tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75980689198026038502024-03-13T00:25:03.911-04:00Have You Ever Picked A Carrot?Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-81367295710423689402013-08-03T11:44:00.002-04:002013-08-13T00:00:19.352-04:00High Tunnels, Row Cover and Open Field: Eso-Cuc Grant study to find solutions to address farmer needs<div style="text-align: center;">
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No two farms are the same and over the last few years I have observed a wide variety of growing techniques used by various farmers to overcome the environmental and economic challenges they face. One of the more interesting and delicious crops causing trouble for farmers are from the cucurbit family. Cucurbits include cucumbers, squash, melon to name a few. With each conversation, I learn about a different growing system and methodology. Here at <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/04/fun-with-flowers-art-of-squash-breeding.html">Cornell</a>, we are working on the ESO-Cuc grant, focused on improving cucurbit varieties and growing practices in the eastern United States where farmers are facing heavy pressure from diseases and pests. The teams, located throughout the eastern region, surveyed farmers from various locations learning the biggest concerns and challenges. At this stage, we are working to determine the most effective growing strategies, as well as breeding improved and new varieties of cucurbit crops, ones more conducive to farming practices and the climate trends in these areas of the United States. </div>
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At stores, buyers will generally choose...</div>
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the best price and quality they can find on a consistent basis, many times this includes produce from across the country or across the globe. Since straying from our initial local food communities, many parts of the US refer to quality as an aesthetic only, not considering flavor or nutrient density. As each new generation becomes further removed from a direct relationship to its food source, we forget that fresh fruits and vegetables can taste delicious. In my opinion, a locally grown, fresh picked fruit, vegetable or herb is more likely than not going to have the advantage in flavor, nutrient density and overall "quality" over something picked unripe and shipped for days on a boat, plane and truck. If eastern growers cannot provide a consistent, quality product, they won't be able to compete, leaving delicious local produce off of our shelves. Cucurbits such as cucumbers, squash and melon are also standard crops that consumers, like me, expect to see at local stores and markets, but more farmers are having trouble getting these from the farm to the market and eventually our tables. This grant takes on these challenges with a team of plant breeders, entomologists, pathologists, extension agents and farmers.<br />
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In order to determine the best practices to recommend and a target for breeders to focus on, we are running trials in various locations throughout the eastern US, one of which is right here on our research fields at Cornell. I've been given the reigns of a comparative study using three different growing techniques farmers most commonly use to grow cucurbits: Open field, in which cucumbers, melon and squash are planted out into a field with <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/05/spring-on-farm-black-plastic-mulch-and.html">black plastic mulch</a> to prevent weed competition and irrigated as needed. Row cover, in which these crops are given an added blanket-like layer of protection for a few weeks while they are young and vulnerable to pests. Finally, high tunnel, a large standing structure that provides added protection from pests, a controlled environment as well as a trellising system for easier picking and less fruit damage.</div>
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The purpose of running all three is to compare how each portion reacts to pest and disease pressures and to determine if the economic return through yield measurements outweighs the cost of labor required. </div>
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<b><a name="Open">Open</a>Field: </b></div>
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This is the practice with the least labor, the least protection and what we've found so far, the most susceptibility to pest pressures. </div>
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With no added covering, the open field plants were more vulnerable to the harsh spring rains and winds leaving many of the young transplants with split stems or completely eaten by Striped Cucumber Beetles. They have been slower to fruit and those plants that have survived, have produced fewer fruit than the others.</div>
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<b><a name="Row">Row</a> Cover:</b></div>
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This familiar Agribon material creates a microclimate/greenhouse effect in that it allows around 90% of the UV light in, while preventing much of the heat from escaping. This <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2012/01/winter-greenhouse-systems-part-i-reemay.html">is what we used</a> at the <a href="http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/">Stone Barns Center</a> to add extra warmth during the cold winter months instead of pumping up the propane heat. We also use this at <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Season Farm</a> to cover our fall and winter vegetables and spring onions in the fall. This is great for season extension for growing into the colder months and starting earlier in the spring as we've seen with our cucumbers, squash and melon.</div>
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The row cover stays on about 2 1/2 weeks for cucumbers and squash and about 3 or 4 weeks for melons. Obviously, this all depends on the outside temperature and moisture, but the idea is to use the row cover while the plants are young and vulnerable to attack by Striped Cucumber Beetles, which are in full flush during the spring when transplants go in the ground. After the plant establishes itself, but<i> before</i> female flowers begin to open, we ideally remove the row cover allowing pollinators access to the fruit as well as providing space for the vines to sprawl.</div>
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<b><a name="High">High</a> Tunnel:</b></div>
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The high tunnel is very different from the other two options because the amount of labor increases, but also because the environment is more intensely controlled i.e. water, temperature, wind. In the open field we added no additional labor, in the row cover section, we added the placement and removal of Agribon, the high tunnel involves weekly pruning and trellising. Nevertheless, the fruit production is consistent and the fruit quality is head and shoulders above the other two option as far as marketable fruit so far. We've also been able to get earlier fruit production in the high tunnel than the other two areas.</div>
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All plants were transplanted on the same date, but you can see how different they look at this stage. Below you can see that not only are there more surviving plants on the row cover side, but they are significantly stronger as well.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99eu5gUQGppCJn8vTG2RQJZWYfCgyZpfQbB1lwKsqVfF6ed0C8l-gFdxzsTdSpmOpacqW5WDod1sVNCCV-XRPNnEIaJMR6jNbdbqXddhkA50ORYIFCqkGI7jLFHABSb0ffrc5uc4mGp_a/s1600/P1030939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj99eu5gUQGppCJn8vTG2RQJZWYfCgyZpfQbB1lwKsqVfF6ed0C8l-gFdxzsTdSpmOpacqW5WDod1sVNCCV-XRPNnEIaJMR6jNbdbqXddhkA50ORYIFCqkGI7jLFHABSb0ffrc5uc4mGp_a/s400/P1030939.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Open Field to the left, Row Cover to the right, you can really see the difference</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4odrwLgQkMP-UwAHZy44S0Ogy8Ty1SDNQugUzuwh5uws48ST5Y-saIkgakX1RUvTVUSl5dOjqV6UbSv476UMfanMjOg4b-qKSzpixpM34uf7ldLVmfWz9iY3on1AXEOu9Olw7SvPN_9bi/s1600/P1030795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4odrwLgQkMP-UwAHZy44S0Ogy8Ty1SDNQugUzuwh5uws48ST5Y-saIkgakX1RUvTVUSl5dOjqV6UbSv476UMfanMjOg4b-qKSzpixpM34uf7ldLVmfWz9iY3on1AXEOu9Olw7SvPN_9bi/s320/P1030795.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Row Cover</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwbJmqPMtzPiY2nGqvvvvlD0saS7ih40XBNTYJJ3VaHWx1jfDYT-Fp2khpxVhuqpD3tn7AD3emL_1G7qOILkpKk5rFAnQLhzw8-yOPEId5kIsTQTSR6Pmkq4DtHxUx1CDu6OeJ-4M1NAK/s1600/IMG_2391.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwbJmqPMtzPiY2nGqvvvvlD0saS7ih40XBNTYJJ3VaHWx1jfDYT-Fp2khpxVhuqpD3tn7AD3emL_1G7qOILkpKk5rFAnQLhzw8-yOPEId5kIsTQTSR6Pmkq4DtHxUx1CDu6OeJ-4M1NAK/s400/IMG_2391.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Row Cover Cukes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZMc7SdcAmFEgWsC8a5b_CNzVtebE0ICR4nhN47FfWSZvz_JAqO5aIoaRJFntKD-dd7pclXXeUpyXBBE9PBxQNRUpPNu1ocG83CSJYqBBO_5kl4Fw4pYM_OU0S_jc43mAhoTSp75oHP6n/s1600/IMG_2392.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQZMc7SdcAmFEgWsC8a5b_CNzVtebE0ICR4nhN47FfWSZvz_JAqO5aIoaRJFntKD-dd7pclXXeUpyXBBE9PBxQNRUpPNu1ocG83CSJYqBBO_5kl4Fw4pYM_OU0S_jc43mAhoTSp75oHP6n/s400/IMG_2392.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Row Cover Squash and Zucchini</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjXgHztUIr4N83_RpRQoHDMDpUxi-TLB0mw5qRJEoQj0zucGL5N39paqHpcx8hIKHtcgnf1Gk2Q0R7Bkag_WHwGcMUXf_ggI0KS6FLOhzvyw6xBX2ciczx2O_60WQ3DoL12zqnY9QSAPt/s1600/IMG_2393.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkjXgHztUIr4N83_RpRQoHDMDpUxi-TLB0mw5qRJEoQj0zucGL5N39paqHpcx8hIKHtcgnf1Gk2Q0R7Bkag_WHwGcMUXf_ggI0KS6FLOhzvyw6xBX2ciczx2O_60WQ3DoL12zqnY9QSAPt/s400/IMG_2393.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">High Tunnel Cukes, deeper green and much less beetle damage</td></tr>
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Now that I've introduced the project and provided a little background, stay tuned for the results of what we find. As I try to get a deeper understanding of the science and art of agriculture, I continue to present the ideas which I am learning and practicing. Through this practice and the responses and questions I receive, a certain connection develops between myself and the work. What I've gathered most importantly thus-far is that agriculture, as is life, is an attempt at creating balance. A mix of subtle and intense adjustments together creating a balance, the illusion of stillness, but in reality a never ending back and forth. With each still moment is a hidden flicker of left then right, right then left, constantly moving.Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-62014827151715863422013-07-09T23:41:00.000-04:002013-07-09T23:42:31.752-04:00Home Garden Plot Part II: Searching for Seeds, Seedlings, transplants, harvest<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b><br />
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Last time, we looked at <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/06/home-garden-plot-part-i-use-what-you-got.html">building your own raised garden for leafy greens.</a> Having at least a small plot of freshly grown greens has become increasingly vital to my life. There really isn't much that compares to having an entire jungle of salad waiting right in your backyard instead of wilting in your fridge. We do know that the nutrient content of vegetables begins to decrease as soon as it is cut from the soil and continues to lose energy as it decomposes. The longer you wait to eat it, the more you have to share with the decomposition process. So the fresher the greens the happier the body. We left off here...</div>
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But how?</div>
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We left our newly formed soil beds and hit the internet. Using a new and exciting seed search website aptly named: <a href="http://www.pickacarrot.com/">www.PickACarrot.com</a>, we looked for the most colorful, flavorful, interesting and well priced varieties we could find. I was able to locate a diversity of salad, mustard, spinach and chard greens from all over the country in seconds from dozens of different seed catalogs, many of which were new to me. The price comparison, seeds per dollar, allows growers to determine which companies offer the best value and in a couple of days I had my seed order in hand. Like Kayak, I get to deal directly with the seed companies so I can maximize any customer service issues and don't have to bother with a removed middleman.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYaCcKmyU3Jr2aax7bvMgan1Ex3shE2IwqCpaa8APbwAumQaa7_47oVv01sBvlVxOizGOfP2Lm4meH5zo_sl7HTuKE4Qc0Toh14rsTohPOm4cSx28zAuo5Tk2c_JZFbsBvVn8kBCUmYwp/s1600/IMG_1892.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYaCcKmyU3Jr2aax7bvMgan1Ex3shE2IwqCpaa8APbwAumQaa7_47oVv01sBvlVxOizGOfP2Lm4meH5zo_sl7HTuKE4Qc0Toh14rsTohPOm4cSx28zAuo5Tk2c_JZFbsBvVn8kBCUmYwp/s400/IMG_1892.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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We used a light potting mix, one lower in nutrients and high in moisture retention, airflow and drainage, all key for starting seedlings. A mix of sphagnum moss and sand or coco coir and perlite are great for getting your seeds to germinate. You don't need a nutrient-rich mix because a seed already comes packed with all the nutrients it needs to survive initial germination. Something too nutrient dense can even burn the seeds and prevent or inhibit growth.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEVdE0YDCvZwRD1Hyrd4nU2MrJ6GjAdoNlB80-XsWFVq5xZlWM0m_6ncbz_eVpxC3Ot50WEJtIhPzMKdowaW44NGp_o_LMzMijVHsw682NmuuPck36fU9425RdDxoMnjpRODs6yO4lDiN/s1600/IMG_1894.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigEVdE0YDCvZwRD1Hyrd4nU2MrJ6GjAdoNlB80-XsWFVq5xZlWM0m_6ncbz_eVpxC3Ot50WEJtIhPzMKdowaW44NGp_o_LMzMijVHsw682NmuuPck36fU9425RdDxoMnjpRODs6yO4lDiN/s400/IMG_1894.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
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For lettuce and mustard greens, it's best to seed very close to the surface. First water your trays well, then just lightly indent the surface with your finger and place 1 to 2 seeds per hole. Lightly cover the seeds with another thin layer of starting mix and water lightly to create contact between the soil and the seed, but not too much that you cause the seeds to shift around.</div>
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Then we placed the seedlings in warm place. We had access to a cold-frame, but a windowsill receiving lots of light works too, or a greenhouse is ideal. Watering just enough to prevent the soil from drying out, we watched as our seedlings took for the sky.</div>
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In about 3 weeks, our seedlings were ready for transplanting.</div>
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One of the major advantages of transplants is that you get to control and select for good germination and healthy plants before you commit them to your limited garden/farm space. It's another layer of quality control while also getting yourself a head start.</div>
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The lettuces were transplanted approximately 6'' apart in-between rows and within their respective rows. For these sprawling lettuces, this is enough space to allow them to grow to full head size, but also close enough to maximize our spacing. Other varieties are more apt to even closer spacing, about 1'' apart on either side, which would create an easy to cut, blanket of lettuce.</div>
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The Rainbow Chard and colorful Orach were spaced around 6 -12'' apart.</div>
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An incredible feeling and with all the work put in, so much comes back. Week after week we have been thankful to harvest full coolers of salad mix and braising greens to share with anyone and everyone interested while completely satiating our own needs. It's truly amazing how much food you can grow in such a tiny space. This process really makes me think about what is possible with the land we still have left. </div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-84774686555010238412013-06-25T18:15:00.000-04:002013-07-09T23:43:22.519-04:00Home Garden Plot Part I: Use what you got <div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b><br />
