I've just returned from the ACORN conference in Halilfax, Nova Scotia. ACORN is the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network and it represents and embodies organic agriculture in the Maritime Provinces.
First of all I have to thank ACORN for the fine job they did to bring such a diverse group of people together to represent the organic community in our region. I spent three days totally absorbed in seminars collecting valuable information, not only about how I'll work my farm, but to see that more small farmers are putting local agricultural products and farming careers within reach of more families, individuals, partners and local communities.
And I do have to comment on the diversity of participants. We're all aware of Occupiers and Tea Partiers and the social and political differences rabidly promoted by our spectator media. But this gathering included those who defied those definitions and divisions. I met an evangelical Christian, a home schooling mom, a Libertarian, a small business owner, a wealth manager looking for a change in life, a dogged small farmer in pursuit of agricultural profits, a young person interested in shaping their own alternatives, an artist who was engineering his own technology solutions, a "hippie" looking for independence from corporations. These people of diverse ideology were not in opposition to one another, nor were they actively protesting anything. They were embracing the means to take peaceful action with their own hands. It was civil. It was orderly and it was radical. We weren't there to protest the status quo. We're already changing it literally from the ground up.
And speaking of ground. The seminars on soil biology, plant health and permaculture left my eyes wide open. I had previously read Gary F. Zimmer's book, "The Biological Farmer". And this summer I was browsing in Michael Phillips book, The Apple Grower, both of which provide detailed information relating the science of soil biology to plant health. But Av Singh's presentations at ACORN really bridged the gap for me between science and field experience. His description of a holistic approach based on science plus farmer observation and experience made my day. He gave me the scientific keys to unlock what I see in my own fields.
Now. There's more than one way to do just about everything. And I was very interested in the seminars on organic standards and allowable inputs. But the magic happened when a theory I hadn't really understood was explained. Everything your plants need to be healthy can be found in a biologically healthy soil system.
The key - is making everything available to your crop - at the right time. This is master level stuff.
But think of it like this. If you drink too much on Saturday night and your system is out of balance, you won't be at your best on Sunday morning. Which, by the way, is why airline pilots aren't allowed to fly with a hangover. Now, you can treat the symptom by taking a few Tylenol, or you can work on putting your whole system back into balance and decide not to put too much alcohol into your system again. You can imagine what's going on in our soil body when we don't keep it in balance. We're trying to grow plants in soil that has a hangover.
Going for optimal soil biology is probably the hardest way to go about optimal plant health. It's so much easier to dump in some organically allowed inputs imported from who knows where and call it good. But then we're just practicing the same bad medicine that got us in trouble in the first place.
So yes, I learned some things about why our crop yields aren't what they could be. And yes, I 've learned how to apply organic corrections to my soil. But I'm motivated to face this new challenge of growing healthy soil from start to finish because I know that the only "sustainable" agriculture comes from the micro-biological level up.
Tip O'Neil is famously quoted as saying, "All politics is local". I guess the same can be said for soil.
Our land has been farmed for 200 years and I'm now 52 years old. Our short term goal is to take a living from our farm. But our long term goal is to leave good soil for the next farmer.
Showing posts with label PEI Organic Farm. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PEI Organic Farm. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Sunday, November 6, 2011
A Conversation With Coyotes
I walked the lane from our home, almost a quarter mile to the gate that opens on the pasture closest to the house and peed on the gate posts. Then I walked along the fence line to the gate that leads to the next field above the house and peed some more. I was leaving a statement for the coyote pack that counts our farm as their territory. Don't cross this line. This is mine.
That's what I did as we put our first batch of 50 pastured chickens into pens on the pasture. And we had no trouble from coyotes. But when we put our second batch of 50 on the pasture, we lost them all.
Coyotes aren't native to PEI. Like us, they are CFA's (Come From Away's) who are variously accepted, tolerated, hunted and trapped. We know there is a an active pack in our neighborhood. They make themselves known on a regular basis in an interesting variety of ways. Coyote is a sensible dog. In native lore he is, "The Trickster". He is part fool, part shape-shifter, part devil.
When the pack is in our area, it moves, not in a bunch, but as a picket line through the woods. Rabbits and ground animals beware, if coyote flushes you from cover, the pack will finish you and a wild celebration of howling will mark victory. About 4:00 AM some days ago I heard a scream that sounded like a child in pain in the woods. It was followed by the celebratory yip and howl of a coyote who had just taken down a good sized rabbit. My dog, Annie heard it too. If you've ever heard a rabbit scream, you know what I'm talking about.
In the days that followed all was quiet.
Then, last night there was the sharp yip and howl of a lone voice just behind the house in the woods. It was an announcement. "I Am HERE!" But "here" was a little too close for me. So I walked into the dark and gave a series of deep throated barks at intervals. As I moved up to the tree line I pinpointed it's position. Coyote shouted back. Now not so certain and then giving ground back into the field behind the trees.
We never saw each other. But communication was being made and it was plain enough. I was saying,
"STAY AWAY!" And he backed off.
After quiet was restored, I went back into the house and went to bed. About 20 minutes later, I was paged through the closed windows of my room by a faint high wailing that sounded like a cell phone in my sleepy state. I got up to open the window and heard coyote's latest broadcast now very close to the edge of our field. I barked back which set my dogs into a few minutes of growling and boof-ing at the intruder. Then we all settled down and the night was quiet again.
Last summer, I read Farley Mowat's 1963 book, "Never Cry Wolf". He details his experiences living with and observing a wild wolf pack in the far north. He learned the rules that determine the territory of the hunting wolf packs and observed the disciplined social behavior that guarantees survival of hunting groups and preserves peace between them. It was his book that encouraged me to take the initiative of communicating with my wild canine neighbors by marking my boundries.
I have two dogs. I love dogs. And I understand dogs. The canine in the wild is not the babied simpleton we raise as pets. It is a canny, wild hunter. It belongs to a society that has rules and it understands a lot about its environment. And I'm convinced, after thousands of years of proximity with man, it knows exactly who we are.
This morning I walked the lane from our home almost a quarter mile to the gate that opens on to the pasture closest to the house. I was getting ready to move the horses out to graze when I saw a little green tootsie roll on the ground in the gate way. Right on the line I had peed last summer. It was a message from coyote.
We knew coyote in suburban southern California. He would come out of the fog draped foothills to patrol the empty streets before dawn with a scornful swagger surfing for cats and backyard bowls of free dog food. But here on PEI this local wild dog had left me a note full of animal protein, fur and slim white bones. And the message was, "Chill out man! I know where your boundry is! No need for threats, bro."
We lost our second batch of 50 chickens on the morning we were planning to take them to be processed.
Something tore through the poultry wire and tore up the the backs of the birds between their wings (a relatively small bite mark), leaving them dead and dying on the ground - but none were taken or eaten. We never knew what got them and I didn't find clear tracks. But the holes in the wire, the size of the holes, the size of the bite marks and the fact that the birds weren't killed for food told me it was probably raccoons that did it.
Coyote is a trickster. And he's a hunter. But the message he left me said that he's well fed on wild game. He knows where I've marked my ground. And he assumes that he's free to hunt the wild hare that would destroy my garden if the population was left un-challenged.
I have to agree. Even so, this evening I walked the lane from our home up into the fields and "refreshed" my marks. I offered a howl into the woods that went unanswered. And I went home satisfied that I had answered coyote for tonight.
That's what I did as we put our first batch of 50 pastured chickens into pens on the pasture. And we had no trouble from coyotes. But when we put our second batch of 50 on the pasture, we lost them all.
Coyotes aren't native to PEI. Like us, they are CFA's (Come From Away's) who are variously accepted, tolerated, hunted and trapped. We know there is a an active pack in our neighborhood. They make themselves known on a regular basis in an interesting variety of ways. Coyote is a sensible dog. In native lore he is, "The Trickster". He is part fool, part shape-shifter, part devil.
When the pack is in our area, it moves, not in a bunch, but as a picket line through the woods. Rabbits and ground animals beware, if coyote flushes you from cover, the pack will finish you and a wild celebration of howling will mark victory. About 4:00 AM some days ago I heard a scream that sounded like a child in pain in the woods. It was followed by the celebratory yip and howl of a coyote who had just taken down a good sized rabbit. My dog, Annie heard it too. If you've ever heard a rabbit scream, you know what I'm talking about.
In the days that followed all was quiet.
Then, last night there was the sharp yip and howl of a lone voice just behind the house in the woods. It was an announcement. "I Am HERE!" But "here" was a little too close for me. So I walked into the dark and gave a series of deep throated barks at intervals. As I moved up to the tree line I pinpointed it's position. Coyote shouted back. Now not so certain and then giving ground back into the field behind the trees.
We never saw each other. But communication was being made and it was plain enough. I was saying,
"STAY AWAY!" And he backed off.
After quiet was restored, I went back into the house and went to bed. About 20 minutes later, I was paged through the closed windows of my room by a faint high wailing that sounded like a cell phone in my sleepy state. I got up to open the window and heard coyote's latest broadcast now very close to the edge of our field. I barked back which set my dogs into a few minutes of growling and boof-ing at the intruder. Then we all settled down and the night was quiet again.
