A Hot August Day - and Blogging is Easy

Ok, the title may not be entirely true.  If you've accumulated a little 'tired' from working in the warm, it isn't necessarily easy to keep the train of thought from derailing.

The Joys of Good Farm Share CSA Members
One of the big benefits for us is the boost we get from our CSA Farm Share members.  It means alot to us when we get a compliment that is well and truly meant.  It also helps us to feel good about our work when you refer us to others.  This is the highest compliment we can receive.  But, there were a few recent events/incidents/whatever you want to call them that made us think about how much we appreciate our members over the last few weeks.

- A CSA member asked if there was a way to get someone to pick up their share since their work shift changed.  We sent this request out to the group and inside of 5 minutes had 11 replies with offers to help.  I prefer to think of it in terms of the positive - these people are so willing to help!  One of them pointed out that it could be a negative - these people are ONLINE *right now*!
- We arrived last Thursday with two trucks of veg.  Shannon and Graham were there to help.  Tammy and I were there.  Even Tyler was there (2nd truck).  And, we also got help from a CSA member in the unload/set up process.  My goodness, that had to be the most efficient set up of that much produce for a CSA we have ever seen.  Wow!  Nice work everyone.
-  You think I didn't notice?  Several people positioned themselves on my right side when they spoke to me when my left ear was still acting up.  My thanks.  Happily, the left ear is now beginning to function normally.
- Several people attended Summer Fest part II.  We were most pleased to have you there.  And, our thanks to all who helped with set up and tear down.  We hope you all enjoyed your time on the farm.

De-Flanged and De-Flangification
We use electric fence poles to hold up tomato cages among other things.  These poles are essentially pieces of rebar with a small triangle of metal welded on to one end.  The purpose of this flange is to provide a way to 'step' the pole into the ground.  It is also there to stabilize the pole in the ground.  We find that the single weld is often unable to withstand too many 'step ins.'  Denis decided that such a pole has been 'de-flanged.'  By extension, the process of attempting to step in a pole and having the flange come off is 'de-flangification.'

That was just in case you all wanted to know how we amuse ourselves as we work on the farm.


Teen Paranormal Romance - Not Happening Here (garlic)

These two pictures were shared on Facebook with those who follow us and the hayrack picture is on our August 16 post of the blog.

We harvest our garlic in late July (usual target is July 20 - this year was more like July 30) and we hang them in bunches of 25 in the truck barn (top picture).  We prefer to let them cure there until we begin to distribute them to our CSA Farm Share members and/or sell excess.  Of these, we will select the seed for next year and put them aside.  Our normal goal is to pull in about 3000 heads of garlic.  We were able to get 2000 this year, which is just fine since we are rebuilding after 2012's aster yellows problems.

After working a good part of the day hanging up garlic bunches, our crew discussed the absurdly large section in book stores now dedicated to "Teen Paranormal Romance."  It seems the "Twilight Saga" with its focus on vampires has spawned a new genre - or at least a new marketing angle to sell books.  Our observations are as follows:

1. None of these Teen Paranormal Romance books would be based on a farm that grows garlic.
2. None of us were sure there was such a thing as Teen Normal Romance (please note, we had a couple of teens in on the conversation!  They said this!  I am merely reporting.).
3. Garlic can look pretty impressive hanging from the rafters.

Cucumber Yoga
We allow our cucumbers to sprawl on the ground.  We have done a trial with some fencing to trellis the cucumbers, but they just crawled up the fence, down the fence and continued on as if it was merely a bump in the road.  (Cucumbers in the high tunnel are a different matter - but that's another story).

So, we simply plant them in rows, run a drip line near the seedlings and try to keep them weeded until they make a tangled mat of vines, leaves and fruit.

When it comes time to pick, part of the battle is figuring out where you can put your feet.  Once you've figured that out, you need to figure out where you can put your feet so that you can also bend down to pick cucumbers.  Once your feet are settled, you have several options as to how to deal with getting down low enough to pick.

Clearly, the 'sunny-side up' position can be made to work, but it has a distinct disadvantage.  If it is very warm, all of the sweat runs into your eyes.  And, if you don't keep that t-shirt tucked in, you get a sun burn in a rather uncomfortable place (I bet you didn't put suntan lotion there).

Another option is go into a squatting position with both feet relatively close together.  We highly recommend that you do not go into a squat with your feet close together.  Our cucumber patch is full of frogs and they love to jump when you don't expect it.  Our experience tells us that the squat position with legs close together is the most likely to end with a cucumber picker falling over into the vines at some point after a frog surprises the picker with a jump.  This is, of course, great fun for the frog, less fun for the picker and no fun for the cucumber vines.

Rob favors a wide stance that allows him to reach a wider area without moving his feet.  There might be a number of reasons for this, but the biggest reason has got to be his feet.  Have you looked at them?  They're a foot long.  (hahahaha.....sigh)  Sorry, couldn't resist.  But, with bigger feet, it's kind of nice finding good spots for them to be and then picking as wide an area as possible before moving on.  And, if you want a serious explanation, the fewer moves you have to make from a position while picking, the more efficient the process is.

In any event, the first few serious cucumber picking sessions result in the rediscovery of some muscles that were probably hoping not to be rediscovered in the fashion cucumber picking finds them. 

So, How'd That Work Out For You?

It's August 23, do you know what your farmers are up to?

No?  Ok, let's fill you in.

Quick Review
Just in case you need a quick review on what has gone before during this particular growing season, here it is in a nutshell.  Spring never came.  Or, at least, one that allowed fields to dry out so that they could be worked and planted didn't happen.  Things were tough enough that even some of the row cropped fields North of us were never planted this year.  That, in itself, says something.  In an effort to turn a difficult season into something worthwhile, we made a significant number of adjustments and quick decisions.  We thought you might appreciate hearing how some of them worked or failed *and* you might appreciate a bit more knowledge about how certain crops are doing.

