A not-so-unique day today. Surely nothing close to negative in there, just very "meat and potatoes."
What I might mention before the meat & potatoes, though, is the ragweed pollen that's been kicking my nose's butt for the past week. Hoo wee!! Did you say you want me to sneeze... AGAIN?? Okay! Here goes!! ....Thank you sir, may I have another?!?!?!
For real. It's been quite the sneeze fest. Local honey has offered a modicum of relief, but with levels as high as they've been, nothing short of my own bubble is going to offer clear sinuses.
On with the day...
I began by pulling drip tape back into the peppers that we weeded a few weeks ago. This time though we are using only one line per bed as the plants have peaked and will not need such a big push. Plus their roots are far down and spread laterally enough to be able to tap water from a greater depth and distance.
Eggplants received a little water as well. Luckily the lines were still set up in the beds.
With the focus on irrigation (as our 10-day forecast shows little to no rain), I moved the overhead lines from our squash and cucumbers in F to the beans/herbs/chard area in D. Poised to irrigate, but not until peppers and eggplants were done. Must make sure to run one zone at a time so as not to exceed the capabilities of the well pump.
All the while, D & E were cleaning out the greenhouse. Major cleaning too. Looks awesome. All ready for the squash on Monday.
When that was finished, we all cultivated the two new beds of squash and cucs in F. The cucumbers are not doing too well for some reason. The germination rate was about 50%. And those that did germinate are barely over 3" tall. We cultivated them anyway (instead of tilling them in) to see what will come of it.
We took a quick break.
E & I went straight to harvesting. Lettuce first, then leeks.
We killed 10 minutes before lunch trimming garlic. Good time killer.
-------
After eating, I hopped on the Cub to basket weed the freshly handweeded beds in C. While handweeding is the most thorough method of cultivation, it's still good practice to turn over all the weedlings that were left for dead before they have a chance to re-root.
Turned on overhead irrigation in D then.
Straight to the sweet potato bed in Y to help D & E cultivate. My weapon was a collinear hoe. Now, the soil in that field is rocky to begin with, but add sunny/dry weather for over a week and you get a soil whose tilth is somewhere close to "sidewalk." Regardless we made our way through. As an aside, some creature(s) has managed to nibble its way down the length of the 400' bed. Taking the outermost leaves from the vines. Not bad damage, just don't want anymore than that.
Our last harvest of the day was peppers. All red all the time. Beautiful.
To end my day, I made a trip to a farm close by to pick up chicken feed. Wouldn't want those guys to miss out on their daily game of "pecking order breakfast." It can get kinda violent in there. Believe me.
After the workday, I moved straight to the log. Using a drawknife I shaved off all the unwanted bark and rotted wood around the outside. With that done I plotted a 13 x 15" rectangle on the end of the log so I can rough cut it with the chainsaw tomorrow.
More pictures then.
Laundry came after. Then a very tasty dinner and now this.
Ok, not as "meat and potatoes" as it felt. Perhaps... with a few tasty side dishes.
Dig.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
(b)logging
Hmmm. Spelt. Not my favorite grain for bread. Rather crumbly.
Just so you know.
This morning felt great. Cool. Sunny. Oatmeal(y). Coffee(y).
Can one ask for much more? Perhaps a little, but largely.. no.
I've been meaning to get some shots of the winter squash field. The plants are yellowed and on their way out. The squashes themselves look amazing. We will be having a squash harvesting get together this Monday, Labor Day. The field will be picked clean and the squash will be laid out in the greenhouse to cure.
Anyway, hows about a little time lapse photography of the field?
The first pic was taken on June 30 and the last one this morning.
Our day in short??
Trimmed and bagged onions. 850 lbs.
Handweeded spinach.
Moved irrigation over to moisten soil in beet bed with a 20min. shower.
Lunch
Handweeded beets.
Harvested Summer Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers
Cultivated our 3 beds of Brassicas in Y field. Mad rocky field. Tough to wheel hoe.
Back to the greenhouse for more onion(ing). 200 lbs.
Day over...
Then??????
