Willing Hands Organic Farm

What Happened??

2011-08-23T08:05:00.001-07:00

My poor gander is all alone now. His mate was brutally killed by a predator, as were all my poultry. A coon is the prime suspect. Fox is a suspect in the killing of a Bronze hen turkey, found across the road in my neighbors lane with her head off. Fifteen ducks, thirty-three chickens, the hen turkey and the goose, a hard economic loss for an operation my size. There is now an electric top and bottom wire on our perimeter fence. I can only hope............

A bright spot to help recover our poultry losses turned out to be Angora goats. These curious creatures are 4 months old and covered in lusterous curls. Goats have odd looking pupils, horizontal bars instead of the round type found in humans, cows, and dogs. In October the fleece is shorn to be spun into luxurious Mohair. Kid mohair, has an extremely fine micron count.

This is the doe, Beauty. Her face is serious, not sugary cute. She carries a colored gene. Colored angoras come in shades of silver, black, cocoaKnown as Red and spotted. Her sire has magnificent fleece, so I have high hopes for her fiber.

These two seem to be having a convo on their new surroundings. "Well what do you think of this place"? Haha

One of the wethers, Miridian. He is very bossy!

Red Gold potatoes, a superb golden flesh that needs no butter.

Northwest side of garden. Finallly after all these years of no water we have access to a hydrant 300' away!

Beaver Dam hot pepper, excellent for stuffing with cheese or meat.

Jaunne Flame and Arbason tomatoes. I have never grown hybrid tomatoes, but this year decided to try Arbason, an organic seed. WAY expensive and way tasty too, I might have to grow this one again.

Belstar Broccoli has set heads despite terrible weather conditions.

Beatrice eggplant, a real beauty that has set lovely fruit this season.

Wooly weeds in the smaller plot. Ah well there is always next year to have the perfect garden.

April Turned Into July

2011-07-09T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yup, it has been awhile! A one woman show has limitations, sad but true, all of it I can not do. That said, I try like crazy anyway. Sooooo, after a record breaking Wet Spring we did manage to get stuff in the ground, and later to market.

The sugar peas surprised me at their longevity and superb quality, note to self: grow more. Pea tendrils are elevating sandwiches, omelets, salads, and whatever is in the fridge. Of course garlic scapes make fast friends at the market table. These ephemeral delights cause some unusual gushing, ooohing and aahhing over their flavor. Lettuce, radishes, beet greens, and carrots all made an appearance.

Failures occured. The first planting of beans were so stunted I pulled them out. Two plantings of spinach were lost, first to leafminers, second to bolting during 2 weeks of mid 90 temps. YUK! Two plantings of carrots were lost to dry weather, I mean bone dry down 6".

The weather is always a priority topic. After waaaaaay to much rain we had burning waves of heat for 2 weeks, complete with suffocating humidity. And NO RAIN!! For several weeks. Nice start to the growing season.

Thank you to all the CSA members who signed up this year-your support is crucial for our little farm. I have the privilege of working with two young women who aspire to farm on their own. Emily who is returning from last season, and Clara; two bright lights of intense quality. They help with weeding, planting, seeding, and just about any task that needs to be done.

I have much to be thankful for, indeed I am.

Where Is Spring????????

2011-04-13T14:22:00.000-07:00

I don't know. It slips around here like a cat. Now you see her out of the corner of your eye, turn your back and no sign exists of her former presence. Bullied by freezing rain, soggy soil and COLD, I seed inside. There is only more grey. For one fleeting day the sun appeared along with 78 degrees. Then it was gone.

Mud Sale

2011-03-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

They don't call them mud sales for nothing! I promptly got stuck the minute I drove onto the field to park.
All sorts of stuff gets auctioned off. From broom bottoms with no handle to combines.
This little FARMALL A sure got lots of attention. It's perfect for produce with its belly cultivators. I have a great appreciation for these tractors. Not really interested in owning one, I aim to walk behind Halflingers.
OLD OLD OLD!!!
One thing about mud sales.......................tables are full of homemade donuts, pies and other baked delights. It was very cold so 2 kinds of homemade soup were offered. The Ham 'n Bean
was perfection.
Now here is something I seriously coveted. The makings of an Eggmobile right in front of me!!
They say there is a lid for every pot, and judging from the bidding I'd say that is true.
A collection of scales. Ronald said when he was growing up they would weigh hay bales on them and sometimes themselves.
Yes, seeding is underway while the wind howls outside. These flats are destined for the unheated high tunnel. Thick mud is preventing access to our plot, as an E-150 van is worthless in the stuff. We are working hard to stay on schedule, insuring a successful harvest for CSA deliveries. Check our website for CSA details and brochure.

2011-02-07T10:46:00.000-08:00

The most recent storm had strong winds and plenty of ice, which brought this tree down on the barn roof. The ridgeline is still intact due to the way it fell, feeling thankful.
We have two hens that lay enormous eggs. The one on the left is 3" x 2"
Here is a preview of what is coming to the farm!! Too cute Angora fiber goats. I have not decided if I will take a doe and her kids or wait until the flock is weaned and then choose. The fleece is called mohair and is pure luxury.
This little sweetheart has been a regular visitor during the months of December and January. She is becoming less shy and playing with our 2 mousers.
Over the last few weeks I have been sorting through boxes of recipes I collected since 1973. One box was very special, having been my grandmother's. Among her recipes were a collection of my great grandmother's clippings and composition book filled with handwritten favorites. Her handwriting was exquisite, especially considering the ink pen she had to use. Penmanship was truly an art back in 1800's. Click on the photo to see better the recipe for cold water soap.
Many little treasures were tucked in among those antique recipes. It was quite common for companies to print up recipe booklets aimed directly at housewives, to showcase their products. Everything from shortening, baking powder, evaporated milk, Velveeta, oil and other staples.
General Electric published a handsome booklet of substantial size for the purpose of convincing the "modern" housewife that she must go electric and get rid of her old fashioned gas range or cookstove.

All this filing of memorabilia made me crave homemade bread.
Dough was slathered with butter, brown sugar, raisins, walnuts and cinnamon. Then I rolled it and cut slices for buns.
One of the best all around hand tools is the bench scraper. It does "101" jobs.
Dough after 2nd rising, ready to divide.

Back In The Saddle!

2011-02-01T06:16:00.000-08:00

SNOW and more snow. January has been defined by the stuff. The ducks, geese, turkeys and chickens have been surviving storms with temps in single digits. I keep thinking I will find frozen poultry in the morning. They have a shelter, but I see them hanging around outside most daylight hours.
Ugh, the huge bags of Fertrell organic potting soil was frozen solid under a foot of snow. So unthinking of me to have forgotten to bring it inside before the weather turned. Aaron shoveled it out and dragged it into the house. Thankfully it thawed and we can seed onions and flowers.
Here is another snow lover! Max is like a child, just does not want to come in, even after hours of lounging belly down on the frigid piles. He makes me cold looking at him. Finally, after I can't stand it anymore, I muscle him indoors.
This poor Black Crested duck was found stuck in the ice and snow. Somehow it got wedged between the pen and barn wall. I don't know how long he was caught but he had signs of struggling fiercely to free himself. His bill and wing feathers were rubbed raw and bleeding. I didn't know if he would make it. After 4 days of ICU in the laundry he rejoined his flock.
The original water is in service as I can not keep the lines to their automatic water thawed. There is no electric to the barn or coop. Anyone know of a solar livestock tank heater?
View off the front deck. No matter the time of year, Lancaster county is beautiful.
Ducks and geese in their new fenced area.
Back view.

All sunrises are special. This is the view from the kitchen sink. In only a few moments I can literally watch it rise over the woods in the neighbors field.

We are ready for another season of growing produce. How quickly the weeks pass. May we grow for you? If you are interested check out our website for the 2011 CSA shares.

BUSY!

2010-09-27T20:06:00.000-07:00

Not blogging much as I have a blog type website. The 2011 CSA brochure is now uploaded as well as some new pics. Drought and stress are consuming my veggies and me! It has been a rough season. Yesterday it finally rained a fair amount, continuing heavily today through tonight. The wind is howling as I type. Too bad it could not have come sooner, several plantings might have had a chance.

It feels like apple butter time. Maybe tomorrow I will get around to the task. There is just so much other stuff needing attention, downright annoying. If the weather forecast is correct I won't be in the kitchen, at 80 degrees. It has been pleasurable sweatshirt temps yesterday and today. I am not in any mood for 80. Go away.

Reality Stinks

2010-09-01T16:27:00.001-07:00

My poor Columbian Wyandotte suffered a horrific injury last Thursday. She got tangled in some trellis netting that I had left on the ground, major guilt here. I was not home at the time this happened. When I did arrive home I thought it odd that my turkey had a bloody beak. There were no signs of anything amiss. After several hours Aaron found the hen. I was so upset and thought that the trellis had ripped her scalp off in her struggle to get free. When faced with an emergency I "just do" and later after the fact crumble. Never had I an injury so awful with any of my children, not even a broken arm. This was horrific and all my fault.

She was still alive, barely. Very stunned and her left eye would not open. What to do, what to do???? She was so traumatized that I did not want to run water over her head. Her scalp was completely gone. It dawned on me that it was the turkey who brutally attacked her, while her neck was tangled. I set up an ICU in the house. But had no idea how to help her. She could not drink on her own. I tried a bit of gatorade in a jar cap. She took a few sips. Her right eye opened but she was so "shell shocked" she did not seem aware of her surroundings.

She survived the night and the next day. On Sunday she was eating wet mash on her own, but I noticed her right eyelid was starting to swell. She could hear, was alert and seemed to be on the mend. Monday her eye was worse. Tuesday she was in bad shape. In retrospect I think if I had got her some antibiotics right away she would have not developed the eye problem.

Several people said to put her down, but when she perked up and improved I felt so hopeful. The thought of killing her was not easy. First off I had only butchered one chicken, and that was using a killing cone. Def not the way to put her out of her misery. I also did not want to cause her any more suffering by botching the job. In the end it was a farmer friend who came and helped. He raises chickens and there is a specific humane way of turning their necks which severs the spinal cord quickly. He was very kind and gentle with her and I saw her suffer no more.

This part of the "circle of life" is one of the most disturbing parts of raising animals. In retrospect I think I should have done it immediately upon finding her.

