Peas in the pot

I think it is getting warmer. Tomorrow is February. The Alyssum continues to grow. About 20 ft of peas were planted in the greenhouse.

Nice Solar Power

So yesterday I went to this 8 hr lecture by John Jeavons.  It was interesting, but nothing to write home about.   It was a good networking opportunity.  This silly old man became slightly preachy though and the talk became annoying.

So in the middle of this blurry picture is a splotch that is kinda greenish.  The iphone camera would not focus on this Alyssum sprout.

This is some rhubarb that was planted as a seed.  It was one of the few that survived.

Compostin it.  At this temperature the compost is mesophilic.  Too bad it is hard to read the thermometer.

Tonight we catered the OSU Small Farm Business Class.  The food was most excellent, and way local.  This is how it goes; Gabe and Chad cater, while Kirby and Ben pay to attend the 8 week class, Sadie does her thing.  There was a quick lecture about renewable energy in Oregon that concluded the class.   The speakers were Elizabeth McNannay and Karen Chase.   They were both very enthusiatic about the future of renewable energy in Oregon,  especially for small rural businesses.   The ladies both had different roles as facilitators through the bureaucatic rigatoni of getting grants and tax incentives for small businesses that want to use renewable energy.  The money is there, and no one is using it.  There were about 30 other agriculturalists there that seemed equally optimistic about what these positive and progressive speakers had to say.

Monday, 1/26

This past weekend it finally rained.  Our rain gauge measured about 2 in.  All those sacrifices to the gods worked. We still need more rain.  We need to make better sacrifices.

Sometime the goats need to be taught a little respect.  So the goats are not tethered anymore.  Instead I chase them around with a stick.  It actually works pretty effectively .  Still, these goats are a waste of time.

The first beautiful flower, and it only January!  This flower represents the impending chaos of planting. The growing season begins.  This flower is called a Snowbell or Leucojum aestivum. They are one of Lee’s favorite flowers.

This is a leg of lamb that we braised from 5 hours in red wine.  The lamb is cooked for a class at the OSU extension office.  The meat is USDA approved, grass fed, hormone free, and antibiotic free.  We purchased it locally directly from the producer, and it is delicious.

Sat, 1/24

Our help has left us. We are feeling kind of caught up in the field. The next big project is to set up irrigation. We have no idea how to install it correctly. It is going to be only slightly less of a guessing game than last year. I am kinda of dreading it.
We have until about mid-march to get the irrigation assembled correctly. Until then, we will just let the dampness of Southern Oregon winters water our crops.
As you know, we are running almost everything off of drip irrigation. We are going to use some overheads for some densely packed cover crops and wildflower beds, but all of our veggies, shrubs, and trees are on drip.
There is lots of material left from last year to set up a system, but some parts need to be bought for new areas, and for our new fields. The whole irrigation plan need to be divided into smaller subsystems to control water placement more efficiently.
The upper/perennial garden is going to go on drip irrigation this year as well so our berries will produce heavier.
Is there anyone out there that can help us with this? Some outside guidance is needed.

Wed. 1/21, a hard day

Today is over.  We get to breathe just a little.  Everything went really well.  All our clients were fed and happy.  Too bad Murphy wrote a law, and we got 7 more days of catering left.

It hasn’t really rained in a while.  It has been a little cold, but the afternoon temperatures are almost always in the 40s.  Everything is staying damp but not so wet.  The soil is not nearly as saturated as last year.  It sure has not rained since we put that rain gauge up.  We took this opportunity to play in the dirt, and more or less cleaned up the entire field in anticipation of this season.  But it totally needs to rain.

Here is an iphone capturing how clean our fields are.

Goats eat christmas trees.  Goats will eat anything.

Jeremy and Ashley planted 4 X 120 bed of strawberries!

Monday 1/19 MLK Day

So, I have had practically a year of practice in making compost piles.  Although the method as written seems very easy to understand, mastering an aerobic compost pile has been more difficult than I expected.  Using what I have available on the farm as far as organic matter is concerned, I have constructed numerous compost piles.  These piles vary in degree of style and content.

By style, I am speaking of the numerous variations on the compost pile that people have successfully experimented over the years.  The correct ratio of ingredients needs to be the first step in constructing any aerobic compost pile. And the initial assembly and layering the ingredients is usually the same, although the ingredients can be different.  Using what organic matter you have on hand is the primary source of ingredients.  Were aerobic composts piles vary is the way that air and moisture are continually added to the pile to sustain aerobic bacteria.  People have come up with systems to ensure gets to the center of the pile.

Aerobic composting is important because it will get hot enough to destroy seeds and pathogens.  It also allows compost to ready for use in the garden much quicker than if it was composted anerobically.  If and when we decide to apply for our organic certification, compost has to be made aerobically.  It has to have constant core tempuratue, that is checked and recorded.  This temperature has to stay constant for 3 months, as the pile is continually turned over on itself.  The turning process also has to be recorded.

