HERBS<<<
FROM BS, CF and Group Purchases:
> Alfalfa leaves (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, blood tonic)
> Burdock Root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (cure-all)
> Chamomile flowers (sweet flavor, sleep aid)
> Chickweed (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (peculiar flavor, good for the blood and lactation)
> Cottonwood (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> Echinacea flowers (earthy flavor, good for immune system)
> Elder berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (fruity flavor, good for the immune system)
> Elm, slippery (bark) (sweet flavor, good for the throat and stomach)
> Dandelion root, dehydrated and cut (refreshing flavor, generally good for you)
> Hawthorne berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very tasty!)
> Hibiscus (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious in any tea, high in vitamin c)
> Horehound (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (generally good for you, green flavor)
> Nettle leaves (refreshing flavor, a blood tonic, generally good for you – like dandelion)
> Marshmallow root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (good for stomach)
> Milk Thistle Seeds (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (tasty, very good for liver)
> Peppermint (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for stomach)
> Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Raspberry leaves (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very delicious, good for the blood)
> Red Clover Blossoms (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for the blood)
> Rose Hips (dry) (sweet fruity flavor, great addition to any tea, good source of C)
> Scullcap (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sleep aid, good for withdrawal, and more)
> Spearmint (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious! Good for the stomach)
> Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> NOT COFFEE (roasted chicory root)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FEED ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Feed from Coastalfields Feed can be delivered with your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FRUIT ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
>>>FRESH FRUIT<<<
NEW Organic Avocados (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $2/ea
NEW Organic Cherimoyas (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $3/lb
NEW Organic Lemons (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $1.10/lb
NEW Organic Oranges (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $1.10/lb

>>>DRY FRUIT<<<
BS Organic Halawi Dates (soft, caramel flavor): $6/lb members
BS Super sweet raisins (not your standard Thompsons!): $4/lb members

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FUEL ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Fuel not included in any bucket or sack… purchased separately

Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
BS Fuel oil - $4/gallon
BP Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

Ask us for free lessons on how to make oil lamps for light and heat!
Ask us for free lessons on using wood for light and heat!
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FLOWERS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ CF Winter bouquets ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ GRAIN ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ > Barley (Maia group buy)> Oats (Maia group buy)> Sunflower (Maia group buy)> White Wheat (Maia group buy)
> Brown Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)
> Wehani Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ HONEY ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Ambrosia Honey Co. (Maia group buy)
Soon… fresh from East Slope!
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ LIVESTOCK ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
AA: Male rabbits. $10 ea.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ MEAT ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ AA Rabbit: $20/rabbit for member
Goat (group buy from Albrecht Farms of Elbert County)Beef (group buy from Albrecht Farms or Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)
Chicken (Redbird)
NEW Denver Tofu (from non-member the Denver Tofu Company): $2.50 ea
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ MUSHROOMS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ BS Dried portabella $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)BS Dried oyster $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)
BS Dried shiitake $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ NUTS & SEEDS (EATING) ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

>>>NUTS<<<
BS Almonds $12/lb
BS Natural Cashews. $10/lb

>>>SEEEDS<<<
Sunflower Seeds (shelled) $8/lb
CF, BS Sesame

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ OIL ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Fresh Natural Olive Oil (grown for TwoInTents in California) ($2.50 for a 50ml bottle – about enough for a week for most users)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ SEEDS (PLANTING) AND TREES ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Seeds and trees for planting can be included in your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Packets of seeds begin at $0.25 ea.

>>>>PRESIDENT’S NOTE: JOIN THE SEED COMMITTEE TODAY!<<<< ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ VEGETABLES ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ Sprouts (Maia group buy from Sprouts Extraordinire)
> Alfalfa $3/lb
> Clover $3/lb
> Mung $1.25/lb
> Radish $3/lb
> Wheat Grass (ask)
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ WILD HARVESTS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FROM CF FARM ($1.25 per bundle, about the size of a standard sandwich bag)
> Cottonwood

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ CLOTH AND FIBER ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
AA Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

CF Raw alpaca fiber. $1.50 per oz (member)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ CRAFTS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

>>>LOTIONS<<<
AA Farms: Vanilla Pear Lip Lotion 16 @ $1 member. Contains avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E, stevia and flavor oil.

>>>SOAP<<<
> AA Farms: Soap: lavender, wild chamomile and geranium. $3 ea member Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, oil, castor oil, water, lavender, wild chamomile and geranium essential oils
> AA Farms Soap: Apple blossom & peony. $2.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Peach orchard. $2 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Aqua reef (like old spice). 3 bars at $1.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil
> AA Farms Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

Dig early, dig often

2012-01-26T12:03:00.004-07:00

Tilling the soil is the best way to improve it. Adding air to the soil, even if you integrate NO manure or green matter, helps the beneficial microorganisms breathe and mineralize important nutrients from the air. More than 16kg/ha of nitrogen can be introduced into the soil by good tillage methods, and sufficient nutrients for most crops is possible without manure.

Tilling last year's aisles all winter long gets them warmer and ready earlier for spring planting, and allows the beds to rest and provide shelter for all your animal friends - beneficial insects and even larger animals can find shelter in the undisturbed beds (next year's aisles) - until you're ready to till it under in the late spring once everyone's awake.

Tillage builds better soil structure, allowing less need for water, pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer, saving costs - it is always cheaper to till than to buy chemicals.

Tillage is the first work of a farmer and gardener. Tillage is done best by a shovel or a pickaxe, but on large fields, plows are needed. Of the numerous forms of plows, consider disk plows first. However, recently, numerous rototillers and spading machines have been developed that produce sometimes superior tillage! It pays to do trials, or at least shop around.

Look for tillage that aerates the soil without creating compaction, turning it and spinning it and breaking it up so roots can easily penetrate.

What's ready already (le Menu)

2012-01-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

5 Gallon Bucket - $30 member, $40 non-member…
3.5 Gallon Grocery Sack - $20 member, $30 non-member…
Fill them with whatever you like!

This week the board of directors voted to changes in the logistics of Maia. The difficulties of coordinating several farms at once require that orders be placed at least 1 week in advance of delivery. Also, home delivery will be limited to twice per month. However, pick up locations will be available weekly. Pick up locations are available in Limon, Agate, Lakewood and… your home? Call the President, Aaron Brachfeld, at 720 – 722 – FARM to see if your home can be a pick-up location. Volunteers receive either free food, Class 3 stock, or other appreciation from their fellow members.

The President recommends this week…
* if you are a meat eater, to try the chicken. At $2 per pound, this is a good deal on natural chicken. A bit of wild or conventional spices, some fresh olive oil from California, a few delicious mushrooms… dinner is ready inside an hour or two, and finished inside a minute or two.

* If you are not a meat eater, or even if you are, the President’s favorite this week was the tofu. Denver Tofu, a landmark for nearly a hundred years in Denver, uses imported ingredients from Japan for an authentic taste that can’t be beat.

* Also on the must-try list is the eggs from LaChona Farm of Elbert County. Their kids have been learning lots of good tricks at 4-H on raising chickens and eggs, and it really shows. The brown (and sometimes white) eggs make the very best donuts when you use Maia white wheat.

Finish it off with some organic herbal tea, or fresh squeezed OJ. These oranges are picked Monday in California by Pedro, and delivered to your door Friday by Maia. Can’t be beat. Especially at $1.10 per pound.

~=~=~=~ READY FOR THE COOK ~=~=~=~ Glazed Mushroom sandwiches - - - rehydrated glazed mushrooms are a breeze, and takes about 10 minutes to make with Maia’s farm fresh olive oil and twist of orange. On your favorite bread (ask for bread to be included if you like) with sprouts and your choice of wild or garden herb blends.

Orangeaide - - - this is a favorite around the farm. Combine 1/4 cup water, 1/2 cup orange juice and 1/4 cup lemon juice, with sugar to taste

Roasted Tofu or Chicken - - - Fresh natural goat meat with your choice of natural wild spices or more traditional recipes. Includes mushrooms and fresh oil. How can you g wrong?
Try some herbal tea: this week’s special blends include

* Fruity blend. This one is extraordinarily popular! hibiscus, rose hips, elder berries, raspberry leaves, dandelion root, elm bark. What else do you need?

* Walden Pond blend. Thoughtful, meditiative. A blend of wild and cultivated. Peppermint, pine, hawthorne berries, rosehips, elm bark, and the secret ingredient: cannellini. Weird, but actually it’s good.

* City Park blend. We love Denver’s parks, and this may have actually come from city park! Actually, it’s raised by members, but features some of Denver’s favorite landscaping. It’s actually quite refreshing. Dandelion root, chicory root, elm bark, milk thistle seeds.

* Limon 5-way. Named for Limon’s five highways, we put in five ingredients famed for their benefits to your blood, liver, stomach, heart and mind. Includes dandelion root, milk thistle seeds, elm bark, fresh willow and pine needles.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ BEANS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
CF Anasazi CF Black CF Black eyed peas CF Cannellini CF Cranberry CF Fava CF Jacob's Cattle CF Kidney CF Lentil CF Mung CF Pinto CF Soldier Beans
NEW Denver Tofu (from non-member the Denver Tofu Company)
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ EGGS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ Availability unreliable. Order early through Maia from various non-members.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ DAIRY ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
> NOT YET AVAILABLE <
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ HERBS, TEAS and COFFEE ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

>>>COFFEE<<<
> Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso, columbian (not only is drinking coffee natural, some would claim it is medicinal – especially after missing their daily cup)
> Not-coffee (roasted Chicory) (also good to blend with your coffee for a Cajun treat)

>>>TEAS AND HERBS<<<
FROM BS, CF and Group Purchases:
> Alfalfa leaves (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, blood tonic)
> Burdock Root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (cure-all)
> Chamomile flowers (sweet flavor, sleep aid)
> Chickweed (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (peculiar flavor, good for the blood and lactation)
> Cottonwood (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> Echinacea flowers (earthy flavor, good for immune system)
> Elder berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (fruity flavor, good for the immune system)
> Elm, slippery (bark) (sweet flavor, good for the throat and stomach)
> Dandelion root, dehydrated and cut (refreshing flavor, generally good for you)
> Hawthorne berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very tasty!)
> Hibiscus (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious in any tea, high in vitamin c)
> Horehound (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (generally good for you, green flavor)
> Nettle leaves (refreshing flavor, a blood tonic, generally good for you – like dandelion)
> Marshmallow root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (good for stomach)
> Milk Thistle Seeds (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (tasty, very good for liver)
> Peppermint (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for stomach)
> Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Raspberry leaves (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very delicious, good for the blood)
> Red Clover Blossoms (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for the blood)
> Rose Hips (dry) (sweet fruity flavor, great addition to any tea, good source of C)
> Scullcap (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sleep aid, good for withdrawal, and more)
> Spearmint (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious! Good for the stomach)
> Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> NOT COFFEE (roasted chicory root)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FEED ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Feed from Coastalfields Feed can be delivered with your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FRUIT ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
>>>FRESH FRUIT<<<
NEW Organic Avocados (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $2/ea
NEW Organic Cherimoyas (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $3/lb
NEW Organic Lemons (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $1.10/lb
NEW Organic Oranges (from non-member Pedro’s Avacado Ranch): $1.10/lb