Little Update

2010-08-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Have not posted much here as I have been busy with farming, of course. There are updated photos and some posts at the website, check out what is new. It has been a rough summer, sooooo hot and then too much rain. That is the ag life, weather dependent.

Rain Finally

2010-07-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Gracie chillin in front of a fan
Baby zukes are surviving drought, later it finally RAINED, for 5 days
Emily digging Carola taters

Beautiful, freshly dug potatoes.

Hot, Dry and Struggling

2010-06-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

Red cabbage, still tiny.
Early Jersey Wakefield, a strange cone shape distinguishes this variety. As you can see the Cabbage Looper has already visited for a few snack bites.
Boothby heirloom cukes are ready, too bad I wasn't ready with the hortonova trellis!
Dill and cukes go hand in hand for pickles. These are particularly huge heads.
Rosalind broccoli was to be the star of the share bag this week. What a disappointment to realize they had "buttoned". This phenomena occurs when temperatures spike for several days, along with uneven water. The heads remain button size and sometimes leaves grow up through the head. Aaargh!
Solar power electric fence charger runs poultry netting to keep out predators.
Ahh, farming is really hard on shoes. SHOE-GOO to the rescue! The whole side had come apart but a few dollars and 24 hours will get another 6 months out of this pair.

We have not had rain for weeks. BAD. Thursday we put a few hundred peppers in the ground and 4 varieties of okra. Yea I know, way late. Celeraic, rutabaga and turnips were seeded in flats for fall root crops. Summer squash and beans are on the way. Work, gotta plant everyday. The temps have been in the 90's last few and I sure feel wilty.

2010-06-11T18:58:00.000-07:00

A load of stone was delivered for the new outside post harvest wash area. No more mud holes!
Early Freezer peas are in shares this week. They are short vined, prolific and tasty.
A chicken was killed while we were out for a few hours, this being the second loss. The attacker left only feathers. I put up electric poultry netting but the birds feathers act as insulators. They need to grow larger to keep from slipping through the net.
Last week at market for radishes. Their bed has already been replanted to salad mix.
Garlic scapes, which at 50 cents each, folks complained were too costly! Let them bend over in 93 degree weather and clip each one.

Emily washing and bunching radishes.
War on weeds, part 1! Black groundcloth to suppress tenacious Canadian Thistle. We are over run with these horrors in one section of our plot. Thick rye cover crop did not make a dent in this enemy. I am hoping groundcloth will kill the intruder. Any suggestions? one week after this photo the uncovered chopped rye on the right is a living thistle carpet!

Planting

2010-05-23T19:19:00.001-07:00

Despite the cold, trees are greening up at a fast pace.
Mushroom soil will be spread on the new garden. Note the bare trees just a few weeks ago.
This is a shot from early May.
Soon enough the weeds came and we had the annual battle commence.

Cold, Rain, Crops, Poultry

2010-05-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

The birds are finally able to run around! The geese especially needed to have more room.
After one week wing feathers are appearing, at 2 weeks tail feathers.
This is a heritage turkey, not sure which breed. You can see the snood starting above the beak.
One of the stranger looking chicks, the Naked Neck or Turken.
They come in a box with holes. It was terribly cold and rainy that morning, so we blasted the heater in the van. These are an assortment of brown egg layers.
This is the local post office, it is quite rural and homey.

Whew! We have the new ground planted. The other plot is partially planted, due to a late rye cover crop and our BCS has been in the shop. It has been unseasonably cold, as in frost at night cold. Our furnace has kicked on despite our having turned it "off". Our fields have been a soggy mud hole. Mix in the sporadic 88 degree day and you can imagine the plants are confused.

Rural living has its quirks. Since March I have not had internet, and this has proved a blessing and a frustration. I need to be able to send out notices to CSA members, look up information and update web pages. Trying to accomplish this on a bargain cell phone does not cut it. Anyway, the online glow is emanating once again from the screen.

Raising poultry is a new enterprise for us. As Joel Salatin sagely advises in his Pastured Poultry Profits; get the pen made before you order the birds as research and development will invariably cause delays, resulting in the birds outgrowing their brooder facilities. Umm, tell me about it. Today we moved our chicks outside. They have been so fascinating to watch. I think they grow so fast you can see new feathers every morning!

How hard could it possibly be to build the simplest pen??? Arrgh..........don't ask. I had no clue and no blueprint. Suffice it to say after trial and error the pen is finished. It needs a few extra features for convenience but that would have added 2 more days to the project.

New Growing Location

2010-03-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Aaron clearing off the front yard.
Hoops set in place, still need row cover and sandbags.
Johnny's hoop bender.
Half way to planting.
The neighbor came back the next day with his tiller.
A three bottom plow, a miracle worker compared to a shovel and my biceps!
My neighbor offered to plow up my field. Farmers are some of the most honest, generous folks on earth.
The front of the trailer. It is just the right size for our needs. Afew flower beds will make it cheery.
The backyard!
Gracie making herself at home. The loom settled, much to the relief of those lifting her.
Too big for the front door, the sliding glass entry works. Below, taking her off the truck.

Big Changes For 2010

2010-03-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

No posts recently for a very good reason..........we are expanding our farm. Now instead of just teensy, we're tiny. Lots of opportunity for better infrastructure, water, buildings and an increase in land. A bigger bonus is less commuting, less petro.

This barn is going to be our new post harvest wash/pack area. March to do list is long! I'm so excited about having water and a pack area, finally, that work will be a pleasure. Seeds and paper mulch arrived today.

Thanks to everyone who signed up for 2010 CSA. We still have slots open.

Sign Up!!

2010-02-01T07:25:00.000-08:00

It is that time of year.........CSA Lovers, please make your commitment. February is a rough cash flow month for farmers. Expenses for seed, supplies and hardware are incurred now for your veggies even though there is snow on the ground. Your support is vital. Now is the time to get behind local, organic fresh food. We are very busy planning and sowing flats to secure a harvest of delicious, exceptional produce. So make that decision!! Know your farmer........know your food!

We Want To Be Your Farmer!

More Management

2010-01-26T12:00:00.001-08:00

This is the lovely opening page spread. The left depicts the English farmstead. All pictures can be clicked on to enlarge so you can read these gems of wisdom.
Frugality never goes out of style!
Need to know the arrangement for a game banquet layout??

Household Management 1861

2010-01-20T08:28:00.000-08:00

I have stumbled upon a most fascinating tome:

BEETON'S BOOK OF HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT , is a 1112 page epistle of all things the mistress of a proper English home would need to master. Apparently this classic has evaded me all these years. I cannot begin to describe all this treasure trove has to offer, on every imaginable subject. It was originally published in 24 monthly installments by Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine. Isabella Beeton was only twenty eight when she died, from childbed fever.

Little Treasures

2010-01-08T17:36:00.000-08:00

Basement cleaning yielded some long lost treasures, boxed up for kitchen renovations over 10 years ago. Cookbooks, my much missed waffle iron (the kind you put right on the stove), some of my china, heirloom cut glass and lots of odds and ends were recovered.

An entire collection of Easter crafts, including Ukrainian eggs which are known as Pysanky , were carefully packed away. One of the eggs had the date, 1997 incorporated as part of the design. I loved making these with the children when they were growing up. We made "living" baskets using wheat grass instead of the colored shredded plastic filling.

The cookbooks are particularly fascinating as they were published over 100 years ago. I will try and post some pics of these. The text is remarkable for the tone of instruction aimed at the housewife, almost stern. The woman's sphere was her home and she was to take her duties seriously. Providing three "proper" meals for her family was part of that duty. Considering the enormity of the task: pre-take out, dishwasher and convenience food..........no wonder it took so much effort.

Trench and Regroup

2009-12-26T08:09:00.000-08:00

Twins and their big brother having a great visit at grandma's house.
Patrick and Aaron are ready to chow down some Christmas dinner.
Claire telling Aaron a NYC story.

Now that Christmas is past, my energy can be focused on household organization and crop planning
in earnest. The steady rain sounds soothing to my ears. The two foot drifts of snow are melting puddles of gray slush. This afternoon I have decided to tackle the basement clutter.

Beauty IITEOTB

2009-12-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

Beauty Is In The Eye Of The Beholder:Aaron and I have been working on very easy cards. At this late date nothing extraordinary is going to see completion. So with a few sheets of colored foil, assorted cookie cutters for tracing, rubber stamps and a snowflake paper punch, the job gets done.
This gorgeous, to my eyes, hand spun and dyed wool is truly luxurious. I have had this in my stash for quite some time. Too exquisite for knitting, I stare at the strands. Felting comes to mind.

Do you remember these steel potholder looms? Superb fun and a project small enough that gets finished! Aaron wants to give each person on his list a handmade gift. He needed to be reassured that it was a worthy goal. I would much rather receive a handmade effort, no matter how humble and imperfect, than the finest gadget. So, while helping him I thought of a felted hotpad made with my treasure. Knitting changes the look of yarn, frequently a very dissappointing change. As you can see, even weaving will alter the countenance of the yarn. I will be curious to see how it all comes out in the wash, so to speak.
The machines are back home so I am embroidery central till next week!

Machines = Headache

2009-12-11T14:59:00.000-08:00

Whether it is farm equipment or an embroidery machine, something will go wrong at some point!! My 200 is waiting to go to the shop and now my backup is acting up. The problem is TENSION! The machine's and mine. If you click on the photo you can see the thread is forming loose loops instead of tight, smooth stitches. I tried every trick to solve the problem to no avail. Monday both sources of my frustration are going to the Shop.
Here is a towel for one of my favorite machine fixers, automotive mechanic Dom Pernaci. He is simply the BEST! People complain about shady mechanics, not me. Honest, caring, goes out of his way the extra mile (sometimes literally), professional, in every way Dom is a wonderful guy.
I don't worry if he retires. His son is just like him. They work, eat and have fun together, real kindred spirits-I love that.

The stuff that looks like plastic food wrap is water soluable topping. It keeps the thread from sinking between the warp and weft threads of the towel.
It is true that Dom knows his vegetables and likes to eat good food. He knew what to do with his CSA veggies.
Bib and little girl's apron. The apron design is from an OESD series, Grandmother's Linens, which resemble 1940's handwork. You can still find original items with this kind of embroidery in antique shops and flea markets.

Thread!

