Heirloom Rebuttal: Part 3

The following is a critique of the contents found in the article cited below:  Article name: How to Grow a Better Tomato: The Case against Heirloom Tomatoes

By Brendan Borrell in Scientific American, March 30, 2009

Article in quotes and italic. My responses follow in standard type and in red-brown.

The other parts of this series can be found here:  Part I  Part II

"So breeders feel confident that getting germ-beating genes back into heirlooms won't harm the desirable aspects of the fruit. Modern breeding has resuscitated grocery store tomatoes with an influx of wild genes; in the past 50 years, researchers have bred back some 40 disease-resistance genes into commercial crops.

Restoring Heirloom's Health
Now, Monsanto wants to do the same for the heirloom. In 1996 a tomato breeder and former Tanksley student named Doug Heath began a pet project at Seminis VegetableSeeds, a Monsanto subsidiary. After 12 years of traditional breeding with the help of molecular markers, he has created a new rainbow-streaked tomato less prone to cracking and also endowed with 12 disease-resistant genes. The original plant, Heath explains, had defective flowers, which is one reason why it set only two fruits compared with the 30 he gets from his new variety. He claims he is also able to maintain a comparable flavor and sugar profile even on productive plants. It turns out that the heirloom's defects are neither quirky nor cute, just an accident of a single-pronged breeding strategy left over from the dawn of genetics."

[The article goes on to point out that these seeds being created will produce plants that will NOT be able to produce viable seed]

I'm going to cut to the chase right now.

Explain to me how these will be genetically superior if they cannot reproduce without proprietary methods/hybridization?

You can't tell me out of one side of your proverbial mouth that natural selection has taken care of the Andes forebears of tomatoes and how wonderful that is. AND, tell me that stupid humans have done a nice job of hybridizing genetic disease resistance out of them. Then, out of the other side of your mouth, you tell me that humans, using only genetics in a profit making framework, are going to save the day? And, you'll do that by removing the natural reproductive method for these plants that will allow for natural selection to take place. You also can't tell me that more fruit per plant = less taste and then herald more fruit per plant as solving a problem.

Ok, maybe you can. But, it just makes me angry that things are misrepresented to make the point. I only hope that I've done a better job of trying to make my point without taking this approach!

The motivations are consistent, but the claims are not. The motivation is to produce more marketable fruit - period. If there is growing demand for heirlooms, then commercially one tends to look for ways to grow more of them.

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I want to avoid sounding too much like I'm irrational in defense of heirlooms. There are issues with them. In fact, if I wanted to maximize my tomato production to simply meet demand for that product, I might look for different answers. But, I don't - and I'll tell people why every so often when I get on the soapbox.

So, why am I rabid enough about the topic to place a three-part response in a blog no one reads? It's because I think the focus on this area is, perhaps, attacking the WRONG PROBLEMS.

• We need to focus on the health of the soil and environs in which these things grow. Regardless of seed stock, it will improve long term reliable production.
• We need to get away from monoculture cropping methods and improve our rotation and inter cropping methods. Plants need more disease resistance if we keep making conditions better for diseases to inoculate in the crops. But, if we work on improving conditions... Think of it this way - this logic has some similarity to taking antibiotics every day because we want to protect ourselves from the pathogens in the sewer backup that we refuse to take care of in our basement. If you do nothing to build a healthy environment, then - of course - you may have to rely on the medicine.
• We need to work on building local food systems that use sustainable methods in agriculture.
• We need to improve "everyperson's" understanding of how to prepare food using fresh vegetables. Increasing disease resistance for mass-production of product does nothing to help people figure out how to use produce. And, until we increase our collective IQ (or return it to what it once was) the problem will persist.

Monsanto (or someone else) will figure out how to manipulate genes to grow heirloom look-alikes. They will likely produce more marketable tomatoes per plant in large-scale, monocrop systems. But, they WILL market them as heirlooms and MANY WILL buy them because of the label. But, this does not remove or address the issues of soil health, monocropping issues, unripe picking for long distance shipping nor does it address our collective inability to pay attention to our food.

Mmmmm. Food

Just a reminder that there are plenty of vegetables that can be stored for winter use. And, as a result, you can continue to create colorful and tasty dishes.



This pan of veg was created in January and includes sweet potatoes, potatoes (blue and yellow), rutabagas, turnips, beets and maybe other things I can't remember. We roasted this slowly in the oven for a fairly long period of time (until things were appropriately softened - not mushy). T can tell you what spicing she may have included, but I cannot. I can, however, tell you that this was delicious.

The Farm in Winter

The farm undergoes interesting transformations during the winter. And, a recent walk around the farm with a camera yielded a couple of pictures that might give everyone a feel for how things stand at this time.

Yes, we have low tunnels. What is a low tunnel, you ask? Look at the picture below and you will see (sort of). If you can't see at this size, click on the picture and it will open a window with a larger image.



