May 31, Weekend Wrap-up

It was an interesting weekend! It was great to spend lots of time with my honey, but I was able to do that because of unfortunate vehicle troubles. J came down for a visit on Saturday a.m. We went exploring a little, and even did a drive-by of a property for sale in Mondovi, WI. Hadn't been able to connect with the realtor, so all we could do was look at it from the road. The property seemed OK, but who knows about the house?!? It always seems to be one or the other: the property is great, but the buildings stink, or vice versa.

Sunday was a bit frustrating, because J was having trouble with the motorcycle. He wanted to get it fixed and head back home to his commitments there, but, it wasn't to be. Finally, we went to Winona to pick up some things for the repair job and some other shopping I had to do. Dropped in on A&K and had a great break from the aggravations of broken-down vehicles.

We thought we had the problem fixed, and J took off this a.m., but didn't get far. He ended up taking "Dora" the Explorer home. We'll have to find parts for the Gold Wing, and then decide if it's better to bring the parts down here to the bike, or bring the bike up to the cities to get fixed. Sheesh. What a mess.

We did have lots of time to talk about the things I'm doing here, and things we might do in the future, so I feel like it was good overall.

May 28

Pizza Night last night was a record-breaker! 105 pizzas! This was by far her busiest May pizza night. Even last year, with live music she sold about 75 on the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend. The kitchen was a frantic place. We ran out of just about everything, and from about 7:30 on, there was one person practically dedicated to prepping more ingredients. We did a new pizza, Spinach-Alfredo that seemed to be a hit. (She's served it before, so maybe it wasn't really NEW to everyone, but this was the first time this year.) We called it a night about 10:30.

Today (after a later start) we finished the clean up from last night, did some weeding, and harvested asparagus. In conjunction with a trip into Fountain City, we checked out Seven Hawks Vineyard. I loved their Frontenac Reserve '08 and the Edelweiss '07. All their wines are made from grapes created at the U of M, especially for growing in colder climates. (J & I have Frontenac Gris grapevines in the backyard!)

Looking forward to: Grilling burgers for dinner (with some Frontenac Reserve '08!), maybe seeing my honey tomorrow, and a long weekend.

May 26

This horrible creature (shown here in the last moments of his pathetic little life) is a Colorado Potato Beetle. It is in the process of destroying one of the few remaining leaves on this poor eggplant. As we watered today, we found over 20 of them on two flats. These flats are in the hoop house--far from where the potatoes were last year. How they made their way there, I have no idea.



They are natives of Colorado  where they fed on buffalo bur, which was "of no economic importance". When potatoes were introduced to the area, they quickly spread from potato patch to potato patch, making its way to the East Coast by 1874. It can now be found in almost all areas of the North America. They have few natural predators, and even those aren't able to control them as fast as they can reproduce. They overwinter 12"-16" below ground, and emerge in the spring to dine on pototo plants and breed.

She grew potatoes last year, and had a big problem with them. They devoured most of her plants, giving her almost no harvest. Her father, who lives a few miles away, hasn't had a problem with them, so he's growing the potatoes for the CSA members this year on his land.

In the abscence of potato plants, they will eat eggplant, tomato, cabbage, and some other crops. They have developed a resistance to most commercial pesticides, and there are virtually no effective organic methods, other than squashing the little buggers. (Oh, and they have a little shell on them. They're not even easy to crush.)

There are, of course, lots of theories and anecdotal remedies and repellants, but for every idea you read that worked for one person, there's someone else that has tried it without success. The methods range from seeming a little impractical (a plastic-lined trench around the field to be protected) to the totally bizzarre (puree the adult beetles and spray on the crops...eeew). We are still looking for ideas, especially now that they have discovered the eggplant.

May 25

Another hot and steamy day. Sheesh.

We got started early (6:00 a.m.) to take advantage of the coolness (ha!) of the morning. I was still sweating in shorts and a tank top by 7:00 (maybe even 6:30 the humidity is so bad).

We're still trying to get eggplants transplanted into the ground in the hoop house, but there is one difficulty after another. Now a belt on the tiller needs to be replaced.

We did more weeding (onions, kohlrabi, bok choy, cabbages upon cabbages, carrots, and more I can't remember) and seeding (Indian corn, pumpkins--large, medium and small, gourds, and more I can't remember).

Called it a day about 1:30 and had lunch, a shower and a nap.

The CSA's start next week! People will start to reap the rewards of all this work!

May 24

Wow. Hot day today. It reached 90º this afternoon, and the humidity is awful. Luckily, when I am done with this post I can escape to my nice cool 56º room.

Alert to the squeamish, some vet services were provided today. Feel free to skip down 4 paragraphs.

