Photo Update June 22

So, this will be an update for all of June, apparently! As of today we have had 9.67" of rain, the field is more like a bog, but it is what it is. Cruise through the month of June so far in these pics...

Maybe I should grow cranberries in my bog?

Did you catch that worm video on facebook? The mud has provided some fun. ;)

The raspberry patch got an overhaul - well weeded and trellis posts put in. We will wait to string up wire until next year (for one thing it is just too wet right now).

Raspberries are beginning to blush!

For two weeks we did our Spring CSA pick up at the farm, here's what it looked like - a market style pick up where folks select their own goods.

Lettuce, rhubarb, radishes, strawberries, kale, parsley, sage, green shallots and garlic scapes are farm fresh in June!!

Green and red heads of summercrisp lettuce.

Heirloom rhubarb.

Beautiful radishes.

Delicious and nutritious kale.

Parsley and sage.

Strawberries.

We started on our big project for the year! We will be renovating the quonset hut to meet our changing needs at the farm. The inside is all graded, supplies are being delivered and we are getting ready to get the concrete poured.

Tomato plants are blooming and little green fruits can be spotted (same with cukes).

A little evidence of the rain - carrots look okay at the top of this planting, but I'm pretty sure I'll have to replant the back half. The rains are really setting back weed control, as well as some seeding.

Potato blooms grace the field! We have lost some potato plants, due to the water, hopefully these sunny days will help things bounce back.

I just harvested our first pound of basil on the 21st! I love the smell of basil!

Harvesting for Spring CSA and local orders has been a little mucky! Today looks dry all day - quite a blessing!!

I added two new items to our wellness line, two items we use around here regularly, our Cool It and Herbal Bug Spray. Cool It is a blend of essential oils that I use on hot days - spritzing on my pulse points, back of my neck and on my chest to cool off a little. The bug spray is a blend of yarrow and catnip to cleanly and naturally deter bugs; spray every hour, or as needed. Studies show catnip to be as effective as deet!

It's been a real pleasure harvesting fresh food for my community again this spring. The open house we had in May, the Spring CSA and Mini Market at the Farm brought old and new faces - it means so much to connect with all of you.

 Apples are growing! The crop looks really great this year. Info on Apple Shares coming soon!!

Until next time!!!

Rain, Rain Go Away (updated)

So, I don't know if you've noticed, but it has been raining a little bit. In fact is raining right now. So far this month, on the farmstead, we have had 5.6" 6.6" of rain, . A good portion of that - 4" 5" to be precise - has fallen over the last five days, during this "hydro vortex."

"This is the wettest week we have seen since September of 2010 when we received over 8 inches in one week. June rainfall already totals 11.04 inches. This establishes a new June rainfall record, breaking the old record set in 2010 of 9.64 inches. There is still 12 days left in June. With rain in the forecast, we are closing in on setting the record for most precipitation received in any month, which was set in September of 2010 at 12.66 inches." 

-Paul Huttner, Hydro Vortex: Crop Damage Across Southern MN, Updraft blog

Rainfall, over the last week, has been 4-8 inches above normal. It's clear that we haven't had as much rain on our farm as in some areas, but it's still a lot. A lot. It was muddy Monday, for our first day of CSA harvest, but it was soupy yesterday for Wednesday's harvest.

A picture of the field Wednesday morning.

 Generally, in these wet soil conditions we try to stay out of the field, but when work has to happen we get it done. Working in wet soil conditions causes soil compaction, which can impact the soil structure beyond just one season.

So I went out to harvest and literally sunk about four inches in some spots. So after a little bit of this...

Kale harvest

 ...I opted for a lot more of this...

Harvesting using boards to reduce soil damage.

It took a bit longer, but it was worth it. Not only did I get a little bit of an extra workout, but I caused less soil damage and was able to pay more attention to my harvest, rather than where I was stepping and how much I was sinking.