Essentially, a low tunnel is a series of hoops covered by plastic. The plastic is anchored along the edges by ground staples (U shaped heavy gauge wire) and metal stakes. In winters when we don't have snow cover, we often have problems with the plastic blowing loose in the wind. Thus, there will be multiple trips to attempt to re-anchor the low tunnel plastic. So far this year, the snow is keeping things down and insulated. Inside of these covers are lettuce plants. They are probably still only a couple of inches high. I say 'probably' because I am not about to dig in there to check. The target is to have lettuce in March and early April.

The picture below may be too small to see the detail, so you may want to click on this one as well. This is the view into our eastern plots. The tomato cages are nicely corralled and collecting snow. After last year's experience of crushed cages (due to snow weight) we decided to leave them upright this year. The cages were moved with the help of a helpful class from Wartburg taking a day at the farm - thanks to all of you!



You might notice the sunflowers (and maybe some popcorn) still standing. We don't clean everything out of our gardens in the fall. We prefer to have ground cover to catch some snow and to prevent erosion of the soil. If you've ever seen the 'snirt' at the edges of fields that have been fall tilled, you can appreciate how the soil can move with no cover. The birds are still pecking away at the seeds and we can handle a few volunteer sunflowers.

Jack Frost, Part II

We see hoar frost every year. But, we don't usually have four days of fog. After a couple days, we thought the frost on the trees (and other things) was as thick as it could get.

So, we took this photo.

Then, we noticed that the frost got even thicker. The picture below is the same tree, taken two days later. Note the center of the tree. Think things might be getting a bit heavy?

PFI Conference

We attended the recent Practical Farmers of Iowa conference in Marshalltown (Jan 8 & 9), but were only able to be there for Saturday. Once again, we were reminded of the value PFI and this conference has for us, and it's all about the "networking" with others who have similar interests and labors. Of course, there were sessions that had interesting and useful information. There were posters and vendors with various resources. There were keynote speakers and business meetings. All of this is useful, important and a part of the package.

But, the real winner, in our minds, was the opportunity to sit down with a group of peers who grow vegetables and raise poultry in small-scale operations. Of course, it helps to have someone else you can commiserate with. For example, it was interesting to hear from three other people that their backs get sore in exactly the same place at about the same time during the season. You can decide whether this should be a comforting or disturbing thought. It is also good to hear that everyone else who does what we do are looking for better approaches to handle the common problems: weeds, pests, seed selection, harvest, distribution, marketing and bookkeeping (ya, there's more - but this is enough to make a point).

But, the best part is that we finally have connected with peers in a way where we do not feel like we are the novices - nor do we feel as if we must be the mentors. This is not to say that we don't appreciate getting feedback or information from those who have more experience or knowledge. It is also not indicating that we mind sharing with others who are trying to get into these things. But, there is something special about feeling like the members in the group are exploring together - without any hierarchy, implied or not. We left the conference feeling like we might have given as much as we received. And that's what collaborative learning is all about.

Seed Catalog Season

Welcome to the pre-Spring season known as 'Seed Catalog Season.'

Any person who does any amount of gardening can relate to the combination of anticipation and agony that comes with the flood of seed catalogs that begin arriving in mid-December and peak in early January. Obviously, the opportunity to dream about warmer weather with green and growing things is welcomed by many. This is especially true if the temperatures are below zero and the wind is howling.

But, why do I say 'anticipation AND agony?'

I'm going to guess that most people get the anticipation part. But, you are a clearly an addicted gardener if you get the agony part without further explanation. The root of the pain comes from the necessity of eliminating a significant number of the varieties and plants that you initially circled in each of the catalogs you received. Generally speaking, none of us has unlimited time, money or space.

As a result, you simply cannot plant every one of those thirteen dry bean varieties you think would be cool to try. Four might be more reasonable. And so, the elimination process begins. Usually, the first six or seven are fairly easily eliminated. These were interesting, but not really intriguing. But, figuring out the last two to be removed from the list can be a struggle. There are almost always two or three that are tried and true by you - so they HAVE to stay. Then, there is another you've tried before, but you were certain you made some mistakes with it - so another year would probably only be fair. But, you want to try new things too....

Eh.... five isn't that much more than four. We'll do five this year.

Well, maybe six.......

Boidy Boids

We finally got around to getting some pictures off of the camera and compressing them to semi-reasonable sizes for the web. And, one of our favorite subjects for photographs would be birds. Why? There weren't any hippos and butterflies don't sit still long enough.

We are trying to get used to a new digital camera AND to the idea that we can take a bunch of shots expecting to 'throw away' the majority of them. With our old film camera, we would pass up numerous opportunities because we didn't want the privilege of paying to see that we missed the shot (or it wasn't as good as we dreamed).

