As the growing season winds down

The temperatures are starting to dip. Trees are changing color. The pace slows down. The last crop to be planted in field today is garlic. This year I am experimenting with German White garlic as my first overwintered crop. Crops in the field are growing at a slow pace, which is good because as I harvest the existing crops, the beds will be cleared and put to rest for next year. Cover crop of winter rye is coming along nicely in small plots. The October air gives an indication that the peak growing season is coming to an end.

Say hi

Garlic cloves for planting

Prepped field for garlic sowing

2018 had it's ups and down. Spring was good with bumper harvests and good sales. I joined a new farmer's market in my own town and met a lot of local folks that stopped by at the market. It was also fun to connect with other local businesses and know them up close. In the market that I attended last year and continued this year, seeing customers who remembered me and came back to purchase more, was motivation enough to continue the market. Meeting new and old acquaintances at the market and the summer crowd eager to buy local produce is quite energizing.

From mid to late summer, after rounds of intensive planting and excessive rains, my soil's fertility decreased and crops started showing signs of nutrient deficiency and affects of unfavorable growing conditions. I missed the signs initially and kept planting in hopes of next round of good harvest. The harvests really hit a rock bottom and the unplanned changes affected my overall morale. Things did improve as fall came but weren't at a place that I expected. I felt like throwing the towel because I could not control weather conditions and it's affect in this profession. Then I thought, maybe I should reach the finish line this year and then rethink my plans for next year. There is a saying in farming "If you can observe and respond, you can farm". The saying now rings a bell. Additionally, I felt good that I farmed on a small scale. My expenses were less, and my losses were something I could bear with and recuperate in coming years, And I am glad I didn't purchase any heavy machinery this year in spite of wanting them desperately to improve efficiency of work on the farm. With the weather conditions and other limiting factors on the farm this year, any expensive machinery would have sat in the garage rather than being able to be put to use.

The one thing that I am putting to good use this year in my imperfectly built high tunnel. Even on the cold days and nights at this time of the year, the crops inside the tunnel outperform crops grown in the field. While I do not plan to do deep winter farming in this small high tunnel, I am experimenting how far can I extend the harvest in this structure. The shelter provided by a protected structure like high tunnel accounts for uniform growth of the crop. Out in the field, only the strongest and hardy crops survive. Cabbage, turnips, lettuce, radishes and other greens are still surviving good in the field. They take the warm days, cool nights and rough winds well up to a certain extent.

Spinach in high tunnel

The winter season will be spent planning for next year specifically building a plan to improve soil fertility and preparing ground ahead of next season. Some uncompleted projects from this year will also be finished in winter and early next season (building cold storage and efficient wash station) along with a lot of good reading. I am also adding a few more sales channels to the existing ones in 2019. As a small and beginning business owner, the task of finding the right market for your product is a huge undertaking that requires one to go above and beyond their zone and stretching their existing skill sets. A great deal of learning this year was knowing the sales outlets that are right for me and my scale.

Enjoy the cool season, prepare soups and don't forget to shop from your local markets. The best produce is grown locally and eaten seasonally.

Happy Fall

May showers - managing farm in rainy months

As the month of May is coming to an end, I am reflecting on the transition from spring to summer as it happened on my farm this month. If we could rename the month of May as month of ZEUS (god of thunder and lighting in Greek mythology), it won't be an exaggeration. Most of this month, it has rained every week , sometimes twice in a week. I have spent a few morning just watching the pouring rain by my living room window when outside farm work came to a halt.

                                 

As spring transitions to summer, the month of May is usually rainy.  This entire month I worked on muddy paths and saturated soil that delayed summer plantings. Overall, since I am on clay soil, water drains slowly and it takes days after rains before I could go in the field to plant anything. The early start of the season this year in March enabled me to have 20 seed beds already planted before the onset of heavy rains. They grew slowly due to cold April snow showers but picked up as the season warmed. The challenge in such a month is how to have plants in ground while not disturbing the soil structure. 

