Urban Grains

Jim sent me an update of the grain today with the photo above. It may be hard to make out, but a combination of wind and rain is starting to flatten the Triticale. Luckily, Jim says the damage is so far modest and the rain is expected to let up later today — let’s hope that happens.

One of the most significant hurdles we faced in starting this CSA is a lack of grain infrastructure in B.C. (both for cleaning and for milling.) While we were able to take care of the milling side of things by partnering with Anita’s Organic Flour Mill in Chilliwack, we had, until quite recently, still been lacking the capability to adequately clean our grain. Thanks to the arrival of our newly refurbished Kipp Kelly cleaner/dockage tester, however, that issue has now been resolved.

Using $10 of every share from the CSA, we were able to order this prime piece of equipment from Manitoba. It was originally intended for test purposes, so the scale of its cleaning is quite small, but it cleans to a very high standard. We did a test run with a small batch of sprouted grain leftover from last year’s crop to see how it works.

It’s relatively simple to operate. You turn it on, adjust the knobs to determine how finely it sorts the grain, then pour the grain into the top. The different parts of the grain are then sorted into a variety of trays.

Here’s a short video of the cleaner in action:

After the cleaner has done its work, you’re left with a pile of nice, clean grain ready for milling, while the leftovers can be fed to the chickens.

We’ve sold out, folks! All 200 shares in the pilot year of the Urban Grains CSA have now been claimed by eager grain-eaters. We are maintaining a waiting list, so if you are still hoping to nab a share please sign up for our mailing list by visiting our  ‘About’ page.

Thanks so much to everyone who has purchased a share this year, and to all of you who are watching the process unfold. We are so excited to have you all involved in this project. Be sure to stay tuned to this website for updates throughout the season. Upcoming things on our agenda include organizing a visit for CSA members to Cedar Isle Farm where we’ll visit our grains, bringing you more information about storing and using your share and coordinating the milling of the flour once it’s been harvested. We’ll keep you up to date on all of it, so keep reading!

Martin + Ayla

It had been awhile since we last visited Jim in Agassiz, so we dropped by on Monday to chat and see first-hand how the grain was progressing. While it’s always a treat to visit Cedar Isle Farm, we were especially antsy to make it out there this time because 1) our new grain cleaner that we purchased with part of the CSA funds arrived 2) Jim warned us that the winter wheat is showing signs of rust (which had us worried) and 3) the weather has been so darned amazing lately that we knew the farm would look absolutely gorgeous (I think that alone is reason enough.) We have much to share from the trip, so we’re going to spread the visit over a number of posts.

First up, the grain.

Jim approached me awhile back with the possibility of getting the UBC Agriculture faculty to plant some grain test plots on his farm. The idea was to see how well certain varieties grow in Agassiz, since many of the “conventional” grain varieties grown in Canada have been bred for the much drier prairies and BC itself has a great deal of variability among its many micro-climates.  We never had time to organize a proper study with the University, but Jim went ahead and planted a few plots himself for comparison.

Among the grains included are Marquis, Soft White Spring and Hard Red Spring (CDC Go). Just starting to make an appearance out of the ground, it’ll be interesting to see how they all fair by the end of the season.

After examining the test plots, the first of the grain that Jim took us out to see was the Triticale.

Compared to the winter wheat planted in the adjacent plot, it grows quite high (around chest height), which makes for a rather picturesque scene as it gently flows in the wind. We were happy to see the crop looking robust and healthy.

By comparison, winter wheat grows much shorter. You can see the stark contrast between it on the left and the Triticale on the right.

If you look closely, you’ll notice a yellowish tinge covering parts of the winter wheat. This is what Jim had warned us about before our visit. Commonly called “rust,” it’s a fungus that thrives in damp environments. winter wheat is particularly vulnerable for that reason because it has to overwinter. Although it shouldn’t prove disastrous, there is a chance that the crop’s yield will be significantly reduced as a result (since winter wheat is supposed to account for half of the CSA crop, this is especially worrying.) Jim said he’s hoping the good weather keeps up for most of the summer so the winter wheat can grow through it. We’ll definitely be watching it closely.

We also checked out the fields at the opposite end of Jim’s farm where the rest of the winter wheat and the more recently planted Hard Red Spring is growing.

All in all, I think the grain is looking pretty great. While the rust issue is certainly a bit disconcerting, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I had initially feared — let’s just keep our fingers crossed for good growing weather throughout the rest of the summer.

(If you’d like to get a better sense of how the grain has progressed, check out our update from last month here.)

