week 5 & 6: goodbye, Chanticleer Gardens

I'm a bit behind... currently sitting at Sean's parents' place in York PA.  We arrived here yesterday after a phenomenal weekend at Brian & Eileen's wedding!  I'm still recovering and my brain is slightly fuzzy, but I'll do my best to recall what we accomplished in the final 2 weeks at Chanticleer Gardens.

Food processing

Pesto, pesto, and more pesto.  We ended up using about 50 cups of basil to make 10 jars of pesto.

Paisley + Basil

2 hours-worth of basil picking

loaded with homegrown garlic

Corn season is coming to an end.  Within the next couple of weeks the corn will get pretty pithy, so the time to harvest is now.  We picked about 30 ears of corn, blanched them, gave them an ice bath, and then stripped the cobs clean.  Ken swears that the best way to cook corn is to put it in boiling water within 5 minutes of harvesting, and the taste drops off significantly if you wait any longer.  I'm thinking of imposing a blind taste-test, but for now we heed his advice.

Organizing

On my WWOOFer profile, I list "organization" as one of my strengths.  Ken (with much of Susan's encouragement) used my presence as motivation to clean up one of his storage areas, the garden room.

The space wasn't terribly functional before we got our hands on it.   We cleared out everything and added insulation to the ceiling to start.

We then added some boards to the back wall and drilled in some rails to hang up tools.

finished product

Weeding

Our last weeding project!  Before we got started, we couldn't even see those purple flowers (Crocus) as they were hidden below crab grass.  I enjoyed spending time weeding this bed with Suzanne, our fellow wwoofer from Switzerland. It was interesting to get some of her insights into how other areas of the world view America.  She came to the farm expecting it to be giant fields of grain with big tractors and monocropped rows, but was really pleased to find the beauty at Chanticleer.  She's spending 3 weeks in New Hampshire and then flies to Los Angeles for 2 weeks before heading back home.

crocus flower

Saw-milling

I remember the look on Ken's face when Sean mentioned off-handedly that we had used a manual sawmill many times at our last farm.  It's a shame it took us so long to start milling... we could have gotten a lot more done.  By the final day of work we had milled three giant logs into a couple dozen 1.5 inch boards.  Ken is hoping to put in a new floor, and he said we created enough lumber for about 20% of the project.

I really love running the mill.  Although the sawdust debris and loud noises can get a bit overwhelming at times, the whole process is rewarding.  It's a nice combination of problem-solving and physical labor.  You must figure out the correct orientation of the log in order to get the most usable lumber out of it.  Pushing the mill forward will certainly make you sweat and your whole body is fatigued by the end.  You have to stay in-tune with how hard the engine is running; if you push too hard, the cut becomes warped and your board is useless.  It takes patience and endurance.

A lot happened these last two weeks that I failed to photograph.  For the National Day of Caring, we went to Shaker Village for a community trail-work event.  We re-created a trail that had been overgrow for months, cleared out invasive species that were choking out peach trees, and removed a fallen tree from a stone wall walkway.  This was the first time since Americorps that I worked with so many people at once to do environmental work, and it was amazing how much we could accomplish in such a short period of time.  Later that week we went back to Shaker Village and did another weeding session through the community gardens.

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One final trip to Rumney Rocks State park.  Suzanne joined along with us after only climbing a couple of times.  She kept up super well and had a great day hiking around and searching for interesting routes.  The highlight of the trip was a 90-ft route called "Land, Ho!".  It was a large open face that overlooked the whole park from the top.

Suzanne kicking butt

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I'd like to give my most sincere thanks to both Ken and Susan Koerber for welcoming us into their lives for a month and a half.  We felt at home immediately due to their warm hospitality and openness.  I can guarantee you that we will meet again!

Eating Meat: a Permaculture Perspective

     If you knew me any time between the ages of 13 and 23ish, you probably recall a bleeding-heart vegetarian who would rant about how raising animals for meat was destroying the environment.  When asked why I was a vegetarian, my first answer was probably something like "because I love animals" or "because I want to save the environment".  Nowadays, I'm a big proponent of eating local, pasture-raised animals.  Why?  Because I want to help heal our planet.

     In order to fully fledge out this reasoning, I need to back up and explain a bit about permaculture.  Permaculture (or "permanent agriculture"), in its simplest definition, is the practice of developing agricultural ecosystems which are self-sufficient and sustainable long term.  It's a way of looking at the ecosystems that occur in nature, and then applying them to farming.  Permaculture uses high biodiversity and holistic designs to create a sustainable food web.
     A lot of people consider permaculture farms "messy", as lots of species are planted together rather than in separate rows.  Permaculture gardens focus on companion planting, or planting species together that are mutually beneficial to one another.  A classic native american example of this is "the three sisters"; corn, beans, and squash.  All three plants benefit one another.  The corn is used as a structure for the beans to climb up, the beans fix nitrogen into the soil, and the large squash leaves block sunlight from hitting the soil, preventing weed growth and moisture loss.  Now apply the three sisters concept to an entire farm.
     Companion planting is usually the first example people use to explain permaculture, but there is so much more to it.  There are 12 permaculture principles, and the exact wording varies depending on who you're talking to, but the principles that immediately come to mind when I think about permaculture are:
-observe and interact
-catch and store energy (I like to think of this as following the solar cascade)
-integrate, don't segregate
-use and value diversity
-implement small and slow solutions
-work within closed loops
     Overall, permaculture is a response to our modern industrial agriculture (monocropping, or planting rows and rows of the same plant), which is completely stripping the land of its nutrients.  If you don't already understand how this type of agriculture is leading to destruction of the planet, here is a brief summary.  Permaculture uses imaginative design and redesign initiatives to eliminate the need for chemical inputs for our soil.  We can use restorative agriculture to improve soil fertility, not strip the soil of its nutrients.