The answer is in preparing the beds early on and raising them slightly above the ground level.  Making raised beds manually with a shovel is a time consuming process that slows other aspects of crop production a lot. I do make an attempt to raise some beds especially for low growing crops (like greens) but the task doesn't always fit into the plan. Additionally, it order to make a raised bed, one either has to have externally sourced soil or compost or lift the edges of the existing soil to make the beds raised. When it is wet and soggy, lifting the damp soil by shovel is not feasible. All you life is lumps of water saturated soil. Not only it makes the clay soil hard to work with, the extra effort of disturbing wet soil makes the entire effort not worthwhile.  One has to wait for soil to dry partially, if not completely. Ideally, a well draining soil should dry fast. Since my farm is far from ideal, after rains, the planting areas on the lower end of the slope get water logged and remain wet longer. And, when the rain is really heavy,  some seed beds simply drown. Not all areas of the field are water logged due to the shape of the slope. The planting area higher up on the slope is workable and dries somewhat faster. At times, I have planted seeds by hand is partially dry soil and layered it with a layer of compost. This works just fine in my context for crops like lettuce, cress and other greens. I prepare the seed bed for planting by removing the weeds with a hoe and leveling with a rake before sowing seeds. Seeders don't work very well on wet soil. If it rains heavily again after seeding, there is a risk of seeds not rotting in water. I had recently lost half a bed of spring radishes because the bed was oddly shaped, not raised and the seeds drowned in water. 💔

                                    

I have so far not taken a hard and fast approach to growing in permanent raised beds. It takes a lot of manual work to raise a bed with native soil. Even hauling compost or other externally sourced soil in each seed bed takes considerable time. For my pre-existing beds (that I made last year), I do not always raise them and it still makes an easy planting effort. For new beds that are on a lower slope on the farm, I raise a few beds at a time. I use a shovel to move soil from both sides of the bed and thereby raising it a few inches. I also haul 4-5 wheelbarrow full of compost in each of the raised beds. No wonder bed preparation happens to be a very labor intensive task on my farm and takes a lot of time. With this manual approach, I am able to do only 2-3 beds in a day (besides other field work). In the long run, the addition of compost and soil amendments helps immensely in the health of the soil. On beds that are not raised and are severely compressed, I do one pass with my two-wheeled walk behind tiller to loosen the soil, put compost and level it with a rake. Hauling compost from one place on to the beds is done on raised as well as simple ground level beds.  I do not put lumber around my raised beds as it is an extra effort which I see no benefit to the plant growing in it. And lumbar is expensive to source for me.  Having nicely defined beds held together with wooden supports does make the field look clean and the higher level prevents water logging issues. 

I take a few different approaches to deal with the drainage issues on my soil. At times, I cover planting areas under black tarps. Not only does it suppress weeds and grass, it also prevents water seeping to the ground. Tarp is not a magic bullet in that the area underneath it will the totally dry when you take them off. Secondly, I make the seed beds bit higher than ground level with added compost on top. That gives 2"-3" of height and saves the beds from totally drowning during a heavy downpour. Compost also ensures more organic matter in soil which helps soil attain an optimum level of tilth. Thirdly, I mulch the pathways with straw or wood chips. The most important advantage of this is that the soil near the bed remains walkable and doesn't sink when walked upon. Moreover, the mulch adds organic matter to the soil over time. I do not put wood chips or straw on my seed beds as I need clean seed beds for planting. The mulch takes a long time to break but it does a beautiful job of preventing bare ground. Lastly, I make sure I do not walk on the seed beds or compress them more after they are built. In that regard, once my beds are made, I do not use my tiller to turn over the soil when preparing a bed for next planting. The approaches are incorporated on only parts of the farm at any given time. 

A few approaches of building soil that I do not take right now but are beneficial for the farm health are: 

• incorporating low growing living mulch between beds to prevent soil erosion
• building drainage tiles in water logged areas to direct water away from the field
• putting a thick layer of mulch on all beds at all times
• keeping unused ground covered with green manure before planting

So why hadn't I take the above steps on my farm ? It's because they do not fit into the production plan currently. Since I do not have external help, I have to choose the tasks that are most needed at a given time to have the farm up and running. The critical infrastructure tasks always take a priority and my husband's time gets consumed in them. I also do not have proper equipment and needed machinery to do many of the tasks that can benefit in the long term. So I chose where to put my effort judiciously. In the future, I do plan to implement above mentioned approaches of building soil comprehensively on the farm. 

Is there anything good about the rains ? Plenty, if your crops and field don't drown. Without me watering the plants at all, the rains spurred the growth of the plants and germinated the seeds in the ground. There is no water plants love more than rain water. The rain water is free from salts and harsh chemicals, is soft and is of the right pH for the plants. Plants grow better in rain water. For this reason, rain water catchment is practiced by many farms where water shortage is imminent.

Rain touched crops

Since nature does not tolerate bare ground, with all the rains, weeds germinated as fast as the crops and my lush green farm is part crop and part weeds. The slugs also came looking for greens as soon as they can find their favorite food. Rain and slugs go together. The slimy little creature eats lettuce leaves in early morning and night. Since there are trees and vegetation around the farm and the soil remains wet for a long time in May,it creates an ideal conditions for them to thrive.  

