The week in photos

Chris and the huge dill plants

Sugar snap peas

First zucchini for ME

Blueberries will be here soon

Kohlrabi

Cabbage, broccoli and kohlrabi 

Death and Destruction Strike Again

Well, I think I spoke too soon. Fifteen baby chicks.... are now fifteen missing baby chicks. I know, it's rough news to absorb. And there is one and only one rooster left in the hen house. Or chicken coop shall we call it now... 

Today we continued to work around the rain; outside when possible, then running for cover when necessary. Monday we had too close of an encounter with lightening which sent my heart racing, my lungs pumping as I screamed, jumped up from weeding lettuces and ran like an out of shape white girl as fast as I could to the packing room. We sat it out for about ten minutes. (And yes, we did find out, lightening struck of the the rods on Farmer Thomas's home..) 

We've harvested all the garlic scapes, so now the garlic will begin to do it's thing; sending all it's energies and nutrients to making the bulb. And our clothes- and apartment- wreak of garlic. Mostly because our clothes are covered in the juices. But also, our barn apartment is in the root cellar, directly next to the cooler where all the garlic scapes are sitting in bins, awaiting for CSA delivery on Thursday.

In addition to garlic, I also smell of cilantro. I guess things could be worse. It's just a regular old pico de gallo Fiesta in our home! Ole! Actually we are eating ALOT of cilantro. On beans, rice, eggs, salads... We enjoy salads made with frisee and boston and red lettuces. Arugula. Scallions. Zucchini and Squash have just been picked in the past five days. 

Unfortunately when we headed into the fieldhouse to harvest beets... many, many had been chomped on by some rodent. Voles? Not to be confused with moles. But, our CSA members will be enjoying some beets- maybe not the biggest and best- but we found several nonetheless. Additionally we will be delivering dill, mustard greens, radishes, cilantro, frisee, lettuce, garlic scapes, and possibly peas.

Farmer's Market on Saturday's has gone very well. Last week was our last week to sell strawberries (the season is over) so I'm sure our popularity, as well as income, will be down. Last week Chris and I returned to the farm with only seven heads of lettuce, a few herbs and two heads of escarole! I was proud. This week we will add a few more new items: chard, mustard greens, radishes and parsley. I enjoy market. And I enjoy my 2:00 nap each Saturday afternoon as well. 

The first harvesting week

Stefani and a huge head of escarole- Packing CSA member boxes

The last major strawberry harvest

bok choi growing in the field house

Stefani made some strawberry preserves, a first that went quite well!

The new mother hen and her fifteen chicks- 

wandering the shop before being moved to their new home

Massive bunches of cilantro and arugula. 

Amazingly spicy and flavorful

Harvest Time

(Chris setting up at Farmer's Market- week one 136 quarts of strawberries!)

What a week already! It’s only Wednesday and already I’ve had a full week of experiences.

This week begins CSA deliveries to our 142 members. Deliveries are made on Thursday, which means all of Wednesday is spent harvesting, cleaning and boxing lots and lots of produce. Some things can make it a little longer in the cooler so Tuesday we began with cilantro, garlic chives and escarole.

I find harvesting so fulfilling and satisfying. Even though we are bringing a plant’s life to an end: it is time. The work has been done. Our labor has paid off and someone will get to eat this amazing thing that we grew from a seed planted in late March. Our cilantro, basil and arugula are the most beautiful plants. And, we had the best-looking basil at Farmers Market last week, hands down.

In this week’s CSA boxes we packed: a huge bundle of arugula, cilantro, garlic scapes, garlic chives, boc choi, lettuce, scallions, escarole, and either a pint of peas OR kohlrabi. The heads of escarole were these massive things that I wonder what people will do with them… The reason the kohlrabi OR the peas is due to a shortage of kohlrabi. The plants were just obliterated with some sort of fungus or pant disease that more than half were non-edible. So, at 12:00pm we headed into the field to harvest peas…

Unfortunately after lunch, upon final box count, we realized we needed another ten pints of peas. 2:00pm. Temperatures in the 90’s. Head pounding. Out we go… Ten pints of peas. I can do this.

Today was the first day of summer and it was definitely hot HOT in upstate New York. I feel bad even mentioning it, being from Texas and all (“we’ve had over 100 days of over 100 degree temperatures…” Yeah, yeah… I know…) BUT, it was simply just sweltering out there today. In the greenhouse. Cutting boc choi. Sweat running down my brow.

…

This week has brought more life and more death here on the farm. A weasel got in the chicken coop on Sunday night and killed most of the chickens. More than six. Then again on Monday night he came back for more. In the animal kingdom we call this smart. Two chickens were left Tuesday morning: a gray hen and a blondish red rooster. That is it. But Wednesday morning Thomas found one black hen with fifteen (that’s 15) chicks wandering around the shop. (That’s where all the tools and saws and gasoline and chainsaws and extra parts and screws and broken “need to be fixed” things are kept.) Fifteen chicks. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.

