Today was our last Tuesday distribution.
However, the day began with harvesting. Actually that's not exactly true. The day began by rinsing carrots in the root washer. Cold windy rainy morning. Cold wet activities.
With 390lbs rinsed, we moved to harvesting.
Lettuce
Rutabaga
Parsley
...and did I happen to mention it was COLD and raining heavily? Ok, last time.
Pam joined us in the relative warmness of the front barn to pack the city shares for the last time this season:
1 Rutabaga
2 Butternut Squash
2 Heads Lettuce
1 Bunch Turnips
1 lb Beets
3/4 lb Chard (which is even more colorful in the fall. same plants. different colors)
2 1/2lb Potatoes (Yukon Gold)
1 lb Carrots
1 Celeriac
5 Onions
1 Garlic
1 Bunch Parsley
Quantity aaaand quality right through the end of October. Nice.
E ran distribution at the farm and I made the trip to the City.
The director at the remote site greeted me with hot apple cider (perfect today) and half-black, half-white icing cookies... only in New York.
Going back north on the parkway was not as "bad-weathery" as was forecast (though I saw a little bit of snow/rain-lookin stuff on the windshield for a few miles). Very happy about that. However, my mind was clearly on other things on my return trip as I missed my exit off the parkway.. for the first time all year. Funny... Regardless, E and I managed an accident free season making the weekly 140+ mile round trip. Very happy about that too.
aside: Before I forget, yesterday, what did we do???? That's right.. harvested... all day. Back to today...
Sooo. 3 1/2 working days left that I'm sure will pass in a blink. Here's to hoping they move slow enough to allow for some reflection.
Dig.
Ohh, btw, in exactly one week, everyone better have vOted.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
< one week
So, umm, yeah... another 10 days since I last posted. And so it is.
At this time next week I will be back in my apartment in the city. I truly have to let that thought sink in.
....
Away from here...
Back to the rush of people, cars, subway trains, planes overhead, the sounds of another human conducting the ins and outs of their life just on the other side of your apartment wall.
Noises... well different than those here. The wind, chickens and an occasional car passing, the battery-powered clock on the wall of the office, the coffee maker, my fingers punching keys... ...Space enough to hear only one sound at a time.
I do look forward to being back in the city. I've missed it.
But I already miss the farm.
Before I get too far down the path of a misty-eyed recollection of the season, I'm going to refocus on what has happened since I last posted.
Not necessarily in chronological order:
- My Mom's Birthday was this past week. Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!
- We continue to spend most of our workday harvesting. E and I mostly, save for the weekly volunteers. The crops have been covered in reemay day and night due to the almost nightly visit from the evil spectre of frost. Down to 17 early Friday morning. And even though the reemay protects the crops from damage effectively, even the hardiest of fall crops are beginning to give a little with such wide swings in temperature.
- We've cleared by hand (and consequently piled all the dead plants for composting..): The eggplant rows, The 3 Sisters Field (H and I pulled the gazebo down last week. Boohoo), Half the flower bed, and some ooooold cilantro in D.
- This week E and I took turns drilling Rye seeds with the Brillion on the John Deere. (nts: make sure all bare soil receives seed. overlap sod and existing cover.)
- We made a last round harvesting peppers as a solid half have succumbed to the cold temperatures. 390 lbs in all. Nice.
- Last week about 50 people gathered at the farm to pay tribute to D and the farm's director for 10 years of hard work, community building and wonderful produce. They were each given a plum tree to have planted on the farm proper. Each tree has it's own plaque dedicating it to them. Congratulations!
- Last Saturday, H and I visited the prospective farm I mentioned before to get a more thorough picture of what they have (equipment-and-soil/field-condition-wise) and what they need. We also had a chance to speak further with the owner and their farming consultant. Another good visit.
... and finally
- Last night we had our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. We spent the day prepping the greenhouse for the occasion. It looked stunning by the time the soiree began. Despite the nasty weather, the turnout was great and the good vibes were floating all around (I'm sure the Gluhwein I made, and handed out to almost everyone at the door, didn't hinder said vibes). D said some very thoughtful words about E and I and gave us both our own Leatherman with the farm's name inscribed on the side. Mad cool. Thanks, man. A truly wonderful time. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who has given their time and energy freely to the farm this season. We could not have done it without you. FOR. REAL!