>>>DRY FRUIT<<<
BS Organic Halawi Dates (soft, caramel flavor): $6/lb members
BS Super sweet raisins (not your standard Thompsons!): $4/lb members

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FUEL ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Fuel not included in any bucket or sack… purchased separately

Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
BS Fuel oil - $4/gallon
BP Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

Ask us for free lessons on how to make oil lamps for light and heat!
Ask us for free lessons on using wood for light and heat!
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FLOWERS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ CF Winter bouquets ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ GRAIN ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ > Barley (Maia group buy)> Oats (Maia group buy)> Sunflower (Maia group buy)> White Wheat (Maia group buy)
> Brown Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)
> Wehani Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ HONEY ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Ambrosia Honey Co. (Maia group buy)
Soon… fresh from East Slope!
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ LIVESTOCK ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
AA: Male rabbits. $10 ea.
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ MEAT ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ AA Rabbit: $20/rabbit for member
Goat (group buy from Albrecht Farms of Elbert County)Beef (group buy from Albrecht Farms or Elizabeth Meat Locker of Elbert County)
Chicken (Redbird)
NEW Denver Tofu (from non-member the Denver Tofu Company): $2.50 ea
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ MUSHROOMS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ BS Dried portabella $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)BS Dried oyster $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)
BS Dried shiitake $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ NUTS & SEEDS (EATING) ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

>>>NUTS<<<
BS Almonds $12/lb
BS Natural Cashews. $10/lb

>>>SEEEDS<<<
Sunflower Seeds (shelled) $8/lb
CF, BS Sesame

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ OIL ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Fresh Natural Olive Oil (grown for TwoInTents in California) ($2.50 for a 50ml bottle – about enough for a week for most users)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ SEEDS (PLANTING) AND TREES ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
Seeds and trees for planting can be included in your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Packets of seeds begin at $0.25 ea.

>>>>PRESIDENT’S NOTE: JOIN THE SEED COMMITTEE TODAY!<<<< ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ VEGETABLES ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ Sprouts (Maia group buy from Sprouts Extraordinire)
> Alfalfa $3/lb
> Clover $3/lb
> Mung $1.25/lb
> Radish $3/lb
> Wheat Grass (ask)
~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ WILD HARVESTS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ FROM CF FARM ($1.25 per bundle, about the size of a standard sandwich bag)
> Cottonwood

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ CLOTH AND FIBER ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~
AA Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

CF Raw alpaca fiber. $1.50 per oz (member)

~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~ CRAFTS ~=~=~=~=~=~=~=~

>>>LOTIONS<<<
AA Farms: Vanilla Pear Lip Lotion 16 @ $1 member. Contains avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E, stevia and flavor oil.

>>>SOAP<<<
> AA Farms: Soap: lavender, wild chamomile and geranium. $3 ea member Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, oil, castor oil, water, lavender, wild chamomile and geranium essential oils
> AA Farms Soap: Apple blossom & peony. $2.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Peach orchard. $2 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.
> AA Farms Soap: Aqua reef (like old spice). 3 bars at $1.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil
> AA Farms Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

Coastalfields develops new forage

2012-01-18T16:53:00.004-07:00

Scientists at Coastalfields Feed have developed a new forage appropriate for feeding cattle, horses, goats, sheep, rabbits, and other hay eating critters which has similar nutrition to alfalfa and costs significantly less. With feed prices soaring, Coastalfields hopes to alleviate the financial pressure to ranchers and home producers so they can keep food prices lower at the dinner table.
Producers seeking an even lower price will be able to receive discounted feed through a recent deal made with the Maia Cooperative, a new agricultural cooperative headquartered in Elbert County.

“Coastalfields feeds are now offered through Maia, and delivered directly to your home, farm or ranch along with your normal delivery of human foods, household fuels and other Maia products,” explained owner Aaron Brachfeld. “Our latest forage, Arbre Cadabra, will be no different.” 80 gallons (about a bale’s worth) costs $10, but members may buy for $8.

Arbre Cadabra, as the name implies, is a formulated mixture of tree leaves designed to provide similar nutrition to typical alfalfa crops. “The leaves are sourced locally and we offer conventional and natural/organic blends,” explained Brachfeld. “We expect Arbre Cadabra, and our other specialized blends that use specialized crops still in development to define the 21st Century of ranching in Colorado as climate change raises the prices of now-conventional forages. Now that the tests are done, we will be investing extensively in forests at our facility near Agate.”

The achievement builds upon several decades of research at public Universities throughout the United States and the world, and presents a true breakthrough for ranchers. “The formulation of feed is very important to ranchers,” explained Chief Science Officer Mary Choate. “Arbre Cadabra is not only good for your animals, but good for the earth because it is less resource needy than conventional forages, and results in significant carbon-negating and biodiversity-encouraging contributions to the ecology.”

"We are very pleased with this new forage,” said Brachfeld “And, in our palatability tests, so are the animals. They just won’t stop eating it!”

So, how does Arbre Cadabra stack up against Alfalfa? Or grass, for that matter? According to the Colorado State University Soil, Water, and Plant Testing Laboratory (all amounts on dry weight basis. Arbre Cadabra may have 5% to 20% moisture)…

What's ready already? le menu

2012-01-14T09:17:00.001-07:00

5 Gallon Bucket - $30 member, $40 non-member…
3.5 Gallon Grocery Sack - $20 member, $30 non-member…
Fill them with whatever you like!

This week, butterball the alpaca made friends with Tom the turkey. Tom loves butterball and the two are inseparable. With snow again, there’s mud again, and that means happy ducks this week too. The ducks love the mud, and the biggest “duck” of all, Izzy the Goose (who thinks she’s a duck) loves mud the most too. Mud is good for waterfowl, who gain significant minerals from eating the mud, and who derive some benefits from the dirt when it’s wet. Besides, it’s better to bathe when you’re dirty.

This week we feature new products from AA farms of Lincoln County including hand-made dish cloths, live rabbits, soaps and lotions, and BS farms of Arapahoe County, with some excellent dried fruits and nuts. Also new this week, correcting a major oversight, we list out all our herbs so you can mix your own tea blends!

NEW THIS WEEK:
These herbal blends are made from organic and natural herbs and are very tasty, formulated by CF Farms. These are inclusive in the cost of your bucket or sack. Choose from:
> Improved cold buster (fresh pine, fresh willow, elder berries, elm bark, nettle leaves, rose hips, alfalfa, Echinacea, dandelion root, nettle, burdock, milk thistle seeds)
> Stomach and throat (peppermint, spearmint, elm bark, marshmallow, raspberry leaves, dandelion root)
> Blood (dandelion root, chickweed, nettle, rosehips, hawthorne berries, alfalfa)
> Fruity blend (hibiscus, rose hips, elder berries, raspberry leaves, elm bark)

OR BLEND YOUR OWN:
> Alfalfa leaves (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, blood tonic)
> Burdock Root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (cure-all)
> Chamomile flowers (sweet flavor, sleep aid)
> Chickweed (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (peculiar flavor, good for the blood and lactation)
> Cottonwood (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> Echinacea flowers (earthy flavor, good for immune system)
> Elder berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (fruity flavor, good for the immune system)
> Elm, slippery (bark) (sweet flavor, good for the throat and stomach)
> Dandelion root, dehydrated and cut (refreshing flavor, generally good for you)
> Hawthorne berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very tasty!)
> Hibiscus (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious in any tea, high in vitamin c)
> Horehound (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (generally good for you, green flavor)
> Nettle leaves (refreshing flavor, a blood tonic, generally good for you – like dandelion)
> Marshmallow root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (good for stomach)
> Milk Thistle Seeds (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (tasty, very good for liver)
> Peppermint (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for stomach)
> Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Raspberry leaves (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very delicious, good for the blood)
> Red Clover Blossoms (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for the blood)
> Rose Hips (dry) (sweet fruity flavor, great addition to any tea, good source of C)
> Scullcap (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sleep aid, good for withdrawal, and more)
> Spearmint (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious! Good for the stomach)
> Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> NOT COFFEE (roasted chicory root)

From new 4th Class and 3rd Class Member BS Farms in Arapahoe County:
Natural dry Oyster, Shitake and Portabella mushrooms. Non-members: $3/oz Members: $2.25 / oz (an ounce is about a cup). (Maia members may reduce the $2.50 from the cost of your bucket or sack). This is a great deal, as dry mushrooms elsewhere may cost five times more!

Natural Cashews. Non-members: $0.80/oz, members: $0.70/oz. (for comparison, a can of nuts is typically 10 oz). (Maia members may reduce the $0.70 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

Super sweet raisins (not your standard Thompsons!): non members: $5/lb, members $4/lb. (Maia members may reduce the $1 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

ORGANIC Halawi Dates (soft, caramel flavor): non members: $7/lb, members: $6/lb

From new 4th Cass Member AA Farms in Lincoln County:
Vanilla Pear Lip Lotion 16 @ $2 ea non-member, $1 member (Maia members may reduce the $1 from the cost of your bucket or sack). Contains avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E, stevia and flavor oil.

Soap: lavender, wild chamomile and geranium. 4 bars at $5 ea non-member, $3 ea member (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack). Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, oil, castor oil, water, lavender, wild chamomile and geranium essential oils

Soap: Apple blossom & peony. 3 bars at $4 ea non-member, $2.50 ea member (Maia members may reduce the $2.50 from the cost of your bucket or sack). Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.

Soap: Peach orchard. 3 bars at $3 ea non-member, $2 ea member (Maia members may reduce the $2 from the cost of your bucket or sack). Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.

Soap: Aqua reef (like old spice). 3 bars at $2.50 ea non-member, $1.50 ea member. (Maia members may reduce the $1.50 from the cost of your bucket or sack). Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil

Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

Male rabbits, live. $10 ea.

