Engaged Eaters and Conscious Consumers -
This is Farmer Brooke and as always I am writing to enliven the "locavore" within you. Ditch the supermarket, and spend your Friday nights with a gang of gregarious growers instead. The BADSEED Farmers Market (every Friday, from 4-9 pm) will have an impressive array of LIVE NUDE VEGETABLES as well as artisan goat cheese, free-range eggs, all natural meats, gourmet mushrooms, wholesome breads, baked goods, and "liquid elixirs". Go wild....go organic....go local!!! Reap the "fruits of our labor" and enjoy every last mouthwatering minute.
On a more serious note: Many of you have been following the evolution of the city-wide Urban Agriculture Ordinance that a group of concerned eaters, gardeners, urban farmers, and "green" advocates have been working on since last October. This proposed ordinance was born out of the (continued) scrutiny of BADSEED's urban farming operation at 95th and Stateline Rd. The City Planning Commission voted on and passed an ammended version of the ordinance drafted by this group and City staff last Wednesday. The final vote by the full City Council will take place this Thursday at 3 PM on the 26th floor of City Hall. Please show your support by attending the hearing and/or sending in a brief letter of support to your council members before the big vote!! Note that BADSEED is SUPPORTING the ordinance despite the amendments, as the final version protects growing and addresses our previous concerns. For those of you who would like a more detailed up-date concerning the ammednments please refer to the bottom of this e-mail. (For those of you who never mix politics with food, skip that for now and get yourselves a good dose of "veggie porn" with the explicit content that follows).
***Sexy Veggie of the Week***
This week's runner-up is the incredibly voluptuous, undeniably bold, and downright bodacious BEET. This bangin' beauty is ripe and ready for her first harvest of the season. Can you say: VIRGIN BEETS!!! She will grace the market table this Friday in multi-colored bunches featuring two varieties: Detroit Dark Red (she speaks for herself) and Chiogga (a glowing pink bulb with flavorful flesh and glowing white rings that radiate once she is cut open). Deck out your salads, compliment your goat cheese, or add a wild and healthful twist to hash browns...(beet hash baby!!). The possibilities are endless and oh sooo sexy. And now the moment we've all been waiting for.....this week's grand prize winner
(drum roll please) is tasty TURNIP !! Yeah, yeah, I know - you never thought a turnip could be sexy. Well, you've just never encountered a turnip grown by BADSEED Farm. These gals are hot!!.....and I mean literally. They cannot stand this 90 degree heat outside! They are screaming to be pulled from the earth, lovingly bathed and bunched, and stuck into my delightful cooler. Little do they know, you will probably snatch them up and throw them in a sizzling hot frying pan or boiling water bath! Don't worry, I won't tell them. These earthly beauties come in three vivacious varieties: Gold Ball (big, meaty, likes to be man-handled), Ruby Red (rose colored and righteous), and Oasis (pure white, crisp, eat raw like an apple!!). Pictures are attached. You know the drill - print them out, blow them up, & plaster them all over the locker room!!
Moving right along....
This Week's Organic Offerings:
BADSEED Farm, Brooke Salvaggio & Daniel Heryer (South KC) www.badseedfarm.com
*Boadacious BEETS!!! (this week's runner-up)
*TURNIPS!!! (this week's grand prize winner)
*Sex in A Bowl (badseed's signature SALAD MIX with chocolate mint, dill, and chive blossoms)
*probably the last week for this as lettuce is going "out of style" in the heat!!!
*Asian Invasion (a spicy salad mix or stir-fry mix with tasty asian greens and garlic chives)
*BADSEED Braising Mix (with baby kale and baby chard.....yum)
*Red Russian KALE, Dino KALE, Red Bore, Winter Bore, and Rainbow Lacinato (that's right, 5 freakin' varieties of kale!!!)
*RAINBOW CHARD (oooh my God....what else can I say?)
*Red Velvet Lovers Mix (an incredibly sensuous, all-red salad mix with ruby accents of baby chard, bronze fennel, and neon orange nasturtium flowers. This mix is absolutely off the radar. Impress the one you love....) *last week for this too!!
