Author Bio:
Richard Malcolm
Schoolhouse Farmer
Schoolhouse Farms Blog
Schoolhouse Farms on LocalHarvest.org
Borodino Market Blog
Schoolhouse Farms was established, by Richard and Rebecca Muir-Malcolm, in 1999 and is dedicated to producing products with flavor, natural goodness and as little adulteration as humanly possible. Schoolhouse Farms is a pesticide free Eco-ganic micro-farm dedicated to Heirloom tomatoes, black currants, beans, sweet potatoes, fingerlings, Sun flowers, Lavender and herbs. Everything is grown naturally from organic and heirloom seeds nurtured and harvested by hand. Schoolhouse Farms is located in the Finger lakes of New York near the village of Skaneateles, between Otisco lake and Skaneateles lake.
Heirloom Tomatoes are the main focus as well as black currants. They also grow several varieties of heirloom beans and fingerling potatoes, squash, shallots, sun flowers and other impulse crops (the impulse happens when the seed catalogs arrive in the dead of our cold winter).
Over the past 10 years Richard and his family have all learned alot . They have learned that people simply love their all natural pesticide free tomatoes and beans. Their children have become pretty savvy sales people and they know the various tomato flavor profiles of their Heirlooms, they also love fresh picked beans. The family has learned the value of taking life a little slower. Taking time to enjoy flavor at its peak. Approaching life as it was meant to be savored, fresh with little adulteration.
“We at Schoolhouse Farms suggest you embrace flavor at a family meal, real flavor, big bold homegrown flavor, Schoolhouse Farms style flavor! Get off the highway and slow it down, you’ll simply live better!
Enjoy life,
The Schoolhouse Farmers”
You sell chickens?
November 14, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-smile, blog
The fall season and the threat of excessive priced heating oil prompted us to look at measures we could take to mitigate some of our excessive energy usage. The windows on the north side of our early 1800’s small farm house became this year’s project.
Well it is now mid November and the windows we ordered in September just arrived. The good news is that the price of fuel has dropped significantly so if, and we hope this is not the case, we can’t finish the window installations this fall we won’t be completely crushed by the oppressive heating bills.
The interesting part of what I have described is the delivery portion of our story. The windows came to us Read more
Late season finds
November 6, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-smile, blog
Preparing the farm for winter is a continuous process of tilling, raking, digging and transplanting as well as major league pick-up and storage. Odd items that had been dropped as markers begin to emerge from the dense cover as the annual foliage begins to disappear in the field and the decomposition of organics begins in earnest. The once beautiful mosaic of colorful tomatoes slowly is being reduced to a grey and then nearly colorless mass. The cycle of the season that held so much promise in the early spring has come to its normal fitting conclusion. Read more
Re-tooling for the Fall
October 14, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-body, 0-green, blog, green-top-feature-column2
Re-tooling the schedule for the school day has its own special challenges. The days of free wheeling out the door off to the bean patch and tomato field consumed in thoughts related to agriculture and the harvest Read more
The sweetness of summer
September 9, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, blog, green-main-column2
The sweetness of summer culminates all too quickly over Labor Day weekend. The best sunsets the best produce, the perfect sleeping temperature and the copious sunshine. Read more
Sporetaneous
August 26, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, blog, green-main-column3
The sunny perfect days of August have been a little less plentiful then in years past, and the days leading up to the first day of school are quickly being reduced to a handful. Read more
Rubber Boots & Flip Flops
August 18, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, blog, green-main-column2
Ordinarily the knee high rubber boots have long been stored away in exchange for flips flops and clogs, but then began the great rains of 2008. A significant pile of mud covered boots Read more
Tribulations
August 10, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, Uncategorized, blog, green-main-column3
The air and soil were so dry and compacted in June 2008 that the rototiller simply bounced off the ground and refused to break the surface. A shovel was equally challenged to penetrate the rock harden earth Read more
Stealing sunshine
August 5, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, blog, green-main-column3
The Northeast is blessed with numerous natural assets; our ample supply of clean water, the mile upon mile of green lush forests, acres of corn, wheat, apples and those big fields of healthy livestock. Read more
Color me purple!
July 31, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, blog, body-main-column3
For the Schoolhouse farmers and farmers in training one of summer’s biggest delights is blackberry season. Blackberries one of Mother Nature’s power fruits, Read more
Harmony in the bean patch
July 25, 2008 by Richard Malcolm
Filed under 0-green, blog, green-main-column2
The days start too early and run too late and it never seems we get everything accomplished on our daily list. Read more
