News and Blog
We have a baby girl! Freeda Grace Bach was born in the evening on January 5th one day before her due date, weighing 9 lb 4 oz. She’s an absolute beauty.
Jacob, Forrest and I were scheduled to distribute vegetables for the winter CSA at my parent’s house, 45 minutes south of our home, from 4-7:30 on the 5th. At 1 p.m. I had my first contractions for the day. By 2 p.m. contractions had been timed at 7 minutes apart and were getting to a point where soon I would not be able to talk through them, so we decided to send Forrest with our intern, Evan, to distribute the shares. By 6:20 p.m. we were holding little Freeda in our arms on the floor of our living room.
We are so grateful to our friend Robin for assisting in the birth and being an invaluable friend and mentor. We are also fortunate to have had all your thoughts and positive energy along our journey. Many of your faces and the experiences you shared with me passed through my mind before, during and after the labor. Thank you for your friendship.
A few images from that which is growing...
Basil in front, fennel bulb behind, unable-to-be-seen parsley behind the fennel and tomatoes trellised up along the stakes. Drip tape beneath basil and fennel for irrigation .
Radish seedlings to the far right, green beans plants with drip tape beneath in the center and the onion, shallot and leek patch to the far left.
All the leeks, onions and shallots were planted two rows close next to each other. We use a tractor implement to "hill" the soil up over the base of the leeks. With sunlight unable to reach the base, they become blanched, which is what allows leeks to have more white along their base. The onions and shallots (not-photoed) have a line of drip tape between each row.
The celery and celeriac patch. With so many plants spaced so closely, we're using overhead sprinklers to water in dry times.
Our precious water source for irrigating the fields, and our precious little Forrest who loves to look for fish and snapper turtles within. 60,000 ft of drip tape lining the fields total.
Did I mention he was precious? Here's a bouquet of wildflowers Forrest surprised me with last week.
Spaghetti squash plants also benefiting from the water source. Beneath these masses of leaves at the base of each plant drip tape is laid (above). The discoloration of yellow seen is some of the above plants is caused by squash bugs nymphs, but thanks to the nematodes, hardly a cucumber beetle to be found in the lot. Below Forrest is holding two mating adult squash bugs next to an immature spaghetti squash plant(below). 
All this rain has finally given us time to work on building the pavilion, which is where the "new" cooler will be and where we will wash and pack vegetables for distribution. The structure is geographically close to the pond, so water used for washing will be directed to flow into the pond.
The Nightshade Field...
Included in the nightshade family are tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, tomatillos and potatoes. All the nightshades are planted in the same field to make crop rotation manageable. Because species in the same families are often inflicted with the same pathogens, it helps not to plant anything from the same family in the same field within a four-year period. Next year nightshades will be planted where the alliums and curcubits are planted this year.
Tomatoes in the very front, two rows of eggplant in front of that, peppers beyond there and potatoes plants until the woodline.
Do you see the eggplant nestled in waiting to be harvested? We are so grateful that we had drip tape laid beneath these plants as it helped to water just the eggplant during dry times and the not the spaces between. With the eggplant being such as large leaved plant and the close spacing we used, the leaves served as great shading to prevent lots of weed seed germination. We only had to do an initial hoeing when the plants were small and hand weed a few later on and the field is weed free.
Forrest between a row of peppers and eggplant. He's about 2/3rd up the field with the nightshades which extends to the woodline.
Forrest was given his own 10 x 10 space to grow as he pleased. One day as Jacob and I were both working up fields before a rain in early spring, Forrest was snagging heat-loving plants from the germination high tunnel and planting them in his space. As part of our philosophy on child-rearing we did not advise to remove the plants even though it seemed too early in the season and the plants risked succumbing to frost. We feel it's his experiment and opportunity for discovery to see what lives and dies and why. However, we did not receive any frosts thereafter and he ended up with this little garden of very early tomatoes, green beans and basil (sporadic though the plants were :) Above are a few plants Forrest transplanted into containers he rounded up from somewhere (I have no idea) which had been close to death. In the yellow lug is soil he transferred from a different garden bed for his experiment of transportable carrots. He planted the seeds before a rain and they actually germinated quite well. Lamb's ear is the plant to the far right, which he chose to keep to use as bandages.
What a successful grower he is! This photo is proof to my father that we harvested a two-pound tomato. This is from the variety "Italian Tree" which can supposedly grow up 15'. Sorry you won't get these in shares as Forrest and I just planted 2 seeds in an experimental garden. This tomato ripened so early because of the crevice that's seen to on the right side of the tomato. Tomatoes with damage will ripen early, so the first tomatoes to come from field are not always the best.