So, that means, we could take several shots of this pelican - and select the one where we actually managed to catch the gull flying in the background.

And, every year, there is at least one great blue heron that decides it will stand still long enough for us to get fairly close to it.

Jack Frost, Esquire

It's been foggy several days in a row. The resulting hoar frost makes for some excellent opportunities to look at things in new ways. And, of course, each day we had the fog, the frost got thicker - an amazing thing.

The following was taken on Tuesday after several days of fog and accumulated hoar frost. The fog was thicker nearer the tree line.

Taken on Monday. A look up towards the limbs of oaks (left) and maple (right)

Then we tried to get a bit more artsy with the photo op given to us by Mr. Frost. Which is your favorite? We'll put the favorite on the left of our blog.

Boxes

Mon, Jan 11

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I'm in the car, driving home and there is a box in the back seat.
The four flaps are interwoven in the traditional way.
But, I know interweaving the flaps isn't necessary.
I know what is in the box - and it makes me think of other boxes.

Nineteen years ago, I was driving a different car and I was driving home.
There was a box in the car.
The four flaps were interwoven in the traditional way.
And, I knew what was in the box - so I knew the reason for this precaution.

There were two kittens in that box.
One black and white, the other tortie.
It had been difficult putting them in the box.
When one was put in, the other would try to leap out.
It reminded me a little of those silly "bop'em gopher" games.
Every time you pushed one little feline head down
The other would pop up.

Boxes became the equivalent of fun time.
This was especially true for the tortie.
Make scratching noises on the inside.
She would jump in.
Make scratching noises on the outside.
She would bat at the source of the sound.

Boxes became the base of operations.
Play sessions with the nerf ball
would always start with the tortie in a box.
Until she couldn't stand it and would dart out,
and do her best to chase the ball,
as it was rolled from human to human.

Boxes became the place to lick perceived wounds.
While she was named Eowyn,
We nicknamed her "Bat" (or acrobat)
Due to her amazing leaps as she played with us.
She would get wound up
Until she landed on a human or otherwise lost control.
Soon after, she would be back in the box.
For a cat's time out.

Boxes were a way to pretend
that everything on the inside was mysterious
and everything on the outside was spooky.
We would tip the box over the cat,
and she would creep around.
Paws occasionally darting out to defend
against an unseen adversary.

As time went by, boxes became a place of safety.
Any time life became too much
she would go to a box and sit in
or on
until things settled to her liking.

Boxes were the booster seat
to sit closer to the level of her humans at the dinner table.
Boxes were the perfect place to nap,
Especially with her head propped on a corner like a pillow.
Boxes were the place to be in winter,
when the box was placed next to a radiator for heat.
And boxes were sometimes the place to do things,
that the humans didn't really want her to do.

But now, the box serves a different purpose.
I know what is in this box.
It is one nineteen year old, tortie cat.
It was difficult putting her in the box.
And it will be difficult taking her out again.
For one last time.

---------------------------

It has been said that people can be stupid about their pets. And, perhaps we are. However, any creature that lives as a part of the family for nineteen years will result in grieving for those left behind. We miss the brother and sister cats that were our companions for much of our married lives. Stryder died in February two years ago. Eowyn was with us for nearly two more years.

Traveling with T

One of the reasons taking a driving trip with T is so much fun (other than the fact that I like her) is that we both enjoy taking a look around as we drive through the country side. Our recent drive to/from St Pete, FL had its share of moments. And, at the risk of ...well... everyone figuring out exactly how odd we can be...

Winner of the "That's a GREAT name" Award:
HERCULENEUM, MO - we liked it so much, we stopped there to eat. Even better, it is located just south of Festus. Absolute heaven for those who love to look at maps and be amused by odd names and name combinations.

Runner up has to be Lumpkin in Alabama. Although, Eufalla was pretty good too.

Winner of the "Navigational Creativity" Award:
This belongs to the traffic circle-ish town square that had a sign at each corner telling us the highway continued if we TURNED LEFT (after the initial right turn to get into the circle). Think about it. (yes, there was a sign that showed a right turn to exit on the highway...but it wasn't very prominent)

Now, ask us - "how many times did you go around the circle?"

Runner up - the scenic back road guess to get to US 78 in Birmingham...ok outer suburbs in NE Birmingham. Hey, we found it without any backtracking.

I'm NOT turning left - how about you?
Our last day on the road on the way down was a long one. The most disturbing fact about that day had to be the sheer number of accidents we passed on the road. The majority of which had something to do with failures to yield on a left turn. If not that, it was failure to note the vehicle ahead of you was going to turn. This doesn't seem to explain the accident on the Interstate.

Mmmmm Citrus.
An advantage of driving is the fact that we can easily stop at roadside or other local vendors to peruse their wares. Sometimes it works out well, sometimes it doesn't. We particularly enjoy the oranges from Hancock Groves in Dade City, FL. And, because we were driving and not flying, we could carry a couple of nice big bags of fruit home! Hey, we purchased local! It was the two of us who weren't local.