Raised Beds
We used some old wood and got some black dirt and made 3 raised beds.  Each is about 8'x12'.  Like many things this season, these were not put in as early as we might have liked in order to get an optimal result.  But, you have to remember, we were putting these in as a part of a 'crisis response.'  Timing has little to do with it.

So far, we rate this as a successful effort.  We have harvested one succession of lettuce from all three beds.  A succession of chard is now a week away from its first harvest.  A second succession of lettuce is 1-2 weeks away.  The three tomato plants we put in the corner of one are doing very well.  For that matter, so is the basil clump in the middle of the tomatoes.

The jury remains out on how long the structures will last and how well we will be able to extend the season in these with some covers.  They are in a heavy snow load/drift zone.  So, final judgement is withheld until next Spring.

Allowing the High Tunnel Spring Crops to Roll Into Early Summer
We're not sure most of you caught this adaptation this year.  But, the cooler weather allowed kale, chard and kohlrabi to go longer in the high tunnel than usual.  So, while it was preventing field items from growing, we had these.  The tradeoff is that we were unable to get the Summer crops for the high tunnel very early at all.  That means the early beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil, peppers and melons were not put in on time - no where close.

We are paying for it now with very slow introduction of peppers and tomatoes.  We'll talk more about green beans in a bit.  The cucumbers started the same time as the field cucumbers, so that doesn't help.  However, we must not belittle how much the late Spring crops in the high tunnel helped us to fill shares in June.  Without them, we might not have started until July, which we feel would be very bad for us.  And, frankly, we don't think July-August shares have suffered greatly from the delay.  Boxes and bags have left full with excellent produce.  And, we should be able to provide tomatoes, peppers and melons from the high tunnel in greater amounts soon.  Cedar Falls saw how good the Red Zebras, Green Zebras, Wapsipinicon Peaches and Jaune Flamme tomatoes can look.

Was this a win or a lose?  If these summer crops come through for us during the next several weeks, we'll call it a win.  If not, the gamble works out to be a wash - with the feeling that it was a loss if you count the emotional side of the equation.

Spending Extra Time and Resources With Seedlings in Trays and Pots
We had a couple thousand 3.5" pots with plants in them and a few hundred trays with seedlings wanting to be planted.  And we couldn't put any of them in the ground.  Plants can only stay viable without stunting for so long in these containers without some effort to help them along.


We gave a couple of treatments of compost to help plants survive in their containers.  For the most part, this was a big win.  Our broccoli plants were in trays a bit long, but their health now is excellent - they are just beginning to produce.  The tomato plants held on and are generally healthy, though we do note a much higher incidence of plant loss than usual this season.  Our first tomatoes went into the ground on June 14.  We even lost some of those to heavy rain/saturated soil.  If these plants do hit a peak by mid-September, you can point directly to the additional efforts we took while they were still in pots as a big part of the reason we had any for you this year.

In other instances, we made later seed tray starts for some vegetables with the realization that most of our 1st (and sometimes 2nd or 3rd) successions would not get in the ground before the plant was damaged to the point of being worthless to put into the ground.  We put late plantings of summer squash, zucchini, cucumber and melon into trays and ended up throwing nearly all of the earlier succession plants into the compost.  So far, the summer squash, zucchini and cucumber have chimed in with good yields.  We'll see how the winter squash does.  We do note fruit starting on the melons.  We shall see.  We still reside on the edge with these.

Making Decisions to Give Up on Certain Crops
This is never popular with us.  But, if you expend too much energy on something that is likely to fail, other things fail too.

We only have a small area (about 15 feet) of watermelon planted this season.  And, these are there only because a tray was mixed up with another tray.  These are simply too long season for us to make work this year.  So, we dropped them.  The same thing applied to most of our winter squash crops.  We did put shorter season winter squash in.  We don't know if they'll be worth the effort, but we had to try.

The okra was seeded in late, but never received resources for weeding, so they have been mowed.  They were not likely to produce even with babying.  the sweet corn was never planted and all of the pumpkin plants were thrown into the compost.  There was likely more, but this is what comes to mind.

Looking back, this all makes sense.  It was unlikely that many of these would have produced.  And, the weather condensed the planting period for all of our crops into 1/4 the time we usually have for getting them all in the ground.  Since we're usually extremely busy planting during planting season when we have all of the expected time to do so, how could we expect to get everything in with that much less time?

Applecart Upset with Rotation of Crops
Some areas dried out.  Others did not.  We had to make choices.  We delayed (or canceled) some plantings and moved others.  When rabbits and weather took out 90% of our field planted peppers, we put 2 more rows into the high tunnel.  We canceled pumpkins and sweet corn so we could get kohlrabi, chinese cabbage, lettuce, pok choi and numerous shorter season crops in.  When the carrot crop in the field showed it was going to do well, we dropped the high tunnel crop and put in another row of green beans.

After a great deal of time spent making an excellent plan for the season, Rob had to swallow his pride and make a long list of adjustments - all while trying to stick to the purposes of the rotations.  For the most part, we've made things work.  With respect to getting food in the CSA shares, this was a big win.

Status on Some Crops We've Been Asked About

Green Beans
The green beans in one field went in on time in May.  Most of them were adversely affected by the wet weather.  Only a small amount seemed to make it through that.  And, those stunted and did little.  In response to that, we've moved to 2 rows in the high tunnel and one row in the pepper field.  The pepper field row was salvaged from weeds, but is a variety that doesn't produce as much.  Last year, we picked 1/2 ton of green beans.  But, last year, we had about 1000 feet of green beans producing.  This year, we have 220 feet producing.  Of that, 100 feet are producing at a marginal level.  So, if you were wondering what is up with the green beans, now you know.  But, if we hadn't made some adjustments, you might be looking at 0 green beans in your shares.  So - that's a good thing!

