The herb is both antiseptic and cleansing, helping the body to overcome all manner of infections. Hot basil tea reduces fevers and clears phlegm from the chest and nose, and so eases the symptoms of colds, flu, catarrh, coughs and sore throats. Its relaxant properties extend to both the digestive and respiratory tracts, and can relieve colic, constipation and nausea, and ease conditions such as asthma and tight coughs.
Basil is one of the oldest herbs known. “Assists with headaches, and insomnia “ according to “HEALING FOODS”, by DK Publishing. Anti Inflammatory to soothe fever; headaches, sore throats; colds; coughs and will help manage depression and anxiety while working on neurotransmitters responsible for regulating happiness and energy, helping to manage your stress as well. Can detox your liver, preventing fat build-up in the liver itself, keeping blood sugars in check as well. Can build gut health increasing immunity and promoting healthy digestion as aiding in tummy upset as symptoms.
Being a “LOCAVORE”- A new term but an ancient way of eating. Locavores eat or try to eat - locally produced food, although of course the word “local” is pretty vague.
This is where Rommey Farms comes into Play in your life! “What you eat matters to your health and the quality and composition of what you eat is in turn determined by how the food is raised, what it’s fed, and where it’s from”. Why is this worth spending extra time and usually money to eat local at Rommey Farms? Reducing your carbon footprint, supporting your local economy, eating seasonally and fresh, plus knowing where your food comes from and how it is raised…...all these are positive attributes, and characteristics of local food and pretty much only local food. Sunlight, rain, soil quality along with soil composition means better nutrient composition of food. All things we strive to give you the best of at Rommey Farms.
Try something new for you in 2023. we have our Community Supported Agriculture program, full or half share options for your busy lifestyle.
Want to get some antioxidants in your food source? Use our jalapeno jelly as a glaze to your pork chop. You are sure to enjoy the experience and taste.
]]>Common question among aspiring green thumbers is “Should I use seeds or transplant?" While both have their benefits, here at the farm we scatter and turn in both. You might be asking why? Some veggies don’t transplant well and some have shorter days to maturity so transplanting really isn’t required. Some vegetables take the entire growing season to mature sometimes a little longer so a head start during the growing season is welcome.
Benefits of using vegetable seeds:
Better price are less expensive and purchased in bulk is always a good idea.
seeds
Giving gardeners a plethora of variety options when it comes to choosing varieties to suit their wants and needs.
Gives a grower more room for error-if the vegetables you grew from seed don’t do well at the start, you sow another patch using leftover seeds.Availability is a big part of getting started in the right direction. Farmer Susan starts in the Spring to order for the next years variety. It’s one of those organizational tasks that she loves to do. Taking a look at prior year results, she reads the journals, looks at AAS winners and the Midwest Growers Guide. At our farm we grow beans, carrots, radishes, kale, spinach, cucumbers, herbs peppers, tomatoes, herbs and varieties that grow best in our zone 7. Watching the weather is another big part of getting it right.
Transplants:
These require less work and time than direct sowing seeds. Plus, there is no thinning required for some varieties.
Transplants give us a head start. There is no waiting for germination, which is great for vegetables that take a long time to mature.
This all being said the most important part is showing up at the right time, putting in a good days work and getting those seeds and seedlings in the ground.
According to Bonnie L. Grant, Certified Urban Agriculturist, “Prozac may not be the only way to get rid of your serious blues”. I’m living proof that the natural antidepressant in soil makes me happier and healthier. Soil microbes and human health now have a positive link which has been studied and found to be verifiable.
One of the things we found in common when Don and I were dating was the love for the outdoors and gardening. I was living in the north part of the city of Kechi partnering with neighbors on a community garden. Don had an acre in Cassoday and decided in prior years to install a water hydrant for watering the neighbor boys 4-H lamb. Perfect spot for us to garden together to spend our time together. We would buy our seeds and I would germinate our starts at my house then would transport and begin planting. We nurtured, planted watered and weeded after our day jobs ended. To this day his rows are still straighter than mine.
When we bought the farm before we were married, it was exactly what we dreamed of having. At the time we were both working day jobs off the farm and would rush home to start our chores stealing every minute of light before dark set in.
Our first year of growing in what was in prior years a cattle pen, was a challenge. Don had rotator cuff surgery and his contribution was borrowing Farmer Johnson’s tractor and a two bottom plow to break the ground for me. I went to work with our Tuffy rototiller working the soil.
