Hatfield asparagus is known far annnnnnd wide and its almost here! Every time we put this out on the stand we get excited, it kicks off the season, and folks drive from all over to grab a few bunches. Not only does the "lobster" of vegetables taste incredibly good, ​it's a superfood. So many health benefits, we lost count!

Asparagus is an anti-inflammatory (reduces inflammation in the body) and contains a type of fiber that keeps the digestive system healthy. The plant chemical glutathione contained in asparagus has been found to be an anti-inflammatory and may help rheumatoid arthritis symptoms. This vegetable is also rich in soluble fiber oligosaccharide, which acts as a prebiotic in the gut by stimulating the growth of friendly bacteria. It is also a valuable source of vitamin C, folate, magnesium, potassium, and iron. Unusually for a vegetable, it is a good source of vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps keep the heart and immune system healthy.

The Good Stuff:

• folate and glutathione protects the heart by helping to reduce inflammation
• fiber content acts a prebiotic for gut health
• good source of important vitamins including vitamins E
• rich in iron, promoting energy and healing, and helps fight infection

Facts:

• peak season March to June
• white asparagus lacks heart protecting fight phytonutrients nutrients and provides less of vitamins A and C compared to its green counterpart

Tips:

• avoid spears that are fading in color
• trim the woody ends and stand stalks upright in a tall container with a little water in the bottom, cover the tops with a plastic bag and use in a few days
• brush large spears with oil and broil for 2 to 3 minutes until tender, so good
• small thin asparagus spears can be used in quiches, soups, risottos, and salad

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Reference: 100 Best health Foods, Eat This Not That, Cooking Light What to Eat
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Beautiful crowns of our green broccoli varieties will soon be available at our farmstand, picked fresh first thing in the morning and ready for pickup when you get out of work.

We have two new varieties coming, "Green Magic" and "Marathon", both earthy, savory, and robust. Incredibly good for you too! Have a look below and see why you should be eating broccoli everyday.

Of all vegetables in the Brassica family broccoli has shown the highest levels of protection against prostate cancer. Broccoli comes in several varieties but the darker the color the more beneficial the nutrients the vegetable contains. It contains sulforaphane and indoles, which have strong anticancer benefits particularly against breast and colon cancer. Broccoli is also high in flavonoids, which have been linked with a significant reduction in ovarian cancer. The chemicals in broccoli protect against stomach ulcers, stomach and lung cancer, and possibly skin cancer. They also act as a detoxifier helping lower bad blood cholesterol, boosting the immune system, and protecting against cataracts.

The Good Stuff:

• contains sulforaphane, activates enzymes destroy cancer cells
• helps lower bad cholesterol and protect against heart disease
• contains lutein and zeaxathin, helps prevent macular degeneration
• helps eradicate H.pylori bacteria
• high calcium content helps build and protect bones
• contains vitamins C, K, A, and B6, potassium, riboflavin, folate, and manganese
• excellent source of antioxidants and selenium
• 3 to 5 servings a week offers protection against cancer

Facts:

• peak season October through May
• you can eat the leaves of broccoli as well as the stocks and the florets, they contain as much goodness and taste great too
• did you know broccoli spouts have 20 times more cancer fighting power than their grown up counterparts
• add to sandwiches scrambled eggs salad and soups

Tips:

• look for heads rich with deep color avoid any pale yellow or brown patches on the florets
• store in the refrigerator and use within a few days of purchase 
• frozen broccoli contains all nutrients of fresh broccoli, purchase in bulk 
• cook lightly by steaming or stir-fry

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​Reference: 100 Best health Foods, Eat This Not That, Cooking Light What to Eat
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Stockbridge School of Agriculture professors do their best to get students as much hands-on work throughout the year. Today my Organic Vegetable Production class went on a field trip to Simple Gifts Farm in Amherst, MA. We talked with owner Jeremy about his organic  farming operation and helped him weed his spinach that he planted last fall in one of his high tunnel hoop houses. It felt good to finally have my hands in the soil again! 

Edyn Wi-Fi Garden Sensor
Amazon.com $75
Edyn’s Garden Sensor and Water Valve is a wifi-based app with a valve set-up that waters your plants, tracks light, humidity, temperature, soil nutrition and moisture. It even also gives you advice about what plants might do well in your garden.

