July Newsletter

While it is not exactly a July thing since we took our first batch of broiler chickens to "The Park" in late June, our efforts to sell said birds actually land in July more than June - so it remains appropriate!  This batch of birds resided in the pasture just Southeast of the old barn.  There is/was lots of clover there and they really showed a good tendency to spread out in their area to forage - which makes us very happy.  The birds were very strong and landed in the 4.5 - 6 pound range after processing.  They are now at "Freezer Camp" and awaiting invitations to family dinners in the area!  Interested?  Contact us!

July Calendar of Events

• July 4 - 5: No deliveries
  July 6: Delivery 8 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltEven)
• Week of July 10 - Chicken Share Deliveries Begin
  July 11: Delivery 9 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltOdd)
  July 13: Delivery 9 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltOdd)
  July 16: Gang of Four+ at Wabi Sabi Farm
  July 18: Delivery 10 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltEven)
  July 20: Delivery 10 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltEven)
  July 25: Delivery 11 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltOdd)
  July 27: Delivery 11 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltOdd)

Perspective:
The two of us have had the opportunity to experience different careers and the life that comes with them.  At one point in time, we both were involved in academia.  At another, each of us worked in our fields of training (Social Work for Tammy, Computer Science for Rob).  We were not strangers to hard work and long hours prior to the beginnings of the Genuine Faux Farm.  This isn't really about hard work or being busy either.  It's about accomplishment and the opportunity to reflect once a major task is complete.

 

There was a time that we would have felt that moving a 30' x 96' building from one location to another would be a major accomplishment worthy of a celebratory meal and some down time later in the day.  Well, ok, there was also a time when planting a 30' x 30' garden was a reason for the same reaction as well.  In fact, we did have lunch with our helpers after the building was successfully in place.  Then, we went out and worked some more on other tasks.  We did not spend a great deal of time basking in the glow of the accomplishment, because we had other good sized accomplishments that were due to be reached before the day was up.

In some ways, our growing season is a bit like a musical performance.  There are passages that are more difficult and require significant effort by the players than others.  The performers can't stop and admire what they have wrought (or stop and cringe if they make mistakes).  They must continue until the piece is over.  The time for reflection and basking in the glow of work well done happens when the musical piece concludes.

CSA Signup 2017
We will continue to add people to our CSA as people request and we will prorate the amount necessary for the shares.

Song of the Month
The sun comes up early enough that Tammy and I usually don't have too much trouble waking up initially.  But, there is awake and there is "awake."  This a song we've been enjoying as a morning wake up song lately.  It helps when we're having a bout of the "I don't want to's."

Recipe of the Month

Chicken Bruschetta
From WebMD's Recipe Finder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
4 (4-ounce) pieces of chicken, skin off
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon olive oil
8-ounces sliced mushrooms
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced (about 5 ounces)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat broiler. Combine garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl; sprinkle chicken with garlic powder mixture. Place the chicken on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray, and broil for 6 minutes on each side or until chicken is done. Remove the chicken from pan, and keep warm.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, mushrooms, zucchini, and minced garlic; saute 2 minutes. Add 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, tomato, onion, basil, and vinegar; saute 3 minutes. Serve the vegetable mixture over chicken; sprinkle with cheese. Yield: 4 servings

Field Report
We have gotten our fair share of rain (and then some) over the past couple of weeks.  Yes, things were starting to get on the drier side, so we were happy to be getting some rain.  But, you know we're teetering on "too much" when we start to see the weeds in the field getting away from us even though we had done a very good job of getting those same fields cleaned up prior to the rains.

The rain has prevented us from putting our next batch of lettuce and short season crops into the ground.  Otherwise, we have planted the majority of our crops.  We still need to put in succession III of cucumber, summer squash and zucchini and they are due to go in fairly soon (mid July).  Rather than overdo the report and tell you about all of our crops, we'll focus on a few:

Tomatoes: The tomatoes in Eden have tomatoes set on them.  Most of the plants look healthy and we think we'll get a few tomatoes by the end of July (which is good for our farm as our tomato harvests tend to be strong from mid-August to October).  The tomatoes in Valhalla are just in since they focus on providing us late tomatoes.  Last year our Valhalla tomatoes produced into mid-November.  The field tomatoes are ready to be mulched and caged, which is right on schedule.

Carrots: The carrots in Eden are a bit sparser than they have been, but we were hoping to go for a bit more size this time around.  Last year we seeded too heavily and didn't find time to thin.  The result was a good number of smaller carrots.  They tasted fine, of course, but a bunch of little carrots are a good deal harder for us to clean than fewer, larger carrots.  We suspect the final volume will be about the same when all is said and done.  Believe it or not, the field carrots also look pretty good.  Per the norm, they are a couple weeks behind the high tunnel carrots in development.  A quick weeding would be good for them, but they are general in decent shape.

Napa Cabbage: There is a batch of napa cabbage in the southwest field that is starting to look like Napa cabbage should look like.  Heads are not yet forming, but the outer leaves are getting larger and the plants look reasonably healthy.  Our guess is mid to late July for these.  The next batch is in trays and need to go into the ground.

