Bluebird CSA

Monday, December 15, 2014

Dinner with the farmers!

Wisteria presents
Dinner with Bluebird Farm
Tuesday, December 16th, 6:30 pm
Beer poured by
 Fonta Flora
Don't miss this artisan dinner at our local farm to table restaurant. We'll have a delicious 6 course tasting menu plus desserts featuring winter seasonal ingredients from our farm. 
Only 10 tickets remaining, and the dinner is tomorrow (Tuesday, December 16th)

Hosted at:
Wisteria Southern Gastropub
108 E. Meeting St.
Morganton, NC


Purchase tickets now!
Purchase tickets online 

Friday, December 5, 2014

Don't miss us this winter! 

Winter Special Orders : November- March

Enjoy our pork and chicken all winter.


We have pickup dates very in the next 2 weeks! Stock up on pork and chicken before Christmas. Check out the pickup dates and locations >>>here<<<. 
Don't delay; the next opportunity is late January.

We deliver special order placed on our online farm store to central locations in Hickory, Morganton, and Charlotte in the winter months from November-March. 

Our Hampshire and Large Black Heritage cross hogs at 4 1/2 months old

Our 1/2 Yorkshire, 1/8 Berkshire, 3/8s Duroc hogs at 5 1/2 months old. 





Thursday, November 20, 2014

Sage Sausage, Apple, and Walnut Stuffing


Give Thanks with Good Food.
This is the best stuffing for Thanksgiving! The sausage, apple, and walnut ingredients go well with most winter meals; I love it along with a pan of roasted beets, onion, and carrots. Saute a bunch of kale and you have an amazing winter meal.

Order our country sausage online and pickup at market!

Sage Sausage, Apple, and Walnut Stuffing

This stuffing recipe is a big hit! It combines my favorite winter flavors of sage, country sausage, and apples. 
-recipe adapted from Food.com
Ingredients:

  • 1 lb Bluebird Farm country sausage
  • 2 cups bread crumbs or cubes
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping
  • 2 tablespoons rubbed sage
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tablespoon paprika



Directions:
1.      Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2.      Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl with the sage, black pepper, and paprika and set aside. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.
3.      Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and break up into quarter sized pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until it loses most of its interior pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes. Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes.
4.      Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt. Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes. Add  broth and parsley and bring to a simmer.
5.      Pour the vegetable and broth mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened. Mix in the toasted walnuts and eggs. Loosely pack the dressing in the prepared pan and cook uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes.
6.      Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of turkey pan drippings or melted butter over the top. Cook until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more. Serve immediately or keep warm in oven.
 Tips: Put the dressing in the oven during the last hour of cooking the turkey
 Note: To toast nuts, spread them out on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 degree F oven until golden, about 7 minutes.
Happy Thanksgiving!
~William Lyons and Marie Williamson

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Give Thanks with Good Farm Food!

We have some great Thanksgiving markets this Saturday, November 22nd. Come and see us!

Charlotte Regional Market. 8-noon 
           pork, chicken, vegetables
Downtown Hickory Market. 10-2pm
           pork, chicken, vegetables
Morganton Market.  noon-3pm. Across from CVS Pharmacy
           pork, chicken, pre-ordered veggies and veggie boxes only.

Please pre-order pork and chicken- we have a limited amount! You can pre-purchase vegetables.

In Morganton, I'll only have vegetables for folks that pre-purchase on our online farm store.

You can pre-purchase from a selection of our vegetables or you can order our Veggie box.
Veggie box: 1 bunch parsley, 1 bunch scallions, 1 bunch of kale, 1 bunch of carrots, 1 bunch of beets, 1 bunch Asian sweet salad turnips,  and 1 head of delicious cabbage.

>>>ORDER HERE<<<






Thursday, October 30, 2014

Pigs and Diggin Carrots

Charlotte Farmers Market


Pig pasture

Check out those ears!



arugula and cherry tomatoes in high tunnel 





William and his prize cabbage

Keegan


Sarah diggin'


Hannah and Sarah



Friday, October 10, 2014

What are we up to on the farm?


What's happening on the farm right now?
We've been trying to keep up with the gorgeous fall garden that's growing...plus a nice bountiful harvest.

Sweet potato vines are going crazy; we'll start digging more out very soon.


Brilliant green in the garden.

Celosia flowers with the sweet potato jungle in the back ground.

Baby turnips sprouting right up.

Freshly thinned baby carrots.
More carrots on the terrace.

Misty morning.

Sarah in the okra patch

View across the Silver Creek property.


