after the vacay

Ok so I established that farmers do not take off in May when plants are getting their game on.  I did and went on a cruise with my family...so everyone got a break from my introspection for a week.  The cool thing is that I can actually see peppers and other veggies looking like something I might actually want to buy.  I helped Josh string tomato Uh what do you call the plastic fencing stuff that tomatoes cling to as they grow? You know, you pound some t-stakes and string the whatever you call it to the stakes? Help me out here...remember I am a rookie at this.  I also picked some bugs that like squash and pumpkins but I forgot what the bug is called also.  And then I had to kill each one with my bare hands.  Usually I kill bugs with a magazine or my foot.  I did not know that farming was so ruthless.

Camp is really heating up as well as the weather, and we have groups out at Mountainside every day from now till the first day of camp.  I caught at the zip line for 7 straight hours yesterday and will be back at it tomorrow.   It was really a good call to have Josh do this full time.  With camp orientation for staff this Friday night I have to really get mentally in the groove and appreciate being able to rely on someone who not only knows what he is doing but goes to the extension office for advice and questions.  It is great to have a resource such as the Ag extension office to analyze invading insects and plant health.  Farming may be a solitary occupation but farmers are definitely not alone.  I will post a few photos of the progress so far and it is pretty exciting.

OK so maybe I am a part time Rookie Farmer

I admit that I have a limited understanding of farming but I do know that May is a busy month with planting and weeding and getting things put into order.  That knowledge however will not prevent me from going on a 7 day cruise with my family.  Do any real farmers take a week off in May?  If not than I will have to retreat to the designation of part time rookie farmer.

For real, I have 3 sons and a surrogate son graduating this May.  Such a momentous event calls for a celebration.  Most normal people would go to dinner at a fancy restaurant and call it a day.  No we have to go to a fancy ship to eat 21 meals.  All the while the thistle takes root and the tomato plants have to fend for themselves.  Thank goodness for Josh.

The reality is that at 57 I have a lot of people minding the farm (so to speak). Mark and Shannon have Mountainside covered.  Debbie and Katie have the opening of our Reston Center under control and I can't even mention all of the wonderful people who have Kids Club and the Summer Programs at the helm while the captain (Nancy) and the Swabbie (Me) come up with sound justifications for leaving and goofing off at the busiest time of the year.  My defense for such actions is to hearken back to the days when Nancy and I scrubbed the bathrooms clean after each camp day and then had to reorganize the bus routs each week and handled 30 or so calls from parents each night.  So what if that was 25 to 30 years ago and the smell of ammonia has long since faded from my senses.

I promised Josh that I will get sweaty and dirty as soon as I get back next week.

So much to do so little time

This rookie farmer is getting pulled in many directions as we move closer and closer to our summer camp season.  Today I was in Reston, VA unpacking furniture for our new child care center set to open in two weeks.  Yesterday was our Pre Kindergarten Earth Day observance in the morning with 150 Pre K'ers and their parents visiting our facility.  Monday I helped my son move back from New Jersey after his graduation from college.  Tomorrow I am teaching students at Spark Matsunaga elementary school on renewable energy.  Thank goodness Josh is there every day because there are no days off with a fledgling vegetable farm.

As I learn the nuances of farming and I am working hard to retain everything Josh shares with me and then turn that around and share with anybody who will listen.  With the Pre K children Josh was part of a tour that included a stream visit, a tree planting, a windmill tour and play time.  He was not sure what to share with such a young audience and I blended his technical expertise with my ability to communicate with 4 year olds.  I kinda never really grew up and think more like a 4 year old than a 57 year old.

The morning went something like this.  Q.  Where does food come from?  A. The dirt.  Q. Why is there plastic on the ground?  To protect the low growing plants from weeds.  Q. Why do you not need plastic for corn and sunflowers? A. Cause the weeds can't grow as high as the corn. Q. What is this huge fence around the garden for?  A. To keep the deer out.  Q. How many tomatoes are we going to grow? A. Depends...maybe a 1000 pounds.  Josh validated the correctness of my answers.  Dang I am getting smart.

The good news is that the deer fence is done, most of the vegetables are in, the gardening clubs come out again tomorrow and I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  No we have not started raising chickens.......

yet.

The real reason for doing this

Today several after school kids from one of our Germantown schools came out to help Josh with planting.  They are part of a garden club that will be visiting every Thursday for the rest of the month to learn about farming.  This ain't about farming nearly as much as it is about teaching.  I admit that I am the most enthusiastic student (and the most invested) but these kids started the afternoon worried about getting dirty and ended the afternoon disappointed that they could not plant the next row of peppers because they ran out of time and had to head back.

Over the next 4 weeks they will get the chance to measure to growth of the vegetables they planted, witness first hand, the successes and difficulties that threaten the seedlings they planted, understand the process much more comprehensively and hopefully gain a desire to start their own gardens at home.  Hopefully one or two of those kids will sign up for camp at Mountainside and be around for the harvest.  I can promise one thing, the campers this summer are sure going to get the chance to pick a few tomatoes and peppers and melons and beans and, and, and.

The real test today was weather or not they had fun...and they did.

With my rudimentary knowledge, I was quizzing the kids about the need for the plastic sheeting, showed them how to water and how the irrigation system will work once it is completed next week, the problems the deer pose to the plants and the reason for the field being fenced in.  Josh even had this cool planters tool that he picked up today and I am going to borrow as I complete the flower plantings at my house.  Once I learn, I love to turn around and teach someone else.  I hope that anyone who comes out to plant and play will do the same thing.  My hope is that we can engage lots of children and adults in the process, and have great tasting vegetables and fruit to dine on this summer.

We should have most of the rows planted by early next week and keep our eye out for the grant on the high tunnel greenhouse from the USDA.

First post in a week

Ok the ridiculous rains last week put everything pertaining to planting or deer fence building on hold for a couple of days.  The acquisition of the new tractor and the Green Acres school at Mountainside for 4 days last week (yes they were there in the rain) meant that there has not been a lot to talk about that was farm related.  I gotta give props to those 6th graders who slogged thru mud and endured days that most people would never have chosen to "stick it out".  The truth of the matter is that the rains made their stay much more memorable and Thursday and Friday were gorgeous.  Best news is that they had so much fun and they told me that Echo Hill was lame compared to us.  Holla!

Josh got the final fence posts in the ground today and we went an purchased some transplants as well as marigolds and gardenias for the circle in front of the new house from a local nursery.   Next year all of those transplants and flowers will be germinated on site but to get things started this spring we had to resort to a mercenary grower.  I feel a little embarrassed and feeble having to outsource our seedlings but the majority of what we will grow this year will come from the seeds that we ordered and will be planting this week.  I put over 250 little flowers in the ground this afternoon with a small planting shovel and my back will likely not forgive me for a day or two.  You know...this planting thing and pruning thing and weeding thing and watering thing and harvesting thing may be tougher than I thought.  For sure I am going to have to invest in some knee pads.

Tomorrow the majority of the plastic goes down and we will have some volunteer planters from our after school programs out to help on Thursday.  Gosh I hope the kids like getting their hands dirty.  Last thought.  Do farmers wives like back scratches with hands that feel like sandpaper and look dirty even after you have washed them 4 times?  So far Nancy does not seem to mind.

  Our calm steam was not so calm last week.