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You don't know what you got til it's gone. The truth of that overused cliche could never have felt more real than during my current withdrawal from not living and working directly on a farm. Although the world of research agriculture is fascinating and <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/06/plant-breeding-its-not-just-about.html">important</a>, there is nothing like a stash of delicious homegrown veggies growing just steps away from your door. No trips to the market, questions to ask, determining if prices are fair, deciding which company or farmer seems most trustworthy or who has the best reputation. Trying to determine the differences between the supermarket organic brands and market brands can be time consuming. Although I believe in buying local, which generally means closer to harvest when purchased, it still leaves a lot of unanswered questions. In this "wild west" time for food production there's no easy "best" option for you and your family. Observing my own transition, I've gone from a person who almost never bought produce, to growing my own food (basically<a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/resources.html"> living in the produce section</a>) and now purchasing food as a more conscious, yet fairly confused consumer. It's a weird in-between, last year I bought food to supplement what I grew and now I find myself growing food to supplement what I purchase. Not bad, just different. Compromises and opportunities offered with each choice, and choices, although at times frustrating, are a beautiful freedom I am thankful for. Today we are touching on a simple and...<br />
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easy backyard raised bed design for those with limited space.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51_LL3CA7DoX2TSm2O93xDaBu5KZoQ9j-Olr8GTe2s3Zwa7PGFHXPHjI9ICOKTqo-vu586DZPNiLApimJtA2lHBabGXJJ1KsUEOz1YmlpaaQ72Rnj0kZAucCSfQO7-PibfXK6ukpAe3G2/s1600/P4280653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh51_LL3CA7DoX2TSm2O93xDaBu5KZoQ9j-Olr8GTe2s3Zwa7PGFHXPHjI9ICOKTqo-vu586DZPNiLApimJtA2lHBabGXJJ1KsUEOz1YmlpaaQ72Rnj0kZAucCSfQO7-PibfXK6ukpAe3G2/s400/P4280653.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric and his family's incredible home garden (early spring)</td></tr>
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It does not have to be this intricate or this well thought out, the key is to use the resources you have and the resources you can afford to bring in, to maximize your space.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhPxxgewAVc8RcuyioRK7QybXzSXKf99NdGMqT1iyOCddYnghuqp7xVjcVT659uPvFI0lbDektFTimJQoykHfc_rr-jNbDit3QL8hnVIaLQECnqaiRqpj5xnukZ8s_NyZU921MuMt2oKO/s1600/P4280658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkhPxxgewAVc8RcuyioRK7QybXzSXKf99NdGMqT1iyOCddYnghuqp7xVjcVT659uPvFI0lbDektFTimJQoykHfc_rr-jNbDit3QL8hnVIaLQECnqaiRqpj5xnukZ8s_NyZU921MuMt2oKO/s400/P4280658.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Lucky for me, my colleague at Cornell Eric and his family had an open space in their home garden. They decided to move on from raspberries about a year or two ago and placed a large black plastic tarp over the area to ensure all the weeds and leftover <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2010/04/raspberries-taste-like-raspberries.html">raspberry canes</a> would die back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDV43pni5ZGMUp8Mx59P2XWk5t4Evt6RtSqO6EPMUY0XoNHYjUemwjeXi-m1g0zuO-CbOFZI4ydT5xol5uyZWXaGl7UVs-eOi3BJHY_E__BFCEFCfbbvbGo615450AyvO-bK_wngDrct_g/s1600/P4280659.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDV43pni5ZGMUp8Mx59P2XWk5t4Evt6RtSqO6EPMUY0XoNHYjUemwjeXi-m1g0zuO-CbOFZI4ydT5xol5uyZWXaGl7UVs-eOi3BJHY_E__BFCEFCfbbvbGo615450AyvO-bK_wngDrct_g/s400/P4280659.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqd5jvym9tiP9K9DmIqipPdflXvlnXulzalqNjtVIzxMFQ8LlN5Sd_3a6afclynrvRl9zvfGuA0JDFpwOuS8-c_rlrEiUXVNq7RAcN903jH4Fynuq7UBesNyyhYrr7Sl2BVPlS6dv1FCrv/s1600/P4280661.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqd5jvym9tiP9K9DmIqipPdflXvlnXulzalqNjtVIzxMFQ8LlN5Sd_3a6afclynrvRl9zvfGuA0JDFpwOuS8-c_rlrEiUXVNq7RAcN903jH4Fynuq7UBesNyyhYrr7Sl2BVPlS6dv1FCrv/s400/P4280661.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/05/spring-on-farm-black-plastic-mulch-and.html">Black plastic is a good mulch</a> because it absorbs heat and prevents light from making contact with the soil helping to breakdown weed cycles. It's also good for inhibiting the resilient raspberry canes from resurfacing. Once we lifted the tarp, all that we found was beautiful rich black soil, lots of rocks and some leftover stems.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnhOZhli4EkSQW8V5-c45rpz2DBUGikE6LVoKPnrhvZ-Wt6ljoz0Y6pcRKF2ozmZI-k5_0qdStVo0r0yoz8IkCUE6VC_r3AJe-_iD2SKKYtuCCjIZWqhtwMyjiDL63BlSVQEFDnAGzBqp/s1600/P4280662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHnhOZhli4EkSQW8V5-c45rpz2DBUGikE6LVoKPnrhvZ-Wt6ljoz0Y6pcRKF2ozmZI-k5_0qdStVo0r0yoz8IkCUE6VC_r3AJe-_iD2SKKYtuCCjIZWqhtwMyjiDL63BlSVQEFDnAGzBqp/s400/P4280662.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbt9-hBupiVMlIhfIMvHesCfp7MYgWqMM_pPtZ870ansnmG4GfyWlT3TsfbvrV7hmo9-LGozuUig1t68R_DT8aO-UimmGxfhMAxEqpjxJtcY53mbPXHARtVyd7eiZZSp6m_B233UKoUIk/s1600/P4280667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMbt9-hBupiVMlIhfIMvHesCfp7MYgWqMM_pPtZ870ansnmG4GfyWlT3TsfbvrV7hmo9-LGozuUig1t68R_DT8aO-UimmGxfhMAxEqpjxJtcY53mbPXHARtVyd7eiZZSp6m_B233UKoUIk/s400/P4280667.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YVso-lh2-5cRlC1JQu1Ip94vnLg0uXXKqO4O5C-e5J0zgU98NwS8DY2M54LXiNS6cspjhLrDp7QdGwurcRk5IgD7Y_t4I6rOisiyt6z8NVobEt6si6a0a2P0gjLONxBzywEhae_IBrQT/s1600/P4280668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YVso-lh2-5cRlC1JQu1Ip94vnLg0uXXKqO4O5C-e5J0zgU98NwS8DY2M54LXiNS6cspjhLrDp7QdGwurcRk5IgD7Y_t4I6rOisiyt6z8NVobEt6si6a0a2P0gjLONxBzywEhae_IBrQT/s400/P4280668.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Once the rocks and debris were out, we measured and staked out the desired growing space using sticks and rope.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4LU5Ct7skEeevzFkfZhG31doMZqJPeKTCIn3u_xwnb5lMBL86tcXzCaXTaFzxEU7IHGj5dz5spsg6CQsWaTRumo9Y0yJB-yS_Ss5wylVg9V0RcVbAimkNDdFFe3xlWlpOvkPvr8wCzYx/s1600/P4280672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl4LU5Ct7skEeevzFkfZhG31doMZqJPeKTCIn3u_xwnb5lMBL86tcXzCaXTaFzxEU7IHGj5dz5spsg6CQsWaTRumo9Y0yJB-yS_Ss5wylVg9V0RcVbAimkNDdFFe3xlWlpOvkPvr8wCzYx/s400/P4280672.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Although it can really be any size or shape, we chose to stick with the <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2012/08/soil-block-party-basics-of-propagation.html">Eliot</a> inspired 30'' bed for easy access during harvest, weeding and cultivation. The theory is the average person can reach and work in around 15'' without intensely stressing the body. With a pathway on either side, 30'' is ideal for a hand cultivated project.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3yH_yZz-ctqsVro9ddYyQL2DM9_lH6n1HUssnlfuhU0GND40H3tmg4YRNHzhEAqpv7bgc_h925QYex6BlrdJPzwnfLhxn66bTes6O8keOpYfOaHUmno1cQZAC-9dyUFwZebp5Yts5B25/s1600/P4280671.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW3yH_yZz-ctqsVro9ddYyQL2DM9_lH6n1HUssnlfuhU0GND40H3tmg4YRNHzhEAqpv7bgc_h925QYex6BlrdJPzwnfLhxn66bTes6O8keOpYfOaHUmno1cQZAC-9dyUFwZebp5Yts5B25/s400/P4280671.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2k2msndVvCLlinZa3WZA_YhblgqcAt7DUZYHUbRZ7O_7YK2oLBPj7cEWjr7pY_d5i80Rjsuf2htDkd9mbuvhEJVbWahhYYwUBSq72fAVU8b9_hBWnhSYsc-rGB9z1-B4f1MfzrKg34504/s1600/P4280670.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2k2msndVvCLlinZa3WZA_YhblgqcAt7DUZYHUbRZ7O_7YK2oLBPj7cEWjr7pY_d5i80Rjsuf2htDkd9mbuvhEJVbWahhYYwUBSq72fAVU8b9_hBWnhSYsc-rGB9z1-B4f1MfzrKg34504/s400/P4280670.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgtr8EAWQkgDWrlT3X6-nPMC-NPoCo0ZowPzaxklr6c1ojVQXFp4eUu9y6ULj-b5O8nluZTIt7n9R8zm3Bzq_sp4Z1C7qGXWLNvs9XEOoqxGwiP-Wrn68hD5phKUiyVMQQcZORQ6fSPcT/s1600/P4280678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFgtr8EAWQkgDWrlT3X6-nPMC-NPoCo0ZowPzaxklr6c1ojVQXFp4eUu9y6ULj-b5O8nluZTIt7n9R8zm3Bzq_sp4Z1C7qGXWLNvs9XEOoqxGwiP-Wrn68hD5phKUiyVMQQcZORQ6fSPcT/s400/P4280678.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROaqrCWLt5gUJIjrXH-mgb_ervhOALmc8ncxmgCCy4AcXUaVi0zgq7u2540y0uHILS4c2nHY8gJdfWR5ZV7OeTPbLz0gpRK70PTm07LPwriKY_rhUvPoO2WLMiq20yCvdVGTre5NUQot8/s1600/P4280680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgROaqrCWLt5gUJIjrXH-mgb_ervhOALmc8ncxmgCCy4AcXUaVi0zgq7u2540y0uHILS4c2nHY8gJdfWR5ZV7OeTPbLz0gpRK70PTm07LPwriKY_rhUvPoO2WLMiq20yCvdVGTre5NUQot8/s400/P4280680.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQq5AyEJHLninoVuRcRycuQ4EhyrAxraZLtsJ9_Y-TYhuyBUV84aYrbwTFx5KY_XRQ0aSuvw3uS_k25T81WMSKLE-kAOvFO4lZSGOpDE7PIq0XHCrEB7IS05CGRim3nbfDLNon-hR7MVs/s1600/P4280681.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdQq5AyEJHLninoVuRcRycuQ4EhyrAxraZLtsJ9_Y-TYhuyBUV84aYrbwTFx5KY_XRQ0aSuvw3uS_k25T81WMSKLE-kAOvFO4lZSGOpDE7PIq0XHCrEB7IS05CGRim3nbfDLNon-hR7MVs/s400/P4280681.JPG" width="300" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpEcpq_tJ1gM5HW52zxeQMbbywsqZp4k71yJY_NZX20fkP0AL228WotehlIIEfsWv9uVNHwF0JU8vr0TdoaBdRR_fewlvbWQwF2Ydaci7889HapNqZLJtLjtm95NULl_chwLmi-i0y23q/s1600/P4280684.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEpEcpq_tJ1gM5HW52zxeQMbbywsqZp4k71yJY_NZX20fkP0AL228WotehlIIEfsWv9uVNHwF0JU8vr0TdoaBdRR_fewlvbWQwF2Ydaci7889HapNqZLJtLjtm95NULl_chwLmi-i0y23q/s400/P4280684.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
With the beds spaced out, we began to dig our pathways piling soil high to create a raised bed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIImpLBC9ni61AKJUCbswCxNDYQlOHM-zvEBKr3XaY7E8SmAzfOsIciNoTisdvxptby1pXk5JWJB8Nknba54w38WoI1Kw6Ws7vesxSI9_v5QGTSBaJvh0qjP1nM0GHPMhDa9MMbr_kC07/s1600/P4280686.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvIImpLBC9ni61AKJUCbswCxNDYQlOHM-zvEBKr3XaY7E8SmAzfOsIciNoTisdvxptby1pXk5JWJB8Nknba54w38WoI1Kw6Ws7vesxSI9_v5QGTSBaJvh0qjP1nM0GHPMhDa9MMbr_kC07/s400/P4280686.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Using spare wood paneling and fallen branches as in-ground posts, we created a box around the perimeter of each soil bed. This adds to the aesthetic, but also helps contain the fertility by distinguishing where to walk and where to plant, it helps with drainage, maintains structure and inhibits weeds from moving in too quickly. It's also easier to manage pests by having a barrier.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoMKR3cNQheIU8Rn2ayWYtfC3s1pKxsFVGKIWOtOz83udBYqdltTAZb2FZNdFO_-jsUoruL5N_MsHmtR2Bwie5OX-WG-qDk_x7OA4sFVZtdqk9NHzbj-ewJ0IfQXLVRXPcTImTYxDKuS6/s1600/P4280689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDoMKR3cNQheIU8Rn2ayWYtfC3s1pKxsFVGKIWOtOz83udBYqdltTAZb2FZNdFO_-jsUoruL5N_MsHmtR2Bwie5OX-WG-qDk_x7OA4sFVZtdqk9NHzbj-ewJ0IfQXLVRXPcTImTYxDKuS6/s400/P4280689.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyF4UzRS4i5L9w-GoMG3YYyEeGkDk4zOQhl5zuPfn5-3p0uwIWnnHV4wVH5Ay8mOtJ7JlQsgoyCosPrHyOHtj8AdBAFN27tYK8Q7ABuoW46IO73YgVCpUO-Ojne1gyBecYWG69aXjLAXni/s1600/P4280694.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyF4UzRS4i5L9w-GoMG3YYyEeGkDk4zOQhl5zuPfn5-3p0uwIWnnHV4wVH5Ay8mOtJ7JlQsgoyCosPrHyOHtj8AdBAFN27tYK8Q7ABuoW46IO73YgVCpUO-Ojne1gyBecYWG69aXjLAXni/s400/P4280694.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Finally, we took some decomposed cow manure (compost is also a good choice and can be purchased from the local garden supply store) and topped off our soil. If you know of a dairy or horse ranch anywhere within reasonable driving distance from your home, this is a great (usually free) option.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKtiEb-1foh0JoH7czRSpaORRhpwPCVs1IBkXDxaMCeYosGCCumyxNL-wl0hDoRd5oq2PTwDumY8A7MsehS9v-qOC9iGFeNUoefWbJk0TE01yFxsmC-AENm59634YrlRfQe2GZxlckPIh/s1600/P4280696.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHKtiEb-1foh0JoH7czRSpaORRhpwPCVs1IBkXDxaMCeYosGCCumyxNL-wl0hDoRd5oq2PTwDumY8A7MsehS9v-qOC9iGFeNUoefWbJk0TE01yFxsmC-AENm59634YrlRfQe2GZxlckPIh/s400/P4280696.JPG" width="400" /></a><br />
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Using a hoe and a shovel, we blended the rotted cow manure and top soil creating a nice, fertile plot.</div>
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A beautiful team effort on a beautiful piece of land. This all took just a few hours to put together and once the infrastructure is in place, this can amended, replanted, and reorganized over and over.</div>
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<a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/07/home-garden-plot-part-ii-searching-for.html">Click here</a> to follow the seedlings from germination to harvest...</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-47117884322859212872013-06-15T23:29:00.004-04:002013-08-08T23:58:46.029-04:00Plant Breeding: It's not just about science, we need it<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">We recently looked into the basics of <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2013/04/fun-with-flowers-art-of-squash-breeding.html">plant breeding at Cornell University</a>. We talked about the different shapes and sizes of our everyday food, but this story goes much deeper. This isn't just about pretty fruit, it's the everyday miracle of life. It's easy to take for granted that sparkling fruits and veggies just appear everyday at the local store, but the story that unfolds when tracing those veggies back is incredible. There are teams of researchers and farmers working to select and develop the highest quality produce. As we all see in the news and in our lives, there are challenges we must face everyday, there is no exception for plants. As the seasons change, as the climate changes, as the soil changes, each plant must learn to adjust or face its inevitable demise. Unlike humans, the earth and cosmos don't think in 79 year lifetimes, these evolutionary battles rage on for thousands of years, but incredibly, humans can step in and play a role in assisting our plant friends if only for the selfish reason that we rely on them for sustenance. It's not to say these plants wouldn't survive without humans, as they did this for thousands of centuries before we came to exist, but the wild and domesticated varieties in which we can eat do need us to continue to propagate them and maintain their seeds. If it wasn't for human intervention, we may not have a...</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="text-align: left;"> delicious tomato today. The tomatoes eldest generation were small in size and even believed to be poisonous by many. It wasn't until generation after generation of cultivation and plant breeding did we get to the large, sweet, delicious fruit we love today. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">We have needs and by working in accord with a blend of natural processes and human needs we create a system to benefit both us and the plants. There are so many bacterial, fungal, and viral diseases just waiting to attack our favorite foods as well as armies of insects that feast on preventing a plant from fully developing to its potential. As intelligent beings, it is our job to recognize the good from the bad and assist the beneficials in the fight against destructive pests and diseases. In a sustainable, natural, organic agricultural system, the humans subtly guide nature to the benefit of our friendly aerobic soil allies who in turn defend against the malevolent plant destroyers our farmers fight every year. It's incredible to see how proper management of our soils can affect food production in such a dramatic way. Aeration, moisture retention and natural nutrient sources i.e. organic matter all benefit the ecosystem that defends our plants during the growing season. Trillions of microorganisms we can barely see with a microscope all eating, converting and releasing nutrients for our everyday foods to thrive. I'm not saying we need to sit around thinking about this every waking hour, but it is incredible and it is valuable to think about it enough to ensure a system that we can rely on to improve as we go. We learned how to pollinate from the bees, the butterflies and other pollinators, we learned how to cultivate land by watching the successes of nature. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">As with everything in life, balance and diversity is the key to success, so cheers to the past, present and future plant breeders.</span></div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-37988479215034435302013-05-21T00:18:00.001-04:002013-05-21T00:18:12.316-04:00Spring On The Farm: Black Plastic Mulch and Drip Irrigation<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Agriculture is inherently an unnatural process. It is a division of horticulture, the study of the <i>cultivation </i>of plants. It's unlikely to find plants naturally growing in perfect, weed-free, straight lines. Wild plants do not sprout up in raised soil beds year after year. Human selection has perpetuated and "improved" the development of our food system to feed large populations of people throughout the world. Since agriculture is not a direct act of nature, it requires outside interaction and when humans get involved, choices have to be made. As we continue to develop a deeper understanding of the current limiting factors we face i.e. natural resources, we have to decide how to properly manage our means of sustenance. This includes a balance of environmental, economic and social factors. </div>
