The Shallow End

The "kiddie" pool. The "bunny" hill. Training wheels. Answers to the odd problems in the back of the book. The shallow end. All are precursors to the real thing. We encourage and celebrate movement from needing the security and reduced challenge these things provide to being able to swim, ski, ride a bike and apply math to real problems that have no predetermined answer.

And yet, most of us are still stuck in the shallow end when it comes to local foods, sustainably grown food and knowledge about how our food is grown or produced. Even when the knowledge is there, the commitment is not. And, before we claim that we are swimming in the deep end, we need to ask ourselves if we have done enough to insure that local and sustainably grown food will continue to be an option.

The biggest hurdles in front of us are related and form a horrible 'catch-22.' The perception in the general public is that local and sustainable foods are hard to find, inconvenient and unavailable. On the other hand, potential producers have the perception that an honest living cannot be made growing food in an ethical and sustainable way. You can't get more producers if the public doesn't demand local, organic and sustainable foods. The public rapidly loses interest if they're told too often that their desires cannot be met at this time. The result - everyone pulls their toes back from the ledge that is the deep end and wades for a bit longer.

Well, we have news for everyone. The journey to more sustainable food systems is going to take some persistence and hard work on all of our parts. There are going to be disappointments and challenges.

So, you think local foods are inconvenient, in short supply and/or hard to find? The first step is for all of us to recognize that we are all to blame for the destruction and degredation of our food systems. We have fallen to the siren song of convenience and false beauty. As a result, we have nearly dismantled all of the old infrastructure that existed to support our food systems. As a result, the consumer and the new producers must recreate or devise a new infrastructure to meet local demands.

Jump in the rest of the way. Learn how to can or freeze fruits and vegetables. Make a splash and tell your local grocery stores that you want fair trade - that you want organic - that you want local - that you want seasonal. Float for a while in the depths and share a watermelon (grown by a local farmer) that is just too big for you and your family with your neighbors. Splash your preconceived notions in the face and accept that tomatoes need not be round and red, that all lettuce does NOT taste the same and that not all chicken tastes like the chicken we've all been programmed to expect. Get your faces in the water and see how much we undervalue our food - then start paying what your food is really worth.

Take off the water wings, the training wheels and jump in for a real swim or hop on for a ride. In the end, we'll be proud of what we have done.

The New Farm (Food) Bill

The Farm Bill is, as Michael Pollin has said, improperly named. It should be the Food Bill as it directly impacts our food system and correspondingly makes it easier/harder to produce certain types of food in certain ways. In fact, the Farm (Food) Bill directs to a large extent what we eat by rewarding some practices and failing to reward others.

Change seems like it is slow in coming, but it is coming. We just have to remember that there is a strong establishment that is fighting changes in agriculture and preventing or discouraging our farmers from innovation and sustainability. There are a couple of items that we have noticed thus far:

Cost Share and Fees for Organic Certification

In order to promote the process of organic certification, bill has some funds to help reduce the cost of certification. It is set up so that the cost share funds are acquired in a fashion not unlike a rebate. The farmer goes through the certification process and pays the certifying agency. At that point, the farmer submits proper forms to apply for some of the cost share funds for organic certification. If the farm meets the requirements and funds are available, a check for a percentage of the overall cost (with a maximum total limit) is sent to the farmer at a later date.

Most people do not know is that many certifying agencies are private organizations. In our case, we are certified by the state (Iowa Dept of Ag and Land Stewardship - IDALS). But, even in that case, the staff that reviews applications, handles inquiries and inspects farms need to be paid. Certification fees help to provide the necessary income to pay these people and help them do their job. So, it isn't a matter of absorbitant fees on the part of the certifiers - they do work that should be compensated.

Exemptions for Farmers to Grow Food Crops

One of the craziest things we discovered as we entered into this business was the whole idea commodity crops and CSR ratings. CSR ratings are used to measure the productiveness of land. A higher rating indicates a higher average production. These ratings are used to value property and are used to determine subsidy compensation from the government to commodity crop growing farmers.