...I leave you with pics from last night. Dig.
At this time next week I will be back in my apartment in the city. I truly have to let that thought sink in.
....
Away from here...
Back to the rush of people, cars, subway trains, planes overhead, the sounds of another human conducting the ins and outs of their life just on the other side of your apartment wall.
Noises... well different than those here. The wind, chickens and an occasional car passing, the battery-powered clock on the wall of the office, the coffee maker, my fingers punching keys... ...Space enough to hear only one sound at a time.
I do look forward to being back in the city. I've missed it.
But I already miss the farm.
Before I get too far down the path of a misty-eyed recollection of the season, I'm going to refocus on what has happened since I last posted.
Not necessarily in chronological order:
- My Mom's Birthday was this past week. Happy Birthday, Mom!!!!
- We continue to spend most of our workday harvesting. E and I mostly, save for the weekly volunteers. The crops have been covered in reemay day and night due to the almost nightly visit from the evil spectre of frost. Down to 17 early Friday morning. And even though the reemay protects the crops from damage effectively, even the hardiest of fall crops are beginning to give a little with such wide swings in temperature.
- We've cleared by hand (and consequently piled all the dead plants for composting..): The eggplant rows, The 3 Sisters Field (H and I pulled the gazebo down last week. Boohoo), Half the flower bed, and some ooooold cilantro in D.
- This week E and I took turns drilling Rye seeds with the Brillion on the John Deere. (nts: make sure all bare soil receives seed. overlap sod and existing cover.)
- We made a last round harvesting peppers as a solid half have succumbed to the cold temperatures. 390 lbs in all. Nice.
- Last week about 50 people gathered at the farm to pay tribute to D and the farm's director for 10 years of hard work, community building and wonderful produce. They were each given a plum tree to have planted on the farm proper. Each tree has it's own plaque dedicating it to them. Congratulations!
- Last Saturday, H and I visited the prospective farm I mentioned before to get a more thorough picture of what they have (equipment-and-soil/field-condition-wise) and what they need. We also had a chance to speak further with the owner and their farming consultant. Another good visit.
... and finally
- Last night we had our Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. We spent the day prepping the greenhouse for the occasion. It looked stunning by the time the soiree began. Despite the nasty weather, the turnout was great and the good vibes were floating all around (I'm sure the Gluhwein I made, and handed out to almost everyone at the door, didn't hinder said vibes). D said some very thoughtful words about E and I and gave us both our own Leatherman with the farm's name inscribed on the side. Mad cool. Thanks, man. A truly wonderful time. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who has given their time and energy freely to the farm this season. We could not have done it without you. FOR. REAL!
...I leave you with pics from last night. Dig.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
dear blog:
I know I haven't posted in TEN days and for that I apologize.
Things have been great on the farm, no doubt. But, see, the thing is... we've been doing pretty much the same daily routine for a few months now, and with only 16 days left until I leave, my concentration has been elsewhere.
What I mean to say is that, instead of repeating myself on a daily basis online(i.e. "Today, we harvested x, y, and z..."), I've been putting my free evening time into three things which have become priorities for me: the bench, rest/eating, and following election news. Indeed. Priorities for me. Especially the first two.
The three big pieces of news in the past week have been:
1. H and I are now entertaining a second farming opportunity. Just checkin it out. I went for an "interview" last week and things went well. Good conversation and a farming situation that reads in large as a blank slate. The two of us will be going this weekend to check the place out and perhaps talk with the owner again.
2. We went hiking last Thursday with two past apprentices, Paige and Justin (who, btw, now run a successful CSA in Atlanta, GA). We hiked at Mohonk Preserve. Actually, it was roughly half hike, half climb. The views from the mountain top at the end of our journey were other-worldly. I'll post the pics in a separate post later.