License Plate Bingo and Raptor Rapture.
Yes, we play the license plate game and try to see how many different state/province names we can collect on the trip. Forty-two different plates is pretty good, but not our best. We have also been known to keep an eye out for hawks, osprey, eagles and other birds of prey. The stretch through Arkansas and Missouri yielded the most birds this year. Hey - we were on the road a LONG time - we didn't say everything we did or noticed would totally captivate your interest!

The "Felt Most At Home" Award:
Hellooooo southwest Georgia. Granted, we were visiting in January with mild temperatures. We might have felt a bit differently in July. Nonetheless, we had an opportunity to stop in Adel, GA. And, because we had one of our navigation snafus - we stopped at a gas station that was not directly off of an interstate exit. The result? Lots of pleasant people and lots of OLD pickups. cool.

Scenery Surprise of the Trip/Geography Lesson:
Yes, the Appalachians DO go into northeastern Alabama. No, the roads were not terribly steep, but there was plenty of hill to satisfy an Iowan in search of a mountain. But, seriously, we enjoyed the non-interstate, cross-country trek through Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

Thanks, Santa!

Santa was very kind and mailed us a card postmarked December 24, just prior to midnight. Inside the card were two gift certificates - each for a one hour massage. Wherever you are now Santa, we are grateful.

A Tough Egg to Crack

In case you hadn't noticed. It's been on the chilly side lately. Ok. Maybe it's actually been downright cold. And, as a reminder - temperatures on the farm can be lower than those in town. So, that means we are tougher than everyone else. Or - at the least - we can pretend to be tougher than everyone else. The reality is that we just use it for license to make more comments about it.

A very interesting phenomenon of the cold weather is what happens if a chicken egg is exposed to the cold for too long.

We tend to 'pick' eggs twice a day. Usually, the eggs are in the laying boxes and there are often birds in those boxes. As a result, most eggs are kept warm enough until we get to them. However, if exposed too long, the eggs will freeze. In many cases, the shell cracks and the egg is clearly not going to be sold to anyone. But, whether the shell cracks or not, a frozen egg is VERY HARD.

We recently attempted to break a frozen egg by throwing it as hard as we could against the cement floor of the barn. The result? The egg bounced, the cement was chipped and there was only a small dent in the egg. It took three throws at the cement before the egg was broken.

The moral to this story? If Humpty Dumpty wanted to sit on a wall - he should have done it in January, in the Midwest.

Icicle Race

T & I managed to get ourselves off the farm for a portion of the holidays. thanks to D for keeping track of the farm during this period where the farmers are being negligent of their duties...

So, we drove to Florida from Iowa. Starting on Christmas day. Yes, that's when that monstrous storm was dumping rain, snow and ice in Iowa. Happily, we got out of "Dodge" with minimal issues. Though it was interesting to note that on every bridge and underpass the car wanted to move slightly sideways until we were well south of Iowa City. Happily, the rest of the roadways were clear, so this was an issue we could handle. Speeds were a bit slower than maybe one might expect, due to the weather - so we only made it to Paducah. Hey, Paducah is cool.

Besides that we visited FIVE states in day one of driving: Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky AND confusion. Hey, that's what happens when you try to try to pack a car, outside in rain/sleet/snow with slush/snow on the ground.

Day two of the drive saw us get all the way to Tampa from Paducah. Ok, part of day 2 ended on day 3 as we got there after midnight local time.

The real kicker of all of this is that we had to deal with a surprise truck repair (distributor), a surprise furnace issue AND water in the electrical breaker box for our house. All on Christmas Eve day. Add to that the nervous energy that comes with impending storms and you have two wired people trying to get everything done and trying to decide whether to scrap the trip or to drop everything and get out ASAP.

We chose to stick with the original plan - and here we are.

Decompressed yet? Almost. Just in time to drive back. YAY!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!

R & T - Genuine Faux Farm

NOT Rudolph

11:30 PM - The lights are still on in the house. It is finals week. The schedule is a bit topsy-turvy. It is the way of things during finals week. The humans will placate the cat and go to bed soon. Tomorrow is an early and long day. Must get some sleep.

12:15 AM - One human takes a while to wind down, but he always takes longer to fall asleep. Don't worry, he'll...zzzzzzzz

1:00 ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

1:29 AM - Something is going on...huh? wha? Must wake up. Why does it seem like there is a pulsing light?

1:30 AM - clock rings the half hour. Pulsing light still there. R's brain is still confused, but becoming a bit alarmed - literally. Don' t all of our smoke detectors make loud noises if they go off? I wonder if the speaker went bad in one and it is just blinking. Better get up and investigate!

