Every year, I look forward to the point during the spring when the farm starts producing food that I can pick right off the plant and eat. Farming is hard work, so it's nice when there are things to satisfy my appetite growing all around me. For me, sugar snap peas mark the beginning of the readily edible farm season. Yeah, I can pick a leaf of arugula and munch on it, but it's not nearly as satisfying as a sweet, crunchy, amazingly flavorful sugar snap pea. I went for a run this morning and when I got home, I picked some sugar snaps and ate them. Let me tell you, they were far more quenching than Gatorade and certainly better for me. Hopefully, for our customers' sakes, I'll be able to control myself and leave some peas for the market this weekend.
Aside from eating peas, we've been working hard getting stuff planted. Despite the rain, we managed to plant more sweet peppers (colored bells and Italian roasters), the first Armenian cucumbers (hallelujah!), eggplant, summer squash, lettuce, and arugula. Tomorrow, along with picking for Saturday's market, we will plant our first heirloom tomatoes. Every day we try to do a little more, moving us ever closer to the delicious peak season harvests. We're just hoping that we get a break from the rain and that we have a real, warm summer. Because if we get the right weather, I'm telling you right now, you will never have seen piles like we are planning to build. If I have my way, we'll have so many tomatoes that we will have to have the First Annual Rincon Valley Tomato Fight Festival. So say a prayer, wish us luck, or keep your fingers crossed for us, because we have a long haul ahead.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Go Time
It's go time. It's almost May and it's time to get everything into the ground. We're expecting more rain, but we can't really wait any longer before we plant all the tomatoes, pepper, melons, and everything else. I think the most challenging part of farming as a profession is having to organize and plan for an entire year of business and then be subject to unpredictable weather. We know what we would like to grow and when we'd like to have it be ready for harvest, but for that to be achieved, it would require perfect weather and rainfall (doesn't happen often) or a climate controlled and protected growing environment (like greenhouses, which are costly on a large scale and the flavor of most produce typically suffers when grown inside).
Year to year variances in the weather profoundly affect what the year's harvest will look like. Years with a hot summer, warm nights, early last frost and late first frost dates tend to be incredible tomato years. On the other hand, years in which we have a really rainy and cold spring followed by a cool summer with lots of fog are often bummers for tomato growers. The inherent unpredictability of farming is why customers who ask me when we'll have tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc are often met by a blank and unknowing look. I really wish I could program the weather to be perfect, but I can't, so we just have to make the best of what we have and try to anticipate future weather patterns and intelligently respond to current weather.
As I write this, Jeff is out doing the last passes with the tractor for our next planting. After he's finished, we will stake out the beds and start laying plastic. We can't lay plastic in the rain or when the ground is super wet, so we're going to try and get as much done today as we are able. Our goal is to lay 1200 feet of plastic before dark. I think we can do it, but we might have to finish tonight with our headlamps on. We watch The Deadliest Catch (the crab fisherman show on the Discovery Channel) and have decided that we're like the crab fisherman who have to work past the point of exhaustion in order to get the job done. We may be tired and crazy and we may not be able to shovel any longer, but we will get the job done!
While Jeff has been working on bed preparation, I worked on staking and tying-up the first tomatoes we planted. It took be about five hours yesterday - five hours during which I crouched or squatted while staking, removing suckers, and tying the individual plants to the stakes. By the time I was finished, my hands were completely green/black from touching the tomato leaves and stems, I had green all over my arms and my face, my back ached, and my hands were quivering. I have no idea why it took me as long as it did or why it was as physically taxing as it was, but man, my butt was thoroughly kicked by the task. The work will pay off though, because the tomatoes will respond to the attention and support and will take off. Tomatoes are kind of like people - with the proper attention, care, nourishment, and support when young, they won't require too much intervention as "adults."