Sunday 1/18

The rhubarb is in the ground. It is in the ground.  Hoooray!!  The crowns that we got were huge, and hopefully they will produce equally large rhubarb plants.  After much thought we (I, Chad)  decided on putting them in a 120 ft row.  The rhubarb is spaced at about 4 ft apart in a linear row.  All around the rhubarb along the 4 ft wide bed, we are going to plant strawberries.  It is going to be pie aka church aka kosher.

Hopefully, tomorrow we are going to get some strawberry runners from Lori Campell.  We also have to thin out our strawberry patches as well.

Planting the rhubarb was the first time we got to play in the soil this year.  Last year before we started this shenanigan of a farm, we added a total of 60 cu ft of compost to our fields.  After decomposing most of year, the soil looks black, and healthy.  There are lots of organisms running around in the soil.  It is also light and fluffy.  Healthy soil is the key to healthy plants, and it is going to be good year.

Now, for coming years we have to maintain the integrity of our soil by continually adding compost, manure, green manure, and mulch to the soil in our version of what may be called no-till agriculture and lasagna planting.  And tending to the soil, and soil life all ties back to sustainablity.  Actually, sustainability of the soil, land, and earth just might as well be the keystone of organic farming

Saturday 1/17

We continued weeding rows and expanding some existing rows to about 120 ft. All along the way we are planting red clover. It is going to be beautiful when all the clover comes up and is covering our entire field. We hope they sprout in this cold weather.
The chickens, we think, started feeling the increase in the amount of daylight. It seems that our egg production is increasing. Which is good, cause feeding the chickens organic feed is way too much money. So they all better lay eggs to be worth it, damn it.
Speaking of poultry and or fowl, yesterday we concluded our internal dialogue on what breeds and amount we are going to order for this upcoming season. We are going to increase our laying numbers by 25 layers. We are buying pullets to make sure that we get all layers this year. A reminder to everyone, baby chicks (and other fowl) are the only live animal that can still be sent via the USPS.
The chickens that we have decided on for layers are heartier birds that have better production in the winter. We are going to order New Hampshires and  Silver Laced Wynadottes.
Besides pullets, which are slightly older and only feminine baby chicks, we are also going to get some baby ducks. 15 of them to be exact. We are going to use the ducks as foragers and eaters of bugs. They especially like slugs. We see slugs as necessary part of the local ecosystem, but we still do not like them eating our plants. Slugs especially like brassicas. Ducks like slugs, slugs like brassicas, we like brassicas, and we like ducks. So there.

The ducks are also good for meat and eggs too.  We will discover that later.  Kill a chicken, kill a duck it is all the same.  We are being acclimated to farm life.

Friday 1/16

We have no money. In most circumstances, this would be quite alright. However, we are attempting, with little to no money to start ordering our supplies for the coming year.
Our rhubarb crowns came today. A friend, and fellow farmer, Terri, at Runny Meade Farms ordered it for us. Rhubarb can be planted as seeds, and we did just that last year. The rhubarb plants, well, some of them, are alive and thriving in the greenhouse as we speak.
We ordered 25 more rhubarb crowns that will be planted amongst the trees in our pursuit of permaculture and forest gardening. 25 seems like a small amount, but it will be just a tester.
Oh, and by the way, rhubarb is delicious.
Also this morning we ordered a bunch of bunches of onions. We ordered a cippolinni, tropea, a yellow, and a red onion from Dixon Dale Farms.  Yeah, I know Texas isn’t local.  But after we grow them in these northwestern soils, these onions will for sure be local.
These onions are sold as sets. Which means basically onion starts or transplants. We got a variety of onions by flavor, color, and harvest date. We also are experimenting with a short day variety onion that will harvest earlier than all the rest.

Jeremy and Ashley weeded this afternoon, and planted red clover in the spots they finished weeded.  The red clover is a cover crop.  Let us see how it works with what we are doing.

Thursday 1/15

Right now there is other happenings brewing besides restarting the farm for this season. Gabrielle has a new job working at a vineyard/winery in the Applegate Valley. I am looking for a part-time job somewhere, anywhere for god sakes. Right now I am in the running to get a job at a personal chef, and it would be sweet if it worked out. Ben is now working full time as a sign language interpreter in Central Point. Together, we need outside income to support our serious farming addictions.
On top of all this, starting next week, for the next eight weeks we are catering a class at the OSU extensions. We are excited and apprehensive. We want to impress everyone.

Impressing people is all that Sadie seems to do.  Here she is with a bowl on her head.  She is a fire hydrant.

This is the view from where Gabrielle is now currently employed, Wooldridge Winery.

Farmers can eat with the best of them.  The cooler weather demands more calories and we all eat our share.  Here we concocted citrus, mushroom, and rice soup.  We grew the dried ancho chili pepper last year.

The rain gauge is finally up!  We bought it last year but never got around to finding a home for it.  Mark your calendar.  We will start counting how much rain we get this season starting today.