2009-12-06T18:35:00.000-08:00

These are woven flat check towels embroidered with heavy weight heirloom cotton thread. The registration marks have not been washed away yet.
Here are some lace designs embroidered on linen hemstitched towels. also done in Madeira Cotona 30 weight thread. These will be washed to remove stabilizer and registration marks, then starched and pressed.
Some of the thread spools not surrounding my sewing machine. Too many colors.........not enough time. Of course I could say that about books, or any other passion.

December Already????

2009-12-02T07:06:00.000-08:00

Too soon the days are old. Are clock hands moving faster? Farming is a time driven occupation with a rigid schedule. Tasks not completed in their allotted frame will surely not succeed! So, here I am, December 1st (!!) and still not done garlic. It has been too wet in the field. Aaarrrgghh!

Custom embroidery orders, thankfully, can be done in the house. I sit between two windows, which even on a cold, thickly gray day, give abundant light. And it is while sewing that I contemplate the coming season. In little more than sixty days another kind of sowing will commence. Those in the far North, buried under their annual white blanket, will have a bit longer to ruminate.

Until the ground dries I am patient, no point flustering. There is a series of "piles" to keep me sufficiently employed:

dust bunnies pile
laundry pile
mending pile
dishes pile
paper pile
embroidery pile
unpaid bill pile
books to read pile
etc, etc, etc..................................

Crazy Busy, but then isn't everyone???

2009-11-23T16:01:00.000-08:00

The last market was Saturday, and I am ready for a break! Don't misunderstand, I love market and all the wonderful folks who visit our stand each week. BUT........I am bone tired by November. There is a long list of cleaning, baking, and cooking to prepare for Thanksgiving. In addition, many custom embroidery Christmas orders are due before December 19th. So I have not been doing much blogging.

More rain and wet ground..........hmmmm will the remaining garlic ever get in the ground? I also have sunchokes and a few old fashioned multiplier onions to plant. CSA members will be getting freshly dug carrots, beets and herbs Wednesday for their Thanksgiving table. Collards and arugala should be lush, a perfect foil for turkey. A huge thank you to those who have signed up for 2010!!

May each of you have a richly blessed week. No matter how desperate the situation there are always more things to count as positive than negative. Did you dress yourself? Were you able to see this morning? Could you walk? Are you able to hear or speak? Do you have clean drinking water? Think twice before you complain!!

Having A Bit Of Fun

2009-11-11T11:32:00.000-08:00

Max is looking on at the naughty antics of Grace.
Grace decided that row cover makes a good tug toy. NO NO Grace!!
Taking a break and getting ready for a run around the plot.
I love strawflowers.
Planting garlic with the help of a spacing stick.
This garden spider is huge! You can't tell from the picture how beautiful the markings are, florescent yellow. As long as it is not on me! I know they are a good thing............but I hate spiders. I did not kill it.

Something To Ruminate

2009-10-31T21:10:00.000-07:00

This link is fixed. Here is a short little film that explains the real food chain of stuff.
http://www.storyofstuff.com/

High Tensile Derailment

2009-10-22T20:12:00.000-07:00

What? You think I have some magnetic attraction to trouble? True, my track record shows a distinct propensity for driving wheeled equipment (and vehicles) over unseen hazards. This coil of high tensile wire was nestled so snug under the weeds it went undetected. I poked and scraped those weeds to check for hidden obstacles. Earlier in the season some leftover wire from a trellising job was set aside in this section of the field. So I had an idea that it might still be there. Despite my checking, I did not find the wire..............................BUT the flail mower did!

October Jobs

2009-10-15T22:10:00.001-07:00

All the trellises in the garden must be cleaned up. These 2x4s will be left in the ground, 1x1s will be pulled and stored inside.
This odd looking African Lion's Tail is from Seeds of Change.
Hearty Pink Lettucy Mustard isn't bothered by cold weather, in fact it grows better!
Old crops are removed and the ground prepped for cover crops.
Garlic arrived today. It was a cold, rainy afternoon, perfect for popping cloves inside and drinking hot peppermint tea. Only 40 more pounds to pop. Breaking apart the bulbs creates sore thumbs, a small price for such a deeply satisfying October ritual.

Biodynamic Sewing

2009-10-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, sewing as in needle and thread. I was very fortunate to be present for a morning session of Biodynamic prep making at a local farm. Each Fall specific herbal "preparations" are made and then fermented in the earth until Spring. Chamomile sausages and Dandelion pouches were created on this particular day with several people helping. Cow intestines are rinsed and stuffed with dried chamomile flowers, which have been moistened in very hot water. Cow mesentery or peritoneal sac was cut into aproximately 10"x 10" squares and sewn to form a pouch, stuffed tightly with dried dandelion flowers moistened with water, then closed with more stitches. Since I enjoy any type of needlework this task was a tactile pleasure engaging all the senses except taste.

The farm was truly gorgeous. Exquisite beds, composed of meticulously sown greens, were an inspiration for my own plot. And.........nary a weed to be found, although I was assured that "Oh, we have plenty of weeds". It was a lovely day.

Chilly And Sweatshirts

2009-10-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

I've been donning my sweatshirt to stay warm. Yes, folks in Minnesota will laugh at me for thinking 41 degrees requires outerwear. Other signs of Autumn are increasing. A brown carpet of acorns under the Oak trees has made walking downright dangerous. I should collect a bushel for craft projects, but will I really use them, or will they contribute to CRAFT CLUTTER???? I confess I do have a significant stash.

The last two weeks I have been sick. Perhaps it is the sudden changes in temperature that has made me vulnerable. Whatever the reason, being out of commission does not get the field work done! Very aggravating. An intern for next season is a priority, no missed markets or deliveries.

Tomorrow is harvest day. Maybe the spinach will be ready, although cooler temps mean slower growth. The tunnel is undergoing preparation for planting mixed greens. I'll try and get some pictures.

Last Stretch of the Race

2009-09-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

These last two days have been warm, unlike the crisp mornings of last week. The equinox passed on Tuesday, thus it is officially Fall. With only four more CSA deliveries left for this year, I have been reviewing the stats. Most farmers will do this kind of quality control.

Vexation of the spirit and mind is not uncommon to anyone farming. I believe that relinquishing control of the weather and sickness automatically creates havoc. Stomping at the sky does not bring a remedy any better than pleading with the doctor. This season has had its share of internal stomping and pleading.

This past five days I have had fever and an infection. Call it your basic dishrag/feel like crap malaise that prevents any sort of productive work. Not good. There will be no harvest tomorrow. That is vexation.

Aaron's Cheezin It Up

2009-09-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Azim grills scrumptious shish-kabobs to order. He also eats my super hot peppers like apples, don't understand how he does it. Aaron is only to happy to chat it up .
Ah, poor Shawn, Aaron keeps him busy even during a break. Shawn will make a great dad someday as he is so patient.
Shawn's helper Steve is also very kind and patient.
Jack and his wife are always favorite visitors to our stand.
Aaron loves market cause there's so many great vendors to schmooze with! Here are the couple from Souix City Soap who make the best, best smelling soap.
And here is Azim's wife Atmela. They have a roasted eggplant salad that is addictive, plus a large selection of Mediterranean food.

Swarthmore Farmer's Market is pretty comfy-we like it.

Second Half

2009-09-15T18:36:00.001-07:00

I used to play in this barn with the calves.
The second half of the trip was the emotional opposite. I have longed for YEARS to see my early childhood homestead. I dreamed of someday buying back my grandparent's farm. What a horrible disappointment to find my dream in ruins. This is the back of the barn.
Here is a view of the lane, from the house. We used to walk down this lane to get the mail, which at that time was simply addressed RD#2. That stands for Rural Delivery route #2. Folks did not have addresses and farms were known only by who lived there or a local landmark.
The barn is in very bad shape. The barnyard is loaded with every sort of junk and trash from the last 40 years.
Across from the barn stands the milkhouse. My sandbox was between this tree and the milkhouse. There used to be a beautiful white farm fence around the yard. Our family garden was behind where the swingset sits. There is someone living in the house but were not home at the time. They too have their garden in the same spot.

This is the side of the big farmhouse. We rarely used the front door which faces the road and fields. My grandparents lived upstairs and we lived downstairs. I played on these steps. One time I got a bee sting and I remember sitting on the stairs and my dad made a mud pack to put on the bee sting.
The formerly glorious front entrance. So sad. When you entered, a lovely winding staircase was in the hall.

This was a hard day. After seeing this I drove a few miles down the road to my uncle's farm. His was one of the most prestigious farms in Cumberland County. It too was sold to an absentee landlord, and now sits deteriorating. If only both these farms had been kept working farms none of this would have happened. Interestingly the fields on both farms are rented out for commodity crops.

A Special Day

2009-09-15T17:50:00.000-07:00

Shawn's neighbor and friend, (everybody knows everybody in Biglerville!) raises Elk for meat.
Shawn is one of Aaron's favorite people. His friend Steve, whose family also has an orchard, comes to help Shawn at market on Saturdays. It truly made Aaron's day to go out for lunch at a local pizza parlor.

Yesterday I took a little road trip with two objectives: visit Beechwood Orchards and my early childhood farm. The first is a gorgeous multi-generation orchard run by our friend Shawn and his family. He sells luscious stone fruits, berries of all types, flavorful heirloom and modern apples, and of course spicy cider beside us at the Swarthmore market. Topography distinguishes Adams county! Steep green hills, covered with orchards, create a living quilt of geometric lines, blocks and dots. It spites me that I did not take a panoramic pic, guess I was too mesmerized by the view.

A Few Crop Pics

2009-09-04T20:00:00.001-07:00

African Marigolds from Seeds Of Change. I love these large 4' plants.
Last of the toms due to blight.
Twinkle eggplant
Looooong Italian Pole beans-one of the best tasting, succulent beans I have ever eaten, YUM. This variety is from Seeds Of Change. Lots of Mexican Bean Beetle damage on leaves.
Okra pod right below the flower. I think this one is Jade.
Satsuki Madori cuke grows long. These did not get tied on time!! They should be trellised.
Ah, here is a little Reba squash. We are hoping to beat frost-a real longshot.
Butterflies are visiting the garden daily, in rather large numbers. I don't know if they are sensing Autumn or exactly what is responsible for the increase. Other guests are toads, snakes, baby bunnies, all sorts of bees and flying insects, deer, fox, Bluebirds, Martins, Goldfinches and other assorted critters.
French Tarragon
Now before you get grossed out-that is not a body part. It is a Kombucha "mushroom", which is not a mushroom at all but a culture, similar to a vinegar "mother". I have been brewing and fermenting my own delicious Kombucha. The store bought stuff is very very expensive. This batch has another 4 days till it is ready to drink.
Last week I used some veggies that were part of the CSA share to make a scrumptious dinner. Here we have fresh cut corn, sweet and hot peppers, okra, onions, garlic, tomatoes and chicken.

