Bucking Tradition

Tammy likes peonies.  So, we have some peonies.  Some people like them, others don't.  That's just the way peonies are.  I recall that Mom doesn't like them, probably because of the ants that like to crawl all over the unopened blooms.  I spent a couple of summers making sure to mow down the peony plant that kept trying to grow next to our front door sidewalk.

Eventually, it did give up.

In Iowa, you can find peonies, some decades old, at most farmhouses and at many homes in small towns.  They tend to bloom around Memorial Day and they can be quite beautiful to look at.

Unless tradition is followed.

The tradition, as I saw it for much of my life, was that peonies would just approach peak bloom and we'd have a storm of some kind.  That storm would beat those flowers to pieces and that would be it.  Until next year.

We've been bucking that tradition for a few years running.  This year, we simply broke tradition by not having ANY rain.  And the peonies looked quite beautiful.  

While I am not saying I don't want any rain, I will agree that it's nice to give the peonies a chance to look good every so often.

It makes Tammy happy, so that's a good thing.  Right?

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.

Flurry, Snow Squall, or Just Annoying

It was the end of the day on Friday and everyone in the Genuine Faux Farm household was feeling tired.  And, by everyone, I mean Rob and Tammy.  Bree was simply happy that the humans were sitting still so that she could perch herself on a human's lap.  We were indulging in watching a video after eating dinner and I found that I was a bit trapped with Tammy laying down and putting feet in my lap and Bree sitting on Tammy's feet.

I happened to look out the window and I saw this squall line to our west.  We have certainly seen these before in prior years, so it wasn't entirely new.  But, they can be pretty dramatic - especially if the sun is pretty low in the western sky and it gets blocked by the rapidly moving flurry of snow.  It looks pretty surreal when sunbeams peak through a few cracks in the wall of clouds and snow.

But, I was stuck, so there wasn't going to be a chance to take a picture.  And that's fine.

Once the clouds got to us there was a few solid minutes of horizontal snow that rapidly covered surfaces and made little "ticking" sounds as individual flakes hit the window pane.  Once the show was over and Bree and Tammy were willing to move, I got up and recorded a picture or two.

I think many (but not all) who live in Iowa might agree that snow is actually welcome to cover some of the bleak winter landscape.  But, in my mind, it is a whole different matter when the grass has greened up as much as ours has over the last couple of weeks.  The contrast was actually quite beautiful to see between the rich green color and the fresh white snowfall.

But, I am not sure the snow, despite the fact that it would melt quickly, was really all that welcome this time around.  Most of the time, I find that I am pretty philosophical about snowfall in April.  It happens and you need to expect it to happen.  But for some reason I have been annoyed by the recent cool weather and snow.

Thinking about it, I have been annoyed when we've had nice weather days lately too because I haven't been able to get out and enjoy them.  Maybe it's not the weather, it's just me.

I'm even tempered - always annoyed.

Horizontal Snowfall

The warm weather last week had us all thinking very strong Spring-time thoughts - and I'm not just talking about the humans in the room.  Our Farm Supervisory Crew (Inspector, Soup and Murphy) were less than overjoyed by the weather on Sunday that started with strong, cold winds and a temperature that was not much over the freezing mark.  The hens barreled out of their shelter as they normally do in the morning, but they were very much wanting to be inside by the time we got to mid-afternoon, when the winds really got going.

It is mid-April in Iowa, so temperatures and weather like this is certainly not out of the question.  As a matter of fact, I can only recall one season that didn't tease us like this with nice warm temperatures before opening the door for Old Man Wynter at least one more time.

The plants that normally begin to show up in early Spring have been very patient this year - moving very slowly as if they knew something was up.  But, like the rest of us, they couldn't help themselves.  While we were getting used to doing chores outside without gloves and less than three layers of clothing, the Daffodils, Surprise Lilies, Bluebells, Lungwort and other similar plants sprang up from the ground and even started.  We even had one daffodil open up on Sunday morning - in time to be encased in snow and ice.

The wind encouraged the snow to stick to vertical surfaces and wedged flakes in the crevasses that could found in bark and the sides of buildings.  A small hole in one outbuilding resulted in snowflakes fluttering down on me as I was attempting to do work with the mistaken belief that the snow would not reach me there.  It often amazes me how well some strong wind and a little snow can illustrate for me that there are some things that need repair that I hadn't considered to be all that important only hours before.

Even our Indoor Supervisor, Bree, could sense that the winds had changed (so to speak).  The windows that had been open in the days prior were now securely closed.  The temperature in the farm house was a bit lower than it had been for several days in a row.  

All of the signs pointed to finding good places to take catnaps.  If she could take them where the humans were, all the better.  Initially, near the humans was a good option.  But as the day wore on, this changed to being ON the humans.

I guess we said we wanted a lap cat when we brought Bree and Hobnob home, didn't we?

We know from past experience that the Lungwort and other similar plants will survive this cold snap and the snow.  They might be set back a little bit, but they will continue to bloom and the temperatures will rebound.  But, on Sunday (and Monday) they shivered with the rest of us and wondered if perhaps returning to their winter naps might be preferable to what they were dealing with in this moment in time.

Of course, I couldn't help myself.  The reversal in weather conditions after so much of the plant life had decided it was safe to emerge and maybe even flower grabbed my attention and my imagination.  I grabbed the camera and went out to see what I could capture.

Then after a couple of shots I went back in and grabbed my coat.  Yes, Spring often requires that we be prepared to make adjustments.  Even if we would really rather not do so.

The Magnolia blossoms were pretty certain the time was now and they were swelling rapidly last week, only to stall and "freeze" in place as the snow flew.  There was even one bloom that had opened about a quarter of the way.  It was still holding the same shape throughout the snow on Sunday and into Monday.  It was almost as if it heard the March Lion roar and it stopped moving in hopes that it wouldn't be seen and be spared from a mauling.

The forecast is calling for some nicer days in the near future - and by nicer I mean, warmer than this.  But, we won't be going back to 70s and 80s for temperatures for a while.  Perhaps that will be a blessing for us?  Maybe the blooms will unfurl a bit more deliberately and the greenery will reach to the sun a bit slower than it had been doing.  It could actually give us a chance to appreciate Spring at a pace that we can handle, rather than jumping directly to Summer.

Whichever way it goes, we'll do our best to participate and appreciate.

Reaching the Potential of Early Spring

I took a quick walk around the farm yesterday with the knowledge that I could not spend much more time than that outside.  Such is my life now that I work full-time for Pesticide Action Network.  I have to ration my farm time and actively seek a balance between both jobs.  I tell myself that it is still early and that there are many things that have to wait a while yet.  But, I know the truth.

This period of time before things start greening up and growing is one of the best times to clean things up and get the preparations done that will make the growing season that much easier.  Now is the time to rediscover fence posts that were left where they shouldn't be and to free up things that I allowed weeds to grow around last fall that I need to have access to soon.  There is this beautiful window of time where it is warm enough to do the work without being bundled up to the point where you have to turn your whole body to see to your left or right.  

It's even better because this hasn't been a super wet early Spring either.  It's dry enough that I can actually get everywhere I need to go without having to acquaint everything from my knees down to mud once again.

The trick, of course, is actually motivating myself to get out there and do the things that I need to do.  It's the same trick that I need to use to get my farm office work done - which is the same trick I need to use to keep getting my PAN work done.  

Now, if I could remember what that trick was, I'd be in good shape.

'Tis the Season

Several years ago, Tammy and I opted to purchase a small, used, Christmas tree.  Okay.  The full truth is that Tammy decided to purchase the small, used, Christmas tree.  It was a tree that had some lights pre-strung.  All we had to do was set it where we wanted it and then plug it in.

Instant decoration for our Christmas holiday season.  

Now, everyone that knows someone who works in and around academics is aware that the impending end of semester work is all-encompassing.  Once the final grades are all in, a person who works at a college looks up at the calendar and is shocked to realize that they have only a couple of days until the actual holiday.

And they haven't even considered putting up decorations or baking cookies or... whatever holiday traditions they might have enjoyed in their life prior to entering academics.

It is not that other jobs aren't active right up until the holiday - they most certainly are.  It's more the fact that teaching just eats more and more AND MORE time as finals approach.  There often is no room for thoughts about much else.  So, the tradition for the two of us is to look at each other and say, "well if we want any decorations up before Christmas, it's got to be today!"  And that day is often something like December 23.

Once the little tree is up, we leave it lit for the next few months.  None of this taking the tree down on January 6th for us!  After all, it hasn't even had a chance to be enjoyed by then!  And, during the darkest months, we find it soothing as it gives off it's gentle, colorful glow.  It's a seasonal night-light at a time when the nights can seem so long and so oppressive.

And now, as the daylight hours increase, we finally took our tree down.  Our goal is to unplug the tree and put it away around the second week of March each year.  This happens to be about the time one of our Christmas Cactus decide they're going to re-bloom.

It isn't always the same plant, but we usually have at least one throw out a bloom or three around this time.  Our little friend that honored us with flowers this year actually gave us some blooms in between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it seemed like it was holding something back then.  And, sure enough, it gave us some bold and beautiful blooms for March this year.

Flowers are a different kind of light that shines during our daytime hours.   The color and form of a flower soothes us in a way not unlike that Christmas tree and its lights do when the night is darkest.  And maybe that's really all we need sometimes - some light to remind us that all is not dingy, drab or depressing.

At the Crossroads of Spring and Winter

Yesterday was a typical "early Spring" rainy day.  There is still frost in the ground, so the puddles were bound to form more quickly as the soil resists absorbing the moisture.  The only hints of green that I was able to discern came from the moss on the oak trees.  By this time of year, even our evergreen trees are less green than they are for much of the year.  Their color has been dulled and they exhibit a bit of brown and yellow.

The grasses are not yet ready to come out of dormancy and some of the plants that have emerged are still nestled in the residue of plant matter from the past growing season.  I've noticed that daffodils and crocus have broken the surface of the ground, but they aren't quite interested in exposing themselves above the leave litter and mulch that we are keeping in place for a while yet.

We are at the crossroads between seasons.  There are still crisp, frosty days in sight.  Many of those days are certainly behind us, as this picture illustrates - but they could also still make an appearance in our future.  This is my yearly reminder to all of us that we've gotten measurable snow as late as May 4 on the farm since we have been here.

Ahead of us are also days that hold the awakening of our trees and perennial plants.  Already some of our birds are returning and speaking to us of nests, tasty insects, gentle rains and a new generation soon to arrive.  But yesterday, they were more interested in shelter than conversation.

For now, we stand at the crossroads.  It is here that things are brown, muddy and, frankly, difficult to love.  As a farmer, we often refer to this time as "mud season."  It's too early to do many things and too late to do others.  It's a crossroads that we stand at, preparing and waiting to begin our journey down the path of Spring.

The redemption for this time lies in what we can see from here.  We can still see the beauty of a hoarfrost on the trees and we can also sense the impending promise that Spring always provides.  While things may not seem attractive today, we cannot and should not miss the beauty that surrounds us at the crossroads.  This beauty comes from the great value that preparation for change has in this world.  Not every moment is glorious and invigorating.  And, just because these moments are not those things, it does not make them any less important - and any less valuable.

So, while you and I might not identify these days as our favorites, we still need to respect the process and remember that things that are important and necessary have no requirement to also be attractive to us, as human beings.  There are others on this Earth that find things beautiful that we do not, and for reasons that we can't fathom.  That's where I find value for this world at the crossroads.

DIY CLB ID

It's been no secret that Tammy and I both enjoy hearing, seeing and recognizing the wild birds that make the Genuine Faux Farm their seasonal home.  There are even a few wild birds that appear to consider this place their year-round home too.  

We feel as if our farm has been getting an increasing amount of variety over the years, largely because we have been allowing some places to be wild and we have added a little more diversity in the landscape around us.  But we also need to be truthful with ourselves that some of the added diversity might simply be because we did not know enough to identify some of the birds.

We still call many of the smaller wild birds "CLBs," which stands for "Cute Little Bird."  These critters are often hard to spot, and when you do, they are often backlit so you only see a silhouette.  Or, even more likely, they move so much amidst the leaves that you aren't going to get much more than a glimpse of them.  So, unless they are extremely bright and have an easy to spot characteristic that identifies them, we're not going to be sure what we have just observed.

photo from wikimedia commons

Tammy added the Merlin Bird ID app to her phone recently and we've enjoyed just letting the audible identification system give things a try.  We recognize that the microphone has limited abilities to pick things up and the app itself may have a tough time picking out one song out the clamor that often fills our ears in the mornings around here.  That might be because we have birds like Mr. Wren belting out his tune so often and frequently that it is difficult to hear anyone else in the choir.  Between him and the Common Sparrows that like to try and nest near the windows of our house, it is a wonder that the app picks anything else up.

We've also been going to the Sweet Marsh Wildlife Area to view the birds there.  Of course, we give ourselves the chance to see Sandhill Cranes, American White Pelicans and Trumpeter Swans when we go there.  Of those, only the Sandhill Cranes have been spotted near the farm unless it is a flyover during migration.  These are often just short trips where we sit in the car or truck with the windows down and enjoy the sights and sounds.  We don't quite get into it like Kip Ladage, who captures so many amazing bird images.  Both of us are fascinated by Belted Kingfishers, so I grabbed this image from Kip's site.  In a very real way, his willingness to put these photos on the web can help with our own bird ID too! 

One CLB (Cute Little Bird) that we were pleased to identify on our farm with the help of the Merlin Bird ID app is the Yellow Warbler.  We certainly have decent habitat for them, but they aren't going to put themselves right out there for you to see them like a Goldfinch, for example.  It turns out that these little birds might be a bit like a slightly shy House Wren.  Why?  Well, they sing... and they apparently sing a LOT.  Below is a photo from Kip's site (once again, I encourage you to visit!).  And, yes, the bird is singing in that picture.

We're still trying to get some of the songs for newly identified birds into our heads.  This is a bit tougher than you might think - especially when there are so many different birds vying for our attention.

There are some birds that the two of us have known for much of our lives.  The songs of Robins, Cardinals, Killdeer and Blue Jays are imprinted into our memory banks along with their names and how they look.  Other birds have songs that just seem to stick with you once you get it identified, such as the Common Yellowthroat.  Others are pretty insistent that you learn their song, like the Dickcissel, and yet others are so different that you don't have much choice but to remember once you figure out who it is - like the Ring-necked Pheasant.

But, bird song can be fairly complex and we would be mistaken to think that each bird knows only one tune.  Yes, it is true that they have their favorites, but even Reeeechard (the Dickcissel) will vary his tune a bit - as we noticed this past morning.

Over the past year or so, we can say, without exaggeration, that we have confirmed sightings of 45 to 50 different birds on the farm and found evidence of another five to ten.  This does not count the "fly-overs" of birds like the Great Blue Heron that often uses our place as a marker to go from point A to point B.

But we still have yet to lay eyes on the elusive Yellow Warbler at the farm.  That CLB is out there, we know it!  But will we be able to spot one at the farm this year?  Who knows?  But, I wouldn't be surprised if their mouth is open when we do.

Whoops, We Blinked

Prior to this week, the highest temperature recorded at the farm for the year was 73 degrees Fahrenheit, and we got there (barely) only once.  Otherwise, conditions have been cooler than normal.  And, if you add a bit more cloud cover and rain, you get soil temperatures that tell the plants it is NOT time yet.

Mix in a LOT of wind, and you have the past couple of months.

You've got to know things are a bit topsy turvy when your Bur Oak trees are budding out at the same time all of the other trees are deciding they can begin to unfurl their leaves.  For those who do not know, oaks are among the slowest to decide it is time to greet the new growing season.

Pasque Flowers at the farm are among the first to bloom, along with the Crocus.  The violets usually aren't too far behind that in the sheltered areas.  And, our Forsythia bushes are also typically anxious to show color earlier than most other woody perennials.

This year, the early bloomers are hesitating and the mid season blooms are looking like they want to get going.  The result is this compressed bloom cycle.  The Virginia Bluebells are just getting themselves going right now.  The Lungwort (first picture) were among the hardy few that managed to adhere to the normal schedule, but that may have to do with its location near the front steps of the house more than anything.

Well, I might have offended the Fernleaf Peonies too.  They also are a fairly stubborn perennial.  Maybe you can relate to the Fernleaf Peony?  Gosh darn it!  The calendar says today is the day that I should emerge from the soil and begin to grow.  So, I'm a gonna do it!  

Actually, the ground has been unfrozen for some time now, which means plants that just need the frost to be out should have been able to get going.  This is, I think, where the cloudy conditions have played a role, because I would think the Pasque Flower would fall into this as well.  But, with the way this year has gone, weather wise and plant growth wise, I am kind of giving up predicting what's next.

In all seriousness (as if I wasn't serious before), we have experienced these conditions at the Genuine Faux Farm in prior growing seasons - and they probably bother all-season growers of diverse crops more than most.  Yes, I get it.  The corn and soybean growers are having trouble getting into the fields to plant.  That's frustrating.  But, consider this:

A diversified vegetable producer will have, among their crops, many cool season crops that they are trying to nurse through cooler weather so they can harvest and provide fresh produce in late April and May.  These things do still need sunshine to grow.  But, when we get temperatures hitting the low 90s all of a sudden, those crops DO NOT LIKE IT.  As a result, many of them bolt (go to seed) and fail to provide much return for the grower.

In the meantime, the diversified grower is ALSO delaying many of their other crops (just like the row croppers) that need the warmer weather.  That puts them into the bind that their early crops terminate too early and their mid-season and late crops are all delayed.

Yep.  It can be frustrating.  Which is why I am glad we are not trying to run a CSA program this year.  Tammy and I have sweated out enough season starts like this in our careers and we're willing to take a different perspective on growing now.  But, it doesn't mean this weather isn't effecting us at all.

The biggest problem for us this year is that the number of hours we have to work on the farm are much more limited than they have been for years prior (except last year, of course - the kidney thing).  When Mother Nature decides to jump us from late Winter to mid-Summer in a couple of days, it is even harder for us to catch up on all of the work that just got compressed into a much smaller period of time.

Well, at least the peonies are coming up now too.  They should be on pace to bloom by Memorial Day - just in time for a rain and wind storm to come along and beat all of the petals off of the full blooms right when they are reaching their full glory.

We'll know then that things are back on track - because it happens nearly every year.

Frost Blanket

 Just last Wednesday, we shared on our blog all of the "Farm Progress" that we had made with the help of many others.  And now we remind everyone of the perilous line we often walk as we do our best to make the right decisions about how - and when - we do certain farming tasks.

 Generally speaking we were past our "last frost date" for our area, which typically gives us the "green light" for planting more sensitive crops into the ground.  If you take the link in the prior sentence, it will show you the typical last and first frost dates where the odds of a frost at that point reach a 10% chance mark.  The closest location to our farm is New Hampton, which shows April 29 as still having a 50% chance of a frost in that period and May 9th reaches the 10% mark.

Our history at the farm tells us we do not match up with that and we normally accept May 20 as being pretty safe.  For comparison, Waterloo hits the 10% mark on May 12, Mason City on May 14 and Decorah at May 23.  From those dates, the frost chance continues to go down - of course - until we reach September.

This explains why we had frost at the Genuine Faux Farm on May 29th.

 

The set up was actually classic.  Full moon within days of the event.  A rainy and windy system where the temperatures have trouble getting out of the 40s all day, but stay in the 40s at night because of the cloud cover.  Then, the clearing starts in the evening, just an hour or so before sunset and wind doesn't die down until then too....  Once the skies clear, the temperatures plummet and the frost forms in the wee hours of the morning.  We see this pattern nearly every Fall - but we are most unfamiliar with it in the Spring (thank goodness!).

The issue for us this year?  Well, we were actually doing pretty well with getting things in the ground this Spring.  We moved Valhalla, which exposed green beans, snow peas, potatoes and other crops to the elements.  We put in about 1100 row feet of cucumbers and melons.  And, we slapped in shorter rows of winter squash, pumpkins and summer squash.

Typically, peas would be fine - except they were really flowering - and getting hit with frost would certainly cut into that production.  The green beans would probably be finished.  The potatoes would get singed and set back a little, but would likely bounce back.  All of the vine crops would probably be finished since they are still seedlings at this point.  

In short - not a good thing.

So we did what neither of us really wanted to do, get the row covers out and do our best to protect all of the sensitive crops.  We had just received about 1.3 inches of rain, so things were muddy - and there was still a bit of a breeze.  In short, this was not a picnic. If you've every walked in mud before, you know how you "get taller" as more and more mud adheres to your footwear.  You also know how much harder it gets to move with every step.

And, we're doing all of this when we're actually ready to wind down for the day - this has been especially true for Rob since the surgery.  But, we had to wind-up so we could get this done.

The next day, I went out with the camera to document things as I started to uncover.  The temps were hitting the upper 40s by this time, so most of the frost had melted.  Although, there was still some on the clover in a shaded area (see below).

The row covers were extremely wet and my pants got soaked after removing just one section of row cover.  After some of that work, I decided it might be better to leave things out to dry a bit more (that didn't work - more later).  I also noted, with some amount of disgust, that the local deer thought our row covers were fascinating.  They walked all over the covers we put over the cucumbers in the Eastfarthing (our East fields).

Looks like we're going to have to do more with deer control this year.

Thus far, it looks like most of the crops we covered will be fine.  There was some evidence of burning on some of the beans where there were holes in the cover.  We consider this proof that we would have had NO crop if we hadn't got the covers out.  There were some minor issues in the peas as well.

The cucurbit rows where we had hoops fared better than those that did not.  There were sections of the cucumbers that we're not sure if they will grow through their issues.  And, there were cucumbers that were crushed by deer walking on them (and the cover).  There were some plants, such as sunflowers and zinnias, that we had seeded and did not cover.  They were not looking as happy as we would like, but I think most will recover.

We'll wait and see.  If they don't - we'll till them in and try again I guess.

In the end, we uncovered our crops and took the row covers to grassy areas to finish drying before we could roll them up.  I think that was mid-afternoon before we could really consider doing that.

So, that's the fine line we often walk with our farming.  We know that some of the wettest weeks of the year at our farm typically run from the 3rd week of May until the 3rd week of June.  At least that has been the case since about 2008.  This makes our planting windows extremely tricky.

We have to find soil conditions dry enough to prep and plant.  But, we have to gauge the likelihood that we might be putting certain crops in too early and risk a frost.  We made a judgement call that we needed to put as much in the ground as we could before this last rain.  After all, it will probably be several more days before it will be dry enough to plant again.... which means we are suddenly in June and time grows short.

Maybe it will work out.  Maybe it won't.  But, I still think it was the right call for the circumstances of the year.  I can live with that.

Here's to some fresh snow peas in the coming week - I'll take that as a reward!

Farm Progress

 I finally got the gumption to go out with the camera today and then nearly forgot I had it with me.  Of course, once I realized I had it and started taking pictures, the battery ran out of juice.  Sometimes that's just how it goes.  But, I did get enough to take everyone on a little bit of a tour of the accomplishments of the last week or so.

Our recent flurry of activity started before the 16th, but I do think that's about the time I was able to participate a bit more fully than I had been.  Our good friends from Blue Gate Farm came up and helped us get Valhalla moved from the East to the West growing position.  Moving the high tunnel is a pretty decent task that has many steps, so it always feels good once the process is completed.

You can actually see a couple of accomplishments if you look at the picture above.  Valhalla in its new spot AND the field to its right has been prepped for planting.  The area closest to the building is 75% planted and has even been cultivated once.  The swale in the middle is getting some decent clover established at the West end at least.  And we ran a few rows of sweet corn to the right of the swale.  

This is more sweet corn than we need - but we figure the extra sweet corn is Rob's opportunity to learn how to use a new piece of cultivating equipment!  (more on that on a later date)

When we moved Valhalla we uncovered some crops that we had started INSIDE the building.  They are now OUTSIDE the building - which was by design. The snow peas are really getting going with the flowers and the potatoes and green beans are way ahead of where crops like these would normally be on May 25.  The lettuce at right looks pretty good too!  Let's just say we're feeling pretty good about how we are handling the high tunnels this year so far.

Unfortunately, as I looked back West when I trotted on out to Valhalla, I recognized some clouds that were a little less encouraging from my perspective.  What we really do not need is hail, now that we've uncovered these wonderful looking crops.  

The inside of Valhalla in its new position is now 80% planted.  We've got four rows of bell peppers (Napoleon Sweet) that we are growing for seed (Seed Savers).  At the far left are a row of tomatoes.  And, there are a couple rows of crops that we've seeded... so needless to say, you can't see plants now.... be patient, they'll show up eventually!

Our good friend, Mark Quee, from Scattergood Friends School came up and helped us prepare the ground and repair the roll up side on the left side.  It was really good having a chance to touch base with him AND we managed to get some things done we really wanted done.  It's hard not to be pleased by things like that!

Once the high tunnel was moved, we changed our focus to moving the broiler chickens into their portable buildings and onto pasture.  Tammy and her sister Brenda (also our good friend) pretty much handled this task.  There wasn't much more I could do than drive the tractor and pull the buildings into place.  

The process is essentially to place the buildings, catch the chickens in the brooder room and put them into crates and then move those crates to the buildings and let the birds out.  Sounds simple until you realize you need to bring out feeders and waterers...and food and water.  And, oh yeah... we need to set up the electric fences and the solar chargers so we can protect the birds.

Since that time we've moved the buildings every other day - that process is for another day.

Then, there are the bees.

We have had one active hive for several weeks now (at right above) which we were able to acquire soon after we realized all three of our previous hives had collapsed over the Winter.  We had two more on order and we had to pick them up sometime last week.  

That meant a nice long drive to Mt Vernon for Tammy and then some quality time in the bee suit setting them up.  One went in the same location as the first hive.

The second hive is in a new location by some of our apples in the orchard area.  We like this location right now, but we're trying to figure out if we'll need to do something more during the Winter months for this location.  I think we have time to work on dealing with that...

But, we all know how things sneak up on you when you work a farm!

Are you getting tired of this update yet?  Well, if you need a break, that's fine.  Go use the restroom or get something to drink.  I'll wait....

Ok.  Time's up!

So, the plot you see above is called "Middle Earth" on our farm.  We planted some sunflowers and corn earlier and had some germination issues with those.  So, in the past week, we tilled most of that under to try again.  We also planted a row of pumpkins, watermelons and winter squash (and a few flowers).  There are borage seedlings at the right too.  We've even managed to cultivate this field once are replant the corn and sunflowers. 

We're hopeful that this field will turn out the way we want it to.

I didn't get a picture of the southwest plot where we put in summer squash and zucchini and cultivated the carrots and beets.  I almost forgot that task happened in the last ten days too!

Eden has gotten the royal treatment as well.  Five staff members from Practical Farmers of Iowa took a trip to the Genuine Faux Farm last Friday and provided willing hands to make numerous tasks just that much easier.  They also made sure I wasn't trying to lift too much too!

Sally, Liz, Alisha, Lydia and Michael provided us with good conversation and helped us complete a long list of tasks - even with wetter conditions limiting our options.  Once again, good friends (both old and new) made us feel as if we were valued.  It's pretty hard not to feel positive after all of this.

The edges of the high tunnel needed attention, both inside and out.  We cultivated all of the beds, put up fencing for the melons, cage the tomatoes and put up some poles for the tomatoes that will need trellising.  

It's looking really good now!  And, it is completely planted.  

Now, for some truth in advertising.  Yes, both farmers DID participate in the labor here.  Rob can effectively wield a wheel hoe or a trapezoid hoe and he can even run Barty, our tiller.  But, there is no way we get all of this done (including taking some old chicken buildings apart and organizing a couple of areas in our buildings) without the help.

Yesterday's tasks included desperately trying to get things put into the ground before the fields were made too wet once again.  Rob managed to get the broccoli and cauliflower in (the small green dots at the left) by himself.  The two 400 foot rows of cucumbers were completed with help from Kory and Daniel (and Tammy of course).  

These cucumbers are serving a double purpose.  We are growing A&C Pickling cucumber for Seed Savers AND we are using them for a PFI research trial.  They needed to get into the ground!

In the background, you can see the red roof of the 2nd broiler chicken building.  As we went out last night to close their door (after the storm rolled through) we were able to check on the new plants and they looked fine.  We appear to have dodged the hail and pounding rains - thank goodness!

Rob even ran the wheel hoe by the onions.

I know I missed a whole host of things and I hope I didn't miss anyone who lent a hand during this flurry.  If I did - call me on it.  It's my blog and I can fix it!

Have a great day everyone!

Hurry Up and Wait

The month of April at the Genuine Faux Farm is always "Hurry Up and Wait" time.

April weather in Iowa can be beautiful one day and blustery and cold the next.  One moment, you're thinking you could put some tomatoes in and the next you're glad you didn't because those same tomatoes would probably be dead if you had.

If there's anything we've learned - it's that you need to be patient in April.  There's still plenty you can (and should) do.  But, getting ahead of yourself usually just leads to more, not less, work.

This year is a bit different.  With the unfortunate timing of the surgery to remove a kidney, we find ourselves being pressed to get as much as is possible done prior to the surgery - simply in hopes that we can keep up after the surgery.

This is where we should probably be thankful for the cold periods that prevent us from getting TOO far ahead of ourselves.  Except that it will be hard to do some of these things when it does warm up.  I need to remember not to expect too much of myself for a little while.

And, no, I don't have to like it.

Our goals right now include getting the potatoes in and having both high tunnels planted... well, mostly planted.  There are some things that still need to wait.

We'd like to get the hens moved to their Summer Cottage and to a new pasture - but we decided it would be better to wait on that one.  It makes no sense having to deal with all of the little things that happen when poultry experience something new... there's always a bit of work that comes from that.  As a result, we know we won't get the old pasture re-seeded, nor will we get the room cleaned out.

We've already decided that we can't move Eden to the west position - the winds just stayed too heavy for us to move it.  So, we'll grow in the same spot again this year, even though that's not what we want.  But, we did get some help putting some compost into the growing beds, so that will help us deal with the situation.

We make adjustments every single year.  We always accept that some things are not the way we wanted them to be.  This year is no different, even if the challenge presented to us is not quite the same.

We got the next batch of seed trays started and we got Casa Verde (the little green house) recovered so it can be used.  Fields will be prepared for planting and our first batch of bees are settled and doing reasonably well. 

Over the last week, we've done a decent job of getting things done on all fronts.  But, there are simply too many fronts.  So, we'll continue to rush around until the last minute - so we can wait for a while - until our own personal weather system calms and we can walk in the sun again.

Waking Up

 It really wasn't that many days ago that we were talking about how the cold changes things at the farm.  Our pictures featured snow or frost and the only additional colors we tended to get occurred when the sun was setting and the wind was blowing at the same time - giving us something like this:

Here we are in early April and the natural world is waking up around us.  Well, truth be told, the natural world has been waking for some time.  It's just that we humans sometimes need to have some really obvious signs to actually catch our notice.  

Crazy Maurice has been showing off his yellow branches for a several weeks now, indicating that he was rousing from his cold weather slumber.  As he mentioned in last week's blog, he's been watching the world turn and reconnecting with his tree acquaintances on the farm.

Maurice is now in full flower and the green leaves are starting to unfurl.  He is really quite a handsome fellow and we're glad he's anchoring the northeast corner of our farm.  After our discussion for last week's blog he pointed out that I had not taken a recent portrait - so we took care of that during a recent walkabout.

I realize most folks start to talk about Spring when they see the daffodil, crocus and other bulbs poking up from the ground.  After all, it is true that they are among the first green and growing things that make themselves known.  I am, of course, happy to see them preparing to bloom.

 And some of the blooms are a little quicker to open than others.  Most of our daffodils have not opened, but a few of them were brave and decided they couldn't wait any longer.  I thought this particular bloom was doing a fine job of looking good with rain droplets adorning its petals.

Sadly, daffodils don't last very long on the farm because they are usually opening when the heavy April winds are blowing things around pretty good.  

But, I think this is true for most flowers - they never last as long as I wish they would.  That is why I remind myself to stop and enjoy them whenever I notice them.  After all, a whole year's worth of sunlight conversion and energy storage have gone into producing these flowers and I don't want to fail to acknowledge that effort.

Crazy Maurice and I were also talking a bit about Pasque flowers because they are always among the first flowers on the farm each year.  The first flowers that pop up from these plants often represent most of the volume of the plant that is above ground early on.  But, not to worry, the greens will catch up with the flowers.  If all goes well, each plant will reward us with multiple flower stalks and a bloom period that may last a few weeks.  We'll take it!

 

Another early bloomer at the farm are the Forsythia bushes that we have placed in a few locations.  Those that reside on the borders of the farm have to fight a bit, but the one that is not far from the house is a happy plant.  Apparently the combination of just a little shelter from the harshest elements (and the neighboring fields) means something. 

What makes a Forsythia standout is the fact that they are typically covered in flowers - and that coverage seems to happen overnight.  I tried to pay attention this year and I just wasn't seeing the buds swelling.  Then, suddenly... POOF!  Flowers.

There are so many of these yellow flowers on a Forsythia that it can be pretty hard to isolate a few of them for inspection.  

By themselves, I think it would be safe to say that they are not terribly eye catching.  Don't get me wrong, I do like them and I did appreciate seeing them up close and personal.

The strength of a Forsythia and its flowers is that it shows off almost before any other plant.  Sure, the grass has greened up some.  But, nearly every other woody plant is still pretty barren. If you want to call attention to yourself, be audacious and flower before anyone else does!

All too soon, the green leaves will come in and the yellow petals will drop.  Other, showier blooms will begin drawing our attention away from the Forsythia as it goes about the business of growing and storing energy.

Before that happens, I will go out and appreciate these bushes each day.  They exhibit the beauty that a group, working in concert, can achieve.  It is something we could all aspire to.

Another early season perennial that surprises me every year - even though I know it well - is the Lungwort.  These are shade loving plants that show off before most of the other perennials have pushed anything up out of the soil for the year.  By the time we get to June, there won't be so much of them to see.

Right now, they are growing - and growing fast!  I took a picture of them one day and then again two days later and the plants had tripled in size and in the number of flower clusters they had showing.  The blooms start as a pinkish red before they open and turn to a soft blue-violet.  

If you have any Lungwort and you are able to do so, give yourself permission to get down on their level.  Sure, they look nice from a distance.  But, there is so much more to them that you can observe with a closer inspection.

Some folks might be more familiar with Virginia Bluebells.

Well, we have those as well at the farm.  Not as many as I think I would like to have, but you might not be wrong if you guessed that I could really imagine A LOT of bluebells.

There are some definite similarities between Lungwort and Bluebells, but we have found that the Lungwort tends to start at the farm first.  On the other hand, it seems as if the Bluebells are a hardier plant, showing the ability to grow reasonably well most places that have a little shade.

Either way, I am happy to provide a home for some of each at the farm.  I keep thinking that we might split some of the bigger plants to encourage them to spread and cover more ground.  But, by the time we get to that idea, the rest of the farm is calling our attentions elsewhere.

That's ok.  If these plants keep coming back year after year - looking healthy - I'll still be pleased with the results. 

It does seem like Spring is moving very quickly this year.  I suppose if we compare it to the last few years, it really is moving quickly.  There is still a decent chance that we will see another freeze or two and we haven't gotten our "three snows on the Robin's tail" by my count.  

Just as a gentle reminder - here is the snow/ice map for May 3, 2013.

Yep, we had a snowstorm in May that year.  It happens and nothing says it won't happen this year.  Yet a big difference is that the Daffodils, Pasque Flowers and other plants were just about at the stage they are right now.  That year (2013) was a slower Spring and the plants weren't much bothered by it all because those that were waking up were tough enough to deal with it.

Crazy Maurice tells me he doesn't feel much of a threat for a deep freeze this Spring.  In fact, he's sounding and looking pretty optimistic that Spring is here to stay.  On the other hand, the two of us agree that this is looking to be a dry year in our area.

After the number of wet seasons we've had, I might be tempted to welcome a dry year.  But, I know better than to say too much for fear that Mother Nature will hear it and decide to give us too much of a good thing.  And, now that I've said that, I realize that Mother Nature doesn't really care that much about what I think.  She'll do what she does and we'll do what we must.

None of that is under our control, so I'll spend a bit more time appreciating the blooms on Maurice's branches (at left).  I'll keep stopping to appreciate the Lungwort and the Forsythia.  I'll smile at the Daffodils and offer encouragement to the Bluebells.  I'll walk on green grass and even take note of the little yellow dots of Dandelions making their appearance.

There's a good deal to see when you take the time to look at the plants around you as they wake up.