The Crew

Nothing Strange

It's been challenging to write in the last two months. We are so busy harvesting and doing farm chores. I get home after a 10 hour day and mostly want to rest, check e-mail, and eat. I've had lots of thoughts and experiences that I wanted to share with you but I am so tired. I apologize for the hiatus. IT will probably continue.

Of note: On Monday I ate two flowers for the first time in my life. The first was a red flower from the garden. IT was part of our salad that the cook made. THe second flower was a purple pea flower. Our peas are sprouting again as a cover crop. Their stems are juicy and their flowers are delicious. October promises top be a month of change for many.

The Transplanter

This is the transplanter I talked about in the earlier post.

Small Farms

The following was written by a friend of mine, Benjamin Shute. He co-owns a small produce farm in Tivoli, NY. I thought what he wrote was eloquent, poignant, and inspiring. You can visit his and Miriam's farm at www.heartyroots.com.

"Small sustainable farmers are all over the media lately. A few years back, Hearty Roots might have been in an occasional story in our local paper or a food related magazine. These days, we have literally been inundated with requests from filmmakers, TV and radio producers, and editors of books, newspapers and magazines. In fact, this week in Brooklyn we will have a crew from Japanese Public Television (NHK) filming distribution of the vegetables; this past weekend Stoneledge Farm, which is in a neighboring county to ours, had a film crew from ABC News documenting their Garlic Harvest for a national TV feature; and last week, I was invited to speak on the radio about the economics of small farming, on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show.

In the past few months alone, the New York Times has featured stories on young urbanites becoming farmers; corporate executives switching to the farm lifestyle; CSA in general; and people hiring gardeners to create their own organic CSA's in their back yards.

Is this just a fad, or Is there something going on to merit all this attention? Judging by our experience at Hearty Roots, this is more than just media hype-- we're in the midst of a local food and farming movement whose growth is momentous. Hearty Roots has seen unprecedented demand for our CSA shares this season, selling out far earlier than we ever have before. We are seeing new farms pop up and hearing from many people who are excited about learning to farm. We've been forced to turn down many neighborhoods, restaurants and specialty stores interested in getting our produce, since even though we have grown our farm by nearly 100% each season, we are still unable to keep up with demand.

So what's next? In order for this local food movement to keep up with the media attention, and demand from a locavore-savvy public, we need more farmers! Even in our area, which faces development pressure due to its proximity to NYC, there is lots of land that is currently growing low value crops like hay-- land that could be used to grow higher value crops to meet NYC's demand for fresh, local produce. It will be no easy task to achieve this: we need changes in local, state and federal policy; we need young people who are working for farmers now to have the tools they need to launch their own farms; we need to protect our existing farmland from development; and we need existing commodity farmers to diversify into direct-marketing. It won't happen overnight, but now is the time to build our capacity for a strong, local, sustainable agricultural sector in the future."

The Moon

Last night the full moon. I did not have to use a flash light to walk home through the brush. Tired clouds crowded in front of the moon's glow, and I was able to watch the moon light fade from the pale lit fields. A ghostly mist sat over the grasses and low Autumn Olive trees. Crickets and distant trucks were the only sounds out there. With less fear than before, I wondered what else lived in the meadow. In the mornings I have seen the tracks of skunks, deer, coyotes, and the woodcock, but I rarely encounter anything on my way to my tent. When I reached my cloth home I did not turn on the lantern either. Fresh from my moon bath I crawled into bed with clean feet and fell asleep.

rachel: no autobiography exists. If you're ever in the area I'd be happy to meet you.

Tomato Festival/ August 23rd

The Tomato Festival is coming up in two weeks! August 23rd. $5
Please come and have some fun.

Three bands
5K Run
75 Varieties of tomatoes (I've only eaten 4 or 5 varieties)
3 Chefs
Me

www.redfirefarm.com

The Weather is nicer now.

The rain seems to have calmed down. Although there is supposed to be a thunder storm sometime today. It rained so much here. Some of our crops have rotted a bit and our spirits were certainly dampened. Thankfully Saturday and Sunday were nice days that I spent soaking in the energy of the sun. All things dried out, mostly.
My tent has been a real life saver in all of this wetness. Each night that I hiked back in the rain I always knew my tent would be there ready and dry for me. It behaved so well that I cleaned it up a bit and built some shelves, and now it looks wonderful. I'm thinking of inviting a guest over soon. It can handle about 3 people at a time. When it's partly cloudy out and there is a light breeze the tent is an awesome place to sit and relax with a good book or some classical music on the radio. With the flaps open and the screens down it is a lot like a summer screened-in porch. I love my tent.
I found a new cure for athletes foot. Well, it's not new because I got it from a nutritional health book, but it's new for me. Soak your foot in Epsom salt water. Dry it completely, especially between the toes. Then apply olive oil to the irritated area. Allow this to air dry. I did it last night and now I am totally cured! Wonderful!

Soulmate (Rachel): Mim no longer works here. If you mean blond Dave who never wears many clothes, then yes he is still here. Who are you?