Pheasant Valley

November 2011 : Harvest

2012-01-29T18:16:00.000-08:00

This might be my favorite photo of the year. Francie is helping harvest the broccoli. The farm to fork distance doesnt get any shorter than this!

Even though we are done with markets for the year, we are still growing for our own table. We underseeded the cool weather crops with a winter rye cover crop, so there are few disadvantages to letting these hardy crops grow as late into the season as possible.

This is Francie's first full year on the farm and she already gets it. When she wants some food for dinner or a snack, I head towards the refrigerator and she points to the farm. Now I get it too!

We walked out to the broccoli together and while I was busy trying to harvest a few heads she was already busy snacking away.

Week of October 17 2011 : Drainage

2012-01-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Nathaniel helping with the drainage. The plastic snow shovel is certainly not an effective digging tool but is much safer than a steel dirt shovel. All he really wanted to do was get muddy anyways. And this year there has been no shortage of mud!

Moments after this photo was taken, he also got his feet stuck.

This year Berta the rotary plow served another purpose. In addition to the usual tasks of plowing and making raised beds, this fall she also made drainage swales. With two passes lengthwise through the lowest area of the field, we are able to drain nearly all the surface water. Surface drainage is no substitute for underground drainage but the time vs. benefit ratio justified the extra minute of labor.

This fall seems to be warmer than normal, particularly overnight temperatures. The first frost still has not occurred. (Update - the first frost did not occur until October 27). Although the summer crops probably would still be growing and producing had we not turned them under, the quality and taste would be disappointing. The broccoli and cabbage, on the other hand, are still growing well.

Week of October 10 2011 : Bluebirds

2012-01-02T18:39:00.001-08:00

Here is a photo of our male Eastern Blue Bird. My "camera" is really a Blackberry. The photo function works well but has an annoying characteristic: there is a several second pause between clicking the button to snap a photo and the photo actually being snapped. Produce doesnt move very fast, so the photo function works well enough to capture photos of sweet corn, etc. But birds move much faster. So I am particularly pleased with this photo ... which is to say I got very lucky.

This year was another successful for our Blue Birds. There were two broods. The first brood contained five eggs and all 5 fledged on June 2. The second brood contained four eggs and all 4 fledged on July 26. The Tree Swallows also had one brood with seven eggs and all 7 fledged on June 26. The protective guards worked as intended and we lost no eggs or birds to predators.

We finally planted the winter rye cover crop. Ideally we like to finish fall tillage and plant the cover crop second to last week of September. But we will delay tillage and sowing if the cash crops are doing well. This year we didnt have a choice and had to delay due to significant rainfall.

The conditions never were ideal and more rainfall was always in the forecast. I had a very narrow window to get it all done so I put fresh batteries in the headlamp and worked until 3:00 AM to turn under the crop residues and sow the winter rye. Let's just say no neighbors stopped over to thank me for getting the work done. But it did rain every day for the next six days and conditions only dedgraded from there.

We wont get much top growth this fall or next spring, but will get sufficient root growth to make it worth the effort.

Week of October 3 2011 : More Pumpkins

2011-11-27T18:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Nathaniel posing with his pumpkin. It reminds me of the classic photo of a father and son posing in a snow covered corn field with the son's first buck. Now I understand what is so significant about the photo. It's not the deer (or pumpkin), it's the magic of sharing time, sharing smiles and sharing success.

His first hunt was a disaster. He sat in the pumpkin patch then cried and screamed. The sound really echoed through the valley. All the neighbors were out for their evening walk and witnessed the tantrum. Good photo opportunity gone bad.

Now onto his third pumpkin hunt and the experience shows. He didnt settle for a pumpkin along the edge of the corn field. He walked all the rows once then he returned to the biggest and orangest pumpkin of all.

Week of September 26 2011 : First Pumpkin

2011-11-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Francie claiming her first pumpkin. Last Halloween she was 3 months old, and not very mobile, so her first attempt to hunt a pumpkin was a bust. What a difference a year makes. Now she is very mobile!

For Nathaniel, this was a rare moment of unprompted sharing. He patiently coached Francie to pass on the small pumpkins and the green pumpkins. He guided her along the edge of the pumpkin patch until he found one worthy of his little sister.

She still doesnt understand why we want to go hunting for pumpkins. All she knew was her brother pointed and screamed when he saw this pumpkin. So she instinctively cradled it and claimed it as hers. Whatever this strange orange thing is, wow, it must special.

Week of September 19 2011 : Squashed Truck

2011-11-17T18:28:00.000-08:00

Here is a photo of Francie dancing in the squashed truck. Hey I am excited about the Blue Hubbards too! The photo doesnt show much of the recently squashed tail gate. It will rust quite a bit during the winter. Soon it will look more like a farm vehicle. Hopefully for Christmas I will get spongy rubbers to fix up the bumper just right.

The Blue Hubbards were a success again this year. Each year hubbards have the same sales pattern. We take bring them to the last four markets. Many people look and show interest the first two weeks but very few sell. We drive to market, and home from market, loaded down with hubbards. BAAH. But the last two weeks of market, suddenly these turn into the best sellers.

It's a big squash and its a big commitment. Even the 'small" hubbards weigh around 6 pounds. But the taste and texture are worth that commitment. Its a unique experience of sweet and nutty and dense and creamy.

So as I am loading the squashed truck for final market, I always make sure to leave several behind so we can enjoy all winter long, too.

Week of September 12 2011 : Tradition

2011-11-07T17:57:00.000-08:00

Each summer, I fall at least weeks, if not months, behind our blogging schedule. I try to post weekly during the market season and monthly during the off season. As harvesting chores demand more time the first non essential chore to be sacrificed is blogging. I am not a talented writer and during peak season I dont have time or energy to compensate for lack of natural ability.

So each year, it is tradition, after the season is over, to review notes and catch up on the posts. That's why there is such a disconnect between topics and dates. Field grown tomatoes and November? Factor is a ten week lazy delay and it makes sense.

Here is a file photo of our Sun Sugar cherry tomatoes out in the field. These are the tomatoes that won the Best Tasting Cherry Tomato contest at the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market for the second year in a row.

We grow as many heirloom varieties as possible but the ultimate measurement of our varieties is taste. We grow the varieties with the best taste even if it is a hybrid. Everybody has different opinions and preferences so 'best taste' is a hard decision. So we are particularly pleased when market customers agree with us.

The Sun Sugars are an interesting variety to grow. They have good growing characteristics, except they require more pruning than typical cherry tomatoes. When picked at early ripeness they have a slight classic tomato taste mixed with a sweet taste. As the fruits vine ripen though the slight classic flavor is replaced with a sugary taste. We dont push our luck to far, as fruits tend to drop as they ripen.

Week of September 5 2011 : Sweet Beans

2011-10-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the base of a Blue Hubbard squash. The mature squash weigh about 20+ lbs and the plants are also very large. For perspective, the drip irrigation line is 1" in diameter and the vine is at least twice as large. Notice the bark! The leaves measure 18" in diameter and the vines measure 20' in length.

These plants certainly have a prehistoric, giant-size scale to them. All we are missing are the dinosaurs. We grow squash along the edges of the sweet corn rows and let the vines meander among the stalks so the squash dont waste too much space. Let's just say, 20 lbs squash do not fetch a premium at market.

Much more appealing are edamame, also known as sweet beans. In past years, we always grew the Shirofumi variety with great results. This year, buying this seed was difficult if not impossible; every seed company I checked was out of stock. I assumed I waited too long, however, other growers also complained this seed was out of stock. Hopefully next year seed will be more plentiful.

We switched to the Butterbean variety. It is never safe to reach conclusions after one growing season, and certainly not after a growing season as miserable as this season. But so far I am not impressed with the variety. Whereas the Shirofumi set mostly three beans per pod, Butterbeans set two beans per pod.

The taste was good, though. We had several repeat customers, and usually customers bought multiple pints. These customers had such a gleam in there eyes as we discussed how they would prepare the beans: boil or steam, how much salt, appetizer or snack?

But most customers dont realize how much work a pint of beans require. Traditionally edamame is sold on neatly clipped stalks to retain moisture. But customers want value added, pre-picked pints which is labor intensive. I would cut the plants in the field then carry them to the processing shelter where I would pluck beans and drink a few beers. That is why I like to grow edamame!

Week of August 29 2011 : Scare Eyes

2011-09-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Nathaniel helping rotate the scare eyes out in the sweet corn fields. He is carrying the new yellow eye out to the field. Soon he will carry the black eye in from the field. Notice the purposeful stride and intense stare. This job was getting done right!

Late in the season, flocking birds congregate around corn fields and scavenge the field for bugs and worms. Unfortunately they also quickly learn that, with just a few pecks, they can shred open the corn husks and eat the kernels.

Damage is worse during hot, dry seasons as birds aggressively search for sources of water. Once the birds establish an eating pattern, it is very hard to break that habit. So it is a wise investment to spend a little time now to prevent this bad habit from forming later.

Various scare tactics are available and each offer varying degrees of success. My favorite, of course, are the propane cannons which are very inappropriate for our farm. The only appropriate tactic are the scare eyes. This tactic is effective ... the trick is to rotate colors and positions every few days.

Nathaniel likes to ride on my shoulders as we walk through the rows. The neighbors cannot see me; what they can see is a 3 foot short toddler with shaggy red hair carrying giant eye balls floating above the 7 foot tall stalks. Kinda scary!

Week of August 22 2011 : Shoes or Canoes?

2011-09-18T19:14:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo of a Vegetable Spaghetti Squash. Also in the photo is my Grand Mother's cleaver which is very useful to cut the squash and also useful for perspective. It is a large knife and the squash is even larger!

One of the side effects of having quality produce growing in the back yard is determining what to do with the harvest. When the harvest is large and exceeds our family's needs, the excess unquestionably goes to market. But what about the earliest of the early, the over achievers, that one fruit or vegetable that miraculously ripens before the rest of its kind? Eating the first of the season is a special thrill. But selling the first of the season is our goal, too.

Sometimes those are the beginnings of interesting household conversations which is to say tense negotiations.

After bringing this squash in from the fields, I headed towards the scale to measure it's weight and assess it's quality. Laura turned on the oven and reached for the cutting board and cleaver.

These negotiations were not tense. She had the cleaver so she won.

Actually the whole family won. She turned the squash into focal point of the most amazing dinner. It's one of the many reasons winter squash is really exciting (even if this is still summer).

Week of August 15 2011 : Skunk Works

2011-09-02T17:24:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo of our elusive skunk. It's all grainy and inconclusive just like an "authentic" Sasquatch or Loch Ness Monster photo. I know I am not alone when I work the farm after dark. As I pan my headlamp across the orchard I always see eyes glaring back at me. But our skunk is different. When I am out snapping ears, he is working the fields with to me.

Unlike raccoons, skunks cannot climb corn stalks very well and are not smart enough to bend the stalks until they can reach the ear. Our skunk sometimes works an older stand to scavenge ears as stalks break naturally. Other times he is much bolder as he will work the same stand I am working.

He follows my movements and waits for me to drop an ear. The first time I went back to retrieve a dropped ear and it was not there, I called it a mental mistake and attributed it to fatigue. The second time it happened, though, I stopped and listened. Just a few rows away, masked by night and fog, our skunk was shucking husks and nibbling kernels.

Thankfully our skunk is well mannered and observes proper sweet corn stand etiquette. There have been no spray downs.

So far the only evidence the skunk exists are nibbled ears and a grainy photo.

Week of August 8 2011 : Geauga!

