Arcadia Farms

Christmas means lots of things to lots of people. We have several family traditions and one of them involves baking gobs of cookies. The lineup varies from year to year but a few staples remain: Oatmeal Scotchies, Sugar Cookies and Gingerbread Cookies. (We don’t eat them all; many are given as gifts. But… we eat plenty.) In November of this year I had a brilliant idea: Wouldn’t it be cool if I whipped up some cookie dough during this I’m-not-crazy-busy-with-holiday-things-to-do time, stick it in the freezer and then (viola!) pull it out just in time to make hassle-free cookies with Christmas carols blaring in the background?

It was a brilliant idea!

I didn’t do it.

But I haven’t given up on the idea. And since pretty much any time of the year is a good time for freshly baked cookies, I’ve decided to make double batches during Christmas baking and save some for the rest of the winter. (You know, because I need extra hurdles to my diet-related New Year’s resolutions…)

I’ve personally never frozen cookie dough before. Just in case you haven’t either, here are tips I found on how to freeze both drop (chunky) cookies, such as chocolate chip, and for cut out cookies, like gingerbread and sugar cookies. I’ve also included links to my favorite recipes. Enjoy!

Freezing Cut-Out Cookie Dough

Recipe: Christmas Sugar Cookies

Recipe: Easy Gingerbread Cookies

1. Mix dough per recipe.

2. On a lightly floured surface, divide the dough into three roughly-equal sized sections. (Note: Refrigerating the dough for 15-20 minutes will make it easier to work with.)

3. On the floured surface, shape each section of dough into a disc about one inch thick.

4. Place the disc on top of a sheet of wax or parchment paper. Fold the paper around the disc. (Optional: Use a piece of tape to secure the paper.)

5. Place each disc into a freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing. Label the bag with the contents, date, proper oven temperature and number of minutes to bake.

6. Dough can be stored up to three months.

7. To bake with frozen dough, remove the disc from the freezer and allow it to warm at room temperature for 10 minutes (or until pliable). Roll the dough out per recipe directions and cut cookies.

Want even faster cookies the next time you have a craving? Try this:

1. Create cookie dough per recipe.
2. Roll dough out to desired thickness and cut cookies.
3. Transfer cookies to a room-temperate cookie sheet lined with wax or parchment paper.
4. Place cookie sheet into freezer until… wait for it… frozen. (Could take 1 to 6 hours depending on your freezer’s temperature and the thickness of your cookies.)
5. Once cookies are frozen, transfer them (quickly, to avoid a thawed, sticky situation) to a pre-labeled freezer bag and return to the freezer. Label information should include the contents, the date, proper oven temperature and number of minutes to bake.
6. To bake the frozen cookies add an extra minute or two to the recommended baking time.

Freezing Drop (Chunky) Cookie Dough

Recipe: Oatmeal Scotchies

Recipe: Minimally Processed Chocolate Chip Cookies

1. Create dough per recipe.
2. Place portioned scoops of dough onto a lined (wax or parchment paper) cookie sheet as you normally would. Since the cookies will not be immediately baked (and thus won’t spread out) you can place them close together.
3. Place the cookie sheet full of portioned dough into the freezer until frozen solid. (This process will take at least six hours; you could also freeze them overnight.)
4. Label a freezer bag with the contents, date, proper oven temperature and number of minutes to bake.
5. Place completely-frozen cookie “balls” into freezer bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible before closing the bag. Cookies can be frozen for up to three months.
6. To bake with frozen dough, add an extra minute or two to the recommended baking time.

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Ever since wintery weather began we’ve been receiving one to three eggs each day. After skillful interrogation I still haven’t been able to get the hens to spill the beans on which girls aren’t pulling their weight!

Meanwhile, three eggs a day isn’t bad.

Yesterday, however, was an extraordinary day. Yesterday was a four egg day. Apparently whoever decided to start pitching in is a little out of practice, because she gave us this…

Honestly, the first thing I thought when I saw it was – ouch! Then I thought about this…

I’ll bet the funny-looking torpedo egg tastes just as good as the rest.

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.    

Life, according to my belly, can be categorized into the following seasons: Soup season, grilling season, roasting season and baking season. We, dear friends, are in the heart of baking season! Our household has no concept of portion control loves good food. And while I can’t say that the food we eat is always good for us (it’s hard to claim that cake is healthy) we do strive to make everything with natural, wholesome ingredients.

That’s why last year I kicked our artificial baking supplies to the curb. No sprinkles, no colored sugar, no artificial food dye and no artificial flavorings. The flavorings were the most difficult to part with. Fortunately I learned to make homemade vanilla extract. It’s actually quite economical, all-natural and super tasty! When we ran out mid-year I made a second batch and also created some orange extract (which I’ve yet to actually use). So far, having homemade vanilla extract on hand has met my flavoring needs… save for one: Almond.

I miss almond flavoring.

There are some things that just need an amaretto-esqe touch.

Why is it then that it has taken me all of this time to think of making my own? (Silly me!) I wish I had started this a month ago so I’d have homemade almond extract in time for Christmas goodies.

At any rate, making almond extract (or any extract, for that matter) is so easy!

Click here for the recipe!

I am so grateful for Local Harvest. They provide an amazing interface for consumers to connect with local farmers, and if you're reading this post you're probably already convinced about the myriad reasons why that's healthy for our communities. The Local Harvest blog rules request that bloggers don't get "spammy" in their entries and out of respect for the organization, I want to be sure to abide by that request. 

However (you saw that coming, right?) during this Christmas season of giving Arcadia Farms (that's us!) is giving away a FREE custom garden plan (and seeds!) to one lucky winner. Having a home garden to supplement food from your local CSA or farmers market is priceless, so I didn't want to hold out on sharing this awesome opportunity with you.  To avoid being "spammy" about it, I'll refrain from posting the giveaway app directly on this page. If you're interested in entering the giveaway, you can do so by clicking on this link: Custom Garden Plan Giveaway!

Thanks for reading our blog!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Last month our partner in Arcadia Growers Group gifted us with some fresh, pesticide-free produce. One of the items was a half bushel of red delicious apples. Per their name, they are delicious! But… they’re not very pretty. Pesticide-free means I choose to trade a perfect-looking apple for a perfectly edible apple that might look a little less than appetizing. (They look 10 times better in this photo than in real life!) They polish up decently but with a few soft spots here and there they really needed to be peeled before eating.

I’m not complaining at all – they were worth the 60 seconds needed to peel! But, if I’m being honest, apples are usually a grab-and-go snack at our house so even just the 60 seconds of peeling was enough to keep us from eating them as quickly as we normally would. Besides that, there were so many that I knew I’d need to process some of them before the entire batch went to waste. The problem is, red delicious apples aren’t exactly known for their cooking and baking qualities. Fresh eating? Yes. Baking and cooking? Not so much.

I asked our readers on Facebook what they thought I should do with our apple gift. The best suggestions were making apple chips and making apple butter. Honestly, I wanted to try both (and certainly had enough apples for that) but with the Thanksgiving holiday and simple busyness abounding in our lives lately, the apples sat a smidge too long. They started to get a smidge soft. And making apple chips started to sound a smidge unrealistic.

But… soft apples are right at home in apple butter.

