More Veggie Varieties 2023

A week ago, I started a series of GFF blog posts that focused on vegetable varieties we grow and recommend.  The first entry in this year's list can be found here.  This is certainly not the first time we've written about such things and you can find many of the prior writings using the theme "Variety Show" on this blog.

The first thing I should do is state up front that we favor open pollinated varieties when we can and we like heirlooms when it is feasible for our production needs.  Also, I want to remind everyone that every farm - and the techniques each farm uses - has its own strengths and weaknesses.  This alone should remind us that a vegetable variety that grows well for us may not do the same for you.  That said, we try to give enough information to make informed decisions.

Pumpkin

We do not grow ornamental pumpkins or gourds at our farm.  We would prefer to grow squash for food, though our choice for pumpkins can certainly be decorative if you want.  We still grow one variety that is a no-brainer for us.  

Musquee de Provence has been a consistent producer, has fantastic taste and is a good looking pumpkin to boot.  Production numbers will certainly be smaller than it might be for other varieties in part because of the size (8 to 32 pounds) and the density of the fruit.  But, these store well and give you alot of squash when you process them. 

We have grown many other pie pumpkin varieties over time and this is the one we still grow. If Musquee were to disappear, we would likely move to Long Island Cheese.  After that, we would have to do some thinking.

Melons

For today's blog, I'm just going to select the melon we would choose for open field production if we were limited to only one.  Like tomatoes, we actually prefer some diversity to spread out the production period and to provide some taste and texture variety.

So, we're going to have to go with Pride of Wisconsin.  

Why?  Well, for one, it gives us a fairly standard looking cantaloupe, so it would be easier to get people to take it from us if we had a plethora of them.  The taste is certainly quite good, so that isn't an issue either.  But, the thing that really sets it apart from the others is the consistency.  They can handle some goofy weather and/or some goofy farming.  Perhaps not both at the same time, but they are more forgiving than most.  Production levels are good and they do take the ride in the truck pretty well too.

Other varieties we appreciate include Emerald Gem, Ha'Ogen, Eden's Gem and Minnesota Midget.    

Cucumbers
As I go through this list, I realize that we could almost do the same thing with melons and cucumbers as we did with tomatoes and peppers a week ago.  

We have grown several varieties for different reasons.  For example, Boothby's Blonde gives us a small, snack cucumber that can also be used for pickling and Marketmore 76 is a larger slicing cucumber and A&C Pickling could be either.  Should you have to pick between them?  The answer is - for the sake of keeping the blog a reasonable length - yes.  Drat.

We would select Marketmore 76 for consistency and production for the past 10 years on our farm.  If this variety fails, it is unlikely we would have gotten any cucumbers from any other variety.  Their taste is good, though you might want to peel it a bit if it is a larger fruit.  We like it even more because it is an open-pollinated variety that continues to be grown in all sorts of farming operations.

Winter Squash
This one in particular will pain me a bit.  I could happily live with eating Pride of Wisconsin melons and maybe tolerate missing the other varieties.  I'm fine with Marketmore 76 for cucumbers and won't be crippled if the other varieties went away - though Tammy will miss her Boothby's Blonde.  But, I get stuck on the winter squash because the varieties I REALLY WANT for my own personal use aren't the ones I feel like I must select for this category.

So, with apologies to my personal favorites Marina di Chioggia and Burgess Buttercup, I must select Waltham Butternut.  Perhaps this hurts even more because I feel like this and the other two before it are not very creative selections.  A standard cantaloupe, a standard American slicing cucumber and now the ubiquitous butternut squash are on the list.

Let's be honest here, Waltham's have less trouble with vine borers as a c.moschata than squash in the c.maxima family.  You'll get some Waltham's almost any year as long as you get them in the ground and keep weeds away for the first half of the season.  Butternuts can be used for pies or soups or however else you prepare squash.  And, I DO like their taste too. 

Reliable, useful, good taste.  Waltham Butternut is a winner. 

We also like Thelma Sanders Sweet Potato as an acorn squash option, so we'll probably always grow it.   And, we've happily grown a smaller batch of Burgess Buttercup nearly every year for our own consumption.

Watermelon 

It simply has to be Orangeglo. Sometimes it is spelled with the "w" on the end, sometimes it isn't.  the presence of the "w" doesn't matter when you open one up and start munching.  At least that's what I think.

Orangeglo are different from the norm.  They have a great texture and a great taste.  They look cool.  They've produced in years when other watermelons didn't want to.  Their seeds have set distance records in watermelon seed spitting contests.  And.. well... they're ORANGE inside!  

I think I got a soft spot for this variety when we had a couple of beautiful vines volunteer in the middle of one of our pastures.  We managed to protect those vines and got some gorgeous watermelons in a year when we hadn't planted any other watermelons.

Watermelons are one of those crops where you can have some fun with different sizes, textures and colors.  At one point in time we grew Sweet Siberian, Mountain Yellow Sweet, Chris Cross, Moon and Stars and a smattering of other varieties.  We liked Sweet Siberian because we could get a bunch of smaller watermelons for our CSA and the taste was good.  But, if we wanted to grow a second watermelon now I think we might go with either Mountain Yellow or Moon and Stars.  

Why?  Well, we kind of equate watermelons with fun and we see them as a treat.   I prefer the taste of the yellow and the orange watermelons and I love the look of the Moon and Stars.  

There you go!  Some more veggie varieties for you to consider.  If you were paying attention, you might notice that some of these varieties have links to other blog entries that discuss them in much more detail - so if you want more info, take the links!

Have a good day everyone!

Catering to Different Tastes

I was recently honored with a request to speak to a group of professionals in the fields of Nutrition and Dietetics about local foods.  Of course, I made no pretense about being well-versed in their fields, but I certainly could share things I understood about growing good food.