2011-08-21T07:48:00.001-07:00

Here is yet another photo of our sweet corn. BUT this week was a special week for two reasons. First, at the Lake Farmparks Farmers' Market, we presented a talk named "No Butter Needed" and answered any questions related to growing and buying sweet corn. Second, at the Geauga Fresh Farmers' Market we participated in the market's Corn Celebration. Not as spectators but as vendors! For us to finally participate in the market is gratifying. And to bring one of our best stands to sell at the well publicized event was very special.

While preparing for "No Butter Needed" I relived all the early child hood memories that have shaped my views of farming and market stands. A common memory plays out like this.

My dad and I were out running various weekend errands when he would spot a road side stand selling sweet corn. We would stop and ask a few questions: what color of kernels, when was it picked, and how much for a dozen. Sometimes we walked away with a dozen and sometimes without a dozen. I never really understood the decision process because the answers were always the same (yellow, this morning, too much).

But what I really, really never understood was what happened after we did buy that perfect dozen. We hurried home, immediately boiled some water and cooked the ears as soon as possible. But we did not eat just yet. First we rolled them in butter then sprinkled them with salt. Then we ate the corn and commented how wonderful it was.

That was the bizarre, confusing moment. What was flavorful, the sweet corn or the butter and salt?

So, as a grower, I vow to grow corn so flavorful that no butter is needed.

Finally, one of our watermelons appeared in a photo in a blog post reviewing the Geauga market:

http://skinnyeatscleveland.blogspot.com/2011/08/geauga-fresh-farmers-market.html

So cool ... even if you have to scroll all the way to the very last photo.

Week of August 1 2011 : Oops.

2011-08-03T19:24:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo of the first wave of broccoli and cabbage. I field set the third and final wave transplants this week ... the temperatures were in the upper 80s and humidity even higher. So it seemed ironic to be working cool weather crops.

The cabbage is mostly heat resistant. Well formed heads will set and the flavor is not affected. However, let's just say, the outer leaves dont present the best appearance. The broccoli is not heat resistant. The plants look fantastic but well formed heads are not possible. The florets are very sparse then immediate shoot up to seed.

Hopefully the intense heat subsides and we can bring the perfect crop to market.

The beets and carrots are a very different story. We make no effort to get to early spring market; we focus on summer and fall market. So I planted the beets and carrots later in the season to time harvest beginning in September. Unfortunately the planting coincided with dry and hot weather. In my attempts to thwart these forces I covered the soil with white row covers.

The theory is good however I neglected to leave an air cushion between the soil and row covers. Instead of shading and cooling the soil I inadvertently warmed it. Cooked is a better term. I measured the soil temperature at 125*

Week of July 25 2011 : Market

2011-07-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of our new location at the Lake Metroparks Farmers Market. Wow. This photo was taken towards the close of market. We sold out of everything except cucumbers and summer squash.

The market is still located at the Farm Park, however, has moved from the gravel parking lot to the paved entrance to the main building. The transportation and unloading logistics are a bit more complicated since there is no room for trucks or trailers. But that is a good trade for increased foot traffic and pleasant landscaping.

Notice the green umbrella. My beloved pop up canopy fell victim to high winds. Last weekend we set the canopy to practice our setup. We should have practiced our breakdown too. Later that afternoon, I noticed dark clouds and high winds rolling in. After I removed the anchor weights but before I could collapse the canopy, the wind gusted.

The good news is I was able to hold on. The bad news is I landed 50' feet away. The rest of the bad news was the tent collapsed itself. Permanently.

With three days to market it was time to scramble. And scramble we did. Now notice the cinder block counter weights. Those were deposited in the river courtesy of the spring time floods. This incident was an example of translating nothing into the solution of a major problem.

Week of July 18 2011 : Squash

2011-07-24T18:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of winter squash. Blue Ballet mini hubbards are on the right and Vegetable Spaghetti are on the left. For perspective, the sweet corn on the right is 7' tall. These are some monster plants. And the New England Hubbards (not picare even larger.

Growing large plants are very different than small plants. Seeds and rows are spaced much further apart. Large vining squash seeds are spaced as much as 3' apart and rows are spaced 6' apart. It's hard on the mind's eye to see one seed growing into a plant consuming so much space. But it does in a shockingly short amount of time too.

Another difference is tolerance to insects and weeds. It seems insects, particularly cucumber beetles, are attracted to squash more so than any other crop. In fact hubbards are grown as trap crops for more profitable cash crops. Control is necessary particularly while establishing the field. Fortunately many organic insecticides are available. The catch though is these controls require direct contact with the target pest and cucumber beetles are active at night.

Weed control is necessary but less urgent than with smaller seeded crops. After primary tillage in the spring, the first flush of weeds quickly invades the field. Squash are planted later in the season, after these eager weeds are destroyed with light cultivation. Once the squash are established, they easily shade out any later emerging weeds.

Week of July 11 2011 : Sweet

2011-07-20T06:02:00.001-07:00

Here is a photo of a frog on tasseling sweet corn. I am still amazed at the little creatures that congregate around the micro ecosystems of the farm. Some are good, some are bad but interactions between the plants and creatures are complex and fascinating.

Experienced growers can understand soil profiles by monitoring weeds. Growers can also learn a lot by looking for clues offered by the bug populations. I understand how to interpret the various beetles and caterpillars but still not sure how to interpret frogs' presence. At least its evidence the fields are nasty-cide free.

The sweet corn is really growing well this year. Planting was late but emergence was nearly 100%. There is sufficient mid summer moisture to minimize plant stress and ensure good kernel set. The night time temperatures have been consistently over 70 degrees so the ears are maturing very quickly.

The first stand is past the silking phase; pollen shed is complete and the silks are browning. The second stand is beginning pollen shed. The remainder of the stands appear to be exactly one week behind each other. Looks like maturity schedule was perfectly planned. OK, I admit, luck has a little influence too.

Week of July 4 2011 : Victory (?)

2011-07-15T19:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo I am particularly proud to share. It is a few rows of peppers. For me though it represents several victories.

First, I accepted that I need to trellis peppers. Pepper plants are brittle and stalks will snap under average fruit load. Late summer thunderstorms hasten the destruction. Here the stakes are set every third plant and sandwiched between two strands of twine. I think this is called the San Diego string type trellis.

Next, I accepted that black plastic mulch is not sufficient weed control. Holes need to be cut in the mulch to set the transplants. I am not a surgeon ... so the holes are larger than necessary which promotes weed growth. This year I mulched the plants with leaf humus to prevent the opportunistic weeds.

Finally, I am actually using the irrigation / fertigation system. Rather than turning on irrigation when the plants begin to droop, I planned out an irrigation and nutrition strategy. The result is the plants have a lot more vegetative growth and almost no fruit lost to blossom end rot. Green plants look nicer in the field, sure, but the benefit is the leaves shade the fruits and reduce sun scald.

I wont declare victory yet but the peppers are poised for their best finish ever.

Week of June 27 2011 : Scouts (plural)

2011-07-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of Nathaniel and Frances scouting the green beans. On this day last year, we had one scout. The next day our second scout was born. To celebrate her first birthday, she put on her best crawl and scooted out to the fields.

Nathaniel planted his very own green beans. Each night when I get home from work, he is waiting in the drive way for me. Then we walk to his beans and work the patch together.

Now that Frances is mobile, she too shares in the fun. This is special for many reasons ... one of which is this is the only thing he shares with her.

Week of June 20 2011 : No Vacancy

2011-06-18T06:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the nest boxes, two rows of winter squash, and the edge of the sweet corn field.

The nest boxes have been busy all spring. The Peterson box in the foreground has already fledged 5 Eastern blue birds. While the parents raise the young in the refuge of the apple trees another pair is building a second nest.

The NABS box is the background contains a tree swallow nest with 7 hatchlings. Blue birds are very charming but tree swallows have personality too. They are such acrobatic flyers. They really put on an air show as they pluck bugs from mid air to feed 7 hungry beaks.

Obviously the winter squash still have some growing to do. Now that all the seeds are sown all we need to do is give them plenty of space and time to do their thing. As the summer grows on we will show you just how exciting winter squash really are.

The sweet corn is all planted too. Since the first stand was delayed a few weeks we had to rapidly adjust our production schedule. Usually we plant eight stands and harvest late July through mid September. This year we consolidated three stands; two early stands and one late stand were rolled into mid season stands. As a result we will have only five stands but each harvest will be larger.

The added bonus is we wont have to fight late season earworm pressure. Organic control techniques just cant quite keep up with the intense pressure of the last few seasons.

Week of June 13 2011 :

2011-06-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

After the main season transplants were set in the field, we focused on direct seeding the cucumbers, summer and winter squash, and sweet corn.

The cucumbers and summer squash were planted nearly two weeks later than scheduled. Although the warmer days of June and July will help compensate for some of the cooler days of May, the delayed planting means the initial harvest will still be delayed at least one week.

The winter squash was planted nearly on schedule. Since these are late season, storage type vegetables there is less of an emphasis on early harvest. The concern is these squash typically have such long maturities (110 days is common) and these maturities have to be reached before the first hard frost. If the first hard frost occurs prior to full maturity then the long term storage qualities are compromised.

Over the past few years I have developed a huge interest in winter squash. It is such the uncool, nerdy vegetable on the farm. But during those cold winter months, long after all the flashy summer vegetables have disappeared, there is always a hip-to-be-square squash ready to provide you with a warm and hearty meal.

This year we boosted our winter squash production for the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market. And recently we received a call from the market manager asking if we would provide blue hubbards for a sustainability initiative dinner that will be hosted at Lakeland College this fall. We are so excited someone shares our interest in winter squash!

We are growing three varieties of hubbards. Of course, we grow the classic New England strain which weighs in at 20+ lbs. Too often we sell these as alternatives to Halloween pumpkins rather than as food.

We also grow more marketable baby strains which weigh in around 4 - 6 lbs. We have always had positive reviews of the Blue Ballet variety. It is unusually sweet for a squash. Now we are trialing the Blue Magic variety too.

And we grow Honey Bear acorn, Metro butternut and Vegetable spaghetti squash to round out the classical offerings.

Trust me, I am not eager for the arrival of fall. But I was thinking of recipes as I planted these seeds!

Week of June 6 2011 : Empty

2011-06-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

(Here is a photo of the portable greenhouse. Most people will see Nathaniel attempting pullups in an otherwise empty greenhouse, but my mind's eye still sees the 512 transplants waiting desperately for satisfactory field conditions.)

The greenhouse truly saved the season this year. Earlier this spring my off-farm employer sent me to Atlanta for a week. This was great professional opportunity except the cold, wet and windy conditions were less than ideal for starting seeds.

An extra layer of plastic was placed over the greenhouse and weighted down with cinder blocks. I left for the the airport and hoped the seedlings would survive 5 unattended days despite the 40 per hour wind gusts.

Thanks to the greenhouse all seedlings survived. Yeah! Some plants were a bit spindly but very much alive and healthy.

The peppers, eggplants and tomatoes were the first wave to be transplanted. The cantaloupes and watermelons part of the second wave. Transplanting was successful and vigorous new growth is already evident.

Month of May 2011 : Positive

2011-05-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of our Mallard ducks. We are so familiar with each other that even at a range of 20 feet, they dont even look sideways at me. The cover crop was flailed but plowing and shaping the beds is not happening any time soon.

Today (May 29) just annoyed me the wrong way. After months of cold and wet, the past few days were finally warming and the soil finally drying. The radar was clear. Time to change the "PAST DUE" status columns to "DONE".

