RURAL CEDAR TOWNSHIP — Yesterday was the Practical Farmers of Iowa field day at Carmen Black’s Sundog Farm.
Carmen and Susan Jutz explained their farm transition process in a simple duet about bankers, government agencies, insurance companies and community.
Like everything Susan has done since I met her almost 20 years ago, the transaction of selling the farm had a home made feel to it. It looks like Carmen will continue that localized and home made culture.
Attendees walked the farm, with Carmen and Susan explaining pest control practices. Highlights included treatment for flea beetles, tomato blight, worms and cucumber beetles.
What I hadn’t thought about was providing proper space for air to circulate among tomato plants to prevent spread of disease. The wall of cherry tomatoes that blew over in yesterday’s storm is a good example. The wind caught the entire planting like a sail. If they were separated more, wind might blow through them, leaving them upright.
Susan’s eventual departure from the farm is another instance of my generation going home. On Sundog Farm there is a chance for sustainability as Carmen adds farm management to her experience. Opportunities like this are rare and Carmen appears to be making the most of it.
Cherry tomatoes, Fairy Tale eggplant, green beans and a pickling cucumber harvested July 16, 2016
Photographs of kale can only be interesting for so long.
The leafy green and purple leaves are producing in abundance — so much so I pick only what is needed, removing imperfect leaves from the plants to the compost heap.
Seven kale leaves stand in a jar of water on the counter to keep them fresh and ready to use.
If summer were only about kale, this one would be an unmitigated success.
Something else is going on.
This week I conversed with a group of twenty-somethings about the new application for smart phones, Pokémon Go. It was the most animated they had ever been. I asserted the application represented the beginning of the zombie apocalypse. They didn’t dispute it. One had already tried the game and moved on to something else. Apparently there are not that many Pokémon to find in rural Iowa.
The continuous stream of violence manifest its latest event Thursday with a terrorist attack in Nice, France. More than eighty people were killed and as many as 300 injured as a lone driver drove a large truck through a crowd gathered to view a Bastille Day fireworks display. The terrorist made it two kilometers before he was shot dead by law enforcement. French President Francois Hollande seeks to extend the existing state of emergency put in place after the November 2015 attacks in Paris.
In American political news, the Republican top of the ticket is set with Indiana Governor Mike Pence named presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump’s running mate. The less said about this pair the better. Suffice it that I disagree with them on just about everything. The national political conventions are imminent, with the Republicans this week and Democrats the following. Something unexpected might happen at either convention.
In a strange turn of events, twice failed U.S. Senate candidate Tom Fiegen made a post on Facebook that blogger Laura Belin re-posted:
Belin makes sense if Fiegen, not so much. The episode represents further coarsening of Iowa politics. Fiegen likening an effort to persuade him on his presidential vote to sexual advances is plain weird. I know I wouldn’t want to get in the back seat with him on a dark gravel road. Whatever virtue he may have had vaporized after he quit being his own person and hitched his campaign wagon to Bernie Sanders. His current, post being a Democrat, rants serve as an example of how low politics has gotten. I know my mother said if you don’t have something nice to say about someone, don’t say anything, but Fiegen lives in our house district and may foment more ill will. I hope not.
Lastly, this week Deadhorse, Alaska set a record high for any Arctic Ocean location. Is it climate change? How could it not be.
At least for now there is plenty to eat and fewer photographs of cruciferous vegetables.
My friends Carmen and Susan are hosting a Practical Farmers of Iowa field day called “ZJ to Sundog: Sharing Knowledge and Passing on the Farm” at Sundog Farm on Sunday, July 17, from 2 until 5 p.m.
The transition in farm ownership has been a long time coming and Sundog Farm is finally here.
Susan Jutz began Local Harvest CSA on ZJ Farm in 1996. After almost 20 years building a successful business and farm, she began looking for an opportunity to transition her farm to the next generation. The process was completed in May 2016, when Susan sold her farm and business to Carmen Black.
Carmen grew up nearby, was friends with Susan’s children, and had Susan as her 4-H leader. She has worked on the farm with Susan for five years. ZJ Farm has been the site for numerous Practical Farmers field day programs; this event will be the farm’s first as Sundog Farm.
The event will include a field tour and discussion with Susan and Carmen about their systems for pest management in vegetable production, including cabbage worms, cucumber beetles, flea beetles and tomato blight. They will discuss field scouting, cultural pest management, products they’ve tried and those they prefer. During the second part of the program, they will share their farm transition story.
