News from the Farm
Spunny
An article on natural clays, originally written for The Orange Times.
When Earth Meets Skin
Having spent the better part of the past seven days working with clays in my soapmaking, I thought what better topic to write about in this week’s column.
In referring to “clays” in this discussion, I’m referencing clay minerals formed by, in simple terms, weathering of rocks over long periods of time. There are many different types of clays, but here I am going to explain the benefits of a few certain clays when applied to the skin.
Cambrian Blue clay, which is one of my favorites, is sourced from Siberian lakes and at present is only available via Russia. It not only contains an abundance of minerals beneficial to the skin, but it is also acts as a natural antibacterial and works wonders on problematic skin by drawing out impurities and detoxifying. It helps to reduce the puffy appearance of skin while reducing the appearance of wrinkles as it naturally hydrates, and is naturally soothing for sunburn and shingles.
Moroccan Red Clay is mined from the Atlas Mountains in Eastern Morocco. When applied to the skin, whether alone or in product, it cleanses by absorbing impurities and is very beneficial to dry, moisture starved skin. It is unsurpassed in its ability to clean deep within the pores, and as a result works as a drawing salve to clear skin problems including rashes caused by poison ivy and such.
The French Green Clay I’m going to discuss is quarry mined from France. There are other “French” green clays that come from places such as China, Wyoming and Montana, but true French Green is from quarries in France. It gets its beautiful green color from decomposing plant material and iron and has a wonderfully soft texture and is naturally abundant in potassium. French Green Clay is non-swelling, yet acts as a magnet to impurities and effectively, yet gently, works wonders on acne and other skin problems.
French Yellow Clay is also quarry mined in France. It has a beautiful ochre color. It is effective yet very gentle in its ability to draw out impurities, making it a perfect choice for those with sensitive yet troubled skin.
Dead Sea Clay, while not having the beautiful color of the clays described above, has an extremely high concentration of minerals that are readily absorbed by the skin. Sodium in the clay fights off free radicals (molecules responsible for aging and tissue damage) while the calcium within promotes cell regeneration. The high concentration of sulfur draws out impurities, while magnesium and bromide soothe and repair damaged skin.
So while many “chemical” based products seek to repair and soothe damaged skin, sometimes one need only to look to the earth.
New unscented soaps!
Italian Olive Oil Soap
Salt Soap Bar
EXCITING NEW PRODUCTS!!
Honey is Sweet, Inside and Out
(Original article I wrote for The Orange Times)
In recent years the theory of ingesting local honey to help alleviate or diminish seasonal allergies has saturated the media, and although there doesn’t seem to be any scientific proof, those of us who take it for just that purpose swear by its effectiveness. After all, it makes sense: bees gather pollen from the very plants that make us sneeze, and the end result is small amounts end up in the honey, which we ingest and, in theory, build a resulting immunity. Suffer from allergies? It’s worth a try. Take one tablespoon of raw honey daily, year round. What is “raw” honey? Raw honey is honey that has not been heated to above 118 degrees. Raw honey has higher nutritional value, and retains its natural enzymes and yeast. Most local honey is raw, but always ask the beekeeper to be sure.
This sweet little treat can be used for a whole lot more. This time of year the cold, dry air results in dry, parched skin. Honey is a natural humectant, meaning it attracts and retains moisture. For most of us, smearing thick, sticky honey on our face is quite unappealing, but easy, less messy, do-it-yourself facial masks can be made from things found in the kitchen. A mixture of yogurt, honey and cooked oatmeal is most effective for dry skin. Higher fat yogurt works best, but any will do. Mix two tablespoons yogurt with one tablespoon honey and one tablespoon cooked oatmeal, mix into a paste, apply to face, leave on about 15 minutes and rinse. If you want to add a little natural scrub to exfoliate dry skin, replace the oatmeal with a tablespoon of ground almonds (you can finely grind them in your coffee grinder), gently massage into face and rinse.
Is your scalp and hair dry and lackluster? Mix two tablespoons virgin coconut oil (oil section of supermarket), two tablespoons raw honey until combined, whisk in one egg yolk until smooth, apply to scalp and hair and cover with shower cap or plastic wrap for 20 minutes or longer (the longer the better). Rinse, shampoo (only once) and condition as usual.
Raw honey also contains a natural antibiotic. Next time instead of reaching for the Neosporin, dab the area with a bit of raw honey and cover with bandage; in my experience the area heals faster with honey.
Ate too much? Spicy food giving you heartburn? Mix one teaspoon honey with one teaspoon apple cider vinegar and ingest. This mixture will also help a sore throat. Many arthritis sufferers also say that this same mixture, added to 8 oz. of water and taken once a day helps with their arthritis.
Suffer from a dry hacking cough just when you put your head on the pillow at the end of the day? Take a teaspoon of honey just before bed.
Sweet dreams.