Now after a day's work off the farm, Don returns to find me “working” in the garden, in the grow room or out in the pasture. He joins me and together we work alongside each other till dark forces us inside a building. During our break time we enjoy sitting on the base of a tree calling turkeys or at a pond fishing. We are double blessed when the grandkids and their parents join us.
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Unfiltered locally grown, gathered to benefit your overall health bundled with a multitude of vitamins and minerals. Raw honey is the best choice for your health, taste the bees, and the environment.
All bees usually fly up to a 2 mile radius from their hive looking for flowers, clover, alfalfa and other crops and natural plants found in the Flint Hills. The honey we sell is unfiltered and raw, ensuring the most properties have been preserved for your health.
Raw and unfiltered honey contains pollen, which is also very good for allergens.
Research suggests that small doses of pollen found in raw, unfiltered honey may work similarly to an allergy shot. Lab testing has demonstrated that honey can kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This natural antibiotic property is necessary as it permits bees to store honey in their hives for long periods of time without the risk of spoilage. It is also why raw honey is still used to treat wounds in medicine to this day.
People with immunocompromised illness or cancer, or organ transplants are advised to eat raw unfiltered honey with caution. Likewise infants under the age of 1 should NOT be fed raw unfiltered honey due to their immune systems.
We here at Rommey Farms take great pride in providing honey from Kansas for your benefit! Just Remember - "Eat sweet foods as you find them in nature". In nature, sugars almost always come packaged with fiber, which slows their absorption and gives you a sense of satiety before you’ve ingested too many calories.
]]>Simple tool cleaning and food safety infrastructure like washing our greens are a few of the steps we take. Our partnership with the Kansas State Research and Extension Food Safety team in working with Cal Jamerson, Dr. Londa Nwadike, Dr. Valentina Trinetta and Dr. Manreet Bhullar and has allowed us to not only grow in our learning but to help others in the field by offering other beginning farmers and their staff to come along side us. From field days to farm visits, are hope is to give back a small portion of the resources we have been given from our creator. We are running a beautiful farm to grow for our customers and be able to leave for the next generation.
]]>Healthy and good quality seeds are the roots of a healthy crop. We select the seeds that are used to cultivate new crops very carefully. When we sit down in a planning session, look back at the last growing season and determine what varieties had the best yield and also take in account feedback from our community supported agriculture member surveys on their favorites.
We make solid decisions from planning before we plant that first seed. We buy our seeds based on the quality and try a few new varieties are out there. The Midwest Vegetable Production Guide for Commercial Growers which is tool we use easily searchable on any platform compiled by Universities Research and Extensions. Research and Extension education on topics including: Insect, disease, and weed control recommendations. The Kansas Specialty Crop Growers Association is another great resource that we have found to get information on varieties. Check out our What We Grow page for the diverse offerings we are planting for this year.
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How to Shop: Visit us online, at the farm and at our Farm Market Stand in El Dorado at 325 W. 6th.
This winter, we are harvesting fresh greens and herbs weekly from our two unheated tunnels, or hoophouses as they're called. Customers often wonder “how do you grow greens all winter without heat??” Well, we grow varieties that are bred specifically for cold climates, and we make sure that the plants have a strong and healthy root system going into the winter. We grow everything directly in the earth. This means we don’t use any hydroponic or potted greenhouse systems. All of our winter produce has a rich, field-grown taste. Since we only use the sun and don’t use any supplemental heat, our greens are very hardy and frost-sweetened. Freshly harvested winter greens include: arugula, baby kale, bok choy, lettuce, rainbow chard, spicy greens mix, spinach, and more.
We also have our wild flower fed honey and pasture-raised chicken eggs. We use insulated “bags” to deliver our CSA in weekly. We are Produce Alliance trained and have a cooler that we store in. To make sure our storage crops stay crisp and full of flavor, we store them straight from the field in perforated bags or containers and wash them to order.
We are currently building a market with a germination chamber and shop that will allow us to open the farm year round for tours, u-pick flowers, and shopping. We will start to move our production out of the house basement. In addition we have just taken possession and will be constructing a greenhouse for our plant starts. This will also allow us to hire additional part-time staff.
