June starts tomorrow, which means so do One Step at a Time Gardens' CSA deliveries. All the number crunching and planning that Tim and Jan did over the winter and all the prep work the 4 of us have done since the beginning of April begin to culminate now. It is the beginning of a 18 weekly deliveries of vegetables to various locations in Des Moines and smaller communities in North Iowa.
It is the beginning of highly ordered frenetic activity that will probably border on chaos at least once. It is also the most routine time of the farming year. The work just doesn't stop, nor does it even slow until well into September. The to-do list will, reliably, never get done. And yet,
It is so exciting!!
June means beginning the harvest each Tuesday and Wednesday morning first thing. It means processing the bounty through cold flowing water, trimming roots and pulling discolored leaves.
Weighing and portioning so each farm member gets their share of the loot. Setting aside blemished or damaged produce for our own consumption. Packing boxes and loading the van, sending Jan or Tim down the road to deliver the fruits (vegetables) of our labor to families around central Iowa. Assessing which crops need weeding most urgently. Moving chickens to fresh pasture each morning. Dragging hoses and setting up sprinklers. Finding the short in the electric fence. Going to market on Friday. Trying to scrounge some end of the day energy to freeze and can for our own winter use. Sleep, stretch and repeat.
Rhythm and routine of work and satisfaction, work and satisfaction.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Musings on the Middle West
For a long time I said with great conviction and depth that I couldn't imagine moving back to the Midwest. I was never quite sure where exactly I'd end up, but I was sure I knew where I wouldn't end up, and that was the very region in which I grew up.
Even when we moved to Iowa last May, I wasn't ready to commit to being a Midwesterner again. Yes, I was ready to break from the Pacific Northwest, at least for a time. I remember explaining it to family and friends as a need to stretch my wings, just like I'd needed to stretch them 8 years earlier when I left my lifelong home in Indiana at 18. But rest assured, when folks around here asked where we were from I was quick to answer: Oregon.
It's not only far away, the state is known for something - for lots of things really. An outstanding and breathtaking array of outdoor environments and a thriving and utterly progressive urban population are two of Oregon's qualities that most readily come to mind, but there are countless other things that make the state so special. And, for a kid from IndiaNoPlace, Indiana, being there for so long somehow felt like it made me more special, especially when I came home. I guess it's a little conceited to admit to such a feeling but I do so because I am certainly not the only kid from the Midwest who felt like they barely escaped a dull life full of euchre and macaroni casserole by getting out while I could.
Only, now that I've been back in the region for a while, I totally don't feel that way anymore. Not even a little bit. I feel excited to be here. I feel like I am bringing something really valuable to the region and like I have a lot to learn from other folks doing the same. I feel like I get this place in a way I could never quite get the Pacific Northwest, yet I am seeing it through much more appreciative eyes. It's like a really good pair of shoes that I shoved in the back of the closet for 8 years and am now totally psyched to rediscover. Jeez Midwest, why did I write you off for so long?? Kinda makes me feel like an idiot.
But at least I'm an idiot with a place to belong. I belong here because this is where I was shaped. I belong here because I understand and appreciate the subtleties of Midwestern culture and life. I belong here because I can actually withstand the heat and humidity. I belong here because I have the option to make a quick weekend trip to see my family, no flight reservations needed. But mostly, I belong here because I want to be here.
Middle West, I may not (actually, I probably don't) always agree with your conservative politics, your love for car racing, or your weight problem, but I will never dog you as a whole again. Thanks for welcoming me home - after 27 years I am finally glad to be here.
Even when we moved to Iowa last May, I wasn't ready to commit to being a Midwesterner again. Yes, I was ready to break from the Pacific Northwest, at least for a time. I remember explaining it to family and friends as a need to stretch my wings, just like I'd needed to stretch them 8 years earlier when I left my lifelong home in Indiana at 18. But rest assured, when folks around here asked where we were from I was quick to answer: Oregon.
It's not only far away, the state is known for something - for lots of things really. An outstanding and breathtaking array of outdoor environments and a thriving and utterly progressive urban population are two of Oregon's qualities that most readily come to mind, but there are countless other things that make the state so special. And, for a kid from IndiaNoPlace, Indiana, being there for so long somehow felt like it made me more special, especially when I came home. I guess it's a little conceited to admit to such a feeling but I do so because I am certainly not the only kid from the Midwest who felt like they barely escaped a dull life full of euchre and macaroni casserole by getting out while I could.
Only, now that I've been back in the region for a while, I totally don't feel that way anymore. Not even a little bit. I feel excited to be here. I feel like I am bringing something really valuable to the region and like I have a lot to learn from other folks doing the same. I feel like I get this place in a way I could never quite get the Pacific Northwest, yet I am seeing it through much more appreciative eyes. It's like a really good pair of shoes that I shoved in the back of the closet for 8 years and am now totally psyched to rediscover. Jeez Midwest, why did I write you off for so long?? Kinda makes me feel like an idiot.
But at least I'm an idiot with a place to belong. I belong here because this is where I was shaped. I belong here because I understand and appreciate the subtleties of Midwestern culture and life. I belong here because I can actually withstand the heat and humidity. I belong here because I have the option to make a quick weekend trip to see my family, no flight reservations needed. But mostly, I belong here because I want to be here.
Middle West, I may not (actually, I probably don't) always agree with your conservative politics, your love for car racing, or your weight problem, but I will never dog you as a whole again. Thanks for welcoming me home - after 27 years I am finally glad to be here.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Hot and Busy. And ramps.
The former just today, and the latter since last Monday.
