Freshman Farmer | New Organic Farms Set Roots

Posts Tagged ‘work’

Flying Time??!!??

September 26th, 2011
Freestone Family Farm | Blog

I’m not sure if it is really flying, but somehow September seems to have just disappeared. The mornings are becoming very crisp and I can feel the impending season knocking on my door. By afternoon, however, the heat of the day assures that there is no time for rest. Not yet anyway.

I haven’t opened the Tuesday Farm Stand at our house for two weeks now because my veggie supply has really slowed down. Not to mention that the last two Tuesdays Garrett has been off from his day job, so we have been working on some overdue projects.

I am happy to report that the garage now has all but two of the seven windows installed, two garage doors are in, and the large french door only needs handles. The two 9 by 6 foot window would be in also, except for the fact the the holes are a half inch too small! We discovered that minor detail with three men heaving the things into their slot. There is no time for frustration though, Garrett will just have to take off the sill, cut the space larger, return the sill, and coordinate some men to help install.

We have one more week of farmer’s market and, though I look forward to sleeping past 6 a.m. on a Saturday, I will miss everything about the market. It really has been a great season. Our small community has been extremely receptive to the whole thing. This is Vernal’s fourth year for the market and the largest yet. With more vendors and more customers than ever! I would like to thank everyone on both sides. The vendors that have been dedicated to providing quality products in a wide variety. And the customers that have been dedicated and gracious to support us.

I am eager for the rest that the cold weather will provide, but it is not here yet. There is much preparation for next year. We will harvest what we have for the next market and what is not sold will be canned. We will harvest all of our potatoes in the next couple weeks. They will be divided into seed stock for next year and our own use. Any extra will be sold for other people’s winter stock.

I have plans to increase our garlic planting from 20 pounds last year to 100 pounds this fall. That will entail harvesting the crop that is in the desired location, soil preparation, and planting anywhere from 2000 to 2500 plants by hand. There will still have to be a bit of water to the location too.

I make jewelry as well, and with a new stock of beads from the recent Gemfaire, my reward for all my hard work this summer is five months of designing and creating. (You know, more work).

Tags: fall, work

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Priorities

April 14th, 2011
Willow Springs Farm | Blog

Yesterday morning, I was having a crisis. I was overwhelmed by too
many tasks on the farm and no idea how to prioritize. Which is more
important direct seeding beets or transplanting peppers? Seeding
cucumbers in the green house or planting potatoes? Creating more
raised beds or tilling under the cover crop? Planting out head
lettuces or strawberries?

Last year, the question could have been answered simply by looking at
which crop stands to earn us the most at market or resigning ourself
to the fact that we couldn’t get everything done. This year things
are different because we have 10 families patiently awaiting a
diverse bounty. Our CSA expects (and rightfully so) that we have
beets, peppers, cucumbers, potatoes, lettuces and strawberries. So,
what is a farmer to do?

We eventually decided that focusing on the live plants was more
important than seeding new ones. I worked in the green house potting
on an array of hot and sweet peppers (Padron, Chocolate Bell, Greek
Golden Pepperoncini, Anaheim, Cayenne, Sweet Cherry, & Corno Di Toro)
while Matt transplanted head lettuces and used
the bed shaper to prepare more raised beds.

With the added incentive of already having sold your produce, farming
becomes a balancing act of new proportions. Instead of allowing
stress to impact my ability to farm, I am concentrating my energy into
the plants with a new purpose - “these peppers will be for Terrie or
Mark” or “I bet Jadon is going to love these strawberries”. It adds a
dimension to growing food that is so local, direct, and important.
Not only do our CSA members know where there food comes from (my
backyard!), I know who is eating the fruits of my labor.

The disconnect in our current industrialized food system not only
alienates the eater to a point of curious wonder about how food is
made, grown, or processed but turns the farmer into a machine with no
regard (or interest) for who will ultimately consume the product. For
both sides, food becomes only about calories or dollars.

Matt & I feel so lucky to have the support of our community with
individuals and families excited to eat our produce and share in our
farm. We are having our first work party this weekend in the spirit
of community support. People are just plain interested in getting
their hands dirty and truly understanding how food is grown, made or
processed. It makes me happy to be able to share those experiences
with others and there are a few things to do around here!

Tags: CSA, peppers, transplanting, field work, priorities, lettuces

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Spring Field Work

March 26th, 2010
DeepSeeded Community Farm | Blog

Well we just had another spring soaker, but before the rain I managed to get a bunch of ground work done and begin the regular outdoor plantings. This spring has been warm, but its been wet. My field was just barely dry enough, but I new there’d be more rain coming, so I went for it. I started by mowing and disking the ~4.5 acres of cover crop and spreading lime over everything. With only a few days for cover crop breakdown, I spread rock phosphate, some azomite, cow manure, and chicken… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: cover crop, direct seeding, spring, manure, tillage, field work, drop spreader

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Greetings from the “frosty” north!