The rotary plow was hooked up to the tractor. The engine was revving and together we worked over the fields. The fields were plowed. The transplants were outside on the greenhouse benches soaking up the heat and sun.

Another check of the radar. Still clear. Plenty of time to visit at the hospital and say HI to my dad before continuing with the work.

On the way home, though, the lightening light up the sky. Hmm. What? By the time we returned home 15 minutes later the storm had raged through. The transplants were bobbling in water. And the Mallards were very agitated with the whitecaps out in the fields.

We promised we would stay positive but that is effective only for the month of May.

Month of April 2011 : Blossoms

2011-05-10T19:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo of the sweet corn field. The cover crop in the foreground was flailed April 24; the background was flailed May 8. The apple trees are in full bloom. I gauge my field operations by the first tree in the fourth row. It is always the first to green tip, to silver tip and to bloom. This year is 16 - 18 days behind last year.

Of course April was a busy month just like every other month. But it was the first month that my hands actually were dirty. The peppers, tomatoes and eggplants were started indoors first and are already outside in the greenhouse. The cantaloupes and watermelons were started next and are still being coddled in the basement. These are fickle plants and heat mats really make a difference. The fall crops like broccoli and cabbage will also be started indoors but not until June.

The weather conditions are delaying field operations but I dont anticipate significant impact on target harvest dates. Even though transplant setting and direct sowing operations will be later, were are not missing many growing degree days. A day in late April is very different than a day in late May.

OK who am I kidding? I admit, I really want to be out in the fields now!

Month of March 2011 : Big

2011-03-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

(Now I know why Nathaniel voted against the budget proposal to install drainage! Here is a photo of the Big Yellow Truck stuck in the Big Muck Puddle. He quickly assessed the situation and realized there was still enough muck he could get his left boot stuck too. SLURRPPP!)

This season is quickly gaining momentum.

The market season is all planned. We are participating in two markets this year, the Lake Farmpark Farmer's Market and the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market. I know we tried this last year.

But this year we have a different strategy. We will participate in one market at a time. We will be at the Lake market during the summer season focusing on sweet corn and other main season vegetables. Then we will be at the Geauga market during the fall season focusing on winter squash and storage vegetables.

It was a compromise that helps fill niches at both markets and preserves our quality of life. Our most important crop are our children.

Goodness the market stars lined up because I already designed the field rotation and planting strategy then ordered all the seeds! The indoor seeding / transplanting and outdoor direct seeding schedules are planned.

It all looks so easy on a computer screen. Its as easy as click! There you go. Big food.

Right?

Month of February 2011 : GO!

2011-03-01T19:20:00.000-08:00

(Here is a photo of our cover crops and soil thermometers. The winter rye / hairy vetch mix looks good. The thermometers dont look so good; the glare obscures the 30*F temperature. So this season is a "go!" but it is not a "go now!")

Last season never really ended and the new season is already starting. The fall field cleanup chores then the winter planning now the spring work ... farming is a year round effort.

We accomplished many things during the winter. We read each and every page in the seed catalogs, we did the usual business planning and goal setting and we gave the seed starting room a tuneup.

First, we made grow benches. Using a laser-guided miter saw and a drill press, I transformed 1" x 4" and 1" x 6" lumber and carriage bolts into (over engineered) bench frames.

I wanted the classic expanded metal bench tops however availability and cost changed my mind. My alternate choice was Ultra Bench Dura Bench tops.

We built one indoor version and one outdoor version. The outdoor version is covered with electrical conduit and polyfilm; it is a green house on wheels.

We also bought Agritape heaters. These are seed starting heat mats with a variable thermostat. The mats are particularly useful for fickle seedlings like watermelons.

Because I love laser-guided miter saws, I also built an energy efficient(ish) germination box. This is a 2' x 4' wood frame with a foil coated, foam board insulation floor. The heat mats are placed on top of the insulation then covered with sand.

The insulation minimizes heat loss and the sand improves mat-to-seedling heat transfer.

We are ready for a good start.

Week of October 11 2010 : Closing Time

2011-01-11T17:28:00.000-08:00

(Here is a photo of the field shrouded in mist. In the foreground are the cover crops just two weeks after seeding. In the background are the geese lurking in the shadows. And separating the two is nothing but twine ...)

This is the final week of market for us. We like to celebrate Halloween early so we dress the kids in costumes and take them to market too. Last year Nathaniel was a skunk ... appropriate but too realistic for our neighbor's dog. We learned our lesson and decided not to dress the kids as an enemy of something that growls or has sharp teeth. This year he was a farmer and Frances was a nubbin' ear of corn.

Right now I am wondering how we survived this season. Let's just say we experienced a labor shortage. Our collective efforts (and patience) were diverted to our toddler and new born baby. I estimate we operated the farm and attended market with 1/3^rd of an employee.

We are really satisfied with this season. But we are really excited to see it go too. This year, there were NO season extension techniques used on our farm!

The most disappointing moment was realizing / admitting that we couldnt participate in the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market. We were honored to be chosen as members of such a great market. Now that we have regained family stability we look forward to participating next season.

The most memorable moment also occurred at the Geauga market. We won the Best Tasting Cherry Tomato award.

The most pleasing moments were the return of repeat customers at the Lake Metroparks Farmpark Market. Customers raving about our sweet corn ... woo hoo.

Week of October 4 2010 : Little

2011-01-06T19:22:00.001-08:00

(Here is a photo of Nathaniel turning the little compost pile. Its a little farm, so a little boy on a little tractor is a perfect match for the job.)

There are two ends of the continuum with respect to growing capacities. On the small end, there is Mom and Dad growing a tomato plant in a container on the driveway. On the large end, there are the multi-national corporations.

Market farms fall somewhere in between although even the large / successful operations are closer to the Mom and Dad end than the corporate end.

We fall into a particularly annoying spot in this little middle: the hard-to-get-supplies little middle.

If Mom and Dad want tomato seeds, they can drive to any hardware store or greenhouse or landscape center and buy tomato seeds.

If a multi-national corporation wants tomato seeds, they can call the headquarter's technology center who will bioengineer a customized breed.

Again, market farmers fall somewhere in between. We need a larger seed selection than the local hardware store but dont have the labs to develop our own seed.

This problem is amplified by strict organic production requirements.

A particularly annoying example is cover crop seed.

The internet solves the availability problem; we know where to buy cover crops. But how many sites charge a premium for shipping 25# of seeds? Then these same sites offer free shipping on large orders!

BAAH. It's the little middle syndrome.

Week of September 27 2010 : Plowdown

2010-12-28T17:35:00.000-08:00

(Here is a photo of Nathaniel running off with the fall cover crops. Part of his parole package (for boosting pumpkins) included seeding the cover crops. So much for The System ... We started with 70% Winter Rye, 25% Hairy Vetch and 5% Tillage Radish seed).

Notice the twine along the edges of the field.

Prior to cover crop emergence, geese lazily wander across plowed / seeded fields in search of greens on the other side. Thousands of little footsteps compact the soil surface thus reducing and delaying, if not completely eliminating, seedling emergence.

After emergence, geese merrily chomp the tender seedlings. Hundreds of geese can clear cut a field in a matter of hours.

Baah! Geese are such a threat to establishing a healthy cover crop. The solution? Exploit the laziness. Suspend a single strand of twine 8" above the soil.

This year the goose fence includes two improvements. Breakaway twine and tensioners.

Deer frequently wander through the fields. White nylon twine has the highest visibility (as opposed to natural sissal twine) but deer still occasionally snap the twine. I attach the twine to the wooden post with a horizontal nail. In the past, I would loop the twine around the nail. Now, on certain posts, I simply lay the twine on the nail. After monitoring the deers' traffic patterns, I strategically loop some posts and, in the high traffic areas, lay the other posts. The result is the twine falls off the post instead of snapping.

The other improvement is tensioners. Throughout the winter the twine tends to stretch and sag. Adding a second nail to the wrapped line posts allows me to wind the twine between the two nails effectively eliminating sag.

These two improvements allow me to maintain a twine line literally with one hand. Cutting, splicing and tying elaborate knots is fun, however, maintaining a twine line in less than 60 seconds is a lot more fun.

Week of September 20 2010 : Better Way

2010-12-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

(Here is a photo of Nathaniel hand mowing the orchard. Nothing like crisp, arrow straight stripes to help showcase the fall apple harvest. But there is plenty of acreage so he had plenty of time to consider more efficient ways to mow. The next day he was checking price tags on toddler sized tractors.)

One of the attractions to farming is the working / thinking / improving cycle. Its always fun to "do" but even more satisfying to "do better".

I like to design and build clever solutions but some days OCD consumes me and I get stuck thinking about improvements and never actually get to improving.

For example, a tomato trellis. We have never lost a tomato plant due to trellis failure.

Yet I am still consumed with the idea of improving our trellis design. Forget practicality; I want to design a trellis so innovative that it will be featured in engineering journals. I realized I had gone too far only when I found myself studying mathematical equations for catenaries. Stop!

So as we begin to review our successes and failures and plan for next year, let's keep Nathaniel's lesson in mind. Do, then do better, and stay within reasonable limits.

Week of September 13 2010 : Guilt

2010-10-20T17:22:00.000-07:00

Looking ...

Snatching...

Running ...

(Here are a few security camera stills of Nathaniel trying to loot the pumpkin patch. The get-away little red wagon was hidden between the corn rows. Such a sophisticated operation for one toddler ... but even during interrogation he never ratted out his crew).

So much for posting once a week. All season we were a few weeks behind now we are a few months behind. Thanks to everybody for patience and understanding; not a single reader ever complained.

As I remember, this was the first week I worked completely in the dark. The sun was setting as we read bedtime stories to the kids and dusk completely disappeared just as I headed outside. Having babies and toddlers also means having wholesale quantities of batteries so I plugged fresh batteries into the headlamp and went to work.

The headlamp worked well when harvesting some crops but not others. Some crops are harvested by size and shape other crops are harvested by color.

Examples. Sweet corn can easily be harvested in minimal light; just feel for complete tip fill then snap the ear. Tomatoes are harder to pick at night. A fruit that looks perfectly ripe under LED light doesnt look so perfect under natural light. Even so, after harvesting-at-night / grading-during-sunlight a few times, I was able to calibrate my ripe meter.

I enjoyed working during the night. Until I heard the band of coyotes. A pack of hungry coyotes has a certain, say scary, shrill. I still worked at night but only in the South field which is surrounded by a 7' foot fence.

Week of September 6 2010 : Nubbin' Ears

2010-09-24T18:44:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of a our baby corn. For many of our products, we grow a traditional full size variety and a smaller single serving size variety. This year we experimented with baby corn but the results were somewhat startling.)

As we get into September, the insect pressure on sweet corn is intense. The unusually warm summer created an opportunity for a third generation of corn borers. The second generation of corn earworms are peaking. Science has certainly provided many solutions for these pests, Unfortunately the organic solutions are not 100% effective.

So that left us with a problem. We had really great tasting sweet corn. But too many ears had a bonus bug.

Rather than discarding the ears as unmarketable and heaving them into the compost pile, we significantly dropped the price and clearly communicated the problem to our customers. There were three distinct reactions.

About 25% did not care at all. They wanted sweet corn, they knew from experience we had sweet corn, and a bug was nothing but proof we dont use harsh sprays.

About 50% cared a little bit. They were more interested in bargain prices than worrying about bugs.

About 25% cared very much. They tactfully but without any doubt passed.

At the time, we thought this was a good compromise; our short term goal was to avoid wasting otherwise perfectly fine food.

