Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Biological Farming: Why farm Biologically? + What is Biological farming?



Welcome to our first post in our series of Biological Farming 101, in which we will be looking at lots of areas of our farming practices and how we tackle tasks around the farm. Such as pruning, pest control, science of remineralizing our soils, and many more. We will be posting a new entry every month (near the end), so be sure to keep coming back!

In this first post we are going to cover why we have chosen to farm biological, what it means to us, and what it means to you, our customers. If you have any questions at the end, please leave us a comment, we would love to answer your questions!

Why We Farm Biological
In 2003 we decided to go certified organic. After three years of transition, in 2006, we became Certified Organic. But that wasn’t enough for us. We wanted to do more, to do better, for our customers, and for our soils. Today, we are Biological Farmers using certified organic inputs. Just because a farm is certified organic, that doesn’t mean the farmer is embracing the soil biology or minerals. What certified organic does is guarantee that your food will be free of GMO’s and pesticides. We wanted more, we wanted Nutrient Density.

What is Biological Farming?
Biological farming is like going back to old school, to a time before NPK (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) fertilizers were common place instead are used more judicially. Biological farming looks at the whole picture in a holistic way. Examining exactly what is in the soil; considering all 79 minerals, and the delicate balance of them in the soil food web. An end result that can be directly seen by the farmer and consumer is the final products improved Nutrient Density.

What we found when we first started farming biologically was that our soils were deficient of all 79 minerals including soil carbon, which is the food and shelter for microbes. It’s necessary to have minerals to feed microbes, the microbes in turn solubilize the minerals. Making them available to the plant. It is these 79 minerals in a balanced for in the plant that make Nutrient Dense food.

A Note About Nutrient Density
I’m sure we’ve all seen things in the super market with the labeling of “Nutrient Dense” but what does that actually mean? In Biological Farming it means more minerals per ounce of food and that requires active biology in the soil. Those “Nutrient Dense” labels you see in the supermarkets are often labeled that way because of the absence of problematic ingredients- fat, sugar, and sodium- not for the inclusion of of beneficial nutrients they might contain. This is because there is no regulated way for food labeling of Nutrient Density, even though there are regulated ways for testing for it.

The difference between Biological Farming and Certified Organic Farming?
The simplest way to think about the differences in the two farming practices is that Certified Organic Farming doesn’t use salt based fertilizers, or pesticides. Biological farming is taking it to the next level in looking at the whole picture and how to improve, and restore the soil biology and mineralization.

Benefits of Biological Farming the farmer sees
Biological farming is not the short term solution most farmers are use to. These farmers are use to going out applying a fertilizer or pesticide and seeing results in a few days, this can make them impatient with how Biological farmers handle the same problems. Biological farmers see long term solutions to their problems, which is also tied into their holistic approach. Another benefit we’ve already touched on is Nutrient Density, having a higher nutrient density can be seen through BRIX- sugar content and soluble solids- which also means higher yields. Most crops are sold based on a measurement of weight, and the heavier crop, the more yield the farmer sees. In biological farming quality drives yield where as in conventional farming (or even certified organic farming) yield drives dilution of nutrition.

What this means for consumers?

The biggest way that consumers are going to see a benefit is the nutrient density of biologically grown foods. We hope that this also results in, instead of taking vitamins and supplements everyday, you get to eat a delicious bowl of berries, or other produce that your body can get all the minerals and vitamins from, to keep you healthy in a natural way; in other words, food will replace supplements.


Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Black Raspberry Pruning 2016


This machines attachments we designed and build over this past winter. We made them so we easily prune our Black Raspberry planting.


For more of our adventure in pruning black raspberries check out our album on Facebook!

Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Bob Wilt's Talk from ProfitAg Winter 2016 Conference

Today we thought we would share a talk owner, Bob Wilt gave in MN last month with ProfitAg at their winter conference. It's a long video but these are the farming practices we believe in, and implement and it a great look at behind the scenes of what we do to make our berries so nutrient dense.


Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, March 19, 2016

March 2016 Newsletter

Spring Is Here!

News From Around the Farm

We can not believe March is already here! 2016 is flying by so fast! Before we know it, it will be harvest time again. Sorry about getting this newsletter out a bit later than normal, the office has been passing around a really awful cold and everyone is just now getting back to being healthy. 
We've finished pruning our blueberries and are starting to tackle pruning on the black raspberries. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for pictures of how we take care of the black raspberries. (Coming later this month)

New Products In Our Shop

We have a few of new products up in our store, with more going up later this month. 
Our New Products:
Coming Soon:
Dried Aronia Berries
Dried Aronia Berry + Blueberry mix
Blog News: This month will be the first month we have our Farming 101 series (the name might change, we're still working on it!) where we cover a topic that we deal with everyday and a more in depth look at how we farm. We will post to our social medias when it goes live.
Other News: For months now we have been working on ourfrozen shipping prices and looking for a way to get them lower so we can ship at better rates for you guys. Well we are in the final steps of signing new shipping contracts and we are excited to be able to ship internationally at considerably better rates, as well as domestic. We will be rolling out new shipping prices in the coming months. During this time please be patient with our site while everything is updated and changed. You can always call us to place your order. 

Food For Thought

These are the articles we found over the last month and just had to share with you all. 
We will have Black Raspberries (and products) and  aronia berries (and more products) available to purchase after the Harvest of 2016. 

Cold Weather Shipping is Back!

We know a lot of you guys have been waiting for our cold weather shipping to come back. For those of you who are new to our site, every winter we are able to offer better shipping prices on our frozen berries. We are able to do this by shipping by ground rather than by 2-day air, which is standard in our store online. To take advantage of our ground shipping this winter, give us a call at 541-752-0460 (10 am to 4 pm, PST). 

Winter + Holiday Office Hours

Our Winter hours are Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST. 


Healthy Oatmeal Cups

Easy, fast, make ahead breakfast cups. Great for kids + adults. 

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not quick) 
  • 2/3 cup brown sugar 
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder 
  • 1 teaspoon salt  
  • 3/4 cup milk 
  • 2 eggs 
  • 1/2 cup applesauce 
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
  • 3/4 cup blueberries, sliced bananas, sliced strawberries, chocolate chips, or dried aronia berries.
Instructions:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and spray a muffin tin with baking spray. 
  • In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla extract. Stir in desired fruit of choice. Using an ice cream scoop, place scoops of the oatmeal mixture in each cup. Sprinkle additional fruit on top. 
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until middles are set. Let oatmeal cups cool in the pan. Enjoy!
Notes: Store in an airtight container, will stay firm at room temperature. If there's any left after a few days, refrigerate for up to two weeks. 


Labels: , , , ,