Murder in the Coop
Keith Stewart
ON AVERAGE, WE HAVE about 20 chickens living on the farm at any one time. Most are hens, though we always keep one or two roosters to maintain the natural
Locally Grown
Community Supported Agriculture
Valley Table Staff
COMMUNITY SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE (CSA) projects are an increasingly popular way for consumers to gain direct access to fresh, seasonal produce. A new Hudson Valley CSA Coalition facilitated by the Cold
The Legacy of Mohonk
Keith Stewart
A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I was invited by the head gardener at Mohonk Mountain House, just outside of New Paltz (Ulster County), to talk to the hotel’s guests about heirloom
For Want of Sheep
Keith Stewart
AFTER AN ABSENCE OF FOUR months, spent mostly in Ohio, George has come back to the farm for another season. We are glad to have him. His sprightly manner, boundless enthusiasm
When It All Goes Wrong
Keith Stewart
A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, I paid a neighbor with an excavator to dig a hole six feet deep in some fallow land behind the pond. Then, with grim resolve,
Buying a Farm
Keith Stewart
WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND AND I set out to buy a farm 23 years ago, we had only a vague notion of what we were looking for—having lived in New York
Farming Under Cover: High Tunnels, Low Tunnels and Greenhouses
Keith Stewart
IN DECEMBER, JUST BEFORE THE GROUND froze, we started building our second high tunnel. It will be an imposing structure: 96 feet long, 30 feet wide and over 13 feet
Trees On The Farm
Keith Stewart
ONE OF THE NICE THINGS about owning a piece of land is that you can plant trees on it. When the work is done, you can stand back and conjure
Cover crops and green manure
Keith Stewart
THE MORE I FARM, the more I appreciate cover crops and green manures. Though they don’t go to market with us and are therefore never seen by our customers, these
City Farmers, Urban Agriculture
Keith Stewart
IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR, I was invited to be a speaker and panelist at an Urban Agriculture Conference hosted by the Horticultural Society of New York. At first, I
When It Rains
Keith Stewart
AFTER A CHALLENGING SUMMER with surprising fluctuations in weather and too many hungry deer, we were banking on a congenial fall with plenty to harvest and bring to market. We
High Times For Garlic
Keith Stewart
GARLIC IS OUR SIGNATURE CROP and it has been for 20 years. It is, to a large extent, the crop on which our farm’s identity and reputation rest. Because we
Winter Harvest
Keith Stewart
FOR MOST VEGETABLE GROWERS, early fall is the season of choice. If we’ve planned and planted well and mother nature has not thrown any serious curve balls our way, we
What is in a seed
Keith Stewart
YOU HEAR THE WORD HEIRLOOM tossed around a lot these days, not referring to handed-down relics (like your great grandmother’s pearl necklace or Victorian footstool), but referring to food, especially
The Farm As Art
Flavia Bacarella
WHEN I MOVED FROM NEW YORK CITY to Orange County in 1986, I was excited about painting the local landscape, so refreshingly different from the tall buildings and crowded streets
Generation Next
Keith Stewart
A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO, I ATTENDED A SCREENING of Growing Farmers, a short film about the new generation of farmers on Long Island and the challenges they face. After the
Drinking it Raw at Freedom Hill
Text and photos Keith Stewart
PROPONENTS OF RAW MILK GENERALLY ACKNOWLEDGE that pasteurization may eliminate bad bacteria and make milk a little safer to drink. But they also argue that the heat applied during pasteurization kills
The Busyness of Bees
Keith Stewart / Illustrations Flavia Bacarella
LAST FALL , A PART-TIME BEEKEEPER AND long-time customer at our Manhattan Greenmarket stand asked me if he could bring a couple of active hives from his rooftop aviary in