1:31 AM - Hmmm. That light isn't coming from inside the house. It is OUTSIDE! What's going on here?

1:32 AM - Arg! All of these older windows are covered in frost and I can't see out, but the lights are right outside on the road. And they are very bright. Was there an accident? Santa come early with Rudy?

1:40 AM - now you know the lights are bright and annoying. Even T has been awakened by this. We now have identified the source. The trail groomer for the snowmobile route is STUCK in the ditch in front of our house. It is REALLY cold out there tonight and he's out there shoveling away in an effort to get out. I'm not sure that I'm feeling sorry for him right now. Thoughts about calling...who?... I don't know... the sheriff? enter our heads. Conflicting feelings about how difficult it must be to work in -15 degree F weather vs the annoyance of continued blinky lights, lost sleep and periodical loud growling as he tries to rock the vehicle to 'unstick' it don't help me to feel sleepy either.

1:45 AM - Ok, fine. He hasn't come to the house to ask for help. It seems as though he's been on a cell phone. We don't have a big tractor to pull him out. We need to get to sleep (if we can). Close some additional doors and try to drown out the light.

1:50 AM - white snow outside and really bright lights. grrrrrrr (was that me or the machine out there?)

2:00 AM - clock rings in the hour. T appears to be asleep again - at least part way. R is still annoyed. blink blink blink grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr blink blink blink...

2:10 AM - sounds like the thing is moving now. Oh no.. he still has to go all the way around our property (where the trial runs)! Oy. Blinky lights for a while yet.

2:20 AM - blinking is fading into distance. quick check - no presents under tree. drat.

2:30 AM - clock rings in the half hour.

2:40 AM - One human takes a while to wind down, but he always takes longer to fall asleep. Don't worry, he'll...zzzzzzzz

Prepping the Farm For White Stuff

It becomes clearer to me each time I try to answer the question "So, what do you do on the farm during the winter?" that I must do an inadequate job of answering.

Why?

Well, for one, I am sure I never quite make it clear that there is plenty to do and that we don't sit on our hands all winter.

For two, I am often asked the question by the same people - so I must have failed in try number one.

For three, I feel like I'm giving a generic answer - maybe because I'm never sure how much the person asking the question really wants to know. In a sense, this question is akin to "How are you?" The person asking probably doesn't really want to hear a complete and thorough run down....

But, here is a glimpse at what has been going on at the farm the last few days in preparation for the first big winter storm of the season:

Issue Number 1: Wind
For those who don't know - the wind can be a bit more brutal in the country than 'in town.' As a result, we find ourselves looking to move things to locations where they don't disappear over the winter. It's one thing if the wind moves something around in the spring or fall. We're outside ALOT more so notice these things. We also know that there are places in our outbuildings where the wind can reach in and 'grab' things. So, we move things away from those locations.

Issue Number 2: Cold
Any plants or produce must come into the house proper. Roots such as cannas also need to come in. We've had a few things hanging on in the garage up to this point, but it all must move in now. But, don't forget things like paints, glues, batteries, potting soil etc. The house is now a bit cluttered and messy until we get everything settled into some semblance of organization. While we are at it, the cold freezes the chickens water and we have to do something to help them get through it. So, changes are made to their living area that involve heat lamps, water heaters and covers on open windows/doors.

Issue Number 3: Snow
We've learned from prior work that things migrate ALL OVER the farm during the growing season. If left outside, we run the risk of forgetting them and being unable to find them again. Worse yet, we DO find them again with equipment such as a mower or tiller. So, these things need to get under shelter. But, even things like our cages (used to protect lettuce, etc) need to be moved somewhere. We learned last winter that they will sink into the muck under the weight of snow - requiring repairs to nearly all of them. They are on ground that is much more solid this year. OH - and I suppose we should put the snowblower attachment on one of the tractors. After the tiller is removed...

Issue Number 4: Critters
Deer like to beat on trees (especially apples). These all need some sort of fencing protection. And, our remaining seed inventory needs to come in and be protected as well.

Issue Number 5: Frozen Ground
Anything that was left to be done with planting or prepping for winter with respect to crops had to be dealt with. The garlic got a nice hay mulch placed over them. A few rows of lettuce, kale and arugula were identified and covered with low tunnels. The grafted apple trees in pots were sunk into the ground. Remaining root crops were dug. And, stakes were pounded into the ground as needed.

Now that it has snowed, everything will change on the farm to do list. We'll report on that one later.

Learn about the Farm

By way of a "Farm Report"

And - because we are in our 1 year blogaversary....we thought we'd link in a representative list of posts from our blog that might give you a window into what we do on the farm.

