The Farmer's Dream

I don't know if others will admit it, but this farmer has been known to daydream at times when he is doing a repetitive farm task.  After all, weeding 200 feet of *pick your favorite veg* requires only a portion of the brain power available once you get into it.  And, if you are the only one in the field at that time, it's a decent way to deal with the task.

Sometimes, I picture what a "perfect" year on the farm would be like.  All the time I am doing this, I fully realize a few things:
1. There is likely no such thing as a "perfect" year if you think it means no work, no failures, no struggle and no disappointments.
2. Each year is different and each may bring a new definition of what would make a year "perfect."
3. The vision of perfection may serve only as a way to measure how far we are getting to what we strive for on the farm.

The Farmer's Dream

A perfect year has fields that look amazingly like the plans we put down on paper in Winter.  The rows are straight, the plants look healthy and uniform, the weeds are missing and the day begs you to go out and work in the field.

Some broccoli rows that look pretty darned clean!

The fences go up in a timely fashion and stay up even during windy days.  The vines that are supposed to grow up them do so and the weeds that aren't supposed to insinuate themselves into the fence stay away.  The difficult to weed crops (such as carrots) are weeded or easily weeded.

We won't frame this picture, but weeded carrots are a big accomplishment.

The mulch is placed just in time and the plants respond well to the treatment.  The straw doesn't result in a bunch of weed seed sprouts later in the year and it adds some nice organic matter to the soil.  We have enough extra to place a nice bed of straw between rows so the farmer can kneel in it while picking the harvest later on.

Tomatoes fully mulched, next up - cages!

Rows are planted straight to help with the laying drip, later cultivation and weeding.  The seedlings all take and very few succumb to disease or pests.

Cucumber transplants with drip line next to them.

The equipment is reliable and any breakdown is quickly remedied.  The tools are used no more or no less than they should be and the resulting effort reminds you why you acquired the equipment in the first place. 

Tyler gives Durnik a workout

New tool additions are used successfully and the learning curve is climbed without major meltdowns by the farmer (or whomever is using the tool on the farm).  By the end of the season, the farmer feels the return on investment for the tool will be accomplished in a relatively short period of time.

the Williams Tool Bar was a significantly positive addition this season.

The farm is able to employ technologies that don't consume as many non-renewable resources as other technologies might.  And, amazingly, the technologies work and do their job.

The wax cylinder openers for the high tunnel vents were a big win.

The young plants are healthy and prepare to bear fruit.  The farmers see the promise of future crops and begin to feel confident that something will be harvested.  A walk through the fields is a pleasure as they represent current and future returns for hard work and consistent efforts.

A young zucchini plant begins to flower

Critters on the farm are safe and healthy.  We're never sure it is safe to say that they are happy since we don't know what the definition of happy is for a duck, but they do a pretty good job of indicating when they are NOT happy.

Ducklings love their water.

And the flowers on the farm are not obscured by weeds and they reward us with glimpses of beauty that make us slow down for a minute and smile.

And it stinks pretty too!

And the efforts to keep our soil healthy and provide habitat for pollinators and natural predators pay off.  The cover crops take off rapidly and cover the soil, choking out some of the nastier weeds that hurt our crops and adding nitrogen, or phosphorous or other good things back to our soil.

Buckwheat in bloom.

The flowers and cover crops are covered in pollinators of all sorts.  Our flower plantings and herb plantings are covered in native bees, lady bugs, katydids and other beneficial insects.  Spiders, toads, snakes, frogs and other predators keep things in balance for us.

Bumblebee on sedum.

And the flower rows we put in our fields do as well as the crops, adding their visual appeal to the benefits they bring to our diverse environment on the farm.

Herbs and their flowers are great for native bees.

Our little innovations, sometimes the product of a year or more of scheming and thinking, actually come to fruition.  And, amazingly, work.

It's a small thing, but this worked great for drip tape this year.

And, some of the things we know we need to do to make life better on the farm actually get done.  And, amazingly, they work too.

Fold up ladder roosts are great for the laying flock.

In fact, it is often the lower tech solutions that give some of the best results.  Which, of course, means that we don't have to rely on off-farm solutions.  A farm that can solve many of its own problems is always part of the dream.

Raised beds paid off in 2013.

And the farmers get exercise some of their creativity and have a little fun. 