Time to retrieve my log!! I geared up with leather gloves, a 30' chain w/ hooks, and my camera. Hopped on the New Holland, dropped the loader bucket and headed to the woods below W field. It wasn't difficult to find a path to the log through the woods as 1. It's not densely wooded, and 2. With only the potato spade on the back of the tractor (and no big bucket on front), I could squeeze into tighter spaces.
The process was rather straightforward, albeit a bit of a chore to execute. Get one end of the chain wrapped around the log about 1/4 of the way down the length, and the other end of the chain secured to the potato spade on the back. Gear down to the lowest possible "crawl" speed and pull the thing out of the woods. Yeah, there was a lot of starting and stopping. Ultimately I shortened the chain length enough so that the back hitch could actually lift the front lip of the log about a half inch above the ground. Much easier to control and much less of a furrow left behind. I'll leave you with pics of the process. Feel free to create your own captions.
When I got it close to the barn, I pulled the chain, rolled it onto (recently attached) forks and placed it where I'll be working on it.
Done and done. Aaand mad excited.
Shortly after, Gayle (one of our star volunteers) showed up thinking we were doing a work and wine party. Unfortunately we were not. She, her daughter and daughter's boyfriend decided to stay anyway, so we put them to work trimming and bagging the last of the onions. Yes, of course we worked with them. With onions done (615 lbs. YAAAAAAAYYY!! Thanks, guys!), the day was truly finished, except for one last thing.... a nice long shower.
What a day. Dig.
Just so you know.
This morning felt great. Cool. Sunny. Oatmeal(y). Coffee(y).
Can one ask for much more? Perhaps a little, but largely.. no.
I've been meaning to get some shots of the winter squash field. The plants are yellowed and on their way out. The squashes themselves look amazing. We will be having a squash harvesting get together this Monday, Labor Day. The field will be picked clean and the squash will be laid out in the greenhouse to cure.
Anyway, hows about a little time lapse photography of the field?
The first pic was taken on June 30 and the last one this morning.
Our day in short??
Trimmed and bagged onions. 850 lbs.
Handweeded spinach.
Moved irrigation over to moisten soil in beet bed with a 20min. shower.
Lunch
Handweeded beets.
Harvested Summer Squash, Zucchini, Cucumbers
Cultivated our 3 beds of Brassicas in Y field. Mad rocky field. Tough to wheel hoe.
Back to the greenhouse for more onion(ing). 200 lbs.
Day over...
Then??????
Time to retrieve my log!! I geared up with leather gloves, a 30' chain w/ hooks, and my camera. Hopped on the New Holland, dropped the loader bucket and headed to the woods below W field. It wasn't difficult to find a path to the log through the woods as 1. It's not densely wooded, and 2. With only the potato spade on the back of the tractor (and no big bucket on front), I could squeeze into tighter spaces.
The process was rather straightforward, albeit a bit of a chore to execute. Get one end of the chain wrapped around the log about 1/4 of the way down the length, and the other end of the chain secured to the potato spade on the back. Gear down to the lowest possible "crawl" speed and pull the thing out of the woods. Yeah, there was a lot of starting and stopping. Ultimately I shortened the chain length enough so that the back hitch could actually lift the front lip of the log about a half inch above the ground. Much easier to control and much less of a furrow left behind. I'll leave you with pics of the process. Feel free to create your own captions.
When I got it close to the barn, I pulled the chain, rolled it onto (recently attached) forks and placed it where I'll be working on it.
Done and done. Aaand mad excited.
Shortly after, Gayle (one of our star volunteers) showed up thinking we were doing a work and wine party. Unfortunately we were not. She, her daughter and daughter's boyfriend decided to stay anyway, so we put them to work trimming and bagging the last of the onions. Yes, of course we worked with them. With onions done (615 lbs. YAAAAAAAYYY!! Thanks, guys!), the day was truly finished, except for one last thing.... a nice long shower.
What a day. Dig.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
days in one day
I seem to have fallen into a routine of catch-up.
Why? Not sure. Just is.
I am learning no fewer things day to day.