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Today we are looking at black plastic mulch and drip irrigation, a great combination involving a balance of time efficiency and environmental...</div>
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impact. Although <i>a</i> solution, the positives and negatives of this choice, as with most in life, lies in the eye of the beholder.</div>
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The basic advantages of laying black plastic mulch are...</div>
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1. Dark color absorbs heat from the sunlight adding extra warmth to the base of the plants.</div>
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2. It suppresses weed growth by preventing sunlight from reaching weed seeds in the soil bed.</div>
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3. Helps the soil retain more moisture by inhibiting evaporation by direct sunlight contact.</div>
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4. Maintains the placement of the drip irrigation line.</div>
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5. You can use a tractor to streamline the process, saving labor hours and reducing wear and tear on the body.</div>
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While these are all strong benefits, there are many who take issue with the environmental impact of using so much plastic every year. The plastic gets beaten up, so it is rarely salvageable for a second season. On large fields or in large quantities, this amount of plastic can add up. </div>
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With about 2,000 pepper plants to transplant and many other acres to cultivate this summer, spending days on end weeding is not an option when it can be avoided. Peppers are heat-loving crops so they prosper in the added warmth from the black plastic and drip irrigation lines help massively reduce the amount of water needed throughout the season. </div>
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To get started, we first analyze the field and determine which direction our soil beds will be made.</div>
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Once the plan is set, the tractor is brought in</div>
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and on it, the mulch layer/drip irrigation implement. By clicking the picture below you can see the roll of drip irrigation tape that is set above the roll of black plastic mulch. This roll of irrigation is fed through a pipe that buries the irrigation tape to a depth you set depending on your crop needs. You can also set the irrigation line to fall to the right, left or center.</div>
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Get to know your implements. Since the team I was working with is familiar with this mulch-laying process, they informed me that it's best to start about 8 feet prior to the start of the planting space. This short distance provides enough time for the depth for the drip irrigation to be buried (~2'' in this case) and for the bed shaper to create a smooth and even bed covered by a tight black plastic mulch layer.</div>
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Taking a closer look shows that there is a lot of interesting ingenuity going on here. The black plastic roll is sent through a series of rollers to ensure it comes out smoothly. The rubber tires press the plastic into the edges of the bed and the symbol-like bed shaping discs cut into the soil, burying the plastic mulch and creating a beautiful, even raised bed. The two inner guards prevent soil from getting onto the planting area of the plastic mulch.</div>
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Here's a quick video of the action, watch it in real time: </div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/zZVIjAmK0io" width="459"></iframe></div>
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When everything is in position, one person holds the irrigation line and stands on the end of the black plastic, as pictured below, to create some tension and prevent the everything from dragging. A thumbs up signals it's time to head straight down the bed (Note: A couple shovelfuls of soil can replace the man with the funny hat, but that's up to you).</div>
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After some minor tweaks to ensure the bed is exactly how you want it, it's just a matter of setting up at each end and driving straight.</div>
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We flew through this acre in just a few hours.</div>
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A nice addition, is this bed marker, which provides a mark in the soil for the center of the next bed. This line is where the tractor driver lines up the center of the tractor with each pass. It's adjustable arm allows you to create as much distance between beds as needed.</div>
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Straight, organized and weed free a little hard work early in the year, makes life that much easier later on.</div>
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So all this plastic has to get tossed at the end of the season, but there are alternatives such as <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7891-biotelo-biodegradable-mulch-4-x-4000.aspx">BioTelo biodegradable mulch</a>, but as you may have guessed, this material is much less sturdy and can start to decompose right on the field, making it much more difficult to remove at the end of the season. If left in the field, it could take longer to decompose completely before you need to start working that soil again. This can cause problems by gumming up your tractor and making it tougher to work the soil for your next round of crops. These are all just possibilities, some people find it works great. </div>
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These are great innovations and interesting steps in the direction of more manageable, safe, efficient agriculture. There are a lot of limiting factors when dealing with nature based systems, so it is always fascinating to learn about the engineering and technology that has been developed to help solve this ever evolving puzzle.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-13299522001535524392013-04-07T12:58:00.002-04:002013-04-07T12:58:54.024-04:00Fun with Flowers: The art of squash breeding at Cornell University<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Winter squash in the spring? Yes. Should you care? Yes, but why? Have you ever thought about why the carrots at the store are orange or why the tomatoes are always red? Does it have to be this way? The short answer is no. As it turns out, these colors, shapes and sizes have more to do with human selection than any "fact" of nature. At the beginning of my journey, the question was where does food come from? This lead to the farm. Taking things a bit further, the question became, where do all the seeds come from to grow the food on those farms? In an interesting twist, while exploring the beautiful, natural diversity of northern California's agricultural scene, I got an unexpected email that lead me back to the northeast, where I am currently working at Cornell University, an institution at the heart of northeastern food production. I'm working in the department of Plant Breeding and Genetics with <a href="http://plbrgen.cals.cornell.edu/people/faculty.cfm?netId=mm284">Dr. Mazourek</a> and his team. Through surveys and direct communication with farms, they figure out the biggest challenges facing farmers in growing our favorite annual vegetables. Who knew so much thought and so many people went into those little cucumber slices (not to mention all the other veggies) we eat everyday in our salads? Behind every delicious bite of food is a massive web of research, people, farms and institutions working to protect and progress our food system.<br />
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The goal is to develop stronger, tastier, more disease/pest resistant varieties of our favorite everyday foods. With a current focus on the cucurbit family (e.g. squash, melons, watermelons, cucumbers, gourds) as well as research on peas and peppers, this team gets to the crux of solving these problems through traditional plant breeding. This is the natural, methodical, ancient process of pairing two plants together, with desirable traits and observing, selecting and experimenting with the best of each new generation. In conjunction with nature's methods, we are fighting the war against disease and pest pressures that can restrict and limit growers from producing food locally. The research spans a number of different specific crop traits and as I get more involved in these projects, I will continue to share that knowledge. <br />
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Today we are looking into the basics of pollination. Last year, while working at the <a href="http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/">Stone Barns Center</a>, we touched on the basics of pea pollinations and got some great feedback from readers working on similar projects (<a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2011/12/snow-peas-sugar-peas-greens-and-purples.html">click here for a refresher</a>). With peas, we looked at pollinating <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Perfect">perfect flowers</a>. Unlike a pea, which can pollinate itself, squash have separate male and female flowers, which require...<br />
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pollinators such as bees, butterflies, or even humans.<br />
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When breeding, each day the first task is to check all plants for females. Although the male (see image 1) and female flowers (see image 2) look similar, you can easily tell them apart based on the immature fruit (or ovary) present below the female squash flower.</div>
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As you can see in image 1, there is no bulge below the sepals, that's how we know it's a male. The males get plucked off for use of their pollen.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOpPJ_LkN9JBIpcLNS2aIkR78NBHOzN3ti2T1SWWHbhrMS9ETg8KmgH-pb2R3232SUT_d6hfxiqKqP6NN5b6SU__zrn6LIJepxHgm_C-imXLDFZXtzEoi1hyphenhyphenEG7TAdKa3UceJY-sto2OR/s1600/P3060626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOOpPJ_LkN9JBIpcLNS2aIkR78NBHOzN3ti2T1SWWHbhrMS9ETg8KmgH-pb2R3232SUT_d6hfxiqKqP6NN5b6SU__zrn6LIJepxHgm_C-imXLDFZXtzEoi1hyphenhyphenEG7TAdKa3UceJY-sto2OR/s400/P3060626.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.727272033691406px;">Image 1: male flower</td></tr>
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Here we can see the immature fruit.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image 2: female flower </td></tr>
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Wrapped inside the protective female flower is the stigma, which receives the male pollen. Sliding down the style, pollen accesses the ovary where it swells to become fruit. When breeding, it is ideal to find flowers that are <i>about</i> to open and have not already opened. The window for good pollination is short and if the female is open waiting for a male, she will wilt and die.</div>
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It's good to gently feel the bulge to test if it is firm. If it's brown or mushy, she won't take and there is no need to pollinate that female.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXvO_phgIHok13vfgTnZgRkvt3Uw85je807SxzaRpxaGj3_tt_NUpsWg7Kf0FTKwzOrYFydK0WnXBuXH4eClY1BqPlWGocMdOo0DrtRwWAuCQ2ilfFLXTaThP-5baEncCPXDAnnEfouAy/s1600/P3060629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixXvO_phgIHok13vfgTnZgRkvt3Uw85je807SxzaRpxaGj3_tt_NUpsWg7Kf0FTKwzOrYFydK0WnXBuXH4eClY1BqPlWGocMdOo0DrtRwWAuCQ2ilfFLXTaThP-5baEncCPXDAnnEfouAy/s400/P3060629.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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After identifying a good female, pinch off male flowers from the plant you want to make this cross-pollination or self-pollination. </div>
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Gently peel back the pedals of both flowers to completely expose the male anthers containing pollen and the female's stigma.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yBAYbHX8lRFJo38RkxppBhrw4roXTLTVg-2Fqg9UyUuoIf1dyiiCCzEwHoTcH4TqobBNUlBcgnMlvtZFL05W5lK8x_PNUpQKRVLoG1tVzJEjBbqVq7-E-f53iInb3N0Bd7HvTi4ISvbx/s1600/P3060630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4yBAYbHX8lRFJo38RkxppBhrw4roXTLTVg-2Fqg9UyUuoIf1dyiiCCzEwHoTcH4TqobBNUlBcgnMlvtZFL05W5lK8x_PNUpQKRVLoG1tVzJEjBbqVq7-E-f53iInb3N0Bd7HvTi4ISvbx/s400/P3060630.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Check the male for good pollen, which means it's not too clumpy and can easily come off.</div>
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Using the male as a little paint brush, </div>
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dab the pollen onto the stigma, like an impressionist using short strokes.</div>
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Finally, we tie an id tag around the fruit with all the pertinent information (which plants were used and the date) and clip on a protective bag to prevent any water from getting in.</div>
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If the fruit takes, it swells and eventually...</div>
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Within each new seed gathered from these initial trials, vast amounts of traits exist, some with stronger disease resistance, different color expressions, some smaller than others, so many capabilities. Through patience and experimentation, we can narrow down, cross-breed and create vegetable varieties with the most ideal qualities for growers and consumers.</div>
Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-61086153283942111332013-02-07T15:04:00.000-05:002013-02-07T15:04:13.948-05:00Cheap Chickens: More reasons to keep your layer hens in a winter greenhouse<div style="text-align: center;">
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Another valuable discovery about winter greenhouse usage for...<br />
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layer hens. A few weeks ago, we touched on innovative solutions for raising layer hens year-round. Using a season extension or summer greenhouse, chickens can be housed through the winter, keeping them warm and safe from harsh weather conditions and predators. It is widely accepted that chickens reduce their egg production in the winter due to the decrease in daily light hours. There are receptors that get triggered by the increase in light. Some farmers use artificial lighting to maintain a certain level of egg production, but this requires added costs, electrical capabilities and labor hours. At Four Season Farm, Eliot and Barbara haven't needed to add any supplemental light while using the winter greenhouse method. Although this doesn't increase the amount of light in a day, it does increase the amount of continual exposure to light at all available times. This has proven to be another effective method in maintaining fairly consistent egg production throughout the Maine winter. <br />
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-34240333077955081832013-01-24T15:21:00.001-05:002013-01-24T15:21:19.968-05:00Winter Pruning: A Journey to California Pruning Peach Trees<div style="text-align: center;">
