More Than One Way to a Pollinator Paradise

 

One of the things we hope to achieve during our time as stewards of the land that we call the Genuine Faux Farm, is to work with nature and provide habitat for pollinators.  We do all sorts of things - some of them might seem strange to other growers - to support a wide range of pollinators.  We let patches of clover and daisies grow in our "lawn" areas and we try to manage when we mow to promote new blooms, while still allowing these non-lawn plants a chance to thrive.  We plant a range of annual flowering plants with our vegetables and I have been known to let broccoli bloom because I know our little friends like them.

I am sure I have a long list of ideas for others who might like to create their own pollinator paradises.  But, one thing is certain, I won't pretend that my way is the best or only way.  It's what works for us, on our farm, with our tools, our available time, and our land - most of the time.

In July, we took a trip to the Scattergood Friends School farm.  Scattergood is one of the farms we have traditionally visited to do some work and share some food each year.  Our friends there have a bit more land to work with than we do and they also have a very different landscape to work with too.

Certainly they use flowers in their vegetable planting.  And, yes, they have pasture area, trees, bushes and other spaces that provide a long range of bloom period to feel the wildlife and the pollinators.  They also worked with Xerces to establish a perennial pollinator habitat.  

While I was there, I took out the camera and took a few pictures, focusing on some of the flowers that were blooming at the time.  There were only a few of these Butterfly Milkweed plants near the edge of the planting, but I was able to get close enough without tromping through the plot.

Then, just this last weekend, we visited Blue Gate Farm.  Our friends there are also part of our peer mentorship group.  Again, there are similarities to what we do and what Scattergood does.  And, of course, there are differences.

While Tammy and I both work off the farm now, this is not true for our friends at Blue Gate.  The farm produces their income, so they need to be aware of money-making opportunities, while also working to provide pollinator habitat.  

What it looks like when a larger bumblebee flies right in front of the camera!

Of course, our friends at Blue Gate recognize that a healthy pollinator population is a key for the production of many of the crops they hope to sell.  But they also look to the beautiful flowers as a source of income, selecting a wide range of blooms that they can harvest and sell as flower arrangements.  So they select many of their annuals based on blooming habits that provide excellent cut flowers over a longer season of production.

While Blue Gate might not use borage or marigolds as much as we do (because neither provide excellent cut flowers for sales), they are also intent on providing habitat.  They're just hoping that their efforts can be repaid both by flower sales and by pollinator services.

In all three examples, the Genuine Faux Farm, Blue Gate Farm, and Scattergood, diversity is a central theme.  That diversity provides a longer bloom time and provides different flower types that appeal to a wider range of pollinators.  Also, in all three cases, there is wild space, there are perennial and annual plantings, and a desire to avoid insecticides that will kill the pollinators.

Yet the biggest similarity might be the hearts of the farmers that want to build these Pollinator Paradises - even if the ways they go about it are different.

Seeds for Thought

If you want to become astonished by how quickly things can change, I suggest you plant some seeds.  Now, I'll grant you that it just might seem like FOREVER before the seedling breaks the surface of the soil.  And, their journey from that point to the first true leaves can feel painstakingly slow.  But, that's only because you (and everyone else who plants seeds) are breaking the "watched pot" rule.

You know the rule - a watched pot never boils.  

We're so invested in seeing immediate rewards for the efforts we made to plant the seed in the first place that we keep checking the progress at unreasonably short intervals of time.  After things get going, we tend to lose our obsessive behavior and our interest gets pulled elsewhere.

That's when seedlings sneak up on you.

Suddenly, they're asking you to get them some fertilizer or put them in a bigger pot.  Or, better yet, into the ground.   You get surprised when you look at them, then at their "baby pictures" and you wonder where your cute little buddies went.

Ok, it is true, the plants are still pretty small and they have a long way to go yet.  Still, the onion plants no longer look like they do in these pictures.  It's a good thing, of course.  But it can still be a bit alarming.  