Picture of the Month

Anything that shows dead weeds and healthy plants works for us right now!

Farm News Shorts

• Rob has been asked to present at a conference in Canada this year.  He's never been in Canada, so we're both looking forward to it.  Perhaps we'll tell everyone more about it at a later time.
• Herbicide spray drift has become a bigger issue the past couple years than it ever was before.  The dicamba product is subject to volatilizing and drifting after application, with the potential to travel miles before resettling.  Many people, including our own operation, are reporting spotting on plants that is almost certainly from some sort of herbicide.  The problem was serious before and apparently things are going to get worse before they get better.  Please consider learning more about the problem so you can be a part of the solution.
• Farmer selfies.  This is about as close to a real selfie you'll get either of us to do.

Time to Have Pun
President Teddy Roosevelt decided to go on a big game hunt in the jungles of Africa. While deep in the middle of the jungle, he came across a beautiful lake. He immediately pulled out his fishing pole and started to fish in the lake. A short time later, he caught a huge carp and reeled it in and laid the carp down on the ground to remove the hook. As soon as the hook was removed, the carp leaped in air and knocked TR's wallet out of his jacket. The carp then grabbed the wallet in its mouth, jumped into the lake and began swimming away. TR immediately jumped into the lake and began swimming after the carp to retrieve his wallet. Just as TR was about to catch the carp, the carp handed TR's wallet off to a second carp. TR swam furiously after the second carp and was closing in fast on the second carp when the second carp handed the wallet off to a third carp, who quickly swam away from the exhausted TR. This is the first known example of carp to carp walleting.

Just One of "Those" Days

Bree and Hobnob don't always show up on our blog.  They are our Indoor Farm Management Staff and their jobs are extremely important.

At least that's what they tell me.  Every day.

You know it's been a long day when....

Our Indoor Farm Management Staff is less than enamored with the longest days of the year that occur from mid June to mid July.  They do not see their humans all that much.  And, when they do, said humans are either dashing back and forth doing 'stuff' or they're hot and sweaty (and dashing back and forth) OR they're closing up things for the night and going to bed (after dashing around a bit).

That last doesn't usually matter because these two are usually ready to shut down for the night by the time the humans are ready to do so.  After all, these are long days for managers too!

Bree (on the right) is clearly very tired and does not really care about her sisters plight.  Hobnob, on the other hand, has the grumpy look only a cat can manage when there are cobwebs stuff to their ears.

Normally, the house staff (Rob and Tammy) takes care of any cleaning, but Hobnob decided things were getting out of hand and took matters into her own... um...  ears?

After suffering the indignity of a photo, her human servant finally removed the offending cobwebs.

She'll forgive me.

In December.

Scapes without the Goats

We have featured garlic scapes in prior posts including an excellent post authored by Elizabeth in 2014.  We strongly encourage you to visit that post if you are interested in recipes for Garlic Scape infused oil, Garlic Scape Stir Fry or Garlic Scape and Arugula Pesto.

The last could be modified to use other greens you might enjoy as well - and remember amounts in recipes are guidelines and can be changed to fit your personal preferences!

In recent a CSA distribution in Waverly, Tammy created Garlic Scape Pesto for our CSA members to try out and it has received positive reviews (Cedar Falls, you'll get your chance this week!)  The recipe Tammy followed is based off of the following that we posted on Facebook for those who use that social media platform:

photo from allrecipes.com

Garlic Scape Pesto
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/199868/garlic-scape-pesto/
"...an easy, fragrant pesto that can be spread on bread or crackers, put on pasta, used with fish, and as a substitute for garlic, onion, or scallions! Add to sandwiches, pasta, lamb, and fish dishes. Tastes great mixed with mayo."
See the above website for their recipe I don't weigh out the scapes, so here is the version that fits for our CSA:
- 10 garlic scapes (trim off the top (flower) and bottom that is not "bendy".
- 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese (I prefer the shredded kind, vs the ground up "shaker style"
- 1/2 c olive oil
- 1/2 T lemon juice
- pepper to taste
Put all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Store in the refrigerator for one week or freeze (works great if you put in ice cube trays to freeze, then pop out and store in a freezer bag or container - just don't reuse the tray for regular ice cubes!).
Variations: add kale, mustard greens or basil and slightly increase the oil.

If you want to try this recipe, we should tell you that you should LIKE garlic if you want to use this pesto.  If garlic is NOT a taste you like, then you will not want to eat this pesto.  On the other hand, if you love garlic, you'll love this pesto.  One person suggested that they would slather it on chicken or shrimp prior to putting them on the grill.  

Hey, if it can make a cheap 'saltine' type cracker taste good....

Grand Iris Tour of 2017 - More For Your Money!

Just because we said we took our "Grand Iris Tour" of our farm one evening does NOT mean we ignored the iris on other days.  However, I apparently thought that was the case until I went to download a more recent batch of photos from the camera and found MORE iris pictures.

