The Lost Farmer

So where did all the time go? Looks like my last entry was June. Whoops. Well, it's been a crazy ride but I survived my first year of farming! I have to admit I was ready for it to end. I've earned my winter's nap! Only it doesn't look like I'll get a long one. By the time October rolled around I was looking forward to spending Saturdays at home or doing things I wanted to do rather than getting up early for market. Though the markets have been done for over a month I still feel like I'm playing hookie when I wake up at 8 on a Saturday. I grin like a fool, make a hot drink and enjoy the morning. Ahh, bliss.
That's not to say that I disliked going to markets. I loved it. I've made some good friends with my fellow vendors. There's something of a brotherhood/sisterhood in it. There were a few vendors that were at both of my markets and I definitely had people take me under their wing a little since I was the "newbie". I had a lot of great customers too. I developed quite a following over the summer. At the end people wanted to make sure that I'd be there again. It was very affirming. Yet, I was ready to let that go for a few months to rest, recover, and regenerate.
Today was the first day of snow. It was so beautiful out. It was windy and the air was full of large flakes, the kind that get caught in your hair and eyelashes. The air smelled of snow too. I love that smell. I love snowflakes that catch in your hair and clothing. It's also a much needed affirmation that my field days are done for the year and I can move on to other things, such as planning for next year and getting some winter employment! What a mess planning can be and I think the hard work of planning is just as difficult as the field work! Farming is a huge, complicated word problem. It takes weeks to untangle the snarl of field notes and market numbers from the previous season even if you do keep good records (which I did, at times). Then you have to assign hard numbers to your hopes and plans for next year. Next you take your untangled numbers from the previous season, use them to inform your lofty plans for next season, and somewhere make calculations that define how much land, seed, and when you need that land and seed.
I'm sorry, am I boring you? Is your brain numb yet? Mine is. That means it's time to do something else. Til next time!

First Market!

My first market was yesterday and it went so well. I must admit I didn't get much sleep on Friday night. There were too many thoughts going through my head. I probably got more sleep than I thought I had. My mom stayed over night and helped me load up the truck at 5:15 am. What a trooper.
We drove down to Northfield, IL where the market is held. There were already a few people setting up when we arrived. Eventually we started setting up too (once we figured out where we were supposed to go). The day went quickly and people were so excited to have me there. I'm the only organic vegetable vendor at this market. They loved the chard, radishes, and lettuce that I brought. I'll have pictures soon. My mom took the pictures and we haven't loaded them to my computer yet.
It is such a relief to have this first market over. I'm excited it was such a success as well. I'm still recovering from the intensity of it all. I was definitely glad to get a nap yesterday. Hmm, nap . . . now that's a good idea . . .

The Lazy Farmer

It's true, I'm lazy. I admit it. There's always a part of me that gets excited for rainy days. The thought of not having to weed or be in the hot sun can be downright blissful. There is a guilty pleasure in spending the better part of a day inside. I'm a farmer. I keep telling people that I love being outside. Why then do I get so excited for rainy days?
It's probably the change of pace. There's not so much pressure to get things done on rainy days. I can take a nap and not feel guilty. I can catch up on bookwork or clean-up. Yet, I have to been careful. I enjoy rainy days so much that sometimes I try to convince myself that rain-threatening days should be treated like rainy days. It's a fight to get myself out in the fields when it looks like rain. But there is a huge different between cloudy, look-like rainy days and actual rainy days. Ah the trials of being my own boss.
Despite my laziness things are getting done. I spent most of this past week weeding. That is, I was weeding when I could get out in the fields. We had some legit rainy days this week, which I spent working on some marketing signs and running errands. Why are there always errands to run? I could run errands every day. There is always something more to find, purchase, or do. When I got back out in the fields the change I saw was amazing. The swiss chard, kale, spinach and lettuce have all popped! My first market is next Saturday and I was beginning to wonder if anything would be ready. I was picturing myself at my market stand with my beautiful sign, my beautiful tent, table and tablecloth, but that table would be empty of produce. I saw myself just standing there telling people about the beautiful, tasty produce that I would eventually bring. Well, it looks like I might actually have a few examples of my wonderful produce! We'll see what this week brings.
The bees have been busy gathering pollen and I'm fascinated by them. Have I mentioned that before? They bring in the pollen on their legs. It looks like little saddlebags. I love watching that. Then I love watching them fly in and out, like a little bee airport. They're incredible. I opened the hive a couple weeks ago and found the queen. She's been busy laying eggs, which is a good thing. I love my bees. I look at the hive and just grin. I've wanted a hive for so long. Now I have one. It's a small dream come true.
Yesterday when I was planting my tomatoes I couldn't help but grin. My little farm brings me so much joy. I am awed by the little changes that I see each week. I know there are hot, miserable days ahead. I won't always feel so enraptured with this farm, but even then it will be beautiful to me. Let the beauty of the Lord be upon us; establish thou the work of our hands. Ps 90:17.
My farmer's tan is coming along. I can't tell if my hands are getting browner from the sun or from the dirt. It's probably both. Sorry, Mom. I really do wash my hands. Here are some picture from this week and last. Til next time!