The vet came out today. No one is sick, but there were some, ah, maintenance things to get caught up on. The year-old calves were still, um... "intact" and that was taken care of today. It's much easier when they are younger. The baby calves we just got a few weeks ago have been taken care of simply by H's dad a week ago or so. There's a special rubber band-like device that is put on them and restricts blood flow until the offending organ shrivels up. At that point, they hardly even notice it. But, with the bigger guys, the task just never made it to the top of the to do list last year. It's similar to dogs, they can get much more aggressive and even territorial with all that testosterone pumping through them.

The baby calves were "disbudded" today, too. As they get older and bigger, if their horns are allowed to grow, they can cause a lot of damage, to each other and to anyone trying to handle them (moving them from point A to point B for whatever reason). So, it is very common to use a Disbudding Iron to burn the "budding" horn so it won't grow.

I wanted to be brave and witness these events. When they started with the bigger boys, I had to leave for a while. But, there was really only a moment of "complaint" from them. Then, they were just pissed off because they were being confined. Four hundred pounds of pissed off cow (and these bigger ones still have their horns) can be bad. All was fine, though. I came back into the barn about 1/2 way through the first one, but I stayed where I couldn't actually see what they were doing! The babies seemed to not feel much either. They, too just didn't like being held. We also had some natural anesthetic for them that relaxed them quite a bit. Within a half hour the anesthetic had worn off, and they seemed just like they've always been.

Next on the list for today was weeding some more of the carrots. We limited it to one row today. After lunch, we planted some and weeded some, but called it an early day with the heat.

A shower and a nice dinner, and I'm feeling quite human again!

May 23

I thought I'd throw you off by posting on a weekend...see if you all are paying attention! Ha ha!

Friday was a nice, easy day for the "farm hands". We harvested some salad greens from the hoop house for the co-op, and for ourselves, and tore the rest out. It will be too hot in there for them very soon (this week?!?) and the heat-loving eggplant are ready to be planted in their place. No need to fret over the salad greens, though. There is plenty more. Some that is ready to be harvested, and some that was just seeded in another bed a few days ago.

After that, we visited a local woman that grows and sells herbs. Most of the herbs for CSA members have come from her in the past. This year, H got more plants from her and will be planting them here for the members that ordered herbs. (They are not normally included in the share boxes, but members can purchase them "a la carte" in addition to their regular box.)

Then, we were off to Danzinger Vineyards. Last fall, H gave them 100 pounds of raspberries in exchange for a case of wine this spring. What a deal, huh?!? We learned that most fruit wines these days are made from syrups, not real fruit. The wine they made was great. Not overly sweet like some can be. We got to sample their other varieties too, and learned about their vineyard/winery. This is the first season they are open to the public. Their opening day was only a few weeks ago, but they've already sold about 300 cases of wine. They have 18,000 cases available this year and have built the place with the hopes of eventually reaching 30,000 cases a year. After our field trip we delivered the greens we harvested to the co-op.

I didn't go home this weekend, but did a little exploring around the area. Checked out the town of Alma yesterday. There were several really nice gift shops/art galleries/antique stores to wander through. Made me wish I was a millionaire so I could buy it all.

J is on a bicycle ride this weekend, a circle tour of Lake Pepin. (Don't get me started on their use of the word "Lake".) Anyway, they started in Red Wing, MN, and crossed into Wisconsin, traveling on British 3-speed bikes--most people in some form of period costume--down WI 35 eventually crossing the river again at Nelson, WI, and into Wabasha, MN for dinner last night. I met up with him in Stockholm, WI at his lunch stop. We looked around there for a while and had awesome homemade pie at The Stockholm Pie Company. Today, they head back to Red Wing on the Minnesota side. Their goal: To make as many stops as possible along the route.

Also on my agenda yesterday was to find a "real" grocery store. Turns out, that's quite a task. The closest one seems to be in Winona. It's worth it, though, to have some ingredients on hand to cook with. I miss cooking!!! After my journey to find a produce department, I took in the atmosphere at a local (Alma) bar. A family friend lives in Alma, and tends bar there. I got to meet a few locals and hear some stories over a very cheap adult beverage.

Temperatures are slowly creeping up (although yesterday wasn't as hot as they were predicting), but the humidity is skyrocketing. It's overcast today, so that will keep it from becoming too uncomfortable. Hopefully, next week won't be too bad either. There's plenty of time for that yet!!!

May 19

I'm noticing more changes this week. The weather has been the most dramatic. Last week, I was in my winter jacket with wet, frozen fingers and toes most of the days. This week it's shorts and tank tops, a bit of sunburn, and purposely getting my hands wet in the well water because it is so cool. Isn't there something in between 40º and 80º??