For the iris shown here, they would be the 'late bloomers' on our farm.  We had already taken our "Grand Iris Tour," then these popped open and said, "Time for another tour!"

Silverado

Silverado is another iris that has been with us since we started growing iris.  It's liked some years and places we've lived better than others, but I'm not sure it's missed an appearance yet.  I was beginning to wonder about it this year.

Triple Whammy

We have a couple of 'space age' iris.  They are so called because the beards stand up on them.  The other we have on our farm is Thornbird, which also bloomed this year and appears in the prior post.

We had a favorite named Liaison that we think went away, but this one is similar.   We think the name is Prince George - or something like that.  Doesn't matter, it bloomed.  And we liked it.  Sometimes an iris will put up a weak attempt at a flower stalk and still manage a flower - which was the case with this one this season.  One thin stalk, two flower buds, and it was done.

It may seem like we grow our iris in isolation based on some of the pictures, but you can't really control iris that way.  They tend to move as the rhizome's grow.  The old portions die off and the new portions send up shoots the following year.  The net result, you can't expect iris to stay in the exact location from year to year, but they won't move too far in one season.  However, if it has been five (or ten) growing seasons, you could be surprised where they turn up!

We hope you enjoyed the addition to our Grand Iris Tour.

Rain Date

What happens when it rains cats and dogs on the farm?

No, really, the weather station says it was raining cats n dogs.  Honest!

Well, if you are two veggie farmers who didn't sleep much the night before, you are both annoyed and happy... at the same time. 

On the other hand, you begin to realize that Thursday is a CSA delivery day.  Uh oh.  Do we really want to harvest in that?  No.  So, add in some light hail and some lightning.  Ugh.

Happily, the solution for this time of year and the current state of the farm is to reschedule the delivery for one of our open dates later in the season.  Ok, we're back to being just fine with the situation.  But, you better believe that if this happens again, we'll be figuring something out to get it all done.  It just turned out to be nice that we built in a safety valve in our schedule to allow this to be dealt with in this fashion.

For those who are curious - as of 6:00 PM we were at a total of 2 inches of rain for the day (and another quarter inch the day before).  The hail did very little damage - and what it did do, the plants should be able to grow out of it.  No farmers were struck by lightning, though they were once again awed by how nature works.

So, what did the farmers do today?  Well, Tammy had some significant work to do for her 'real' job and Rob had a good deal of record keeping, bill paying, checkbook balancing and even a little blog writing to do.

Our "official" cancellation notice is here:
======================================
We are officially canceling today's CSA and egg distribution in Cedar Falls.  If you have questions, feel free to call.  Next thursday will be delivery 7 - so odd delivery shares will still be up next week.  We will plan on doing the garlic scape pesto in Cedar Falls next week as well.

Do not fear, we have some 'off days' scheduled on the calendar and we'll just move this delivery to one of those.  You will NOT miss a delivery, it is just getting 'relocated.'

We apologize to those of you who have already ordered eggs. If you have great need of them, I am sure something can be arranged in the next few days.  If not, we'll see you next week.

Why are we postponing today's delivery to another date?

Well, we're really, really wet all of a sudden and we have more coming.  But, the real kicker is the lightning.  We will not go out and harvest in that.  We ran hard until 10pm last night trying to get things done in the field before the possible rain and didn't have time to harvest.  There hasn't been much chance to do anything other than normal animal chores this morning.  In short, we likely won't have enough time to get things picked for you.

And, to be perfectly frank, none of the items we have to pick are in desperate need for harvest.  In many ways, the postponement works in your favor since it gives crops more time to grow and move forward.

We apologize for any convenience this may have caused you.

Your damp farmers,

Rob & Tammy Faux

Before and After

Emma told me today that she likes before and after pictures.  Therefore - we have before and after pictures.

For those of you who wonder what your farmers do on one of the longest days of the year (today) - here it is.

Yesterday evening, this field looked like this:

Nothin' here but some weeds.

 This evening, the field looks like this:

There be Winter Squash, captain!

And this field.... was embarrassing:

We suspect there is something in here - but what?

 But, this evening - it looked like this:

Taters! Precioussssssss.

Full disclosure - we didn't get to the Southern third of that field.  Hey, whaddaya want?  Perfection?

Oh.  Well.

Proof that farmers do work is below:

Oh, and Emma works too!

And so does Caleb.

 And.. so does Tammy.  Except when she is taking pictures to prove that everyone else works.

 Now it is time to wind down the day.   zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Grand Iris Tour of 2017

Tammy and I have always loved our flowers.  In particular, Tammy likes her daylilies and Rob is particularly fond of bearded iris.  Actually, Tammy very much likes the iris and Rob very much likes the daylilies as well.  So, really it's not a problem.

A few people might remember our farm when we first moved there.  We brought a significant number of perennials (including iris and daylilies) from our previous location(s) and we had one fantastic garden area in the southwest portion of the farm. 

A picture from 2005 or 2006 of our iris in the southwest garden area.