I am working no less day to day.
I've got to acknowledge and record what's happening.
Here we go, however, with one more (hopefully) catch-up.
------
Thursday, 21
We began at the regular time, 7am, and harvested, if I'm not mistaken, lettuce and leeks. At 9am, we called it a day. Well, D suggested we do in light of the Dutchess County Fair being in full swing. Who am I to argue? If the man wants to go to the fair... by all means.
Although we all went separately, we all went. I took the (bad) car.
The fair was BIG. My hometown's county fair was rather sizable for the area, but this was, indeed, a happening.
I wandered the grounds by myself trying to take in as much as I could before I had to leave.
Highlights for me:
All the livestock
"Salute to Agriculture" building
Horticulture Building
A dog show (the obstacle course part. muy impressive)
Horse riding/jumping arena
A mop salesman "wowing" the crowd
And???
This exhibit (all running, by the way). Sooooo cool.
And this (below) which was rather interesting. One of the (if not THE) first forms of agricultural mechanization.
The running water falls into the carved out section on the right, which, when full, exerts enough force to lift the head.
In turn, the water naturally spills out and the hammer comes falling down on the stump. It was (and still is in some areas of Brazil) used to de-hull rice. Brilliant.
In all, a great time at the fair.
Picked up H afterward for a weekday visit. Made an amazing salad for lunch. Ate pizza for dinner. Nice.
Friday, 22nd
Man! Did we harvest...
Though we started with cultivation. All of our spring greens that have been under Reemay and beets and beans needed some attention. Luckily we had some help.
Help with harvesting too.
Tomatoes
Potatoes
&
Beans
Oh, and Nancy made some of the richest, tastiest pound cake I've ever had. Hoo wee!
The afternoon had E and I pulling in
Squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Peppers
Eggplants
Large quantities of each at that.
Long day. Straight to the train afterward for an extended weekend in the city.
Saturday and Sunday, 23rd & 24th
Helped (along with my mom and sis) my brother tear apart his kitchen to ready for painting, new cabinets and counter. GOOD times!!
Monday, 25th
We began by hand weeding turnips in D. Painstaking. Root crops, despite their sturdiness when mature, are quite fragile early on.
We were rained off the field for about and hour. No worries, their were/are plenty of storage onions in the greenhouse to cut and bag.
A quick break and we finished weeding through the rest of the morning with Gordon, great volunteer.
Cucumbers and squash were up first after lunch. Then peppers. Then eggplants. Then tomatoes to finish the day.
Today, 26th
Harvested:
Leeks
Scallions (took sooo long!)
Arugula (yaaaay! nts: better to wait until dry(er) to harvest.)
Tatsoi
Beans
We packed shares. Mitch showed up and helped along with Johanna. Always good on a Tuesday.
During my downtime before distribution, D showed me how to use a chainsaw. After the demonstration we went to woods behind W field, to the large downed tree I spied weeks ago. I'm going to carve a bench from it. No worries, I'll be taking many pics of the process.
He sawed through one end of the piece and left the other end for me to cut later.
Distribution was quick and enjoyable.
Then it was down to the tree by myself to cut the piece from its trunk. The chainsaw felt very easy to maneuver and caused me no trouble at all. I made it through the log with ease and it fell to the ground. Now we've got to find a way to get the tractor into the woods to pull it up to the farm proper so I can begin to carve. I. Am. Excited.
...and the season keeps moving steadily along.
dig.
Why? Not sure. Just is.
I am learning no fewer things day to day.
I am working no less day to day.
I've got to acknowledge and record what's happening.
Here we go, however, with one more (hopefully) catch-up.
------
Thursday, 21
We began at the regular time, 7am, and harvested, if I'm not mistaken, lettuce and leeks. At 9am, we called it a day. Well, D suggested we do in light of the Dutchess County Fair being in full swing. Who am I to argue? If the man wants to go to the fair... by all means.
Although we all went separately, we all went. I took the (bad) car.
The fair was BIG. My hometown's county fair was rather sizable for the area, but this was, indeed, a happening.