Cool T-shirt!  Anyone want one?

The farmers even get a chance now and again to stop, reflect, relax and enjoy the life they build on the farm.  And, if they fail to do this, they have critters on the farm that remind them that there is something positive to be had during those moments.

Sandman knows what to do on hot days.

And the long term plantings begin to give fruit with promises for even more in the future.

2013 was the first for a decent amount of apples on the farm.

And the plants grow and continue to show the farmers the potential for delicious future meals - both for themselves and for others.  The anticipation is exciting rather than frustrating.

There weren't many of these on the farm this year.  This one essentially was a volunteer.

The crops exceed expectations and the farmers and workers get to pick without a worry about meeting the demand for the produce.  The quality and taste is exceptional and the farmers are proud to offer what they have grown to all of the good people who enjoy the food they produce.

Chinese cabbage was a good crop in 2013.

The farmers are able to grow a wide variety of each crop, accounting for different tastes and needs.  The produce begs to have its picture taken.

These Cocazelle zucchini asked that the farmer take their picture.

The harvests are bountiful.  Even those that the farmers worried about at the beginning of the year pull through with excellent harvests.  And, those that will store, store well so that people can enjoy excellent produce into the Winter months.

An excellent garlic harvest.

Good people work on the farm with us, either as paid workers or volunteers.  Groups of curious and positive people come to visit the farm and enjoy what it has to offer.  Dedicated and wonderful folks receive our produce and happily put it to good use.

Feeding the chickens

And, every so often, there is a sunset or sunrise that causes the farmers to stop and admire it.

One of our 2013 sunsets

This blog post was written in part because I realized that we had all of these pictures from this season that fit into our dream.  Was 2013 perfect?  Of course not!  There were many struggles, failures and imperfections.  The ducks did not remain healthy for us this year and many of our flower beds were overrun by weeds.  Some crops did not do nearly as well as we wanted.  The Spring weather was incredibly difficult for us.  And yet, many of the components for the "perfect" season were there, just as they likely are every season.

We just have to look to see them.  And upon seeing them, recognize them for what they are - a part of the perfect season that was this season.

Warts and all.

Goals - It's About Reaching for Them - Part II

In our first installment of reflecting on farm goals for the past season, we looked at hopes for the broccoli crop and for the communications with our CSA members.

The second installment covers two other items.

3. Tomatoes, Early and Often

Last January, we asked for input on what people would like to have happen with the CSA crops and this was one of the responses.  I copied the goal list directly from the post linked above.

Our goals for 2013?
- at least 2000 lbs of tomatoes for our CSA members
- 5000 lbs total of marketable tomatoes (this includes amount above)
- production of tomatoes from July into October
- 30 varieties of tomatoes

We pulled in approximately 3000 pounds of tomatoes from the field and somewhere around 450 pounds from the high tunnel.  Thus, were able to reach our first goal, but were a good ways short of the second.  We had 32 varieties on the farm, so that was also met.

On the other hand, everything started late this year.  We were lucky to get any tomatoes in August, much less July.

Italian Heirloom tomatoes

In the end, we still provided tomatoes to our CSA members for 8+ weeks of the season since we went very deep into October with them.   This is acceptable, even if it didn't follow our schedule.  Mother Nature doesn't typically care what our plans are anyway.  But, this season was part of the motivation for looking at a second high tunnel building.  Provided we can get it ordered, delivered, ground prepped and building up by the end of April, we should be able to accomplish getting tomatoes into a high tunnel EARLY next season.  We're anxious to see what they can do given a full season.

4. Building Goals

Every year we have goals that have something to do with our buildings, or improving the property in various ways.  We try to predict what we will have resources to do and what the season will pressure us to complete.  And, as usual, we are not entirely correct in our pre-season estimates.

Things we had on our list for 2013 were:
- New room in the Poultry Pavilion for the hens completed.
- Brooder room in the Poultry Pavalion
- Fence around hen pasture complete
- Fence around turkey pasture complete
- Porch on back of house OR bathroom upstairs in house
- New windows we purchased some time ago into house (this takes care of only a portion of our windows, but you have to do what you can do).
- Take barn down
- More mobile poultry buildings
- Walk in Cooler

The HAAAACK prepares to make a mess.