One thing I actually know a bit about is the struggle to get a picky eater to eat vegetables.  So, of course, that topic came up as part of the presentation.

Many of the fine people in the Cedar Valley who know the Genuine Faux Farm probably don't know Rob in any other context other than as his role as a small-scale, diversified farmer.  In fact, if you are from the area and you haven't done much reading of this blog, you will probably make some erroneous assumptions.  For example, a vegetable farmer has to be someone who has ALWAYS loved vegetables.  Therefore, Rob has always loved all vegetables and must have no idea how hard it might be for a person to eat more veggies.

I am sorry to burst your bubble - but my parents can assure you that the list of things I would eat when I was growing up could probably fit on a 3"x5" card.  When it came to veggies it had to be green beans, lima beans, peas, corn and potatoes.  Tomatoes would be ok if it was a cooked sauce with very little evidence of skin or chunks of tomato. There were numerous incidents where shredded lettuce ruined a sandwich for me and my college friends encouraged me to get the mixed vegetables to watch me quickly and efficiently root out the carrot squares.  I could eat my mixed veggies as fast as anyone else and not eat a single one of those icky, orange things.

As a matter of fact, I could make small towers out of those carrot squares while successfully eating the beans, corn and limas out of the mix.

So, what happened?

Touchstone Gold Beets

Is it true that I like each and every vegetable that we have grown at our farm?  No, of course not.  But, I very much like many of them, I kind of like others and tolerate still others.  There are a few that I still haven't found a way to tolerate, but I make less of a stink about it when they show up (and I pick them out and go about my business).

Perhaps I grew up a little bit.  Maybe the taste buds changed some.  But, both Tammy and I are pretty certain that a big part of it had to do with the fact that we started growing our own produce.  The quality and freshness have much to do with flavor and texture quality.  And, of course, if you put some of your own effort into growing it, you might be more willing to try it - even if you do find yourself still not liking it.

But there is more to it than that.

Can't Beet This

We have learned that different varieties of a vegetable can have very different tastes and textures.  It is true that some people might not be able to detect a difference.  It is also true that some people who do not initially find a difference in different veggie varieties begin to develop the ability to tell the difference over time.  In my case, I can often detect a difference in taste between different varieties quickly.

I had always found the earthy taste and slippery/slimy texture of the standard red beet to be - shall we say - choke worthy.  Please, if you like boiled red beets, do not take offense.  This is why we grew red beets on our farm as well - so people could enjoy them the way they wanted to enjoy them!

In this case, I am speaking to that large group of people who think of beets as an 'evil' veggie, just as I did.  We tried the striped beet (Chioggia) and a golden beet (Touchstone Gold) several years ago.  And, since I take my job seriously, I had to taste what we grow.  I don't have to like each thing, as long as others do.  But, I feel like I have to be able to say that I tried it.

In any event, I tried these beets with MUCH TREPIDATION.

We roasted some Chioggia's and found them to be less earthy and to have a pleasing texture when roasted.  Then we tried Golden beets and I found I really liked those. 

In this case, the two keys were vegetable variety AND preparation method.  I have learned not to give up on a vegetable until we have explored a range of cultivars and a series of ways to prepare it for eating.

The result?  Now I very much like Golden and Chioggia beets either steamed, grilled or roasted.  I will tolerate standard red beets presented the same ways.  I can even eat boiled red beets with only some complaints.  But that was only after I was introduced to the "gateway beet" varieties that were cooked in a way that fit my palate.  

Who knew?

White Wing Onions

Opinions About Onions

If I recall correctly, my father has always liked onions, but they don't always like him.  At least, that's how he put it.  I have not always liked onions and I think I inherited the part about raw onions not liking me so much too.

However, we've learned that the shorter season white onions tend to agree with me more.  They sautee up nicely and have a pleasant taste.  On the other hand, storage onions tend to disagree with me more.  Happily, if they are sauteed longer, they "sweeten up" and give me less troubles.

Onions are a bit of an oddity for me because I've always liked the smell of them (raw or cooked).  In this case, it was probably more of a texture thing.  But, again, it isn't so much that MY tastes have changed, but my willingness to figure out how to make things work for my preferences (and my digestive requirements) has improved. 

Goodman Cauliflower

It's Not CauliFLOUR

Tammy and I were given the impression when we first started gardening that cauliflower was a near impossible veggie to grow.  And, sadly, when we would try cauliflower from the store, my first impression was that it tasted a bit like 'flour.'  Yick.

Tammy got me to try more broccoli and cauliflower by adding cheese to the mix.  That was great, but probably not the best long-term solution if you want your spouse to eat healthier.  This was especially true if the volume of cheese was greater than the volume of veggie.

We still tend to prepare our cauliflower steamed or raw and it will occasionally appear in soup as well.  We've added roasting to the list of options, though I admit I don't like broccoli, cauliflower and romanesco roasted as much as I do steamed.

This seems like a good time to remind you and me of something.  I have said this before and have had people extoll the virtues of roasting these veggies.  That's great!  If this is the method of preparation that you and yours really enjoy, go for it.  Just remember that each person may have different preferences for preparation options - and that's ok.  You like them roasted.  I like them steamed.  They like them raw.  This person likes them with cheese and that person with butter. 

We've explored different cauliflower varieties and found some range of taste.  It is our belief that soil and growing conditions can change the taste of this vegetable since we can still appreciate a head of cauliflower from our farm and not really be impressed with the same variety from other sources.  I sometimes feel that cauliflower in the late Fall has better taste - especially if it has experience a frost.  But, I have no proof of that.

Chervena Chushka sweet peppers

Sometimes it has nothing to do with taste

Tammy likes to eat peppers raw in the field.  I like the smell of peppers in the field and I am quite happy to pick her a pepper and toss it to her if she wants to snack on one.  In fact, I will toss snack tomatoes or peppers to anyone if they indicate they might like one.  But, you will rarely, if ever, see me crunch into one of these during a work break.

