Down on the Farm

Babies babies babies

We had company this weekend -- our friends Steve and Heidi and their new 3 month old son Asher. Our friends Kurt and Tracy came over a couple of weeks ago with their 6 week old son, Thomas. Mark and Lori recently had a son named Craig. These other farmers we know, Duffy and Roberta, recently had a new daughter named Iris. My brother and his wife have a daughter under one year old, as do our friends Ben and Neera. Maryellen's sister recently had her second kid, and Maryellen has two different cousins, who are each expecting in September and October, 2003. I guess it is that time of life!

Here is me and Steve and Asher chillin' by the barn.

Here is a backlit picture of Heidi and Asher.

I must have done something to make the weather gods angry

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but it has been very dry. We finally got a little rain last night, but not enough to really reverse the dry trend for the veggies.

Why does dry matter? Because we don't have a real irrigation system, so all the watering is very labor intensive and somewhat time consuming. I basically gambled that we would not need a real irrigation system for the first half of this season, and right now it is starting to look like I may lose that bet a little bit. I think we will survive, but it means I need to put some time into watering.

the bees are hot

This is all the bees hanging out on the outside of the hive. I don't know much about bees, but I know that is not right.

When I realized this, I started freaking out. The bees are sick! I killed the bees! I called the guy I got the bees from, Butch, in a panic. Butch was very kind. No, they are not sick, he said, probably just hot. He said I needed to open them up more. Prop the top open a little and remove the entrance reducer.

How am I supposed to remove the entrance reducer? That's the piece of wood in their door to make it smaller! They're all over the door! That's where they fly in and out, where they are most defensive!! They're not going to like me sticking my hand into their door!

Butch said, very gently, just suit up and do it.

So that's what I did. It was so cool!!

Here is Scooter and I all suited up and ready to go.

This is what the entrance reducer looks like.

And it totally helped. Butch was so right!!

Here's before

and after -- about 30 minutes later (the sun was going down).

The other thing that Butch said to try was to add another super, which is another wooden box full of wax comb. It will give them more room inside, like an addition on their house. My neighbor Libby very kindly said that she'd come over this weekend and show me how to do it, so we'll see if that gets the rest of them inside.

Yikes

Alright. I don't like to whine, but right now it is about as nasty as it gets. Mid-90s+, with lots of humidity, and zero air movement. I think I may go lie down on the basement floor for the rest of the afternoon.

Oh, by the way . . .

Our organic certification inspection went well last week. The guy said my field maps were "exemplary", which is kind of funny because record-keeping is not usually my strong point (just ask Maryellen). At one point, however, he did ask to see my harvest records, and I was like, "Harvest records?" He said, "Yea, you know like when you write down how much you harvested on a given day." All I could muster was a concerned sounding, "Hmmmmm . . ." Anyway, they want to see harvest records next time they come by.

But overall it went well. The inspector has to submit his report to the certification board, which is the body that makes the actual certification decision, but he said he would recommend certification. I should hear in another week or so.

Pictures

Things are blooming!

The potatoes are flowering, which means they are almost ready to harvest as a baby new potato.

A couple more weeks until the string beans are here.

Winter squash blossom.

Here's more of the frame on the new hoophouse. It is amazing what you can do with a pickup truck, a chainsaw, a cordless drill, and a bag of deck screws (I guess I also used a post hole digger and a step ladder). The hoophouse isn't real straight, but it's not bad considering I had to just eyeball all the cuts with the chainsaw, and it basically only needs to hold up 6 millimeter plastic and the tomato trellises.

Our town

So this is the town of Peacham. Our farm is obscured by trees right above the second "h" in photography. You can see the Berwick's farm across the street from us (to the left), and you can see a strip of open field (to the right) going back up to our vegetable fields.

I guess this means we're famous now.

Continued hot and muggy, with no rain

Hot, hot, hot. And muggy, muggy, muggy. Today is a farm day, and it will be brutal out there.