Garden Plan Pro iPad
Gardenplanpro.com $8
Having trouble planning your vegetable garden? The Garden Plan Pro app is as a visual aid in laying out your rows and beds before you pick up a shovel. It also provides weather station data, gives advice on the best plants for your region, and offers information on more than 140 different species of flowers and vegetables. 

Plantlink Basestation
Amazon.com $65
Basestation is one of the best options out there to monitor the soil humidity of your plants, and let you know when you need to get watering. The Plantlink Basestation and app can manage up to 64 separate sensors. The starter package includes one and additional units can be purchased for $35.

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Did you know eggplants used to have spines and bananas had huge seeds? You bet they did.  

Humans started domesticating crops about 10,000 years ago. Since then, we've developed farming techniques to breed food to taste better, be more nutritious, live in different environments, and now look way, way different. 

Check out this video about fruit and vegetable history, it's pretty interesting.

Reference: Business Insider

Worked in the garage over the weekend prepping for season 2017 on this rainy day. With a little creativity and know-how I welded stabilizers on our sprayer's extended booms to give them the strength they needed.

​These new booms will help us be more efficient with less passes in the field, decrease the soil compaction, and in the end, save us time, fuel, and money. More importantly, less of a environmental footprint!

We've added a new piece of equipment! This Cole Planter will make farm life a bit easier while providing a better product to you, my customers. 

If you don't know what a planter is, it's a piece of equipment towed behind a tractor that sows (plants) seeds in rows throughout a field. The planter lays the seeds down in precise manner and are distributed through devices called row units. The row units are spaced evenly along the planter.

​Planters vary greatly in size, from 1 row to 48, with the biggest in the world being the 48-row John Deere DB120. The space between the row units also vary greatly. The most common row spacing in the United States today is 30 inches.

Pretty soon our farmstand will be stocked with all those pre-summer sweet leafy greens! And don't you fret, spinach will be high on that list. This season we will be stocking two varieties, Banjo and Admiral. Each promise to be sweet, earthy, and robust, perfect for salads, side dishes, smoothies, and juicing. With all the health benefits and versatility in the kitchen, have a look below and see why Spinach is so popular. 

Contrary to popular belief, spinach doesn't contain as much iron as originally thought but, nevertheless it has many excellent health benefits!

Researchers have found many flavonoid compounds in spinach at as antioxidants and fight against stomach, skin, breast, prostate, and other cancers. Spinach is also extremely high and carotenes which protect eyesight. It is also particularly rich in vitamin K which helps to boost bone strength and may help prevent osteoporosis. In addition, spinach also contains peptides which are aspects of proteins that have been shown to lower blood pressure, and its relatively high vitamin E content may help protect the brain from cognitive decline as we age.

The Good Stuff:

• excellent source of fiber
• flavonoid and carotene content protects against many cancers
• vitamin C, folate, and carotene content helps maintain artery health and prevent atherosclerosis
• helps keep eyes healthy
• vitamin K content boosts bone density

Facts:

• peak season is March through May
• the greener the greens, the more nutrients, vitamins, and minerals they contain
• research has shown that a spinach rich diet improves both learning capacity and motor skills
• Tufts University found that frequent spinach eaters had a 43% lower risk of age-related macular degeneration

Tips:

• avoid buying spinach with yellowing leaves
• pack unwashed spinach bunches loosely in plastic bags and refrigerate up to 4 days
• the carotenes in spinach are better absorbed by the body when the leaves are lightly cooked rather than eating raw, light steaming or stir-frying retain most antioxidants
• simply wash the leaves and cook in only the water still clinging to the leaves, stirring if necessary

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Reference: 100 Best health Foods, Eat This Not That, Cooking Light What to Eat
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Antibiotic
A drug used to treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics have no effect on viral infections. Originally, an antibiotic was a substance produced by one microorganism that selectively inhibits the growth of another. Synthetic antibiotics, usually chemically related to natural antibiotics, have since been produced that accomplish comparable tasks.

Anthocyanin
The word anthocyanin comes from the Greek words ἀνθός (anthos), meaning flower; and κυανός (kyanos), meaning blue. Anthocyanins are natural pigments that run the range from dark red, to blue, to indigo, and deep violet depending on the acidity level of the pigment itself. The pH level runs the gamut in anthocyanins, the lower the pH level the redder the pigments get, but when it increases it goes from red, to purple, to blue, to green and then yellow. There is some research that demonstrates their use in the elimination of free radicals from the body as antioxidants.