It's pretty amazing the number of different iris in that picture and the sheer number of blooms going on there is almost ridiculous.  We would take 'grand tours' every morning and evening to enjoy them.  But, as we increased our vegetable and poultry farming operations, the time we could spend on our flowers declined. 

The same area in 2017 (facing the opposite direction)

We've allowed the old perennial garden to go more 'natural' over the years - mostly in response to our inability to keep it cleaned up.  We moved as many of the iris and daylilies out and put them in other locations, but as you can see, some iris still persist.  And, if anything, these appear to be getting a bit stronger.  And, we really do not mind.

Very few of our iris seem to bloom every year, with many showing up every other year and some others gracing us only every so often.  Some beds do better in one year and poorer the next.  I'm sure it has something to do with different weather conditions and the micro climate we can attribute to each bed.  Ok, that and... how much time we've had to do a little weeding and flower bed work.

The upshot of this is that we haven't quite had the same "Grand Iris Tours" we used to have.  Part of it is the reduced number of blooms, of course.  Another factor is the vague sense of disappointment that we haven't been able to maintain the flower gardens.  And, perhaps it's just because we get so caught up in farm work that we don't always take the time we should to go out and view the iris (our special take on "smelling the roses" - we "view the iris").

Finally, Tammy and I purposely went out (towards the end of the bloom season) and took some pictures and enjoyed some flowers.  We have shared them before.  Like these pictures in 2014.

Thornbird

I'm not always sure if I remember the names correctly.  At one point in time, I knew all of their names and all of their locations.  But, now, I just greet them all when I see them and ask their forgiveness if I've forgotten what I should call them. 

For the most part, the iris don't really seem to mind if I don't know their names.  They seem secure in their own identities. 

Red at Night

I suppose you could look at this a couple of ways.  These big, beautiful blooms either indicate supreme confidence and self-awareness OR you could wonder if they are trying to make up for something by being so bold and showy.

Olympiad

I prefer to think that they just like sharing a little beauty with us for the short period of time that is iris bloom season. 

I also suspect they take great pleasure in getting the farmers to do a double take as they zip around trying to get their work done.  Maybe they are a little bit vain, laughing quietly to themselves as they notice us nearly trip as we try to get from here to there quickly while still wanting to get a second glance at what they are doing now.

St Helen's Wake

And, every once in a while, an old friend reappears after all hope of seeing them again is lost.  St Helen's Wake is one of our 'oldest' friends.  She was in our first batch of iris we ordered many years ago when we lived elsewhere.  I was just lamenting her absence this Spring.  A few days later, there she was - looking fabulous.

Other iris are reliable every season and we are no less glad to see them as we are those prodigals who return after a year (or years) of absence.  Perhaps they are more sensitive to our remembering their names and they are aware that we tend to forget unless they make their yearly appearance?

Taco Supreme

And, every year we see them, we promise them that we will 'do better' for them.  They know us.  They are pretty certain we mean it.  They also know we are unlikely to be able to do it.  So, they just go about their business. 

Rare Treat

Sometimes, an iris even seems to pose for us.  "Go get your camera," they say.  I've put on my best clothes for you and the light is just perfect for me. 

And sometimes, we still take a picture, even if the light isn't right and the clothing is a little tattered after a strong wind and hot days.  Some of them seem a bit embarrassed by this.  Others, just appreciated that we still enjoy seeing them.

We hope you enjoyed our 2017 Grand Iris Tour.  Here's to another year of flowers sharing with the farmers (and hence... with you).

It Won't Go Away Until We Make It

Sometimes it is strange how things come back around to you.  I have now had three different people ask me (recently) how things regarding our 2012 spray misapplication incident went.  The weather we've been having during the month of June is reminiscent of 2012 as well.  I am watching the pastures and lawn areas get browner - usually something reserved for Augusts in Iowa.  And then, Practical Farmers of Iowa released a series of YouTube videos that feature my good friend and respected farmer, Andy Dunham, and some other guy with a red hat.  THEN Liz at PFI suggested we submit our own op-ed in response to the excellent one by Zachary Michael Jack in the June 8, 2017 Des Moines Register.  I guess that means I should do something about the topic.

Can you find the Genuine Faux Farm?

The potential for misapplication of farm chemicals (and lawn chemicals) can have negative effects for each and every one of us, whether we farm vegetables or not.  And, if it isn't enough for you to be worried about your own health, consider this report that is the beginning of research that shows children are more susceptible to health issues because of the misuse of pesticides.  We shouldn't be surprised by these results.  In fact, I suspect most people who have ever given any thought to the topic EXPECTS there to be health issues that are related to these chemicals.

We have a problem.

And it will not go away unless we work to do something about it.

As I write this, I find myself thinking negatively about any number of things.  The problem seems unsolvable - even when I feel like it shouldn't be a problem at all.  Every year I get doses of the attitude that says "You live in Iowa, so deal with it." 

But, I read the last lines I wrote in that post.

"We are better than this.  We are capable and innovative.   Now we just have to be willing to admit there is a problem and address it."