I’ve never made apple butter before. After looking up several recipes, using the crock pot seemed to be the most fool-proof way to go. I found lots of recipes online, many of them with essentially the same ingredients but with slightly different amounts and cooking times. I used all of those recipes as a guide to make my own.

The process takes about 12 hours, mostly hands-free. I realize not everyone has as flexible a schedule as I do. This might be a great Saturday project. Otherwise, you could cut and gather the ingredients the night before, start the process in the morning (7:30 AM) reduce the heat on your way out the door (8:30 AM) and be home in time to add the vanilla bean (5:30 PM). After dinner you’ll be ready to puree and process your apple butter (7:30 PM). The jars will be cool and ready to enjoy for breakfast the next morning!

Crock Pot Apple Butter Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 6 lbs (8-10) Apples [Note: I ended up using 12]
• 3/4 Cup Granulatd Sugar
• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Apple Cider or Apple Cider Vinegar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Cloves
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp Ginger
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 Vanilla bean (or 1 Tbsp vanilla extract)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Peel and core the apples. Cut them into small pieces.
2. Add everything but the vanilla bean to the crock pot. Stir.
3. Cook on high for 1 hour.
4. Stir the mixture again. When replacing the lid, move it partially so that it remains slightly open. Cook on low for 9 additional hours.
5. Slice the vanilla bean down the middle with sharp edge of a knife. Then run the flat edge of the knife down the length of the bean to push out the inside. After 10 hours of cooking, add the vanilla bean and simmer mixture on low for another 2 hours (12 hours total).
6. Remove the vanilla bean. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture. (You could also use a blender/food processor and puree the mixture in batches. Be careful not to slosh hot apple butter onto yourself!)
7. Ladle hot mixture into sterilized jars. Leave a ¼ inch of headspace. Use a butter knife to press along the inside edges of the jars in order to remove air bubbles. Securely add sterilized lids and bands.
8. Process jars for 10 minutes in a water bath canner. Remove jars and set them on a towel or wire rack to cool. Allow jars to cool completely before handling. (If you don’t want to can your apple butter, you can store the jars in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. Freezer-appropriate containers of apple butter can remain in the freezer for two months.)

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Spring is always a busy and exciting time for gardeners. I’m no exception. Logically I spent a lot of time in the garden this spring, planting, prepping and simply enjoying the sights and sounds of nature waking up from her winter nap. One of the things I enjoy most about preparing the spring garden is the sight and smell of our neighbor’s apple tree. Apple blossoms are some of my favorite flowers! This spring, for the first time ever, as I looked around me I noticed that the deluge of beautiful white blossoms gracing my neighbors tree were echoed underneath a bramble of pine branches and other tree limbs at the back of our property.

After further investigation I discovered that in the back corner of our one-acre yard there was an apple tree growing! Sadly, the apple tree was growing in the shadow of a mulberry tree (planted only few feet away) which itself was growing in the shadow of a large, scraggly pine tree (just a few more feet away). All three trees were living but doing poorly.

I knew right away that I needed to rescue that poor little apple tree! Don’t get me wrong – I don’t have anything against pine trees or mulberry trees, but I’m an opportunist, and the idea of a ‘wasted’ apple tree already established on my own property was too much. The obvious first step was to cut down the two overbearing trees growing so intrusively nearby. That first step also lead us down the path of finally deciding where to put our micro-orchard. This back section of the property was also home to a medium-sized pine tree and a large cherry tree (not the kind with edible fruit). We never (ever ever) use that part of the yard for anything. (In fact, it probably only gets mowed a handful of times each year.) The area gets great sun so we decided to cut down the other two trees and replace each with an apple tree.

So down came the trees – Ryan and my father-in-law did most of the work (although my mother-in-law and I helped considerably with the clean up). My in-laws heat their home with a wood-burning furnace so the bulk of the lumber went to them. I kept a few logs for hugelkultur expansion and for edging a few mounded beds. I also kept some of the straightest branches to create tee-pees for caging tomatoes. But when all was said and done, the main thing we were left with was a big fat empty space.

It’s amazing how much larger that part of the yard looks without the trees there! Before I thought of it as a tiny sliver of space occupied by a random pine tree. Removing the trees has revealed its true identity – another sunny section so wide that I could easily fill it up by doubling the size of our already large garden. (In case you’re wondering, I’m not interested in adding any more space to our roughly 1,500 square foot garden.) It’s a great space for fruit trees!

Around that time we purchased two trees on sale from Lowes. We didn’t have a very big selection to choose from so we went with a good cooking variety (Macintosh) and a good fresh-eating variety (Golden Delicious). We were careful to read the labels to make sure they would pollinate each other (apples need another tree in order to pollinate and produce fruit).

And then… we got busy…

And then… the CSA season came to a close….

And then… the weather started turning cooler…

And then… it straight-up snowed…

And all the while that little voice in my head kept saying “Blerg… I need to get those trees planted!”

Finally this week we had a little warm up. (Ok, a big warm up followed by a quick cool down that caused massive storms in our corner of the Midwest!) You never know when the weather will turn in Michigan, especially during the months where seasonal transition are common (October and November are on that list) so I knew I needed to make my move this week or risk losing my chance completely.

I did some quick research about tree planting. Everyone recommends doing this in the early spring. Of course… Not surprisingly there were several cautionary tales about fall planting. But then without too much more effort I found instructions on planting trees in fall. I even found a few forums where experienced gardeners said that fall was an excellent time to plant fruit trees because it gives them a jump start in the spring. Really, I only had two other options. The first alternative idea was to “heal them in” which sounds an awful lot like just planting them to me (only in an area that will be more protected from cold and wind). I’m not a fan of planting them twice, thanks.

The other option was to overwinter them in the green house. I wasn’t a big fan of this either because of that time in late winter where the temperate outside are still very cold (mid-30s or colder) but the sun is warming the greenhouse to spring-like temperatures that might cause the trees to bud too early. I couldn’t think of a good place to move them to during this time period without sending them into shock.

So at any rate, I planted them. It was super-easy. Here’s what I did…

Planting Fruit Trees in Fall

Step 1: Dig a hole about twice the width of the root ball and just as deep as the root ball.

Step 2: Loosen the roots so that they are encouraged to grow outward.

Step 3: Place the tree in the hole. For directions on how deep you should plant the tree, I recommend that you read this. Depth matters – big time! In summary, it’s better to err on the side of planting too shallow than too deep. Be sure to avoid planting soil above where the tree is grafted to the root system to avoid scion rooting.

Step 4: Cover the roots with quality compost. Ideally the compost would be aged. I ended up using a mixture of mulched fall leaves, rabbit manure (not composted) and compost from this year’s pile (garden clippings, food scraps, etc.). Be sure to tamp the compost down as you go along. The purpose of this is to reduce air pockets which can cause root issues.

Step 5: Water your trees and add a layer of mulch to keep them warm and retain moisture. I didn’t read this anywhere, but for the same reason as Step 3 (scion rooting) I made sure to keep the mulch away from the base of the tree. Ironically, our mulch comes from the large branches of the trees we cut down to make room for the new apples.

So after putting it off for months and months… about 30 minutes of work (maybe less) has finally made us the proud owners of a micro orchard. I can’t wait for the beautiful flowers next spring – and the amazing fruit in the future!