3. Sadly, the car that we wanted so badly to fix up (the Jetta) will have to be passed on. The repairs would be a bit pricey and would not guarantee a running vehicle. Sooo... off it goes. Probably this weekend.
Aside from those two things, E and I were taken to dinner by Peter (the rock man) and Danielle, his wife. Good drinks, good food and most importantly, good company. Many thanks!! I'll miss both of them...
Also, the farm/fields are undergoing their Fall transformations. We're beginning to pull plants from the ground, put away irrigation, clean the greenhouse, sort the tools, etc. Only two weeks. Very hard to believe.
That brings me through today.
And yes, in addition to all that, we've been harvesting... pretty much every day. And still... I dig.
Some photos you say??
Indeed.
Okay. This is insane. These are rocks. While harvesting potatoes, I found the "bun". Not 3 minutes later, E found the pattie. ...insane.
And below: Pulling tomato plants.
Just pulled/piled.
After removal.
Dig.
Things have been great on the farm, no doubt. But, see, the thing is... we've been doing pretty much the same daily routine for a few months now, and with only 16 days left until I leave, my concentration has been elsewhere.
What I mean to say is that, instead of repeating myself on a daily basis online(i.e. "Today, we harvested x, y, and z..."), I've been putting my free evening time into three things which have become priorities for me: the bench, rest/eating, and following election news. Indeed. Priorities for me. Especially the first two.
The three big pieces of news in the past week have been:
1. H and I are now entertaining a second farming opportunity. Just checkin it out. I went for an "interview" last week and things went well. Good conversation and a farming situation that reads in large as a blank slate. The two of us will be going this weekend to check the place out and perhaps talk with the owner again.
2. We went hiking last Thursday with two past apprentices, Paige and Justin (who, btw, now run a successful CSA in Atlanta, GA). We hiked at Mohonk Preserve. Actually, it was roughly half hike, half climb. The views from the mountain top at the end of our journey were other-worldly. I'll post the pics in a separate post later.
3. Sadly, the car that we wanted so badly to fix up (the Jetta) will have to be passed on. The repairs would be a bit pricey and would not guarantee a running vehicle. Sooo... off it goes. Probably this weekend.
Aside from those two things, E and I were taken to dinner by Peter (the rock man) and Danielle, his wife. Good drinks, good food and most importantly, good company. Many thanks!! I'll miss both of them...
Also, the farm/fields are undergoing their Fall transformations. We're beginning to pull plants from the ground, put away irrigation, clean the greenhouse, sort the tools, etc. Only two weeks. Very hard to believe.
That brings me through today.
And yes, in addition to all that, we've been harvesting... pretty much every day. And still... I dig.
Some photos you say??
Indeed.
Okay. This is insane. These are rocks. While harvesting potatoes, I found the "bun". Not 3 minutes later, E found the pattie. ...insane.
And below: Pulling tomato plants.
Just pulled/piled.
After removal.
Dig.
Monday, October 6, 2008
mercury falling
First, as promised, a few pics of the changing foliage.
Also notice, in the foreground of the third picture, how thick the oats have grown already. The soil is much happier.
Thursday was, as is at this point, mainly harvesting. Of note, as it's pretty much only E and I day in/day out (D's got a house to finish), we have our hands full with that task alone. However, we did manage to get in some serious soil prep in F for Garlic planting.
I began on the Cub spreading powder fertilizer. 2-4-2 if I'm not mistaken. E spread compost/manure after me with, what else, the compost/manure spreader. In the meantime, Peter happened by to remove quite a few rocks that would have stood in the way of level bed prep (rototilling) and marking. Thanks as always!!
Next up was a quick chisel plowing to aerate the subsoil and mix in the manure.
(During all of this, E and I were trading off on the week's potato harvest.)
To end the day, I hopped the John Deere to get the 6 beds in F rototilled and formed. Curiously, on my first attempt, while the rows all came out mad straight, I ended up with about 5 1/2 beds. No good. So I made a complete second pass on everything. This time I started right beside the three rows that are already planted. And, going against all proper tilling methods, I worked my way up slope from bed to bed. Happily, I ended up with 6 evenly spaced, straight beds, ready to be marked and planted. ... but that would be on Saturday.
