Serenbe Farms
  CSA Newsletter and Recipes 5-25

October 12th, 2010

Farm News from Ashley-
 
I made a vow to not talk about the weather or irrigation in this weeks newsletter! I hope I can stick to it. 

 

Last week was filled with lots of planting. Many of our goals this time of the year involving planting: veggies that will be harvested this fall, strawberries, onions, and garlic which will not be harvested till spring, and veggies which will be harvested throughout the winter. On Wednesday we planted 5 beds of onions, which were originally seeded in the greenhouse. Unfortunately these will not be  harvested till the spring, and will be included in next years csa. On Friday we direct seeded carrots, radishes, asian greens and turnips. It felt very good to finally get all of this into the ground, and back on track with our fall planting extravaganza.


On a different note, John Davis, the third intern on the farm, and his wife Sonya had their first baby on Friday! We are all thrilled and anxious to see little baby Porter!


Black Soldier Flies:

Lately I have been reading a lot about black soldier flies (BSF), I find them very interesting, and thought I would share some quick facts about them with you. There is some research being done on them pertaining to the recycling of waste, in the long-run many scientists have goals of using these little guys to reduce waste in land-fills across the world. I will be spending some of time growing and researching BSF's after my internship here for Will Harris of White Oak Pastures.


What exactly are black soldier flies?-
Also known as, Hermetia illucens, BSF's are indigenous to the Americas, in particular, the south east United States. As adults they mate and lay eggs, which hatch into larvae, these larvae then grow for roughly two weeks, and then turn into pupae, which then turn into adults, starting the cylce over.


What makes them so special?-

They can eat raw food waste as well as manure (chicken, swine and cow). In about two weeks, with enough of them, they can turn 100 lbs of waste into five lbs of black friable matierial which can be used as a soil amendment or further decomposed using worms (vermicomposting). Worms can only eat partially decomposed food waste, while BSF's can eat raw, and BSF's can compost 10 times faster than worms.


Black Soldier Fly Larvae-

Another special thing about them is how nutrional their larvae is. The larvae are around 40 percent protein, and 5 percent calcium. Studies are being done feeding the larvae to chickens, and fish. With the proper BSF unit, the larvae are self-harvesting, and naturally crawl out at their final stage, just as they turn to pupae.


Summary-

BSF's have the ability to transform tons of food and animal waste into two benefical products: the larvae, and friable matierial. Since they are native to this area, they are incredible solution to many of the worlds waste problems. If fed to chickens, they could eliminate the need for grain (corn and soybeans), living on a diet of grass and larvae.


Okay, enough about black soldier flies, hopefully I did not bore you to sleep.


Have a great week!

Ashley

 

 

 



Find recipes here.
 
This week's share (prediction):

big Hakurei turnip bunches (sweet crisp white turnip)

kale: Siberian, red Russian, curly or lacinato

arugula or other greens

yummy beans

sweet peppers

okra or eggplant or something else


sweet potatoes

likely winter squash

garlic

hot peppers

and more!

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Links
www.serenbefarms.com

www.georgiaorganics.org
www.slowfoodatlanta.org
RECIPES

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