I am skipping the market today. I have a thin week in terms of stuff that is available, and then I had a wholesale account order a bunch of produce yesterday, so it really isn't worth my time to go to market today. More veggies will be pouring in soon (including the earliest new potatoes on the block!), so I don't feel that bad about skipping, and the market manager was very laid back about it. But we will be at the Saturday St. Johnsbury market for sure. Maryellen will be coming with me for that one.

The downside to the hot weather is that it hasn't been raining. I am starting to irrigate, but our system is very primitive -- basically a big water tank in the back of the pick-up that we fill up at the house (with our 50 gal./minute well), and a bunch of garden hoses. My friend/mentor Richard is coming to visit next week, and brainstorming about a more professional irrigation system is on the list topics for discussion.

Drink lots of lemonade today everyone!

Hot outside, cool inside

It was hot today (at least for Vermont). Up around 90 degrees and sunny and muggy. Fortunately, our house has a built in air conditioner. The entire south side of the downstairs is shaded by the roof over the wrap around porch, so the living room, dining room, and kitchen, never see much direct sun. Today it really was about 20-25 degrees cooler in those rooms than outside. So it is a nice set up on the 3 days of the year it exceeds 90 up here, and kind of a draw back on the 30 days it never gets above zero. Oh well, we enjoy it while we can.

Picture of the day

People seem to like pictures, so here is one of the unheated hoophouse we are building up in the field. Once the frame is completed (hopefully today), I will cover it with greenhouse plastic. I am building the frame by sinking cedar timbers into the ground, and then building a frame around the timbers with store bought lumber. Although more labor intensive, this method is less expensive then buying a real, professional steel framed hoophouse, and it should work just as well.

By managing the solar heat with ventilation, we will be able to extend the growing season in the spring and the fall, and we will be able to keep it in the 90s during the summer for crops that love heat (like tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, peppers).

Market was up

Yesterday was a good day at market. I sold every single vegetable I brought with me, and I could have sold twice as much if I had it. And I had even raised my prices a little.

The vegetable grower immediately to my left also sold out of all his produce, and he is a real pro who had brought 4 times as much stuff as I had. It is just as Pete Johnson (the farmer I worked for last year) said -- marketing doesn't seem to be the problem when you have fresh, local, good tasting, attractive, harvested that day, organic vegetables. The real problem is managing production and delivery in some sort of cost effective manner. I wasn't sure I believed him at the time, but so far he seems to be right. Of course, yesterday was a beautiful day up here, and there is a lot of early season demand, so the market was busy. But so far so good. Now I just need to figure out how to grow more vegetables earlier next year.

Summer

I love the feeling of this time of year. It's a feeling that comes at different times in different places, like I think it comes in March in Texas, but here it comes in mid-June.

The flowers are blooming, the bees are buzzing, the birds are flying, and the landscape is drenched in living greenness, almost like the forgiving blanket of snow in winter.

Summer seems to stretch on ahead forever, and everything good seems truly possible. This time of year always makes me feel foolishly happy and grateful to be alive.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I love Vermont

The other day it got up to almost 80 degrees, and Maryellen overheard someone saying, "I know, it is just so hot today." And the funny thing is I was thinking the same thing. Only in northern Vermont (and maybe Minnesota) is 80 degrees considered pretty hot.

We also know this guy who dislikes the heat so much that he goes canoeing up in Hudson Bay every summer for a few weeks. I have spent a lot of my life living in very cold places, but even by my standards that's pretty hardcore.

Farm updates

Pretty good day at market yesterday, relatively speaking. It is still early, so my selection and sales are low relative to what they will hopefully be later in the season. But not a bad day.

However, after I got back from market, I got an order from a wholesale account. I am going to fill that order, but it means I will be very, very short for the Saturday market, which is bad. The market requires vendors to show up every week and to stay the whole time, even if they sell out. So I may just be sitting there reading a book on Saturday.

On the other hand, I guess being able to sell more than I have at this point is not such a bad problem.

