Today was so brilliant!  It was decidedly sunny and that sun felt so good.  The kids and I spent nearly all day outside.   We started out there this morning with songs and times tables, and after a quick trip inside to do some writing, we happily returned out of doors for picnics and stories and card games.  And although we didn’t do much in the way of farm work (the kids and I that is…the farmer was harvesting for Saturday market), we did make it out to the fields for an adventure.  After lunch, my daughter announced that we needed to go on a walk and find “spring” stuff to bring inside to decorate with, and it seemed just the thing to do–it felt so spring-like out there!

Of course in reality we are still just making our way out of winter a bit at a time, so we didn’t really find anything that satisfied her quest (no flowers!).  Things look a lot like winter out in the field and around the farm still.  There are a lot of bare trees and brown hues and winter hardy garden plants that always look a little worse for wear at this time of the year.  And so, we decided to refocus our efforts, and began instead to look for signs of spring coming. 

And even though our walk showed only the smallest of these signs, we did find some.  There is new growth on the winter greens and the very teeny tiny beginning of sprouting broccoli florets.  There is more green surrounding those food plants in the garden, too.  The weeds and grass in the path are definitely starting to grow and right now, while they are just at the starting, they are a nice sight, all green and fresh and tender!  The daffodils are popping out of the ground, the cherry buds are forming!

Small things, yes!  But small things emerging from underground, budding, and growing–all signs of good things to come!

For the last two months or so, the farmer has been sleeping in.  Sometimes just sleeping in a little compared to being up and out in the fields before anyone else is awake; sometimes sleeping way in, while the rest of us rouse, eat, and start our day still waiting at 9:00 for him to say good morning!  I am not quite sure if he has ever taken the winter months to practice this bit of extra restfulness before, or if this is just the first winter I noticed it.   I do think that up until now he most likely still had a pressing feeling  in the winter to keep busy because this is the first winter that he has been all the way through a full year of full-time farming, with the business now more or less solvent without needing either of us to work off of the farm.  I think this year he could fully relax while the sun slept in too and the temperatures were so cold.

I, too, have noticed that even though I wasn’t sleeping in, I was feeling more sleepy when I did wake in the mornings.  There was a subtle difference–less get up and go and a lot more snuggle under the covers than jump up and greet the day.  Since neither of us have changed our sleeping routines, I can’t help but think that this extra sleepiness has something to do with the season.

And then this morning, I woke early to the sound of the farmer leaving the bed.  I could see that there was a faint change in the color of the sky, but really, it was mostly dark and dawn was barely on its way.  After falling back asleep for a little bit before getting up, I went out to find that this morning, all of a sudden, the farmer was back to work.  He had finished his tea, organized seeds, and was heading out the door already, practically bristling with excitiment.  He said something about so much to do! and was off to the greenhouse.

At first, I was surprised at the sudden change, finding myself equally bristling with excitement at early morning work and all that it implied , but nevertheless, not fully there myself in that get back to business mode.

And then I was struck by the significance of this shift happening today, the day pagans used to celebrate as the halfway point between the darkest day of the year, winter solstice, and the first day of spring.  Imbolc, an ancient holiday, encompassed in modern times by little more than a groundhog peeking out of his whole in Pennsylvania (tomorrow), but still a nod to the fact that spring is, indeed, on its way.

The energy has shifted outside as it will continue to shift throughout the month and on into the heart of spring.   And without skipping a beat, the farmer, so very connected to this land and his work, experienced that same shift.  Just like that, he shed his winter slumbering and awoke with excitement and enthusiasm–it is the perfect energy to jump start the season.

And so, early on this Imbolc morning, some seeds were sown, the first of 2012.

This morning, even though the farmer usually starts harvesting for tomorrow’s CSA and market first thing, we lingered over our cups of coffee talking greenhouses.  This is a topic that often comes up, but it is at this time of year that we think about it most.

When we started farming, we used a small little house constructed of pvc-pipe given to us by a friend.  We covered it it in recycled plastic sheets removed from another friend’s large hoophouse when he was replacing it with new plastic.  It was a fine size for using as a place to start our seeds in late winter/early spring, and that was what our immediate need for a greenhouse was.

Every spring, though, when the winds would rise, and usually before our starts were all planted out, this flimsy little greenhouse would get ripped apart.