Chemical overuse and misapplication is a huge problem, which means we can't fix it immediately.  It will take more than one season of awareness and effort.  This is what I refer to as a "long-haul problem."  We've got to dedicate ourselves to doing the right thing and sticking with it year after year.  And, then, when we think we've got it figured out, we need to re-apply ourselves to keep it that way.

This fight is worth fighting because we aren't just standing up for ourselves - we're standing up for others who can't (or won't) stand up for themselves.  It's just beginning.

In my opinion, education and communication are ALWAYS key parts to solving any problem and Practical Farmers of Iowa has been working to build resources with respect to drift issues for the past several years.

Here is a short video that outlines these resources.  It is worth a few minutes to take a look and see what is out there.

And, our farm (Genuine Faux Farm) is not taking a vacation from the subject either.  For example, we volunteered to be 'drift catchers' for a season and we worked to get information about what others can do to try to make a difference (2015).

And, then, that crazy farmer with the red hat shows up in a series of videos available to the general public like this one:

I fully understand that the world is full of problems and that it is difficult to find the energy to care about it all.  If you are like me, it causes physical and mental pain to consider them.  Is it easier to give up because it is just too much?  If we allow ourselves to care, how can we manage to be happy and live a good life?  I get the feeling that many people get overwhelmed and take this approach ("There are just too many bad things, so I will ignore them and I'll feel better.")

Well, I challenge that premise.  Why?  Because the premise of "I can't deal with it so I'll ignore it" does nothing to help you be happy nor does it mean you will be allowed to live your "good life."

A better answer is to start learning about the problem NOW so you can be ready to act when the situation arises where YOU are placed in a position to do something.  But, what might some of those situations be that YOU could find yourself in?  Don't think it will ever happen?  Think again.

If you are in your vehicle on a road and it gets hit by droplets from a spray plane, you have just witnessed a chemical misapplication.  Watch the video with Liz and find out where you can go to report this incident.

If you have an opportunity to speak to a legislator, ask them about what their stance is regarding chemical misapplication.  By simply asking the question, you raise the topic to a level where they too might be ready to act when the right ideas come along.  If you have taken some time to learn some of the details, you can effectively advocate for change.

When you go to the doctor, you should ask them about what is known regarding agricultural and lawn chemicals and their impact on our health.  Perhaps you could encourage the medical community to begin sharing that information more readily?

If a friend, neighbor, acquaintance or family member tells you about a time when they were harmed by a misapplication incident, you should encourage them to follow through with the reporting process.  Take them to the proper linked resources.  Every rural Iowan has at least three incidents that they did nothing about because they either didn't know what to do OR they were afraid to rock the boat.

In the end, the reality is that farmers who use herbicides, pesticides and fungicides typically are not evil, "twirl the mustache and laugh a villain's laugh" people.  They want to do a job and they don't really want to hurt others.  But, somehow, we've gotten to a point where the use of chemicals is so prevalent we aren't thinking it is worth enough of our attention to make a difference.  Let's change that.

June Newsletter

Here we are, in the month of June.  And, we wonder how we got here.  But, since it is a new month, we need a new newsletter.  I am not sure who made that rule up, but we're going to try and follow it anyway.

May Calendar of Events

• June 1: Delivery 4 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltEven, Trav)
  June 6: Delivery 5 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltOdd, Trav)
  June 7: Delivery 5 Tripoli (Trad, WE, AltOdd, Trav)
  June 8: Delivery 5 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltOdd, Trav)
  June 12: Turklets Arrive at the Farm
  June 13: Delivery 6 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltEven, Trav)
  June 14: Delivery 6 Tripoli (Trad, WE, AltEven, Trav)
  June 15: Broiler Chicks (Flock 2) Arrive
  June 15: Delivery 6 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltEven, Trav)
  June 18: Gang of Four+ at Scattergood Friends School
  Delivery 7 ***Traveler 20 Break Begins***
  June 20: Delivery 7 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltOdd)
  June 21: Delivery 7 Tripoli (Trad, WE, AltOdd)
  June 22: Delivery 7 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltOdd)
  June 27: Delivery 8 Waverly (Trad, WE, AltEven)
  June 28: Delivery 8 Tripoli (Trad, WE, AltEven)
  June 29: Delivery 8 Cedar Falls (Trad, WE, AltEven)
  June 30: Broiler Flock 1 to "the Park"

Festival News:
First Order of Business - No Faux Fun Spring Festival this year.
Why?  Well, we weren't getting too much interest and frankly, we weren't pushing it too hard either.  The May weather set us back and we're working hard to catch up.  We thought we might try to turn the event into a moving the high tunnel day WITH the festival, but the wind predictions don't look favorable (though the forecast keeps changing).

