Welcome to the start of the 2013 Fair Share Farm CSA Season. We welcome a host of new and “seasoned” members and look forward to a tasty year. We will try not to complain about the weather this Spring and will only say that the status of the harvest is a function of it. And while we had hoped that the crops would be farther along by now, they are nonetheless ready for harvest.
One vegetable the high tunnel is well matched for is spinach, as it will grow well February through April. So we are happy to be able to have fresh spinach for you. We will be working to learn more and more about the idiosyncracies of growing this lucious green. Good fresh or cooked, these leaves are quite savory and full-bodied.
Their relative, chard, is the recipe for the week. We had to pick the plants two weeks ago as they were shading out everything around them. A regular meal for us became Chicken and Chard Cacciatore. The chard is also good simply as a tomato sauce ingredient, helping to fill the pot with the greens we all need. Tomatoes and peppers frozen from the previous summer are always a good addition and a perfect use for them.
Chicken and Chard Cacciatore over Spinach
1 whole chicken, cut into parts 1 qt tomato sauce One bunch chard 2 cups or one can peeled tomatoes 2 cups chopped sweet or green peppers One onion/green garlic bunch or 2 medium onions Salt and pepper to taste
To easily cut the stem from chard fold the leaf, lay it on its side, and trim off the stem
Cut white parts of onion/garlic into 1/2 inch rounds Cut stems from chard and chop into large dice Fry the chicken parts until browned (10 to 15 minutes), remove from pan and keep warm Add 1 tsp olive oil to pan and saute onions, garlic and chard stems Return chicken to the pan Add peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce and chopped chard leaves Stir so sauce coats everything in the pot and cover Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer covered for 30-40 minutes or until chicken is tender Serve over chopped fresh spinach, pasta, rice, or by itself
And so we reach 2012 … and the reminiscing is about to end. It has been instructional and cathartic for Rebecca and me to review what the farm has been through over the last ten years. Every year has been a new set of challenges and unpredicable weather. As an example, the contrast between Spring 2012 and our present weather conditions is striking.
Red bud blooming March 24, 2012
2012 broke all sorts of records, including the hottest January-June on record and third driest year on record. The drought and mind-numbing heat of Summer (the average daily high in July was 98.2 deg F) made work difficult and came close to drying up our irrigation pond.
It was a very strange, if not somewhat bizarre year for the crops, with the early Spring and hot, dry Summer causing many plants to mature up to a month early. Strawberries were ripening on May 1 instead on Jule 1. Garlic was ready by June 5, a month ahead as well. And most of the potatoes quite literally cooked (and rotted) in the ground as the soil temperatures topped 90 degrees.
There were some major successes though. In the Spring the sugar snap peas were dripping off the vines with a new record of 550+ lbs. As mentioned, the tomatoes thrived…9,397 pounds of virtually blemish-free beauties thanks to the dry weather. The sweet potatoes were the most beautiful specimens we had ever grown. We also had good success with carrots, the Fall crops and many other vegetables.
Ryan picking peas (photo by Bill McKelvey)
tons of tomatoes
A good sweet potato plant
Sweet pea very full for the CSA delivery to the Bad Seed
Despite the crazy weather, the farm crew was up to the task. Dani Hurst returned for a second season as an apprentice and even squeezed a May wedding to Derek Brown into the year. Apprentice Ryan Stubby graced us with his hard work, good nature and awesome kale chips. Harvest extras allowed Ryan to hone his skills at food dehydrating, a talent he hopes to use in future ventures.
Ryan and Dani tending to the tomatoes in June
CSA member, Mark Flynn, had some free time that Summer and was a big help during the big tomato harvest and Fall planting push. The lack of rain and extreme heat created the need to put out mulch for the cabbage, broccoli and other July plantings earlier than normal. It was a big effort to complete, as the Summer harvest was also in full swing. Thanks again Mark.
Ryan, Mark, Dani and Rebecca planting cabbages in July
In June we traveled to Richmond, MO for the KC CSA Coalition tour of Parker Farms. As vegetable farmers and meat eaters we appreciate the effort that goes into raising free-range, pasture-fed livestock. Since we started collaborating with the Parker’s in 2006, they have fed us most all of the meat we have eaten in the last 7 years. Tom, Paula and their four daughters hosted a delicious pot-luck and stroll of the farm. They are doing it right.