Slug

The rain is one weather event that affects farmers across the world, most often in a season. One part of the world may complain about heavy rains while another may be waiting for a drop of rain to hit the ground. The availability of produce to consumers, prices of the agriculture commodity and profits made on the farm during growing season are profoundly affected by rains. The ancient cultures worshiped the god of rains realizing how this important event affects the well-being of their community. 

Happy Gardening..rain or shine

Building and growing in an unheated greenhouse

Greenhouses have been used in agriculture since centuries. It's fascinating what difference passive solar heat can make in growing environment of plants. In the past, plants brought from tropical countries to colder regions of Europe were protected using glass walled structures that provided the needed warmth for them to thrive. From Europe to Asia, farmers have long been using protected structures like greenhouses, tunnels, walapinis and cold frames to provide the conditions necessary for native and non-native plants to thrive. Greenhouses have made it possible to breed and grow tropical crops in regions with harsh winters. Today, these greenhouses have enabled modern farmers, big and small, to extend their growing season so they continue generating income even in deep winters. Greenhouses are truly an ingenious invention and the advancements in their design and technology have contributed to the availability of wide variety of produce that we consume today.

A greenhouse, in broad sense, is any protected structure that provides growing conditions necessary for a plant when weather outside is less favorable. With that in mind, I built a small 12'x  50' unheated protected structure, lets call it a poly tunnel, in March this year on a site that received more than 7 hours of direct sunlight. The purpose of having in my production system were two fold: one, to give space to spring transplants growing in seed trays and second, to give an early start to a few crops. The surface of the poly tunnel was bare earth since crops would be direct seeded or transplanted in rows. And since the poly tunnel survived two snow storms, I am confident I can put it to good use for this year (at least). I am sharing a few design details and it's performance so far.

I purchased this greenhouse from a company named Growers Supply  The size of greenhouse I purchased falls under Growers Span economy cold frame models. This is their low cost, basic model of a greenhouse with EMT hoops, UV treated polyethylene, purlin and screws. The advantage of purchasing a kit versus making your own was it came with all the needed parts which just have to be assembled in place. The disadvantage of such a kit was it still needed extra purchases and multiple trips to hardware store to complete the structure.  The kit did not come with end walls, baseboard and any other additional support to provide strength to the structure.

                                       

Assembly and Construction

Besides being mechanically inept, heavy parts and tool make me turn my back against them. I avoid unboxing anything marked heavy as long as I am not pushed to do so.  After reading the manual of the greenhouse twice from front to back, I pushed it aside as I knew I wouldn't follow all the stated instructions (I usually don't). Thereafter, I proceeded to do what seemed to be the only option..calling my husband to hand over the task. I would contribute mostly by holding tools, provided an extra hand and helping to keep things back in place when done.

The poly tunnel is 50 feet long, 12 feet wide and 7 feet high. There were 11 ground posts spaced 5 feet apart along the length of the structure. 11 other ground posts were inserted  in ground on the other side by hands. It is imperative that the posts are in straight line. The flat sharp edge of the posts helped in easy insertion in the ground without using any special tool. This task was done on a wet ground with clay soil. Every time a post was dug, water came out of the post. This wasn't an issue but a bit of a nuisance when the posts were taken out and reinserted to the right spacing. We ran a string along the length of the tunnel to make sure all the posts were in straight line. Some geometry can also be applied to ensure the proper spacing and 90 degree angles between the posts.

The next task was attaching the metal hoops together separate from the frame of poly tunnel. The arched hoops of the frame were not in one piece. I wish it was as the frame would then be one big bent conduit. A set of 2 arched metal hoops was screwed together with the rafter to form the frame. The frame was attached to the ground post. A few inches of discrepancy in width of frame and placement of ground posts amounted to errors in the measurements that took some time to correct.

The next task we did was to attach a wooden baseboard along the base of the tunnel on both sides. I used scrapped lumber as baseboards (buying new lumber would have been expensive). Since the end posts were not in a straight line at first, I had to remove them from ground and adjust their position. If the end posts are slight misaligned, the straight baseboard won't attach snugly with the posts when screwed. A piece of 1 foot wide strip of black plastic underneath the baseboard helped with weed control along the edges of the tunnel. The baseboard was attached to the end post using metal clamps and tek screws.
   

