a transplant(er)

After a failed (depending upon how one looks at it) culinary adventure with 10 year old Pinto beans (re hydrated/cooked) last night and a consequently bad night's sleep, I thought today might be my first "way less than positive" day on the farm.

Thankfully... wrong. Another beautiful one.

Oats/Honey/Raisins & Eggs/Greens/Garlic got the morning started well. Was feeling rather "off" when we began our triple tractor (2 Cubs & 1 New Holland, pics below) maintenance @ 8:30.
Oil changes
Greasing pivot points
Check/filters - Oil & Air
Fuel pumps/filters
Tires

...as one might periodically do on their car.

First greenhouse check around 10:30. By that time it was actually sunny and getting warm. (Woohoo!! Me feeling better already.) As a result we opened the greenhouse fully to allow for maximum circulation. Seedlings looked great overall but a few needed a drink.
Our first task was to transplant 1000 Ace & Red Knight Pepper seedlings. Transplanting is moving the seedling (via a tool called a widger) from its original 20 row flat to a larger 50 cell flat so its roots can extend a bit more before grounding.

Before transplant:



After:



They are placed in the shade of a fully covered greenhouse table and watered with a misting nozzle so the seedlings have a chance to stand. We'll check on their progress in the morning. Should be good.

After lunch we planted approx. 600 lettuce seeds in 128cell flats. Hands firmly in potting soil.

E was in charge of watering/dancing this afternoon.



As the latter half of the day was just as busy as the first, it's list time.

Cleaned tractor maintenance area.
Debated about planting peas today or no.
Decided against. Wait til tomorrow.
Prepare pea beds today.
Perform mntnce on Drop Spreader (spreads fertilizer from behind the tractor)


D makes first two passes and E makes 2nd two. Very good I must say.

Before the day ends we have our orientation on this mad bad machine.



The New Holland 1920.

So.. I got to drive it up to the field that we were planning to chisel plow.
D took the reigns for the first 2 passes


and I got the second two. YEAH! I think my enthusiasm might have scared D a little. Too fun. Learning learning learning.

Speaking of D... here he is. Our fearless mentor.


Closed up the greenhouse, did dishes, corralled the chickens... and ordered out for pizza tonight. Sometimes you just got to.

Btw, there will be a new addition to the farm tomorrow. Exciting. Will post pics.

Until then, dig...

to rock

Before getting started, I want to direct anyone interested in reading about sustainable agriculture to www.attra.org - THE site for all things sustainable/organic.
I spent some time today researching different cover crops. We are going to bare fallow (no seeding during the whole vegetation period) 1 1/2 of our fields (gotta give'em a rest for a season or two). The cover crops that were planted after harvest last year in those fields will be allowed to grow through the season. They will naturally add biomass/nutrients to next season's soil as well as protect from erosion, weeds, pests, etc. Rye and hairy vetch are mainstays on this farm as they fare well in the colder parts of the year.

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"Started" (read: woke) at 8:30 this morning. Eggs and greens for breakfast again.
To the greenhouse shortly after for the first check. Not a whole lotta sun (or warmth for that matter) today so watering everything was not necessary. However, we've got some lettuce (the variety escapes me at the moment) that is really taking off. As its leaves get bigger its transpiration rate increases so even if there is little to no watering for other plants the lettuce will still need water daily.
Oh, and check out our "lil" onions. Awesome.



So... to rock. That was the large part of my day.
This in the middle of field B (mug is to get idea of rock size. Mugs do not occur naturally. ha).



3-4 hours of swingin any combination of these



left me with this...



What to say...? Body rockin. Kids, remember to wear your safety glasses if you're going to do anything like this. Saved me a couple times today. Must remember to stretch before bed too. Or else.

This evening was spent refining our crop maps and starting to document (pics) the weekly progress of each field/crop. This will be used for reference in coming years. Along those lines, I mentioned field F (this year's new field) a couple days ago. Just for reference, here's what it looks like today.



Will definitely keep you posted on its progress.

Btw, thanks for reading this blog and for the comments so far. Much appreciated.

And now, a little rest and thoughts of the coming week. Dig.

of the body

I woke (slept in.. til 8) to a bit of muscle pain today.
Happy to have. My body still works and mends.
And so I did, work and mend, all day.

As this morning was overcast, we didn't have to water in the greenhouse initially. There was enough moisture still in the soil from yesterday. If we had watered yesterday afternoon we would have run the risk of molds beginning to form. We must allow the seeds/plants a cycle of wet to semi-dry soil. Never too dry though. D & I saved some wilting peppers. Within hours they were standing tall again. Beautiful.

Opened the front door to allow for air circulation and headed to the office.
Added a couple more essentials to our dry-erase board. Hung a blown-up scale map of the farm that E made yesterday (she was/is a landscape architect). And... the weekly forecast. Because, well, farmers kinda need to know these things.



2 major tasks today. Break-in new air compressor/fill all tires on farm/record psi's for future reference. A little more involved than one might think.
Yeah, this thing and I hung out today:



Pulled chairs from the second barn for the owner (who I finally met. Very nice.) to use for her meeting w/ members. Met some of them as well. Enjoyed the short conversations.

Later, I finalized the organization/cleaning of the tool room in the barn. Happy with the results.



(and that's only about 1/4 of the space. much more...)

The latter half of the day was warm-ish and sunny.

Spending my evening relaxing a bit. Relaxing my hands especially. Been hitting the Burt's Bees Hand Salve obsessively.



I realize more and more how much I enjoy working (truly working) with my hands.
I get that one directly from my parents. Absolutely.

Pretty spent. Laundry tomorrow. Might actually sleep in until 8:30. Dig...

