http://www.greerfarm.com/index.htmlGreer Farm Blog: Farmer's don't blog.enSid GreerCopyright 2010 Greer Farm2012-04-21T07:46:12-05:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 Sat, 21 Apr 2012 07:47:35 -0500Sid GreerFarmers don't BLOG2012-04-21T07:46:12-05:00http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/b341016b1ddd46bfa0cedd9684ba6e75-549.php#unique-entry-id-549http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/b341016b1ddd46bfa0cedd9684ba6e75-549.php#unique-entry-id-549



Karl Greer, M.D.

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; Karl was born in Texas, but always enjoyed a California state of mind. Some roadside attractions along the way to the Golden State were a childhood in Madagascar, a love for words, serving time in a cubicle, starting a blueberry farm, and the eventual realization that his passions for nutrition, sunlight, and movement might actually be of use as a family doctor. Professional interests include integrative medicine, behavioral health, rural medicine and disrupting the world supply of sweetened beverages. Karl lives with his wife, Amber, daughter, Kaya, and son, Novi, and in his free time enjoys picking up toys, cooking, playing in dirt, and surfing the fickle waves of the Gulf Coast. He is excited to move the family to Santa Rosa and looks forward to Pacific swells, cooler summers, and good pinot noir, while tempering his enthusiasm for year-round wet suits and large sharks.]]>Sid GreerFarmers don't BLOG2012-04-11T22:17:23-05:00http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/03235304e015644e76e186af622d1ddc-548.php#unique-entry-id-548http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/03235304e015644e76e186af622d1ddc-548.php#unique-entry-id-548
My list of thngs to do is every green. It never ends. The more I add, the longer hours I put in, the more acccomplished, but stil the list grows.

Today we had to move three trailer loads of cows and calves from 45 miles away where they have been flushed, eggs harvested, embryos frozen in nitrogen and are now back with us. The doner mama cows will now need to be bred and the surrogate mother cows are hopefully safe with someone elses baby in them. We worked all day on setting up irrigation lines for the vegetable gardens. Weeding continued and weed trimming the yard by the house, barns and cabins. Two loads of trash boxes where haluled off to the burn pile. Baby chicks were taken care of. and so it goes.

I guess if I did not farm and ranch I could around and watch TV or listen to talk radio. In no time I would not be fit, probably sick and for sure fed up with the world.

For now I am going to keep on keeping on doing what I love no matter how difficult it is. For sure I know when my head hits the pillow I have not just sat aorund and done nothing all day. This is a 24/7 life, but its is my life. ]]>Sid GreerFarmers don't BLOG2012-03-31T08:08:27-05:00http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/ffff6f2b434f4e8d53356a60eec901ef-545.php#unique-entry-id-545http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/ffff6f2b434f4e8d53356a60eec901ef-545.php#unique-entry-id-545
The berry field has gone through full bloom and the berries are set and growing. We will be changing out the entire water distribution system used for irrigation in April. We changed the filtration system last year. If we have a drought, this will give the plants more water than we could before. I anticipate an early blueberry crop this year.

The blackberries are looking better than they have in years. We also in-planted new plants where there were die off gaps from the drought. The new acre of berries planted two years ago is doing well and we replaced 25% that died in the drought.

We fertilized all of the fields we planted clover and rye grass on in September and have an abundance of forage. The cattle look good. Now we will see if we can cut some hay in May. We have four steers for beef left and all but 1 and 3/4 are sold. We have some beef available now by the package and hundreds of pounds of lean ground beef.

Eva has been teaching to full Farm to Fork Cooking Classes. The last class was covered by Texas Highways and will be featured in an article in the magazine in June. There are many class choices available for the rest of the year.

We have moved the layer hens to fresh grass and they have an abundance of rye and clover. Baby chicks that will be future layers are now weeks old and growing fast. We received this week Italian and French heritage breed meat chickens. They will be raised on pasture and ready to sell at the farm in 8-10 weeks (around mid-June after processing).

The only downside this month was at the end when my foot got crushed under the tractor bucket. Now fractured, I have to get well soon. Farming in a blue boot is not going to be any fun.

I have been updating our Face Book page for Greer Farm more than blogs due to just being too busy. I will try and have regular blogs during the summer.
]]>Sid GreerFarmers don't BLOG2012-02-08T11:39:02-06:00http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/4e2eb20e05db6496fc77b93a338e822a-538.php#unique-entry-id-538http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/4e2eb20e05db6496fc77b93a338e822a-538.php#unique-entry-id-538This is our February Newsletter. You can sign up for it on our homepage.