More to Do

Want to know a little secret? I still have a cherry tree and two blueberry bushes to plant! I planned to plant them on the same day as our apple trees but ran into some questions. The cherry tree is destined to take root very (very) near a place in the front yard where we previously had a diseased ornamental cherry tree. (We cut that little guy down at the same time as the trees out back.) I want to do some research to find out how to safeguard the second tree from the same health issues that overtook its predecessor before moving forward. Part of me is worried that I just may not be able to plant there at all (the original tree stump is still there… rotting as it sits in the ground). As far as the blueberry bushes go, I just wanted to check one last time that the site I had chosen for them gets enough sun. Hopefully they’ll be in before this weekend! I can’t wait for all the delicious fruit to come!

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.   

If you live in Michigan then you don’t need me to tell you that the weather is getting cold and the days are getting darker. Our yard has already been covered in a dual blanket of leaves and snow several times this month. Another sign at Arcadia Farms that cold weather has arrived can be found in the chicken coop. Or, more specifically, can’t be found in the chicken coop. No eggs. Our hens have stopped laying completely. We’ve been eggless for over a week now.

Making the transition from egg producers to egg consumers has highlighted how blessed we are to have our own chickens. Last Friday my grocery list included eggs for the first time in about six months. I confess that I felt almost like a fraud as I reached into the cooler of eggs at Meijer. In addition to my farmer-shame, I discovered that ‘natural’ eggs at the store are up to $4 a dozen now – Yikes! I’m eager to get our girls back into production, so here’s the plan.

Why Hens Stop Producing Eggs in Fall/Winter

In early October our hens’ egg production slowed to four or five eggs a day rather than the usual six. We suspect that the hens were in the process of molting. Molting is when chickens produce new plumage for winter and shed their summer feathers. The process is aimed at preparing the bird for winter and takes a significant amount of energy to complete. The energy normally spent on egg production is consumed by the molting process.

We’re cool with losing out on a few eggs here and there while we wait patiently for nature to do its thing. Or at least, we were, until nature started to look like an empty nesting box.

Last week our chickens abruptly stopped laying completely. The event coincided with me cleaning out the coop and refreshing the bedding. Though I knew that was an unlikely culprit in the lack of eggs, I decided to keep the hens in their paddock for an entire day to make sure they hadn’t just picked a new favorite spot to nest. No dice eggs.

Thanks to a little research and feedback from a homesteading Facebook group I discovered the other two reasons why chickens stop laying eggs as the weather cools: Lack of warmth and lack of sunlight.

Chickens require about 14 total hours of sunlight per day to produce eggs. An article on Backyard Chickens does an excellent job of explaining why:

“Chickens are ‘told’ to produce eggs by their endocrine system, a system of different glands and organs that produce hormones.  As the daylight hours shorten in winter, changes in these hormones shut down egg production. Adding additional light triggers the endocrine system into action, causing them to produce more eggs. Continuously giving chickens light in the winter fools their bodies into thinking that the days aren’t getting shorter at all.”

Another cold-weather factor impacts egg production is (no surprise here) temperature. Chickens lay best when the ambient temperature is between 52 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures fall outside of those parameters, egg production slows or stops. Also sudden, extreme changes in temperature can trigger an equally sudden stop to egg laying. (If ‘sudden, extreme change in temperature’ doesn’t describe fall in Michigan, I don’t know what does!)

Our hens had already begun molting in early October (with a subsequent drop in eggs) but during the week of our first official snow (which contained a sudden and large drop in ambient temperatures) they stopped producing entirely.

How to Re-Start Egg Production

The prescription for getting our hens producing again is pretty straight forward. Step 1 is to provide more light. After research and discussion with experienced chicken owners, it appears that adding heat and changing diet may be helpful but don’t always prove necessary.

Winter Lighting in the Chicken Coop

Artificial lighting can be used to supplement sunlight and provide chickens with the total 14 hours needed daily to produce eggs when days are short. We’re not able to hardwire a light in our coop at this time so we’ve run an outdoor extension cord to the same light we used to keep our birdies warm when they were chicks.

Based on my research the best practice is to add early-morning light rather than evening light. Additional evening light can have an impact on the birds’ temperaments and might also result in adjusting the birds to be afternoon layers. For some people these potential side effects might not be a burden. In the event of adding evening light, a low-tech way is to turn the light on in the evening when you’d normally turn your house lights on (5:30ish these days) and turning them off when you go to bed. For early-morning light, or for those of you who want a more hands-off approach, installing a timer will do the trick. I plan to spend between $20-$30 at a home improvement store to find the right solution to add early-morning light without having to get up in the wee hours of the morning.

I’ve talked to several homesteaders who’ve had success getting their hens to lay in winter by simply using a white light bulb (40 or 60 watt). Using a high efficiency bulb can make this an environmentally and financially friendly option. Meanwhile, using a red heat lamp (like the one used to keep little chicks warm as they grow) costs more to operate; however, the red light may actually be more beneficial to your flock. Research cited by Animalens Inc. shows that chickens who wear red-tinted contact lenses (yes, seriously) “behave differently from birds that don’t. The chickens are calmer, less prone to pecking and cannibalism; the mortality rate is lower. For a variety of reasons, some not fully understood, they also tend to eat less feed while producing, on average, the same size and number of eggs as other chickens (even a bit more).” I’m not itching to run out and buy contact lenses for my chickens (especially at $20 per pair!) but I’m willing to buy the fact that red might be overall better for the disposition (and egg production) of my birdies.

Warming the Chicken Coop in Winter

Of course using a red heat bulb in the coop helps to address both lighting and warming. If red lighting isn’t an option for you, proper insulation will go a long way to helping your chickens to stay warm. Your inclination might be to simply close up the coop tightly, but remember that proper ventilation is important! You don’t want a direct breeze blowing on the place where your hens roost, however, air flow is important to keep molds and mildews from building up as your chickens add heat and moisture (body heat and breath) to the coop. Overarching all of this is the admonition to select birds that do well in winter weather. In general heavier breeds will be more likely to thrive during cold weather.

A good point to keep in mind is that if you heat your coop your chickens will learn to depend on that warmth. What happens then when if you lose power? A natural way to add a small amount of heat to the coop is to use the deep liter method. With this method the decomposition of liter and manure will add some (not sure how much) heat to the coop all winter long.

In addition to what’s around them, chickens can be kept warm by what is in them. One site suggests feeding the chickens corn in the evening so that they are digesting during the night (adding warmth). Warmed water may also help your birds stay warm. You can buy water heaters from a store like Tractor Supply Company.

Or you could try something like this…

Should We Re-Start Egg Production?

You can see that re-starting egg production (or keeping it from stopping) when the days become short and cold can be very straightforward – add a heat lamp. But before you head out to the coop, consider this: Should you?

Healthy, happy chickens are likely to produce at least some eggs during the winter. Clearly adding artificial light and heat means you’re adding things that naturally-raised chickens have survived without for many, many generations. There’s some debate about whether or not adding artificial light and heat may have long-term negative effects on the health of your chickens. More specifically, there is debate about the health impact on a chicken who is forced to continue laying when she should be molting.

