We’re here…

P.O. Box 832, Hedgesville, WV 25427

Email: bluemf2015@gmail.com

Phone: 304-886-1881

Facebook/bluemountainfarmwv

Sundays
11 am — 1 pm Community Center at German
and King Streets

Farm to Table nutrition program at various Berkeley and Jefferson county locations, spring, summer, and fall

Cheers!

Farming is a lot of work, for sure, but it has plenty of fun moments, too. Whether we're horsing around, telling tales or just taking a break, we make time for smiles.

Our Veggie of the Day: Tatsoi

Tatsoi naturally grows along the Yangtze River in China, where they call it wūtācài (乌塌菜) translating to ‘dark drooping veggie.’ Some other translations call it ‘spoon mustard’ because of the cup shaped leaves.

It’s often described as having a soft and buttery texture and a delicate but distinct taste. Tatsoi can be added to any salad and even pesto. It can also be served as a garnish on any dish.

It’s usually prepared by cutting off the stiff outer stems but keeping the inner stems and all the leaves, providing a quick add that boosts the nutrition of all your dishes. With high levels of vitamin C, folic acid, calcium and more, it’s a staple food in most Asian countries, especially during the winter when it’s tossed into stir-fries and soups to stay warm.

Most of what we grow are old standbys, reliably in every kitchen from week to week. But some of Blue Mountain Farm’s favorites are less known. From Asian greens not used in western dishes, to old varieties of squash and heirlooms, we grow things with flavors and tastes that are new to many people. Our Veggie of the Day feature aims to introduce you to the vegetables that don’t usually get the spotlight. While we want you to keep loving tomatoes and kale, come back every few days to see our new featured veggie and find another staple to keep in your kitchen.

While we grow Tatsoi year-round, it thrives the most in the cold. With the ability to withstand and keep growing in temperatures as low as 15° F it can even be harvested from under snow. It grows from seed to maturity in less than 60 days. It still thrives in the low light of winter days.

A new program at Shepherd University aims to help beginning farmers in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. The school’s Agricultural Small Business Incubator program is now accepting applicants for the 2026 growing season. 

The program will offer farming mentorship and up to a quarter acre of land to grow on, plus access to cold storage, greenhouse space, a tractor and other specialty equipment the farmers may be interested in trying out, said Molly Sutter, program coordinator. The program will also help farmers with business and marketing, infrastructure and irrigation. 

“We’re just trying to help out farmers,” Sutter said. “Everywhere, but especially in Jefferson County, there’s so much farmland that’s being developed mostly for housing and also planned data centers. We really want to support small farmers who want to farm.”

Shepherd program helps new farmers

Program leaders say the ideal candidates are those with some experience farming and a business idea who don’t have land to grow on. 

“The idea is that they would maybe spend some time in this space, leasing land at a really inexpensive rate from us until they have their footing, and then they might want to go and get land of their own once they’re established and have some funds,” Sutter said. “Because the upfront cost of farming can be a lot with equipment and everything.”

(read more at News & Clues)

Small is bountiful.

Plenty of farms in The Eastern Panhandle offer fresh-cut trees for Christmas

Cut your own: 

Lynch’s Tree Farm 

635 Airport Rd, Martinsburg 

Appointment only; book online 

https://lynchchristmastreefarm.com/ 

Santa’s Woods 

2150 Shirley Rd, Summit Point 

santaswoodswv.com 

Dan and Bryan Trees 

364 Knott Rd, Shepherdstown 

danandbryantrees.com 

Reddington Farm & Orchard 

414 Kidwiler Rd, Harpers Ferry 

304-870-2150 

Pre-cut: 

Meadows Farms

35 Old Rider Rd, Harper’s Ferry

Town and Country Nursery 

1885 Darke Lane, Kearneysville

 Colonial Farms

9008 Tuscarora Pike, Martinsburg 

Orr’s Farm Market 

682 Orr Drive, Martinsburg 

https://orrsfarmmarket.com/ 

Here’s where to find your holiday tree

1. Chop bok choy into bite size pieces 

2. In a pan add sesame oil and garlic on medium heat 

3. Let garlic cook for 30 seconds before adding the bok choy and ginger 

4. Add in salt and pepper 

5. Stir frequently until bokchoy is tender, then add soy sauce and cook for an additional minute or two 

Ingredients

• 4-5 baby bok choy 

• 3 cloves garlic 

• 1 tsp fresh ginger 

• 2 tsp soy sauce 

• sesame oil 

• salt and pepper 

Stir-fry garlic

bok choy

Chef’s tip: Add fish or oyster sauce with the soy sauce for an extra rich umami flavor.

For more meal ideas visit our Recipie page

Adding a lot of green (and a little red) to winter’s gray

Growing greens and vegetables is a year-round proposition for Blue Mountain Farm. That includes working through the Thanksgiving to New Year holiday season, the cold winds of January, the snows of February and the lingering winter days of March.

Like more and more other small-scale farmers, we’re learning to produce crops through the entire 12-month cycle of seasons in order to maintain cash flow, stay connected with our customers, and keep our helpers on board through the lean winter months.

It makes for a busy schedule -- planting, growing, harvesting — then planting, growing and harvesting — again and again. And it’s always something of an experiment, to see what works in this season of short days, long nights and blasts of frigid wind and sinking temperatures.

Farmer Dave Elliott and staffer Austen Nurenberg have been working with cold-tolerant North American greens, northern European cultivars and Asian vegetables to develop salad mixes and table dishes that are not only nutritious, but tasty and colorful too.