Walking to the Wild Rabbit from Daylesford

Daylesford: organic to the max

March 21, 2024October 30, 2024gotofarms Leave a comment

Lady Carole Bamford has created an organic empire from Daylesford, her farm in the Cotswolds. I’d heard about it from my cousin Paula, who grew even more enthusiastic about going organic for her farm (next to ours in Virginia), after a visit to Daylesford. So eager for some inspiration, I headed to Daylesford on the second day of my trip to the Cotswolds.

I love how Lady Bamford, wife of multibillionaire Anthony Bamford, founder of the construction firm JCB, has embraced farming as the route to a healthy, prosperous life. The socialite travels the world by helicopter and jet. She’s officially a baronness, honored by the queen for her charity work–and yet she wants to be known as a farmer, according to published reports. She turned her family farm into a thriving organic enterprise 40 years ago. Now at age 76, she operates three popular upscale cafes in London; two well-reviewed pub-restaurants; a wellness spa; winery in southern France; distillery; clothing line; home goods; charities in India–and don’t forget the actual farm.

All organic and self-sustaining.

*If it’s not directly from her organic farm, Daylesford sources from certified organic farms. These tomatoes, (at about $15 for 2 pounds), come from Spain.*

The real center of her enterprise is here at Daylesford which started as an organic farm shop in 2002. Forget the old images of battered, shrunken organic fruit; everything sold at Daylesford is organic, pricey, and chic, as beautifully produced as a perfect pear.

First impression: sleek and expensive

I am fascinated by her enterprise and how she has so successfully capitalized on organic farming.

My first impression is not of a farm, but a sleek glass and wood structure, lined out front with topiaries and a big parking lot full of cars from the city.

Behind the topiaries, perfect organic fruits and vegetables are displayed in bins, as in the traditional farmers market. But that’s where the homespun comparison stops and yields to Bamford’s style and business sense that’s like an English Martha Stewart.

In the Home Goods department, an elegant lady was hanging felt Easter eggs on branches artfully arranged above the $200 tablecloths . “All from the property here,” she offered., referring to the branches. The English decorate these Easter trees with eggs, she added. The eggs are hand embroidered with carrots and bunnies, sustainably, in Nepal.

In Housewares, where they sell luscious smelling products like rosemary loo (toilet) cleaner, I met a couple from London. The woman was clutching purchases that included a bag full of organic, disposable aluminum foil, eco-rubber gloves and a tin of biscuits for her mother. Despite the high prices, she is happy to shop organic because it is pesticide free and not contributing to climate change, she says. “But I have to ask, why is it good food only for the people who have the money?”

*A dust tray and brush for about $40 (32 pounds). High quality and high expense is the rule at Daylesford*

Her partner was a bit more skeptical. “I just came to see what all the fuss is about.” He paused. “Totally aspirational. . .What is this all about? I don’t know. They have a car park full of cars.”

I’ve noted the English are much more conscious of climate change than Americans.

*Daylesford avoids packages in favor of filling recyclable or reusable containers with everything from Quinoa to herbs.*

Tour of cheese, wine, everything organic

I had hoped to get a tour of the farm, but it is off limits to visitors. I also would have loved to meet “Lady B” as she is called by staff; she often comes to check on things, the manager, Risvon Fernandes, said, in front of the three restaurants featuring Daylesford produce. Fernandes tried to put it all in perspective for me: “This is a dream of Lad Bamford. She puts her stamp on everything,and it is all organic.”

We ambled through the beautifully displayed housewares to a nook with 14 different kinds of cheese made at Daylesford; the smell of moldering cheese almost knocked me out. That was next to a cubicle featuring organic wine made by hand at the Chateau Leoube, famed for its organic Rose. The winery was transformed into organic by the Bamfords.

Then there was the cookery school with multiple state of the art stoves and gear. The wellness spa is across the way. I checked out the airy stone and wood boutique which displays Bamford’s simple classic styles. She imports some fabric from Jaipur, a town in India where she has organized and supported Indian crafts such as indigo dying. The linen comes from various farms in England. I liked the plain white sweater but at $540, I opted to go on a walk to indulge in the good, local food at the local pub, the Wild Rabbit (also owned by Bamford).

The high-end products contrast with the dirty work of farming. Yet her philosophy about organic farming runs deep, from the roots of her surrounding 1500-acre estate to the sheets on the beds of her luxurious cottages that she rents out to tourists in search of the green countryside. Everything, her website states, is “designed to be mindful of its footprint and create an ethical, environmental and sustainable way, inspiring others to live consciously and well.”

