Month: July 2008

Kids in the field

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A fair number of kids have dropped by the farm, parents in tow, but today was the first time since I’ve been doing the tiny farm blog WITH PEOPLE INCLUDED, that smaller children figured directly into the fieldwork picture. Michelle, whom I’ve known for 4-5 years from the farmers’ market, and who now comes by to help harvest on Fridays, dropped in today with her three…kids. There’s the impossibly cute and BUSY Violet, age two (above), who was into a bit of everything, like collecting carrots and eating every veggie she got her hands on. Allie (6) was really helpful, harvesting carrots with Lynn and Maria, harvesting beets and cauliflower with me, totally pulling her weight. Big brother Michael (8) kept Violet out of trouble here and there, but mainly chatted with me in some depth about his rugby and hockey teams, his parents views towards his sports performance, the video game he’s currently playing,…and other stuff. While Michelle cut a huge amount of all-lettuce mesclun, the kids hung out, did some useful fieldwork, and overall contributed in a surprisingly great way to the harvest afternoon vibe… Another happy side of the Tiny Farm Experience!

Fun with carrots…

Lynn conducts an impromptu field seminar, featuring…carrots.

Allie eats and inspects carrots at the same time…

Strike a pose… Kids in the TFE!

Dirty hands at the farmers’ market

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Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been experimenting again with rinsing versus…not rinsing. This comes up a couple of times every year, where I think (or someone suggests) that rinsing various veggies is not necessary: to save time, to improve storage, to preserve nutrients,…the reasons vary. (For me, the time-saving is always a big attraction!) Sometimes, crops just have to be rinsed to cool them down quickly if harvested in the heat, or because they’re really mucky from heavy, mud-splashing rain. In any case, this week, we didn’t rinse the carrots, beets and beet greens, so sorting at the market was a bit messy. That’s Lynn and Maria, happily dirty-handed… The conclusion is usually the same: when the harvest is really kinda muddy, which is often the case this year with all the rain and wet ground, a quick rinse is better all around, for handling and for presentation. Still, the experimentation continues!

Cut flowers arrive

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Zinnias bloom! At least, a few varieties are starting, along with many of the other cut flowers in this year’s trial bed. Much of last year’s first trial bed wound up worse for the wear after drought and infrequent weeding. This year, I tripled the amount of the same flower selection, about a dozen direct-seeded annuals, divided into two sections.

With all of the rain and and more attention, they’re doing a lot better…

View from the stand

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It’s mid-July, and on a (recently rare) sunshiney afternoon, things are looking OK. Better from a distance than up close, because a few sections, like the summer and winter squash, are quite severely in the weeds and in need of intensive hand pulling. And the ground remains almost constantly wet. Our moisture-retaining clay-loam soil, such an advantage in the usual near drought conditions we’ve had over the last three years, is now a bit of a hindrance. Sprawled tomatoes are particularly at risk if they don’t dry out against damp ground, and instead contract early blight (more about that another time!). Still, carpe diem, huh—seize the day! From atop the farm stand, the view is fine! We have the north end (above), with carrots under burlap (third planting), brassicas (newer transplants still under row cover), the cover in the far middle over squash, in front and more to the right, tomatoes, with a windbreak of giant sunflowers at the very right, and sweet potato bottom center. Open sections will include brassica transplants in a couple of weeks, and a fall cover crop. Out of sight to the north are onions…

In the middle, clockwise from the left, there’s a second planting of carrots, fifth mesclun right in the corner (with Maria weeding on the Greens Machine), garlic and parsnips, and potatoes in the distance (with more big WEEDS), the first planting of beets, carrots and green onions, and the edge of the third carrots under burlap from the first photo.

And then, the south end of the field, going left from the peak of the greenhouse, the garlic and Maia in the mesclun, the second planting of carrots and beets (that slash of of red is Bull’s Blood beets), the fourth mesclun , a weedy area with nasturtiums and tomatillos, and to the bottom left, herbs and flowers (fairly towering Jerusalem artichoke at the bottom left). (Guest photos by Lynn)

Last of the season’s brassicas

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These brassica seedlings—broccoli, cauliflower, kale, early-maturing cabbage—were started a week ago, way late by any planting guide standard for our region, but I’m going by the reality of our recent crazy weather. Last year’s “late” cabbage family seedlings did just fine, so I’m gambling again! There are a couple of 200-cell trays of lettuce in there as well…

Harvest wet work

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Yet another in this summer’s series of wet and gray afternoons, the weather blending perfectly with the wet work of rinsing and sorting muddy root crops. Instant efficient team chemistry between Rachel and Mel, both doing post-harvest here for the first time. (Above, carrots, below, beets.) The process is very small scale and manual. Crops are first dumped from harvest bins onto the screen table, clinging earth is quickly blasted off with the jet setting on the water wand. Next, double handful bunches are dunked for a final rinsing. Then it’s back into the bins… Simple and quick for a few bushels. Get wet!

Backstage at the farmers’ market: harvest bins

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Rubbermaid storage bins are the main harvest containers again this season (I suppose that’s a plug for Rubbermaid, unintended, it just seems like they’re the only company in the plastic storage bin market!). They’re inexpensive (around $8 each), hold a little over a bushel, and the lids fasten well. They’re easy to clean, and they stack well, loaded and covered, or empty. And they’re durable. I somehow ran over one with the Kubota compact tractor, pulled it back in shape, and it’s in service again. They’ve changed color this year, the new ones available around here are a kinda tacky metallic blue, but that’s no reason to give ’em up. We have about 25, along with a dozen or so green bushel trugs…so I guess that’s the cap for the maximum harvest haul for now! Today at market, there were about 15 of ’em full… Balanced on the edge of one is a stack of three selected gardening books, brought to market for customers to check out…


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