READY FOR THE COOK:
Sprout stuffing - - - wheat, barley, sprouts and fresh olive oil meet a delicious blend of secret spices for a filling stuffing!

Toasted Sesame Snack - - - honey, sesame seeds, toasted. WoW! What else could you ask for?

Roast Chevon - - - Fresh natural goat meat with your choice of natural wild spices or more traditional recipes.

These herbal blends are made from organic and natural herbs and are very tasty, formulated by CF Farms. These are inclusive in the cost of your bucket or sack. Choose from:
> Improved cold buster (fresh pine, fresh willow, elder berries, elm bark, nettle leaves, rose hips, alfalfa, Echinacea, dandelion root, nettle, burdock, milk thistle seeds)
> Stomach and throat (peppermint, spearmint, elm bark, marshmallow, raspberry leaves, dandelion root)
> Blood (dandelion root, chickweed, nettle, rosehips, hawthorne berries, alfalfa)
> Fruity blend (hibiscus, rose hips, elder berries, raspberry leaves, elm bark)
OR BLEND YOUR OWN!

~~~BEANS~~~

Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~DAIRY~~~
Goat milk from Carmel Apple Farms will not be available until springtime. However, advance reservations are required as milk is sold out fast. Milk is raw, and sold by share to individuals. Because our delivery drivers are also shareholders of the herd, you may request Maia to purchase a share on your behalf, and also deliver it for you.

~~~HERBS AND TEAS~~~

> Alfalfa leaves (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, blood tonic)
> Burdock Root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (cure-all)
> Chamomile flowers (sweet flavor, sleep aid)
> Chickweed (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (peculiar flavor, good for the blood and lactation)
> Cottonwood (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> Echinacea flowers (earthy flavor, good for immune system)
> Elder berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (fruity flavor, good for the immune system)
> Elm, slippery (bark) (sweet flavor, good for the throat and stomach)
> Dandelion root, dehydrated and cut (refreshing flavor, generally good for you)
> Hawthorne berries (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very tasty!)
> Hibiscus (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious in any tea, high in vitamin c)
> Horehound (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (generally good for you, green flavor)
> Nettle leaves (refreshing flavor, a blood tonic, generally good for you – like dandelion)
> Marshmallow root (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (good for stomach)
> Milk Thistle Seeds (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (tasty, very good for liver)
> Peppermint (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for stomach)
> Pine (needles, bark or twigs – fresh) (delicious, nutritious vegetable, makes great tea)
> Raspberry leaves (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (very delicious, good for the blood)
> Red Clover Blossoms (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious, good for the blood)
> Rose Hips (dry) (sweet fruity flavor, great addition to any tea, good source of C)
> Scullcap (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (sleep aid, good for withdrawal, and more)
> Spearmint (dry) (Organic, Maia bulk purchase) (delicious! Good for the stomach)
> Willow (bark, twigs, leaves, buds) (fresh) (delicious, sweet vegetable, good in tea. Cook at low temperature or luke warm for antiinflamatory and pain reducing properties)
> NOT COFFEE (roasted chicory root)

~~~FEED~~~
Feed from Coastalfields Feed can be delivered with your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

~~~FRUIT~~~
Dates – fresh from California, conventionally grown
Dates – fresh from California, organically grown
Raisins – fresh from California, conventionally grown

~~~FUEL~~~
Fuel not included in any bucket or sack… purchased separately

Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
Fuel oil - $4/gallon
Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

Ask us for free lessons on how to make oil lamps for light and heat!
Ask us for free lessons on using wood for light and heat!

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat
Brown Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)
Wehani Rice (lundberg – Maia group buy)

~~~HONEY~~~
Ambrosia Honey Co.
Soon… fresh from East Slope!

~~~ LIVESTOCK ~~~
AA Farms: Male rabbits. $10 ea.

~~~MEAT~~~
AA Farms Rabbit: $20/rabbit for member
Goat
Beef
Chicken

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso, or decaf (not only is drinking coffee natural, some would claim it is medicinal – especially after missing their daily cup)
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
BS Dried portabella $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)
BS Dried oyster $2.25/oz members (about 1 cup)

~~~NUTS, DRY FRUIT & SEEDS (EATING) ~~~
>dry fruit
BS ORGANIC Halawi Dates (soft, caramel flavor): $6/lb members
BS Super sweet raisins (not your standard Thompsons!): $4/lb members

>nuts
Almonds (out of stock right now)
BS Natural Cashews. $0.70/oz members (for comparison, a can of nuts is typically 10 oz).
Cinnamon Sugar Almonds (of stock right now)
Mustard
Peanuts (out of stock right now)
Pistachios (out of stock right now)
Pine Nuts (out of stock right now)
Sesame

~~~ OIL ~~~
Olive Oil (grown for TwoInTents in California)

~~~ SEEDS (PLANTING) AND TREES ~~~
Seeds and trees for planting can be included in your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Packets of seeds begin at $0.25 ea.

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
Sprouts – alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean
Wheat Grass

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Cottonwood

~~~ CRAFTS ~~~
AA Farms: Vanilla Pear Lip Lotion 16 @ $1 member. Contains avocado oil, shea butter, beeswax, vitamin E, stevia and flavor oil.

AA Farms: Soap: lavender, wild chamomile and geranium. $3 ea member Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, oil, castor oil, water, lavender, wild chamomile and geranium essential oils

AA Farms Soap: Apple blossom & peony. $2.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.

AA Farms Soap: Peach orchard. $2 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil.

AA Farms Soap: Aqua reef (like old spice). 3 bars at $1.50 ea member. Contains: lard, coconut oil, shea butter, lye, olive oil, castor oil, water and fragrance oil

AA Farms Dish cloths: hand crochet, 100% cotton. Choose white and blue, yellow and green, white and muted green, white and pink, white and red, yellow and orange, pink or green). Non-members $5 ea, members $3 ea. (Maia members may reduce the $3 from the cost of your bucket or sack).

Recipes for you!

2012-01-08T15:17:00.002-07:00

What’s wild in your box?

In your box today you’ll notice some delicious wild herbs. Wintertime is not known for its tremendous variety, but at least the mainstays are easily welcome to the plate again and again. Pine nuts are delicious wild foods – they have not yet been brought under cultivation, although Maia has recently begun planting an orchard – but this week are be accompanied by locally harvested pine needles and willow, and can be combined with rice, locally grown barley and wheat, California raisins and garden herbs for a delicious stuffing.

Recipe for the week: pine nut stuffing

1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup wheat
1/4 cup rice
1/4 cup barley
1/8 cup herb mix
Herb mix includes: garlic, rosemary, onion powder, sage and black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a pot with 1.5 to 2.5 cups of water (depending on how “gravy” you like it). Raise to a high boil, then reduce to a simmer for about an hour to two hours, or longer if you like it very soft. Add water if it dries out! Serve hot or cold, add salt if desired (most people like salt). (Salt not included)

Recipe for the week: pine tip mayonnaise

If you’re adventurous, give this one a try. It’s from Laurie Constantino, “Mediterranean cooking in Alaska.” http://medcookingalaska.blogspot.com

1 cup mayonnaise (homemade or store-bought)
1/4 cup minced spruce tips (or fir or pine)
2 teaspoon lemon juice

Thoroughly mix all the ingredients. Let flavors blend for at least 1 hour before serving.

Let us help you in the garden!

2012-01-08T07:46:00.002-07:00

Gardening is not only enjoyable and easy enough for a child to do, but is an important way to reduce a family's costs of food while improving their nutrition. We are glad to help you set up your own family's garden! Give us a call, or email us...

Le Menu!

2012-01-07T15:40:00.001-07:00

5 Gallon Bucket - $30 member, $40 non-member…
3.5 Gallon Grocery Sack - $20 member, $30 non-member…
Fill them with whatever you like!

This was an interesting week out at the farm. The winds came and blew away all the water and mud, and now we have begun that most pleasant time of year in Colorado: December! Most immigrants to Colorado don’t realize that December can be the nicest time of year. November is usually shocking for its brutality, and there are merciless and endless winter conditions in January, February, March and sometimes April too. But December is usually pleasantly warm, never too hot, refreshingly cool at night, and entirely without flies or mosquitoes. Except for one fly, which I saw yesterday!

So many new items this week… the sprouts were a great success, and we’re offering new varieties: mung beans! And wheat grass too! Try the goat milk… and our beef is getting rave reviews! Dates, raisins, nuts, seeds… and, for the cold weather, a really good deal on firewood. At the supermarket they’re charging somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 per small bundle, but through cooperation, you can add firewood to your order for $2.50 per small bundle. Firewood is a negative-carbon dioxide heat and light source, good for th environment. We also have some good fuel oil if you want a negative-carbon dioxide light and heat source that doesn’t need a fireplace.

December is a great time in Colorado to do some gardening. We are always turning and turning our aisles in the winter, preparing for springtime. The soil becomes richer in the winter, as the microbes can work without interruption improving the soil. A thick mulch over the beds helps the worms put in some unpaid overtime. And in the spring, you’re ready to plant in last year’s aisles, and begin to convert last year’s beds to aisles I the summer.

You’re still in time to order seeds and trees for spring! Let us know what you’d like and your seed packets can be included in your order, or purchased for sometimes as little as two bits.

NEW THIS WEEK:

Mung Bean sprouts
Wheat Grass
Mustard Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Honey – from Ambrosia Honey Co.
Goat Milk – from Carmel Apple Farms
Raisins – fresh from California, conventionally grown
Dates – fresh from California, conventionally grown
Dates – fresh from California, organically grown
Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso
Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
Fuel oil - $4/gallon
Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

READY FOR THE COOK:
Sprout stuffing - - - wheat, barley, sprouts and fresh olive oil meet a delicious blend of secret spices for a filling stuffing!

Cold buster tea - - - Willow twigs, pine twigs and thistle root. Great with a bit of lemon or honey!

Toasted Sesame Snack - - - honey, sesame seeds, toasted. WoW! What else could you ask for?

Roast Chevon - - - Fresh natural goat meat with your choice of natural wild spices or more traditional recipes.

~~~BEANS~~~

Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~DAIRY~~~
Goat milk from Carmel Apple Farms will not be available until springtime. However, advance reservations are required as milk is sold out fast. Milk is raw, and sold by share to individuals. Because our delivery drivers are also shareholders of the herd, you may request Maia to purchase a share on your behalf, and also deliver it for you.

