Rock & Roll Farm

renee renee renee renee

Saturday! Jun 25 2005 // 2:35 pm // permalink

hot hot peat


CSA day 26; Market day 7

This is what it’s like. In case you were wondering. What it’s like at about 2 p.m. when it hasn’t rained in weeks and the heat coming off the ground is like sticking your face in the oven. There are two other people sleeping in the room but didn’t fit in the frame. This photo was taken about two weeks ago, but not much has changed. Last year there were around two days that it reached 90, and just barely. This year, well, it’s a horse of a different color. And that horse is on fire.

Market was nuts today… and there’s been a lot going on around here… but I may be too tired and hot to post.

In fact, I am.



Saturday! Jun 18 2005 // 2:09 pm // permalink

Rolling along


CSA, Day 19; Market, Day 5

Market has been slow the past week, but somehow I’ve still managed to rock it. (This is a special Tantre term, meaning to sell out of nearly everything one puts out on the table). Must be my winning smile and sparkling wit. Or it could be that we have really nice organic, local, hand-picked vegetables and people are taking notice. Eat local!

Remember the chickens that were supposed to lay green eggs? Well, they’re dead. They hadn’t even reached full size yet, so they weren’t able to make good on the green egg claims. Based on the evidence, we’ve decided it was the rooster, in the chicken yard, with the beak. None of us were surprised because this rooster has been trouble from the start. The three-year-old calls him “Scratchy Boo-Boo” because he’s bitten her, and her friends, and a lot of the CSA members’ children, several times. There are only a few adults left who are brave enough to go inside the chicken yard anymore (which of course includes me, I ain’t afraid of no rooster). It helps if you don’t run, and if you carry something large to shield from his attacks. I go for the plastic lawn chairs.

More animal bad news, yet another attempt to breed the cow has been thwarted. This time the vet was in the hospital and couldn’t even make it out to the farm. Last cycle we didn’t get the order to our semen supplier in time. Each of the three cycles before that were actual breeding attempts, but they didn’t take. Save the mosquitoes, seems like we are in some sort of reproduction twilight zone.

We planted peppers, eggplant and cucumbers on Thursday. The peppers and eggplant were seedlings and the cukes were direct seeded. We used black plastic row cover and drip tape (of which I hope to skip-out on the removal).

We really should have the summer squash in the ground by now, but, you know, sometimes that’s just how it goes on the farm. At least this farm.

We’ve had a nice amount of rain this week. Which means the crops are happier, but then so are the weeds and pests. Flea beetles made lace of the turnip and radish greens, but the roots came up nicely. Three or four generations of arugula and spicy greens are obscured by pigweed and lamb’s quarters, but we plant a few beds each week so the wait for a nicer batch won’t be too long. There’s a lot of pressure from sedge in the brassica field, and you can’t see the parsley for the shepherd’s purse in the herb garden. Between the second and third hoophouses is a virtual jungle of dock and lamb’s quarters. You can barely see over it. We’ve been talking about going out there with machetes.

Strawberries have been going strong, and won’t last much longer than Wednesday. That is if the robins and raccoons don’t step-up their attack on all three patches. Some people put floating row cover or some other netting over their strawberries to keep the birds from devastating their crop. Spending time protecting the berries isn’t really a priority for us so we take our chances with the critters.

Sugar snaps, shellers, and snow peas are in. Those sugar snaps taste like watermelon. I can’t help myself eating pint after pint at market. One of the rows didn’t get trellised, but was planted next to a row of favas that ended up providing adequate support.



Wednesday! Jun 08 2005 // 2:08 pm // permalink

Weather woes


CSA, Day 9; Market, Day 3

It’s been 90+ the last two days and we haven’t had rain in two weeks. Maybe longer. The ground is too hot to go barefoot, which is the prefered mode here. We’ve been taking swimming breaks in the pond/swamp. Yesterday it was so hot that we took an hour break at around 4p.m. That is totally unheard of around here. Breaks? What are those?

Market was slow again today, but fun. I made a t-shirt that says “Tantre” on the front, and on the back, “Who let them in?” I sold almost everything on the table, which is kind of nice. The reason we are there is more to distribute shares, but rocking-out at the table is what I like most about working on the farm.

The distribution this week is almost identical to last week. No spicy greens or asparagus, but tatsoi instead. Tatsoi is and asian green somewhere between spinach and arugula in taste. There’s a Korean woman who makes the best Kim Che with our tatsoi.

With the heat, a lot of our stuff has exploded in size in the last week. We had probably 1,000 heads of lettuce ready to go yesterday! The cow has been giving more milk lately, a mystery to all of us. We got three new chickens, and someone told me they are the breed that lay green eggs. I’ll believe it when I see it.



Saturday! Jun 04 2005 // 5:00 pm // permalink

Hoes I’ve Known: Standard Hoe


The classic heavy-duty soil breaker.

It’s been said that the only tool a farmer needs is a hoe. It’s also been said that, along with being a farmer, a farmer has to be an engineer, carpenter, mechanic, and several other things to be successful. This hoe was in the tool shed but I’ve never used it. Actually, one time I used it to mix cement for the foundation of the distribution shed. I guess that makes me a mason.



Wednesday! Jun 01 2005 // 9:42 pm // permalink

We’ve only just begun


CSA, Day 2; Market, Day 1

Market was awesome today. Now I just have to do it 39 more times. Most of my favorite regulars showed up and some new faces that I look forward to seeing again. Things were a little slow for my taste, but it’s still early in the season. I’m sure by September I’ll be singing a different tune. I can’t wait to go for the first Saturday of the season in only two more days!

The first distribution went well. The share boxes were beautiful. Four heads of lettuce, and bunches of asparagus, radishes, green onions, arugula, mixed spicy greens, and spinach. On the side (what we say when things won’t fit in the box) were parsnips and two quarts of potatoes. While packing boxes a few of us were saying that we were jealous of the members. Even though we’re around the food all the time and have the luxury of eating it right from the field, the members get a goodie box full of surprises.

We distribute shares at the farm, at the Chelsea Farmers’ Market, and the Ann Arbor Farmers’ Market. Around a third of the people pick up at the farm over four days, two people pick up at the Chelsea market on Saturday, and the rest are split between Wednesday and Saturday at the Ann Arbor market. We split each week’s distribution into two packing days (so nothing is sitting around for days waiting to be distributed). As the Farmers’ Markets go, Ann Arbor is much busier, so we have to harvest more to sell at the table. Also we distribute most of our wholesale orders from the Ann Arbor Farmer’s Market.

One of the biggest improvements we’ve made to the system is having separate coolers. One for Chelsea/Farm and the other, much larger cooler, for Ann Arbor and for recently harvested or unpacked produce. Packing in the new packing shed is a delight. The new gigantic cooler right there makes things much easier, as is having tables on which to pack the boxes. Up till now the boxes were packed on the ground under a big tree in the front yard, far from the cooler. And loading the van for market is a breeze. No more sorting everything on the lawn (at 4:30 a.m., with headlamps) and we can pull the van right into the well-lit shed (out of the rain).

Other updates (quickly, because it’s so past my bedtime): Tomorrow we will be planting some eggplant, cucumbers, and melons. Today we planted a few more rows of corn. The cow is in heat. I got my snake, and he is the coolest snake there ever was, and he still needs a name if anyone wants to make some suggestions. This past weekend JPB visited and we had a great time. If anyone else ever wants to visit, we have lots of extra room and really good food. If anyone knows anyone who needs a summer job, send them our way. We could use the help!



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