Year to year variances in the weather profoundly affect what the year's harvest will look like. Years with a hot summer, warm nights, early last frost and late first frost dates tend to be incredible tomato years. On the other hand, years in which we have a really rainy and cold spring followed by a cool summer with lots of fog are often bummers for tomato growers. The inherent unpredictability of farming is why customers who ask me when we'll have tomatoes, peppers, melons, etc are often met by a blank and unknowing look. I really wish I could program the weather to be perfect, but I can't, so we just have to make the best of what we have and try to anticipate future weather patterns and intelligently respond to current weather.
As I write this, Jeff is out doing the last passes with the tractor for our next planting. After he's finished, we will stake out the beds and start laying plastic. We can't lay plastic in the rain or when the ground is super wet, so we're going to try and get as much done today as we are able. Our goal is to lay 1200 feet of plastic before dark. I think we can do it, but we might have to finish tonight with our headlamps on. We watch The Deadliest Catch (the crab fisherman show on the Discovery Channel) and have decided that we're like the crab fisherman who have to work past the point of exhaustion in order to get the job done. We may be tired and crazy and we may not be able to shovel any longer, but we will get the job done!
While Jeff has been working on bed preparation, I worked on staking and tying-up the first tomatoes we planted. It took be about five hours yesterday - five hours during which I crouched or squatted while staking, removing suckers, and tying the individual plants to the stakes. By the time I was finished, my hands were completely green/black from touching the tomato leaves and stems, I had green all over my arms and my face, my back ached, and my hands were quivering. I have no idea why it took me as long as it did or why it was as physically taxing as it was, but man, my butt was thoroughly kicked by the task. The work will pay off though, because the tomatoes will respond to the attention and support and will take off. Tomatoes are kind of like people - with the proper attention, care, nourishment, and support when young, they won't require too much intervention as "adults."
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Is it spring yet?
Weather like this is enough to make a farmer go crazy. We may be past the last frost date, but apparently we're not through with hail and torrential downpours. Right now is when we should be planting most of the summer crops (tomatoes, squash, melons, cucumbers, basil, etc), but wet and cool weather is not ideal for planting anything, really. The only things that thrive in weather like this are slugs and let me tell you, I've had my fill of the slugs. Slugs are really difficult to control when it's wet and soggy and, as far as I can tell, they hold no benefits for anything. They eat everything, they multiply faster than you can imagine, and they're just plain gross. The slugs are so annoying, not even the chickens will eat them.
I'm trying to stay positive, though. A year of above average rainfall is a blessing and will help us grow incredible dry-farmed tomatoes this summer. We are also lucky to be farming on a slope, which will allow us to get into the ground soon enough. Even though the bottom part of the farm is currently a duck pond, the upper parts will dry out in a matter of days. We can also get around the weather by starting a lot of plants in the greenhouse that we would typically direct seed into the dirt. For example, beans can tolerate being transplanted, so we will give them a really good start in the greenhouse and put them in the ground when the weather and time is right.
While we've been waiting out the weather, we've been busy recruiting for our "farmy." Jeff and I realize that there's only so much the two of us can do on our own and, given our goal to grow as much as we possibly can, we have decided to invite willing volunteers onto the farm. Once we accepted that we can't accomplish everything on our own, the most incredible, enthusiastic, interesting people started appearing and offering to help us out. Over the past month or so, we've started cultivating the coolest crew of energetic folks who want to grow stuff and get dirty in the process. We have our young veteran who is teaching us as much as we're teaching him, we have our high school students who want to learn about farming and do their part for the planet and community, as well as a slew of others in the prime of early adulthood who want to be a part of what we're trying to do.