Pasture-fed and free-range beef ala Parker Farms
The other big task in 2012 was the construction of our new high tunnel. Grading of the site began in January. Two volunteer work days and many other hours of piecing it together were successful in getting things in order by mid-September. The high tunnel crops flourished that fall and allowed us to extend the season for 4 weeks.
Volunteers helping put up the main structure March 10th
Finished high tunnel on November 11th
Our last days of the season were out of the norm that year too. On October 20 the Outstanding in the Field crew and Justus Drugstore again set up at the farm for another fantastic dinner. It was a tough day though, as it was announced by OITF founder Jim Denavan that we were hosting the coldest event they ever held. Crazy for that to happen after the Summer heat wave.
We entered the Winter of 2012 already planning for an expansion of the CSA to 150 members in 2013. But first we are able to take a train ride to the Southwest and relax in New Mexico hot springs for a week. Such a break is always good.
The oft-photographed St. Francis Chuch near Taos, New Mexico
If you have been following this recollection all the way through we thank you, and hope you enjoyed it. We would appreciate your comments and look forward to hearing from our blog readers.
By 2011 we had experienced eight years of farming in the same spot and seen how the land responds to just about every weather condition. We continued to work on systems that could keep our farm resilient and sustainable for the future.
We were helped along by a principle promoted by Dr. W. Edwards Deming to “improve constantly and forever”… something I had learned in engineering and Rebecca knew inherently. It is an axiom that is in concert with the idea of sustainablility. We felt that we had a firm foundation to now build for the long-term future of Fair Share Farm.
The first couple months of the year were as busy as ever. We had one last area of the house to gut, insulate, re-wire, re-wall, re-window and re-door. We got it mostly done before things got too hectic and are enjoying the fruits of this labor to this day.
Only a memory now
The previous November, Lucas Knutter joined the farm team, house-sitting the apprentice house for the winter and joining us as a full-time apprentice in March. He had just finished a 27-month stint in the Peace Corp working with farmers in Senegal, and returned ready to start a farm of his own. He went straight to work in January, joining us to repair some problem spots on the greenhouse.
It was a great year for the soil. Our Spring plantings went as smooth as ever after a quick cultivating pass with the G.
The Summer cover crop of sudan grass and cow peas grew 7 feet tall and was our best yet. Between the top growth and an extensive root system, the soil was given a feast.
Mowing down the cover crops before turning them under
Weather played its usual good guy/bad guy role, threatening tornados in the Spring, baking us silly in the Summer, and providing for a robust harvest in the Fall. Kim Conrads joined us for the summer right after high school graduation and spent one of her first hours at the farm in our root cellar with the farm crew of CSA members, workers, farmers, a dog and two cats. Luckily no funnel stopped by.
Safe in the root cellar
August 2, a record high.
Among the standouts that year were our record snap pea (400+ lb), tomato (5,600+ lbs) and sweet potato (2,100+ lb) harvests . Other crops did excellent too, as the almost 2.7 lb head of broccoli pictured below can attest.
The tomato share during Week 11
CSA morning in the packing room
Colorful carrots
Head-sized broccoli
Fall share
July 25 was a unique day for us as we hosted Justus Drugstore and Outstanding in the Field for an al fresco dinner on the farm. It is tough to describe in one paragraph what a wonderful event it was. The food was unique and satisfying, the crowd happy and boisterous, and the presentation professional and artful. The whole story is in our July 26 blog.
The long table on a hot Missouri day
By August, Kim had headed to college and we had a new apprentice in Dani Hurst. She was ready to put the homesteading and farming skills she had learned about as a writer for Natural Home magazine into practice. Her energy and good nature was appreciated for the next 1-1/2 years she spent with us.
Dani mulching leeks
Another group that has helped out over the years is my family. The road Rebecca and I took to where we are right now was not a normal one. While no doubt skeptical at first, their love and support for us over the years has been true and real. My brother and five sisters have all done a stint or two at the farm, visited during unique events like OITF, and otherwise used their talents to help us out. It has been a fun family affair.
