Rock & Roll Farm

Friday! Oct 22 2004 // 11:01 pm // permalink

Frost-sweetened

I don’t know if any of you readers know what it’s like on a farm, but holy crow there is a lot of work to be done. Even though our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) ended last week, we will continue working at high speed through till Thanksgiving. There’s garlic to plant, potatoes to dig, rye to sow, and compost to spread.

Yesterday was the most exhausted I’ve been since arriving. The day’s project was ripping tomato plants and their cages from the ground in our hoop houses. Next the soil will be prepared for spinach and mache. This means cultivating, watering, and waiting for the weed seed to sprout. Then the weeds will be torched - an activity I’m looking forward to with great anticipation. Weeds make my life harder on a daily basis and setting fire to the buggers will be fun.

Now that the first (and second…) frost has come, the landscape of the farm has changed significantly. Undoubtedly, it is the same where you live. Unless you live in like, Hawaii or something. The leaves are changing color, the pepper plants are dead, and the sunflowers are hanging their heavy brown heads. Some crops flourish at this time of year, like broccoli and brussels sprouts. Brussels remain my favorite crop to harvest. It’s a very satisfying feeling when you click the sprout from the stem. I like eating them, as well. There’s a standing challenge between myself and the other remaining intern, Reid, to eat a quart of brussels sprouts. One of these days we’re going to cook them up and bring in an impartial third party.

The deer are doing a real number on the greens and carrot tops. They’ve been pulling the carrots every once in a while, and soon they will start eating the carrots themselves. Our carrots are very tasty right now, as they’ve been sweetened by the frost. The other root vegetables like parsnips and salsify are coming up beautiful. Salsify is this really neat looking root (kind of like a skinny carrot with bark) and is sometimes called German asparagus. We made some today for lunch and it was spectacular. If you find some, peel it, dip it in vinegar (to keep it from turning black), sautee it with leeks and a lot of butter, add chicken stock, and viola! Salsify!

Earlier this week I moved into the pumphouse. The pumphouse is that smaller white building in the photo I posted earlier this month. It is 12x12, with two windows and some serious insulation. It was nice in the barn, but having private space is going to be really nice. I spent three or four hours rearranging, cleaning and decorating my new space. I’m planning to take some photos soon.

Living communally continues to be a joy and a challenge. I’ve never lived with a 3-year-old person before. It would definitely be harder if I lived in the same building as the kid, and this makes me all the more thankful that I have my own space. The joy of spending time with a child is amazing, and my capacity for patience has grown tenfold. Another plus is the reinforcement of my decision to not have kids for a while, even if that decision was subconscious.

Anything anyone wants to know about farm life? Next week I hope to write about my experience at the Bioneers conference last weekend. Beyond that, you’ll be learning a lot about fingerling potatoes and manure until Thanksgiving.