• Tasks that fly Under the Radar
• A sample of some of the heirloom cultivars we grow in a Variety Show
• Tom Sawyer Days - without whitewashing?
• The CSA Prep Dance
• Always a highlight - the "Day at the Park"
• The Pharm is Fysical - you can read more in Muscles and Road Map to Zucchini
• The weather and critters can be a challenge as can be seen in Xtreme Weather Games and Ugly Bookends
• Ever wonder what it takes to do a farmers market? Check out our Market Prep Routine
• How we plan (Giant Jig Saw and Or Was It Continuously Delayed Perfection?).
• What we do to try and learn more (Farm Research Ideas for 2010)
• Why we believe in local foods (Why is Eating Local Good?)
• What does Spring look like to us? (Sproing) and Fall? (Lost My Groove) (Planting, not just for Spring Anymore)
• How big is the farm? Let's just say that We're Nuts!
• That can lead to some very strange Animal Dreams
• A couple more posts showing how we handle our early season plant starting (Sorting It All Out) and using one of our many garden tools (Signs of the Tines)
• A look at 2008's farming season in A GFF Year in Review (yes, we'll do one for 2009)
• And even a retrospective for the farm (as if we've been around all that long) in The Way Back Machine

A whole year of Genuinely Faux?!?

Really? This is not possible - but there it is. And, just to make the reference seem more tangible - here is a link to our first set of posts in the month of December, 2008.

And, just to celebrate, here are some other things that might be enjoyable to all:

Our TOP TEN POSTS post from September is here. Go take that link and then visit our top ten posts and enjoy. But, pay attention - there is more to this....

Candidates for new "top" posts:

• Time Zones
• Going Out With A...
• GFF Vocab

Why make a big deal of this? Well, I'm thinking I'll put a 'Top X' list on the left side of the blog - to be updated about once a year. So - here's where you all come in.

Respond to the blog and VOTE for your TOP THREE blog entries. They can be any of those listed in the old top 'ten' or from these three. OR, if you feel REALLY strongly about something else, include it in your vote. If you don't have an account to post on the blog - send it to us in email at gff@genuinefauxfarm.com

I admit - part of the reason for this is to determine if there is still interest in the blog. And, another reason is that R is going through people interaction withdrawal (no CSA deliveries). But, the biggest reason? It sounds like fun!

COLD crops

Please note the date. Yes, I am writing this post on the day that it will appear on the blog. So, it is, in fact - December 2.

What did I do today on the farm? Take three guesses and the first two don't count.

Okay, okay, I'll tell you.

I harvested veg today. And, no, we don't have a high tunnel/green house. No, these were not in a cold frame. But, it is a good reminder that crops can hold in the ground for quite some time as long as:

a) the soil temps are above freezing (typically 40 degrees F & up)
b) low 20 degree temps are followed by over freezing temps during the day
c) reasonable amounts of sun and moisture is provided

Our next Waverly Harvest Market is this coming Saturday. So, ideally, I would have liked to have waited to pick until Friday. But, rule (b) is about to be broken (decisively). That makes (c) moot and will certainly change (a) to a lower temp. In short, the crops might not last much longer in the ground.

the most difficult thing about this is the cold temps on hands. I use fingerless gloves because I need to be able to use the full dexterity of my digits. But, as you might guess, the dexterity goes down a bit as I get progressively colder. So, it usually means working for an hour followed by some indoor time to warm up - then back out into it.

Today wasn't too bad until about 3pm - that's when the northwest wind kicked it into gear. It can be a bit difficult to wield a lettuce knife when tears are running down your face (as a result of the cold wind - c'mon now!). Of course, I got smarter and turned my back to the wind - but you can't always face the way you want to.

In any event, I was able to pull in a fair amount of baby lettuce, kale, pok choi and leeks. I also found some smaller turnips and rutabegas and some baby carrots. The surprise was the number of modest sized, but good looking, beets I was able to coax out of the ground. Now, we must work to clean it all and keep it fresh until Saturday. Good thing the garage has become a full-sized walk-in cooler.

Gifted

I still believe that Thanksgiving is one of the most relevant and important holidays in the United States. Why? Because it reminds all of us to be grateful for our families, for our friends, for our opportunities and for our lives. Too many of us let day to day events remove the momentary warmth of gratitude, appreciation and contentment and replace it with a numbness that can be the reality of busy lives.

But, let me first clue you in on a secret. I've been composing this blog item for three months now. And, each time I come back to it and am reminded to be thankful, the warmth returns.

What am I thankful for?

