Soil & Seeds

Okay, I know that class is officially over, but I can't help sharing this article that just appeared in The Atlantic:
Healthy Soil Microbes, Healthy People. Though really informative about the serious problems we've created for ourselves by destroying soil microbial life, I'm profoundly uncomfortable that the solution it proposes is "soil drugs" manufactured by agri-chemical companies rather than good on-farm soil management.

Also, in one of our last classes, I promised to find the name of the Oregon CSA that works in collaboration with plant breeder Frank Morton to produce locally adapted, farmer-controlled plant varieties. It is Gathering Together Farm and the seed organization is Wild Garden Seed.

Here are a couple of videos of Frank talking about the relationship between humans and seeds and about the global commercial seed industry:

Frank Morton - The Value of Seeds

Seeds of Life: Consolidation in the Seed Industry

Enjoy!

Photo Slideshow | Hannah Daly Final Project Component

Hey all. So my cheese levels are at an all-time high and I got semi-emotional looking through my photos. I wanted to put together something visual as a part of my reflection, as well as something that could go on the blog. I hope this isn't too sappy, I just loved this Alice Walker quote and it felt too relevant not to use it.

See you all at brunch!

Harvest of Joy CSA Capstone 2013 Slideshow

Week 10 at Harvest of Joy Farm LLC

Weather forecast: Highs near 70, mostly sunny to partly cloudy.

Well, this is it folks, week ten, our final class meetings on the farm. On Monday we'll be joining some local junior high school students to tour a local farm which produces fresh organic herbs. Then we'll head back here to give the kids a farm tour and, if there's time, work on some weeding and mulching.

On Tuesday, I hope that the soil will be dry enough to resume planting. We'll be making a big push to get the rest of our tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants in the ground and mulched that afternoon.

Thanks to everyone who helped out with Saturday's party! A good time was had by all.

Duck Run Construction

Week 9 at Harvest of Joy Farm LLC

Weather forecast: Highs in the mid-70s/mid-80s. Tuesday: 60% chance of rain. Wednesday: 30% chance of rain. Thursday: 10% chance of rain. Friday: 40% chance of rain/chance of severe weather. Saturday: 40% chance of rain.

I hope all of you have had a great Memorial Day weekend! Big thanks to Alice and Christine, who came out on Sunday to help shop for next Saturday's Strawberry Party and to work on the duck run. The run looks great and we're hoping that perhaps those of you planning to come out on Wednesday will lend a hand with finishing it up.

I had hoped that we'd have a big planting day tomorrow, however, after looking at the weather forecast, I don't think that's going to be possible with the predicted rain since we've already received enough moisture today to make the ground pretty sticky. After conferring with John and Diane, I think the priority here on the farm tomorrow will be to use the rainy day to clean up my house and the porch in preparation for Saturday's open house.

Since our Monday group already missed their farm day due to Memorial Day, I'm going to propose a much more flexible farm participation schedule for this week instead of holding an "official" class day tomorrow (Tuesday). If any of you really want to help us clean, you are more than welcome to come out tomorrow afternoon. But if you'd rather use that time to catch up on other work so that you can come out later in the week to help with planting, strawberry bed prepartion and/or duck run construction, that's okay too.

You are welcome to come out any time during the day on Wednesday or Friday. Caroline was going to reserve a car for folks coming out on Wednesday afternoon, leaving campus at 1:30. If you want to come out at a different time, let me know and we can reserve other vehicles. It looks like Thursday is actually going to be our best planting day and I'd love to have you here for that, but I don't want you to miss out on the opportunity to visit Elder Fire Farm. If you are planning to go on that visit, please make sure you've let Janelle know!

We will need people here on Friday or early on Saturday to help set up for the party. We will need to set up the tent, table, and chairs on the lawn, as well as tables for food in the porch. We will run through the strawberry planting procedure so that you can help others plant throughout the afternoon. We'll need people to take responsibility for various aspects of the afternoon--everything from helping people park to getting the bonfire going in the evening. If you are planning to come and would be willing to lend a hand with some of these things, would you please let me know as soon as possible? Thanks!

Weeks 7 & 8 Photos

I didn't do a very good job of photo-documenting weeks 7 & 8. Sorry! If anyone has better photos, feel free to share.