Rebalancing
Every year in July I seem to have to go through a period of ennui, or sometimes depression. It is brought on by the often-excessive heat, the unrelenting work of the farm, the weeds that we didn’t get taken care of in a timely fashion, and the realization that the season is only half over, with 4 months of hard work all the way through November yet to go. I should know better by now that this too will pass. Funny thing, it usually passes right around July 21, exactly one month after the Solstice. By then we have mowed down the crops that just won’t make it out of weeds, the new plantings spring out of the ground (unlike in the slowness of spring), making it relatively easy to care for them and get them ahead of the weeds, the crops start to come in profusion, we start to fill our freezers again, the calm and beautiful turkey poults are resident and growing steadily in the brooder house, and we have made it over the hump. For us “sun” people, there is less of it finally, which can be a blessing if one’s whole system is driven by the sun like mine is.
I hope that all you farmers out there are enjoying the same sighs of relief that I am experiencing in this time of the year when I start to become balanced again, and content with what I have wrought and what I wasn’t able to work during the first half of the year. Mind you, the pace is still pretty unrelenting, but there is some rest on the horizon.
Special Gratitude this week
First of all, thanks to the many, many people who wrote in to offer condolences regarding Eloise. I think that sharing one’s losses with others is about the best way to move on.
Special gratitude goes to daughter Ellen this week. She has been working with me and Jack, and a few others of you too, educating us about how to improve our gut biome. We had our second poop test recently and I was impressed at how much Ellen’s expertise in analyzing results and working with us to use appropriately targeted supplements, make slight diet changes and lifestyle adjustments has grown in the past year. Particularly regarding health concerns of a metabolic nature, I have found her approach to helping me get the most out of my body, mind and spirit has upped my game yet a few more notches. Based on work by Kiran Krishnan, and working through MicroBiome Labs, this targeted nutritional counseling is what I call “the bomb.” I know she is my daughter, but damn, she is good. I have to pass this on, as I am daily apprised of friends, family, shareholders, etc., who are struggling with serious metabolic concerns. Here is a link to her most recent newsletter. Check out the 5th item – “Al health starts in the gut . . . .”
Thank you, Ellen, for caring so much for the well-being of your dear old parents and all the other hundreds of people that you help.
What is in your CSA Share this week?
Share week of July 22
Best guess
- Kale
- Collards
- Swiss chard
- Lettuce
- Summer squash
- Cucumbers
- Basil
- Tulsi
- Broccoli – turns out we had it for all last week, but maybe just for some sizes this week
- Dill
- Beets
- Oregano
- Marjoram, perhaps just for larges, maybe mediums
We are still taking new shareholders – here is where you can sign up — https://mhof.net/csa-order-form/
The CSA packing line – don’t those folks look happy!
Where are those tomatoes? I know that your mouths are watering, as is mine, and you are starting to see local tomatoes here and there. I keep cheering them on, but these big and beautiful plants with tons of fruit on them, are just not ready to turn yet. By all predictions, this will be our healthiest and largest crop ever, but they are waiting for the right moment. Stay tuned.
Red bag crisis
Sorry folks, that some of our share bags, the smaller red ones, all decided to disintegrate at once, it seems, many of them with your food in them. I have lost track of which of you this happened to, so please let me know if it is you. Many of these problems occurred this past Friday. I have ordered some new red bags and they say they will be here in 3 days. . If you let me know who you are, I will make you new tags and get them on the new bags, at least for Friday folks, with any Monday or Wednesday casualties able to be corrected by the week of August 5. Thanks for your patience.
Volunteering at MHOF
Monday – Friday – 8-12, or 7:30 if you want breakfast. Saturday mornings we host volunteers from 7 sharp until 9:30 – breakfast included.
This past week, our old friends from Gardening the Community in Springfield came for the day on Thursday. As always, we had a fantastic day full of accomplishment in weeding, mulching, seaweeding, onion processing, visiting pigs and picking fruit, with a restful lunch on the front lawn to boot. These large groups of volunteers are important to our success.
Ryan and Bree
Gentel
Amanda, an excellent farmer and friend
Power Broker book review
Over the course of the past 2-3 months, I have been listening to the 1,336-page book by Rober Caro, The Power Brocker. This book is a classic look at what happened in New York City from the 20’s through the 60’s and how this one man shaped so much of park development transportation and housing in that city and all of New York state. He really had an impact nationally and internationally as people flocked from all over to learn his secrets of how to manage the construction of highways through people, urban renewal, and massive displacement of (mostly poor and of color) people for pet projects. Andy student of American history and power dynamics will want to read this book. And Robert Caro is a quintessential story teller to boot. It is a page turner.
Items that you can buy for your own food preservation
Starting now we will have some crops in enough abundance that you can buy them in quantity for preserving for your use in the next year. We now have kale, chard and collards at $3/lb. It is of exceptional quality, and is one of those superfoods.
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This week we froze cabbage, applesauce, summer squash and zucchini, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, and lots of broccoli. Food preservation is a way of life around here.
Declan on the foley food mill
Clare tending the cabbage
Jennifer’s recipe for the week
Collard Puree
To preserve collards for the fall and winter months, this week I made collard puree that I will use as an addition to soups and stews.
Simply cut the collards into smaller pieces, including the stalks. Add salt, water and cook until stalks are tender. Add in a blender and freeze.
Farm Doins
Though growth of things like weeds has slowed down a bit, there is still the unrelenting need to get more planted to set us up for success for the fall. We move a bunch of tarps around this week in order to accomplish that goal, did some carrot weeding, winter squash weeding proceeds at 15 minutes each M, W, F, we re-weeded and mulched basil, weeded and seaweeded lettuce, new chard and new beets, and a bed of cabbage. On Saturday we got a start on our 4 strawberry beds, hoping to get them finished piecemeal by the end of August, and ready to head into fall clean. Blueberries and red raspberries are a constant challenge, and we accomplish a bit of their management every time we pick. The onions are cut and continuing to dry.
Stu, our master weeder, showing off some of his better specimens
This week we accomplished the harvest and laying out of all of the garlic – a clockwork job this year.
A large part of Tuesday was spent moving the layers down the road from the bottom of the west field and into the south end of the pond field. They are now working their way slowly up the pasture toward the house (north). The meat birds took a hit early this week from predators and the dogs are now out again with one attached to their houses while the other two hang out and patrol the area at night. We hear quite a cacophony each night. The turkeys are still safe in their brooder house, inhaling any comfrey we bring to them and having flight practice all over the room – generally having a great old time. The pigs are very rambunctious and are super happy to see the people that come to visit them twice per day. They particularly enjoying scratching their butts on trees and rocks and splashing in any pools of water they can find. It is a rare day that we don’t chortle with laughter at their antics.
Julie
Jackson and Em off to collect apple drops