~~~FEED~~~
Feed from Coastalfields Feed can be delivered with your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

~~~FRUIT~~~
Dates – fresh from California, conventionally grown
Dates – fresh from California, organically grown
Raisins – fresh from California, conventionally grown

~~~FUEL~~~
Fuel not included in any bucket or sack… purchased separately

Firewood – Cord $200 (4ftx4ftx8ft), 1/8 Cord $25 (4ftx2ftx2ft), Small Bundle $2.50 (1.5ftx1ftx1ft) … Delivered and stacked
Fuel oil - $4/gallon
Used oil (for fuel) - $2/gallon

Ask us for free lessons on how to make oil lamps for light and heat!
Ask us for free lessons on using wood for light and heat!

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~HONEY~~~
Ambrosia Honey Co.
Soon… fresh from East Slope!

~~~MEAT~~~
Goat
Beef
Chicken

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Coffee from Don Francisco – choose organic or conventional, house blend or espresso, or decaf (not only is drinking coffee natural, some would claim it is medicinal – especially after missing their daily cup)
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
Dried portabella
Dried oyster

~~~NUTS & SEEDS (EATING) ~~~
Almonds
Cinnamon Sugar Almonds
Cashews
Mustard
Peanuts
Pine Nuts
Sesame

~~~ OIL ~~~
Olive Oil (grown for TwoInTents in California)

~~~ SEEDS (PLANTING) AND TREES ~~~
Seeds and trees for planting can be included in your regular order. Contact Maia at 720-722-FARM or maiacooperative@gmail.com for more information and selections.

Packets of seeds begin at $0.25 ea.

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
Sprouts – alfalfa, clover, radish, mung bean
Wheat Grass

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Cottonwood

Cow tongue up pant leg no fun

2012-01-06T10:00:00.001-07:00

Old Blue, our nurse goat who keeps our poultry warm at night while not eating much or causing much disturbance, showed unusual energy yesterday when he met Darling, our Herford heifer. Old Blue is very familiar with calves and smaller cows – he made excellent friends with last year’s calves when he kept them warm too. However, this was the largest cow he ever saw!

Darling was moved over so we could finish construction of her brand new barn. We are building it out of tire bales and scrapwood, and she is too friendly to allow for construction to progress easily. Darling will come up and inspect whatever is going on, and want to meet whoever comes into her pen – including bobcat tractors. Then she’ll try to eat whoever is in the pen. A wet cow tongue up your pant leg while leaning on a ladder is no fun. So, Darling got to visit with her other friends in the next pen over.

We rotate pens regularly, anyway: by moving animals from pen to pen, we reduce the risks of disease…and grow some amazing vegetables! This way, too, the animals always have some vegetation beneath their feet, and the ground doesn’t compact to puddle and pool. Some of our vegetable fields remain vegetables all year long, and are all located next to pens where manure is produced.

The animals are all trained to follow on a rope or come when called (even the chickens) and are friendly so that moving them from pen to pen is never a headache. And we usually do so in winter, so that there are less temptations of green vegetables and other crops to munch.

Rotating pens is important and easy, and the training required of the animals for rotating pens sometimes comes in handy at other times, like when the vet wants to take a look at the animals, or when you need to put on a roof without a cow tongue poking up your pant leg.

Let's plant a tree... or a grove! or a FOREST!

2012-01-01T10:19:00.005-07:00

Don't have a lot of land to plant trees? Plant some trees on TwoInTent's land - remember, it's your farm too! Got your very own farm? Let's cooperate and buy trees together...

The best time to plant trees is 20 years ago. However, if you don't have a time machine, today works alright too. Maia group-buys trees to reduce the price, and whether you would like to enjoy the tree on your own land or help forest our lands, cooperation is the very best way to produce food, animal feed, medicine and fuel while improving the ecology through planting trees.
With Maia, small trees (about a foot tall) can cost as little as $1, and even large 6 foot trees can cost as little as $15.

Got enough trees on your own land? Don't have land? Why buy trees to plant at all?

1. The trees will produce food, animal feed, medicine and fuel for you - it's your farm, after all!
2. The trees improve the ecology by providing habitat to increase biodiversity, reduce evaporation from wind and stabilize soil
3. The trees improve the biosphere by stabilizing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere - each tree will consume about 1 TON of carbon dioxide per year
4. The trees improve the agricultural production of TwoInTent's small and annual crops by sheltering the crops and improving biodiversity - the more biodiversity in the field, the better the yield!

Buy a tree today! If you want to pay cash instead of using paypal, you can save a few bucks (there is a surcharge for using paypal). You can also name your tree, grove or forest!

Le Menu (what's available?)

2011-12-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

It is the season when every young man’s fancy turns to mud. A man grows tall in the country in the winter, about 5 inches taller, to be precise. Spring showers bring may flowers, December snows bring January mud. Wow it’s mucky!

This week we have some delicious sprouts to try from the Maia cooperative. They are grown in Denver hydroponically, which is different from how we grow them – while we grow them in the soil, the key to delicious sprouts (and mushrooms) is actually the sunlight they receive. The sunlight helps the young plants develop not only vitamins and minerals, but all kinds of flavor! Sprouts are alive, and it is best before you eat them (or if you eat them at night, the afternoon before you eat them) to put them in the sun for about 15 minutes. They’ll be much better for it… and so will you!

We are also excited about a new batch of olive oil from our friends in California who raise their olives for us with organic methods free of chemicals. What are we to do except combine sprouts and oil with some delicious lo mein or stir fry?

But don’t forget us when you get your winter cold. We have a coldbuster tea just for you! It’s really tasty, so even if you’re not sick, give it a try!

And for our meat eaters out there… please don’t forget that Thomas Farms has chicken, and a student trip to Washington, DC to fundraise for! And we still have a few sausages left from our own farm. Try these in your lo mein if you’re not into tofu.

NEW THIS WEEK:
Chicken from Thomas Farms
Mud. Fire sale prices! Come out for a visit and come back with pounds of it on your shoes…

READY FOR THE COOK:
Sprout stuffing - - - wheat, barley, sprouts and fresh olive oil meet a delicious blend of secret spices for a filling stuffing!

Cold buster tea - - - Willow twigs, pine twigs and thistle root. Great with a bit of lemon or honey!

Sausages - - - traditional recipe from Europe. Hot or mild.

Roast Chevon - - - Fresh natural goat meat with your choice of natural wild spices or more traditional recipes.

~~~BEANS~~~

Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~FRUIT~~~
Next harvest, estimated in Summer

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~MEAT~~~
Goat
Beef
Chicken

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
Dried portabello
Dried oyster

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
Sprouts – alfalfa, clover, radish

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Cottonwood

Wait! Before you buy seeds!

2011-12-26T14:32:00.003-07:00

We are getting ready to buy seeds, and we buy seeds in cooperation - which means that it is cheaper. Our cooperative, the Maia Cooperative, allows us to buy in bulk and reduces the cost of planting, even if we want to plant a large variety of things.

While a seed packet of black seeded simpson lettuce may cost you about $4, the seed packet will only contain about 500 seeds. When 384,000 seeds costs Maia only $20, you can recieve the same 500 for 1/768 the cost (about a 2 cents). That's good value! Even if you want to plant organic yellow squash (packet $4 for 30 seeds), Maia can order some 5,000 seeds for $35, and your packet now costs about 21 cents.

Everyone likes a varied diet, but the cost of seeds these days is crazy. So before you buy your seeds let us know what you'd like this year in your garden, as well as what you'd like this year in our fields (which are your gardens too!). We would love to cooperate with you, too.

Ready for a bath?

2011-12-25T10:37:00.005-07:00

The ducks and geese just don't know what to do with ice. They want a bath and try to dive into their frozen pond, but for whatever reason these days, the water is as hard as ice. We dump out the ice and pour in water, and they enjoy it a lot. But if they take a break from splashing, it freezes up again.

Bathing and splashing keeps our birds healthy: it allows them to clean their bodies and their mouths and noses, and large quantities of water ensure that they stay healthy with adequate water in their diet. Healthy birds are more productive birds, they are happier birds and produce with higher quality.

We wash our other animals periodically too: our cows, horses and camelids get a bath every month. Our goats get a brush down or a bath then too, but the goats are our cleanest animals. They are also our most hardy. Cleanliness makes animals stronger. That's why we also clean out pens every week. While some farms simply pile up manure in a corner, we take it out for composting, either in the ground in the gardens, or in compost bins for aging. This is better for the gardens and better for the animals (and the reason why we put our gardens so close to the animal pens - we don't have to carry manure so far!).

In the wild, ducks and chickens would be eating not only vegetable matter and seeds, but plenty of bugs. We have very few bugs in the summer because we have so little manure hanging about. What few bugs there are usually get eaten by the ducks and chickens who, though they are free to roam, like to hang out in the pens where they stand the best chance at getting the odd fly or mosquito. Sometimes a duck will chase a fly dozens of feet (and usually will catch it). In the wild, most animals don't have a need to bathe, but ducks and geese and other water birds do. And cattle and horses do when they are kept in a pen. It's important to keep in mind the needs of animals to make sure they are healthy, happy and productive.

Truck stuck in snowdrift!

2011-12-24T09:36:00.002-07:00

Truck the rooster got stuck in a snowdrift while out on an adventure today. He wanted to get to the other side, walked right in until he was stuck up to his belly. We went to rescue him, but before we could some persistent flapping got him free and he managed to fly to the other side. Just goes to show that sometimes we are truly stuck, other times we have to simply try harder.

Le Menu (what's ready this week?)

2011-12-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

Gosh it is cold out! And snowy! Yet it is amazing how the larks like to play in the weather. Butterball likes to run in and out of his home, getting snowy and wet, then going right back in. Dracula just stays inside all day. The spinach is holding on in our cold frames, but not growing much because of the cold. We’ll have to wait a little longer, probably. This week, Thomas farms has been kind enough to offer some of their chicken: the birds are compassionately and naturally raised in Elbert County. They’re raising money for a school trip to Washington, DC… so try the chicken!

NEW THIS WEEK:
Chicken from Thomas Farms
Fresh snow, ice and cold wind. Free. Take as much as you like. Pick up at the farm only. Limited, while supplies last.

READY FOR THE COOK:
Beef Sausages - - - traditional recipe from Europe. Hot or mild.

Mushroom pasta - - - We served this to some hardy volunteers, and they liked it! Either ask for pasta included or not. Portabello and oyster mushrooms, wheat, and natural olive oil, with a spice packet!

Roast Chevon - - - Fresh natural goat meat with your choice of natural wild spices or more traditional recipes.

December rose hip tea - - - rose hips, pine needles and cottonwood. This will perk you up, a warm drink on a cold night.