...tha funky agrosapien

A little Del winding its way through the office/my room as I write this. A glass of Salmon Run - Petit Noir (local from Hammondsport, NY) in front of me as I celebrate my first "officially completed" week on the farm. By myself... breathing... writing this blog. Nothing but silence in all directions... Good, good stuff.

I am definitely here now. Physically, here:



That's compost in the foreground. We received tons this week. Hows about a closer look?



It's alive!! Aliiive!! Well not really. But I think of it that way, so, if you want to as well... feel free.

This morning I made breakfast for myself and E. Fresh sauteed kale, collard greens and garlic wrapped in scrambled eggs. Toast and some yogurt with raspberry preserves mixed in. Munched on flax seeds. Did I mention that my appetite has doubled?
We finished our preliminary crop maps by noon. They will probably change a tiny bit as the season matures, but damn. Visualizing row after row of fresh veggies/fruits popping up in their proper places is kinda blowing my mind at this point.
Also, today, we decided to (well D made the final call) oversee the birth of a new field... throughout the next week or two. Field "F". It will house all of our cucumber and summer squash. Mad exciting... Will surely be taking pictures of its metamorphosis from 40'x200' grassy plot to 8-bed growing field.

This afternoon we took a 2 1/2 hour trip to outlying towns for supplies for the upcoming week. Before getting the supplies we made a drop off of parsnips & celeriac to a local charity. Too funny: Standing at the desk in the lobby of a converted high school, we announced to the attendant that we were there to make a food donation to the charity on the second floor. The first question from the security guard behind the desk??? "Hmmm. You got cake?"

I'll leave it at that.

Oh. The view from the security guard's desk...



And so, tomorrow, Saturday will find me working still. Good momentum at this point. As usual, more then...

Ooo. One more pic. Last night's sunset from where I sit presently. Dig.

a thousand words

Looking through the pictures that have been taken each day, I am finding it increasingly difficult to pick the "best" one(s) to post. What a gorgeous day! A little cold this morning (19 F @ 6:30am). Consequently this has forced us to push our "ground" date for peas back. Beautiful though...



What wonder. What stark contrast to "the city." Sure. Rather obvious... but, really... this on my way to breakfast??



We spent the better part of today mapping out this season's crops. A process I find I am enjoying. We know what we're going to grow and how much already. Now we have to find the proper fields/beds/soil for them. By taking many different factors into account (variety by variety) we rotate/place crops in the beds that will ensure the health of the soil from last year through this year and next year. Diversity is the through line...



While walking one of our lower fields (to get a visual on what crops were there and what ones could fit this year), I found a few of these from last season:



Dried tomatillo husks. Took many different pics of this. Wish I could post them all. A whole other world to explore...

Then.. More time "dancing" water over the planters in the greenhouse. More time cleaning tools. And then...

I got to drive this wild sonofabitch



Yep.

A good day.

Supposed to rain all day tomorrow. We'll see if my poncho holds up.

More then.

tools of the trade

"Although growing commercial crops is often considered for 'experts' only, it most emphatically is not. The world of plants is vital, vigorous, and self-starting. Drop a seed in the ground and it wants to grow. The common wisdom possessed by successful farmers is that they understand how to help the seed do what it is already determined to do. The more successful the farmer, the better the understanding of how to enhance the natural processes without overwhelming them. That simply stated idea is the key to successful organic food production." -Eliot Coleman, The New Organic Grower

Wonderful! How empowering... felt that today. "...help the seed do what it is already determined to do."

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Seeded 17 128cell planters this morning in the greenhouse. 3 different varieties of spinach: Space, Springer, Lombardia. Watered all planters (learned how to "dance" with the greenhouse hose).
This pic from the greenhouse. Man made vine meets nature's vine.


...later

Focused on rejuvenation of all field hand tools. Scraped off rust, sanded wooden handles, sealed tools with linseed oil, sharpened edges/blades. I will be using every one of these soon...


Late afternoon, walked the fields to consider last year's crops and their rotational possibilities for this year. Learning, learning, learning.

Traveled into Red Hook for groceries. Quaint "upstate" town. I will surely be there again soon as my food intake has increased two-fold. Or at least it seems so. Hungry man.

This evening I began my book studies with what is considered by some to be the Bible of organic farming, The New Organic Farmer. Excerpt above.

My excitement only grows.

Looking forward to tomorrow. We put our first crop in the ground: peas. Veeery nice!

first day. to work.. and work. and learn.

6am - UP
6:40 - Breakfast (PBJ).
7-8 - Move a whole set of barbell plates/dumbbells/weight bench/etc up a wooden ladder to the 2nd floor of the barn.
8-9:30 - Cleaning/organizing office space/barn space w/ D(Mentor) & E.
9:30-12 - Greenhouse time! Hands in potting soil for an hour. Filling 50cell and 128cell planters w/ soil, "dimpling" each cell, dropping in one seed at a time, covering seeds w/ more soil. Today we (and two volunteers) seeded for Broccoli, Cabbage and Lettuce.

1-2 week old peas in greenhouse


All from something this big (see brown dot on finger)


128cell planter


12-12:30 - Lunch

12:30-1:30 - Finish seeding for lettuce. Done in greenhouse.

1:30-2ish - Back to office to prioritize laundry list of tasks around the farm.

2ish-3:15 - First task from list? Clean the chicken coop. Yes, this is the "after" photo.


3:30-4ish - Clean root cellar. 5 month old veggies in cellar still good. Roasted some for dinner. Yum. (View from outside cellar)


4:30 - Done for the day.
5pm - Bike 2 miles to grocery store. Back wheel comes loose. Walk bike back to farm. No worries. Beautiful day for a walk.

7ish - Dinner... and this (view from my front door). Yeah....


I have truly worked through (and truly enjoyed) my first day on a farm.

Mas y mas...