]]>This weather has been crazy, just a week ago we were harvesting tomatoes from 1 beds, we could barely keep up. With the cooler weather this past week, ripening came to a grinding halt. Telling us it was time to rip the last row of tomatoes out and prep the beds for fall/winter tatsoi, kale & spinach. The change of the seasons marks the end of hot, long, exhausting, gratitude filled summer days. Moving into cooler weather at a slightly slower pace and reflecting on all the food we have grown and fed people over the past many months. It will soon be soup season and time for hours spent in front of a wood fire, cup of coffee in hand, hopefully reading a good book and maybe thinking a bit about next year and our big plans for another fabulous growing season. Those days will be here soon! So for now back to work… to make sure we have plenty of delicious healthy veggies ready for the winter months!
]]>Growing year-round in Kansas can be a difficult task to navigate. But with a little elbow grease, and a whole lot of planning, Rommey Farms is poised to make our first winter harvest a great one.
Our first round of seedlings have been planted in the field. The kohlrabi, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are looking great and we can't wait for those hearty, fresh vegetables come November!
In the east hoophouse, cucumbers, peas, and mizuna are seeded. In the west hoophouse, we are busy preparing beds which will soon be filled with greens and radishes. Our tomatoes and cucumbers are slated to come out the mid part of September to make way for spinach to be planted. So far it has been an easier journey this year. We prepared months ahead of time and can now look forward to this first year-round growing season.
Food safety and the health and well-being of everyone connected to our farm has always been a high priority for us. In the current times this takes on new meaning. We continue to monitor the situation and stay current with recommendations for sanitation and social contact that are coming our way. Because we are a small farm with an amazing network of human resources, with a little creativity we can always make adjustments to our dropsite pickups where necessary to make sure that our customers receive their scheduled deliveries of fresh produce.We will be hosting the Kansas Farmers Union staff for a tour that is focused on food safety and how we keep your food safe from field to harvest. In the wake of rapid changes in the lives of those surrounding us right now the rhythmic connection with the returning fall feels like a real blessing.
Ready to join our CSA and receive 4-8 fresh, amazing vegetables all winter long? Click the button below and let us grow for you!
Honey - it’s the only food that will never spoil.
In 2017, Don and I began our apiary journey with just some guidance from family members. It quickly turned into a rewarding and fascinating hobby, and a staple of Rommey Farms.
On the surface, it seems a bee's daily reality is to forage and bring back to its home nutrients to provide to its offspring and continue to produce. However, we really only have a small window into the vague world of bees.
This year we purchased our two hives from John McMinn, our mentor in Hillsboro. Our nucleus colony (often called a 'nuc' for short) arrived in a wooden box that contained five medium frames. The five-frame configuration consists of three frames containing brood (In beekeeping, bee brood or brood refers to the eggs, larvae and pupae of honeybees) of all stages, while the outer two frames store the honey and pollen.
Our nucs have bees in all phases of life, including newly laid eggs (the queen will even continue laying eggs while the nuc is being transported), larvae and pupae. The adult worker bees represent all the roles - from nurse bees, cleaners, guard bees, foragers, and everything in between. Quite simply, a nuc is a small version of a fully established colony. We placed our nucs side by side, making it easier to transfer the frames into the box.
Starting with one of the outer frames in the nuc, we tenderly lift the frame, using our hive tool if there is propolis involved. Propolis is a natural resinous mixture produced by honeybees from substances collected from parts of plants, buds, and exudates. The word propolis is derived from Greek, in which pro stands for “at the entrance to” and polis for “community” or “city,” which means this natural product is used in hive defense. We keep then keep the frame over the nuc as much as possible and gently move it over the top of the beehive. We then insert the frame adjacent to one of the empty frames left in the hive. Making sure the frames remain in the same order, we then moved over the remaining frames. At the end of this process, our nuc officially became a ten frame hive.
Our bees get plenty of water from our drip irrigation system and the blooms from our veggies and wildflowers provide them with lots of pollen and nectar. We also left our frames from last year out to let the bees clean out any remaining honey.
Once transplanted to our garden, Don and I begin the tender task of working around them as we plant and harvest so they can begin their ritual of getting to know us. We like to open up the hives and check the them once a week, usually in the morning by 11:00 am, and let the weather determine what day.
Beekeeping is a tedious labor of love, but we wouldn't have it any other way. The life lessons bees teach us about working hard, persistence, and community give us a good perspective on how we ought to live our daily lives. Because the truth is, if we can all work together and do our part, we reap the sweet rewards.