Tomatoes
Normal plant date at GFF for tomatoes is May 25.  This year, the first tomatoes went into the ground on June 14.  And, some of those actually died when we got a heavy rain soon after.  We kept them going in pots as best we could (see above) and we gave them little fertilization boosts, good mulch and trellising in an effort to treat them well.  They are still behind the game.

But, the plants look healthy - even if the healthy they look is the normal July 25th healthy instead of the August 25th healthy.  If Fall stays nice, we'll have plenty.

Normal peak for our tomatoes - Aug 15 to Sep 15.  In 2010, our peak was Sep 15 to Oct 15.  If that's what it will be this year, we'll take it.

Winter Squash
We put winter squash vines in even AFTER the tomatoes this year.  Ideally, we'd like them in around June 1.   We threw many seedlings that just weren't going to make it.  And, we didn't plant many vines that were going to take too long to mature.  We have acorn squash, spaghetti squash and buttercup squash in.   There are some butternuts as well, but we really don't expect anything from them (110 days to production - that's 3 and 2/3rds MONTHS of growing needed).  Planted June 25 and you are deep into October....hm.

Broccoli
These went in late as well - but they are a shorter season crop.  They are just now starting to produce and they look extremely good.  They actually preferred some of the cooler nights in August.  Yes, the same weather the tomatoes and peppers didn't care for.

Melons
There are many short season melons in the ground.  they are vining.  They are setting fruit.  We're doing what we can for them.  They are also running out of time.  Typically, if we get past Sep 10 and the melons aren't getting ripe, they aren't likely to do so with any consistency.  The warm weather is actually going to be a huge plus for those plants.

Eggplant
We're trying to save some eggplant from the weeds.  They lost the priority battle this year.  We'll be getting some of these.  But, we are also aware that eggplant are one of the more unpopular items we have in our shares.  We felt our time needed to be spent on some other things.  We're very sorry for those of you who love them.  We hope to pull enough of them out for the eggplant lovers to feel like they got a bit of them this season.

Potatoes
We'll see what the plants have done in a couple of weeks.  We got them in on time at the cost of lots of rain taking many of them out and stressing most of the others.  The following dry weather came at a time when they wanted more moisture.  This is part of the reason we worked with Tyler to help get some of his potatoes to you this year.  We wanted to be sure you received some potatoes as a part of your shares this season.

Because Someone Asked

We get questions from people in the CSA, people at the farmers market, friends, family, other farmers, our cats, ourselves and sometimes even a turkey.  We don't always remember who asked the question, but we do try to give some answer when it is asked.  And, sometimes, we even think about sharing the answers with others.  This is especially true if we think the answer won't embarrass us.

Ok, maybe that isn't entirely the case.  Nonetheless, here are some questions that were asked by someone, somewhere that come to mind and that might be worth sharing:

There have been alot of cucumbers the last couple of weeks.  Is this a record crop?
Oh my.  This question was likely asked by someone who was not in the CSA in 2010.  For those of you that were, you may recall that we were even suggesting that people GRILL cucumbers to try to eat them up.  (By the by, grilling cucumbers actually works pretty well - some similarities to zucchini.)

In 2010, we harvested over 7000 cucumbers.  And, this does not include the cucumbers we picked that went directly to the turkeys and chickens.  It was about the only thing that went bonkers for us that year.  Last year was a good, but not abnormal production year.  We pulled in 5800 cucumbers for the entire season.  So far this season we are at 2630.  The start was later than 2012, but the pace is similar.

The follow up question is/was: Why did it seem like we went from no cucumbers to a bunch?
The simple answer is that the wet start to the season compressed our plantings of cucumbers.  Normally we have 2 successions to spread out the harvest.  Our two successions ended up going in within a few days of each other.  That does nothing to spread out the harvest.  As a result, both matured at the point when the 2nd successions is supposed to start.  The best laid plans....

How many years has the CSA been going?
We are currently in our 9th year.  No, we don't really know how that happened.  We started with about 20 members in 2005.  Our CSA currently has 113 shares being filled, with a number of them being split.

What are your favorite vegetables?
Our initial response was to ask if the person wanted to know our favorite ones to eat or favorite ones to grow.  The answer, of course, was "Both."

For Rob - give him fresh green beans to eat, lightly steamed and he is very happy.  Peppers and tomatoes are the most fun to grow.
For Tammy - give her a Golden Treasure sweet pepper a Wapsipinicon Peach tomato or some green beans to eat.  Luckily, she likes harvesting the green beans.

Are there any you don't like?
For Rob - he still does not like to eat carrots.  And onions are a pain to grow.
For Tammy - has 'learned' to appreciate certain eggplant, but won't go out of her way for them.  She does not like harvesting summer squash and zucchini - it requires full body armor.  And harvesting/cleaning leeks - ugh.

When are we going to see tomatoes this season?
We must reference the weather once again.  We were unable to get tomatoes into the ground until very late.  Even then, we lost several because the field was too wet.  Since then, we've had a lot of cool nights, which does not help with production of these warm season loving plants.

Simply put, our plants look like they should on July 20, not August 19.  Even the high tunnel tomatoes are behind.  But, the heat this week may kick them into gear.  We shall see.  All we can say is, it isn't for lack of trying.  We expect the high tunnel plants to kick it in at any point.  We won't be surprised if we don't see the beginning of any real harvest from the field until mid September.  Sure hope we don't get an early frost.