My brother Bill juicing pears with our great-grandfather’s press
Autumn 2011 was warm and the crops thrived into early winter. The fields were plentiful past the end of our CSA season and for our annual night at the Bad Seed pre-Thanksgiving Market.
October
A rarity for us, the hustle and bustle of running a market table on a busy night is a lot of fun. So is catching up and bartering with all the other vendors, seeing our big city friends and enjoying the festive atmosphere.
Fall bounty
Next up…one year ago and a new high tunnel, more record harvests, the drought, OITF II, and back to the present.
Hawk wing impressions, and one less rabbit on the farm.
In 2010 the focus was better ergonomics. The farm had grown for the past six years and we were realizing that we needed to find more efficient ways of farming so that our bodies would hold out for many years to come. Organic vegetable farming entails a lot of stoop labor. Farming smarter involves improving the ergonomics of the work. Sometimes that means that you let a machine help you do the job, as in the case of tractor-mounted transplanters and cultivators.
With that goal in mind, I made the 300-mile round-trip to Morgan County Seeds near Barnett, Missouri and ferried back a transplanter on John’s 16-foot trailer. No task causes me more anxiety than over-the-road hauling. I’ve hauled 50 greenhouse barrels strapped 3 high, our Allis Chalmers G, 100 square bales of straw, and entire kit for the high tunnel. Each trip has given me more respect for the power and control necessary for such activities.
the new Water Wheel transplanter
Farm apprentices Emily Lecuyer and Matt Maes joined us in late March. Emily had returned from a Peace Corp stint in the Phillipines and was ready to learn about CSA and biological farming. Matt was to get married that July, buy land nearby, and start a farm and a family – what a busy year! Emily and Matt pitched in during what would turn out to be a cold Spring and hot Summer.
Emily and Matt in the Spring greenhouse
We had our new Water Wheel transplanter, but no tractor to pull it. The Graff family tractor (aka Grandpa) was having some problems after 45 years of farming. Valve cracks, a rotted out radiator, and numerous other issues meant an overhaul was in order. Luckily FSF beekeeper, CSA member and all-around helpful soul, Keith Stubblefield, volunteered to share his mechanical knowledge and saved the day. He walked us through all of the repairs and gave the muscle of the farm a new life.
Keith adjusting the engine
Once Grandpa was back in service, we found that we could plant rows and rows of broccoli, cabbage, squash and sweet potatoes with the transplanter and made good use of it. Some plantings still required the tedious tasks of mulching and row covering, but such efforts have a payoff in improving the chance of a good harvest.
A quick planting of broccoli and cabbage
Mulched and covered to survive the cold Spring
Transplanting sweet potato slips
2010 was the year of a terrible outbreak of tomato blight on the east coast. It wasn’t much better here, as our early planting was stunted by the cold, wet Spring. The later plantings of tomatoes that missed the bad conditions grew much better and saved the tomato crop from being a total bust.
Tomato plants with wet feet on a cold day
2010 success stories included 1,000+ quarts of strawberries (the record so far), 1,000+ lbs of beans, excellent onions, and our best winter squash harvest yet. Efforts for the squash crop included cutting vine borer worms out of the stems of the plants. It saved a lot of plants and helped increase the harvest.
Garlic harvest
Lots of cukes
CSA bean picking morning
Winter squash in the barn
Our Allis Chalmers G had been with us for several years now and were were starting to realize it’s full potential. Along with seeding and cultivating, we increasingly used it to “gutter”, using discs to make a raised bed. Guttering the beds has become one of the most important tasks we perform to improve drainage.
Emily cultivating and guttering
2010 was also the year of the Federal Stimulus. Through University Extension, we learned that funds were available for remote solar irrigation systems on farms. In the end, we received 75% cost-share on purchasing over 2,000 feet of below ground irrigation pipe and four more solar panels. Trenching, laying and covering the pipe and appertunances took some doing, but was well worth the effort. Having a permanent supply line from the pond to our fields saves us countless hours previously spent rolling out and rolling up hose each year—yeah! The additional solar panels improved our ability to reach the highest points in our fields with life-giving water.
