By now I am rounding out the end of my first two weeks at the PFP, so I think a *real* update is due.
Since I have been and will be about spending half of my days at the farm and half doing program work, I'll use that format to frame this post.
On the Farm Front, even though the season is still doing a warm-up stretch and jumping jacks, there is a lot of prep work to do. Asher, our trusty farmer, is so well organized its just impressive. We have a blue binder which is essentially the farm bible, and is filled to the top with excel spread sheets documenting every detail you could want to know about the greenhouse, tilling schedules, planting schedules, fertilizer applications, and esoteric secrets of the universe (well I'm just guessing there's a tab for that in there somewhere.)
Most of the focus right now is on seeding in the greenhouse (things like onions, chard, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs, flowers, lettuce, brassicas, and goodness knows what else) and making sure our leetle friends stay alive. In the morning and sometimes at other times throughout the day, one of us checks on the seedlings' progress and waters them, uncovers them, and moves them around as needed. I keep wanting to catch some seeds in the act of emergence but I know it is nigh impossible. Also I like to do physical impressions of emerging seedlings, especially beets for some reason, with their little cotyledon limbs reaching out and over into the air. With seedlings, you have to be very conscientious about proper germination temperature, light conditions, water levels and everything else that could affect their growth at this vulnerable stage. It's really interesting to observe how putting them too close to a warming light bulb or not watering the edge of a tray can mean the difference between life and death for these little guys. We are learning to be very detail oriented and very very careful about pretty much everything we do with them, because you can easily see the direct results of your actions or inattentions.
We are also doing lots of spring things, like pruning the blueberry bushes (such a joy), re-adjusting and spacing tractor implements, and random cleaning tasks (like nasty fridges). There isn't the hurried pressure yet, and all the staff are great about taking time to explain things and answer our questions.
On the education front, I am taking time to look over lots of amazing resources on community education, and teaching people about food and farming. Its nice to have the time to let ideas sink in and hopefully soon I will come up with some concrete ways to share them with people in ways that are relevant and exciting to them. But for now I am just marking things up, taking notes, and relishing in all the good work that people have already done on this subject.
Another big thrust right now is planning our seed-saving garden! Wendy, the farm and program manager, has given some terrific lessons on seed-saving basics, and festooned us with probably over 10 seed catalogues and reference books galore. I am geeking out on this stuff pretty hard and fast--and was surprised to discover that onions are really part of the amaryliddaceae family as opposed to the lilyaceae family as previously thought. It's hard to keep up to date with the changes happening in the plant systematics world, isn't it?! So now we are picking out varieties to grow for the seed-saving project and mapping out the garden layout. There's a lot to keep in mind when planning a seed-saving garden. It's like putting together a delicate puzzle where you have to keep in mind and fit together planting and harvest times, proper isolation distances and techniques, different kinds of pollinators, and different techniques for ensuring purity in multiple varieties of the same species. It's pretty complex stuff. To think that this has been fundamental to human survival and adaptation for thousands of years, and yet it is a set of skills and knowledge that is fast dying out, is enough to make me consider devoting the rest of my life to practicing and teaching seed-saving. So yeah, I'm into it. I'll save more of my comments and insights for when we are actually doing it!
So that's the kind of mischief we've been up to at the PFP.
But I had the weekend off, and besides yelling at the phone company and assembling a frustrating futon, there were a couple of big highlights. On Saturday morning, I drove out to Clinton Corners to visit the Wild Hive Bakery and Cafe (http://www.wildhivefarm.com/). They buy local grains, mill them, and bake delicious things with them. They also run an adorable cafe which is just the sunniest and most pleasant spot I have found yet. They also have a great little local foods store featuring the bounties of other local growers. And cheery friendly staff, and copies of Acres USA lying around. I'm going back, with you! (if you come visit!)
On Sunday (which I am going to try to keep as outdoor adventure day), I paid a visit to the Mohonk Preserve (and I do mean paid--nature conservation ain't cheap around here) near New Paltz, NY (conveniently just across the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie). I hiked up to and up the Bonticou Crag. Now Bonticou is a dutch word which means "spotted cow". Locals think they named the trail/area that because of a certain lichen which grows in splotches. I took a picture of what I think (am pretty sure) is that lichen. Please don't tell me if I'm wrong. Anyways I'll let the pictures do the talking. Hiking is a really nice complement to doing farm work--because you don't have to plan, or manage or tend or anything. You just have to observe, respect and enjoy.
"The Spotted Cow"
"Ah oui, Bonticou!"
Crag? What crag?A lovely sugar bush.