Last summer, I read Farley Mowat's 1963 book, "Never Cry Wolf". He details his experiences living with and observing a wild wolf pack in the far north. He learned the rules that determine the territory of the hunting wolf packs and observed the disciplined social behavior that guarantees survival of hunting groups and preserves peace between them. It was his book that encouraged me to take the initiative of communicating with my wild canine neighbors by marking my boundries.
I have two dogs. I love dogs. And I understand dogs. The canine in the wild is not the babied simpleton we raise as pets. It is a canny, wild hunter. It belongs to a society that has rules and it understands a lot about its environment. And I'm convinced, after thousands of years of proximity with man, it knows exactly who we are.
This morning I walked the lane from our home almost a quarter mile to the gate that opens on to the pasture closest to the house. I was getting ready to move the horses out to graze when I saw a little green tootsie roll on the ground in the gate way. Right on the line I had peed last summer. It was a message from coyote.
We knew coyote in suburban southern California. He would come out of the fog draped foothills to patrol the empty streets before dawn with a scornful swagger surfing for cats and backyard bowls of free dog food. But here on PEI this local wild dog had left me a note full of animal protein, fur and slim white bones. And the message was, "Chill out man! I know where your boundry is! No need for threats, bro."
We lost our second batch of 50 chickens on the morning we were planning to take them to be processed.
Something tore through the poultry wire and tore up the the backs of the birds between their wings (a relatively small bite mark), leaving them dead and dying on the ground - but none were taken or eaten. We never knew what got them and I didn't find clear tracks. But the holes in the wire, the size of the holes, the size of the bite marks and the fact that the birds weren't killed for food told me it was probably raccoons that did it.
Coyote is a trickster. And he's a hunter. But the message he left me said that he's well fed on wild game. He knows where I've marked my ground. And he assumes that he's free to hunt the wild hare that would destroy my garden if the population was left un-challenged.
I have to agree. Even so, this evening I walked the lane from our home up into the fields and "refreshed" my marks. I offered a howl into the woods that went unanswered. And I went home satisfied that I had answered coyote for tonight.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Small Plot Organic Grains and Local Farming Gains
While some farmers have "gone big", we've decided to "go small". We're working with small equipment, heirloom seeds and our neighbors to meet our needs on our terms.
Here's a short video I made in September while cutting our barley with an old International Harvester sickle bar mower and our John Deere tractor. (UPDATE: hahaha - blogger and youtube don't like my .mov video! So, think of it as a briefly animated still and imagine a really great video! - JQ)
In north america, grain production has gradually evolved from being part of the small mixed family farm into a major element of industrial agriculture. Farms now produce hundreds or even thousands of acres of grain with huge energy, tilling, spraying, harvesting and storage costs.
It costs a lot of money to operate a modern grain growing operation. We don't have the resources to build the farm infrastructure for industrial grain growing. I'm not sure we would want to. But we were encouraged to believe we could meet our own needs with a book written by Gene Logsdon of Ohio, by making traditional homestead grain farming part of our farm crop rotation. The Book is titled, "Small Scale Grain Raising: An Organic Guide to Growing, Processing and Using Nutritious Whole Grains for Home Gardeners and Local Farmers.
The point is that while most small organic farms focus on niche vegetables or high value produce, small grain plots can create big benefits on small mixed farms. The book opened my eyes to the amazing yield potential of small plot organic grain farming, the market potential of growing grain for our animals and selling good whole grains directly to consumers.
Space Requirements
So how much space do you need to produce a bushel of grain? (Notice that bushel weight varies, though each weight is considered a single bushel measure)
Some examples from the book:
Corn = 10' x 50' = 56 lbs
Oats = 10' x 62' = 32 lbs
Barley = 10' x 87' = 48 lbs
Wheat = 10' x 109' = 60 lbs
I don't know about you, but 56 pounds of dried corn turned into meal would pretty much meet my household needs for a year. Same with 60 pounds of flour.
Tools
We have no grain drills or combines. We broadcast seed, harrow it into the soil and harvest by mowing and then hand thresh on the barn floor and winnow in the barn yard. I've found some good ideas for do it yourself small threshing and cleaning equipment on Youtube. This is not as easy as using heavy equipment...but the yield costs less and the bank doesn't take a cut. Plus we get a hand made, hand graded and selected product.
Milling
There are a wide variety of home mills available for turning whole grains into cracked grain or flour. We aren't there yet. But once we get better at growing and harvesting it would make sense to buy a mill and sell whole or milled grains in household quantities as a value added organic product at the farmers market.
Let's Talk Beer...
So, a guy could grow his own barley and small batch malt the grains for brewing. In our case, we selected a two row barley that grows well in our climate. Two row is easier to grow and this variety serves as a malting barley but can also be used for feed grain. While it is not as good as other barley for animal feed, it will serve as animal or human food and most importantly, the basis for beer. And 48 pounds of barley from a plot the size of a large suburban yard will make a lot of beer.
Working With Neighbors
We bought in our organic chicken feed this year at a about $35.00 for 50 lbs from the local co op. It cost us roughly twice as much to buy organic feed over conventional feed. We broke even on our meat chickens. We've contacted a local organic grain grower and are planning to work directly with the producer to buy what we need. This is important. We'll continue to grow small plots of grain because of the direct farm and eventual market benefit. But we've learned that it's better to go to local people who specialize in a product and support their effort rather than try to carry everything ourselves.
Next up - Using a Home Made Flail on the Threshing Floor
Sunday, October 16, 2011
This Shining Moment in the Now
- JQ
This Shining Moment in the Now
When I work outdoors all day, every day, as I do now, in the fall,
getting ready for winter, tearing up the garden, digging potatoes,
gathering the squash, cutting firewood, making kindling, repairing
bridges over the brook, clearing trails in the woods, doing the last of
the fall mowing, pruning apple trees, taking down the screens,
putting up the storm windows, banking the house—all these things,
as preparation for the coming cold...
when I am every day all day all body and no mind, when I am
physically, wholly and completely, in this world with the birds,
the deer, the sky, the wind, the trees...
when day after day I think of nothing but what the next chore is,
when I go from clearing woods roads, to sharpening a chain saw,
to changing the oil in a mower, to stacking wood, when I am
all body and no mind...
when I am only here and now and nowhere else—then, and only
then, do I see the crippling power of mind, the curse of thought,
and I pause and wonder why I so seldom find
this shining moment in the now.
(Listen to Garrison Keillor read this poem on NPR's, "The Writer's Almanac."
- requires Real Audio player)
(Update) Coincidentally IBSPEI is having a Social Forum on Weds., Oct 19.
IBS/Prince Edward Island Social Forum
‘It’s the Poets Who Really Know What Time It Is’
Wednesday October 19, 7:00 p.m.; 114 Upper Prince St.
Pete Seeger said, ‘There is a time for every purpose.’
In the, Dead Poets Society, John Keating said, ‘There's a time for daring and there's a time for caution, and a wise man understands which is called for.’
William Faulkner wrote, ‘It is the poet's duty is to write about things that have not yet begun...... sometimes while there is still time not to do them.’
Jim Munves said, ‘It’s the poets who really know what time it is.’
Tonight (Wednesday, October 19th) we invite you to bring your poetry (an original or an old favorite) to share. Something that reflects what time it really is.
The Institute for Bioregional Studies Ltd. (IBS), invites you to join our Social Forums. Since 1995, IBS programs have engaged concerned citizens to discuss issues and exchange of ideas in the hope that such activities will be a catalyst for community growth, social development, and action.
Each forum begins with a potluck dinner, followed by a presentation and informal discussion.
Friday, July 15, 2011
We Recommend The Sandbar and Grill - Panmure Provincial Park - PEI
Angela Ryan is the owner of the Sandbar and Grill at Panmure Island Provincial Park, PEI. She's not only a local entrepreneur she is a natural hostess. Anyone invited to sit down at Angela's table knows what I mean. In fact, Angela's island hospitality is one of the reasons I'm here.
Angela hosted the B&B cottage on the shore in PEI where we stayed in spring, 2000. We were trying to decide whether to buy the farm near Poverty Beach in Murray Harbour North. As we returned to our cosy cottage to discuss it, we found a note on the door. Angela invited us to her home for Easter Dinner with her family. Islanders might not find this unusual. But we urban people, a bit shy by nature about strangers, were surprised. What do we do? We accepted of course. And we were treated to a lovely family gathering where we were included as friends and guests. Needless to say we bought the farm. Not sure at all that we were doing the right thing. But trusting everything above that we were indeed welcome in a place where we could make a new start.
Angela has hosted us to many meals and family gatherings since then. Including an informal but lovely 20th anniversary supper for Susan and I where we re-spoke our wedding vows on the shore and Angela had a mini wedding cake, flowers, champagne and dinner for us. It does sound too good to be true, but that's just how she is. She is a romantic and she loves to see people be happy. Susan and I erased a terrible row we'd been having and left knowing we were fated to be together for another 20 years - for better and worse!