I’ve just been swamped from sun-up to sun-down. I canned 14 jars of strawberry jam on Monday night. I just couldn’t STAND seeing them rotting in the field, so Sunday morning I went and picked more. More than the three or so quarts that were already filling our fridge. Strawberries galore. I froze a couple gallons. And pureed a quart, just to eat with yogurt and granola… Then I knew I had to make jam.

Making jam does not sound like an easy task to me. Real, domestic women make jam. Women who make their own bread and grow their own herbs…(wait a second here, maybe I’m becoming a real housy-house wife). I did make Farm bread this week too. I feel like I’ve really mastered the recipe and the art. Chris is convinced we could sell my loaves for $4.00 a loaf.

Did I mention Tuesday Chris turned some other age in his mid-thirties? So, two peanut butter pies were in the line up as well. We shared one with the other farm staff Tuesday after work. Mmmm, cold, rich peanut butter pie on a hot, sunny afternoon after working our butts off.  Oh, and the Mexican food dinner. It was a birthday request; I couldn’t say no. So, Tuesday was “build your own taco night” at the Chambers.

I’m overwhelmed by the ample, beautiful, fresh produce at our fingertips. We enjoyed some wonderful cilantro and scallions with our Mexican dinner. Arugula, strawberries, lettuces, and peas have been on our table… and I have boc choi in the fridge right now. Beets will be on the menu soon. Beets and beet greens morning noon and night.

One other thing that we’ve been enjoying is Chris’s new motorcycle. New *used motorcycle. He finally got the backseat and sissy bar installed on Sunday evening. Riding after work has been a great way too cool off, unwind and be together. It is lovely up here in these rolling mountains.

I’m calling this The Summer of No Air Conditioning. We have no a/c in our apartment, which has been okay thus far, given that we live in the root cellar. We have no a/c in the two farm trucks we drive to farmers market and on the CSA delivery route. And the a/c in our car only works on full blast. Same with the heat. So it’s good if it’s extremely hot, or extremely cold- otherwise we just deal.

And we are dealing. On most days. But it is still a really good life we’re living up here.

Afternoon motorcycle riding- the best way to cool off and unwind

Happy Father's Day Dad

Happy Father's day to my Harley riding, Farmall tractor driving, all around talented dad.

- Love, Your Punkin Stef

Dad and Mom, May 2007 (or so!)

LB, Dad, and Stef- First Martin Daughter Wedding, August 2006

Second Martin Daughter Wedding, October 2006

Graduation from North Texas, May 2004

Mid-June Photos

two more baby chicks (for a total 8)

I'm partial to this new, blonde babe

Things looking fabulous in the lettuce house

Megaton coming up for a close-up

Beets Galore!

Rows of summer squash & cukes

Squash Blossoms

Market Time

Saturday Chris and I will go to Farmers Market for the first time. Alone…

Last weekend Thomas took seventeen flats of strawberries to sell. This week we will be selling strawberries in addition to garlic scapes, scallions, sugar snap peas, cilantro, herbs and possibly some beets.
Mike and Thomas, who are both old pros at market, are both out-of-town this weekend. So, off we go. The Chambers will be spending most Saturday’s over the next few months at Farmer’s Market, however, we were hoping for a little bit more instruction and at least one lesson on where our booth location is (“it’s at the far end of the pavilion, on the North side”) how to set up (“set up however you’d like”) and exactly what is expected of us (“if you can make change, you will be fine at market”).

Tomorrow morning we will empty the cooler, load up the Ford, and drive an hour to Glens Falls, NY to sell our wares for four hours. I’m really looking forward to it, even with a little nervous anticipation. Chris is sort of indifferent at this point, and isn’t too thrilled about playing the role. Interacting with the public may begin wearing on me in weeks to come, but at least I’m beginning the season with excitement.

…

Last night Chris and I went to a New Farmer’s meeting hosted by Cornell University and the capital region cooperative extension agency. We skipped out on the last meeting, but decided to attend this month’s discussion on “Marketing Outlets for Farms.” Chris and Tamara of Minglewood Farms gave us a quick tour of their place and spoke about what has worked for them in terms of making farming their business.

On a little more than two acres they grow the most beautiful lettuces and mixed greens (kale, boc choi, tatsoi, various sprouts) and sell at the Saratoga Farmers Market. Greens are their niche. He shared that additional vegetables are simply “window dressing” on their table each week at market. I liked that idea: do one thing and do it well.

After farming for fourteen years now, Farmers Market is the one marketing outlet they use. It’s where they sell all their produce. They feel as if the food should sell itself. If it is the best looking, best tasting produce people will come back week after week, year after year.
Before Chris and my interested peeked, and we decided to seriously consider this farming life, we were not aware of all the ways to sell produce. But there are a few in addition to farmer’s market: CSA’s (Consumer Supported Agriculture), Wholesale (selling to large grocery stores), and Restaurants. There are other wholesale-type of options such as selling to health food stores or retreat centers. The problem is there just isn’t a large net margin for food. Period.
We all have to eat. It’s just a shame that things like Doritos and Little Debbie’s and Kudos bars are less expensive than fresh produce. (And they have a much longer shelf life…) Mainly, most folks don’t know what to do with a rutabaga or rainbow chard or celery root. People want food now. They don’t want to peel and steam carrots or cut and roast Brussels sprouts. Lazy people!