New panels on left
On November 6th, 2010 Rebecca and I made it official and got married. It was a great day! With some help from the Graff family, we traveled to Hawaii in December and soaked up the sun and gorged ourselves on tropical fruit.
Star fruit tree on Kauai
Next up—putting it all together, Outstanding in the Field, barn facelift, and a long, hot Summer.
The years were flying by 2009. Entering our sixth season of the CSA, we were starting to feel comfortable with growing vegetables for over 100 families. Our original business plan was based on supporting the farm with a CSA membership of 100 shares, but we realized that a more realistic goal was a bit more than that in order to be economically sustainable. To continue to grow we would need not only more members, but also more full-time farm workers.
January at the pond
We were able to grow enough crops in 2009 to sell 115 CSA shares. The Fair Share Farm CSA Core Group continued their stellar work of running the organization as it grew: the Spring sign-up meeting, coordinating the farm work schedule, surveying the membership and expanding distribution.
Gary Glauberman and Kelly Parker helping with contracts at the Spring Sign-up
By the start of the season we hired two full-time apprentices. Lori Watley was a friend of the farm who had helped us often during 2005. Kara Jennings was so enthusiastic to apprentice with us that she drove in from Gladstone every day to learn the trade. Kara and Lori made the season what we called our best year yet.
Kara and Lori at the wash sink
Jeff and his son helping in the Spring 2008
A regular volunteer in 2008 and 2009, Jeff Hunter also was a big help in those years. He and his wife Stacey started a large garden at their local church, helped create a learning garden for kids, and now farm their own land.
In 2009 we made a big shift in our greenhouse production. We had been experimenting over the previous couple seasons with the use of soil blocks for starting our transplants. We had found they created plants that were more robust, greener, held longer in the greenhouse, and experienced less transplant shock than plugs.
Soil blocks in the greenhouse
A flat of nice cabbage plants
When the harvest came in we couldn’t complain. Shares were full, filled by the harvest of 835 quarts of strawberries, 1,000+ lbs of beans, melons for all, great brassicas, and a stellar fall carrot and beet crop.
All this with the same annual rainfall (44+ inches) as the previous year. While the rain fell in less of a downpour pattern than 2008, our adjustments to how we prepared the ground also helped keep the crops out of the muck.
This was also to be the year that our cover cropping program came to life. We had initated an annual system whereby we plant oats and vetch in April, turn the crop under in June/July, and plant the bed in fall vegetables in August. We had a very good cover crop that year and the carrots and beets in those beds grew like none we had seen previously.
Strawberry harvest at its best
The Rouyer Family picking peas
Bean picking crew returning with their harvest
Sweet peppers
Watermelons for all
That year, we experimented with raising livestock. We borrowed six of Parker Farms’ sheep to reduce our mowing needs, apply some fertility to areas of ground yet to be broken, and learn about caring for livestock. It was fun and a success.
Katahdin sheep borrowed from Parker Farms
Bees proved to be a harder project. We had everything in place; an experienced beekeeper in member Keith Stubblefield, new hive boxes put together with the members’ help, organic fields, and thousands of bees bought in their packages. But alas, for the next 3 seasons we could not develop a strong hive, and very little honey was drawn while most of the hives disappeared. The experts call the phenomenon Colony Collapse Disorder, a generic term that describes a problem with no known cause.
Ann Flynn, Fran Gillespe, Keith and Nancy Stubblefield building the hive boxes
Bees but little honey
Rocky continued to grow and make friends, among them Nora Gibbons. Her parents, Heather and Scott, have been CSA members since our second season in 2005. As Heather was pregnant then, Nora has the distinction of being the oldest person to have been in the CSA her whole life!
Nora and Rocky
That Winter we drove down to Texas as part of an annual trip for Rebecca and her snow-bird, Grandmother Kathleen. It was a chance for me to meet her many cousins, uncles, nieces and nephews in the Lone Star State. When back at the farm we planned and studied. One such science project included looking at our compost through our microscope and realizing I could film it. Those critters are called springtails.
Rocky in December
Next up…2010 and lots of heat, learning to gutter, best winter squash, solar stimulus and a wedding day.