Also, today the organic certification inspector comes. I think I have everything in order, but since this is our first time through the certification process, I am a little nervous. I feel like I am back in school and I have a test today.

Sell, sell!

Today is market day again (on the green in Danville 9a.m. to 1p.m.) This week we are adding baby beets and broccoli raab to the mix. Plus some new varieties of head lettuce are in. All that on top of the salad turnips, scallions, seedlings, and cut flowers. Should be better weather this week.

More treasures

I was up in the high drive of the barn today looking for some wood for a project. Lying on a beam between two other pieces of wood was a magazine. From the wear and tear on it I assumed it was from the 1960s or 1970s. But it turns out it is a Collier's Weekly from August 20, 1938. Except for being folded up a bit and a water stain or two, it really looked almost like new. At the very least, it probably hasn't been touched in 60 years or so.

I like the ad for the a Chrysler for $975.

Bees at work!

See the one on the far right there with the big blob of pollen on her leg!

Just to orient you, that's the entry to their home with bees on their way in and out. The screen is tacked over the make the door smaller and easier for the bees to defend. When the bee community grows bigger, they will need a bigger door, and they will be able to defend a bigger door. Then I will take the screen off.

Happy Father's Day!!!

We both have the greatest Dads in the world. Happy, Happy Father's Day to you both!

This is for Maryellen's Dad:

And this is for my Dad:

And Happy Father's Day to all the new and expecting Dads out there. That includes Joe M., Mike M., Mike G., Geoff G., Mark S., Steve G., Ben E., Jamie C., Chris C., Chris G., and me!

Good day

The market went pretty well, despite the rain. Tripled our sales from Wednesday, which still isn't saying much, but it is progress. It made me hopeful that St. Johnsbury will be a good market for us.

The other aspect of doing a farmer's market is socializing with other growers. Most of the farm work I/we do is by ourselves, so it is always nice to spend some time with other people who share our passion for growing stuff. Now, back to work!

Time to make the doughnuts

Off to the St. Johnsbury farmer's market today. Come on out! -- 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot behind the movie theatre on Eastern Ave. I'll let you know how it goes. It is raining right now, so it might be a slow day.

Good morning!

I let the bees out this morning for their first flight. At first they seemed a little wobbly. Would they find their way around? Would they find their way home?

When I came back 45 minutes later, the bees were flying back in (and out again) like they owned the place!!!

First cut of hay

The next door neighbors are friendly!

The bees are here!!!

The bees are here!!! Woohoo!! I know that you probably thought that I had gotten them weeks ago, but I only just picked them up tonight. The cool wet weather delayed things somewhat, and Butch, the man I bought them from, did not seem very type A about things . Butch was extremely nice to me, gave me some helpful pointers, and fixed a couple things on my hive box to make it work better (for free), so it was worth the wait.

Butch said that the bees are kindof testy right now. He said after they get used to their queen and she really develops they should settle down.

Peter carried them up to the second floor of the barn for me. They were really heavy though, so I'm going to have to come up with a better system -- either a different place to put them or an easier way of getting them up and down.

I won't be harvesting honey from them this year. First I have to hope that they survive the transition, then I hope that they build a strong community and can put away enough honey to survive the winter, then I have to hope that they actually get through the winter. If they survive the first year, then I can probably harvest honey next year.

That's all from here!

Bad sign

I had a dream last night that is was June 12, and it was snowing on my tomatoes. Maybe it is getting to be time for another day off already. . .

The market was up a little today

I went to the Danville market today. Call me crazy, but I think the 40 mph wind gusts and nearly horizontal rain kept the crowds down a bit. Nonetheless, it was a good experience. People liked the salad turnips, the other vendors seemed nice, I spent some time gossiping with other growers, it turns out I am pretty good at charming unsuspecting old ladies out of a few dollars in exchange for some veggies, and I even sold some of my overage at the health food coop in St. Johnsbury afterwards. We didn't get rich, but overall it was a decent first market.

