Category: CSA

Racoon War ’08

August 21, 2008

I was going to write about the ins and outs of organic certification for you’all, but I’ve got coons on my mind right now and I can’t shake them.

A neighbor of mine says that coons are never a problem until the corn gets just right, then they will show up two days before you want to pick it. Well, I’d have to say that his thinking is right. They completely decimated the planting that I was going to pick on Friday…two days before, right on time! Yesterday I noticed that some plants were stripped of their cobs here and there, which was surprising because I’d never had any problems with coons before. I knew that once they had my number that they weren’t going to go away—kind of like zombies in an old horror movie…they just won’t stop. The major outcome
is that the good looking bi-color sweet corn which SHOULD have been in the box today didn’t make it.

With the next planting of corn ripening in another week, I’m guessing what I’ve now dubbed “Coon War ’08” does not end there. My mind is consumed with plotting the next round with these critters. I’ve already told my wife that the dog and I will be sleeping in the machine shed to shoo the racoons away—typically a dog will chase anything most garden-attacking critters, but ours is used to sleeping inside each night. I’m sure if we left him out on his own, he’d just sleep on the deck by the house, so he need a little encouragement. Also, following another neighbor’s technique, I’m looking to set up a polywire fence. Polywire is a tape that carries an electric charge. The trick is to set a single strand just a few inches off the ground. Since raccoons walk with the head down and low, the single strand keeps them out. I like this approach since it is in the organic production mold…pest prevention instead of pest eradication, which needs some form of poison. I’ll stand guard over the next week, and, if all goes well, deliver a slug of corn in your box next Friday—let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Hail! The Bane of Growers Everywhere

July 8, 2008

Man, I feel like I just can’t catch a break lately. When an isolated storm came through this week, I figured, what’s the chance. But looking at the TV satellite, I noticed the path was slated to come right over the top of our place. And came it did…bringing not just a heavy rain, but about 10 minutes of hail too. Hail! Every growers nightmare. What’s worse it came with a strong wind, so it cuts through plants even better. Basically this affects some crops more than others. The hardest hit are plants with broad leaves like Swiss Chard and the like…you’ll notice that this salad mix isn’t as beautiful as it was just two days ago (there may be a little “picking through” necessary, so look out). It’s actually good that some plants are not as far along as they should be like peppers; right now they are still just little plants with little foliage to lose…it would have been disastrous if actual peppers were on the plants. All told, it could have been worse.

Anyway, I’m thinking the rest of the season will be on the up and up since we’ve gotten the bad stuff out of the way. The soil around here is very heavy and is finally starting to warm up, which gets the plants growing. Up until our recent heat wave, a number of plants just sat there—not much bigger than when I put them in.

First CSA delivery

June 30, 2008

As all of you already know, this spring has been a real bear…not a nice cuddly bear, but a tough ugly bear who brings plenty of snow, rain, and cold. We shoot to do our first CSA delivery during the third week of June, but it just didn’t happen this year. Things just took too long to plant, and, when planted, didn’t want to grow in cold, wet soils. Things have started growing just enough to pull together a box this week, but, I have to admit, it was tight. Expect the boxes to become fuller as the season moves on.

Lida Farm Journal: Week 16

October 24, 2007

Well, this week we’ve come to the end of the line. I don’t know about you, but sometimes the produce season seems like it went by in a blur and other times it seems like a couple years. It was just like yesterday when I was weeding onions and planting potatoes. On the other hand, sometimes when I think about all the stuff which has happened between now and when I started seeds in March, the season seems pretty darn long. Sure, we have a number of chores to put the farm to rest for the winter, but right now I’m looking forward to sitting in a chair, just reading seed catalogs and dreaming of next season. That’s pretty much what growers do in the off season…dream about beautiful, weed-free fields of produce. Still, what I dream up in the off season and what actually happens typically doesn’t match up.

Lately I’ve been dreaming of a rustic little roadside stand at the end of our driveway just overflowing with produce…let’s see if it actually comes to fruition.