PLANTING Turn over your pea planting beds in the fall, add manure and mulch well. Pea roots will fix nitrogen in the soil, making it available for other plants. Apply wood ash to the soil before planting. Sow seeds outdoors 4 to 6 weeks before last spring frost, when soil temperatures reach 45 degrees F. Plant 1 inch deep and 2 inches apart. Get them in the ground while the soil is still cool but do not have them sit too long in wet soil. CARE Make sure that you have well-drained, humus-rich soil. Poke in any seeds that wash out. Add bonemeal, for the phosphorus content. They like phosphorus and potassium. Water sparsely unless the plants are wilting. Do not let plants dry out, or no pods will be produced. For tall and vine varieties, establish poles or a trellis at time of planting. Do not hoe around plants to avoid disturbing fragile roots. It’s best to rotate pea crops every year or two to avoid a buildup of soil-borne diseases. PESTS/DISEASES Aphids Mexican Bean Beetles Woodchucks Fusarium Wilt HARVEST/STORAGE Keep your peas well picked to encourage more pods to develop. Pick peas in the morning after the dew has dried. They are crispiest then. Always use two hands when you pick peas. Secure the vine with one hand and pull the peas off with your other hand. Peas can be frozen or kept in the refrigerator for about 5 days. Place in paper bags, then wrap in plastic. If you missed your peas’ peak period, you can still pick, dry, and shell them for use in winter soups. WIT & WISDOM If a girl finds nine peas in a pod, the next bachelor she meets will become her husband.

Dandelion Salad with Warm Hazelnut Vinaigrette 2 large bunches dandelion greens (about 2 pounds) 1/4 cup hazelnuts 3 garlic cloves 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar Preparation Discard tough stems from greens. Cut top 5 inches from greens and reserve. Cut remaining greens into 3/4-inch slices. Transfer all greens to a large serving bowl. Coarsely chop nuts and finely chop garlic. In a small heavy skillet cook garlic and nuts in oil over moderate heat, stirring, until garlic is golden. Stir in vinegar and salt and pepper to taste. Pour hot vinaigrette over greens and toss to combine.

Pan-Seared Sea Bass with Beet Sauce and Beet Greens Serves 4 Ingredients 1 pound red beets with greens (about 3 medium) 1 cup water 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh gingerroot 4 sea bass fillets (about 1/2 pound each) 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander Preparation Preheat oven to 450°F. Trim beets, leaving about 1 inch of stems attached, and reserve greens with stems. Wrap beets tightly in foil and in a baking pan roast in middle of oven until tender, about 1 hour. Unwrap beets carefully. When beets are cool enough to handle, slip off skins and stems. In a blender or food processor puree beets with water, soy sauce, vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste until smooth. Transfer sauce to a small saucepan and keep warm, covered. Cut greens into 1/2-inch-wide slices and chop stems. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet heat 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderate heat until foam subsides and cook gingerroot, stirring, 30 seconds. Add greens and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season greens with salt and pepper and keep warm, covered. Pat sea bass fillets dry. Sprinkle fillets with coriander and season with salt and pepper. In a large nonstick skillet heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until foam subsides and sauté fillets, skin sides down, pressing gently with a spatula if fillets curl, until skin is golden, about 3 minutes. Turn fish over and sauté about 2 minutes more, or until just cooked through. Serve sea bass with beet greens and sauce.