Late Blight Is Here

2009-09-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

The dreaded Late Blight striking all over the Northeast has arrived on our tomatoes. Very bad news. Every plant will be ripped out and put in trash bags (we can't burn them, which is recommended). They must not be added to the compost pile as it will spread the infection. LB is highly contagious.

What's In A Foodie's Fridge?

2009-08-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a look at what is inside the fridge's of a few well known food folks. Where does your food dollar go? If you have branded products in your fridge the farmer gets only a fraction of your food dollar. Go here to see the NYT story with pics.

Arthritis Schmitis I Don't Care

2009-08-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Yea, well, so what's a little arthritis? Boo, Blah! I am not gonna let that stop me! Of course there is a strategy to cope, let's be realistic.

Lose extra weight to lighten the load on joints
Yoga plus some back work
Schwartzbein Principle - an endocronologist makes body metabolics easy to understand
Weston Price guidelines for nutrition
Home brewed Kombucha
SLEEP!

X-Rays and Bedrest

2009-08-23T06:25:00.000-07:00

Nothing got done this week!! Aaaarrrgghh!! Leg and hip pain sent me to the Doc. X-rays were taken but won't get results till Tuesday. There was no CSA delivery yesterday either! Very bad. I appreciate the shareholders understanding and patience. If I had an intern all this would be a small blip. There are drawbacks to being a one woman show. However, I am determined to give a double portion next Saturday. So...............grit and determination, that is the plan.

Farmer's Market

2009-08-18T06:03:00.000-07:00

Saturday is market day, which really starts early Friday morning. Think 28 hour marathon and you'd have it just about right. We start by walking through the rows, checking each crop for maturity. "Oh, these peppers are finally big enough!" or "Why are these tomatoes sooo poky to turn red?" are the kind of comments that can be heard. A list is made and each item crossed off as we harvest. The grunt jobs-digging potatoes for instance, can be a bear when temps and humidity are high. We can easily empty a gallon jug of water, a gallon of ice tea and more while we are working. Keeping hydrated is hard when sweating profusely. I will appreciate Fall.

After harvest comes the post-harvest stuff. Washing, sorting, weighing and packing are next. Some vegetables do not require washing, in fact should not be washed, unless very dirty. Potatoes dug after a rain are quite muddy and must be cleaned. This can sometimes take hours. There have been many a Saturday I've arrived at market on a few hours sleep!

No matter, when that alarm rings it's time to jump. Usually the van is loaded the night before with produce. Still waiting are the canopy, tables, tablecloths (which were washed and folded during the week), display boxes, cash register, bags, signs, markers, tape, scissors, clean apron and other items. Market farmers have different strategies for remembering all this stuff. Some have a large Rubbermaid bin where all market "stuff" is permanently kept. You would be surprised at how many odds and ends are necessary to cope with small "emergencies". I can remember a fruit vendor (who had been selling at market many years) that forgot his tables!!! Canopy weights are a safety mandate, flying canopies anyone? Loading and unloading multiple times is backbreaking.

BUT, despite all the above, when the stand is finally ready and customers show up, it is GREAT! I have met the nicest folks these last few years through selling at market. Even if they are not buying anything they stop by and say hello! Each sale is so much more than a transaction. We exchange news, recipes, and sometimes a customer will bring me a favorite pepper or tomato variety to try. Market is also where people run into friends and neighbors, more chatting. It really is a lively community event. The other vendors are exceptionally nice. I have made good friends and visited several of their farms to see where their produce or fruit is grown. Our market manager is a hands-on helper, just all around good guy. Maybe not all markets are so personal. I am very thankful for this particular market.

Sciatic -What a Pain

2009-08-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

Grounded today thanks to sciatic nerve pain. Tunnel seedlings are probably toasted since I have not been able to water since Friday! Weeks like this are so frustrating. Yet I am blessed with so many good gifts I should not complain. A few:

Freedom from oppression
Clean drinking water
Eyes, ears, hands and feet
Shelter
Family
Friends

Market Pics

2009-08-08T14:19:00.001-07:00

Squash Boxes: baby patty pans, baby zukes, cherry toms, bell pepper and hot pepper.
Aaron cheezin' it at our stand.

Thursday was my organic certification inspection. The inspector has to confirm that all water, soil, fertilizer, pest management, weed management and growing practices are in compliance with the USDA's NOP rules. Kind of a pain, but all that paper trail gives a very specific picture of how the farm is doing across the board. It is especially helpful for year to year comparisons. Human memory is not very accurate................can you remember what you ate two weeks ago for lunch on Wednesday???? Me neither.

Market was very warm and slow. I suppose folks are on vacation (what's that?), traveling about the country. My break will come in December. Then January starts the seed orders, crop map planning, heavy reading etc. and we begin all over.

2009-08-03T18:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine/05allen-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=3&ref=magazine

CHECK OUT THIS STORY!! Will Allen is in the NYT again-great story. I read the link on Tiny Farm Blog and decided to post it here too.

2009-08-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

Yikes, here are some lovely heirloom toms being overrun with disgusting pigweed. I am relieved to report the pigweed was later sent to the compost pile!
Benary's Zinnias that were in the tunnel too long are finally going to get planted outside. Let's hope they still perform. Flowers have not been getting enough of my attention this season, alas I wanted to have plenty of bouquets.
Bay Laural grows very slowly and is frost sensitive, which is why it is in a pot. The flavor is complex and hard to describe, but the oh so subtle difference makes the dish special!

CSA farmers are a family so to speak. When one farm gets hit with a disaster we all feel bad. I read today of several farms that are suffering severe losses due to a blight that attacks tomatoes and potatoes. This blight spreads rapidly in wet, windy conditions. So far we have been spared. Once it arrives in a field that crop is doomed to die. I truly feel bad for my fellow growers.

Seeding and Weeding

2009-07-30T17:56:00.000-07:00

Cosmic Purple carrots, Pronto red beets and Touchstone Gold beets are seeded.
This lovely savoy cabbage will be in someone's CSA share tomorrow.
Jersey Wakefield cabbage has a funny looking pointed head, not at all round.
The bees, both Bumble and Honey, love the flowers which is one reason we grow them.
The fluffy Teddy Bear types are among my favorites.
More cukes are coming, Satsuki and National Pickling.
A tomatilla fruit, will be ready for harvest when the husk splits open.
Italian Pole beans, this year with hefty support.

This last two weeks have alternated between a steam bath and a steam bath with thunderstorms. Yup, July's calling card in Pennsylvania is Humidity Plus. The rain is a blessing as stuff was getting bone dry. Copious amounts of weeds got flail mowed today in anticipation of tomorrow's potato harvest. Trying to dig root crops under a 2 foot blanket of thistles is pure
prickly frustration. Seeding is back on track with beans, cukes, greens, and herbs.

Max stepped on a bee today. ouch! The lawn has so much clover it is hard to not step near a bee!

A Few Pics

2009-07-20T19:52:00.000-07:00

French Fingerlings with their gorgeous centers.
My beloved Max getting a "drive by" hug.
Nepeta loaded with hundreds, maybe thousands of bees. Their humming is LOUD!
Aaron and Grace taking a break.
Imperial Star artichokes.
Lovely lopes.
A new crop of savoy cabbage Testa di Ferro.
Royal burgundy is a bush bean. Sad but true, they turn green when cooked.
Sunflowers are heavily reseed themselves. These guys appeared all on their own.
This section of the garden has tremendous Lambsquarter and thistle pressure so I mulched with straw and so far it is keeping the bed clean.
All self seeded cherry toms from last years tunnel crop! They have gone a bit crazy.
A wonderful surprise gift from a CSA member-delicious zucchini bread, thank you for such a treat. I used to bake everyday. Ha! no time for such a luxury these days.

It rained Friday night-finally after weeks of nothing. The crops are desperate for a drink. With rain forecasted for this evening, tomorrow and Wednesday, they should get a deep soak.

A Confession

2009-07-14T16:38:00.000-07:00

Cucumber, Zuke, scallion, garlic and fresh basil with generous amounts of olive oil and Balsamic.
Copenhagen chopped for slaw. Dressed with good ol' PA German recipe-mayo, sour cream, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.

Ah, time to come clean on a food fact: I have not tasted everything I grow..........WHAT!!??? Yes, it is true. Let me explain. Many nights I do not get home from the plot till 10:00. I am usually bone tired, extremely dirty and sweaty, am facing a mess in the kitchen and still need to check my mail etc. Cooking anything is out of the question.

Soooooooo.............when I harvest a new crop, in this case Copenhagen Cabbage I will probably pack the CSA before I have a chance to taste. Today I stayed home to put out numerous domestic fires. Take your pick: 2' weeds in the front yard, a small mountain of laundry, atrocious kitchen floor, blah, blah, blah. Anyway I brought home a CSA share that was not picked up on Saturday and proceeded to make some stuff. Happily, everything was quite good.

This is the first year I have tried growing cabbage. The Copenhagen variety was delicious. During Friday picking I was dismayed to find tiny slugs all through the row. So many outer leaves had to be stripped, leaving this forlorn looking green ball. I thought the CSA members would be disappointed. This is an excellent cabbage, with a small core. I will be sowing some more for a Fall crop. Do any members disagree?

Artichokes are the next taste test.

Trellis Help

2009-07-13T14:04:00.001-07:00

New trellises are up thanks to the muscles of three men. We worked 2 days last week getting 4x4 posts set for 100' of grape vines. Next up tomato staking with Hortonova netting attached. This job is at least 4 weeks overdo. That timing thing!

Weeding got tackled using "The Beast". I don't like wrestling with a tiller but it does the best job. I desperately need to get direct seeding. The only way the seeder works is if the bed is rock and weed free.

Garlic was dug Friday night for Saturday's market. Probably only one more digging and I will be able to plant a new crop, probably beans. That bed was very weedy and it will be a relief to get it clean. Potatoes are ready for digging this Friday. Flowers and herbs are also on the Friday harvest list.
I'll post pics later.

