Wright Way Farm CSA News

Update from the field-April 30 2012

Susan and Denny Wright — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:21:43 GMT

The barn swallows appeared this week,setting up in our barn after their long journey from Central America. Their arrival usually indicates that long-term warmer weather is about to arrive as well, and other than the hummingbirds, they are one of the last to come home.Their diet of mostly insects means the weather has to be warm enough to provide them with a steady supply of food. Since most insects are intolerant of very cold temperatures, the arrival of the swallows is a good indicator of moderate weather trends heading our way. We also rely on the swallows to control our mosquito population, and welcome them. Since the pairs that arrived this week probably nested in our barn last year, it is likely that we already know each other, which is why I don't feel to silly talking to them when I am in the barn. They can travel up to 600 miles per day, which is phenomenal when I think about it. I don't like traveling that far in a car in a day, and they fly under their own power! They are one of the many wonders of nature that fascinate me in the spring. Anyway, we are glad that they made it and are back. The increase in certain activities on our farm indicate warmer weather as well. Our spring chicks are hatched, and running lose in their nursery. Soon they will be running with the big girls eating bugs and scratching for worms and grubs. Also, Friday, we had our annual potato-cutting evening, and we cut up over 1000 lbs of seed potatoes with the help of many people. On Saturday morning, we planted them, over two acres worth. The final yield may approach 15,000 lbs. We also planted about two acres worth of squash, though we won't transplant these until the end of May because they are intolerant of any frost. The spring greens, onions, and radishes are all growing well and on time, and we expect that we will be able to start the summer CSA deliveries on schedule at the end of May.

Update From The Field

Susan and Denny Wright — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:20:00 GMT

While the weather is acting a little more normal now, our workload remains about the same. We are planting every week now and starting plants in the greenhouses. We are also constructing a fourth greenhouse in a couple of weeks, a 20 x 84 to help out with early crops in the future. Our cover crops are doing splendidly. I checked our main field for this year, and almost the entire field is a lush green mixture of rye and hairy vetch. These two crops team up to add and hold nitrogen and they release it slowly to the plants throughout the season after they are tilled in. I promise to get pictures in the next couple of weeks of our fields and crops. We have over 30 acres in cover crops right now. Another benefit of cover crops is the that they hold the soil together over the winter. A green cover means that the soil is alive beneath it. We want to keep the soil thriving because it is a symbiotic mixture of millions of organisms working together. Leaving the soil bare over the winter like conventional farms disrupts this delicate ecosystem. By keeping something growing at all times except just before we either plant or transplant crops keeps the natural symbioses healthy. Brown ground is not acceptable to us unless it's just before a crop is planted. The last major benefit of cover crops that I will discuss today is soil aeration. The roots of the cover crops will go down, sometimes over ten feet, to loosen the soil and provide aeration. It does this, once planted without any additional fossil fuel inputs, and as an added benefit, it sequesters tons (literally) of carbon from the atmosphere in the form of biomass, which is released to the soil organisms and the crop that you will eat. So you see, the production of your food that you will eat this summer began late last summer when we planted the cover crops into the fields as individual crops finished production. The art of growing food requires not only hard work, but long term planning to ensure that the soil is prepared for crop that is planted into it. It is our contribution to the circle of food.

Food Update

Susan and Denny Wright — Sun, 02 May 2010 23:01:00 GMT

Wow! Things are progressing well out here, and with this recent rain,the plants are happy too. Deliveries will begin in about four weeks,but it may be sooner if the weather cooperates. This week, I just thought I would update you on the status of your food:

Lettuce,Spinach, and Misc. Greens: These are planted weekly. Some of the varieties in the greenhouses are almost ready and mature. We have these planted in succession plantings to ensure a supply for many weeks.

Carrots and Beets: These are growing well in the greenhouse, and you will probably be eating these in late June/Early July. Succession plantings beginning next week will provide more of these throughout the summer,especially in August.

Potatoes: 1300 lbs of seed potatoes are already in the ground. They have not sprouted above the ground yet, but we hope to see them growing in about two weeks. We begin sending these around the first week of July and continue through the season.

Peas: Planted last week, and they usually mature around the end of June

Beans: Not planted yet

Kohlrabi,Broccoli, Cabbage, and Brussel Sprouts: About half of these are already transplanted in the ground, and the other half, about 4000 plants, is in the greenhouse maturing. Many of these will mature in late June and Early July. Some will mature later in the summer.

Onions and Garlic: Some in and succession plantings will continue for a few more weeks. Green onions will be ready the first week through the first three or four weeks. Storage onions will be ready in late August. The garlic will be mature in late July.

Sweet Corn: Not in. We start succession plantings next week.

Wheat and Oats: These are in and growing well. They will mature in early August, and we will mill and ship the flour as soon as we can in August. The oats will be rolled and sent about the same time.

Asparagus and Strawberries: As perennials, they are thriving and doing well.Asparagus will be certainly be in your early deliveries and strawberries show up in late June.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Misc.Herbs, and Eggplant: These are up in the greenhouse right now. We will transplant these plants after the threat of frost is gone

Melons,Squash, Pumpkins, Cucumbers: Not planted. They will be planted in successions beginning next weekend in the greenhouse. They will mature from July - October, depending on the variety.

There are others,but this should give you a summary idea of what is going on with your food.

And We're Off!

Susan and Denny Wright — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:12:00 GMT

These past few weeks have been a blur. This weekend, we have taken a small breather for a few hours, but the recent rain, which is greatly needed, will ensure that we will be very busy over the next week. In the past couple of weeks we have planted potatoes, kohlrabi, Brussel sprouts, onions, greens, and broccoli. We have assembled a walk-in cooler, and planted thousands of plants in pots for transplanting at a later date.