One fact that is not up for debate is whether or not adding artificial light will shorten the laying longevity of a hen. Chickens are born with all the eggs they will ever produce, so, inducing them to lay (by using artificial light) when they naturally would not (cold, light-deprived winter days) is essentially hastening the day when your hen will be ready to retire. For those of you keeping chickens as pets, this is a serious point to consider. For those raising chickens for their eggs, it may be of less concern.

Our Plans

I want to treat our chickens humanely and provide them with a healthy environment. However… I also want eggs. And though I am planning to keep these birdies for their whole life, I’m also planning on their life ending right about the time they stop laying (likely about 3 years). After that, I’ll keep them… in a ½ gallon canning jar on the shelf or sealed in my freezer. You can imagine then that I’m not too concerned about hastening the advent of each hen’s final egg. I am, however, concerned about raising my hens in a way that is healthy for them (and ultimately, my family). I don’t like the idea of our flock adjusting to artificial heat (i.e., red heat bulb) because I worry about the potential harm it could do to them if when we have one of those famous Michigan winter power outages. Though red light may be more soothing than white, my hope is that providing light from a regular bulb will feel more natural when delivered in the morning (kind of like an early sunrise… maybe I’m kidding myself…). If I see a change in temperament in the flock I’ll likely switch to a red light for good since I also read that switching back and forth can be even more stressful than simply using a white light.

I’ll need to do more research, but I’m considering giving our flock a good 4-6 weeks off each fall (October and November) to molt without the presence of artificial light and heat. After that time, then I think I’ll move on to adding artificial white light. What do you think? Any concerns about that plan? Any tips you can provide this rookie chicken-keeper with? You know I appreciate all of it!

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.   

We have blackberries. Just a small section of canes growing on a portion of our backyard fence. I didn’t plant them. Either the previous owners placed them there or nature was just crafty about placement. Whichever is the case, I have to confess that they weren’t even noticeable until the spring of 2010 (four years after we moved in) when I looked out into the yard and saw a beautiful spray of white flowers over the back fence. Ever since I’ve been making breakfast-time trips to the backyard every spring and summer to add fresh berries to my yogurt. In 2013 we received the most and biggest berries ever! Other than a bit of pruning this spring and training a few pliable canes through the fence I haven’t done much with these plants. They’re starting to get a bit unruly so I decided to look into best practices for caring for blackberries. Namely, my goal was to prune them. Here’s what I found…

Why prune blackberries?

Pruning blackberries has several straight-forward benefits. First, pruning helps to encourage growth during the next season. Pruning enables growth in cane strength but especially encourages lateral branching (which is where new berries will come from). Pruning also reduces the ability of diseases to spread.

At the end of this fall I noticed that my blackberries had taken on the same spots as my beans and cucumbers. I’m beginning to notice a trend that plants most impacted by what I’m currently guessing to be anthracnose are often located near a mulberry tree, and my mulberry leaves are spotted as well. There’s certainly more research to be done, but that’s another post. Meanwhile, I discovered yesterday that the majority of my blackberry leaves are spotted and diseased. Time to prune for sure!

When should you prune blackberries?

There are two times to prune blackberries: Spring and fall. In the fall (or better, at the end of the summer when berries are no longer being produced) pruning is done to remove dead or 2-year-old canes. Turns out blackberries only produce food on canes that are two year sold. After they’ve produced you’ll never get fruit from them again. Cut those puppies out to make room for new growth! This is also a time to prune away diseased canes and leaves (although this can also be done in the midst of the season to promote plant health).

At spring time blackberries will benefit from tip pruning where you (brace yourself) cut off the tips. Tip pruning causes the canes to branch out and provide more space for fruit to grow.

How do you prune blackberries?

Pruning blackberries is very straight-forward. Use clean pruning shears and cut the canes off at the desired height. If your canes are not supported, keep them around 3 feet tall. For supported canes, cut them off at the height of your support (i.e. fence). I cut mine about 1 foot short of the fence this year to encourage more growth and to give me time to tie them to the fence this spring before they get too large.

I wasn’t expected my own blackberry pruning experience to be quite so… extensive. Between old growth and disease, I ended up chopping off nearly everything, including new growth. It was a little scary, but these plants are so hardy that I know they’ll come back aggressively. I plan to let the branches dry out a bit over the next few days, chop them into small sections and have a little campfire evening.

I can’t wait to see what the blackberries look like next spring!

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.  

One of the few (possibly the only) crop I grew solely for our family this year was pie pumpkins. I only used one bed and ended up with about a dozen pumpkins. The pumpkins have been sitting around the house for a couple of weeks now, just waiting to be processed. After doing a little research (bless you, Google) and talking to a friend (bless you, Carrie) I decided to process our pumpkins using a combination of methods. I’m roasting my pumpkins in the oven and then dehydrating them to be stored in powder form. Here’s how…

Step 1: Roast the Pie Pumpkins

Dehead the pumpkin. (For those of you who don’t live with an 8-year-old boy or like to pretend you’re Eowyn, that just means “cut the top off.”)

Use a spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy mess. The goal is to get rid of as much stringiness as possible. If you set the seeds aside you can roast them alongside the pumpkin!

Cut the pumpkin into quarters by first cutting it in half and then halving the halves.

Place the pumpkin pieces on a cookie sheet with the skin side up. This will help to retain moisture as the pumpkin pieces roast.

Roast in the oven at 350* for 45 minutes or until the pumpkin pieces are fork-tender. They will look like this.

Step 2: Puree the Roasted Pumpkin

When the pumpkins are done roasting the skin will be soft and somewhat withered. Allow the pumpkin to cool enough that you can handle it without being burned and then peel away the skin. Don’t be impatient or you’ll burn yourself! I used both a knife and my bear hands to remove the skin. It was an easy process.

The next step is to place chunks of the roasted pumpkin into a blender or food processor. After some experimenting I found that I needed to add about 1 tablespoon of water to each batch to obtain a smooth consistency.

Since I plan to dehydrate my puree, a little extra water is no big deal. If however you are planning to freeze your puree, be careful not to make it too runny. If needed, you can remove excess moisture by placing a cheesecloth in a colander and letting the puree drain.

Also here’s where our freezing friends get off the train: Carefully scoop your puree into freezer-safe bags. Seal all but a small corner of the bag then lay it on the counter to smooth out the puree into a flat layer and push out excess air. Seal her up, label that puppy and stick it in the freezer for up to six months.

Step 3: Dehydrate the Puree

For those of you riding this train all the way into the station, it’s time to dehydrate your pumpkin puree.

Spread the puree out evenly onto a tray of your dehydrator and dehydrate for about 12 hours. I tried using both the mesh liner and the solid liner that came with my dehydrator. The mesh liner was a disaster – there was no way to get all of the dried pumpkin off it and the small bits I did retrieve accounted for a teeny portion of the entire tray. Boo. The solid liner, however, worked brilliantly.

Dehydrating in the Oven
Unfortunately I only have one solid liner which means I can only dehydrate a small amount of puree at a time (about 1 pumpkin). As an alternative I attempted to dehydrate puree in the oven. It worked very well! Here’s how: Lay a Silpat baking sheet (or parchment paper) onto a cookie sheet. Next spread an even layer of puree onto the Silpat and ‘bake’ at 170* for 5-6 hours. Mine dehydrated for 6 hours (I was working in the garden and forgot about it) and was slightly on the burned side, though still usable. If I dehydrate this way again I’ll aim for closer to 5 hours.

