local food
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Despite extreme heat tomatoes were planted yesterday. Temperatures set new records throughout the state. Here it was 96 degrees by noon. I began planting at sunrise and finished around 10:30 a.m. when it became too hot. Snow last fell on April 15, so spring, if we can call it that, lasted about five weeks. It… Read more
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Plants and seeds are going into the ground — the main spring event in a kitchen garden. Harvest is ramping up with d’Avignon radishes, spinach, cilantro and chives heading to the kitchen. I planned cilantro for my gardener’s lunch, and the spinach has been cleaned — some frozen and some in a big, recycled plastic clam… Read more
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Friday is my day to work with Farmer Kate near Iowa City. I made 30,288 soil blocks for plants at Wild Woods Farm this season. Add in additional work at Sundog Farm and my total production was 59,688 soil blocks since Feb. 25. That’s a lot of vegetable seedlings. We’re planting lettuce, squash, cucumbers and… Read more
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My next shift at the home, farm and auto supply store is May 16. That schedule provides a solid block of time at home to work in the yard and garden. If it rains, I’ll work inside. There is no shortage of work, although I’m not concerned with that now. The 87th Iowa General Assembly… Read more
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A relationship with food in American society is complicated. Some don’t have enough. Others are awash in calories. We each have a human need for nourishment and the ways we go about meeting it are as different as the families which engendered us. A favorite childhood memory is when Mother went to work in the… Read more
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Wind came up yesterday and would not relent. I planted onions and cilantro in the garden, transplanted some seedlings to larger pots, but that’s about it. The septic tank service arrived and pumped our solids tank while I trimmed the lilac sprouts from the space in front of our house. Constant wind beating against me… Read more
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No food is more local than a kitchen garden. I’ve got to get moving on mine after a late spring. Everyone was in a good mood at the farms when I soil blocked Friday and Sunday. My farmer friends caught up last week by finishing onion and potato planting. Trays of seedlings are moving to… Read more
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We’re behind at the greenhouses. The high tunnel is fully planted. The ground is too cold for transplants. Cooler temperatures retard growth of fledgling vegetable sprouts. There is no place to go with the trays of lettuce, kale and greens coming along. The greenhouses are full. It made an easy weekend of farm work for… Read more
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It is time to use up fresh onions, garlic and potatoes, then rotate the canned goods so oldest jars are consumed first. Winter means soup, casseroles, pasta and hearty meals made from pantry and ice box ingredients. As the ambient temperature warms, we are ready to move into the new year’s fresh food cycle. But… Read more
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This is me soil blocking at Sundog Farm last Sunday. Working at farms has been a spring ritual which helps me feel like part of a larger organization. The older I get, the more important that seems. Farmers may seem isolated, but the farms where I work engage dozens of people in many roles. I… Read more
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