Week of June 20 2011 : No Vacancy

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 :

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

(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

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

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

(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!

(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.