While there is much to do, this is also my favorite time of year. I love the intensity of work. Spring is when we have the most energy. I also enjoy the community that we have out here. Many people come to our farm and assist in the planting, weeding, and harvesting of crops. Some are new to this, while others have been working with us for some time. Still, we laugh, talk, and work towards a common goal. It is the community that shares in the time-honored production of food. We work side-by-side like generations of people before us, and in this simple act of community, we revive something lost in our modern world of instant communication and consumer gratification. We slow down and see each other.

Spring!

Susan and Denny Wright — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 01:47:00 GMT

Wow! Just a few weeks ago I was dreaming of spring, and now it's really here. I cannot imagine a better time of year. We are busy, to be sure, but it is organic to be involved in producing food for the next year. We are preparing fields and gardens daily, and we have already begun major plantings. Wheat,oats, garlic, onions, and some greens are already planted. Susan and Lora, a friend of ours, planted 3000 tomatoes, eggplants, and assorted herbs yesterday. We already have about 4000 kohlrabi, brussel sprouts, and broccoli started, which will be transplanted in a few weeks.

In two to three weeks, we will beplanting potatoes in the field and we plant greens, radishes,turnips, etc. almost weekly. Also, the spring chicks arrive in two weeks. Truly, spring has sprung, and we are connected to the rhythms of nature. The birds are already claiming territories for breeding and food supplies and they are building nests. I have spotted a fresh fox den near one of our fields, and I suspect that the kits will soon emerge into the world. Spring is a time for preparation and renewal. The entire natural world participates in this annual ritual, and now,so do we.

Eternal Optimism

Susan and Denny Wright — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 01:45:00 GMT

Farmers are eternal optimists. Somehow we look at a job that has long hours, low pay, and high risk and feel lucky to live the life that we do. That makes us “glass half full” types operating in perpetual denial of reality. Last season was a horrible season by any standards. Many old-timers said it was the worst year in their memory. Considering the number of times that I heard that last season, I have to believe that it is not hyperbole. Yet, I find myself looking to 2010 with renewed optimism. In fact, I am downright excited about this year.

I have never been so mentally challenged in my life by an undertaking. There are more things that can go wrong than right on a farm. This year has already dealt us our first minor setback. Due to the unseasonable warmth that we had last week, the maple trees did not produce enough sap. We were only able to produce a small amount of maple syrup this year, the worst since we started sugaring. Yet, I find myself thinking that this will be the last setback of 2010. A small batch (about 500) cabbage seeds germinated poorly under the grow lights. Only about 10% germinated. We can, of course, mitigate this by replanting since it is so early; so I do not consider this a true setback.

A semi came tonight to pick up our blue corn from last year. It was about two months late, partially due to other farmers having trouble getting last year's crop off of their fields until a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, due to the high moisture content from the wet fall, and the unseasonably warm weather of last week, the corn went sour. We could not deliver it. It is now compost in one of our fields that will be fallow this year. I don't count that as a setback for this year. Sure, last week's warm weather was a contributor, but I consider this to be last year's problem. That means that I remain optimistic about this year.

The front wheels almost fell off one ofthe tractors this weekend. I can fix it; therefore, it is not aproblem. Besides, spring is about finding surprise mechanical failures. It's like the anticipation of Christmas without the stress.This is certainly not a setback. That means that I am completely expecting 2010 to be a stellar year, and while I take reasonable precautions, I do not expect anything to go wrong this year. I think that there is rain expected later this week . Of course our fields won't flood.

Spring Taps

Susan and Denny Wright — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:32:00 GMT

Today was a typical late February day.The morning was cool, but by mid-day the sun, with its increasingly higher angle, warmed the air. The birds were singing, the snow was melting, and something else very relevant started happening. Like lumbering giants awakening from their winter slumber, the maple trees are stretching and in doing so, their blood is beginning to flow.

To be sure, it is a trickle now, but as the days grow longer in the next two weeks, their veins will be coursing with the life-giving sap, required by the buds in desperate need to open up and to begin collecting sunlight. Like every spring,they offer excess to those industrious enough and timely enough to be prepared. No one has accused us of not being industrious, and I believe that we are on time this year. Our taps are in for our small operation, and within a week, we expect to be boiling down the sap 24hours/day for about two weeks.

During this time, we will make ourentire year's supply of maple syrup. For all of this work, we canexpect between seven and twelve gallons of finished syrup. This willbe the direct result of collecting and boiling down between 280 andabout 500 gallons on raw sap. The process is time consuming andgrueling at times, and yet, when we pour the golden brown nectar on astack of pancakes or a scoop of vanilla ice cream, all of this isforgotten.

Rhythms

Susan and Denny Wright — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 01:16:00 GMT

Growing food can be a dirty business.With March quickly approaching, there is no end to the list that seems to be growing daily of the things that need to be accomplished.We moved over 2000 onions outside today to the high tunnels to make room under the grow lights for the 2100 new plants that we started today. We need to start at least that many from now until the middle of June. Throughout the house, the floor is littered with dirt, both from the newly planted crops and from being tracked in from outside. To be sure, it will be cleaned up in a day or so, but next weekend will bring its own new dirt that will find a home on our floors.

I still cannot imagine a better way to live. It is timed to the rhythms of the seasons. Just when there is more work to be done, there is enough daylight to get the work done.We are not the only creatures getting out and about this time of year. While outside today, it seemed that the chorus of birds has picked up some new singers lately. While the cardinals spend the winter, the males were staking out new territories. Soon they will be making their spring nests. Also, the blue jays were making a ruckus and the geese were congregating, probably holding some town hall meeting to discuss universal goose health care.

