Time to throw out the rule book?

As the temperatures quickly climbed to above 90 degrees in my greenhouse this morning, I like everyone else is wondering what this season will bring. This winter, many people asked me what effects the lack of snow would have and now about this early Spring. I don't know yet...we will find out together. We are all learning together what will result from these climate changes and severe weather abnormalities. I do not have enough years farming experience to do anything but learn from this. However, I have a plan and I force myself everyday to stick to it. I may lay awake at night psyching myself up to just go for it, put seeds in the ground...push everything 2-3 weeks up...do it! Everyone will be so happy! But morning brings reality and I hold myself back. Planting too early when we could still get very cold weather would kill the tender crops and set the farm back weeks.

 
So I'll control what I can and feel satisfied that at least I did that. I will come up against a lot of uncontrollable factors this year. If temperatures remain unseasonably warm, the spring cool-loving crops, like broccoli, may struggle to make it to harvest. Broccoli doesn't handle the stress of temperature swings well. 
Farmers and gardeners everywhere are realizing this will be a difficult year for pests and diseases that winter failed to control. A winter void of a long, hard freeze allows these populations to remain strong and eager for a farmer's hard work of planting their favorite meals.

This is the reality of farming. And while many farms are spraying every inch of plant material to make it so undesirable, the bugs won't touch it. We will rely on building healthy soil and an environment for beneficial insects to keep our harvests safe. I rely on crop rotation and intercropping to confuse the insects and out-compete the weeds. And I will recognize that I will lose crops...probably quite a few. But this is why I plant a wide variety of crops and make sure to keep careful notes on how each variety does in a difficult year. Weather predictions are hard to make, so we just go for it and put our faith in knowing there will be a bounty.

I'm looking forward to this new year!

Seeds and Scale

The seeds are ordered and delivered and some are already packed away securely because they will no longer be needed this season. I have started all the onions and leeks for the 2012 season. They are germinating under the lights and growing taller every day!

While I did notice some higher seed prices this year, I came out about even with what I spent last year. I was surprised by this since more than doubling my growing area for this year. Granted, I am using quite a bit of last years seed (having passed my seed germination tests). And I certainly did not sacrifice taste or reliability for cheaper seed prices. I tend to stick with what has worked in the past on my farm and splurge on varieties that I know have superior taste and quality.

I think I have settled into a sweet spot on the farm this year. I have reached a scale that makes sense...lets hope this feelings lasts! Many small farms reach this point eventually and have to ask themselves, How big do I need to get to stay in it? Farms need to become viable, and for me that meant increasing production. But to increase production I need to think about adding costly equipment to my operation. And how much do I need to grow to justify (and pay for) this costly equipment? That is one nasty pickle! And one that could lead me to grow way too large too fast...Get big or get out right?

No, there are plenty of models of successful small farms and much research is being done to help small farms with cost effective equipment that makes sense on their scale and land. I think this year's little growth spurt will help me see exactly where I want our farm to be.

Please vote for me!

I would like to welcome everyone to Season 3 of Daily Harvest Farm! I will have lots of updates on what we have been doing these last couple weeks in preparation for this season, but for now I could really use your support. I have applied for a grant from Raising Organic Family Farms foundation for funds to build a super-cool wash station at the new farm site. The new wash station will allow me to save time while washing and packing produce for the CSA and farmers market. 
 The foundation just announced a special award for the proposal that gets the most votes. To vote, follow the link below and click the "thumbs up" symbol at the top of my story. I appreciate your continued support!

Vote here!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from your farmers at Daily Harvest Farm!

And meet the newest addition, Leo:

Thanks for a great year. See you all in 2012!

Daily Harvest Farm has a new home!

That's right! We've moved! Earlier this year I got a lease for a new plot of land in Fabius, NY. I spent the later part of the Summer and Fall assessing the new land, improving soil fertility with compost from Springside Farm (conveniently located right up the road!), seeding cover crops and planting garlic. While I am sad to leave our generous hosts and friends in Marcellus, I am excited for new possibilities. I don't think I could have asked for a better spot for my first two growing seasons though. It offered me a space to get my start, challenges to learn from, and countless benefits. I am taking with me great memories of lonely afternoons where I would just sing and talk to the crops. And of the nosy, retired farmer neighbor that would check in from time to time, telling me I "work awfully hard for those weeds".

 Alfalfa growing in August before being tilled in. 