     Improving the soil, or as some say, "building soil", involves the use of pasture-raised animals and regenerative grazing practices (I'm finally getting to the animals).  Yes, we've all heard about how overgrazing or poorly managed grazing can contribute to the desertification of areas around the US, but again, those are poorly managed.  The land is destroyed in cases where farmers (usually) have a low density of cattle on a large area of land for a long period of time.  Regenerative grazing, or the method that creates healthy soil and animals, quickly rotates animals through different landscapes so that they only spend a week or two on one piece of land.  What happens then?  Lots of good stuff.
-The grasses have time to rest in between rotations, so they grow tall, which means they get a deep root system.  When the cattle come through, they eat down the grass to within a foot of the ground, but not all the way down to the ground, so their roots stay deep (when grass is eaten down all the way, the roots start to die back).  This matters because plants have the ability to transfer atmospheric carbon into the soil.  So, the taller the grass and the deeper the root, the more carbon-pumping.  Many permaculture advocates get excited about the ability for regenerative grazing to reclaim carbon out of the atmosphere and back into the earth from which it came.  Ever hear of climate change?
-The cattle provide nitrogen to the soil via their urine and manure.  As they walk around, they turn up parts of the ground and allow rainwater to move those recently deposited nutrients into the soil.  I like this quote by Ben Falk: "Think of grazing animals as an enormous living rotovator spewing soil-enhancing nutrients behind them; that’s the action of a massive animal herd if allowed to move through, not loaf upon, a patch of ground."  Fertilizer!     Animals are a part of a sustainable agricultural ecology within a permaculture perspective.  The example I gave was just referring to the role of ruminants on agriculture.  I could go into detail for every farm animal and explain exactly what they contribute to a permaculture-based farm, but Beth and Shawn Dougherty have done such a beautiful job in this podcast, so I'll just let you listen to them at some point.  When you eliminate animals from the farming picture, you eliminate natural fertilizers and soil building.

      It's not just the fact that vegetarianism misses out on soil building and carbon sequestration.  The common vegetarian diet lends itself to supporting systems that are detrimental to our land.  If you're not eating meat, you have to get protein elsewhere. Take tofu, for example.  The other day I was walking through the grocery store and saw a sign "Eat Soy! Save the Planet!".  What could be further from the truth?  Soy and corn, which make up the majority of the american vegetarian diet, are some of the biggest monocrops in the US.  Same thing with grains - thousands of acres of JUST grains... which we just learned is the downfall of soil fertility and our entire food system.  Just for kicks, see if you can find a grain or soy or corn product in your grocery store that does not come from a large, monocropped, perhaps industrial farm.  Think about the deforestation that has occurred in the last few decades to make room for more grain, soy, or corn fields.  If we're really concerned about saving animals' lives, we should probably start there.  I recall eating a lot of nuts for protein as a vegetarian, but again, I never did my research to find out where the nuts are coming from.  Just because I might find "organic nuts" doesn't mean they are produced in a sustainable system.  For all those years I was a vegetarian, thinking I was saving the planet, I was actually just contributing to large food corporations that are decimating our soil biology.

     At this time, I've found myself comfortable with eating animals who were raised locally, given a biologically appropriate life, and a peaceful death.  Looking back, I feel as though my environmental efforts as a vegetarian were misinformed.  There was a period of time recently in which ethically I knew I should eat meat, but emotionally and physically it was really difficult.  It's been a gradual transition, but I now feel as though I have my place in the ecology of food systems better figured out.  I haven't even touched upon the nutritional downsides of vegetarianism (I'll leave that to my collection of Paleo books, ask if you'd like recommendations), but I will say that I've seen major leaps and bounds in my physical and mental health after becoming more acquainted with the ecology of my food and transitioning meat into the works.  The younger, chubbier, nutrient-deficient, vegetarian Renee would be wagging her finger and crying for the death of all the animals I've consumed, but I think it's possible to love and respect animals, honor their life and death, and continue to cycle their energy though the food web.  For the betterment of the planet.

week 4: unlikely jelly, flying dogs, and a lesson in life & death

Crab Apple Processing
I'm not sure about the rest of the world, but I grew up thinking that crab apples were totally inedible.  This idea was cemented when my brother tricked me into eating one off a neighborhood tree, and the unpalatable bitterness & tartness was too much to handle (thanks Bri).  Not so at the Koerber homestead!

cutting the apples in half speeds along the cooking process

cooked at a low heat for half a day (ish) until the apples turn into mush

the seeds, skin, and flesh are strained out using cheesecloth until just the juice remains

The juice is then cooked down with some added sugar until it turns into jelly!