But, the "C" in CSA stands for "Community," so we are interested in doing things that continue to support that concept.  So, here are some of the things we are looking at:

Summer Festival and Tom Sawyer Work Day  August 26

Mark your calendars and save that date.  The 26th is a Saturday.  The Tom Sawyer portion runs from 1pm-4pm and includes set up and preparation for the festival.  If you are willing to come early and help set up some tables, cut heirloom tomatoes for tomato tasting or other sorts of preparation, please let us know.
Over the last couple of years, this festival has featured live music, artistic endeavors (painting and chalk drawing), a farm scavenger hunt, farm tours, turkey feeding, lawn games and the ever popular 'push the green carts around the farm.'  We have also provided a GFF turkey for sandwiches in the past.
If you would like to help us do more with this festival, we'd like to hear from you.  Do you do face painting?  Would you like to help lead some sort of artistic project?  Anyone want to set up a game area?  We have no need to make it terribly complicated, but we do want you all to enjoy the event.  Share ideas and suggest what you might want to do and we'll see where it takes us.
As far as the live music goes, we could see if the Buskers would like to play again this year, or we could consider someone else.  Are there suggestions?  Let us know.

Monthly Events at CSA Distributions
We see you, often briefly, at our CSA distributions most weeks and we're wondering if you might like to do a bit more at some of these distributions?  Our move to St Andrew's Church in Waverly frees us up to do more things there and we have support from Hansen's Outlet in Cedar Falls.  Here are some ideas to start with and we'd love to hear your ideas:
- Farmer Rob could challenge people to a timed game of chess or Farmer Tammy could set up a cribbage board.  And, if you want, we can arrange to have more than one chess board for others to enjoy a little time outdoors and play.  Other games could be arranged, but there is always the issue of possible wind or rain.  Tammy likes cribbage and Rob likes Ticket to Ride.
- When the heirloom tomatoes and peppers come in, Tammy would be willing to work with others to make a nice big pot of pico de gallo and if we can get some people to bring different kinds of chips we can all snack ourselves silly.  Perhaps we can do some other things along these lines?  Maybe we should make some basil lemonade? 


Tom Sawyer Work Days and Work For Food Events
We have already held two WFF (Work For Food) events and admit readily that they are geared towards college students who are willing to do a few things on the farm if there is a Tammy cooked meal as a reward.  We hope to do this again in the Fall. 

The Tom Sawyer Events were, at one time, fairly popular, but we found much less interest in the last few years.  Last year we had a pop-up TSD when we needed help putting plastic on one of our buildings (again, our thanks to all who participated).

We would be pleased to entertain the idea of a TSD event with a potluck at the end.  The key here is that the farmers need enough help that they have to spend so much time in set up and clean up that the benefit of the work is moot.  Does something along these lines interest you?  If it does, we need to hear WHO is interested and WHEN you might like to do these things.  For that matter, if you tell us WHAT sort of things you might like to help with at the farm, we'll see where we can go.


CSA Signup 2017
We will continue to add people to our CSA as people request and we will prorate the amount necessary for the shares.

Song of the Month
Alright by Aaron Sprinkle.  It's a good song when you get a little grumpy about raccoons in the chickens, woodchucks in the melons, rabbits in the chard, soil that is too wet, soil that is too dry, lost emails, sore hands and tired feet.  It'll be Alright.

Recipe of the Month

Spring Veggie Frittata
Easy vegetable dish for breakfast or dinner. Experiment with additional vegetables, spices or meats. This is REALLY GOOD!
Ingredients:
1 c chopped asparagus
½ c sliced mushrooms
2 green onions, chopped
spinach (as much or as little as you like)
1-2 T butter or olive oil
4 lrg eggs
1/3 c shredded cheese
Directions:
Sautee vegetables in skillet with oil until tender (use 2-3 T water to help steam veggies). Add chopped spinach and stir. Don’t over cook vegetables. Make sure some oil remains in skillet so eggs won’t stick.
Whip eggs until fluffy. Add shredded cheese. Pour into skillet, cover and cook approximately 5 minutes over medium heat or until eggs fluffy and cooked through.

Field Report
We thought we might finally be dry enough to play in the dirt and found out that we aren't entirely correct.  Some of the fields are dry for the first inch and then gummy underneath.  It's just part of what we deal with on our farm.  However, we have managed to put in some tomatoes, more radish, kale, napa cabbage, pok choi, lettuce, broccoli and onions.  There is so much more to put in the ground!  We'll keep you informed as things go in.

Our first cucumber succession is official done.  The heavy storms we had a week plus ago took them out, it just took them a while to realize they were finished.  We're looking at some losses in the winter squash and watermelon as well.  It's early enough that we should be able to replant - it just means we have to find the time to do that.

On the other hand, the carrots in the high tunnel AND the field look decent this year.  The peas are marginal, but they should produce something.  The potatoes are germinating (finally) and we have some lettuce that is starting to look really good.

Picture of the Month

Farm News Shorts

• Rob is finally getting a bit more help at the farm.  Tammy is able to spend more time at the farm now that Wartburg graduation is complete.  Of course, she still has things to do for her job, but she can spend more time here than she can while school is in session.  Jocelyn joined us for four days this week and we hope she decides to come back after yesterday's 'bug fest' with no breeze at the farm.  Emma and Caleb start next week, which brings us to a full compliment for the summer months.
• How do we forget this every year?  Our hands.  They hurt.  And they're dry and rough.  We always make it through, but there is a two to three week period where we wonder a bit about it!
• Stormy weather.  The month of May included a three day period where we had several severe storms pass through the area.  We had wind gusts that topped out at 70 mph, 50mph, 49 mph and 48 mph during that period and we also had small hail and downpours.  But, the real kicker was the dust cloud that accompanied the 70 mph gust.