With stay-at-home orders being lifted and outdoor activities increasing, one of our favorite ways of doing business here on the farm is through our farmer's market and pop-up tent sales.
I love getting to meet our customers face-to-face and having real conversations about their needs, concerns, and why they are choosing local produce. We often talk about our growing practices and how important it is to engage our surrounding community in supporting local farmers to bolster our local food system and in turn help our local economy. (You can read one of our recent blog posts here about why buying local might actually be just as important as buying organic.)
Recently I've noticed a trend when conversing with our customers: Most of them are young (in their 20-30s) and have a strong focus on organic foods (moreso than the previous generation, in my personal experience). They tend to make more lists and are geared more towards meal prepping and planning than older generations. They fixate on limiting the harmful ingredients and products they put in their bodies and where their food comes from and how it is grown are also some of the factors that contribute to their decision to buy. A deep concern about sustainability and environmental health also drives their purchasing decisions. A recent study showed that 87% of millennials “believe that companies should address urgent social and environmental issues.” Not afraid of demanding what they want, more economically privileged millennials often take to spending more to buy better or less harmful products.
A 2017 study found millennial parents buy more organic food than any other cohort. Surveys have shown this generation (born between 1981 and 1996 – people aged 24 to 39 at the end of 2020) do indeed favor organic foods. Millennials also eat more fresh and frozen vegetables than other generations and a strong trend towards meatless and/or vegan lifestyles is on the rise. One recent study found 26% of millennials are either vegetarian or vegan, and 34% of meat-eating millennials eat at least four vegetarian dinners each week.
Millennials are the first generation to stare global climate issues in the face and consider them a real and imminent threat. Many believe the only answer to healing our environment and ensuring future generations can benefit from nutrient-dense produce is through interventions and education. One such intervention is The Real Food Challenge, began at the University of Southern California. Real Food is defined as food that truly nourishes everyone: producers, consumers, communities, and the earth. Students have often been at the forefront of social movements, and fighting for a better food system is no exception. The long term goal of The Real Food Challenge is a healthier and more transparent food system.
A local initiative, ICT Your Plate, has generated a movement that encourages and reminds consumers to eat and shop locally produced foods. Consumers and vendors alike are encouraged to show their support by posting to social media and using the hashtag #ICTYourPlate, bringing awareness and patrons to Wichita (and surrounding community) businesses.
Initiatives such as these are near and dear to our hearts here at Rommey Farms as we strive to educate the public on the importance of sustainability and a truly transparent food system.
Now more than ever, all consumers are questioning the quality of their products and have a focus on health that has been unprecedented in recent history. This concept of intentional buying and questioning the sustainability of our food system are discussions will hope will not end with the resolution of Covid-19.
When you hear the word “pollinator,” what’s the first thing that comes to mind?
Bees? Butterflies?
How about birds, bats, or beetles?
You’d be surprised to know that there are several types of pollinators that help us grow your food here at Rommey Farms.
Pollinators are defined as : any animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Pollinators can include insects such as bees and wasps, but also encompass large mammals, birds, and reptiles such as hummingbirds, lemurs, and even lizards.
In this blog post we’ll highlight some of the more common pollinators you’ll find here at Rommey Farms that aid in our growing process and ultimately help get food to your table.
Birds & Bats
According to the USDA National Conservation Service, hummingbirds are the most common avian pollinators in the continental United States. These tiny wonders prefer tubular flowers in bright warm colors - especially red. Recently, while Shannon and Dan McPartland were out touring our farm, they met up with one of the hummingbirds that visit the east high tunnel regularly.
Bats also appear on our farm, although less frequently than hummingbirds. The pollination of plants by bats is called chiropterophily and over 500 plant species rely on bats to pollinate their flowers. Plants pollinated by bats often have pale nocturnal flowers and are typically large and bell-shaped. Three prevalent species in Kansas include the Big Brown Bat, the Little Brown Bat, and the Evening Bat.
Ruby-throated hummingbird
Bats act as pollinators and natural pest control
Butterflies and Moths
This category of pollinators includes nectar-seeking butterflies, which are daytime garden visitors, and moths, which are their nocturnal counterpart. These popular creatures pollinate many plants. Because the adult and juvenile forms of butterflies and moths do not eat the same food, it is necessary for an ecosystem, both wild and managed, to contain both nectar and host plants. By ensuring the presence of host plants in an area, the adult moth or butterfly will be able to lay her eggs on the appropriate plants for the eggs to hatch and the larvae to feed. Without these host plants adult moths and butterflies may not be present even if the nectar plants are available. We have Lunar Moths and many types of butterflies that visit our garden.