How do you know when you are doing well when you grow a certain crop?

Whoever asked this one deserves applause.  Why?  Because it is a great question.  And, the answer is complex and changing (as we continue to learn more each day).  It probably deserves more than what I'll give it right now.

1. How does our yield compare to numbers held up by other trusted resources?
For example, Johnny's provides a list of yields for direct seeded crops.  While we are always cautious about such comparisons, it can give us a baseline to begin assessing.  Johnny's indicates a harvest of 25 pounds per 100 row feet for peas.  Our Amish Snap pea row as 200 foot long and we harvested 46 pounds.  The Oregon Sugar Pod pea was also 200 foot long and we harvested 57 pounds.  The conclusion based on those numbers is that we are doing fine.

2. How does our yield compare to our history?
Johnny's suggests that a yield of 45 pounds per 100 feet is great for green beans.  So, how should we feel about 94.5 pounds from a 60 foot row in the high tunnel this season?

Before we pat ourselves on the back, we should ask whether we are growing the same way they were when they established the average.  And, if we cannot determine that, we might need to rely on our own history.  Prior history tells us that 1.75# per row foot of this variety is reasonable to expect by the end of the season.  We're not done picking out of this row yet, so it looks like we're on target.

Rest in Peace
And, finally, we were saddened to hear of the passing of Dick Thompson, one of the most intelligent and caring farmers this world has known.  If every farmer thought about farming the way Dick did, we wouldn't be so despairing of what is going on in agriculture right now.  And, it wasn't so much about what Dick concluded, or what Dick believed were the right ways to do things as much as it was about how he worked to learn and strove to do what was best for his farm, for the community and for the environment.  He asked important questions and then expended energy and effort trying to find the best answers that were feasible.

Hey agribusiness, take another look at what Dick Thompson did in his lifetime.  He illustrated for all that certain key concepts could and should be the cornerstone of a farm business.  Diversity is the best insurance.  On farm research is the best way to learn how to do things on your farm.   Being environmentally minded is not the opposite of having a financially viable and successful farm.  Sharing ideas and having open dialogue with other farmers makes all participants stronger.  And, finally, that the farm is a good place for families to live and grow in Iowa.

Genuinely Newsy

EVENTS
1. The Tom Sawyer Work Day planned for August 17 is canceled.  There number of replies were very few.  Those who did reply, we would be willing to set up a volunteer time if you wish to come out to the farm.
 
2. Summer Festival Part II
When:  Friday August 30th 5-8pm (trying to start serving food at around 5:30pm)
Who: CSA Members past and present, friends of the farm, family, etc.  Bring your family – our farm is used to lots of kids who enjoy the chance to roam around on the open lawn spaces.
Bring: Potluck – bring a dish to share and a serving utensil (try to bring a notecard to label what your food is, who made it and what’s in it – this helps those who have special dietary concerns); also bring lawn chairs or a blanket to sit on; a sweatshirt or jacket – plan on it being 5-10 degrees cooler on the farm and usually a lot more wind; bring a lawn game if you have one you enjoy and want to share
What will be here: We’ll provide the lemonade and ice tea plus s’more makings; we’ll also provide table service and cups
Please RSVP by Wed. Aug 28^th  so I know how many s’more makings to have on hand.

Crop Report
Last year was a bad year for garlic.  A disease commonly known as "aster yellows" attacked many midwest farm's garlic crops last year, including ours.  Typically, we select our own garlic for seed the following year.  But, we were aware that our seed was not likely to be viable, so we purchased seed garlic from Blue Gate Farm.  We planted some of our seed and had only a 5% germination rate, so this purchase was a good one.  The BGF seed germinated at about 95%.  And, here is the result:
 

New Varieties
We managed to get a few pictures of some of our new (to us) varieties.  We thought you might enjoy hearing results so far.

Cocazelle is an open pollinated zucchini.  These tend to stay thin, which means it takes a bit more to get the 'Louisville Slugger' type of giant fruit.  That's fine with us.  We are picking 2 times a week right now with the cooler weather, so it is nice to not have to worry about these ballooning out over night.

Green Finger cucumbers are a European type cucumber.  Smooth skin with very little to no spines.  The skin is not bitter and CSA member response has been overwhelmingly positive.  These also tend to long/thin fruit.  This is a High Mowing developed variety.

Golden Zucchini is an heirloom seed from Seed Savers. We tried to grow them last year and the pests took all but a couple of plants out very quickly.  This year, we planted these into paper mulch and we're getting some decent production out of them.  

Full Truck and Full Bags
Packing the truck is getting more challenging.  But, we consider this a good thing because it means more produce for your shares!  We're feeling pretty good about the variety and amount of veg we've been bringing to our CSA Farm Share members this year and are working to keep it going.

The broccoli is showing signs of producing soon.  Here are a few of the rows we have planted just after cultivation and weeding this week.

An Earful - or Just - A Full Ear

Rob continues to fight a battle with an ear infection.  So, if you've seen him and he said 'what?' alot and/or looked like he's a bit uncomfortable, that is probably why.  I am now on round three of treatment.  But, perhaps the most important point is that IF you need to call one of us at the CSA distribution, you should call Tammy.  While the phone isn't usually my favorite thing, it has become somewhat useless of late.  If I do hear the phone ring the conversation is something like this  ->  "Hello?  Hello?  Hello?  Um... I think someone is there, but I can't hear you.  Could you send smoke signals instead?" 