It's so clear to me now that Jeff and I are trying to do something special and unique - we want to feed as many people in our community as we can. It's not enough for us to just sell our produce to a wholesaler or restaurants or even just to the farmers market. We need to grow enough produce to sell to our neighborhood, to the people at the farmers markets all over the county, to restaurants, to our CSA members, to people passing by on the highway, to everyone! Eating healthy, local, delicious food should not be an option for only those people who can fit it into their schedules and lifestyles. Eating our food should be an option for everyone, which means it needs to be accessible to everyone! By accessible, I mean that I want even the people who don't realize the importance of eating clean, local food to end up eating clean, local food. Last summer, I considered myself successful when people would stop at our roadside stand and by tomatoes on their walk home from the 7-11 next door where they were buying beer. They may not care whether their tomatoes come from Florida, Mexico, the Central Valley, or our little farm in Rincon Valley, but in the end, they ended up eating healthy, amazingly flavorful tomatoes that were grown right here.
We're so passionate about locally grown food that we are even trying to help give people the knowledge they need to grow their own gardens. We don't want to be in competition with other local farmers or with people who want to grow their own gardens. We want to do our part - by growing as much as we can and educating as many people as we can - to give the conventional, unsustainable, monster farm corporations a run for their money. If we do our part and other local farmers do their parts and we all grow as much as we can and make it easily accessible to the real people who live all around us, then the food revolution will really be rolling.
I'm trying to stay positive, though. A year of above average rainfall is a blessing and will help us grow incredible dry-farmed tomatoes this summer. We are also lucky to be farming on a slope, which will allow us to get into the ground soon enough. Even though the bottom part of the farm is currently a duck pond, the upper parts will dry out in a matter of days. We can also get around the weather by starting a lot of plants in the greenhouse that we would typically direct seed into the dirt. For example, beans can tolerate being transplanted, so we will give them a really good start in the greenhouse and put them in the ground when the weather and time is right.
While we've been waiting out the weather, we've been busy recruiting for our "farmy." Jeff and I realize that there's only so much the two of us can do on our own and, given our goal to grow as much as we possibly can, we have decided to invite willing volunteers onto the farm. Once we accepted that we can't accomplish everything on our own, the most incredible, enthusiastic, interesting people started appearing and offering to help us out. Over the past month or so, we've started cultivating the coolest crew of energetic folks who want to grow stuff and get dirty in the process. We have our young veteran who is teaching us as much as we're teaching him, we have our high school students who want to learn about farming and do their part for the planet and community, as well as a slew of others in the prime of early adulthood who want to be a part of what we're trying to do.
It's so clear to me now that Jeff and I are trying to do something special and unique - we want to feed as many people in our community as we can. It's not enough for us to just sell our produce to a wholesaler or restaurants or even just to the farmers market. We need to grow enough produce to sell to our neighborhood, to the people at the farmers markets all over the county, to restaurants, to our CSA members, to people passing by on the highway, to everyone! Eating healthy, local, delicious food should not be an option for only those people who can fit it into their schedules and lifestyles. Eating our food should be an option for everyone, which means it needs to be accessible to everyone! By accessible, I mean that I want even the people who don't realize the importance of eating clean, local food to end up eating clean, local food. Last summer, I considered myself successful when people would stop at our roadside stand and by tomatoes on their walk home from the 7-11 next door where they were buying beer. They may not care whether their tomatoes come from Florida, Mexico, the Central Valley, or our little farm in Rincon Valley, but in the end, they ended up eating healthy, amazingly flavorful tomatoes that were grown right here.
We're so passionate about locally grown food that we are even trying to help give people the knowledge they need to grow their own gardens. We don't want to be in competition with other local farmers or with people who want to grow their own gardens. We want to do our part - by growing as much as we can and educating as many people as we can - to give the conventional, unsustainable, monster farm corporations a run for their money. If we do our part and other local farmers do their parts and we all grow as much as we can and make it easily accessible to the real people who live all around us, then the food revolution will really be rolling.