Essentially this is what Rob saw coming at the farm.  Picture from KGAN CBS 2

I did not have time to go get a camera - I was too busy running around.  What you see in the picture is a wall of dust that has been picked up off all of the freshly tilled and planted fields in the state.  I was trying to get buildings closed up, animals secured and everything under cover.  I did not quite get it all done and found myself outside when the dust hit.  Now I know what sandblasting feels like.  I could smell soil, ash and herbicides in the mix to make it even more surreal.  I think I might still be pulling dirt out of my nose and ears from this event.

Tammy was on her way home and had to ride this out in the car just a mile or two away.  Corn stubble pelted the car and was plastered to one side once she got home. 

In one of the 50 mph gusts, nearby Tripoli was hit by higher windspeeds and numerous large trees were downed with some real damage to buildings.  We are hoping that we've had our weather adventures for the year.

Time to Have Pun
Asparagus - the weather was cool, then it warmed up and the asparagus said - OK!  It is now the age of asparagus.  Just don't get me to tell you about the awning of the cage of asparagus... it needs some repair, I think.

VAP Revisited

In July of last season, I wrote a post about our VAPs (Very Ambitious Plans) that several people found either amusing or alarming, depending on how one was feeling at the time.  By way of a short introduction, Rob has always been a list-maker, but the realities of our farm requires that we take list-making to a higher level.  Each day needs some sort of a plan to maximize results.  While Tammy is NOT a list-maker, she also agrees that we always have a more productive day when there is a clear VAP to guide us.

Example of an item that changes the VAPArrgRat

Discovered VAP Items
 In the previous post, I spent time creating some 'fictional' statistics for our VAPs.  And, no, before you start thinking I am more crazy than I really am, I have not actually run any of these statistics - nor do I intend to.  One of the categories was the Discovered VAP items.  Things that didn't go onto the plan before the day started are said to be 'discovered.'  For example, if critters (aka varmints) are getting into the peppers we have to add "put the electric fence around the peppers" ahead of most everything else.  I guess lists and the plans they represent are meant to be broken.

May we help with your VAP?

Chores, BOLS, and MEWs
I am sure there are many people out there who think I must do nothing other than think up useless acronyms or words and then share them with the hapless blog readers out there.  I assure you that this is not true.  Ok, when I'm doing a repetitive task on the farm, like picking spinach, my mind does tend to wander to such things.  After all, it is much better to be creative than to dwell on the things that aren't going right or to worry about the things you are NOT doing at the time.  Although, I will admit that many of my thoughts focus on things that are coming up and farming decisions I must make.  So, I guess I don't know where this silliness comes from.

Move those trays to the cold frames please

Every VAP has a set of chores that are common to nearly every day of the farm.  They don't usually need to be written out much more than something that looks like this:
T, H, H, N - W F
Translation: Turks, Hens, Henlets, Nuggest - Water, Food

Why even bother writing anything?  Well, if you have to ask, you aren't a list maker.  It's all about the joy of crossing things off a list.  Well, that, and it's a simple way to put yourself into a planning mode for the coming day.  Start with the routine and simple to get the brain engaged in the process.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

There are always a bunch of smaller, somewhat unrelated things that need to get done each day that do not qualify as chores.  We call this our BOLS-sublist (Bunch O' Little Stuff).  We're considering putting this on our chalk board for all the workers to see.  That way, if anyone has a few minutes in between a job, they can pick one of these to complete.  A prime example is something like moving the carts with plants in them to another location.

On the other hand, there are the multi-part or larger tasks that we now call MEWs (Major-Event Work).  Hey, we have cats on the farm.  Everything they do is major (according to them), so this makes some sense.  The process of  harvesting, cleaning, packing, loading and delivering a CSA is a MEW - though we might be tempted to call it a 'chore' since it occurs on a regular basis. 

On the WICGID list

Then there are "WICGID" (Wish I Could Get It Done) items.  Things like loading the software and setting up the download from our weather station to our computer.  Is it a really big deal?  Apparently not, since it has appeared every so often at the bottom of our VAP on and off for over a year.  Alas - another item that keeps the Carry Over Ratio on our farm high.

Oh, don't remember what a Carry Over Ratio is?  Guess you'll have to go read the original VAP story!

Waddle Waddle Waddle

The Genuine Faux Farm (yep, that's us!) was recently featured in Iowa Ingredient in their episode featuring duck eggs and duck meat.  If you don't know Iowa Ingredient (an Iowa Public Television production) then you should go view the episode at this link.  All pictures in this blog post were shared by Iowa Ingredient on Facebook.