I wandered the grounds by myself trying to take in as much as I could before I had to leave.
Highlights for me:
All the livestock
"Salute to Agriculture" building
Horticulture Building
A dog show (the obstacle course part. muy impressive)
Horse riding/jumping arena
A mop salesman "wowing" the crowd
And???
This exhibit (all running, by the way). Sooooo cool.
And this (below) which was rather interesting. One of the (if not THE) first forms of agricultural mechanization.
The running water falls into the carved out section on the right, which, when full, exerts enough force to lift the head.
In turn, the water naturally spills out and the hammer comes falling down on the stump. It was (and still is in some areas of Brazil) used to de-hull rice. Brilliant.
In all, a great time at the fair.
Picked up H afterward for a weekday visit. Made an amazing salad for lunch. Ate pizza for dinner. Nice.
Friday, 22nd
Man! Did we harvest...
Though we started with cultivation. All of our spring greens that have been under Reemay and beets and beans needed some attention. Luckily we had some help.
Help with harvesting too.
Tomatoes
Potatoes
&
Beans
Oh, and Nancy made some of the richest, tastiest pound cake I've ever had. Hoo wee!
The afternoon had E and I pulling in
Squash
Zucchini
Cucumbers
Peppers
Eggplants
Large quantities of each at that.
Long day. Straight to the train afterward for an extended weekend in the city.
Saturday and Sunday, 23rd & 24th
Helped (along with my mom and sis) my brother tear apart his kitchen to ready for painting, new cabinets and counter. GOOD times!!
Monday, 25th
We began by hand weeding turnips in D. Painstaking. Root crops, despite their sturdiness when mature, are quite fragile early on.
We were rained off the field for about and hour. No worries, their were/are plenty of storage onions in the greenhouse to cut and bag.
A quick break and we finished weeding through the rest of the morning with Gordon, great volunteer.
Cucumbers and squash were up first after lunch. Then peppers. Then eggplants. Then tomatoes to finish the day.
Today, 26th
Harvested:
Leeks
Scallions (took sooo long!)
Arugula (yaaaay! nts: better to wait until dry(er) to harvest.)
Tatsoi
Beans
We packed shares. Mitch showed up and helped along with Johanna. Always good on a Tuesday.
During my downtime before distribution, D showed me how to use a chainsaw. After the demonstration we went to woods behind W field, to the large downed tree I spied weeks ago. I'm going to carve a bench from it. No worries, I'll be taking many pics of the process.
He sawed through one end of the piece and left the other end for me to cut later.
Distribution was quick and enjoyable.
Then it was down to the tree by myself to cut the piece from its trunk. The chainsaw felt very easy to maneuver and caused me no trouble at all. I made it through the log with ease and it fell to the ground. Now we've got to find a way to get the tractor into the woods to pull it up to the farm proper so I can begin to carve. I. Am. Excited.
...and the season keeps moving steadily along.
dig.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
introspection
Why is it that on some days one's voice feels/sounds so uncomfortably foreign coming from their own throat that they find it much easier to remain silent for most of the day?
Yeah. Rarely. But sometimes.
It was a quiet day. Reflective. Though we surely worked.
Lettuce needed to be harvested. Otherwise we would have lost a few hundred feet by Friday. Strange how fast some varieties bolt... even though the temperature has been relatively moderate for mid-August, i.e. Mottistone, always quick to bolt.
Straight from Lettuce to Swiss Chard in Y. This younger bed has not developed as many brown spots on the stems that the bed in W1 did. An easier/faster harvest. And surely more aesthetically pleasing. (nts: when harvested properly, one bed of chard can regenerate. lasting the better part of the whole season. impressive. space efficient)
From Chard we moved to Leeks. I love processing these guys.
Pull from the ground and stack in piles going one direction.
After all is pulled, sit next to a pile.
Pick one up, hold plant w/ root pointing right.
With razor sharp harvesting knife, cut off bottom 1/4" of plant with swift motion.
Pull off 1 or 2 outer leaves to clean.
Chop one side of leaves at diagonal.