So now this excellent cook and supreme hostess has her own restaurant with a fine yet unfussy dine-in and take-out menu licensed to serve cold regional beer and fine wines with personal service. Take it from a man who has lived the good life. I've dined at 5 star California restaurants and eased into beach side haunts from Malibu to Carmel. I've been up and down the West Coast from Mexico to Oregon and across the US from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast and the Carolinas on up to Boston . The Sandbar offers the perfect combination of simple, tasty and well prepared fresh local food served down home style. Just right for a relaxing supper at the beach.
You'll find a seafood chowder that makes New Englanders glad they found out about it. Lobster pot pie, steamed PEI mussels, famous the world over, but fresh from the harvest in local waters and much more. If your young ones are like mine and only a fine grilled cheese sandwich will do, the kitchen will gladly comply to make your family meal delicious and peaceful. A romantic dinner for two can be served inside or out and family style is always welcome.
We're proud to be included on the menu at the Sandbar, and Angela shifts her menu to use our best fresh ingredients. So if you stop in and order chicken, you'll be getting our organic, pasture raised chicken which we delivered fresh to her. She serves our organic salad greens, broccoli, baby carrots and more. Whatever we have, she says "I'll take it" and she works her magic on the daily menu specials.
Angela told me, "I want to do everything fresh and local." And unlike many chefs, she has the skills to work with whatever we bring her to make exceptional fresh meals. If she owns a can opener I think it spends a lot of time at the back of the drawer.
And desserts? She makes her own. You'll want to try the pie. Blueberry of course (her husband, Greg, is one of the island's top blueberry farmers) and butterscotch to name two. When the apples come in this summer - don't hesitate to order apple pie. And of course, you can always pop in on a hot summer day and have an ice cream cone made with pure cream from PEI's local dairy farmers.
A note for those who like to travel. I was once given a tip to drive 1500 miles to the Cozy Corner BBQ restaurant in Memphis, Tenn. I took that tip and was never sorry I made the drive. That's real Memphis BBQ. And that's what makes touring great. Finding local gems. So this is my tip for you. If you're traveling and you want some authentic local flavor on your visit to PEI, the Sandbar and Grill on Panmure Island is the place to stop.
From California to Tennessee to Boston, Mass. and PEI. This is what makes life good. Fresh local ingredients, grown by people who love the land, served up hot by a friendly woman and her staff who know how to cook. They love to make people happy. So no matter where you're from, you'll be down home.
UPDATE: I've added some helpful links in the text to help you find your way.
Angela hosted the B&B cottage on the shore in PEI where we stayed in spring, 2000. We were trying to decide whether to buy the farm near Poverty Beach in Murray Harbour North. As we returned to our cosy cottage to discuss it, we found a note on the door. Angela invited us to her home for Easter Dinner with her family. Islanders might not find this unusual. But we urban people, a bit shy by nature about strangers, were surprised. What do we do? We accepted of course. And we were treated to a lovely family gathering where we were included as friends and guests. Needless to say we bought the farm. Not sure at all that we were doing the right thing. But trusting everything above that we were indeed welcome in a place where we could make a new start.
Angela has hosted us to many meals and family gatherings since then. Including an informal but lovely 20th anniversary supper for Susan and I where we re-spoke our wedding vows on the shore and Angela had a mini wedding cake, flowers, champagne and dinner for us. It does sound too good to be true, but that's just how she is. She is a romantic and she loves to see people be happy. Susan and I erased a terrible row we'd been having and left knowing we were fated to be together for another 20 years - for better and worse!
So now this excellent cook and supreme hostess has her own restaurant with a fine yet unfussy dine-in and take-out menu licensed to serve cold regional beer and fine wines with personal service. Take it from a man who has lived the good life. I've dined at 5 star California restaurants and eased into beach side haunts from Malibu to Carmel. I've been up and down the West Coast from Mexico to Oregon and across the US from the West Coast to the Gulf Coast and the Carolinas on up to Boston . The Sandbar offers the perfect combination of simple, tasty and well prepared fresh local food served down home style. Just right for a relaxing supper at the beach.
You'll find a seafood chowder that makes New Englanders glad they found out about it. Lobster pot pie, steamed PEI mussels, famous the world over, but fresh from the harvest in local waters and much more. If your young ones are like mine and only a fine grilled cheese sandwich will do, the kitchen will gladly comply to make your family meal delicious and peaceful. A romantic dinner for two can be served inside or out and family style is always welcome.
We're proud to be included on the menu at the Sandbar, and Angela shifts her menu to use our best fresh ingredients. So if you stop in and order chicken, you'll be getting our organic, pasture raised chicken which we delivered fresh to her. She serves our organic salad greens, broccoli, baby carrots and more. Whatever we have, she says "I'll take it" and she works her magic on the daily menu specials.
Angela told me, "I want to do everything fresh and local." And unlike many chefs, she has the skills to work with whatever we bring her to make exceptional fresh meals. If she owns a can opener I think it spends a lot of time at the back of the drawer.
And desserts? She makes her own. You'll want to try the pie. Blueberry of course (her husband, Greg, is one of the island's top blueberry farmers) and butterscotch to name two. When the apples come in this summer - don't hesitate to order apple pie. And of course, you can always pop in on a hot summer day and have an ice cream cone made with pure cream from PEI's local dairy farmers.
A note for those who like to travel. I was once given a tip to drive 1500 miles to the Cozy Corner BBQ restaurant in Memphis, Tenn. I took that tip and was never sorry I made the drive. That's real Memphis BBQ. And that's what makes touring great. Finding local gems. So this is my tip for you. If you're traveling and you want some authentic local flavor on your visit to PEI, the Sandbar and Grill on Panmure Island is the place to stop.
From California to Tennessee to Boston, Mass. and PEI. This is what makes life good. Fresh local ingredients, grown by people who love the land, served up hot by a friendly woman and her staff who know how to cook. They love to make people happy. So no matter where you're from, you'll be down home.
UPDATE: I've added some helpful links in the text to help you find your way.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Harvesting a Local M.E.A.L. - It's Time to Farm!
I planted seeds this week.
Spring is the most optimistic season.
Seeds are faith and hope and life in the future.
Planting made me feel righteous and peaceful and quietly determined to thrive.
A Local M.E.A.L.
Last week, many of us were inspired in Charlottetown by the combination of speaking about and listening to others discuss local food and our commitment to a way of life that serves everyone on this island. A Local M.E.A.L.(Meet Eat And Learn) was a very satisfying serving of networking, tastes of local food and 10 presentations by and for all of us who like to eat locally and live well! Please follow this link for more: http://alocalmeal.wordpress.com/. A video of each presentation will be made available through the link.
Here's mine:
A Local M.E.A.L. - John Quimby from nick battist on Vimeo.
I'm excited to mention as a follow up to "A Local M.E.A.L". that I am working with my son's fifth grade
teacher to create a presentation called "Farming in the Classroom" which will feature 3 hands-on project
demonstrations related to local food production and farming. We will be planting and growing seeds in a local school. We will be integrating the results of these student projects into our spring planting on the farm so students will know that their work is included directly into our farm and will produce food that is available to their families. We want to teach that they aren't just consumers, they can be farmers too! I'll be sharing more details and photos. This is really an exciting opportunity.
Here's a Really Good Find!
I've mentioned before that we are increasing the number of open pollinated varieties that we buy, plant and harvest seed from. Our goal is to always be able to grow non GMO, organic food from our own seed bank.
And I recently found a great resource online. 600 organic/open/heirloom tomato varieties are being offered at: http://www.tomatofest.com/ Our order was filled and returned promptly and I'm pleased now to refer them to you for this spring.
What's So Great About 600 Tomatoes?
As I browsed the choices I realized we could have exactly what we wanted for each of our seasons and customers. I got a small but super early variety (55 days) for our visitor and restaurant customers plus canning for our own needs. A flavourful French slicer for fresh summer eating, An East German cherry for salads, the dusky and smoky Cherokee Purple for exceptional flavor, and a legendary Italian sauce tomato to mate with our garlic, basil and oregano in pasta and pizza sauces. And Gary Ibsen and Dagma Lacey threw in a bonus package of "Black Cherry" tomatoes for us to trial. That's the beauty of bio-diversity friends. You can find a seed for every need.
Local Organic Eggs and Chicken
I also placed orders this week for chicks to raise into laying hens and fresh meat birds this summer. This is new to us and I'm relying on Joel Salatin's, "Pastured Poulty Profits" to guide us through brooding and pasturing our very small flock this year. We are certified organic and so our chicken and eggs are already approved to be the only organic product I know of in our neighborhood. But this is our first attempt! So we'll need your support when the time comes for us to accept orders for organic eggs and chicken. If our customers will help us by investing with us, we'll be a regular supplier of fresh, local, healthy, pasture raised, inspected by ACO and certified organic product. We're working for the gold standard in pasture raised meat birds and eggs.
