Ahavah Farm - Local. Sustainable. Pure

We are excited to announce that our new website is live.  Go check it out! www.ahavahfarm.com

Peyton produce a labor of love With fall’s arrival, produce farmers like Yosef Camire are in the final stretch of an intense and seemingly relentless growing season. Photo by Candace Krebs Customers of Ahavah Farm in Peyton are invited to 'pay as you can' for an array of fresh heirloom produce grown using sustainable farming practices. The farm sells its produce at the Colorado Farm and Art Market, which closes for the season on Oct. 10. By Candace Krebs Contributing Writer Posted Oct. 9, 2015 at 6:45 AM  With fall’s arrival, produce farmers like Yosef Camire are in the final stretch of an intense and seemingly relentless growing season. Camire was one of the fresh faces at this year’s Colorado Farm and Art Market in Colorado Springs, which closes for the season on Oct. 10. A former Denver resident, he and his wife, Hava, escaped the city with their four young children and moved to a dilapidated 40-acre property near Peyton that they have since...

Today was our first "Home-School Day."  What fun it was too, and it seemed that everyone really enjoyed themselves. I know we did!  Everyone got to feed the alpacas, play with the chickens and learn about the farm and about different vegetables.  We ate cherry tomatoes, picked a carrot and a beet and got to collect some duck and chicken eggs.  Then we cooked it all up and ate all of our harvest. We can't wait for our next Home-School Day! See some of the pictures below:

Check out the documentary featuring our farm:  A Labor of Love by Albergo Twin Productions:

"Your produce is so expensive!" Is it?  Yes.  We admit, our produce IS a little more expensive than most.  However, there are a couple of reasons for this beyond our sustainable methods, our all-heirloom produce and beyond organic nutritional value, which I will discuss here. First, it is important to take note of the market that we are dealing with here.  For instance, are we talking about expensive for Colorado?  For Denver?  For a CSA?  For Colorado Springs?  Compared to the Grocery Store?  For the first three, Colorado, Denver or CSA the reality is that our produce is not priced high at all - especially for Denver and especially for a CSA (who receive up to a 35% discount).  We could, therefore, sell our produce exclusively to Denver and by doing so raise our prices an additional 25% or more.  Believe me, the price for Farmer's Market produce in Denver, even for NON-ORGANIC produce, is exorbitant.  We could also get out...

Colorado Springs is a Food Desert, where only 1-2% of the food is local. One of the reasons we are in existence is so we can do the right thing and bring Beyond Organic, Pure food to the area and to those who don't have access or can't afford it. Seeds Community Cafe is an organization that helps us obtain this goal through our food donations. Seeds offers a "Pay What You Can" option using food mostly donated from local area farms like ours. We love Seeds and we love Lyn (Founder). We ask you to help Seeds Community Cafe have a greater reach in feeding people fresh, local, pure food. By doing so, you will also be helping Ahavah Farm have a greater mission by extending our food to those who need it the most.

Nutritional Value of Pasture-Raised, organic fed eggs are not the only reason to by them. Knowing your farmer. Knowing how your animals are treated. Knowing what your animals are fed is just as important as the added nutritional value of the product. Watch the disturbing video below and then support your local farmer who treats their animals with love and care. Beware of very disturbing images. Oh, and in case you were interested...the nutritional value is MUCH better!

We are officially on Facebook.  Can't say I am happy about that. However, that's the way of the world for now, and if we want to reach the masses, it's the way to go.  Please check us out and like us!

It's been awhile since we have posted on this blog... It's just been so insanely busy around here to say the least, the last thing I have time to do is post on the blog.  Let's see, we are prepping and planting for all the fall and winter produce, we finished our 80 foot greenhouse, we are expanding our 1/2 acre garden, we are expanding our egg business and we just got 10 Alpacas!  All this, in the absolute height of the season...yeah, I'd say we are busy.  This is how our days go: Our typical day lately goes from somewhere around 4 or 5am to about 8 or 9pm.  We start the day by opening the greenhouse and rotating the irrigation for both the greenhouse and the garden (all 4 zones).  We then go let the chickens out, fill their feed and water them.  Then we do the same with half of the ducks (long story) and we do the same with the other chicken coop.  We rinse out the duck pools and fill them while we are at it.  Then we go back into the greenh...

The article below is EXACTLY why we must support local farmers and know who our farmer is and how they are growing.  "Organic" is next to meaningless today when you consider that "Organic" is a very profitable niche based solely on trust.  Is your agricultural conglomerate "farmer" that provides "fresh," "Organic" produce, shipped on average of 1500 miles, growing their food "organically" because they believe it is healthier for the consumer and the environment?  Or are they doing it simply because it's a niche that can keep them in business.  If it is the latter, than what is keeping them from compromising?  It certainly isn't the certification of "Organic" because they can get around that (ridiculous and flimsy that the standards actually are).  In many cases it's the mighty dollar that motivates them and compromising is exactly what they end up doing! Read the article below, then read The Omnivores ...

Today is Tisha B'av (Literally the 9th of the month of Av), a day of fasting, mourning and reflection for the Jewish people.  Being Jewish, our family is also fasting this day.  Like a few other occupations though, like those who are in medicine, there are truly no days off for a farmer.  Even days like Shabbat, when the Jewish people are to rest from ALL work, a day full of restrictions, there are still many things that absolutely must be done on the farm.  Things like feeding and watering the animals never takes a day off.  So, therefore, even on a day like Tisha B'Av, when we are fasting from any food or water for more than 24 hours, we do not have the luxury to at least take the day off and rest.  Further more, there are deadlines that need to be made.  Plants need to be watered, product needs to be harvested, and food needs to be delivered.  So what did I do this morning while fasting?  As soon as I was done praying, I worked in the fiel...