WINTER HOURS: THURS AND FRI 12-4 AND SAT AND SUN 10-4 NOW THROUGH MARCH.
It’s that time of year, where we are between Halloween and Christmas. The mums and pumpkins are long gone, and preparations are being made for the holiday season. While it may appear quiet on the outside, where there were once thousands of plants, on the inside it’s busier than ever. This year we have made over 10 varieties of holiday soaps. The photo below is a peek into the curing space, where the soap is now awaiting to be labeled. I tried to capture as much as I could with one photo, but there are 4,000 bars of holiday soap ready to be labeled. This shows some of them. We are also busy making bows, bows, and more bows; for the kissing balls alone, we need over 200 of them. We officially open for the holidays the day after Thanksgiving. The holiday soaps will not be on the shelves until then. We are trying to celebrate one holiday at a time.
Also, those of you ordering on line, I still do not have all the soap varieties on the website, but I do have over 60 varieties in stock, not including the holiday soaps. If you are looking for something in particular you don’t see, please email.
Always sad to start seeing summer in the rearview mirror. The availability of some varieties of local fresh veggies is already starting to wane. Customers are asking when the pumpkins will be available and I already have a lengthy list going for custom air brushed pumpkins.
But with the close of one season, another opens, and fall is always a beautiful and fun season here. The mums have once again sized up beautifully and buds are forming for a fall burst of color. Many varieties of apples are available from local growers, and this weekend we have Honeycrisp and Macintosh. Local made fresh cider is now available, and we have it in half gals. or pint sized chuggers to grab and go. We have some nice Millet plants, with their attractive purple foliage and spikes to add a splash of color to your fall decorating.
There was a nice honey harvest this year, so we have plenty of our own honey as well as that of another local beekeeper whose honey we have been offering here for many years. We still have a limited supply of comb honey left, so if you are wanting some I would plan on coming by sooner than later. Our Spunny (spun honey) is a hot item, so much so that it’s been a little difficult to keep an ample supply on the shelves. It is available now flavored with organic cinnamon, Madagascar vanilla bean, natural blackberry, natural strawberry. More will be ready soon, and those looking for the Hot Spunny (with natural hot pepper), it will be available soon. For those who don’t know what Spunny is, it is honey that undergoes a controlled crystalization and spun (or whipped) to creamy, spreadable perfection. To this we add only pure, natural flavors. As most of you know, all honey will eventually crystalize. However, most times this results in a somewhat gritty, hard substance. Our Spunny is smooth, creamy yumminess, with the consistency of creamy peanut butter. It is delicious on a warm biscuit or muffin, etc. One of our customers says we should call it “Spoony” because it’s yummy right off a spoon.
LABOR DAY – WE ARE OPEN 10-4
Well, the days are already getting shorter, and the nights cooler. The buds on the mums are beginning to swell, and these cooler nights will help push them along a bit. If you haven’t seen the mums we grow here in the fall, you’re missing a treat; they are full, dome shaped beauties with hundreds of flowers in every color available. Fall is a beautiful time of year, and particularly busy here. Along with the mums, we offer beautiful pumpkins, sugar pumpkins, hay, cornstalks and more, everything you need for your fall decorating. As a special “treat” here, beginning mid September we start airbrushing pumpkins. This has been a tradition here for many years. We offer many characters, sports team logos, and special order. Fred and Barney below was a special order for an orthodontic office…notice the braces on Fred.
Fred and Barney
Please be patient with our shopping page, as we are reloading our new website and it is taking a while to get all the products back on line. Thank you!
ORGANIC MILK SPECIAL-HALF GAL OF PASTURE RAISED ORGANIC FAT FREE MILK ONLY $3.99 FRESH MILK JUST ARRIVED-WHILE SUPPLY LASTS (savings of $1.50)
So Saturday morning is on the way, and Saturdays are always special here. Fresh bread gets baked in the wee hours of the morning, and is usually still warm when we open at 10. We also have baked in the wee hours stuffed breads, that also are still warm when we open. Our stuffed bread selection is pepperoni and mozzarella, spinach and sausage, broccoli and sausage, eggplant and spinach sausage mozzarella. We also have fresh baked pies from Oronoque Farms. An added treat on Saturdays is cream pies. This Saturday’s cream pies are banana cream pie and chocolate cream pie.
There’s nothing like fresh veggies in the summertime. Here at Sunflower Farm we grow plants such as perennials, annuals, etc. So during the veggie season we bring in a wide variety of local fresh vegetables. We prefer naturally grown whenever possible, so we always have a large variety of natural grown, pesticide free veggies. This week’s fresh picked natural grown variety includes: lettuces of several types, arugula, beets, scallions, basil, cucumbers, zucchini, and more. Fresh picked conventional veggies are corn, tomatoes and peaches. All veggies are local and picked up every morning right after they are harvested.
Beets
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