The problem? If a farmer decides to grow a food crop (or a non-commodity crop) in a field, there are problems with maintaining the CSR rating and its future eligibility for subsidies. We learned this first hand when we converted prior row crop land into our vegetable fields.

Why is it a problem? This strongly discourages a farmer from innovating and attempting to grow something other than the currently accepted commodity crops in the area. It's difficult enough to innovate and try something new without having to risk losing a funding source semi-permanently. New outlines from the Dept of Ag allows farmers to grow food crops without forfeiting future status as land that is eligible for subsidy.

Farm Projects

There are a number of projects we are looking to start, complete or investigate in 2009. The obvious downside of moving onto an older farmstead with multiple buildings is that they all need attention at the same time.The biggest difficulty is trying to prioritize AND line up resources. Here are the projected 2009 farm projects:

Farm house roof: This wasn't initially at the top of our priority list, until we found out how much roofing the barn would cost AND we saw how bad the shingles were getting on the house roof. There really wasn't much of a choice for waiting much longer. Going against tradition, we have contracted with Dan Gignerich to put a steel roof on the house. We believe this is the most responsible choice.

Farm house windows: The original windows are single pane and they are falling apart. We budgeted for and purchased ten windows this winter. Only two are in thus far, but the warmer weather will give us the opportunity to put most of the rest in. The goal is to get the seven lower level windows in before April is up.

Truck barn: The 'truck barn' is called the truck barn because we weren't creative when we named it. In any event, the roof on this building is in poor shape. We were able to replace two sides last year (with the last shingles put on around Thanksgiving). We need to do the remaining two sides. Once done, we need to put up a new door (the old one is down), repair some rotted framing, put up shelves for our veg operation and put in a walk-in cooler.

Barn: We did have an estimate for roofing the barn, but its going to take more than that to rehab this building. We're not sure we'll be able to get this one to go - so we are beginning to consider alternatives. The roof is in poor repair and the building is deteriorating rapidly. But, choices have to be made.

Solar Power: There are grant and loan programs available that may help us to put together a solar system for the farm. We have found that our electric consumption peaks in the spring when we are starting plants and running the water pump a bit more. Our goal is to build a large enough system to cover this difference. We hope to complete the grant process yet this Spring.

'Portable' High Tunnel: The high tunnel idea has been there on and off for a few years. We're ready to try to pursue this and we have identified the supplier we want to use. The problem? Well, there are only so many major projects that require additional time and capital that we can undertake at a time. By necessity, this one may be delayed by a year or two.

New packing/cleaning area: The first step - the old collapsed hog building needs to be completely removed. Once that is done, we'll see where we go with it.

Removal of hog confinement lean-to: The old machine shed converted to hog confinement is the best location for a solar grid. The building (other than the lean-to) is in reasonably good repair. But, we have to remove the lean-to, figure out what to do with the pit and finish sealing/cleaning up the machine shed. Sounds like a small job to me.

Back porch of the house: Those who have visited the house know about the slightly unstable steps we have leading to the back of the house. We'd like to do something a little better there. We carry enough things in and out of the house for farm purposes - and we've stumbled on them just enough - to move this up the priority list. It seems like a luxury - but we clearly need something wider and more stable.

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New Tools

One of our newest tools are the soil blockers we just received from Johnny's this month. For those who are unaware of what it takes to start seeds, it is typical to purchase black plastic trays and black inserts for those trays that provide cells. The seed starting medium is placed in these cells and seeds in the medium. You have seen these inserts if you have purchased the four or six packs of a desired plant from a garden center.

There are some inherent problems with this process. First, of course, is the fact that these inserts are not reusable if you grow plants in any volume. Second, removal of plants from these cells is rarely so easy that you can avoid disturbing the roots. The less you disturb the roots of a seedling transplant the lower the transplant shock will be. And, finally, those inserts do represent a recurring cost to the business.