    

Thereafter, the top purlin (that came in 10 foot long sections)  was attached to the frame. We realized, after much effort, that attaching the purlin in small sections at a time was much better than lifting the entire 50 feet long purlin up to the height of the tunnel and then attaching it using cross connectors. I wish the tunnel came with pre-drilled holes since making holes on round surface of the metal pipe using a hand held drill was quite inconvenient. Each separate section of the assembly where metal pipes attached to each other required drilling holes in them to screw.
                             

Next step in the construction was to build a wooden end wall on both sides of the frame. We used 2"x 4" lumber for end supports. The wooden end wall also provided additional support to the structure. The wooden frame held a used storm door which could be open and closed as needed.

The last step was putting the polythene over the frame for cover. This step required additional help to hold the polythene together on such a large frame. The polythene was attached to the frame using aluminium U channel and wiggle wire. We were not very successful in stretching the poly cover taught and attaching it without sagging. No matter how much we stretched, we could not pull the poly cover as tightly as we hoped to. For now, I will go with what it is. At a later time, I plan to improve it.

There are a few other design details that I have no covered in entirety. Each cold frame or greenhouse comes with its own set of installation instructions. The design of these structures could always be customized according to the needs of the grower. For example, incorporating roll-up sides along the length of the tunnel provides for an easy ventilation during hot summer days. The frame could also be strengthened using additional wooden frames and support. I used black landscape fabric along the walkway in the tunnel for weed suppression. Other type of mulches could also be used.

The conditions inside the tunnel

When I walk in the tunnel on a cool sunny day, it feels like tropics. The clear 6 mil plastic polythene absorbs solar heat and keeps the poly tunnel considerably warm on bright sunny days. The warming effect of such a structure is a double edged sword. Temperatures can quickly soar unfavorably high inside a tunnel, so much so that even heat moving crops may suffer damage due to excessive temperatures. Hence, ventilation systems are a must for greenhouse of any size. A downside of the poly tunnel I have is it did not come with controlled ventilation. I have a simple window and a door for ventilation on either end of the tunnel. I open the window and door during the day and close at night.  Having roll-up sides along the length of the tunnel is a low key ventilation system that could be incorporated in the design. A more sophisticated ventilation would comprise of temperature controlled vents and gables that automate opening and closing when temperatures inside reach a certain high. I did not incorporate such design in my high tunnel because of additional costs and also because I am learning to grow crops inside a protected environment with basic observation and minimal management.

What you grow inside such a tunnel matters. And the time of the year. At this time of the year, I have spinach and arugula direct seeded in the tunnel. Both cold tolerant plants (spinach is quite hardy) were seeded in March. In the walking pathway (approximately 3.5 feet wide), I have tables for lettuce and nasturtiums transplants, two plants with very different temperature requirements. Lettuce takes the cold while nasturtium, a frost sensitive flowering plant, does not. The temperature differential inside such a simple structure is quite variable from day to night. In early April, the temperature inside the poly tunnel dips down to 20s and 30s, a few degrees more than outside temperature. The only protection the poly tunnels offers at night is from winds and snow. Protection from wind chills and snow greatly help crops thrive in colder conditions.

 On most cold nights, I covered transplants with double layer of woven white fabric covers.  This helped keep the temperatures inside the poly tunnel above 34 degrees fahrenheit when outside temperature dipped to 20s. For transplants, double covers offer added layer of protection.  I also cover the seed beds with woven white fabric to help retain moisture before seeds germinate.

While day time temperature remains above optimum in a poly tunnel, night time temperature remains close to outside temperature. Without layers of insulation, the passive heat absorbed during the day does not retain in night. I have four big drums of water placed on four corners of the tunnel. These drums were supposed to act as heat retention sources that absorb heat during day and dissipate at night. However, they were not enough to maintain above freezing temperatures at night. There are ways to add added insulation for night but without supplemental heating the night time temperatures wouldn't be warm enough to grow frost sensitive crops and transplants. Cool season crops like greens and root crops would do well in early spring in unheated tunnel. The germination is slightly delayed because the soil remain cold but picks up as season warms.

During the summer, I plan to use this poly tunnel to grow tomatoes and basil. More about that in a later post. Managing even a small tunnel like the one mentioned here comes with it's own set of challenges. Watering, ventilating, covering plants and weeding are the things that need attention on a regular basis in a poly tunnel. I currently hand water with a hose the two seed beds and transplants currently in the poly tunnel. It is bit of a task to move the hose pipe carefully to avoid damaging seedlings. It is also very inefficient. For now, it will do. In summer, drip irrigation will be put in place for tomatoes and basil.

A protected structure of any kind is a useful investment for a farmer. The benefits of season extension are directly related to a farmer's production potential for extended season when conditions in norther region of the country make it hard to grow crops in ground. For me, this new high tunnel is a new growing space with different micro-climate and requirements. Let the season begin.

