Welcome to this week’s updates and availability! A new Bradford crop has just come in, see in the highlights and read an important story below about the heirloom Turnips tops we added last week right below ⬇️
Please read!
Last week we announced the return of the heirloom Taylor turnip tops. This week we are excited to have the Feaster family mustard greens. At Bradford Farm to be able to offer these two very special heirlooms is the culmination of years of work. Both of these greens were started with just a teaspoon or less of seeds shared with us from either the family saving it or a steward of that variety. These aren’t items you can just order from a seed catalog or website. To offer them requires careful and deliberate intention to increasing the seeds to create a reserve, then growing them out, branding them, and sampling them with chefs to get feedback to make sure they are the very best and most flavorful varieties on the market.
There’s no guarantee that these varieties will survive, though. Often it’s just us and the family saving the seeds. Any number of catastrophes could happen that the seeds could be lost forever. In fact, just a few years ago Bill Taylor, who shared his family’s turnip greens with us, lost his entire seed stock when he found that his freezer died that he kept them in. He didn’t catch it for several months until he was ready to get some out to plant. He was devastated and called me in a panic to see if I had any of his seed that I could share back with him. Thank the Lord I had a few tablespoons of seeds that I had increased, but even more hopeful was that I had a large planting that was in bloom that I intended to save a lot of seeds from if they would survive the cold weather or other natural disasters.
Well the crop did make it to successful seed stage and I sent Bill back enough seed to get his stock going again. If Bill hadn’t shared his seeds with us, they may very well have been lost forever, after over a hundred years of careful stewarding by his family. That’s how fragile this heirloom seed business is. Tracking down the most unique, flavorful varieties to bring to you creative chefs requires great effort, high risk, years of work and research and money. But we absolutely LOVE doing this work. We believe it’s very important work too. And without our amazing chefs buying and putting these ephemeral crops on their menus, these crops wouldn’t make it.
Thank you for supporting our stewardship efforts and playing a critical role in the preservation of flavor. We’ve made it easier for you to select these items from our other offerings by listing them under Bradford Farm crops separately from Partner Farm crops. Please consider adding 2 or 3 of our heirloom Bradford Farm grown crops to your orders to balance out the crops from our partners. It ensures we can continue doing the important work of saving flavor, finding and recovering other old lost crops, and bringing the best we can to you.
SPECIAL REQUEST: We kindly urge you to consider adding at least one of our own Bradford Farm grown crops to your weekly orders. We are working with quite a number of other farms to bring you the best access to regional flavor that we possibly can, but the heartbeat of our farm is our homegrown crops. We can’t exist without moving our own crops too. So please review the crops we offer under Bradford Farm Crops below and consider adding one or more of them. It helps us more than you know.
Important Info
-
Feaster mustard greens (Bradford Farm) are available now! See highlights
Taylor Turnips Tops (Bradford Farm) available! See highlights
- Candy Roaster Squash (Bradford Farm) available!
- Sunchokes (Bradford Farm) available now! See highlights
- Winter crop Bolero carrots
- baby bolero carrots are out this week.
- Offering Pink blush Cauliflower from Ricky James - FINAL WEEK
- NEW WHOLE PLANT COLLARD PRICING: $4.00/# (10# and 15# cases)
- Dorr Farms’ sweetcorn is done for the season
⚠️ **Highlights of the week**⚠️
Feaster Mustard Greens - Bradford Farm
Seed saving is not a simple thing to do. And managing a breedline is even harder. So when someone places in your hand a thimbleful of precious seeds over a hundred years in the making, you know it has to be really really good. Jerome Feaster of Shiloh, Florida has been stewarding his family’s 100+ year old variety of mustard greens his whole life. It is not like any mustard we’ve ever encountered. The leaves can get the size of a small elephant ear, but is thin, tender and not at all leathery like the ubiquitous Florida Broadleaf mustard.
Our favorite part is the juicy, crisp midrib that helps the giant leaves not collapse. It’s a crunchy burst of vegetal water without a hint of spicy mustard burn. All the heat is actually in the leafy parts. We enjoy crunching on the stems raw right in the field.