*Garlic Scapes!!!! (those sexy shoots that snake out from the garlic stalk)
*Lettuce Heads (we've got lots of beautiful Romaine heads, and a few other varieties) *last chance until Fall!!
*Fresh DILL & BRONZE FENNEL (heavenly)
*Chives, Oregano, Chocolate Mint, Savory, and Russian Tarragon
*Heirloom Transplants (we have an excellent selection of flowers,herbs, and companion crops to protect your beloved veggies)
Herb"N"Gardener, Lew Edminster (Westside, KCMO)
From Lew's dirty mouth:
"i guess you'll just have to get used to it - i grow greens, and that goes for this week as well. i'll have a short supply of mixed Mustard Greens -a mouth awakener. there'll also be Russian and Starbor Kale and a smaller selections of tender thinnings of both Kale and Collards. salad mixes for the week will be the yummy threesome of All-Star, Red Wings and Rocky Top. get 'em while they're still available. next week will feature the incredible scrumptious french filt beans."
Platte Prairie Farms, Steve Mann (North KC) www.prairietrading.com
*Red Lettuce
*Oak Leaf Lettuce
*Spring Onions
*Spring Garlic
*Osaka Mustards
*Spinach
*Peppermint & Hissop
Bigg Blue Farm, Stan & Carmen Biggs (Mosby, MO)
*Greens - Mustards, Lettuce, and Swiss Chard
*Green onions in red, white and yellow
*New Potatoes in Yukon Gold and Red Viking
*Summer Crops (already!!!!!!) including : Summer Squash (zucchini and yellow squash) & Tomatoes (early varieties like Siberian, Glacier, and Early Girl)
PJ's Mushroom Farm, Paul & Judy Miller (Warrensburg, MO)
**Cornish Hens!!! (all-natural, fresh, and tasty)
*A whole lotta' Shitake Mushrooms!!
*Oyster Mushrooms
*Farm-Fresh Brown Eggs
*Hand-made rugs & crafts (from 100% recycled materials)
Parker Farms, Tom and Paula Parker (Richmond, MO) www.parkerfarmsmeats.com
**A variety of 100% grassfed beef and all natural pork including:
*Pork Chops & Brats
*Chipotle brats with cheese or cranberries
*Pre-cooked franks
*Chili Cheese Brats & Links
*T-Bones
*Sirloins
*Stew meat
*Ground Beef and a fresh supply of hamburger patties for the grill!!
*Homemade soy based candles and gourd birdhouses (compliments of their lovely girls who grew the gourds on the farm!!) as well as embroidered Tea Towels and homegrown Mint Teas!!!!
*sandwich breads
*savory breads
*sweet breads
*specialty treats (vegan as well)
**ALL MADE FROM 100% Locally Grown, Organic Wheat!!!!
Puddin' Head Coffee, Harry Lee, (Raytown, MO) www.puddinheadcoffee.com
*Only the BEST fair-trade/organic/micro-roasted coffee in town!!
Get yourself some beans or grab yourself a mug.
COFFEE BY THE MUG IS ONLY $1.00!!!!
....and thats not all!!! Other "Liquid Elixirs" will include WHEAT GRASS SHOTS & TRAYS from the lovely Angela Hoffman. This is hard red winter wheat and it is oh so sweet and oh so good for you. Take a shot and feel groovy.
Other goodies will include:
ARTISAN GOAT CHEESE from Goatsbeard Farm
Aged & Fresh varieties including Moniteau Blue, Prairie Bloom, Taum Sauk, Osage Orange, Herb Crusted Chevre, Marinated Chevre, and Greek-style Feta
**this week's recommendation is the Prairie Bloom: a soft-ripened crotin style cheese with a rich and creamy center and beautiful bloom rind with a daring blue cheese mold. Super sophisticated and absolutely excellent brought to room temperature and sliced delicately with fresh seasonal fruits & greens. Picture attached.
Certified Organic Flour from Heartland Mill
An impressive selection will be available each week including all purpose, whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, golden buffalo, malted (for peak crust coloration), and blue cornmeal!! An artisan bakers dream.