Antifungal
An antifungal medication is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycoses such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis, serious systemic infections such as cryptococcal meningitis, and others.

Antioxidants
Antioxidants protect the body from free radicals which can play a role in heart disease, cancer, and other conditions.

Antiviral
Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used specifically for treating viral infections rather than bacterial ones.

Brassica Vegetable Family
Brassicaceae or Cruciferae is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family.

Calcium
The body needs calcium to maintain strong bones and to carry out many important functions. Almost all calcium is stored in bones and teeth, where it supports their structure and hardness. The body also needs calcium for muscles to move and for nerves to carry messages between the brain and every body part. In addition, calcium is used to help blood vessels move blood throughout the body and to help release hormones and enzymes that affect almost every function in the human body.

Carotenes
Carotenes support immune function, but in a different way. They stimulate the production of special white blood cells that help determine overall immune status. They improve the communication between cells, too, which results in fewer cell mutations.

Ellagic Acid
When we think of foods rich in ellagic acid, we typically think of berries such as raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. But are there also other good dietary sources of this powerful phenolic compound that has been shown to exert strong anti-cancer and antioxidant activity in test tube and animal studies. 

Enzymes
A substance produced by a living organism that acts as a catalyst to bring about a specific biochemical reaction.

Fiber
Dietary fiber is a plant-based nutrient that is sometimes called roughage or bulk. It is a type of carbohydrate but, unlike other carbs, it cannot be broken down into digestible sugar molecules. Therefore, fiber passes through the intestinal tract relatively intact. However, on its journey, fiber does a lot of work. 

Flavonoid
Flavonoids are plant-based compounds with powerful antioxidant properties found in many fruits and vegetables like blueberries and grapes. They serve a variety of functions such as protecting blood vessel walls in people who have heart disease or diabetes, alleviating allergies, protecting brain health against dementia and even preventing some cancers.

Glutathione
Glutathione is a combination of three simple building blocks of protein or amino acids − cysteine, glycine, and glutamine − and it is produced naturally in the body. It is called “the master antioxidant” because it can regenerate itself in the liver after each fill-up of free radicals and go back to work. Free radicals are often the byproduct of normal cellular metabolic oxidation and toxic overload. They can lead to autoimmune diseases, several types of cancer, and even heart attacks.

Indoles
Natural substances found in cruciferous vegetables including kales, cabbage, brussels sprouts and cauliflower. A powerful antioxidant and detoxifier.

H.pylori Bacteria
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a type of bacteria. These germs can enter your body and live in your digestive tract. After many years, they can cause sores, called ulcers, in the lining of your stomach or the upper part of your small intestine. For some people, an infection can lead to stomach cancer.

Iron
An essential mineral. Iron is necessary for the transport of oxygen (via hemoglobin in red blood cells) and for oxidation by cells (via cytochrome). 

Lutein
Lutein is called a carotenoid vitamin. It is related to beta-carotene and vitamin A. Foods rich in lutein include broccoli, spinach, kale, corn, orange pepper, kiwi fruit, grapes, orange juice, zucchini, and squash. Many people think of lutein as “the eye vitamin.” They use it to prevent eye diseases including age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cataracts, and retinitis pigmentosa.

Manganese
Helps form bones. Helps metabolize amino acids, cholesterol, and carbohydrates.

Oligosaccharide
Oligosaccharides are carbohydrates which have 3-10 simple sugars linked together. They are found naturally, at least in small amounts, in many plants. Plants with large amounts of oligosaccharides include chicory root, from which most commercial inulin is extracted, and artichokes. They are also found in the onion family, legumes, wheat, asparagus, jicama, and other plant foods.

Peptides
Peptides are organic chemical molecules. They are polymers made from linking amino acids together in a certain order. The link between one amino acid residue and the next is known as an amide bond or a peptide bond. Linking peptides together gives proteins, which are also known as Polypeptides.