There was one thing that was NOT on that list that immediately became a priority ONE item.  A new well for the farm.  Drat.  Needless to say, the priority list changed drastically after that.

The hens approve of the fence.

 The hen room was completed, as was the fence for the hens.  We got the windows put in and we made more mobile poultry buildings.  All in all, we did fine.  But, a number of projects were set back a bit because of the unforeseen.  We'll come up with a new list for 2014 and see how many we can knock off the list this time around!

No Eggplant For You!

Tammy's mother, Sue, is fond of growing nice, big, purple eggplants. These fruits are often the key ingredient for Eggplant Parmesan, one of her favorite dishes. But, as is so often the case, Mom's dish of choice is NOT appreciated by all members of the family.

Black King eggplant

Tammy likes vegetables. Remember, it was Tammy who had to encourage Rob to eat more veg? So, who was sad this year when the eggplant crop was poor? It wasn't Tammy! The mere suggestion that we grow some eggplants was enough to make her question someone's sanity (guess who?). In fact, Rob's winning argument for growing eggplant in the garden several years ago went something like this:

"Hey, we won't have to feel bad about selling all of the eggplant we grow since we won't want to eat them anyway!"

Even more amazing than this is the fact that Rob found out he kind of liked eggplant - much to Tammy's horror!

Listada de Gandia

Rosa Bianca

We tell you all of this as a prelude to this GFF story:
=======================================================
 

Some years ago in the Zenk garden, Mom and Dad, with their two lovely daughters, worked to plant their vegetable garden for the year. The asparagus was already sending up spears and the mulch had been tilled in. They would plant a little bit of everything, just as they did most years. There would be beans and tomatoes, oregano and garlic, onions and ... eggplant.

When you are kid, there may be no greater injustice than to have to care for a plant that produces something you do NOT want to eat.  It is one thing to have to weed the garden, or pick the beans or dig the potatoes and yet another to have anything to do with one of the banes of your existence.  In Tammy's case, that bane came in the form of the eggplant.

The garden grew. The plants in the garden were, in general, healthy. The crops were being harvested and consumed. The eggplants grew tall, with green, healthy foliage.  In fact, it was noted by the rest of the family that these might have been the biggest, lushest eggplant plants they'd ever had in the garden.  But, for some strange reason that year, the eggplants were not blooming. And, without a bloom, there would be no fruit.

Tammy rejoiced.

What could the problem be? Too much water? Too little water? Was there some sort of disease that needed to be diagnosed? There was discussion about this, of course. And, some amount of disappointment that there would be no eggplant parmesan. But, in the end, the crop failure was attributed to either bad seed or just a strange year.  After all, the rest of the garden did well.  There was no shortage of fresh food for the family.

A year without eggplant parmesan.  Again, Tammy rejoiced.

It wasn't until many years later that the blight that caused the crop failure was discovered. And now that we've had a number of years experience growing crops on the farm, we can attest to a long list of possible causes for production failures.  If someone would have described this situation to me now, I might have been tempted to ask questions about how much fertilizer they had put on their garden.  Often a crop such as eggplant that grows bigger and greener than usual without fruit has too much nitrogen.  But, in the end, all of my answers would have been guesses and they would have been wrong.

In any event, we mentioned that the reason for the crop failure was discovered years later.  Or should we say, the culprit confessed? 

A plant that has its flowers pruned diligently will tend to continue to grow bigger and produce more leaves.  We also know that a child who is aware that
a) flowers on an eggplant plant will turn into fruit
b) eggplant fruit will become eggplant parmesan
and
c) said child wishes to avoid eating eggplant parmesan

the result will be a motivated child.

We also now know that a kid can be successful in making sure that every flower is picked off of an eggplant plant before they turn to fruit.

But, Tammy forgot something.  Other people grow eggplant.  And Mom can always buy an eggplant from them.  Oops.

Travelog

The farmers return to the farm after a much needed break.  Our thanks to Tammy's parents for the opportunity to gather with family on the island of Kauai.  It was a rare opportunity that we would not likely have provided for ourselves and we are grateful.

We thought we'd share some of the pictures of our travels.  So, here they are!  We're pleased to have had the chance to be in a position to see these things in person.