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One of the most challenging yet exciting parts of farming <i>without</i> your own land is figuring out your next step. What do I want to learn and where do I want to learn how to do it? At this rather early stage in my farming career, stability can still take a backseat to opportunity and exploration. The goal is to have my carrots and eat them too, but while searching for that balance, there are many roads to travel, some of which happen to be in California. Christmas marked the end of my season with Barbara and Eliot, at <a href="http://fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Season Farm</a> and I booked a ticket to California. I started up in the foothills of the Sierras, down through the valley of Sacramento and west along the Pacific coast, I encountered a variety of farms and lifestyles. Every farm is different, every farmer has a different philosophy and every two hours I experienced a different climate. Farming and good food have been staples in California for many years and although the majority of our country's conventional food production is found in the Central Valley, some of the longest running organic farms and farmers can be tracked down not to far away. Locally sourced food isn't as much of a gimmick as it is a lifestyle here in California, but maybe that's because you can grow 12 months of the year without too much additional infrastructure. In the northeast, we have a long way to go to catch up, but with greenhouse technologies and places like <a href="http://fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Season Farm</a> and <a href="http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/">Stone Barns</a> developing and sharing simple, applicable, four season farming practices to this ever-growing population of interested and active eaters, we are well on our way. Today we are going to narrow this trip down and focus on one fascinating...<br />
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day pruning peach trees at <a href="https://www.soilborn.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=105">Soil Born Farms</a>.<br />
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An incredibly inspiring urban agriculture project, <a href="https://www.soilborn.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=52&Itemid=105">Soil Born Farms</a><span id="goog_1751686507"></span><span id="goog_1751686508"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> aims to bring the culture, flavor and understanding of organic, sustainable agriculture to the surrounding urban environment. Through fundraising, private donations and agreements with local municipalities, this farm and education center has been running in various capacities for about 13 years. Starting small on a few acres in the citycenter, they've expanded and developed to lease over 50 acres right along the S. <br />
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Pruning peach trees, like every other agriculture practice, has many theories, but they all offer a blend of basic horticultural principles and a creative farmer's vision.</div>
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In this system, winter pruning is integral to summer growth and eventually fall harvest. Pruning helps focus the tree's energy, preparing and stimulating the areas we want peaches, while reducing the potentially inhibiting, superfluous growth and deadwood. We began by removing all the deadwood, the greyish/brown lifeless branches. We then moved on to trimming the second-year growth, the vibrant redish/brown branches with living buds. </div>
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While hesitant to dive into pruning these trees myself, Antonio, the Farm Manager and my orchard guru for the day, broke it down in such a simple way that my entire perception of this tree transformed. </div>
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Pruning has several purposes including:</div>
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<li>To remove unnecessary and crowding branches and provide a solid structure</li>
<li>To remove diseased areas that may perpetuate problems such as the infamous leaf curl</li>
<li>To shape the tree for easier harvest</li>
<li>To stimulate specific areas of new growth</li>
<li>To feed the tree a sufficient and efficient amount of sunlight</li>
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It was this last principle that really stuck with me. The tree is depending on the sun for a large portion of it's food source, therefore any crowding causes competition for food. <br />
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Each orchard will have a different style, but Antonio was shooting for a bowl type or baseball mit, as he described it. This mit shape is used to catch a "ball" of sunlight. Any inward facing branches or buds were removed. </div>
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If you have a massive tree with fruit 25 feet in the air, it is going to take a lot of time and labor to climb up and down. Labor, as we know, is the greatest cost to a farm operation, so any opportunity to decrease the amount of labor or time needed is a bonus. Prune properly you can create a much more efficient harvest system.</div>
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As you can see in the picture above, each bump along the branch is a bud that will fruit. Whichever direction a bud is jutting out, is the direction that fruit will be produced. We wanted to prune each branch to an outward facing bud.</div>
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<b><u>Nothing lasts forever</u></b></div>
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You can always make adjustments during the summer. Making time to observe your trees throughout their fruiting season is integral to the tree's success. If some branches create too much shade, trim them back in the summer</div>
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If you prune too much, all is not lost, just give it time and eventually new growth will come in and you can restructure the tree.</div>
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It's important to cut on an angle, above the outward facing bud. This ensures stability for this new growth. Cut too low and you may lose this fruiting branch.</div>
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Cutting straight leaves the branch more susceptible to water settling and possible disease and mold. So we anticipate where the tree will develop in the summer and train it to be more open and strong.</div>
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As you can see below, these small trees have produced many branches. </div>
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Better foundation early on leads to less disease, more efficient harvest and better fruit in the longterm. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">If you hold on too tightly to what you "know," you may impede your own progress. If you hold on too tightly to what you "know," you may miss what the land is giving you.</span></div>
Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-74101312374410218762012-12-16T21:19:00.000-05:002012-12-16T21:19:52.137-05:00Simple Greenhouse Innovations: Growing incredible corn, delicious eggs and improving your land<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Fifteen foot vibrant stalks of corn, delicious eggs all year round, compost, fertilizer, cheaper feed costs and <i>improvement </i>to the soil<i> </i>in the process? Too good to be true? Actually, too good not be done. Eliot has impressed me with his variety of efficient and sustainable models and this one is definitely at the top of the list. For agriculture to be sustainable, an ever-evolving relationship with the land must develop. It has to progress over time through the study of past attempts and future predictions. I've learned that agriculture is not a perfect science, rather, it is a great scientific experiment and as with all science, it is only as good as the evidence suggests. A hypothesis waiting to be disproved. This requires attention to detail, willingness to adjust and simply being there. Today's cheap and innovative greenhouse solution involves taking one of the summer greenhouses and turning it into a winter <i>resort</i> for pasture raised winter layer hens. One of the byproducts of this is to simultaneously create...<br />
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an actively composted and naturally fertilized plot for growing summer corn, which will be used the following winter to supplement winter chicken feed. Using a sustainable cycle such as this one helps reduce costs, increase efficiency and fertility.</div>
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This converted greenhouse was home to our summer eggplants. <b>The winter version will offer layer hens protection from freezing temperatures, predators around 7 1/2 square feet per chicken of winter pasture.</b> This is well above the current requirement for "pasture raised" labeling which is about 2 1/2 square feet. The idea is to help supplement the organic layer pellets needed to feed these egg laying birds while most of the farm is frozen for the winter. For additional food supplementation, this summer, Eliot cultivated a pasture mix of wheat and clover where the greenhouse will be living this winter. The greenhouse will be pulled down this pasture 10 feet each week, by tractor, offering a new fresh section of wheat and clover.</div>
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By building this roost in the back of the greenhouse, most of the bird droppings are here. The house is pulled just enough to leave those droppings outside waiting to be blended into the top soil in the springtime.</div>
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Here we can see the wheat and clover mix on the left and last season's beautiful 15 foot corn stalks on the right. Corn, a nitrogen loving plant, feasts on the nitrogen rich soil provided by the chicken manure.</div>
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Using removable wheel attachments and a few helping hands, the greenhouse is set for weekly rolling.</div>
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For the early fall months when the weather can still be quite warm during the day, vents are opened on both ends of the greenhouse with a screen to prevent the chickens from escaping. Each screen has a polyethelene cover which is set in place for the winter.</div>
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A homemade layer box is fastened directly to the greenhouse for the chickens to lay eggs and it moves right along each week smoothly.</div>
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This year we needed to replace the polyethelene plast cover over the entire greenhouse.</div>
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Tying lose knots along one side of the plastic makes it easy to pull over such a large structure.</div>
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Another layer of screen was placed along the bottom two feet of the greenhouse (on both sides) to prevent any foxes or other animals from getting in and from the chickens busting holes through the plastic.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1y-GAAKvhK_6FbifqCH9ZZw96z1-vN7PsUwH2bUp07sV-msOoXY9vfRe7qGrupcFMPrB5McXo-JIUibs86OTfmymWmw5BagLnhjkTL1OrRhtWhWNQpTeWMTPy8fJk4ZN7l2CWlUxNNz8/s1600/PA100364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1y-GAAKvhK_6FbifqCH9ZZw96z1-vN7PsUwH2bUp07sV-msOoXY9vfRe7qGrupcFMPrB5McXo-JIUibs86OTfmymWmw5BagLnhjkTL1OrRhtWhWNQpTeWMTPy8fJk4ZN7l2CWlUxNNz8/s400/PA100364.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">position 1 for winter layer hens</td></tr>
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Using some plastic shading, the chickens have a little shade for when things get too hot.</div>
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Once it starts to get too cold for these birds to spend their time outside, it's time to move them into the big house.</div>
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As you can see here, each 10ft marker is set deeply with a fence post which helps hold down the greenhouse with chains to prevent any movement during heavy winds.</div>
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A few weeks in, we can see a beautiful mix of straw, chicken manure and greens all waiting to be tilled in and used for incredible corn stalks.</div>
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A look inside shows us that the coop is broken down into about 5 10 ft sections. From back to front:</div>
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<b>Section 1:</b> <i>The roost</i>, where most of the chicken manure gathers.</div>
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<b>Section 2: </b> <i>Extra greens and scratch feed and shade</i>, all our extra fresh greens that might go to compost are instead fed to the chickens in section 2</div>
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<b>Section 3:</b> <i> Layer box and straw food and water</i>, where all the eggs are collected and the chickens tend to gather and socialize. The straw is almost like a welcome mat to wipe their feet before entering the layer box. It's proven that if the area outside the box is dry, they are less likely to bring into the egg box, which helps reduce cleaning time and it's also great for the soil to have extra decomposing matter.</div>
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<b>Section 4: </b><i>Kohlrabi, squash, fodder beets and other fall leftovers, </i>where leftover winter squash, beets and giant kohlrabi are given to the chickens each morning. More great decomposing organic matter and food for the chickens making their eggs tasting truly outrageously good. </div>
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<b>Section 5:</b> <i>Entrance</i></div>
Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-13233587136021164242012-10-30T17:57:00.000-04:002012-10-30T17:57:04.533-04:00High Tunnel Quick Hoops: More quick and inexpensive greenhouse solutions<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Fall is in full flush and I can honestly say that I have never see such beauty and color in my life. Maine has lived up to its reputation as the epicenter of fall foliage. The abundance of reds greens, orange and yellows mixed with everything in between are visible from every vantage point, whether it be a simple drive to work the winter farmers' market or all the way up north to Acadia national park for a hike. Discussing my plan for a late summer and fall apprenticeship, I was often told how bitter and cold Maine is. I've learned that winter is only stubborn and harsh on the way out, yet majestic and slow going in. The ocean, only a light jog away from the farm, takes time to cool down from the summer warmth and equally as long to warm up during the spring or elongated winter as so many Mainers dreadfully refer to it. Nevertheless, there is always work to be done on the farm and at Four Season Farm, always something new and interesting. With my intro to farming being in a massive greenhouse, I have grown to love greenhouse technology and the concept behind season extension. Today we are going to take a...</div>
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look at another genius, cheap and manageable greenhouse option. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho17uT9NbSq_UFt3muzRE4pmaYhmplOTNCzADHlO_CTpawpGI3NIRY-_WNmyzPHvWP3-pz4O1T-J49IsOHk6o6hn1R6zvrwPwPhqkztU_yDqSG6nJ-PS6W3s4EhQ8ytrK-Gemw8MFAMrCH/s1600/PA210413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho17uT9NbSq_UFt3muzRE4pmaYhmplOTNCzADHlO_CTpawpGI3NIRY-_WNmyzPHvWP3-pz4O1T-J49IsOHk6o6hn1R6zvrwPwPhqkztU_yDqSG6nJ-PS6W3s4EhQ8ytrK-Gemw8MFAMrCH/s400/PA210413.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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These high tunnels are a great way to have a greenhouse that you can build yourself. Using longer pieces of electrical conduit than we used for the smaller <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2012/10/quick-hoops-minimum-expense-maximum.html">low tunnel quick hoops</a> and some polyethylene greenhouse plastic film, these houses can be put together in a few hours.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeZL56ktD-sAraHsWFG01GiVy3TdbDUxK6NwRyaG7qf-uupVXY8l28u1mECFypNIKPay7yfN0ilH75kbPQ1qwTYhvc0S_TDNUEPPV8XUb9Z1z-dr6Rv6c3YdueYaLr7rmj7r1r9flz7He/s1600/PA250444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVeZL56ktD-sAraHsWFG01GiVy3TdbDUxK6NwRyaG7qf-uupVXY8l28u1mECFypNIKPay7yfN0ilH75kbPQ1qwTYhvc0S_TDNUEPPV8XUb9Z1z-dr6Rv6c3YdueYaLr7rmj7r1r9flz7He/s400/PA250444.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The concept is the same, just bigger. <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-8417-quick-hoops-high-tunnel-bender.aspx">Johnny's Selected Seeds also sells a larger model of the pipe bender for high tunnels.</a> The major advantage here is that unlike the <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2012/10/quick-hoops-minimum-expense-maximum.html">low tunnel quick hoops</a>, you can walk right inside of these greenhouses to harvest all winter long.</div>