Tomatoes from the early tomato plants Forrest planted. We're so grateful he took that risk : ) Also pictured is a version of eggplant parmesan dish - recipe included in this week's newsletter.
The difference between the last two years and this year are immense for us. Our first two years we were flying by the seat of our pants trying to keep up with everything by ourselves (and our work shares :) without actually living at the farm or being able to put anything permanent in place. Now with three interns, work shares and our own property we are able to accomplish so much more in such shorter amounts of time without being absolutely exhausted. Last year it took us over a month to accomplish the same feats that the current farm crew is kicking out in a week. It's all so reassuring. Check out some of these pics from the past week and half's love labor.
Planted just after Memorial Day, these aspargaus plants are zipping up nice and dense promising a solid 1/4 acre supply of delicious spears for spring 2013.
Heavily mulched blueberry plants were established for the farm's future eating enjoyment.
Lots and lots and lots of onions, shallots and leeks. These along with the brassicas were all put in using the transplanter and tractor. Below Samantha is womyning the tractor. This portion of the blog is proof to some non-believing friends and family of hers that yes, she is running show.
Our newest and very experienced intern, Christina, not only helped put the onions in (above), but she also cultivated (weeded) them (below) with a hand push cultivator with multiple tines.
The rest of the vegetables that were not transplanted with the tracotr or seeded directly into the soil were planted by hand, such as these beautiful red romaine (above). More plants can fit into a smaller space with this planting style, and it uses less diesel and tracor hours. However, it entails a the weeding method that is not enjoyed by all: hoeing. Intern Vicki (below) is a speed hoer and super hard worker. The weedy baby lettuce seen above is weed free now thanks to Vicki, Samantha and work share Bill. THANK YOU!!
Hand planted celery and celeriac (above). Hand-planted peppers, eggplant and tomatoes (below). The stakes will be used to trellis the tomatoes upright. As this is being written a mulch of hay is being laid down at the base of each tomato plant to keep weeds out, supply the soil with a steady supply of added nutrients and keep the soil moist and more even tempered.
A few projects were accomplished as well with the many hands that grace our farm daily. A cement slab was made for the base of our worm-composting bin (above). This will prevent nutrients from running into the soil and provide a level base for the tractor bucket to scrape up the compost. Below is the luxurious new chicken home on wheels to house the two dozen chickens we'll be picking up tonight. The tractor will pull the house to a new space every few days so the chickens will have fresh access to new bugs, grubs and grass. This is a great pest control. If you can't tell, we really make us of the slab wood from the sawmill 1 1/2 miles down the road.
It may look like we're working really hard, but one of us manages to find plenty of time for play. Can you imagine the weekly laundry that goes through this place! Thankfully, this love labour rewards us with plenty of sunshine, time for meditation and delicious, nourishing food. No vegetables rewards our family's heart more than a delicious kohlrabi (below).
Oh, we feel like farmers again. Plants arefinally going into the ground in large quantity instead of being watered ceaselessly in flats. Over the weekend we were able to put in a quarter acre of asparagus crowns, 600 lbs of potatoes and tens of thousands of onion, shallot and leek plants that we grew from seed. With these 90 degree days, it doesn't quite feel like spring planting : -), but we'll take it!
Above: Intern Vicki and Forrest are tucking in plants that the transplanter didn't quite put down well enough. Note that Vicki is wearing heals for this farming task, though by day 2 she had transitioned into bare feet. Below: A hose connects the front water tank mounted to the tractor to the transplanter and waters exactly the area where the plant is laid. Intern Samantha is pulling each plant from its cell in the flat and dropping it into a rotating cup that opens from beneath and drops the plant in the soil as the angled discs tuck the soil down (95% of the time anyways).
Yep, it's been one wet spring, but merciful May has brought us plenty of sun to dry the fields. There's always the temptation to start working up fields too early to get an early start on growing, but it actually does more harm than good. Nutrients are lost when fields are plowed when still wet, the soil is compacted and the soil drains more slowly. We chisel plowed our first field yesterday and went over that area again today with a shallow rotovasion of an inch or two to create a level seeding area. Before those steps though, the fields are prepared in other ways. Depending on the fields' needs, aged manure or compost is spread onto the fields. In our case, because we are working up new land that previously served as grazing ground for horses, we needed to shallowing work up the top three inches of sod and flip it over so their roots would dry out in the sun and lessen our weed pressure which is typical of first year growing soil.