~~~BEANS~~~

Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~FRUIT~~~
Next harvest, estimated in Summer

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~MEAT~~~
Goat
Beef
Chicken

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
Dried portabello
Dried oyster

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
Mung bean sprouts (early harvest - warm winter!) - planted only upon demand
Coming soon (sooner or later): spinach!

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Cottonwood

Big news! Maia Cooperative forming

2011-12-22T10:19:00.000-07:00

Hello from your favorite farm in Agate! Big news! We’ll be joining a brand new Maia Cooperative of local farmers and, just as when two people get married, when our farm and other farms organize a cooperative, so many good things can happen.

We’ll still be TwoInTents, but we’ll be working with a lot of new friends. As one of the founding members of Maia, we are making sure that the same quality standards that we employ are kept: no chemicals, humane and compassionate treatment of animals, non-profit management, and a strong dedication to giving back to the community.

By joining with Maia, we can keep our prices to you the same (or lower them) as we group buy seeds, equipment, animal feeds, vet care, building supplies and other things we need to do our job. And, we’ll also be able to offer all kinds of new tasty treats, too! The best news is that as our current customers, you can soon have a choice to help establish the quality standards you want, or contribute with volunteering, gardening or in other ways to either earn credit towards purchases, or greater ownership in the cooperative! Maia will be working not only to help us feed you and your family, but to empower you to feed yourself, too.

One change you will see is in our prices. In 2012, we will be offering “member” and “non-member” prices. Current subscribers will be given automatic membership in the new cooperative, so don’t worry! Another change is that you will see products from Maia, and other Maia members (Maia will also group-produce some items) sold by the pound, rather than by the 1/3 bushel or full bushel box. These can be included in your box, and when a per-pound price is offered, a conversion to boxes will be offered too so you know how many gallons or bushels a pound is.

This sort of flexibility is what we aim for: to get you what you want, when you want it, and at the price you need. Now that TwoInTents is working with Maia, you’ll have greater ability than ever before to help keep your food prices low, your quality of eating high, have greater selection, and do a lot of good for this planet and your community.
We think many small farmers working together is a good thing for every one. Let us know what you think!

Help us help the poor, sick and elderly

2011-12-19T07:22:00.001-07:00

Sometimes people feel like they just don’t have time to help the poor, sick and elderly. But even five minutes can help a lot. Separating out aluminum or other metal produces a valuable product which, when collected over many months, could even buy food – or a whole cow! – to feed the poor. But cooperation helps: it is easier to do good when you have friends. Collecting those cans with friends results in a faster turnaround.
But you can also help yourself at the same time. If you and your friends worked together to reduce your food bill by buying in bulk from a local farmer (such as those at Meadowlark), you could afford to not only eat for far less cost, but also donate some of the savings to the poor. While many of us here at Meadowlark are vegetarians, those who eat meat might spend more than $5 per pound at the grocery store for beef. And the beef prices are rising. However, by buying a cow together, raising it together and butchering it together, the cost is far less than half. Saving half on the beef means that even a fourth of the meat might be donated to the poor, the sick or the elderly.
But, even if you’re not a farmer here in Meadowlark, you can enjoy the same benefits of cooperation by working with the farmers of Meadowlark to buy meat and other foods.
You can feed your family for less than $1 per meal per day, and when you buy from Meadowlark, 15% is donated to the poor, sick and elderly automatically. What you do with your savings can improve the total help.
Those who give of themselves give a great gift to God, and the heart that burns with such passion lights the way for others to follow. When you have saved on your food bill, when you begin to give to the poor, the sick and the elderly, you begin to understand just how wealthy and strong you are; the gift is contagious. Tell all your friends.

Say hi to truck

2011-12-11T08:55:00.002-07:00

We let our birds wander freely on our farm, but most of them decide to stay at home in the pen. Truck likes the pen a lot, but also likes his daily walks.

When you visit our farm, you'll be greeted by Truck the rooster. If you're a dog, kitty, coyote or a fox, he won't be polite. Truck also doesn't like vandals, as he literally slashed the pants off of one who tried to burgle us last year. Good rooster. But if you're a nice person or one of the other animals around here, he's very courteous and will escort you everywhere. He doesn't sing much, and is a bit of a loner, but makes sure to visit everyone on the farm during the day. He especially likes laundry time, and will watch the clothes dry in the wind with attention. But he likes meal time better.

Dracula's blood thirsty days are done

2011-12-09T21:45:00.005-07:00

Count Dracula the calf has decided halloween is over. He and Pink Nose the Calf are now very good friends with Butterball the Alpaca, who has helped him work through his numerous "issues" apparently. Butterball himself used to have a lot of aggression, but now is very polite and friendly. We can remember so many examples! Pairing animals with other species sometimes helps them kick odd habits, become more productive, reduces disease, and in so many ways improves their quality of life and economics.

Dracula's blood thirsty days are done. Alpacas are excellent buddies.

Warm turkey

2011-12-08T07:46:00.002-07:00

Turkeys are warm and friendly birds, especially on cold nights when our other birds need a big friend. For less than the cost of electricity, Tom the turkey keeps our egg laying birds alive, healthy and comfortable. Tom has helpers out here on the farm: we keep two old goats who, while being worthless for meat or milk or other production, produce heat cheaper than electricity would cost and protect our poultry from the cold.

Tom, our farm turkey, is a former house pet we adopted (yes, we don't even understand why someone would have a turkey as a house pet, but we live in a tiny home and presume that when you have a large house, you have room for pets like turkeys) and is also very frightening to the several wild cats that live near by. His ferocious gobbles and chirps strike terror into the hearts of numerous small carnivores who would strike our flock. He is not defensive, like a rooster, but is naturally intimidating.

Don't let that fool you: he's very friendly bird and will come up to talk to you when you visit.

Good gravy, there's fungus among us!

2011-12-07T10:21:00.002-07:00

Quick, start the water boiling!

Fungi are delicious and nutritious and very easy to cook. A mushroom broth makes almost anything better, and if thickened a bit with some home ground flour from white winter wheat, makes good gravy. Add some natural olive oil and balsamic vinegar to taste. We like the taste of our favorite olive oil and vinegar from california and italy. What is your favorite?

If you want to go wild, add in some nice pine needles and rose hips to the gravy, and you will have a dinner that can't be beat.

Butterball no longer a turkey

2011-12-06T16:27:00.004-07:00

Butterball is our newest alpaca friend here at the farm. He was a turkey, though, and had a lot of fight in him. We try to make fighters into lovers here at the farm, and the same way that you would help a human child with too much fight is the same way you help animals best. Interspecies love. A human child would react well to a puppy, or a kitten, or even a chicken or a goose. Or a cow. Or most other species. Some nature time, with the numerous birds and bugs. Most animals are the same way.

Louie the alpaca is now best friends with Wild Thing the goat, and Wild Thing (who was quite wild, and not afraid to gore a human from past mistreatment - though not so angry at other animals) and Louie tamed each other. Now they are even friendly to people. Butterball is becoming a horse lover, and he and our gelding are getting along swimmingly now, after just a couple of days! Butterball is totally changed, and will come up to people and even be caught.

Those with even more fight than Butterball need some hands on training with people. Mental challenge helps the animals, too, and learing how to come, stay, go back, turn left or right not only keeps them better behaved, but makes them very easy to care for. And, should our animals ever get out, they are quick to go back home. Roundups are no challenge here at the ranch, and they shouldn't be: say "go home!" and all the animals do.

A little love leads to more love, and more love leads to universal love. A little training and intelligence leads to greater understanding and peace. In both people and animals.

Are tree leaves nutritious?

2011-12-05T18:20:00.001-07:00

We are currently testing the nutrient levels in the blood of our animals as we feed them tree leaves, and while tree leaves may seem unusual, they are common foods for animals in most other places. The TDN, RFV, and mineral content varies considerably from forage to forage, even two different fields of grass will be significantly different in most respects depending on species of grass, or variety of alfalfa. The FAO and many foresters agree, trees are no different. However, studies (FAO: 4.1 The Nutritive Value of Tree Legumes, Dr.B.W. Norton http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Publicat/Gutt-shel/x5556e0j.htm) indicate that there is little difference between tree leaves and most standard hays.

Many people supplement based on a belief of what they are feeding their animals. Often, they are wrong in their assumptions, and attempts to perfectly balance diet are futile unless you are working with laboratory formulated feeds, such as those which are manufactured by Purina and other vendors.

Leaves are excellent food for not only ruminants (it is the food of choice throughout most of the world, though in the Americas, we are just discovering this), but also animals with simpler stomachs. Even people eat quantities of tree leaves without harm. Some tree leaves are poisonous in small quantities, others are poisonous in large quantities; others are wholesome and healthsome in even minute quantities. Many trees have medicinal properties.
The answer for those who supplement to overcome deficiencies in diet when using conventional grass and alfalfa feeds is the same for those who supplement to overcome deficiencies in tree leaf diets: hedge on the side of too much rather than too little. Few nutrients cause disease when overfed in moderate amounts. In Colorado, selenium deficiency is common because the soil is so poor in selenium. Most leaves have about 10% crude protein, with about 60% digestibility, and while oaks may have up to 15% mean taninnic acid equivalent, most trees typically have much less than half that and 15% is not bad, if the oaks are diluted with other feed ("Nutritive Value of Tree Leaves in the Kansas Flint Hills," JR Forwood and CE Owensby: Journal of Range Management 38(1), January 1985). I, myself, enjoy the linden leaves best. They make an excellent salad.

Vampires & Bottle Calves

2011-12-05T07:51:00.004-07:00

Are there vampires? Some people will say so, especially after seeing some movies. We have a vampire kept here at the farm. We keep him locked away from the other animals for their safety. We urge caution when dealing with him: eat a clove of farm-fresh garlic before working with him.

He is a bottle calf.

Is it cruel to raise bottle calves? Some people will say so, saying it encourages the dairy industry to produce too many calves (a byproduct of making milk - mother cows won't make milk without a baby to feed) and that it is cruel to take babies from their mothers.

We don't personally agree with taking calves from their mothers so early, and would not do that to any mother animals of our own. However, it is also cruel to allow these orphan animals to be without care and not adopt them. But ultimately, you simply can't discourage the dairy farmers from doing what they do by any means.

A farmer will typically make about the same amount of food off an animal whether they raise it by milk or after it has been weaned: someone has to buy milk for the calf, whether you feed the mother or buy milk replacer. When the animal is sold after it is weaned, the farmer naturally wants to recover any investment and raises the price to account for food, and the numerous calves that natually die.