Even before the last couple of days we could see that the continued wet conditions of this spring have had a impact on our crops. Some things have grown more slowly or been stunted, and of course the weed pressure is a factor.

"The soggy system that’s plagued Minnesota all week finally shows signs of slogging east on Friday, and taking the bulk of the heavy rain along with it...But the trends suggest our June Monsoon may finally be easing off and that we may finally be moving beyond consecutive days of heavy flooding rain."

There is hope of dry and sunny in sight, and that is what we are waiting for. We do need a break. We have ordered a new hoe to add to our weed killing arsenal, so we can go at them with all we've got, once it dries up. We need to minimize the hand weeding as much as possible, to make the most of our time, which becomes more and more valuable as the season moves on. In the very early season our time is divided primarily between planting and weeding, as we move forward more time is needed for deliveries, harvesting and other task work, such as the weekly pruning and trellising of tomatoes.

As I've written this we have probably get another 0.25" of rain. Strike that, as I wrote this we received another 1" of rain. After two years of droughty weather dare I say it? For our fellow farmers, our crops, the health of the soil and waterways, for the sake of soil erosion and for Vera, whose piglets will be welcomed into the world in the next 24-36 hours...rain, rain go away.


.     .     .     .     . Data from the Climatological Working Group

2014 BROWN Monthly Precipitation, Totals
JAN  FEB  MAR   APR   MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC
 .87   1.09    1.60     4.65    4.29     6.6 (as of June 19, 2014- and its raining still!)
2014 January – June 19, 2014 = 19.1”

2013 BROWN Monthly Precipitation, Totals
JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC
1.50  1.26    1.97    4.66   3.19    6.23  1.06   1.38   1.56   3.34     .43     .83
January – June = 18.81”

2012 BROWN Monthly Precipitation, Totals
JAN  FEB  MAR  APR  MAY  JUN  JUL  AUG  SEP  OCT  NOV  DEC
 .96   2.54   2.10    2.10   9.81     .75   1.36    1.63   .70     .90      .85    1.62
January – June = 18.26

Photo Update 6.23.13

Rouge d' Hiver heirloom romaine lettuce, red with a green heart.

Here's a view of what's new at the soggy Alternative Roots Farm! So far this month we have had 5.93" of rain (2.1" in the last 48 hours). We have been getting a lot of use out of our rain gauge. We do rain gauge monitoring for the Brown County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), so we mark down any precipitation each morning--rain or snow--and send in monthly data.

Rain gauge.

Windswept onions.

The field is wet and mucky. Last night it was pretty windy, as you can see by the onions above--they will right themselves after a little bit.

Late season potatoes in bloom.

However, the potatoes are lOving all this moisture--the early, mid and late season varieties are all blooming and all hUge.

Bunching onions, leeks, lettuce, cabbage & cover crop.

Another view of the wet field. Weeding has been a challenge, as much of the time it's too wet to hoe effectively, and part of the time when we have hoed weeds have re-rooted after subsequent rain! Either way, it's not out of control, just irritating ;)

Barley and buckwheat fields.

The barley is starting to form heads and the buckwheat is tall and beautiful in bloom. Buckwheat is a great cover crop, it's full and weed smothering and a good soil builder.

DeCicco heirloom broccoli.

 The broccoli is really coming along--can't wait to put delicious full heads of broccoli in the CSA boxes! I am fascinated by how broccoli grows, and love how it tastes.

Young apple, ping pong ball size.

The apple crop is looking good this year! The apples are growing nicely, about the size of ping pong balls. A great big Thank You to our volunteers from last year, the incidence of Plum Curculio is visibly down--picking up all those dropped apples really made a difference.

Amish Snap heirloom peas.

The pea vines are getting full of pods and it looks like we'll get a good picking just in time for our first week of CSA.

Winter Density heirloom romaine lettuce.

 Ooooo, can't help but say this lettuce looks absolutely delicious. Salad for lunch! Members, get your favorite salad dressing ready!

 Have a great week everyone :)