Enter the soil block makers. These things will allow us to compact a special soil blocking starter mix and make multiple cells at one time. These are then placed in the reusable trays for continued care until the plants are ready to be transplanted. Plants treated in this fashion can be monitored for root growth. When roots begin appearing on the edges, we will know it is time to transplant to either a larger block or into the fields.

We realize there is a learning curve involved in the use of these tools, but we are looking forward to climbing it.

Book Orders

The A to Z Cookbooks were a big hit last season and we did pick up another box at the conference this year. If you did reserve a book, we will make sure you get one. However, there are more in this box than we had reserved. If you are interested, plesae let us know (see below). Cost should be $18 per book. Retail is $19.95 - but we are not looking to be a retailer here, we just want you to have access to resources that help you use your CSA shares better.

The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food by Janet Chadwick was reviewed in last month's newsletter. We have heard from the publisher and we can execute a bulk order with them. The price will be very reasonable (under $15) making this an excellent buy. We have not yet placed an order as we need another five people to make it work.

If you are interested in these books please contact us taking the link at the beginning of this paragraph.

Festival and Tom Sawyer Day Schedules

We have set the dates for this year's GFF Festivals AND our Tom Sawyer Days! Please take the links and mark these dates on your calendar. Certainly you are not required to attend - but we would like to give each of our CSA members (as well as "honorary" members) the opportunity to participate at some point during the summer. We feel that early notification of the planned dates gives everyone a chance to decide when and if they might like to be involved. It also provides us with a framework for the summer schedule.

If you have questions or see errors, we would appreciate your comments.

Vol 5 Issue 2 - February 2009

Edges and Biodiversity

The recent Organic Farming Conference in LaCrosse provided us with a great deal of food for thought - which is why we go there! There is often a session presented by one or more persons from the Rodale Institute. And, in my opinion, if there is a place to emulate - it is their farm.

The session was led by Jeff Moyer and focused on the promotion of biodiversity by creating what he called 'edges' in our farming operations. This, of course, flies against the trend of the last half century for large, single crop fields. The motivation for these fields, of course, is to promote profitability. First, by reducing labor cost and then by increasing production.

Rodale, on the other hand, has split their farm into numerous smaller plots or fields. They have taken less productive land and turned them into things they are better suited for, such as ponds and wooded areas. Much of this is done with the intent of providing more edges between types of habitats. One could argue that this may reduce production and increase labor issues.

While it is true that management of the farm might be a bit more difficult - it doesn't appear to be true that production has been damaged by their efforts. In one example, he noted that they split one large field into three. The middle portion produced poorly, so they turned it into a woodlot. This, of course, introduced more edges and more biodiversity to the area. As a result, the two smaller fields produce as much as the single large field used to produce.

Of course, this made me think about our own farm and what we do with companion planting, rotations and smaller plots. For example, we have always joked about the 'end plant' in a green bean row. These always seem to produce double the amount plants in the middle produce. One year, we allowed some marigolds to grow amongst some of the beans. Interestingly, the plants near the marigolds performed like...well...end plants. Hm.

In the presenters words - the edges are where the life is. And, not only that, a diverse habitat results in diverse life. And, diverse life prevents ideal conditions for pests. Sounds good to us!

Wanted

• Orders for A to Z Cookbooks
• Orders for Guide to Preserving Food
• green strawberry containers (cleaned)
• clean leaves, grass clippings, etc for composting/mulching
• requests for items you would like to see in the newsletter

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Featured Variety: Helios Radish

The Helios radish was one of our new additions last year (2008). We were pleasantly surprised by the production levels and reliability shown by this cultivar. It's a little less finely grained than most of the red skinned/white fleshed radishes. However, these are less likely to get sharp (or hot) in taste and have a wider harvest range (both in terms of time and length in the field). It adds to the variety of taste and color to a salad and stores reasonably well in the crisper.