• Parents, family and friends who support what we do and love us for who we are.
• Seeds that reward our faith in their eventual success by becoming the plant we knew they could be.
• A partner and best friend with whom I always feel better when we are spending time together than when we are apart.
• The opportunity to do work that is consistent with what we believe is right.
• Good friends with whom we can enjoy games, food and, much to their chagrin, work in the fields.
• Invitations from friends to join them for various events. Thanks for not forgetting us - even though we often have to say 'no.'
• The support given by CSA members and others who want to see local foods and our farm succeed.
• A fine group of workers for our 2009 farming season. We hope you know who you are - our thanks for your efforts!
• The fact that our growing season has cycles - including a 'down' cycle so we can recover from the 'up' cycle.
• the many local businesses that we need to patronize for ours to be successful - Martzahn's Farm (Greene) for processing poultry, Frantzen Farms (Alta Vista) for feed, Seed Savers (Decorah) for heirloom seed, Roots (Cedar Falls) for a place to distribute CSA shares, Beautiful Land Products (West Branch) for supplies and equipment, K&K Gardens (Hawkeye) for fruit trees and grapes, Bartels (Waverly), Harmony (Waverly), UNI (Cedar Falls) for purchasing produce, Pfile Insurance (Tripoli) for helping us to identify and acquire appropriate policies for the farm and the Waverly Farmers' Market and vendors for allowing us to distribute at their market.
  
• Weather that, while not optimal, was sufficient for us to have a decent harvest in 2009.
• A new roof on the house - thank you Dan Gingerich Construction (Hazelton)
• Shelves in the truck barn and organization in the granary (thanks Dads)
• A ton and a half of potatoes - especially the German Butterballs - yum.
• A full freezer and full cabinets with dried/canned items for the winter.
• Excellent books, music and movies that provide us with insight, catharsis and humor.
• Have I mentioned my lovely spouse yet - of course I have! But, I'll do it again. Will you marry me?

Turkey Day!

Happily, nearly every turkey was delivered to its new home prior to Thanksgiving. And, as was expected, the largest bird stayed with us. I say expected, because it is uncommon for people to be willing to take the largest birds off of our hands. Thus, most years, we are left with the largest for our own purposes.

This year, our bird weighed in at 26.75 pounds. We thank you very much "Tom."

To say that we will have leftovers for a while might be a bit of an understatement. But, to be perfectly honest, it is going to take a lot for us to get tired of this one. It would be inaccurate, in my mind, to say that this bird was tasty. It actually was much better than that. Kudos to those who spent time defrosting, preparing and cooking the bird. Yum!

Add to that some German Butterball mashed potatoes, Waltham Butternut squash, frozen sweet corn from a local grower, stuffing made with bread from a local baker, spices from our spice bed, fresh lettuce from the garden and an excellent pumpkin chiffon pie made from a wonderful Long Island Cheese pumpkin. Oh - and homemade kolaches, kringle and rolls. I'm getting full just typing about it.

Even better, we know how the bird was treated, what it ate and how it lived. We know where all of this came from and we know and appreciate the effort of those who grew, raised or created the things we ate. Alot to be thankful for.

A Web of Local Foods

We just got a dose of confirmation as to why we have made it a goal to sell all of our produce and poultry products locally (a radius of 50 miles of the farm). And, that confirmation came in the form of our turkey flock that was taken to the processor and is being delivered to those who reserved them. And, we thought it might be nice to remind everyone ELSE how supporting local foods can be a rewarding experience.

• The boost we received from the support of our buyers is worth more than we can enumerate in any particular units. Certainly dollar signs would be an insult here. Suffice it to say that the positive comments, flexiblity in working with delivery points and times, willingness to discuss options and give feedback, concern for our well-being and success, and the simple fact that we feel valued is enough to fuel us into preparations for next year. You will NOT be able to convince us that we would receive the same support if we shipped birds or produce to all parts of the country. This is truly a local foods experience!
• We are more motivated than ever to continue to improve how we raise our poultry, handle our egg production and perform as stewards of our vegetable crops. Why? Because the people who consume these products are important to us. We KNOW who you are. We have learned things about you and we wish you well. We WANT to provide you with quality food. It is important to us that we do our best for you.
• Support of our local food production results in support for a host of other fine individuals in our communities. Consider only the 35 turkeys we just took in for processing. Those who purchased our birds supported our work on the farm, certainly. But, do not forget that you are also supporting the processor, who does a fine job and takes their role in providing fine product seriously. Or, consider the local farmer from whom we buy the organically certified feed. And, of course, consider the individuals we are able to hire as part time workers form local communities. We take the support of those who believe in us and spread that support to other local businesses and individuals in ways that we judge to be best. And guess what? They are interested in our success for the same reason we are concerned about those who buy our product.

We may be a small farm. It may be only one turkey you purchased from us - or one pound of potatoes - or a head of lettuce. But, how many people are positively influenced by your choice to buy something from a local food producer? You might be surprised.

Mixed Bag of Feelings

Today was the day we took the turkey flock to the processor. And, for all that R might say things like - "It was about time." and "Thank goodness their gone." - it isn't always all that simple for us on the farm when the turkeys leave for their "trip to the park."

We raise turkeys for the expressed purpose of selling them for meat and consuming some of them ourselves. And, we have absolutely NO problem with doing this as we feel we do our best to treat the birds well and would far rather know that the birds lived well, and were raised in ways that we believe are sustainable and lead to healthier birds (and healthier meat).

