Smeared Type

Over the weekend, my husband Francis and I drove all the way from Chicago to King’s Hill Farm at Mineral Point, Wisconsin. We had been to the farm before and met with the new managers at the farm, Joe and Jai Kellum and their two young sons.

In less than a year, they have transformed the beautiful landscape into an organic heaven. In additions to the acres of vegetables such as scallions, leeks, broccoli, sweet peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplants, radish, kohlrabi, fennels, celeries, carrots, etc., that are fenced by solar powered wires, there is also a large animal kingdom, with all the creatures fed with organic food. Two large lamas stand tall among the big, fat turkeys, aggressive geese, and squawking ducks. In comparison, the cage free hens and roosters and the two dogs, with their six cute puppies, appeared much friendlier. Jai told me that they would have four piglets in a couple of weeks. As I walked around the large farm, listening to the humming of bees from their beehives, I was so impressed by what revealed in front of me that I kept taking pictures. The Kellums planted 40+ acres this year. With the expansion of their CSA program, I’m sure that they will enlarge the arable area and raise more poultry and other animals on the farm.  

We had the privilege of enjoying a mixed salad freshly picked from the field for lunch and a delicious dinner of slowly cooked goose breasts (raised at the farm) and kale greens over risotto-style barley. Stephen, one of the associates working at the farm used to be a professional cook. It was a joy to watch him cook with the fresh, organic ingredients and produce the mouth watering meals for ten people with art and ease.

Joe packed a bag of fresh produce for us to take home. Francis, who had worked with vegetable and flower seeds all his career, showed Joe and Jai how to save and preserve organic seeds. We like the Kellums and their holistic approach at the farm. Next time we are back, we will roll up our sleeves and dig our fingers into the soil.   

If you are interested in signing up for the CSA program, please do so at www.kingshillfarm.com/csa.htm.

Jian Ping, author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China. www.mulberrychild.com.  

Tags: CSA, Kings Hill Farm, Organic Farming

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