But, now that we have thought about that compromise a great deal more, perhaps that solution contradicted our long term goal of establishing a brand and continuously improving quality standards.

Week of August 30 2010 : Trust

2010-09-24T18:32:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our market stand at Lake Farmpark Farmer's Market. OK the truth is I wanted to take a picture of our stand after it was setup but before the market opened. Customers arrived early then I remembered to take the picture only after I was done cleaning up. However this image captures the essence of how we feel after market. Lonely but fun to drive home with an empty truck / trailer!)

Its also fun to learn the various personalities of our customers. Some customers insist on inspecting each and every item to ensure it meets their criteria. These customers have different but specific preferences for ripeness, size, etc. We happily ask a few questions to assist the selection process: when will you prepare it, how will you prepare it, etc.

Other customers have no such preferences. They allow us to choose and they usually explain why: "I trust you". The implication is these customers trust our experience and knowledge to pick the best for them. We honor this sense of trust.

But all customers, whether they explicitly say so or not, trust us. They trust our production techniques. They trust our commitment to healthy, safe food. We honor this sense of trust too.

Week of August 23 2010 : Victory

2010-08-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our scare eye watching over our seventh stand of sweet corn. Unfortunately our sixth stand was damaged by birds. A few pecks are visually unsettling and exposes the ear to additional damage. The birds have avoided the corn since the scare eye took up patrol. Not often does a cheap and easy solution actually work!)

We won the Best Tasting Cherry Tomato award at the Geauga Fresh Farmers' Market. Woo Hoo!!! Our winning entry was the Sun Sugar.

Whenever taste is the topic of discussion, the discussion usually includes heirloom varieties and hybrids. Heirloom tomatoes are the most widely discussed but heirlooms of all vegetables exist.

Some people misunderstand hybrids. Hybrids are created using cross breeding and natural selection which are normal biological processes. Hybrids are not created using genetic modification.

Heirlooms are generally known for their superior taste and poor growing characteristics. Hybrids are generally known for flat taste and superior growing characteristics. But, of course, there are exceptions to these generalizations.

One of the many rewarding aspects of growing vegetables for market is discovering and learning about all the varieties then matching our experiences with the demands of the customers.

So when the Geauga Fresh Farmers' Market patrons voted our cherry tomato the best tasting, that affirmed our experiences and decisions of which varieties to bring to market.

Week of August 16 2010 : Geese

2010-08-26T17:49:00.000-07:00

The Canadian Geese have arrived. Geese land in the open field that adjoins our fields then wander into the orchard in search of apples. The reason geese bother me so much is they are a sure sign that fall is here.

The irritating "squawks" of a huge flock of geese pierced my ears. I first noticed the geese while harvesting our Acorn and Blue Hubbard squash. I was surprised to notice them because I was busy hustling to beat the early sunset. Geese, winter squash and shorter days are a powerful combination of signs that cannot be ignored. NOOO!

The squash, including pumpkins, were timed to mature well after Labor Day but the hot summer hastened maturity. Although the squash are beautiful and certainly tasty, we are in no hurry to sample any just yet. Good thing the squash have great storage qualities.

The squash will easily store until Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. In fact, last year we had one Blue Hubbard left over from market. We gave it to Nathaniel and he played with it all winter and into July before it showed any signs of aging.

Week of August 9 2010 : Triple Double

2010-08-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of our daughter scouting the corn field for the first time. Yeah for the smiles! She was born June 28 and this stand was planted June 29. Mother and daughter were still in the hospital and our son was in bed when I snuck out at sunset to plant this last stand.

We knew our lives would become more hectic by doubling our children, doubling our field capacity, and doubling our markets. When we write up the post season report, a phrase like 'very aggressive' will be appropriate. But this season and it's challenges provided several opportunities to learn about farming from yet another perspective and who we are as people.

Farmers focus on field operations. Smart farmers also focus on marketing techniques. And it has become clear to us that successful farmers are vigilant about defining priorities, making decisions and managing time.

Week of Aug 2 2010 : Really

2010-08-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year when I remind myself how much I really enjoy market farming. Its easy to like growing early in the season when temperatures are cool, moisture is sufficient and pest pressure in minimal. But late season heat, drought and relentless pests really test one's mettle.

The challenges arrive on cue each year. Each year I bring out my notebook. The notebook contains past problems, solutions and results. I read old notes and add new notes. Although I certainly do not have all the answers, I am ready to take in any problem and work out a solution.

But like I said, relentless pests really test one's mettle including my own. This week, after a particularly busy market, after unloading the trailer, after spraying DiPel on the broccoli (for cabbageworm) and on the sweet corn (for corn borer and earworm), I washed my hands and headed inside to escape these pests and read some goodnight books to my son.

A new stack of library books was on the floor. I eagerly sifted through the pile to see what I would be reading tonight. What did I find?

Really?

Week of July 26 2010 : Peg Leg

2010-08-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of Nathaniel enjoying sweet corn and watermelon. We had him out in the field picking his dinner; he had fun snappin' ears and thumpin' melons. Well, maybe not snapping ears, more like bending stalks. But he really can thump melons. He screams with delight at the dull sound of a ripe Moon & Star watermelon. We think he actually understands the difference because he looks at us with confusion when he thumps a landscaping rock).

Our growing and harvesting season is at the peak. Our summer crops are thriving and fall crops are coming in too. Of course this leads to busy times at market. We need as much improvisation as we have busy to succeed with harvesting and marketing. The challenges creep in from every angle.

Last week while setting up for market our pop up canopy would not pop up. One of the 4 legs was somehow jammed. Seriously? This? But in the context of the Golden Rule of Problems, the most unlikely problem at the most inconvenient time, this was expected. Eager customers were arriving 1/2 hour early looking for sweet corn and here I was mystified by a tent. Always look for the opportunity in any situation.

Selling to the early customers emptied enough crates such that I could stack them upside and make a peg leg for the canopy. By the start of market we had a functioning and safe canopy.

After market we discovered one of the snap releases was bent, probably during the previous week's surprise thunderstorm.

Week of July 19 2010 : Feedback

2010-07-26T18:37:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of a few of our cherry tomatoes. The orange variety really is great for everything; they add bright colors to any dish and are sweet enough for snacking. Over in the next row are all the heirloom tomatoes. Our favorite are the Nyagous).

Our fields are near a popular road. The road is not popular in a national highway sense, but in a scenic byway sense. Hot rods and Harleys frequently tool along. Packs of cyclists rack up some beautiful miles. The road follows a river bed so it is twisty, flat and shaded. However, along the fields, there is nothing to block the sun. As it turns out, there is nothing to absorb the sound of conversations, either.

While working the land I often overhear private conversations. I frequently hear comments about the garden. Although it is accidental, I really appreciate the feedback. Comments like "Wow, look at all that corn, he must be feeding chickens" and "Wow, now that is a garden" offer me a new perspective or validate my current perspective. That is the power of feedback. It gives us the opportunity to tailor our farm's output to match the needs and wants of our customers.

In that spirit, we wish we would get more feedback from our customers. We have developed loyal customers who are very candid about their opinions of our produce. But there are other customers whose opinions we never hear. We often wonder if those heirloom tomatoes added just the right mixture of sweet and tangy to the salad. Or if that watermelon was the hit of the picnic. Feedback would let us know if and how to improve our offerings and field operations.

The super markets want you to be happy with their produce. But farmer's markets are willing to work to make you happy with our produce.

Week of July 12 2010 : Switch

2010-07-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our Gonzales cabbage. We are growing two varieties, Farao and Gonzales. Both are intended for fresh use such as slaws, stir fries and wraps. The first plantings are already in the heading stage. The white plastic mulch suppresses weeds as well as deflects heat so this cool weather crop is surviving through this hot summer.)

This weekend we planned on opening up our market season at the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market. We also planned on returning to the Lake Metroparks Farmer's Market soon thereafter. We doubled our capacity to meet the anticipated demand. We knew we would be busy and welcomed the challenge.

The uncertainty was our children. Last year, we attended one market and parented one child (not to mention the full time off farm job) . This year we planned a second market and prepared to welcome our second child. Like I said, we knew we would be busy and welcomed the challenge.

The arrival of our second child suddenly put the world in focus, big screen high definition. 19 month old boys are a round the clock responsibility. 2 week old girls are a round the clock responsibility. Suddenly we realized we forgot to consider quality of life. Although "getting it all done" was possible, we could not maintain all three: quality of life, quality of parenting and quality of produce.

So after thinking through our options, and discussing our situation and the market needs with our market manager, we are delaying our Geauga debut. Although disappointing, everybody wins. We will focus on quality parenting. The Geauga market has plenty of other quality vendors.

Now you have to visit us at the Lake Farmparks Farmer's Market instead.

Week of July 5 2010 : Knee High

2010-07-16T19:16:00.002-07:00

(Here is a picture of a Moon and Stars watermelon. Remember the transplant? Just six weeks later we have melons. This particular variety will grow to 18" (10 lbs). We also grow smaller single serve varieties too such as Sugar Baby and Solitaire. Corn is supposed to be knee high and this year the watermelons are knee high too)

The pace out in the fields has slowed a bit. The early season tasks such as transplanting are nearly are complete, just one tray of cucumbers to set in the field. Now the daily tasks include irrigation and scouting for disease and pests. The plastic mulch and trickle irrigation dramatically reduce labor. Currently the notable pests are Japanese beetles. These pests target edamame and eggplant. A spray solution of water and Ivory dish soap provides enough relief to keep the plants alive. The beetles will disappear by the end of July, so although they are annoying beyond comprehension, there is little impact on the harvest.

Later in the season we will face two more pests. Corn earworm and voles. Worms of any kind are an expected pest and are usually easy to control. A spray solution of water and organic BT subdues the worms and does not affect beneficial insects. But earworms are different. BT does not destroy the eggs that moths lay in the corn silks; then young worms burrow into ear tips immediately upon hatching. BT is effective only when present on the silks during the short time window between hatching and burrowing. As a bacteria, BT breaks down quickly in the summer heat so management efforts are rather significant.

Relatively few growers face vole pressure. Fencing protects some of our crops from deer and other large animals. But remember that every action has a consequence; the consequence of fencing is the voles are protected from nearly all predators. With few predators and plenty of food, the population spikes quickly. This year cucumbers are the victim. At least the hawks, at night possible owls too, capitalize on the situation.

Week of June 28 2010 : Harvest

2010-06-27T19:07:00.001-07:00

(Here is a (sideways) picture of our Hansel eggplant which is similar to the famous Lady Finger. This is our first growing experience with eggplant and are pleased with the results. The plants are beautiful with big leaves and delicate purple blossoms. Thorns attempt to protect the blossom and fruit from predation. The fruits are small, optimal size is 4" - 5"; they are thin skinned and are non-bitter. Unfortunately these plants also present a management challenge: Japanese beetles prefer these eggplant over edamame.)

So far this season there have been harvests in many senses of the word.

Of course we are harvesting vegetables. We planned our first day at the Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market to be July 17. The warm weather is certainly helping us meet that goal. We are already harvesting cucumbers, eggplant, snap peas and summer squash. No surprises there. We also have harvested a few peppers and tomatoes and anticipate several more varieties will mature in time for first market. Again, no surprises.

The big surprises are the cantaloupes and watermelons! The bees are busy working the blossoms and their work has produced a wonderful fruit set and may (though doubtful) have maturity in time for first market. Go melons!