In 2008 we met our 5-year goal of being a 100% CSA farm. No more standing around at market hoping the customers would come to buy, instead we were able to stay focused on farming, knowing that all of our produce was already sold.
Morning light in winter
As we plotted our future we realized that one thing we were not doing was getting the most out of the land we were cultivating. It seemed friends with home gardens were growing more in small areas than we were in long beds of crops. We decided to expand our operation by contracting – growing less plants and paying more attention to them.
We had been asked that January to coordinate a CSA Workshop at the Great Plains Vegetable Growers Conference in St. Joe. We immediately contacted Liz Henderson from Peacework Organic Farm to join us on the panel. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to show her our progress since those days in 2001 at her farm.
Rebecca and Elizabeth Henderson in January
We also took time to visit friend Liz Elmore who was working at The Land Institute in Salina, KS. This group of folks, headed by Wes Jackson, are working in a field they call natural systems farming. In what they state is at least a 100-year project, they are breeding perennial grains that can be grown in a prairie-like system. We suggest you visit their website to learn more, and to support their efforts.
Board at The Land Institute explaining some of their work
February was busy as we converted the Allis Chalmers G tractor from gas to electric. With volunteer apprentice Lorne Carroll’s help and John Graff’s welding ability we performed the operation lickety split. We had just started our blog and documented the progress there.
Lorne assembling new motor parts, old G gas engine at top of photo
Then there was Rocky. We knew that we needed help keeping the critters out of our fields and off of our crops, but were not sure what type of dog would do the trick. Livestock guarding breeds seemed to be the best choice – big and intimidating to a critter, but calm and sweet with people. So when Tom Parker told us a local farmer had Great Pyrennes/Anatolian Shepherd cross puppies for sale we jumped at the opportunity. We brought Rocky home on February 5th. He was tough to resist.
Rocky and his brother Bandit
2007 volunteer apprentice Jen Baughman joined us for the year. Her sweet spirit and positivity kept us smiling during a difficult year.
Jen and Rebecca potting up fall crops
The fields in 2008 were drenched on numerous occasions. The potatoes were a total loss, as the trenches we cut to plant them in filled like irrigation ditches in April. The tomatoes did OK, but were diseased and dying by Labor Day. In September another gullywasher set back the Fall plantings.
Attempting to bail out the potato beds in mid-April
Effect of 3 inch rain in September
Typical 2008 harvest morning with CSA troopers
On the bright side, the strawberries loved the rain, as did the beans, greens, carrots, garlic, lettuce, sweet potatoes and cover crops. We harvested 587 quarts of strawberries that year. The Honeoye variety was a good choice…easy to pick, juicy, flavorful, not too sweet, and red all the way through.
Our first harvest off the new patch
Fresh Tropea onions
Just dug carrots
Weeding crew at the strawberries
A colorful share
Kid Rocky
Though we did not necessarily need it, our solar powered irrigation system was installed in May. Missouri contractor Henry Rentz set things up and we took it from there. It came in handy in August, the only month without a downpour.
Our new solar panels and irrigation pump
The wetness of the year gave pause, as we realized that our farming methods were vulnerable to excess rain. Problems could occur with only 2 to 3 inches of precipitation, something we knew to expect in the future. So we worked on several strategies to address excess moisture.
Step 1: Take low spots in the fields out of production. Being so dry when we started farming in 2003, we did not know just how wet some areas could get.
Step 2: Mulch as much as we can. A canopy of hay or straw over the surface of our silt/clay soils does wonders to keep the plants and soil life from suffocating after a downpour. Hay also provides food for worms and eventually the crops. As we like to say, we have grass-fed vegetables.
Jen mulching with hay over a buckwheat cover crop
Step 3: Use the electric G to gutter our beds, keeping the crops raised and reducing the chance of flooding out the plant.
Step 4: Continue with our cover cropping and biological farming methods. It is a proven fact that organically-farmed soils handle water better in wet conditions, and provide drought tolerance during dry times.
Rocky enjoying a nice stand of buckwheat
And so we entered another winter on the farm. Back to the remodel. This time it was the kitchen and dining room. We do alot of cooking and canning, so a functioning kitchen was a huge improvement to the homestead.