Human children rarely die in the United States, but in other nations, they die easily for lack of medicine. Cattle are the same way, but there is sometimes no medicine for cattle even if a farmer is willing to pay for it. There is no calve's hospital emergency room (as there is at children's hospital), there is sometimes an inability to diagnose problems. Even if you give the animals solid shelters where the wind and wet doesn't get in, and plenty of nurses to keep them warm, some calves naturally are loners and will not snuggle up to their nurses when it gets cold for whatever reason; electrification of barns is sometimes impossible in rural areas - at our farm, electricians won't even service us. When temperatures get sub-zero, the old and the young are going to get sick and die with greater likelihood than in better temperatures. Winter is a time of trial and death for many animals. And unfortunate people, too.

We prefer weanlings when we can get them for a good price, but this is not always an option. When we buy bottle calves, we try as much as possible to select those that are more obviously at least a few days old, and give them some colostrum when we get them home. They have free choice hay at first, as well as free choice calf starter grain, and get WARM milk-replacer three and then two times per day.

We are very careful about weaning. Calves need to develop their stomachs to be able to digest non-milk foods. We give them probiotics, mineral and vitamin supplements, and of course the solid foods (hay and starter grain) throughout their first two months, though after the first month they are transitioned to leaves instead of hay. Clean water is available for all the animals through the day, and although the ducks mess theirs up quickly, there are other sources of clean water in the same pen for the other animals to drink. We aim to wean them from the milk replacer at about one month, because its most economical, but they are given sufficient calf starter grain for the next two months. Calf starter grain has all the milk proteins in it that they need for healthy growth, and so as soon as they are ruminating well they are able to eat their milk instead of drinking it. They get the same nutrition this way, but cheaper and with less time required to feed them.

Calves will naturally suck on everything in sight for several months, even if you are feeding them well. Unfortunately, since they don't have a mother, they get their nutrition in a concentrated form and it does not satisfy their psychological drive to nurse through the day. One of our calves, named Count Dracula, has developed a bad habit of sucking tails until they bleed. He likes chili pepper to season his meal, and we can think of nothing to distract him. He used to be pacified by ropes to suck on, but prefers the warm, tit-like tails of his companions and nurses to cold ropes. Count Dracula is now isolated with a nurse who can withstand his sucking, and we can only hope he learns a new habit.

Le Menu (what's available this week?)

2011-12-04T13:30:00.002-07:00

Hello from your favorite farm in Agate!

These last two weeks were sure cold! The spinaches beginning to take hold of our cold frames are slowing down noticeably, and all the animals are becoming homebodies. This means extra work for us, as we keep their pens tidy and clean. The manure is put into the soil where it is eaten by the microorganisms still active through the winter and prepares our soil for springtime: manure in last year's aisles prepares next year's beds!

NEW THIS WEEK:
Fresh snow, ice and cold wind. Free. Take as much as you like. Pick up at the farm only. Limited, while supplies last.

READY FOR THE COOK:
Beef Sausages - - - traditional recipe from Europe. Hot or mild.

Mushroom pasta - - - We served this to some hardy volunteers, and they liked it! Either ask for pasta included or not. Portabello and oyster mushrooms, wheat, and natural olive oil, with a spice packet!

Roast Chevon - - - Fresh natural goat meat with your choice of natural wild spices or more traditional recipes.

December rose hip tea - - - rose hips, pine needles and cottonwood. This will perk you up, a warm drink on a cold night.

~~~BEANS~~~

Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~FRUIT~~~
Next harvest, estimated in Summer

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~MEAT~~~
Goat
Beef

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
Dried portabello
Dried oyster

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
Mung bean sprouts (early harvest - warm winter!) - planted only upon demand
Coming soon: spinach!

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Dock
Seed
Cottonwood

Immigration reform

2011-12-02T19:03:00.002-07:00

Let us tonight remember those in prison, both those who suffer for their crime, and those who are wrongty held to account for the crimes of others, or for those crimes which they had long ago suffered and atoned for. Let us remember those in prison whose only crime was desiring democracy and human rights. Let us remember their suffering with compassion, and encourage their families who are by their imprisonment bereft of their family's leadership and support. Let us remember their discomfort and humbly thank the almighty God of justice who knows their pain more than we can.

Let us today remember our immigration law, a law whose inhospitality is a shame to our nation, placing those who seek our friendship and help in prison, or returning them to their torment far from the home of their hearts. Let us remember the fear of our prisons compels even good citizens to acts of cowardice when their hearts would have them undertake righteous acts of goodness on behalf of their brothers and sisters.

Let us remember today that these are our prisons. That we are a free people, a democratic people, a people of laws of our own making. That we build these prisons with our own money, that we staff them with officers of our courts, undertaking the orders of our own Judges. Let us today pray that when we ourselves are Judged, in the courts we made or before our own maker, we shall have greater mercy than we have bestowed upon our own condemned. Let us remember the limits of human mercy, and stand in awe of that tremendous mercy we needlessly fear.

Tonight we pray, remember us, these wretched beggars, who ask for what we do not deserve, who fear that which loves us, and hates that which would do us homage.

Nature tour!

2011-11-28T07:00:00.002-07:00

On December 8, TwoInTents will leading a nature tour of the wild edible and medicinal plants of the I-70 Corridor in Bennett, Colorado. You can feed your family all year long with what nature provides; we always have enough. Please RSVP at 720-833-8795.

Tire bales make great shelters

2011-11-25T15:14:00.004-07:00

We have built three new shelters in two days out of tire bales!

Each tire bale weighs 2,000 pounds, meaning that it not only provides excellent heat absorption during the daytime (keeping animals warm at night), but also that it recycles that much waste. We are building multispecies shelters so that our animals may be better housed together, and besides 30 tire bales per shelter, scrapwood, recycled tarps and other recycled materials are put to use reducing our costs of production (making food, fiber and other anima products cheaper for people). More than 70,000 pounds of waste are recycled in every pen.

The tire bales are engineered to withstand more than 60,000 pounds of force in any direction, making them the new, hottest material in civil engineering! The tire bales require a bobcat to move, which is very hard on the soil of the animal pens. Luckily, we rotate pens, reclaiming them between uses, so that our animals always have good turf to walk on.

Though recycling is big money, agriculture is always on the forefront of the industry, developing low-tech methods of recycling. However, low-tech often inspires high-tech, and we understand that tire bales are going out of style as higher uses for the old tires are found: a new machine just invented will allow recyclers to earn nearly $10 per tire by converting the tire into diesel fuel (about 1.5 gallons per tire), scrap steel (more than a pound per tire) and also carbon black. That's about 23 times more value per tire than baling them!

And baling the tires is about 4.5 times more value than loose tires (which we also use on our farm). Technology improves, and suddenly, the recycled material which farmers could get for free is rendered into products envied by civil engineers and becomes beyond their ability to buy. Luckily, there's more kinds of rubbish than tires, and the farmer will find new materials to use: there's always new forms of junk.

Le Menu (what's ready to order?)

2011-11-23T07:54:00.001-07:00

Hello from your favorite farm in Agate!

This week we are building up pens out of tires that were donated. This recycling puts tons of waste to productive use, and is sanctioned and encouraged by the EPA. While we do use loose tires, we have just recieved compressed "tire bales," each one weighing about 2,000 pounds. Luckily, the weather's been nice and warm. We are building two shelters inside every pen: one for large or medium sized quadrapeds, and one for birds (usually ducks and chickens). We mix different kinds of seeds in our fields because biodiversity results in greater health and production for our plants. The same is true for our animals. With our plants, biodiversity allows predators to live in our field, and defend our plants, their shelter-homes. It also improves soil microflora, allowing the microorganisms to keep each other in check and not cause disease. With our animals, the birds (who are free to roam, but usually stay at home - except for a few of them) help reduce insects and other pests in the pens, and in numerous other ways keep our quadrapeds safe and sound. In return, the larger quadrapeds keep our birds safer from hawks, feral cats, foxes and other predators, and our medium - sized quadrapeds keep the birds warm at night (a goat is a very warm body in the coop in winter, and produces more heat and better heat than an electric heat lamp or fire). Our animals are so happy at home that we can leave our gates open and our cattle do not even wander out the door: a safe, clean pen with plenty of high quality food and fresh water, adequate shelter and friends (of the same and other species) is a great place to be. Better than the vegetable gardens we plant right on the other side of the fence!

NEW THIS WEEK:
*** Turkey from Thomas Farms, also in Elbert County, a partner farm of Two In Tents. Their birds are naturally and compassionately raised by an ambitious young farmer, still in grade school. Choose white or dark meat to be added to your regular box! Or the whole bird. We are out of turkey right now, but highly suggest trying Thomas Farms turkey.
*** Goat and beef from Albrecht Ranch, also in Elbert County, a partner farm of Two In Tents. Their goat and beef is naturally and compassionately raised by an ambitious young farmer, just out of college. Choose your cut, or get quarters or halves or whole animals in your regular box. We are running low on goat and beef right now, but are proud to work with Albrecht Ranch while our animals do their best to grow up.

READY FOR THE COOK:
Mushroom stuffing - - - Inspired by seeing some beautiful wild oyster mushrooms dried on the tree while out on a walk (they were a little far gone, but the farm-raised articles are still good!). Includes portabello and oyster mushrooms (dry) with wheat and a delicious bean mix, seasoned with pine, cottonwood and rose hips.

Goat rib soup - - - Chevon in the pot with mushrooms, wheat and barley makes for a hearty dinner.

December rose hip tea - - - rose hips, pine needles and cottonwood. This will perk you up, a warm drink on a cold night.

~~~BEANS~~~
Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~FRUIT~~~
Next harvest, estimated in Summer

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~MEAT~~~
Goat
Beef

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
Dried portabello
Dried oyster

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
Mung bean sprouts (early harvest - warm winter!) - planted only upon demand
Coming soon: spinach! Just sprouting.