Visitors

2009-07-03T16:57:00.001-07:00

A very obnoxious Pigweed taking over sunflowers, which are taking over potatoes.
Savoy cabbage, a favorite.
Costata Romanesco zuke.
Heirloom Tomato
Compost must meet temperature regulations before use, otherwise it must be used according to raw manure rules.
Brian is delivering a load of straw. Maybe we can get control of our weeds with a good hoeing (bulldozing????) and thick application of straw mulch.
This young CSA member enjoys sunflowers. It did not work having her hold a sunflower since they are bigger than her face, and heavy too!
I'm not sure how much coleslaw this lady eats................certainly not as much as this cabbage will produce.

We had quite a week. Lots of work and visitors. Aaron and I really appreciated this family's time at the farm. It was very embarrassing for me due to the weeds. Oh to have a picture perfect garden!!! Market was cancelled this week for July 4th events, by coming to the farm they still got their share. Her dad moved some straw to the new squash plants, a big thanks. I absolutely covet any muscle that comes my way, and so does my lower back.

How can it be the first week of July??? Where did June go. Perhaps it is because I am older that the days slip quickly. All the best laid plans and schedules, dreams of perfect carrot rows or profusely blooming annuals are meeting reality. In the heat of the day while sitting under the shade of the oaks, I think over the season since it started back in February. Some crops grew the way I dreamed and others have failed. A few flats were lost simply because I could not plant them when they were ready. Last July there were beautiful sweet Napoli carrots, zip for this July. I will replant for a fall harvest.

There is a mantra for farming: TIMING. That clock waits for no farmer!

2009-06-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

A John Deer Gator sure comes in handy. The boys are mulching the fence area.
Let's go boys, still a lot left in that pile!
90+ degrees sounds like the perfect time for an old-fashioned water bucket toss. Aaron really enjoyed getting wet after working all day.
Trellis for muskmelons, patty pans in front.
new herb bed being planted with French Tarragon.
Mushroom soil, wood chips and sand perform various functions on the farm.
Cherry Toms
Some of our market stand
Rain and sun produced BIG zukes!

Just a few pics. Your veggies are growing nicely now that we have plenty of sunshine. Well I must get off the computer and into the field. As you can see there are weeds everywhere and more planting needs done ASAP if we are going to keep those crops coming.

84* In The Shade

2009-06-26T18:30:00.000-07:00

Scorching temps slowed harvest to a crawl. Zuke picking proved particularly steamy. Spiny stems were scratching my arms raw and the leaf canopy trapped all the heat and moisture. The day's extreme weather taxed roofers, mailmen, landscapers, basically anyone who had to work outside.

Crops picked :

Fantasia Chard
Red cabbage
Striped Zukes
Golden Patty Pans
Genovese Basil
Sorrel
Pea Tendrils
Gallisse Lettuce
Rosemary
German Thyme
Kale, (not much)
Garlic
Beautiful Roc D'or gold filet beans did not get picked, sorry, next week?

I wanted to take some pics but the camera would have slid right out of my dripping palm. We wear disposable gloves for harvest and my hands were wet when I removed them-Yuk! Pretty much everything was soaked with sweat, except the veggies! Seriously, we do not drip sweat on your produce Ah, the joys of farming............

I Won't Mention The Rain We Had This Week!!

2009-06-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

It is true. Saturday it poured the entire market. Some stuff to accomplish this week:

Build more A frame trellises for melons, 6 more 8'x8' folding A frames
Stake and tie tomatoes
Install grape posts and cross supports, decide between wire or electrical conduit
Finish electric fencing
seeding, seeding and more seeding
transplanting hundreds of flowers, herbs, melons & cukes
prep more planting beds
finish a rather embarrassing stack of paperwork
WEEDING, we are drowning in weeds from all the rain
Figure out what is wrong with the Solo sprayer and fix it (organic sprays!)
laundry and dishes squeezed in there somehow

The list never ends. I will post pictures as soon as I can

Mud, Rain and No Sun

2009-06-18T09:38:00.000-07:00

More rain. Again. I must be positive and think how awful the alternative, a drought, would be! I have several embroidery jobs to finish, and since field work is out of the question, it is a fine day to work in. Red cabbage is heading, summer squash is plumping, greens are leafier. An A-Frame trellis wears climbing muskmelons. Potatoes are bursting with floral fireworks and potato beetles. BUT....Rain gives repeat performances almost daily. What is a farmer to do??? I hope it will be dry tomorrow morning for harvesting.

The transplants are stuck in flats. Not good. Cloudy days make me drowsy, perhaps I'll take a"power nap". Sleep deprivation causes sewing errors so maybe a nap is justified.

Endless Rain....repeat!

2009-06-13T11:58:00.000-07:00

Another week of PRECIPITATION, water vapor, droplets, deluge, flood, cloud saturation blah,blah,blah. Still, the drought is a more fearsome foe. Fieldwork gone missing, seeding schedules washed away and transplanting under water..............all for the love of rain. We don't want to complain. But, for the grower too much rain is a pain. Some farmer's suffered insult to injury with a side of 2 1/2" hail to complement the main rainfall.

Rot is a major consequence of too much moisture. Insects and disease want their piece of green. All bets are off for the coming week, photosynthesis take a number! Market was ok. I salvaged lettuces, and CSA members had an ok share, certainly not what I would prefer for early June.

To the future of chlorophyll and sunlight, Here Here!! (Course then grousing about the heat will take over)

Endless Rain

2009-06-09T13:35:00.000-07:00

Puddles everywhere.
Aaron suiting up for harvest during last Friday's deluge.
Aaron at the end of his work day, too much heat and humidity to suit him!

After 3 days of no rain, here we are again! Baritone rumbling woke me up, rattled windows and sent Max into hiding. I found him in the bathroom, determined to stuff himself between the wall and toilet. Poor dog. He hates thunderstorms.

It let up around 11:00 so we headed out to transplant tomatoes and peppers. Yesterday was very hot and muggy, plenty of sun blasting down, not good conditions for setting plants. Instead we weeded, mostly those dastardly thistles. Anyway, we worked for less than an hour and the clouds resumed their symphony with rain. Lots of rain. End of transplanting.

Tomorrow is another fruit day on the biodynamic planting calendar, so we will try again. Oh! the weather, no wonder it's in the "Top Ten" of farmer conversations.

Boot Sucking Mud, All Day Rain

2009-06-06T20:15:00.000-07:00

Here are two Colorado Potato Beetles making more little CPB. Aaaarrrrggghhh!!!
Lettuce, and of course weeds.
Gold patty pan squash are here!

Red Express cabbage is coming along slowly but surely
Baby Bush zucchinni
Forellenschluss lettuce, a beauty. The above photos were taken before the rain.

So.............how muddy was it??? We can testify to the power of mud. It will pull off your shoe which is why I bought a pair of tight fitting, knee high rain boots. Slogging between rows of lettuce while steady rain saturated our clothing made harvesting less than pleasant. Harvest does not wait for suitable picking conditions. Market dictates harvest, and CSA members want their share. Almost 2" of rain fell Thursday and Friday. For the precipitation impaired, that is a lot of rain.

Today proved gorgeous and market was lively with a good crowd. Despite the cold, wet, unkind Spring, the vegetables are growing. I simply put one foot in front of the other and keep on planting. There have been some flats that died and the pests are devouring what they can reach. Perseverance is the only response.

24 Hour Day A Myth???

2009-05-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

A Biodynamic Flowform. The water performs a figure 8 in each form as it flows. You Tube has several good videos of flowforms. Seeing is easier than trying to describe the process. This one was photographed at Kimberton CSA.

I think hours disappear like socks in the wash. Really. The week started, and poof, harvest day was upon me!

HOT and Sticky

2009-05-25T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here is G9, short for Jeannine. She is an experienced farm intern and my friend. We met at a Pennsylvania Women In Agriculture business class. Out of the goodness of her heart she offered to come and help me with transplanting and weeding, all volunteer. G9 can do any task very fast, waaaay faster than I can. This potato bed got very weedy after the recent rains and she is making it look beautiful. Then a layer of straw will be added so we don't have to weed this bed again!

The weather is extreme. Why can't we just have a regular nice day? The past week it has been awful HOT and sticky. This kind of heat is not good for lettuces or peas or ME. I'll take 75 and dry. Today was particularly oppressive, with buckets of heat and humidity even after the sun disappeared.

Good Work Days

2009-05-19T17:29:00.001-07:00

What a beautiful scene. This is my view while filling the water tank. A mother goose and her fluffy goslings have been taking regular outings on the pond, even venturing onto the meadow. That is the original spring house, with a new roof. Quite a hill to take a tumble if you are carrying milk pails. I think about how hard women had to labor to prepare the daily meals.
After the paper and fence were in place, a layer of wood chips are used to keep the paper from blowing and ripping. It also looks better. A friend helps Aaron, to make the job more enjoyable.
A shot of the green things. Temps went down to 35 degrees, other farms got hit with freezing. I tell you, not a good season so far. For CSA members, we are trying to get those little lettuces to grow. Tomorrow the forecast-77 degrees. This season is slow, slow, slow!

Finally the rye gets chopped. Daughter Alexandra stopped by to lend a hand, asking to try out the BCS with a Palladino flail mower. This is an excellent piece of machinery. It will mow and chop a 6 foot high cover crop simultaneously.

This is biodegradable paper mulch. We are experimenting with several weed control strategies. In the pic, electric net fencing is being laid out on top of the paper.

Market Opens

2009-05-16T18:04:00.001-07:00

Paper or Plastic? or how about straw? In an effort to control weeds a mulch is used, but which one? Plasticulture is not my choice. This straw will be spread on potatoes, strawberries, rhubarb and other select crops to stem the troublemakers. Chickweed, and thistles are the worst offenders. Yes,yes I know-"a weed is simply a plant growing where it is not wanted". Well those guys are not welcome! This season a trial of biodegradeable paper mulch will be tested under the electric net fence. Weeds or vegetation touching an electric fence lowers the voltage.

Market opened today. A festive, family reunion atmosphere prevailed for vendors and customers. Hugs all around! Produce growers are having a delay in market attendance due to lousy spring weather. For me it was slim pickin's, literally.