The ludicrous part of this is how we tend to get so used to using certain 'sides' of our body for certain tasks.  The ear infection is in the left ear.  I have always put the phone up to that ear.  It is absolutely ridiculous that something as small as trying to remember to put the phone up to the other ear can be difficult.  But, it is also interesting to note that the right ear doesn't seem to be trained to listen  in the same way the left ear has.  The infection has gone on long enough that the phone call scenario is more like this:

Phone is pulled out of pocket and shoved up to the left ear.
Rob:  "Hello, this is Rob."
Person on other end of phone:  "mmrmphmrrsmwrrphff."
Rob: "Um, hold on for a second."
Phone is placed against right ear.
Rob: "Could you say all of that again?"

I can now hear just fine.  But, for some reason, the brain/ear doesn't always want to stay on task with the process of listening on the phone.  It's almost as if the right ear is saying "Hey!  This isn't my job, I'm supposed to get to spend my time shutting out other noises so lefty can do its job and help you concentrate on the conversation."   I must admit that I'm never quite sure what to think when various body parts begin speaking to me.  If you were all worried about my penchant for conversing with plants...

In any event, the resulting phone conversations probably make people think that I have absolutely no ability to concentrate.  I can only hope I haven't agreed to do something that I shouldn't have.  At the very least, I suspect some of my answers have been - to be charitable - confusing.

Other Person: "So, are you able to bring the frozen chickens we ordered to the Thursday CSA pickup?"
Rob: "Yes, we put all of our CSA produce into our pickup on a delivery day."

Sometimes the confusion can be hilarious.  I remember having a wax buildup problem in my ears when I was in elementary school.  I also remember that I had a vocabulary (whatever that is) that was greater that many of my classmates.  We had mandatory hearing tests at that time and a subset of students were called back for second tests.  Of course, our names were broadcast over the speaker system for all to hear.  And, also to be expected, some of the kids wanted to use this opportunity to tease those who were tagged to leave for a second test.

Other kid in standard taunting voice: "Ha ha ha!  You have to get your hearing tested again!" 
Rob in standard indignant kid voice: "No way!  I've already had my urine tested."

The good news - my classmate didn't know what 'urine' was.
The bad news - I heard 'urine' instead of 'hearing.'
More bad news - I hadn't heard the announcement well enough to understand what my name had been listed for.  So, I was actually pretty nervous about having to have my urine tested.
The confusing part - what's an eight year doing thinking he's being taunted about urine testing?  Is it possible he was worried about the spate of PED's in playground dodgeball?

I'm also much more aware of how much I use my hearing while I work on the farm.  A leak in an irrigation line is easier to locate when BOTH ears are working.  A chicken hiding in some weeds is easier to find with both ears operating normally.  Imagine how embarrassing it could be to be discovered poking around in the high tunnel in the cucumbers, looking for a leak, only to have someone walk in and point out a leak on the OTHER SIDE of the high tunnel.

Other Person:  "Hey, did you know we've got a leak in the drip tape over here?"
Rob:  "Um.  Yes, I heard some rumor about that.  Hold on a minute while I...uh... tie my shoes.  By the way, have you seen a chicken in here?"

  And, you can locate the frogs hoping around in the cucumbers more quickly, making it less likely that they can startle you with an unexpected leap.  But, I suspect even normal hearing would not have prepared me for the frog that made an err in directional judgement. This week's "cucumber yoga" session was highlighted by the frog that landed on my foot and then proceeded to jump so that it collided with my cucumber picking hand.

I am proud to say that I held onto the nippers AND that I was not startled into cutting myself with them.  On the other hand, I am not entirely certain I found all of the cucumbers I had in the crook of my arm at that time.  Although, I did find a couple of cucumbers over by the old pea row later in the week that I don't recall putting there on purpose.

Then, there is the issue of sleeping.  I am a "light" sleeper and I tend to wake up for odd noises, lights, etc.  For one example - check an older blog post about an event a few winters ago.  But, what happens when a person with an ear infection on the left side, rolls over to sleep on their right side?  With both ears effectively blocked, you might think I would sleep better because I would not hear *any* out of place noises.

Au contraire...  I have found it to be harder to get to sleep if I can't hear and I'm more likely to wake up.  It's almost as if my brain is operating on the principle that most parents with small children are very familiar with -

It's quiet.  It's too quiet.  I'd better go check on things.

The positive for me is that I just wake up, get my right ear off the pillow, open my eyes and assess things.  And, of course, everything is usually just fine.  Parents of small children typically discover that their 2 year old has just stuffed an entire roll of TP into the tub drain.  I think I can deal with this.

I also understand cats and dogs that have ear mites a bit better.  I've seen a cat with that affliction walk around with its head slightly tilted.  It would stop periodically and shake its head.  Now, the farmer walks around the farm with his head slightly tilted, stopping occasionally to shake his head.  I've finally trained myself to stop the head shake after I realized that some of the crew thought I was saying 'no' to one of their questions.  The reality was, I hadn't heard most of the question.  But, I will admit to being a bit surprised later on when part of a task I had set them was not done.  Apparently I told them not to complete that part of the task.  Oops.

And, of course, there is the crackling noise that comes from fluid and other junk in the ear moving around when I swallow or breath or.. well whenever it wants to make a crackling noise.  Imagine desperately wanting to listen to a program on an AM radio station that is barely in range.


And finally, there is the issue of intermittent hearing out of the left ear.  At times, the ear will clear enough to let sound in.  My poor brain is finally training itself not to expect much sound from that side, so when it does happen it isn't sure what to do with the signals it receives.  A sudden burst of sound on that side is sufficient to cause me to jump a bit.

Picture Rob walking in the field with an AM/FM radio up to his ear.  His head is cocked sideways and he occasionally shakes it from side to side.  Frogs are leaping onto the bill of his cap while he attempts to find the hole in the drip tape somewhere in the cucumber field.  His phone has annoyed him one too many times and lies at the end of the row in pieces.  Next to that are flint and steel he tried to use to start a smoke signal fire.  But, since he doesn't know how to effectively use them, they have been discarded.