Two Heads of Buttercrunch Lettuce 1 Head of Broadleaf Batavian Endive 1 Head of Bronze Mignonette  1 Large bunch of Ruby Red Swiss Chard 1 Bunch of Detroit Dark Red Beets 1 Bunch of Danvers Carrots 1 Bunch of Calabrese Broccoli Greens 1 Bunch of Snow White Cauliflower Greens 1 Bunch of Southern Giant Mustard 1 Straight Eight Cucumber 1 Large Boston Pickling Cucumber 4 Black Beauty Zucchini's 2 Yellow Crooked Neck Zucchini Total Market Price:  $38.25 Total Share Cost:  $29.09 per week

Danielle Zitoun, now a local, came out to our farm to do a photo shoot with our family.  Danielle is currently doing a photo series on "Individuals and businesses contributing positively to an ethical and sustainable world."  Danielle heard about our humble family farm and thought that we modeled this and wanted to do a shoot on us.  What a blessing it was to meet Danielle, a passionate individual trying to make the world a better place.  The photos are absolutely amazing as well!  Danielle is fantastically skilled, and she does family portraits and other freelance work as well.  Check out Danielle's website here:   http://www.daniellezitoun.com/ You can check out the rest of the farm photos here:  http://daniellezitounphotography.dphoto.com/#/album/b113ft

Local.  Sustainable.  Pure. This is our trademark and our mission.  But what does it mean, and why does it matter?  Many business' clout themselves as SRC's (Socially Responsible Corporations), but when it comes down to it, many times it can be a mere marketing campaign and a way to advertise.  With Social Responsibility being as important as it is, many people are waking up to the things that their money supports and therefore many companies are falling in line and becoming socially responsible themselves, or at least acting like they are.  Ideas such as "Environmentally Friendly," "Organic," "Sustainable" etc. get thrown around regularly and many times they are simply meaningless phrases that catch the eye's of the consumer, luring them into supporting their business. The term "Organic" is one such term that really get's under our skin.  It's also a word that we refuse to use to refer to ourselves and it is something tha...

That means "Praise God!"  It looks like the harvest is on!  Come by the market tonight to get some of the following and more....

You'll be eating your breakfast and all of a sudden you hear a "buck-buck," and there is a chicken in the kitchen!!  Thank goodness they are the cleanest chickens in the world!

I don't know about you, but I don't know of many other CSA's that are giving peppers and squash and zucchini in their shares this week..Or really any other week before mid to late July!  How awesome is that?

You absolutely MUST watch this video below.  Can you believe that a 6 year old doesn't know what a tomato is?  Or a Potato?  Or an eggplant, beet or cauliflower?  Shocking, yes?  Well the truth is, that we live in a world that is absolutely manufactured.  From entertainment to our politics to even our food, we are living manufactured lives.  People wonder why we are doing what we are doing.  How can we not, when kids are starving, literally starving!  Sure, they are getting calories, but nutrients?  Vitamins, minerals, enzymes, amino acids, fatty acids?  No, you get that from fresh food. Kids these days have no idea what food is..,heck, neither do adults for that matter, and that is scary! Someone told me the other day that people get grossed out over free-range eggs because the chickens eat bugs.  Really?  Are you kidding me?  That's what they are supposed to eat!  Someone told me just yesterday at the Farmers...

Colorado Farm and Art Market at Ivywild School in Colorado Springs. Come get some Mesclun Mix, Zucchini, Squash, Turnip Greens, Kale, Eggs and a host of other things tomorrow afternoon!

I had to share this article from Mother Earth News:    http://www.motherearthnews.com/Editorial/Blogs/Organic%20Gardening/Lucky%20Young%20Farmers.aspx

This has most certainly been the most trying and most difficult year of farming I have ever encountered...ok, ok, it's the FIRST farming season I have ever encountered!  Seriously though, this has been a very difficult season so far.  Rain is good, sometimes.  This year, it's ridiculous!  Not only does excessive rain cause root rot, seed rot etc., but it causes low soil temperatures, breeds diseases and fungus and can cause a whole host of other related issues including the encouragement of certain pests. I am linking to an article by Jason Plotkin of Ekar Farm and Golden Acre Farms. It is important that you read this article:   HERE    Jay talks about the struggles with the weather - struggles that we (local farmers) are all facing right now. In the article, he mentions that Denver's YTD rainfall is 14 inches, and yet Denver has already received 11 inches!  With Jay, a 16 year veteran of farming all over the country he states:   " I hav...

Come check out our booth at the Colorado Farm and Art Market! Every Wednesday evening starting June 10th at Ivywild School in Colorado Springs from 3-7pm. Here's the info: Ivywild School 1604 S. Cascade Ave. Colorado Springs, CO www.farmandartmarket.com

OK everyone,  as you are all aware,  probably because your back yard is still covered in snow,  we got hit with a pretty horrible storm over the past few days.   Many farms are advertising the enormous set-back this has caused them.  In fact,  Colorado as a whole is currently at 15% of where we normally would be, or should be, at this point. However,  I am happy to tell you,  that due to our techniques and our utilization of our greenhouse and row cover,  we are actually still ahead of the game. So,  pending any upcoming freakish storms,  while other farms are just starting to plant,  we will be selling our harvest! We are still planning our first CSA for the last week in May.   It's also quite possible that we may also have smaller shares available before then! In fact,  we currently have peppers,  zucchini and tomatoes forming.  We also have lettuce,  mesculin mix,  radishes, ...

Those are radishes!  No fertilizers,  no sprays,  no gimmicks,  just pure old fashioned farming with organic compost!   Have you ever seen such giant radishes?