The last time this happened, the plastic we were using was finally too shredded to reuse.  And so we had to take all that plastic to the dump:  we could hardly stand it!

Since that time, and always really, we haven’t been able to decide how to fit the use of plastic into our vision of sustainable agriculture, or our original driving principles of permaculture, which aims to create a permanent agricultural system.

There has also, however, always been reality to deal with too, and the truth of the matter is that season extension is pretty important in many ways, the most significant being, we want to provide as much food as we can year-round for our community.  Just as strongly as we believe in sustainability and permanence, we believe in eating locally.  For all of you to be able to continue eating delicious and fresh, locally grown food in the winter months is just as important as is is during the abundance of summer.

And we really, really appreciate farms like our fellow farmer’s Denison Farms at the Saturday market, who with the use of lots of hoophouses are able to bring a wonderful variety of foods year round.

We also, quite honestly, need to be competitive, and every other farm in our area uses some  hoophouses or grows partially on black plastic.  Our crops grown out of doors and in the soil will always be behind those grown in these conditions.  We have a small amount of crops covered in mini hoophouses in the field, using more recycled plastic from old greenhouses, but we could easily  see the benefit of having so much more covered.

Two winters ago, we built this wood framed passive solar greenhouse off the south side of our machine shed.  We didn’t want to hassle with that flimsy pvc framed house blowing around in the spring anymore, and we had reached a time when we needed more space anyways.  The intention with this greenhouse is to ultimately cover it with glass.  For the first year, we again used the plastic we had around.  This year we replaced that with corrugated fiberglass that came from a small greenhouse we helped remove from someones property.  This will be somewhat more permanent until we get all the glass together and installed.  This is the kind of greenhouse we always envisioned.

Inside, we have been able to play around with a layered system, providing multiple uses beneficially.  Underneath the tables we use for starts, we scattered straw innoculated with elm mushrooms.  Last year we used the space to brood our baby chickens at the same time we were germinating most seeds and this added warmth to the greenhouse at a cold time of the year.  This year we switched to water barrels to collect the sun’s warmth and bring up the temperature inside.  We added a wall to the west end and created a mini space inside of the larger space to keep extra warm in order to start our warm weather crops like tomatoes and peppers.

The farmer is experimenting with growing carrots in large pots, has peas growing up the unused wall, already harvested a small crop of bok choy with no flea beetle damage, and has the basil that will stay in the house all summer potted up.  It has been fun and useful and we only which it were bigger.

This morning we started talking in earnest about doing just that, making larger versions of such a greenhouse.  The farmer is tired of me pushing him to consider moving towards getting some hoophouses, but I have always felt pretty stongly that we needed more space in season extension.  So, we are going to draw up some plans and figures and just go with our guts on this one.  To actually build these, we will have to get some funding, something we have yet to do formally in our business venture.  But we feel that it will be worth the extra cost to keep both our idealism and practical business needs happy.  If it seems doable in the end, and the finances are there, we will hopefully be building these this winter!  Then next spring, no matter how long the cool and wet weather seems to last (we ended up starting a fire last night!), we will have a warm and dry–and even spring pest free–place to grow more food.  That is a happy thought!

Filed under: challenges, farm, farming, greenhouse, local food, newsletter, seasonal eating, spring Tagged: farming, newsletter, planting, seasons, spring ]]> http://growingwildfarm.com/2011/05/27/thinking-about-greenhouses/feed/ 0 growingwildfarm greenhouse 1 greenhouse 2 greenhouse 3 greenhouse 4 greenhouse 6 http://growingwildfarm.com/2011/05/26/this-week-at-market-the-flavors-of-spring/ http://growingwildfarm.com/2011/05/26/this-week-at-market-the-flavors-of-spring/#comments Thu, 26 May 2011 15:18:31 +0000 growingwildfarm http://growingwildfarm.com/?p=982 ]]>

Spring it still is, even though today marks the start of our “summer” farmer’s market, the McMinnville Farmer’s Market.  Farmer’s growing in hoop houses or on black plastic can nudge the season ahead a bit, but with the long lasting springs we have been having last year and this, even our friends who use these growing tools more extensively than we do will most likely still be offering “spring” produce as we start the market season today.  Baby beets, large spring onions, turnips…these are crops a week or two away for us, but have been ready for the last month from other farm’s at our Saturday market.

Otherwise, the main crops that spring offers in abundance are greens, greens, and more greens!