*crackle pop* ..tom of the ninth, what a World Series it's....*crackle zzzt* are loaded and two ou....*crackle crackle*

*suddenly the left ear clears and the sound of crickets confuses the brain*
...full count and.. *pop crackle* ...here comes the pitch and ...*zzzzzzt crackle*

 I may not hear it all, but at least I don't have to try to get the TP out of the drain.  I just hope I don't have to have my urine tested.

Counting Pre-Tested Zucchini

Pre-Tested Light Bulbs
We recently saw a display that advertised this and wondered if it was anything like pre-owned cars.  I can hear it now - "Well, gee, that light bulb was tested thoroughly.  After all, we ran that thing for two years and it always worked fine.  I can't understand how it would have burnt out on you so soon."

The Foolishness of Numbers Only
At a place Rob used to work for, a mandate was brought down that programmer effectiveness would be measured by the "lines of code" each person in our department wrote.  There was no control for quality nor was there a way to determine what lines of code were needful.  I couldn't help but think of this experience when some recent political commentary focused on the ineffectiveness of Congress because they had passed so few laws.  A person attacked this as a silly way to judge effectiveness.  I waited with baited breath to hear them say things about judging quality of actions that might include workability (etc etc).   Instead they made the argument that it should be the number of laws we REPEAL that should be the measure of success.

Ugh.

As many of you know, I like numbers and enjoy working with numbers.  But, I'll also be the first to tell you that they give you only part of the story.

Speaking of Numbers
We're getting some production numbers on the farm and I find it interesting to share a few with you now and again.  We do this, in part, to give everyone some perspective as to what the farm, as a whole, needs to do in order to meet obligations.

So - quick primer.   If I want to give everyone on Tuesdays with a standard share 2 zucchini and everyone with a large 4 zucchini and I have 35 standard shares and 10 large shares, I need 110 zucchini at the minimum.  But, if I want to be sure that everyone gets size choices and good quality, I need more like 125.  Adding Wednesday and Thursday shares, we need about 275 zucchini in a given week for this distribution number.

So, now it isn't just about a raw number of zucchini, it is also about the timing those zucchini have as they reach picking size.  It would be ridiculous to say I had a great year for zucchini for our CSA if I harvested 3000 zucchini for the year, but they all were ready in one week.  And this still says nothing about quality and selection.

If these zucchini taste bad, then "3000" is a useless measurement in terms of positive production.  And, from our perspective, this number doesn't reflect the selection provided to members for size and type of zucchini.  Everyone has slightly different tastes and needs for their family.  It is not every family that wants the 'butterstick' size (about 4-6" long) and it isn't every week that someone wants the 'Louisville Slugger' monsters that sometimes occur.  And, we enjoy giving people the option to choose between varieties, such as the Golden Zucchini, Cocazelle (striped) and Midnight Lightning (dark green).

Pre-Tested Zucchini?
 Now that we've typed all of that, do you think there is a market in "pre-tested" zucchini?  The hardest part would be trying to figure out how to attractively package this product.

What?  I was thinking about zucchini with a bite taken out of each one.  What were you thinking?!? 


Road Map to Zucchini
And finally, we have entered the time of year when Rob's arms have all sorts of little cuts on them.  If you want to know why - go to this blog post ->  Road Map to Zucchini.  It is still an accurate assessment of picking zukes.  The only change is that we now plant these things in 200 foot rows (we have 7 rows of zucchini and summer squash at this time).

Stay tuned for MORE about zucchini!  Why?  Because "zucchini" is a great word.  And, zucchini can be used so many great ways!

Flower Tour

We have many flowers blooming at the farm right now.  We use our camera to document what happens in the fields, but we also enjoy trying to take decent pictures of some of the flowers we are lucky enough to see on a daily basis.

Granted, most of our picture taking consists of grabbing the camera and pointing/shooting for 5 minutes in the hopes that something will work out.  But, when the subject matter is good, the photographer need not be.

See if you can figure some of these out.  Most are day lilies of different types. 

A July "Picture This"

Every once in a while, we have a batch of pictures we can share.  Sadly, Rob is not feeling as creative as he did when the "Oh Well" series was created.  So, we'll just have to show a few pictures and explain a bit about what you're seeing.  Just don't be too upset if a photo gets reused on a day when the creative juices are flowing again!

We have young apple trees that are just old enough to start bearing fruit.  Looks like we'll have a few this year.  Tammy and I tend to eat a decent number of apples through the Fall and Winter, so this is a welcome sight for us.

The marjoram and oregano are blooming.  If you click on this picture to enlarge it, you might see the bee towards the bottom left.  These plants were "a-buzz" with bee activity this evening. Also a very welcome sight.

We do still have broilers available for sale.  This is what they looked like before we took them to the 'Park'.  The average weight is somewhere in the 4.6lb area.  We feel that's a decent size.  The fact that these birds are no longer on the farm is a.... um.. .welcome ... unsight?

But, wait, we can't do just one batch of broilers.  So, this is the 'brooder' for the next batch.   Yes, there are chicks in that small shelter.  A working brooder is welcome.  Even if it is unsightly.

Anyone who grows carrots will tell you that they are one of the most difficult to weed.  And here is what two rows of carrots look like when weeded.  This is a sight for sore eyes.  And that is welcome.

The ducks are out in the North area of the farm.  We have been steadily losing ducks to mysterious causes and are down from 45 birds to roughly 20.  The culprit are those little blackflies.  Apparently, they carry a parasite that is deadly for ducks (and turkeys).  We're investigating whether we have any solution for the problem.  Every year there is something.  This is just one of the things for this year.