Are there any carrots or beets in these weeds?

Hoophouse jungle with peppers.

Portable office

Hannah and Keegan seeding turnips

Carrots?

Weeding progress...we weeded the dark areas.

Friday, September 26, 2014

We still have a few more vegetable CSA memberships available!

Our fall vegetable CSA program starts this Wednesday. 

We only have a few more days to sign up for our vegetable CSA membership.  Sign up now!


We're ready for a season of great fall vegetables and plump roasting chickens.

Become of a member of our farm. 

Sign up for our Fall Community Supported Agriculture!

Check out our vegetable and chicken shares that we have available.

Join our farm membership for fall vegetables every week October 1st-November 5th.
Or purchase a chicken share and receive chickens in October, November, and December.
Stock up for winter!


It is roast chicken weather!

We've got a fine selection of big, beautiful 4.25 pound roasting chickens from our fall flock.

~Marie's Kitchen Chicken Tip
For whole chickens, loosen all the skin over the breast with your fingers. Just put your fingers under the skin at the neck, pull, and separate the skin from the breast.  Then stuff the herb, salt, and garlic mixture that you use for the outside of the chicken all over the breast.  This makes a nice herb infused roast chicken breast.  Your herb rub doesn't soak through skin when you just rub it on the outside, so this step literally packs flavor right onto the meat.


Don't know how to cook a whole chicken?
Does the breast dry out before the thighs are done? 

Check out our Herb Roasted Chicken recipe, and see Marie's extra tip for getting the breast and thighs done to perfection at the same time.



Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Fall Community Supported Agriculture

2014 Fall Community Supported Agriculture
We have vegetable share and chicken share membership options this fall.

Please read the descriptions and pickup location details below...and then sign up! >>>Sign Up Here<<<

Sign up now for the fall vegetable membership; the fall vegetable CSA starts soon!


Fall Vegetable Share
Every Wednesday: October 1st- November 5th
A subscription to Bluebird Farm allows you to share our harvest! Members buy a "share" of our harvest and receive an assortment of seasonal, fresh, vegetables and herbs weekly for 6 weeks from October 1st-November 5th. 
 The mix of vegetables in the fall will be all kinds of greens from kale to collards to arugula.  There will also be root type vegetables like winter squash, sweet potatoes, radishes, carrots, and scallions.  
Fall vegetable share: $120 ($20 week, average) 



Fall Chicken Share
Small shares of 6 chickens
Large shares of 12 chickens

The fall chicken share is a great way to get our tasty chickens every month in October, November, and December! The fall chicken share is best for folks who have a smaller freezer or not much empty space in their chest freezer.
Get the special CSA chicken price of $5.75 lb for whole chickens and $9.50 lb for entire cut-up chickens!
Bluebird Farm pastured broiler chickens are fed certified organic non-GMO grains.  Our chicken tastes great! Do you want robust, flavorful chicken? We raise a hearty outdoor chicken breed outside on fresh pastures in clean air.  Meat from healthy, happy birds takes on a whole different flavor and texture-it tastes like chicken for a change! 
Our chickens are frozen and sealed in heavy duty vacuum sealed packaging.  Chicken keeps without freezer burn for at least 6 months in the vacuum packaging.  
At pickup, you can select whole chickens and/or cut-up chickens. Our CSA prices are $5.75 lb for whole chickens and $9.50 per pound for an entire cut-up chicken.  A cut up chicken includes 2 boneless breasts, 2 leg quarters, and 2 wings. 
How it works:
As a 2014 Chicken CSA member, you pre-pay a portion of your total chicken price when joining, and you use that pre-paid CSA credit at each chicken pick-up.  
Pick-up your chickens once a month in October, November, and December.  At each pick-up, you select your chickens, we apply your pre-paid CSA credit, and you pay the balance of the total for that pick-up.
Small Share.  6 chickens total.  $120 pre-paid member credit. This gives you a $40 credit towards 2 chickens at each of the 3 distributions.
  • 2 chickens every month in October, November, and December. (This gives you a $120 credit towards 6 chickens through the fall season. )
Large Share: 12 chickens total. $240 pre-paid member credit. This gives you an $80 credit towards 4 chickens at each of the 3 distributions.
  • 4 chickens every month in October, November, and December. (This gives you a $120 credit towards 12 chickens through the fall season. )
Example: You purchase a Small Share of 6 chickens and pay $120 at the beginning of the year.  This gives you a $40 credit at each of the 3 distributions. (2 whole chickens per month).
At the first chicken pick-up in October, you select your 2 chickens, and they weigh 3.95 and 4.25 lbs.  The total for those chickens is $49.20, but since you are a CSA member and you pre-paid $40 per pickup, your new total is $9.20.
 Chicken sizes: The exact weight of each chicken varies. The chickens range in size from 3.5 to 5 lbs. Whole chickens are $5.75 per pound for CSA members. You select your chickens at pick-up, but we won’t be able to reserve certain sizes of chickens.