Some, of the lettuce variety.  In fact, there is always so  much lettuce at the market’s at this time of year that we no longer worry about growing too much head lettuce to bring.  Instead we focus on our salad mix, many a local’s favorite and one of our signature offerings.  Right now, we especially love the mix which includes not only baby lettuces in a wide variety, but young greens as well as small brassica florets.  It is so beautiful and delicious!

All of our other greens fall more into the cooking greens category.  This week we are bringing a braising mix full of young greens, dandelion greens, nettles, baby kale mix, full size kale, and rainbow chard.  The color of spring for us is definitely green!

But saute a little green garlic, another spring treat that you really are only going to find at your local farmer’s market, perfectly light for spring cooking with its pleasantly mild garlic flavor, and add this to your cooking greens and you have everything you need–delicious!

But what is really exciting (even though it is equally depressing in some ways) is that we will also have spring rapini at this first market, and maybe for a while longer!  Because it has been so cool this spring, our brassica plants that we overwintered in the fields began to go to seed later than usual.  When these relatives of the ever popular broccoli go to seed, they produce equally edible florets that are yet another spring crop usually only offered by your local market farmer.  Similar to broccoli raab in appearance, but with each kind offering a unique flavor depending on which plant it comes from (turnip, kale, cabbage, etc), these are one of our spring favorites!  We wouldn’t normally have them at this time of year because their push to set seed would be stronger than our ability to harvest them if the weather were just a bit warmer.

But it isn’t really warm nor very summery yet, so relish these spring flavors we will!  They are just as yummy as the produce to come, and for those of you who might otherwise miss out on being able to shop from a farmer’s market when our Thursday market isn’t happening, what a treat for all of you!

• was warm!
• brought color to our skin
• kept us out of doors all day
• brought visible growth in the plants from one day to the next (this is always exciting when one has watched plants sit in the field growing so slow in the cooler weather!)
• meant hard work–most of the whole main field was weeded and is almost entirely planted
• was filled with near constant splashing after the pool was filled for the summer just in time for what was deemed “hot enough to swim weather” by the small folks around here
• we picnicked repeatedly
• the children and the farmer pitched the tent and slept outside
• the farmer’s morning routine of slug hunting was less needed as the heat helped us kill a bunch of these nasty critters
• we watered! (which just means that we are moving along in the season…a good thing!)
• we negotiated the fine details regarding the up and coming strawberries (the farmer and the kids and I will be splitting them 80/20)  There is still debate brewing about this, because I think we could eat and preserve them all, but the farmer assures me there will be SO many, we will have to share…soon by the looks of things in the field!

We hope that wherever you are, either here with us in the Willamette Valley soaking up some much appreciated warmth and sun, or farther away with your own spring/early summer weather, that you enjoyed the feeling of excitement and business that comes as we work hard now getting ready to enjoy the coming dog days!

Sitting in the field, in the sun, taking a break from moving compost to nurse a hungry baby, just awaking from his nap on my back where he was lulled by the movement, up and down the hill, scooping, filling, returning matter to the earth.

Over near the house, I hear the squeals and laughs of children splashing in the hand-dug mud/water pit they have already taken to filling on this first, very warm day.

From my spot, I watch.  Pure play is a thing of beauty.

Then I look over and watch the farmer, the sounds of spring farm work fill my ears.  He works so hard, each year doing more and more in the same amount of hours and days, it amazes me.

This moment is so perfect.  All of us together, working on this farm, food and souls growing in this warm, fertile ground.

Spring, in earnest anyways, has been late coming this year.  There have been a few subtle shifts to let us know that March 20th did in fact come and start a new season–the days are longer, the frogs and birds louder and more lively.  It has even, admittedly,  been a wee bit warmer; but for the most part, it has still been cool, and most certainly, wet.  The wet is no surprise, but warm and wet is quite a different story from cold and wet.

And I feel so impatient.

I am ready to soak in the sun without a sweater on, to be absolutely done with fires in the woodstove, to have the windows open and the night air in our room without wool socks and comforters making it happen.  Maybe I am really just ready for summer and not spring, at least here in our spot in the Pacific Northwest.  But more warmth is what I want!

The consolation for my impatience, however, is that the world is coming alive slowly and surely, even if it is more slowly than it would if we had a few more 60+ degree days.  And when the sun does come out, it is so wonderful that I swear the earth is singing. The cherry blossoms come alive with the sounds of so many bees buzzing, and we begin to get a feel for what is to come–the wild abundance of warmer weather.

