Hurrican Irene



The empty truck, an unusual sight on a Friday evening.

Seems like everyone is talking about the impending hurricane that is supposed to hit the Northeast sometime tomorrow or possibly Sunday.  For homeowners it means battening down the hatches: bringing deck furniture inside, cleaning out a space for the car in the garage, making sure there are no large branches hanging above the house.  For those who like to be prepared, hurricanes mean stocking up on staples like bread and such, collecting some water and making sure the matches are somewhere findable.  For farmers, it means a little more.

Because the vast majority of the produce we sell is grown outside, it’s all subject to the whims of the weather.  Even though some of our tomatoes , peppers and herbs are growing inside a high tunnel, it doesn’t mean they’re safe from violent storms either.  The tunnel could potentially blow away if it gets windy enough, or in the event of hail end up with holes in the plastic.  High winds could knock over trellised tomatoes, deer fences, and send fruits falling to the wet ground.  Hail could completely destroy any leafy greens like lettuces, kale, collards and many more, which are one of the biggest fall crops.  There’s a lot riding on the weather being, if not perfect, then at least not extreme.  Droughts are bad.  Floods are bad.  Hurricanes, almost always, are bad.

So far hurricane Irene has not been good to us and she hasn’t even headed up our way yet.  After we spent the entire morning harvesting lettuces, greens, beans and tomatoes, a memo was sent along saying that Mayor Bloomberg had decided to cancel all open air markets for Saturday.  What this means for us is a lot of produce that won’t have a buyer now.  While our potatoes, garlic, onions and some of the tomatoes will be fine hanging out in the cooler until the next market on Wednesday, there are a lot of green beans, leafy greens and tomatoes that will go bad by that time, meaning that they will probably go to waste.  While we will eat as many as we can in the next few days, the 10 people that work and eat food from this farm cannot possibly match the consumerism of the middle of Manhattan on a lovely Saturday. 

Looks like Irene is going to hit hard, even if she veers back into the ocean.

Local Bounty

Sick of spending lots of money on groceries?

Try farm apprenticeships to lower your monthly eating bills!

If you're considering working as a farm apprentice or intern, it's important not only to look at what your salary will be, but also what other things the job will provide you with.  What educational goals will you be able to fulfill while working there?  Is there a chance for networking in the community surrounding the farm?  Is there a any job advancement opportunity?  Is there free housing?  Do I get to eat the stuff we grow?

I think one of the greatest things about working at Keith's Farm is that we are able to eat any and all of the produce that we tend to in the fields.  There is nothing quite as satisfying as sitting down to a dinner that you spent the last few months tending to.  Even though I don't make as much money each week as lots of other people my age, the free produce is definitely a huge bonus to my rather meager paycheck. 

Last night I made a raw meal, meaning that nothing was heated up past 116 degrees (but really I didn't heat it at all) ,using some produce grown in our fields, supplemented with other ingredients from the Union Square Greenmarket that we sell at twice a week.

Behold, the local bounty:

Beet, carrot and cabbage slaw with beets from Keith's farm, cabbage and carrots from Union Square, (with organic apple cider vingegar, mustard, salt and pepper and olive oil), green beans from Keith's farm, and tomato and basil salad from Keith's.  The wine was unfortunately not local or even organic, though very delicious nonetheless. 

Though I had my doubts about eating a completely raw dinner (thought I would still be hungry after finishing it), I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this meal and was super full after it.  Ate in the living room while watching the Disney animated version of Robin Hood.  All in all a fantastic evening!  Can't wait to eat another all raw vegetable meal!

Fowl Play

Just sat down with my coworker, Elizabeth, to order our first ever round of livestock from McMurray Hatchery.  Our 25 Jumbo Cornish X rocks will be waiting for us at the post office sometime on or shortly after September 7! 

Elizabeth has been thinking about raising meat birds for a while, but I hadn't even considered it since I'm living on property that doesn't belong to myself or my family.  However, we talked to our boss this morning about the possibility of setting up a small chicken tracor behind the house I live in, and he seemed pretty excited about the idea, as long as it doesn't interfere with the time we spend working in the fields.

The main purpose of raising these chickens is two-fold.  Firstly, we're both hoping to raise pastured poultry as part of our future farmng enterprises, and though we've both helped to raise and slaughter them on other farms, having our own flock will be valuable experience for years to come.  Also, since we're both working a seasonal job that has a definite end date, it's important for us to be thinking about putting things away for the off season.  In winter, it can be tough for a seasonal farm apprentice to find work, so not only is saving money where you can a good idea, but taking advantage of the resources land can provide is also a great idea.  My 11 chickens will be going into the freezer at my Nanna's house to be eaten in the four lean months that are looming over the horizon.  I'm also planning on doing a lot of canning and other freezing to tide me over, but more on that later.

This evening we also picked up some "free firewood" in the form of a giant pallet outside a motorcycle dealership that will make up the base of our chicken tractor.  Post and pictures to come of that project! 

The Journey Home Begins

One of my fondest childhood memories is standing at the very back of the hay barn during the summer, watching a thunderstorm roll in over the back fields.  I loved standing there, waiting for the rain to break through, knowing that I was perfectly safe.  The barn has weathered countless storms in the nearly one hundred years it’s been standing there.  It’s weathered many in my lifetime alone and will stand resolutely through more lightning strikes, blizzards and even the odd hurricane that finds its way this far north.  Though built in the early 1900’s, the barn has a level of craftsmanship that many of our modern buildings are lacking.

 The axe marks on every beam relay the care and time that went into the building.  The wooden pegs that hold each beam to its neighbor are fit so exactly in each of their holes it almost looks like they were a knot in the board to begin with, put there by nature rather than a farmer.

The barn has had near misses with an earthquake and a tornado, but the real threat to its rafters and floorboards, its pegs and hinges is the current situation of farms in this area. 

According to the USDA, New York “lost 23 percent of its dairy farms in five years, from 2001 to 2007. In 2007, the state had nearly 5,700 dairy farms, down from nearly 7,400 in 2002.”  And since then, farms have continued to close their barn doors, to be replaced by developments, strip malls or become harbors for invasive species.

The farm I grew up on in Chester, NY is part of an exclusive club in Orange County, New York.  Once full of farms to supply New York City with fresh produce, meats and dairy products, Orange County’s farms have continually disappeared since the advent of industrial farming and the importation of food. 

To lose a farm that has been in operation since the 1700’s would be a shame that goes beyond the addition of more McMansions onto our landscape.  I believe there is another way to save the farm.  A way that is sustainable, respectful of the land and successful financially as well as in terms of personal fulfillment.

This blog is about my journey to learn how to do that.