Anyway, it was far from quiet outdoorstoday, and with each new week, new travelers will be arriving. Somewill be disappointed with the snow that is coming tonight, but allwill be engaged in survival. We are part of that rhythm, and nothingcould be more natural.

Longer Days

Susan and Denny Wright — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 00:30:00 GMT

We can work outside until 6:00 and still see. “That is something to write home about,” I told Susan when we came in this evening. We spent the day planting, preparing one of the high tunnels for planting next weekend, and fixing one of the tractor's tires. The sun encouraged us as we worked, and it felt nice to be outside. The temperatures in the high tunnels were approaching the mid 70's today, treating us to an early glimpse of spring. As the days grow longer, so does the requirement to use the day blight. In fact, we just noted yesterday that summer share deliveries begin in about eleven weeks. With the increasing daylight hours, it is clear that the lazy days of winter are quickly drawing to an end.

Grow Lights

Susan and Denny Wright — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:30:00 GMT

As expected, the cold weather returned.I could have gotten accustomed to the warmer weather. I think that the dogs felt the same way. Still, I have a perfect excuse to not get any work done outside; so, I guess that I won't complain too much.

When I got home from work today, I put the finishing touches on the maintenance for the grow light rack. We have several thousand onion plants started right now. We can start about 2100 individual plants at a time under grow lights, which we then transfer to the high tunnels once the weather warms a bit more.Soon all of our grow lights will be lit up, and plants will be growing. Throughout the late winter and spring we will start about12,000 plants in pots.

You can't miss our house on our roadthis time of year. It is the one that glows all day long. I suspectthat the DEA has our site on some kind of map of potentiallysuspicious tomato-growing sites. “Honest Mr. Officer, these areoregano plants. Here, try one.” Hey, I have to amuse myself somehowin the long nights of winter!

High Tunnels

Susan and Denny Wright — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:14:00 GMT

It's spring time, at least in our high tunnels. This morning we shoveled out the last high tunnel so that we could place the plastic over the frame. By the end of the week, most of the snow on the inside will melt, and soon after, so will the frost in the ground inside of it. Within a couple of weeks, probably the first week of February, we will begin planting in there. So, when I say that it is spring in there, I am being literal.

While spring starts in there, unfortunately, everywhere else will have to wait a couple more months. This week promises to be a warmer one than the past month. It will allow us to catch up on repairs and maintenance. It seems that we can barely keep up with repairs around the farm lately. This afternoon, I went to take the truck to cut some wood, and one of the battery terminal connectors was corroded enough to actually eat through the connector. Needless to say, the truck did not start, and I did not cut wood. That is, of course, and easy repair, but it is some of the little things that derail our plans just when we think that we will get something productive accomplished.

A chicken run that is demolished from the big snowstorm in December, a thermostat on the combine that has failed, a broken field disc, flat tire on one of the tractors, and a couple of small repairs on two rototillers are just some of the repairs that have accumulated at the end of the season for us. To be sure, we have some time to do this; it's just that it's clear that growing food is as hard on the equipment as it is on our backs sometimes.

Still, I cannot imagine a better life. Susan is cooking a stew right now made from fresh and stored ingredients and I can hardly wait to start eating. There is always something to be done, but most of the time, it is fulfilling. I would rather fall asleep at the end of the day from exhaustion after working all day with Susan than fall asleep from boredom watching the television. Also, the ebbs and flows of the season allow us some time for introspection.

To be certain, there are always things to do out here, but winter also affords us time to read and think. We get to spend some time with our family friends, and we get to spend some time together. Sure our life is busy, and some days seem to last forever, but being connected to our food, we get a chance to slow down enough to appreciate the true experience of living. It is a lifestyle as old as humanity, and I am thankful to have the opportunity to live this way.

The Seed Order

Susan and Denny Wright — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 02:13:00 GMT

We just finished eating dinner, and now we are going to work some more on our seed order. It will take another week or so to complete the order. We buy our seeds and soil media from several vendors, and preparing the seed order is one of the jobs that must be done in winter. The hardest part is trying to estimate how much seed is needed. Since we grow 10's of different crops in varying quantities, calculating seed planting or transplanting densities can be a chore. Winter is the best time to create our seed order because we can usually get the best prices on seeds and we can find alternate sources if one vendor is out of some critical seed variety.

For home gardeners, winter garden preparation is also a good idea. Planning the spring garden can lift one's spirits in the relatively non-eventful month of January. My favorite part is drawing out the gardens and deciding where I will plant everything. Stephen Covey says that all things are created twice—the first is always the design or plan. When I draw out the gardens and fields, I can begin to visualize the location of each crop, and I am free to move crops around at will in ways that I won't be able to do once we start planting. Most importantly, by seeing the fields in my mind's eye in January, I am able to hurry spring along,if only in my heart.

Health and Food

Susan and Denny Wright — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:34:00 GMT

As I am sitting here, I find myself pondering the health care reform bill before the House and Senate,and can do nothing but shake my head in disgust. We had an historical opportunity to re-think how we address health care in this nation,and the possible reforms that could have significantly and positively affected our citizens have been removed from the discussion. Lower priced drugs, true insurance premium reform, food safety, and allowing access to our health care system to all are completely off of the table. When this is over, most of us will all be still one major injury/illness away from destitution and the pill-popping, forget about the maintenance, and pay the piper later culture will have been trenched for the foreseeable future, and with it, the kingdoms of Pfizer, Blue Cross, and Monsanto become more unassailable. You may be asking yourself, what a simple farmer on a farming blog could possibly have to say about this debate that is relevant, and I would answer that farming has everything to do with health and health care.