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As you can see below, there is one soil bed recently seeded with spinach and another set of beds, to the left, with fully grown kale. This kale will is already harvestable and is being used not only to sell to local restaurants and markets, but also as additional winter feed for the layer hens that produce eggs. These are great winter crops that need just the slightest bit of protection from the harsh winter winds and below freezing temperatures to stay productive all throughout the cold months.</div>
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For these 48' bed plots, we use four sets of these small modular greenhouses (12' x 11' each to fit three 30'' wide beds with 1' paths in between. Having them in sections allows for more diverse uses. For example, if you choose to split them up and use them in various plot sizes. These winter kale and spinach beds can easily be turned into the summer's tomato and pepper crop.</div>
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A few anchors will hold down the structure without the use of permanent infrastructure and finally, on a nice warm sunny day we attach the plastic greenhouse film with wiggle wire into wiggle wire channel that is attached to the the electrical conduit on both sides. As Eliot explained, the advantage of putting on the plastic in warm weather is that it expands, making it easier to fit over the structure. Eventually when it gets cold the plastic will contract and fit snuggly as desired.</div>
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Finally, we added the plastic skirts and held them down with sandbags. The skirts allow for airflow for summer crops such as tomatoes and peppers, while still increase the heat inside helping to stimulate growth and protect these summer crops against blight and intense rains.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-61052704579364726562012-10-15T22:13:00.001-04:002012-10-30T17:57:20.691-04:00Low Tunnel Quick Hoops: Minimum expense, maximum efficiency<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Before the farm became a part of our reality, before we learned that carrots didn't grow in the back of supermarkets, farming was always something we believed was done in the summer. Nevertheless, it was a cold, snow-filled November morning in 2009 that we decided to set out on a simple task...if we want to learn about food, why not ask some farmers? Although we believed the growing season must have been nearing its end, we were surprised to learn that this was far from the case. This curiosity shifted our perception, the earth came alive and so did food. It became individualized and we began to understand that not all food was the same. To our surprise and enjoyment, it turns out there is a huge amount of food that can be grown all year round and some that even surpasses its summer counterpart. Looks can be deceiving and while winter carrots may look like summer carrots, when you taste them you might think they are completely different vegetables. Today we are going to look at the simple innovation and advantage of...<br />
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quick hoops aka low tunnels aka simple greenhouse-like structures that are cheap and easy to put together. As the name states, <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Season Farm</a> produces food for all four seasons and quick hoops protect plants against harsh winds as well as increasing warmth. There are many different greenhouse structures here, some heated, some unheated, some large, some rolling, some modular.</div>
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We lower the plastic curtains, transforming our summer greenhouses into warm winter havens, preparing them to house winter salad greens, arugula, spinach and radishes. We also begin construction on several different quick hoop structures for harvest extension on many of our fall crops. </div>
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There are three sets of quick hoops that we install. All will have the same basic structure; one bent hoop every 5' down a bed that has already been prepared and planted. In a Zone 3 climate, fall and winter crops are given a head start by planting in the late summer and early fall while it is still warm and growth is relatively fast. This allows the roots and true leaves to establish which can withstand the winter with minimal additional covering. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Of the three varieties built, one is for fall using bent 3/4'' PVC pipe and a </span><a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Reemay" style="text-align: left;">Reemay</a><span style="text-align: left;"> covering, one is for indoor winter production using 3/4'' PVC pipe that will be covered with </span><a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Reemay" style="text-align: left;">Reemay</a><span style="text-align: left;"> and eventually by a larger rolling greenhouse and lastly, one is for outdoor winter production using 3/4'' electric conduit and is covered with both </span><a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Reemay" style="text-align: left;">Reemay</a><span style="text-align: left;"> and </span><span style="text-align: left;">polyethylene</span><span style="text-align: left;"> plastic cover. The electric conduit has more structure to it, which prevents caving in during snowfall. Additionally, end structures are installed to help maintain stability during winter precipitation. Without this, the tendency is for the middle to cave in.</span></div>
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Even the city kid gets a chance to play with tools and build things, so I got to put this one together. Incredibly gratifying to say the least. Tape measures, Sawzalls, pipes, vices, all the good stuff. In order to bend the pipe, we used the "<a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7708-quick-hoops-low-tunnel-bender-4-w-x-4-h.aspx">Quick Hoop Bender,</a>" a great tool to have, that can drastically decrease the cost of building a greenhouse. This summer I purchased a <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2012/07/rooftop-greenhouses-in-manhattan.html">greenhouse for the roof at Eli Zabar's Vinegar Factory</a>, but it was only later when I began working here at Four Season Farm that I realized how much money we could have saved by purchasing a pipe bender instead of the finished greenhouse product. This simple tool is sold by <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/">Johnny's Selected Seeds</a>.</div>
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For these 50' L x 30' W winter beds, filled with spring onions, we bent 10' lengths of electric conduit to cover the width of two full beds. It's important to get the ends of the hoops about 9'' in the ground so that they don't get pulled up by harsh weather.</div>
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Each end has an additional pipe placed in-between the two beds in order to add extra structure.</div>
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These onion beds will not be covered by a greenhouse, but will have a top layer of polyethylene plastic covering which will be secured by this clamshell-like design using a 1/2'' pipe right under the front end hoop. When the 1/2'' pipe is lowered to the ground (displayed below), it will tighten the polyethylene film. This acts as a door that can be lifted for easy access to see into these low tunnels.</div>
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Once the structure is in place, we pull over the <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Reemay">Reemay</a> to cover them in the fall and eventually we will add the additional plastic covering for extra warmth and weather protection all winter.</div>
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Sandbags hold the <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Reemay">Reemay</a> using each hoop as a marker and will prevent ripping.</div>
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Now the first spring crop is planted and it's only October. The organization and rhythm of Four Season Farm is admirable and something to aspire to.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-23755102894643439602012-10-04T18:23:00.004-04:002012-10-04T18:24:04.231-04:00Dried Black Peppermint Tea: Saving a little summer<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Curiosity and the desire to learn originally led Matt and I to the farm each weekend and since making the leap out of the corporate environment and into the agricultural industry these feelings continue to be my driving force. Finishing the day and realizing that I've learned something new, something I find useful to living a good life is an incredible feeling. It's not everyday, but it's a lot closer to it than I've ever felt before. Sometimes the list of new projects I want to try exceeds the amount of time I think I have, but then surprisingly enough the motivation, the tools and the spark of energy come together and it's important to take advantage of those moments when possible. I have been diving into a lot of different food related activities lately from preserving to fermenting. What I keep learning is that most tasks are not <i>that </i>hard or at least not impossible, but require persistance. Whether it's the passion to achieve something or the curiosity to try something new, the action of doing will offer an opportunity to learn and enhance with each attempt. To generalize, doing things myself instead of simply purchasing them. This requires the time to analyze, deconstruct and finally rebuild whether it be a product, a recipe or even a structure. With the famous and colorful...<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Maine fall foliage as a reminder that the summer bounty is coming to a close, I've decided to attempt to save some of the great summer memories through the winter so that I can share them with people too far away to enjoy the fresh melons and tomatoes right off the vine. Although I've missed the berry and tomato season, I managed to think up something I hadn't yet tried to do on my own, drying herbs.</span><br />
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After discussing a few ideas with Eliot regarding setting up a small herb drying section of a greenhouse he thought the exposure to the sun could bleach the drying plants and it would be best in a cool dry place. At <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Season Farm</a>, all of our cucumbers and tomatoes are grown inside greenhouses and are <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Trellis">trellised</a> using hanging strings. When cleaning out these greenhouses, I salvaged some of the left over string to hang herbs from.</div>
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A great feeling to have this freshly cut and dried mint all year round for tea.</div>
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Not only am I able to dry this delicious mint and other plants for tea and cooking herbs, but the the room also smells like fresh mint.</div>
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With some help, I was able to construct several sections of double strings to hold the hanging mint stems in place. </div>
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Most of the plant is water weight so after a few days you will notice that each stem is a lot smaller than when originally harvested. After about a week or at whatever point the leaves easily snap off the stem, they can be removed and stored in glass jars, brown bags or anything else that can be fairly air tight. The less air that gets in, the longer it will last. </div>
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The pure desire to do something will always trump outside expectations of success or failure.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-6610534399199555712012-09-24T08:03:00.003-04:002012-09-27T19:19:42.092-04:00Organic vs. Conventional Food and Proposition 37: A Vote For National Food Safety<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">“When we began this project, we thought that there would likely be some findings that would support the superiority of organics over conventional food,” said Dr. Dena Bravata, a senior affiliate with Stanford’s Center for Health Policy and the senior author of the paper, which appears in Tuesday’s issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine. “I think we were definitely surprised.”</span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is how my Labor Day started, reading the New York Times article entitled <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/science/earth/study-questions-advantages-of-organic-meat-and-produce.html?_r=0">"Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce</a>." I read with intrigue and an open mind to see all that I had learned over the last few years flipped upside down. Fortunately, the article does everything but<b> </b>cast doubt on the advantages of organics over conventional foods. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The NYT article goes on to state important findings from the Stanford Study:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Organic produce, as expected, was much <i>less likely to retain traces of pesticides."</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Organic chicken and pork were <i>less likely to be contaminated by antibiotic-resistant bacteria</i>."</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The study also found that organic milk contained <i>more omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered beneficial for the heart."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"The organic produce also c<i>ontained more compounds known as phenols, believed to help prevent cancer, than conventional produce."</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Over all, the Stanford researchers concluded that <i>38 percent of conventional produce tested in the studies contained detectable residues, compared with 7 percent for the organic produce. (Even produce grown organically can be tainted by pesticides wafting over from a neighboring field or during processing and transport.) </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, if you haven't had enough reason to further your understanding of the importance of organic, sustainable, chemical-free food</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"They also noted a couple of studies that showed that <i>children who ate organic produce had fewer pesticide traces in their urine</i>."</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So where is the doubt of the advantages or organic produce that this clearly incorrectly titled article states? More importantly, why are the Stanford doctors defending these "doubts?" The article claims that they didn't find a significant nutritional difference between the two growing methods, yet in the final paragraph it lists a study on organic strawberries that was not included in Stanford's study showing that organic strawberries had higher levels of vitamin C than their conventional counterparts.