And, so, there is a great sense of accomplishment when we finally manage to get the birds to the processor and we can begin to deliver our product to others who want a free range turkey.

We also have come to believe, after a few years of raising our own poultry, that these birds taste better. In fact, it is difficult to wait for the first taste of turkey. So, there is a great amount of anticipation as we wait for the Thanksgiving dinner.

The whole process of raising these birds has its share of worries and cares. They are neither horribly difficult, nor horribly easy to take care of. But, there is still plenty that can go wrong and they do take a good chunk of our time. And, as the birds get closer and closer to the point that we will take them to the processor, the more we realize that there will be great relief in taking them in and getting them to those who will enjoy them for dinner.

But then there is also the part of us that will miss this flock of knock-kneed, tomato rugby playing gobblers who can't help but participate in playground style 'I'm bigger and tougher than you' battles as they mature. So, you have to mix in a little sadness to get a better picture of the actual complexity of our feelings this time of year.

But, predominant in all of this is our sense that we are doing our best to do this the right way and for the right reasons.

Tune in tomorrow - more coming your way on this!

Paper Chase

Ok. That was the title of a pretty cool TV show from some time back. I stole it for my blog post. Sorry.

Many people ask what R does when the growing season winds down.

One thing that happens - I spend more time in the office. And what do I find there?

All of the things that I wanted to do, needed to do and have to do that have not been done during the whole summer. Everyone who has jobs that cycle from hyper-busy down to just busy-enough can appreciate what I am saying here. During the growing season, we hopefully are able to get the bare minimum done in the office. For example, I am proud to say that I managed to keep the checkbook balanced this season. A major accomplishment, but a necessary one.

On the other hand, I have all kinds of notes with recorded pickings, bird weights, sales to bill, grants to write, inquiries to answer, tax papers to complete and file...well, you get the idea. Every time I think I'm getting somewhere, I realize that I really haven't made a whole lot of progress.

And, in the meantime, the weather went and got nice again - so I need to go out and do work outside. Heck, I WANT to go outside. Must be a cat at heart. If you are owned by a cat or know one, you understand.

Signs of the Tines

Yes, a broadfork DOES have tines. It is essentially a metal bar that has pointed metal tines projecting downwards and two ash handles, one each projecting upwards on each side.

The cultivating broadfork I've been using the last couple of days requires the following procedure.

1. Place tines where you want them on the soil
2. Step up onto the bar with sufficient downward force to make the tines go into the soil
3. Either step off and up again or do other movements to get tines into the ground all the way up to the bar.
4. Step off the bar and walk backward holding onto the handles, making the tines move away from you in the ground.
5. Walk forward and push the handles forward - making the tines move toward you in the ground.
6. Bring the handles back to vertical and pull the tines out of the ground.
7. Step backwards and find a point 8 to 10 inches away from the last point
8. Rinse and repeat until the row (about 70 feet) is done.

And, the signs of the tines today?

Um, sore feet and various muscles that tell me I've essentially been doing a stair stepper more than I am used to.

If I could only find a way to do each of these tasks every day, or every other day, instead of in these concentrated bursts, I might be able to avoid the sore muscle episodes. Well...maybe not...but one can dream.

Planting, not just for Spring anymore

The weather this weekend was some of the best we have seen for being outdoors in a few weeks. The fields have dried out enough for us to work in them AND it just so happens that we have some work to do. What a nice coincidence!

So, one of the major tasks for the weekend (when we weren't preparing for, being at or cleaning up from the Harvest Market) was to plant our garlic.

Normally, we would like to get our garlic planted in October. But, wet fields and uncooperative weather prohibited that effort. So, here we are in November, hoping to get the garlic in and mulched before the really cold stuff moves in.

Our farm tends to have heavier soils - which is great for moisture retention in dry years. However, it also makes it a bit more difficult for root crops. In order to address this situation, we do things like plant annual rye grass and other cover crops to loosen the soil. However, we have also found that the broadfork also provides excellent aeration for the soil where we intend to plant a root crop. In fact, the potato rows that had a broadfork treatment this Spring did better than the rows that were not broadforked.

For those who don't know what garlic planting entails:

1. We do a quick till of the row to be planted with our lawn tractor tiller
2. We use the broadfork to loosen up the soil below the till line WITHOUT turning the soil over
3. We do a slow till of the row to make a fine seed bed for planting
4. We split the garlic heads into individual cloves for planting
5. We plant the garlic cloves in the bed three wide for the entire 70 foot row. There would be approximately 700 cloves in one row.
6. We mulch the garlic rows.

Well, we planted five and a half rows of garlic this weekend, so somewhere in the neighborhood of 3800 cloves in the ground. Just a little more planting and then we need to get the mulch so these are covered for winter.