Cheers

Building infrastructure for 2018

2018 started with a nice long vacation with family. Escaping the cold weather for a few weeks in a warm place feels like a blessing. Getting in the mode of work and actually working took me good three weeks. After ordering my seeds, I started planning the big tasks. Since I am adding infrastructure improvements to the farm that are more permanent, planning and budgeting for them in the order of priority was important . Meanwhile, the monsoon like spring season is stalling a lot of outdoor work.

Building a basic, unheated high tunnel for spring transplants is a key project for me this year. While I don't do deep winter farming, having a small space dedicated to seed starts in cool spring months would give me the required leverage for early season production. It is a long term cost effective infrastructure for the farm and now is the time to put it up. I sourced the high tunnel from Farmtek, a company that also supplies greenhouse structures for commercial growers. It is a 12 foot by 50 foot high tunnel that has to be assembled on the desired location. This desired location on  my farm is muddy right now with constant rains but when it dries, it receives the most amount of sunlight in all seasons and is adjacent to water supply. Assembling this structure is actually less than a week's task (2-3 days) but here for us, everything takes longer than usual. The endless trips to hardware stores to find the small things and not having the right tools in addition to needing two person to do the job amounts to the additional time it takes to build a structure. Moreover, carpentry and dealing with materials is a skill I am just starting to understand. Don't laugh when I say I didn't know what a self tapping screw was (and that it doesn't always self taps itself in some places). I will write the review of the high tunnel and it's assembly details in an additional post.

This year, I am expanding the growing space by adding 8000 square feet area into production for longer season crops. Preparing this additional area is another project at hand. While some of the land preparation started last fall, additional preparation including building beds will happen this summer. At any given point, I try to keep my production area limited to what can be managed by 1-2 person at a time. Keeping small also helps me focus on growing crops well while keeping other production aspects in balance.

Experimenting with using wood chips on the farm is another soil building measure I am excited about. I have read and heard a lot of benefits to wood chips for soil if managed properly. Two trees were cut on the property last year and I asked the tree services to dump the fresh wood chips right here. The quantity isn't a lot. The plan is to spread the wood chips on the outer periphery of the new growing area as an edging without mixing it in the soil or bringing them close to the crops. Once they decompose in an year or so, I will see the results and decide if wood chips are any good for my soil in the long run. With using wood chips, or any other external input, one has to be careful with where it is sourced from and what it is composed of.

Installing a new deer fencing is the third important project for this season. Deer are abundant around here and without a fencing in the new 8000 square foot growing area, the crops will be devoured and trampled long before they can grow. Solar powered electric fencing is my first option for fencing. It is inexpensive and fast to put in place. The fencing is well inside my farm and hence, should not be a concern in the neighborhood. More on it later.

Extending the water supply to the new growing area is an improvement I haven't been able to think about clearly. There is no well close to the new growing area. Extending the well water supply there either by putting a PVC line or digging a new well might prove expensive and a task in itself. It rains quite a bit here but some years can be different than others. Having an irrigation source close to growing area then becomes a necessity. I have not yet figured out how I will tackle irrigation to the new area. In the existing growing area, which is water logged currently, I have simply connected hose pipes from supply line. From the main hose pipe, I connected secondary pipes to extend to the desired areas. This takes care of 10,000 square feet of area. The major improvement needed in existing growing area is laying proper drip irrigation to save time on hand watering heat sensitive greens. Hand watering the entire growing area takes a lot of time in summer and should not be used much on commercial scale production for the same reason.

The fourth important project this year is making a small dedicated washing station for vegetables. Till last year, after vegetables were harvested, they were washed in a water tub filled with cold water. The way it was setup was neither ergonomic nor efficient. Lot of bending, moving and shuffling harvest crates, water not draining properly and other limitations made me change the setup. The new wash area, once built, will take care of a lot of kinks. It will be efficient and things will be quick to move in the new setup. The washing station will be utilized mostly for clearing dirt from root crops and hydro-cooling greens. Nothing more elaborate.

Lastly, the current indoor germination room for transplants is also expanding to accommodate more plant starts. That means more shelves, more lights and heat mats for the solanaceuos plants. The indoor grow area is in the basement of the house, simple setup to get a head start in spring before moving them to high tunnel. Later in the season, I plan to do more direct seeding than transplanting. Direct seeding crops fits more in the equation at this time as it is logistically easy to start seeds directly in the ground and the practice is a better fit for my farm operation.

Spring isn't far. Let's get growing.