The second annual BearPower Harvest Party will feature FREE small bites crafted by local chefs from local food. We’re pairing delicious food with family activities and eco-friendly information.
Our Local Chefs
This is your chance to celebrate community grown food! Join us 12-3pm on Sunday, September 22, 2019. The event will take place at the White Bear Area YMCA Community Gardens, at 2100 Orchard Lane behind the YMCA building. We’ll be serving food until we run out, so join the party early. We’ll be inside the YMCA if the weather is really bad, so this is a rain or shine event!
Follow the Harvest Party Facebook Event for Updates and Fun!
Last year’s event was a blast!
Local Food
Farmer Butch pulls a Rutabaga!
Much of the produce was grown in local community Gardens. Our own WBL School District (Central, Lakeaires, Matoska and Oneka) the WBL Health Partners Clinic Garden, Tamarack Nature Center Garden and the YMCA Community Gardens are all sharing produce for the event. Local organic farm, All Good Organics, will again be donating lots of organic grown goodness to round out our garden harvests.
Local Chefs
Chef Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants + Chef Peggy of Margaux’s Table
Chefs Matt Ellison of Bonfire Restaurants and Peggy Doran of Margaux’s Table are donating their time and talents to turn the food into tasty meals. They’ere even inviting a few lucky kids to help them prep food before the party starts! Contact me directly if you are interested in helping the chefs too. Local fall veggies will delight your taste buds; think Fall soup + rustic salad… but the exact recipes will have to wait as the chefs see what produce rolls in the day before!
In addition to the
veggies, BearPower has brought more community goodness together. Pine
Tree Apple Orchard and the White
Bear Area Emergency Food Shelf are teaming up again to hand out apples and raise awareness of
local hunger issues and how you can help. Farmers Market favorite, Great
Harvest Bread Company, is donating bread to
use in the small bites that will be served. All Good Organics will be on site
to talk about organic farming and will likely have something delicious to give
away!
Activities
WBL Seed Library
The YMCA will be holding a few Kids’ Fitness classes in the garden. The White Bear Lake Seed Library will be giving seed saving demonstrations and information on their organization, housed in our downtown public library. BearPower is bringing family fun with giant yard games and ways to make healthy eating and activities a part of your routine. Everyone’s favorite carrot, Chomp, will be on site to get kids pumped about living healthy.
Kids with Chomp at last year’s Harvest Party
The WBL schools will have a table about their gardens, and teachers on site to talk about schoolyard gardens. Ramsey County Master Gardeners will be available for your gardening Q&A. Forks in the Dirt will have a table about the impact of eating local, getting kids in the garden and gardening tips. Our local WBL PD will be there as well with ideas for staying safe while out and about.
Event Grew from Love
Dr. Keeler at a previous BearPower event
This event grew from long-time Health Partners physician, Dr. Elsa Keeler, and her commitment to growing healthy families. Dr. Keeler is taking a leave of absence while working hard to fight cancer.
Let’s take some time to celebrate all we’ve grown this season! Hope to see you there… you don’t get to vote unless you sample 😉
Here are my top picks for local Organic Apple Orchards, plus some bonus ‘almost’ organic orchards.
The golden days of fall are that much better when you get to crunch into a crisp apple you just picked off a tree…
But not many of us grow enough apples to eat our fill- let alone make apple sauce, jelly, and baked goods we crave come fall. Enter the family trip to the apple orchard, one of many Minnesotans’ beloved traditions.
Organic orchard options are popping up around the metro as people are becoming more aware of how pesticides and herbicides often used in traditionally run orchards can come home on even those hand picked apples and harm our pollinators.
We’re not the only ones in the apple orchards!
Around the Twin Cities there are now a handful of organic options to fill an ever growing demand for organic produce. Growing organic on a small scale is one thing, but growing a large quantity of fruit trees (monoculture) organically takes a combination of skill, grit and fast action. The movie Biggest Little Farm is a great example of this!
Most of these kinds of farms have CSA (Community Supported
Agriculture) shares for sale plus on site farm stands with other products like
honey, broiler hens and lots of veggies to pick while you pick your apples.
Support the small family farm and pick your apples from an orchard free from any harmful pesticides!
Alternative Roots Farm
Alternative Roots Farm is a certified organic farm and orchard growing over 40 varieties of apples. From Honeycrisp and Haralson, to Golden Russet and Ashmead’s Kernal, we grow new and heirloom favorites – preserving diversity and heritage in South-central Minnesota.
They sell picked apples out of their farm store and do amazing deals with apple shares (like a CSA) and make a LOT of apple sauce! They’ve got a sweet deep winter greenhouse to keep locals in their greens over winter to boot. Follow their Facebook Page for updates.
One of Alternative Roots Orchards – photo credit Brooke Knisley
Carpenter Nature Center
The Carpenter Nature Center cares for a unique orchard started in the 1940’s. As a nature center they work to be as sustainable an entity as possible, but are not certified Organic. I’ve been to the orchard during their wonderful, down home Apple Festival and it is such a great family time. This year’s event is set for Saturday & Sunday, October 12 + 13, from 10-5.
My boys picking apples during last year’s Apple Festival
Sweetland Orchard
Sweetland Orchard is on the West Side of the cities, in Webster and while not certified organic they manage the orchard through minimal intervention. This family operation grows over 30 varieties developed by the University of Minnesota, heirloom varieties, and cider varieties; and they have a passion for cider! They do frequent pop ups at lots of locations around town. Check their Facebook Page for updates.
Applecrest Orchards
Applecrest Orchards is not a certified organic farm but uses IPM, Integrated Pest Management, and common sense in growing great apples. They’ve got over 1,000 trees growing 20 varieties on the Northeast end of town in Hugo. Their IPM program consists of scouting, pest trapping and utilizing the the Cornell University NEWA offerings. This helps them specifically focus any spraying. “We make sure to mow any flowers prior to spraying so we do not contaminate bee forage. The pesticides we use are targeted to specifically mitigate any loss of beneficial insects”. I will say, walking through the orchards in September there is a myriad of insect life between the rows of fruit laden trees!
