Last week I introduced you all to the concept of "scouting"--essentially checking to see what's going on in your garden or orchard. Which sounds simple and obvious, but this sort of close observation is an important skill that you can develop and refine over time. Here's a three-minute video that gives a nice overview of effective scouting techniques: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq4b6gEWEFg.
I made an unpleasant discovery while scouting our newly-planted spinach this weekend. I noticed that some of the plants were wilting over even though the soil was plenty moist around them. Digging up one of the wilted plants, I found these around its roots:
A little searching through my plant books confirmed that these are seedcorn maggots. I'd never heard of seedcorn maggots until last year when they knocked out my first planting of melons. The seedcorn maggot fly likes to lay its eggs in moist, freshly worked soil that contains a lot of organic material; our freshly prepared beds with all of their compost are a perfect environment for them. They feed indiscriminately on a variety of crops including melons, spinach, corn, beans, and the cabbage family (yup, they are in the kale too).
So, we're waiting to see how much damage they are going to do. Maybe they'll knock out the whole spinach crop, maybe they won't. They've taken out several of the Baltic Red Kale, but I'm not sure yet how much damage they're going to do to the rest of the kale, pac choi, and broccoli. If they just take out a few plants here and there, we should have plenty left in the hoophouse to replant. If they do more damage than that, maybe we'll have to call one or more of those crops a loss for this year.
And that's just how this business goes--there's always a new pest, a new disease, a new weather catastrophe to keep you humble. No matter how much you know, nature knows more and he/she/they reminds you of that every single day. And as frustrating as that is, it's also why I love farming. It challenges me to be always learning, growing, changing. One of the lessons of the seedcorn maggot is that I need to re-evaluate my soil preparation methods. Adding loads of compost just prior to planting has worked for years, but if that's now going to attract this maggot fly then perhaps I need to think about different ways I can add organic matter to the soil, either by using it as a mulch after plants are established or by adding it in the fall so that it is well-broken down before maggot egg-laying time. These methods could be beneficial to the soil ecology as well, since I wouldn't be doing as much soil disturbance in the spring.
We've got a long to-do list for this week, but one thing we hope to accomplish while you are out on the farm is planting the rest of our potatoes. Here are two videos that describe two very different food systems involving potatoes. The first is 10 minutes; the second is 15 minutes long. Take a look and let's talk about the implications of each. Which system do you think will best feed us and future generations?
100 Circle Farms, Washington State: http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/food/food_quality/see_what_we_are_made_of/meet_our_suppliers/100_circle_farms.html
Potato Park, Peru: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLI2KySC9-U
And here's the website for the Potato Park if you'd like to learn more: http://www.parquedelapapa.org/.
Finally, a quote for you to ponder from Muriel Rukeyser: "I think there is choice possible at any moment to us, as long as we live. But there is no sacrifice. There is a choice and the rest falls away. Second choice does not exist. Beware of those who talk about sacrifice."
I've been thinking a lot about these words this week. I could make a long list of all of the things I've given up in order to run this CSA. Some of those things I miss a lot. But it's also true that I've wanted to do this work more than I've wanted those things in my life. That doesn't mean that giving them up doesn't hurt and that I'm not trying to find ways to bring this work into a better balance with other things that are important to me. But I think there is something important in Rukeyser's use of the word "choice" rather than "sacrifice."
What do you want so much that in making that choice and letting other things fall away there is no sacrifice, only a movement towards your heart's deepest desire?
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