Friday, April 16, 2010
John Deer Green
Today marks a milestone in the life of Redwood Empire Farm. Today, Jeff got a real tractor that can do real farm work. Over the past couple of years, we've steadily expanded our plantable space and are now trying to grow in areas that have been sitting and collecting rocks for decades. Even though Jeff's 1940s Case tractor works great and is an amazing working antique, we can't escape the limitation that it is just that - a working antique. It's simply not powerful enough to do some of the dirt work that we need to do in order to grow in the ways we grow. So, today, a longtime and very dear friend of Jeff's family brought Jeff his top of the line John Deere tractor so that Jeff can use it for awhile. There is no greater gift than lending us a tractor. A tractor like this simplifies our life, saves our backs, and allows us to keep growing as a farm.
Within minutes of the tractor's arrival, Jeff was in the cab, firing it up, and driving around. He immediately got that tractor grin that he gets, the one which makes it clear that he's meant to be a farmer. But then, he did the the nicest thing that anyone's done for me in long time. He let me ride along with him. And then, he let me drive!
The way to my heart is through a tractor. Maybe it's because I grew up riding in my Dad's lap as he drove his "working antique" John Deere through the pastures of the farm where I grew up. Those rides were when I discovered my own tractor grin. Nothing, not even riding horses, was as fun and exciting as riding that tractor with my Dad. I can remember everything about it. The feel of my Dad's worn denim overalls, the smell of his sweaty work shirt combined with the fumes from the tractor and the smell of engine oil, all mixed with the heady smell of cut grass and broken dirt - that smell will always be ingrained in me.
So when Jeff offered to let me drive the new tractor, with complete confidence and ease, I was reminded (again) of why I like him. He's nice. He knows me and knows what I really want. He let's me drive his tractor.
Within minutes of the tractor's arrival, Jeff was in the cab, firing it up, and driving around. He immediately got that tractor grin that he gets, the one which makes it clear that he's meant to be a farmer. But then, he did the the nicest thing that anyone's done for me in long time. He let me ride along with him. And then, he let me drive!
The way to my heart is through a tractor. Maybe it's because I grew up riding in my Dad's lap as he drove his "working antique" John Deere through the pastures of the farm where I grew up. Those rides were when I discovered my own tractor grin. Nothing, not even riding horses, was as fun and exciting as riding that tractor with my Dad. I can remember everything about it. The feel of my Dad's worn denim overalls, the smell of his sweaty work shirt combined with the fumes from the tractor and the smell of engine oil, all mixed with the heady smell of cut grass and broken dirt - that smell will always be ingrained in me.
So when Jeff offered to let me drive the new tractor, with complete confidence and ease, I was reminded (again) of why I like him. He's nice. He knows me and knows what I really want. He let's me drive his tractor.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Last Frost Date...Or Is It?
Yesterday was a really big day in the farming world. April 15th, in addition to being tax day, is the supposed last frost date for this area. I'm not sure where this particular date came from, but it's a fact of conventional wisdom, old wives' tales, and folklore that April 15th is the last date on which frost can occur. After this date, you can start setting out those plants that don't like the cold - plants like tomatoes, squash, eggplant, etc.
Curious about the true last frost date for around here, I went to the National Climatic Data Center where I found the average last frost dates recorded in Santa Rosa from 1971-2000 (http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/cliwwwmatenormals/clim20supp1/states/CA.pdf). According to NCDC data, there is only a ten percent chance that the temperature will drop to 28 degrees after February 19th, a ten percent chance the temp will drop to 32 degrees after April 5th, and a ten percent chance the temp will drop to 36 degrees after May 1st. So really, the frost date varies depending on what degree of frost you're tracking. And although the frost dates are usually fairly good predictors of the temperature trends, strange things, including frost, can happen long after April 15th.
Mid to late April is always a good goal for when to begin planting summer veggies, but it's always a smart idea to provide these often delicate plants with a little protection from the elements. Covering your young plants with floating row cover or a light frost blanket certainly won't hurt them and will actually keep them warm and help them get off to a healthy and fast start. It's also a good idea to get used to reading the dew point as a predictor of how cold it will actually get in the early morning frost periods. The lower the dew point and the predicted temperature, the more likely the temperature will drop and stay low for a longer period of time. A high dew point, on the other hand, coupled with a low temperature, makes it less likely for a significant and devastating frost to occur.