Beetles
There are thousands of beetle species. In fact, 40% of all insects are beetles. They were among the first insects to visit flowers and they remain essential pollinators today. Flies, dragonflies, and other insects are also among the most common visitors to our tunnels.
Bees and Wasps
The U.S. is home to 4,000 species of native bees. Bees love to feed on our flowering plants such as Salvia, Zinnias, Bachelor Buttons, Nasturtiums, Lisanthus, Stock, Celosia and Snapdragons, and the many blooms throughout our vegetable garden. Unlike other pollinators that can feed on multiple food sources, bees only eat pollen and nectar. The National Resource Conservation Service states that there is evidence of population declines of bees, not only in the United States, but around the world. This has prompted scientists to encourage changes in ecosystem management.
Here at our farm we have two honey bee hives located in the southeast corner of our vegetable garden. We use drip irrigation and I commonly find bees when I’m working around our plants getting their water from the lines. Our 2020 hives are strong and the queens are hard workers.
Did you know…
Honey bees communicate by dancing! Check out this video for some cool information on why and how bees "talk" to each other.
Wasps are an important part of our garden as, not only pollinators, but beneficial insects that pray on bugs that would otherwise damage crops and flowers in the garden. Aphidius colemani is an amazing parasitic wasp that stings its aphid victim and lay its egg right inside the aphid where it later hatches, feeds on more aphids, and lays its own eggs, continuing the cycle.
Pollinators are a vital segment of our ecosystem here at Rommey Farms and we are thankful for the roll they play in sustainable agriculture.
Are you interested in attracting more pollinators to your garden? Check out this PDF for the best Kansas native plants to attract pollinators.
Summer harvest is finally here at Rommey Farms and we could NOT be more excited for the bounty that has sprung forth! We are convinced: There's nothing better on a hot summer day than a cool cucumber salad or a plump juicy tomato right off the vine.
In fact, now is the PERFECT time to pull out those sweet summer side recipes and try them with some of our farm fresh produce. We guarantee our plucked from Kansas soil, farm-to-table veggies will elevate your favorite dish beyond your wildest dreams.
With 4th of July barbecues, potlucks, and camp outs with copious amounts of grillin' and chillin' right around the corner, we'd like to share five amazing recipes featuring our straight-from-the-earth ingredients. Not only are these stellar sides big on flavor, but HEALTHY as well. Is that even possible, you ask? We think so! But don't take our word for it. Whip these up for your next family dinner and let the masses decide.
No frills here. Just four, low-fat ingredients - each one adding another layer of BAM for your taste buds.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Kids hate their veggies? Give this recipe a whirl! The sweetness of the sauteed tomatoes helps balance out the greens making this a crowd-please, even for the veggie haters in your life!
Recipe adapted from https://www.laaloosh.com/2017/06/07/summer-green-bean-salad/
Ingredients:
1 small Rommey Farms Red Onion (thinly sliced)
1 1/2 cups Rommey Farms Tommy Toe Tomatoes (halved)
1/2 cup Rommey Farms Genovese Basil (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 tbsp olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
This one tastes like my childhood! I remember going to Grandma's, opening the fridge, and praying I saw that little Tupperware container with the air tight lid. I knew when I popped it open, there would be some sweet, salty goodness waiting for me. I was rarely ever disappointed.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Because it's not summer in Kansas without potato salad! We took this age-old recipe and adapted the ingredients to make it more calorie-friendly by reducing the amount of olive oil and subbing Miracle Whip for real mayo. We promise you won't notice!
Adapted from https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/new-potato-salad
Ingredients:
Directions:
Super simple and absolutely beautiful - this dish will add color and vibrancy to your blase potluck! Just 6 ingredients and 5 minutes prep time means if you forgot you were supposed to bring a side dish at the last minute, you can whip this bad boy up in a jiff!
Adapted from https://healthyrecipesblogs.com/roasted-mini-peppers/
Stock up on all your 4th of July ingredients today by visiting our online store, then pick-up at the Old Town Farm & Art Market Saturday, June 27th between 8a-1pm.