LaCrosse Organic Conference

We attended the Organic Conference sponsored by MOSES again at the end of this month. As expected, the conference was well-run and there were a number of sessions that were of interest to us. Rob attended a full day session on pollinators and bee keeping by Eric Mader and Ross Conrad. Meanwhile, Tammy worked as a volunteer at the registration desk where she met some of the fine people who make the conference possible.

In addition to the beekeeping session, we attended sessions on composting, biodiversity and season extension. We were especially pleased to have a chance to see our friends Carol Ford and Chuck Waibel. Their presentation focused on their greenhouse system and winter CSA. We remember this project when it was a dream in the fact-finding phase. It is wonderful to see it become the success it is now.

We also discovered new resources (nothing like organic cotton sheets) and maintained connections with others (thank you Beautiful Land for soil blocking mix). But, most importantly, it was nice to see so many people making real efforts to improve their farming practices - and do so successfully.

Important Dates

• March - Start tomatoes, flowers
• March (late) - start peppers, eggplants
• April 1 - CSA payment in full deadline

Vol 5 Issue 2 - February 2009

Produce Calendar

In an effort to help our CSA members prepare for the produce that is coming their way, we are working to deveop a farm 'produce calendar' that will be housed on our web site for your reference. You could certainly find a produce calendar that shows when certain kinds of produce is typically available in the Midwest. However, we are hoping to give you your own personal calendar that reflects what we do on the farm. It will also serve to help us as we continue to work on improving our product.

The process of building the calendar begins with the records of harvest for the past three years. Once we can see when produce was available based on our own history, we should have a better chance to build a reasonably accurate representation.

Some information from the last 2 years gives us the following:

• broccoli appears on and off from week 7 to week 18 of the CSA
• cucumbers run consistently from week 7 to week 15
• lettuce shows up from weeks 1-7 and 12-20.
• peppers typically run from week 9 to the end of the season
• summer squash often run from week 5 to 15
• tomatos start in week 9 and watermelons in week 13.

Of course, any such calendar needs to be taken with a grain of salt since nature has a way of laughing at this sort of thing. But, we are hopeful this will give everyone an idea of what to expect and when. We anticipate a first draft to be available at the end of the month. It is not likely that we will update or modify it further until the end of the growing season.

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Coop Buys

Rob & Tammy have been traveling to conferences for the farm, for Tammy's profession, etc and thus things have fallen behind a bit. However, the pork IS at the locker right now. We await the call that says everything is ready (hams cured, etc). At that point, we will be contacting participants to figure out a drop off of the pork.

The beef buy is on hold for the time being. We have enough people, but have to find a match with a producer. This may happen in April, but we have to finish the last of our travels before we get to that.

Review: Companion Plants

Companion Plants and How to Use Them by Philbrick and Gregg

We tend to have a soft spot for companion planting, so we tend to try out books on the subject even though we think we don't need much more than Louise Riotte's Carrots Love Tomatoes book. So, we sent off for Companion Plants and How to Use Them, which is a publication by the Biodynamic Farming & Gardening Association. The book was relatively inexpensive and it was first published in 1966 (and on its 17th printing). So, it apparently has some staying power.

It follows a similar pattern to Riotte's book, listing topics in alphabetical order and giving some text for each topic. It's an easy read. And, it has its moments. But, I did not find much in there that was not already in books we already had. In fact, I was disappointed in its minimal coverage and lack of breadth or depth. I may go through it again to see if there is a hidden gem or two that I missed, but it will not become a valued reference in our library.

For other recommendations from GFF, visit our library.

Vol 5 Issue 2 - February 2009

CSA Billing

Everyone who has signed up for the CSA should have received a mailing with your 2009 CSA bill. If you have lost the sheet, want to arrange a payment plan or have questions, please let us know. We are pleased that you have selected us to be your personal farmers and we will do our best to make the experience a good one.