Ultimately, the best way to protect your plants against frost and to determine when it's safe to start planting your heat loving plants is to be observant of what the weather seems to be doing. If it feels like it's going to frost, it probably will. If it hasn't gotten close to frosting in weeks and the night time temperatures have been staying safely high, then it probably won't frost. And it's always better to be safe and protect your plants, than to risk it and lose your young plants.
Curious about the true last frost date for around here, I went to the National Climatic Data Center where I found the average last frost dates recorded in Santa Rosa from 1971-2000 (http://cdo.ncdc.noaa.gov/cliwwwmatenormals/clim20supp1/states/CA.pdf). According to NCDC data, there is only a ten percent chance that the temperature will drop to 28 degrees after February 19th, a ten percent chance the temp will drop to 32 degrees after April 5th, and a ten percent chance the temp will drop to 36 degrees after May 1st. So really, the frost date varies depending on what degree of frost you're tracking. And although the frost dates are usually fairly good predictors of the temperature trends, strange things, including frost, can happen long after April 15th.
Mid to late April is always a good goal for when to begin planting summer veggies, but it's always a smart idea to provide these often delicate plants with a little protection from the elements. Covering your young plants with floating row cover or a light frost blanket certainly won't hurt them and will actually keep them warm and help them get off to a healthy and fast start. It's also a good idea to get used to reading the dew point as a predictor of how cold it will actually get in the early morning frost periods. The lower the dew point and the predicted temperature, the more likely the temperature will drop and stay low for a longer period of time. A high dew point, on the other hand, coupled with a low temperature, makes it less likely for a significant and devastating frost to occur.
Ultimately, the best way to protect your plants against frost and to determine when it's safe to start planting your heat loving plants is to be observant of what the weather seems to be doing. If it feels like it's going to frost, it probably will. If it hasn't gotten close to frosting in weeks and the night time temperatures have been staying safely high, then it probably won't frost. And it's always better to be safe and protect your plants, than to risk it and lose your young plants.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Get ready to be jealous!
Don't worry. I haven't lost my fingers in a tragic farming accident and had to quit writing. The past week was very busy and included chicken "harvesting," which is always a tiresome and hard addition to the week. It's also been raining (what feels like) a lot. I don't want to be unappreciative of how good all the rain has been for us in the big picture, but I'm tired of it. I'm completely ready for drier and warmer weather. I want to really start planting so that we can be one step closer to all the delicious things of summer.
We'll deal with whatever weather we are offered, though, because we don't really have a choice! That's why farming is supposed to be adaptable - depending on the weather, we can choose to adjust our plans, crops, schedule, and everything else in order to try and make the best of the situation. I'm not saying that unfortunate weather doesn't matter to a good farmer - after all, bad weather can mean the difference between a great and profitable year and one where you barely get by. I'm simply saying that a good farmer who grows a well-rounded menu of fruits and vegetables has far more options than a conventional grower who grows one crop on an enormous scale. That guy has no options if he gets bad weather. Not only does that guy not get by when he gets bad weather, but that guy often loses everything.
On to lighter subjects! I have to brag about what I cooked tonight! I picked the first little baby squash and sauteed them with a spring red torpedo onion and a little rosemary and thyme. That's right! We ate the first squash of the year! We planted our first squash way back in February, which was not the typical time to be planting summer squash. Squash is remarkably resilient and, with protection, can actually grow in imperfect conditions. The weather since February, however, has been a little too wintry for the squash to really take off. Nonetheless, the weather hardy survivor squash have started gaining steam and are finally starting to push out some fruit. It'll probably be a couple of weeks until we have squash at the market, but it's not too far away!