They sell at local farmers markets and usually have food trucks at the orchard on weekends during the season! They will also be at the WBL Winter Farmers Market again this year.
Applecrest in Autumn
If you’re ready for a day trip, check out Sap Suckers in Mora or Hoch Orchard and Gardens in Southeast Minnesota, two established organic orchards. For other orchard locations you can check out the MN Grown website.
Make the Most of your Apples
And in case you’re wondering what to do with all those amazing apples once you get back home, I’ve got a blog post, An Apple A Day, from last fall all enjoying your apple stash for months to come!
I love learning about new farms and orchards, feel free to pass along any other organic orchards you’ve enjoyed- the more the merrier!
The best perennials to add around (or
in) your Vegetable Garden
Adding a few pollinator perennials to your vegetable garden border can really get your garden buzzing. There are so many reasons these flowers made this list. But lush, easily accessible nectar and pollen sources paired with beauty and easy growth were baseline qualifiers.
A Mix of Annuals + Perennials
These plants bring in pollinators, they add beauty to the garden, and all plants listed here are Minnesota native (unless you ask the DNR then Yarrow is still in the ‘undecided’ category), unless notes so they are quite literally at home in your garden. But really, pollinators are looking to get nectar and anything you plant will help them, there are just a few that do really well here in the Midwest that I want to share.
At this point
in the season we can see where our gardens have some holes. We likely know
where we want to fill in or add another layer of color or texture. This is a
great time to add perennials to your mix!
Milkweeds-
Asclepias syriaca
These plants hold a special place in any pollinator-lovers heart because of their direct symbiotic relationship with Minnesota’s struggling State Insect, the Monarch butterfly! I love the common milkweeds shape and form in my garden, which may explain why I let it compete with my potatoes, and the flowers are spectacular! Weed is part of the name 😉 But, with the milkweed comes the monarchs.
Multiple stages (called Instars) of caterpillars and one chrysalis!
Both hunting for eggs and caterpillars and watching them grow in the garden and bringing them inside to raise is part of our routine. Swamp Milkweed is more often suggested for garden use as it is slightly less invasive and the monarchs love them just as much. Our plants just showed up once I started digging our garden beds- so I figure they’re supposed to be there! Here’s an earlier post all about Raising Monarchs with my kids.
Meadow Blazing Star – Liatris
Ligulistylis
My Meadow Blazing Star creates this magical draw for ALL the butterflies and bumbles in August, but the Monarchs hold rein here! My boys patiently wait for the monarchs to gather so they can walk underneath them and just “BEE” with them. So, you’d have to
“It blooms primarily in August, just when the Monarchs are
preparing for their long migration south; a synchronization that has evolved
over hundreds of years, and a good example of how native plants and pollinators
are deeply dependent on one another.” – From the Prairie Moon Nursery website.
Blue Giant Hyssop- Agastache Foeniculum
Can you spot the happy Bee in flight?
Agastache was such a revelation to me. I’d heard of Anise Hyssop, giant Blue Hyssop, Lavender hyssop, but never seen it ‘doing its thing’ until a walk through a friend’s garden and WOW! This pollinator MAGNET is at home in the perennial border, the herb and veggie garden and the prairie. She’s a true multi-tasker, attracting Bees, Butterflies and Hummingbirds (I’ve had hummingbird moths visit ours as well!) with its long bracts of flowers. Its leaves make a delicious licorice tea that soothes throats- if yo can bare to take away blooms from the insects… A very hardy Minnesota Native its even boasts deer resistance!
Agastache spikes standing out in the pollinator garden
I seeded mine and the plants were off and running first year, I’ve been getting tall flowy stalks of blooms since the second year. The free flowing form and solid later summer nectar make this a natural addition.
Bee Balm – Wild Bergamot – Monarda Fistulosa
With a name like Bee Balm it has to be good 😉 Well, all the pollinators certainly agree this is one of their favorites. I have a large swath of native bee balm next the path leading to my vegetable garden and I dubbed it the pollinator runway (see photo below). All kinds of pollinators are drawn to these beauties- including the hawk moth!
Pollinaotr Runway
These plants will take over an area, so be ready to pull out the babies that will pop up from underground runners- I rarely throw any plants away though, usually just tucking them into a spot a little further away or back, adding to my pollinator radius. They have a shorter bloom time than the hybridized varieties of monarda- but some of the hybrids don’t have viable nectar sources for pollinators, which kind of defeats the purpose, right! I’ve got a list of verified pollinator friendly stores towards the end of this story.
Yarrow- Achillea Millefolium
MN Native and
besides bringing in the bees, it also accumulates nutrients, great for growing
under fruit trees. It also has those special umbel shaped flowers which attract
so many beneficial aphid eating insects (lacewings to parasitoid wasps). You
can also use it as a tea and compress for inflammation. The flowers come in an
array of colors, the most common being white, ranging to bright yellows to
pinks. Blooms June to September.
Comfrey- Symphytum *Non Native*
This may be lesser known perennial but is making a fast and furious come-back do
to its wide-spread use in permaculture gardens. The sweet little umbels of
blue, then purple then fading to white bell-shaped flowers emerge from a large (mine
is over 4 feet tall and three feet wide) plant that attracts bees by the
hoards. The leaves contain a chemical (
) that jump starts composting when added to the compost heap that are
most potent if clipped before the blooms open. It is an easy plant to tend that
grows almost anywhere, with little disease and no pest issues. It is also used
as an anti-inflamatory. Comfrey is toxic if ingested, so even though I have
used it onmyself I can’t recommend it here. 😉
non-native from Europe and asia
What I’m adding this Summer
Smooth Blue / Sky Blue Aster – Symphyotrichum / oolentangiense
Native to dry fields and open woods these aster take over in
the late summer, blooming August through October. I’m adding these to extend my pollinator
season a little further. I got a variety that’s close to this froma frien’d raing garen gone crazy, but I’ll grab
a few of the Sky Blues this summer.
Who’s Missing?
Where’s the Coneflower (echinacea)?? Well, while I do see tons of pollinators on mine, I think of these as more of a bird flower- as the finches go nuts for the seeds every fall. They are a beautiful multi-tasking plant too.