Our chickens will be the primary customers for the organic pasture we nurture and the organic feed grains that we grow here this year. All of this requires a substantial investment in seed, livestock, machines, time and labor. And we're adding time to teach our children to be part of the work raising chickens for your table. So a new generation will be learning how to grow feed and raise high value food while earning a share of the profits from our neighborhood poultry business. In other words, we're one of several small family owned businesses recreating the small mixed farm model that fed generations of PEI families and trained generations of good PEI farmers.
Your support, through buying our product, means that you are investing in your local food security as we keep and carry a small family farm on PEI into the next generation.
News Links:
Food Inflation Kept Hidden in Tinier Bags
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/business/29shrink.html?_r=2&adxnnl=1&ref=business&adxnnlx=1301403749-7DIP1Gd6QRGZ0J9pMxtiLA
JQ's Final Thought:
Demand-Side food security requires that consumers believe someone or something will always be able to deliver a sufficient and uninterrupted supply of food at a price they can afford over their entire life span.
Supply-Side food security means that you know and support a variety of local producers who put healthy, natural food on your table for generations.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Shopping for Food Security - Part 2
Shopping for Food Security - Part 2
In the last blog post, I explained how organic farmers seek and plant organic seeds grown by other organic farmers and how that has increased the supply and diversity of organic seeds available to farmers and gardeners. I explained that we are also starting to buy, plant and save open pollinated seeds to create our own seed bank at Dunn Creek Farm. And I closed by promising to explain how food shoppers can protect and expand healthy diversity in the market. The simplest explanation is that farmers grow seed for the food you buy. If you choose variety and diversity in your diet, you are supporting biological and genetic diversity in the field and in the market.
Thomas Morrison was kind enough to forward his writing on the topic of food diversity and security. I'm pleased to include him as a contributor.
The Importance of Biodiversity in Farmers Markets
Doug Band and the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) as well as US Ecologist Gary Nabhan have recently come out as strong proponents for crop diversity. Nabhan’s position is that in order to keep the idea of diversity at the forefront of our society, we must apply it to biology of crop diversification. †His theories of promoting sustainability through grocery shopping have become popular. In a recent interview Nabhan said, “in other environmental issues we tell people to stop something, reduce their impact, reduce their damage.” His article Coming Home to Eat published in 200l can be cited as influencing the popularity of green culture, the local food movement, and the increased appearance of farmers markets all over the country.
A host of other organizations have begun to promote sustainability through the act of conservation. Bill Clinton, Doug Band and the CGI (Clinton Global Initiative) have set their sights on emission reduction projects throughout the country. In order to do this, they have partnered up with Donlen, GreenDriver, and Environmental Defense Fund with the purpose of reducing commercial fleet emissions by 20% in the next five years. †The Earth Day Network has brought together local and national conservationist groups and green enthusiasts to participate in an open forum. This forum serves as a space to incite discussion and dialogue on new ways to create a sustainable planet. Individuals can reduce their carbon footprint, create less waste, and stop the unnecessary wasting of water. Gary Nabhan strongly suggests as members of society we take a larger look at the state of our planet.
The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization produced a study with results indicating that a quarter of crop diversity is left and a dozen species provides 90% of the animal protein consumed around the globe. More over, roughly four crop species supply half of the plant-based calories in the basic human diet. Nabhan theorizes that growing food locally will have a massive impact on our planet’s sustainability. The “eat what you conserve” theory says by eating the produce that we are attempting to conserve, we are simultaneously promoting the granular dissemination of a vast amount of plant types.
Agriculturist Marco Contiero adds to the theory by saying, “biodiversity is an essential characteristic of any sustainable agricultural system, especially in the context of climate change.”
According to Conterio, since individuals raise and harvest our own crops and plants, we should purchase the crops harvested and produced by other local growers. If individuals buy food grown and harvested locally, the large carbon footprint associated with the transnational transportation of food is no longer a problem. Both arguments require an active effort toward conservation and sustainability. As the spring approaches, visit your local farmers market to get all the best in seasonal fruit and vegetables. Visiting your local produce stand is also a great way to promote biodiversity, support your local economy, and experience the delicious regional food varieties.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Old Year Resolves into New - Useful Plans and Projects for 2011
It's Sunday.
I like to set aside time on Sunday to be a "book farmer". I try to keep up with the information that comes to me in the books we've collected, the magazines and news letters that come in the mail and the blogs I read for insight and inspiration. Sunday is also the day people here go visiting. I've just set down my reading to put a stick of wood on the fire. And now I'm ready to enjoy a long overdue visit with you.
Have you seen this?
I first read Anne and Eric Nordell's artilce, "Weed the Soil not the Crop" in the Summer, 2006 issue of Small Farmer's Journal (a similar article with the same title, written by the couple, is currently available at: Acres USA).
I started experimenting with their ideas as best I could using my tools and know how (both of which are limited) back in Spring 2007. I was just re-reading that article today and refreshing myself on their approach.
I can say that the parts of this method that we incorporated as directed worked well for us. And I was reminded that we aren't finished mixing these ideas into our work. I've been wondering how to begin writing our farm plan for 2011. This is a great place to start.
You Can Build These Stackable Drying Racks!
Many of the things we harvest in Fall need to be dried before they can be properly stored. Space for drying beer hops or seed corn or baking beans or wild rose hips is at a premium in our house. Could you use some extra space to dry herbs or your own garden produce too? Well, maybe winter might be a good time for you to try (and improve) this project made with hand tools and regular dimensional lumber.
I borrowed several good ideas to make this design work. In particular, I liked the idea of making a rack size that would fit into an oven. They can easily be stacked over or near an air vent too, making double use of your heating or cooling system.
24"x16" Stackable Drying Rack - Materials Per Tray:
2 24" 1x2 for frame
2 14-1/2" 1x2 for frame
4 4-1/2" right triangles (I used 1/2" plywood) as corner braces
4 5" 1x2 for legs
4 2-1/2" 1x2 rack spacers for legs
8 box nails (screws would be good too)
16 shingle nails (or screws)
Staples for fastening screen to frame (I used a staple gun - tacks could work too)
24" x 16" plastic window screen
I started by pre-cutting enough pieces for several trays. Then, using a flat surface and a square I drilled pilot holes and then hammered in two nails in each corner.
After squaring the frame again, I used a blade to cut the 4' screen down to 24" by 16". Since 24" is half of four feet, I could use the nice factory cuts on either edge of the screen. Then I stapled it to the frame.
To give the tray frame strength and help secure the corners, I used the triangle shapes mounted over the screen and nailed them directly to the frame with shingle nails.
I fastened a rack spacer in the exact center of each leg, then mount the legs right tight up to the frame. This is what makes the trays stackable, so be careful how you measure. To make all the legs lineup in the stack I built the first one and then eye-balled all the others to match it. I'm no finish carpenter. This was my attempt to create a simple and inexpensive design that serves a useful purpose. These racks do create a large amount drying area in a small space. And they do look nice enough for Susan to allow them in the kitchen!
Notes and Suggestions
You may want to choose a more natural material than window screen. And be aware that stapled plastic screen will not support the weight of a curious cat plus whatever it is that you are drying!
The bottoms can be strengthened by trussing them with wire, fishing line, string...whatever material you
are comfortable with. A cover might be a good idea too
So Long 'till Next Time!
Thank you for stopping in to visit. I hope we'll be getting together again soon.
I like to set aside time on Sunday to be a "book farmer". I try to keep up with the information that comes to me in the books we've collected, the magazines and news letters that come in the mail and the blogs I read for insight and inspiration. Sunday is also the day people here go visiting. I've just set down my reading to put a stick of wood on the fire. And now I'm ready to enjoy a long overdue visit with you.
Have you seen this?
I first read Anne and Eric Nordell's artilce, "Weed the Soil not the Crop" in the Summer, 2006 issue of Small Farmer's Journal (a similar article with the same title, written by the couple, is currently available at: Acres USA).
I started experimenting with their ideas as best I could using my tools and know how (both of which are limited) back in Spring 2007. I was just re-reading that article today and refreshing myself on their approach.
I can say that the parts of this method that we incorporated as directed worked well for us. And I was reminded that we aren't finished mixing these ideas into our work. I've been wondering how to begin writing our farm plan for 2011. This is a great place to start.
You Can Build These Stackable Drying Racks!
I borrowed several good ideas to make this design work. In particular, I liked the idea of making a rack size that would fit into an oven. They can easily be stacked over or near an air vent too, making double use of your heating or cooling system.
24"x16" Stackable Drying Rack - Materials Per Tray:
2 24" 1x2 for frame
2 14-1/2" 1x2 for frame4 4-1/2" right triangles (I used 1/2" plywood) as corner braces
4 5" 1x2 for legs
4 2-1/2" 1x2 rack spacers for legs
8 box nails (screws would be good too)
16 shingle nails (or screws)
Staples for fastening screen to frame (I used a staple gun - tacks could work too)
24" x 16" plastic window screen
After squaring the frame again, I used a blade to cut the 4' screen down to 24" by 16". Since 24" is half of four feet, I could use the nice factory cuts on either edge of the screen. Then I stapled it to the frame.
