Category Archives: Farm Updates

Local Produce In Transition // Featured Items This Weekend: Reed Avocados, Shiitake Mushrooms, Sweet Corn

July 27th, 2012
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Jacky Morrison on the tractor at Morrison Organic Farm in Cleburne, TX

Local Farm Update…

Just to keep you in the loop, we’re going through a big transition for the next several weeks.   All our local farmers are tilling under the summer crops right now and planting for the fall harvest.  The great news is we should have some incredible LOCAL FALL PRODUCE!  We might see another wave of Texas peaches but we’ve seen the last of the tomatoes and figs for awhile :( .  We hope you enjoyed them!

Below are some of the featured items we’re planning* for the co-op style produce shares this weekend…

*There are several more items in the shares – this is just a sampling. When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

Just when you thought an avocado couldn’t get any better, BEHOLD!  The Reed Avocado.

Think of all the things you love about a regular avocado, and take it to the next level…
  • The Reed avocado is the size of a softball, super creamy, smooth, and buttery.
  • Not only are Reed avocados difficult to find because their growing season is very short, but finding them organic is almost impossible.
  • The Reed avocado stays green on the outside, and it’s ripe when it’s soft to the touch, not when it turns dark.
  • The Reed avocado doesn’t brown as quickly as its cousin, the more common Haas avocado.
  • Unlike the Haas avocado, the Reed doesn’t need lime juice and cilantro and all those fancy embellishments.  The reed stands alone.  All you need is a sprinkle of sea salt and a spoon to scoop out its creamy goodness.

If you absolutely must fancy them up, here are a few recipe ideas. But first try them plain – trust us!

Local Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushroom bruschetta – 100% local ingredients

Oh how we love our trusty shiitakes from Texas Organic Mushrooms in Denison!    And we’ve prepared both slow and quick shiitake mushroom recipes for you, depending on how much time you have.  Get them here.

Bi-Color Sweet Corn

Mmm, great sweetness and flavor to this corn with different color kernels.  The possibilities are really endless with corn – you can go simple and just shuck it, boil it, butter and salt it, and eat it!  (How to boil corn on the cob)  Or try one of these recipes…

We love you guys!  Thank you for all your support and we hope you’re enjoying your summer!

Our Team Visits 3 Local Farms – Where Your Food Comes From

June 13th, 2012
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One of the most important things to us at Urban Acres is staying connected with our farmers who provide you with wonderful local, organic produce.  We make farm trips regularly throughout the year to see how our farmers are doing and check the progress on the food they’re growing that we then provide to you, our members and friends.

This past Monday, a team of 5 Urban Acres staffers traveled for 18 hours covering 650 miles across Texas to visit 3 of our farm partners:

  • Caprino Royale in Waco, TX.   Husband and wife team Eric and Karen have the best goat cheese in all of Texas, hands-down.  Their chevre is used in many top-rated restaurants here in Dallas.  When you know every single goat by name, then you know the cheese is made with love!
  • Gundermann Acres in Wharton County, TX.  Thank goodness we found Garrett and Stacie Gundermann – they have already provided amazing produce for our co-op style produce shares this year!  The Gundermanns met in high school and got married in 2009.  Garrett is a 4th generation farmer.  Their farm started with a peach orchard, and the family added other fruits and veggies in the mid-1990s.  Now they grow everything from peppers to peaches to figs to eggplant.
  • Eden Creek Farm in Blooming Grove, TX.  Eden Creek is owned by Steve and Kristine Orth, an incredibly energetic and friendly couple that loves growing and sharing their beautiful herbs, greens, veggies, and delicious peaches and plums.  They also have a menagerie of animals with fun names like Tinkerbell, Wilbur, and Squeaky.

We wanted to give you an inside look.  So here’s a little slideshow.

First stop, Caprino Royale…

On the road at 5am…in the Volkswagen Rabbit where UA first began

Breakfast at Caprino: homemade pound cake with local blueberries, raw goat milk, and Oak Cliff Coffee – MMMMM.

Samantha and Jeff learn a goat-feeding lesson from Karen at Caprino

Our Liz with Eric at Caprino

Love me!

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* * *

Next stop, Gundermann  Acres…

Unconventional setting for our meeting at Gundermann Acres – just how we do business :)

Steven getting a tour from Garrett Gundermann

Hydroponics greenhouse

Our studly Andy

Just a few weeks until these huge, juicy figs make an appearance in your produce share!

Liz experiencing fig yumminess

Andy trying a Gundermann fig

Samantha checking out the bell peppers

Steven chowing down on Gundermann organic sweet corn, straight from the field

Waist-deep in organic sweet corn fields: Liz, Garrett Gundermann, Andy, Samantha

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* * *

Final stop, Eden Creek Farm…

Our team (minus Jeff) with the Orths at Eden Creek Farm in Blooming Grove: Steven, Steve Orth, Kristine Orth, Andy, Liz, Samantha

Eden Creek’s potbellied pigs

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Ending the trip with a true farm-to-table dinner under the stars with everything coming from the land at Eden Creek Farm

Thank you, Urban Acres farmers, for working in the hot, the cold, the windy, the rainy, for sacrificing so much to provide the best organic food in Texas for our members and friends.  We ♥ you!