Where’s the Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)? This is also a great perennial pollinator plant, and honestly I just had to draw the line somewhere 😉
Where’s the False Indigo (Baptisia)? This is not often mentioned as a pollinator plant, but with this LARGE plant and all it’s blooms it brings in the bumbles like mad.
Perennial Pollinator Plants WITHOUT Neonicotinoids
Here’s a short list of my favorite places to buy local, chemical free plants for pollinators
There have been tomes written about
pollinators and helping plant habitat. My favorite valuable pollinator sites
are the Xerxes Society and our local Pollinator Friendly Alliance.
If you’re interested in digging deeper into your native
flowers check out our local chapter of Wild Ones native garden club.
As I was collecting
my thoughts on these plants, I kept noticing that many of the perennials that
the pollinators are also loved by humans. I get such a kick thinking about
flowers + bees + humans all evolving together to be mutually beneficial on this
beautiful earth! Let’s see if we can’t be as beneficial as our pollinators someday.
Pollinaotr field in August
What’s your Favorite?
Everyone has their own list of favorites flowers… our tastes grow from of a generous friend giving you a plant, memories of grandma’s garden, or maybe you were inspired by a photo on Instagram or in a magazine… I’d love to know, what are your favorites and why? Are you adding any flowers to your vegetable patch this season?
Summer is short and so sweet in Minnesota (ok, Wisconsin too)! Let’s savor each day with plenty of outside time, fun new experiences, family time and play… for us this mean plenty of farm visits!
I’ve got quite the line-up for you guys! I’ve gathered my favorite farm visits that are also family friendly. These farms will get you feeling one with nature, closer to your roots, and eating farm to table to boot.
These are the real deal. Real crops, real animals, real history, real fun. Grab the sunscreen, pack the picnic basket and buckle up!
Farm to Table Summer Camp: August 5-8 Camp for kids entering 2nd-5th grade that brings them through the Farm to Table process of milk to butter, cheese and ice cream- and making their own bread from farm fresh ingredients! More info HERE.
Bruentrup Heritage Farm is nestled between Maplewood and White Bear Lake and comes with the idyllic big red barn and front porch. Run by the Maplewood Area Historical Society, this is a community hub of family fun activities. The Bruentrup family donated their farm to the society in 1999 and the community has been in love with it ever since. This is also an amazing spot for weddings if you know anyone who’s looking 😉 Their Facebook page is the place to follow for event updates and announcements.
The annual highlight of this little gem of a non-profit nature center is their Apple Fest! Good old down-home fun where kids can pick heirloom varieties of organic apples, get dirty and play in the hay bales- they’ll have to run off all that cider and apple crisp somehow…
The Carpernter St. Croix Valley Nature Center is the best kept secret on the river. They have both MN and WI campuses and miles of glorious trails overlooking the river that divides them. The apple orchard is magical, and be sure to check out the old farm house off of the north loop trail! They hold some sweet Summer Camps, a good selection still have availability, check out the variety of options HERE.
Co-op Farm Tour
July 13th FREE
The Cows of Turnip Rock Farm last Summer’s Farm Tour
Mark your calendars for the ‘Eat Local’ Co-op Farm Tour. This event lets you tour some of the best local farms in the (extended) area. There are a record high 26 farmers participating this summer! Farms include Beef, Dairy, Fish, Flower, Honey, Hops and good old Vegetables. This is kind of the grand-daddy of all farm visits!
Pack a picnic, bring lots of ice cold water and an extra cooler for all the (REALLY) farm fresh food you can find that day! It’s a great way for kids and adults alike to see first-hand where the food they eat starts out. The farms that participate usually have something to entice the little ones out- check each farm’s page link for more info.
Gibbs Farm
General Admissions: $8 adults, $7 seniors 62+, $5 children 4-16
Ice Cream Sunday: Every other Sunday, June 16th to August 25th Make your own sundae and enjoy fresh local dairy!
Prairie Festival: August 3rd
included in General Admissions.
Celebrating
the Dakota people and foodways, past and present with stations to learn about
the seasonal ways like wild ricing.
This is the little farm that could. This well loved historical farm is tucked into the east side of the cities along the edge of U of MN Ag land. Costumed staff provide a glimpse into nineteenth century Pioneer and Dakota daily life.
There are both original and replica buildings, including and one-room schoolhouse (my kids favorite) a log-and-sod home, plus the original Gibbs farmhouse and barn. What sets this place apart is the inclusion of a Dakota summer bark lodge, and a tipi and their almost equal representation of Indigenous history along with European settler history.
photo credit: Gibbs Farm
The historical tours are led by knowledgeable costumed interpreters open most weekends in summer. Pioneer Tours at 10:30am, 12:30pm and 2:30pm. Dakota Tours are 11:30am and 1:30pm.
The staff at Big River Farms provide farmer education and technical assistance in all things sustainable farming. This summer they are doing a few new classes lead by their farmers in training; organic weed management, composting with worms, planting for monarchs and growing your own mushrooms.
The classes are probably more adult friendly than family friendly, but they made it on my list anyway. An adult could go to the class and the rest of the crew could wander and enjoy the beautiful farmland, or is worm composting a perfect start to a romantic date night… 😉 They also go above and beyond welcoming families during the Co-op Farm Tour.
Oliver Kelley Farm
Admission: $12 for adults, $6 ages 5-17 FREE for 4 and under and MNHS Members
This is such a unique experience, and I’m so proud of our MN Historical Society for preserving this one of a-kind-farm for generations to come. Visiting is a way to get up close and personal with farm life from 150 years ago (that’s the 1860’s for anyone else who can’t do math).
The costumed staff are experts in teaching without preaching and making you feel part of the farm. I know that sounds corny, but go see for yourself. There’s always some in-season farm task, skill/job to be done and everyone gets to pitch in. It’s a real working farm, so visitors can meet the animals in the barn, help work in the fields and gardens, and see what’s cooking in the farmhouse.
The Oliver Kelley Farm is a National Historic Landmark which became a way more family friendly farm visit after opening their new visitor center! The addition of a farm lab to the site takes it above and beyond. Yes, I’m gushing but this is one of my happy places! My kids love the BIG oxen, and all the barn cats, and pumping water from the well to water veggies.