RAW HONEY!!!....maybe?? If Les Miller (our wicked honey man) has any in stock, he will be buzzin'.
and, of course, Kombucha Mushroom Tea (Brooke's home brew)
Sip while you shop!
Check out our up-coming Urban Homesteading Courses including our Oyster Mushroom Cultivation Workshop at: http://www.badseedfarm.com/farm/?page_id=8
Remember:
LIVE NUDE VEGETABLES !! and other organic delights...
EVERY FRIDAY AT BADSEED
Yours Truly,
Brooke
- farmer and mistress of the BADSEED
BADSEED
An Urban-Organic Farm & Market Celebrating Local Food, Culture, & Community
1909 McGee*KCMO*64108
Urban Agriculture Ordinance - In a Nut Shell
In drafting a new Urban Agriculture code, we sought not only to protect existing urban gardeners, homesteaders, and farmers, but to encourage such activities as a means of "greening" our city, providing healthier foods, and creating ready access throughout the urban core. While the current code allows Kansas City residents to grow food on their front and back yards, it does not readily allow for small scale farming in the city. Our current regulations restrict the use of volunteers, apprentices, or employees on urban farms and gardens, and does not allow for any sort of on-site sales or distribution of vegetables. Last year, BADSEED had to stop allowing volunteers/apprentices to work on the farm, and was also restricted from distributing CSA shares on the farm.
The proposed Urban Agriculture ordinance takes many steps forward in legitimizing urban farms in Kansas City. However, there are some somewhat dubious compromises that everyone should understand before they throw their support into this thing. Generally, BADSEED views this new ordinance as a FIRST STEP - one that needs to be pushed further in the future.
Here's what we've gained in the new code:
- Home gardeners can sell their excess produce from their home!!! No permits required!
- Community gardens can sell produce on-site!!!
- Market gardens (defined as Crop Agriculture) can have employees, but need a special use permit to sell on-site.
Here's what's a bit questionable:
- No one that sells on-site can grow "row crops" in their front yard.
Brief editorial: We screamed about the restriction of front yard gardening in this new code! New language has been brought forth as a compromise. You can grow whatever the hell you want in your front yard under the new code so long as you don't sell it on-site. You can even grow produce in your front yard and take it off-site for sale. Under the current code, you can't legally sell on-site anyway, so it doesn't make much difference.
- Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) needs a Special Use Permit to operate in residential districts. If you get a special use permit, you can run your CSA, have on-site sales, and accept apprentices and interns (that's code for employees).
Editorial: Maybe a step backwards, in a sense, as you can presently grow food for a CSA without any permits so long as you distribute off-site. This is one area we'll push to improve in the future. If you have no need for apprentices and interns, you can call your CSA a home garden and legally sell your members their weekly produce on-site. Just don't advertise as a CSA.
A much simpler way of putting all of this: If you can sell on-site, then you can't have employees. If you can have employees, then you can't sell on-site. To both sell on-site and have employees, you have to go through the hassle of getting a permit. And getting a permit is a BIG hassle.
But we support it. It's pretty good. We can live with it, and they have to review the whole thing in 6 - 12 months anyway.
What you can do
We ask that you write a few brief sentences of support to City Council to let them know that, while there are portions of this ordinance that raise concerns, this is generally a good compromise. You can email the whole council at city_council@kcmo.org. We're also told that these members could use some extra encouragement:
Deb Hermann of the 1st District at-large (running for Mayor): Deb_Hermann@kcmo.org
Bill Skaggs of the 1st District: bill_skaggs@kcmo.org
Jan Marcason of the 4th District: jan_marcason@kcmo.org
For information on other councilmembers, go to http://www.kcmo.org/CKCMO/CityOfficials/CityCouncilOffice/index.htm
We also owe a big thank you to Councilman John Sharp and Councilwoman Beth Gottstein.
Thanks for listening and furthermore, thanks for taking an active role in community growth!
-Farmer Brooke & Farmer Dan
BADSEED
An Urban-Organic Farm & Market
Celebrating Local Food, Culture, and Community
Celebrating Local Food, Culture, and Community
Fridays, 4-9pm