This has nothing to do with liking or not liking how they taste and everything to do with how they sit in my stomach.  Remember, I do a good deal of stooping, getting up and down and moving around when I am outside at the farm.  The last thing I want is to feel like I've got a rock in my stomach.  Sadly, that's what happens when I eat most raw peppers without something to accompany it.

I am not alone in this phenomenon.  Many people prefer red peppers because some of the things that cause discomfort are less prevalent in the more mature fruits.  I also prefer peppers that are not bells as they also give me fewer issues.  And, of course, if they are cooked, they seem to be easier to deal with.  

In the end, I'm just happy to have a couple of smaller slices on a sandwich and a nibble or two here or there.  But, since I won't eat too many peppers, I tend to be much pickier about the taste.  If I only get a little bit of a pepper, it had better be a good pepper!

Pride of Wisconsin melon

And - It needs to be ripe!

Then, there is the issue of ripeness.  I could tolerate certain kinds of melons, but I was never all that impressed with them.  In fact, this is something I have heard from many people.

I try to remind myself of how I USED to feel until we started growing our own melons and it has gotten harder and harder for me to do.  Why?  Well, it has been many years now since I have been forced to eat a melon that was NOT RIPE when it was harvested.  Most melon varieties will taste like a lot of nothing if they are harvested early.  And yet, that's what has been done for most grocery store melons.  They are harvested before they are ripe so they won't split in transit to the grocery store.  

Sadly, that is how most people are introduced to melons.

So, we sympathize with your opinion about melons.  In fact, we understand why you feel the way you do.  Some of you may not like the texture - so that may rule out many melons regardless of ripeness.  We can respect that.  But, for those of you that thought: "Melons.... meh."   You need to try some of the heirloom varieties that we have grown when they are truly ripe!  You might be so shocked by the taste initially that you might be tempted to decide you don't like it.  But, give yourself a second taste and you'll realize that your initial reaction was because your brain was telling your tastebuds that they shouldn't detect that much taste in a melon.  

After all, they've never experienced it before!

Are You Ready to Discover Tastes You've Been Missing?

I am still a picky eater and I always will be.  As such, I respect your right to decide what you will and will not eat - for whatever reasons you select.  But if you're looking to make some changes consider these thoughts:

1. Personal investment encourages attempts to try

In my case, it was the process of growing a vegetable and trying to figure out which varieties to grow.  The investment grew when we opted to grow veggies commercially.  

You, of course, don't have to go that far overboard.  Your investment could be a couple of plants in your garden or the support you give to a local grower of food.  Or maybe you agree to research and fix a dish for friends and family that like this veggie or food?

2. Reward yourself with the best examples of the thing you're going to try

Get the freshest, the ripest and the best specimens you can get of whatever it is you want to try.  So many people have stories of being turned off of a particular food because they were served some of the worst examples of that product at the point it was introduced.

3. Try each thing with more than one variety and using more than one method of preparation over time.

One of the keys here is to take your time with it.  The other key is to persist with the process of exploration over time.  

4. Keep it low key, don't make a big production out of it.

It is okay if you rediscover that you do NOT like something as long as you give yourself permission to discover that you DO like a certain variety, or a certain veggie prepared in a particular way.  For that matter, it could be a victory to decide it's simply "okay," but not going to be a favorite any time soon.  

If you need to, do your tasting with no witnesses for whom you might feel you have to perform (and it doesn't matter which way you think you have to perform).  After all, this is about what you are willing to put into your body.

5. If there are tastes and textures you like, build off of them.

I have always liked legumes, so it was not a big leap for me to determine that I liked snow peas and snap peas (peas you do not shell).  I learned that I liked the texture of spinach and not iceberg lettuce, so when we found some lettuces that had textures closer to spinach I was much more willing to give them a try.

As for me, I still won't eat carrots.  They're just one of those things that get stuck in my throat and are not allowed to pass.  There are other things that I have not found a way to appreciate, and that's also fine.  On the other hand, I have so many more options of things I will tolerate and things I have discovered I like.

Maybe you can too?

Seeking Direction

A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in a position where I needed to get something written.  It wasn't a specific something either.  It was just that I needed to create an article and my brain wasn't having anything to do with it.

When it comes to writing, I have no shortage of ideas.  I actually use various notepads where I scribble down possibilities as they come to me.  There is the little, pocket-sized notebook with the "water-proof" paper that usually travels with me outside.  Then there is the spiral-bound notebook with illustrations of cats on the hard cover.  And, of course, my desk is littered with other odd scraps of paper that were grabbed and pressed into service in a moment where a particularly good idea was in danger of being lost if I didn't manage to get it written down.

Never mind that ideas relegated to a scrap of paper typically get lost anyway.

Anyone involved in creative endeavors of any sort can probably relate to what happens when the time comes to actually produce something.  You look at the scribbled ideas - all of those things that seemed so good in that moment - and you discard them one by one.

• no, not now...
• no, too much work to do a good job on it in the time given
  
• no, not in the mood for that one 
• no, I've already done that
  
• no, this isn't the right time for that
  
• no, the right time for that was last month
• no, I need to do more research before I take that on
• no....  um, what did I mean by that note anyway?

More often than not, the biggest reason is that I am just not feeling the inspiration to write on the tens (and maybe hundreds) of ideas I have captured and placed on the various pieces of paper that are floating around.  It's a hazard of creative work.  If you aren't feeling whatever it is you need to feel to be creative, it can be a troublesome situation to find yourself in - especially if it is your job to create something.

I found myself in that situation a couple of weeks ago.  I actually had three or four topics I had been researching for my PAN work and any of them would have been sufficient for the task.  But, I couldn't make myself follow through.  Each of the topics got a "no" for more than one reason, but I was still trying to make myself choose one and just get it done.

