PEACHES & CREAM: The organic peaches are in the cream! This seasonal dairy-free vegan yogurt is made by Half Hill Farm right here in Woodbury with all organic peaches we make into a purée, fermented organic coconut milk kefir and organic agave – no other ingredients! We even made them into frozen kefir popsicles! Yum!! Grab them while they last at Wellness Emporium – Woodbury!
MUSCADINE KOMBUCHA: It’s that very special time of the year when the scuppernongs start coming off the vine, and that means making a seasonal batch of our annual Muscadine Kombucha!
This limited flavor is made by Half Hill Farm from fresh, organic scuppernongs grown by Sylvia at Green Door Gourmet. It’s a probiotic taste of Fall, and it’s available on tap by the cup our growler refill while it lasts exclusively at all our stores:
FALL FLAVOR: Two things go great with today’s cool & rainy weather – your favorite ugly sweater and our farm’s seasonal Mulled Pear Kombucha! This annual Tennessee favorite is probiotic for good gut health and has all the Fall – made with organic cold pressed pear, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove and allspice with hints of bonfires and holiday parties. Get a growler on tap exclusively at the Wellness Emporium!
NEW FLAVOR: Our farm-foraged Honeysuckle Apple Kombucha is now on tap by the cup or growler refill at Half Hill Farm at the The Arts Center of Cannon County in Woodbury, TN (1424 John Bragg HWY Woodbury, TN 37190) and Wellness Emporium in Bell Buckle, TN (13 Webb Rd. E Bell Buckle, TN 37020) – now open seven days a week! It’s a brief taste of Spring made with all organic ingredients: honeysuckle, apple and local honey!
Thursday was a life-long dream come true as we brought our first honey bee hive onto the farm. That’s Vince carefully placing them with Scot Smotherman, a new partner with our farm. Scot’s great-uncle is bee keeper Dr. Ed Perryman of Shelbyville who taught him and countless people across the state how to keep and care for these amazing insects. We are so grateful for Scot sharing his knowledge and getting us this path.
This first colony is a hive of Carniolan bees. With all the rain and cold snaps, we wondered if they’d make it. A day or two later the sun came out, and they got oriented and went to work!
We know it’s a lot of work and commitment, but our goal is to collect as an inspected honey house to make our farm’s first organic hemp-infused CBD honey and share some extra healing love from Woodbury!
Half Hill Farm’s GingerBeet Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic
The transition to Fall is one of our favorite times of the year. Summer harvests are winding down, the last mowing is near, and we can finally prepare wonderful treats that store away nutrients for another time like our new GingerBeet Tonic!
Our first small batch uses folate rich beets grown organically by Green Door Gourmet combined with organic and mineral-rich nettle, red clover, dandelion leaf and root as well as local honey and organic apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar has many health benefits including aiding with digestion. GingerBeet Tonic also helps nourish your gut’s natural craving for vitamins and minerals.*
This is our farm’s third apple cider vinegar tonic in addition to FireRoot and Elderberry and is now available online and in our Woodbury retail store at the Arts Center of Cannon County. All three would make a perfect seasonal gift that promotes better health and well being!
How To Use GingerBeet Tonic: Before using our tonic for health reasons, please consult your doctor. You can take our tonic by the tablespoon three times a day as desired or try these ideas:
*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Always consult with your physician before using our products.
Half Hill Farm’s FireRoot Apple Cider VInegar Tonic – the troll chaser
Our small organic apple orchard here in Woodbury, TN will never produce enough apples for market, but with a little help it will be enough to make some amazing apple cider vinegar tonics!
A famous example that inspired our farm’s first seasonal apple cider vinegar tonic is Rosemary Gladstar’s recipe for Fire Cider. We call our tonic FireRoot, a spicy decoction of certified organic horseradish, onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, orange, lemon, cayenne and black pepper in organic apple cider vinegar & mother lightly sweetened with local honey.