We are also "harvesting" a lot of birds. Five Blue Birds fledged from our Peterson nesting box and the parents are already building their second nest. Five Tree Swallows fledged from our NABS nesting box. Robins have fledged two broods from their undersized nest on our front porch. And we have Purple Martins nesting in our garage; there are at least five, as many as seven, hatchlings.

And the other "harvest", we welcomed our baby daughter to the world.

Week of June 21 2010 : The Slide.

2010-06-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

(I know, here is YET ANOTHER picture of our first stand of sweet corn. This is a close up of the silks. We nick named this Muppet Corn because the silks have a purple tint. These silks, contrasted with the dark green leaves, look really great in the field. I am sure our future market customers will agree the ears will taste just as great.)

Most of our back yard is cultivated. There is not much room for playing and there is less room for large children's toys like slides or pools. So when we acquired a slide / swing combo and a splash pool, we had to consider where to put it all. After strategic deliberations, we decided to put it near the pea patch.

Now that the peas are mature, we see just how wonderful that idea was. After a hard slide, our son lands then runs a few steps to the peas. He harvests a pod from the plant, crunches the peas and giggles as he runs back to the beginning of the slide to repeat the fun.

And hot days in the pool are even better. We help him harvest a handful then he sits in the cool water crunching away and giggling. This time last year he was still eating strained peas from a jar. We laugh and tell him this is the good food. He screams, YEAH YEAH, excitement mixed with bitterness, which means he never forgot the strained pea experience.

Unfortunately, the fresh snap peas probably will never make it to market. The warmer weather hastened the maturity and our anticipated market start date is July 17. The timing may not work out but witnessing a person so excited about humble snap peas reminds us why we farm for market.

Week of June 14 2010 : Blossoms, fruits and tassels.

2010-06-18T19:00:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of a Satsuma sweet bell pepper. This is an orange pepper with the traditional four lobe pepper shape. Of course it has thick crunchy walls so it will add color, texture and flavor to any dish. The plant in the foreground is a victim of sunset photography; the flash causes the plant to look chlorotic but is healthy.)

Wednesday night was a very casual night. We were caught up on transplanting, pruning and trellising and there were no disease or fungus threats. So we casually toured the fields to review our hard work.

Since the recent days have been perfect growing weather, and the night time temperatures have remained unusually warm, we are accumulating growing degree days quite rapidly. This translates to early blossoms and fruit set. We were expecting to see fascinating things and we were not disappointed.

Not surprisingly, the snap peas and zucchini are already setting fruit.

The cucumbers, eggplants, peppers and tomatoes are also setting fruit. Usually the first tomato clusters have blossom end scarring known as cat facing; but the warm nights have allowed the plants to set fruits that are blemish free. Even the late season heirlooms, which are notorious for disappointing first fruit set, have set clean clusters.

The cantaloupes and watermelons are also in blossom but we have yet to scout any significant fruit set. Watermelons are such a fickle plant. During the seedling stage they are very sensitive to temperature; any variation will stunt growth. The seedlings do not have thick fibrous root ball so transplanting must be done very carefully otherwise the transplant shock will also stunt growth. Next year I will line the plug trays with Jiffy peat pots.

Of course we need to give some press to our sweet corn too. The corn is beginning to tassel! So much for the old adage, knee high by the fourth of July. This corn will be silking by the fourth of July. Last night we planted our sixth stand; still two more stands to plant.

Yeah for healthy plants. And yeah for healthy food!

Week of June 7 : Correction

2010-06-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our first stand of corn. This corn has suffered frost damage, hail damage and wind damage. But it has survived each threat. The target harvest date is July 23 but with the warmer than expected weather this stand may be harvested sooner.)

My last comment, let it grow, was true but not the complete truth. While we did catch up on the transplanting that was not the end of the sowing. Ahh, and it was just the beginning of all the maintenance!

We need to accept a fact: we will never be done with all the maintenance.

There will always be more weeds. There will always be more bugs. There will always be more pruning and training. There will always be more threats of disease. My neighbor once gave me sage advice, harvesting a clean crop is both a physical and mental challenge.

Farming is well known to be physically demanding. But mentally challenging? Anticipating the threats and prioritizing those threats certainly requires knowledge and foresight. Discipline is also necessary.

Consider how many crops we are growing (14), how varieties (39) and how many stands (as many as 8 per crop). Just organizing the sowing schedule is challenging for me! Only now comes the physical labor.

Week of May 30 2010 : Push!

2010-06-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our Diva cucumbers. These feature a smooth, thin and no-peel skin. They are tender, crisp, sweet and seedless. Because they are a non-bitter variety they are much less attractive to cucumber beetles.)

The big push is over. During the winter months we carefully prepared a complete schedule of tasks, ranging from starting seedlings, to preparing the fields, to setting the transplants. Of course we expected some interference from the weather so the real intent of the schedule was not to define deadline dates but rather to assign an order and priority to all the tasks. The schedule was constructed such that, if the weather would just somewhat cooperate, we could complete a few tasks each day and avoid a major push.

So much for weather cooperation. So much for the schedule. We were left with nothing but a BIG push. Things had to get done. That meant putting fresh batteries into the head lamp and setting transplants until 10:30 PM. Then waking up the next day at 4:30 AM to continue setting transplants. But things got done.

Now its time to step back and let it grow!

Week of May 24 2010 : Busy

2010-05-27T19:17:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of Moon & Stars watermelon seedlings. The red fleshed variety is common but this is a less common yellow fleshed variety. Both the red and yellow fleshed varieties sport the same foliage. Interestingly that foliage is spotted! The spots are expected and not a nutritional deficiency or disease.)

The blue birds have hatched. The nest contained five eggs and all five successfully hatched. Lets hope the success continues and all five fledge in about eighteen days.

The North and South fields have been completely prepared. The raised beds have been formed, the irrigation trickle lines have been laid, and the plastic mulch rolled out. Forming the raised beds with the rotary plow was easier and quicker than I anticipated. That was a nice surprise! Working from the right edge of the field to the left, I simply made one clockwise pass around the edge of each bed. Done.

Now transplanting is furiously in process. Suddenly I remembered the joy of direct sowing.

The first beans have been sowed. We are growing green, yellow and purple snap beans. The beans we are most excited about, though, are the soy beans. These are a 100 day crop so there is still a lot of time to anticipate those sweet beans.

Week of May 17 2010 : Soggy

2010-05-24T18:31:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our second stand of sweet corn. The first stand was damaged but not destroyed by the freeze. This stand was also were able to withstand several waves of thunder storms including hail. The third and fourth stands have been planted and are already emerging.)

Its a well known fact that the market farmer bylaws mandate lamenting the early season weather. In April, we had record highs. Earlier in May, we had a very low, low. Here in the valley we bottomed out at 27 degrees. That is not a frost, that is a freeze.

The cold weather was soon followed up with significant rainfall. In a few days we went from below average moisture to above average moisture. The problem? Remember the nicely plowed fields? Apparently primary tillage acts like a big sponge in a big tub. Nice absorbent soil in the middle of hard pan.

Now field work has been excessively delayed. We still need to form the raised beds. Which means we still need to lay the trickle irrigation lines and the plastic mulch. Which means we still need to transplant. So we have been busy watering and shuffling seedlings in and out of the garage. In an effort to minimize unnecessary labor, the garage door has been open more often.

Which produced an odd side effect, now we have a pair of purple martins nesting in our garage. Quick recap, we went from a rotary plow to a bird nest. The connection is obvious? (No).

In a sense, farming is like a game of chess. The grand masters must think several moves ahead. In farming, though, the impact is much less direct.

Week of May 10 2010 : Brrr

2010-05-10T18:29:00.001-07:00

(Here is a photo of the back half of our farm. In the foreground is the North field, which will be planted to broccoli, cabbage, zucchini, cantaloupe, blue hubbard and acorn squash, and watermelons. In the background is a portion of the East field, which will be planted to sweet corn. And in the far background are the bird houses, the NABS house is on the left and the Peterson house is on the right).

The record high temperatures have been replaced with cold temperatures. The cold air rolls down the hills and collects down here in the valley. Early in the morning when the frost settles, our fields are at least 2 degrees cooler than nearby but higher areas. So the damaging effects of frost are magnified.

But this morning, there was a freeze, not a frost, advisory in effect. That is bad. Thankfully we chose not to transplant yet so were spared the damaging effects. Except for our first stand of sweet corn! The stand suffered extreme damage. Ironically the damage looks like the leaves are "burned".

Oh well. Those are the risks. We were prepared for disaster. We over purchased corn seed so if the seedlings are dead then we will simply replant the first stand when we plant the second stand. And hope for better weather.

The blue bird nest is in the Peterson box and now contains 5 eggs!

Week of May 3 2010 : Nice soil

2010-05-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

(Here are three photos. First, the good news is we finally found our son after an extensive 2 month search. (Ed. note to County Services - he was never lost, this photo is staged.) Second, after the flail mowing. Third, after the rotary plowing. I am impressed what 2 passes with an 11hp walk behind tractor can actually do!)

The concept of two nesting boxes may actually be working. The blue birds claimed the Peterson nest box as early as February and have dutifully defended it from any and all competition. The blue birds finally built a nest in early April but have not yet laid any eggs. I am convinced this is the behavior of a goofy first time couple. Tree Swallows have claimed the NABS nest box and recently started a nest. The two nest box theory sounds great but rarely works in practice. This is the first season (out of four) when it apparently will work as advertised.

In early spring it is hard to fathom mowing down perfectly healthy plants. But such is the life of a cover crop. The winter rye reached a height of 26" while the hairy vetch used the rye as a trellis. My trusty Palladino flail mower reduced these beautiful cover crops to organic matter in mere minutes.

Then the new Berta rotary plow incorporated the residue into the soil. That did not go quite as fast. I plowed to a depth of 12" with one pass but the sun was already down for the day when I finished up 2 hours later. My pattern leaves much to be desired, as there were many dead trips across the field.

I anticipate forming the raised beds will go much faster. Then there will be a flurry of transplant activity. And presto. Instant farm!

Each spring when I start working the soil I am reminded why cover crops are worth the extra effort. THIS SOIL IS SO HEALTHY! The soil is dark and sticky. The worms love it. In the fall of 2008, the soil was tested at 4.7% organic matter!

Week of April 26 2010 : 512+

2010-05-04T18:28:00.000-07:00

(Here is a photo of one raised bed. This particular bed has been planted to snap peas and will be double planted to pumpkins. Eventually I will form 20 more raised beds.)

The grow room is growing at maximum capacity. There are 16 trays and each tray contains 32 plugs so that is a capacity of 512 seedlings. The first wave of seedlings have been moved outside to harden off for a week before transplanting. Each tray moved outside will soon be replaced with another tray of seeds. The cycle continues. For a continuous harvest throughout summer and fall, we will be seeding and transplanting until mid July.

Seedlings and transplants are nice because we can get an early start on the growing season. But from a labor perspective, we appreciate direct sowing. So far, we have sowed snap peas and sweet corn. Peas are hardy and could have been planted much earlier but we intentionally delayed the sowing so the harvest would better coincide with our first market day.

We also planted the first of eight stands of sweet corn. This has been an unusually warm growing season and a lot of sweet corn was planted early. Although the weather permitted planting up to three weeks early, we decided to advance our planting schedule by only a few days. We planned to harvest corn late July through mid September. We have enough land for eight stands and not a stalk more so an earlier planting would not gain an extra stand. An earlier stand would eliminate a later stand.