Suddenly, I am realizing I need to start getting an area ready for the onions to go into the ground.  And they're not the only ones clamoring for attention.  Soon, they'll be at a stage where they can't stop asking questions.  Once you get to that point, there will be no rest for the weary.

It's almost enough for us to wish for their "teen-age" stage, where they wish you would just leave them alone in their room.

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!

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!

What? Was it Boxing Day?

It was time to make a change.  We've been using florescent bulbs for a very long time in our plant starting area and, as most of you probably know, those bulbs dim and burn out over time.  In addition to that, some of the fixtures we have been using are showing their age and are less reliable than they once were.  So, we needed to secure new lighting for the 2023 growing season if we want to start some plants for the farm this year.

Well, after Tammy went about seeking information and recommendations, we decided to make the move to some LED lighting.  Our friends at Blue Gate Farm mentioned some LED tube lighting that would not require new fixtures and could be "daisy-chained" for the power connections - perfect for situations where the number of plugins could be at a premium. 

And, here is the top of one of the long (four foot) boxes we received when our order arrived.

Now, let me make this as clear as I can.  This is the top of the long, thin box (about 4' x 1') that says "fixture" on it in the first photo of this blog.  Inside of that box are TWO boxes.  Inside each of those boxes are SIX LED fixtures.  So, each long box has twelve "integrated fixtures" for our use.

See... here's the end of one of the boxes that was inside of the long box so you can see the ends of six fixtures.

So, you might ask (and rightly so) why this is worthy of a blog - unless I were to now give a review of the product?  

Well, this blog has nothing to do with the product and more to do with the packaging.

Do you remember I said the long box had two boxes in it?  And, there were twelve fixtures total in one long box?  Well we ordered 48 fixtures, so you might expect that these might come in four long boxes, right?

Wrong!

One of the long boxes came all by itself.  A single 1 foot by 4 foot by about 9 inch package delivered as you see it by UPS. Each of the other boxes of that size were placed in a much BIGGER and WIDER box (about 4' x 3' x 1').  Now, that might make sense, I suppose if the three long boxes were packed together into one of those wider boxes, right?

Wrong again!

In this case, each long box was packed into a single, wider box all by itself. That means we got three REALLY BIG, long and wide boxes.  Inside each of those was ONE long box.  Inside of each long box were two more boxes and inside of each of those boxes were six LED fixtures.

It all reminded me of this:

And, oh yeah, there was some crumpled up paper kind of tossed into the really big boxes in a sad, and likely ineffective if there were a problem, attempt to provide extra padding.

We're just still trying to figure out exactly why it was packaged this way?  Maybe someone heard we were looking for more space to grow plants and they shipped it along with the lights?

Seeds for a Bright Future

Most people are much less enamored with their gardens once we get to October in Iowa.  As a matter of fact, many vegetable gardens become lost causes by August and are typically mowed down or otherwise cleaned up on a sunny, dry, Fall day.

But, this is the time of year when some of next year's promises are made.  This year's plants are working hard to create seeds to start next year's seedlings.  Perennial plants are working hard to store up energy so they can wake up again once the soil warms and the Spring rains encourage their return.  The bees, wasps, toads, snakes and other creatures are putting the finishing touches on what they need for hibernation or to prepare the emergence of the next generation.

The seeds for a bright future are here, in front of our eyes - even if we don't recognize them.

Not every seed will reach its intended goal - to produce a new flowering plant.  Some will provide energy to birds and smaller mammals during the colder months.  Or perhaps they'll still be there in the early Spring for the critters that emerge earliest or return as they migrate back to the North.  

Perhaps still others will not have what it takes to germinate, or they will fall in a spot that does not nurture them enough to grow into the plant they could be.  These, too, will still have a purpose as microscopic life breaks them down so they can help to feed those seeds that find themselves in the right spot to emerge and grow.

 
Perhaps the humans at the Genuine Faux Farm will step in and circumvent the process a bit.  Collecting a few seeds and giving them a better chance of becoming next year's flowers.  Or maybe, they'll just let nature do its thing - making its selections as to which seeds will reach their fullest potential.