Thursday night I worked on the bench for a few hours (before the debate... which I watched... aaaand had a few opinions on...). Oh, forgot to mention that I moved the bench into 'the office'/'my house'. The floor in here is true level, so now I have a proper reference by which to do all of my hand planing. So, I scrub planed the underside of the bench. Not too shabby.
Next up will be squaring/planing the depth of the bench (actually that's as soon as I'm done with this post).
---------------
Friday? You guessed it. Harvesting!
The day was pretty chilly. But I do love the weather this time of year as it seems to give one a bump in energy. Thoughts and actions are a little clearer. The air a little easier to move through.
Our volunteers, Judy, Nancy and her daughter Eliza, helped us clear the bed of beans, pick tomatoes (which are looking sadder by the minute), and break apart garlic bulbs for Saturday's planting.
The afternoon saw Pepper and Eggplant harvesting and an early set-up for the next day's distribution (gotta help yourself out sometimes. Plus E was heading to Rochester so would be absent).
Friday night the temperature dipped down to 26. Luckily, D, keeping an all night vigil, covered several frost-sensitive crops with reemay around 2:30AM. Crazy man. He saved the Beans, Peppers and Flowers mainly.
A few pics of what I woke to Saturday morning.
Saturday's distribution, while chilly, was smooth sailing. We even wrangled a few members to help us break apart Garlic.
I ran to the train station right after to pick up H.
When we got back to the farm we readied for our Garlic planting work party (2-5pm).
Happy to report that 14 wonderful volunteers showed up to help us plug 7,200 cloves of Garlic into the ground.... in only 1 1/2 hours. NICE!
-----
Saturday eve and Sunday.
Relax. Cook. Eat. Relax. Cook. Eat. ... need about 1 straight week of that at season's end.
-----
Today we hit the ground runnin. Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard and Eggplant all by lunch. (nts, we cleared everything we could from the eggplant patch as we expect a plant killing freeze tonight and they're just not giving enough to make them worth covering).
This afternoon, we picked beans as those plants (even though covered) will probably incur a bit of damage with the freezing temps tonight. Best to harvest what you can. After beans, we spent the rest of the time covering everything we could with reemay. Surely pays to be cautious when dealing with possible temps in the low 20's. Hopefully all will be well come tomorrow....
Send the crops your warm positive vibes.
Dig.
Also notice, in the foreground of the third picture, how thick the oats have grown already. The soil is much happier.
Thursday was, as is at this point, mainly harvesting. Of note, as it's pretty much only E and I day in/day out (D's got a house to finish), we have our hands full with that task alone. However, we did manage to get in some serious soil prep in F for Garlic planting.
I began on the Cub spreading powder fertilizer. 2-4-2 if I'm not mistaken. E spread compost/manure after me with, what else, the compost/manure spreader. In the meantime, Peter happened by to remove quite a few rocks that would have stood in the way of level bed prep (rototilling) and marking. Thanks as always!!
Next up was a quick chisel plowing to aerate the subsoil and mix in the manure.
(During all of this, E and I were trading off on the week's potato harvest.)
To end the day, I hopped the John Deere to get the 6 beds in F rototilled and formed. Curiously, on my first attempt, while the rows all came out mad straight, I ended up with about 5 1/2 beds. No good. So I made a complete second pass on everything. This time I started right beside the three rows that are already planted. And, going against all proper tilling methods, I worked my way up slope from bed to bed. Happily, I ended up with 6 evenly spaced, straight beds, ready to be marked and planted. ... but that would be on Saturday.
Thursday night I worked on the bench for a few hours (before the debate... which I watched... aaaand had a few opinions on...). Oh, forgot to mention that I moved the bench into 'the office'/'my house'. The floor in here is true level, so now I have a proper reference by which to do all of my hand planing. So, I scrub planed the underside of the bench. Not too shabby.
Next up will be squaring/planing the depth of the bench (actually that's as soon as I'm done with this post).
---------------
Friday? You guessed it. Harvesting!