A high tunnel with healthy looking produce is quite the sight to behold and we hope it is welcome to all.  In the center are green beans with small peppers immediately to the right.  We had to put up a divider fence to keep the beans from running over the peppers.  Tomatoes on the right, cucumbers further right and rosemary furthest right.  Left are more peppers and more beans. 

Portable poultry pagodas still have to be heavy enough so they don't blow away in a breeze.  So, having access to a tractor and a hayrack is welcomed when a building has to move a bit.  This building moved from the northeast corner of the farm and became our brooder unit.  Moving it was a bit of a sight, I guess.  It slowed a couple of cars on the road down at least.

We've been mulching and now caging the tomatoes.  This picture is a bit surprising since it isn't all that old and it does NOT represent what these plants look like now.  Rob and Rachel did all of the pruning on these plants.  If you have pruned tomatoes, you know your hands are quite a sight afterwards (which is not welcomed - but the results gained with the tomatoes is).  Hands get stained a very deep green black.  It takes a good bit of scrubbing to remove it.

Finally, that pile of dirt has been moved to fill various holes in the ground and then spread out to allow us to move perennial flowers from the 'wild zone' in the Southwest corner of the farm.  The weedy pile of dirt that was there was an eyesore.  So, changing the situation was....yes...you are now getting the idea.....   Welcome.

Tammy was wondering about these peas.  They just weren't producing what they were supposed to produce.  We were trying to figure out what happened.  Happily, the seed company just sent a note explaining that there were some issues with the seed and that the genetics were wrong.  This explained the issue.  The bad news - not likely to harvest any of this.  That's 200 feet of snow peas that aren't.  The good news?  We now know that it wasn't US that messed up.

We'll pick the last of the lettuce form the raised beds this week.  Now we have to figure out what to put in there next.

Stargazer lilies are one of our favorite Oriental types.  And, of course, we have lots of day lilies on the farm.  If our eyes are getting sore.....we look at these.

The Southwest field was the one that was planted (in part) during the Iris Fest/Tom Sawyer Day.  The bigger plants in this picture be them!  And we have been harvesting them over the past few weeks.  Three cheers!

Then, there is this field.  That's the pepper field.  Most of the peppers are gone (due to rabbit and deer).  That's a lot of work down the drain.  Ah well.

Oh look!  A pile of wood.  What a sight!

Oh look!  A new window.  Now we can see the pile of wood better!

We hoped you enjoyed the picture fest.  It was brought to you by the letters
G
and F x 2

Newsletter

Broilers Available
We have about 70 broilers still available for sale.  http://www.genuinefauxfarm.com/surveys/chickenorder.html
We realize the form does not include additional delivery dates beyond July 18.  That does NOT mean we won't find ways to get them to you.  Just select other and indicate to us in comments when you would like them (and how you would like to pick them up).  Options include pickup at either CSA distribution or the farm.

Waverly Members - Grass Clippings?
We are maintaining a few small plots at the Waverly Community Gardens as part of our efforts to get things into the ground when everything was so wet at the farm.  These plots are on sandy soil, so they dry out quickly.  If anyone mows their lawn and catches the clippings, we could use this as mulch.  However - we can't have any chemicals used on the lawn for the clippings to work.  If you think you can help, please let us know.

Dan Specht
 We have connections to many other farmers in Iowa through Practical Farmers of Iowa.  One such person I wish I could say I knew better was Dan Specht.  Dan had the heart and soul of a farmer that believed in doing things in a way that honored nature and supported community.  And, he believed in sharing his knowledge with others.

Sadly, Dan passed away recently as a result of a farming accident.  I post this here for three reasons.  First, this man deserves our respect to the honest and caring way he went about farming.  If more farmers approached their tasks the same way, the world would be a far better place.  Second, it is a reminder to me that we need to stay alert and careful on our own farm.   And third, it encourages us to continue to find a way to make this farm work in the best way we know how.

Aerial Spray Season is Approacheth

We are entering spray season in the country.  Needless to say, this has both of us a little bit nervous.  For those who are new this season, our farm was sprayed by an aerial sprayer on July 27 last year.  The West half of the farm had pesticides and fungicides sprayed on it that resulted in our having to pick, record and throw all crops from that portion of the farm.  Therefore, we are perhaps a bit jumpier about this than we might normally be.

    For those who asked what they could do for us last year, the time is here.  We'll try to put something on the blog about this.  But, in short:
     1. if you witness any overspray by aerial sprayers onto bike paths, roadways, non-crop properties (like your lawn at the edge of town), be prepared to make note of the time and date and the field they appeared to be spraying.  Contact the State of Iowa Pesticide Bureau and file a complaint.  They might send someone to test for residues, but they are understaffed.  Either way, these events need to be recorded to establish a need for change.
2.  you should also be prepared to report spray drift problems from ground spray.  This is especially true if the applicator is spraying on a windy day.
3.  Digital pictures are not a bad idea of these events.
4.  If you are the sort that likes to write - a short letter to the editor to whatever papers you feel comfortable with could be useful.  We don't want you to focus on us.  Instead, we'd like to see people focus on wanting some change.  By saying nothing - or saying "it's Iowa, that's just the way it is here" we are implying approval of these actions - including those taken by some irresponsible chemical application professionals.  Try not to attack anyone in the process.  Instead, we should focus on what these chemicals, when improperly applied can do to all of us AND that we want applicators to be extremely careful and respectful.  Of course, Tammy and I would love to see the use of chemicals decline significantly, but that may cloud the issue too much.  The issue is that we've seen a trend of increasingly sloppy use of chemicals that are created to kill.  We need to stop that first.  Then, we can address the rest.