Week of April 19 2010 : Measurements

2010-04-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Instructions on seed packets like "Plant in warm soil" really annoy me. What precisely is "warm"? Or descriptions like "Today is a beautiful day". There is something beautiful about every day, but does an emerging corn seedling agree it is a beautiful day?

So I like numbers and measurements. Temperatures. Growing degree days. Now we are talking specifics.

My trusty soil thermometers measure the soil temperature at 52 degrees. That soil is the coolest due to the cover crop. It retains moisture and shades the soil. At the other extreme are the raised beds; this soil is dry and has no shade. This soil temperature measures 62 degrees. Soil testing convention suggests sampling each morning at 9:00 AM. When the temperature meets or exceeds the minimum planting temperature for three continuous days then the soil is warm enough to plant.

Another fun measurement is growing degree days or GDD. It helps quantify the difference between a day in late April and a day in late July. As the growing season days come to pass, GDDs can be summed together to help predict plant maturity and harvest dates.

For example, sweet corn. Seeds are labeled with relative maturity expressed in days. If the seeds are not also labeled with GDDs, then the number of days can be multiplied by 20 to estimate the GDDs. Applying a little math to the daily high and low temperatures can predict whether the corn will mature ahead or behind schedule. Knowing the average GDDs over the season, you can pick target harvest date to calculate a planting date. You can also use GDDs to properly delay subsequent early season plantings if unusually cool weather delays emergence of prior plantings.

The sum of the average GDDs for the first 18 days of April are ~46. The sum of the actual GDDs for the first 18 days of this April? 197. That is a lot of beautiful days!

Week of April 5 2010 : Covers

2010-04-04T17:25:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our cover crop. Last fall we seeded winter rye, hairy vetch and tillage radishes. The radishes winter killed last December, as expected, but first they established a long tap root. Now the rye and vetch continue to grow. The rye adds organic matter and the vetch fixes nitrogen from the air into the soil. The longer the cover grows, the greater the contribution to healthy soil but also the greater the difficulty working the soil.)

Normally floating row covers are critical to get transplants established in the field. The recent warm, no, HOT, weather seems to eliminate the need for row covers. But we should certainly be properly prepared for cool weather and frost.

Row covers serve two main purposes. They warm the transplants and exclude bugs. During the day, warmer temperatures encourage quicker growth. Warmer nighttime temperatures prevent frost. The covers also prevent pests from reaching the plants.

There are several row cover weights, but we prefer the lighter weight 0.6 ounce per square foot. The trick is to double and perhaps even triple cover the plants early in the season. As the season progresses and air temperatures rise, we remove one layer at a time. For particularly pest-sensitive crops such as cabbage we leave one layer as long as possible. Although this strategy demands more labor, it produces earlier and cleaner harvests.

Week of March 29 2010 : Lights

2010-03-31T17:33:00.000-07:00

(Here is a picture of our Mandarin bell peppers, 6 days old. These peppers are orange bells but not the standard sweet bells. These are elongated European-style bells that are 6" long and are a deep pumpkin orange. Of course the texture is crunchy and taste is very distinct! Only one flat wanted to pose for the photo. Dont worry, we have a lot more.)

I wish I had a photo of a green house to show you. The problem is not so much getting a photo, the problem is there is no greenhouse to pose for that photo. Obviously greenhouses are ideal for getting transplants started during cold weather. Greenhouses are also great for starting transplants during warm weather too. HUngry bugs prefer the tender leaves of a seedling to the leaves of a more mature plant. And each bite inflicts more injury to a seedling than a mature plant. So there is a benefit to transplants even when soil temperatures would support direct seeding.

We dont have a greenhouse, so do we buy transplants?

No. We start everything from seed.

So how do we get our seeds started, keep the transplants safe, and get to market early?

Lights and mini hoop houses.

Over the years I have accumulated grow lights of all sorts. The standard fluorescent shop lights are amazingly versatile. They are used to germinate the seeds. Covering the moist seed trays with black plastic serves two purposes. First, the plastic retains moisture. Second, the plastic warms the soil temperature. Start with the lights about 2" about the plastic then use a soil thermometer to measure the temperature. Gradually lower the lights until the the soil reaches the target temperature. The shop lights also supply enough light for sprouts without the over drying effects of high intensity lights.

Once the seedlings start showing their first true leaves, they are switched to the high intensity lights. I have two 400W metal halide systems. One is a no frills Sun System V. The other is a P. L. Light Systems, the Netherland's finest. Both systems produce ample light and heat. Fans are used to cool the lights. The circulating air helps keep the grow room warm as well as strengthen the seedling's stems. The soil dries quickly so it is necessary to water the plants often, perhaps every day. Although its important not to over water either.

That is the basic process to start the heat-loving seedlings. Getting the transplants out into the field and keeping them safe is a very different matter. Next week I will write about our mini hoop houses.

Week of March 22 2010 : Plow

2010-03-23T17:33:00.000-07:00

This winter has been dedicated to capital improvements. When people think of farms they usually think of big, green John Deere tractors. I am certainly one of those people! But once you really get involved with growing, on a personal, local market scale, then you realize that tractors are not necessary.

So the capital improvements this year have focused on post-harvest produce quality and marketing. Food-grade transportation totes. Refrigeration. A legal for trade scale. Side walls for our canopy.

But there was one operations improvement: a new plow.

Three years ago, after I gave up adjusting the cone clutch on my 1970 Sears Rotospader, I bought a BCS 732 2 wheeled tractor with a rototiller and snow thrower. Each year I try to add one implement. Of course I buy my implements from Earth Tools.

Last year was a Palladino flail mower to chop cover crops like sorghum sudangrass and cash crops like sweet corn. Yeah it lives up to the hype. Not only does it shred corn stalks, it shreds cobs too.

This year is the Berta rotary plow. It will be used as primary tillage and to build raised beds. One feature I discovered is the quick hitch is reversible. The plow can be attached in a fixed position such that the plow is level when one wheel is in the open furrow. The plow can also be attached so it swivels. Nice.

Week of March 15 2010 : Geauga!

2010-03-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

Yeah for Geauga Fresh Farmer's Market!

Our application to participate in the Geauga market has been accepted! I started growing in Geauga soil when I was a little boy. Well, my mom had a garden and I helped pull weeds but mostly swatted bugs. The market is well rounded and very competitive. And we have many friends and family in the area. So participating in this market is gratifying from many perspectives.

In other news, we started the Scotch Bonnet habanero peppers. These seeds need to be started about two weeks earlier than other peppers. We have grown this variety for more than ten years and every year I marvel they actually set fruit and ripen to maturity. Its an angry little pepper. Whether we use them for cooking or sauces, we always include honey too. The honey suppresses the searing heat just long enough to taste the flavor.

What do they taste like? Visit our stand and discover for yourself! The Habaneros are usually ripe towards the end of August.

For people who need heat sooner, we will also have Anaheim, Jalapenos and Serranos towards the end of July. The Jalapenos are particularly awesome!

Week of March 1 2010 : Beans

2010-02-27T18:10:00.000-08:00

(Here is a file photo of soybeans and a comic strip too. Soybeans are such a beautiful plant and fun to grow. They are a tastee snack when eaten as edamame and they can be processed into foods such as milk and tofu. The plants are legumes, meaning they fixate nitrogen into the soil as they grow so they are part of a sound crop rotation).

Years ago when I was running and competing in road races, I found myself at the start line of a race. To everybody on the start line, this was no random point. To the real competitors, it was exactly 5 gut wrenching, soul searching kilometers from downtown Navarre. To me, it was the middle of some farmer's soybean field. While everybody else was warming up and stretching, I was oogling the beans.

So THAT was what real beans looked like.

My beans at home did not look like these beans. My beans were bean stumps. The seeds germinated and grew but the deer chomped them all down to stumps. The beans were determined and continued to grow. Soon the deer were back and the plants reduced to stumps, again.

Many years and a 7' fence later, my beans look like those Navarre beans. Although those were probably processing bean, I grow fresh market beans. Just like field corn is to sweet corn, soybean is to edamame. Both field corn and soybean are intended to be harvested dry then processed. But sweet corn and edamame are intended to be harvested fresh and succulent.

The most common use for fresh soybean is to boil in salty water then eat as a snack. My favorite recipe is roasted sweet corn and edamame salad. What is your favorite edamame recipe?

Week of February 22 2010 : Twa-taw

2010-02-20T18:29:00.000-08:00

(Here is a photo of Nathaniel on the twa taw which translates to "tractor". He celebrated his 15 month birthday by going solo. Butt on the seat. Hands on the steering wheel. The kid is certainly talented. Click on the photo for a high-res close up. Check out the INTENSITY!!!).

I still remember when my dad taught me how to drive our tractor. And I remember when he taught me how to push the lawn mower and how to drive a truck. Every lesson started with a safety lesson.

And I used this photo opp to give Nathaniel his first equipment safety lesson. I plan to repeat the lesson often. I already anticipate the rolling eyes and the shrugging shoulders. But those reactions only mean that I am getting through. Probably the most useful info blurb relates to patience.

Nearly all accidents can be traced to impatience. Whenever you feel impatient, stop immediately. Make time to reassess what is important to you. Accomplishing the task at hand may be important. But your personal safety is even more important.

My grandmother also shared her wisdom on the matter: It is better to get there late than not at all.

This time of year, patience really applies to growing too. It is easy to get caught up in the excitement and get seeds started too early. Bigger seedlings really dont mean earlier crops.

Blueberries

2010-02-18T06:10:00.000-08:00

I admittedly know very little about how to grow stuff. Ask Mike. I'm lucky if my annual flowers make it to August. I have always loved plants--inside ones and outside ones. Especially, my family's gardens.

Especially my great-grandfather's. He lived and gardened until he was 95 and I was 15. He lived in a suburb of Cleveland and had an acre of land, max. But he made the most of it. His house was up on a ridge and I remember climbing rickety stairs down the ivy covered hill to get to the shangri-la he maintained below. The first stop were the fruit trees: applies, plums and pears. I particularly remember how delicious the plums always were.

After the fruit trees were the berry bushes. He has lots of raspberries and blueberries. I particularly remember the blueberries. Yum. In fact, the blueberries ripening were always the draw down to great-grandpa's garden. Their lifespan is so short and the birds are so primed to steal them that we had to strike while the iron was hot! So, we'd load up the car with as many friends as we could muster to share the bounty and head on down to pile nature's most delicious blue candies in our baskets. Then we'd go home and bake blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins and blueberry pie.

And then just out beyond the shade of the fruit trees, edged by the berry bushes was the vegetable patch. Garlic, chamomile, corn, beets, onions, carrots, tomatoes and peppers. Great-grandpa was from Slovenia and new all the old-country tricks for keeping the goodies all year. His house always smelled like the dried garlic and he always had something good cooking on the stove.

No, I could't keep a plant alive if my life depended on it, but all my life I've appreciated the fruits of others' labor.

Week of February 15 2010 : Farm in a Box

2010-02-13T09:57:00.000-08:00

(Here is a photo of all the seeds that will become this summer's market vegetables. There are forty three seed packets and bags in the box. That is a 747 jet in the background just to give you some perspective on size. Thankfully I made no attempt to track how much time I spent researching and deciding which 43 varieties to purchase).

Laura posted a photo of her Vegetable Jambalaya, which featured vegetables from last summer's market garden. This time last year, those tasty vegetables where nothing more than seed packets waiting in my grow room. During the course of the growing season, I will share with you how we transform these seed packets into vegetable jambalaya.

The big bag in the middle may be my favorite seed: New Zealand White Clover.