Somehow in the past fifty years there has been a shift in our attitude towards personal responsibility and our responsibility towards each other. George Orwell famously described a world of Big Brother, but what he didn't foresee was our complacency in handing over each and every element of our lives to the Other. For example, many of us complain about the public school system and its inability to teach our children the basics. These accusations are extremely accurate, and in the world academic arena,we are falling behind in math and science—but of course we lead in football and basketball. While I hint at some priority issues, I do not want to muddy the water too much from my point. The public school system is failing at educating our children, but it is also failing at disciplining our children, feeding our children, policing our children, providing sex education for our children and yes,protecting our children. What's my point? My point is: what is my personal responsibility, if I expect all of that from public school system? When did we get a free pass from the personal responsibility of raising children or for that matter any personal responsibility?Most of those expectations placed on the public school system are in reality parenting obligations that we have shifted to the State.

I understand the economic issues at hand, and I am very sensitive and empathetic to the subtle and nuanced arguments that lie beneath the surface of the above example.I only want to point out that many, if not all of our problems with the education system are a result of resigning personal responsibilities, one at a time, to the State. Sadly, this is not where this ends. We look to the government to solve our every day problems. We approach the problem of our health and food safety as a matter best left for the government to resolve. While it's true that the government can be part of the solution, the solution really needs to come from the people.

Before I go any further, I now want to take a closer look at the problem of health and its relationship to food and food safety. I suspect that few people would be surprised that if in a few years of driving their new car without changing the oil, that they would begin to experience possible serious mechanical issues. Further, we would not be surprised if we were to abusively drive the car that we would find our car barely surviving past the manufacturer's warranty. We might wish for a fuel additive(after-the-fact) to magically restore our car to its former new state, but most would realize the delusional nature of such thoughts.Yet, as a society, we subscribe to this thought process for our health.

“I would like to work out, but I don't have the time.” ”I know that I should not eat fast food daily and that the convenience food that I am eating is causing me to be susceptible to type II diabetes.” “ I would quit smoking, but it's not my fault because nicotine is addictive. However, I won't worry because my health insurance will take care of me.” Does that sound familiar as a national attitude? The hard truth is that we are what we eat, period. We need exercise, period. We need to exercise our brains, period. There is no getting around these laws of nature. A large portion of this is personal responsibility. The government can not help those who should be helping themselves.

In fact the government may be working against us on this issue due to special interests. On May 19, 2009, the American Academy of Environmental Science (AAEM) called on all physicians to encourage and prescribe to their patients a diet of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) free diets. There are numerous tests that seem to indicate the health risks of these items in our diet. For brevity, I will briefly list a few studies and results:

GM soy fed to rats resulted in most baby rats dying compared to 10% infant mortality rate in control groups¹
GMO food provokes immune response in animal studies, including Monsanto's own studies²
In studies, chickens fed Liberty Link corn had twice the mortality rate of their control counterparts³
My personal favorite is the Bt gene, which produces a toxin that kills insects and which comes from bacteria, is a standard GMO solution to insect pests in crops like corn. GMO corn has been engineered to produce its own Bt. The problem is that this gene can jump to other bacteria like our stomach fauna and it can turn our own bodies into poison factories. A lone human study seems to support this very dangerous possibility⁴

It seems that our government in its infinite wisdom (read support from special interest groups) has decided that we do not need to test these foods, and any tests done elsewhere are to be censured by industry. That's right, if Monsanto says that it is safe to eat GMO food, than it must be. The current head of the FDA is Michael Taylor, the former VP of Public Policy for Monsanto from 1998 – 2001! The GMO foxes are indeed in charge of the hen house. Impartiality and subjectivity are out of the question. Current food safety laws have their cross hairs set on organic spinach rather than the 500 lb gorilla in the room. Remember the old saying, Q: “What does a 500 lb gorilla do?” A: “Anything it wants to do.” It's clear that the answer will not come from our government. What can we do; wait for the calvary?

The Preamble to the Constitution does not state, “We the Government”, and the founders did not wait for King George to pass a law to change things. They took personal responsibility for their collective future. I am not calling for a bloody revolution, but a revolution of sorts is in order. We need to recognize the power of “We the People”. Our collective buying habits can send a message to the transnational corporations that affect our daily lives and our health. Monsanto can successfully lobby congress to prevent companies from labeling their products as containing GMO ingredients, but we can educate ourselves, and demand only GMO free products. Simply stop buying GMO products. If only 10%of us did that, our food system would change overnight. How do you know which products to safely buy and which ones to avoid? Consult www.NonGMOShoppingGuide.com.We truly hold an immense collective power if we only could be compelled to exercise our immense economic influence, but, instead,we seem to be waiting for Big Brother to do our work for us. Maybe someone will throw our tea overboard into the harbor while we are busy driving our Hummers to Mc Donalds.

I can hear the price objection already.Quality food costs too much, right? “I just can't afford good food.” I think my response would be obvious at this point. It's a matter of priorities, and like it or not, we all pay one way or another. To be sure, highly subsidized GMO foods and processed foods are cheaper, but who do you think is paying for the subsidies?. You can either pay now or later.

Americans think nothing of spending money on pleasure items that we claim are necessities like: big screen televisions, cigarettes, fast food, and excessive-sized automobiles. Yet, we spend the smallest portion of our incomes on food in our history. We continue to rely on the government to heavily subsidize our cheap, high calorie and low nutrition food so that we can dispense with our personal responsibility of health and fitness. We cannot ethically avoid this responsibility any more than we can avoid the responsibility of raising our own children. By allowing special interests to perpetually keep us in a state of disease, we condemn ourselves to the rat wheel of paying for the consequences of our health decisions. We will experience cancer, heart disease and diabetes, which are indeed affecting record numbers of people in our country. We will pay for these one way or another just as the abusive car owner above will pay for repairs. To be sure, he or she saved short-term money and effort by not changing the oil, but at what long-term cost?

