August Newsletter

But... we just got started...

Another succession of lettuce getting started

I took the time to start the August newsletter on July 29 and took solace in the fact that we actually have two MORE days of July before we officially turn the calendar.  After all, it just doesn't seem like we should be in August already.  So many things haven't really gotten going like we're used to by now.  We still have more things we want to plant (we'd better hurry up!) and the clock on Tammy's farm availability is starting to tick (but do NOT tell her that - be kind!).

This July finally found our fields drying up after a much wetter than average June (9 inches, which is well beyond the 7.8" upper range for normal variability).  Thus far, we are running fairly close to an average amount of rainfall for July, with it getting progressively drier as the month goes on.  As a result, we have been fighting to catch up on the cultivating and weeding that just couldn't happen in June.  The month also closed out with some beautiful weather.   This helped us to keep plugging along and about the only complaint we have about it is that we kept working until we were very, VERY tired.  But, that's ok, because most of that work was productive - even as we wish we could have gotten even more done.


The other big focus in July was trying to deal with the specter of agri-chemical misapplication - both real and possible.  We realize there is still a heavy week of spray likely coming up, so it isn't over yet.  In fact, a helicopter was flying a field a half mile to our northeast Sunday evening.

We keep bringing this up because it is part of the reality that we live on the farm during this time of year.  It's on our minds enough that even the sound of the walk-in cooler's A/C unit kicking in will elicit visions of helicopters, airplanes and spray vehicles when we hear it.  Frankly, it's a good time for headphones and music.

The other characteristic of July for us is that we begin having trouble figuring out how many days have passed since certain things have happened.  The "wasn't that just last week/yesterday/this morning?" comment came up at least three times today alone.  Alas, it is all a blur!  Some people look at their phones to see what time it is.  Rob looks at it to figure out what day of the week/date/month it is.  Who cares about what time it is?  You can figure that out from the position of the sun!

Summer Fest at the Genuine Faux Farm is Coming

Our annual Summer Festival at the farm is scheduled for Saturday, August 18 this year.  We would like to invite all friends of the farm, family and friends of the farmers to attend this event.   The event will be preceded with a Tom Sawyer Day for those who might like to volunteer some time on the farm either prepping for the festival or helping do a little weeding or other farm work so things look beautiful when everyone else arrives.. If you would be so kind as to RSVP that you plan to attend, it would help us immensely with our preparations. 
 

While we hope for good weather, we will gather regardless of the weather.  This year’s festival will feature a GFF turkey or two (prepared by Tammy), good food, family-friendly fun, the annual Farm Foto Treasure Hunt, farm tours and other activities.  Additional food is potluck style, so think about what you would like to share!

We hope this event gives everyone a chance to celebrate the closing of Summer with us at the farm. Bring your family, kids and friends (but please leave pets, tobacco and alcohol at home). Our farm has open space for kids of all ages to run around, chase balls, meet the poultry, and share in the fun. We encourage you to bring lawn-games, blankets and chairs, table service would be helpful.  Leave the electronic devices in the car.

If you have suggestions for entertainment at our festival, please contact us.

Picture of the Month
Tammy thinks this may be one of our better farm pictures and I tend to agree, though I like another picture about as well (and we'll share it later).

Genuine Faux Farm at Western Homes in Cedar Falls
We are working with the chefs at the Western Homes Jorgensen Plaza for Well-Being in Cedar Falls to begin providing them with produce and poultry grown and raised on our farm.  As things develop, we hope some of our product will begin appearing regularly on the menus at the Gilmore Pub, Caraway Cafe and Table 1912.  We are also hopeful that some of the catered events at the Diamond Event Center.  

At present, the restaurants and center are just getting going (each of the restaurants are open and the center is holding events and taking bookings for events).  We encourage you to visit and patronize these locations.  Feel free to encourage them to use local produce when you visit. 

While we are playing 2018 "by ear" with respect to growing for Western Homes, we are hoping to establish some patterns that we can improve on for future years.   For example, our lettuce trials in 2018 will help us identify lettuce varieties that fit the needs of the various restaurants and the catering services.  Lettuce is one of the crops we can easily scale up to provide more product than we currently do.  Positive results in this endeavor can help us to continue to serve the community with local sales by helping to provide us with a solid financial base from which to work.


Weather Wythards
July was anything but average EXCEPT that the aggregate numbers will come out to be.. well.. average.  We have found this site gives very useful summaries of weather for the Waterloo area.  We adjust slightly for our area since we are a fair bit North of Waterloo.  Without further ado, we give you the weather summary from the Genuine Faux Farm:

July's Report
High Temp: 93
 Low Temp:50
Heat Index: 119
Highest wind gust: 29 out of West
 Rain: 3.06"
 Humidity Range:46%-99%
Barometer Range: 29.51-30.35

Year Through June
High Temp: 97
Low Temp: -20
Lowest Windchill: -34
Highest Heat Index: 119
Highest Wind gust: 46 mph
Rainfall: 21.74"
Barometer Range: 29.39 to 30.89


Looking Forward
There is a great deal to look forward to in August.  The first tomatoes start to roll in and the melons grace us with their presence.  At present, the melon crop is looking quite good and the tomatoes are looking passably good.  The latter got a slow start, but they are progressing in a way that seems positive to us.  We have our Summer Festival on the 18th and we also anticipate the arrival of our farm friends on the 12th for a work and food day at our farm.  We look for this August to be an affirmation of all that we work for at our farm and we hope you will join us in doing so.
 For those who might like to volunteer, we are willing to host volunteers in early August for work projects of varying kinds.  And, if you are reading carefully, you'll see that we also like to have some volunteers to help us with the Summer Festival.  We hear from several people every year that they have interest - so if you are one of those, now is the time to contact us and follow through!

We get to see some nice fireworks from our own home on August 3 with the Tripoli Days festivities going on.  Neither of us is fond of the noise, so this is a nice compromise for us.  Sometimes, we have considered going to the Irish Festival in Waterloo and the Bremer County Fair.  They all intersect this year, so we'll probably just stay home and read a book!  Anyone see that coming?

Rob, the katydid whisperer

The school year is also approaching, which means you will see less of Tammy at the CSA distributions and more of Rob.  We know that is a terrible disappointment for all of the Tammy fans out there.  But, please, give Rob a chance.  He spends so much time talking to vegetables, cats and poultry during the Summer months that he needs to practice his 'human' language now.

And, speaking of looking forward, we are already looking forward to 2019's growing season.  Tammy and Rob sat down for their own "Nota Conference" to discuss which way we needed/wanted to go with the farm in the future.  Working with Western Homes is one part of the equation and we anticipate other changes as well.  We continue to adapt to the changing landscape in ways that we think we can serve our customers best while working with the environment and keeping ourselves sane and healthy.  We anticipate that we will share more as this season progresses and the next approaches.

CSA Slots Open for the Fall
We have spots in our CSA open for those who would like to join us for the late Summer and Fall months.  We will gladly pro-rate our CSA share price for anyone wishing to join us for each delivery week or for alternating delivery weeks.  Do you know someone who is moving into the area that might like our program?  Point them our way, we anticipate that we could serve as many as 20 more customers.  Refer someone who joins us and make sure they tell us that you did so and we'll give you (and them) a nice new Chico Bag for picking up your produce!

Song of the Month
It Is What It Is - by Adam Again.   Probably one of the best bands that most people have never heard of.  Enjoy!

Veggie Variety of the Month
We've started harvesting the Boothby's Blonde cucumbers and they are looking good!  These small, white/yellow cucumbers have black spines and a very thin, tender skin.  They have a great taste and are well worth the effort of growing.