A Dry Day

2009-05-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

A potato plant. I think this one is Yukon Gold.
Flats are bustin'n at the seams. If it stays dry for a few more days they can all be comfy in the ground with plenty of room.
Aaaarrrrggghhh!!! Something is eating my veggies!
Rhubarb is up after 2 weeks.
Red Express Cabbage
Roc D'or beans are up and loving this heat.
Artichoke
Siberian and Lacinato Kale after weeding.
Rain makes stuff grow, including weeds. The potato bed on the left is full of unwanted weeds. After some work with the scuffle hoe the bed on the right is looking better.

RAIN RAIN RAIN

2009-05-05T18:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, the plants want a drink but enough already! I can not get into or on the crop beds to plant, weed, or harvest. AArrrgh! The pic above shows a rhubarb root, incredibly ugly looking thing, which will transform into lucious red stalks. These stalks cooked with a bit of sugar make jams, pies and chutney known to make grown men swoon. No lie. Mixed fresh with sugar and fresh strawberries, placed just so in a finely crafted pie dough, dotted with real butter.........ooooh sends shivers up my spine. Mostly I use a butter crumb topping. I'll take the extra time to make lattice, lets that gorgeous red show through, for special occasions.

92 degrees?????

2009-04-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Max contemplating.

Brown Turkey and Celeste Fig trees. These are in pots so they can be brought inside during the winter months. No, they won't be ready this year.
Purple asparagus is ready to be enjoyed. A bit of premium olive oil, green garlic, sea salt and fresh ground pepper..........yum. Don't overcook your asparagus!
Beautiful rye cover crop. Next week this will be chopped and tilled under for biomass.
Aaron weeding thistles-the bane of our farm life. They are crowding the German Winter Thyme and volunteer green garlic. Ouch, wear gloves.

Last week freezing rain and now it is August????????? It was HOT out there today!! At least I would prefer a gradual assault so the body can acclimate. A lot of the seedlings have been sulking throughout April from very cold temps, hopefully this heat will wake 'em up.

Freezing Rain BOO BLAH

2009-04-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Gracie trying to stay warm
Straw for tunnel beds
The row, 8' between vines
A first season vine
Grapes taking a soak

The weather Tuesday and Wednesday was truly inhospitable. We picked up 10 bales of straw from another organic farmer for mulching. It was very cold with wind whipped freezing rain. Being underdressed did not help the cause. Since the ground was soggy that meant parking the equivalent of two blocks away. A neighbor boy brought around the gator and hauled the bales up to the tunnel. I am thankful I did not have to hand carry each bale one at a time.

Even inside the tunnel temps hovered around mid 40's. Brrrr, poor Grace was shivering so I made her a pile of straw and put my coat over her. We managed to get some more beds planted and mulched. Lemon grass is a heat loving crop we are trialing. It has medicinal and culinary uses. Fresh ginger also thrives on heat, another crop new to our list of trials.

Thursday proved too muddy for reaching the tunnel and once again we had to portage our supplies on a vintage child's wagon. The sun shone brightly, thus returning warmth to the landscape, enabling us to get grapes and figs planted. Each day has its own work regardless of the weather.

Seeding and more seeding is on the schedule for today. Enjoy the sunshine.

Busy Potato Day/Seedlings

2009-04-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

Garden sorrel, one of the first greens.

Kale and chard.

Potting up.

Some pics of potato day. Backbreaking work.
There are many different techniques for planting
taters. I used the old grunt and grit method
today. Tomorrow rain is in the forecast so they will
all get a drink.

Superb Look At The CSA Experience

2009-04-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Check out this short film!

It gives an excellent view of the CSA from the shareholders experience. Very beautiful. If it asks you for a password use fridaysscreener

Crazy Weather

2009-04-01T19:23:00.000-07:00

Garlic is waking up and escaped Sunday's hail storm.

If you look really hard in the center,(click on photo) a little asparagus tip is emerging-woohoo!!
Tilled and ready for raking. Then the carrot, beet, and radish seeds got planted.

Cutting Celery and German Winter Thyme

Monday we went out to work with wind whipping up 30 mile per hour gusts. Just for good measure it turned raw and damp. Yuk. Add a cloudy sky and you've got less than inspirational conditions. Twenty-four hours later total opposite: a gorgeous, sunny, warm, non windy work day!

Say It Ain't So

2009-03-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid it is so. Saturday, while trying to save 20 bucks searching for scrap boards instead of buying 2 planks at Home Depot, I took the liberty of running over a rather large chunk of tree trunk. Utterly embarrassing. I was merely circling (very slowly) the wood scrap pile, my eyes focused on the pile, when BANG! Not good. While I sat there stunned a smaller, rapid bang bang bang bang could be heard. When I got out and looked, a cross section of a tree trunk was wedged under the oil pan; (course I did know it was the oil pan at that moment-I wouldn't have know an oil pan if I fell over it!)

I called David, my long time rescuer. He, his son, and future son-in-law all arrived and within minutes had the chunk out. Great! Except for the return of the rapid banging noise upon starting the engine. David said "sounds like the crankcase is hitting your oil pan". They all took a look and found a significant dent in the pan. Not being a mechanic I didn't have a clue what that meant. What it means is bad, very bad.

They took my E-150 into the huge shop where they work on the trucks. The shop has a mechanics pit since you can't put big trucks on a lift. For a long time they worked to improvise a way to get the dent pushed back down so I could at least drive home. Oh my. I had the dogs with me and had planned a full day of tilling, seeding etc. Now I was facing an hour towing job. Well those men really were ingenious! They got it pulled down far enough so the crank was not hitting the pan. Bad news is the pan must be replaced.

Suffice it to say it is a huge job-trans has to come out, engine has to be jacked, ei yi yi. As I write this my faithful E-150 is getting "surgery".

How I wish I had pics of all this, but at the time I was too upset, more like sick to my stomach, to think about the camera.

NY Times Article

2009-03-23T16:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a story on the changing face of food in this country.www.nytimes.com/2009/03/22/business/22food.html?

Seeding Rush

2009-03-20T10:36:00.001-07:00

No time for pics! Seeding is in full swing. The flats are filled and blocked by the dozens. The biodynamic Stella Natura calendar has the entire year laid out for specific planting days. It tells which part of a plant is best seeded. For example today is ideal for seeding all types of fruit bearing plants. This means eggplant, pepper, tomato, squash, beans, peas, anything that produces a fruit. Specifically it is the fruit part of the plant that is desired. Interestingly, broccoli is planted on flower days. Tomorrow is a root day. More leeks and onions will be seeded. Also the garden will be sprayed with biodynamic preparation 500. Rock dust fertilizer will be spread too. Looks like a very busy day, lets hope it doesn't rain.

A Day Of Rest

2009-03-15T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sunday is a day of rest. The Christian sabbath. Thanks to a nasty sinus infection I have been resting quite a bit this past week. Not to worry, seeding is still getting done-lots of flowers yesterday.

Each day I thank God for eyes to see, hands to work, and all the many blessings I enjoy, like clean water and a place to lay my head. If I had to make a list of the good it would surely outweigh the bad.

"I refuse to gratify the devil by becoming discouraged" reads a little note above my kitchen sink.

Too Bad No Photos of This

2009-03-08T17:17:00.000-07:00

Friday we drove out to work, the previous 2 days being exceedingly warm, of course the ground was soaked! After turning off the lane onto the field, well....... you can imagine the results. STUCK.
Very stuck in 10" of tire sucking mud. The van has new a detailing look, sort of a sprayed variation of camo mud motif.

Not given to discouragement, a plan was made to haul the water from the thirty gallon tank in the back seat by bucket, only about 800 feet to the tunnel. Tedious. On a normal work day we frequently get tools, equipment and supplies from the "shop on wheels". I sure hope it dries up back there. A JD Gator would come in handy for those conditions. It is on my future wish list.

So how did we get back out to the lane? Towed, thank you James!

More GMO

2009-03-03T09:52:00.000-08:00

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:20:28 AM PST

Here's a "Roundup" of the latest biotech/GMO news:

Tom Laskawy reports on biotech companies prohibiting scientists from independently researching GMOs... while simultaneously pressuring countries worldwide to accept GMOs as a panacea despite a lack of independent research proving their effectiveness.
Tom wasn't the only one to cover this news. I just love the headlines given to each piece on the subject. Marion Nestle says Biotech food industry shoots itself in the foot - again!, Ashley at U.S. Food Policy writes about Industry Thwarting Research, and Natasha Chart says If Biotech Had Nothing to Hide.... (Natasha also writes up a diary of frankenfood news with several more headlines.)
Also from Marion Nestle - genetically-engineered goats! The goats are engineered to produce a human anti-clotting gene called antithrombin in their milk. As Nestle points out, let's hope these goats are carefully kept away from any goats providing milk for cheese - or even for baby goats!
According to the Institute for Science in Society, Bt Cotton Kills Soil As Well As Farmers. The killing of farmers refers to the high rate of farmer suicides in India.
The USDA has admitted genetic contamination is inevitable. Um... duh? Well, at least they're admitting it. Now will they do something about it?
GM genes have contaminated traditional Mexican varieties of corn. This is very upsetting, as Mexico is the ancestral home of corn.
A great article tells a farmer's perspective on GM crops. In 2005, Monsanto came knocking at his door, demanding documentation and proof that he wasn't illegally growing their GM soy. The article says that some farmers go to GM seeds just to avoid this kind of harassment.
Here's a story of another farmer - one who is fighting against GM sugarbeets, which he fears will jeopardize his organic status by contaminating his crops.
By the way, apparently the popular herbicide Roundup, made by Monsanto, is toxic to human cells. Gee, I never would have guessed.
In the midst of all of this bad news, Monsanto is targeting New Yorkers with an ad campaign, trying to pass of its products as "sustainable." Riiight.
A report by Center for Food Safety says that Genetically Modified Crops Feed Biotech Giants - Not the Poor. Of course, feeding the poor is the biotech industry's excuse for its own existence.
How much genetically modified food are we growing worldwide? Here's a summary with the details.

Discuss :: (9 Comments)

Not Pigs, Sheep, Chickens or goats

2009-02-25T20:13:00.000-08:00

Here is a new rescue, brought in very emaciated with lots of problems from nutient deficiencies. People buy reptiles for a "cool" pet. They do not understand the intense care, specific diet, light, temperature, and housing these animals require for survival in captivity. This Iguana can't wait to escape from his temporary pen.