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Even more interesting to me is the lack of widespread discussion on the recent french study that concluded that mice were significantly more at risk for early death and deadly organ tumors when exposed to Genetically Modified Organisms (or GMOs as they are more commonly known) such as Monsanto's GMO corn which can be found in most processed foods and animal feed in America. Funny enough, when these products were originally released to the global public, a </span><i style="line-height: 22px;">90-day</i><span style="line-height: 22px;"> study was performed by Monsanto to prove that the GMOs had no negative effects on lab rats. Mind-blowing when you compare that study with the </span><i style="line-height: 22px;">2 year </i><span style="line-height: 22px;">study Conducted by French scientists. According to other sources, French agricultural and health officials have ordered the National Agency for Health Safety (ANSES)</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Sans; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">to probe into these studies to see if France should refuse these Monsanto seeds and feeds into France, something we should be thinking about as well. This highly processed and chemical food may be cheap in the short term, but when we are all paying for it years later through sickness and extremely high healthcare bills it won't seem so cheap. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">So to summarize, there are a few stories here, but they all connect:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">A. Stanford recently released a study comparing the benefits of organic vs conventional food supposedly "casting doubt" on organics advantages although the information released seems to prove otherwise. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 22px;">B. Organic foods legally cannot be 100% organic if they contain GMO or have animals fed GMO products, which is found in most of the conventional processed foods and animal feed in the USA.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">C. French scientists recently released a 2 year study concluding that lab rats fed Monsanto GMO corn or simply having exposure to agriculturally accepted amounts of Roundup pesticide in their diet were significantly more likely to experience early death and development of turmors and organ damage. The same percentage that American humans eat in their diet.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Where is the doubt that organic is less advantageous than conventional? It actually seems that everything is pointing towards organic and best practice agriculture over the overfunded, over-subsidized under-tested conventional GMO products that make up an outrageous majority of the food available in this country. GMO's are used and found in most conventional meat, processed foods and pesticides are used in almost all conventional produce operations, so almost everything not local or labeled organic at your supermarket.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">If you are interested in learning more about this or California's Prop 37 vote coming up in November to label all foods that contain GMOs take a look at the articles below. They are short and all the information is clear and easy to see:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">1: NY Times article: </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/04/science/earth/study-questions-advantages-of-organic-meat-and-produce.html?_r=0">Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2: French Study: <a href="http://research.sustainablefoodtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Final-Paper.pdf">Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">3: <a href="http://truth-out.org/news/item/11639-french-study-finds-tumors-and-organ-damage-in-rats-fed-monsanto-corn">French Study Finds Tumors and Organ Damage in Rats Fed Monsanto Corn</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">4: <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/g-m-o-s-lets-label-em/">G.M.O.'s: Let's Label 'Em</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Enjoy and eat safe, vote with your dollars and tell anyone you know in Cali to vote yes on <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/15/g-m-o-s-lets-label-em/">prop 37</a> or please dispute my claims in the comments section below. I'm always curious to see the opposing view.</span></span></div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-39730211798229221442012-09-13T21:14:00.000-04:002012-09-14T20:51:55.618-04:00Saving Tomato Seeds...Natures Version<div style="text-align: center;">
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Last year I shared what I had learned about <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2011/10/saving-sweet-summer-seeds.html">saving tomato seeds</a>, a relatively easy yet technical process. By selecting your favorite tomatoes based on flavor, size, shape, disease resistance, etc, you can continue to regrow and pass them on from season to season. This year I witnessed the<i> natural </i>process without plucking a tomato off the vine. To simplify the steps involved in saving tomato seeds,...</div>
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one must scoop out and strain the seeds into a clean container and let them ferment in water until a mold forms on the surface. Clean, dry and store. </div>
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While removing a large portion of our summer tomato plants to make way for fall lettuces and arugula I notice a bright green row of baby tomato plants forming parallel to the sections we were removing. To many this is not be such a surprise because this is what tomatoes do, but having not witnessed this before I was blown away. I had gotten so wrapped up in the concept of a person, a farmer saving the tomato seeds, I never got around to figuring out how we learned how to do this. I completely forgot that tomatoes had figured out their own reproduction way before we ever knew we could even eat this beautiful, swollen fruit.</div>
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It is fascinating to witness how tomatoes can spread and proliferate far distances. In most farm systems, tomatoes are trained up a trellis which allows for easier picking, pruning and more efficient spacing to prevent diseases and pest buildup. Although we are always trying to maximize growth and fruit production of tomatoes, if left on their own these plants will manage to produce <i>and</i> reproduce, they have for centuries. If we didn't hold them upright, they would crawl prostrate along the earth and spread seeds across great fields. </div>
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With a little detective work I realized that nature was doing exactly what it taught us to do.</div>
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The mature tomatoes ripen and fall to the ground, eventually crack, ferment and turn moldy right out of their own skin. These seeds dry in the heat of the sun and with the step of a human foot or some other force of nature, they reseed themselves into the ground. At this point the cycle begins again.</div>
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All the evidence is there, dropped ripe tomatos, dry skins, moldy seeds and most importantly, these perfect rows of tiny tomato plants flourishing right under their parent plants.</div>
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With daily watering of the main plants, eventually some of these seeds began to grow all without the intentional touch of a single human being.</div>
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Seeing this happen right before my eyes was unexpected, but why? Wouldn't this have to be expected? This skill the tomato has developed is the reason why we know what a tomato is at all, it's been able to survive century upon century because of it's resilience and clever reproductivity. Humans eventually domesticated this down in South America, but it was the indigenous people of the area that studied nature and learned over time to understand and replicate this process. Once again I find myself laughing out how unnatural the act of farming can be, an attempt at controlling this wild, fruitful planet. As farmers, as people who eat food, we are merely observers of nature. We are not in control, we must learn these "tomato dances" and as we once knew and are again coming to realize, the best farm is the one that most closely replicates nature.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-61088719157599952842012-09-06T22:30:00.001-04:002012-09-06T22:52:07.105-04:00What Did You Do Today? Mulching cucumbers and spring tomato preparation all in one.<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Weeding, a plague to farmers and their families for centuries. There are many sides in the war on weeds and although the spectrum ranges from those who choose to leave their weeds be and others who choose to spray highly toxic chemicals, there is always an investment of time and energy into this inevitable battle. While there is no one "right" way of taking on weeds, some methods offer more benefits than just simply suppressing weed growth. Some techniques actually...</div>
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help add nutrients back into the soil as well. Mulching, especially with a medium such as decomposing straw is a great addition to this seasons cucumber crop and for future crops.</div>
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As we've stated many a time here at HYEPAC, "There is no waste, only potential" and there doesn't seem to be a more shining example than right here on the farm. At the beginning of the season, Eliot purchased a large order of straw to use for various reasons throughout the year. As is commonly the case in life, things did not work out exactly as he pictured and instead of using all the straw he had an abundance of leftover stacks. Well at this point, these stacks had been battered with rain and basically taken over by nature. In one futile attempt to pick up a stack, I realized I had no shot, as roots from surrounding plant-life developed right up into the straw and held it so tightly that I couldn't lift it off the ground. It really makes you think, although we can stare out into nature and it can look so still, it is full of life and constantly, patiently stretching and moving and reaching to eat just like we are at all times. </div>
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Now this straw was looking beat up, in all honestly I had never even noticed it. Eliot asked me to scoop it all up into a tractor bucket and lay it thickly into the greenhouse containing our last flush of cucumbers.<br />
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A process that took most of the work day. After a while I started thinking why was this important? Why would this task be a good use of my time, what was I learning? What was I helping? What difference was I really making saving a couple of cucumber plants that were going to last 2 months longer at best and probably didn't produce <i>that</i> much income for the farm.</div>
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I started to get a bit frustrated, but then looked up and down and started to realize how clean and clear the space started to look, it started to feel good and I later learned just how useful and efficient this was. This wasn't just about weed suppression, the decomposing straw mulch was allowing the soil to retain more moisture and more heat as the days began to get colder. As it decomposed further and eventually got tilled into this patch of land, it would act as a nutrient rich source of compost for next seasons tomatoes a much needed and high grossing crop. </div>
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Not only was this task making easier and healthier plants now, but building a better soil for the future as well.</div>
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There is no waste, only potential...there's something incredible in understanding that. When looking to build something long-lasting and high quality over time, there needs to be a focus on weighing the short-term vs the longterm goals. I could have saved time and effort by not doing this, pleasing me in the short-term, but instead adding the extra effort is going to create a better, higher valued product later on.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-43937767505634831022012-08-29T07:23:00.001-04:002012-09-06T22:51:54.684-04:00Soil Block Party: The basics of propagation without the plastic<div style="text-align: center;">
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For the last year I've spent my time working in a greenhouse at <a href="http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/">Stone Barns</a>, persistent in my desire to learn and understand that complex space and all that went with it, I didn't take time venturing into other places on the farm. I honed in on a specific set of skills that helped me dig deep into my initial understanding of farming. One of the gratifying parts of working at <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/index.html">Four Season Farm</a> is the variety and range of tasks I have had the opportunity to participate in. Everyone is involved with every aspect on the farm. In the two weeks I've been here, I've had the opportunity to work on many projects ranging from standard vegetable harvests for markets and restaurants to rare tasks such as roof building for the new chicken slaughter house. The philosophy involves everyone being able to do anything on the farm when it's needed most. The skills and concepts come from <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/about/eliot.html">Eliot Coleman</a>'s methods, which he has been perfecting for decades (over forty years and going strong) and his wife <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/about/barbara.html">Barbara Damrosch</a>, who has been a leading voice in horticulture since the 1970's. Our development and understanding of these methods come through the experience of working, but also by clearly explaining the information and guiding others as we work. The beauty of this layered teaching method is that information is shared through necessity, which helps develop an understanding of the <i>why</i>. Skills are taught and directly applied under the pressure of a "real life" situation i.e. restaurants need their weekly orders filled and delivered, market stands need to be filled, customers are waiting for freshly cut herbs, weeds are growing out of control and transplants and seeds need to go in the ground. There's no orientation week or handbook that preps us on the inner workings of a farm, you drop your stuff off in your little room above the wood shop and dive right in. One of the rolls I've been wanting more exposure to is...<br />
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On my farming journey, the questions of "how to begin" has always been important to me, how do I start a farm from a piece of land? What's my first step? When do seeds need to be sown? How do I know what conditions are best and how to properly grow seedlings? Well since this farm was established 40 years ago, I wasn't going to be able to see how to start a farm and since I came in August, I wasn't even going to to see how to start the season, nevertheless, there is the opportunity to at least learn how to grow a crop from seed to transplant. After expressing a desire to be involved in the propagation process, I've been given the opportunity on a regular basis. </div>
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Seeds are truly incredible, well thought out, well "manufactured" pods. Deep inside each seed the parent plant has packed a nice lunch with just enough nutrients for the root, stem and seed leaves (or cotyledons) to survive until the roots establish themselves in their new substrate, just add water and you are good to go for this first stage of plant life. This seed phenomenon allows for the initial use of a simple potting mix made from vermiculate, which aerates and allows for drainage, and sphagnum moss, which has some nutrients, but mainly holds moisture. We don't need true soil just yet. This combination is the perfect light mix for a plant to begin its ascent.<br />
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Using this small soil block device, we don't need to buy or use any plastic trays. Instead, we mix the sphagnum moss and vermiculite with a lot of water until it becomes fudge-like as Eliot describes it. This is an integral part to this procedure because if it's not wet enough, the soil blocks won't hold together, same if it is too wet. This is the part that probably takes the most practice to get right. Once you get in a rhythm the blocks come out evenly and it's extremely gratifying. </div>
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In order to get the soil inside all of the soil block holes, we twist and turn the device until it's each hole is completely filled. It's then placed onto a palette designed for exactly six small sections of blocks. <br />