Notes and Suggestions
You may want to choose a more natural material than window screen. And be aware that stapled plastic screen will not support the weight of a curious cat plus whatever it is that you are drying!
The bottoms can be strengthened by trussing them with wire, fishing line, string...whatever material you
are comfortable with. A cover might be a good idea too
So Long 'till Next Time!
Thank you for stopping in to visit. I hope we'll be getting together again soon.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Dear Friends: The Blog Christmas Letter
My mother's family used to make a point of sending out regular news letters to one another. And every few weeks or months we would get an envelope with the latest letters from cousins and uncles forwarded to us. It seemed like a nice idea to me at the time. My parents didn't seem so enthused. In looking back I now realize that it obligated my mother to write back and forward the package along. My father always seemed particularly annoyed that their was no real news in these letters. You knew that Aunt Gertrude wasn't going to write, "Jim started drinking again and wrecked the Studebaker last week." Or, "Our new pastor, Dr. Jones, has been banging the Church secretary like a screen door." They also opened each of us for judgement by the others. Writing a response could require considerable diplomacy.
Particularly at Christmas, the family letters took on the tone of those who are counting their blessings. But those blessings would never include things like, "Thank God Marjorie broke up with that awful hippy she met at college before she got herself pregnant." Even though that would have to rate pretty high on the list of things someone could really be thankful for.
I do love the fact that my mother's family were decent, faithful, conservative, old Protestants. Wire rim spectacled Main Street Republicans since Lincoln. They tried to love and understand why, in mid-life, my parents became Unitarians who supported Ceasar Chavez, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King. And as the older generation faded away, family letters became less frequent. They finally stopped about the same time my parents joined a New Age Church in Santa Monica and sent me to a Catholic High School.
Which brings me to my topic. The Blog Christmas Letter. I sent a family Christmas letter home in a Moosehead Beer box full of canned goods and crafts we produced on the farm this year. In the letter I described what Susan and I grew and harvested for the goodies we sent home to California. And I shared the news about our kids and their efforts. You know, I'm sure my family will enjoy the gifts, the letter and the photos we sent. But after browsing the letter again (a bad habit of mine...geez once it's written and sent...let it go!) I also realized that it reads like a Christmas package from the Waltons. And I was reminded of those long gone relatives of mine who shared their stories and sent Christmas greetings in letters instead of shipping us a Chia Pet. They came from a culture where sharing tame family gossip was how they knew each other. Here in PEI, that culture of being known by your story is still very real. And that really is where the old folks were coming from...and it may be the place that social media is taking us back to.
Does telling who we are really make us who we are?
Maybe. Maybe your family never communicated like that at all. Or maybe communication was all read between the lines. I just thought it would be interesting to write a Christmas letter from the farm to everyone who wants to read one. It's not about the "news" (that will keep for another time) it's about how and why we reach out to each other, especially at this time of year.
The Blog Christmas Letter
Dear Ones -
Thank You.
Thank you for reading my words and sharing your comments. Thank you for your gentle company on a journey that sometimes thrills me and other times scares me into hoping I won't disappoint you, myself or my loved ones.
I'm grateful to you for giving me a reason organize my thoughts from time to time...to be mindful of my daily life and the wonders I'm fortunate to experience. Thanks for the comfort of allowing me to be in touch with you as I move beyond previous experience into the unknown.
Thank you for allowing me to read your blogs and emails, facebook pages and projects so I know we're not alone and foolish for wandering "far from the madding crowd".
Your time and interest are a wonderful gift.
Whatever faith you profess (or lack) I wish you a happy and blessed Christmas Day and at least one Dream Come True in the New Year.
JQ
Monday, September 13, 2010
US Senate Bill S 510 - Food. Safety For Whom?
We have an old family recipe that directs the cook to use a "slow fire" when preparing the ingredients.
I can only picture my great grandmother starting her work by taking a stick of kindling and warming the back-end of the reluctant child who didn't fetch enough fire wood for her to make her recipe on the wood stove.
I can now take the same recipe to my electric stove and have perfect control over heat, time, sanitation and preparation while my reluctant child watches TV and asks for Kraft Dinner. And I can do both at the same time.
It was just a few generations ago that most of my family farmed in New England and the Mid Western States. Food was the center of farm life. Knowing how to grow, prepare and preserve the bounty of the farm was the business of each family - not the government or private enterprise.
Now we live in a world where huge farms in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Alberta, Uruguay and Brazil can contribute their produce to the same pound of ground beef processed and packaged for sale by a nameless group of sub-contracting slaughter houses, processors, packagers and shippers. Our food passes from hand to hand in country after country under conditions we hope are safe at each step.
But we don't really know.
And that's what makes it so disturbing when one company can sell and distribute a problem to 20 million people and then say, "Sorry". Meanwhile, hundreds of small local producers and packers are forced out.
When so much of our food comes from people and places we can't see and don't know on a scale we can't comprehend we need increased regulations, inspection and safety standards to keep our global food supply safe. Or we need more local alternatives, supported by our communities that must answer directly to neighborhood consumers, their farmers and their concerns. But clearly there are forces opposed to this.
So the question is, where does your concern about food safety really center? Is it your concern to regulate the nameless and invisible stops on the international food chain? Or should new regulations be made to equate your neighbors and individual local producers, with an international giant?
That is what is up for debate in US Senate Bill S 510. And you can read all about it here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-510
I am not one to rail against conventional farms. We need all of our farmers in North America to have healthy, successful businesses. I simply believe we have to be able to decide for ourselves what food choices we want. All of us have a human right, based on 10,000 years of human agriculture, to grow and consume natural food. But a recent FDA decision in the US declared that manufacturers using Genetically Modified Organisms would not be required to identify their contents. And now a company here in Canada is trying to market a genetically modified fish clone as food. That might be fine, but I want my community to have an open, organic choice. Policy that would make it legal to sell unlabeled clones as food, but illegal to sell heirloom tomatoes threatens more than the integrity of a single species.
It seems to me that the food safety issue and the proposed regulation as presented here is designed to provide safety for the industrial food marketer/manufacturers at the expense of independent farmers across North America. And before you suspect my motivations, please consider that I already pay more and produce more documentation for the organic certification of my farm than would be required of small producers under the proposed US law.
The time may come when the producers of synthetic food products will demand restrictions on the producers of natural food. Conventional growers need to see this for the threat it is and join in support of independent and organic farmers in opposition to this legislation. The time is now.
I can only picture my great grandmother starting her work by taking a stick of kindling and warming the back-end of the reluctant child who didn't fetch enough fire wood for her to make her recipe on the wood stove.
I can now take the same recipe to my electric stove and have perfect control over heat, time, sanitation and preparation while my reluctant child watches TV and asks for Kraft Dinner. And I can do both at the same time.
It was just a few generations ago that most of my family farmed in New England and the Mid Western States. Food was the center of farm life. Knowing how to grow, prepare and preserve the bounty of the farm was the business of each family - not the government or private enterprise.
Now we live in a world where huge farms in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Alberta, Uruguay and Brazil can contribute their produce to the same pound of ground beef processed and packaged for sale by a nameless group of sub-contracting slaughter houses, processors, packagers and shippers. Our food passes from hand to hand in country after country under conditions we hope are safe at each step.
But we don't really know.
And that's what makes it so disturbing when one company can sell and distribute a problem to 20 million people and then say, "Sorry". Meanwhile, hundreds of small local producers and packers are forced out.
When so much of our food comes from people and places we can't see and don't know on a scale we can't comprehend we need increased regulations, inspection and safety standards to keep our global food supply safe. Or we need more local alternatives, supported by our communities that must answer directly to neighborhood consumers, their farmers and their concerns. But clearly there are forces opposed to this.
So the question is, where does your concern about food safety really center? Is it your concern to regulate the nameless and invisible stops on the international food chain? Or should new regulations be made to equate your neighbors and individual local producers, with an international giant?
That is what is up for debate in US Senate Bill S 510. And you can read all about it here:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-510
I am not one to rail against conventional farms. We need all of our farmers in North America to have healthy, successful businesses. I simply believe we have to be able to decide for ourselves what food choices we want. All of us have a human right, based on 10,000 years of human agriculture, to grow and consume natural food. But a recent FDA decision in the US declared that manufacturers using Genetically Modified Organisms would not be required to identify their contents. And now a company here in Canada is trying to market a genetically modified fish clone as food. That might be fine, but I want my community to have an open, organic choice. Policy that would make it legal to sell unlabeled clones as food, but illegal to sell heirloom tomatoes threatens more than the integrity of a single species.
It seems to me that the food safety issue and the proposed regulation as presented here is designed to provide safety for the industrial food marketer/manufacturers at the expense of independent farmers across North America. And before you suspect my motivations, please consider that I already pay more and produce more documentation for the organic certification of my farm than would be required of small producers under the proposed US law.
The time may come when the producers of synthetic food products will demand restrictions on the producers of natural food. Conventional growers need to see this for the threat it is and join in support of independent and organic farmers in opposition to this legislation. The time is now.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Is Home Grown Food Subversive?