Every year, we get a few surprises on the farm.  It has been a few years since we planted any hollyhocks here.  Even so, a couple of volunteers popped up in the corner of the plot where we were growing Thelma Sanders squash and pumpkins.  We recognized the plants for what they were and found a way to cultivate around them.

The reward?  A couple of plants with some flowers.

Flowers a bumblebee visited.

Maybe.  Just maybe.  We'll have hollyhocks again next year - even if we don't plant them.

We can hope.  We can dream.  And we can select a few seeds for ourselves too.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

I have to admit, though I don't really want to, that we haven't been pushing very hard to get things planted this season.  Days just go by faster than we can manage to do our jobs, live our lives, AND plant our gardens.

Well, that and the fact that the weather hasn't been particularly friendly to growing things just yet.  The outdoor fields are just now at the point where we could work them.  We do have some things, like the lettuce shown above, in Valhalla (one of our high tunnels).

We planted peas, just like we did last year and the germination has been off.  This is pretty frustrating for us, of course.  But it's what happens sometimes.  We've got a few plants that came up, now we have to decide if it is enough to go with or if we need to start over.  Either way, we'll have to decide soon because delay will do nothing to help the problem.

On the other hand, the potatoes we put into Valhalla are emerging AND looking really good.  It is possible they look better than last year's group we started in the building.  The time is coming soon where we'll need to move the building off of these plants so we can get the late season crops planted.  Hopefully we can get that done in a timely fashion!

The picture above is a Adirondack Red potato plant and the one below is Adirondack Blue.

The germination of the green beans has been scattered, but the row fills out a bit more each day.  So, I am feeling like there isn't anything, other than a quick cultivation that we need to worry about there.  This is why I hesitate a bit with the peas - maybe they'll fill in a bit more?  

But, I know better, we've got what we're going to get in that row and I just have to make a decision.  But, the beans?  They'll be just fine thank you!

I was telling you about the need for our fields to dry out a bit so we could work them and the photo below shows us how we have to hold certain plants UNTIL the ground is ready for them.  The onions shown below are in tubs and we'll do our best to keep them happy until we can transplant them.  Maybe that will happen soon?  I guess we'll just have to see.

On the other hand, we planted the garlic last November and mulched them with straw so they could survive Winter.  It looks like things are good for them this year so far!  Now, we have to find the time to clean up the beds nearby so we can put in our broccoli and cauliflower.  

The bees are pretty happy right now because everything that flowers seems to have decided to flower at once.  Talk about a smorgasbord of choice for the bees!

We are, of course, happy about this.  But we are also looking to do our best to provide them with food for as long during the year as we can.  We've got a few trays of annuals that are going to go into the ground soon and we'll be planting some of their favorites, like borage, soon.

Both hives are looking pretty good so far and I'm starting to see my little friends around the flowering plants.  I have also noticed more bumble bees this year than we have the past few.  I hope this is a trend for our farm, but I know better than to get my hopes up too far.  We have even acknowledged a few butterflies as they flutter by.

The wild bird contingent looks to be close to full force now with the first hummingbird sighting.  So far we haven't seen or heard a Dickcissel - and it is possible we won't this year as it seems they do not consistently go back to the same places every season.  Mr Bunting has been heard and not seen, as have the Common Yellowthroats and their "wichitee whichitee whichitee" song.  Chirpa Chirpa bird has been sighted but heard less than we notice some seasons (Brown Thrasher).  And yes, the chorus of frogs sings a little each evening.  

I know, this last part doesn't sound like I'm answering the title's question (how does your garden grow), but these critters are an important part of how we grow.  If they are doing well, then something is going well enough.

Have a good week everyone!

Organic Seed Choices

The Genuine Faux Farm has been certified organic since 2007 and passed its organic inspection again for the growing season.  We realize that the process for organic certification likely seems like a mystery for many.  We also understand that most people only have a high-level (and likely inaccurate) idea of what it means to hold organic certification.  What certainly does not help is that there have also been incidents where people who know better have abused organic rules and certification for their own profit. 