‘And the dandelion does not stop growing because it was told it was a weed. The dandelion does not care what others see. It says, One day they’ll be making wishes on me.’ —B. Atkinson A few years ago, up here on Red Clover Farms, a friend and I made an exchange. She was looking for land to grow organic feed for her ducks, and I desperately needed help with keeping up with the “weeds” in my gardens. We didn’t need a handshake because a farmer’s word is his or her strongest bond. In went the grains — millet, flax, buckwheat, amaranth, and oats — and down went the peas. Oh, how the ducks love peas!Now, many people who want a beautiful flower garden will plant just that — flowers. They never think of planting something wild and crazy like grains. Well, let me tell you that the hues of flowering grain colors in the field are just about the prettiest thing you could ever see. I still remember the sea of flax. Every time the wind blew the bluish rows, it looked just like the ocean, softly rippling away in the fields. Grains are so beneficial for gardeners as well because they attract honeybees, which will help pollinate crops. Buckwheat is just like candy for honeybees — they absolutely love it. So a couple of weeks went by, and I was so busy at my general store downtown — running the restaurant, putting together upcoming farm-to-table menus — that I didn’t even step foot into my gardens. I knew that they were getting watered and weeded, so you can imagine the giant weight that was taken off my shoulders by the exchange.One morning, while my friend was out in the garden watering, I decided to check things out since farm-to-table season was right around the corner. I imagined pristine rows of manicured vegetables, maybe a color-coded system. I was so excited. I ran outside, and what did I find? Weeds. Like almost all weeds. And there she was, watering away and greeting me with a great big smile.I remember thinking, hmm … was our exchange not clear? Did she not get around to weeding yet? I was confused. The vegetable plants looked absolutely healthy and amazing, but there were just so many weeds. I didn’t want to make the situation awkward, so I began some friendly conversation and rolled up my sleeves to start weeding.I bent over to make my first pull, and I heard a sweet voice: “Oh no, dear, you don’t want to pull that one — that’s purslane, it’s edible.”Edible? Oh, OK, on to the next weed. Get ready, yank and “Oh no, dear, you don’t want to pull that one either. That’s lamb’s quarters. It’s a purifying plant and helps to restore healthy nutrients to the soil, and it’s great in salads.Ah. I remember making some comment like, “Oh, and I guess the dandelions are off limits, too?” And she followed with “Oh, dandelions, we should make some tea.”I didn’t know what to think. It was just not what I expected, and I thought, Who was going to eat a pile of weeds? So I did a little research on purslane and found out it is a bit of a nutritional powerhouse, offering remarkable amounts of minerals (most notably calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium), omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins (A, B, C), and antioxidants. New York Times best seller Michael Pollan’s book In Defense of Food called purslane and lamb’s quarters the two most nutritious plants on the planet.Really? Maybe we are on to something here.For a hoot, I created a section on my restaurant menu called “Farmer Kim’s Edible Weeds,” and I thought, Here goes nothing. Next to the standard lettuce and field greens, I would throw a bunch of weeds just off to the side, just in case the customer didn’t want to eat a pile of grass. I’d serve it up with a white peach-infused balsamic, and crunch, crunch, plate cleaned. What a great conversation starter, too.Pretty soon people were asking to buy my weeds, and of course I thought of the get-rich-quick plan of selling weeds — or even better, pick your own weeds. That way my gardens would get tended to as well.I guess the lesson learned from the garden is What makes something a weed? Something obnoxious and annoying, that just gets in the way? Something that doesn’t fit in, or belong. Something that looks different, is misunderstood, is tossed aside. Sound familiar?I’m sure we can all think of situations where this is relevant. Maybe we have all felt like a weed at one time, or have been the weeder. Maybe that weed that we were going to pluck and toss to the side actually is the most beneficial for you to keep. My dandelion wish for you: May all your weeds be wildflowers.

As a farmer, this is truly the time of the season to give thanks. It’s the time of year when the last harvests are brought in for canning, root vegetables are pulled out of the hardening ground for storage and fields are turned over and planted with cover crops like winter rye and wheat. It’s the time of year where you breathe a sigh of relief that you did it, you made it through another farming season — and you are so grateful that you are still sane, and still standing. Recently, I finished planting our stock of German white hardneck garlic. If you have never had this variety, you have to try it. Called “the chef’s garlic” by garlic connoisseurs, German white has a little bit of a zing when eaten raw but produces a full-body gentle taste when cooked.  German white stores well, is easy to peel and is extremely flavorful in sauces, pestos and even roasted. It was a bittersweet moment for me when I was done planting — knowing that I just spread the last of the dirt and my work for the season was done. You spend all year planning, worrying and tending — and then when the fall comes, you gracefully take a bow and turn the land back over to itself, trusting that it has the innate knowledge to do what it needs to do until you meet that old friend again in the spring.I always try to listen to the land and learn lessons while I am in the fields, and autumn is always so abundantly clear — observing the bare trees and listening to the crunching sounds of red, yellow and orange leaves under your feet. I’d like to share some of these lessons with you. Autumn is the time to let go, to shed whatever it is that you are carrying, and know that it is going to be OK. It’s a time to let go of fear and anxiety of what the future holds, and shake your worries off like falling leaves — become that bare tree. It’s time to release the reins and know that we don’t need to always be burdened with the thought that our worlds will fall apart if we are not in complete control.Autumn is a time to simply be in the moment, and realize how blessed we are and how much we have to be thankful for. It’s a time to jump in those piles of leaves, feel them brush against your face and let their smell invigorate you. It’s a time to dance and play with the heart of a child and to do the things that bring us happiness and joy. It’s a time to enjoy our blessings and glorious gifts, knowing that it is never too late to fully live your life.As we enter into this season of giving thanks, remember to live your own life as beautifully as a forest full of autumn leaves — and share the color of your heart with everyone you meet.