White clover is a versatile cover crop. I grow it primarily between the cash crop rows. The clover can be frost seeded very early in the season; thus it has a chance to germinate first and establish a canopy to smoother weeds.

During the season, the clover stabilizes soil temperature and moisture. White clover, like sweet clover, does not flower until its second year, so neither attracts beneficial insects such as bees during the first year. But it offers protection for other beneficial insects that happen to be there. The clover also reduces splashing during rain storms. This means cleaner vegetables and more importantly suppresses the spread of disease.

At the end of the season, the clover is incorporated into the soil. This adds nitrogen and plenty of organic matter to the soil. I always inoculate the seed to ensure nitrogen fixation. The clover dies easily without herbicides the first year; after clover survives a winter then it becomes very persistent and can survive plowing.

This year, I am considering underseeding my broccoli and cabbage with clover. How exciting is clover !!!

Yes I know clover is not very tasty, even the cloverphile woodchucks prefer the vegetables over clover. I will be sure to share the rest of the seeds in the 'farm in a box' with you too.

Vegetable Jambalaya Stew

2010-02-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Mike is always touting my cooking skills. I guess it's time I prove it :) I like to make up recipes with whatever I have available. In the summer, this means playing Iron Chef with whatever Mike brings me from the garden. In the winter it means clearing out the freezer and the cans in the pantry. The winter is a particularly good time to make use of the crock pot!

Today I had some chicken andouille sausage so I figured I'd make up something cajun-inspired.

We'll call this concoction Vegetable Jambalaya Stew

Ingredients

- 4 stalks of celery chopped

- 4 carrots chopped

- 1 large red onion chopped

- 2 large cloves garlic minced

- 2 russet potatoes chopped

- 2 sweet potatoes chopped

- 1 cup frozen green beans (from last summer's garden)

- 1\2 cup frozen green bell peppers chopped (from last summer's garden)

- 2 pints of canned tomatoes (from last summer's garden)

- 12 oz of chicken andouille sausage sliced thin

- cajun seasoning to taste (I like Tony Chachere's)

- oregano to taste

- black pepper to taste

(I did not use salt because it is in the Tony Chachere's)

- 1 cup brown rice

- 1 cup dried black-eyed peas

- 2 cups vegetable stock

- 1 cup chicken stock

- 1 cup water (more as needed)

Put all ingredients in the crock pot and cook on high for 6 hours (I like the high setting to make sure the beans are soft by dinner time). Check every hour or so to see if you need to add more water. I usually end up adding a couple of cups to my concoctions over the cooking period. Serve with corn bread. Freeze all the left overs for later!

I used what I had available, but you could use any number of other ingredients in place of the ones I listed or in addition to them. I really love brussel sprouts with cajun seasoning, but I didn's have any. I think cauliflower would also be good. Of course you can also omit anything too--use all white or sweet potatoes, for instance. Also, any kinds of beans could be used--including canned beans--or you could omit them. Finally, you could add or replace the sausage with boneless skinless chicken thighs or shrimp (although wait until the last 1\2 hour of cooking to add the shrimp so it doesn't become rubbery).

Week of January 25 2010 : Varieties

2010-01-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

(This is not an actual photo, it is an artist's rendering of Corn Kitty. This blog is supposed to be about farming but recently animals in the orchard are making the headlines. Despite the eastern timber wolf, despite the prolonged frigid temperatures and deep snow, Corn Kitty survived and is back on patrol.)

I am finally done with all of my seed purchases. High Mowing Organic Seeds is my favorite store to buy seeds. They obviously get the whole organic-sustainable thing, they offer a reasonable variety of seeds, and customer service (if necessary) is excellent. I buy as many seeds as I can from HMS.

This year I consulted the 2010 Ohio Vegetable Production Guide for variety recommendations. Some vegetables such as peppers sometimes struggled under the valley conditions. The guide compiles research and trail plot results across Ohio. There are a lot of other good data in this guide too, for example, do you know how to calibrate a thermometer? Read page 25, Frost Control.

This year I decided to diversify some seed purchases. I am on a quest to grow perfect orange and yellow bell peppers. In particular, all yellow hybrids I have ever grown were disappointments. The plants set few fruits and those that survived to maturity were thin walled and lost crispiness. Enter OVPG which recommends the Lafayette hybrid. Let's hope this is the hybrid that delivers the thick walled crunchy 4 lobed fruits!

Week of January 18, 2010 : Eight

2010-01-27T18:27:00.000-08:00

(Here is another file photo, this time of a male Eastern Bluebird. Bluebirds are well established in the area and have made year round use of our nesting boxes. On cold winter nights, the boxes double as roosting boxes. During the recent warm spell, eight birds were perched on the fence wires, waiting to devour any insects that decided to enjoy the warm weather).

In addition to the bluebirds, we also have bald eagles in the area. The first nest appeared 4 summers ago, a quarter mile north of our field. Last summer another nest appeared, a quarter mile south of our field. Bald eagles dont exactly cozy in nest boxes so monitoring can be difficult. We are not expert birders nor do we have any binoculars so we have not been able to take full advantage of these opportunities.

But whenever we notice an eagle flying over the orchard, we always stop whatever we are doing and watch the bird until she disappears in the distance. Nathaniel can identify an eagle too. He undoubtedly knows geese and he has developed a distinct shriek when he sees geese. But when he sees an eagle he simply points. Last week we were sled riding and he observed the eagle first and pointed it out to me!

On very rare occasions, adult eagles will teach the juveniles hunting tactics in the orchard.

Now I want to push my luck and put up an owl box. Although I see them for sale, I dont know anybody who actually has an owl box and certainly not ever heard a success story.

Week of January 11, 2010 : Mulch.

2010-01-22T18:03:00.000-08:00

(Here is a file photo of neatly formed raised beds protected by plastic mulch. Weed free without herbicides. That is what we all want, right? I usually laugh when I read extension articles about giant hogweed. Here I have giant purslane, giant velvet leaf, ... )

Another purchase arrived at the front door: black plastic mulch.

Deciding to switch to plasticulture was a difficult decision for me to make.

Sweet Peat is great. It does everything it is intended to do: prevents weeds, adds organic matter and so on. When I had a personal sized garden, this was the perfect mulch. I exchanged $35 for 1 cubic yard of mulch; considering the quality and results, I was satisfied with my purchase.

Unfortunately this solution does not scale to market sized fields. Consider a 50' dual row of peppers: 18" between rows and 24" between each plants allows ~50 plants per row. 1.2 cubic yards is needed to properly mulch one row (50' x 2.5' x 3"); thus the cost is $40.51 per row. As I learned, any attempt to skimp on coverage just shortens the time to weed domination.

By comparison, plastic mulch costs $1.61 per row.

Over the years, I have tried various methods and combinations of methods of weed control such as newspaper mulch, hoeing and critical weed free period. Last year my minimized Sweet Peat and newspaper combination failed; a little too much wind and soon the mulch was a little too gone ... weed domination.

This year, feeling significant pressure to reduce my labor, I reconsidered plasticulture. I already demonstrated how plasticulture is a 96% cost savings. Last year I averaged 4 hours per week (for 8 weeks until the wind storm) on weed management and still lost battle. I can easily discover 96% labor savings too.

Wait, there is more. There is a chance the plastic mulch will work.

So why was the decision to switch to plasticulture difficult? After all, plastic mulch is accepted by organic certifying agencies (provided the mulch is lifted at the end of the season).

Is plasticulture sustainable agriculture?

Week of January 4, 2010 : Seeds

2010-01-16T18:20:00.000-08:00

(Here is a file photo of Xtra Tender 277A. To a grower, the name 277 makes perfect sense. The "2" indicates Bi-Color and "77" indicates a relative maturity of 77 days. The name clearly answers the questions "What am I growing?" and "How long will it take?" Although I will admit a name like "Honey and Cream" has more market appeal).

The first seed purchase for the upcoming market season is complete! Sweet corn!

In my youth, my parents would purchase sweet corn from various road side stands and excitedly discuss the nuances of tenderness, sweetness and flavor. I could not detect these nuances so I could not share the excitement; my conclusion was simply it is better than city chicken.

Now I can detect these nuances, and I can share the excitement. But even more exciting, though, is accepting and answering the challenge to be the grower.

I want to be the person who grows the sweet corn that is the single purpose for driving out to the market!

The first step, last step and every step in between is researching, learning and honing my growing skills. It actually is quite a challenge both mental and physical to grow a premium crop on any scale.

There are so many natural challenges such as weather and wildlife; think about it , if corn is tasty to you, it is also tasty to deer and racoons. Most people do not know that the corn stalks are as sweet as the kernels.

And those insidious corn borers and ear worms.

And there are plenty of challenges even after the perfect ear has been harvested; this is a competitive market segment.

Defeating the challenges while besting your competitors, all while satisfying organic growing practices? Yeah it gets hard.

But that gets us right back to where we started: I want to be the person who answers these challenges, I want to be the person who grows the good stuff.

The cycle continues with this seed purchase. This summer, parents will pack up their surly kids and drive to market, hopefully to buy my sweet corn.

Week of Dec 21 2009 : Ethics

2009-12-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

(Here is the most recent creature to visit the valley, an Eastern Timberwolf. Also roaming out there is a black cat, named Corn Kitty because last summer it patrolled our sweet corn fields. C.K. does not run too fast on 3 and 1/2 legs but so far has managed to evade E.T.).

A recent timber wolf sighting made me ponder the ethics associated with agriculture and responsible land stewardship. For example, we are all familiar with the genetically modified organisms debate. Should humans introduce artificial traits into the food supply? But the ethics associated with a wolf fall into a grayer area.

The valley has everything an animal could need or want. The river provides water. The hills provide a shady respite on summer days. The tall trees provide a forest. The open fields provide green forage. And the varying combinations of these features make the valley an inviting place to animals including us humans.

And agriculture and responsible land stewardship only increase the appeal. Two summers ago my sorghum sudan grass cover crop attracted a female ring necked pheasant. Last summer my buckwheat was home to 3 wood chucks. But what happens when a predator accepts the invitation?

A wolf may not sound so bad. He probably would not be interested in vegetable crops but would prey on my enemies. Wood chucks. Raccoons. Canadian Geese. The wolf would help me solve many problems and not introduce any more. Except maybe personal safety.

A single male wolf will not be single for long. First a den, then a mate, then the pups. Suddenly there is a pack with aggressive hunting techniques. Humans are an unlikely but possible target.

Now I am forced to think very critically about responsible land stewardship. Stewardship is good, but it too must be balanced. So what are our obligations to a predator?

Week of December 14, 2009 : Tracking Deere!

2009-12-17T16:17:00.000-08:00

(Here Nathaniel leads the Deere tracking expedition. The group has spotted the elusive 2440 with its winter coat. 60hp makes for great sleigh rides. Dad, can I bring it home?)

It is so nice to have Deere in the orchard. My favorite season is fall when the Deere pull trailers full of overflowing apple crates. Hopefully Nathaniel will cherish his toddlerhood memories.

When I was his age, I had a pedal tractor. My dad gave me a trailer for it. Soon after, I was in the hauling business.

I hauled everything everywhere. The older and stronger I got, the harder I could pedal and the heavier I could haul.

I hauled buckets of water to fill my frog pond. I hauled dirt to build mypitcher's mound. Finally, one day, when I was hauling building supplies to my fort, the tractor broke. The rear axle snapped in half.

Well I had a problem. A loaded up trailer and a busted down tractor.

I thought the tractor was forever broken, wood rotting in a rusting trailer. No fort.