It’s pretty sensitive to freezing, so this year we are we covering them with a frost protection cloth similar to what is used to protect strawberries in order to extend their availability. Don’t miss out on this amazing fleeting southern favorite!
We will have this crop available for a little over a month but we do have a massive freeze coming in the next couple weeks which could wipe the crop out. We urge you to consider moving on this crop fast in order to save it. Otherwise it’ll be a tragic loss!
Available in 7lb cases - $29.00
Slow Food Ark of Taste on the Feaster Mustard:
”Feaster Family Heirloom Mustard is milder in flavor than its closest relatives, such as curled and ostrich plume mustards. However, it still packs a wasabi-like heat that mellows and even sweetens once cooked. Both the ribs and leaves are tender and mildly peppery, while the stem is more mild and juicy. The stem can be eaten raw and pairs well with sauces and dips; some prefer to cook the stems separately from the leaves since they cook at different rates. This mustard is versatile: it can be used as baby greens or sprouts in salads, as mature leaves in mixed greens salads, or on sandwiches where it adds a nice flavor. Of course, it’s also perfect for the traditional southern preparation of boiling mustard greens with smoked meat. Because the stems are substantial, tender, and flavorful, the mustard is great for stir-fry dishes, similar to bok choy. Braised Feaster Family Mustard greens in olive oil with a bit of garlic is also a delicious option.
The Feaster family’s method of preparation is as follows:
· 35-30 leaves of mustard greens
· A large handful (4-6 pieces) of smoked bacon or other smoked meat
· Salt
- Wash the greens twice, strip the leaves from the midrib, and tear or cut them into small pieces. You may also cut the stems into small pieces and cook them separately, as they have the consistency of cooked celery.
- 2. Place the smoked bacon or meat into a six-quart pot , add one to two cups of water, and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium heat for 30 minutes.
- 3. Add the greens to the pot a few pieces at a time. Stir and add more greens as they wilt, lowering the heat to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook until the greens are tender, about an hour for a richer bacon flavor.
- Drain the greens carefully, avoiding mashing them, and serve. The dish is commonly served with sweet potatoes and ham, and often accompanied by vinegar hot sauce.
Similar to many historical family heirlooms, this mustard may have been at risk of disappearing had Jerome not taken steps to ensure its future. Grown primarily in a region prone to hurricanes and extreme weather, it now has its seed secured with growers in Florida, Iowa, Virginia, and South Carolina. While still grown on a small scale, this mustard could become a breakout vegetable. Its unique flavor and tender midribs have already drawn the attention of southern chefs and culinarians, and its qualities make it well-suited for widespread adoption, becoming a staple in home gardens across various regions.”
Taylor Turnip Tops - Bradford Farm
This is the absolute very best turnip tops we’ve ever had! They are not bitter like the common turnip greens available. In fact, these mild flavored greens are great even raw! Especially nice are the sweet, crisp, juicy pencil thin stringless stems.
Our dear friend, Bill Taylor, shared his family’s precious turnip seeds with us some years ago. After growing a small crop to save seeds on, we realized this was not just your typical turnip greens. These do not produce a root crop, just the greens. But with greens this great, you won’t miss the turnip root.
Like many of the heirloom crops we grow, the Taylor Turnip Top had never been outside of the garden walls of Bill’s family until he shared them with us, and certainly never served in a restaurant. We are so blessed to be able to steward and share Bill’s family’s amazing turnip tops with chefs and their customers. This is truly the best way to preserve at-risk seeds and flavors and ensure they do not go extinct. We value the role of all you wonderful chefs in this important preservation as well. Purchasing these heirlooms from us, adding them to your menus, sharing the stories with your patrons not only ensures these flavors don’t disappear, but also ensures we at Bradford Farm have the support we need to continue seeking out rare, at risk flavors and seeds to cover the cost necessary to preserve, promote, brand and provide them to you.
For further reading, checkout this article by Post and Courier on the Taylor Turnip Top!
https://www.postandcourier.com/food/carolinian-seed-saving-brings-rare-turnip-top-to-charleston-area-restaurants/article_68149344-4320-11ec-9374-97ed389f2e83.html
Available in 7lb cases - $29.00
Sunchokes, Stampede - Bradford Farm
This is our third season offering sunchokes, and the first season where we have some of our own Bradford grown sunchokes available. The most popular variety in the trade is ‘Stampede’, and is the variety we have this year both on our farm and our partner farms. It is a thin skinned variety and not necessary to peel, which saves a lot of prep time.