Eva's Culinary Commentary
There is still room to participate in this Saturday's valentine cooking class, Love Around the World. The flavors in the shrimp piri piri will have you licking your fingers and begging for more.  I love the spices of African and Middle Eastern dishes; the tantalizing tastes that linger in your mouth.  Much of these cuisines are influenced from explorers, traders and settlers from Europe, the Mediterranean and Asia. You will see that the African jollof is very similar to a cajun jambalaya,  which was probably derived from it.  The seasoning is much more intense in the version we will prepare. The salad on the menu is so refreshing and you will experience a different spice; sumac which has a fruity aroma and citrus flavor. The apple and squash fritter is a great accompaniment to the chicken dish with a cinnamon sugar topping. The asparagus is roasted then drizzled with freshly roasted red pepper sauce that imparts wonderful flavor. Pink peppercorns are very much loved in Turkish cuisine and are light and fragrant. They really enhance the meringues which are crispy and spicy. This compliments the smooth, creamy, and mild panna cotta which is a custard made without egg yolks. What's valentines without chocolate? So we will garnish our dessert with rich chocolate shavings. Hopefully, you will leave feeling satisfied and loved. After all scrumptious food is the way to someone's heart.
February 11, 2012    11:00 AM at the farm Love Around the World   $75 Shrimp piri piri lettuce wraps Pink grapefruit avocado and pomegranate salad African jollof rice with chicken South African apple squash fritters Asparagus with roasted red pepper sauce Panna cotta with chocolate shavings and Turkish pink peppercorn meringues
Our next class, Mardi Gras, will also be loaded with flavor and excitement as we prepare the dishes greatly influenced by the French settlers in the south. We will jump start it with brandy milk punch giving you that warm feeling inside. The crawfish beignets are so tasty with Eva's new rendition of remoulade with pink peppercorns. The  Jambalaya is also tweeked with the black beans, a take off from my Caribbean background, also a very flavorful cuisine. The Oyster artichoke soup is not overpowered by a roux as there isn't one.  Instead, the true flavors of the artichokes and oysters emerge all on their own. New Orleans barbecue shrimp is my old favorite and I can still remember the occasion where I was first introduced to it and was instantly hooked. Of course you have to sop it up with French bread. King cake can be rather bland so we will enrich it with the Greer farm blueberry cream filling and then put the traditional colored sugars on it. So let the good times roll. Let's have our own Mardi Gras at the Greer farm.
February 18, 2012 11:00 AM at the farm Mardi Gras: Laisse le bon Temps Rouler  $80 Brandy milk punch Crawfish beignets with pink peppercorn rémoulade Chicken and sausage black bean jambalaya Oyster and artichoke soup New Orleans barbecue shrimp and French bread King cake with Greer farm blueberry cream filling
Farm Life
Winter should be a time of quiet, resting before the hard work of summer.  I think that is a myth from a seed catalog company.  If you live in Texas, after last summer's drought and the mild temperatures that have not even killed flies, you know that mother nature did not take a vacation.
Our big project is a CSA where we will be offering vegetables on a subscription basis starting March 31 running at least to August 1.  A lot of details need to be worked out on the administration and publicity of this venture, but the planting has started.  We are in the process of setting out over 4,000 onions (different varieties).  Potatoes are in the cool room setting eyes and will be planted in the next ten days.  Included are Yukon Gold and several types of heritage large potatoes and fingerlings.  This includes Peruvian Purple. The greenhouse is full of seedlings that are just starting to emerge.  Many different types of greens will be in our weekly boxes along with traditional and heritage veggies.  Our goal is to deliver in the Longview- Tyler area, have vegetables at the farm and go to the McKinney Farmer's markets on Thursday afternoon and Saturday mornings.  We are adding more information on the CSA on our website early next week, including how to subscribe. 
Out in the berry fields we have replaced 300 blackberry plants that bit the dust in the summer heat.  Next up is replacing 60 blueberry bushes.  Our stock will come from Louisiana and Georgia.  Trying to avoid the problems we experienced last summer keeping the plants alive, we are laying 2,000 feet of 2 inch water distribution line and new controls.  If the system works as planned we can water the plants through drip hose with the equivalent of receiving 3 inches of rain.  This project started in late summer with a total replacement of the lake water filtration system.  Now we just have one tiny problem.  The plants think its late March and the buds are swelling and in a few instances we have a few in flower.  This is not good.  The last thing we want is for the plants to go into bloom before the last frost. 
Grass Fed Steers
Our main cattle herd is in the middle of a change of life cycle.  Some are with the bulls to be bred, some are going through a process to be flushed (harvest their eggs) to artificially inciminate them, the new baby calves are just having fun and staying on mama's milk while the young steers and heifers are doing their best on the rye grass and hay, growing into mature cattle. 
In the steer paddock, we are continuing to grass feed the last of the steers we will sell for grass fed beef until the fall.  The first steers harvested have been picked up by our customers.  Some of the steers in the paddock are sold, but we still have split quarters and halves available.  The total cost per pound, based on hanging weight, is about $4.50.  We noticed an advertisement by a Dallas vendor asking $7.50 per pound.  I think we offer as good or better quality as these guys that are asking too high a price.  Call us for more information or check out our website.
What Else
We could ramble on about it being time to make your lakeside log cabin rental reservations sooner than later so you will not be disappointed or how the chickens in the egg mobile are doing great (they just need summer pasture). Also how we anticipate new baby chicks in mid-March.  We can talk about that and much more in March.  You can also keep current by reading our irregular blogs and wall notes on Facebook.  The important thing is that you know we keep all of our customers and friends in mind in all that we do.
Think about a February Farm to Fork Cooking Class either this Saturday or on the 18th as a way to start off the new year with a bang.  From our farm to your home we wish you all the best.
Sid, Eva and all of us on the farm

February has arrived on the farm.  The super bowl is over and no more college football.  What are we going to do for entertainment.  Basketball maybe.  How about a winter retreat staying in a lakeside log cabin, sipping wine by a camp fire on a starry night.  Perhaps a Saturday cooking class having fun learning new techniques and recipes, while enjoying a gourmet meal you helped prepare course by course.  It's all possible if you visit our farm in February.

]]>Sid GreerFarmers don't BLOG2012-02-07T08:01:04-06:00http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/3abeb414566744224be579b6a1870fc5-537.php#unique-entry-id-537http://www.greerfarm.com/blog/files/3abeb414566744224be579b6a1870fc5-537.php#unique-entry-id-537I recently ran across a photo of me taken 40 years ago. I am not as young as I was then, but the cowboy in me is still alive and well.
2012_01_24_13_00_35 (dragged)

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