Opposition to pesticides

According to an interview in the London Financial Times, which paid tribute to her business acumen, Bamford became an advocate for organic foods when she was a young mother outside with her baby. She noted the wilting roses in the garden. The wilted condition was traced to pesticides sprayed by nearby farms. “Better to pay the real price for food than later on in the doctor’s office,” noted Bamford, in response to the criticism of the high price of her products.

As self-sustaining as it claims to be, I found it hard to get public transportation out there from Broadway and had to hire a driver. Then I could not find a way to get to The Wild Rabbit, the Michelin recommended pub in nearby Kingham.

A Walk to the Wild Rabbit pub

With map in hand, I headed across the parking lot, down the road to a path, that was as pristine as the Cotswold Way, through beautifully kept fields. Every field in this area appears groomed by landscapers, groomed naturally, by the sheep and cows.

The kissing gate, which allows walke_{rs in wit}hout letting out the sheep

On the 3-mile walk, I caught glimpses of the farm operations, neat and without any evidence of pesticides but I can’t really tell. The terrain was really muddy and flat, great for splashing through puddles at a relaxed pace, all by myself. Breathing in the beauty of the landscape.

At the Wild Rabbit, with carved wooden rabbits placed as accents to the rustic decor, I ate lunch–a delicious bright green leek, potato soup, dense with the earthy leek flavor, and whole grain sour dough bread, cheese and butter, (made on the farm) accompanied by a half pint of Cheltenham gold beer.

The host told me they are working to get 3-stars for their ambitious menu. I missed a chance to try the tasting menu, set for later, Wednesday through Saturday, where they showcase delectable creations reflecting the day’s produce. He described a rabbit dish, with rabbit bacon, wrapped around lobster. Also intriguing is a salad of nasturtium root and parsnip crisps or braised pigs head, swede, mead and sage. You can also rent a cottage or rooms with rustic chic and luxurious amenities around the corner from the pub.

I’m content with the soup, and the cozy atmosphere of the pub, with its airy, light feel and leather chairs set in front of a fire. I chatted with a well-heeled guest who came in to the pub to meet a friend. Lady B has bought more properties near The Fox, a former 18th century inn also owned by Bamford, in a neighboring village, she said.

“I wonder if she will keep the post office,” she mused.

Are the townspeople upset she is buying up everything? I asked.

Not really, because like many small villages struggling to survive in the depressed English economy, the town was in need of a boost, she said.

Reflections

Lady B has the exquisite taste and the deep pockets that keep the enterprises going–fueled by a growing appetite for healthy food and land, amid concern for climate change. Her farm is one of the most successful organic farms in England, according to the Financial Times. I admire how she has built this market, glamorizing farming and the move to organic in a way that brings more profits for local farmers and better pesticide-free food for anyone willing to pay. She proves how successful organic can be.

Could such a model work in the States using farms as hubs for markets?

R-VA Tomatoes, all shapes and colors, reign in peak harvest in Hanover County, Virginia

July 12, 2023July 14, 2023gotofarms Leave a comment

How I became a tomato lover after decades of detesting the fruit

Hanover County, Va. — I have never liked tomatoes.

This is not a wise statement to say here in Hanover County, Virginia, when I was visiting the home of Master Tomato Growers David Hunsaker and Barbara Hollingsworth in the middle of peak harvest.

*Barbara Hollingsworth and David Hunsaker display the day’s tomato crop on the pool table (right) and in flats (left).*

I just don’t like the texture or acidity, I tell them.

“Maybe you didn’t have any good ones,” suggests David, as he offers me a Sun Gold cherry, the size of a golf ball. Tomatoes, in a mosaic of brilliant greens, reds, dark purples and yellow in all different shapes, just picked this morning, are spread out for sorting on a pool table in the couple’s basement.

Barbara sorts the cherry tomatoes for restaurant customers, ensuring each pint is full *of prime specimens. Blemishes are the mark of heirlooms*

I popped the tomato in my mouth—tarter than a plum, as juicy as an orange, and sweet as honey, unlike any tomato I have ever seen or tasted.

Today under the name Village Garden RVA, they grow over 325 varieties, as well as 100 types of chiles, using sustainable and organic practices. “We like to experiment. We look for old and obscure tomatoes,” David says. The heirlooms range from the hefty 3-pound Goatbag, in the shape of a goat’s udder, to the petite Sun Gold cherry. There’s the misshapen, dark purple Ukrainian, and the bright red Reisentraube, the hiking tomato that you can break easily into sections without dripping juice. The Oxheart, a seedless dense kind with 20 different variations, is their favorite.