It's 7pm and weather.com says it is currently 100 degrees. The calendar still says it's May 10, but I could have sworn all day it was August 10. Remember the posting about snow? That was 3 weeks ago. They say farming shouldn't be this hard. That it didn't used to be so unpredictable. Welp.
I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, but then again I'm not exactly sure what my middle name is either after a day like today, which followed a week like this week. We started planting last Monday and I've been dreaming potato mounds, precision seeders, and broccoli transplants ever since. We had about 3 weeks of plantings to catch up on and while we haven't totally caught up, we have put a pretty good dent in the list.
Many thousands of feet of potatoes, onions, leeks, scallions, radishes, peas, arugula, tot soi, bok choy, lettuce, spinach, and probably some other stuff made it into the ground. now we just need some rain. But not too much!
In other news, the woods across the lake have something very, very delicious to offer us: ramps.
We foraged these wild leeks late last week and have been incorporating them into as many meals as possible. They are wonderful added to scrambled eggs, and I made a pretty mean ramp pesto for lunch today. They have a really distinct, almost sharp flavor that is reminiscent of both onions and garlic. Two absolutely indispensable items in my kitchen, so this is basically a wonder food to me. They grow wild all over the forests of the Midwest and Appalachia (maybe the East Coast too...not sure), though this is the first time I've even known to take note of them. I do love the small tidbits of knowledge I pick up from country folk - such a different breed than city folk.
Here is one former city girl happy to currently be a country girl, even when it is 100 degrees in early May. (I was not wearing all of those clothes today...this was a couple of days ago!)
It's 7pm and weather.com says it is currently 100 degrees. The calendar still says it's May 10, but I could have sworn all day it was August 10. Remember the posting about snow? That was 3 weeks ago. They say farming shouldn't be this hard. That it didn't used to be so unpredictable. Welp.
I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, but then again I'm not exactly sure what my middle name is either after a day like today, which followed a week like this week. We started planting last Monday and I've been dreaming potato mounds, precision seeders, and broccoli transplants ever since. We had about 3 weeks of plantings to catch up on and while we haven't totally caught up, we have put a pretty good dent in the list.
Many thousands of feet of potatoes, onions, leeks, scallions, radishes, peas, arugula, tot soi, bok choy, lettuce, spinach, and probably some other stuff made it into the ground. now we just need some rain. But not too much!
In other news, the woods across the lake have something very, very delicious to offer us: ramps.
We foraged these wild leeks late last week and have been incorporating them into as many meals as possible. They are wonderful added to scrambled eggs, and I made a pretty mean ramp pesto for lunch today. They have a really distinct, almost sharp flavor that is reminiscent of both onions and garlic. Two absolutely indispensable items in my kitchen, so this is basically a wonder food to me. They grow wild all over the forests of the Midwest and Appalachia (maybe the East Coast too...not sure), though this is the first time I've even known to take note of them. I do love the small tidbits of knowledge I pick up from country folk - such a different breed than city folk.
Here is one former city girl happy to currently be a country girl, even when it is 100 degrees in early May. (I was not wearing all of those clothes today...this was a couple of days ago!)
Sunday, May 1, 2011
It's early Sunday evening before our fifth week of work for the season, and it's a week I'm really looking forward to. Spring has finally started to seep into the landscape here in North Central Iowa, and everybody is itching to get into the fields. Even the corn farmers have been getting nervous about the on going cold and wet, sure that delayed planting will mean decreased yields. We've seen a number of clear days, though, with more in the forecast. Winds in the 40 - 50 mph range don't make it very comfortable to be outside but they do help the soil dry out. Whoever said talk of the weather was boring was most certainly not a farmer. It occupies much of my conversation and thought these days, and it hasn't bored me yet.
The weather has put us over two weeks behind schedule here, so dry soil and clear days means one thing this week: PLANTING. There are radishes, green onions, storage onions, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach and broccoli my oh my SO much broccoli just begging to be plunked in the ground. Our fingers are crossed that the weather will hold, the soil will continue to breathe, and our backs will be ready for some good old fashioned bending and hunching. Hopefully for the whole week. Getting a little sore just thinking about it, but in a lovely I-just-accomplished-something kind of way. Oh, farm thrills!
Speaking of thrills - my biggest thrill of the week came today, and it looked like this:
Asparagus! Finally! We don't produce it commercially so it's not exactly the most well tended asparagus patch, but it's there and it is starting to grow, and I am oh so excited about it.
Another consistently big thrill looks like this:
The man I love and our garden plot. It really, really is thrilling to be pursuing a common passion with the person you share your life with. I count myself lucky, 50 mph hour winds and all.
The weather has put us over two weeks behind schedule here, so dry soil and clear days means one thing this week: PLANTING. There are radishes, green onions, storage onions, peas, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach and broccoli my oh my SO much broccoli just begging to be plunked in the ground. Our fingers are crossed that the weather will hold, the soil will continue to breathe, and our backs will be ready for some good old fashioned bending and hunching. Hopefully for the whole week. Getting a little sore just thinking about it, but in a lovely I-just-accomplished-something kind of way. Oh, farm thrills!
Speaking of thrills - my biggest thrill of the week came today, and it looked like this:
Asparagus! Finally! We don't produce it commercially so it's not exactly the most well tended asparagus patch, but it's there and it is starting to grow, and I am oh so excited about it.
Another consistently big thrill looks like this:
The man I love and our garden plot. It really, really is thrilling to be pursuing a common passion with the person you share your life with. I count myself lucky, 50 mph hour winds and all.
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