The day was pretty chilly. But I do love the weather this time of year as it seems to give one a bump in energy. Thoughts and actions are a little clearer. The air a little easier to move through.
Our volunteers, Judy, Nancy and her daughter Eliza, helped us clear the bed of beans, pick tomatoes (which are looking sadder by the minute), and break apart garlic bulbs for Saturday's planting.
The afternoon saw Pepper and Eggplant harvesting and an early set-up for the next day's distribution (gotta help yourself out sometimes. Plus E was heading to Rochester so would be absent).
Friday night the temperature dipped down to 26. Luckily, D, keeping an all night vigil, covered several frost-sensitive crops with reemay around 2:30AM. Crazy man. He saved the Beans, Peppers and Flowers mainly.
A few pics of what I woke to Saturday morning.
Saturday's distribution, while chilly, was smooth sailing. We even wrangled a few members to help us break apart Garlic.
I ran to the train station right after to pick up H.
When we got back to the farm we readied for our Garlic planting work party (2-5pm).
Happy to report that 14 wonderful volunteers showed up to help us plug 7,200 cloves of Garlic into the ground.... in only 1 1/2 hours. NICE!
-----
Saturday eve and Sunday.
Relax. Cook. Eat. Relax. Cook. Eat. ... need about 1 straight week of that at season's end.
-----
Today we hit the ground runnin. Lettuce, Spinach, Swiss Chard and Eggplant all by lunch. (nts, we cleared everything we could from the eggplant patch as we expect a plant killing freeze tonight and they're just not giving enough to make them worth covering).
This afternoon, we picked beans as those plants (even though covered) will probably incur a bit of damage with the freezing temps tonight. Best to harvest what you can. After beans, we spent the rest of the time covering everything we could with reemay. Surely pays to be cautious when dealing with possible temps in the low 20's. Hopefully all will be well come tomorrow....
Send the crops your warm positive vibes.
Dig.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
while you were away
On Friday it rained. Very heavy at times. Nancy braved the rain with us. Second time this season. Rock on!
We harvested what was necessary as the week's share was going to be sizable due to our mad day of harvesting on Thursday. Pays to put in a full day from time to time. (On a side note, I keep waiting for our shares to get smaller as the Fall progresses, but happily... not so much. Always an abundance.)
At lunchtime D made the call and gave us the rest of the day off as it was to rain throughout. ummm... Rock on!!
I relaxed.
Friday night I watched the debate. ...and had some opinions about it...
Saturday's distribution went well. E gave a few demonstrations on how to make sauerkraut. People appreciated having options with their large heads of cabbage. Lactofermentation is a rather easy process to learn and hugely beneficial when it comes to both health and veggie storage.
E is behind the stand of produce.
----
My second to last city visit followed distribution. I realize as I write this that my last day on the farm is exactly one month from now. (Mind scrambler, that thought). At which time I will be moving back to the city (which, admittedly, I miss).
Great weekend.
----
Monday had us right back into harvesting. Picking enough for our Tuesday people.
Our Fall carrots were ready. On a whole they are pretty big as compared to our Summer succession. Same with Broccoli. Huge... and healthy.
Monday night I worked on the bench. This time I used a different approach to try to fare the inner curves. John (whose hand tools I've been using, THANK YOU!!) suggested I try drilling out the bulk of the wood that I couldn't reach with the adze. He gave me a LARGE drill and bit that could actually clear the width of the bench.
While it worked to a degree, there was still about half the wood waste left. What I needed at this point was a curved gouge and/or small chisel. More on this below...
----
Tuesday was a fairly typical one. Harvest the first few hours, 7-10:30-ish. By 11 it's time to start filling the 70 bins for our remote distribution. We were done and had the van loaded by 12:20. I made the drive this week. Of note were/are the wonderful colors of Fall on the drive (and around here). Pics of this coming tomorrow.
Tuesday night? Food. Cooked... then slept.
----
Today we began by clearing the mature Summer Squash plants from F in order to properly prep the soil in the first six beds for the garlic that will be planted there on Saturday. Yes, garlic always gets planted the previous Autumn.
