November Newsletter

Not An Entirely Ill Wind
The saying "it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good" is one that reminds me to look for the silver lining in all situations.  A bad situation for many people can actually be a pretty good scenario for a select few.  Not only that, but there are times when difficulties can actually lead to simpler solutions after the problems been overcome.  It is no secret that between weather and chemical misapplication issues this year, we had a tough time of it.  However, once we get a little distance from the worst of it, we are beginning to realize some good things that have come from the bad.

Look!  A new farmer selfie!

Because we did lose many of our Fall crops, we have actually been able to work on several Fall tasks that often take a back seat to harvest.  For example, the garlic is planted, fertilized and mulched.  The planting alone is often being completed just before the ground freezes because that's when we are faced with the reality that if it doesn't get done now, it will NEVER get done.  Nearly all of the drip tape, with just a few lines as the exception, have been pulled from the fields.  This is something that often gets left until December or later if snow covers it up before we get to it.

Perhaps we've felt the benefit the most at the completion of "Poultry Week" at the farm.  The turkeys, the third batch of broilers and the retiring hens have all been given their trips to the Park and then Freezer Camp.  We've already held the "Great Turkey Pickup" and a separate pickup for unfrozen broilers and stewing hens.  Significant amounts of time are spent moving birds around during this "week" that is actually more like ten to fourteen days of related tasks before it calms down. 

The garlic is IN!

It turns out that this might be a very good thing since it looks like it is going to get colder a bit faster than we've seen for the last several years.  Usually, we don't expect the ground to freeze until Thanksgiving.  While that might still be the case this year, it feels to us like there is a good chance it will be earlier this time around with upcoming forecasts calling for days that fail to get above freezing.

Perhaps the best thing to come of this year is a dedication to making some potentially dramatic changes at the farm for next season.  This may sound like a repeat to some people who know us.  After all, we make adjustments every year in an effort to improve and do better.  But, this time around, we're willing to push those changes a bit harder simply because certain weaknesses on our farm were thoroughly exploited this year.  What was the biggest weakness we identified?  We're not perfect and we think we ought to be.  But, that seems like it would be a worthy topic for its own blog post.  So, until then - we bring you the November Newsletter from the Genuine Faux Farm.

Veg Variety of the Month

Waltham Butternut

Butternut squash are the most likely winter squash for any commercial grower simply because it can handle vine borers, squash bugs and other pests far better than most other types.  Of course, seed companies continue to try to create a "better" butternut squash, but we intend to continue to stick to the Waltham Butternut.  While many of the newer varieties tout more 'uniform' characteristics, we favor the variable sizes because that's what serves our customers best.  Some want larger fruit and some want smaller fruit.  Since we do not pre-pack our shares and our CSA members get to choose the squash they want from the bin, this works out well.  It doesn't hurt that Waltham has a great taste and an excellent track record on our farm.  While we pay attention to what is out there for options, we see no reason to change something that works well for us.

Weather Wythards

Oh look!  October had above average rainfall.  We are shocked! Shocked, I tell you!  We just missed the October rainfall record that was set in 2009.

October's Report

High Temp: 85
Low Temp: 22

Highest wind gust: 40 mph
Rain: 5.08"
Snow: 1 inch


Our mean temperature for the month was actually a few degrees lower than normal and we did have lows below the freezing mark more times than normal.  We were hit with a 'full night' freeze Oct 20 and 21 this year.

Year Through August
High Temp: 97
Low Temp: -20
Lowest Windchill: -34
Highest Heat Index: 119
Highest Wind gust: 46 mph
Rainfall: 49.93"
Barometer Range: 29.39 to 30.89

November is getting a start on getting to the average rainfall during the first week because it doesn't want to be outdone by September and October.

Song of the Month
A little bit of S.O.A.R. by Devour the Day?  For those who don't know, they use SOAR as an acronym for Suffer Overcome and Recover.  I wonder why this song caught my attention?

Picture of the Month

We had all kinds of neat snow pictures in late March AND April this year.  Why should October be any different?  We realize this one showed up more than once in the blog already - but it's a good picture.  That's the requirement for the picture of the month (at least Tammy likes it), so there you have it.

Other Farm News


It worked for October, so we'll do it for November - a bunch of short bullet items for you to enjoy, consider or ignore as you wish:

• As of this writing, we believe all of our turkeys have been sold.  If you still want a turkey, contact us in case someone fails to follow through with their reservation. 
• We do have about 30 stewing hens remaining available at a cost of $8/bird and 130 or so broilers at $3.50 a pound.
• The CSA season is winding down - perhaps a bit earlier than we scheduled.  But, when you don't have crops, you can't give crops.  Nonetheless, we anticipate two more weeks of delivery before we are done for the year.  
• There IS plenty of garlic available at this time.  That is one crop we did not run out of - but we suspect people don't want a CSA share of 20 garlic heads and nothing else...
• We are not the only diversified vegetable farm in Iowa that is feeling the "hurt" this year.  At least three farms with some history are confirmed to be packing it in this year and there are rumors about several others.  The extra-ordinarily difficult weather is certainly a key component here, but the issues are far more complex than that.  Inconsistent demand for verifiable local food, difficulty in finding workers, chemical misapplication, reduced pollinator populations combined with a realization by veteran farmers that they might be able to do something else with significantly less pain and suffering are all contributing to the situation.

Leaving the Park and on the way to Freezer Camp

The Outdoor Farm Supervisors (Inspector and Soup) are protesting some of the changes that occur on the farm in the late Fall months.  In particular, they are displeased that access to certain building is completely denied to them.  Inspector likes a little attention now and then and he feels that he is not getting his allotment of skritches because there are fewer people working on the farm regularly and when Rob is out there, he is usually doing something that doesn't allow for a many good skritches.  Inspector has lodged a complaint with the farmers that sounded a bit like, "Meow."  We told him to submit it in writing and we would look into it.  That might explain why he lodged a cat protest by sitting on Rob's back while he crawled to plant lettuce in the high tunnel.  That is known as engaging in a "sit-on protest."  The complaint was duly noted.