Difficult for most to believe but Forrest is swimming in pure earthy gold. That little pile of compost cost over $3,000. The contents of that compost are formulated specifically to our soil's needs. We're extremely excited for our first growing season with really nutrient-balanced soil. (Pictured left). The picture to the right is intern Persephone heading out to spread yet another load of manure on the fields. We had major pressure to get the fields manure spread and the top sod flipped before more possible rains came, and with Persephone's help we were able to get it accomplished. THANK YOU Persephone!
It's been a BUSY 4 months since we've moved into our farm in early January. Jacob has been constructing and establishing infrastructure while I've been taking care of the plants. The health and vigor of the plants has been wonderful thus far.
Along with a few lettuces we have in the ground, this plastic hoop houses cold-hardy and well established seedlings that were started in the germinating hoophouse beginning in February.
This is the germinating hoophouse. These two benches have a plastic skirt along their perimeter along with platic that goes over top the hoops for added protection from night time cold. Additionally, when temperatures dip below freezing, we have propane tanks underneath the benches to create a temprary greenhouse.
These celery seedlings look gorgeous lined on the bench.
Tomatoes galore! All so healhty!!
This is the hoophouse that is 150 foot long. A series of hoops keeps the light weight, light penetrating row cover from touching the tops of the plants. Lots of green under those tunnels as well!
It seems that every waking moment is dedicated to our farm endeavor. The wet spring has kept us out of the fields early on, which has afforded Jacob the time to rebuild intern living quarters after a fire in mid-March destroyed the yurt we had built a few years back and had planned to use for that purpose. It’s almost mid-May and we’re putting the finishing touches on the new ten-sided home. Nothing fancy, nothing super ecological, just something that could be built quickly with supplies that we could get ahold of quickly. Here’s a few pics taken over the past two weeks of work.
The well insulated platform...
The inside is subdivided into three lower level bedrooms. The ten sided ring seen to the right will be the base of the cupula at the top of the structure. The cupula will not be constructed initially.
The roof is domed in a similar fashion to the yurt's.
A view from inside. A loft rests above the bedrooms with a dormer window and peaked roof for extra space.
It's coming together...
The roof shingled with wood from the local sawmill.
Decent living quarters are an important aspect of hosting interns and our roughly 900 sq ft home doesn’t replace the yurt in the privacy and space it afforded both us and interns. Our first intern, Doug, returned home to New Jersey a few days after the yurt burned down, and plans were quickly hatched up for living space for interns set to start learning in early May.
Having just invested well over a grand building a super sturdy, "permanent," platform for the yurt that we didn't anticipate having to move anymore and starting a farm out of course, we're not exactly overflowing in financial abundance. Hence, we had to break out the creativity bag for making a solid, enjoyable intern space possible quickly.
We are fortunate to live within two miles of a sawmill providing us affordable prices on local wood for the sides and roof of the replacement decagonal intern quarters etched out with a ten-sided copula at its top. The platform has already been rebuilt and building of the main structure will begin this week.
When the yurt burned down we lost the furnishings that went along with it. If anyone extras of the following or were planning of downsizing with any of the following, we are ready recipients.
2 Twin Mattresses and frames if possible Bedding Kitchen sink Hot plates
Refrigerator - dorm size or larger Cutting Board
Small sofa or reading chair Toaster Oven
Small kitchen table with chairs Large area rugs or carpeting
Small clothes dressers
Thanks for all your encouragement along this journey!
5 a.m. March 18th
I woke up unusually early with the full moon illuminating our bedroom. The news reported it as being the brightest and fullest moon in 18 years. Everyone was sleeping, but me. I was almost up the stairs after reloading woodstove in the basement when I heard the front door fly open and someone enter. Who could that be? My heart jumped for a second before I rounded the corner to reveal our Grand Blanc neighbor, Brennan, who had been sleeping in the yurt for the night along with his friend, Jeremy. Along with Jacob they planned to leave at 6:30 a.m. to rent a skid steer and trencher to put in 2,000 feet of irrigation line in the fields.
“The yurt’s on fire,” Brennan told me, his face confirming truth, though I still repeated his statement in disbelief. Before I could repeat it a second time to wake Jacob, he was already up and moving towards the door having heard Brennan’s original statement from somewhere deep in his sleep. He grabbed a flannel along route and put it on in transit. He almost exited in his boxer briefs before I stopped him and threw some pants his way. He hesitated a moment before deciding to put them on. Were these the 10 seconds that could have saved the yurt?
I heard him mutter something about hose, buckets and water as he was leaving. I ran to the basement and turned on the water that’s connected to the hose outside, forgetting that we own an actual fire hydrant hose and water pump already hooked up outside from earlier field water diversion. Trenches full of water lined the farm. I ran outside and went for the harvesting buckets before realizing the futility of my efforts. From behind the barn fiery, red streaks reached high and foreboding. One of those indescribably auditations of stark realization escaped my lips.