We spent some nights in a cabin in the Koke'e State Park.  As a result, it was easy for us to revisit various sites depending on the time of day, amount of sunshine, etc.  The Kalalau Lookout and Pu'u o kila Lookout both overlook the Kalalau Valley.   We found that there were very few people there at both ends of the day, which we found attractive.

Kalalau Valley in the morning.

The Kalalau Valley is often covered with clouds or fog, so getting some of the views we were able to have was a bonus.  But, we're pretty sure a big part of it was our being around the area more than most.  Many who visit the island run from location to location and get one shot at the viewpoint.

We were treated to a fantastic sunset from the same lookout.  But, you have to face West (yes, yes, that IS where the sun goes down at night).  The 'normal' overlook faces North.  But, we did get to see the sun sink into the sea.  Now we know where it goes at the end of the day.  Something has to keep the waters warm you know.

Evening colors West from Kalalau Lookout

One of the most amazing things about Kauai is the colors.  We enjoyed the different pallet the sunset provided.  And, it was an odd feeling to be looking out over the ocean and feel like you were looking DOWN at the clouds.

From the Kalalau Lookout

We were also fortunate to take a good hike on the Napali Coast (this time from the Northeast side - Koke'e is Northwest).   Unlike the trails in Koke'e, there was much more rock - making it ideal for turning ankles.  Happily we avoided that.  Koke'e trails had more roots and stumps in the way.

Napali Coast - you don't have to be much of a photographer

We took the two mile hike down to the beach from the entry point.  This beach can only be reached by hiking or, we suppose, helicopter.  We were surprised by how many people took this hike.  It was especially strange since there were relatively few on some of the Koke'e hikes.

Hanakapi'ai Beach/River

Of course, there are waterfalls on the island.  And, you could read our prior post Fall(s) in Winter if you want to read about the farmers trip to Waipo'o Falls.  Some of these falls have easier viewpoints, such as the one shown below.

Opaeka'a Falls

Wait. What?  You want to see more of the Napali Coast?  Oh.  Ok.

As we mentioned, it wasn't always sunny up at Koke'e State Park.  One of our morning treks featured fog/clouds.  But, it also provided some interesting chances a pictures.  That, and we enjoyed watching things clear as the sun came up in the morning.

Amazing what trees can grow in.

We did travel down to where the Waimea River emptied into the ocean.  Just inland a little way was a neat swinging bridge.  Of course, we had to walk on it.  That' why it is there, right?

Swinging bridge over the Waimea River

Speaking of Waimea and the Waimea Canyon, we spent a fair amount of time in that area.  It is aptly nicknamed the 'Grand Canyon of the Pacific.'  It's on the dry side of the island and the colors are spectacular here as well.  We visited the overlooks more than once and took some interesting hikes.

Waimea Canyon on Kauai

And, we made sure to take our time at each viewpoint.  I suppose you could say we were looking for interesting photo opportunities and you would be partially correct.  We enjoyed having the camera along, of course.  But, we like to use it to help us enjoy more of what we are seeing.  We witnessed numerous people who barreled in to a spot, snapped quick pictures and zipped out.  Our feeling is that they could have just gotten a calendar for a couple of dollars and got the same thing out of their time.  On the other hand, the majority of the people who came to view Waimea Canyon were taken aback by its beauty.  Perhaps they couldn't stay as long as we were able, but at least they had some appreciation for what they were seeing.

Another angle of the Waimea Canyon

Since we farm, we were also intrigued by the taro fields on Kauai.  Taro is a traditionally grown crop that actually also serves an important role for avian habitat on the island.  Since this is the case, the state actually encourages taro farming.  It's just one case where you actually can work with nature some and come to an understanding. 

Taro fields require flooding for growth.

 We visited as much of the island as we were able and took pictures when it seemed like it was a good idea.  Typically, if you go to Spouting Horn, you take pictures of the spout.  We did that, of course, but the best picture from here is below.

Volcanic rock beach at Spouting Horn

We also went to the Western part of the island and visited Polihale State Park (also known as Barking Sands).

Makaha Ridge

 It is our understanding that it can get pretty windy there, but it was reasonably calm while we were there.  To get there, you have to drive on a road that is not maintained, so we didn't go much faster than 15 miles an hour for a stretch.  But, we enjoyed the wave watching and the deep sands there.  If we had it to do over again, we might budget more time to experience the area better.