Anyone who puts their hands in the soil knows that there is healing in farming. It’s its own kind of therapy. Farming is where you learn life’s lessons, where you listen to the earth’s messages, where you reawaken your spirit, connect with God and find truth. It’s not just walking on the ground, but it’s being grounded. Therapeutic farming is about the feeling you get when you see the first seedlings pop above the earth — the smell of fresh-cut hay wafting through your bedroom window — feeling the rays of sunlight on your face, learning the song of the barn swallow. We dream and hope, love and laugh, even in the face of things that seemingly would beat us to the ground. Farming teaches us that when tragedy strikes our lives — our hearts are still beating — and we are resilient. Farming isn’t just a living; it’s a way of life. Through sweat, laughter and tears, we gain strength and knowledge by working the land in our journey of recovery. I hope that, as a farmer, I can make some kind of small difference in someone else’s life. I hope that I can share my stories of the fields to let people know that life is filled with love and promise. My work here on Red Clover Farms is an extension of my belief that we can heal our wounds and gain insight and wisdom with our connection to the land. I feel it is time to share my wild adventures, lessons, the beauty that I have found in nature and in the rhythm of the earth. I have been feeling a calling to “harvest” these stories of the land and share them with you so you too can “grow.”

Swiss chard is not only one of the most popular vegetables along the Mediterranean but it is one of the most nutritious vegetables around and ranks second only to spinach following our analysis of the total nutrient-richness of the World's Healthiest vegetables. Research has shown that chard leaves contain at least 13 different polyphenol antioxidants, including kaempferol, the cardioprotective flavonoid that's also found in broccoli, kale, strawberries, and other foods. But alongside of kaempferol, one of the primary flavonoids found in the leaves of chard is a flavonoid called syringic acid. Syringic acid has received special attention in recent research due to its blood sugar regulating properties. This flavonoid has been shown to inhibit activity of an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase. When this enzyme gets inhibited, fewer carbs are broken down into simple sugars and blood sugar is able to stay more steady. It makes sense to think about chard as a vegetable whose flavonoid phytonutrients are unique and may offer special benefits for blood sugar control. Braised - with lemon juice, olive oil mint and parmesan cheese. Raw -  in a salad with roasted beets, goat cheese, sunflower seeds, golden raisins, balsamic and a drizzle of local honey. Yummy Chard!

Radishes are just one of my favorites - I used to dislike them for their bitterness - but they grew on me over the years. In France, I kinda fell in love with them. The French serve them on little toast points with a layer of butter, thinly sliced radishes and a pinch of salt. Something about this combination is remarkable. The butter smooths out the tartness of the radish and the salt just gives it a kick. Try any toast point combination - pesto, goat cheese, layer with cucumbers, whatever! In a salad radishes go well with ranch, bluecheese, cucumbers, peas, croutons, red onions. Braise them. Try to saute them in white wine and olive oil & butter with sweet onions and leeks for a great side dish or even over quinoa or pasta. And yes...you can eat the greens too! They are just like salad greens - put them in your salad, or saute. Juicing the greens are also a great idea! Happy Radish Eating!

NATURAL RASPBERRY LIP GLOSS RECIPE: 1 teaspoon organic beeswax pellets  4 teaspoons organic refined shea butter 1 teaspoon organic  castor oil 1 teaspoon of Freshly Squeezed Raspberry Juice 5 drops of Lemon essential oil Lip Balm containers (order at mountain rose herbs) DIRECTION: Melt everything together on low heat, once melted remove from heat and blend with an electric whip until it forms a creamy / frosty consistency. Scoop right away in a small lip balm containers before it start to solidify completely.

Oh, the wondrous world of Kale...what to do with Kale??? There are just so many things to do with this leafy supergreen. Raw - in a salad. Try with something citrus like orange slices and almonds, with shaved swiss cheese, olive oil and lemon juice. Finish with sesame seeds and salt. Baked - hello kale chips! Bake in your oven until crispy, and sprinkle on your favorite seasoning! I spray the raw kale with Braggs Liquid Amino Acid, roll in spices and then bake mine. They make a great snack chip that even your kids will love! Sauteed - with sausage, black beans, red peppers, white wine, olive oil and onions - serve over pasta, or wrap in a flatbread.

This coffee body scrub recipe will leave yours skin smooth and hydrated. 1/2 cup of organic whole brown sugar 1/2 cup organic solid coconut oil 1/2 cup of organic liquid castile soap like Dr Bronners 3 tbs of organic ground coffee Instructions In a blender mix sugar and coconut oil Pour the sugar and coconut oil in an aluminum bowl placed in a another bowl filled with cold iced water Whip the scrub with an electric mixer until fluffy and creamy Add the ground coffee and liquid soap until combined. Put the scrub in a container and use within 1 month.