OK, this one is more garden than farm, but it’s a comprehensive garden laid out in a way that gives you solid ideas you can take home and make your own. And since my real motive is actually to get you growing more of your own food this fits perfectly 😉
Helping plant beans during a Meet the Gardener Session two years ago
Plus this Ramsey County Nature Center boasts the Discovery Hollow Nature Play Area. It doesn’t get much more family friendly than helping plant in a community garden and then wiggle your bare toes in a stream before hiking to the perfect picnic spot. They rotate topics for “Drop in Discoveries” on Saturdays. I’m super excited for the ‘Meet the Bees/Garden Party’ drop in sessions, on June 22, July 27 and August 24. Tamarack also holds a slew of the most desired summer camps in the metro area. A few spots remain.
White Pine Berry Farm
Strawberry Shortcake Social: June 29
Photo Credits: White Pine Berry Farm
A PYO farm run by The Zwald family, White Pine is a newbie on our list this year because of their Organic Certification! The name sells them a little short, as they also grow; asparagus, beans, ginger, (!!!) plums, tumeric, tomatoes and watermelon, yes my mouth is watering…isn’t yours!?!
They’ve got some fun events planned for this season with “A Day in the Country later this Fall. Check them out as part of the Co-op Farm Tour on July 13th. Follow their Facebook Page to stay in the loop.
Honorable Mentions
These family adventures are too good to miss! While not technically farm visits, they tie in gardening, local food and getting back to Nature. I just had to mention them…
From nettles, to fiddleheads, ramps to cattails and of course mushrooms- foraging is the darling of the foodie world right now, and for good reason. Foraging gives food lovers a chance to go out and pick delicious locally grown food without any of the work of growing it… sounds like a dream, right!
It IS dreamy, but let’s not over-romanticize it.
The food did grow somewhere, seeds were moved about and then nestled into soil. Or underground runners ran and sprouted up at just the right spot. When you find food growing wild, take note- because you are witnessing that plant’s ideal growing conditions. What a gift!
You know I love growing my own good food, but when Mother Nature does it for you, why not join the good food party!
My eldest son ‘responsibly’ harvesting ramps
Forage Responsibly
In order to forage or harvest responsibly from an area and not kill the remaining plants (or yourself) you need to do a little research before you start ripping food from the earth. Thank you internet!
Know Before You Go
Know what variety you’re looking for, where they typically grow and when. Unless you stumble upon a field of ferns or a cattail dell you’ll have to get out, hike around and for your food- which is part of the appeal! But knowing the habitat of the plant you’re after goes a long way!
Also- did you know you can help our local plant communities by pulling up (and then eating) Garlic Mustard! Foraging for nature in new ways.
the native plants thank you!
Thankful for neighbors with nettles!
Know the land you’re harvesting from. Is the land you’re planning to peruse public or private. Do you have permission to be there? Who can you ask you verify there haven’t been any pesticides/herbicides sprayed? Determining how far back you want a clean record is something to figure out before you jump out of the car!
Know how you’ll use the food when you get home! Food waste is food waste whether you bought it at the store, or found it growing in the wild. It helps me to remember that some animal could have eaten what you foraged, or the plant would have been stronger next year- so make use of what the earth grew for you! Search out recipes before you start foraging!
Responsible foragers know: never take more than half of anything you forage for!
Toby, age 9
Local Food Line Up
Ramps:
These are truly the first of the first to emerge in my neck of the woods. Their mild garlic taste screams spring to me. From eggs to soups and breads, these add a depth to whatever dish they’re in.
Please gather these sustainably, as Minnesota ramp flushes are dwindling with the uptick in foragers. I go into details about ramp harvesting in this earlier blog post but basically, don’t take many from each stand, and try to cut above the bulbous root so it can recover and grow back the following year.
Stinging Nettles:
A solid source of iron and a natural spring tonic to help flush toxins, there are so many reasons to eat your nettles!
Yes, they sting- or some say burn, so I always wear gloves and use tongs when working with these.
Blanching and drying do take the sting out, as does pureeing the heck out it, I still recommend blanching before pureeing as the BRIGHT fresh green holds longer after blanching.
Fiddleheads:
Tasting of mild asparagus , all kinds of ferns start as these adorable fiddleheads. Ostrich ferns are the gold standard for springtime delicacy as far as I’m concerned- this is one that you’ll have to scope out the year before- to see what the ferns turn into after unfurling they’re deliciousness.
Cattails:
Who knew the shoots tasted like cucumber! These are one of the easiest items to forage as they can be seen a mile away, and there’s not really anything else that looks like them 😉 These are simple, fresh + delicious, especially early in the season (like right now)! Do make sure they’re coming from a clean water source as they are a natural water purifier and accumulate toxins. You basically eat the heart of the stalk or shoot, and can also be pickled.
Mushrooms:
This is where it can tricky! Confessed MN Mushroom Newbie! I’ve only foraged for mushrooms in Sweden with experts, so I’m hesitant to dive into this. That and my kids don’t really enjoy them (but my hubby and I do, so…) It is best to go with knowledgeable friends or guides.
For now I mostly buy them as a treat from my local mushroom farmer, Finney and the Fungi or at Forest to Fork at Keg + Case. However, a few favorites I’ll be keeping my eyes open for are Chanterelle and chicken of the woods.
I love that there’s always more to learn about the natural world growing all around us!
Lambs’ Quarters
The one non-native MN plant I always like to mention for early Spring foraging: lamb’s quarters. You’re going to find this beauty in disturbed soils. Most people think it is a weed, and it an aggressive little bugger, but I deal with it because I love the flavor and huge mineral stores it possesses. Well worth the space. Similar to spinach it often shows up before and lasts longer than my bolted spinach.
Spring Foraging Recipe Ideas
What’s tastier than foraged nettle + ramp pesto… Eating it with foraged cattail hearts and early harvests from the garden.
I am at best a half-hearted recipe follower, so if you’d like a
specific recipe, please google any of the following ideas that tempt you.