“Diversity is the key, I mean it in every sense. We are a very accepting couple of people. We want to reinforce the diversity of nature. We want people to appreciate all the shapes and colors and tastes of these amazing fruit.”

David Hunsaker, Tomato Farmer

Tomato Paradise

Dating back to the 1800s, Hanover County, Virginia, has been known for its luscious tomatoes. In their one-acre plot, David and Barbara have created “a tomato paradise,” in the words of Food and Wine magazine. They’ve built up a following among Virginia chefs and foodies who love the complex, varied flavors which they can’t get in the typical supermarket. Heirlooms do not travel well in crates. They get smushed and mishandled, says David. Refrigeration, used to extend shelf life, robs the tomatoes of flavor and texture.

What makes the Hanover tomatoes so delicious?

“It’s the soil,” says David. A loamy mix with a touch of clay exists in Hanover County only on the east side of 95, along the Eastern Seaboard Fall Line that intersects with the Coastline. Their garden is situated on a slope, protected by a forest from frost. The climate is perfect, with cold nights and hot days and just the right amount of rain as opposed to more precipitation in the mountainous regions around Charlottesville.

*David heads down the slope with tomatoes, at that point in the land where the Eastern Coastline and Piedmont intersect*. *Their tomatoes flourish in the unique soil mix of Hanover County.*

When David retired from a career as a health care executive in 2004, he bought the ten acres of forested land next door to a horse farm, adjoining a suburban development in Mechanicsville–located a few miles west of Interstate 95 between Richmond and Washington. Growing up in a poor coal-mining community in southwest Virginia, he wanted to grow the heirloom tomatoes that sustained his family during hard times. He cleared a few acres and built a greenhouse for a small vegetable garden. When he met Barbara, who shared his love of farming, they began growing and selling 50 different varieties at local farmers’ markets in 2011.

Tomato heirloom boom

“After the market, we had all these tomatoes,” Barbara recalls. “We started going to restaurants in Richmond, taking them in the truck.” Most chefs were just starting to work in the afternoon. “They would come out to the truck and would say, what are you doing? Where did these come from?” They were sold. At one time, they made kimchi and bottled herbal blends to sell, but the tomato has taken priority. It has all morphed into a business and lifestyle as rewarding as it is delicious.

They select seeds from specialty catalogues and plant over 4,000 seedlings in tiny containers in February. The couple works every stage to the end of the harvest in August. “We’re it. We grow from seed. It’s very hard work,” David says. He adds, it is not a lucrative business, grossing no more than $30.000 a year; they are lucky to have savings.

“We are in love and love what we do,” David adds.

On my tour of the tomato garden, David and Barbara pick specimens in the first blush of ripeness to take to their customers in the afternoon. Beside the tomatoes, chili plants are flourishing in a geodesic dome, and a big banana tree shades a corner of the garden. While heirloom varieties are more subject to blight and disease, no bugs, rotting tomatoes, or significant weeds intrude on the neat rows.

*David and Barbara gather tomatoes that show a faint blush of color to ripen perfectly in the next few days*

Barbara hands me sweet tomatoes from the vines to try—a lovely peach tomato and a unique coin-sized fruit, covered in a gauzy husk—Aunt Molly’s ground cherry. I savor the sweet, tropical flavors of this tomatillo.

No wonder the top chefs and foodies are going wild over the rich, diverse tastes of heritage tomatoes. The demand has increased so much that they no longer make the rounds of farmers’ markets. Only Yellow Umbrella Provisions in Richmond carries RV tomatoes.

RVA tomatoes find a place in high end restaurants

During Covid, Jason Tesauro, sommelier at Barboursville winery, David and Barbara, hatched the idea of Supper/Summer Somm, a series of dinners developed by top chefs in Virginia and DC to showcase their heirlooms. (Find out where and when here) In addition, David and Barbara opened their home to a limited number of diners July 16 for a Tomato Jubilee with music, tours of the tomato garden, forest walks, free favors, courtesy of their sponsor Duke’s mayo and more.

