Human power is essential at Black Cat Farm. We seed and plant. We irrigate. We weed. We harvest, clean vegetables and bring them to the Market and the restaurants.
But we don’t do everything. Much of the work, in fact, gets done by our heritage pigs. Only for them, it’s not exactly work.
Once we finish harvesting in individual fields, the pigs move in. This week, we brought them into plots of kale, mustard and arugula that had bolted, meaning they had gone to flower.
As always, the pigs went hog wild. They worked their way up and down rows of flowers and greens, munching everything in sight. They ate so much they laid down wherever the mood struck them and took between-meal naps. While they were at it, they fertilized the soil — which will see a year of a cover crop before returning to vegetable production — got rid of weeds, and turned over the soil.
Livestock are essential for biodynamic farming, and Black Cat Farm is certified biodynamic as well as organic. The approach is holistic — agricultural plants need livestock to thrive, and livestock in turn fully flourish when they roam fields dense with nutritious plants.
When you swing by our Market stand on Saturday, thank the pigs for those bushels of spinach, radishes and turnips.
And stop by and chat with us, too!
At The Market
Veggies
Pea tendrils · Fava tops · Hakurei turnips · Magenta turnips · Spring onions · Red and white radishes · Edible flowers: arugula, kale, radish · Parsley · Chives · Siberian kale · Red Russian kale · Chard · Spinach · Mixed salad greens · Butter lettuce · Red Romain · Claytonia · Mizuna · Radish greens · Tatsoi · Osaka purple
Black Cat Frozen Farm-Grown Dishes
Green mole · Pork green chile · Pork vegetable stew · Pork rillettes · Chimichurri · Lamb green curry · Veggie green curry
Black Cat Charcuterie
Cotechino Modena sausage · Ken’s Italian Cajun Sausage · Breakfast sausage · Bacon · Breakfast sausage
Black Cat Heritage-Breed Pork & Lamb Raised on Organic Pastures
All cuts of lamb · All cuts of pork · Pork skin · Pork jowls
Accessories
Sheepskins (via order form) · Tallow candle