Wave watching at Polihale

 Ok, we realize that this post is getting long.  But, we wanted to share some of our pictures with everyone.  We aren't doing this to show off, but to illustrate how much we appreciated the chance to do this.  It may seem as if we were hyper and ran everywhere, but those who know us understand that we like to take our time at places.

View from Kilauea Point

Kauai was full of deep, rich colors.  Sometimes we took pictures like the one above to capture them as best as we could.  And, we had opportunities to take a few flower pictures as well.

We took the next picture near the swinging bridge.  In many ways, it reminded me of an early Summer picture in the Midwest.  Until you look more carefully at the plants and realize you won't see them around here.

Crossing on the Waimea River

And, just to show you that we also visited the East side of the island, we also did a little wave watching at Lydgate park near Kapa'a.

Lydgate Park (East side of the island)

We hope you enjoyed our travelog.  It was enjoyable to look at some of the pictures and think about our experiences.  We may (or may not) put more on our blog.  If you want to see more, we will share a bit more.  But, we also realize that the pictures mean more when you have the experience that goes along with them.

Uncovered Documents by Ima Turkey

We just uncovered some interesting documents as we were cleaning the turkey room recently.  As many of you know, we raise turkeys from chicks to full size.  At that point, we take them to the "park" and they are then key participants in dinners all over the Cedar Valley.  

It appears the trip to the park came none to soon since this last batch of turkeys had among them an individual who was studying our habits a bit too closely.  In fact, this particular bird was looking to take over blog writing duties at some level.  See below what we discovered.
======================================================

Staff Writer: Ima Turkey

Individuals looking for an entertaining afternoon should look no further than the Genuine Faux Farm. We have found the guy with the red hat to be extremely amusing as he runs around the farm. In fact, we are conducting a study to find out what sorts of actions/sounds he can be made to respond to (see Pavlov and others). Since he is not really an intelligent being (unlike us turkeys), we have no fear that he will figure out that we are conducting experiments regarding his behavior.

Observations thus far:

• Subject tends to mumble audibly when one of us flies onto or over the fences
• Subject will hesitate in making a choice chasing us (when we're outside the fence) if we divide our numbers and go in opposite directions
• Subject makes strange "hahaha" sounds whenever we run to/fro our room and the gate in the morning.  We think it is a nervous tic of some kind.
• Subject tends to throw yummy produce to locations in the field where one of us is NOT located, though he does tend to have a left/right/forward/back pattern.
• Subject can be trained to bring more tomatoes and cucumbers by eating them quickly.   Similarly, the subject seems to reduce other food types if we show less enthusiasm.  Have not yet managed to get ice cream.
• Subject appears to have limited language ability.  Has attempted to respond to "crowd gobbles."  Enunciation is terrible.  We highly doubt the subject has understanding of the meaning of the words.
• Subject has been trained to allow us to drink out of the hose periodically.  However, Muck learned that subject isn't terribly steady with the hose after getting a face full of water.  Subject has not shown consistency in allowing us to drink out of the hose.  We continue to work on finding a proper prompting action to elicit the desired response.
• Subject appears to respond to sunrise and sunset with certain activities, including bringing us food and water at sunrise and coming out to see us into our room at night.  Has apparently imprinted on us.  Though it does show independence - thank goodness.  Who would want to deal with THAT all day and night?

  

  Ima Turkey at left.

• Subject has been trained to respond and come into view on certain calls, but appears unaware of the desired response once in view.  We remind ourselves that we must take baby-steps in this process.
• Subject appears to be unaware of our scientific endeavors - our ruse continues to work.

We expect to make a final report to the community in December regarding this study.
Respectfully,
Ima Turkey

Fall(s) in Winter

Once upon a time, there were two people who worked on a vegetable farm in Iowa.  They lived on the farm with five cats, chickens, turkeys, ducks and many earthworms.  One day, during the Winter, when it was cold and the crops were not growing, the farmers went on an adventure to a place far away from the farm.

If you saw this sign, where would you go?

They started walking down a steep road.  A helpful person had suggested a hike to a beautiful waterfall.  She said it was only a couple of miles, so the farmers decided that it might be a nice walk.