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We use extra greenhouse polycarbonate panels we have lying around which are easy to clean and reuse and are also a good material for retaining heat, which is valuable for germinating seedlings which we like to keep on a thermostat around 70-85 degrees F for most seeds.<br />
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I am working on our fall lettuce and endive plantings with a 99% rate of germination, so I only need to lightly press one seed onto each small 1'' x 1'' soil block.</div>
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The palettes are placed side by side on the heating pad and left there for several days until they all germinate and are ready to be "potted up" into bigger soil blocks.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thermostat set to 70 degrees F</td></tr>
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Using a larger mix of a store bought potting mix, which has a much higher nutrient content through the inclusion of compost, I add water until I get that same fudge-like consistency. Using a bigger soil block tool I make bigger blocks that are indented with a hole to fit the smaller 1" x 1" blocks that now have germinated seedlings in them.<br />
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Press gently to ensure the soil and roots are touching their new home.</div>
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Finally, after about 3 weeks, these lettuce are ready to be transplanted out into the field for fall lettuce production.</div>
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A gratifying experience to follow a seedling all the way from the seed packet out into the field and then enjoy it weeks later.</div>
Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-45038368912739230902012-08-23T23:43:00.002-04:002012-08-23T23:43:28.599-04:00Rhizome Clones: The proliferation of a low bush blueberry plant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One of the most interesting facts I've learned about low bush blueberries is the extension of each plant. To my surprise, in a 10 acre field there may only be about 10 blueberry plants in total. Through their wide reaching network of rhizomes, each plant continuously produces thousands of stems underground that sprout up little branches producing the vegetative growth and eventually plump clusters of berries. Any growth coming from the same set of rhizomes is called a clone. Think about it sort of like an underground tree, there is one main stem that branches off into all these little green leafy plants that eventually produce incredible fruit.</div>
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In the 15 acres of fields that we raked and picked blueberries, it was interesting to see how different the berries could taste from different sections. All different weeds growing, insects and animals inhabiting, all affect the growth and flavor of each berry. The flavor could range dramtically from sweet to tart, hints of earth etc. No matter where I've encountered good food or drinks, it is always from a source with incredibly good soil. Good Food is definitely good dirt.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-23887120401449990652012-08-17T23:58:00.000-04:002012-08-20T13:09:04.209-04:00Wild Maine Blueberries: The King of Fruits<div style="text-align: center;">
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The journey continues and after a short stint back home, in Manhattan, I've set sail for coastal Maine, home of wild blueberries and about 80% of America's blueberry production. While on my way to work at <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Season Farm</a>, home of farmer/writer/lecturer Eliot Coleman and his wife Barbara Damrosch, a twist of fate led me to another farm which happened to be literally next door from Four Season called Blue Sky Farm, a wild blueberry farm run by two incredible people, Costas Christ and his wife Sally. There I spent two weeks learning and working, picking and processing blueberries. Maine, an incredible state, which also happens to be home of my first farm travelling experience working with the <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/2010/10/weekend-with-seaweed-man-part-1.html">Seaweed man in 2010</a>. I had no idea that Maine, or "vacationland" as it is appropriately nicknamed, could offer such breathtaking beauty. I choose the term breathtaking in-particular because of the way the views and lifestyle force you to stop and stare even of only for one long deep breath. The way I've been describing it is a glimpse into what America once was, treelined, nature full of life everywhere you look, sit, touch, smell, hear and fertility. Endless unobstructed skylines. I can't tell you the last time I saw a building over two stories. I'm 30 minutes from the nearest store and it's not really an issue. Looking up has a completely different meaning out here, instead of admiring the beautiful architectural designs that paint Manhattan's every corner, here it's trees, wildlife, plants of all varieties and gorgeous skies. I've embarked on another incredibly valuable and awe-inspiring trip through the...<br />
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<a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#WWOOF">WWOOF</a> program. In exchange for about 6 hours of work per day, I got an extensive education in wild blueberry production, home gardening and 2 incredibly thoughtful, delicious and local meals and an extremely comfortable and enjoyable campsite. <br />
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Onto the blueberries, there are two varieties grown either low or high bush. What I've learned is that this particular region of Maine is best known for its native, low bush, wild blueberry which is the only type that Blue Sky Farm picks. <br />
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Unlike most vegetable agricultural, fruit production, wild fruit in particular, takes you into the world of <a href="http://www.haveyoueverpickedacarrot.com/p/glossary.html#Perennial">perennial</a> plants, natures mono-crop. Unlike the excessive corn, wheat and soybean production that our country has now infamously become recognized for along with our extreme land abuse, native perennials have <i>naturally</i> developed a relationship with the earth in order to maintain themselves for decades and some even centuries. Although perennials don't need to be replanted each year, they may only flower and fruit during a small window, for blueberries this is August.</div>
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Blue Sky Farm, an organic wild blueberry farm is a magical place, overlooking the Penobscot Bay. Up the hill from the ocean and surrounded by pine forests, Blue Sky offers a look into Maine's most beloved crop, naturally growing, wild blueberries.</div>
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Often referred to as a "superfood," low bush blueberries are known for their high anti-oxidant and nutrient content, which I learned is found in the skin, so it is important that they are handled as little as possible. Wild blueberries are smaller than their cousin, high bush, which contains larger berries but less anti-oxidant and nutrient content.</div>
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Using a specially crafted rake, similiar to a chamomile harvester, we scoop the clusters into the rake avoiding tall grasses, unripe berries, "imposter" berries (those that look like blueberries but are not), squished berries, shriveled berries and anything else that's not a blueberry. Before a blueberry is a blueberry it goes from a green leafy plant to a flower and from the flower finally the fruit. The filled trays are taken back to be "winnowed."</div>
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Unlike the commercial producers who use $50,000 winnowing machines that still require 4 people to run final checks, we used 5 people and a simple house fan to blow off any remaining leaves as we poured out our trays onto a table covered with some sheets and towels for extra cushioning. Here they are de-stemmed and sorted through to remove any split, shriveled, mushy, or unripe berries. Using our eyes and touch we began to separate out the best looking berries for market. Now obviously we couldn't pick or process as much as the big commercial farms, but the quality is far superior than those sprayed with dangerous chemical herbicides.</div>
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The berries we picked and processed were sold at the Buck's Harbor Farmers' market on Tuesday's from August to September, to the local co-op, supermarket in town and directly from the Blue Sky Farm front door.</div>
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To add to the creativity and variety, blueberry muffins, crepes, fresh berries and special orders are available throughout the season.</div>
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Instead of spraying chemicals, Blue Sky chooses an organic approach which involves a "controlled burn" of alternating fields each year. There are two sections, one 15 acres and the other 7 acres that get rotated into and out of production each year. For example, around October the field we picked this year will get straw laid down throughout, then in April, that section will be burned and will only produce vegetative (non-fruiting) growth that year. The following year that acreage will be in full bloom while the other is burned and this goes on alternating each year. </div>
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Interestingly enough, when you burn the plants you increase the alkalinity of the soil and blueberries enjoy a very acidic soil in the 4 - 5 ph range, so it's no surprise they are found next to an acidic soil-loving pine forrest (pine needles are great to add to increase acidity in soil especially for home production). In order to bring the acidity back into action, a small amount of elemental sulfur (an organic certified method) is added into the soil which helps lower the ph.</div>
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WWOOFing has proven to be an experiential way to learn about farming, people, food and culture. An opportunity to get a first hand feel for what people are doing around the world. I was once again thoroughly impressed with my accommodations and food offerings as I have been lucky with all of my WWOOF travels. Blue Sky Farm seems to be very in tune with what WWOOF is all about and it is people like Sally and Costas that give this organization the credibility it deserves. The amount of time and information they both shared with us was invaluable and I am thankful to have made some good friends along the way. Another great part is that on many farms there are other WWOOFers and workers who you get to interact with and in this case I was very fortunate to have a group of people dedicated to sustainable local food and experiencing farming firsthand. A great group to say the least. Now I'm on to Four Season farm where I will be getting back to the ritual of everyday farming. Everything I've learned at Stone Barns and the other farms I've been at put to the test.</div>
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Some highlights from WWOOFing at Blue Sky Farm</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-30762179483713074792012-08-15T23:32:00.002-04:002012-08-15T23:32:48.343-04:00Pic of the week<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURE TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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Sail away</div>
Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-36316860607584565062012-07-27T19:53:00.002-04:002012-08-17T22:34:48.157-04:00Rooftop Greenhouses in Manhattan: The journey is the reward<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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After finishing up at <a href="http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/">Stone Barns</a> in June, I was facing a 2 month gap before I was slated to head up north to work <a href="http://www.fourseasonfarm.com/">Four Seasons Farm</a> in Maine, home of Eliot Coleman, Barbara Damrosch and their crew. During a conversation and rooftop tour with Manhattan restauranteur Eli Zabar, I learned of his excitement regarding a new greenhouse project he was looking to build on one of his Vinegar Factory rooftops here in New York City I had just spend a lot of time working in a unique and massive greenhouse up in Westchester, but I had yet to develop a greenhouse of my own. Nevertheless, a little bit of faith from Eli and problem solving, for the last 8 weeks, I have been creating and developing...<br />
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<a href="" name="more"></a>the beautiful greenhouse pictured above. Before leaving Stone Barns, my last greenhouse experience was assisting with the new high tunnels for summer field tomato production. these tunnels offered protection from hard rainfall which could lead to splashing of molds and other diseases that effect tomato plants left in the open. Also, the cover offers additional protection from harsh winds that can damage plants or even spread early and late blight. </div>
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For Eli, I orginally wanted to replicate a smaller version of the engineering beauty that I had worked in at Stone Barns, but what I soon discovered was that large hard paneled polycarbonate structures like that are very expensive and there are many different, less expensive, but equally as effective options available such as the simplr high tunnel that uses common rail fence pipe and a long lasting double polyethylene cover. </div>
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As with everything in life, each new challenge is a new puzzle to solve. What we bring with us is the bag of "tools" we have been developing through all of our life experiences. I had worked in greenhouses before, but I had never ordered one or installed a hydroponics production system, but using the basic principles of growing and some risk it all came together. </div>
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After a lot of phone calls, internet research and questions, we finally settled on a design. Using the high tunnel structure and some leg extenders, we were able to build a 12' x 48' greenhouse with 8' sidewalls. We extended the sidewalls to provide enough space between the hydroponic towers and the poly cover. If they are too close together, the heat will kill the top plants. The construction team we worked with managed to creatively build and design additional supports that would usually be simply staked into the ground if this were on land. Using a two custom twisted metal "ropes," they anchored each side of the structure down to the oppoaite buildings. The additional overhead structure put in place to hold up each vertical tower also helped stabilize the greenhouse. Up here on the rooftop, there are a lot of different issues to contend with, i.e concrete, wind, other buildings and drainage etc. All solutions, the construction team tirelessly uncovered.</div>
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After only a few days, the greenhouse was up and running, then the hydroponics system was to be installed. </div>
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Using overhead metal supports that ran parallel to the greenhouse walls, we were able to fasten each hydroponic tower in place. </div>
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A fairly simple system, Vertigro, the hydroponics company we worked with, sent us all the growing materials we needed for over 300 plants. Eli wants to grow strawberries and herbs so we split production about 50/50. Using much less water than a traditional soil based growing system, each tower has one 1/8th inch micro tube that delivers a small stream of water to the top container, the system stays on delivering a mixture of water and dissolved nutrient solution as each pot drips through to the one below it. Eventually, when the final pot drips through, the water cycle is complete. This occurs 2 or 3 times a day based on the whether and plants you are growing.</div>
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The simple system includes, long-lasting styrofoam growing pots, growing media consisting of coconut fiber, course perlite and the Verti-gro proprietary nutrient solution which is used to feed the plants through a pump system placed in a simple 50 gallon garbage bin. </div>