So, I took the camera and went outside in the rain.  And I became enamored with watching the anemometer and weather vane on the weather station.  After that, I observed newly formed puddles and watched droplets form on branches.  I stayed out there until my mind stopped thinking about having to write an article and it started thinking about the rain, the wind, the soil and the dormant perennial plants.  I kept walking around until the cold rain started to make me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Then I walked back in and wrote the article I needed - on none of the topics I had planned on covering - and on all of the topics I planned on covering.

Bowling for Kittens

Murphy the Nibster is still very much a kitten.  Just a couple of days ago, she got me to laugh by doing this thing where she would run a couple of steps and then do a "Superman" leap with her front legs extended as if she expected the wind to lift her up and carry her around.  There was no apparent reason other than she wanted to do this thing.

We had a very packable snow,  so I wanted to see what would happen if I rolled a few snowballs her way.  Here is the result.

Of course, I did not think to video this at first, so the best kitten action happened prior to the video.  But, you get an idea.  Also, my phone suffered an unfortunate beating and the camera lens no longer takes clear images.  Add to that the difficulty of trying to pack snowballs one-handed and you get...  whatever it is you can view above.

And if that is not enough Murphy for you, here is evidence that kitten heads are attached by springs.. or ball bearings... or something...

There you are.  A Tuesday with kitten time on the blog.  What could be better?

Monday, Monday

It has been a while since the chalk door in the Truck Barn saw regular use.  It was a regular thing to have a work list posted there so those who were toiling at the Genuine Faux Farm that day new what was on the docket.   Every so often, I would wax poetic...

For those who can't read the picture shown above:

"We like Mondays

Mondays are good

Some don't like them

Like maybe we should

Today is Monday

We work on a farm

Do a good job

It's good for the karm...a"

I include this picture in our blog just to show everyone that we have always done our best to maintain a sense of humor during the busiest times. It is also a recognition that today is, in fact, Monday.  Yes, we try to maintain our sense of humor on Mondays too.

Well, at least the day this blog entry is scheduled to be published is a Monday.  The day I wrote this blog was NOT Monday.  And maybe the day you read the post is not Monday either.  So, if it is not Monday when you read this, just pretend it is for as long as it takes to get the feeling of the post and then go about your day in whatever way you consider to be normal.

Proof that Farmer Rob has actually done farm work

I recently found myself sharing some stories about conversations that I have had while staffing our farm table at farmers' markets.  I tell the story about the person who wondered why there was dirt on our potatoes more often than any other, but I recalled these and thought they could be told today.

Once we added high tunnels to our farm, we worked hard to get certain types of produce out much earlier so we could provide a bit more diversity in product.  This was especially true in June, when the Spring crops are starting to struggle with warmer weather, but the warm-weather crops are not typically ready.   

The first year we succeeded in producing some excellent early broccoli and green beans (among other things), we had a conversation with a person who looked at some of our June produce and was incredulous.

"You didn't grow this?!?"
"Yes ma'am, I did grow this."
"How could you have?  You didn't grow this!"
"I'm sorry, but what do you mean?  I assure you, we grew this on our farm."
"But, it looks so good!"
"Um..... thank you?"

I'm still not sure what to think of that exchange.  But, they did buy something from us - so we'll take it as a compliment.

During a different season an individual was emphatic that we HAD NOT grown the produce we had on the table.  This particular farmers' market had rules that you had to produce what you sold.  You could not go to a produce auction, or the store, or wherever... and buy produce and resell it at your farmers' market table.

Now, before you discount this - let me tell you that this IS actually a thing.  People do that.  How do you think some farmers' markets have vendors selling things like watermelons weeks before they could possibly be ripe and ready in Iowa?  Well, they have a connection with someone in Missouri or Arkansas or the local grocer, that's how.  Let me also tell you that I am not fond of people doing that - especially when they do it in a way that makes you think they grew it, even when they did not.

In any event, the accusation that we had not grown the broccoli and green beans we had that particular season was a bit more serious than you might think.  Especially when this could result in our being expelled from the market.  While that might be a bad thing, it was worse for me because I really did not (and do not) like it when people resell product and represent it as their own.  So, to be accused of doing something I really find to be dishonest and .. well... bad... 

Let's just say it didn't go down well with me.

So, I made the suggestion that, if they would like, they could come visit our farm and I could show them where we grew these things.

They made a bold statement that they didn't need to see our farm to know that we hadn't grown this produce.

I offered that I would gladly take pictures and provide growing records.  After all, to be certified organic (which we were) I had to maintain records of planting, cultivation, fertilization, irrigation, harvest and post-harvest handling.  I could tell them more information about the product than they would ever want.

So, they declared that I was a liar and they "harumphed" their way away from us.  And nothing more came of it.

Perhaps they hadn't liked their Mondays like they should?

Well, I hope you (and I) have a good Monday, or whatever day it is that you read this!  Thanks for reading and remember to give someone a specific compliment today.

Timing is Everything - Postal History Sunday

While it is still too cold to do much on the farm, the daylight hours are getting longer and we have seedlings in trays that are striving to look like miniatures of the plants they will become.  Once we approach April, it seems as if everything speeds up at the Genuine Faux Farm.  And yet, here we are, with another Postal History Sunday!

Postal History Sunday is published each week at both the Genuine Faux Farm blog and the GFF Postal History blog.  If you are interested in prior entries, you can view them, starting with the most recent, at this location. 

Not too long ago someone was asking questions about a piece of mail that traveled from the United States to China in the 1860s.  One of those questions is something we can all relate to - even if we aren't really interested in the minute details that a postal historian seems to enjoy getting into.

 "How long did these letters typically take to travel from somewhere, like the United States, to another place, such as China?"

We get to start with a map this time!  If you love maps - there you are!  Feel free to click on the image to view a larger version.