In the mean time, pharmaceutical, health insurance and biotechnology companies will prosper at our expense. If we buy our own insurance, health care costs will skyrocket. If we force the government to pay for it, we will pay for it in the form of taxes? To be sure, there are areas where government can provide the solution. There are people in our society who cannot make the choices described here due to an incredible and real economic disadvantage. This is where government can assist by encouraging the elimination of food deserts through zoning and startup loans and by supporting infrastructure that permits access to health care to everyone. However, none of these should exclude us from the personal responsibility of daily choices that directly affect our health and ultimately the future of our nation.

What does farming have to do with this?Farming is where our food comes from. It is the beginning of the cycle. If we demand healthy food, we will get it. Companies will demand that farmers produce environmentally sustainable and healthy food if consumers demand it. Healthy food is the foundation for a healthy body. Our bodies are literally comprised of what we put in it. Would you build your house out of termite-infested wood because it was cheaper? Why do we respect our bodies so much less?

While we stand on the cusp of change, our leaders may miss the opportunities offered them, but we need not miss those before us. We will vote with your wallets. We will send a message to the corporations that we will not tolerate the poisoning of our children. We will no longer accept the lies and half-truths about our food, and most importantly we will not shy away from our responsibility in this change. We are not against Monsanto and Dupont; we are demanding that you join us as we forge a healthy future. We only ask that you change, but if you do not, be fore warned, that you cannot survive the collective economic pressure of We the People. You will either adapt or fade from significance.

1Irina Ermakova, “Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies,” Ecosinform 1 (2006): 4- 9

2Alberto Finamore, et al “Intestinal and Peripheral Immune Response to MON810 Maize ingestion in Weaning and Old Mice,” J. Agric. Food Chem. 2008, 56 (23), pp 11533-11539, November 14, 2008

3Arpad Pusztai, “ Can Science Give Us the Tools for Recognizing Possible Health Risks for GMO Food?” Nutrition and Health 16 (2002): 73-84

4Netherwood, et al, “Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal tract,” Nature Biotechnology 22 (2004):2

Winter work

Susan and Denny Wright — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:54:00 GMT

Near the end of the year, we get torest a little, but now that the New Year has arrived, we arebeginning to ramp up our farm. While there is a lot of maintenanceand repairs to do before spring and grain to ship out, we are alreadybusy planting. We have planted some onions, and we are planting morethis weekend. Two of our three high tunnels are up, and soon we willbe planting crops in them. Next week, we will plant close to 2000brassicas under the grow lights. Who said that farmers have it easyin the winter?

July News

Susan and Denny Wright — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 13:24:00 GMT

We have been working fifteen-hour days, six days a week around here. We are finally catching up on the weeding, now that we are drying up. I cannot complain. The cool spring and summer so far have caused many summer crops to develop slowly. Everyone is having this problem. There are many vendors at the farmer's market in Beloit, but few have more than greens, peas, strawberries, radishes, and few other spring crops. Usually, one can find summer squashes and beans by now. There was one vendor with tomatoes and melons, but he was not even bothering to remove the stickers from his produce. I also saw someone selling full heads of cabbage, a late summer vegetable for sure, but short of that, most local farmers are dealing with the same issues. We are all hoping that some of our crops mature soon.

Speaking of farmers dealing with issues, many of the organic farmers on the western portion of the state are in dire straits. Not only did some suffer major crop damage from the floods last fall, but many of those same farms suffered another crop failure from the floods this spring. I heard of at least one farm that has lost over $1.5 million in crops and assets. Now the obvious question is: “Do they have crop insurance?” After all, that would seem reasonable, right? That's the problem. There is nothing reasonable about organic farming. The government offers crop insurance for some organic crops, but the organic farmer has to pay more in insurance premiums than the conventional farmer. However, the catch is that the organic farmer is reimbursed less than the conventional farmer for the same crops on these policies.

Also, vegetable crops are not insurable because the government claims that the prices are too hard to figure out. CSAs make the majority of their income on vegetables as do other market farmers. However, they are not growing Monsanto products and selling them on the commodities market to be resold to ADM or ethanol plants. So if they go out of business, it is not the government's concern.

Also, to add insult to injury, these farmer's, if they survive this catastrophe they may lose their organic certification because of run-off from fields that are sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. Could there be some kind of insurance for this? Don't count on it any time soon. Like I said, there is little that is reasonable in this profession.

So while I may sound angry, let me say that I am not. However I do not want to stick my head in the sand either. Food security is going to be the number one priority for our nation in the next five years. We need to protect our food supply and as consumers we need to demand healthy food. Here's a number to think about. The United States is 42^nd in the world for longevity behind some third world countries. Jordon has a longer life expectancy than us. Let's all chant, “We are number 42.” Doesn't that make you feel proud to be number 42? Why are we number 42? Well, I suspect that food has something do do with it. Nutrition and health cannot be separated. Many countries expect more from their food than we do.

We are what we eat, literally. When we eat nutrient- sparse foods and products designed to resemble real food and then ingest all of the poisons associated with standard food production, how do we expect to be well? Why are diseases like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer continuing to plague us while disorders like bipolar, ADD and hyper-activity run rampant through our children? When do we stand up and say, “Enough is enough?” Our bodies have a tremendous capacity to heal themselves, but they need the right building blocks. You would not buy a house that was made of low quality construction material because it was cheap, and one should not eat cheap, low quality food either. You and your family are worth it.