We would like to try to make a real difference by improving understanding regarding the practices that a producer, such as ourselves, must consider for organic certification.

We hope you take a moment and learn something new (and perhaps interesting) today.  Perhaps that new thing has to do with organic certification! 

If you have interest, we have a post with links to older posts that address how we farm.  If you want something more recent, this recent post includes a section on how we make choices to leave crop residue in the field. 

It Starts With the Seeds

If you want to grow veggies, you either need seeds or starter plants.  And, if you have even done a little bit of growing and have chanced a look at a seed catalog, you realize how quickly you could get overwhelmed by the choices available to you.  I remember, in the days prior to the Genuine Faux Farm, that Tammy and I typically made choices based on how 'interested' we were based on a quick read of the text in a catalog.  Over time, we started to identify a few favorites based on their performance in our gardens.   But, really, the process was far from scientific.  In fact, we admit that we were often swayed by a good name as much as anything!

Oh look!  Supersmeltz!  That sounds like fun! Let's get a packet of that.

Once we became 'commercial' growers of vegetables, our perspectives started to change.  We needed seed that resulted in plants that performed for us.  And, by performance, I mean we needed to get a decent yield of product that looked good enough for people to buy AND it had to taste good.  And that, is the simplified version of what we were looking for as our farm evolved.

Sometimes we were looking for plants that held themselves more upright than other varieties of the same vegetable.  Sometimes we wanted smaller plants.  Sometimes, we wanted more leaf cover. Smaller fruits.  Bigger fruits.  Sweeter taste.  Tangier taste.  Single harvest.  Multiple harvest.  Holding capacity of ripe fruit.

You get the picture.

But, when you are certified organic you have a little bit more to consider as well.

Seed Considerations for Our Certified Organic Farm

I thought we would start with part of our Organic System Plan from 2020.  This is a form provided to us by our organic certifier.

The first thing to remember is that these forms are created for all types of growers.  A row crop farmer may only have five to ten seed types to document.  Our farm, on the other hand, included a list of 214 different seed types in 2020.  And, that was a year where we were cutting back.

Ideally, a certified organic grower would identify a supply of certified organic seed for each and every crop to be grown during a given year.  In and of itself, this is not so terribly hard to do if you have a limited number of crops and you are looking for some of the basic characteristics for success in a given crop.  But, what happens if you grow multiple varieties for an extensive list of crops?

The Case of the Bunte Forellenschus Lettuce

One of the lettuce varieties we have selected for repeated use on our farm is Bunte Forellenschus from Seed Savers.  We like the taste, the growth habit and we have found the proper growing time slot to be successful with this particular variety on our farm.  We are also attracted to heirloom varieties that produce well for us because we feel that it is important to maintain our heritage seeds and crops.  Successfully growing them out and putting them into the market helps maintain this diversity.

As you might guess, finding Bunte Forellenschus in seed catalogs is not always easy.  Seed Savers has carried it ever since we started growing this variety.  But, the seed for this variety has not always been certified organic.  

So, what does our farm do then?

Step one is to do a seed search to see if this variety is offered elsewhere as certified organic.  If we DO find that it is, we need to purchase that seed instead.  When that happens, we aren't always completely satisfied because different strains of a variety can actually exhibit numerous differences.  In other words, Bunte Forellenschus might not be the Bunte Forellenschus we are used to growing.  For that matter, not all seed houses produce the same quality of seed, so germination levels may not be the same.  We usually do not have too much of a problem with this if the seed comes from one of the houses we are used to dealing with.  But, when we find certified organic seed from a seed house we don't usually deal with - buy some of the non-organic seed from a seed house we trust more in case there is an issue with the new supply.

