No Tomatoes this Year!

a look back at what we issued this year....took a year off!

Ambrosia Farms...Flavor and Sustenance, Heirloom Veggies, Grown For You

Ambrosia Farms has been farming naturally since 1988, with complete focus on open pollinated, heirloom vegetables.  Our pride in conserving open spaces, maintaining natural ecosystems, preserving cultural traditions, supporting the arts, and adopting wild horses, and hound dogs is our way of giving back to the Earth and Our Community.

We get our seeds from Baker Creek, Seeds of Italy, and save our own seeds, when time permits.  Our favorite varieties include tomatoes (Pantano Romanesco), winter squash/Pumpkins (Marina di Chioggia, Kabocha, Kuri, and Banana), Kale (Tuscan and Curly), Lettuce (Grumolo Chicory), Basil (Lettuce Leaf)...We grow varieties to suit your specific needs!

if you need a crop custom grown for you, please call our cell phone 315-749-8942

Norway Spruce Tree

FARM FRESH DELIVERIES

Our farm will mail freshly picked produce to your door - just email us for more information!
ambrosiafarmsnyatyahoodotcom

kale chips coming soon from Ambrosia Farms

The perspective behind some of my work

I am a dedicated heirloom farmer, heritage breed caretaker, and homesteader! What does that mean? I realize there is no post on my blog with explanation or discussion.

I can summarize this dedication by sharing a dialogue with a friend today.

The friend said that the doctor recommended she have tomato in her salad every day, for health benefits. It is winter here in the Northeast, and she is still eating tomatoes! Well, I asked her if she knew where the tomatoes in the supermarkets came from? I asked how they could be any good with their coloration and hardness. (Of course, I would never eat one of these myself.) And what of the actual nutrition content - the very reason she was being instructed to consume more tomato? Well, she asked, what about canned tomatoes, are they better? I explained that canned foods represent 25% of the nutritional content of the original crop. One of the motivations in Farmers Frozen Foods -preserving optimum nutritients.

But really, does anyone know what the actual nutritional profile of each crop is these days, since everything is completely altered from its native state? She said she might grow one of those upside down plants this summer. I asked her if she knew where the seed came from? ... and on and on the conversation went.

Anyway, to make a long story short, very few people question their food sources right down to the seed or the breed that becomes their food. I am one of the few!

Genetic Diversity

Each race of native human populations represents a unique gene profile. Studies show that Italian and Finnish people have isolated genetic differences. Heirloom and Heritage is about preserving genetic differences. GMO - genetically modified organisms are our biggest threat due to wind borne cross pollination. We saw how quickly the late blight spread in Northeast tomatoes crops. The same can easily happen with exposing all corn crops to GMO crops.

What percentage of corn and soybeans is GMO?
92% of all soy and 80% of all corn grown in the US was genetically modified

Heirloom seeds

Genetic diversity in our farm fields are as beneficial as diversity in all aspects of life - a better diet results in better health - and pure seed represents the authentic nutrition vitamin, mineral, and amino acid profile. Hybrids are human designs to create a "better" crop - like increased sugar content of sweet corn. Some of these F1 hybrids meet a broader definition of heirloom if they were patented before 1928.

The benefits of saving seed and growing heirlooms has to do with preserving these rare, and in many cases, native crops.

Heritage Breeds

We adopted wild mustangs.

"These horses returned to North America with the arrival of the Spanish explorers and conquerors. These Spanish horses were from the finest strains and were regarded as the best in Europe. They formed the nucleus of the great herds of wild horses that spread upward from Mexico into the United States and the western plains country. Native peoples generally managed their horses somewhat loosely by European standards, allowing the horses considerable freedom. This management style augmented the growing wild herds.

Wild horses were variously called "mustangs," "mestenos," broncos, chapos (meaning short and chunky).

Horses bred to race are designed for speed and endurance - these are hybrids. So too, milk cattle are designed for greater production. Some breeds are naturally better milkers while others have higher butterfat solids. Farmers pick and choose breeds based on natural characteristics or those imparted by human bioengineering. Again, preservation of old world breeds and genetic diversity are the key reasons for raising and caring for heritage breeds.

Homesteading - as traditional crop varieties are being restored to native farmers and gardeners, associated farming traditions are being revived.

We have received favorable press each year in the following venues - each time I published a link to reareseeds.com as our recommended seed source. These include:

Growing Magazine, 2009

http://www.growingmagazine.com/article.php?id=4400Fruit Growers Magazine, 2008

Vegetable Growers Magazine, 2008

Fruit Growers News

http://www.fruitgrowersnews.com

Cornell Small Farms Quarterly, 2007

http://www.smallfarms.cornell.edu/pages/quarterly/archive/fall08/Fall08-11.pdf

SARE Grant Reporting and Proposal, 2005 and 2006

http://www.sare.org/MySARE/ProjectReport.aspx?do=viewRept&pn=FNE06-566&y=2007&t=1

We encourage farmers that grow for Farmers Frozen Foods to purchase seed from heirloom seed sources.

Earth Day & 25 years of Farming Sustainably on Ambrosia Farms

  while others compromise, we plant only by giving back each year to enrich the soil with composted horse manure, peat moss (very sparingly & only spot on) and all natural enrichment.  This year should be our best ever to celebrate 25 years of growing organically - nope - plastic not included.  We simply mulch around our plantings which is a further input to enrich the soil as it quickly composts - hay, grass clippings, etc.

Here is a list of 2013 plantings as we go

April
peas - monmouth sugar snap peas - trellis made by thehaystore - one side only - 18 ft
   2 rows approx 45 sds per row - rareseeds

garlic - planted last October - var rocambole type - uncovered mulch

fava beans - seeds of italy

herbs - dill, parsley,

edible flowers - nasturtium

lettuce - escarole

lettuce -


potatoes -

summer squash -

April hours and inputs

hours per day
4/22   4
4/23  5
4/24  5

jobs per hour
escavated composted manure from field
cut through grass and weed border of field
planted peas
planted favas
planted herbs
transplanted oregano near mint
weed mint
transplanted tiger lilies to clay pots
transplanted tiger lilies to field driveway
racked ditch in front of field and seeded with cottontails in ditch

Welcoming the New Year and New Opportunities

This year marks the 25th anniversary of working the farm, over 100 acres preserved in it's natural state (from the 1800s)!  I never tire of this life.  Nurturing animals comes easy to me - I've had an affinity to it since I was 5 years...eating fresh and fine foods learned from great Italian cooks my mother, father, and extended family... being outdoors... being a bit of a maverick... being independent...being challenged.

... life as a farmer is good to me!

I need to finalize our 20c license for commercial kitchen, gain a wider audience for my upickcsa.com, and help distribute the many local farmer artisan and baker products that are soooo much better than similar products for reasons of farmland preservation and carbon footprint as well as taste and nutrition.

Each year I try to grow my farm crops more effectively by becoming more efficient without sacrificing quality.

The many local products that I like besides our own wood fired pizzas, pestos, tuscan soup, frozen heirloom veggies, fresh goat cheese ricotta, and garlic include:
Evans Farmhouse Dairy
Poplar Hedge Farm
Kriemhild Dairy
Kutik Honey
Belly Acres Maple Syrup
Siggi's Yogurt
Sister Farm Produce
Shitae Mushrooms
Haar Family Farm Eggs
Fiddle Tree Farm Melons
Aaron Strawberry Fields

I will be posting individual reviews of small producers products and compare to other local plus store shelf items.