Waiting for Warm and Dry

The middle of March is the time at the farm when we start making plans to plant in the field. This year things will have to wait a little while though, as the ground is still quite wet, and the soil too cold. In our early years we would try to push it and plant too early, but have come to learn that it is better to have your plants in the greenhouse than in soil too cold for them (same goes for seeds).

This year, some of those plants are going to be set with our new water wheel transplanter. We picked it up from Morgan County Seed last Friday, and will be assembling it in the next few days. More on it then, but suffice it to say that we bought it to help save wear and tear on the farmer's and apprentices. Organic farming is great exercise, but we do want to have working knees in our old age.

Water wheel transplanter

The greenhouse is filling up, and some plants (like the lettuce) are at the size you want them for transplanting. We are hoping that with a week of 50 and 60 degree temperatures, we can plant it out soon.

Also a' growin' in the greenhouse are the first tomato transplants (cherry and hybrid tomatoes), onions, broccoli, cabbage, Asian greens, kohlrabi, kale, herbs and flowers. We start the peppers and eggplant this Thursday. You may want to do the same if you are starting plants for a home garden.

Tomato starts

Onions

Lettuce

Broccoli

Awakenings

While walking the fields today, doing some planning, Rebecca and I were chased by a bee. Several days earlier, Keith Stubblefield came out to check on our local honeymakers, put his ear to the otherwise quiet hive, and announced that he could here the buzz of thousands of bees.

So we quickly retreated to the house and made up a little food for the bees to supplement the stores of honey that got them through the winter. The video below shows just how active they have become---a true sign of Spring on the way.

Live bees flying at the hive entrance above a litter of dead bees cleaned from the hive.

Another sure sign of Spring is the migration of the snow geese. This last week they have been noisily moving over the farm, especially just after the sun comes up. These geese fly much higer than the Canadian geese we also see.

Below is the answer to the "Find the dog in this picture" photo. His body is hard to see, but you should be able to make out the black markings on his muzzle. Click on the image for a larger view of the photo.

February Happenings

Start the Planting
Well the season has begun at Fair Share Farm. Except for a few back orders, the seeds have arrived and greenhouse has been started. Over 7,000 onion plants have grown into seedlings, on their way to a mid-March planting in the field. The first shares of lettuce also are now popping through the potting soil on their way to your plate. At the end of the month we start the broccoli and herbs, and before you know it the greenhouse will be full.

For the next several weeks we will tend the greenhouse while continuing the house remodel. This latest round includes finishing some fine points in the dining room and kitchen, the construction of 2 built-in bookcases, window treatments, ceiling fan installation, window installation and finalizing some outside siding and trim. We are looking forward to an even more comforable home to cook and rest in at the end of a long farm day.

Planning. design and maintenance for the season will continue too, as we work to keep Rebecca's grandfather's tractor going into it's 50 year, look at long term building improvements, ready ourselves for more sheep, and try to stay on top of the latest happenings in the world of sustainable agriculture. We also are continuing our intern interviews and working with the Core Group to prepare for the March 21st sign-up meeting.


Lettuce seedling


Onion starts

Voles
Over the years we have spent much time in our newsletters and blogs talking about the many four legged pests that damage our crops. The addition of Rocky has slowed down and even helped stop crop losses from deer, racoons and opossums. But these animals number only in the hundreds. Our challenge this year (and in the future) is managing voles. These ground dwelling mammals are quite literally everywhere on the farm, burrowing just below the surface, and eating many of our vegetables that grow in or on top of the ground---like carrots, beets, sweet potatoes and fennel. While it is hard to estimate, I would guess their population in and around our fields is certainly in the thousands. More on these pesky varmits as the year progresses.


Vole burrows near the strawberry patch (typical)


They are bigger than a mouse and smaller than a rat (yeck).

Tracks in the Snow
While walking Rocky this morning it was hard not to notice the many animal tracks in the snow. The slushiness darkens the tracks and accentuates their shape. Below is a sampling of what is roaming the farm.




Rabbit


Coyote


Opossum


Wild Turkey


Rocky and some small critter (?)



Find the dog in this picture.

To the New Year

Happy New Year to all. We begin 2010 with the same mantra as the beginning of last year---"best year yet." And while the cold weather isn't suitable for farming at the moment, we are happy for a real winter, with cold temps and lots of snow cover on the fields.

While our December vacation was truncated for various reasons, and Rebecca spent most of December in an antibioitic induced immunity suppression from a small kidney stone (all better now thanks to probiotics), we did have a chance to rest and visit friends and family. We even enjoyed a visit for our friend/old CSA member/2008 intern Lorne Carrol and wife Angela. Lorne is in the middle of a 2 year public health nurse stint in Nome, Alaska. They were right at home.



We are now in the process of pulling together our seed and equipment order for 2010. Fun and daunting at the same time, we anxiously anticipate the start of the season when we plant the first onion seed in the greenhouse in early February.