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Dock Seed
Cottonwood

contest from the fallowfield art, craft and technology guild

2011-11-22T09:14:00.002-07:00

AGATE -- A new Fallowfield Art, Craft and Technology Guild is already planning five contests to assist in recruitment, with cash and other prizes. A fine arts competition using recycled materials, a culinary arts competition using pine needles, a motion picture competition for musicians, actors and other performance artists, an alpaca fiber competition for crafters and a dam designing competition for technological scientists. Contact Aaron Brachfeld at 303-335-9952 or brachfeldbrachfeld@gmail.com for more information, or for an entry application.
The FACT Guild is forming as part of the Brachfeld Corp.’s recycling efforts. “We seek to empower local artisans in ensuring that agricultural recycling efforts (which are encouraged by the laws of Colorado) are undertaken tastefully and beautifully,” explained Aaron Brachfeld, President of the Brachfeld Corp. “This way, the walls, pens, and numerous agricultural structures of participating farms and ranches may serve not only the economic and practical needs of agriculture, but serve to inspire greatness within the community. Recycling is a thing which must occur. It is undertaken for the benefit of nature and for the economy of the public which cannot afford fantastic trash bills. Agricultural industry can make better use of most trash than any other industry, transforming waste products into lower food prices, affordable medicine, inexpensive fuel, and quality clothing for the poor. We can no longer afford to throw away the greater part of our wealth and it is fitting that our community’s artists should direct this necessary effort.”
The first meeting of the Guild is scheduled for December 10 at the Brachfeld facility in Agate, Colorado, but a second meeting on December 17 will be held in the Denver area.

Pumpkins are thoughtful and whistful

2011-11-21T10:35:00.004-07:00

We are still going through halloween pumpkins, and the birds and goats share them well. The birds like the seeds and goop best, and the goats like the rinds best. Nobody likes the stems. When we were working our ox, Macaucau, he was sorely tempted by the pumpkin storage area when he caught a glimpse of what was inside. But he kept working, good ox. Tom and Izzy just stare at the pumpkin storage area almost all day, making thoughtful and whistful noises. We have in the past given them more, but they are actually very full. Just thoughtful and whistful.

Alpaca and Llama cooperative forming

2011-11-20T13:32:00.003-07:00

AGATE, COLORADO - A Fallowfield Alpaca and Llama Cooperative for alpaca and llama farmers and ranchers is being organized that will help members earn more from their animals. Organizers hope that at the same time they may improve affordability and quality for buyers by helping alpaca and llama farming become more efficient.

"Alpaca fiber is a superior fiber, and llamas provide an excellent draft or pack animal; there is no shortage of demand. However, alpaca fiber and llamas are typically too expensive for most consumers because of tremendous costs of production. But these costs can be reduced through cooperation," said Mary Choate, of TwoInTents farm.

One class of membership will be offered. "Producers will be able to contribute money, or items in kind such as crias or adult animals, feed, labor or fiber in exchange for shares in the revenues and discounts as buyers. Buyers will recieve discounts on already discounted group-bought needs (such as crias, adult animals, feed, labor and veterinary care) based on their amount of ownership. Revenues from sales will be divided by ownership," explains Choate. By combining resources and teaming with other cooperatives, FALC may be able to reduce costs of production to near-zero amounts.

But FALC will also have community service aspects that differentiate it from a simple buy/sell cooperative. "We will be donating some of what we produce - raw fiber, blankets, clothing and even animals - to charities, and directly to the working poor, the sick, the elderly and others in need. This is not only good for the community we are a part of, but it makes good fiscal sense as well."

Organizational meetings are scheduled through the end of the year, and the cooperative is expected to begin operations in January 2012. Farmers interested in becoming founding members may contact Mary Choate at TwoInTents farm, twointents@gmail.com.

Assembly line theory

2011-11-19T06:55:00.006-07:00

Jethro Tull admired one of his neighbors who, not being able to afford horses or oxen or even a plow, took a shovel to the aisles of his cabbage field. A small field well tilled produces more profit than a large field poorly tilled, and organizing your land - whether it is as small as a patio or as large as several hundred acres - so that you can do your work well is important. This concept was inspirational to Henry Ford, the manufacturer, who made a new “mass production theory.” This theory was quickly applied to farming, through the development of tractors and large feed lots.

However, since Ford, a new “Assembly Line” theory has been developed by leaders such as Edward Demming. One practical application of Assembly Line Theory may be made to the keeping of animals. If animals are looked at as sources of manure for the fields (though they usually contribute more than that to the farm!), you would want to organize your fields to be as close to your pens as possible, organizing pens and fields against the same gate and against the same driveway. Instead of having large pastures and large fields which are easily worked by an expensive tractor designed to easily convey the manure from the pastures to the fields, an alternative is to have numerous small pens (with a handful of animals) and numerous small fields, easily worked by hand.

A further advantage is in disease control. If one pen gets an infection, it will not likely spread to another pen. Because manure may so easily and quickly moved from the pen to the field and turned into the aisles, pens stay cleaner: the same farmer who would need to take a wheel barrow 500 feet will have, in the course of 10 pen cleanings, traveled over 3/4 mile further than a farmer who has to only carry the manure 50 feet, saving 3-5 hours of work, long enough to clean a small pen some 6-10 times. While a farmer may need to make rounds to the animals over further distance, organizing the pens against a driveway in a line reduces this time: feed, water and other provisions are easily provided for along the line, and may even be stocked near to the area of manure production.

Tractors and other equipment are expensive, and while the costs don’t usually outweigh the benefits, the fields may be adapted to facilitate a tractor, with small pens located throughout a field and large connections between fields that can actually be cultivated as well, and if the farmer wishes to drive a truck to care for the animals, a dirt track can be maintained along the line of pens. A disadvantage to the system is that it requires many more hundreds of feet in walls and fences, and numerous more shelters, but if the farmer is using recycled materials, this results in no actual increase in cost and the line may be built easily.

A farm assembly line appears in many respects to resemble numerous microfarms, but coordinated to conserve waste. In most cases, assembly lines are very efficient with labor, so much so that robotics and other mechanization popular with mass production are less efficient than human hands. As Jethro Tull noticed, the cabbage farmer with the shovel was producing superior work and profit, but the shovel was not adapted to a large field. We see today that a city garden is more fruitful than some of the best farmland in the exurbs and rural lands. A farmer needs a large field, but organizing it to accommodate the shovel instead of the plow is smart work.

The system can be scaled back if labor is lacked, and when it is scaled up, a payrolled farm worker or a very used tractor, or an ox and plow may be acquired so that greater revenues are earned from their work than expended upon them.

Wanda the chicken feeling better, thanks!

2011-11-18T10:10:00.003-07:00

After a week of recovery, Wanda is fully recovered. Her leg, broken mysteriously, has healed straight and she is putting her full weight on it again. The most difficult part of her adventure? Being restrained for a week in cage (she is used to being free on the range).

At least a human can be told why they are being cooped up, and can even help with their own recovery by taking medicine, doing what doctors order, or even laying still. Confinement for an animal - even for medical reasons - is difficult because they do not understand.

It's a time to thoughtfully reflect on how many chickens spend their lives in smaller cages than what she was kept in, and die from lack of veterinary care. But it is also a time to reflect how, when free, most of our birds prefer the pens we make for them so they're safe.

The fine line between cruel restraint and providing safe places is made by the intention of the fence or wall or cage: is it for the animal's benefit, or for the human's? Sometimes we all need restrained so our bodies can heal, sometimes even a person needs to be protected from themselves when they are sick or hazardous to themselves or others.

19 tons of hay per acre

2011-11-16T07:26:00.000-07:00

Alternative crops are sometimes better. Who would turn down 19 tons of hay per acre, if it were more nutritious than grass, 10% protein, and required almost no care except harvest?

Think cottonwoods. They even have high palatability.

Need dams or windbreaks?

2011-11-16T07:13:00.004-07:00

As a non-profit, we are happy to help anyone who wants to bring their dry, seasonal or active creeks to greater fertility! Dams and windbreaks are inexpensive to construct, and the extra water can allow for tremendous quantities of human or animal food, or even speciality crops. Contact Aaron, at 303-833-8795, or at twointents@gmail.com

Happy America Recycles Day!

2011-11-15T09:06:00.002-07:00

Today is America Recycles Day! How are you celebrating?

http://americarecyclesday.org/

Here's the official presidential proclamation!

Presidential Proclamation--America Recycles Day
AMERICA RECYCLES DAY, 2010
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
Each small act of conservation, when combined with other innumerable deeds across the country, can have an enormous impact on the health of our environment. On America Recycles Day, we celebrate the individuals, communities, local governments, and businesses that work together to recycle waste and develop innovative ways to manage our resources more sustainably.
Americans already take many steps to protect our planet, participating in curbside recycling and community composting programs, and expanding their use of recyclable and recycled materials. Recycling not only preserves our environment by conserving precious resources and reducing our carbon footprint, but it also contributes to job creation and economic development. This billion-dollar industry employs thousands of workers nationwide, and evolving our recycling practices can help create green jobs, support a vibrant American recycling and refurbishing industry, and advance our clean energy economy.
While we can celebrate the breadth of our successes on America Recycles Day, we must also recommit to building upon this progress and to drawing attention to further developments, including the recycling of electronic products. The increased use of electronics and technology in our homes and society brings the challenge of protecting human health and the environment from potentially harmful effects of the improper handling and disposal of these products. Currently, most discarded consumer electronics end up in our landfills or are exported abroad, creating potential health and environmental hazards and representing a lost opportunity to recover valuable resources such as rare earth minerals.
To address the problems caused by electronic waste, American businesses, government, and individuals must work together to manage these electronics throughout the product lifecycle -- from design and manufacturing through their use and eventual recycling, recovery, and disposal. To ensure the Federal Government leads as a responsible consumer, my Administration has established an interagency task force to prepare a national strategy for responsible electronics stewardship, including improvements to Federal procedures for managing electronic products. This strategy must also include steps to ensure electronics containing hazardous materials collected for recycling and disposal are not exported to developing nations that lack the capacity to manage the recovery and disposal of these products in ways that safeguard human health and the environment.
On America Recycles Day, let us respond to our collective responsibility as a people and a Nation to be better stewards of our global environment, and to pass down a planet to future generations that is better than we found it.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 15, 2010, as America Recycles Day. I call upon the people of the United States to observe this day with appropriate programs and activities, and I encourage all Americans to continue their recycling efforts throughout the year.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA

Perhaps too much time with the ducks?

2011-11-14T12:59:00.003-07:00

Louie the alpaca has made good friends with the ducks. Perhaps he is spending too much time with the ducks... he is splashing in mud puddles, and when we refill the duck ponds, he likes playing in the hose water, diving through the stream. When the ducks think its time for a swim, so does Louie.

Le Menu (what's avaialble to order?)

2011-11-12T18:54:00.004-07:00

The wind and cold snow blows, but it's warm and dry inside. In the winter it's easy to forget just how many delicious greens are available. This week, try our fresh sprouts with some wild greens, sip pine tea by your fire while reading your favorite book.