Carmen has been part of the farm since I began working there in 2013. She called Friday to ask for help to begin the clean up in preparation for the field day. I spent part of Saturday removing weeds from around the old grain silos and barns and edging some of the fields. I was reminded of how far the farm had come since its days of being a conventional livestock operation before Susan began farming there. Sundog Farm should look good by next Sunday, so come to the field day, learn a small part about Iowa’s ongoing farm land ownership transfer, and wish Carmen well.
A potluck follows the program; bring a dish to share and your own table service. Please RSVP for the meal by July 14 to Lauren Zastrow at (515) 232-5661 or lauren@practicalfarmers.org.
Hosts:
Susan Jutz and Carmen Black
ZJ Farm and Sundog Farm
5025 120th St. NE • Solon • 52333
(319) 331-3957 • localharvestcsa@southslope.net solonsundogfarm.com
More specifically, why don’t more Community Supported Agriculture projects produce it for members and local food farmers for restaurants and markets?
I’ve been asking this question of growers and the reaction has been surprise at my results and maybe an assertion they will try it. There is substantial demand for the aromatic vegetable in kitchens and restaurants yet the perception is celery doesn’t grow well in Iowa, so farmers mostly don’t.
Celery from my garden tastes better than regular or organic available at the grocery store. In addition, celery is in the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables for use of pesticides, ranking #5. Why buy California celery when we can produce our own at least part of the year? Having the best possible flavor is important to everything cooked with celery.
Celery takes about 120 days and requires adequate water, more than most vegetables. That means seeding trays planted in late February to produce the crop being harvested this weekend. I use Conquistador OG seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Winslow, Maine. (OG stands for organic). It took me a couple of years to get successfully from seedlings to the ground to a crop as I experimented with growing. This year’s crop has been the best ever.
I attribute success to using 4-inch drainage tile cut into 8-inch lengths to protect and support young seedlings. I mulch with grass clippings and weed regularly. Each morning I make sure a substantial dose of water is applied. Larger scale farmers shun this extra work, focusing more on crops that can be mechanized (like potatoes) or are popular among customers (like cabbage, tomatoes and peppers). The flavor of local celery, and growing it pesticide-free, make the extra work worth it.
Every head of celery will be used fresh this year. There were only a dozen from the garden in this experimental year and I shared some with library workers in town. Next year I plan to double production and if there is more than can be used fresh, preserve part of it.
In June at the Global Foods Market in Kirkwood, Missouri, I bought a jar of celery salad in a glass jar. The preparation uses celery, apple juice, walnut extract and vinegar and is an example of a shelf-stable item for winter consumption. For the time being, I expect to use everything fresh in soups, stir fry and Louisiana-style beans and rice.
If the local foods movement doesn’t wake up to celery, there is a market for sales to restaurants to pursue. If they don’t exploit it, I will.
Spring ends and summer begins with a full moon illuminating our yard and garden. Predawn darkness mitigated by silvery reflected light.
As daylight shortens its span spring gardening went well, setting the stage for a bountiful harvest.
There is a lot to learn in the garden and here are some notes from 2016.
“Temperatures over the three spring months averaged 50.5° or 2.2° above normal while precipitation totaled 11.69 inches or 0.50 inches less than normal,” state climatologist Harry Hillaker wrote in his May weather summary. “This ranks as the 25th warmest and 62nd wettest spring among 144 years of state records.”
The importance of water management in gardening cannot be overstated. The added heat, especially in May, along with less rain, created conditions that put pressure on seedling expectations. Adequate watering when it wasn’t raining helped establish the crops for the season. I developed a habit of watering in the morning shortly after sunrise. While I am not sure if timing during the day makes a difference, the plants are growing well and appear lush.
Spacing seeds and seedlings properly is more important than I was willing to acknowledge. The garden produced enough spinach, radishes and turnip greens for the table, but production would likely have increased if I’d spaced the seeds according to the packages. I learned this lesson with seedlings at the farm and get my yardsticks out when transplanting seedlings.
Protecting seedlings from ground-based predatory critters improved the success of seedlings after transplant. The 4-inch drainage tile cut in short lengths around selected seedlings improved the survival rate over last year. Using old tomato cages wrapped in chicken wire enabled all of the broccoli to survive this year. The broccoli really looks good.
Every kale plant survived transplant, all but one tomato plant, all but one hot pepper. Basil and bell peppers were more challenging. Because I started more seedlings than needed, I was able to fill in the gaps when they failed. The bell peppers had become root bound, and appeared to experience shock after transplant. I replaced the ones that died and as of yesterday every spot has a good looking plant in it.