Once the puree has fully dehydrated it should look and feel like a thin crispy wafer. Peel away and place the pieces into your blender. Then blend away until your crispy wafers are pulverized into tiny little bits (powder is the goal). Here’s what mine looks like…

Store your dehydrated pumpkin away from heat and light in an air-tight container. According to the food preservation section of About.com you can store dehydrated pumpkin this way indefinitely. In addition to a longer shelf-life, dehydrated pumpkin takes up much less storage space then several freezer bags of puree. Also when if we have a power outage this winter I’ll have one less thing to worry about moving to a friend’s freezer while I wait for the power to return.

How do you cook with dehydrated pumpkin?

Does the idea of dehydrated pumpkin sound unappealing? I get it. But you can use dehydrated pumpkin for all of the same recipes as pumpkin puree: Pie, cookies, bread, cheesecake, pancakes, ice cream and smoothies. I’m looking forward to trying this one: Spicy pumpkin hummus. Yummy!

Here’s how it works. For every ½ cup of dehydrated pumpkin you should add 2 cups of boiling water. Stir the mixture up well and allow it to sit for at least 20 minutes. This will enable it to fully rehydrate and also to cool. The mixture should be completely cool before you use it in your baking.

Most of my dehydrating information came from Dehydrate 2 Store, which also provides a video tutorial for creating a pumpkin pie from dehydrated pumpkin.

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally. 

Despite being someone who likes to plan, I’ve developed this trend during the last several years of my life where I put things off until the last minute. Getting my garden ready for fall (and really, winter and spring) has sadly been no different. Last fall I was able to invest lots of time in the garden while Owen was at school. This year we’re blessed to have a precious 2-year-old foster child with us so my time in the garden is significantly more limited.

I have gotten some work done. I spent time digging up and mulching a couple of aisles. Two beds have been weeded and mulched with grass clippings. And I’ve also pulled up all of the summer plants. (Some of them, like summer squash and peppers, didn’t come out until after our first frost.) At this point there are three main areas I need to focus on:

• Pulling weeds (which is a very extensive job on the hugelkultur side of the garden)
• Mulching beds with shredded leaves and manure
• Dealing with weeds in the aisles

I felt really good about the two beds I was able to take all the way through weeding and mulching. But then I looked around the garden at all the work left to do and I felt overwhelmed. As I mentioned, the hugelkultur beds in particular are just overrun with weeds. And in some places there were so many tomato “droppings” that I wasn’t sure how I’d get them all up. (I’m not interested in volunteer tomato plants next year.) And that’s when I thought of it…

Maybe a chicken could help me?

We have a little portable cage we use for Nacho (the rabbit) to have outdoor time. I brought that out and set it up around half of a bed. Then I brought out one of the hens and placed her in it. She started scratching right away – yeah! But after an hour or so, she hadn’t made nearly the progress I was expected.

So I brought out a second chicken.

Still not making the kind of progress I was hoping for… and also the more adventurous chicken showed the first how to hop right out of the cage. Now I was chasing chickens around the garden to keep them away from the few plants I don’t want them eating: Winter crops which include lettuce, kale, kohlrabi, endive, frisée and a handful of beets. And that’s when I thought of it (again)…

I placed clear plastic row covers over the beds with winter crops growing in them. Then the next morning I brought all six of the chickens out to the garden and let them feast. Of course if I could speak chicken, I’d tell them to till my hugelkultur beds first – or else! But since I can’t give them quite such clear direction – and clearly caging them in a certain area wasn’t going to work – I let them eat whatever they’d like. I figure that even if they spend time eating from the aisle space, that will still help me in the long run. In addition to quite a salad bar, they’ve also had their pick of crickets and other bugs who’ve been calling the garden home. They’ve also done a marvelous job cleaning up the tomato mess and have tilled several of the beds. And (so long as I’m motivated to move them early in the morning) allowing them to forage in the garden keeps them out of the paddock and gives me a chance to actually start growing things in there. Woot! I wish I’d thought of this a few weeks ago.

So while they’re not quite as efficient as a team of two or three humans would be, I’m still pretty pumped about farming out my labor onto someone else… even if that someone else is a chicken.

Do any of you use chickens in your garden for tilling or pest control?

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally. 

Garlic is a staple in the kitchen for many of us. The fact that it’s so easy and inexpensive to grow means it would also be a great staple in your garden. With just a small amount of garden space you can enough garlic to be self-sufficient for the better part of a year.

If you’re like me, you’re destined to spend a decent amount of time this winter dreaming about what you’ll plant in the garden when spring arrives. But if you plan to incorporate a garlic harvest into next year’s season, you’ll need to act much sooner. Though you can plant at any time, for the best results, garlic should be planted in the fall. According to Lynn Byczynski, owner of Seeds from Italy, “Your goal should be to plant within two weeks of the first frost (32°F) so that the cloves develop roots but do not emerge above ground by the time of the first hard freeze (28°F).”

Since we experienced our first frost this week, I’m planning to have my garlic in the ground by the end of this weekend. Here are some things I’ll be keeping in mind as I go (and that you’ll want to take note of as well) for a successful harvest next summer.

Choose Between Hardnecks and Softnecks

Garlic falls into two main categories: Hardneck and softneck. The Daily Green describes the difference like this:

Softnecks, the standard garlics of commerce, are the easiest to grow in regions where the weather is mild. They keep longer than hardnecks, but they are less hardy and more prone to make small, very strong-flavored cloves. Hardnecks do best where there is a real winter and are more vulnerable to splitting – or simply refusing to produce – when grown in warm climates.

Prepare Garlic Seed

Garlic is traditionally planted from cloves which are the smaller sections that can be separated from the larger bulb. It is recommended that you plant garlic from “seed garlic” rather than from a bulb of garlic purchased from the grocery store. However, you can certainly plant garlic from bulbs purchased at a farmer’s market or from the produce section. The risk here is that garlic from the grocery store may be an imported variety that is not well-suited for growing in your climate, or it may have been treated with chemicals that make it difficult to sprout/grow. I’m going to experiment with planting from three sources: Farmer’s market garlic, seed garlic (Chesnok Red Organic) and organic garlic purchased at the grocery store.

Start your planting process by pulling the cloves apart from the bulb. Be sure to leave the papery skin intact. As an optional step, Organic Gardening recommends soaking cloves in the following mixture for two hours prior to planting in order to “prevent fungal disease and encourage vigorous growth”:

• 1 quart water
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon liquid seaweed

Avoid planting cloves that are tiny, dried out or that show signs of discoloration and mold.

Prepare the Soil

Garlic grows best in well-drained, fertile soil. Garlic does not do well in clay soils, which means you may need to amend with sand or vermiculite if you have predominantly clay soil. The soil should also be free of weeds.

Plant the Cloves

To plant your garlic cloves (“seeds”) first dig a 3-inch-deep furrow in the garden bed. Place the seeds with the flat root section down and the pointed section up. If the weather has been dry and you don’t expect rain any time soon, you may want to water the seeds before moving on to the next step.

For those of you with square foot gardens, you can plant either 4 (large varieties) or 9 (small varieties) per square foot. For those of you who garden by the row, 6-8 inches between cloves should be your guideline.