What you see here are the common routes for mail traveling to South and East Asia in the late 1850s to mid 1860s.  The major difference you will see here is that one route, in blue, travels by sea from Southampton (United Kingdom) to Malta and the other, in red, travels overland across France - then goes on to Malta.  

Once we get to Malta, the route is not necessarily distinguishable for the purposes of this blog.  Sometimes, the route went via Bombay and sometimes it doesn't.  Maybe I'll get into that in a future entry.

First, I need to make it clear that transportation in the 1850s to 1870s was rapidly changing.  Rail lines were springing up in Europe, the Suez canal was being built.  Passes were being developed for more rapid transit in the Alps and shipping lines were adjusting as it became clear where the money was in terms of routes and schedules.  Just trust me when I say that transportation companies were not concerned that postal historians in 2023 might have a difficult time piecing things together because they kept changing routes and schedules!

On the other hand, there are all sorts of sources, primary and secondary, that provide opportunities to unearth the most likely schedules and routes that fit items in a postal historian's collection.

Above is a rough schedule that was commonly followed for mails that would have left the United States for destinations in India, Singapore, China and Japan (among others).

Let me show a couple of examples to help provide the answer to "how long did it take for mail to travel from here to there?"

This item shown above was a business letter sent from New York City, in the United States, to Shanghai, China, in 1863.

And here is how it traveled.  Dates in parenthesis are those I can derive from shipping tables and the established China mail schedule.  I put dates that match the mail schedule in BOLD. Other dates correspond to markings that can be found on this letter. 

• New York Jul 25
• Southampton (Aug 6)
  
• London Aug 7 
• Dover (Aug 10)
• Marseilles (Aug 12)
• Malta (Aug 14 arrival and Aug 15 departure)
• Alexandria (Aug 19)
• Suez (Aug 23)
• Bombay (Aug 29)
• Singapore (Sep 13 arrival Sep 14 departure)
       typhoon Sep 20 - 3 day delay
• Hong Kong Sep 23
• Shanghai (Sep 30)
  

Why yes!  They DID have typhoons and hurricanes in the 1800s!  So, even the best laid plans (or schedules) were subject to change.

from The London and China Telegraph, Nov 27, 1863 page 582

There was certainly sufficient ship traffic worldwide that we can find evidence of severe storm events if we know to look for them.  Newspapers that served the English-speaking communities were among those that were very interested in reporting on shipping.  With a minimal amount of looking, I found this contemporary report that gave some evidence for this particular weather event.  I suspect, if I wanted to, I could find additional reports.  But, that might be distracting us from the original intent of this Postal History Sunday!

So, let's look again at the folded letter we were discussing.

Mailed on July 25, 1863, this letter was sent from New York City to Shanghai, China via England, France and the Suez.  It took this item 60 days to get as far as Hong Kong and another 7 days to get to Shanghai.  It took over two months of time for a business letter to arrive at its destination.

The cost to send a simple letter was 53 cents if you chose the option for British Mail "via Marseilles."  This postage fully paid for all mail services to the destination.

So - I now introduce you to another item from the United States to China.

This piece of letter mail was posted in New York City on July 18, 1863 to Shanghai and it also arrived in Hong Kong on September 23 and Shanghai on September 30.  This letter took one week longer to travel the distance from its origin to its destination (74 days).

 

Let me repeat myself here.  THIS letter left Malta on the SAME SHIP that the first letter departed on.  Both letters traveled together from Malta all the way to Shanghai.  The both got to be delayed by the same typhoon.  How cool is that?

 

Ok.  I think it's cool.  You don't have to, I guess.

You should also note that this letter has 45 cents of postage - which was sufficient to prepay all costs to get to Shanghai on the route "via Southampton."

67 days for 53 cents and 74 days for 45 cents.  And the difference has to do with how each letter got to Malta in the first place.

 

Via Southampton

Now we go back to the map showing how mail traveled from the United Kingdom to China at this time.  Let me draw your attention to the blue line that leaves from Southampton and goes by sea - around France, Portugal and Spain until it lands at Malta.  This route is referenced on the second letter where the words "via Southampton" is written at the top left.  You could think of this as the 'slow boat' to China because it took much longer to go from the UK to Malta by boat.

Via Marseilles

The faster alternative is was to cross the English Channel to France and take French railways to Marseilles.  Once at Marseilles, a steamship would take the letter the rest of the way to Malta (that's the red line that goes from Dover to Marseilles and then Malta).

In short - if you wanted to save some money - it looks like you could pay 8 cents fewer for your letter at the expense of 7 days more travel time.  If only it were that simple!

What would you say if I told you that paying 8 cents more did NOT guarantee you a faster delivery of the mail?

Let's look at the chart below again - pay particular attention to Malta's schedule:

Essentially, if you wanted your letter to go via British mail to the countries in the Far East, it was important for you to get it to Malta on the 15th or the 30th/31st of the month.  If your letter got there on the 16th, it was just going to sit there until the next mail departure on the 31st!  Similarly, if it arrived on the 1st, it would wait until the 15th to depart Malta.

If you lived in the United States - it was simpler just to look at the schedule the British put out for mail departures "to India and the Far East."  Four times a month, London/Southampton would make up mails to go to China - the 4th, 10th, 20th and 26th.  If you know that mail crossing the Atlantic typically took around 12 days, your cut off dates would be (approximately) the 8th (to leave by Southampton), 14th (to leave via Marseilles), 22nd/23rd (Southampton) and 28th/29th (Marseilles).

Letter #1

The first letter left New York on the 25th of the month - so if you wanted to get to Malta on the 15th of the next month, you had to take the letter via Marseilles and pay 8 more cents.  If you failed to do this, then your letter would be delayed by at least a week for the next mailing before it even left London, which is the same as a two weeks delay at Malta, regardless of the route it took.