The experiment with container carrots can be deemed successful. The earliest carrots are producing and are so tasty it’s hard to leave them in the ground long enough to mature. The carrots are growing in soil with a high percentage of compost in it. The compost always seems dry underscoring the need for water management. I make sure they have a good daily soaking.
Water is important to celery crops. I harvested the first stalks over the weekend and they punctuated the flavor of the soup I made with them. I cut the first bunch well above the ground line to give the plant a chance to grow new leaves. Last year the stubble continued to produce into the warmer winter months.
Mulching everything with grass clippings is important. I used clippings from two passes over the yard and may do a third. The water retention properties fit into the water management system, especially during hot sunny weather.
On the longest day of the year the garden is off to a great start.
A benefit of an American lifestyle is having the occasional weekend off.
Yet the weekend is more French than American — le weekend!
In June 1977, over two weekends, I was in France with a French infantry marine unit. Those days imprinted the meaning of “weekend” on me even if I don’t get to weekend very often.
My guide for the exchange officer experience was an infantry marine platoon leader stationed on the Atlantic coast in Vannes. The unit was on alert to deploy to Djibouti, which had recently declared its independence from France. If there was trouble in the transition, the unit would head there.
Upon arrival at the train station I was driven straight to the officer’s club. I drank too many pastis before attending a reception in my honor — no one told me about the reception until several pastis had passed my lips. The non-commissioned officers lined up one aperitif after another in front of me with glee. Too drunk to be embarrassed, when someone mentioned the reception, I decided to leave the remaining drinks on the table, sober up, and listen and learn about the culture.
At the reception I practiced my French and mustered a dim comment about the Concorde, which was still new. The alcohol drove out my vocabulary so it was the best I could do.
In homes and apartments I briefly lived as French do. There was a continuous series of meals and events tied together with a notion of forgetting about work for a while. Weekends continue to be French in Big Grove, although with much less alcohol and no drunkenness. God’s in his heaven, all’s right with the world.
Last Saturday of Spring Harvest – kale, peas, carrots, celery, oregano, basil and spring onions.
The garden is in, harvest begun and work remains to be done this Father’s Day weekend.
Weekends at home are a way to avoid expenses as I navigate from semi-retirement to full retirement in a few years. There is no extra money to drive into the county seat for “shopping,” nor is there adequate clothing in the closet to attend any galas to which I may be invited. Working at home avoids expense.
Saturday was the first of many harvests from the vegetable garden. Untold hours were devoted to planting, cultivation and now harvest of kale, celery, carrots, peas, spring onions, basil and oregano. It was exciting.
Garden Shares for Library Workers
One of my outlets for excess produce has been workers at the public library. I prepared shares of onions, kale, oregano and basil in a cooler and drove them into town. One of the library workers gave me an acorn squash seedling for which I will find room.
Next I went to the grocery store where a neighbor and I talked for ten minutes about beer selections. He didn’t carry the union-made Pabst Blue Ribbon that would have been my first choice, nor did he have made in Canada Labatt’s Blue which would have been my second. Partly as political commentary I settled for a six-pack of a Mexican mass produced brand. Upon return home I iced three of them and two cans of Royal Crown Cola in the cooler.
Broccoli in Cages
The garden entered the summer phase and it’s time to break loose the broccoli.
Last year the broccoli crop was a failure. I decided to protect the seedlings with chicken wire a
nd they survived initial growth. It’s time to take the chicken wire off the individual plants and create a close fence that will keep deer from jumping in and allow the plants to spread their leaves. I scoped it out on Saturday and hope to free the broccoli later this morning.
Peas and Carrots
Harvest is unfinished until the produce is washed, distributed and processed. In a kitchen garden like ours that means cleaning, storage and cooking which takes more time than one might expect.
For dinner I made peas and carrots, and kale-black bean-vegetable soup poured over brown rice made with a jar of home made tomato juice. By the end of Saturday I was very tired.
I took a course in African American Studies while in graduate school.
Kale – Black Bean Soup on Brown Rice
The late Jonathan Walton made the case that slaves were likely too tired to do much organizing after working a shift on Southern plantations. I learned a lot about the literature of slavery and its narratives because of Walton. I wasn’t sure what to make of his assertion, other than that slaves were people just as we are.
I yawned during class from time to time and Walton called me on it, inquiring about my condition… was the subject matter too tedious? Had I been up late the previous night? I tried to stay awake. It was a dry topic.