Garlic should be planted in full sun.

Side-dress Furrow with Organic Matter

To make sure your garlic has a rich, fertile environment in which to grow, you’ll want to side-dress your seeds with organic matter. Suggested materials include composted manure, alfalfa meal, garden compost or other organic fertilizer. Personally, I plan to use rabbit manure.

Mulch Away

After you’ve planted your seed and added fertilizer, cover everything with 6-8 inches of straw mulch. I’ve also used grass clippings and mulched leaves. The mulch will help to keep weeds at bay but will also help to retain moisture and moderate soil temperature. In the spring, carefully rake back the mulch to allow the green shoots to more easily emerge and soak up some sunshine.

 

That’s it! With these few simple steps you can easily grow all the garlic your family will need for the summer, perhaps even for a whole year. Later in the season I’ll share information with you about caring for, harvesting, curing and storing garlic. But for now you know all you need to make sure you don’t miss this perfect opportunity to get out there and plant your garlic before the garden is covered in a blanket of snow.

Alternative Garlic Growing

An alternative way to grow garlic is by planting garlic bulbils. This is a method I discovered while preparing to write this post and is something I’ll spend more time studying this winter. I do love a good experiment so I hope to harvest some garlic bulbils and attempt to propagate more garlic this way in 2015. For more details, click here.

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally.

At the beginning of this month I delivered the final round of produce for our 2013 season. Now that the season has ended, it’s time for me to provide you with our second annual Farmer’s Report. The annual Farmer’s Report is an exercise that helps me analyze what went well, what went wrong and – most importantly – what I’ve learned so that I can apply those lessons to improving subsequent seasons. It’s also a great way for me to share important information with our members and readers.

No One Can Stop You

Before I get too far into the ups and downs of our second season, I want to re-share a little something that inspires me to keep moving forward with this crazy idea of living sustainably.

In 2012 I wrote that:

I’ve been fortunate to have a lot of supportive, adventurous people in my life that didn’t have to pick their jaws up off the floor when I first started talking about quitting my well-paid HR job to start a farm in my suburban backyard. But just like any entrepreneur, I’ve encountered my fair share of naysayers who could come up with all sorts of reasons why I should be afraid. “Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” No, I’m not. “You should probably know more about gardening before you do something like this.” I probably should.  “Won’t that be a lot of work?” Yes, it will. “What if it fails?”

I decided a long time ago that I can choose not to stretch beyond my comfort zone because I’m afraid of failing (and then spend my life wondering what would have happened) or I can take the risk of actually putting myself out there and knowing what would have happened. Innovators don’t change the world by being safe and normal. Everyone with a special skill started somewhere – no one is born an expert. People we revere as world-changers are people who realize that if you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.

When I left my full time job to begin Arcadia Farms, I told friends and family that I knew there would be both successes and setbacks ahead of me and that I was looking forward to the opportunity to grow from both of them.  After studying some of the great innovators of history, I’ve come to believe strongly that ‘failing forward’ is a recipe for success. After two years of operating a start-up business, I’ve become more convinced that this is true, but also, I’ve become acquainted with the harsh reality that failing forward is painful. Painful… but worth it.

2013 Recap

This year has been full of new improvements and endeavors. Here are four areas that played a huge role in shaping our year.

Chickens

In April I brought you Chicken Week, during which I not only revealed our beautiful birdies for the first time, but I also discussed the case for backyard chickens, how to care for baby chicks, how to design space for chickens in a suburban setting and how to build a low-cost, high-quality chicken coop. Few of you know this, but our chicken ownership actually teetered on the edge of causing both a Right to Farm legal battle with our municipality and the potential of losing our farm entirely. I felt it was best to keep the situation private until resolved but it was a major time, resource and energy suck that occurred right at the onset of our CSA season. Thank God that is behind us! Despite the initial legal stress, life with chickens has been pretty darn good! (Who wouldn’t love six eggs a day?)

There is so much follow up information to share about the chickens that they really deserve their own post. I trust that the details of our actual experience compared to our initial expectations will be helpful to those of you who have considered suburban or urban chickens. Look for this soon!

Locavore90

In 2013 we did this wild and crazy thing called Locavore90. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Locavore90 is (was?) a free program to challenge and equip families in Southwest Michigan to incorporate more local foods into their diet for 90 days.

Buying local has been one of three major focus areas for our farm. Add to that the fact that a locavore (local-only) diet can have significant health benefits for both bodies and economies (click here for an explanation) and you can see why I was really stoked about putting this program in motion! I envisioned Locavore90 as a way to have a positive impact in the community, expand the readership of our blog and to find some fellow locavores who could encourage us (and each other) along the way.

The program began with great enthusiasm and effort. However as the season went on, the Locavore90 posts (and posts in general) became fewer and farther between. I can’t say for certain why things tapered off but here’s my best guess. My initial vision for Locavore90 was to create all of the meal plans long before the season ever began. However, our legal issues regarding chickens in the early winter and spring days drained so much time and energy that I was not able to prioritize the task. After the season started, it was difficult to find time to focus on creating quality meal plans. The time and creative energy invested in the meal plans essentially used up the creativity and time I would normally have used for blogging. I also chose to invest a significant amount of time into family relationships this summer. Mathematically, there should have been enough hours in the day to do everything and do it well. In reality, there just wasn’t enough of me to go around and although I wish Locavore90 had ended on a stronger note, I have peace (in fact, I’m pleased) about the choices I made with how to invest my limited energy and time.

Having said all of that, Locavore90 was still good! I personally gained a lot of valuable information about things like sources for in-season food and the value of raw milk. I also discovered some great recipes which will forever be go-to staples for our family. And lastly I was blessed to get to “meet” so many of you online and expand our readership. Thank you, thank you, thank you for participating! I’m not sure what Locavore90 will look like next year, but just like everything we set out to do, I’ll take the lessons learned from this experience to make it simpler and better the next time around.

Brokered Vegetables

This spring I also had the pleasure of announcing that we would be partnering with two other small-scale growers to form a group known as Arcadia Growers Group. This group aims to sell produce to commercial customers such as schools, restaurants, small grocers, and childcare facilities. Our first customer (a local childcare facility) has provided us with an excellent initial experience. We had a slow start due to the unseasonably cold weather this spring, but once deliveries began in July sales have been working like clockwork. Our brokerage work has been very profitable for our partners and has been a good source of supplemental income for our farm.

This endeavor has been personally enriching for me because it helped me realize something: I love sales and marketing! Or more specifically, I love selling and marketing something I’m passionate about and enjoy. This epiphany moment is helping to shape our business plans as I decide who I want to be when I grow up.

If you are a small-scale grower who uses natural methods and you’d like some help selling your veggies to a broader market, please let me know (katie@arcadia-farms.net). We’re looking for more partners to expand our growers group and intend to add additional customers in 2014. Likewise, if you manage an organization that could benefit from local, naturally-raised produce, please contact me. I’m sure we can help you!

CSA

Our second CSA season has been a good one. In 2012 I learned several lessons from both our successes and failures and I was eager to implement solutions that evolved from those lessons. Those solutions resulted in larger shares (more veggies each week), less supplementing, reduced waste in packaging, consistent labeling, improved pest/disease control and more consistent application of customer preferences.