Here are some pics.

Painting a sign the night before.

Washing veggies in the morning sun (before the thunderstorms rolled in).

Packing some washed lettuce (and scallions).

This is my "first day at school" picture for which Maryellen made me pose. She didn't take any pictures at the market because she was afraid the other vendors would realize right off the bat what geeks we are.

The war continues

If you ever wondered how bright woodchucks are, the answer is not too bright.

Since we last left the topic, I had discovered a woodchuck living in the barn. A week or two ago, I disposed of that chuck pretty handily with the old 12 gauge. So imagine my surprise when I came home today to discover two new woodchucks living in the same hole. I guess they found this empty hole and were totally psyched to have stumbled upon a completely finished new home -- perhaps not thinking it was odd that no one was living in this hole that happened to be so close to the humans.

Well, after a little patience tonight, the present population is back down to one.

Market expectations

Our first farmer's market is tomorrow (shameless plug for anyone local -- it is in Danville on the green from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.).

But since some people have asked, I should note that our expectations are very low. First, we don't have much to sell yet, except some seedlings, salad turnips, scallions, lettuce, and maybe some cut flowers from our yard. Second, our retail presentation is pretty bare bones at this point (basically a table, an umbrella, and a few wooden boxes). Third, we are doing both a Wednesday and Saturday market, and the Wednesday market is supposed to be the quieter of the two. Fourth, there is a chance of rain tomorrow.

But I am psyched! It will be a good test run to start figuring out what needs to happen for market day. And it is the beginning of our journey toward global vegetable domination!

Better lucky than good II

Our irrigation system is very primitive and labor intensive at this point. So yesterday some rain would have really helped. But the forecast was only for a chance of showers, at best.

I went up to the field and planted tomatoes from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. or so, before hitting my day job. Well, shortly after 8 a.m. we had a gentle rain for about an hour. Perfect. Stuff like that helps make up for days like Sunday.

Go organic!

"Fruits and veggies grown organically show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, according to a new study of corn, strawberries and marionberries. The research suggests that pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics chemicals that act as a plant's natural defense and also happen to be good for our health."

Source: The Natural Farmer, Vol. 2, No. 57, quoting the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Vol. 51, No. 5, Feb. 2003 pp. 1237-1241.

Monkey see, monkey do

It turns out that chimps prefer organic products as well.

What a day

I know this blog probably makes farming look like non-stop fun and yuks, but today was one of those days. I am having temperature management problems with some tomatoes and peppers (they were too hot under the black plastic and remay), so I am worried I have damaged a good portion of those crops. Cucumber beetles, which are the absolute bane of any melon, squash, or cucumber grower, have shown up in the greenhouse, and it is only a matter of time until they show up in the field. I knew they would eventually find us, but I thought we might get more of a reprieve in our first year. I don't have the things done that I need to have done for market on Wednesday, and in fact, I haven't even finished the things I was going to do before I started getting ready for market. It was hot out today, I was tired, blah blah blah. Whew, time to go to bed and simply start over tomorrow.

Just take it one step at a time, do the next right thing, and I should have a better attitude tomorrow. I guess these are what are called growing pains. Or learning pains.

Yummy time

These are salad turnips pulled from the field today. They are like big sweet radishes. But better than radishes. Maryellen had them in her salad tonight. At least we will have something ready for the farmer's market next week.

Hmmmm

I heard the bagpipes again today. I don't know if that is a good sign or a bad sign. . .

Haying time

It is getting to be time for the dairy farmers to make their first cut of hay. I don't totally understand the process, but I know you need a couple of days of dry weather to get the stuff in. And we have not really had a couple of totally dry days for the past couple of weeks. I am not sure if the guy who hays some of our land will try to do two or three cuts this year, but today is supposed to be sunny and in the 80s, so I suspect it will be a decent drying day.