The restaurants promote the name R-V tomatoes, or RVA, on their menus with the same zeal they reserve for Napa Valley wines. For last year’s Tomato Jubilee Extravaganza, L’auberge Chez Francois, rated the top French restaurant in the Washington, D.C. area, featured fresh heirloom R-V gazpacho and R-V tomato and herb-crusted local sauteed rockfish on its 7-course menu. In Barboursville Friday August 4, Executive Chef Michael Clough is preparing R-V tomatoes in focaccia, risotto and a local peach tart with tomato gelato, among other items, to be paired with Barboursville wines for $155 per person.

*RV tomatoes on the menu for last year’s Extravaganza at L’Auberge Chez Francois in Great Falls, Virginia, just outside Washington*. *This year’s is August 6.*

The ultimate tomato sandwich

Back in the living room, laying down a flat full of fresh tomatoes, David asks if I would like a tomato sandwich, something I have avoided all my life. With the introduction of these unique tastes, I decide to try it.

He slices three small fresh yellow gems and lathers two pieces of white bread with Duke’s mayonnaise. “Only the cheap white bread and Duke’s mayonnaise, with a little salt and pepper,” says David. I take one bite and devour it in six luscious bites. I’m a total convert now.

*The ultimate tomato sandwich that converted me to heirloom tomato lover*

Is this on the menu of the high-end restaurants?

No, says David, but all the chefs love tomato sandwiches , made exactly this way. With a fresh R-V tomato, it’s a gourmet lunch.

######

What are R-V growing secrets for the best-ever tomatoes? Here are David’s answers to questions:

He begins, “The big issue is plant as deep as possible to give you a better root structure.”

How do you fight blight?

You can’t avoid blight. But you can reduce the chances with sterilized compost, of 3-4 inches, refreshed each year so you don’t have pathogens from last year.

Carefully pinch leaves off from the bottom of the plant.

Avoid over-watering. Water from the ground up, without splashing any water on the leaves or fruit. Keep tomatoes off the ground.

How do you avoid chemicals?

We use fresh compost and a mushroom mix that we order.

Spray with soapy water to kill aphids. Castile soap, unscented, mixed with water. In the greenhouse, nwem oil and pyretheum, can wipe out other tough pests.

Do you use stakes or string to support towering plants?

Both. Set stakes 8 feet apart. We create an ellipse, twisting the twine (sisal) from stake to stake. It’s called the Florida weave.

How do you avoid refrigeration?

Eat.

Lavender: calming at Star Bright Farm

June 27, 2023June 28, 2023gotofarms 1 Comment

*Farmer Peter Elmore in lavender fields, Star Bright Farm, White Hall, Maryland*

On picturesque property in north Baltimore County, farmer/entrepreneur Peter Elmore has found his calling–in lavender. At Star Bright Farm, Elmore grows, distills, packages, and sells this crop with almost as many variations as a tomato. Here you can drink it (in lemonade), spray it (in hyrdrosols), eat it (in cookies and cakes), put it in potpourri or bouquets, walk through lavender rows and destress, and best of all, snip and smell its astringent, sweet perfume.

With a degree in ecological agriculture and certification in permaculture from University of Vermont, the 31-year-old farmer is using the best regenerative techniques on the land to grow this stunning plant. (To really get a sense of the farm, see the video with audio by Peter’s brother Patrick by clicking here. Scroll down and click on the arrow. )

Blueberries and Lavender

When his parents bought the 130-acre farm across from his uncle and aunt’s farm in White Hall, they came up with a complementary plan. His mother, Photographer Helen Norman, was entranced with the lavender fields in France. Peter wanted to grow blueberries. So the blueberries and purple lavender have merged in a riot of aromas and taste. And they have added some 23 varieties of flowers and herbs—all organic. It’s distinctive because everything is done on site, from seed to packaging lavender skin and health products.

Elmore is the epitome of a new breed of farmer–young, creative, super-conscientious about the environment and food and how his farming can positively affect climate change.

He describes himself as a small farmer who will be able to take a greater share in profits than small farmers of the past, as consumers, concerned about health and taste, demand more quality and no pesticides—and they are willing to pay the price. “We don’t need huge access to land and capital. Large scale farming is designed around planting and spraying. I’d rather focus on diversity of what we are growing and find the technology to go with it.”

(Read more on this website about regenerative farming by clicking here .)

Most everything is done by hand. That’s a lot when you consider each row of lavender requires about 12 hours of pruning and cutting for 26 rows. Elmore spends more time per plant, which produces more value, and in the long run, will be more profitable, he says. After a while, he says, you get the knack of snipping. He hires some harvesters in season.

*The red barn offers space for music, picnics and crafts*

As the mission statement for Bright Star says, our goal is to “foster a durable ecosystem that generates human wellbeing and regenerates environmental health.”

