Tag Archives: Kilpatrick Family Farm
My growing area in the front of my house. It used to be my garden. Those are pea trellises made from PVC pipe and netting.

{my farming journey} The Season Begins

If you caught my previous post, then you already know I’m trying to start a micro farm this year called Little Sparrow Farm. In mid March I started my seeds with some grow lights in my basement. In late March I went out-of-town for a week and my husband was in charge of the seedlings. […]

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The view looking out over the new field.

{my farming journey} Starting Little Sparrow

The following is the very basic tale of how I’m starting my own micro-farm in Ballston Spa. It’s called Little Sparrow Farm, and yes, it’s named after Dolly Parton. Last summer I was telling a friend how I was going to be ordering a lot of garlic. The amount I ordered ended up being over […]

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farmers market peppers2

{fsc podcast} Episode 7: The Farmers Market Scene

It occurred to us that while we’ve discussed all sorts of ways to access fresh, local vegetables and fruit, we’ve been missing a key way that so many people buy their food… farmers markets! So we are bringing you the scoop on farmers markets this episode- how they’re organized and structured, why farmers and producers […]

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Happy Hens

{field trip} My Visit to Polyface Farm

I recently got back from a crazy five-day trip to the D.C. area. In that time, I spread some DIY Bacon love to Maryland where I taught a private lesson on bacon curing, I got to hang out with the wonderful Celia from On Cardamom and Cast Iron, and see the sights from the windows […]

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Squash Blossom

{food policy} Why Do You Grow Clean Food?

There has been a lot of discussion, and media hype, about the Stanford University School of Medicine Meta Analysis published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on September 4th, on whether organic food is more nutritious than conventionally grown food. (Definition Note: A Meta Analysis focuses on contrasting and combining results from different studies, in the hope of identifying patterns […]

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Sugar baby watermelon on newly laid straw.

{garden tour} Because You Can’t Eat Your Lawn

When we bought our house in the summer of 2009 we quickly realized there was no simple spot for our garden. Our larger backyard was simply too shady and the front yard was engulfed by a tree and a 20-30 year old hydrangea bush. That front spot got plenty of sun though, so we knew […]

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{FSC PODCAST} Episode 5: Raising Animals (for food)

Raising animals for food. It’s a tricky subject, but we are tackling it with gusto in this month’s podcast. We’ve talked about growing vegetables, joining CSAs to pay someone else to grow vegetables and we’ve even talked a little bit about backyard chickens. Now we are bringing you an extended interview with a local meat […]

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{local event} Meet the Meat Farmers

I can’t stress enough how important farm tours are to customer education & enlightenment, customer-to-farmer relations and community ties. To actually see & hear, in detail, up-close, how your food is grown or raised is an empowering experience. You walk away with a better understanding of the farmer & crew’s grueling-never-ending-job in rain, in snow, […]

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{weekend recipe} Salad For Breakfast

Make this or something like this! Tomorrow morning or Sunday morning! PRONTO! You see its been hotter than the surface of the sun here for the past two days: 100+ and humid. I know I know, its summer get over it! Well, I got over ‘it’ with this salad. Seriously. The salad came together because […]

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{In Season} spring greens & things pesto

{Troy Farmers Market, River Street, May 19, 2012} Whether or not you belong to a CSA Program, if you are visiting your local farmers market this weekend or weekday, you will come across an array of spring/early summer greens & things. Spring greens such as chois, arugula, spinach, turnip & radish tops, kale, swiss chard […]

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{springtime recipe} Of Radishes & Recaps

We were lucky enough to be invited by our Chef’s Consortium friends to participate in another fabulous event (remember the Michael Pollan event?) and this time, we got the chance to introduce the Capital Region to our DIY antics by serving up our first ever tastings table! No demos, just food. Eekkkkk! Annnnnd SO MUCH […]

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CSA season

{FSC PODCAST} episode 2: all about csa programs

{Christine’s 2011 22-week CSA Share from Kilpatrick Family Farm} This month’s episode is all about CSAs– community supported agriculture! We tell you what CSA is and why it’s awesome for both farmers and consumers. If you’re interested in supporting local farmers and the local food system, this show is for you. Are you still on […]

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{a bunch of my bee equipment that is currently in my basement}

{the honeybee saga} Let Me Start at the Beginning…

Today I went out to the farm where I will be keeping my bees this year. I went out there to get milk but happened to see the owner working outside so we chatted for a bit. We discussed how as soon as the weather looks like it’s going to stay nice, I’m bringing my […]

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4-pac-choi

{recipe} Asian Greens Salad

Today I’m going to share my Asian Greens Salad recipe with you. In the winter I make this salad five nights a week, and we eat it for several months straight. We never tire of it. In fact, when autumn rolls around and the air gets crisp and cool, we start to hunger for it. […]

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rooster and his ladies

{backyard-to-kitchen poultry} Rooster Nuggets

*Reader alert: The following story involves some general information on poultry processing (no gory details or photos, though). If you’d rather not hear more about how the meat my family eats came from real live animals, some of whom grew up in our backyard, stop here. If you do eat meat, however, I would encourage […]

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