Our new farm location in Fabius is rich, flat land that grew a luscious crop of alfalfa all last year and was grazed by the farm's handful of sheep. The farm got their hay cuttings from that alfalfa before I tilled it back into the soil where it could feed the soil microbes and earthworms. I am very excited to learn about this new soil, which is a gravely silt loam. It will be a big adjustment for me as I transition from heavy clay soil. This soil does not hold nutrients or water as well, yet will be mush drier in the Spring for early plantings. My plan is to build the soil's organic matter and structure (and hence water holding capacity) as I go, adding compost and focusing on green manures and mulches to retain moisture.

View of the (now finished) barn after the field was plowed.

I hope you will come visit our new farm location as we start planting in the Spring. We will host volunteer days, tours, and even some potluck picnics as we get settled in our new spot! A new season is right around the corner!

Playing a bit of catch up...

(From a beautiful day in August)

We have been having quite a bit of fun with the new crop trials on the farm lately. While I feel it smartest to stick with what works on our land, markets, and my knowledge as a farmer I must add a few new crops every year to expand our offering and my education. We added some great new flowers this year that I just cry about every time I harvest them. One is a double Aster mix from Johnny's seeds and they last forever! I really love the strong, brittle stem with beautiful, almost peony-like, tight bloom. They are a keeper!

I also planted a few Straw Flowers (pictured above in upper right corner) and while they took a while to grow on me, I have really been enjoying them. Their multi-branching small stem make them a joy in the garden but not the best marketable cut flower. The blooms are a mostly closed, paper-feeling mini burst of color. I do love how they last weeks on end and have joked with many of you at market about how they might just put me out of business. My plan for these little, unique blooms is to plant way more than seems necessary to have enough for sweet little bouquets.
(UPDATE 10/29: Strawflowers have survived the hard freeze from the other night! An unexpected but delightful surprise. This could open up so many more possibilities for these little cuties)

We also had an amazing year for Tomatoes, once they came! (Did I mention how unique this season was??) We stuck with our tried and true Prudens Purple and Striped German as well as our candy sweet Sungold cherry tomatoes. But I added a yellow cherry and black cherry to the mix this year and I think they were a great addition to the pint of salad tomatoes. We also added another heirloom slicing tomato called Black from Tula. It's a pungent, brown and red variegated tomato with a wonderful heirloom taste. It too will stick around another season.

                                                          A perfect Striped German tomato.


I should be honest with you all and myself to say not all new crops were winners this year. We had significant crop failure that was due in part to (cringing to have to mention it again) a difficult year but also to "farmer's luck". Sometimes I put the plants in the ground knowing some will fail and some will flourish depending on what weather we are given but we diversify on purpose. It keeps things interesting and I love to see how far we can push the productivity of our small farm.

Trying Something New?

We like to grow unique varieties of typical vegetables to delight and excite. Not only are they delicious and fun to look at, but also bring out creativity in the kitchen. The varieties getting the most attention at markets the last few weeks are the

Lemon Cucumbers 

and

Eight Ball Zucchini

Lemon cucumbers are deliciously sweet and the tender skin offers a delightful crunch. They are great sliced into a pitcher of cool water or just to top off a salad. My favorite thing to do with these cucumbers is to make up a batch of mint-marinated cucumbers.
Ingredients:
1 pint of Lemon Cucumbers                           pinch of salt
1 cup vinegar                                                 1 cup sugar
1/2 lemon                                                      chopped mint leaves
Directions:
Slice cucumbers, place in a covered dish, and sprinkle with salt. Refrigerate for several hours to pull out water, overnight is ok. Pour off water. Mix 1 cup vinegar, 1 cup sugar, juice from 1/2 lemon and mint leaves. Stir until sugar dissolves.  Pour mixture over cucumbers and refrigerate overnight.

8-Ball Zucchini is a great, tender zucchini, typically picked small about the size of an 8-ball, that is great for stuffing. The possibilities for stuffing zucchini are endless, but here is the link to one of my favorite recipes: Provencal style stuffed zucchini

I hope you enjoy our harvests as much as I enjoy delivering them to market each week. We will continue to grow and expand our knowledge of the best varieties for our growing conditions and the tastiest veggies for your dinner (breakfast, lunch, brunch, and supper!)
See you at markets this week. Did I mention tomatoes are starting to ripen?? Matt and I had a nice sungold cherry tomato break this afternoon.