This winter on the farm was many things. It was the first winter that the farmer did not have to do some landscaping work in order to supplement the farm income.  In fact, this month marks his first year of full time farming, and we are pretty excited about that.  It means that we are not hustling like mad through spring planting and prepping while wrapping up work off the farm.  Everything is getting the care and attention it needs in early spring, and no one feels like they are going crazy.  The pace is busy and steady, but not rushed, and that feels so good.

And for the rest of us, this was a quiet, quiet winter.  We retreated into the warmth of our home and our new little baby.  We took it easy, stayed home, and were inside more than out.  It felt good, to just be with this new little person during the season when the weather and the pace kept things on the low down.

But part of the itching I feel for warm weather is an itching to be doing more.  The time of the earth’s contracting in and us along with it is over.  We both want to stretch out!

It is true that so very soon we will be busy, busy.  The warm that I long for will bring with it the rapid growth of those spring crops we wait so pensively for.  The other green things will want to grow fast too, weeding will take over our lives (in a very lovely way) and the summer market season will be here and we will be out and about seeing everyone again!

I can’t wait.

There is some blooming happening, and I am finding myself hard pressed to wait for it to be the whole world.  Come on spring!  We’re ready.

Filed under: changes, family, farm, farming, nature, spring, Uncategorized Tagged: farming, seasons, spring ]]> http://growingwildfarm.com/2011/04/20/blooming/feed/ 0 growingwildfarm blooming http://growingwildfarm.com/2011/04/02/at-market-this-week-nettles/ http://growingwildfarm.com/2011/04/02/at-market-this-week-nettles/#comments Sat, 02 Apr 2011 18:26:09 +0000 growingwildfarm http://growingwildfarm.com/?p=916 ]]>

There are a few items we choose to bring to market that we wild harvest from our property because they are delicious(most importantly) , super nutritious (like out of this world nutritious), and also (very kindly) fill seasonal growing gaps for us.  We do “cultivate” these wildings, clearing the areas where they grow or maintaining stands of them specifically for harvest, and we are always thankful to have such an abundance of them when we do.  In the early spring, when our over wintered vegetables are well harvested and new plantings are young, we are blessed with fresh growing nettles, perfect for nettle pesto and just in time to start getting the farmer’s body ready to battle pollen season.  In the summer, we harvest lamb’s quarters, a non-bitter tasting green that thrives in warm weather when our spinach has called it quits until fall and the kale has reached its height of “summer” flavor (not at all as sweet as in the colder months).

We never harvest a ton of these, but they are always a hit.  Some people already know how good they are for you and appreciate the chance to eat these nutritional powerhouses.  Other customers love their taste and will request them again and again.  We enjoy them in their season, and making nettle pesto is something we do every year.  It was the first recipe we tried the first time we ate nettles, back in the wilds of Colorado, with the encouragement of an old friend who not only gave us a taste for wild harvested weeds and king boletes, but also inadvertantly planted the seeds of our future–he had just returned to Colorado from the Pacific Northwest where he was working on a farm and we had many lively conversations with him about farming and this neck of the woods.

I was hesitant then, but the pesto was delicious and didn’t sting a bit.  We love it so much that we rarely make anything else with our nettles, aside from drying them for  tea.  But they really can  be used like any other cooking green, braised and finished with a bit of lemon juice or rice wine vinegar, or added to soups or sauteed and tossed with pasta.  But this is important–they must be cooked!  Between the soaking and washing we give them, and some cooking, even a light steaming, they will be sting free; but handling them out of the bag from our market stand with your hands will give you small stings.  We just dump them from the bag into the pan and steam them until they wilt, then cool them and proceed to make our pesto.  This blanching preserves their nice bright green color too.

We have always been fascinated by the high levels of nutrients in wild plants, so much higher than those cultivated by humans, even plants cultivated with as much love and care and attention to soil health as we give our plants.  This is one of the reasons we really attempt to mimic nature as much as is possible, keeping it as our growing model in as is applicable to our very human endeavor.  Nettles are really high in many minerals, including iron, potassium, magnesium, and calcium, and nettles are often used to help with anemia.  I personally use them as a general blood builder and as a concentrated source of minerals during pregnancy and while nursing (though please speak with your health care provider before using if you are pregnant or nursing!) and for the kids.  They help lesson your bodies immune response to allergens, and the farmer uses them in the early spring to help prevent or lessen his immune response to pollens later in the season.