As you might guess, Bunte Forellenschus is not commonly offered by other seed houses other than Seed Savers.  So, it is unlikely that an organic option exists.  At this point, we can technically use the non-organic seed in our operation because there is not an organic option.  However, the spirit of organic certification tells us we should also continue to explore whether there are other speckled varieties that meet the needs of our farm that Bunte Forellenschus does.  Thus, if a certain variety doesn't seem like it will move to certified organic status in following years, we find ourselves trialing other varieties with similar characteristics to show that we are looking for an organic seed source to meet that crop need.

What happens if that fails?   Well, we can keep sourcing Bunte Forellenschus from the seed source as long as it has proper Safe Seed Pledges (as Seed Savers does) and most certifiers will allow this to continue.  However, another option if to start growing the crop out for your own seed supply.  

That sure does sound easy, doesn't it?  Well folks, that opens up a whole new set of record-keeping and processes for a farm that is already busy.  So, while I won't say it isn't a viable option - since we have done this a couple of times.  It isn't as simple as just collecting a few seeds and being happy about it.  Remember, it is not just a garden for our own use - there is a bit more at stake here.

A Quick Summary

If you didn't want to read all of that.  Oh. ups.  You already did?  Well, here's your review.

To be certified organic, a grower must:

1. Source organic seed whenever it is available
2. If it is not available, they must show that they did due diligence in searching for organic options
3. If, a seed variety is not available as certified organic over a period of time, the conscientious organic grower will look for varieties to substitute or will look to produce their own seed if either is possible.
4. The grower must document their searches and be able to justify their choices to the organic inspector or organic reviewer at the certification agency.
5. The grower must maintain sufficient documentation to show the chain of acquisition for seed used in a growing season.  Things like invoices, seed tags and packets, organic certificates and safe seed pledges need to be available.

And now you know.  Thank you for taking a moment to learn more!

Have a good week everyone.

Planting Windows

Most seasons at the Genuine Faux Farm are packed full of activity and it seems that we're always behind on our tasks or very much about to fall behind on our tasks.  This year is, of course, no different from all of the others.  The issue in May through June is that our farm often gets too wet to do field work and our planting windows are shortened because of that.

This year - even though we are reducing the number of crops that are going into the ground - we have restricted our planting windows further.  First of all, there are our work schedules.  If you have a meeting, you have a meeting.  This remains true even if conditions are currently perfect for planting.  If you have a deadline to produce something for your job, you need to meet that deadline - even if you just watered a bunch of lettuce in trays that really would prefer to be in the ground.

Then, there is the reduced available labor on the farm due to a combination of our scaling down and the COVID-19 pandemic.  It's just Tammy and I right now, even though we are reaching out to see who is willing to be on-call workers.  The reality is - the windows for planting are smaller and we're still trying to get it all done as best we can.

That leads us to Thursday of this past week and the marathon that has been the past week for both of us.  The day started with getting the turklets settled - which included scooping out the part of the brooder room that had previously housed the henlets.  Interspersed throughout were phone calls for Tammy with respect to her job as faculty for Wartburg and tasks for Rob with respect to his Pesticide Action Network job.

The afternoon and evening was filled with setting up irrigation, prepping ground for planting and, of course, the actual planting. 

The Inspector... not inspecting - but lounging.  Hmmmm.

As you can see by the photo above, the soil is not in the best condition in this field.  Part of the problem, of course, is that we've had some heavy rains.  Another part of the problem is that we have done some digging for swales in this area this Spring.  The net result is that the ground is hard and it breaks into hard clumps.  It should be better next season after we run a late season cover crop and it goes through a normal freeze/thaw cycle.  But, for now, it is what it is.

And, what it is - is it is darned uncomfortable to kneel or crawl on it.  We did run the tiller through to soften it up a bit, but that still doesn't really solve the problem.  Only time and proper care will do that.

Inspector was sitting next to our young kale plants in the photo above.  But, we also got broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco, cabbage and lettuce planted!  

Speaking of lettuce.  We were pleased that we were able to sell nearly all of our first succession of lettuce before it started to bolt.  This is in large part because Jorgenen Plaza was able to start taking lettuce again AND the Northeast Iowa Foodbank applied a grant they had to purchase some produce from us - to the tune of about 50 pounds of lettuce.