I cried until my dad came home. He quickly assessed the situation. He picked me up with one hand, picked up the tractor parts with the other, and walked us to the garage. He calmly explained the situation to me.

Its OK, little buddy, we can fix this.

With that, he strapped welding goggles on me, handed me the striker, and asked me to light up the welding torch.

He fixed the tractor, the trailer was rescued, the wood delivered and the fort built.

It seems each day I find another life lesson hidden in that memory.

Week of December 7 2009 : YES

2009-12-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

(Here is the "63 day" Fiesta broccoli. Seeded May 30. Harvested Oct 24. Abducted by aliens?).

People who plan enjoy safety. People who improvise enjoy adventure. This is the first lesson I learned while reading a book named "Improv Wisdom".

Another important lesson I learned is always answer YES. Answering yes eliminates roadblocks to adventure.

While planning Pheasant Valley 2.0, we considered if we should skip the season. The reason for this hesitation? As the prime market season arrives, so will Baby 2.0

But honoring our yay-sayer attitude, YES, we are participating in the upcoming market season. Of course farming rewards those who plan well. But this year will also demand that we improvise well.

Planning alone will not resolve competing time lines. Just as babies have very definite needs at very definite points in time, so do the fields. Bottles. Weeds. Diapers. Insects. Now.

So planning skills will determine the over all schedule but improvisation skills will get the moment to moment tasks done.

One necessary concession, though, was to minimize (hmm, let's say focus) the produce selection.

Of course we are growing sweet corn. Our fields are part of a legendary sweet corn field and I want to chance to resume that legendary, large scale production. Until I get that chance, though, I am honing my skills on a smaller scale.

The rest of the line up, perhaps typical, will be so fresh and healthy!

Beans and peas, peppers and tomatoes.

Edamame.

Summer squash green and yellow zuchinni; winter squash blue hubbard and acorn.

Cantaloupes and watermelons.

Broccoli, cabbage and kale.

Now its time to listen to the cold winds howl, page through the supply catalogs and envision the seeds, the vegetables and the satisfied customers!

Week of November 30 2009 : 2.0 Upgrade

2009-12-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

Here, Nathaniel (wearing the red hat, on the red sled, in the red trailer) inspects the cover crop: 65% winter rye, 30% hairy vetch and 5% tillage radish.

Pheasant Valley 1.0 was a success. At the beginning of the 2009 market season we had seed packets and empty seed trays. By the end of the season we had authentic market space and repeat customers.

A lot of work took us from seeds packets to repeat customers. Some experiences reinforced our expectations (like weed control) but other experiences were somewhat unexpected and certainly more gratifying.

I expect people to buy food to eat it. But sometimes eating takes on additional significance.

One of our customers liked our Roma tomatoes enough to purchase 10 quarts spread among three purchases. During the summer, she was already thinking ahead, thinking about the holiday season and sharing special meals with family.

She used those tomatoes as ingredients for a sauce recipe that would be served during Thanksgiving meal. Knowing my tomatoes were chosen to be on their table is very gratifying.

The operational aspects of farming motivated me to get involved in market farming. But the direct customer contact motivates me to make Pheasant Valley 2.0 a bigger success.

Blue Birds got chomped.

2009-07-10T18:13:00.000-07:00

Each day I scout the fields. Its rewarding to walk around and admire nature. This is a picture of a frog nestled in a corn stalk. But the surprises are not always good.

The blue birds were working on their second brood. The first brood was reasonably successful. Five eggs were laid, four hatched, and three survived fledging. The second brood was off to a great start too. Four eggs were laid and four hatched. Oddly the male blue bird mysteriously disappeared after the hatchings. After ten days without a visual I accepted the worst. But with the female and four healthy little ones the future seemed bright.

Today on my tour the male was on the fence singing a song. This wasnt the courting song or the mating song or the build the nest woman song or the feed my children song. This was certianly a new song almost sad. But he was singing from the highest branch on the largest apple tree and he followed mama all around the orchard. Odd behavior particularly since neither bird approached the nest. Those nestlings must be hungry?

Lets just say the suspect has paws and claws. Muddy paws and sharp claws. Upon close inspection two nestlings were buried under the ransacked nest. Very weak but alive. The wrecked nest was fashioned into a less wrecked nest; not as neat as the original but at least it had a deep cup. Two frail nestlings were placed back into the nest. I also tucked in a few wishes too.

Within five minutes both mama and papa were on the scene. Papa was singing a different song, this time less sad more confused while mama scrounged for juicy bugs. So there is hope.

The lesson here is education and preparation. Next time I lack the time to learn something or the motivation to be prepared, I will think of the horror my little blue birds endured. Nature is nature and cannot be defeated but with education and preparation at least we can improve the odds.

Whoa.

2009-06-30T16:51:00.000-07:00

Today was a good day. Each day when I return home from work, my son is waiting for me (with mom) for his daily tour. We talk and walk around the garden. We check out the blue bird house, we scout the cover crop, monitor the apples then swing around the corn field. This is the fun part. I stand him on the ground and he looks at the corn. Normally he looks down, but with each passing day he looks down a little less. For a few days he looked ahead. Then he started looking up. Today was the first time he looked way up. Although he cannot talk, his eyes said WHOA. The corn looks good and hopefully I can raise a son as well as I can raise sweet corn.

Summary

2009-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well lets quickly review my goals and opportunities for the 2009 growing season. This will complete the oh-so-not-exciting virtual tour. Soon we will roll up our sleeves and start getting stuff done.

My primary goals are simple. In the South field, grow tomatos, peppers and soybeans. In the North field, grow sweet corn, pumpkins and squash. In the Big field, grow sorghum x sudangrass cover crop.

Each of these goals provides challenges, er, lets restate that as opportunities. Drip irrigation, trellising system and cover crop management are some of the fun challenges. These can be researched, thought out and completed. The outcome is (mostly) within my control.

Disease and pest management are some of the annoying challenges. These can also be researched and thought out, but never really completed. The outcome is outside my control. Scouting a field is a non-deterministic event. The result is either a casual walk to the house or immediate triage.

This one of the attractions to farming. I love the thrill of being properly prepared then instantly tranforming from idle mode to problem solving mode. The preparation, challenges and solutions are solely my responsibility. The fields are significant participants but they are innocent.

This is the exact reason I hate Corporate America. Sure I am presented with challenges and am expected to provide solutions. But these problems are fabricated by people who are not properly prepared. These people are not innocent.

Experience has taught me that deer, beetles (spotted and striped cucumber and Japanese) and worms (cabbage, corn earworm, and tomato hornworm) are the significant pests. Blights (early and late) and mildews (downy and powdery) are the significant diseases.

Now lets get to work!

The Big Field

2009-01-24T06:07:00.001-08:00

The Big Field is also my big question mark. There are three reasons why working the Big field gives me reason to pause: blue birds, apple trees and commitment.

I absolutely love my blue birds. There is a nesting box in the perfect location. It faces away from the sun, away from the prevailing winds and towards the orchard. After a one time misunderstanding with tree swallows, the blue birds have assumed full time residency. Its a nesting box during the summer and a roosting box during the winter. Working this field may encourage the blue birds to nest elsewhere in the orchard. This is a very minor threat and is not considered a loss-of-habitat. Yet I take responsible land stewardship very seriously therefore I must fully consider the possibility.

The field was recently part of the active orchard. The carefully landscaped ridges and furrows still remain. This does not complicate growing and would actually facilitates some crops such as cucubrits. I particularly like canteloupes but I want to grow apple trees too! I never realized how beautiful, how challenging and how rewarding growing apples can be! Yet I will do absolutely nothing that may potentially compromise the orchard's integrity. Furthermore biodiversity is another facet of responsible land stewardship.

Working the Big field is a very significant commitment to my market farmer dream. Currently my growing capacity exceeds the quantity requirements of a family yet does not meet the quantity requirements of a market. This field's capacity will allow me to cross that threshold. I will need to do something with these vegetables. This is a very interesting and potentially profitable challenge. Yet it is also a commitment in terms of time and resources and I need to be very sure the family understands and accepts this commitment.

The North Field

2009-01-22T16:07:00.000-08:00

The North field is my no-till experiment. Last year I grew a sorghum x sudangrass cover crop to renovate the soil. The roots loosened the soil and the biomass boosted organic matter as expected. Optionally a legume cover crop could follow to complete the renovation but in this situation this step is unnecessary. Soil tests indicate the field is able to support a healthy corn stand.

The goals of the North field are to grow sweet corn, practice multi planting and manage disease and pests. There will be six varieties of sweet corn: early season bicolor se+ and sh2, mid season white se+ and sh2, and late season bicolor se+ and sh2. The early planting dates are dependent on seasonal field conditions such as water and temperature. The late planting dates are dependent on the anticipated end of the growing season. The early plantings are targeted for beginning of May. The late plantings are targeted for end of June. Plantings are spaced two weeks apart so there is plenty of cushion to account for expected problems such as weather delays and many unexpected problems too.

Another goal is to practice double planting and companion planting. The early season corn stands will be harvested then replanted to broccoli. The broccoli may be directly seeded or started in trays then transplanted after the first corn harvest. The broccoli can then grow deep into the fall because it is tolerant to frost damage. The mid and late season corn stands will be companion planted with carving pumpkins and winter squash. These stands will be harvested then the stalks will dry down exposing the pumpkins and squash. These hold well in the field so there is no pressure for a timely harvest.

The final goal is to manage disease and pests. These are standard goals; this field in particular will suffer from deer and earworm. The deer problem can be solved with a fence but this solution is too costly for a market scale field. So this is an opportunity to evaluate alternate methods. The most interesting challenge is corn earworm. These little buggers are insidious! They do not eat until they burrow through the silks into the ear rendering foliar sprays ineffective. Powdery mildew resistant pumpkin and squash varieties minimizes my disease concerns.

The South Field

2009-01-20T17:16:00.000-08:00

My dream begins with 3 fields. The term plot is more accurate but we will use the term fields. Whatever we call them, they are frozen and covered with a foot of snow. There isnt a whole lot of planting and growing this time of year; we can only plan. There is a danger in planning too much. Some plans depend on experience and experience can only be gained by planting and growing. So my winter goal is to document my summer goals and timelines then fill in the details later.

So lets discuss these fields: the South, North and Big fields. I have grown mixed vegetables in the South field for two years. I grew sorghum x sudangrass in the North field to loosen the soil and add organic matter. The Big field is still fallow. The South and North fields each measure 50' x 50' and the Big field will measure 50' x 100'

The South field has a proven crop history. This year I want to trial various tomatos, peppers and soybeans. The tomatos will be a mixture of dark, red, orange and yellow slicers, processing tomatoes, red cherries and tomatillos. The peppers will be a mixture of green, yellow, orange and red bells, orange and red European style gourmet peppers, and pungent peppers. The soybeans will be edamame grade.

Even the astute reader will not notice any big-wows buried in the last paragraph. These are all safe choices for a very definite reason: the primary goal for the South field is to trial drip irrigation. The other goals include white clover living mulch cover crop and tweaking my disease and pest management.

This leaves plenty of open space for fun stuff for the kitchen table.

Next time we will discuss the North field.

Pheasant Valley

2009-01-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

I wish this blog was dedicated to sharing the history of this land. But that is not my history nor have I earned that privilege. All I can say is this land is worked by a fifth generation apple grower.

Except for one acre. The bank reminds me every month that I own this acre but its spirit is still dedicated to agriculture.

This blog is dedicated to my efforts to preserve one acre of this land. It is about my dream to become a small farm operator.