It's really delicious... the flavor reminds me a bit of cranberries.  The tree is still full of apples, so we're making another round of jelly today.

Flowers

Apotheca Delivery

As part of Susan's flower business, she delivers once a week to a local flower shop called Apotheca.  I got to tag along this week and see the whole process.

Susan picking Dahlias

bucket full o' Dahlias 

 Apotheca is a funky place, half cafe and half flower shop.  The cafe is complete with fancy coffees, teas, smoothies, and trendy people.  The furniture and decor changes weekly, and a lot of it is for sale.

The focus point of the flower shop is the "make your own bouquet" walk-in cooler.  This is where Susan's flowers go, charged by the stem.

There's something unique tucked into every corner of the shop, from miniature plants to locally-made body products.  I could get lost in here.

Arranging for Chanticleer

As always, this week we did our fair share of vase arranging for the cart out front. 

Susan called this arrangement "quite dramatic" 

Land leveling

The garden has ditches in some areas due to volunteers over-weeding and removing too much soil.  Luckily there was an old compost pile with ready-to-go soil, so I used that to fill in where needed.  This is an ongoing project.

Lots of background weeding 

I've found it takes about 2 weeks for weeds to come back, so we're cycling through some beds that haven't been touched in a couple of weeks.  It's never ending!

Weeding the corn and glads

re-weeded perennial garden.

Baby Cedar Waxwing Encounter
*siiiiiggghh*
This was a roller coaster of emotion.
One of our big on-going projects is to clear out an area of trees/brush/weeds/etc.  This requires everything from loppers to chainsaws.  As Sean was chainsawing down some sumac trees, he noticed three baby birds on the ground.  He figured that he probably took down a nest from one of the trees and the babies landed at his feet.  Luckily none of them seemed harmed, but the nest and the mom were nowhere in sight.  We used gloves to nestle them close together for warmth, and I ran up to the house to do some research.  My hunch was correct that these were baby Cedar Waxwings.  My mind went directly to years ago when I got handed the task by Pawtuckaway State Park management to take care of an orphaned juvenile Waxwing.

Baby Waxwings we found this week

Juvenile Waxwing from 2 years ago at Pawtuckaway

The resounding advice online was to create a new nest for the babies out of a basket, line it with tissues and straw, hang it up in a tree and hope that the mom returns.  As we were doing this, we noticed an adult Cedar Waxwing flying around us, checking out what we were doing.  The mom!  We placed the babies a few feet off the ground, backed away, and waited for the mom to return.  Only about 5 minutes later and she flew into the basket!  We let out a giant sigh of relief and went back to our work with smiles on our faces.

Mom Cedar Waxwing in the nest with her babies

Disaster struck about an hour later when Sean went back to check on the nest.  Two of the babies were gone and the mom was nowhere to be seen.  We waited around for the mom to return, but she never showed up.  The remaining baby seemed to be dying quickly.  It's likely that a hawk or fox found the nest, and then the mom abandoned her last baby.  By nightfall, the remaining baby had died.  A sad day, but we did what we could to help them.  It was a reminder that anytime we change the composition of the land, we can drastically alter the ecology and destroy habitat within.

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Hopkington Fair
On a lighter note... this weekend was the Hopkington Fair!  Growing up in Ohio, I went to plenty of fairs and festivals, but none of them were so "farmy".  The Hopkington Fair is focused on local 4H groups, so there are lots of animal showing events.  It was fun to walk through the barns and see the different breeds of cows, goats, and pigs.

A variety of shows and demonstrations were given to further entertain the crowds.  I loved this wood carving via chainsaw.  It was amazing how quickly he worked!

The coloration comes from various degrees of burning

The "Axe Women of Maine" showed off their many talents through friendly competition...

log rolling

speed chainsawing

axe throwing 

The "Mounted Shooters" competed to see who could shoot down a trail of balloons on horseback the fastest.  I panicked as the first cowboy approached with gun in hand, but soon realized that it was an air gun.

"Dock Dogs" was, by far, my favorite event of the day.  This was a canine long-jump competition that ended in a pool.  There were a few different techniques, but most of the owners would have their dog sit & stay at one end of the ramp as they walked to the pool side, threw a toy into the water, and then motioned the dogs to fetch it.  The longest jump I saw was over 20 feet!  The best part was a lab named Camo who always wanted to do about ten victory laps in the pool before she got out.

We just got a new WWOOFer arrival, Sue, who comes all the way from Switzerland.  I think going to the fair was a crash-course in American culture for her (think fried dough and corndogs).

 Less than two weeks left at Chanticleer Gardens!  Time is flying.