So, really, the sender of the first letter was paying 8 cents to get an item to its destination TWO WEEKS earlier.  If we're talking about letters that took two months to get to their destination, that meant it could be four months before a person received a reply to an important question.  Perhaps paying 8 cents to make that turnaround as short as possible was worth it?! 

Letter #2

The second letter was mailed on July 18th with an arrival in London/Southampton on the 30th.  Well, gosh golly gee!  The next mail in the UK to China left via Southampton.  So, you might as well pay 8 cents fewer, because the extra money will gain you nothing other than a false belief that you will get faster service.

Of course, things were always changing and increased demand for rapid mail services and trade routes necessitated changes over time.  In fact, there were options to send letters to China via French mail and there were times French mail steamers would carry mail in the Mediterranean and in the Far East using different schedules, increasing the options for a mailer.

Plenty for future Postal History Sundays!

The topic of mail between the United States and Asia in the 1800s is a complex and interesting subject.  I will readily admit that there is still much more I could write about and more I could learn.  Perhaps we'll take another run at this topic in the future!  So, if that interests you and you have questions - send them my way and I'll see what I can do with a future entry.  Remember, questions can be simple or they can wade into the complexities.  

You can even say - "I don't get it, could you try again?"  After all, it is Postal History Sunday - and we're all about learning something new.  If I didn't find the right words this time, maybe I can learn the right ones next time.

Have a great remainder of your day and a fine week to come.

List for Leo

This is our last Saturday for March, so I guess we'd better get our music playlist out for the month!  

About a year ago today, I put together an 80s playlist after learning that a good friend of mine was sharing 80s music with his daughter.  Well, I think she just might know more about the tunes than her father does now.  The last time we saw each other, I got treated to some of her own playlist magic.

Well, back at ya!  Here's a new list for Leo.

Be Good Johnny - Men At Work

I used to listen to Men At Work constantly.  The quirky lyrics appealed to me, but I find them even more intelligent than I gave them credit for back then.  

The Legend of Wooley Swamp - Charlie Daniels Band

This one was a favorite tune to listen to.  It appealed to me that there was rock music that included fiddle.  I liked the story-telling approach as well.  I remember getting goose bumps when "the old man laughed."

I Burn Myself Away - Vector  

This one is probably not going to show up many places because Vector was among a group of excellent California musicians that should have gotten more play than they actually received.  This one's got some fun gritty guitars.

Situation - Yaz

I have to admit that I had forgotten about Yaz and I am glad to have rediscovered them.  The vocals in combination with Depeche Mode style keys is unique and very interesting to listen to.

A Little Respect - Erasure

This one got some serious airplay, but for some reason Erasure doesn't seem to get much attention as an 80s band anymore - unless I'm looking in the wrong places?

Out of the Silent Planet - King's X

This group actually just released a new album last year.  That's endurance and commitment.  And, they're pretty good too!

Photograph - Def Leppard

How about a British hard rock band?  How about it?

Cat People - David Bowie 

Or maybe a little Bowie and a song title that includes cats?  

The Warrior - Scandal

This song got a fair amount of radio play.  I seem to recall lead vocalist Patty Smyth had a pretty good solo career after this.

Jump - Van Halen

After seeing a video of Eddie Van Halen's solo titled Eruption, I had to include something by the group.

I'm A Believer - Giant  

Here's a group that really knew how to muscle out some arena rock.  It's too bad they didn't get as much attention as they probably deserved considering the talent level.

And this list goes to eleven, just like it should.

For those who have interest, the Boootiful Mootzik thread includes several other music playlists.  Maybe you'll find a tune or two you like.  Or, maybe you know what you like and you'll just listen to that instead!

Have a good day everyone.

GFF Veg Varieties 2023

Now is a great time to be thinking about the veggies that are going into gardens.  Which makes it a good time for us to share some of our favorite veggie varieties for the Genuine Faux Farm.  This actually has meant a bit more to us over the past few years because we have been simplifying the operation.  From the perspective of veggie varieties, that means we find ourselves asking the question - "which varieties do we keep growing and which ones do we let go?"

There are enough vegetables that this is going to be a multi-post thing.  So, stay tuned for the next week or so as I sprinkle blog entries amidst the other normal silliness that happens here on a daily basis (yeah, have you noticed?  I haven't missed a day in 2023 yet.).

Tomatoes

Ok, it feels like most gardeners love to talk about tomatoes.  We've all got our favorites.  And those that grow heirloom varieties, just as we do, often grow more than one variety simply because it is so hard to limit yourself!  So many taste and texture options.  So many different characteristics.  And a wide range of production factors to consider.

One of the considerations at the farm is that we grow all of our tomatoes, with maybe the exception of a single cherry tomato plant closer to the house, inside of our high tunnels.  A reality on the farm is that we have seen consistent damage from dicamba (a story for another day) and crops in the nightshade family, like tomatoes, are especially vulnerable.  That means we pick varieties that do well for us in that environment.

Italian Heirloom

Picture of this variety is shown above.

These are smaller than average plants and their leaves are a bit wispy, so they can sometimes look a bit like they are an unhappy plant - like some of the Roma types.  But the production levels are excellent and the tomatoes are a nice nine-tenths of a pound on average.  They are meaty, not too juicy, and have a good taste that works in sauces or fresh.  They start production early and can run into October and sometimes November in the high tunnels.  The only issue is that you can see sunscald on the tomatoes due to less leaf cover.  We have sometimes planted zinnias or basil or other taller plants to the south of these tomatoes to provide a little extra coverage.

Black Krim

We selected Black Krim as our "purple" or "black" variety many years ago.  For several years, we combined Paul Robeson with Black Krim in our high tunnels and found that was a good combination.  Krim started earlier and then the flushes seemed to alternate between the two varieties.