We need to take back our food. We should all grow “victory gardens” like they did during WWII. We should buy our food from the grower, and we should hold those growers responsible for their product. We should get to know our growers and demand the best for ourselves and our children. We can learn to cook again, and take time to enjoy our meals. We can choose to eat food that is not made of corn (check the ingredients of the last thing you ate or drank today). If you ate a burger with ketchup, you ate corn. The cow that the burger was made of was probably fed heavily with corn. Candy bars, soda, nutri-grain bars, and many ,many others are corn products. We are not designed to digest that much corn. There are other foods out there, and we can choose to eat them. It's all about choices. In a future blog, we will explore the problem with corn, nutrition, and our health as well as the reason that we are fed so much corn, but for now, that is all there is from the farm today.

Start Your Own Garden

Susan and Denny Wright — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:06:00 GMT

I think the rains have stopped for now. It's a funny thing about rain. My neighbor, Bob, says that too little rain will scare a farmer, and too much rain will starve a farmer. He is right. Plants cannot have wet roots for too long or else they will either rot or grow too small to support a healthy plant. Our tomatoes were under water for a few days, and our soybeans are too wet to cultivate. While I was initially concerned, I have learned that there is nothing that I can do about either. It's just part of farming. A farmer does everything that he or she can do to prepare for the year, and the rest is up to nature. Presently, the weather has taken a turn for the best, and we will probably be alright with our crops.

Last week, I talked a bit about gardening. One of the most rewarding crops to grow in a garden is tomatoes because home-grown tomatoes taste so much better than anything one can buy in a store. There is still time to grow tomatoes, and you do not even have commit anything more than a few large (12 inch or larger) flower pots. Simply buy tomato seeds from one or two of your favorite varieties. If you like a juicy slicer, try a Wisconsin 55 or beefsteak. If you want a heavenly sweet variety, try a brandywine.

Once you buy the seeds, soak 10 – 20 seeds in a cup of lukewarm water for two hours. This will speed up the germination process. Next, place the seeds in wet paper towel overnight. Sometime the next day, plant two per pot about two inches from each other. You can plant them about ¼ inch below the surface. Place the pots in a warm sunny place. Wet the soil ( an organic potting soil is best) and wait.

In about ten days, the seedlings will emerge. If both seedlings emerge, wait about two weeks, and prune the smallest seedling from each pot, leaving only one strong seedling per pot. Leave the pots in sunny location that gets sun for most of the day. Allow your tomatoes to get rain naturally. You may need to water them occasionally in dry spells, but do not over-water them. Once the tomatoes get large, place an 18 – 30 inch wooden stake in the pot and tie the plants loosely to the stake for support with a natural material like cotton or hemp.

You will have little weeding, and by late August and early September, you will have all of the delicious, home-grown tomatoes that you will need. Further, you will have little maintenance. Also, if September frosts threaten your plants, simply bring them indoors for the night, and enjoy tomatoes into the fall

Thoughts on Local Food

Susan and Denny Wright — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:22:00 GMT

It's been well over a month since I placed an entry here. The reason, of course, is that we have been working around the clock (literally on some days) to get everything planted this season. It is part of the job that Susan and I accept. However, we both enjoyed a day off this week, and the prospects for having at least one day off per week look pretty promising until late fall. I even had a chance to ride my bike last night for a couple of hours. For those that know me, biking is one my passions, and I was ecstatic last evening because I had the opportunity to ride. It's funny how one appreciates an experience more completely when one the experience becomes novel again.

Susan and I can hardly believe the turn our life has taken over the past couple of years. The organic CSA has grown substantially over the past couple of years, and with it, we have had to undergo some growing pains. For example, when we added several drop-off locations this year to make it easier for people to get their shares, we needed to find a way to organize the baskets that are destined for different drop-off sites. Things were shaky our first week, but we have our system down now.

To ensure that we have vegetables throughout the season, we need to manage our succession plantings very carefully. This means that we track our items from seed, transplant dates, and growing season length to name a few considerations. While we seem to possess the level of organization necessary to do this, we have experienced some interesting events that we have had to address. Fortunately, to date, we have managed most of the unforeseen events that have happened. For example, a mob of Asian beetles decided to feast upon our tomato plants while we were starting them under grow lights indoors in march. They literally decimated about 100 plants. Fortunately, we were able to replant them and get them to the high tunnels outdoors, and last week, we transplanted about 600 tomato plants.

Similarly, a ground squirrel found our squash and melon seeds in the pots outdoors in the high tunnels to be a tasty spring treat. For those that know me, you already know that I could not kill the animal, and because the squirrel may be a mother with babies, I could not even live-trap it because the babies may starve. That leaves us with few options. The squirrel ate about 150 -200 plants. It set us back a few weeks. We are still trying to catch some of the squash up.

Then, of course, there are the trials of equipment breakdowns. One night, I planted until 3:00 am, only to find the next day that the planter did not plant consistently for about two hours. I had to go back the next day and replant about one third of that field. I am happy to say that the aforementioned field is doing well. Of course this would not have happened if we would not have started farming human-consumption row crops. However, the events that have led us to organic farming on a larger scale have been serendipitous, and we feel that this is an important part of our mission.

Last year at this time, if you would have told me that I would be farming 40 acres, I would have fallen over laughing. I have a lot of experience gardening, even gardening large plots. Gardening or farming for a CSA or the farmer's markets is pretty much the same thing as gardening, only more of it. Our five or so acres dedicated to the CSA and market are very manageable. Farming larger acreage, requires different skills—skills that, in case I did not mention it, I do not inherently possess. That does not include the fact that I had no idea on what land we would grow these kinds of crops on.