Phenols
Phenols are nothing more than natural chemicals made up of a benzene ring with one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups attached to it (science talk for how it is put together). They are found in many of the foods we eat like fruits, veggies, and nuts and can also be man-made for use in common non-food applications such as toothpaste, hair dyes, medicine, and disinfectants. It is important to remember that most foods have some level of phenols in them (there are many subgroups, compounds, and close chemical relatives) and that they are natural and can even be beneficial to the body, as is the case with antioxidants in fruit.

Phytonutrients
Plant foods contain thousands of natural chemicals. These are called phytonutrients or phytochemicals."Phyto" refers to the Greek word for plant. These chemicals help protect plants from germs, fungi, bugs, and other threats. Fruits and vegetables contain phytonutrients. Phytonutrients aren't essential for keeping you alive, unlike the vitamins and minerals that plant foods contain. But when you eat or drink phytonutrients, they may help prevent disease and keep your body working properly.

Potassium
Balances fluids in the body. Helps maintain steady heartbeat and send nerve impulses. Needed for muscle contractions. A diet rich in potassium seems to lower blood pressure. Getting enough potassium from your diet may benefit bones.

Prebiotic
Prebiotics are carbohydrates that cannot be digested by the human body. They are food for probiotics. 

Probiotic
Probiotics are “good” bacteria that help keep your digestive system healthy by controlling growth of harmful bacteria. The primary benefit of probiotics and prebiotics appears to be helping you maintain a healthy digestive system.

Riboflavin
Helps convert food into energy. Needed for healthy skin, hair, blood, and brain.

​Salicylates
Salicylates are one type of phenol in the phenol family and scientists believe they are produced by plants for use as their own natural protection from diseases, insects, fungi, and harmful bacteria. They are made up of a phenol compound with an additional COOH group (more science talk about how it is put together). As it turns out, salicylates are chemically very similar to the man-made chemical acetylsalicylic acid, more commonly known as Aspirin.

Selenium
Selenium is an essential trace mineral important for cognitive function, a healthy immune system and fertility for both men and women. Selenium is found in a variety of foods, the richest sources being Brazil nuts, seafood and organ meats.

Sulforaphane
A powerful anticarcinogen and antibacterial compound found in cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, cabbage, kale, brussels sprouts, collard greens, turnips, and turnip greens. It stimulates the production of antioxidant enzymes that neutralize free radicals from external and internal sources.

Sulfur Compounds
Sulfur, a mineral vital to your health, is found in all body tissues and plays several important roles in your body. It helps resist bacteria and protects against toxic substances. In addition, sulfur is necessary for proper development of connective tissue and helps skin maintain structural integrity. Identifying sulfur-rich foods can help you make choices that ensure you get sufficient intake of sulfur. Cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, turnips, bok choy and kohlrabi, are rich sources of sulfur.

Vitamin A
Essential for vision Lycopene may lower prostate cancer risk. Keeps tissues and skin healthy. Plays an important role in bone growth. Diets rich in the carotenoids alpha carotene and lycopene seem to lower lung cancer risk. Carotenoids act as antioxidants. Foods rich in the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin may protect against cataracts.

Vitamin B6
Aids in lowering homocysteine levels and may reduce the risk of heart disease. Helps convert tryptophan to niacin and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays key roles in sleep, appetite, and moods. Helps make red blood cells Influences cognitive abilities and immune function.

Vitamin C
Foods rich in vitamin C may lower the risk for some cancers, including those of the mouth, esophagus, stomach, and breast. Long-term use of supplemental vitamin C may protect against cataracts. Helps make collagen, a connective tissue that knits together wounds and supports blood vessel walls. Helps make the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine Acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells. Bolsters the immune system.

Vitamin E
Acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable molecules that can damage cells. Protects vitamin A and certain lipids from damage. Diets rich in vitamin E may help prevent Alzheimer's disease.

Vitamin K
Activates proteins and calcium essential to blood clotting. May help prevent hip fractures.

Zeaxathin
Potent antioxidant in many vegetables, is also in your eyes, especially the lens, retina, and macula. Zeaxanthin and lutein protect your eyes from harmful high-energy light waves like ultraviolet rays in sunlight. Studies suggest that a high level of both in eye tissue is linked with better vision, especially in dim light or where glare is a problem.

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Reference: Havard Medical School, WebMD, Mother Nature Network, Wikipedia, NutraWiki
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