We moved to harvesting right after as the next two days will involve some non-harvesting, garlic-related duties. Might as well cushion ourselves.
Radishes, Carrots and Broccoli were first up. Broccoli, while plentiful and beautiful this succession, is seeing a lot of green caterpillars. Seems they're coming from the cabbage that resides near the far end of the bed. No worries, they do no harm, just gotta rinse before eating (actually, not even as they are a source of protein... ha ha).
The rest of the day was spent on Sweet Potatoes (finally!).
We've been waiting all season for these guys to reach maturity. Yay. Slow process harvesting though. First all of the potatoes vines get hand pulled off the ground. Then the tractor goes through with the potato spade to unearth them. Then it's hands and knees picking and sifting, the whole 400'. Before we give them out they must cure in the greenhouse for about a week. I will, however, be trying some well before then. Believe it.
This evening? The bench. I finally got the inner curves roughed out. Did it with a rounded gouge. Worked beautifully. I then adzed and scrub planed the deck. It is, indeed, coming along.
Dig.
We harvested what was necessary as the week's share was going to be sizable due to our mad day of harvesting on Thursday. Pays to put in a full day from time to time. (On a side note, I keep waiting for our shares to get smaller as the Fall progresses, but happily... not so much. Always an abundance.)
At lunchtime D made the call and gave us the rest of the day off as it was to rain throughout. ummm... Rock on!!
I relaxed.
Friday night I watched the debate. ...and had some opinions about it...
Saturday's distribution went well. E gave a few demonstrations on how to make sauerkraut. People appreciated having options with their large heads of cabbage. Lactofermentation is a rather easy process to learn and hugely beneficial when it comes to both health and veggie storage.
E is behind the stand of produce.
----
My second to last city visit followed distribution. I realize as I write this that my last day on the farm is exactly one month from now. (Mind scrambler, that thought). At which time I will be moving back to the city (which, admittedly, I miss).
Great weekend.
----
Monday had us right back into harvesting. Picking enough for our Tuesday people.
Our Fall carrots were ready. On a whole they are pretty big as compared to our Summer succession. Same with Broccoli. Huge... and healthy.
Monday night I worked on the bench. This time I used a different approach to try to fare the inner curves. John (whose hand tools I've been using, THANK YOU!!) suggested I try drilling out the bulk of the wood that I couldn't reach with the adze. He gave me a LARGE drill and bit that could actually clear the width of the bench.
While it worked to a degree, there was still about half the wood waste left. What I needed at this point was a curved gouge and/or small chisel. More on this below...
----
Tuesday was a fairly typical one. Harvest the first few hours, 7-10:30-ish. By 11 it's time to start filling the 70 bins for our remote distribution. We were done and had the van loaded by 12:20. I made the drive this week. Of note were/are the wonderful colors of Fall on the drive (and around here). Pics of this coming tomorrow.
Tuesday night? Food. Cooked... then slept.
----
Today we began by clearing the mature Summer Squash plants from F in order to properly prep the soil in the first six beds for the garlic that will be planted there on Saturday. Yes, garlic always gets planted the previous Autumn.
We moved to harvesting right after as the next two days will involve some non-harvesting, garlic-related duties. Might as well cushion ourselves.
Radishes, Carrots and Broccoli were first up. Broccoli, while plentiful and beautiful this succession, is seeing a lot of green caterpillars. Seems they're coming from the cabbage that resides near the far end of the bed. No worries, they do no harm, just gotta rinse before eating (actually, not even as they are a source of protein... ha ha).
The rest of the day was spent on Sweet Potatoes (finally!).
We've been waiting all season for these guys to reach maturity. Yay. Slow process harvesting though. First all of the potatoes vines get hand pulled off the ground. Then the tractor goes through with the potato spade to unearth them. Then it's hands and knees picking and sifting, the whole 400'. Before we give them out they must cure in the greenhouse for about a week. I will, however, be trying some well before then. Believe it.
This evening? The bench. I finally got the inner curves roughed out. Did it with a rounded gouge. Worked beautifully. I then adzed and scrub planed the deck. It is, indeed, coming along.
Dig.
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