Bonus: most of these are easy to make with your own spin by substituting ingredients
and altering to your taste preferences.
Ramp Salt: Dried ramp leaves- dehydrate and crush/pulse with sea salt for a sublime seasoning for soups and stews, fish and chicken. I’ve done ramp butter, but the salt, and just dehydrated leaves work better for my kitchen.
Nettle Pesto:
I blanched the stinging nettles before blending with ramps, pine
nuts, cheese and EVOO for a fresh green powerhouse pesto.
Nettle Soup: Scandinavian Nasselsoppa sounds so much better that stinging nettle soup, right! This is a basic ‘boiled with potatoes and broth’ kind of pureed soup to get you all caught up on your greens!
Nettle Tea: Simply hang and dry. I mix with other leaves, such as raspberry, lemon balm or mint as I find it too strong on its own.
Cattails:
You’ll peel off over half of the outer layers of leaves to get to the white hearts. I always say I’m going to gather enough to pickle, guess its good to have goals 😉 really these are divine just eaten raw with some nettle pesto, or chopped on salads!
Add perennial vegetables/herbs like Rhubarb, chives and Asparagus into the mix and you could be eating flavorful, healthful and delicious meals after taking a walk. Spring in Minnesota is truly a bounty of good wild food!
What will you be foraging?
What other questions do you have about Foraging in Minnesota?
Walking into the Hugo Feed Mill & Hardware reminds us all why we call the good old days good. This place really is that special, not that you’d ever hear it from them…
This is a place that withstands the test of time and triumphs with knowledge blended with caring. I mean, when was the last time a store’s sales person actually listened to you; and then actually knew what you needed, had it for a fair price and did what it was supposed to. Obviously, their customers love them.
Steve Marier runs the Mill and is a fourth generation Marier Mill Manager (say that three times fast). He could easily double as the town historian. He’s been a part of Hugo’s shift from agricultural land to housing developments and Hugo feed mill is still thriving because he and his family desire to adapt to best serve their neighbors.
Walk Down Memory Lane
Steve remembers shoveling and delivering coal to homes and farms on the rail line, along with the huge pile of corn cobs that would get dumped in the parking lot after combining time. The mill itself was built in 1917, it’s been in Steve’s family since 1925. For many years it was mainly a country grain business, grinding local grains for feed.
I remember being a young girl, 8 or 9, and going ‘up to the Mill’ to get mallard ducklings to raise on our family’s pond. Since then Hugo Feed Mill has held a special place in this Urban homesteader’s heart. More history on their website.
It’s their up-to-date practices, with the latest products and applications mixed perfectly with their ability to help you grow that keeps customers coming back.
Greenhouse
Their greenhouse is open for the season with herbs and bedding plants. They’ll be overflowing with their signature HUGE selection of peppers and tomatoes by May 18th; thank you cold and wet Minnesota Spring.
Steve helping me find the right plant last Summer
Steve, aka “Dr. Pepper” estimates around 425 peppers 175 tomatoes varieties to be available in the Greenhouse this Spring. They hold planting parties and tasting events on site. Steve also gives ‘Pepper Talks’ around town. Follow them on their Facebook Page, or sign up for their “timely tips’ email list to stay in the know on their events and specials.
The Mill is a great community partner as well. They give seed and starter plants to Giving Gardens each year. Giving Gardens is a non-profit helping neighbors grow food for themselves and food shelves.
They also tend a Kids Potting Bench where kids can pot up a free flower. Special flowers and pots available for some special kids over Mother’s Day weekend!
**Mention this blog or that you saw it on their Facebook page to get the special Mother’s Day plants!**
Happy Mothers Day from Hugo Feed Mill
Garden Supplies
A peek into their store
A full line of soil amendments, fertilizers and seeds is waiting inside the store. From sprinklers to live traps they have everything the home gardener could need- and if its not in their store they can likely order it for you. I learn something new each time I shop there.
Chick Orders
Two of our chicks from earlier this Spring
Their chick orders, minimum order of 5 per breed, run now through the end of May. They have over 20 breeds of chickens, and mallards. This is the first place I bought chicks, a dozen years ago. If you stop in when they have the chicks waiting to be picked up you might even catch a glimpse, and they sometimes have extras (another good reason to follow them on Facebook). More about raising urban chickens HERE.
My favorite place to get straw & feed
I also get all my straw from them for my backyard flock’s coop bedding. These bales also make a great base for straw bale gardens!
And their organic chicken feed, Nature’s Grown Organic, is my girls’ absolute favorite.
… & Hardware
Find farm supplies like fencing and stock tanks. Horse supplies like bedding and barn lime, bird feeders and seed and pet foods, even plumbing and electrical items (which I admit I didn’t really know!).
The Old Mill
Attached to the old mill is the storage and granary part of the business. Backing up to the loading dock always makes me feel like a little more of a farm girl than I really am 😉
There is always something new to find at Hugo Feed Mill, whether feed, seed or knowledge you’ll have to go find out for yourself.
I feel lucky to have had Hugo feed mill in my neighborhood for all of my years here, and close to 100 years in their family.
Let me know if you stop into Hugo Feed Mill- and be sure to tell me what you learned when you were there. They’re great at helping you get your fork in the dirt too!
The birds are singing, the ground has thawed and green is unfurling itself before our very eyes. Spring is officially here and that means the locally grown food is soon to follow!
Whether in backyard gardens or further away farms, nearby hidden foraging spots (like when I forage for ramps!), under lakes or deep in forests; our local food systems are waking up! This awakening is happening both with spring’s seasonal arrival and a mirrored cultural movement back towards local food.
Two Years Digging In
I’ve been fascinated with the why’s and how’s of the local food movement and its deeper deep roots. This is a huge part of why I started up Forks in the Dirt just over two years ago (Happy Anniversary!)
My littlest guy planting seeds, two years ago
The food we eat intimately impacts our daily lives, but for decades we’ve moved further and further away from that simple fact. Big business focused on making food more economical while inadvertently minimizing the dire nutritional and ecological implications. This focus was beneficial in some ways, and detrimental in others. Turns out growing food with an end goal of mass production and longest shelf life hurts our collective health, bank accounts and entire eco-system.
