Restoring our spirits in Winter

Early last spring I visited Moss Hill Farm with a group of fellow farmers.  Floyd Keisler grows using biodynamic principles.  It was an amazing experience and I left with severe soil envy and some great ideas.  While there we learned about some of the basics of biodynamics and what stood out to me the most was when he spoke about the lunar and solar rhythms of the earth.  He said that the earth breathes...it breathes in (gathers energy) in the winter, and breathes out (expends energy) in the summer.  (A great visual here.)

Winter is really the most important season for gardening.  Not because we are busy but because it gives us a chance to rest, breathe in, and gather our energy for the next growing season.  It gives us a chance to reflect upon last seasons' garden and review what worked and what didn't.  It gives our soil a chance to recover, break down organic matter and prepare for the exhalation of energy in the summer.

So, in reflection, I have a few things to share about 2014...some victories, and some failures, and some circumstances that I just had to accept.

Around the beginning of January this year, I stepped on the scale and registered the heaviest weight of my life.  I had been on a 6 month sugar binge...cookies, cake, ice cream, candy, ice cream...did I mention ice cream?  I even had a box of sweets under the passenger seat of my car.  Just seeing that in print is embarrassing.  Here I was, a gardener, grower of organic, chemical free goodness, and I was killing myself with processed sugary foods.  I nearly wrecked my car reaching under the seat for one of my sweet treats.   I vowed then and there to eat healthier.  I hate the word "diet", so I just decided to eat good food and see what happened.  If I didn't lose weight, at least I would be eating nutrient dense foods and that can't be bad, right?

I started by cutting out sugar.  I didn't allow myself to eat sweets at all.  I stocked up on fruit, nuts, and oatmeal.  I brought my lunches to my day job to avoid the fast food trap, and I cut out all carbonated and/or sweetened drinks.  I began using local raw honey in my coffee.  I ate delicious and nutritious food from my garden.  And, slowly but surely, the weight began to melt away.

In March I hosted a work day on the farm.  A fantastic group of great people showed up and really worked...cleaning the stable, filling our raised beds with soil, turning compost piles, and gathering horse manure from the pasture.  I was humbled and grateful for their help.  In just one day they accomplished what would have taken a month by myself.  At the time, I was having some pain in my left shoulder when I would shovel or carry heavy objects.  Of course I ignored it because I had a lot of work to do!  This turned out to be a mistake.  You see, I didn't rest over the winter.  I spent it building more raised beds, moving soil, etc.  It finally got to the point around mid-summer that I couldn't raise my arm over my shoulder.  Thus ended my gardening season.  Here I had put all my efforts into this being my best season ever, and I was forced to rest.  I also let pride get the best of me and didn't ask for help.  It was, and is, very disappointing but now I am pain free and my injury did not get the best of me, it only delayed my plans a little.  I still have the results of all the hard labor -- 52 raised beds full of fantastic soil that will only get better each year.

So while I didn't accomplish everything that I wanted to this year, I did learn a lot and will apply those lessons to next years garden.  Even though I can't wait to get my hands dirty in the spring, I'm going to take the winter months to breathe in, rest, and be ready to dive in next year refreshed and ready!

Time for starting plants!!

In addition to providing yummy vegetables and herbs from our garden, we also sell flower, herb and tomato plants.  All plants will be in 4” or 5“ pots planted with our own all natural potting mix. Most will be available in early to mid April. If you see something you want, shoot us an email or message  and we will make sure it is available for you.  We will be at the Woodstock Farmers Market beginning May 3 and we will also have all of these for sale on the Marietta Locally Grown site.  They can be picked up at East West Farm on market days.

Flowers:   ($3 each) All of our flowers are pollinator-friendly.  We use the same natural methods to grow our flowers as we do our vegetables.  We specialize in edible flowers, companion plants and flowers that attract and benefit pollinators. 

Nasturtium  - Empress of India—beautiful trailing plant with bright red edible flowers.   The leaves and flowers of nasturtium are edible, and have a tangy radish-like flavor.  It is also useful as a companion plant for tomatoes, beans, cucumbers and squash as a deterrent to squash bugs, beetles and aphids.

Marigold – Giant Orange and Red Marietta – Giant Orange variety can grow over 3ft tall, with huge 3” blooms.  Great as a cut flower, edible flower, and companion plant.  Red Marietta grows 12-18” tall with bright red and gold 2” flowers.  Deters nematodes and beetles.

