Stringing the Tomatoes and Setting Up the Hoop House

Want to show you all some of what we have been doing. Yesterday it rained enough to call for a job that kept us out of the wet weather. Tomatoes needed pruning and stringing so that is what we did. I went ahead of the others and pruned each plant, Bryne tied the strings from the wires and the gang attached the clips and carefully wound each stem around the string.  After it was all done each plant was watered. Its always a tedious job but so important to get done. Every week we will prune and wind the growing point of each plant around the string. You want the energy of the plant to go into developing fruit and not growing more stems.

There are about 300 plants in this hoop house and about 12 varieties. Black Krim, Black from Tula, Black Prince, Black Cherry just to name a few. Looking forward to a good tomato harvest.

Early last week we reassembled our original hoop house into another field. We have planted it full of basil. The location gets the very last rays of sun for the day. Good for basil. Those are my dahlias on the right side of the hoop house and snow peas on the left.

Bryne putting the finishing touches on the hoop house before the planting begins. We planted first, watered the transplants in with the sprinklers on and then put the plastic on the next day. I will post some photos of the basil soon. Here on the west coast you really can't grow large amounts of basil successfully without cover. Made some pesto for supper last night. What a great smell and flavour.

Principles of Plant Health

The past few days have been full of questions and discussions about health and herbs. I love it when I get to talk about plants and their uses in our lives. I studied herbal medicine and nutrition and believe that food should be a substantial portion of our daily medicine. Plant foods that are grown conscientiously and with good, sustainable practices are some of our most powerful allies in maintaining good health. I remember my naturopath doctor telling me long ago that "ideally" his job was to help me maintain my good health and not to wait till I got sick before seeking guidance and assistance. I should prevent disease not wait till I was diseased. So much about health and growing plants go hand in hand. Organic growing follows the same principles, prevent disease, not create conditions for disease.

With 16 years of certified organic growing and countless programs and courses under my belt I have learned a thing or two about maintaining my health, my families' health and the health of the plants and the farm. The number one question people ask is "What do you do about pests and disease ?"

I say you have to first ask what you consider a pest ? a disease ? Everything alive on this planet is food for something else. If you keep taking the so-called pest away you are taking away food from another living thing. Even diseases are alive and have to eat. Take away what they normally feast on and the system becomes unbalanced and open to attack. Its all about balance.

That is the beauty of bio-diversity. In nature you never see anything living in isolation, on its' own. It is a great community that operates on co-operation and balance. No one, nothing is an island.

Plants and foods grown using the "industrial model" have been manipulated to the point of having no natural defenses of their own anymore. We have taken their ability to look after themselves away. Many crops are grown in enormous quantities, essentially in isolation, and do not have the benefit of their plant communities to help them out. They have been altered and hybridized to grow in a specific way with predictable results and rely on chemical applications to feed them, force their growth and protect them. If "anything goes wrong" in this model the results are often disasterous !

Science is beginning to show and understand that plants "think" and "communicate" with each other and their surroundings through chemical interactions. Stands to reason that they adapted this ability. I have often thought about this. A plant,a tree, cannot move to get away from something the way we can. They are forced to stay in one spot for the duration of their lives. They are at the mercy of the wind, weather, insects, animals, whatever comes their way and they have shown the many ways they have made brilliant adaptations to their environment. They have had millions of years to figure things out. A lot longer than we have.

Some of the most important practices we use at Ironwood Farm are crop rotation, green manures (cover cropping)and companion planting. By NOT using any types of chemical controls the farm attracts and thereby hosts all manner of insects, birds, wild life and most important, beneficial bacteria and micro-organisms. Together this bio-diversity creates a balance and feeds everyone.

We need to get back on track and let nature take the lead. By using and implementing practices that ensure soil health and vitality, bio diversity and mindful handling and care we not only help the planet but we help ourselves too.

The Home Stretch

We're coming into the home stretch of the planting season. Another week or so and we will have the main season crops into the ground. The last of the tomatoes are going in. Yesterday climbing cucumbers were added to the greenhouse mix. Still have to put in a row of field cucumbers and basil. Now we are going to seed carrots and beets one last time for this year. Radishes, lettuces and spinach are ongoing. 

