Stephanie Swain from Delware

checking in with our farm exchange. Stephanie is a structural engineer in Virginia and decided to spend a part of her summer vacation helping us take care of the crops. she is awesome! this is a self portrait of her, doesn't she look happy?

feeding the lambs on the hill

Moo had mastitis and was unable to milk her lambs during her treatment. so, 3 times a day someone had to march up the hill and feed the lambs. here is Dorothea Braemer ( executive director of Squeeky Wheel) nursing our 2 lambs and Andes Sprouts first artist in residence Stefani Bardin.

photo by Stephanie Swain

re-settlement of our sheep

The sheep were moved out of the barn onto the hillside last week. the new sheep shack was constructed by Erwin and Arthur out of recycled lumber from an old sawmill in Andes.

Andes Sprouts visits Farmer Flanner

Farmer Ben Flanner has created a one acre dream of urban farming. companion planting to max out every inch of this long island city farm is inspiring and delicious. Flanner has planted 1/4 acre of this skyline farm with heirloom tomatoes and a Northen blvd. exposure of sun flowers! http://brooklyngrangefarm.com/

Moo's new born lambs, first day on the farm

farm stands open

photos by maria ugas

Joe McFadden joins Farm Xchange

NOISE! 2010

Free103point9 presents

Noise! 2010

a one-day, marathon event, featuring a staggering array of artists and works including performance, sound, moving image, language, and culinary craft.

This year, curators Caspar Stracke, Danny Snelson, and Tianna Kennedy contribute an exciting and expansive approach to the event’s theme—mapping signal innovation, distortion, and destruction from the historical avant-garde to contemporary media art practitioners.

Dinner with/by:
Andes Sprouts Society
Able Brown & Casey Farnum
Forrest Gillespie
Dylan Gauthier
Nasumi collective
Ben Flanner / Brooklyn Grange - the rooftop farm

When: June 26, 2010

Where: Ontological Theater
St. Mark's Church
131 E. 10th St.
Manhattan, NY

MORE info

Welcome Maria!

WWOOFer Maria Ugas has joined us from Seattle, Washington for the spring plant season, and is pictured while busy at work weeding pea shoots.

marrubium vulgare: sprouts

weeding the garlic

in in October 09, folks from Eyebeams' sustainability research group joined us in this field to plant GARLIC . Now this garlic is weed free, thanks to Kara Blossom, Tianna Kennedy, M. Rashid, Jessica Vanniel, Arthur Warren and Jen Warren

Splendor in the Green

A Fundraiser for Build it Green and Solar One
Stuyvesant Cove Park, Manhattan
(East 23rd Street at the river)

Tickets ($20)

Music, Dancing, and Performances -- Saturday, June 12th, 2010, 6 to 10 pm

Are you concerned with the future of the earth? Do you support renewable energy resources, reuse of building materials and super fine partying by the river? Do you like barbecue, excellent live music and mad green goodie bags? Are you doing anything June 12th?

Announcing the first annual and most fun dance party--fundraiser supporting the great environmental non-profits Solar One and Build it Green!NYC. Come help us celebrate five years in business!

Featured performances by: Amayo's Fu-Arkestra, playing a unique combination of Chinese Lion Rhythms and Nigerian Afro-Beat -- plus a bangin' DJ set by DJ Tony Lowe of Cool Places Soundsystem! Come eat bar-b-cue of beautiful vegetables and special organic lamb from our friends up at the New York area farm Andes Sprouts Society.. There is also going to be a silent auction with incredible dinners for two from fancy restaurants, great green gift items and other things, so come bid on a variety of goods and services and help support the cause!

(Solar One, established in 2003, is a solar powered building where students and residents of the city and the greater metro area learn first hand the principles about energy conservation in their urban neighborhood. Check them out here: Solar1.org.)

June 12th, 6-10 pm, Stuyvesant Cove Park, Manhattan. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Buy them HERE. (You can also pick them up at the warehouse in Astoria; or over the phone at (718) 777-0132 ext. 21.

planting celery, celery root, kohlrabi, broccoli

Emily and Arthur in the fields. photos by Kara Blossom

Spring Farm Hands

Emily Wissemann and Reah Siegel, 18 year-olds, from Hastings-On-Hudson, NY. Emily and Reah are here in Andes for 2 weeks as part of a senior internship project from Hastings HighSchool.

photo by Kara Blossom

ready for work!

photo by kara blossom

ramp kimchee prep

Jen Warren and Roberto "What the Fox" Lucini putting the AMP in rAMP.
photo by Kara Blossom

potato planting

Planted about a 1/2 acre of the finest austrian crescent and assorted fingerling potatoes.