We spent the weekend selling fresh vegetables and herbs at the 70th annual Dundas Plowing Match in Eastern Kings County PEI. It's a lovely old time affair celebrating local Agri - Culture and the local traditions and skills of farming. We go there each year to sell a bit of our organic produce, meet the neighbors, watch the horse teams and plowing competitions and generally enjoy a traditional country fair.
Today, at our market table, I was slicing off samples of our just-picked cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
I offered a taste of our finest produce followed by a dab of fresh herbs...just to give fair goers a chance to put the taste of fresh, real, whole food on their palates.
A darling young girl of about 8 years came up to the table and looked over our selection. Then she shyly asked if she could have a slice of cucumber. I said, "of course". She picked one up, popped it into her mouth and scampered away.
A Francophone couple from New Brunswick came to the table and I offered them tastes of our lightly flavored Mediteranian cucumbers, our orange cherry tomato, and a bit of fresh basil. The gentleman came back a few minutes later and asked me if he could have another basil top, "Because it smell so good!"
A bit later, a couple with several young children came up. I offered them a taste of a just-picked ripe tomato,
a bit of fresh cilantro and a taste of basil. I joked with the parents that I was "subverting their children". I said,
"Once they learn what fresh food tastes like, they won't want anything else."
I was kidding. Until I thought about it.
Maybe it really is subversive, an act designed to overthrow the establishment, to offer fresh, clean, naturally grown food to people.
Powerful forces in our economy and our governments are continuing to move against small producers. And new legislation is pending in the states that could make it impossible for homestead and market garden producers to supply their neighbors with healthy local food.
The premise of the new regulation is food safety, as though selling a few hand raised tomatoes to a neighbor is as risky as shipping e-coli tainted hamburger to 12 states. It seems to me that the real risk is that we will continue to reduce the number of producers until no small farms are left and government has only a handful of "too big to fail" producers to support as rural communities die. I've met senior farmers who nearly go to tears when they tell me that after 5 generations, they are retiring off the land because the kids don't want the farm. In many places today, its just too hard for our young people to make a go of it.
But that all seems too grim on a day when local people stepped up to buy a few beans, some herbs, a bit of squash and to take a moment to share the news in the Farmers Market at The Dundas Plowing Match.
.
Today, at our market table, I was slicing off samples of our just-picked cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh herbs.
I offered a taste of our finest produce followed by a dab of fresh herbs...just to give fair goers a chance to put the taste of fresh, real, whole food on their palates.
A darling young girl of about 8 years came up to the table and looked over our selection. Then she shyly asked if she could have a slice of cucumber. I said, "of course". She picked one up, popped it into her mouth and scampered away.
A Francophone couple from New Brunswick came to the table and I offered them tastes of our lightly flavored Mediteranian cucumbers, our orange cherry tomato, and a bit of fresh basil. The gentleman came back a few minutes later and asked me if he could have another basil top, "Because it smell so good!"
A bit later, a couple with several young children came up. I offered them a taste of a just-picked ripe tomato,
a bit of fresh cilantro and a taste of basil. I joked with the parents that I was "subverting their children". I said,
"Once they learn what fresh food tastes like, they won't want anything else."
I was kidding. Until I thought about it.
Maybe it really is subversive, an act designed to overthrow the establishment, to offer fresh, clean, naturally grown food to people.
Powerful forces in our economy and our governments are continuing to move against small producers. And new legislation is pending in the states that could make it impossible for homestead and market garden producers to supply their neighbors with healthy local food.
The premise of the new regulation is food safety, as though selling a few hand raised tomatoes to a neighbor is as risky as shipping e-coli tainted hamburger to 12 states. It seems to me that the real risk is that we will continue to reduce the number of producers until no small farms are left and government has only a handful of "too big to fail" producers to support as rural communities die. I've met senior farmers who nearly go to tears when they tell me that after 5 generations, they are retiring off the land because the kids don't want the farm. In many places today, its just too hard for our young people to make a go of it.
But that all seems too grim on a day when local people stepped up to buy a few beans, some herbs, a bit of squash and to take a moment to share the news in the Farmers Market at The Dundas Plowing Match.
.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Quail Springs - Building An Oasis
CLICK - HEAR TODAY'S PODCAST
According to Merriam Webster:
Oa-sis
When my friend Lorna came to visit Santa Barbara (and help us pack) she said, "No wonder you get so excited by all the water in PEI." Indeed. In much of the world, abundant clean water is an unimaginable luxury. But a project like Quail Springs demonstrates how a community of people can work together to manage scarce resources and create abundance.
According to Merriam Webster:
Oa-sis
1 : a fertile or green area in an arid region (as a desert)
2 : something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast
2 : something that provides refuge, relief, or pleasant contrast
You can easily imagine why ancient people in arid lands would know how to find water. What it might be hard to understand if you live in a place where abundant water falls from the sky or clean water flows from a pipe is the effect and wonder of abundant water on a dry land. It changes the desert from ashen sea to a fertile island of life. And that's why ancient people cultivated these life sustaining places. An increasing number of people are becoming aware that the world needs places of refuge, relief and a pleasant contrast from the relentless momentum of our Titanic civilization.
The podcast this week will tell you some of their story and the photos and text will give you some idea of what the Quail Springs project looks like. But it wasn't until I looked up the definition of oasis that I remembered co-founder Warren Brush telling how the first few years of the project on the ground has been "farming water". That's when I understood the links between past and present and that one person's wasteland can become another person's cultivated place of refuge.
Meals are prepared in an open kitchen in a common area. The meal we were served (in early April) primarily included whole food from the farm. It was simple and delicious.
The common room features a bright corner for children and their friends to play and talk. The building is a converted metal hay barn. Walls are now straw bale and earth - semi finished at this point. A finished interior is shown in another picture below. Using natural materials controls cost and eliminates harmful chemicals from the living space.
More than just a pond...this pool is a valuable asset. It collects and holds water from the springs, feeds a newly re-establishing wetland habitat, waters the farm gardens and livestock and holds water in the ground.
Further upstream you see what limited rainfall and years of over-grazing / poor land use looks like. Lot's of erosion, a collapse of the native riparian environment and a stream that floods and then goes dry. The farm is working on ways to slow runoff and to allow water to move laterally into the soil to create a water "bank" that supports re-growth of the stream habitat. In the long term, this kind of planning could actually change the micro-climate of this small canyon.
Using natural earth, stone and local materials, residents have created homes that are simple to live in. By design this home is easy to heat in the winter and relatively cool in the summer and features "built in's" for shelves and seating in this finished interior.
The exterior of this home now being built shows straw bale and cobb construction, the mix of traditional earth and modern structural materials, the mountings for solar panels on the roof and the simple means for collecting rain water from the eave-troughs to water a small garden behind the house.
Pastured poultry starts with pasture. Planting grasses begins the process of creating fertile topsoil in dry sand. Grass nurtures chickens which manure the grass which grows more chickens and deeper soil.
Brenton uses mud and straw to build the wall of a new chicken coop. Inexpensive, easy to add on to and sufficient for securing his charges, this coop will also help moderate extremes of heat and cold.
For more be sure to listen to the podcast. Special thanks to Kolmi and Warren for allowing me to visit and share this story. And thanks to my favorite shepherd, Lorna McMaster, for playing her banjo in the "audio shop" at Dunn Creek Farm.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
A Few Reasons Why Compost Could Save Us.
Yes, the news on the environment is really bad this week. We have an estimated 200,000 thousand gallons of crude floating to the surface in the Gulf of Mexico every day for over a week adding to an environmental wipe out that could reach unprecedented proportions and stretch from Louisiana all the way up the east coast..
But even if you are convinced that burning fossil fuel will destroy the planet, you're probably no more prepared to live without it than I am. Lets face it we all need to find some answers and we may not like the answers we find. But obviously the time has come to get serious about alternatives. So how DO we get control of the mess we're in and keep everything from spiraling out of control?
Let's start with compost.
Now, I'll disclaim this post here and now with an admission that I am not loaded with research grants or University degrees but there is such a thing as experiential learning. And I've been working on this for a while, so I hope you'll follow along and add your comments. Even if I put a foot out of step here, I hope you'll see that what I'm saying makes sense on some fundamental levels. So let's check out the basics.
Plants take in Co2 and breathe out oxygen. The carbon taken up by plants create the structure of the plant itself. Stems of grasses, wood, leaves, etc are all rich in carbon.
A lot of this carbon comes from the air - the Co2 in the atmosphere. And we humans put a lot of carbon out there when we burn fuel. There's more there now than there was before we stopped taking a yak to work and drove an Audi instead.
If we park the Audi and take the carbon that plants have soaked up and put it back into the earth, we are sequestering this carbon by taking it out of the air and putting it back where it came from and we're doing something else too. We're creating plant based fertilizer for new pants to use and eliminating the fossil fuel we were using to create synthetic fertilizer like ammonia nitrates. Nitrates make plants grow, but they are produced by burning large amounts of natural gas which enters the atmosphere (more Co2) and the leftover nitrates tend to drift into our drinking water which isn't good for people.