Not really a farming post......................rather a reptile post. My son and daughter-in-law do not have children, just big lizards!! I don't carry around a grandma's brag book for Water Monitors or Iguanas. This lovely lady is Khronos, out for her daily walk about.

new website

2009-02-21T09:15:00.000-08:00

A new website is being built for the farm. It has some standard info that is better served on a site than the blog. If you are interested check here www.willinghandsorganicfarm.com

Anticipating March

2009-02-20T07:40:00.000-08:00

February is that little month sandwiched between the new year and planting season. I think of it as the frigid, gloomy, lack of sun month. A time to hibernate, except we humans are ever hurrying to get from here to there, as usual.

CSA payments are due MARCH FIRST, please. March means seeding. Thousands of tiny seeds will germinate, poking their necks through the soil blocks.

Stay Warm!

About La Vida Locavore

2009-02-12T06:28:00.001-08:00

I found La Vida Locavore while doing research for my class. Since I did not have time to run through the site I was not aware of certain things. The post below has the word hate in the title, an adjective that is reserved for specific uses in scripture. I was going to post a comment on this but have discovered a more offensive selection in today's post on this site. Why our culture feels compelled to insert the f word to make a point is a strong indication of the decline our country is experiencing. Really-get a dictionary, increase your vocabulary sufficiently to express yourself.

A disappointment. This site pulls a lot of info into one place, a useful tool, now made distasteful for those of us who must be pathetically boring to the f crowd. If all this is mere drivel, and it does not bother you, then you probably can glean from the site.

More later...........

Chew On This

2009-02-11T08:55:00.000-08:00

Ahh, Monsanto... What Would We Do If We Didn't Have You to Hate?

by: Jill Richardson

Mon Feb 09, 2009 at 13:00:05 PM PST

Monsanto (whose first quarter profits are way up) made some headlines this week and not in a good way. Well, it's never in a good way with Monsanto, is it? First off, there's the fact that Monsanto and its biotech buddies are trying to profit from global warming:

The world's largest seed and agrochemical corporations are stockpiling hundreds of monopoly patents on genes in plants that the companies will market as crops genetically engineered to withstand environmental stresses such as drought, heat, cold, floods, saline soils, and more. BASF, Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta, Dupont and biotech partners have filed 532 patent documents (a total of 55 patent families) on so-called "climate ready" genes at patent offices around the world. In the face of climate chaos and a deepening world food crisis, the Gene Giants are gearing up for a PR offensive to re-brand themselves as climate saviours. The focus on so-called climate-ready genes is a golden opportunity to push genetically engineered crops as a silver bullet solution to climate change. But patented techno-fix seeds will not provide the adaptation strategies that small farmers need to cope with climate change. These proprietary technologies will ultimately concentrate corporate power, drive up costs, inhibit independent research, and further undermine the rights of farmers to save and exchange seeds.

Given that, what is Oxfam doing in bed with Monsanto? Especially when it's been found that organics beat GMOs for drought tolerance, and that organics can feed Africa! Looks like they are falling for Monsanto's bullshit PR strategy that claims GMOs can feed the world.

Even at the time of the Monsanto ads [that claimed GM would feed the poor], though, the company knew perfectly well that the only GM crops it had developed were designed to meet the needs of large-scale commercial farmers, primarily in the industrialized world.
So how did this extravagant pro-poor rhetoric around GM crops actually arise?...
[Researcher Dominic Glover] notes that during the 1960s and '70s, Monsanto senior executives recognised that they needed to radically transform a company increasingly threatened by the emergence of the environmental movement and by tougher environmental regulation.

Yuck - even the World Wildlife Fund is falling for Monsanto's BS that it holds the key to the future.

This info was copied from La Vida Locavore

www.lavidalocavore.org

15* One Ton Day

2009-02-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

Blocking up the trays with the "20" cube
Part of the load from Lancaster Ag
Putting on snow to wet the potting soil
Grace taking a break from wrestling Max
Max taking a break from tearing up the beds
Digging and amending the beds

We have been fighting snow and low temps to get our work done. Yesterday a few beds got dug and then Max decided he needed to redo the job. Not funny. It was 15* outside so I let the dogs in the tunnel, something I have not permitted. Dogs get cabin fever too, so I brought them along. They have been itching to have a day out. They know when I am going to the plot and beg to come along. We brought wheelbarrow loads of snow in to put on the 2'x8' trays of potting soil. The tunnel temps were 80+ degrees so I figured it would melt by today. Onions were seeded into the ground.

Today we picked up various soil amendments and minerals. The fork lift set the pallet load into the back of the van, uh oh...............the van took a plunge. I thought a moment and asked if they could distribute the weight over the the whole cargo area. It still was very low. Needless to say, I drove very carefully with over 2,000 lbs packed solid.

The fun???? part was unloading all the 50lb bags by hand into the tunnel. Can you say backache?

More Weather Woes

2009-01-28T09:11:00.000-08:00

No pics today! Snow, ice and freezing rain have grounded my van. Oh Four Wheel Drive, how I long for thee! An E-150 is not the best choice for this slop, so I decided to stay home and focus on paperwork. There is always plenty of domestic artistry (laundry, dishes etc) waiting for my undivided attention. The mending basket is full and a stack of dress material is parked by the sewing machine. Saturday 2 embroidery jobs are due, ei yi yi, better get busy.

Finally, A Work Day

2009-01-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

Our BCS needed repair work and general maintenance, ditto for the flail mower. The seal on the mower got ripped by embedded twine-very, very, bad! Stuff happens. Whatever the cost, I will feel good knowing that my equipment is in the best condition, ready to work. Vince from the shop came and hauled them up to Ephrata, sort of like having your car towed.

Temps outside were around freezing, not so it the tunnel. At 11:00 it was 60*, by 1:30 it had jumped to 73*, causing us to peel off all extra layers. What a wonderful feeling to be in the soil again. While I prepped the soil, Aaron brought in snow for much needed moisture around the cutting celery and parsely. The rosemary bushes have survived, without water for the last 2 months. I was worried the cold would kill them. A min-max thermometer still hasn't been placed in the tunnel. So, what was the lowest temp? I have no idea.

Max LOVES snow. He gets grumpy when I make him come inside, just like a little kid. It turned out to be a perfect dog day-snow, fresh air, a good stick to chew away the hours, and plenty of deer tracks to sniff.

20 Mile Per Hour Crawl

2009-01-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

My 2 1/2 hour drive to class turned into a 4+ hour drive. The roads were slick, slushy, icy in spots and temps in teens did not help. A monster John Deer tractor was helping 18 wheelers up a grade on route 322, using an equally monster tow chain. Traffic was pretty much in the 20-30 mph range for the whole trip. Visibility from additional fog, in low lying areas, obscured all but the tail lights of the car ahead. Salt spray was compounding the problem. The washer fluid was frozen, despite blasting the defroster on hot. Wipers just schmeared the frozen slop, creating a nightmare coating. Thankfully the ride home went alright. Chicken Little for sure!!

The landscape was pure Winter Wonderland. I rolled down the van window to try and get a shot, but the daylight was fading. Every farm appeared serene. Lamplight shone through barn windows and behind farmhouse curtains. Milking time. Very quiet, very cold and very beautiful.

A Wintery Day

2009-01-19T09:27:00.000-08:00

Sadie takes in a few birds from a warmer vantage point. She uses the window as her personal exit/entrance, hence the smudgy curtains. Meeoooow, let me out, then the reverse, this time on the other side of the window, usually standing up, hanging on the screen. I'd much rather have a cat flap, but hubby doesn't want one.

Tonight is the second of eight classes on farm business planning, and it is really snowing. Since I'm Chicken Little when it comes to driving, and it's a 2 1/2 hour drive, suffice it to say I'm not excited. Guess I'll just grit my teeth and put my life in the Lord's hands. This year I may be towing a box trailer, so I better get over what ails me. Plenty of women have learned to drive all sorts of trucks, tractors, farm equipment and trailers.

One of my hobbies is weaving on the loom pictured above. Many market customers also order custom embroidery at my stand. The quality of store bought towels is so poor that I am considering weaving my own towel fabric. A Winter day is the only available time to work on a project. Once February, and especially March, arrives fugetaboutit! Planting season starts and all hobbies take a back seat.

Someone Else Is Suffering The Same Disease

2009-01-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

Feeling the Need for Seeds

By Barbara Damrosch

Special to The Washington Post
Thursday, January 15, 2009; Page H04

"A little madness in the spring," wrote Emily Dickinson, "is wholesome even for the king." Gardeners experience more than their share of spring madness, and it is already well underway. The seed catalogues have arrived.

Even if we have enough seeds left from last year to feed the neighborhood, we are powerless before catalogue prose. I might not have room in my plot for Long Pie pumpkin with its "virtually stringless, smooth and brilliant orange meat," from High Mowing Organic Seeds (http://www.highmowingseeds.com). Or for Borlotto Lamon bean, "THE bean for pasta fagiolo," says Seeds From Italy (http://www.growitalian.com), but what's two more little packets? And how about Barbecue rosemary from Richters (http://www.richters.com), with stems strong enough to pierce kebabs? How did I ever live without that?

Prowl through the pages and you will get a colorful snapshot of contemporary gardening tastes. Cute, small and pretty still count for a lot, judging by the frequent appearance of Lil' Pump-Ke-Mon, a single-serve white pumpkin with orange and green stripes. Hansel and Gretel, a matched set of slim, extra-early eggplants that can be eaten young (he's purple, she's white), are everywhere, too. So are Speckled Swan gourds. Sweet tooths will love the new Honey Bear squash from Johnny's (http://www.johnnyseeds.com) or John Scheepers's Kestrel beet (http://www.kitchengardenseeds.com). Iceberg lettuce is back. Pawpaws have caught on. Fenugreek, used in curry, is suddenly common. Gourmet associations abound in names such as Pinot Noir pepper and Black Truffle tomato, both from Burpee (http://www.burpee.com). And the slow-food concept reigns. According to George Ball at the Cook's Garden (http://www.cooksgarden.com), "Slow is the new fast."

Breeders are always working to make vegetables behave. Does Confetti cilantro at Territorial (http://www.territorialseed.com) really resist bolting? Is Plato squash from Johnny's really non-prickly? Let's try them and see.