Black Krim is one of those varieties that we've learned how to grow over time.  A cool, wet season is not their friend, which is why they like to be in our high tunnels.  It also helps that we can regulate how much and when the plants get water.  The tomatoes always taste better if we can reduce water intake prior to a harvest peak.

This is not to say that people can't successfully grow Black Krim in their gardens.  You have to remember, there are fundamental differences between commercial growing and home gardening.  The amount of time and attention a commercial grower (as we have been) can spend per plant is far less than the time a gardener can provide.  That means a gardener might be able to make some adjustments that we can't in order to get their couple of plants to produce well enough.

Black Krim are smaller plants that like warmer and drier weather.  They also require that you climb a learning curve to figure out when to pick them.  To teach yourself, go by feel rather than what they look like!  

As to why we grow them - it's all about the taste and texture combination.  They're just that good.

Speckled Roman

Our choice for paste tomato is still the Speckled Roman.  However, when we make sauces, we usually use a wide range of tomatoes to get the best tasting sauce we can possibly have.  And, remember, the Italian Heirlooms have some Roma heritage and can fill this slot capably too.

Speckled Romans are the biggest LIARS in the garden.  Oh... poor me... it is sooooo hot and I feel that I might SWOON!  Then, evening comes and they stand up beautifully.  Harvest comes, and they have a very nice flush of red and yellow striped paste tomatoes.  We prefer the taste of these as a base for our sauces (a bit sweeter than many paste tomatoes).  But, I have to admit that we've also grown many other paste varieties that have been just as productive (and some more productive) in the past.

None of the heirloom paste tomatoes we have tried have particularly loved being in the high tunnel.  But, then again, paste tomatoes have not been a big focus of ours for the past several years.  When we did farmers' markets, it was more important to have them.  But, we still grow a batch for ourselves every year.

Nebraska Wedding

This is the heirloom variety that we are growing for our yellow/orange slicer-sized tomatoes.  We used to grow Moonglow and another variety that seems to have gone extinct (Golden Sunray).  Once again, Nebraska Wedding plants tend toward the smaller side.  You just have to remember that "small" is a relative term here.  We tend to prefer smaller plants so we don't have to do excessive trellising work in our high tunnels.  A nice cage is usually good enough to keep them in check.   

The average fruit size is around a half pound.  But we have noted that perfect growing conditions and nice fertile (but not overly fertile) soil can push that size up to 2/3 pound.  First fruits are typically bigger than later fruits.  That's not a big deal because these were originally introduced to me as being determinant (the plants die after producing fruit).

The skin is a bit tougher on these tomatoes and they often are a uniform size with no splitting, which is great for marketing.  We like that the taste balances some of the more acidic tomatoes in our sauces.

That's enough on tomatoes for now.  I'm sure I'll come back to them in a future post.

Peppers

Napoleon Sweet

We've always liked Napoleon Sweet as a green/red bell pepper.  They have a better than average green bell taste and a good red bell taste.  But we hold a bit more fondness for these in our hearts after we grew them out for Seed Savers (to produce seed) during the 2021 season.  

Like our tomatoes, we now grow all of our peppers inside the high tunnels to protect them from the effects of dicamba (an herbicide) and they do very well there.  These plants tend to be taller than many pepper varieties, so they might require staking in the field.  I will admit that we rarely staked them when they were outside.  But, when we grow them inside, the plants get a bit bigger and they do require staking or trellising of some sort. 

You can opt not to trellis Napoleon Sweet if you like walking around plants that have fallen into the row.  But when that happens, it exposes fruit to the sun and you get sunscald issues.

These plants have been consistent producers for years at the Genuine Faux Farm.  The main inconsistency, if it is a problem for you, is that they don't produce a whole bunch of uniform fruit (see the photo).  They produce consistent taste and texture - but don't expect consistent shape.

Golden Treasure

When ripe, Golden Treasure fruit are about 8 inches long and maintain a carrot shape.  Like many heirloom peppers, there can be some variability in shape, but the form you see at the bottom left of the image is mostly true to form.  There are a couple of green peppers at the right that might be another variety - the picture is old enough that I don't recall for certain, but I think they are Marconi Reds that have not yet turned red.

You can pick these when they start to show a little yellow and they'll turn the rest of the way in two to three days on your kitchen counter.  This pepper is Tammy's favorite fresh eating pepper.  Even I will occasionally take a nibble out of one.  I prefer my peppers as part of a sandwich or in combination with other things because peppers like to talk back to me (if you know what I mean).  But, I do like the taste of a Golden Treasure.

Once again, these plants tend to be on the taller side.  They don't seem to grow any differently for us in the field or the high tunnel - except that now we grow all of our peppers in the tunnels (see above).  They do like a bit more water, so if we want top production, we have to run their lines more often than other varieties.  The good news is that they pair up pretty well with Napoleon Sweet for cultivation techniques.

We'll stop with these five for today's blog.  More to come - and possibly more tomatoes and peppers among the varieties we choose to highlight.  

Have a great day everyone!

Plagued by Self-Doubt

Several years ago, I met a person who informed me that they had started a new vegetable growing operation and that they fully expected to make $100,000 in gross sales by their second year of operation.   They weren't asking for any feedback, so I didn't offer any.  Clearly, they simply wanted me to be impressed that they were going to succeed and leave me in the dust - at least that was the implication they seemed to be pushing in our conversation.

After this conversation all I could think was that either they really did know something I didn't know or they were clueless and had no counter-balance to their overly healthy sense of self-importance and confidence.  Or perhaps, they just thought destiny/fate was going to smile on them in a special way.

Apparently, destiny/fate did smile.   But, the smile destiny/fate gave was either tinged with regret, irony or tiny bit of malice (perhaps all three) as this person didn't make it through their second year of growing.