Peas and Carrots
Everyone has an opinion about slavery. For the most part, people don’t directly favor it. It is a stain on our public consciousness that has not been removed, nor likely will be in my lifetime. I’m not sure what exactly that means in 21st Century America.
The term “wage-slave” is popular today, especially among people ascendant from low-paying work. Forced labor continues to exist unawares, notably through labor trafficking. Neither is the same thing the peculiar institution was.
Modern life has us removed from the actuality of things like neighboring, sharing and slavery and we are the less for it. This Father’s Day Weekend I plan to commune with what is actual — what is real. By doing so sustain our lives in a turbulent world.
With planting of Fairy Tale eggplant, Turk’s Turban squash, a sweet potato that sprouted on the counter and 18 bell pepper plants, I declare the initial garden planting finished.
Food is growing in six plots this year and all that remains is the weeding, water management and harvesting.
The days get longer for another week when summer begins.
Yesterday morning was soil blocking at the CSA for the fall crop — blocks for 2,160 seedlings. Afterward I walked the farm to inspect the progress of the crops. I’m not sure how often I will make it back now that my work is done for the season. The crops look fine as the farm transitions from one owner to the next.
What’s next?
With all the produce, cooking will be part of it, but that’s not really what I mean. Politics has devolved to hearing more than a person can stand about the 2016 presidential race. Not that either. My next significant gig is editing Blog for Iowa in August, so there’s time for a break in the action — a focus on maintenance of the house and my small circle of family and friends.
It’s a time to look at the garden I’ve planted and make plans for next year.
Sunday’s indoor task was to process 14 quarts of soup stock made on Saturday in a water bath.
That was easy because mostly it is about filling jars, waiting for the water to boil, then setting a timer.
That part of the mission was accomplished.
The rest of the day was outdoors where I planted hot peppers (three varieties of Jalapeno, Serrano and Bangkok), put Brandywine tomato seedlings in the ground, and filled in the small number of gaps where first-planted seedlings didn’t take.
I mowed and collected grass clippings for mulch — a two hour project that was repeatedly halted to clear the tube leading to the bags. There were more clogs than usual. Once mulched, I re-arranged the fencing and installed a lightweight high fence around the kale-hot pepper plot to deter deer from jumping the fence. It looks home made, but was no cost and will serve.
A rabbit was munching or resting in the former lettuce patch. It ran for the thicket as I approached.
Despite a tiring day of work, not everything got done as planned.
With zero percent chance of precipitation until 10 p.m., I expect to finish spring planting today.
The plan developed yesterday was modified. Carmen decided there wasn’t enough soil blocking to make it worth a trip to the farm this weekend. It was alright by me. My soil blocking work is almost finished with only winter crops remaining to be started.
Except for processing quarts of soup stock in a water bath, today is planned outside until the work is done.
Turk’s Turban Squash Seedlings
The rain let up yesterday long enough to weed. Encouraged by the condition of the soil, I cleaned space in the plot under the locust tree and planted cucumbers: slicers (Marketmore, Olympian and Poinsett), Diva seedless, and pickling (Northern organic and a hybrid). I designed, built and installed new welded wire vertical cucumber cages to save garden space. It’s an experiment growing cucumbers under the locust tree, but a couple years back I tried it and the morning shade appeared to be good for the plants, protecting them from the intense and long sunny drought conditions we often find in Iowa.
Once finished with cucumbers, another short, heavy rain came through, curtailing additional outside activity for the day.
Plenty of seedlings remain to be planted, given away or composted.
The Weather Channel application serves gardeners with a busy schedule.
The forecast called for rain through the 4 a.m. hour. At 4:22 a.m. the gentle rain we crave is ending.
Garden soil will be too wet for planting, so I’ll switch my soil blocking schedule at the farm for today after a work session in the garage. The change will clear tomorrow for planting.
At least those are the plans.
I bought two 50-foot rolls of 48-inch chicken wire after work at the home, farm and auto supply store for $43.74 or about a third of my yard and garden expenditures this year. Some current fencing needs replaced, but mostly new planting areas need protection from deer. I hope 100 yards is enough.
By setting fence walls in close proximity there is no room for deer to stand if they jump over. This tactic has been successful in the constant dialectic between plant predators and garden hopes. Rabbits have plenty of food outside the garden, so they are less of a threat. Chicken wire keeps them out most of the time.
Planting this weekend includes Brandywine tomato seedlings, hot peppers in one bed and bell peppers in another, Turk’s Turban squash seedlings and cucumbers. Initial planting will be considered finished if I get that done.
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