Heirlooms are as popular as ever, and not just in treasure houses such as Baker Creek (http://www.rareseeds.com) or Seed Savers Exchange (http://www.seedsavers.org). A beautiful peach-colored squash called Australian Butter shows up time and again, as does Bennings Green Tint, a flavorful pattypan squash. Arugula selvatica (sylvetta), a wilder form of arugula, is, surprisingly, at Stokes (http://www.stokeseeds.com), a no-nonsense catalogue aimed largely at commercial growers. Even the obscure green agretti, the latest "in" vegetable at fancy Italian restaurants, according to Seeds From Italy, is now carried by Johnny's as well. I'd better check it out.

It's not just the seeds. I'll have to get High Mowing's Cow Pots, made of dried, pressed manure. And singer Greg Brown's CD, "Sin, Salvation and Saving Seeds," recorded at the Seed Savers farm in Iowa. And how about Burpee's own credit card, printed with a big red tomato on it? Looks as though I might need that, too.

Winter Chores

2009-01-10T16:54:00.000-08:00

This time of year is tool fixin' time! I gathered all the hand hoes and harvest knives for the annual tune up. First all the blades get a new edge, then all the handles get sanded and oiled. If there is any rust on the blades I have a very cool widget that makes it disappear. A 2"x 3" eraser, embedded with grit, makes short work of rust removal. Not just for rust, this little gem is great for all kinds of stuff around the shop. Today the blades got sharpened. Tuesday will be the next available day to finish the handles.

Pennsylvania is experiencing a snowstorm, a perfect day for staying inside and accomplishing this chore. I'm trying to tackle my winter "to do" list. Everyday my goal is to check off at least one item. One thing about farming-timing is everything. Each job has a window of opportunity, snooze you lose! Missed deadlines result in long term consequences. Winter is also the time for farming conferences and classes. I've signed up for an eight week Penn State class on business planning. The PASA (Pennsylvania Association Sustainable Agriculture) conference is one of the largest in the country. Folks come from all over to soak up all things farming. You can visit and check out the conference schedule and speakers here www.pasafarming.org
This year I'm not attending, sad as sad can be.

Grace

2009-01-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Finally, got it to work! She was skin and bones, only 6 months old and had been chained and starved outside in 95 degree heat. A real sweetheart.

Two Companions

2009-01-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

These are my two SPCA dogs. Max is a Chow-Retriever mix, a walking fur ball. Grace is either a full or mixed Pit Bull, who was a cruelty case. They are my bed warmers, travel companions, couch potatoes, vole catchers, lap lovers and snacking accomplices. Where I go they go, as in LOVE ME LOVE MY DOG.

They are on 20 foot tie outs when we are at the plot. This year I am going to put in a fence so they can run around in their own space. Unfortunately there is a highway only 200 feet away so they can't run wild. A neighbor's dog got instantly killed on this road. The speed limit is 45 so of course the cars are pushing 50-60 mph. In the photo Grace is pulling Max's tie out to get him to play. He is more sedate and would rather hunker down with a good stick. I had to wait almost 22 years before my husband let me get a dog. I sure do love them.
http://s219.photobucket.com/albums/cc171/willinghandsorganicfarm/2009%20Farm/?action=view&current=DSCF0120.jpg

Photo Problems

2009-01-07T14:17:00.000-08:00

Well I knew sooner or later a computer glitch would happen. I had photos of the dogs and now they are gone. Another opportunity to learn how stuff works.

A Fine Day

2009-01-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

Cloudy skies did not dampen our spirits as we set out for our little plot. A trip to the post office finally got those seed orders on their way, glad that's finished. We then headed for the tunnel where lots of leftover asian greens (that were still looking good)needed to be ripped out and sent to the compost pile. The ground will be prepped, amended with rock dust fertilizer, marked off into beds and seeded.

Crop Planning

2009-01-02T19:24:00.000-08:00

The last of the seed orders is finished! A crop sheet is indispensable. I have a big canvas PASA bag and it holds all essentials for working, sort of like a ladies farming purse. That crop sheet is always
in the bag. Since we aren't around the corner, remembering stuff is even more necessary. Lunch, drinks, cups, paperwork, camera, hand sanitizer, books, plot maps, county maps, floatsom and jetsom all end up in the bag. It can seem like a bottomless pit when I'm trying to find something.

Next up..........crop planting schedule for each veggie. This is comparable to an orchestra playing beautiful music, as opposed to chaotic noise. Each crop must begin and end on time, otherwise your CSA box will be a disappointing culinary melody.

January means onions. Hundreds of greens threads poking out of their soil blocks, threatening to become hopelessly tangled. Eventually they will size up to about the thickness of a pencil. At that point they may be placed in the ground. Perennial flowers and herbs are notoriously fussy. Each has certain requirements to ensure adequate germination. So for those of you who wonder what a farmer does when "not working".................we are WORKING, just not under 90 degree sunshine.

Farm Visit

2008-12-31T09:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we took a scenic drive out to Holtwood, which is situated along the York/Lancaster county borders. Farmer Tom Forrest invited us to visit his new homestead. The weather was beautiful, not too cold, clear skies all in all perfect. An enthusiastic welcoming committee composed of four lively children, Blackie the dog, and a black kitten surrounded us as got out of the van. Tom's lovely wife Holly gave us a tour of the fields, certified processing kitchen and house. The house is a historical wonder. Built in 1740, it has hundreds of unusual features. The wood for the floors and other structures came from the ship that the builder sailed from England. The stairways are all spiral. So many nooks and crannies, if the walls could talk what stories they could tell! A surprise visit by a friend of Tom made the atmosphere quite festive. Justin had returned from a year teaching art in Chile. We also got to meet his sweet wife-to-be.

After a lunch of homemade artisan Brie, tomato soup, breads and meats, we were treated to Pinnacle Lookout. It is the highest point in Lancaster county. The photos show part of the view we saw. Across the Susquahanna River is York county. The original farm covered 4000 acres, extending to the river, the very spot we were standing.

We also saw the kitchen where Tom makes his sausage and sauerkraut. Fascinating stuff.

Holiday , Schmaliday

2008-12-26T17:25:00.000-08:00

Where did December go?? Christmas arrived regardless of my preference for two more weeks of preparation. When the children were small and underfoot, thousands of cookies were meticulously baked, presents hand crafted, cards sent, and beautiful hand made decorations adorned the windows. What happened? Farming!!

Planning for the 2009 season dominated all brain cells. Seed ordering became an obsession. The dining room table was inhospitable to food, already a feast of catalogs hogged every surface. A dialog between logic and desire ensued. Christmas baking and embroidery jobs were due now; seeds could be ordered after the holidays. " I'll just take a few minutes to look over these eggplant varieties" turned into three hours later(groan)!! Then we all got sick with sore throat, sinus, cold bugs. Oh no. To make a long story short...........I have never been so unprepared for Christmas. But what does any of this have to do with Jesus-The Reason For The Season????? Nothing. I think it was a very humbling experience. Less is More, so to speak.

What Month Is It

2008-12-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

Throughout November, and now December, rainfall has been keeping my corner of the world very soggy. As soon as it let's up-wham-back to carting umbrellas! I could understand if it was April, but not now. Where are all the lovely snowflakes? There is still too much work to be finished at the plot. So, we wait and wait and wait for a "good" day. Ah well, weather is as weather does, no use fretting what cannot be controlled.

The dining room table is covered with seed catalogs and planning sheets. Whittling down to what is necessary, for this season at least, is proving to be prickly. Some stuff, like artichokes, have been on the "someday" list entirely too long. Waaaah! But they take up soooo much space! How can I justify growing glorified thistles??? How about those blackberries? Heirloom apples? Coveting is frowned upon. Seed catalogs incite a lust of the eyes, and most certainly a lust of the flesh, (that is vegetative flesh). Hopefully tomorrow will be dry. Rosemary and fig cuttings are in the tunnel. I am anxious to check on the temp and humidity level. The min-max thermometer cracked, so a side trip to Tractor Supply is on my "to do". That's alright as I have a bunch of errands to run up along route 10.

More Pics

2008-12-08T09:31:00.000-08:00

Like I said-not computer literate. The photos in last post were not in order. First he had to bone out the pork, then grind it, then put in the peppers and onions, then the special seasonings, then pack it into the stuffer, put the casing on the nozzle, then crank the stuffer to press out the mixture into the casing. Here are rest of photos. This was on Saturday the 6th.

Great Sausage Making

2008-12-08T09:04:00.000-08:00

December 8, 2008

Farmer Tom Forrest makes sausage at the Swarthmore Co-Op. All afternoon he created delicious ropes of FRESH,( as in he brought a fresh killed hog), Italian Garden, Chorizo and other goodies. The cast iron sausage stuffer was the real deal, which the children had fun cranking.

Bay Laurel

2008-12-05T15:54:00.001-08:00

Fresh Bay Laurel will be a lovely aromatic addition to meals. Beside it to the left is ARP Rosemary

A Few Pics From Summer 2008

2008-12-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Here are some open pollinated heirloom Zinnia's

How We Came To Be

2008-12-05T10:41:00.000-08:00

The little plot came about during January of 2006. Every year that I gardened in my 15x 15 backyard I desperately tried to plant way more than there was space available. This resulted in lots of frustration, as I always wanted to farm. When a farmer from church asked me what seeds I was ordering I replied " lots of stuff I don't have room for". He laughed and joked that they had a corner of a field I could use. Two weeks later I called him and asked how much did he want for rent. So we agreed on a quarter acre, that had been in sod for twenty years. The farmer agreed to chisel plow and disk the 100x100 plot.

I was very happy. So much space!!! Thankfully I had no clue what I done. During March I stumbled upon PCO, Pennsylvania Certified Organic, a certifying agency for organic growers. Since the plot had been in sod I could become certified without the three year "transition" required of conventional growers. The learning curve was very steep that first season. Tremendous weed pressure, no equipment, no water, no electric, no shed, no truck, and no commercial growing experience made that first year quite an initiation. The fact that I had to drive one hour to get there also created headaches. The children were still in school, so I was tied to their schedule. Thus my time available for farming was a tiny fraction of what it should have been.

The grand venture into the world of selling produce commenced in June. The Food Trust took a chance and gave me my first market stand. To say I was terrified and a ball of knots is no expansion of the truth.
To Be Continued................................