The friendly trees

Along the way, the farmers met some trees.  There was a cluster of evergreen trees that were very, very tall.  Both farmers were happy to see them and they stood underneath them for awhile.  They thanked the trees for the shade.  The trees were pleased to be helpful and as the farmers continued down the road, they whispered something to them.  But, the farmers did not understand tree language, so they did not know what the trees were saying.

We should have learned tree language.

As the farmers continued to walk, they went under a canopy of lovely trees.  They stopped to admire these trees and took a picture.  They told these trees that they appreciated their beauty.  Of course, the trees were flattered and decided that the farmers were nice.  They spoke to the farmers more loudly than the evergreens.  But, the farmers still did not know tree language and they walked on.

There was a sign to go on a short trial spur called the "Cliff Trial."  They decided to check it out and found a beautiful overlook that had an old guardrail to show travelers where it was safe to stand.  The farmers were pleased to be there and enjoyed the view.

There's something about fences that provide security.

As they stood at the overlook, they heard something.

"Na aa aa aa aaaaaa!"

They heard it over and over again and finally found what was talking to them on the cliff opposite the cliff they were on.

They were "goating" us on

There were goats that appeared to be walking on the sheer cliff face.  The farmers knew a little goat and thought the goats were saying something like this:

"Silly farmers, you are not goats.  Stay on your side of the fence."

They said something else about waterfalls, but the farmers didn't quite understand what they were saying, so they went back to the main trail and walked on.

Then, they came to a place where there was no guardrail, there was no fence and they were certain they were at the edge of the world.  A sign that was written in a language the farmers understood said something about sharp dropoffs, loose rock, danger, injury and/or death.  This made the farmers wonder a little bit about their choice for a nice 'walk.' 

This had to be the edge of the world.

One farmer looked at the other and realized what the trees had been saying to them.  They were trying to warn the farmers that the trail to the waterfall could be a little scary for farmers who are used to flat land.

Birds may not be the best advisers for the wingless

As the farmers stood at the edge of the cliff, they were not sure they should go on.  A little bird hopped onto a rock and said,
 "Cheeeep.  Tweet, chip chip chip."
Since the farmers had birds on their farm, they could understand some of what the little bird said.  It said,
"You're ok, if you slip, you just open your wings and fly."

The farmers did not find this at all helpful.

The farmers were amazed that they could take a picture that was in focus.

The farmers looked around and saw interesting rock formations on a cliff across from them.  But, they weren't sure where the waterfall was that the trail signs had mentioned.  They were ready to turn back, but then the bird pointed them in the correct direction.

"Go off the edge of the earth," said the bird.

The trail to the edge of the earth

The farmers did not want to go off the edge of the earth.  But, they crept down the trail carefully, ready to turn around if they found wings were required to continue.  Eventually, they found a trail that was not nearly so close to the edge and they followed it.

Waipo'o Falls

They climbed down a steep trail and over a small stream.  There they found a beautiful pool with a waterfall feeding the pool. 

They climbed over some wood and got closer to the waterfall.  They were tired and they were trying NOT to think about the return trip that went by the edge of the world.

One farmer even got brave enough to take a picture of the short waterfall that led to the drop at the edge of the world.  The other farmer (that would be the one who wears a red hat) had enough of being next to the edge of the world.

The second small falls that feeds the big waterfall.

After catching a second wind, the farmers climbed back up the trail.  And they started to realize exactly how sharp the drop-off was.

Returning past the edge of the world.

The bird was not there, but they met a little tree that was perched on the edge of the world.  The farmers told it that they were amazed at its bravery and its tenacity.  The tree said something to the farmers, but they still did not understand tree language.  But, they got the feeling that the tree was happy to see them.

The tree at the edge of the world.

The farmers made it back to their cabin and were very tired.  They had some dinner and a good night's sleep.  Then, the next day, they went to another place that had very good fences between them and the steep drop at the edge of the world.  They looked in the distance and they found the waterfall and the trail they had walked to get to it. 

Can you see where the farmers walked?

It was at this point, the farmers decided that they should learn tree language.  But, they still were glad they took the trip to the edge of the world and the waterfall they found there.

(ed note: the Waipo'o Falls is listed as an 800' waterfall.  We're not certain whether this includes the short waterfall you see in the second waterfall picture.  We are certain it does not include the first since it is in from the cliff face some distance.  If you look at the last picture closely, you can see there are two stages to the waterfall at the right.  We were at the top of the uppermost stage.)