Borage -- Borage has bright blue flowers and leaves with the flavor of cucumbers. It is consider an herb, but is often grown as a flower.  It attracts pollinators and is considered a good companion plant for tomatoes, squash and strawberries as a deterrent to worms.   It is said to improve the flavor of tomatoes.

Purple Coneflower (Echinacea) – Beautiful perennial wildflower, known both for its’ beauty, but also for medicinal qualities. 

Herbs:  ($4 each) Each year we try to grow both popular herbs such as basil and dill, as well as a few that are not as common.  If you haven’t had herbs fresh from the garden, you are missing a real treat! 

Basil – Superbo – Genovese variety, great for pesto.  Is said to repel flies and mosquitoes and improves the flavor of tomatoes.

Dill – Fernleaf – Delicate ferny leaves look beautiful in the garden, and taste great in the kitchen!  Also try it as a companion plant for the cabbage family.

Cilantro – Calypso – Another very popular herb.  Best grown in spring and fall.  Useful in salsas and anywhere you want a little extra kick! The Calypso variety is slower to bolt than most others, making it a good variety to grow here where our Spring can be cut short by HEAT.

Stevia, German Thyme, Lemongrass, Spilanthes (Toothache Plant) – We will offer these herbs on a limited basis as they are sometimes difficult to grow from seed, or our seed quantities are limited. 

Tomatoes:  ($5 each) We expand our offering of tomato varieties every year, and this year is no exception!  We love, LOVE tomatoes.

Cherry Tomato – Yellow Pear, Washington Cherry, Red Cherry

Roma type – San Marzano

Hybrid – Better Boy (world record holder for yielding 352lbs of tomatoes from a single plant!)

Heirloom – German Pink (Slow Food Ark of Taste), Persimmon, Beefsteak, Striped German, Cherokee Purple, Hillbilly, Arkansas Traveler

What is "Organic Gardening"?

What is organic gardening?  It seems like an innocuous question, but the answer is really more complicated than most people think.

Here is one definition I found: 

Organic gardening rejects the use of all artificial agricultural chemicals, including pesticides 

used to control insects, diseases and weeds. Organic gardeners differ concerning which, if any, 

naturally derived pesticides are permissible and when and how they may be used. 

Most organic gardeners consider soils to be a living system and reject artificial chemical 

fertilizers as harmful to the soil and the environment. Organic gardeners emphasize building soil 

organic matter and then rely on natural sources of supplemental nutrients. Many people garden 

organically because of concern over pesticide residues on food. 

The alternative is "conventional" gardening.  

I guess my point is this:  Organic gardening IS conventional!  It is the original form of gardening used for eons and eons before the advent of petroleum based, "conventional" fertilizers, pesticides and a host of other chemically derived interventions.

Soil IS a living system.  There is an entire world of nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and insects that we never see; living organisms that create a food chain (known as the soil food web) that releases nutrients and gives plants what they need to grow strong, healthy and productive. It isn't just "building soil organic matter".  Soil is not an inert growing medium. Soil is literally pulsing with life.  

To douse my soil with pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides would be counterproductive and, to me, unethical.  I nurture my soil and my plants and in turn, I am nurtured.  What could be more organic than that?

For Soil Geeks...and How to Grow Leeks - My Winter Reading List

A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.  Khalil Gibran

As I sit fine tuning my garden plan, ordering more varieties of vegetables, and keeping my feet warm, I find some time to read.  Most are books that I bought over the summer months with the intent of reading them in the coming winter months.  The following are the top 5 books I have found informative, entertaining, or uplifting in some way.

1.  Folks , This Ain't Normal:  A Farmer's Advice for Happier Hens, Healthier People, and a Better World by Joel Salatin.(Kindle Version)...Entertaining, informative, and inspirational.  If you haven't read any books by Joel, please do so.  Even if you don't farm, you will find him a very entertaining and inspiring writer and speaker.  There are also some great videos of Joel on YouTube.

2.  Teaming with Microbes: An Organic Gardeners Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels and Wayne Lewis (Kindle Version)...A great source of information on what goes on beneath your soil, and how it is as important (perhaps more so) as what goes on above.  If you weren't a soil geek before reading this book, you will be afterward.