Stripped down and ready to go
So what did 2009 hold in store…best season yet, bees, sheep and double the apprentices.
In 2007 we reached our 5-year goal of 100 members. It was an accomplishment we were proud of, and it established a good economic base for the future. The next step…was figuring out the next step.
A rare chance to skate on the old pond in February
Exterior work on the farmhouse before the season starts
Pre-season Core Goup meeting at Kelly and Rick’s
We decided to approach the season as if we were starting fresh. We pretended that all the work in the previous years had been done by a different couple we called Rachel (a common misnomer for Rebecca) and Joseph (my middle name). For all the good things we saw on the farm we thanked them, and for all the things that broke or had to be redone we sighed and assigned them the blame.
St. Patricks Day was spent working on the barn, fixing the east loafing shed roof and walls with the help of fellow farmer Tom Parker and members Jim Markley and Victoria Wert. Working on a barn with the farm community is always fun.
Jim Markley, Tom Parker and Rebecca
Weather again played a unique role in the season, as it was the year of the “Easter freeze.” After the third warmest March on record with literally everything blooming, the buds of Spring were killed off by two overnights of record low temperatures in the upper teens.
We fulfilled our contractual obligation to the CSA, doing everything in our power to protect the many beds of plants we had out in the fields by covering them with up to 3 layers of row cover. All the while we were battling high winds and the urge to take a shortcut or two. Our efforts paid off, as by June much of the broccoli we had protected headed up beautifully.
Row cover mid-April
Spring broccoli
The combination of high winds and temperatures in the teens made keeping the row cover on a never-ending chore for us and Libby Negus, who started her apprenticeship with us that week. Working hard at the farm, moonlighting at Green Acres Market, and going to school to become a Montessori teacher kept her busy that year.
Picking peas with Libby (photo by Lorne Carroll)
April was also when we planted the strawberry patch. Members had voiced their opinion in our yearly survey that they wanted us to add berries to the shares. We felt that strawberries were the best choice, as they are sturdier than bramble fruit and, based on earlier trials, seemed to grow well here.
Strawberry patch humble beginnings 4/19/07
In general, 2007 was a good year for the crops. The tomato harvest topped 5,000 lbs and we picked over 5,000 individual summer squash. We planted some of the potatoes where we had run the chickens the year before and had our best yields to date. Beans, carrots, and the Fall brassicas were standouts.
Happy lettuce harvest led by 2013 apprentice-to-be Lorne Carroll and long-time member Betty Marcus
Picking summer squash
Members with the harvest
Thanks to the scarcity of wild fruit after the Easter freeze, the raccoons and opossums feasted on our successes in the field. We used a live trap to catch more than 30 racoons that summer, sometimes catching two at a time. They seem cute, but I will tell you that picking up a metal cage with a snarling wild animal in it at sunrise wakes you up for the day, and gets you thinking of alternative methods of predator control.
One of many
In June my Mother passed away. She was a grand lady, the source of my German blood, and a role model like no other. I’m glad Rebecca had a chance to make her aquaintance.
Mom would have been thrilled that August, as we were honored as the Clay County Farm Family of the Year. We have the local University of Missouri Extension Council to thank for nominating us for the award, and recogznizing a sustainable farming operation for the honor. They won us a free trip to the State Fair to pick up the award, where the orators noted that “farmers are the backbone of democracy.” That’s us! Love that quote.
We had a great Fall harvest with little to no frost until late in November.
Fall cauliflower
The year ended with more home remodeling before heading to Italy in December. We visited Rome, then took the train to the southern tip of the continent, Calabria, the ancestral home of the Ruggieri’s.
Working on the back porch
In Calabria…the land of Persephone
Next up…electrifying the G, strawberry bonanza, Rocky, solar irrigation, adding mulch, and toooooo wettttt!
Let it snow is what we are saying at the farm right now. We think we have the animals, structures, machinery and rations in hand for a day or two of staying at home. We are hoping for some nice runoff into the pond, so we can start the Spring with the meximum water supply.