Half Hill Farm’s FireRoot apple cider vinegar tonic is just one way our farm honors traditional folk remedies. Each ounce of prevention will chase your trolls and light a fire under whatever’s thrown your way. FireRoot is available in both 8 oz and 16 oz bottles online or in our retail store in the Arts Center of Cannon County starting Thursday February 2.
Better health and well being
Apple cider vinegar has been used for centuries as a natural folk remedy for indigestion and a host of ailments. Research shows daily use of 1-2 tbsps naturally lowers morning blood sugar levels in people with diabetes, dramatically lowers mealtime glycemic levels associated with chronic diseases, helps people lose weight and may satiate appetite. There is some evidence showing anti-cancer properties, but the mechanism is not well understood. Less is known about widely reported uses as a cold and flu prevention, but it is suspected that apple cider vinegar’s alkalizing affects in the body helps prevent cold & flu. Using apple cider vinegar to decoct ingredients like garlic, ginger, and turmeric certainly helps increase the tonic’s antimicrobial and antiviral potential.*
To make FireRoot, our farm starts with all organic ingredients and unpasteurized apple cider vinegar that contains the mother, the naturally occurring probiotic yeast and bacteria that ferments the cider into vinegar. This will appear as a light sediment, so shake well to get all the botanical goodness in every serving!
How to use FireRoot Apple Cider Vinegar Tonic
If you’re a fan of bold flavor, take a tablespoon of FireRoot every day before or after your biggest meal. By using FireRoot with food, you can also lower your intake of salt and fat. Here are a few suggested uses below. Check back for recipes using FireRoot!
FireRoot is our farm’s first seasonal tonic release this year. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram to learn when other tonics will be available.
* Please consult your doctor before using any of our products for health purposes. These statements have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
Vince and I set up our first chemical free habitat for #Tennessee native solitary #bees between our blueberries and apple trees. This is part of our ongoing Bee Sanctuary Project at Half Hill Farm.
This first structure is 6 feet tall (8 feet counting the stone base) and is made from 8 inch sections of old downed trees on the farm, bamboo from a friend and neighbor and locally milled pine and cedar.
As we were filling the bottom section, a solitary leafcutter bee kept inspecting the whole thing, and it was such a joy to witness. Last year, we noticed our top pollinators weren’t honey bees. They were native solitary orchard masons and leafcutters. Honey bees didn’t show up until very late in the season and frantically scavenged the last of the organic Genovese Basil flowers.
One of the many ways we can help solve the problems we’ve created within honey bee colonies is to rely more on our native diversity of bees and other pollinators. The way we have treated honey bees within massive monocultures in conventional farming is an ongoing lesson in the mismanagement of our natural resources. Be a part of the solution and start a Bee Sanctuary of your own!
Resources to get you started:
UPDATE 4-22-14: Here’s one of a few solitary orchard mason bees taking up residence in our native bee condo this Spring. They’ve been working some of the apple blossoms that made it through the recent Dogwood Winter frost.
Part of our organic farm’s integrated pest management plan calls for the use of hosted beneficial birds as natural predators. Earlier this week I asked a couple of friends and folks at the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) for some advice and was reminded about the amazing Purple Martin.
Growing up in the South, I remember Purple Martin houses on several farms. I never really thought there was a functional reason for hosting them, and later was convinced all they ate were mosquitoes.
I was wrong. State Zoologist David Withers sent me this great one pager from the Purple Martin Conservation Association that basically tells me the Purple Martin is one of nature’s best bug zappers. Check out TWRA’s wonderful online resource on common birds and how to host them.
Even if you are not an organic farmer, hosting Purple Martins can dramatically help reduce any flying insect pest on your property while reducing the use of chemical sprays and inviting a little of nature’s perfect aesthetic back to your home life.
We got two 16 family houses, both made in America, at our local Tractor Supply Company (photo: Vince snaps a Purple Martin house together). We’re using cut cedar posts from the property and will open the houses March 31 or as close to the time we begin seeing younger Purple Martins.
Here are a few points we’ve learned through some voracious reading over the past couple of snow days: