The time of rest is still here…but ensuing high-paced activity is on the horizon.  Already next week we will be starting kale, broccoli, cabbage, and onions in the greenhouse.  We will start planting some potatoes in the field (we’ve got some beds prepared from the fall – and when it dries enough we’ll plant them) – maybe as soon as next week.  We hope to knock out the bulk of paperwork by the end of this month.  After that, we’ll have less and less time to do so…and it won’t get done until next fall.

So, the pressure is on to finish the indoor work, while the outdoor work looms high overhead.

Triumph.

We hit our first milestone of the year today.  All of the seeds for 2009 are ordered, paid for, done.  Check that off the list.

We order from Peaceful Valley (of course), and also from a handful of other companies.

The grand total was…a lot…let’s not talk about that now.

While planning for seeds, Logan and I made a detailed planting schedule to figure out the quantities we will need.  The last step in this chain is to place all of these successions on field maps – once that happens, we’ll be unstoppable!!!

That’s a far cry from last year, already.  Of course, we had a rough estimate of how much of what we would plant, but that changed a lot at planting time.  It was totally arbitrary because we didn’t know how much each of our markets would buy.  This year, we have a good idea how much of what we can sell in any given place (plus, we plan a tad optimistically).

It took a full 6 days of geeking out on the computers, side by side, to make the planting calendars and decide what, how much, and when we are going to grow everything (like I said, we only need to figure out WHERE it all goes now).

Choose your seeds carefully,

Andrew

Yesterday, Andrea and I drove through the CA Central Valley; south though Sacramento, Stockton, Modesto, Merced, and to Fresno.

As a younger person, drives like this were not impressive; stip-mall towns and cities mixed with flat farmland…about as far as the eye could see (or until the smogg stops you from seeing).

As an older young person, after immersing myself in farming the last 4 years, I see the valley differently.  The flat farmland is a luxury my eyes soak in.  I long for it.  I also long for solitude, clean air and water – all of these things the valley has forsaken.  Here’s what I learned on our 4 hour trip south:

1. Some farmers actually cover-crop their land in the winter – this is a step that I am pleased to see.  However, most don’t, and the muddy fields, slashed by disc imprints point to an irresponsible land stewarship that we as a people should not tolerate.  My thoughts point to the fact that we won’t be able to apply magic chemical fertilizer every spring in perpetuity and expect the plants to grow with vigor.

2. The valley is smogg-ridden.  Deisel tractors, trucks, pumps and gasoline everything is turning this place into a very bright place (read: the glare of the sunlight off the smogg makes you squint).  Those things, and a little wintertime inversion layer compromise everyone’s health.

3.  99% of agricultural products in the nation are conventionally farmed.  I wouldn’t hesitate to say that the percentage in CA is similar.  That’s a lot of chemical usage, and, observing the city-dwellers here, I’d say the effects are dramatic and evident.  I know it’s not just the agriculture and the resulting pesticide residues, but as our agriCULTURE goes, so goes the rest of the CULTURE and vice-versa – ie, its a sick culture and we’re masking it with anti-depressants, cholesteral regulating drugs and others (ie herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, etc).  It’s weird for me to see the parallels (and maybe I’m reading into this a little bit

4. California is huge and the amount of arable land is immense.  We are so lucky to have this…let’s be aware of this and be thankful for the bounty.

Happy holidays,

Andrew

First of all, I am so, so sorry for falling behind on the blog here.  I just got addicted to using facebook…you can check out all of the pics I’ve been posting by becoming a fan of Four Frog Farm on facebook.  It’s actually pretty sweet.

Facebook is pretty manic-it’s all about the one-liners because our society has fallen into ADHD as our default-mode.  Whatever…I guess if you can’t beat them, or change em, then I’ll just join em.  And, I’m hoping, people will follow the farm to find out what’s going on every day, and what we’re taking to the Farmers’ Markets at any given time.  Since people get these feeds from Twitter and Facebook on their cell-phones nowadays, they’ll know instantly if we’re taking turnips (or not) to the market (pretty hot stuff).  And, since I know you’re all dying to know about our turnip supply, this is enhancing your life in ways previously unthought-of (note: I’m being a little sarcastic).

Anywhoo, Logan and I are engaging in marathon paperwork sessions.  We’re getting very precise about all of our crops this year.  We can do that now, because we know, after a this previous year, what our local markets are like, and how much of everything we can realistically sell.  So far, we know how much of and what we’re growing for the spring and summer, but not yet for the fall.   Once we plan out exactly where in the field this is all going, we will be money!

If anyone is interested, when we’re done with this, I can hook you up with our complete cropping plan.  I’ll probably post it here on the blog or on facebook -give me some feedback if you’re interested.  I guess we should be selling it…but not yet -this year it’s free and maybe it’ll help someone become profitable, or at least contribute a bit.  Anyway, it’s a good example of one farm and what we’re doing, if nothing more.

Lastly, I’m going to make an effort to post twice a week here.  The posts will be longer than they have been – if you want ADD posts, then become a fan of Four Frog Farm on facebook.

Happy last night of Chanukah,

Andrew

I’m up in Eugene with my family, and my brother has successfully convinced me to sign up for a facebook account, for Four Frog Farm.  I’m really not into it at all.  But, shoot, everyone I’ve ever met, talked with, or even heard about in my life is using the cursed system.

Logan and I are taking most of the week off.  We’ll be back at work on Monday.  It’s nice to take 5 days from the farm and not worry about anything out there.

I’m getting techy for the farm – facebook, twitter, and I’m taking-over the website.  So, check out all those application.

Happy Thanksgiving,

Andrew

Friday:

Logan and I arrive later to the farm than desired.  We get in a couple of hours of harvesting before the rain picks up.  Then, the mild downpour ensues for about 5 hours.  As soon as we’re done harvesting, the rain ends!

Admittedly, I was pretty miserable. I’ve grown soft in these last 25 years of life.  I guess this is what farming year-round is like -it shows you where you’re soft.  Anyway, not harvesting wasn’t an option: we had big order from the co-op and a pre-thanksgiving farmers’ market to attend (thankfully, it was really busy).  So, we buckled down and did the harvest. We had help from three friends for an hour and a half, and that helped a lot.

Maybe next year we’ll have so much planted in the fall and winter and we’ll do a CSA so we can afford to keep help on board.  That would be nice.  I think we’ll do that. 

Another photo…check it out! – this is the garlic patch (in the foreground) before it sprouted.

Why are the storms so piddly?

We had to set up major irrigation to the garlic today.  

I think we’ll start doing some major sprinkler action on the field that have cover crop seed but aren’t yet germinated.  This is a lot more work for us, but it keeps me from getting in trouble.  I wish it would rain a lot, but hey, it’s also nice working in the sun – I’ll look on the bright side.  Well, let’s still all pray for rain because this State needs it.

Andrew

Today was another Briar Patch Co-op delivery.  We’re still keeping up 3x/week with the deliveries.  And they’re still sizeable.  Here’s what we’re selling today:

36 heads each of: Red Leaf, Green Leaf, Bibb Lettuce

36 Bunches: Radishes

100lbs Butternut Squash

15 Lbs Shallots

On Monday we delivered 500lbs of mixed winter squash, the same amount of radishes, shallots and lettuce as today, and some Mustard Green Bunches.

We’re coming into Kale, Broccoli, carrots and beets as well for the co-op.  We hope to keep the deliveries strong through Dec 20th or so.  If it get’s cold, our production will slow down of course…

I’ve been reading Terra Firma Farm’s CSA newsletter lately.  They’re a “small” farm of about 200 acres (? – not exactly sure) in the Capay Valley region of the Central California Valley.  They keep a year-round CSA going.  It’s probably got 1-2K members.  I admire several things about their operation:

1.  The planning.  It takes a lot to run a mixed veggie operation like their’s, I’m sure.  Although they’re much larger than Four Frog Farm ( 10 acres), it’s still tough to compete against the likes of Earthbound and CalOrg.  Anyway, I admire how they keep year-round food production going.  It’s not easy, even in their climate…

2.  The climate:  the weather in the valley is mild and you can, with planning (see #1), have food year-round.  They have great weather. great soil – and hundreds of acres of it – all perfectly, spanking flat.  I wish we had some good, flat land.  We have what I call “foothill Flat” land – that’s any slope less than 10% in my book.

3. The initiative.  Now I’m guessing, but I think the owner is pretty young.  Damn, he’s got a lot going on.  Way to go.  

So, reading about the Terra Firma CSA gives me good ideas about our own.  We want our CSA to really kick butt.  That’s why I’m doing research – it’s also good toilet reading.

Andrew

Logan and I received our last (we think) paychecks for the year today – that covers October. 

From now on, the rest of our income goes to buying next year’s early season goods.  We want to end the year with about 10K in the bank – that way, we will cover all of our expenses without having to personally invest in the farm from our own bank accounts.

Here’s what I expect to pay early on, until we hit the farmers’ markets in Late April:

Compost – $4,000

Feather Meal/Blood Meal – $2,000

Gypsum – $1,000

Seeds – $1,500

Boxes – $1,000

Early Season Labor (100% LEGAL) – $2,000

Misc – $1000

ToTAL – $12,500

Okay, so about $12,500 or so before we start raking it in.  That’s cool.  It will probably cost more, but we’ll keep our eyes on our expenses and not let them get carried away from us.  That’s why we’re saving our money at this time of year.  Also, when the CSA checks start to roll in in January, those will be our income, which helps us live and the farm thrive.  This past year, late winter and Spring were lean months for Logan and I.  I am thankful that I don’t think we’ll ever have to repeat that again.  

It’s tricky managing the numbers, but we run the farm with this in mind: if it’s going to help our business and operation run better (and thus, make more money), we will buy it.  If not, then we don’t buy it.   I’m sure we’ll get better at this.

Andrew