Big job is getting the irrigation set up. There are always pipes to mend and seal. Bryne has his work cut out for him in this department. In spite of us living on the "wild, wet coast" we do need to irrigate. Yesterday was a prime example of why. We had a crazy "sou'wester" blow through here all afternoon well into the night. It took down trees, branches and the power ! These summer winds dry everything out ! Especially young plants that are still establishing their roots. Have to keep things irrigated so that they get their feet and grow properly.

Today I will walk the fields and make sure everything is accounted for and recorded on my charts. It is another part of farming that needs to be done. Recording and staying on top of what you do, have done and did do. Not just for the organic certification but for our own information and knowledge. Keeping records really helps. We can look back on any given year and see what we have done, where, how much, what the weather was etc. Our harvest records will indicate what did well and what didn't by how much we picked, bunched and bagged off to market.

We harvested spinach this past Friday for market. Harvested 150 pounds of rhubarb. Strawberries are beginning to form, the first potatoes are flowering(the photos show the plants and the size of a few potatoes I dared to dig gently with my hand) spring onions are almost ready to bunch. I ate the first snow pea, couldn't resist !

Its an exciting time to be on the farm. So much is happening and the growth is spectacular from just a week or so ago as the days get their longest and the heat units take off !

Gotta go, the day won't wait for me. The hummers (hummingbirds) are out doing battle on the feeders already!

Well the day is done, just had a hot bath and want to finish off this blog. Had a great day. Got the worst of the weeds out of fields A and B. Weeded the spring onions, rhubarb, snow peas and beets. Got the tallest of the grass weed whacked to a tolerable height. The crew was great today, everyone working together.

Those winds picked up again late afternoon but guess what ? As I sit here it is raining outside, pouring rain, a rain that will do the plants a lot of good and go deep. Lucky Bryne, he is SO happy when he doesn't have to irrigate. It doesn't get much better than that !

Good night, sweet dreams. ;-

)

Squash This Way

Weather has finally cooperated and we're getting some heat on the soil, plants and our bodies. It feels pretty darn good when your out on your knees looking at countless dozens of dug holes that are about to receive a squash plant each and the sun is on your back.  It has taken a lot of work to get all the heat loving various varieties of squash into the ground. Each hole is manually dug, a shovel full of compost put in and then the plant is put in. There are about 225 plants in each row times 7 rows = 1575 plants, give or take a few.

Now the irrigation pipes need to be laid out and made ready so we can irrigate when needed. The weather forecast is calling for clear, sunny weather for the next two weeks with slightly above average temperatures. The plants will need water until they get their roots developed and anchored into the ground, about 5 weeks. 

The summer type squash, zucchinis and patty pans, will take no time at all to get fruit on them. I saw the beginnings of some yellow balls on the patty pans last evening as we walked the fields. Always exciting when you see the first appearance of squash on the vine. I know from experience that you can sit and literally watch the zucchini grow at certain times of the season. Its incredible !

It really is a marvel when you think that you put a seed into the plug trays in the spring and then watch the plant take root and grow into this enormous plant that wants nothing more than to produce abundant food for you. Well actually its trying its' best to go to seed so that it can reproduce itself. :-)

Anyway today is a short article as it is harvest day once again. Today we are picking a new crop of spinach and Tofino has ordered 120 + pounds of rhubarb. Hurray ! I will keep taking photos of the squash as they grow and will make sure to document the first squash we pick. Will it be a zucchini or a patty pan ?

Stay tuned .
p.s. I have added a photo of our latest hatch of chicks, born June 4 and 5. They are SO cute and doing well.

Good days, always :-D

What's For Supper ?

One of the main features of participating at Ironwood Farm is the food. The guest books are full of "adulation" about the food. We have a lot of mouths to feed at any given time and everyone is hungry after a day of physical labour. You have to consider that most of them are 19 to 25 years of age, many are still growing into their bodies and they need sustenance.  At the moment we have seven farm stays as well as ourselves. Three to four farm stay participants is normal but we have a cross over of comings and goings at the moment. What to feed a hungry crowd ?