High fives all around for us waking up to those realities as a society.
Choose Locally Grown
One of the easiest ways you can ‘be the change’ with our food system is realizing that you vote with your dollars three times a day. The food you buy effects the food chain in so many ways. Here’s an earlier article I wrote that touches more on WHY local food matters: Local Food For Thought.
Think about all the places you can make a choice about the food you eat:
Who grew the seed that grew your food
Who owns the land that grew your food
How many miles did your food travel
Who tended the land and livestock that became your food
What chemicals have been added to your food
Farmer Jessy of Gilbertson Farms and some tasty, humanely raised meats.
Answers to those questions are inherently baked into each
meal and every snack you eat.
It can get overwhelming fast (another hint that our food system is broken)! But asking yourself just one of these questions a day will get you thinking about how much effort (and who’s effort) goes into each plate you eat.
I think the local food movement is an attempt to make food simple again. A pull to take back some control over what we put into our bodies.
What do you think?
My Local Food Journey So Far
So far I’ve had a winding but fun ride down the local food road.
I started growing more of my own food years ago. Then I got to know a few more farmers that grew food. We raised backyard chickens. I learned how to can, freeze and dry more food. I still buy much of my food from local grocery stores, but I grow my own or buy local when I can. For me its about finding a balance that works for my family.
*Important Reminder* Everyone’s scales are weighted differently to begin with so there’s no reason to compare!*
Farmer Molly of Niemczyck’s
I’m in awe of the abundance of the amount and diversity of food right here (like within a 20 mile radius!!) year round. From Deep Winter Greenhouses and Aquaponics providing fresh locally grown food through the dead of winter, to urban farmers changing the way we provide food to our neighbors during the growing season- change is happening, and fast.
I recently attended Schoolyard Garden & Local Food conferences at the MN Landscape Arboretum and the message was loud and clear; Minnesotans are already awake to the food we are eating. There is currently a MN Farm to School Bill being decided in our state legislature, feel free to weigh in on that bill! I can’t wait to see how we collectively work to make our food system work better for us all.
Farmer May Lee of Mhonpaj’s Garden
As we head into spring and summer when locally grown food is SO VERY abundant, I encourage you to renew your commitment to: eat more local, healthy foods, grow something you can eat, buy from a local farmer. Get to know some of your food’s roots and see how your relationship to your food changes.
You can call me an urban homesteader, a dreamer, or just someone who puts her time where her mouth is. Any way you slice it, life has been pretty tasty lately. Thanks for digging in with me these last few years!
Looking forward to this season as we keep on digging in and crossing paths with farmers, food and doing good! What will you grow this season?
This is our family’s story of how we transitioned through loving our backyard chickens to ultimately culling them after they stopped laying.
For us crazy chicken people it’s *finally* time to place our orders and prepare for our hearts and homes to be overrun with cuteness and chicken poop. We pick up our new girls next week from EggPlant Urban Farm Supply and we can’t wait!
Living the Good Life
But this story is about our Old Girls, our first flock at this home, because although no one likes to talk about it- even those adorable baby chicks get old. My advice is to have a plan BEFORE you bring them home. It’s helpful to know what you’ll do once they stop laying, get sick, or just really old.
Truth Talking
This was a more emotional experience than I was prepared for. Much more so than when I’d had them in a farm setting, or that one time we had to cull a nasty rooster. We had 4 hens in our backyard chicken flock which my oldest son named Netty, Betty, Stella, Bella. They were regularly carried around, hand fed and in general, doted on.
I need you to know that for our family, two things can and do co-exist:
1. I loved raising and tending to my girls; from fluffy baby chicks, to their awkward adolescence, molting, bumblefoot, vent gleet, even on -15F days where I had to change their water multiple times a day. They’re really endearing animals. Tending to their needs and completely spoiling them was our pleasure. Getting those eggs was awesome too!
2.I loved knowing where this meat came from: When the time came, we knew the girls had enjoyed a life far better than any of their counterparts who end up in a grocery store come from.
Now, I still get an occasional emergency rotisserie from Costco- but on average I really like knowing where my food comes from.
So, for us- once we got over the emotional roller coaster, the answer was clear. We’d be butchering our hens before Winter set in.
How We Decided it was Time
My family hadn’t gotten more than an egg a week from the girls since the end of August. I think I was in denial for quite a while…
Beetle Feeder Mania
After almost 2 full years of happily laying in the nesting boxes I began to find eggs scattered in the backyard. This was likely related to the Japanese Beetle ‘feeder’ I had made for the girls. They became so obsessed with the beetles that they didn’t return to their nesting boxes to lay their eggs in fear of missing the next bug!
The Perfect Storm
Bumble Foot Wrapping
Two of our four hens contracted bumble foot in late July and I figured the ‘no eggs’ was directly related to them taking their sweet time healing from that. Also a shout out to my dear friend, Nicole- a vet tech who helped with the initial backyard surgery. I owe you one girl!
Then one of the Ameraucana’s went into a full molt, then a Black Australorp followed. Hens usually slow down or stop laying while molting because feathers are all protein, and that takes A LOT to regrow your whole feather duster.
Egg Eaters
As I mentioned earlier, the hens weren’t going back to their nesting boxes to lay, so they were laying in the yard. Eggs laying around usually leads to one thing; egg eating. They were likely all eating eggs by the end. I only ever found a few remnant shells, but all four hens wouldn’t stop laying at the same time.
We tried many things to deter egg eating, and encourage laying in the coop. Replacing their finely crushed egg shells with oyster calcium in case that was the issue. Placing ‘false eggs’ for the nesting boxes and continuing to use the herbs that I grew to help promote laying and keep/get them healthy.
Since we had an egg eater, we couldn’t give them to a farmer to enjoy their retirement only to wreak havoc by teaching a new flock of hens to eat eggs…
It was Time
So, I guess once the molting was over, I had to ask myself a hard question. Was I going to keep a flock of non-laying hens through a cold Minnesota Winter? Cold winters can mean boredom for the girls. I’ve used lots of ways to combat boredom before- from scratch blocks, hanging cabbages, new roosts, swings etc., but this time it didn’t seem like a good trade off.