Chicken coop in the snow
Working in the high tunnel on Monday
The main impact of the snow out here is the drifts. Winds swirl around the buildings and vehicles depositing thigh high dunes. This weather is not favored by the chickens or cats, but is loved by the dog. Rocky is built for days like this and it is a pleasure to see an animal so at home.
Work is progressing on more infrastructure work, as we are in the midst of expanding the packing room and wash area. Part of this is the construction of a new cooler, double the size of the old one. We are also trying to use up every scrap piece of wood, doors, siding, insulation and caulk to empty out the barn through repurposing.
By 2006 Fair Share Farm and its CSA were here to stay. We continued to work on making our farming operation viable well into the future. Certain things we could control, like how and what we fed our soil, what we planted and when, and how we integrated the farm into the lives and health of our membership.
The fields at rest
What we can never seem to control is the weather. January 2006 was the warmest on record, February the driest, and April the third warmest. A good reminder that our job is to be ready for whatever weather comes our way. Wet, dry, hot, or cold, we cannot act like we are suprised by anything. The conditions in 2006 required us to start irrigating in April, something we had never had to do before. What ever happened to April showers bring May flowers?
By 2006 it was becoming clear that the climate was (and still is) changing. For me, 20 years of work in industry and environmental engineering, coupled with over 10 years as an farmer, and the on-line availability of raw data showing such things as higher than ever-recorded atmospheric CO2 levels and a polar ice cap that is losing both area and volume every year, is enough to cause concern.
From Fox 4 WDAF (click to enlarge)
While these conditions caused some problems, they were also quite beneficial to certain crops. Warm, dry weather is what tomato, pepper and eggplant thrive in, as fungal diseases don’t get established. We also had one of our best harvests of winter squash.
Carnival winter squash
In scrolling through these old photographs we are reminded of how far we had to come. The infrastructure still left much to be desired, especially when it came to good ergonomics in washing and packing. CSA members from this time period will remember squatting in the grass hosing off vegetables.
Cleaning beets on a CSA morning
Rattlesnake beans
Distribution at the new 39th Street Market
2006 was also the year of the pond. In February, Graff Properties hired local expert Howerton Ditching to turn a gully into an irrigation pond. The pond drains a rather large area (10+ acres) and even with limited rainfall it filled up by April. We hope this tendency repeats itself this Spring, as the pond is down by about 50% right now.
Pond outlet structure
Finished pond—February 27, 2006
Filling pond—April 30
Among the visitors to the farm that Spring were Mary Meyer and Richard Cartwright from Michaela Farm. We worked with the two of them when we apprenticed, and learned much about biodiversity and sustainability. I always remember Richard noting that everyday he touchs the earth with his bare feet. Even in shoes, it is a good habit to get into.
Rebecca, Mary and Richard
Once again, we were fortunate to have lots of help through our full-time and volunteer apprentice program. The full-time apprentice position was split between Brenda Raygor and Lindsay Medoff (the latter of Fair Share Farm tote bag fame). 2007 apprentice Libby Negus, Peas on Earth farmer Julie Coon, neighbor Jen Basuel and farm-girl Kathy Plant filled out the crew. Bad Seed mistress Brooke Salvaggio also helped out on her way to loads of her own fun.
Brenda, Jen, Libby, Julie and Kathy, a great crew
Planting garlic with Farmer Brooke, before Bad Seed, Dan, Percy or Urbavore
Lindsay’s wonderful tote bags
This was also to be the first year that we integrated animals into our farm operation. Previously unknown Liz Elmore moved back to KC from Pennsylvania and gave us a call inquiring about raising broiler chickens on our land. The plan was for it to be Liz’s business operation and we would provide the land and some labor. In return we got a few chickens, the fun of farm animals and lots of chicken poop.
Chicks in the brooder
Chickens in their movable pen
Long story short, the soil made out the best in this venture. As this was before Rocky, the racoons were a major problem, and the 95 to 100+ F degree summer was not conducive to fattening up chickens. The next animal operation at the farm would have to wait until 2009.