Incoming Hail

The dreaded H-word, hail, has been mentioned in the forecast for today a number of times. It hasn't happened yet but we'll see. The weather seems right for it. We've had some cool days and it was cool this morning. The skies are dark and a storm wind has been blowing and now it's warm. It has all the makings of a good, strong storm. Welcome to the life of a farmer; wait and see.

Over the past week I've learned over and over not to take the weatherman at his or her word. I cannot take the weather for granted. It may be sunny one day but that doesn't mean it will continue to be sunny. And the reverse is true as well. Just because it's stormy looking doesn't mean it will storm or that it won't clear up. I have already learned a few times that just because it looks like it will rain doesn't mean it will. There have been times I've had to get my lazy butt moving because what I thought would be a leisurely rainy day turned into a productive no rain (and even sunny) day. Farmers tend to play roulette with the weather. Just one more row, those clouds don't look really black, these rain drops are that big. That sort of thing. I always thought that was dumb. Why risk getting struck by lightening? Now I see why. Weather isn't always as bad as it makes itself out to be. It may look like a gloomy day but that doesn't mean you can't get something done.

Here's an example for you; it was supposed to pour last night and so I resigned myself to greenhouse work today. As I was calmly seeding my next planting of broccoli my fellow farmer, Jeff, walked in with his employees all in their raincoats. Curious I asked what they were up to. Surely, they weren't out in the fields trying to plant or do any tractor work. The weather was threatening! Jeff replied they were covering their lettuce with fabric stretched over hoops in case it actually did hail. Wow! what a great idea, I thought. But too bad I didn't do that earlier. I couldn't go out and do that now with my own lettuce. The weather was threatening. Hail was supposed to come that afternoon and I had already promised to meet my sister for lunch. It was just too late. Hopefully my lettuce wouldn't get too shredded. Oh well, I thought as I shrugged my shoulders. Something to do next time.

Yet, after my lunch with my sister it still hadn't hailed nor had it even rained. The weather was still threatening, but I started thinking, what if I tried to cover up my lettuce now? sure it may start raining while I'm out there, but even if I get just a little done I may save some of my crop.

Well, I went out there, got it all done and it didn't rain a drop on me and there was no hail to be seen.

So, don't take the weather for granted. You can get a lot done under cloudy skies!

How Many Days Does It Take to get a Farmer's Tan?

Turns out, just one. That's right, ladies and gentlemen. As of May 7th I am sporting a farmer's tan. Truth be told it's a farmer's burn. Not a bad burn, but it's definitely radiating some heat. I have now stocked up on sunblock and cooling aloe. Now I'm ready for the sun.

Today I checked in with my bees. I had to open the hive two different times and I never got stung. Plus I did it without smoking them or wearing my beesuit! That's right, I'm that brave. Actually lazy is more the word for it. I didn't feel like going home and getting the suit, putting on the suit, putting my shoes back on and then having to reverse the whole process. It's just so taxing.