The idea of doing all that work without return didn’t sit well with my homesteader heart.
it was time
Having “The Talk”
with our Kids
We talked to our sons about it at length. My husband and I reminded them of our discussion back when we first got the baby chicks that they would have to say goodbye to our backyard chickens at some point. Our one son was fine with it, our other boy cried for hours when we first brought it up. He was sad about losing them for weeks.
Eventually, the
butchering day came.
After a major refresher (thank you YouTube) we prepped for it and had a day when our boys were going to be gone for a 5 hour stretch…
…Afterwards
Not going to sugar coat it; that was difficult. I was sad. I kept trying to remember that we gave them a good life. Then, as there was work to be done, I just kind of came to terms with it.
The birds have now all been stewed and souped on. Even my boy who swore he wouldn’t eat any of the meat, chose to and really liked the soup. And I have to say the bone broth was really amazing.
So, love it or hate
it; that’s this Suburban Homesteader’s story.
This time around my boys are just as excited to get our new baby chicks. If anything, we’re all wiser, and if anything we will lavish even more love on this new generation of backyard birds because of our previous girls. We are definitely more appreciative of the meat we eat because of this experience.
If you are (still) interested in raising backyard chickens, read my Chickens in the Hood blog for more how to info.
One thing I know for sure; I’ll never judge another person’s decision on anything like this. It is such a personal choice. One that I am proud our family made.
Those girls will always have a special place in my heart, they were good teachers in so many ways.
I’m curious; if you have chickens, what are your plans for
when they stop laying? Obviously, no judgment here 😉
I can’t wait to share photos of my new fluffy babies with you all!
More Americans are growing their own food – the numbers have been rising and were bumped up with the pandemic last spring, and the trend is here to stay!
Let’s take a tour of the places and faces of our local gardening scene!
Minnesota Garden Organizations
We’re so lucky our state values agriculture in all it’s forms!
The Minnesota State Horticultural Society has a long history of being at the forefront of helping northern gardeners thrive! Their resources include classes, Magazine The Northern Gardener, blogs, Seed collecting and distribution and bringing ‘Garden in a Box’ kits to communities across the state.
Part of the University of Minnesota extension services, the Master Gardener program educates volunteers. These volunteers educate residents in proven, eco-friendly gardening techniques to improve our environment. The Master Gardeners also accept questions via email via the “Ask a Master Gardener” link on the site. This site goes from soil sampling and seed sowing, to preserving the harvest.
The U of MN BEE LAB is another amazing resource for gardeners looking to work with nature and her ultimate pollinating machines. Resources on plant options, City Beekeeping rules and native pollinator trends abound.
Wild Ones is all about Native Plants + Natural Landscapes. They teach people about the importance of native plants, for the health of the environment and everything living in it. Our goal is to get more native plants in the ground in all landscapes — homes, businesses, schools, and more. They have a few different MN chapters so be sure to find the best fit for your area!
Local Plant Sales for 2023
These plant sales will start your garden off right! Good for your garden, the pollinators, your harvests and the community. Plants grown for these sales are never treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides, are non-GMO, locally raised by experts- and the sales directly benefit some great gardening programs.
With 1,000’s of plant varieties this may be the largest single plant sale in the U.S. It is a fundraising event for the Friends School of Minnesota, a small Quaker K-8 school in St. Paul. Plants are grown as naturally as possible, 80% from local growers.
Church of the Holy Childhood 1435 Midway Pkwy, St Paul
Over 300 varieties of plants grown by local master gardeners. The proceeds from this sale benefit the University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener programs in Ramsey County.
Garden Clubs
Garden Clubs are a great way to get involved with your group of local gardeners. Most hold monthly meetings with speakers during the off season (Sept-April) with plant sales, community garden and other causes they support. Many towns and counties have their own clubs, here are a few I know and love.
The YMCA Community Gardens have raised beds for rent!
Our town boasts some fabulous community gardens. I’ve got an article about community gardens and why they matter. These are places where all levels of gardeners grow together. Some of these have classes, and ‘in service’ times when a more experienced gardener will be on site.
Seed Libraries
A seed library is just what it sounds like, a place where you can “check out” a packet of seeds to grow, enjoy the fruits or flowers of your labor. Then, bring back enough seeds to replenish and hopefully increase the seed stock for the next season, for FREE! More info in the article Seed Saving Starts Now !
Our very own White Bear Lake Public Library houses the volunteer run WBL Seed Library. Join their email list at the website above to stay in the know about packing and class events
The Minnesota Horticultural Society runs the MN SEED project and the pop up Como Community Seed Library are also great resources for local seed.
Many Paths to Eating Local
If you love fresh and local food but not gardening, you can support our local farmers by signing up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and I have a blog post all about some great local CSA options in the CSA’s So Many Ways Blog Post. Or if you’re like me and grow a lot, but not everything your family eats, try shopping our very own White Bear Lake Farmers Markets, starting up the last Friday in June. I have some Farmers Market Shopping Tips for you too. If you’d like to check out more on some specific farmers, dig into my Farmers page, which links to interviews with local small farms.
For more “How To” info, you can always check out the Forks in the Dirt Blog, or Instagram feed where I sift through lots of local food info and have full blog posts on CSA’s, gardening tips, upcoming garden events and recipes for using your harvest.
Whichever way you choose to eat locally, I hope you Dig Your Food! Michelle
I love seeing the metal buckets and blue bags hanging on trees around town this time of year! Those bag are the symbol of two things I love dearly: Spring + Maple Syrup!
I’ve noticed that these buckets and bags have been multiplying in recent years! I hope the trend continues, because maple sugaring is such a simple way to forage your own food, reduce your carbon footprint, add nutrients to your sweetener- all while adding another homesteading skill to your list. Bonus: there’s very little that can go wrong, it just takes some time.
*This post contains affiliate links. We may receive a commission if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these links.*
Drill In!
The process is easier than you think, and I’ve got some tips on how to make maple sugaring smooth like Sunday morning (pancakes).
