Summer Days

Welcome Summer, Happy Solstice!
Perhaps this sounds a somewhat pagan greeting, but being a farmer I live my life by the seasons. Why not celebrate the seasons of Creation? This past week has been absolutely gorgeous on the farm. The sun has been shining, there have been beautiful breezes and clouds going by. We had a few quite showers yesterday which we enjoyed as well. I can only describe it as delicious. I love being in the rain on a summer day. Today had a gloomy start but has now become so sunny. I went on a walk and found mulberry trees with their berries just starting to ripen! I'm now thinking of muffins and crisps and other wonderful things to make with the coming mulberries. I just made my first batch of strawberry jam! It's a little runny because I refuse to use the amount of sugar the recipes call for (7 cups!). It's still delicious. The next batch will have to be strawberry rhubarb.
Plants are continuing to grow on the farm. This week we harvested broccoli, parsley, and garlic scapes for the first time. I know you're all wondering what the heck are garlic scapes. You are, aren't you? Garlic scapes are the flower stalk that the garlic plant sends up. It naturally does a curly-q and then flowers at the end. Once the stalk curls we snap it off so that the plant will focus it's efforts on the bulb in the ground where the cloves form. The scape can be used like a green onion (scallion) but it tastes like garlic. They're a breeze to harvest and our hands smell of garlic for the rest of the day. Meet the garlic scape.

As the weeks go by i find myself getting more and more excited about having my own farm. I have come a long way! Last year i would freak out when I would think about having a farm of my own. Now I am thinking about it all the time and strategizing. I am even hoping of starting my farm next year! I am looking into programs that help out beginning farmers and offer land and equipment rental for low rates. I don't even have a name yet, but I am hoping that will come in time. Any suggestions are welcome. :)

Farmer's Market Update and Even More Storms

I must say the farmers' market was wonderful. I had a great time. I did have trouble sleeping just as I thought I would, but I didn't become zombie-like until after I got home. I really enjoyed the people at the market. It was so much fun talking with them, introducing people to new vegetables, giving ideas of how to prepare different things, and joking around too. The other vendors were great. We were in between an herb vinegar guy and a Wisconsin cheese guy. Oh, the smells were delicious. I could've spent a fortune at the cheese stand. They're curds were amazing. I got to barter for a couple of things too. I loved it. I'm looking forward to the next time I go to the market.
Just to give you a quick update on the farm- we've had a ton of rain. Fields were flooded Monday after two heavy rains on Sunday. Harvesting has been interesting. The aisles have been filled with water in most places. It's been quite disheartening. With all this rain we could lose some crops. The ones in the most danger are the tomatoes and the peppers. It's so sad. I love peppers and I'm starting to really like tomatoes. Plus we're growing so many different colors of tomatoes. On one hand it makes me glad that I'm not farming on my own yet. This potential crop loss doesn't really harm me, but it does hurt my bosses. It's humbling, to the point of frightening, how you can plan well, have healthy crops in the field, have everything looking so promising and then BAM! Disaster strikes.
I guess the reality is that we're really not in control. We like to think we are in control. We act as though we are in control. But the stark truth is that we are not in control. God is. I think farming is one of those few professions where that truth is so blatant. You live daily with the fact that life does not go according to plan. On one level that frightens me to the core. But, it also excites me. It excites me because I see the chance for God to do great things in such a life. Acknowledging that I have very little control over life can bring such humility and faith. Oh, how I hope for such things-that I will learn to give up the illusion of my ability to control my life or that I know what's best for me. And that God may increase my faith. There's a passage in Habakkuk that scares me and yet entices me too.
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

The Sovereign LORD is my strength:
he makes my feet liek the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights. Habakkuk 3:17-19

May that kind of faith grow in us all.

To Market! To Market!

Well, despite all the storms that have blown through we have had a busy week. The spring CSA is going well. People are loving their vegetables. We've also started going to the Oak Park Farmer's Market on Saturday. Tomorrow is my first farmers' market as a farmer! I'm very excited. We spent most of today harvesting. We'll be taking lettuce, spinach (two kinds), arugula, green onions, green garlic, kohlrabi, napa (chinese) cabbage, asparagus, radishes (three kinds), hakurei turnips, and i think there's something else but I can't remember now. That's quite a list! We start loading the truck at 4:30 AM! I'm hoping I'm coherent. Actually, I'm not worried about getting up. I'm worried about falling asleep. I'm so excited I might have a hard time sleeping. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. 

Stormy Weather

I have to laugh. I mentioned weather in my last entry. It just goes to show that weather plays a bigger role in my life than before. Truth be told the title to this entry refers not only to the physical weather but the recent turbulence in my life. 

   Friday was a stormy day here in Grayslake. We had high winds in the late morning that resulted in ripping off half of the greenhouse plastic. We watched helplessly as the plastic roofing flapped violently in the wind. Then we got the signal to take shelter in the basement of the farmers' house. There was no tornado siren, but we felt like taking the precaution. Strangely enough the sun came out in the afternoon and we had a lovely summer day.  Once the winds died down we cut off the rest of the plastic since it would no longer completely cover the roof. Now our greenhouse stands with its ribs showing. Thankfully it was time for the plants inside to meet the outside world. 