This, of course, causes me to think a problem with our local foods systems that I should talk about more in later blogs.  But, for now I'll just summarize:

When we first started in local food production, the goal we (and many of the growers who started when we did) had was to increase the total amount of local foods being consumed.  It turned out that the piece of the pie for local foods did not grown all that much.  That means we often found ourselves competing with the very same people we were trying to cooperate with - an uncomfortable situation, at best.

Peanuts by Charles M Schulz

My favorite cartoonist as I was growing up was Charles M Schulz.  Even as a child, I found his humor and story lines to be amusing and engaging.  Now, as an adult (if I may be allowed to call myself an adult for the time being), I find even more meaning and humor in his work.  The cartoon above reminded me of the conversation I outlined above.  It also got me to thinking, which is a dangerous pastime of mine.

Perhaps self-doubts, plague that they are, are healthy when you balance it with reasonable amounts of confidence, stubborn willpower, work ethic, knowledge, experience and critical thought.  Every diversified farmer that I have met and come away feeling that they were (or would be) successful expressed, in some way, that they had a healthy level of self-doubt.  This is not to say that they didn't also exhibit confidence that they would overcome adversity and do what was needed to succeed.  What I mean to say is that they weren't so blind to think that they were infallible.

The awareness of self-doubt encourages us to ask important questions - one of which is "what am I missing?"  After all, we are imperfect and we all have things to learn - even about the things with which we have the most familiarity. 

So, here I am in 2023, plagued by self-doubts once again.  And, here I am asking myself, "What am I missing?  How did we miss the boat when it came to increasing the size of the pie so we could effectively increase the number of small-scale, diversified farms that produce food for local communities?"  Actually, it's not a new question and it is not an easy question to answer.  Hey, it's even a difficult question to ask.

Part of the answer is that things like this require a culture shift.  And culture shifts are hard to make happen when louder, corporate voices tend to dominate the conversation.

Then there are the more personal things.  As far as the Genuine Faux Farm in 2023 is concerned, we're not overconfident and we're keeping our eyes wide open.  On the other hand, we are confident enough to know that we can make good things happen here and we are pretty good at what we do.  It's a balancing act - a healthy balancing act.

We just need to remember that if we throw a low, outside-but-over-the-plate fastball to a left-hander, the ball is going to come back through the box at a high rate of speed and knock our shoes, glove, shirt, hat and socks off.

Many farms, like ours know this to be true.  But, we need to stop throwing that pitch when it comes to growing demand for local food producers.

Walking with Tears in the Eyes

I will readily admit that Tammy and I have not been getting our "walk there agains" in as much as we probably should of lately.  There are a whole list of reasons.  Some of them are reasonably good and others are much less good.  It's just the way these things are sometimes.  But we did manage to take a short walk this past weekend at Sweet Marsh, near Tripoli.

It was one of those days where the weather looked much more pleasant than it felt.  That might explain why we... ok, mostly I... didn't quite prepare ourselves for the cold wind that hit us as we walked on the dike.  At least we brought the camera this time around.

Priorities... right?

We're in that time of year where it is easy to make a bad guess about how things are going to feel after you've been outside for a while.  To give you some idea, much of Sweet Marsh was open water prior to the most recent cold snap.  There wasn't much open water remaining when we took this walk.  My mind was taking visual clues of blue sky and sunshine and putting visions of a pleasant meander with my best friend.  I ignored the visual clue that was the reading on the thermometer.

The problem with some of the visual clues this time of year?  Well, there aren't any leaves to tell you there is a breeze and it takes much more wind to blow the naked branches of the trees and bushes around.  Even the rigid corpses of last year's grasses need a bit more wind to move them and to send a telegraph to my brain that the air is moving a bit.

I probably should have taken the hint from the Red-winged Blackbird that decided it didn't feel like singing OR scolding us as we walked past.  It probably didn't see us there because, like me, it had tears in its eyes.

The temps were on the colder side and the wind made it sharp enough that my eyes decided the best reaction was to fill with water.  That can make it difficult to see where a person is going.  And, I guess it makes it hard for Red-winged Blackbirds to know that there are humans near by that need to hear from them.  This is assuming, of course, that birds have tear ducts.

Canada Geese, on the other hand, don't need much of an excuse to make noise.  Perhaps they had a little shelter down by the water that we (and the Red-winged Blackbird) were not enjoying.  I did notice that there was some open water by the shore.  Or, more accurately, I saw water in front of me and pointed the camera at it.  It could have been my own tears providing the illusion that there was some unfrozen water over there.

Once I got the picture off the camera, I got my proof that there really was some open water.  That's a relief.

There was a duck mixed in with the geese, but I was too slow getting the camera ready.  Why?  Well, I did tell you I wasn't fully prepared, didn't I?  

Not having gloves means my hands got pretty cold.  Cold hands don't get lens caps off quickly and efficiently, dontcha know!  It also makes it harder to wipe the tears away from my eyes so I could see the things I might have wanted to take a picture of.

We did come across a pair of Sandhills that decided they wanted to stand on the dike in front of us.  They warned us off with their croaking calls.  But, being obstinate humans, we just stood there - letting both the cranes and the geese serenade us with their warnings.

There was some temptation to get the longer lens out, but that's for days when your hands aren't already a clumsy from the cold.  And, of course, there was no telling how long the cranes were going to tolerate us.  So, we made do with what we had.  After all, the only reason for taking the picture was to document the moment where we were told to turn back by a couple of large birds.

Eventually, the pair decided they'd had enough of us and they flew off, their calls echoing as they went.  We decided we had also had enough, so we turned back ourselves.  As we passed the Red-winged Blackbird's tree, we noticed (after I wiped more tears from my eyes and onto my clumsy, cold hands) that bird had also moved on.  It was probably berating itself for letting an opportunity to sing or scold humans get away from it.

That's ok.  I'm sure we'll come back and give that bird a second opportunity - and I'm sure it won't miss its chance this time around.