It’s been quite the week — especially for our pigs.
We raise more than 100 of them, mostly heritage Mulefoots, on one of our properties. They are one of the foundations of Black Cat Farm, which is the only certified biodynamic farm-to-table operation in the United States, and one of the few USDA certified organic.
How do the pigs help us run the most ambitious farm-to-table operation in America?
By eating their way through things that we did not harvest, as well as weeds, they serve as farm hands. They fertilize the fields for us. They aerate the soil as they push their snouts deep, hunting for roots. And the soil, the health of which depends largely on the pigs, feeds its sleep-loving, snorting, mud-bathing benefactors. The whole circle is win-win.
This week we set them loose in a large field that held tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. This pleased them quite a bit! They ate so many tomatoes and eggplant that they would fall asleep in those fields, sometimes surrounded by vegetables. They tended to move, however, as they worked the pepper fields. Maybe the spice kept them on their hooves.
Either way, all of the vibrant goodness that we pull from our fields owes a great deal to the pigs.
And now, the Market list for Saturday. Don’t forget to thank our pigs when you snag that bouquet of beets or head of cauliflower.
- Tat soi
- Purple tat soi
- Mizuna
- Ruby Streak m
- Mibuna
- Osaka purple
- Cho Kara
- Arugula
- Fava bean tops
- Lettuces varieties
- Collard greens
- Fennel
- Beets
- Carrots
- Turnips: Hakurei, Hinona Kabu, Magenta
- Radishes: Easter Egg, Daikon, Hailstone
- Squash: Spaghetti, Butternut, Acorn, and Delicata
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Sweet potatoes
- Fingerling potatoes
- Pork: Ground, Shoulder Roast, Ham Roast, Hocks
- Grains: Polenta, Farro, whole wheat flour