The Old Town Farm & Art Market is your one stop shop for locally grown produce and crafts! Come see all Wichita and the surrounding area has to offer and bolster your local economy at the same time. #ShopLocal #LocalGrown
I used to be one of those people in the grocery store who wouldn't pay $0.20/lb more for organic bananas. Even as a personal trainer, as I educated my clients on the importance of eating their fruits and veggies, I never fully understood why organic and/or locally grown was superior. I often lamented that, if they couldn't afford organic, that was okay! At least they were making healthier choices.
Thank goodness I have the self-awareness to know when I'm wrong and the audacity to admit it.
Not only is organic superior and safer, I would argue that LOCAL is just as important, if not more so, than organic. And if you can have both? Creme de la creme!
Fruits and vegetables begin losing their nutrient density as soon as they are plucked from the ground, tree, vine, etc. Those strawberries you're eating in the dead of winter? Not only do they lack the flavor we really want and love, they are lacking (to say the least) in nutrients as well. Most have traveled thousands of miles, endured temperature changes, been exposed to artificial light sources, and were washed with chemicals to increase their shelf life and insure they made it to the grocery store in time to not rot. Spoiler alert : Not moldy DOES NOT mean fresh.
Some argue that the pandemic was the main catalyst for the increase in demand for locally-sourced food products. However, this trend has been gaining momentum for the past 20 years. In 1994, there were fewer than 2000 farmer's markets listed on the National Farmer's Market Directory. Today, there are nearly 9000. A simple search for my own zip code (67230) yielded 8 farmer's markets within 10 miles! While nutrient levels in the soil declined, farmers and agriculture specialists across the country put their heads together to answer the conundrum of poor soil quality and in turn poor produce quality. The results? More local farmers, smaller in scale, using sustainable agricultural practices with an emphasis on soil quality and preserving land for future generations.
Why should I buy local?
It's safe to say that getting your hands on locally grown produce and meats is now easier than ever. But it's still not as convenient as taking a trip to your local Kroger store, and that's enough to deter a majority of shoppers. So what other benefits, besides nutrient dense foods, can shopping local give you (as the end consumer)?
So what are we to do as consumers, in the Midwest, landlocked and freezing for 4 months of the year?
Seeking out local food sources is a great place to start. This might require a little extra effort on your part and include things such as :
We hope this article has made you consider your options when debating on locally sourced vs GMO, non-local produce and foods. As always, feel free to comment below and let us know your questions and concerns. Our mission at Rommey Farms is to serve and feed the community to the best of our ability while using sustainable agricultural practices and contributing to our local food system and economy.
What is Agritourism?
Agritourism or agrotourism, as it is defined most broadly, involves any agriculturally based operation or activity that brings visitors to a farm or ranch. These visitors may be in search of entertainment, education, or a myriad of other motivations. Examples could include corn mazes, pumpkin patches, u-pick farms, hayrack rides, dude ranches, or on-farm farmer's markets.
Why is Agritourism Important?
Agritourism provides a unique opportunity to bring growers and their communities together. This in turn creates a greater bond between local food growers and their customers, which benefits both parties. Additionally, agritourism can provide the public with educational opportunities, helps to preserve agricultural lands, and allows states to develop business enterprises.
What Agritourism Means to Kansas
Kansas landowners, farmers, and winery owners are realizing the benefits of tailoring their operations to tourism. It's becoming increasingly popular to engage tourists in agricultural activities, like picking strawberries or riding horses. As technology progresses and land development continues, these types of activities become increasingly more difficult to participate in in rural areas. Tourists find themselves seeking out this simpler way of life and find entertainment and value through encouraging the whole family to take part.
In a state that was traditionally thought of as nothing but flat farmland (as the ever popular Jason Aldean song suggests, Kansas is a "Flyover State"), agritourism can benefit the economy greatly by drawing in travelers from across the country to take part in these unique agricultural-based activities. While agritourism is becoming increasingly more popular, Kansas farmers could use your support in drawing more visitors to the state.
Here's a list of ways you can help:
Below is a list of agritourism destinations near Wichita, Kansas to help get your wheels turning. Search Google for agritourism in your area, or visit your local farmer's market and ask around!
Must-Visit Farms Near Wichita, Kansas
Living a consciously healthy lifestyle is now more important than ever.
And if you’re like me, I often wonder how can I change up what’s for dinner but stay within my caloric intake.