Recipes

Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw  (from eatingwell.com)

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups very thinly sliced bok choy, (about a 1-pound head, trimmed)
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced

Whisk vinegar, oil, sugar, mustard and salt in a large bowl until the sugar dissolves. Add bok choy, carrots and scallions; toss to coat with the dressing.

GFF Version of Crunchy Bok Choy Slaw  

(since we can’t eat the sesame oil and did not have the rice vinegar, here is our modification – Thanks to Aunt Peggy Howe for the help with this!)

• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 cups very thinly sliced bok choy, (about a 1-pound head, trimmed)
• 2 medium carrots, matchstick cut
• 2 large cloves garlic, diced

CSA Helpful Hints
 1.  Take pictures of the trays with their sign as you go through the line.  Our thanks to Jeff Cornforth for this idea.
 2.  Ask people picking up shares around you what the do with some of the produce.  We are also happy to give our thoughts and suggestions, but we have our tastes/favorites and others have theirs.  We can get as many ideas from all of you as you might get from us. 
 3. Ask to trade if you really can't use something.  Often one of the other members next to you might be quite willing to do this.  Sometimes, we might have knowledge of something someone else left.
 4. If you are running late, or remember late, give us a quick call.  We don't start packing until our pickup time is completed.  Packing can take a while.  If you call, we can put your share together and be ready when you get there.  However, don't expect us to be there an hour after our pickup time ends.  It is reasonable to call right around 6pm and expect that we can find a way to pack your share and have it ready.  Odds get progressively lower the further from 6pm you get.
 5. While this is not a hint, it needs to be said.  Our Farm Share members are the best!  Part of what makes this program work is your willingness to invest yourself into the community.  Thank you!

This and That

We took a quick look at the blog and said...

Ok.  Let me be honest here.  I took a quick look at the blog and said nothing.  Which, sadly, is what has been said on the blog for nearly a week.  Terrible!  Someone get a farmer in here who can write something, will you?

Ah, how about you.  Yes, you!  Get over here.

---------

Hi.  Ummmmm.

---------

Ok, that person didn't work out.  I guess Rob will have to write this one.

---------

A Trip to the Park
 The broiler chickens took their trip to the park.  It was a bit more of an adventure this year than some and we hope to regale you with it later this week.  However, the pressing business is that we have about 80 birds that still have not sold.  If you want one or two or ...ten..., go here and place an order.

Yet Another Reason Tammy is Wonderful
She makes peach and lemonade slushies.  1.5 trays of iced cubes, 1/2 cup lemon juice, a short 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup other liquid water or juice from our canned peaches.  Blend it up.

After a really hot day where we've been working outside, this does wonders for the attitude and to cool us down a bit.

You Can't Escape the Scapes
If you are in the CSA program, you will receive scapes.  Happily, scapes are gaining more acceptance and people need less convincing than they used to.  But, it is hard to believe that convincing is needed. 

Scapes are the flower stem of the garlic plant.  You can use every inch of these in any dish you might use garlic.  About 1 inch of a scape is about equivalent to one clove in potency.  You may want to cut them up a bit finer and/or cook them longer since they are not quite as soft.

Other excellent options include cutting these the long direction and infusing garlic oil.  Or, grill them or put them in stir fries.  We think you'll be pleasantly surprised.  For details on the garlic oil, scroll to the bottom of this post.

Drats, We've Gnats
 The gnats on the farm have been irritating lately.  But, the nice breeze today helped immensely.  But, if you wonder about all the little bumps all over the farmers' arms as you pick up shares, those are gnat bites.... ugh.

The real problem is that they appear to be taking a toll on our young ducks.  We've lost several over the last few weeks.  As always, there is more to the situation than this, but that's all one needs to know for now.

So Far So Good

The picture above shows our major tool investment for the season.  The Williams Tool Bar came highly recommended.  As is true for every tool we purchase, we have to climb a learning curve.  Part of that learning is figuring out what the tool can and cannot do.  We have learned it CAN cultivate fairly close to a row of transplanted broccoli, allowing two people to very quickly weed the rest with hand tools.  Viola!  Clean broccoli!  Nice.

Quick Crop Report
Everything is still a couple of weeks behind (or more depending on the crop).  The latest rains gave us very little which is good and bad.  At this point, we just roll with whatever we get because either direction has its plusses and minuses.

Peas look great and are really getting going.  Carrots have been weeded in their entirety, which is a big deal since carrots aren't the easiest thing to weed.  They are still a month away.  The cucumbers are starting to vine.  Pole beans were replanted and are sprouting nicely.
Tomatoes are just now showing some real life.  Basil is in, but small.  Summer squash and zucchini are looking good and may start producing next week.  Garlic is due to be harvested about July 30 - they cure for two weeks after before we distribute any of these.
Potatoes look pretty good and we should have a decent crop by the end of August or beginning of September.  Green beans are in varying states of readiness.  Turnips are approaching readiness - possibly next week.  Similar comments for pok choi and chinese cabbage.

Garlic Oil

What Do I Need?
• several teaspoons of herbs and spices
• oil to fill one bottle
What Do I Do?
1. Bruise the herbs and spices a bit to release their flavors. (slice garlic scapes length wise)
2. Place them in the bottle.
3. Add warm oil.
4. Cover and let stand for 1 week.
5. Taste the oil. If the flavor isn't strong enough, add more flavorings. Once the oil is infused, keep it in the refrigerator. It may get cloudy from the cold, but should clear up when it reaches room temperature. The oil should last, refrigerated, for up to 2 months.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/seasoning/kitchen/recipe-oils.html Be sure to remove the garlic scapes from the oil to reduce the risk of contamination.