In this photo, David Turan, from MKNHP, Roberto Lucini, WWOOFER, and John Dalessi, artist.
Photos by Tianna Kennedy

mondu and kimbop

Michael Kudish Natural History Preserve

We took a break from the fields and joined Dr. Michael Kudish and Dave Turan for a hike through the foreest of the Mike Kudish Natural History Preserve in Stamford, NY

As a professor emeritus in the Division of Forestry at Paul Smith's College, he has also written four books on the vegetation of the Adirondacks, including Adirondack Upland Flora, The Catskill Forest: A History and a number of articles on forest history of both the Catskills and Adirondacks

The following is an except from “The Catskill Forest: A History” Purple Mountain Press, 2000:

“ …{h}e began a life-long study of the history of these forests, beginning with Vegetation History of the Catskill High Peaks, his dissertation at the New York State College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse University in 1971. In the intervening 39 years, his study has expanded to include an examination of Catskills soils, climate, ecological personalities of tree species, human disturbance and history, and the history recorded in the rings of living and just-fallen trees. Such examination could push the clock back only 300 to 400 years, the maximum age of the oldest living trees and of the writings of European settlers. In 1994, he realized that tree fossils preserved at high-elevation peat bogs also could be used to reconstruct forest history and that the age of the peat could be determined by radiocarbon dating. Forest history has now been pushed back to 14,000 years”

photos by kara blossom

Inula helenium +Cimicifuga racemosa

Inula helenium-L aka Elecampane
Perennial growing to 1.5m by 1m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees, Lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies). The plant is self-fertile. The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist soil. Our two crowns were ordered from FEDCO and were grown in Maine.
Elecampane has a long history of use as a medicinal herb. A gently warming and tonic herb, it is especially effective in treating coughs, consumption, bronchitis and many other complaints of the chest as well as disorders of the digestive system.














Cimicifuga Racemosa-L aka Black cohosh
Perennial growing to 1.5m by 0.6m. It is hardy to zone 4. It is in flower from July to October, and the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs)

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland). It requires moist soil.

Black cohosh is a traditional remedy of the North American Indians where it was used mainly to treat women's problems, especially painful periods and problems associated with the menopause[254]. A popular and widely used herbal remedy, it is effective in the treatment of a range of diseases[4]. Also, both the growing and the dried plant can be used to repel bugs and fleas[211]. Our 2 crowns were were purchased from FEDCO, MOFGA organic

Info above from Plants for a Future

[4] Grieve. A Modern Herbal. Penguin 1984 ISBN 0-14-046-440-9
Not so modern (1930's?) but lots of information, mainly temperate plants.
[211] Coventry. B. O. Wild Flowers of Kashmir Raithby, Lawrence and Co. 1923
A nice little pocket guide to 50 wildflowers of Kashmir.
[254] Chevallier. A. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants Dorling Kindersley. London 1996 ISBN 9-780751-303148
An excellent guide to over 500 of the more well known medicinal herbs from around the world.

SHIITAKE success!

check the size of this shiitake! Our mushroom growing experiment started in 2008. Last season we harvested a meager 15-20 shiitakes, but judging by the size/weight of the latest one to appear, we might to on to something...

spring snow

We had snow this weekend, hopefully the fruit tree buds adapted to the wintery conditions.

flock of sheep

Our friend in Gilboa, NY has given us her flock of sheep. We are looking at one Ram and 2 Ewes and 3 lambs. We are on the way to sheep milk/cheese, wool and meat.

chicken flock

The chickens started laying eggs last week. a couple of fresh eggs for breakfast is a perfect way to start a day at the farm. The chickens spend most of the time indoors where their feed is, plus they don't like the snow. This flock is 1 rooster, 3 retired hens and 2 layer hens.

bunnies in the barn

7 Flemish giants, 5 bucks and 2 does. These bunnies are 3 months old and at full maturity will weigh in at 20-24 lbs. GIANTS!

feeding the lambs

Moo had mastitis and was unable to milk her lambs during her treatment. so, 3 times a day someone had to march up the hill and feed the lambs. here is Dorothea Braemer ( executive director of Squeeky Wheel) nursing our 2 lambs and Andes Sprouts first artist in residence Stefani Bardin.