by nathanael on July 1, 2010
The Brazos Locavores will be meeting on Tuesday July 20th, 7pm at The Village Cafe in Downtown Bryan. This meeting will provide our group an opportunity to plan our tours for the upcoming year. If you have ideas for places you would like to tour or ideas for what would make our tours successful please let us know (brazoslocavores@gmail.com).
The meeting is open to all so feel free to come out enjoy a nice meal and local food enthusiasm!
The Village Cafe is a great restaurant that celebrates local food. Located at 210 West 26th Street Bryan, TX 77803.
Our next farm tour will be planned for September. Between now and then you might want to check out these events:
Fourth of July Locavore BBQ
Date: Sunday, July 4, 2010
Time: 12:00pm – 6:00pm
Location: The Village Downtown
Meat sourced from Wild Type Ranch
The Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail Festival
Messina Hof in Bryan and Retreat Hill in Navasota both have events planned for July and August.
Messina Hof starts their 5 weekend 10th Annual Harvest Festival July 16th. Check out this link: http://www.messinahof.com/harvest10.php for more information!
Retreat Hill Winery & Vineyard (http://www.retreathill.com/) is celebrating their first anniversary with a concert by Slick Hiway on July 31, 2010 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. during the last weekend of the Texas Bluebonnet Wine Trail, Harvest Trail. (www.texasbluebonnetwinetrail.com/)
by nathanael on June 14, 2010
Well, all the cool kids are doing it, so we figured we’d join up and get tweeting. You can follow us here: http://twitter.com/brazosgrows. Spread the word and perhaps retweet us when we say something.
Brazos Locavores will be hosting a tour of three local gardens on Sunday June 27 from 4:00 p.m. until about 7:00 p.m. We are starting later than usual due to the summer heat. We will be visiting two home gardens and the Texas A&M Community Garden. Come on out and see what others are growing and how they are growing! If you don’t have space for you own garden but still want to garden then a plot at the Community Garden is just what you need.
The trip will leave at 4:00 pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802). RSVP requested to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com
by hank on April 27, 2010
Brazos Locavores will be hosting a trip to King’s Orchard near Plantersville, TX , Sunday May 23 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. King’s Orchard specializes in “pick your own” fruits and vegetables! In late May they should have strawberries and blackberries available. Blueberries may also be ready by then. The GPS/Mapping location for King’s Orchard is 11282 Finke Road, Todd Mission, TX (no zip code).
The trip will leave at 1pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802). If you wish to drive to King’s Orchard we will meet there at 2pm. RSVP requested to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com
Visit their website at: http://www.kingsorchard.com/
by hank on April 15, 2010
Brazos Locavores will be hosting a trip to Sand Creek Farm near Cameron on SATURDAY, April 24 from 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Sand Creek Farm specializes in producing grassfed, grain free Raw Milk. Sand Creek Farm is a diverse operation providing eggs, beef, pork, and produce! Please note that this field trip is on SATURDAY!
The trip will leave at 1:00 pm from the Brazos Natural Foods parking lot (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802). If you are driving to the farm plan to arrive at 2:00 pm. RSVP requested to Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com
Visit their website at : http://www.sandcreekfarm.net/
by nathanael on February 26, 2010
This month’s farm tour will be to Twin Creeks Ranch. The Alongi family has been raising cattle near Franklin since 2004 and wants to share with us how they do it. If you are interested in buying local/sustainable beef this is the trip for you.
Join us on March 28th at the Ranch around 2pm or at Brazos Natural Foods (4303 S. Texas Ave. Bryan, TX 77802) at 1pm to carpool. Please RSVP to Nathanael Proctor at brazoslocavores@gmail.com or 979-412-1375 by March 24.
Check out their website at http://www.twincreeksranch.biz
by nathanael on February 2, 2010
Do you know where to find local, sustainably-produced meats? Join the Brazos Locavores for their February field trip and discover for yourself how and where sustainable beef, chicken, and pork are raised as we visit Yonder Way Farm in Brenham TX.