But we are super excited to let you know that we are currently amassing a collection of heirloom and historic strains that date back over 100 years to begin trialing them for flavor, texture and other qualities. Why? Because it’s what we do at Bradford Farm. We are always on the quest to chase down the best and most flavorful varieties of crops. Many of these are difficult to find. Some are maybe impossible, and may only exist in old ag journals and documents. But we will do our best to find them if they can be found! So stay tuned as we embark on our sunchoke journey.
Sunchokes are in 5# cases and pre-washed, but will need more thorough washing.
🔥 Current Deals / Offers 🔥
Bradford Family collards
- Standing order commitment and volume pricing incentive through January, 2 skips:
- 1 case 20# bagged/chopped collards 5% off
- 2 cases 10% off
- 3 cases and up 15% off
Dutch Fork Butternut Pumpkins
- Standing order commitment through season, 2 skips
- 1 case (30#), 5% off
- 2
cases or more, 10% off
Charleston Wakefield Cabbage
- Standing order committed through season, 2 skips:
- 1 case (20#), 5% off
- 2 cases or more, 10% off
Key:
** - limited availability
*OUT- currently out of stock
*OFS- out for season
NEW- recent addition
✅ Bradford Farm Crops: ✅
-NEW! Feaster Mustard Greens (heirloom)
-NEW! Taylor Turnip Tops (heirloom)
-NEW! Candy Roaster squash
-NEW! Stampede Sunchokes
-NEW! Scotch curly kale
-Dutch Fork butternut pumpkin
-Bradford collards bagged/chopped
-Bradford collards whole plant
-NEW! Fall Charleston Wakefield cabbage
-GoldTart™️ tangerines
-Citrumelo lemons
-Hybrid green cabbage
-Purple cabbage
-Shredded hybrid cabbage
-Shredded purple cabbage
🤝 Partner Farms: 🤝
-NEW! Cauliflower, Pink Blush - Ricky James *LAST WEEK*
-NEW! Winter Bolero carrots - Clem’s Organic Gardens
-Winter baby Bolero carrots - Clem’s *OUT*
-Baby Appalachian Gold potatoes - Clem’s
-Watermelon radishes - Clem’s
-Hakurei Turnips - Clem’s
-Rainbow Daikon Radishes - Clem’s
-Parsnips - Clem’s
-Curly Mustard Greens - Dorr Farms *OUT*
-Fall squash lineup
——Acorn
——Delicata
-Appalachian Gold Potatoes - Clem’s Organic Gardens
-Davidson River Red Beets - Clem’s *OUT*
-Apples - Lively Orchard
——Arkansas Black
——Pink Lady
——Jonagold
——Granny Smith
——Ambrosia
-Blue Lake Pole Beans - Dorr Farms
-Jalapeños - Dorr Farms
-Fall broccoli - Dorr Farms and others
-Green butter beans, fresh-frozen- Johnny McNair Farm
-Speckled butter beans, fresh-frozen- Johnny McNair Farm
-Pinkeye field peas, fresh-frozen- Johnny McNair Farm
-White Acre field peas, fresh-frozen- Johnny McNair Farm
-NEW Fall (iron & clay) peas, fresh-frozen - Johnny McNair Farm
-Zucchini
-Yellow Squash
-Kirby Cucumbers
-Green Bell peppers
-Red Bell peppers
-Pecans: Mascot Farms (GA)
-Sweetcorn - Dorr Farms - LAST WEEK
-Grape tomatoes
-Green tomatoes
-Red round tomatoes
-Roma tomatoes
-Tomatillos
-Pee Dee sweet potatoes - Dixon Farms
-Beets, Golden
-Beets, Red
Coming soon:
-
more from Lively Orchard
- Gilfeather turnabaga - currently large sprouts
- Purple top turnips
LOTS MORE COMING SOON
….let us know if there is something else you are interested in that isn’t on our list