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I understand that coconut fiber is a waste product that retains a lot of moisture and perlite is used for drainage, but using a "nutrient solution" instead of amending soil is where I am not convinced that hydroponics is the best system. I believe that all the biological interaction that takes place in soil between the soil amendments and microbiology is what creates character, nutrition and flavor to your food and in a hydroponic system, this buffer does not exist. All the nutrients are pumped directly to the plant roots in water. Nevertheless, in major cities and other food deserts, we need to really think about innovative ways to produce food. An incredibly interesting project, I am amazed that in such a short period of time everything was completed although it is unfortunate that I won't be there to see its development.</div>
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What was most intriguing about this opportunity to me was in such a short period of time I went from a place of complete darkness to light. I had no knowledge or prior example of how to put this together, but through research, will and devotion, the project was completed and through all the mistakes, I learned a tremendous amount. I can honestly say I still have no idea where all this is leading, if anywhere, but the journey continues to be life-changing and filled with learning experiences, exactly what I expected and hoped for.</div>
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Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-19322250641609053392012-07-11T09:09:00.001-04:002012-07-11T14:44:56.541-04:00Transplanting Beets: Proof<div style="text-align: center;">
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Here you can see the transplanted beets are standing back up straight and tall. Still amazed that even after disrupting the taproot, the beets manage to survive.<br />
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Although this is probably not too practical in a typical growing setting, I think it shows that every production is different and being able to understand the plants we are working with allows us to be creative and adjust as needed. <span style="background-color: white;">To me farming is an...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">a</span><span style="background-color: white;">djustment, it is not a simple science. By planning and making assumptions going into the season we can increase our probability of success, but in the end, the relationship developed with the land and plants will always be an adjustment, a give and take, just like any other relationship in life.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpQ1z_y-dK_Oc2ctvsb9YPo8_cGyhdcld-Sf_XhGE-tPhKKcnj9VGV9QVeyGe4z7wiL0RkJZ7mNLdWTP4ZX_DoO6tdnOxFhtLUyyUwyUa1rOtQEdEwejIL5_9nV8guxy0upYSigBnZsm1/s640/blogger-image-1324143874.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpQ1z_y-dK_Oc2ctvsb9YPo8_cGyhdcld-Sf_XhGE-tPhKKcnj9VGV9QVeyGe4z7wiL0RkJZ7mNLdWTP4ZX_DoO6tdnOxFhtLUyyUwyUa1rOtQEdEwejIL5_9nV8guxy0upYSigBnZsm1/s640/blogger-image-1324143874.jpg" /></a></div>Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-18070492129665825172012-06-27T12:27:00.001-04:002012-06-27T17:20:19.491-04:00Transplanting Beets: It can be done<div style="text-align: center;">
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Wow, my mind is blown, that's all I can say. Here I was thinking you could never transplant root veggies like beets and I've been proven wrong. Not only have we transplanted these tiny baby beets, but we did it more...<br />
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These beets are grown to baby size before they are harvested and sold, but instead of taking extra time and effor to thin out the beets looking for the most ready in size (about the diameter of a dollar coin) we harvested the entire bed transplanting all the smallest beets to a new bed where they will have plenty of air, space and water without competition any longer.<br />
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A fascinating technique and one that I believe will provide a much higher yielding crop since there will be less lost to crowding.<br />
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The smallest, thinnest almost unformed beets are transplanted to the edge of the planting box because that is the area with the most moisture and air since there are only other beets on one side, not two like the ones in the middle. This concept matches up with how things went at Stone Barns. Even though those plants were directly in the ground, the ones on the edges always seemed to have an advantage in our salad soil beds.<br />
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Once we lined up the new soil bed and it was at least slightly moist, we simply used our fingers to burry the beets up to the stem of the beet greens. Water thoroughly immediately after transplanting and that's it.<br />
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Water is key since it provides easier access for the roots to bind with its new surroundings. It looks sloppy at first, but in a few days these babies are going to be standing up straight and tall while they continue to bulb.<br />
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<br /></div>Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-80470908063467745322012-06-19T07:44:00.001-04:002012-06-22T07:54:51.866-04:00Greenhouse Growing: Extend Your SeasonUnintentionally I've fallen into something that I find incredibly interesting and innovative. A few years ago we went to a farm to ask a few questions and find out what food was and how it was grown. It was November and our impatience to wait until the spring growing season left us with an incredible opportunity to learn and work with season extension.<br />
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Normally when we think of farming we think of the summer, but with a few tweaks, there's an unbelievable amount of food that can be grown all year round. <br />
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One incredible advantage of greenhouse growing is the head start or end of season extension we get just by adding some greenhouse cover protection like polyethylene covers.<br />
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I've recently taken on a temporary project helping with the Eli Zabar's Vinegar Factory rooftop greenhouses on the upper east side of Manhattan. Here the tomato season starts in may when the typical outdoor season isn't until July or August. Tomatoes on May 14th, what a beautiful thing and they'll produce right through the fall.<br />
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Now when I say innovative I don't necessarily mean groundbreaking fr humanity, just those of us who have never thought about growing food I the "offseason" months or growing food at all for that matter. One of the big reasons I continued to farm after Matt left for Miami and when I recently left Stone Barns has everything to do with the fact the there are some many new and interesting topics and questions that keep popping up.<br />
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I unintentionally found an incredible greenhouse 2 1/2 years ago and I intentionally continue to keep finding them and hopefully building them and using them.<br />
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<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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My time at Stone Barns has come to a close and while I'm in this grace period between farm jobs, I figure if I can't farm at least I can eat. It's amazing how having this week off has been so strange. After a year of straight working it's an odd feeling not to have a project connected with my everyday. It's been an interesting experience recreating an identity after such a long period of connection. Nevertheless, I still can't get the good food off my mind and I remembered as I was leaving the greenhouse for the last time I noticed the deep leafy greens of our cilantro plants standing up straight and strong. Whenever I see cilantro my first thought is guacamole, but with no tomatoes, sweet peppers, hot peppers, or onions in season it just didn't seem to fit. This is when I decided to put together a spring guacamole a simple concept. I needed something with flavor and something with crunch to supplement the ingredients not yet available. Clearly this wasn't going to be a fully local meal considering we aren't growing avocados here in the Northeast, but if I could use the majority of my ingredients from the area and only a couple from out of region, I feel that's a step in a good direction. So using some<br />
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Mexican avocado and freshly squeezed lime as a base, the other 5 ingredients were all sourced nearby. Purple cabbage, carrots, spring onions, stored garlic or garlic scapes, cilantro.</div>
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The cabbage was definitely my winning ingredient. By chopping it small, there was a great contrast of crunch and creaminess with the avocados.</div>
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Spring, green onions and scallions were a perfect less pungent addition than the typical onion. </div>
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As with all guacamole, the chopping and mixing is all in the hands of the chef. As far as I'm concerned, there are no real rules to guacamole yet I have a few tricks I like to keep in mind. Here are the proportions that I used:</div>
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3 slices 1/2 inch thick of purple cabbage</div>
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6 chopped carrots</div>
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1/2 bunch cilantro</div>
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6 avocados</div>
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1 or 2 limes</div>
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3 chopped spring onions w/o ends</div>
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3 garlic cloves or 2 small garlic scapes minced</div>
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Mix everything in a bowl, but add only two avocados at a time to ensure that they are not mixed too much. As my dad explains, the old Mexican traditions focus on having a somewhat chunky avocado, so you want to use each mix with the spoon carefully and purposefully so you don't end up with a paste.</div>
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The spring and summer are always a time to celebrate, so while I end up eating wooden spoonfuls of this stuff right out of the bowl, presenting the guacamole mix onto a small sheet of seaweed has proved to be a huge hit for group gatherings. It's everything you love about sushi minus the fish.</div>
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The seaweed is such a simple extra step, but it feels so good to take an idea and put it into action. Taking the presentation into consideration has really started to be an enjoyable part of the process for me. I think working around the kitchens and Blue Hill and being exposed to the artistic side of food, offers a whole other spectrum to the enjoyment of eating. There's the craft of producing the ingredients, but also of how to put them together and create the right combinations, an art-form worth a lifetime of exploration. </div>
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Have fun, eat well.</div>
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<b><u><br /></u></b></div>Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7598068919802603850.post-53299741725513559192012-06-05T13:25:00.001-04:002012-06-05T13:25:28.278-04:00Jamming: Preserving our abundant summer fruit crop<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><u>CLICK PICTURES TO ENLARGE AND ENJOY</u></b></div>
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The summer is approaching yet somehow I'm in a jamming class preparing for the winter. There is no end to the creativity and ingenuity I continue to find on the farm. Stone barns has been such an incredible resource, not just for farming, but for the skill and craft of cooking and using these magnificent plants in so many different and mysterious ways. From tinctures to teas and scones to herb-infused jams these plants offer such a variety of uses. I find it fascinating how much there is to do, but even moreso how little...<br />
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I knew could be done. Here's a quick and delicious example.</div>
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Jam, a simple way to preserve the abundance of fruit this season will bring. Glancing at the back of most jam jars I never figured it could be as easy as 2 or 3 natural ingredients.</div>
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I figured since I didn't have high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, fruit pectin and citric acid, I should just keep myself from attempting to make jam.</div>
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Preserving fruit is an art form, a skill that must be developed over time through practice. As I watched our pro and author of "The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook," Rachel Saunders, I began to see the precision that was used to make a perfect jam.</div>
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Rachel, based out of Oakland, CA owner and founder of the Blue Chair Fruit Company and author of various jam related cook books, guided us through an active demonstration right in the Blue Hill pastry kitchen. For this class, Rachel taught us how to make a strawberry jam with a nutmeg-geranium infusion and strawberry, rhubarb jam with an orange-thyme infusion. With or without the herbs it's a simple process, it just takes time and patience.</div>
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The only other ingredient added was a bit if lemon juice.</div>
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Jamming is cooking down fruit and releasing all of the moisture so that all is left is a spreadable consistency. The difference between a thick and thin jam is a matter of one or two minutes so it's important to stay close throughout the entire process. It took around an hour to complete our two jams. </div>
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The process involved washing and chopping the fruit and rhubarb stalks, covering the fruit in lemon juice and cooking it down in a large pot. No water was added, no sugar was added. Stirring is important to ensure the fruit is not sticking to the bottom of the pot. Sticking is the warning sign for burning, If you go too far there is no turning back ( don't worry I asked about that), it's like toast you can't unburn toast so more testing is always better at first.</div>
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There is so much water held in fruit and rhubarb that it seemed as though water was added while cooking, but fruits such as strawberry and stalks of rhubarb are filled with water naturally. So once the heat releases the water from the fruit, a foam will develop and it's best to skim that off throughout the process. </div>
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By skimming off the foam, you will be left with a beautiful, deep red jam.</div>
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Once we were close to the thick consistency we were looking for, Rachel added in the herbs and simply let them steep for about 5 to 10 minutes before they were removed and the jam was complete.</div>
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Finally, we poured the hot jam into sterilized glass jars. The higher the pour, the less air can get in and the longer the jam will last. </div>
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A great class and a lot of great tips for jam making. One valuable take away is if you want a chunkier jam, just chop thicker pieces. The bigger the fruit the less it will breakdown. </div>
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For more info on this class and others like it offered at Stone Barns, <a href="http://www.stonebarnscenter.org/visit/program-calendar/">check this link out</a></div>Jason Grauerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14515177456172014826noreply@blogger.com0