With me so far?
OK, so in our organic system at Dunn Creek Farm we really can't rely on chemical based fertilizers. But without them, we quickly exhaust the fertility of the soil which means that crop yields drop. And they drop fast. Enter compost.
First, we harvest all that collected carbon. Dead plants, horse manure, old hay, cleared brush, wood chips, and we mix it in with other stuff like green waste from the kitchen, green plants that have finished producing, vegetables that aren't good for market, grass clippings and seaweed. Yes, I've been seen on the beach after a big storm scooping up tons of seaweed for compost.
This material gets layered up in big windrows in a field. Each windrow is about 4 feet wide and 20 feet long. In short order it gets all hot and steamy, as an army of bacteria feed on the air, moisture and nutrient dense materials in the pile. The plumes of steam from a working pile look really magnificent on a fall morning.
I cover it up with a tarp to keep weeds from growing on the top and let it work. By the next fall it looks like dark brown earth. It's full of worms and bugs and fungus and bacteria...just the stuff to inoculate the field and feed the plants we'll grow next year. Now some people are saying that hot compost destroys biological benefits like microorganisms and fungus and that a low temp or cold process is actually more beneficial. Hot compost is a means to kill pathogens and weed seeds, so material that is hot composted is thought to be cleaner. The rules for application require a hot composting process in order for the material to be called compost. Otherwise it is regulated as "manure". This kind of thinking can give you a headache. But in order to get the most benefit from the input we make and to comply with regulations that are intended for food safety, we apply our compost/manure in the fall and that way it is never in direct contact with edible food crops.
Now, the fact is that we cannot produce enough compost to meet our fertility needs. So we also rotate our plantings and we plant about a quarter of our production area in "green manure" to increase fertility in place. We are always farming soil by producing biomass to put back in the ground each year. The plants do their job of taking in carbon from the air and fixing nitrogen in the soil and we chop that material up and put it back in the earth.
What we spend on seed and time and labor is spent instead of buying more fertilizer. Our fields test low in organic matter which promotes the biological benefits I mentioned and helps to regulate moisture in the soil. So putting more organic matter and trace minerals from things like seaweed back into the soil improves the health of our plants, the yields we get to market and, we might expect, the nutritional value of the food we grow.
We're doing all this to create a solid system that will continue to produce good yields of healthy food for years to come. But there are other benefits to consider.
You may be someone who doubts the value of organics. But it's hard not to like a system of agriculture that isn't entirely dependent on fossil fuels, doesn't use airborne toxic sprays and eliminates the environmental hazards caused by the runoff of chemical fertilizers and pesticides into the ground water we eat and drink.
You may be someone who believes that climate change is a hoax. But it's hard not to agree that our current choices have made us dependent on buying fossil fuels from people who may not have our interests in mind. And the supplies are limited - which limits our potential to grow our own food, the economy...anything.
If you do think that humans have tilted the balance of our environment into a wobbly and unpredictable scenario, then you might agree that supporting a system that can actually help reduce the carbon footprint of all the humans on the planet is a good thing.
But even if you are convinced that burning fossil fuel will destroy the planet, you're probably no more prepared to live without it than I am. Lets face it we all need to find some answers and we may not like the answers we find. But obviously the time has come to get serious about alternatives. So how DO we get control of the mess we're in and keep everything from spiraling out of control?
Let's start with compost.
Now, I'll disclaim this post here and now with an admission that I am not loaded with research grants or University degrees but there is such a thing as experiential learning. And I've been working on this for a while, so I hope you'll follow along and add your comments. Even if I put a foot out of step here, I hope you'll see that what I'm saying makes sense on some fundamental levels. So let's check out the basics.
Plants take in Co2 and breathe out oxygen. The carbon taken up by plants create the structure of the plant itself. Stems of grasses, wood, leaves, etc are all rich in carbon.
A lot of this carbon comes from the air - the Co2 in the atmosphere. And we humans put a lot of carbon out there when we burn fuel. There's more there now than there was before we stopped taking a yak to work and drove an Audi instead.
If we park the Audi and take the carbon that plants have soaked up and put it back into the earth, we are sequestering this carbon by taking it out of the air and putting it back where it came from and we're doing something else too. We're creating plant based fertilizer for new pants to use and eliminating the fossil fuel we were using to create synthetic fertilizer like ammonia nitrates. Nitrates make plants grow, but they are produced by burning large amounts of natural gas which enters the atmosphere (more Co2) and the leftover nitrates tend to drift into our drinking water which isn't good for people.
With me so far?
OK, so in our organic system at Dunn Creek Farm we really can't rely on chemical based fertilizers. But without them, we quickly exhaust the fertility of the soil which means that crop yields drop. And they drop fast. Enter compost.
First, we harvest all that collected carbon. Dead plants, horse manure, old hay, cleared brush, wood chips, and we mix it in with other stuff like green waste from the kitchen, green plants that have finished producing, vegetables that aren't good for market, grass clippings and seaweed. Yes, I've been seen on the beach after a big storm scooping up tons of seaweed for compost.
This material gets layered up in big windrows in a field. Each windrow is about 4 feet wide and 20 feet long. In short order it gets all hot and steamy, as an army of bacteria feed on the air, moisture and nutrient dense materials in the pile. The plumes of steam from a working pile look really magnificent on a fall morning.
I cover it up with a tarp to keep weeds from growing on the top and let it work. By the next fall it looks like dark brown earth. It's full of worms and bugs and fungus and bacteria...just the stuff to inoculate the field and feed the plants we'll grow next year. Now some people are saying that hot compost destroys biological benefits like microorganisms and fungus and that a low temp or cold process is actually more beneficial. Hot compost is a means to kill pathogens and weed seeds, so material that is hot composted is thought to be cleaner. The rules for application require a hot composting process in order for the material to be called compost. Otherwise it is regulated as "manure". This kind of thinking can give you a headache. But in order to get the most benefit from the input we make and to comply with regulations that are intended for food safety, we apply our compost/manure in the fall and that way it is never in direct contact with edible food crops.
Now, the fact is that we cannot produce enough compost to meet our fertility needs. So we also rotate our plantings and we plant about a quarter of our production area in "green manure" to increase fertility in place. We are always farming soil by producing biomass to put back in the ground each year. The plants do their job of taking in carbon from the air and fixing nitrogen in the soil and we chop that material up and put it back in the earth.
What we spend on seed and time and labor is spent instead of buying more fertilizer. Our fields test low in organic matter which promotes the biological benefits I mentioned and helps to regulate moisture in the soil. So putting more organic matter and trace minerals from things like seaweed back into the soil improves the health of our plants, the yields we get to market and, we might expect, the nutritional value of the food we grow.
We're doing all this to create a solid system that will continue to produce good yields of healthy food for years to come. But there are other benefits to consider.
You may be someone who doubts the value of organics. But it's hard not to like a system of agriculture that isn't entirely dependent on fossil fuels, doesn't use airborne toxic sprays and eliminates the environmental hazards caused by the runoff of chemical fertilizers and pesticides into the ground water we eat and drink.
You may be someone who believes that climate change is a hoax. But it's hard not to agree that our current choices have made us dependent on buying fossil fuels from people who may not have our interests in mind. And the supplies are limited - which limits our potential to grow our own food, the economy...anything.
If you do think that humans have tilted the balance of our environment into a wobbly and unpredictable scenario, then you might agree that supporting a system that can actually help reduce the carbon footprint of all the humans on the planet is a good thing.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
PEI Eggs: Part of a Regional Game of Chicken
As I posted on Rob Paterson's blog, voters in the State of California passed Proposition 2 over the objection of California's Egg Producers, which hold 20 million hens producing 5 billion eggs per year.
From Wikipedia:
Proposition 2 was a California ballot proposition in that state's general election on November 4, 2008. It passed with 63% of the votes in favor and 37% against. Submitted to the Secretary of State as the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, the initiative's name (as with others such as Proposition 8) was amended to officially be known as the Standards for Confining Farm Animals initiative. The official title of the statute enacted by the proposition is the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act.
I learned today that Canada has managed to stave off a cross border flood of cheap eggs in part by using regional quotas to ensure Canadian production. So it seems to me that the issue in PEI isn't really about dangerous organic eggs or nightmare factory farms. It's about the current supply management system and the possibility that it may no longer support "small" commercial operations in the province.
I reached that conclusion when I looked beyond PEI. There is a regional chicken war in eastern Canada. Read more in The New Brunswick Business Journal article titled:
The Trouble With Processing Chicken
Industry: The feud between New Brunswick supplier and processor is threatening the stability of the supply-management system for poultry in Central and Eastern Canada
The Canadian Competition Tribunal, in ruling on the Nadeau case last year, examined the chicken industry's supply management system and declared "the poultry sector is likely the most highly regulated industry in the Canadian economy."
Under the supply-management system, provinces are assigned quotas by a national body and then provincial marketing boards set quotas for individual producers in their boundaries. The provincial boards also set minimum prices within each province.