This is something we wish foodbanks could be empowered to do more often.  It isn't about us wanting their money per se.  But, it is about the reality that so many who try to grow for local markets would likely be customers of the food banks themselves if they weren't already raising food they can eat.

Now, before you take this wrong.  We have donated food to the food bank in the past.  We are also regular financial contributors to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank.  I am not saying that to receive praise, I am bringing it up to be clear about my intentions.  It is just easiest if I talk out the idea from the perspective of our farm, rather than pretending to know how everyone else might see it.

What if?

What if a food banks would be empowered to enter contracts with local producers for consistent high quality (and local) produce?  I know this is not an entirely new idea and it likely has been tried (or is being done) in places.  But, I just don't hear about it all that much.

First of all, I suspect many growers, such as ourselves, would be happy to provide contracts that were favorable to the food bank if they are able to do so.  Most of the growers I know already make significant donations of 'excess' produce.  It was a regular occurrence for farmers' market vendors to bag up product still on their tables for either the food bank or another worthwhile organization and send it along with no thought for compensation.  All of that food was perfectly fine and tasty - but they were still the items left behind after a market.

Don't the people who need help deserve some of the best product out there just as much as anyone else?  If a grower had a contract to grow... oh... lettuce, for the food bank, then the food bank would be treated as any other customer.  The grower would expect to provide top product, properly cleaned and packaged per whatever agreement they had.  It would be fresh - not having sat on a market table for three hours.  It wouldn't be a left-over product.

There is another indirect consequence of this idea.  Supporting local growers (local businesses) could help to reduce the desperate need for the food banks themselves.  A consistent growing contract gives the small farm a consistent baseline to work from.  It makes them more likely to hire another individual who could use some income.  And it makes it less likely that the farmers will call it quits and find themselves waiting in line at the food bank themselves.

Yes, yes.  I realize that I might be making this all sound much grander than it would actually be.  But, we get success by doing hundreds of little things that lead to a bigger and better whole.  Could this be an important 'little thing' that might help move us in the right direction?

I'd love to hear comments about this idea if you are willing to share!

Did You Have a Nice?

It's going to happen.

Even though Tammy and I are going to spend most (or all) of Monday on the farm, someone is going to ask us if we had a nice weekend.  Or a nice day.  Or a nice evening. 

Either that, or they'll ask us how we are doing.  

It'll happen in a zoom meeting, or a phone call, or something.  It's fated to happen.

Well, WE were napping, quit taking pictures of us.

It is really just a greeting of sorts, because we expect only a short, undetailed, but pleasant, response to these questions.  It's one thing if the respondent launches into a blow by blow for some wonderful event they participated in over the weekend/evening/thing.  It's a whole different ballgame if someone starts telling you about the very bad, awful, nasty thing that happened or that they're feeling a little depressed.  The normal response is to feel slightly put upon that the person you asked is ACTUALLY trying to answer the question you asked of them. 

How rude. 

Oddly enough, I actually welcome responses to these 'throw away' questions.  First, if I didn't take the time OR just don't know enough to ask a better question of the person with whom I am conversing, then perhaps the gift I can give is to listen carefully to their response and either commiserate or celebrate with them.  On the other hand, I never quite know what to do when I am asked these sorts of questions.

Why?

Because I could possibly answer the question fairly well, but I am not convinced you really want to know.  So, I give a 'throw away' answer for the 'throw away' question.  Maybe that's unfair of me.  Perhaps I should test out my theories and start answering the questions with more care and honesty.  I wonder what will happen?

So, did we have a nice evening?

The temperature was nice, the sky was beautiful, there was a breeze and the fireflies were really lighting things up.  So, that part was pretty good. 

On the other hand, I am writing this blog post and it is 11 pm.  We just got the hens moved out of the Poultry Pavilion room and put them into the portable hen building for the Summer.  Their pasture needs some rest and repair and the hen room needs to be cleaned (like now).  And, the henlets are going to move into the hen room once we clean it.