   The turbulence in my life came the first Saturday in May. I moved to a house right on the farm property (separate from the famers' house). It's an adorable house. However, in the move my computer got bumped and went on the fritz. Thus the reason for my month long silence. True, I have had occasional access to the internet throughout the month. Yet, I just didn't  make myself enter anything in here. There was always something else to do.

     Anyway, my old computer died and I now own a new one-the reason for the turbulence. It was quite the investment and one that I wasn't quite ready to make. It's opened my eyes to how much faith I put in my savings account. It's been hard. But I am glad that I have seen this foible. I pray my faith in God and His provision grows stronger no matter the fluctuation of my bank account. 

Midwest Weather

This week has been a little odd as far as weather goes. Monday it was quite chilly and cold. Snow showers were predicted at some point but nothing like that developed. We were out in the fields planting the onions that were seeded in the greenhouse. There was a chill wind, but we still planted. Our fingers got cold, but we still planted. It began to drizzle, yet we still planted. That is, we planted until we had muddy claws for hands and a few numb toes. We decided to pack it up and head for the greenhouse. Once we thawed out we worked in the greenhouse for the rest of the day. That's one thing I love about farming; there's so much variety, so many different things to do.
A woman I live with (who isn't a farmer) remarked on Monday, "What an awful day to be a farmer!" I didn't say much in reply, but I disagreed. It's not that I thought Monday was a perfect day for farming. It's just that I didn't think about whether I wanted to be a farmer that day or not. There were jobs that had to be done, so we did them the best we could. I can't choose when I want to be a farmer and when I don't. It's a commitment. It's definitely trying at times, but it's also hugely rewarding.
Later this week it warmed up and was beautiful right up through most of today. Then it got cold again. I think we'll have some rain pretty soon. Ah, but this morning was wonderful. We planted rhubarb! It's one of my favorite things. Unfortunately, we won't enjoy any of it this year. It's a perennial crop and you need to wait at least one season before you harvest any of it. Strawberry-Rhubarb pie is my absolute favorite pie, followed closely by Rhubarb pie. The first time I realized what an amazing dessert is Strawberry-Rhubarb pie was back when I was in high school. My sister was living with my grandma down on the family farm and she made the pie. My cousin made homemade vanilla ice cream. It was summer and we ate in the kitchen. It was the best dessert I've had, hands down.
This afternoon we planted popping corn in the field. That's right, we're growing popcorn! I was very excited to hear that we were growing popcorn. It'll take until October to be ready. Ah, the anticipation. . .

Wormies and Chicks

Today I got to spend a part of my morning watching Laurel and Ruby, two year old twin daughters of the farmers. We spent a full 30 minutes playing in a dirt pile. I kid you not. We were looking for earthworms or as Laurel and Ruby call them, "wormies". We would dig with our hands and the girls would yell, "Wormies!!" whenever we'd find one. They of course had to hold them. Then we'd continue digging looking for more. Laurel announced that she wanted no fewer than seven wormies. Ruby was content to find as many as she could. Sometimes we would take breaks from digging and the girls would run up to the top of the dirt pile (about 4 ft high), scream and giggle, then run back down. Then it was back to searching for those wonderful wormies. Who would have thought that a dirt pile was such a great toy? I loved every minute of searching for wormies with the girls.
After work I stopped by tto see the new chicks that had come in the mail. Believe it or not you can order chicks through the mail. They are shipped over night and must be picked up at the post office! They made it safe and sound through the postal system. There were also some fertilized eggs someone was incubating. These came from a local hobby farm, not through the mail. A few had just hatched so we watched them try to figure out how to use their legs. New life is amazing. I strolled home smiling and chuckling over the day's events. What a unique place I am in and what a wonder-full life is farming!

A busy week

Hoop House 2 getting greener
One thing I love about working on a farm is that so much gets packed into one day. I feel very productive after a day spent weeding garlic and sweet turnips, seeding tomatoes, moving trays of broccoli and kale outside to harden off and laying out row cover to stop marauding rabbits. There’s also the pleasure of simple things; the joy of seeing the corn that was seeded 6 days ago starting to pop up, feeling the sun on your face after a long dreary week of cold rain, and meeting the newest members of the farm, our two piglets!


The pink one is a Tamworth and the black and white one is a Poland China. They are cute now but pretty soon they’ll be big porkers. Which is good because they aren’t pets. One day they’ll be food.

In other exciting news, I got to participate in my first prairie burn! A few years ago people began to figure out that native prairie grasses had adapted to an occasional fire sweeping through. In fact some species need fire in order to drop their seeds (some trees are the same way). Thus was born the practice of prescribed burns. We have quite a bit of prairie grasses around the farm (and in the subdivision which the farm is located). This spring there have been quite a few burns (all organized of course!).

(I helped burn that!)
Tuesday afternoon we strapped on backpacks filled with water and followed our fearless leader to the designated area. He started the fire and we somewhat herded the fire where we wanted it to go with our backpacks and hoses. It was great. I definitely felt like I had a proton pack from Ghostbusters! There was one quite uncomfortable moment when another farmhand and I were waiting on the other side of a berm to make sure the fire didn’t get into some piles of equipment. The wind was blowing towards us and the smoke became so thick that if you could actually get your eye open you couldn’t see 2 feet in front of you. Naturally, it was hard to breathe. It got to the point where I was about to stumble off to a less smoky area so I could take a breath, but then the wind began to clear out the smoke. It was just enough that I could breathe and not choke. Other than that it was a great experience.

Just all in a days work at a farm!