As a rule, I don't let small obstacles like this stop me from doing something that I set my mind to. The problem was, I hadn't set my mind to this at all. It just happened. First, Dan Boutelle and Ann Bausum appeared in our lives and they were interested in having someone grow organic food on their land. At first, I thought that I would work with a local farmer, Robert (Bob) Damm, to see if he and I could grow organic food together on this land. My hope was to show other farmers that we could grow organic crops in Rock County. Dan and Ann were very supportive of this idea, and without them, we would not be engaged in this endeavor.

Unfortunately for us, Bob decided that he wanted to stay retired. He is a very knowledgeable and helpful person, and he offered to help me get started. He helped us find the appropriate equipment like planters, discs, rotary hoes, and a combine. While I did not have the knowledge, at least I had a mentor willing to show us what we needed to know to undertake this project.

While we were getting ready for spring, we had another serendipitous encounter with Dr. Kathryn Brown. Dr. Brown. approached us looking for someone to organically farm some of her land. She has been instrumental in pushing me over the edge into farming. Her land is within sight of our farm, and we just finished planting it this past Sunday. Interestingly, our paths had crossed about 15 years earlier. We are very thankful for this opportunity presented to us through our encounters with Dan, Ann, Bob, and Dr. Brown, but what are we doing with this opportunity?

The answer is grow food for people to eat that is safe and local. It's hard to deny that times are getting difficult. Diesel fuel is close to $5/gallon, and its direct impact on food prices will be felt this summer and fall. To further exacerbate the problem, rising demand for food from developing nations like China and India where their expanding middle class wants the same standard of living that middle and upper class US citizens have enjoyed since after WWII, are driving up the demand for food, and it doesn't take a market economist to see that prices are going to be going up. This year alone, input costs like fertilizers, both conventional and organic are triple what they were last year. Factor in the insanity of growing fuel instead of food, and we have the makings of “The Perfect Storm” for food prices soaring out of control in the next year. Clearly the global mass-production of food system is broken and we will all pay, starting with our lower class. Our only answer is to get back to basics and start eating more locally.

While weeding our potatoes today I started doing some math in my head (this could be scary, but what else can one do while weeding a half acre of potatoes). An acre can produce enough food to feed one person fairly well on a vegetarian diet for a year. Even if the average diet were less dependent upon meat, we could accomplish a large portion of a goal to eat locally, if enough people decided to farm on a small scale and if people were willing to pay for their food what it is worth (more on this in a minute). I believe that there is something in the neighborhood of 150,000 people in Rock County. Assuming that there were approximately 3750 farmers willing to farm 40 acres or 1875 farmers who would organically farm 80 acres, we could produce enough food locally to feed our people. Of course, this kind of farming does not have to be confined by geopolitical borders, I am just using Rock County as an example.

Rock County has over 720 square miles of land. Where could the food be grown? Take a look around you. Most of the fields that you see are producing either corn for ethanol, corn for high fructose corn syrup, or grain for feedlots. Forgetting all of the problems with feedlots, and simply looking at the math of production, it takes nearly 10 acres of land to produce the meat required to meet the caloric requirements of a human for a year! That is a ten fold difference from a vegetarian diet. Also, not all meats are created equally. Chicken has a better land use ratio than beef an pork. However, that is not even the worst of it. Most of the meat produced in this area is also shipped out to processing plants across the globe where some form of food/industrial product is created. How insane is that? Farmers will grow local food if consumers demand it. However, consumers need to be prepared to pay for the real price of food.

Mass-production food is heavily subsidized. Many large industrial operations are large simply due to the incentives offered to large production facilities. When you notice that the prices at your local farmer's market are slightly higher than your local grocery store, do not assume that it is because your local farmer is looking to cash in on the local eating craze. What you are seeing is the actual and honest prices of producing food. There are many factors at work here, too many to address today, but suffice it to say that we are paying for our food elsewhere—taxes, wars, and health care costs to name but a few.

Where else can we grow locally? Look around again. How many lawns to you see in your neighborhood where fertilizer and water are applied so that we can spend hours using gasoline mowers to cut it so that is does not get too long. I once knew a man from Laos who expressed his amazement at how many people simply killed the food in their yards. In fact, the concept of a lawn puzzled him most. He could not figure out why everyone did not have a garden. Most lawns are between 1/5 to 1 acre in size. During WWII, everyone was encouraged to grow “freedom gardens” because food was in short supply. One of the first steps that we can do is grow our own gardens. That is as local as your food can get.

Over the next few weeks, I will post suggestions for managing a garden at home, and how to minimize labor spent in the garden. We all can make a difference and be proactive with our food choices. I have attempted to offer some food for thought (pun intended). We can make a difference locally, if we choose as a community to do so. It will require some thought and a lot of organization, but those of us in southern Wisconsin can set an example, if we choose. We are always presented with choices. Susan and I have chosen to produce local food, and you have chosen to buy local food. That is an excellent start. There is still a lot we all can do if we are to address the issues before us surrounding food and food production. Consider the lyrics of the Rush song, Freewill: “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.” What do you choose to do about the impending food crisis? Susan and I must answer that question as well.

April Update

Susan and Denny Wright — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:51:00 GMT

We are finally getting a reasonable break in the weather. The wet weather has left large portions of some of our fields waterlogged, and while we appreciate the life-giving nature of the water, a few dry days have helped us out tremendously. We should be able to get into the fields to do some preparation work. We are working up about 30 new acres this spring, and weed control early is very important. In subsequent years, the practice of winter cropping and undersowing a green manure will minimize weed encroachment in the these fields. We will be planting 10 acres of human consumption corn and about 17 acres of human consumption soy this year. We are also attempting to cultivate a variety of black bean this year for seed, which we will plant next year as a row crop.