On a recent busy day, Elmore strode to the barn, under a magnificent roof redone by Amish builders to show off the copper still, used to distill lavender and other herbs for the products Bright Star is selling online and in the Barn Shop downstairs. A model of the modern enterprising farmer, he’s energetic, in red crocs and a North Face cap—and a serious practitioner of regenerative agriculture.(Read more about regenerative farming here.) ”The idea is to plant flowers and perennials around and establish perennial cropping—landscape diversity,” Elmore says.

*Elmore distils bunches of lavender, roses or blends of other herbs to make hydrosols, in this vesse*l

The herbs have become the jumping off point for a business in herbal skin care and healing sprays and ointments. Elmore and an assistant distill bunches of dried herbs in a 20-liter copper still that looks like a big cappuccino machine.

The herbs, roses or a blend are in effect distilled in water in clear glass with spray tops. They make hydrosols which contain the essence of chamomile, lemon balm, thyme, peppermint and of course, lavender –all organic to the end.

Learning from One Straw

Elmore learned to admire the taste and healthy aspects of organic vegetables from his uncle and aunt, Joan and Drew Norman, the owners of One Straw Farm, (featured here in an earlier post on Farm-Finds) which adjoins Star Bright. The Normans got into organic farming when most people associated it with hippies growing marijuna. Today chefs and savvy consumers look to One Straw for the most desirable fresh vegetables in restaurants, CSAs and local farmers’ markets.

“A bunch of us kids would ride in the back of the truck. Then I started doing more work around the farm. I learned to drive tractors,” recalls Elmore. The experience fed his passion for organic food and to the study of food systems, permaculture and ecology. After college, he moved to Oregon and worked for a local food aggregator, which acted as a liaison to set up farmers to sell their produce to restaurants and markets.

It takes a lot more work to maintain the organic approach than in an non-organic farm. For now, Elmore is the primary worker, along with one full time helper. To gain the organic certification , he must plow through a lot of red tape and prove first that no chemicals have been used on the property for the last three years. For the products he sells, he fills out a daily sheet documenting the process of production and verifying that no pesticides have been added.

To avoid pesticides, he plants dense cover crops, such as white clover, that will enrich the soil. He covers the roots of all the plants with plastic to keep out weeds. And he uses on-farm composting as well as organic fertilizers.

High end marketing

Star Bright offers an array of products–all organic, made by hand– in a store in the basement of the barn. On the website, the featured hydrosols and lavendar products look like a spread in a home and garden magazine. No surprise because Helen Norman is a lifestyle and garden photographer with credits in national magazines, and her husband Mark has a background in marketing. They sell fine tools, such as the $90 Japanese pruners, arranged artfully on a rustic farm table, French country baskets, a $22 leather fly swatter, as wells as creams and organic “buzz-off” bug spray. The high-end marketing buoys the difficult farm days when drought or bugs can affect the harvest.

Most sales are online or in farmers’markets.

In the future, Elmore would like to add more fruit trees and more acres to develop a self-sufficient, diverse farmstead. “I’d like to supply people with fruit, my uncle’s farm grows vegetables; we have skincare, herbal medicine, and we can get into produce,” he says.

The lavender continues to be a big draw: for brides and models who want their pictures taken in the scenic setting, for people seeking solace, for crafters making lavender wreaths and a plethora of events from country rock performances to an open house for dogs.

Lavender for dogs

Lavender allegedly has a calming influence. I had a chance recently to test its effects on my super-active dog Jojo, an Australian cattle dog with energy to burn. I asked my friend Connie with her rescue dog, Kona, who had been a good companion when we walked in the park, to come with me to Star Bright Farm for a benefit for BARCs, Baltimore’s largest pet adoption agency.

Star Bright opened up its lavender fields to the dogs for the event.

Driving out the 36 miles from Baltimore through the beautiful north Baltimore County countryside, the dogs were not getting along. Jojo, safely contained in her crate, was snarling and barking at Kona, who was curled up under the back seat with anxiety.

Maybe the dogs were relieved by simply getting out of the car, but by the time we led them out to roam (on the leash) down the curved rows filled with thick cushions of lavender, they were in dog heaven.

*Connie (left) and me (right) with happy dogs Kona and Jojo in foreground.*

Jojo and Kona were nearly drunk on the smell and the fields were alive with the happy sniffs and arfs of over twenty assorted dogs. Kona just lay down and chilled.