The farm has been a winter wonderland since Xmas eve, and a playground for Rocky. He grows a polar bear coat this time of year, and looks at home in the snow. We will try to post on a regular basis between now and when the season starts to keep you up to date on things. Enjoy the winter while it is here.


Morning walk


Tracks


Strawberry patch

Wintery Days at the Farm

As we enter December, the farm has been put to bed. We have laid down hay on 8 new no-till beds, mulched the strawberries with hay, planted and mulched the garlic, cut new ground for next year, gotten all of the row cover, hoops, tomato stakes, and harvestable produce out of the fields, and put away the electric tractor for the season.

Next we hope to enjoy several weeks of rest, before getting our seed order together after the New Year. Part of our day (morning and late afternoon) is always spent taking Rocky for a walk. Being a mountain dog, he loves the snow, and is full of energy this time of year. Here's a little video showing what a happy dog looks like.

Perhaps more than anything, since becoming a farmer I have learned to understand and appreciate the annual movement of the sun through the sky. This time of year the sunrise is low on the southeast horizon. The photo below is due east from our kitchen window, as it is zero degrees F right now. Every morning for the next 10 days the sun will rise just a little more to the right. In the old days people rejoiced after the winter solstice since the sun turned around and headed north again.

We celebrate the return of the light in late December too, knowing that another planting season is on the way.

What to Do With Your Thanksgiving Share --- Part 2

Late Fall harvesting

The Thanksgiving holiday is but a week away, and it's time to start planning the menu (and harvesting the vegetables!) In the previous blog we suggested a cheesy root soup as a starter. For this blog I refer you to yesterday's Washington Post's Guess Who's Coming to Thanksgiving Dinner article. Resplendent with recipes from the likes of Julia Child, Alice Waters, James Beard and Fannie Farmer, I can think of no one place to go that has such a wonderful array of recipes to offer.

There are three different greens recipes; for Brussel sprouts, cabbage and greens. Edna Lewis' silken turnip soup sounds familiar, and is also recommended as a meal starter. Jacques Pepin teams with Julia to bone out part of the turkey before stuffing with sage/cornbread stuffing and roasting it. Go to the link to see the many other recipes, from rolls to cranberry sauce to pies. We hope you all have a healthy and happy thanksgiving.

Rebecca and Tom

What to Do With Your Thanksgiving Share Part 1

Tuesday morning at the farm

We are pleased to have had such a mild November so far, with lots of sunshine to keep the crops in the fields growing. Since the season ended, many vegetables still in the ground have doubled in size, making them just right for a Thanksgiving share. While we still have some picking to do (once the snow melts), we anticipate the share to include the following:

Broccoli (1/2 to 1 lb)

Brussel sprouts (2 decent sized stalks)

Carrots (Red Core Chantenay, good for eating or storing)

Beets (our best planting yet)

Bulb fennel (the cool weather makes them mild, sweet and delicious)

Celeriac (adds a subtle celery flavor to veggie mashes and stews)

Endive (a bitter green)

Leeks (maybe only 1/2 lb, but a great addition to any dish)

Garlic (2 nice heads)
Chard/kale (add some greens to an otherwise brown dinner)

Herbs (choice of thyme, sage, mint, or dried)

Onions (1 quart of good storage onions)
Roots medley (1 quart of mix and match radish, rutabaga or turnips)

Cabbage (a large savoy type)

White Soup with Cheese

One thing we hope to become a part of over the years is your Thanksgiving tradition. 2009 has been a good year, with quite a final bounty. We expect most years to have many of these same vegetables available, so you can create dishes that are uniquely local, seasonal and tasty.

One dish that often is overlooked at Thanksgiving is soup. With the usual 10 choices of dishes, piling our plates and digging in can be the norm. I know that this year as we host Thankgiving for Rebecca's family, we are going to try to keep the choices down, and start the meal with a cup of soup. The blending of flavors in the white soup recipe below is just the thing to get one's taste buds ready for the meal of the year.

Ingredients

2 medium onions

4 cloves garlic

2 to 3 Hakurei turnips

1 celeriac

1 bulb fennel

1 rutabaga

1 kohlrabi

(You can also add cauliflower, regular turnips and/or potato. You want about 2+ quarts of chopped vegetables total)

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter
1 to 2 tsp sea salt

1 quart stock or water

1 cup milk

1 cup cream

1 cup grated cheese (we used Parmesan)

Clean and chop the vegetables. They all need to be peeled, and their unique shapes require different techniques. Veggies like celeriac and kohlrabi are best cleaned with a large knife. Simply place them on their side and "shave" off the outer layer, as shown in the photos. You can do some final peeling with a paring knife or peeler. Treat fennel like celery, cutting off the root end and ferny tips. Rutabaga can be peeled with a veggie peeler.

Saute the onions, fennel and celeriac in the olive oil and butter for about 5 minutes over medium high heat. Add the salt and remaining vegetables. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the stock (just enough to cover the vegetables), cover and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

Strain the liquid from the vegetables and return it to the soup pot. Puree the vegetables until smooth and add back to the liquid. Stir in the milk, cream and cheese and simmer for 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Serve hot.