The fifty or so flats of seedlings that we have started early are doing well. We had to move them from under the grow lights to the greenhouses earlier than we had planned due to an insect problem. Apparently, the Asian beetles the over-wintered in our siding have found a way into the southern exposure room where we had our seedlings. They began to feast on the tender shoots, indiscriminately destroying our early seedlings. Once we identified the problem, we moved the seedlings to the greenhouse. The nighttime temperatures this past week, however, dipped too low, and we had to move the seedlings into the house each evening. Fortunately, they are recovering well. I just checked the recent forecast, and it looks like we will not have to bring them in again for at least a week.

We have also had an opportunity this week to catch up with planting vegetables. By tomorrow, we will have everything in the ground that should be by this point in the year. Spinach, several varieties of lettuce, radishes, arugula, and kale are some of the vegetables that we have planted this week. We expect to plant potatoes and onions as well by this weekend. In fact, we are caught up enough, that we actually came in early tonight. We will get to eat dinner tonight before 9:30! Now that is something to get excited about.

Paying Attention

Susan and Denny Wright — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:53:00 GMT

Paying Attention

I woke on Friday morning, and the landscape was covered with snow, the kind of snow that can signify the waxing or waning of winter. The boughs on the spruce were covered with a white blanket and the netting on the chicken run was nearly dragging on the ground under the weight of it. When I opened the door, the spectacle of the newly fallen snow seemed to cleanse the sterile brown landscape that was created by the mud formed earlier by the melting frost in the soil. The mud permeated everywhere, including our house. The view of the unblemished white landscape could have perfectly set off any Christmas morning, but something about the scene did not match this illusion.

I looked around, and as I took in the scene, a breathtaking one for sure, I realized that there were clues all around me that indicated that this was winter in its last throes. A gang of red-winged blackbirds challenged me immediately as I left the house. If this were Christmas, they would have long packed up and moved out of the area. Two sandhill cranes cried out in the morning air as I made my rounds to collect maple sap, yet another clue that there was nothing to fear in this snow. As I looked up at the one of the trees that I was collecting sap from, I noticed the swollen buds, filled with the hope of spring and the nourishment of energy stored many feet below the surface that I was walking upon.

As I gazed down near the last tree in my rounds, I noticed a young robin shivering in the snow. He was a young male who probably hatched late in the year as indicated by his small size. The migration must have exhausted him, and then to land in the middle of a snow storm, he had about all that he could handle. I reached down, and took him back to the house where I fed and watered him. Once he warmed up, he began to gain some of his spunk back. I left him in a box to warm up for the morning. When I got home in mid-afternoon, he had escaped, showing his desire to return outdoors. I caught him and released him outside. The temperature outside was near 50 degrees, and when he flew off, he lighted on a branch of our 250 year-old oak tree. For a few minutes he announced his presence to the world. Then like the snow of the morning, he left. Apparently, he could not wait for spring any longer either.

March CSA News Update

Susan and Denny Wright — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:59:00 GMT

The excitement around here is picking up daily. Even though the weather teases us, we can be confident that spring has sprung, and with it, the hope of a new season dawns. The focus of the past couple of weeks has been sugaring, the term used to describe collecting and processing maple syrup.

Our maple syrup operation is very small by any standard. We have about a dozen trees tapped this season. We have one small wood evaporator that our neighbor, Bob, built for us. He made the evaporator out of a 50 gallon drum, a 20 gallon cast iron pot, and stove pipe. This has significantly helped us boil down our sap more efficiently this year. We also have a small propane burner that we use to finish the syrup. In all, we can make about ½ to one gallon of syrup daily during the season, which can last from a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on the weather. This year, the weather is favorable for a longer season.

The process of making maple syrup is as North American as it gets. Native Americans showed the pilgrims how to take the running sap from maple trees and create a delicious treat. To make maple syrup, one only needs to collect sap, and then boil it down until it has the consistency one would expect of syrup. While simple in principle, it is very time consuming, especially in sub-industrial operations like ours. In fact, Susan and I have logged more hours this past week than we usually do, due to the favorable conditions.

To prepare for collecting, I tap the trees about two weeks prior to when I expect the sap to run. Sap runs around February or March when daytime temperatures climb above freezing while nighttime temperatures fall below freezing. I then hook up hoses to the taps and then I run the hoses to five gallon buckets. During the peak season, a tree may give between five and ten gallons of sap per day. Each morning, I collect the buckets and empty them into the evaporator.

Next, we get the fire in the evaporator hot enough to start a rolling boil on the sap. Sap to syrup ratios are about 40 – 80 to 1, meaning that we have to evaporate a lot of water. I do not recommend boiling this down in your house on the stove because you will have water dripping from the ceiling. Don’t ask me how I know this, but trust me on this one. Once the sap for the day boils down to about six gallons, we move it to the propane burner where we can control the temperature better.

From this point, we are about 1 – 2 hours from being done. This is also the best part because the smell is very intoxicating. It is also a very critical part. Towards the end, there is a fairly small window of opportunity when we will either have delicious maple syrup or hard maple candy coated to the pan. Again, don’t ask me, but trust me on this one. Once the desired consistency and taste are reached, we filter the syrup through cheese cloth to remove foreign material and miter, debris from naturally part of the sap, and bottle it. If you are a member of our CSA, you do not need to trust me that it tastes great this year because you will get to judge for yourself; one of your early shares will contain a bottle of this nectar of spring.

Take care, and remember, no matter what the weather forecaster says in the next few weeks, spring has sprung, and the maple syrup is the proof.

Denny and Susan