 It's amazing to think exactly how much footage was taken in an effort to have the quality snippets that were needed to make the show work.  Theresa Knight and the videographer (sorry, we have since forgotten his name) had to work very hard to get these shots with the inclement weather that made the whole thing much more difficult than it should have been for all of us.  In fact, we had to schedule and reschedule multiple times to get a second date where there would be some sun.  To make matters worse, the rain was not in the forecast for that day and it was a strange system where it came out of the Northeast.  Not only were we forced to adjust with the IPTV crew, but we had to do a great deal of adjusting with our own work crew by re-making our work plans on the fly.

These things happen every season - just not normally on the same day that you have a 'special event' going on.  Ok, maybe they always happen when you have something different at the farm - Murphy's Law you know.

Why are these eggs so wet?

 It's always interesting to see a finished filmed project and see the snippets that are used.  We have the context that surrounds the clips that viewers do not.  The IPTV crew were taking shelter in our garage while the rain came down, so we went and got some eggs out of the fridge so they could show the difference between duck and chicken eggs.  The eggs are sitting on top of our grill and they got a bit damp due to a combination of raindrops and condensation.

ok, this one is our picture.

It's amazing how perspective can make something look like more or less than it is.

Silver Appleyards with one Muscovey in foreground

 We're glad we were able to help Iowa Ingredient with this program and it's always nice to be associated with a quality product/program.  We will happily host them again in the future if they should desire it.

And now for the difficult part.  We no longer have ducks on the farm.  We actually liked raising them and would not mind trying it again.  But, the reality is that we couldn't find enough of a market for the duck eggs and duck meat.  We realize that the cost is higher (especially for the meat), but that is a function of the higher cost of ducklings and for processing.  In fact, we just recently cooked what I think is our last duck that was in the freezer this past weekend.  (yes, yes...our duck was cooked).  We love the taste and might consider raising a few for ourselves if nothing else.

So, the question is this: do you want us to continue raising ducks?

If you want us to, we need to hear it and we will need some commitment from you to make it work. 

It Has Been Too Long

Our blog has not been as active as it has been previous years for a whole host of reasons.  Rather than spend time listing all of them, I'll point one of them out to you.

Sometimes I manage to write a post that is a 'higher quality post.'  For example, there was a very good post titled a Choice of Litany last Fall that was well-received for a serious/philosophical offering.  In fact, I took a moment to re-read that post just to work on changing the way I am feeling about things right now.  I'll let you know if it works.  Then, there are posts like the one on VAPs that tap the more humorous side of creativity.  For those who remember the post (or those who go read it now), we do still create VAPs for most days.

So, what, exactly is the problem with good posts?  Well, I put pressure on myself to try to provide quality each time I post.  But, I am not always feeling all that creative.  The net result is that I have a bunch of started posts that have yet to see the light of day (so to speak).  So, what to do?

Create a brand new post and just report on some things going on at the farm.  Why not?  It has worked before!

Just Dandy

Sadly, the dandelion peak is over at the farm.  For those who still think of the dandelion as a noxious weed, I want you to consider exactly how nice that bright yellow is in the midst of the green.  And, when you find out about weeds that cause us more issues on the farm like Canadian thistle, crabgrass, bindweed, etc etc  - the dandelion isn't an issue at all.  In fact, we are very happy to have clover and dandelions in our lawn and pasture areas - thank you very much.

The Solar Fence Explosion

As we start to do more with poultry in pastures and plant starts in the fields, our solar powered fences start providing their service to us instead of sitting neatly rolled up on a hayrack.

We have our first batch of broiler chickens on pasture now.  Of course, once we did that, we got cooler and wetter weather almost right away.  Why not?  Let's just make things a bit more complicated.  At least we remembered to get the solar charger up on a cement block so it wouldn't be sitting in the mini-pond that has formed in that area.  And, no, the nuggets (as we call the younger broilers) are not fond of the pond either.

You're Welcome
We're still trying to fill up our CSA program - so we're still taking applications if you are interested.  Thank you to all who have signed up.  We look forward to serving you.

A couple of years ago, we periodically provided produce to Lincoln Elementary for a special 'healthy snack' program.  We were happy to do this and I ran across the nice artwork provided to us as a way of saying thank you.  Little things like this help the farmers when they are looking at very very wet fields with very few options to do the work that needs doing.

Every Year is a Struggle
We try not to complain or be a broken record about it.  But, the weather can just drive us crazy sometimes.  Yoyo temperatures have forced us to be patient with planting.  We dodged some bullets by deciding not to plant certain crops, though we were tempted.  But, now those plants are in trays and really need to get into the ground.  The problem, of course, is how wet everything is.  There isn't really much we can do about it right now.  And, as I type this, I see more rain coming.  It helps to know (sort of) that other growers in Iowa are fighting some of the same issues because that means we're just not bad at what we do.  On the other hand, I don't really want them to struggle either!

Needless to say, we make the best decisions we can and then we live with them.  The good news about all of this is that we have more experience and more tools, so we are much more able to recover from some of this than we could in years past.

I'm ready for a huge planting session.  Here's hoping Mother Nature gives us a shot at it.