Lessons Learned in 2013

Just like last year, I’m walking away from this season having learned several lessons. Following this list will be a more in-depth discussion of what I experienced and the conclusions I’ve drawn from those experiences.

1. Newspaper pots are not as effective for seed-starting as other options.
2. Hugelkultur works… I think.
3. I need to do a better job of managing weeds in my aisle space.
4. The chicken paddocks need to be improved.
5. I learned more about specific pest and disease management tools.
6. There is a certain disease that significantly impacts several of my crops each year. I need to determine if it is really anthracnose and find a way to effectively deal with it.
7. There is no end to this worry: “Will there be enough and will it be ready when I need it?”
8. I have to choose between small-scale simplicity and large-scale income (profit).
9. I need to decide who I want to be when I grow up.

No More Newspaper Pots

This winter I spent a significant amount of blogging time focused on the seed-starting process. I learned lots of tips that I’ve found to be effective, such as soaking seeds, chitting potatoes and planting by moon phases. Another solution I presented to you involved creating newspaper pots for starting seeds. The premise is that you turn waste into a resource by folding an origami-like pot out of newspaper, fill it with potting soil and plant your seed. Later when you’re ready to transfer the seedling to the garden you can place the pot directly into the soil since it will decompose. I also liked the fact that you can label each pot since I have had issues with being diligent in labeling. After reviewing several options for seed starting media, I decided that the benefits of newspaper pots sounded like the best solution. Hundreds of them. I folded hundreds of newspaper pots… I even paid my nieces and nephews commission to help me make some of them! Turns out that this solution didn’t work so well for me. Here’s why…

First, the soil in the pots dries out quickly and requires frequent watering. On the flip side, the pots definitely need drainage holes/slots on the bottom otherwise they get bogged down. Also there was a noticeable trend that the seedlings growing in newspaper pots were less healthy (smaller, more fragile) than seedlings grown in other ways. My presumption is that this issue is caused by a combination of the too dry/too wet conundrum and becoming root-bound. Once these limitations  are added up, the fact that it takes a considerable amount of time to fold and prepare the pots becomes another negative.

I did, however, discover this season the method for seed starting that I plan to use for my future gardens. On several occasions I ran out of newspaper pots and opted to sow seeds directly into trays (like these) filled with potting soil. In every case, the seedlings grown in trays were healthier than those grown in pots. This approach takes up the same amount of space in my greenhouse. Since I have lots of trays (purchased here) and can use home-grown compost for seed starting, I now have the resources I need to operate a self-sufficient seed starting operation. Woot!

Hugelkultur Works… I Think

We have made large financial and time investments into implementing hugelkultur on our farm. The 2013 expansion of our garden is comprised entirely of hugelkultur beds. For the uninitiated, hugelkultur is a German concept which roughly translates to “mound culture.” The overall idea is that woody materials (i.e. logs, brush) buried under a mound of soil will provide both nutrients and water retention as the wood decomposes. The process is touted as a no-irrigation system of growing. For a more in-depth discussion on the pros and cons of hugelkultur, click here.

Our hugelkultur beds started the season as approximately 4-foot deep pits filled with rotting logs and then covered by 1-2 feet of compost. The beds, initially raised mounds, have all settled and are now level with the ground. All of the beds have grown healthy, thriving plants with the exception of one. That particular bed was topped with native soil and not with compost. Though I can’t say it had thriving plants, it did grow several pounds of zucchini (from struggling plants), radishes and is now growing shelling peas. Even with this exception, I’m very pleased with the results from the hugelkultur side of the garden.

And what about the no-irrigation claims attached to hugelkultur? Well, fortunately for our CSA, we had lots of rain this year. Unfortunately for our hugelkultur experiment… we had lots of rain this year. It’s difficult for me to say whether or not the water-retention benefit s of hugelkultur were truly evident as I compared the east and west sides of the garden because of the massive amount of rain we received. All the same, I did observe that the hugelkultur side of the garden appeared to be healthier than the traditional side. If I have time in the spring, I will likely convert a few traditional beds to hugelkultur and do a comparison through the next season. I also hope to convert the entire Fenceline Garden to a shallow hugelkultur bed.

Weed Management in Aisle Space

I have a major weed issue. On the west side of the garden (built in 2012) the issue is simply that the aisle space gets unruly and occasionally tall weeds are able to reach over the bed sides (one foot tall), depositing seeds as they grow. The mulch that originally covered these aisles has either decomposed substantially or has been washed away. There are enough gaps (and now enough composted nutrients) available that the aisles were quickly taken over by all kinds of plants this spring. In some areas I laid down cardboard, but I didn’t have enough to cover the whole garden.

The east side of the garden is comprised of hugelkultur beds. Although these are technically “raised beds” they don’t have any hardscape sides – they are simply mounds of compost atop a deep pit filled with lumber and organic matter. In early spring this was no problem because the aisles were still basically sand from all the hugel digging done the previous winter. My intent was to cover the aisles with cardboard and then mulch, but once the season got rolling I prioritized many other things ahead of aisle space. Weeds have very easily and readily moved into the fertile hugelkutlur beds. As you might expect, I have some thoughts on how to address this issue.

Here’s the plan: I’m looking for living ground cover that will choke out the competitors, won’t be so aggressive that it snakes in under the sides of raised beds, doesn’t need to be mowed and can handle foot traffic.  And I’d like fries with that too, please.

In this blog post I shared several possibilities and asked for your opinions. Turns out there’s an option out there I hadn’t thought of at that time: Ajuga. Ajuga is an evergreen, perennial ground cover that can handle foot traffic. While touring some landscaping improvements made at my in-law’s house this summer I noticed that they had some ajuga growing in their front yard. For them it is an unwanted weed so my mother-in-law was more than willing to let me pull some up to take home. I’m currently growing the transplants in my greenhouse and plan to gather more from their place. In the spring I’ll be transplanting ajuga into the aisle spaces.

Meanwhile, I need to do something to give myself a head start in the spring. I’ve just started the slow, labor-intensive process of digging up the sod in the aisle spaces and turning it upside down. I also have a large pile of wood chips still from cutting down several trees to make room for a micro-orchard so I’m using that in some places. My plan is to plant the ajuga directly into the wood chips in a test area and see what happens. Maybe I’m crazy… we’ll find out!

The other necessary solution is that my hugelkultur beds need hardscape sides. I haven’t decided yet if I want to use cinder blocks or lumber. More on that in time.

Chicken Paddock Perfection

Our chicken coop is located in a paddock system. The original design called for four paddocks (fenced areas) each accessible from a separate door in the coop and through which the chickens could rotate. Each paddock is designed to be planted with crops chickens can self harvest (i.e., grasses, greens, berries). Though the numbers on our original design made sense per the experts, the size of each paddock just seemed too small. So instead of four paddock we have two.

Our paddock system is being implemented over time. In other words, we didn’t make time to do it all at once and we’re completing phases when we can. I don’t recommend this approach because it creates a problem… a problem that the system is actually designed to avoid.