March 14th, 2010
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm | Blog

Sara here! Just wanted to drop in and say how excited I am about this season! Jared and I have both been working the farm full time essentially. Jared hasn’t toured since last season and has been working part time in seattle, and also working with me for a landscaping company in nearby Bainbridge Island. We’ve been both trying to blend our farm work styles (with, admittedly, a little conflict) but so far I feel that we are on track (although, feeling a bit behind…). We’ve… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: CSA, seed starts, first market, work styles

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Last Push on Paperwork

January 12th, 2010
Four Frog Farm | Blog

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… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: indoor work, outdoor work

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Good to be Home

July 16th, 2009
Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm | Blog

We’ve been really trying to get as much done as we can since Jared will be leaving for another tour on July 27th for 2 weeks. So along with our CSA days, and market day, we’ve taken out all of the peas in greenhouse 2, and replaced them with the peppers and eggplant. We’ve harvested, bundled and hung all of our garlic, and there’s also been lots and lots of weeding! We’ve been seeding heat tolerant greens, quick growing summer crops and crops for fall transplant, as… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: transplanting, summer work

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Keeping Up

July 2nd, 2009
DeepSeeded Community Farm | Blog

Trying to keep up with the farm this time of year is intense! The sowing, planting, and weeding continue, while the harvests consume more and more of each week. This morning I spoke with my friend John Gary, who owns G-Farm, and he was talking about the difficulty of pulling in his garlic crop when it takes all his time to keep up with the regular work. When Molly and I sat down to figure how many hours I’ve been working each week, the number we came up with was 80! Honestly, that’s… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: harvest, work load, hours

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Local Warming

June 26th, 2009
Coyote House Farm | Blog

We have a Heat Advisory in effect for Palermo until early next week. That means we won’t be on ladders working on the field shed this Saturday. I’m helping my dad move from Colusa (106 degrees. Why would he want to leave?) to Forbestown, so I can still swing by and fill the water tank on my way back to the Bay Area. Okay. A few things: I love the Bay Area. I am one of a comparatively small number of people who was actually born in San Francisco and my love for… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: heat, irrigation, vegetables, water, fruit trees, co-location, off-farm work, fruit

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Help!!!

June 26th, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

So Andrew and I were on the farm mostly by ourselves for the past two months, except for the weekend visits by Andrea. I was working about 50 hours a week and Drew was working much more. And than all of a sudden in one week we have four more people on the farm. Andrea is back for good with our good friend Zoe, and our other good friend Cristen is working on the farm for a good portion of the summer. It is amazing how quickly things can change. The farm is now filled with the vibrant energy of four… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: corn, cucumber, farm, friends, river, ryan, squash, tomatoes, work, zucchini

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Returning

May 22nd, 2008
Four Frog Farm | Blog

I was away from the farm for about 12 days, and when I got back the farm looked unreal. Everything had literally doubled in size. The broccoli which previously had been healthy but small, was now forming crowns the size of my hands. It is so amazing the work the sun and soil do for us. Like Andrew says, “we don’t do the work we are just the facilitators.” The farm is really coming along and I am starting to see the vision take fold. We have about 75 percent of the field planted… Read the rest of this article »

Tags: broccolipotatoes, CSA, field, melons, ryan, size, work

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Three farms are starting from scratch.

They are turning the dirt and hoping to be successful enough to turn a profit, and to become a valuable part of their communities as suppliers of organically grown food.

Peaceful Valley is giving them a head start by offering them special pricing as part of this Freshman Farmer program.

The Farm Blogs

Freshman:
New Farms Coming Soon!
Sophomores:
	Daily Grace Farms Crescent City, CA
	Freestone Family Farm Vernal, UT
	Wise Moon Farm Redding, CA
Graduates:
	Coyote House Farm Palermo, CA
	DeepSeeded Community Farm Arcata, CA
	Driftwood Farm Fort Bragg, CA
	EarthDance Farm St. Louis, MO
	Ellwood Canyon Farms Goleta, CA
	Four Frog Farm Penn Valley, CA
	Hand Sown Homegrown Heritage Farm Poulsbo, WA
	Home Plate Organic Farm Orleans, CA
	Honey in the Heart Farm Nevada City, CA
	Willow Springs Farm Penn Valley, CA