When you receive one of our CSA shares of 4-8 fruits, vegetables, and herbs every week, your meal prepping woes get much simpler! You're already getting the freshest and most nutrient-dense produce and you can build your meal plan around those products. This is how our ancestors used to eat - living off whatever was growing at the time and picking things straight from the ground or trees.
Our CSA members receive an E-mail each Sunday detailing the items you can expect to receive and also recipes to help you make the most of some of the less popular items.
Keep it Small & Simple
When you decide to prepare your own meals for the week, start small! Cook just one or two meals and build your way up from there. Don’t try to cook a whole week’s worth of meals in one sitting. You may want to do this later as you get more comfortable, but for now, just try to find your meal-prepping groove.
Focus on simple meals. Salad greens are a favorite among many meal preppers because they can be used in a seemingly endless number of ways. From spring salads, to taco toppers, to hamburger fixin's - greens are so versatile should be a staple on your weekly grocery list. It’s also easy to store - no need to use your freezer space.
Have Variety
With just a bit of protein (chicken, turkey, beef, seafood, etc.) and fresh, nutrient-dense vitamin-packed vegetables and herbs, you can easily prepare three totally different meals.
Take, for instance, ground turkey. From one package of ground turkey you could easily make a pot of chili, juicy turkey burgers from the grill, or taco meat to be used on taco shells, or on top of your salad greens for a quick, low-carb option.
Learn to Multitask
Remember that you can cook lots of different things at the same. Use your oven space or grill to its fullest potential. There’s no need to place one thing in there at a time. Use multiple oven trays if it helps, or use aluminum foil to make dividers on one oven tray and multiply your efforts. Start with recipes that lend themselves to this type of cooking.
When planning your first shopping trip as a meal prepper, ask yourself if you have enough oven trays, aluminum foil and other utensils you might need.
Fruit
Fruit is a great way to dive into meal prepping. You can cut up different types of fruit and store them just like any meals you could prepare. You can easily make fruit salads or smoothies to go along with your prepped meals, or you can simply start off with fruit prep only. Having vitamin-packed, healthy snack options at your fingers tips is a great way to limit calories from mindless snacking. Oh and Ps. Don't be afraid of sugar in fruit! Fruit is one of the most nutrient-dense foods we can eat!
The Crockpot
Okay, this one is obvious, yet so many new meal preppers overlook it. The Crockpot has been a favorite among moms for decades. Use it to make simple, great-tasting meals in bulk, then store them in the freezer. You can also Google "Dump Meals" and prepare your ingredients in one large bag ahead of time and just "dump" the meals in the crockpot as you run at the door to work! You'll come home to an amazing smelling house and dinner already prepared! Win-win!
Let's Get to Work!
Hopefully this guide has given all you need to get started with meal prepping so you can make life a little easier. Remember, DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY! You may have to experiment a little bit, but carving out time in your week to prepare some healthy meals ahead of time can save you time, money, AND calories.
After all, that’s what meal prepping is all about.
Don’t forget to tell us about your favorite tips and recipes in the comments below!
Join the Rommey farm family and be apart of our CSA subscription!
$25/Week
We have an innovative system in place to grow our 430 tomato plants in our 30 x 96 high tunnel. When we were awarded the EQIP grant through Butler County Conservation District, the directives were to grow in the ground for 5 years with no structures attached to the tunnel. This means nothing hanging from the trusses and no container gardening inside.
Don got creative and designed and built a frame work to support the wire used to move our tomahooks. A tomahook is a heavy-duty stainless steel hook that hangs on a high wire to support plants and release about 7" of twine each time it is turned over. The Tomahooks can hold up to 79 lbs and will allow our plants to grow up in a single leader on the twine. As the plant grows it allows us to lower and lean the hooks for heavier producing vine-crop varieties. Tomahooks attach to the plants with clear vine clips. The back of the clip goes on the twine then around the stem of the plant. Clips hold the twine tightly and won’t let them slip. We use them on any heavy plants like tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and cucumbers.
Here are the clear vine hooks that attach the Tomahooks to each leader stem.
Here's our Tomahook system in action with our over 430 tomato plants.
Creepy crawlies : You hate 'em - We LOVE 'em!