Strange II

Ok. I am not making this up. When I was working up in the field yesterday, I heard the faint, but distinct, ring of bagpipes. Now, we live in Caledonia County, this area was settled by Scots, and everyone says the upland hilly terrain around here looks like Scotland. Plus, this area used to be all sheep farms back when there were textile mills in Vermont. But that doesn't explain the pipes.

To the east, the field looks out into the Passumpsic and Connecticut River valleys, and to the west, the land goes uphill to town, and then to Mack Mountain. So there are plenty of opportunities for sound to bounce around for many miles. My bet is that there was a funeral in town, but I assume I would have heard about that beforehand. The other explanations are (1) a ghost, (2) I am losing my mind, (3) someone simply practicing their bagpipes. I think I will go with number (3) for now.

Strange

Yesterday, when I was shaving, I noticed something funny. On the side of my head there was this completely mutant hair. It wasn't brown like all the other ones. Instead, it was almost like it lacked any pigmentation whatsoever. It was a white, kind of light silvery gray. Can you imagine that? A totally gray hair. Weird.

Regular farm programming

Strange, but people seem to like pictures of the farm and Maryellen more than they like to read my political rants. So I brought the camera up to the field with me while I worked today. It was a beautiful June day, 75 degrees, dry, and clear.

View from the field

Potatoes coming up through a black plastic mulch. The plastic keeps the ground warm (potatoes like it hot -- they are originally from Central/South America), and it keeps the moisture in, and the weeds at bay.

Here are the sweet onions coming along.

Most of our tomatoes, peppers, melons and squash have been transplanted out. But then we cover them with remay, which is suspended over the plants with wire arches stuck in the ground. The remay is a spun plastic fabric that allows light in, but retains warmth and provides frost protection. Like the potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, melons, and squash like it hot. The remay also keeps some early season bugs off of the plants. But when they start to bloom, we will remove the remay so that the flowers can get pollinated.

And here is the stream that runs along the western border of the field.

Shooting the breeze

On Sunday I did something that I hadn't done in about six weeks -- I basically took a day off. I didn't work on the farm or my day job. While I did scrape some wallpaper, and I did putz around the house a little, I mostly visited with my Mom and Maryellen's parents, and just chilled out. It was hard at times because there is so much to do on the farm, but when those thoughts popped up, I tried to put them aside and enjoy some down time. I think Maryellen and I even watched a movie Sunday night.

This is after a spring of working 10-15 hours a day, seven days a week, between both farm work and my day job. Call me crazy, but I think everyone should take a day off every month and a half or so. I feel pretty re-energized.

Some sad news

I know it is not directly farm related, but I wanted to note that Burke Marshall died yesterday at the age of 80. Professor Marshall was a courageous man who, among other things fought for civil rights in the Kennedy administration, and was a fixture at our alma mater, Yale Law School. I am sure he will be greatly missed.

Happy Birthday Maryellen!!!!

Today is a big day around here at Old Shaw Farm -- Maryellen's Birthday!!

Here she is having some yummy cake her Mom made this weekend. And the festivities will continue all week, including a Jane Austen movieathon, and a dinner for two at her favorite restaurant (hopefully she will pick me to go with her). Way to go Maryel!

Farming away

We have had a busy weekend. Maryellen's parents and my Mom all came to visit. Here's me in my goofy farmer's hat taking a break from work to show Maryellen's parents and my Mom around (my Mom is taking the picture).

Here is Maryellen and her Dad as Maryellen takes a break from mowing the lawn.

We put Joe and Dee and Alice to work. Dee and Alice cleaned out the garden in front of the house, and now it looks great, and we don't have to hide from the neighbors anymore. Joe fixed the barn floor where the bees are, he also fixed the door that is always banging in the wind, he fixed the upstairs shower, and he advised me on how to fix the roof on the shed. All of us also spent time peeling wallpaper. We actually got an awful lot done, and we still had time for some yuks and for some of Maryellen's birthday cake.

Here is another funny picture. We can have a caption contest in the comments section. My entry is, "The baby feels like it is about this big right now, and we are only at five months!"