Another change is in me. I've gone from the "newbie" on the farm, to the one answering Marty's questions. Even more amazing to me is that I actually know the answers to most things he asks! Why are we doing things this way or that? When will this happen? When do we do that? Etc. Very interesting to feel that shift. Makes me realize that, no matter how much I still have to learn myself, I've already learned a lot, and it's sticking! Woo hoo!

The latest change today was that there is once again peeping, chirping life in the barn room where the "meat" birds were. Yes, we got more! They arrived in today's mail, if you can believe it! We counted 118 as we took them out of their boxes. They are tiny, and look like they just popped out of an Easter basket. They started pecking around at the food we put out for them, and we held some of them to the waterer so they'd get the idea and tell their friends.

On the other meat birds, she said today that the ones she has left are pretty much spoken (and paid) for. The ones that were lost were going to be for her and her family, and to sell to others that inquire. She will now barely break even on the cost of raising them.

Today, besides welcoming the new peeps, we finished putting together the compost bin area for the composting toilets. Carbon/nitrogen, air, water and time. That's all you need!

We also put in about 300 tomato plants (in addition to the 300 or so we did yesterday), weeded some carrots and the herb garden, transplanted about 35-40 basil plants (that was about 1/2 what we have), and the usual miscellany that fills a day, whether you are on a farm, or in the city.

May 17

Wow. Has it really been that long since I posted? Have you all forgotten about me?!?! Ha ha ha!

So, what has been going on here? "Let me explain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up."

Wednesday the 12th: Still cold out, but a little less of the rain. We made raspberry jam from some of last years' raspberries that she froze. We did the math and I realized that even if she sells them to the co-op to re-sell, there's a decent profit margin on homemade jam. Obviously, it's even better if she can sell it direct, like at Pizza Night. A second group of preschoolers came. We looked in the hoop house at all the things growing and talked about how it stayed so warm, etc. We looked at some of the chickens, and the kids got to pet a couple of them. They wanted to HOLD the chickens themselves, but everyone over the age of 6 agreed that probably wasn't a good idea. Then, the kids had a snack of mint tea (they loved it because it was warm) and rhubarb muffins.

Thursday, the 13th: My birthday, and Pizza Night! The weather was still cold and rainy during the day. We moved all the outdoor chickens to new grassy areas then got ready for pizza. I think the weather scared most people away, but it kind of worked out nice for me. With so few people there, I was able to visit with A&K, and even J and E, who made the trip down, too! It was a GREAT birthday! And, the "kids" gave me some greenery for my room.

Friday, the 14th: After giving hubby the grand tour and the morning animal chores, we checked the asparagus, but there was nothing ready. In the hoop house, we tilled a big section and planted the rest of the peppers that had been started from seeds earlier this spring in the house. After lunch, we made strawberry-rhubarb jam. Yum.

I went home for the weekend and came back late Sunday night.

Today, the 17th: Marty joined us. He is from this area, but currently going to college in Florida. He is interested in learning about organic/natural farming, and will be helping us out a few days a week throughout the summer. We worked on weeding today, the garlic garden, and also several rows each of beets and a salad mix. We also planted some more cauliflower and Brussels sprout seeds. We got about 8 lbs of asparagus today, and could see that there will be a lot more ready soon.

The little chickens had trouble over the weekend. She thinks we forgot to turn the electric fence back on after trying to pick asparagus on Friday, and the evidence suggests that a weasel got into the birds' area. She lost almost 1/2 of them. Most of them were not really even eaten, so I guess weasels kill for sport. Yuck.

The weather was amazingly beautiful today. Sunny and warm! And, it's supposed to continue all week. Very glad for that!

May 11

Ugh. Half a sick day today. Must have caught some kind of bug over the weekend.

Managed to help get ready for a preschool field trip to the farm this afternoon, and planted 600 broccoli seeds before I had to crash and burn. Feeling a little better after a couple naps in between reading, but there's still a pesky cough. Maybe some hot tea with a little honey and lemon while I'm watching Lost tonight, then, off to bed!

May 10

Pooped out today! I was up pretty early to drive in after spending the night in Winona. Thanks, A&K! The Prestige was a GREAT movie!

There is rain predicted for this week, so we wanted to get some (!) seedlings into the ground. We planted broccoli (3 flats--each flat holds about 100 seedlings), bok choy (3 flats), napa cabbage (3), green cabbage (3), cauliflower(3), kohlrabi (4) and 2 kinds of kale (4 flats total).

In my world, that qualifies as a lot of seedlings!

Of course, I did the usual animal chores, food and water for all the chickens, collect the eggs, and feed the baby calves.

All in all, I think we had a very productive day. Now, it's time for a hot bath, then to bed early!

May 6 & 7

Two days to catch up on.

