40 Farmers Under 40 from Mother from Mother Nature Network.
We're numbers 18 and 19.
Community and Economics
Sonora Heritage Wheat
I stumbled across a great article this morning, but before I post the link, I want to explain how I came across it. Courtney and I had the privilege last fall to attend Terra Madre, the Slow Food conference in Turin, Italy. Now I'm on their email list and get a newsletter from time to time. The latest newsletter has a link to a video clip of the conference. In the clip, the filmmakers were talking to a man named Sandor Katz, a "fermentation fetishist." I looked him up and came across his website, Wild Fermentation. It was on this website I found this article by Charles Eisenstein called "Economics of Fermentation."
I explain all of this because I'm often struck by how I stumble across wonderful things on the internet by way of one link leading to another to another. Of course, the flipside is the major timesuck that is the internet when one link leads to another to another to another without coming across much of value.
But I digress; back to the article. It really struck a chord with me because I've been thinking a lot about ways to make our farming venture more viable, namely by adding value to the crops we grow. I'm growing ancient and heritage varieties of wheat and enjoy baking, so naturally I've thought about creating an artisan bakery where the grains are grown on the farm and ground fresh by us. But where in my day would I find the time to do something like this? And for it to make any sort of business sense, I would have to scale up my baking to have enough rolls and loaves of bread to sell, which would mean purchasing large mixers, a big enough grinder to grind the flour we needed, a commercial oven, getting the permits necessary (and stainless steel equipment) to be legal, finding a storefront, etc. There goes the fun of baking.
For me, the article was a good reminder to be careful. It also was a great piece on the nature of money and what we've lost in our communities over time.
Men vs. Swiss Chard
A lady came up to our farmers' market stand today and saw our chard and nearly lost it. She said, "Men used to make me quiver. Now it's the Swiss chard." I kid you not.
Unfortunately, men, we ain't got nothing on Swiss chard.
If an image is worth a thousand words...
20 days later...
June 8: Last frost (Painted Mountain Indian corn).
June 13: Second market.
June 14: Cabbage leaf and water droplets.
June 15: Cabbage.
June 16: Radish stack.
June 16: Turkeys in action.
June 17: Cucumbers going through transplant shock.
June 20: Emmer.
June 22: Transplanted cucurbits.
June 23: Pea flower becomes...
...a pea!
June 25: First tomato.
June 25: Crop circles (or diffuse knapweed and whitetop - noxious weeds - plowed down in the emmer and lentils, then hand-seeded to a mix of sanfoin, peas, lentils, barley, and parabinga).
June 26: The garden field to date - lettuce, peas, carrots, radish, spinach, chard, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, beans, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, strawberries, rhubarb, mint, flowers.
June 26: Recovered Painted Mountain Indian corn.
June 8: Last frost (Painted Mountain Indian corn).
June 13: Second market.
June 14: Cabbage leaf and water droplets.
June 15: Cabbage.
June 16: Radish stack.
June 16: Turkeys in action.
June 17: Cucumbers going through transplant shock.
June 20: Emmer.
June 22: Transplanted cucurbits.
June 23: Pea flower becomes...
...a pea!
June 25: First tomato.
June 25: Crop circles (or diffuse knapweed and whitetop - noxious weeds - plowed down in the emmer and lentils, then hand-seeded to a mix of sanfoin, peas, lentils, barley, and parabinga).
June 26: The garden field to date - lettuce, peas, carrots, radish, spinach, chard, broccoli, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, beans, cucumbers, summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, strawberries, rhubarb, mint, flowers.
June 26: Recovered Painted Mountain Indian corn.
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