Tool Time
My attempt to label my maple sugaring tools
A Spile (#1) gets ‘tapped’ into the tree, and brings the sap outside so you can collect it. There are a few different ways to collect sap, but for most backyard enthusiasts, sap sacks or buckets are the way to go. We use these 3 part sack system. You wrap the blue bags (#2) around the collars (#3) and slide into the holder (#4). There’s a hole in holder that fits tight to the notch in the spile. Once you get the sap sacks on, be sure to tug down to make sure the bags are nice and tight (I’ve had one bag get full and work its way off, lesson learned after one bag!) Some people have a hose running right from the spile to a closed bucket, but for us these sap sacks work great.
The only ‘modification’ we’ve had to make is because of the squirrels… one year they must have gotten a taste of the sap, and wanted more, so they chewed a hole in the bottom corner of a sack! Saddest sap collection morning ever. So, we took a page from the squirrel vs. bird feeder wars and used coconut oil on the outside bottom ridge of the bag to sprinkle cayenne pepper onto- they never bothered the bags again 😉
Tips and Tricks
We’ve been tapping our maple tree for 9 years now, learning something new each season. Mostly, each sap run is SO DIFFERENT, and that is definitely part of what makes it so fun! Some things we’ve figured out so far:
Each tree is different, our tree gets her juices flowing later than most- a true late bloomer
We are wood-fire lovers and will forever boil sap with a wood fire source
Wood ash in your sap doesn’t affect the final flavor …much
Straining sap through cheesecloth , or a ‘maple sap filter’ helps keep the final product clear
Our one big old Maple tree with two taps in it is *almost* yields enough syrup for our family of four for an entire year.
But by far the coolest and trickiest thing about Maple sugaring we’ve learned so far is how to condense maple sap without ALL the boiling…
Freeze Maple Sap Before Boiling
Using the “Freeze then Fire” Technique
Slightly frozen syrup just out of the freezer
We collect the sap in sacks and pour that off into 5 gallon buckets then use our chest freezer (or just leave it outside if its dropping below freezing) to freeze overnight or longer. After freezing, we transfer the frozen sap to a ‘draining bucket’ (another 5 gallon bucket with holes drilled in the bottom) and let that sit at room temperature until about a third of it has melted. The melted portion has dripped through to the bottom bucket, (usually ready by evening if we take it out in the morning) that’s the precious sugary portion.
Toss the still frozen ice outside and put the condensed sap back in the freezer for a repeat freeze-thaw cycle, this time keeping the first half of the melted liquid. The result should be a liquid that has increased from 1-3% sugar to 5-16% sugar. Meaning a MUCH shorter boil time!
Tip: I use a wine cork screw to screw into the frozen sap and lift it out of the bucket!
Sweet Success
I love this method because it allows us to hold large amounts of sap all together even if the weather gets too warm to keep it outside. It also helps with sap flow starts and stops and not loose any sap to getting too warm for too long. *You’ll know your sap has turned if it starts to look cloudy, this happens if the sap is held above 40 F for very long. We had to toss two full buckets our first year, it was heartbreaking!
Tap those Trees!
Yes, you can tap other trees besides Maple trees.
All Maple trees have the potential for syrup, with Sugar Maples coming in with the highest sugar content in aw sap- 2.0%. Our Silver Maple is estimated to have about 1.7% sugar content. Other native Midwest trees that can be tapped include box elder and paper birch. There are lots of trees that can be tapped depending on where you are, here’s the LINK to the best list I’ve found so far.
I’ll also throw out there that apartment and condo dwellers can ask their associations if they can tap trees on the land surrounding their spaces- How about a Spring Syrup Social to bring us out of hibernation! 😊
Why So Sappy?
Basically, it is the freeze thaw cycle that gets the tree’s internal pressure pumping. Specifically, according to Botanics in the Kitchen article
“Three primary processes can cause xylem sap to flow: transpiration, root pressure and stem pressure.“ Umm, have I mentioned I love nature lately?!
Time to Gear Up
Tools of the trade, Beer optional.
Lots of places have equipment for collecting sap, ranging from your simple taps, brackets and bags to buckets and tubing galore. My online pick is Tap My Trees. Locally, Fleet Farm and Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply have got you covered. Egg|Plant has great staff that will talk you through any specific questions!
We love our maple sap for so many reasons… Pancakes taste better and my Crunchiest Granola Recipe wouldn’t be the same (or as cost effective) without homemade maple syrup. We also bake with it often, and use it to sweeten tea. And there are so many other trace elements and benefits to be found in that bottle of liquid sugar.
Burn Baby Burn
Lots of firewood is key to a successful Maple Syrup venture!
But first you do have to boil the heck out of it! Making syrup from sap means condensing sap in a ratio of about 40:1. That means it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. Like I said, lots of boiling! We started with a very rudimentary set up (it looks ridiculous in the photo, but it worked for us. We burn wood that would otherwise sit around rotting, and we put basically no money into the blocks or stand (we use old shelving standards for cross pieces). It is not the most efficient way to do things, but it is the way that makes us happy, and the kids LOVE keeping the fire going!
We always finish off boiling the sap down inside on the stovetop. We go by a consistency and temperature reading from a candy thermometer. You want to aim for 7 degrees above boiling, so we shoot for 219F.
Professionals will tell you it is not syrup unless you can tell the brix (sugar content) is at 66%. But I’m simply too cheap to buy a hydrometer, and my taste buds thoroughly enjoy anything close to 66% sugar content in my maple syrup. I do store mine in the freezer, and it sometimes freezes a little… also a sign of less than perfect sugar content. Again, my taste buds never complain and it stays fresh a full year out.
Sweet Homestead Skill
Beautiful Amber Syrup
My advice with maple sugaring is to start small, because once you collect it you have to boil it 😉 Kind of like with all things homesteading, talking with someone who has done this before if you have questions along the way helps you take that first step. And I’m all about taking that first step; whether it’s drilling into your first tree or digging into your first garden. Ask away if you have any questions, another great online community is the Facebook Group: Minnesota Maple Syrup Makers, just ask to join if you’re interested. This is a fun process, but it does take time to boil all that sap down!