Thursday was our first Pizza Night! It went really well. (Not just my opinion, either!) We sold 43 pizzas in about 3 hours. The actual hours are 4:30 - 9:00, but it started to rain about 7:00 or so. Luckily, those that had arrived by then were pretty much done eating. But, there is space in the barn this year, for people to congregate if the weather isn't cooperative. I had a lot of fun, and got to see my son and daughter-in-law, from nearby Winona!

Today was rain, rain and more rain. And chilly. Except when we were harvesting asparagus. Then, it was downright cold. Picked about 18-1/2 lbs. Most of the rest of the day was spent in the hoop house pulling up old spinach, in the relative 50º warmth, and getting the rest of the boxes ready for the CSA members.

One of the benefits of this internship is the additional workshop opportunities I can participate in. Tomorrow, I'll be at Garden of Eagan in Farmington for a workshop on soil fertility. Sounds strange, I know, but how can you have good, healthy food come from the ground if you don't have good, healthy soil to grow it in???

May 5

T-minus 23 hours and counting until Pizza Night! All energies were focused on that today. Finishing the outhouse building, finishing the directional signs to go out on the road, cleaning out the fire pit area, moving picnic tables around, trying to set up the sound system, cleaning up the yard, creating and concealing off-limits areas, trying to kid-proof as best we can, etc., etc., etc.

Yesterday we did most of the food prep work and had a "trial run" with her folks for dinner. We wanted to make sure we had all the equipment at the ready, tried to get a feel for the work flow, and so on. And, the pizza was DELICIOUS!

She's not expecting a huge crowd for the first night, but I think she's been doing more advertising. (Oh, and the local HeadStart program is having their family picnic night here tomorrow, so that's a guarantee of 15-20 pizzas!)

Should be fun. I'm really excited!

Day #?? May, 3, 2010

OK. I think I'm all messed up on my days on the farm! That didn't take long, huh? I think the weekend screwed me up. I'm here, but technically "off-duty". So does that count?!? Who knows. And, really, does it matter? :)

Today, we build a shelter for the baby chicks to have outside. Yay! They finally have most of their "real" feathers and get to peck at grass and weeds, breathe some fresh air, and have some room to run around. The shelter is 9' x 9', and 6' tall inside. The bottom is open, just four 2x4's screwed together. Then, a  large metal fencing piece is attached on each side, creating a bowed top. The top is covered with a tarp to keep the worst of the sun and the rain out. The back is more tarp-covered fencing, and the front is fencing, but no tarp, to make sure there is fresh air. The shelter will be enclosed in a portable fence.

The whole contraption will be chained to the tractor and can be dragged from one grassy area to another, as they peck around. Some of the fencing pieces were already the right size, etc. but other than that, we put the whole thing together in just a few hours.

One of the little chicks developed "Curly Toe" and had to be... well, put down, but that's not exactly the right phrase. The tendons in his feet tore and he couldn't walk. There really is no treatment for it, and a vet visit is a minimum $75 charge, so....Yikes. More circle-of-life, huh?

We also had our first CSA members show up for work shifts. When they sign up for their shares, members are given the chance to work 4-hour shifts for a credit on the cost of their membership. The members that came today worked from 1-5, and will do another shift next Monday. We weeded one garden and planted more onions.

Most other tasks are getting us ready for Pizza Nights to start on Thursday. I believe the current plan is to have our trial run tomorrow.

All three of the "baby calvies" have names now. Dandy (was the first to try eating dandelions), Cupid (has a perfect heart-shaped white spot on his forehead) and Oslo (not sure where THAT came from, other than the mind of a 5-year-old!). Hope that doesn't make it more difficult when the time comes for them to fulfill their destiny.

Days 15 and 16

Friday was a big shopping day. In preparation for the first Pizza Night on the 6th, we took a road trip to Eau Claire. We picked up parts for the tractor she bought at an auction, picked up a new prep table for the pizza kitchen, and stocked up on beer, pop and juice boxes. When it's a minimum 1/2 hour or hour to the big stores, you gotta combine your errands!

In the past, pizza customers have brought in their own beverages, but this year, she got a beer license and will be selling a couple different Leines and pop brands. A good way to make some add-on sales.

We cleaned the barn out some, then later headed into Winona to hit the Menards there. We got a lot of miscellaneous bits and pieces for a bunch of half-finished projects.

The bed for my new room was brought down the other night, and today, I spent most of my time organizing in there: putting up hooks to hang stuff on, setting up shelves, etc. That was fun! It feels nice to be a little more settled. I've got a place for everything, and for the time being, everything in its place. I brought my sewing machine down here with me and I'm working on some curtains for the windows.

Also got most of the area in the barn that will be accessible to the public straightened, organized and power washed.

Oh, and new baby lambs came today!!! Three momma ewes, and their five little ones! They are very cute, but still pretty shy.

Tomorrow morning I have a date for coffee with my honey in Red Wing! Can't wait!