Beneficial insects and the use of their control has been around for many years. Although it sounds counter intuitive, bugs can actually be a farmer's best friend. Some insects help with pollination and also serve as natural pesticides, killing other bugs that may be harmful to the garden's plants. Beneficial insects increase the ecological diversity of garden areas and defend plants and crops from harmful insect pests by preying upon them.
A good example of this would be ladybugs. Ladybugs help rid an area of crop-damaging aphids, mealybugs and other destructive insect pests. The adult ladybugs feed on these insects. They also lay their eggs among the aphids or other prey so the emerging larvae can feed on the insects, too.
We currently use ladybugs and two types of tiny wasps in our high tunnels. What this means for our customers is that we don't use heavy pesticides to control insect pests which means organic healthy vegetables for Butler, Sedgwick, and Greenwood Counties and our Southcentral Kansas area.
A fun family activity we celebrate on our farm each year is our Ladybug Launch where we release all of our ladybugs into our high tunnel. (Watch our Facebook page for information on when our launch will occur this year after the Shelter in Place is lifted!)
Check out the infographic below for more information on beneficial insects and which ones might be good for your garden.
The concept of Community Supported Agriculture has been around for 25 years in various forms. It has recently risen in popularity as a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from local farmers to reduce. Traditionally, farmers would sell "shares" of their produce before the season began to help offset the costs of planting, growing, and harvest. Buyers bought into an entire season (For example : 20 weeks at $20/week = $400). Shareholders (consumers) would then reap the benefits of harvest by receiving their allotment of produce when crops were at the peak of ripeness.
Benefits to the Shareholder
Benefits to the Farmer
This simple concept can have a profound impact on both the local community and local farmers. Tens of thousands of families have joined a CSA, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it.
Small, locally owned farms became almost non-existent in the '80s to early 2000s when large production farmers, feed lots, greenhouses, and synthetic farming came on the scene. Technology all but eliminated the demand for local produce when companies began "growing" produce in large production plants in mass quantities, then offering these products to the consumer at a discounted rate. (This is why you can go to your local grocery store and buy a head of lettuce of $1 where at a farmer's market it may cost you $2.25.) However, some of these produce products never see native soil and are grown with the aids of fertilizers and pesticides to help minimize the risk of damage to the crop.
The Risk of Being a Farmer
Organic farming carries a lot of inherent risk. From drought, to bug infestations, to floods, to cold weather - it's not easy being a farmer (especially in Kansas). Community Support Agriculture helps the farmer mitigate the risk of planting with no harvest. While it is always the farmer's intent and mission to provide shareholders with top-level produce, factors beyond the farmer's control could render an entire season without crop. CSA participants knowingly participate in a program in full awareness that no products are guaranteed and yield varies from year to year.
This type of trust between the consumer and farmer is what makes a CSA program unique. This is the type of relationship that used to exist between the farmer and the end consumer and these are just some of the ideals that Rommey Farms is trying to bring back to life.
We currently have about 41 laying chicken hens, and 4 laying ducks hens. They produce anywhere from 30-40 eggs per day.
Customers often wonder what the difference is between duck and chicken eggs. And while I don't have a degree in science, I thought I would highlight just a few of the major variances between the two.
Duck eggs taste very similar to chicken eggs and may have an even, richer more reliable "eggy" taste. The white of the duck egg is clearer, making for fluffier whites which are often used in baking to make fluffier cakes, softer cookies, and higher peaks for meringues.
Duck eggs are about 50% larger than chicken eggs and therefore have more protein and tend to have more vitamins and minerals (dependent on the diet of the ducks and chickens doing the laying). The average chicken egg has about 6 grams of protein while the average duck egg has closer to 9 grams. However, the yolk of the duck egg is also larger, meaning the fat content is higher. But that's not all bad! Duck eggs are higher in Omega-3 fatty acids, which can help contribute to heart health and reduce inflammation. Interestingly, the protein in duck eggs is different than the protein in chicken eggs, so if you're allergic to chicken eggs, duck eggs may be a viable alternative.
Due to their thicker shell, duck eggs have a longer shelf life than chicken eggs. This also makes them great for decorating around Easter time.
Our Farm Favorite
Chicken eggs are the best fresh and, in my opinion, hard boiled. Yes, fresh eggs are a little challenging to peel, so here is my fool proof method for the perfect hard boiled egg:
Boil for only 7 minutes, then place directly into a container with cold water and place the lid on top. Shake around until the shells crack, then it's all in the eating from there!