Stay tuned for Part 2 when we reveal the fancy new cleaning equipment purchased by the CSA.

…far away on the other side of the continent. Martin and I were visiting Nova Scotia last week, and have just returned. Thanks for your patience as we catch up with emails, cheques in the mail, and messages on our answering machine.

We did manage to check out some pretty cool spots while we were there, despite being pretty wet for half of the week. Most notable in terms of grain relevance was the LaHave Bakery, in – where else – LaHave, Nova Scotia. Apparently this place is an institution, and it’s easy to tell why. We had a fantastic lunch there (I had a veggie pizza on doughy goodness; Martin, a veggie sandwich on slices of fresh-baked cracked wheat) and grabbed some photos to share. The “local flours” they mention on the sign are from Speerville Mills, a Maritime company that’s doing great things with local grains, and has a mission that fits so well with the Urban Grains philosophy:

“Why? Because less than 1% of this area’s available cereals and flour products are actually grown and processed in this region. It is critical to promote a regional food system, while encouraging organic farming, and a nutritious food supply. Speerville Flour Mill has always been a strong supporter of organic agriculture. From working with farmers with production issues, to marketing the results of their efforts, Speerville Flour Mill strives to produce top quality products, as well as, supporting the local economy by helping build strong rural communities.”

We encountered Speerville products a number of times during the trip, and were very excited to discover that local flour was being used all over the Maritimes. We even managed to steal a few bags from our friend Shelby, who graciously hosted us at her home, which I will whip up into loaves sometime soon.

The photos below are all from LaHave Bakery, where we hope to end up again someday.

The dessert case. Yum.

Tapestry above the stairs.

The raw ingredients.

Good motto.

Even better mascot.

Gave it a go again yesterday with Chris’s whole-grain flour – this time mixed with some organic, all purpose white – and turned out the first loaf that I am actually proud of.  I used the most basic overnight recipe from Bread Matters, which I have mentioned before, and was very pleased with the result. See those air pockets? I’ve never gotten real air pockets before! It was exciting, to say the least. I didn’t manage to get a good, hard crust, but it’s a big improvement.

Thanks to those of you who have sent along recipes – I’ll be trying more out as the summer goes on and sharing some here, as well.

I was delighted to discover some photos from Jim in my inbox this morning. They were all taken yesterday, the same day that Jim finished sowing the last of the hard red spring wheat (CDC Go variety) picture above. I believe that’s Mt. Cheam in the background.

This is 2 acres of winter wheat (Buteo variety), which was sown on September 22, 08.

Here’s the other half of the winter wheat (Falcon variety), which was sown September 27, 08.

This is 1 acre of Triticate (Pika variety), which was sown on September 27, 08.

Last but not least, this is the first sowing of the hard red spring wheat (CDC Go variety), which was sown on April 22, 09. As you can see in the second picture, it has hardly been a week and the grain is already starting to emerge.

Check it out, it’s homegrown:

Our friend and Urban Grains collaborator Chris generously gave us a few kilos of his fresh, stoneground flour a week or so ago and yesterday the miracles of fermentation helped me to transform it into my first local loaf. It was one of my more successful bread-making attempts. Although I consider myself a competent baker, I am not as confident in my bread-making skills. Puff pastry from scratch – that I can do, but the perfect rise still seems to elude me. So I keep trying. I even bought a bread-focused cookbook this weekend and have been educating myself about the science behind the loaf. After chatting a while with folks at Barbara Jo’s Books to Cooks, I picked up a copy of Bread Matters: why and how to make your own (by Andrew Whitley).  It has recipes, of course, but also offers discussion of the history and politics of bread making. Though the author is British (and often refers to “British bread”) the issues are valid here as well.

Does anyone have a bread book to recommend? Leave it in the comments!

Nom, nom, nom!

We sliced it hot and slathered it with butter – the only respectable thing to do with a fresh loaf.  After such a fresh and flavourful treat, we are certainly looking forward to more of this. To local grains!

We sent out our first round of CSA share offers yesterday and the response has been terrific! Thank you everyone for your enthusiastic support — it’s great to know that there are so many people who share our vision of bringing local grain to Vancouver.

For anyone on our mailing list who hasn’t yet received an offer to purchase a share, don’t despair, more spots will be opening up next week. Not only have we yet to receive a confirmation from some people, but a number of others have decided to forgo their offer and split a share with someone else on the list, meaning more Urban Grains membership opportunities are on their way!

It’s also not too late to sign up if you haven’t already. Simply fill out the form to join our mailing list on our About page and you’ll be added to the CSA wait list.