In short, it's a big project.

And, it is not one that we always enjoy because we can't really start much of it UNTIL the hens get on their perches and go to sleep.  Otherwise, we would have to chase them all over the place and it would take much, MUCH longer to do this task.

In case you hadn't noticed.  The sun goes down pretty late on June 14. 
Also, for those who do not know.  Hens do not like to go to their room and settle down UNTIL the sun goes down.

So, sure.  We had a nice evening.  We accomplished a task - after accomplishing a bunch of other tasks - after a day where we did things.   And now, I want to have a nice session of exploring the inside of my eyelids.

I hope I have a chance to hear someone ask me if I had a nice... whatever... tomorrow.  And, I hope I'll be able to determine if the person asking really wants to know.   Because, if they don't, they might not understand why I start making clucking noises...

Rain, Nota Waterwheel and Blood Donations

In our last post, we mentioned that we were having some long days on the farm because the puddles had finally dried up and we could work in the fields.  There was additional urgency because the forecast had tropical depression Christobal heading our way and dumping all kinds of moisture on us.

As of 8:30pm Tuesday - we had 2 inches of rain on the farm.  The good (ish) news is that it didn't start to drip here until mid to late morning.  That means we could continue to try to slap more crops into the ground.

There will be winter squash here

 We did not complete our workday on Monday until 10:00 pm - and that wasn't just because we were completing farm chores.  The ground was dry enough to run the rotary harrow and prep area for planting.  It's a good thing the tractor has headlights.  This morning, we got up when the sun work us up and we did morning chores.  Then, we set up the mulch layer and put down some mulch rows.

The plan was to put as much as we could into the ground before things got too wet to work.  To be perfectly clear - that does not mean we quit as soon as a few raindrops hit the ground.  In fact, I believe we worked for two to three hours in a light rain before we called it quits.

The good news?  The farmers can still read the weather correctly because they got themselves picked and out of the field moments before the heavier stuff arrived.  That means there were still a few dry spots on the farmers....  but only a few.  My little toe on each foot, I think.

We did manage to get most of those two long rows planted with butternut squash, tan acorn squash and pumpkins.  We still have about 50 foot to go on each row that you see there.

Sadly, we did not manage the 'after' picture because it was... well, it was raining and we wanted to keep the camera dry.  And, frankly, our hands were so muddy, neither of us wanted to try to run the camera.

Many farms that grow vegetables have a tool called a 'water-wheel' transplanter.  This is a tool that is mounted on the back of a tractor.  It has a big tank of water, a wheel that pushes holes into the ground (or mulch) and two seats where people can sit and push plants into those holes.  As the holes are being punched, water is poured into that hole to help the seedling deal with transplant shock.

The Genuine Faux Farm version of the water-wheel transplanter involves, two humans, watering cans and a tub.

Normally, we would lay out drip tape prior to transplanting, but time was short today and we knew lots of rain was coming, so we didn't want to flood the field prior to the rain.  However, we still needed a little help to push the plants into the holes.  So, we taped a short handled dibble onto an old shovel handle to punch holes and we used watering cans to put water into each hole.  Tammy performed this task admirably.  Rob's job was to take a tub of transplants and get them put into the holes.  There was a little extra effort to make sure roots were covered.

Voila!  The GFF water-without-a-wheel transplanter.

Folks, this is a grand illustration of what it is like to be a bit too big for certain farming approaches and a bit too small to be able to use/acquire a specialized tool.

Ouch

The Buffalo Gnats are out in force and the wind was fairly calm prior to the rain.  Both of us were wearing "bug baffler" netting over our heads.  The problem is - the darned varmints figured out how to get through around the neckline.  Yes.  It hurts a bit.  No.  I don't like it. 