Quotas can be expensive. The quota cost for an average-size chicken farm in Canada in 2007 climbed to $2.25 million, according to the competition tribunal.
The quotas are enforced by provincial marketing board bureaucrats, or "the chicken police," to employ the term used by people such as Patrick Langston, a small chicken producer near Navan, Ont.
There is so much paperwork involved in the whole process that processors are sometimes reluctant to deal with small producers, says Langston. Only deals with the big guys, apparently, make the onerous paperwork worthwhile. The squeeze on small producers gets even tighter as companies, such as Westco, become more vertically integrated, aiming to control every aspect of the industry from hatcheries to processing or, in the industry parlance, from egg-to-plate.
In the big picture, the PEI Egg Board represents "small producers" who are caught in the squeeze. The big producers would be happy to see them pushed out. Sound familiar? It looks to me as though the system designed to support local production is failing.
Friday, February 12, 2010
It's A Good Business - Fairview Gardens Tour Part 3
CLICK - HEAR TODAY'S PODCAST
The blog continues with our visit to Fairview Gardens Farm in Goleta, California, just a few minutes away from our home in Santa Barbara.
I visited the farm several weeks ago, so yes, these are pictures of the farm in the current season. These strawberries were threatened by heavy rain and hail last week, but careful harvesting and good luck saved the farm from losing much of this valuable crop.
These honey bees are at work on the farm in this very informal hive set up. The bees work in a grove of avocado trees, adjacent to a fruit orchard.
We use Fairview Gardens as a way to see farming differently. A lot of current organic methods are in practice here and this was an opportunity to learn on a farm which stays in production year round. In fact, the challenge here is that there is no significant period of down time for farmers, managers and marketing workers on this farm.
But they are imagining new possibilities. Even as North America continues to produce massive amounts of food for processing and export, kids in farm country don't get fresh local food in their school lunch meals. In many places, local food culture and traditions are disappearing under a wave of yogurt in plastic tubes and mass produced pizza. In another generation, grandmother's home made mustard pickles could be a delicacy that their children don't even recognize.
CLICK - HEAR TODAY'S PODCAST
I visited the farm several weeks ago, so yes, these are pictures of the farm in the current season. These strawberries were threatened by heavy rain and hail last week, but careful harvesting and good luck saved the farm from losing much of this valuable crop.
For this podcast I interviewed farm manager Toby McPartland. Don't miss it if you are pondering small farming on your own. Toby explains that he plans for profit. Value added products and business links in the community are ways in which he is growing the farm as a small business.
We use Fairview Gardens as a way to see farming differently. A lot of current organic methods are in practice here and this was an opportunity to learn on a farm which stays in production year round. In fact, the challenge here is that there is no significant period of down time for farmers, managers and marketing workers on this farm.
But they are imagining new possibilities. Even as North America continues to produce massive amounts of food for processing and export, kids in farm country don't get fresh local food in their school lunch meals. In many places, local food culture and traditions are disappearing under a wave of yogurt in plastic tubes and mass produced pizza. In another generation, grandmother's home made mustard pickles could be a delicacy that their children don't even recognize.
CLICK - HEAR TODAY'S PODCAST
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Before I wanted to be a Farmer...
CLICK - HEAR KUHL RADIO, JULY 1981
I turned 50 in July. When I was a teenager that seemed impossibly old. When I was 5 years old I used to swipe a hair curler from my mom and use it the way an announcer uses a microphone. So it was that I followed my ambition and became a radio disc jockey when I was 20.
In 1980, I left Santa Barbara and moved to Hollywood, California. I went to the KiiS Broadcast workshop. And in the spring of '81 I used the aircheck tape I made at the workshop to land a job in radio. I was a part-time DJ. I worked overnight on Sunday and Monday mornings at 1440 KUHL AM, in Santa Maria, Ca. That job was everything to me but eventually I got fired by the program director for breaking format. I was re-hired to work full time as an FM DJ at the "album rock" station owned by the same company - 99 KXFM. I eventually became a program director for a group of stations in Santa Barbara. When AT&T took over as corporate owners, I quit radio in 1995 and went to work in my own studio/production business.
Since then, I've worked for big Hollywood stars, major studios, cable networks, important films, and national advertising campaigns. I'm proud of that. But what you don't know is that all those projects involve lots of ordinary people like me doing unglamorous work for little pay. The star talents work hard and make a fortune but people like me carry the burden of making sure our tiny fraction of a multi-million dollar project works perfectly. And at age 50 I really don't care to serve what Joni Mitchell called "The Star Maker Machinery" any more.
And I never wanted to be a studio engineer anyway. I always wanted to be a creative talent. Maybe that's why I'm so attracted to farming. Sound weird? Well, you'll just have to keep visiting this blog and see if you can understand how that works.
For now I'm sorting and packing the relics of a lifetime, preparing to leave the past behind and move to PEI. Among my relics are boxes of cassettes and reel to reel tapes of a life gone by. I've forgotten most of the details of my past, but unlike most people, I have many hours of my life backed up on tape and digital media. And recently, I put a tape on the deck and heard a few minutes of my life from July of 1981. It's a recording of a live broadcast on KUHL, just 3 weeks after my 21st birthday and just a few weeks after my first time on the air.
So before I share more about our move ahead, I invite you to hear a few minutes from the past I leave behind:
CLICK - HEAR KUHL RADIO, JULY 1981
UPDATE / PHOTO 02.08.10
That's me on the right in June of '82 - Mr. open shirt. Thank God I didn't have disco chains.
I turned 50 in July. When I was a teenager that seemed impossibly old. When I was 5 years old I used to swipe a hair curler from my mom and use it the way an announcer uses a microphone. So it was that I followed my ambition and became a radio disc jockey when I was 20.
In 1980, I left Santa Barbara and moved to Hollywood, California. I went to the KiiS Broadcast workshop. And in the spring of '81 I used the aircheck tape I made at the workshop to land a job in radio. I was a part-time DJ. I worked overnight on Sunday and Monday mornings at 1440 KUHL AM, in Santa Maria, Ca. That job was everything to me but eventually I got fired by the program director for breaking format. I was re-hired to work full time as an FM DJ at the "album rock" station owned by the same company - 99 KXFM. I eventually became a program director for a group of stations in Santa Barbara. When AT&T took over as corporate owners, I quit radio in 1995 and went to work in my own studio/production business.
Since then, I've worked for big Hollywood stars, major studios, cable networks, important films, and national advertising campaigns. I'm proud of that. But what you don't know is that all those projects involve lots of ordinary people like me doing unglamorous work for little pay. The star talents work hard and make a fortune but people like me carry the burden of making sure our tiny fraction of a multi-million dollar project works perfectly. And at age 50 I really don't care to serve what Joni Mitchell called "The Star Maker Machinery" any more.
And I never wanted to be a studio engineer anyway. I always wanted to be a creative talent. Maybe that's why I'm so attracted to farming. Sound weird? Well, you'll just have to keep visiting this blog and see if you can understand how that works.
For now I'm sorting and packing the relics of a lifetime, preparing to leave the past behind and move to PEI. Among my relics are boxes of cassettes and reel to reel tapes of a life gone by. I've forgotten most of the details of my past, but unlike most people, I have many hours of my life backed up on tape and digital media. And recently, I put a tape on the deck and heard a few minutes of my life from July of 1981. It's a recording of a live broadcast on KUHL, just 3 weeks after my 21st birthday and just a few weeks after my first time on the air.
So before I share more about our move ahead, I invite you to hear a few minutes from the past I leave behind:
CLICK - HEAR KUHL RADIO, JULY 1981
UPDATE / PHOTO 02.08.10
That's me on the right in June of '82 - Mr. open shirt. Thank God I didn't have disco chains.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Visit to an Urban Farm - The Fairview Gardens Story Part II
We are continuing our tour of Fairview Gardens Farm and the Center for Urban Agriculture just north of Santa Barbara - which is about 90 miles (about 145 km) north of Los Angeles, California.
We live on a semi-desert coastal plain below mountains that reach about 3,000 feet. In the winter, we get a dusting of snow on the mountain tops and seasonal rain in the rocky canyons. Over time, the result has been that our heavy clay topsoil is up to 20 feet deep!
So this is January in Santa Barbara. At the top you see see Broccoli plants and below are fruit trees. In the centers between rows, the farmers plant crops that create a market profit, keep the soil biologically active, conserve irrigation water and fix beneficial nutrients for the fruit crops on the trees and the row crops to come. They work to produce as much as they can from every square yard of this farm, saving soil, labor, fuel and water.
The farmers on the crew work in the greenhouse to start the next rotations of cash crops. High yields on small acreage requires lots of hand work in tight rotations. Though temperatures only dip below freezing for a few nights at a time each winter, concentrating light, water, heat and hand planting keeps crops ready for rotation in all seasons. We are studying this intensive method for our farm in PEI. We think that concentrating production, even in our shallower soil and shorter season, should allow us to get higher than conventional yields. We think we can benefit from concentrating our inputs and relying on biological soil activity, moderation of water needs, managing weed pressure and focusing labor and machines in a smaller area to give greater returns over time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