See, I'm not lying. Squash!
Here's Jeff getting ready to do the chickens. He has on a fabulous, custom-made butcher's apron (care of my Mother) and a laid-back, slightly rumpled straw hat. Not only do these chickens taste delicious, but the butcher is cute too!
We'll deal with whatever weather we are offered, though, because we don't really have a choice! That's why farming is supposed to be adaptable - depending on the weather, we can choose to adjust our plans, crops, schedule, and everything else in order to try and make the best of the situation. I'm not saying that unfortunate weather doesn't matter to a good farmer - after all, bad weather can mean the difference between a great and profitable year and one where you barely get by. I'm simply saying that a good farmer who grows a well-rounded menu of fruits and vegetables has far more options than a conventional grower who grows one crop on an enormous scale. That guy has no options if he gets bad weather. Not only does that guy not get by when he gets bad weather, but that guy often loses everything.
On to lighter subjects! I have to brag about what I cooked tonight! I picked the first little baby squash and sauteed them with a spring red torpedo onion and a little rosemary and thyme. That's right! We ate the first squash of the year! We planted our first squash way back in February, which was not the typical time to be planting summer squash. Squash is remarkably resilient and, with protection, can actually grow in imperfect conditions. The weather since February, however, has been a little too wintry for the squash to really take off. Nonetheless, the weather hardy survivor squash have started gaining steam and are finally starting to push out some fruit. It'll probably be a couple of weeks until we have squash at the market, but it's not too far away!
See, I'm not lying. Squash!
Here's Jeff getting ready to do the chickens. He has on a fabulous, custom-made butcher's apron (care of my Mother) and a laid-back, slightly rumpled straw hat. Not only do these chickens taste delicious, but the butcher is cute too!
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Easter Shenanigans - Chicken Run!
Three Easters ago, I underwent one of my first farm adventures. Jeff and I had been getting to know each other for a couple of months and I hatched a plan (pun intended) to surprise him with some Easter treats. That year, Jeff and is family were spending the day at another relative's home, so the farm was deserted. I decided to put what I was hoping he would take as funny and endearing notes in plastic Easter eggs and put them in the various chicken coops so that when he went to collect the real eggs, he would find my clever tokens of affections. The plan was pretty good, but when I went to carry it out, things started going wrong.
At that time, Jeff's chickens were not quite as domesticated as they are now. They didn't mind their coops, but they certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to escape to the outside world if given the chance. So, as I was carefully adding my decorative eggs to the nests, a wily and conniving hen decided to escape. Now, you have to understand that I was still very much a guest on the farm at that time. I was just getting to know Jeff, liked him a lot, and certainly didn't want to lose his chickens while he was away. My only option, therefore, was to try and recapture the chicken. Easier said than done.
When my attempts to simply shoo the escapee back into her coop failed, I changed tactics. I found a huge net and proceeded to try and catch the chicken with it. I think I was too timid because I didn't want to hurt the chicken, but I couldn't catch the darn thing to save my life. I proceeded to chase the chicken around with my huge net, but the chicken knew its way around better than I did and was far more agile. I almost had her, but she ducked into a huge saw grass bush at the last minute. Unfortunately for me, the saw grass was on the edge of a small but full drainage ditch, and in my enthusiastic efforts, I lost my balance and fell into the water and the saw grass. At that point, I accepted my defeat, tipped my proverbial hat to the bold chicken, and took my scraped and wet self home.
After Jeff returned to the farm and found the eggs, I reluctantly told him that I might owe him a chicken because I accidentally let one out. Being the nice and easygoing guy that he is, he laughed and said that he'd already let that chicken back into the coop. I hadn't known it, but chicken "jail breaks" happened all the time.