Things are going along in the hive. The queen is out of her little cage and they were hungry for more sugar water. So I gave them more to eat and moved the hive a little higher to put it out of mouse range. I ended up lifting the hive with the top open so my face was a mere 5 inches away from a clump of bees for a bit. I have to admit I was a little apprehensive of the situation. Everything went fine though. I love my bees. :)

Here's another lesson learned: never trust a weatherman. We were supposed to get thunderstorms throughout the day. well . . . today was a gift of sunshine, warmth, and that means I had a busy day. I got a slow start since I'm recovering from the past two long days. We've been working hard since we thought we'd only get a one and a half day window without rain. It did rain a little yesterday but not much. I ditzed around for an hour and a half. It kind of looked like it would rain but then it cleared and I slowly woke up and back out in the fields. There was a nice green carpet of weeds in the rows i had already planted and seeded so that was the chore for the day. Then I got on the tractor and did some much needed mowing. I could almost bale some hay with the clippings! Things are looking great now. Tomorrow's big chore; setting up irrigation. did you know I'm becoming a plumber of sorts? My dad's coming up this weekend for my next mechanics lesson on my riding mower/tiller. I'm learning all kinds of new skills.

Bees! And a Long Day

My bees are here! They arrived on Monday. My bee buddies were good enough to pick them up and bring them to my farm. The bees were shipped to a bee company in Wisconsin. They come in a wooden box with screened sides. I ordered three pounds of bees which equals about 3000 bees plus one queen. The queen is in a smaller box with screens so that the bees can get used to her smell and won't kick her out of their group, which is apparently what they do if you just dump a random queen into a colony.

So we set up my hive and kicked out the mouse that had made its nest in there. Rotten mice. Stay out of my bee hive! We set the frames in the hive, set the queen in her mini box in the hive and then dumped, seriously dumped, the bees into their hive. We put some sugar water in there for them to eat, set the lid on top, and that was it. I've been keeping my eyes on them today and their buzzing around getting used to their new home. In a couple days I'll check on them, see if they need more food, and make sure the queen is out of her box and moving around. If you're lucky some day I'll post a picture of me in my kickass bee suit. :)

The adventure today was spend as much time in the fields as possible to get as much done as I can before the rains come (again!). My morning began at 6 when I hopped into the seat of the John Deere tractor and headed out to till up a large part of my fields and prepare the beds for the afternoon planting. Field beds are rows grouped together. My beds are about 4.5 ft which includes a walkway. In that bed I can plant three rows of spinach, 2 rows of broccoli or 1 row of tomatoes. Each crop prefers different distances. Some need a lot of room, others don't need so much.

I had a great crew of helpers this afternoon. We planted a ton of stuff, mostly my bulb onions. We planted yellow, red and sweet onions. Then we planted a rainbow of lettuces. By that time the crew was ready to call it a day. We were all proud of what we had accomplished. They took off, but I wasn't ready to call it quits yet. Rain's a'comin and I don't know when I'll get back in the fields. So worked for another hour or so. I called it quits when the sun did.

Not bad for my first long day. I'm in a pretty good mood, mildly sore, but I definitely don't feel beat up. That will happen in July or August I'm sure. That's it for now! Praise God for great help and beautiful weather.

Bees are Coming!

I just got the call. My honeybees will be coming tomorrow! I've been wondering when my bee-buddies would call and deliver my new hive. I can't believe the day is here. Well, almost here. A part of me is still apprehensive. After all, it is another thing to put on my to do list and I do tend to swell up when I'm stung. Still I'm going to try it. Bees fascinate me and just think of the honey!
In other farming news, it has been a week of realizing how little control I have over my farm and my plans. Sure I make spreadsheets of what seeds are planted when, and how many in the greenhouse. I have spreadsheets of when to transplant those seedlings outside in the fields. I have maps of what crops will go where. I have weekly project lists that are scheduled into october. Yet for all this God gets the final say. It has been over a week since I've been able to take a tractor out into the fields, which means I am a week behind in transplanting and almost two weeks behind in tilling. Not an easy place to be for a first year farmer, or for any farmer. It's just rained so much over the past week and a half. The fields haven't had time to dry out. So I figure out what other things I can do while I wait.
There are moments of stress and frustration. Even now I feel myself tensing up. But that's not the end of the story. I know that God is faithful and that God will take care of me. I am reminded of how dependent I am, how vulnerable I am. That's not a lesson that is easy to learn, but in the end is comforting. It's comforting because God is in control, not me. Though I can come up with a pretty good and fairly thorough plan, there will still be faults. And honestly, though it's hard to let go of my plans (in farming and in other things), I'd much rather have God in control than me.
So with that in mind I will continue to wait for my fields to dry. My bees will come tomorrow. Hopefully, I will soon be driving the tractor again. I'll keep you posted.