Situated 45 minutes south of Bryan-College Station in Washington County, Yonder Way Farm began in 2006 when owners Jason and Lynsey Kramer were looking for the simple life; to farm the way nature intended. Yonder Way Farm is applying to become the very FIRST certified organic chicken processing facility in the state of Texas. We will get to tour the newly finished chicken processing facility and take a hay ride tour of the farm.
Here’s the Scoop:
What: Brazos Locavore Field Trip to Yonder Way Farms
Who: Everyone is invited and be sure to bring the kids!
When: Sunday, February 21st (1:00 – 5:00 PM)
Where: Meet up at Brazos Natural Foods to carpool out to the farm
RSVP: To Nathanael at brazoslocavores@gmail.com by Wednesday, Feb 17 (I need to prepare the farm for the number of attendees)
For more information about Yonder Way Farm, visit their website (http://yonderwayfarm.com/).
See you there!
by Andrea Fox on January 28, 2010
by Andrea Fox on January 26, 2010
Welcome to Millican Farms
On Sunday, the Brazos Locavores visited Tanya Miller and Steve King of Millican Farms, formerly known as Millican Produce. They supply greenhouse-grown tomatoes to the Brazos Valley Farmers’ Market, several local grocery stores and many of the finer restaurants in town.
Steve and Tanya give us the background on their farm
Farming is in Steve and Tanya’s blood; both grew up in families that farmed, which naturally encouraged them to seek plant-oriented careers. About six years ago they decided to construct their own greenhouses for off-season tomato production, a niche market that until then did not exist in the Brazos Valley.
January in the greenhouse
1000 indeterminate (vine type) tomato plants greeted us as we walked into the 6000 square foot greenhouse for a tour. Each is planted in a five gallon coconut coir filled polypropylene bag that is connected to the watering and fertilization system. The trellising is particularly interesting as each plant is wound around a polypropylene spool that hangs from the greenhouse “rafters.” As the plants grow up, the strings and attached tomato plants are lowered for ease of harvest. Simultaneously, the plant suckers are pruned and flower clusters pollinated by hand. Using this method, they can harvest an average yield of 22-25 pounds of fruit per plant. That’s a lot of tomatoes!
Tomatoes are grown in coconut coir filled bags
Tanya demonstrates her growing techniques
Millican Farms produces beefsteak or dutch type tomatoes, and now by popular demand are growing grape, cherry and roma type tomatoes. You can’t find prettier tomatoes than these:
- Beefsteak or dutch tomatoes ripen on the vine
Steve and Tanya discussed their methods of heating the greenhouse (propane and wood), watering (reverse-osmosis to filter out salts), fertilizing and pest management. While they aren’t certified organic, they try to utilize as many organic techniques as they can.
Yellow sticky cards indicate pest levels
- Millican Farms’ field-grown produce
Millican Farms also produces lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, bell peppers, melons, herbs and eggs. At the end of the tour, Steve and Tanya had an exciting announcement: in April, they are launching their inaugural CSA (community supported agriculture), in which 25 members will pay for and receive 12 weeks of produce from the farm. See their website for more information. But don’t worry, they’ll still be selling their beautiful produce at the weekly farmers’ markets and local grocery stores.
Farm fresh produce for sale
A BIG thanks to Tanya and Steve for hosting a record turnout of 50 locavores on a beautiful January day!
Tomatoes in January - Go Texan
This post originally published at http://grwhryrpltd.wordpress.com/ and shared with permission. All photos copyright Andrea Fox, 2010.
by heather on January 24, 2010
Tanya Miller and Steve King of Millican Farms have announced the inaugural season of a brand new CSA in town. The first season’s membership will run from April 12, 2010 through July 3, 2010, for 12 weeks of farm fresh produce to include a variety of tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, and herbs as well as other seasonal crops like lettuce, cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, a variety of greens, carrots, beets, onions, potatoes, squash, beans, peas, peppers and much more.
Interested in finding out more about the Millican Farms CSA? Contact the farm at csa@MillicanFarms.com or visit their website.