Spin and do the same to the other side.
When you've done it enough times and perhaps have achieved a modicum of speed, the rhythm that develops is completely hypnotic.
After Leeks we cultivated the harvested Chard bed, then picked Beans until lunch.
In our off time (as we took a couple hours in light of our evening work party) I cruised and picked up a couple bales of wood shavings.... THEN??
Yep, cleaned the chicken coop. My singularly least favorite farm chore. Gloves, breather mask, powdered "droppings." Sheesh...
Finished right @ 4:30 and though I was greeted by D for our work party prep time, I insisted on (read: asked politely) showering the layer of "chicken" off me. Felt much better when done.
For the work party, two things:
1. We harvested a bed of carrots (which yielded about 493lbs). Most cool.
2. Nobody showed. That is until Judy (thanks!) showed a half hour before the wine portion of the evening.
This time we did up a little fire at the corner of what was the melon field.
Salsa. Chips. Trail Mix .. and wine.
Wine, idle chatter and warmth from the fire. A perfect end to the day
Heading to the Dutchess Co. Fair tomorrow. Should be a hoot!!!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Dig.
Yeah. Rarely. But sometimes.
It was a quiet day. Reflective. Though we surely worked.
Lettuce needed to be harvested. Otherwise we would have lost a few hundred feet by Friday. Strange how fast some varieties bolt... even though the temperature has been relatively moderate for mid-August, i.e. Mottistone, always quick to bolt.
Straight from Lettuce to Swiss Chard in Y. This younger bed has not developed as many brown spots on the stems that the bed in W1 did. An easier/faster harvest. And surely more aesthetically pleasing. (nts: when harvested properly, one bed of chard can regenerate. lasting the better part of the whole season. impressive. space efficient)
From Chard we moved to Leeks. I love processing these guys.
Pull from the ground and stack in piles going one direction.
After all is pulled, sit next to a pile.
Pick one up, hold plant w/ root pointing right.
With razor sharp harvesting knife, cut off bottom 1/4" of plant with swift motion.
Pull off 1 or 2 outer leaves to clean.
Chop one side of leaves at diagonal.
Spin and do the same to the other side.
When you've done it enough times and perhaps have achieved a modicum of speed, the rhythm that develops is completely hypnotic.
After Leeks we cultivated the harvested Chard bed, then picked Beans until lunch.
In our off time (as we took a couple hours in light of our evening work party) I cruised and picked up a couple bales of wood shavings.... THEN??
Yep, cleaned the chicken coop. My singularly least favorite farm chore. Gloves, breather mask, powdered "droppings." Sheesh...
Finished right @ 4:30 and though I was greeted by D for our work party prep time, I insisted on (read: asked politely) showering the layer of "chicken" off me. Felt much better when done.
For the work party, two things:
1. We harvested a bed of carrots (which yielded about 493lbs). Most cool.
2. Nobody showed. That is until Judy (thanks!) showed a half hour before the wine portion of the evening.
This time we did up a little fire at the corner of what was the melon field.
Salsa. Chips. Trail Mix .. and wine.
Wine, idle chatter and warmth from the fire. A perfect end to the day
Heading to the Dutchess Co. Fair tomorrow. Should be a hoot!!!
Thanks, as always, for reading.
Dig.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
rush rush
Today we harvested. A lot. Quickly.
350 heads Lettuce
161 lbs Carrots
400+ Squash
100+ Cucumbers
200+ Basil
223 Peppers
255 lbs Potatoes
And that in under 4 hours.
Pam helped us pack city shares.
We broke for lunch around 1pm. I left for the dropoff by 1:30.
Back by 5:15. Helped break down distribution and walked the farm to take some pictures.
Dig.
350 heads Lettuce
161 lbs Carrots
400+ Squash
100+ Cucumbers
200+ Basil
223 Peppers
255 lbs Potatoes
And that in under 4 hours.
Pam helped us pack city shares.
We broke for lunch around 1pm. I left for the dropoff by 1:30.
Back by 5:15. Helped break down distribution and walked the farm to take some pictures.
Dig.
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