This nettle season, encouraged by a friend and our own gut feeling, we are going to try to eat nettles even more than we normally do.  They are recommended to help protect the body from radiation, and just in case we are coming into contact with more unfriendly radiation than we want, we will be trying out some different ways to cook nettles this year. Either way, we feel extra thankful to have such an abundance of this healthful and tasty green this spring.  Head out to the woods and wild forage some for yourself if you are feeling adventurous, or if you want to keep it simple, stop by our market booth at The Market this month and grab a bag.  Either way, enjoy the tastes of spring both wild and tame!

The greenhouse is full, and the starts much bigger since I last took the camera out.  So much new food growing, its always so exciting, especially at this time of year when our overwintered goods start to wear thin.

Animals, both of the feather and fur variety, are also responding to the change in seasons.  We finally have more eggs than our family can eat (which is quite a lot); feeding 50+ chickens for close to a year without any eggs to sell and sometimes none to eat is always enough to try our patience.  Thankfully, we always forget all about those grumpy poultry feelings once we hear those egg laying songs throughout the day again.   And our eggs really are the best! We are all in egg heaven right now, and have promptly fallen for those pesky birds once again.

And although there will only be one mammal giving birth on the farm this year, it happens to be the kind that makes the next cutest babies to me!  Our sweet goat, who came to the farm this winter already bred and was somehow named nothing more than Mama, had one lovely baby this month.  Goat kids are incredibly endearing, and although this crinkly nosed wonder still doesn’t have a name ( I am thinking he will just be Baby), he sure has stolen our hearts.

And although he’s not doing any farming quite yet, here are a few pictures of our little baby, halfway through his first year here on the farm!  Indeed, all this new life is enough to kick winter on its heels.  The energy of life bursting forth from small seeds and little hearts and hands is contagious.  I know we are all ready for it over here, how about you?

As I mentioned in my quick political post last week, I unintentionally took the month of January off from updating the blog.  Although farm work never really stops, it certainly slows sometimes, and January is the quietest month of the year for us.  We usually have all of our plans made by the end of the previous year, sometimes even our seeds are ordered.  Other times we place those orders in January; but that is still quiet, inside work, the telling of which is funner once those seeds become plants and we can show you the beautiful new varieties we are playing with this year instead of just telling you.  All in all, there is little to update anyone on.  Even taking pictures of the farm slows down, because winter in Oregon isn’t necessarily very picturesque.  There is rarely any brilliant white snow.  The landscape is brown, gray, and dirty looking–it seems impossible to make it pretty in January.

Except for the sunsets.  They are spectacular in the winter.  And they are especially spectacular when our lower field is full of water and the sun sets over this winter wetland.  When it isn’t too cold, we all walk down to the field as the sun sets to watch the ducks fly in for the night.  The water is flashing with their wings, the air filled with their sounds.   And just like at dawn, there is a freshness at this time when night and day linger in the sky together that is so refreshing.

Now that February has come and even spent half of itself already, this quiet, slow way is beginning to pick up the pace.  We can feel spring in the air, itching to take over for old king winter.  Seeds have been started in the greenhouse, transplants have been placed in the ground.  The interlude of dry, winter weather that always seems to precede the really wet days of spring are perfect for working up some ground.  And this year, with the farmer home and working on the farm full time, we haven’t missed this chance to do  field work before it gets really wet again.  So exciting!

Yes, the quiet of January is nice, its stillness a much needed reprieve from the pretty hectic pace of life on the farm in summer and fall.  But each year, when spring comes around and a new season begins in earnest, we are always so ready.  We love the work we do, and as we begin to plant the seeds of the coming season’s harvest, we are filled with the same sweet, simple feeling of hope.  Everything is possible at this moment.  There is no unpredictable weather to deal with (yet), no pests (yet), no problems (yet).  Every season comes with one challenge or another on the farm; but on the outset of the year, that possibility is the furthest thing from our minds.

And although it is not strictly spring yet, her beginnings are always found in February with those surprisingly warm days and the blooming of snowdrops, the sprouting of daffodils.  A season’s dawn, especially spring’s, is a beautiful thing.