Payments are due by April 1 unless some other arrangements have been made.

CSA Waiting Lists

We have filled up our CSA slots for the 2009 season. However, if you are interested in joining us, please email or call and let us know. We will gladly place you on a waiting list (first come first served by pick up location). Things happen and plans change, sometimes resulting in persons having to remove themselves from the CSA. Also, we may decide that we have drastically underestimated our production levels. In that case, we may contact persons on the waiting list and offer a prorated share. But, for now, we will err on the side of caution and avoid an overcommitment.

Welcome to the 2009 CSA

Welcome to 2009 share holders who are new this year and to those that are returning from prior years! All members who have signed up for 2009 will be placed on our CSA distribution list. Until the season starts, emails will consist largely of announcments regarding our newsletter.

Take some time and explore our CSA tutorial. Perhaps check out our new blog. Or just explore our site and look at some of the tomato varieties we will grow in 2009!

As always, feel free to contact us with questions and we will do our best to answer!

Prepare Yourself for the CSA

So, you're a member of the Genuine Faux Farm CSA - welcome! Now what do you do? Here are some things that we have heard members say they do to be prepared for the CSA and to make the most of it:

• Write in all 20 weeks of the CSA into your datebook or put it in your PDA
• Identify a reusable bag or basket (or two) and find a good place to put them so they are available when you go to pick up your produce
• Prepare yourself to freeze or can some of your excess produce so you can enjoy your entire share.
• If you will vacation for a couple of weeks, talk to a friend now who will pick up and use your share during that time.

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GFF Stories : The Lucky Patch

Too many lawns I see in urban centers scare me a little bit. Nothing but one kind of grass - usually with little signs in them telling you to stay off of the lawn because it has just been sprayed. I don't see the little white clover flowers and I'm missing the bees during the day and lightning bugs at night.

In the neighborhood where I grew up, nearly every lawn had clover in it. In fact, lawn seed included clover in the mix along with the bluegrass and other grass seed. And, of course, the lawn around our house where I grew up was no exception. In fact, we had some wonderful patches of clover that were frequently visited by bees ... and children.

Dad started the whole thing by displaying an uncanny knack of being able to just stop while he was walking somewhere, reach down and pluck a perfect four-leaf clover from a patch. He said that the clover had just simply called out to him and told him it was there. And, it happened often enough that we believed it.

In fact, he told stories where his father would do the same thing. Just walk by a patch and know there was a lucky 4-leaf clover waiting there for him. It was a special talent that must be inherited through the Faux family that had immigrated from (yes, you guessed it) Ireland.

Of course, my siblings and I wanted to be able to find our own four-leaf clovers as well, so we would often plop ourselves down next to a patch of clover in the yard and search. Numerous times a three-leaf clover with a split leaf would gain our attention, only to disappoint on further inspection. At times, Dad would join us. He always seemed to find some, even if we didn't.

I recall a great deal of frustration for part of the summer that we caught the fever of looking for these oddities in nature. It is likely that the wait until we found our first four-leaf clovers was not as long as it felt to us at the time. But, there were extended periods of time spent sitting in or near a clover patch. If you need to distract children for a while? Tell them to find a four-leaf clover in a patch - it should keep them busy for a while.

Then, we found 'the patch.' It was over by the lilac bush at the edge of our yard. It was likely a genetic anomoly of some kind - but the patch had numerous four, five, six AND seven leaf clovers. The majority, were still three-leaf, but there was an inordinate number of the others in this location. It became one of those magical things that you always hope to experience in life. A number of those four (plus) leaf clovers were pressed in dictionaries, bibles and other larger tomes.

But, there must have been some real magic in that patch. In those places where clover is allowed to grow and the bees visit the white flowers, I can hear those stems with four leaves calling my name.

Crossword clue:

This month's clue: Timely Question (4 letters)

Last month's Crossword Clue: Fake Jewelry? SHAMROCKS