Fall Pickup Locations


Bluebird Farm
Directions to the farm available at www.BluebirdFarmNC.com 
Vegetables: Oct. 1st-Nov 5. Pick up your vegetable share every Wednesday from 4-6pm at Bluebird Farm. Pickup your box of veggies in the walk-in fridge at the barn. 

Chickens***: Pickup your chicken shares once a month in October, November, and December.
  • October: Pickup at our farm from 4-6pm.  
  • November and December: Pickup in downtown Morganton at Fonta Flora Brewery from 5-6pm. (Farmers get a night on the town!  ;)
***Please remember, if you've signed up for a chicken share, you'll need to pickup your chicken share once at Bluebird Farm in mid October, and twice in Morganton (November and December)



Morganton
Please thank the kind people at Morganton Natural Foods for hosting our CSA pickup location!
Vegetables: Pick up your vegetable share and egg share every Wednesday from 4-6pm in Morganton at Morganton Natural Foods at 306 South Sterling St. 

Chickens: Pickup your chicken shares once a month in October, November, and December.
  • October: Pickup at our farm from 4-6pm.  
  • November and December: Pickup in downtown Morganton at Fonta Flora Brewery from 5-6pm. (Farmers get a night on the town!  ;)


Hickory
VegetablesPick up your vegetable share every Wednesday in Hickory.
  • October 1st-29th:Pickup at our market stand at the Wednesday Hickory Farmers Market from 10-3pm.  
  • Final veggie pickup is on November 4th at Youssef 242 Restaurant from noon-2pm. (Farmers' Market will have ended)
Pick up your box as early as possible during the market to ensure the freshest produce.
Chickens: Pickup your chicken shares once a month in October, November, and December in Hickory.
  • October: Pickup at our market stand at the Wednesday Hickory Farmers Market from 10-3pm.  
  • November and December: Pickup at Youssef 242 Restaurant from noon-2pm. (Farmers' Market will have ended)

Charlotte Regional Farmers Market
Pickup your share(s) at the Charlotte Regional Farmers Market on Saturdays from 8am-noon.  

Vegetables: Oct. 1st-Nov 5. Pick up your vegetable share every Saturday from 8am-noon.
ChickensPickup your chicken shares once a month in October, November, and December from 8am-noon. 








Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Flying Coop and Storm Destruction



We had a 30 minute storm that has really affected the farm Monday afternoon.  (Silver Creek property, not where CSA pickup their boxes or where our freezers are. We had no damage at the Bluebird Drive property.) We had 50-60 mph sideways winds, hail, and a torrential downpour.  The fast moving storm made a sudden 180 degree twist of direction while over the farm (and us.) We all took cover in the tractor shed and hoped that the tall tulip tree didn’t come down on us. In the meantime, 3 giant walnuts at the top of the farm were ripped up.   

Here’s the damage report: Our 5 ton chicken coop wagon was picked up and pushed 100 feet away down into a creek drainage. Almost all of the animals on the farm were okay- all except for 15 hens that died.  Our eggplant and pepper hoophouse was folded in half, and our 4 tomato hoophouses had their 100 feet x 30 feet of plastic ripped off.  One of our piglet huts that weighs about 1000 pounds was picked up and flipped upside down. The piglets were not in the house at the time. The one acre of fall vegetables is shredded up.  A majority of the plants should survive, but it is too soon to see if their ability to thrive and produce much food is ruined. 

We’ve never experienced a storm like this, but we are very lucky that we have escaped without any physical harm to ourselves and without and long lasting damage to our farm.  We just been picking up the pieces today and putting them back together.  

This is all of us feeling a little lucky that we aren't out in the storm! The storm was wild to watch! Clockwise from top left: Hannah, William, Keegan, and Melissa. 
Yes Hannah and Keegan are sitting on kids go carts!









It took  2 tractors, 1 skid steer, and 1 dump truck to pull it out without flipping.



We have 6 hoophouses....1 is badly damaged, but we can salvage parts.




William is in stock still...

Shredded fall crops









Yes those are little bits of shredded kale on the ground