Chris and I are still working out how and where and to what extent we want to do this thing. But we know we want to do something. And we know we are very blessed to be totally immersed in the culture right now- thrown into Farmer’s Market even. I’m lucky I can pick strawberries and eat them the same day, go cut some lettuces for dinner and sauté up some garlic scapes five minutes after snapping them off the stalk.

gourgeous garlic scapes

Feeling it

 Climbing Pea Vines

Raining. Again. After a long, hard days work. We knew it would come. We started our day with a list of “rainy day” and “non-rainy day” activities. With showers scheduled to begin around noon we started the day with, you guessed it, weeding. Strawberries. Carrots. Two hours into this activity we moved on to covering the newly planted squash plants with netting. Timely. Tedious.


Things like netting and row cover and plastic and ground cover all make me want to pull my hair out. The netting that we covered the three rows of squash with today is primarily for keeping away insects and pests: rabbits, deer, groundhogs. But they are simply a pain in the neck to handle and move and when the wind catches them just right three adults can fight with this simple piece of cloth for hours on end. No lie. Luckily today that was not the case.

The additional (and probably final) part-time laborer stared work today. Her name is Caroline, she’s fifteen-years-old and she also worked on the farm last summer. She really is a hard worker, nice and well spoken for a fifteen-year-old girl. Sadly enough, she makes me feel old. Very old. She’s the same age as my baby brother, which means she was born in 1997. 1997!! I was a senior in high school in the fall of 1997.

Today I sort of struggled once again with the fact that this is the place God wants me right now. A place in-between. A place not my own. A place far away from gyms and vegetarian restaurants and live music and Target. Even though we are farming. Even though we are doing physical labor for eight hours a day, sometimes I just feel so darn docile. So slow. So lazy.

In NYC at 9:00AM I’d have been up since 5:30, gone to an hour spin class at the gym, showered, made my protein smoothie, done my “getting ready for work in the big city” routine, prepared my lunch and walked two miles to work. By 9:00AM. On the Alleged Farm by 9:00AM I’ve shaken myself awake by 7:00, read my Bible, sipped my coffee, sat, cooked two hot breakfasts, sat some more, stretched and thrown on dirty clothes, some SPF and brushed my teeth. I’m considering adding a morning jog or a nice long walk to my morning routine.

Too much nervous energy. I want to always be moving. Always be doing. But when I feel my heartbeat racing and my mind going to that place of driving fidgetiness, I tell myself that I’m here to learn to Be. To just Be. To read my Bible and sit. To sip my coffee and sit. Oddly enough, for me this is not easy.

My body reminds me of my age and my lack of agility and strength. My knees ached late this afternoon something fierce. This was after re-stringing and pruning tomatoes for about three hours. My knee locked up and I was pretty sure the kneecap was just floating around in the socket. This has never happened to me before. I do not have knee issues.

And my hips ached horribly Monday. Maybe physical labor is not for me. It’s not that I mind it so much as I hate being in pain. Farming brings the pain- no doubt. And I don’t think its something that I could have prepared or trained for. It’s not even something that will bring muscle memory or one can build up to. Everyday is something new. Every day is more aches and new pains and deeper soreness.

And then I feel old. Especially when the girl I’m working alongside is not even half my age and could easily be my child.

Smoking Weeds

Weeding.

Weeding in the rain.

Weeding the lettuces.

Weeding with love.

Weeding the strawberries.

Weeding alone.

Weeding on Tuesday.

Weeding in the sunshine.

Weeding before lunch.

Weeding raised beds.

Weeding shallots.

Weeding carrots.

Weeding in my rain boots.

Weeding in the cold frame.

Weeding parsley.

Weeding for the next four months.

Weeding after lunch.

Weeding with an attitude.

Weeding with a hoe.

Weeding peas.

Weeding with Chris and Thomas.

Weeding in the mud.

Weeding on my hands and knees.

Weeding beans.

Weeding through plastic covered beds.

Weeding leeks.

Weeding in a big straw hat.

Weeding chard.

Weeding on Thursday.

Weeding broccoli.

Weeding cabbage.

Weeding in the greenhouse.

Weeding in my sleep.

Weeding with the flamethrower strapped to my back, smoking those weeds to oblivion.

So, that has been my week. Friday afternoon we are taking off early and heading into New York City, about a four/five hour drive from here. It’s been over two months since I’ve seen the skyline, heard the subway screech or hugged some very dear friends. I’m looking forward to catch-up conversations and simply being with people who love me so well.