3.  The Seed Underground:  A Growing Revolution to Save Food by Janisse Ray (Paperback).  Also author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, which is on my reading list but not yet purchased.  I can't say it any better than a review that I read: "Big biotech companies are patenting and privatizing seeds, making it illegal for farmers to retain their own crops for replanting.  In a series of engaging and lyrical profiles, Ray shows that by the simple and pleasurable act of saving seeds we can wrest our food system from corporate control" (Barry Estabrook).

4.  Gaining Ground: A Story of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, and Saving the Family Farm by Forrest Pritchard.  Foreword by Joel Salatin.  (Kindle Version) A funny, heartfelt, and sometimes sad story.  All I can say is "Read it!"  You won't regret it.

5.  Carrots Love Tomatoes:  Secrets of Companion Planting for Successful Gardening by Louise Riotte (Kindle Version).  A comprehensive guide to companion planting...what to plant with and what not to plant with many vegetables, herbs, and fruits.  There is also a great section on pest control.

While not on my top 5, another book that I refer to over and over is The Vegetable Gardeners Bible by Edward C. Smith.  (Kindle version) It contains information on how to plan and grow your garden, how to nurture your soil, compost, pests, and a great directory of vegetables and herbs.

  When the days warm and lengthen, it is time to put down the books and put everything we have learned into action.  But for now, pass the coffee and don't hog the space heater!

How My Garden Grows Me

Since beginning this farming adventure, I sometimes reflect on some of the things that I could have done differently, and what I have learned from my mistakes.  Here are some of the things that I have learned:

Focus:  I want to plant EVERYTHING!  When I am looking at plant descriptions, I imagine myself growing every squash variety imaginable, and lets not even talk about tomatoes!!  Oh, and herbs...even medicinal herbs...don't forget beans...oh hey..fennel!  Wow, I can grow mushrooms too!  Squirrel!!  My early gardens were somewhat productive, but I only gleaned small amounts of a large variety of vegetables and herbs, some of which I would never eat.  Now, when planning my garden, I list everything I want to grow, and whittle it down to a more manageable list and limit it to things that I will eat.  If I don't sell everything, I preserve, eat or donate what remains.

Find your Joy:  This could also go under the "Focus" section of this post...I want to do everything.  Goats, pigs, ducks, bees, rabbits, fodder, cows...and on and on and on!  I am basically a one person operation, with help from some awesome people when needed.  As much as I would like to turn our farm into a "real" homestead, I just don't have the time or resources.  I also came to realize that the amount of information and skill I would need to tend to all of those individual projects is just beyond my physical and mental limitations.  It is best for me to stick to what I do best, and do it very very well.  I delve into articles and books on soil structure and microbes (excellent article here).  I research compost and composting methods.  I am trying to make the most of the one thing that brings me the most joy...planting a seed and seeing it to harvest.

How I picture the farm!

Patience:  I really have to work on patience.  I spend the winter months poring over seed catalogs and websites, reading books and researching, and planning the next years' garden layout.  I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt and get it all moving along!  But how many times do I have to rush things in Spring, only to be rewarded with a late frost and a ruined bed of cucumbers or tomato plants? I get so anxious to start growing that I will too often tempt fate and have to face the consequences.

Reach out:  Too often I try to do everything on my own.  I end up frustrated, overworked and discouraged.  At times all it takes is a phone call to a friend for help and everything is back on track.  I sometimes forget that I am working on something inspiring and fruitful and I concentrate on the chore more than the journey.  When I share my dream with others, and see that they are inspired, it gives me fuel to continue and feedback that I what I am doing is worthwhile.

Faith:  Worry is a waste of time and energy.  It burdens my soul with negativity and fear.  I see faith as the opposite of worry.  When I have faith, I have hope, and I find hope in every seed I plant.

A River Runs Through It...

I know we probably won't be complaining about rain when the garden is in full bloom...but for now, I would like to voice my disapproval for the consistent amount of rain that we have received in the last month.  I won't bore you with statistics on average rainfall and so on.  I just know that the farm is a big old sloppy mess!!

The chicken run is very squishy, except for the large area we covered with a few feet of leaves to keep the chickens from getting bored this winter.  (We cannot let them free range until spring when they will have more cover from hawks.)

The stable is located on the lower pasture.  It is at LEAST ankle deep in mud at the entrance and the first stall is just muck. Our decision to put the round bales on pallets in the rear part of the stable was a good one. So far we have managed to keep the hay from getting wet.

Amis trying to stay dry

Annie braving the rapids

As farm problems go, this is pretty minor.  We haven't lost any animals,  feed, or structures.  But on the misery scale, this is pretty high!