2006 was also the year of The 100-Mile Diet. A term you may be familiar with, it became especially popular in 2006 as people across the country began focusing on eating meals with ingredients grown and raise in their immediate locale. In KC we helped spearhead a group of 8 to 10 folks who wrote a series of article on the experience in Present Magazine. This on-line publication was the brainchild of friend Pete Dulin. His 2005 article on the farm is still our favorite look at what we do. Our fun culminated in a CD with copies of the articles, our favorite recipes, and resources for buying local.
The year ended with what has become our favorite mode of transportation—Amtrak. It had been 5 years since Rebecca and I met, and I left Rochester after 20 years of living there. It was nice to get caught up with friends and with the farmers at Peacework. We then hopped the train downstate to stay with my brother and his family in Brooklyn.
Rebecca NYC
When we returned, we found our 1947 Allis Chalmers G tractor. While it looks like a feather-weight, it is best tractor on the planet for smaller, organic vegetable farms like ours.
Arrival of the G
And next year…growing for 100, Easter freeze, starting the strawberry patch, and steady as she goes.
In the beginning, our goal for Fair Share Farm was to have a 100 member CSA. It was our belief that a CSA of that size would sustain us economically as well as nourish us (we now know that number was a little low).
Ice storm—first week of January
Our second season was planned as another incremental step towards that 100 member goal. We were able to grow our CSA membership to 50, and were planting enough in the fields for 75. This approach allowed us a cushion to make sure we could provide for our members, and would leave us a surplus that we could sell at the Crossroads Farmers Market (our city distribution point).
CSA distribution table
Market table
The season was a good one. It started out slow, but we did have some excellent crops that year, including tomatoes, potatoes, beans and broccoli. We think that we may have been showing people that we at least knew something about vegetable production, and when we were on, things were as good as you could get.
Spring broccoli
Heirloom tomatoes
A wonderful crudite of June vegetables
Part of the reason for our success was the extra hands we had to help us. In 2004 Bill McKelvey earned the right to be called our first apprentice (once a week volunteer). While we were doing more learning than teaching back then, it was nonetheless instructive and proved to be the beginning of a wonderful friendship.
Another friend-to-be, Lori Watley began volunteering with us too. She helped us begin the orchard, and later returned as a full-time apprentice in 2009. The title of first FSF full-time apprentice goes to Amy Bousman. Currently a Kansas farmer and dairy maiden, we are happy to have been a help during her earlier years.
Bill helping sort potatoes for the Fall root cellar
Rebecca and Lori planting a fruit tree
Amy washing Chinese cabbage
Then there was the farm infrastructure. Afterall, what’s a farm without fences and a barn with a good roof. We had neither at the start of the year. Our landlord, Graff Properties, hired out a re-roofing of the barn and the work was completed in time for the season.
Roof work in the Spring
Packing room ready to go for the year
The fencing that I was referring to was the 3,750 linear feet of deer fence. After two years of electric fencing, hair bags, bobcat urine and Irish Spring soap, it was apparent that an 8 foot high physical barrier was the only thing that would keep the deer out of our fields.
The planning began in January, and in March we were cutting the black locust trees that would become the fence posts. Throughout the year we picked away at the project—laying out the fence, digging post holes every 25 feet, setting the posts with the members’ help, building gates, and finally hanging the fence. We could not farm without it.
Member Mark Flynn and brother-in-law Jeff Wilson working on posts— Thanks for the help
Setting the posts with the members’ help
John and his deer fence spool
Among the other highlights of the year were the arrival of our two cats Momma and Sunny. The kitten Sunny arrived on Amy’s doorstep (RV step actually) and his constant meowing was soon met by that of his mom. We offered them some food, and they never left. They were a welcome addition to the farm, as Rebecca’s cat Luna had been laid to rest in February, and we were happy to have another mouser or two on the farm.
Sunny and Momma
We were able to take a real vacation that year, traveling to one of Rebecca’s favorite haunts—Mexico. Oaxaca City, Puerto Escondido, and Mexico City were our stops…the land of local coffee, chocolate and bananas. The people, countryside, food and culture were a wonderful retreat after three solid years of work.
Saturday wedding at Santo Domingo, Oaxaca City
Farm-raised Xmas gifts
Next up…abnormal weather, a growing CSA, a year of chickens and a new pond.