The yurt was a torch. The entire outer canvas and frame blazed, the spread of the fire having been catalyzed by the beeswax/vegetable oil salve coated on the outside of the canvas as a water repellent. Ironic. The bark of the birch trees surrounding the yurt danced with fire. The full moon sat large and ominous high over the western horizon adding dramatic effect.
Jacob embraced me. Tears sat in both our eyes as the magnitude of the moment ands its influence in our own microcosm of reality ebbed and flowed in our consciousness. Interns were supposed to live in the yurt. Their labor and cognitive help is seen as imperative in lessening our own body burden and making this lifestyle one we can physical sustain. Could our bodies handle another season without them? Now with a mortgage and a loan out to pay for the pond, irrigation, produce van and soil amendments we need their help more than ever.
The load roar of the flames tumbled in my thoughts, and the financial and business mind-set finally receded bringing forth the memory and meaning of each of those hemlock cut and sanded 2 x 4s. Images of Jacob’s mom and my Aunt Sue and Uncle Kevin sewing the raw canvas outside on the day of our wedding floated up, as did the months that Jacob spent sewing the top canvas pieces in the garage, cold, in the depth of winter.
The dutch doors were wide open and the burning objects within were displayed for their last viewing. The wood working table angled down to the flooring of the yurt, one side of its legs burned down, flames angled up to precede on in solidifying the reality that nothing was coming out. The top had been converted into a kitchen counter by my father with old, earth-toned tiles, hand-painted images of swiss chard leaves and flowers adorning the bordering of each tile.
The yurt, our tribute to the dedication of a “hand-made life,” to each other and to the life and goals we had created, burned away. The energy of our families and friends as they helped to build and erect the yurt on our wedding day tampered out. The circle we had walked clockwise around holding Forrest in our arms moments before saying “I do” in front of our family, friends and the law was now the ring of fire. The very symbol of our combined nomadic past was being put to rest.
Only a circular glow of burning embers remained an hour after the chimney fire began its elevated sparks. At this time Jacob, Brennan and Jeremy left to pick up the heavy equipment for putting the irrigation in. The intern, Doug, stayed behind to see the fire through to completion. Forrest and I headed in to make hashbrowns and eggs to fuel our six bodies for the long day of work ahead of us.
As the crew started trenching in the lines early on in the morning, 10 buffalo were sighted in the neighbor's woods for the first time since moving to our new home in Mayville. Along with a few other exotic animals our neighbor has a herd of buffalo. They are majestic, beautiful animals, revered as a symbol of abundance. According to shamanistic belief, they teach us that true prosperity comes when we are grateful for what we have.
We were awed, humbled, inspired and at peace.
So peaceful went the day. This beautiful weather of mid-seventies with breezy, humids fluff of air flowed with us as work shares Kevin and Toni helped us with farm projects. Toni and I, along with our helpers Forrest and Toni & Kevin's daughter, Scarlett, transplanted tomatoes into larger pots, while Jacob and Kevin put the frame up for the 4th tunnel to go up on our new property. Along with the surreal beauty of the weather we received the good fortune of two bald eagle circling low directly overhead for a solid few minutes. Everyone was enchanted. Beyond high tunnels and transplanting a lot of field prep was accomplished with our soils drying up a bit, seedling flats rotated from germination high tunnel to transitional high tunnel, and kohlrabi flats seeded. Everyone was so busy working and playing that we never stopped to eat until late evening. Fruit was munched on along the way, of course. Forrest approached me at one point later in the evening with both his hands full and a triumphant look on his face. In one hand was a dead painted turtle he'd found and in the other a live fish he had caught with his bare hands. The fish was dead by this point, which brought about a dissolved oxygen learning opportunity. Later with a bucket in hand he caught more minnows, and with great excitement he brought over a frog that he'd caught. "I'm going to go let him go back in the pond so he can live," he said as we began to make his way down the steps of the front deck. About two steps into his decent he tripped over the bucket and fell head first down the remaining few steps. He's lived a life of good balance and, thankfully, I've witnessed very few falls. This one didn't look too serious - a shoulder to stair direct hit and a ground tumble, but I didn't know what his reaction would be. There wasn't one. When he hit the ground he leapt towards the frog that had been in the bucket frantically searching it out and asking if it was ok. "Are you OK frog? Let me get you so I can take you back home." He was off before I had the chance to ask if HE was OK. This is a family and a life that I love.