And, if you ever wondered why we charge what we do for vegetables - I ask you if you would be willing to plant your produce with these critters clamoring for your blood.  Ok, that was uncharitable of me to say.  Nonetheless, it is a reminder that people with all sorts of jobs put up with all sorts of unpleasantness as a part of those jobs.  Some more dramatic than others.  I remind myself of this often and tell myself that I do not intend to be a person who perpetuates 'unpleasantness.'  Rather, I hope to be respectful and supportive.  I wish I could say I always succeed at that.

A favorite iris flower

And so - I end with something I think is wonderful.  This iris made its appearance on the farm today and it just happens to be one of my all-time favorites.  I am not sure there are any German Bearded Iris I do not like - though I bet I could find one if I looked REALLY hard.  But, if I were forced to select only a few varieties to keep, this would be one.

This stalk sits on my desk, just behind the computer as I type. 

My neck itches and burns a bit, but for some reason I forget about that each time I look at the iris.  But, I still find myself wondering when the puddles will recede so we can finish planting.

Full Days

The puddle by the granary was finally gone.

When you can walk here without sinking, you can work the fields at the Genuine Faux Farm

It is not scientific, but there are just certain puddles that we use as a measure of how close our fields are to being workable.  It turns out that this puddle - which has been full more days than not over the past few years (or so it seems) is as good a barometer for such things as anything else we have.

It was dry enough to walk where that puddle usually is on Sunday morning.

We knew we were in for some long ones.

The southwest field is quickest to dry out.

Our best soil has consistently been in our southwest plot over the years.  Since we are working to put in swales (waterway ditches) in the east and north plots, this area has become a catch-all field this year.  The picture above shows how the southern half looked this morning after we completed chores and started work here.

What you probably can not see are the weeded beet and carrot seedlings.  It certainly is NOT our best stands of either crop.  But, they are weeded - which makes them a decent stand, I guess.

 The garlic went into this field last fall.  Once again, this was because we needed to keep the other fields clear for that moment when we could dig some ditches.  The garlic is looking quite good right now.  We planted about 60% of our prior year plantings, so it will be a bit easier for us to handle the harvest and bundling without the help we usually have for that task.  I'm still not sure if we are looking forward to it.  But, we ARE looking forward to scapes - which we noticed are just now starting on the plants.

We have had plenty of rain recently - which is why we are pushing so hard now.    Lots of rain usually means lots of weeds.  So, of course, there was lots of cultivation and weeding going on Saturday and Sunday.  The zucchini and summer squash look much better now than they did when I took this picture on Saturday.

The Siberian Iris are putting on a display too!  We started with just a dozen plants about fifteen years ago and now we have several patches of them throughout the farm.  They do not bloom long and don't look like much the rest of the season.  But, right now - they are fantastic.

I did try to apologize for the hot, strong winds over the past couple of days that took their toll on the flowers.  But, I couldn't really do much about it except be thankful that the flowers have thrived over the years.

Oh look! An inadvertant farmer selfie!

 After some wheel hoe and hand hoe action, we have a pretty clean field now.  The borage planted between the garlic patches is pretty clean too!

So, why borage there, of all places?  Well, we intend on using some of the garlic space for late zucchini, summer squash and cucumber.  We are hopeful that we can have some nice habitat to keep pollinators interested later in the season - and maybe cucumber frog will like this sanctuary!

We also managed to put in some paper mulch for the melons that are going in this area.  The ground was  still a little on the damp side, so we had to break up some clumps and push them into the trench on one side of the mulch.  When the soil is a bit mellower, this isn't as much of a big deal.

We admit it isn't necessary to do this for the plants.  It's more for the humans that have to walk this area.  If we don't flatten it a little and get the chunks broken down, we're just asking for a few sprained ankles in the future.  Since we don't like sprained ankles... here we are, breaking up clumps.

And hey!  The wild daisies are blooming on the farm too.  It seems that they were pretty happy to see the farmers out and about.  It turns out that daisies are an extroverted flower - they like to interact with humans.  Most have a sunny disposition and leave you with at least a little smile on your face.

Here's hoping the rain holds off a bit longer so we can finish up some more of these tasks on Tuesday morning!