Local Bounty This Weekend!

April 26th, 2012
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Our Texas farmers are harvesting! Hooray!

Last week it really kicked in, and we continue to have a wonderful spring harvest of organic goodies.  So, here are some of the produce items planned* to be in this weekend’s co-op style produce shares…there are several more items, but this is just a sampling!

*When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

  • Sweet and juicy white peaches from Waxahachie, TX
  • Red radishes from Cleburne, TX
  • Rainbow chard from Blooming Grove, TX
  • Shiitake mushrooms from Denison, TX
  • Spring onions from Yantis, TX
  • Mustard greens from Yantis, TX

Local peach from Waxahachie

Cabbage fields at Larken Farms in Waxahachie, home of the local organic peaches

Update on the Spring & Summer Harvest…
We’re only weeks away from Texas zucchini, squash, cucumbers, okra, blackberries, and blueberries!   One of our farmers just planted 2 acres of peas and 1 acre of beets just for us, and red potatoes are already in the ground.  Wonderful Texas watermelon and cantaloupe are being planted.

* * *

This weekend, we’ll also have incredible asparagus again from Golden West Farms, a family owned farm in Colorado.  View this post for info on the asparagus.

Asparagus from Golden West Farms

Let us know how you enjoy the local produce!

Get Ready, Here It Comes…

April 18th, 2012
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The moment we’ve been waiting for has arrived – our Texas farmers are harvesting!

Here are some of the produce items planned* to be in this weekend’s co-op style produce shares…there are several more items, but this is just a sampling!

*When working with fresh produce, availability can sometimes change last-minute.  We do our best to let you know what’s coming ahead of time, but sometimes things do change, especially when working with local farmers.  Thanks for your understanding!

  • Sweet and juicy peaches from Waxahachie, TX
  • Red Russian kale from Blooming Grove, TX
  • Green spring onions from Blooming Grove, TX

Local peach from Waxahachie

Waxahachie farm - cabbage in front and orchards in back

Update on more LOCAL coming soon…
We’re only weeks away now from Texas zucchini, squash, cucumbers, and okra!   One of our farmers just planted 2 acres of peas and 1 acre of beets just for us, and red potatoes are already in the ground.  Wonderful Texas watermelon and cantaloupe are being planted.    Also, stay tuned to our website for a feature on our new local organic aquaponics farm.  Our local organic hydroponic lettuce will be here in a couple of weeks!

* * *

This weekend, we’ll also have incredible asparagus coming from Golden West Farms, a family owned farm in Colorado.  Sara and David Bevan along with there daughters Kyle and Caren have owned the farm since 2004.  Other items they grow each year include hard squash/pumpkins, strawberries, raspberries, peppers (many varieties), tomatoes and cucumbers.

Asparagus from Golden West Farms

There’s a reason why asparagus is so expensive at your local grocery store.  Organic asparagus is even more difficult to find.  Here’s why:

Sara Bevan from Golden West Farms refers to asparagus as an investment in the future, since many crops really aren’t profitable for several years. Asparagus from seed just begins rooting out the first year at which point they are transplanted into their regular drip line irrigated fields. The second and third year are more of a exercise in patience, it’s not until the 4th year that you really get any product to harvest and only about three weeks of production. If you are able to hold on…about the 5th year you have a enough production to see a profit.

Asparagus growing at Golden West Farms

So, all that being said, treasure every bite of your asparagus!   We’d love to see your photos and recipes, so always feel free to post a comment here on the website, link us to your personal blog, or email us!

Lots of LOCAL Coming Soon…

February 2nd, 2012
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Red Russian kale

The weather has been great, so over the next few weeks, here are some of the LOCAL produce items our farmers will have available:
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
  • Red Russian kale
  • spinach
  • radishes
  • turnips
  • bok choy

…and several others!  Stay tuned…

Local Sweet Potatoes Come Full Circle!

November 11th, 2011
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The co-op style produce shares tomorrow will include these beautiful Japanese sweet potatoes from Morrison Organic Farm in Cleburne, TX.   But here’s the really cool thing…we actually gave The Morrisons organic Japanese sweet potatoes from our store, and they cut them up and sprouted them and planted them in their fields.  And, VOILA!  A whole new crop of organic Japanese sweet potatoes to feed hundreds of people!  That’s the true cycle of growing and sharing food…our store, to the field, and back to our dinner tables. 

The shares will also include an assortment of local peppers from Austin, TX…so get your recipes ready!

Try These Recipes…