NEW THIS WEEK:
*** Mung bean sprouts

READY FOR THE COOK:
Wild sprout stir fry mix-in - - - a mix of sprouts, seasonal herbs, organic olive oil and your choice of extra mushrooms, beef or goat. Just add to your favorite pasta, and cook according to the directions.

Pine and willow tea - - - how wonderful this is by a warm fire on a cold night! Refreshing at the end of a day.

~~~BEANS~~~
Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~FRUIT~~~
Next harvest, estimated in Summer

~~~FLOWERS~~~
Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~
Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~MEAT~~~
Goat
Beef
Pork

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~
Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~
Dried portabello
Dried oyster

~~~VEGETABLES~~~
***Mung bean sprouts (early harvest - warm winter!)
Coming soon: spinach! Just sprouting.

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~
Dock Seed
Cottonwood

Let's make blankets!

2011-11-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

On December 10, 2011, from 10 until 2, we'll be making alpaca blankets, felt and other warm clothing out at the farm! The blankets, felt and other warm clothing will be given freely to the working poor, the elderly, the sick and others in need. Come learn a new skill or practice your art while helping your community! More information, call 720-833-8795

We recycled more than 12,000 pounds of scrapwood yesterday!

2011-11-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we recycled more than 12,000 pounds of scrapwood into a windbreak that will help us raise trees for food, medicine and fuel! Because of its beneficial use, it is not rubbish...

http://www.themeadowlarkherald.com/motion_pictures

Debris essential to reforestation

2011-11-09T07:37:00.000-07:00

Drs. Tomasz Zielonka and Mats Nildasson (Ecological Bulletins, 2001. 49:159-163) of the Institute of Botany in the Polish Academy of Sciences and the Southern Sweedish Forest Research Center of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences remark how important it is for dead wood to be present in a healthy forest. However, when reforesting, it is necessary and beneficial to introduce your own deadwood. In establishing the windbreaks you read about in today’s Herald, remember that the deadwood, as it decomposes, improves the soil and, in the time that the lowest levels of the windbreak decompose, the tree roots will be seeking the vital organic material there. A thick layer of mulch near the trees will not go amiss, either. Deadwood, according to the Doctors, significantly assists the establishment of new trees and the regeneration of forests.

We investigated regeneration patterns and dead wood dynamics in high altitude natural Norway spruce Picea abies forest in the Tatra Mountains, Polish Western Carpathians, and used dendrochronological cross-dating to asses the age of fallen logs. We compared the exact time since tree death with physical features reflected in a 5-degree classification of the decomposition stage. In more decayed logs where wood samples were impossible to cross-date we used the maximum age of saplings growing on logs as an indicator of minimum log age. The total volume of dead wood on the forest floor was ca 60 m³ / ha. Dead wood covered ca 5% of the forest floor. The log ages were for class A (least decayed) -- up to 4 yr, for class B: 8-44 yr and for class C: 44-115 yr. The minimum age of the most decayed classes D and E was estimated to 50 and 60 yr, respectively. One year-old seedlings were present on logs of all decay stages except on fresh windbreaks and windthrows of class A. The highest number of seedlings was found on logs in decay classes C and D which indicates that the middle stage of decomposed wood is the best substrate for germination. The successful cross-dating of over one hundred years old spruce logs is an evidence that some portion of fallen logs may escape fast deterioration even in species normally regarded as not resistant to decay.

A promise

2011-11-08T07:33:00.000-07:00

In farming and ranching, despite the boasts of science and technology against the so-called inconveniences of nature, there remains a lack of confidence in these powerful tools by those whom they were made. A sick animal can be taken into the barn, given antibiotic and medicine, warmed by blankets and even electric heat, and despite these cares, might still die if the veterinarian failed to either diagnose the correct disease or if the microorganism somehow mutated in adaptation. Fields might be worked with extraordinary care employing the most advanced understandings of soil chemistry to prevent disease, but may yet be eaten by deer. A cat might break into the chick brooder. Thieves and vandals may utterly destroy a farm, and perhaps even killing the husband and wife. A thousand things can go wrong.
But usually they don’t. The agricultural insurance agencies offer excellent rates because, due to the advances of technology and science, a crop failure need never happen except under force of God. Nature, at whom our worthy ancestors brandished bloody axes, sacrificed puppies, or in other ways attempted to placate or intimidate, has largely been tamed and so, in thanksgiving a farmer or rancher no longer needs to bestow great attention to the pantheon of minor deities who once mattered so much to their fathers and mothers, but to the single God who empowered them by knowledge and insight to defend themselves and who reserved the humbling trials of total disaster for some future day.
This Thanksgiving, let us contemplate how we would encounter such total disaster. Against thieves and the ravages of war, we have an honorable fight; against disease we have the patient pursuit of medical science; against floods we may build dams and dikes; we may alter the course of rivers, move mountains and, by powers exceeding those the ancient rites we have given up, aspire to even contemplate the magnitude of our blessings from our God, and catch a glimpse of those larger fields we till but a part of and those magnificent pastures into which we, ourselves, with our cattle, are daily led.

Le Menu (what's available to order)

2011-11-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

This week was undeniably colder, and the crisp autumn air is beginning to harden into winter. Time for soup!

READY FOR THE COOK:

AMERICAN SOUP MIX. This soup mix includes your choice of extra mushrooms, beef or goat, and a double top selection of gourmet beans, grains and spices that are ready to combine in a pot with a prescribed amount of water. (OK we'll tell you: cranberry beans, soldier beans, pinto beans, white wheat, and lundberg's wehini rice - would you believe Colorado is not good rice country? - and a seasoning mix of garlic sprouts, mushrooms, sea salt and pepper)
WILD SOUP MIX. This is an interesting and refreshing soup, facinating and designed against winter fever (sometimes mistaken as the flu). Includes cottonwood, willow, pine needles, thistle root, rose hips, wheat and barley, with salt and pepper.
CARNIVORE'S TREAT: A cut of meat you have not tried or is your favorite (you get to choose) with pine needles and willow and a recipe for your marinade.

~~~BEANS~~~

Anasazi
Black
Black eyed peas
Canellini
Cranberry
Fava
Jacob's Cattle
Kidney
Lentil
Mung
Pinto
Soldier Beans

~~~EGGS~~~
Next harvest estimated in Spring

~~~FRUIT~~~

Next harvest, estimated in Summer

~~~FLOWERS~~~

Winter bouquets

~~~GRAIN~~~

Barley
Oats
Sunflower
White Wheat

~~~MEAT~~~

Goat
Beef
Pork

~~~MEDICINAL HERBS AND TEAS~~~

Pine needles (delicious, nutritious, revitalizing!)
Rose Hips (delicious, vitamin C)
Thistle Root (supports liver)
Winter willow, aspen and poplar (antiinflamatory, powerful painkiller - use like aspirin)

~~~MUSHROOMS~~~

Dried portabello
Dried oyster

~~~VEGETABLES~~~

Next harvest, estimated in December: sprouts! : )

~~~WILD HARVESTS~~~

Dock Seed
Cottonwood

Scenic Trash of Elbert County

2011-11-07T07:11:00.000-07:00

In Elbert County we find many things put to use that find new life and are no longer rubbish. We find many things, brand new, cast away on the roadside like soda cans and lunch wrappers that become rubbish. But the State law is clear: farmers know best what to do for the raising of crops and animals, and should be allowed to employ whatever materials are necessary without the censure of their work being called rubbish.

Prosperous Matheson is home to some of the most picturesque farms in Elbert County where the rolling hills of Agate begin to fall to the plains. The communities are linked by road and spirit, and though you can find the old Agate School bus parked along Highway 83, soon, as Agate fades forever, the two peoples will finally sunder. Yet there too you see rubbish, but of a different sort. Instead of peacefully at rest, rubbish is laid aside for use, and is actively used as soon as it may. This sort of zealous energy for farming is to be admired, and thankfully is encouraged by the protection of State laws.

Down the Matheson Road, a beautiful windbreak for the cattle can be seen out of scrap metal and tires. The tires are falling down in some places, but is still functional! Though our tire walls and pens are larger, we are not proud; we all do what we can and admire and learn from each other’s efforts. Larger is not necessarily better: in the arts of recycling, efficiency and utility matter most. The scenic trash of Elbert County is so because it reminds us of the beauty of utilitarianism, as each work of art speaks of the ingenuity and love for the animals and crops and land bestowed by the craftsmen responsible for it.

Even in prosperous western County where the horses are worth more than most of the inoperable vehicles in eastern County, tires are used as culverts and walls and gardens, and so many other uses besides. Farms and ranches, no matter their wealth, need rubbish to work the land, it is often the only affordable material to choose. State law protects farmers and ranchers in numerous ways, providing special protection and rights to farmers and ranchers who make their own food, who undertake the use of horses, who raise cattle or other animals, or in other ways secure our State’s economy with a dependable economic engine that has outlasted silver booms and busts, technology booms and busts and will even outlast those commuting revenues that Elbert County has in recent times attempted to cultivate.

There is enough room in Elbert County for all of us, and whether on your farm you wear muck boots or sandals, whether you enjoy at the end of the day a hot plate of rice and tofu or beef and potatoes, the diversity of Elbert County’s farming and ranching community stands unified in the practice of recycling materials and keeping hold of things that may one day be again useful.

Advanced chemistry

2011-11-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

We love chemistry, its one of our favorite sciences. From the delicate workings of soil bacteria to the magnificence of the biosphere, there are always new questions and insights to gain. However, sometimes we learn something so astounding that the boasts of alchemests of old seem likley: today we learned how to transform metal into animals.

Cattle are excellent investments, and at an entry price of between $50 and $150 for holstein calves (plus milk and medicine), it is a market everyone who has some land can enter. Even if your metal earns but a nickel per pound, a half-ton of metal (which can often be collected easily) can be transformed into a cow. Or two to three pigs. Or some 25 chickens. Or even 50lbs of grain or legumes, which when planted will produce hundreds of pounds of food. The possibilities are endless, and presents a unique way by which we can feed the poor by helping the ecology in the collection and recycling of "rubbish."

Our farm now has a blog!

2011-11-06T14:10:00.000-07:00

Wow! We now have a blog! Our first post!

What a great place to announce a contest with excellent prizes for first, second and third place!

Every correct answer is entered to win, but EVERY answer with supporting citation from the law gets a bonus prize.

Does Elbert County's rubbish ordinance apply to

a) Agricultural lands
b) Industrial lands
c) All lands but agricultural and industrial lands
d) All lands, period