Over the years, like anything, you acquire a feel for quantity and what you can reasonably prepare for a hungry gang. There is a budget to consider as well. Cooking for 10 is not unreasonable in a household kitchen. An ordinary kitchen stove with regular sized pots can accommodate most quantities to feed up to ten people. One thing we did purchase a number of years ago is a substantially sized wok.

Our kitchen is never without certain staples. Brown rice, potatoes, pasta , bread, onions, celery, carrots, frozen peas and various cuts of meat. When cooking and preparing the evening meal we always try to cook enough rice, potato or pasta to have leftover for the next day. This way we can quickly prepare a stir-fry of some kind for lunch or supper.

Of course having our own supply of seasonal vegetables and produce is one of the highlights to any meal. Early in the season we rely on items we have frozen or canned during the previous season. I freeze lots of rhubarb, kale, corn, squash, tomatoes, basil, apples, blackberries etc. to have through the winter and spring. Freezing is the easiest way for me to make use of abundant produce during the growing season. I simply don't have time during the busy farming season to can a lot.

An interesting aside story. We have had a young Japanese man with us for a number of months. He is an Italian chef by trade. That in itself is interesting. He has prepared a number of outstanding meals for us. I remember when I asked him which colour of tomatoes he would like to use out of the freezer. He was amazed at the selection and even more astounded at the taste ! Even the frozen tomatoes from last season had more flavour than anything he had ever experienced. He had NO idea tomatoes could have so many different colours and flavours. He was in heaven ! He is SOLD on organic food.

I must have instinctively  learned through observing my Mother how to manage and manipulate ingredients that are on hand. I usually finish my part of the farm work at 3 p.m. I indulge myself with a fresh cup of coffee and try to take an hour for myself to relax. In the back of my mind I am starting to think about supper and what I might prepare. By 4 p.m. I get at it. By 6 p.m.. supper is on the table. I know lots of you out there don't or won't use microwave ovens but it is a very useful appliance in our household at times for defrosting something if I haven't thought about taking it out the night before.

I REALLY enjoy baking bread for us and have incorporated it into the work flow of the day. Usually on Monday mornings I get the dough prepared and go out into the fields while it is rising. Come into the house and punch it down once and go out again. While I am preparing lunch I shape the bread and/ or buns and let them rise while we are eating. By the time we are doing the lunch dishes the bread can go into the oven I have remembered to preheat. NOT ALWAYS (lol)

We have some kind of dessert almost every day. Fortunately my Mother (who is soon 88) still can and loves to bake. She surprises us many times a week with some German style confection. I have a number of favorite recipes that are quick and easy to prepare for dessert. The top favorite for votes over the years is definitely any kind of "CRISP especially rhubarb and apple topping the list. CRISP with blackberries is a close second. Over the years my dear friend and neighbour Kate, who has since passed away at age 92, shared many wonderful recipes with me. She loved to bake as well and I remember many happy hours drinking tea and writing down her time honoured recipes.

Tonight Bryne prepared the main meal which was a wonderful stir fry with lots and lots of vegetables. A big pot of brown rice. Breaded, baked halibut. A banana bundt cake with peanut butter, cream cheese frosting. This was for the birthday of one of our farm apprentices who turned 20 today.

I have always enjoyed cooking and baking for my family and friends. I read once in an Ayurveda cook book that in India there are songs that women sing for preparing food. These songs infuse the food with love and good thoughts. This is how all food should be prepared. Much like the food we grow here on the farm our energy and thought patterns are transferred to the plants and into the crops we lovingly care for. The same thing applies to the food we are handling and preparing for a meal.

Everything we eat was once alive in some original form. It makes me wonder sometimes at the alarming statistics in rise of chronic illnesses if there is not some correlation between how industrial complex food is grown versus food that is grown with thought and care and hand held. I know from my experiences here on the farm that the difference is significant. The produce is positively brimming with vitality and energy.

Good people, good energy, GOOD FOOD !