At that time, Jeff's chickens were not quite as domesticated as they are now. They didn't mind their coops, but they certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to escape to the outside world if given the chance. So, as I was carefully adding my decorative eggs to the nests, a wily and conniving hen decided to escape. Now, you have to understand that I was still very much a guest on the farm at that time. I was just getting to know Jeff, liked him a lot, and certainly didn't want to lose his chickens while he was away. My only option, therefore, was to try and recapture the chicken. Easier said than done.
When my attempts to simply shoo the escapee back into her coop failed, I changed tactics. I found a huge net and proceeded to try and catch the chicken with it. I think I was too timid because I didn't want to hurt the chicken, but I couldn't catch the darn thing to save my life. I proceeded to chase the chicken around with my huge net, but the chicken knew its way around better than I did and was far more agile. I almost had her, but she ducked into a huge saw grass bush at the last minute. Unfortunately for me, the saw grass was on the edge of a small but full drainage ditch, and in my enthusiastic efforts, I lost my balance and fell into the water and the saw grass. At that point, I accepted my defeat, tipped my proverbial hat to the bold chicken, and took my scraped and wet self home.
After Jeff returned to the farm and found the eggs, I reluctantly told him that I might owe him a chicken because I accidentally let one out. Being the nice and easygoing guy that he is, he laughed and said that he'd already let that chicken back into the coop. I hadn't known it, but chicken "jail breaks" happened all the time.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Multimedia Presentation
I really like going to the farmer's market, but sometimes, when the day is over, I just don't have any words left. So instead of trying to make sense out of my tired and addled mind, I'm going to blog by picture. Enjoy!
Here's an extremely rinky-dinky video of Jeff driving the tractor. He's pulling an attachment called a disk, which breaks up the top couple feet of soil and mixes in any green manure that was growing there (cover crop, grass, basically anything that will benefit the soil when turned back in). Pardon the poor video quality - I took it with my ancient digital camera and, besides, I never claimed "professional camera person" as one of my innumerable talents. Ha!
Here's one of the meat birds as a 2 day year old chick.
About a month ago we got Rob the Honey Guy to bring us a couple of bee boxes. Rob sells close to us at the Santa Rosa Market, always has quarters to spare, and is thus our go-to guy when it comes to honey matters. The bees started flourishing immediately upon arrival and we've noticed a marked increase in bee activity around the farm. Bees are awesome because not only are they good indicators of the health of the overall farm ecosystem, but they also increase pollination for our veggies and fruit trees.
Now who wouldn't want to plant cover crop? It's so beautiful! I much prefer the look of vibrantly blooming fields over bare dirt. I was half tempted to pick bouquets of cover crop and take it to the market.
It's hard to tell, but that's a chicken running up the path in front of me. Our chickens are a little beyond free range. They're just plain wild!
Here's an extremely rinky-dinky video of Jeff driving the tractor. He's pulling an attachment called a disk, which breaks up the top couple feet of soil and mixes in any green manure that was growing there (cover crop, grass, basically anything that will benefit the soil when turned back in). Pardon the poor video quality - I took it with my ancient digital camera and, besides, I never claimed "professional camera person" as one of my innumerable talents. Ha!
Here's one of the meat birds as a 2 day year old chick.
Here's one of the same birds 7 weeks later. They may be big, but they're still young and supple.
About a month ago we got Rob the Honey Guy to bring us a couple of bee boxes. Rob sells close to us at the Santa Rosa Market, always has quarters to spare, and is thus our go-to guy when it comes to honey matters. The bees started flourishing immediately upon arrival and we've noticed a marked increase in bee activity around the farm. Bees are awesome because not only are they good indicators of the health of the overall farm ecosystem, but they also increase pollination for our veggies and fruit trees. 
Now who wouldn't want to plant cover crop? It's so beautiful! I much prefer the look of vibrantly blooming fields over bare dirt. I was half tempted to pick bouquets of cover crop and take it to the market.
It's hard to tell, but that's a chicken running up the path in front of me. Our chickens are a little beyond free range. They're just plain wild!
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