When we first got the chickens they roamed the fenced backyard. It actually wasn’t as weird as I thought it would be to have chickens running around. The only real problem – poop. Everywhere. Especially at the back door for some reason. (Thanks, chickens…).  So after a month or two of being outdoors we finally erected a 20’ x 30’ fence around the coop. It was nice to have an area to banish the chickens to that still afforded them the opportunity to forage. However, it became obvious over the next several weeks that corralling the chickens into this 600 square foot area was going to wipe out the vegetation before too long. The solution was to finally raise the fence dividing this space so that we could rotate the chickens between them. That’s when our next and most recent problem developed…

Chickens are drawn to freshly tilled dirt. So any plants I tried to transplant or any seeds I tried to sow were promptly dug up. Eventually we decided to keep them completely out of one section, allowing that paddock to grow. Because this decision was made late in the summer (or perhaps we should call it early fall) the plants have not experienced the kind of established growth they need to withstand six chickens. When spring comes, there will be so much variety springing to life in that little area – sunflowers, kale, lettuce, spinach, strawberries, peas and more!

Meanwhile the second paddock has been reduced to a poopy mud pit. Our girls are such excellent foragers that I hate it when I have to “lock them up” in there. We’re constantly playing the trade off of keeping them in the muddy paddock but not accumulating poop in the yard or letting them roam the yard and dealing with the mess. And that’s not even the problem… The real problem is figuring out how to get both paddocks “fully stocked” at about the same time. In other words, if we move the chickens to the fertile paddock this spring, there may not be enough time for the muddy paddock to catch up before we need to rotate the birds away from destroying the first paddock.

We’re not exactly experiencing optimal weather for growing at this time of the year, but our initial plan is to keep the chickens out of the paddock entirely for the next 4-6 weeks to give time for at least some ground cover to be established. I’ll talk about that plan in more detail in an upcoming post about the chickens.

Pest & Disease Management

Anthracnose Annihilation

One of my goals for this year was to implement new ideas for pest and disease management. The most prominent solution involved using neem oil. Neem oil is a natural oil pressed from seeds and fruits of an evergreen neem tree found in India. Neem oil is used as a biopesticide and to control diseases like black spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and rust.

With consistent applications early in the year we were able to fight off large-scale white powdery mildew. Plants seemed healthier and bugs weren’t an issue. (Even though we did have some squash bugs, they never caused enough damage to be a true pest!) With the onset of frequent rain I was unable to stick to a regular schedule of spraying neem oil. Of course constantly wet conditions are the perfect breeding ground for mildew and fungus. During this time white powdery mildew began to show up and spread in the garden, as well as the familiar brown-spotted disease that has plagued some of our best crops. Last year after doing some research I self-diagnosed the mystery disease as Anthracnose, which can be prevented and controlled by neem oil.

During the raining season both mildew and anthracnose had their way in the garden. Once things dried up a bit I was able to do a few more applications which helped to keep the mildew in check. Meanwhile, anthracnose has destroyed nearly all of the beans and it also claimed the cucumbers. Over the winter I’m going to work on definitively identifying this continually destructive disease(what if it’s not anthracnose?) and finding ways to address it in 2014.

We’ve done more in the garden to address pests than applying neem oil. First, I planted radishes with squashes to act as a trap crop for vine borers. Guess what? It worked! Worked on zucchini, summer squash, acorn squash, pumpkins and melons. I’ve always had big-time issues with vine borers, but not this year! This tactic will be a staple in my garden going forward.

I also planted borage with the pumpkins and melons. Borage is considered a magic bullet for companion planting. It is known for improving the productivity and taste of many crops. It repels several pests (i.e., tomato hornworms, cabbage worms/moths) and it’s flowers attract pollinators. I couldn’t say for sure that borage solved my pest problems, but I did have pretty good luck with my melons and family pumpkins this year (no disease or pest issues).

And as always, healthy soil is the number one defense against pests and disease. Healthy soil leads to a healthy plant. A healthy plant can do much in its own defense and adaptation. I was absolutely thrilled with the compost we received from Kalamazoo Landscape Supply this year for our garden expansion. The soil on the other side of the garden was great as well thanks to a late fall application of composting horse and goat manure. This fall I hope to add manure to all of the beds to compost over the winter. Each bed will be topped with a mulch of shredded fall leaves.

CSA Stress

I’ve only been doing this CSA thing for two years. However during that time I have had the privilege of speaking with dozens of other producers about the joys and challenges of operating a CSA. I treasure the fact that everyone does things just a little bit differently, and in each case I’ve learned something new. At least one thing, however, remains constant. All of the farmers I’ve spoken with have this unyielding concern season after season: “Will there be enough and will it be ready at the right time?” So many factors – controllable and otherwise – impact the answer to this question. On our micro-farm scale, it’s a big deal when a crop is slow to produce, dies off or brings a reduced yield. After talking to several CSA farmers, I’ve discovered that this stressor is always present regardless of years of experience, acreage or weather patterns. Perhaps someday when we operate on a larger scale we’ll be able to absorb a significant portion of this stress by sheer volume, but that day is still floating out there in the unknown future.

Don’t get me wrong – this year was exponentially less stressful than last year. This year, I knew much better what to expect. This year, I understood that occasional supplementing from other growers is industry standard. This year, I was equipped to better plan quantities and had a more realistic idea of how much yield to expect. This year, there was no drought. But this year… I still had to ask myself several times that stress-tinged question: “Will there be enough and will it be ready at the right time?”

I’ve determined that, no matter how long I operate a CSA, that question – and the stress that comes with it – will remain at some level.

Scale vs. Profit

Another lesson that I’ve learned this year is that I need to choose between two competing factors related to the operation of my CSA. Either I can do this on a small enough scale that I can manage it as a work-from-home-mom who makes a hobby-level profit, or I can grow it into a large, multi-acre operation with a small team of employees who help me bring in a sizeable profit. A small-scale operation has lots of benefits. I work significantly less than 40 hours a week. I’m able to be at home and focus on my family. My schedule is somewhat flexible. I make money doing something I like and without going into debt to do it. The main disadvantage of our small scale is that our profit is commensurately small. Though I don’t have a 40-hour work week, I work far too hard to make as little as I do in terms of an hourly figure. Also, we’re committed to a debt-free approach to business and life so growth has to be slow, steady, and paid for in cash. (In other words, jumping into a 10-acre deal is not possible for us right now.) At the end of the day, our family can pay the bills and put food on the table, but I want to make an income that contributes to my family’s long-term (and big) financial goals.

When I Grow Up

The lessons I’ve learned over the last two seasons have significantly reshaped both the purpose and the operation of Arcadia Farms. Considering these lessons, along with much thought and prayer, we have decided not to operate a CSA in 2014.

Ultimately two overarching lessons contributed to this decision. First, the ever-nagging question “Will there be enough and will it be ready at the right time?” For me, this stress robs gardening of a portion of its satisfaction.

The second main reason we will not operate a CSA next year has to do with our personal family wellness. Fortunately our family was able to enjoy significantly more produce from the garden this year than last year, but we are still receiving less than the equivalent of a half share from our own farm. Because of the small scale of our farm (and thus the small scale of our profits) we determined that it would be a better health and financial benefit to our family to keep the majority of our produce rather than selling the bulk of it. One of the joys I experienced from our earliest gardening days was the successful feeling that came with having an abundance. Though we will still sell produce from highly successful crops (through our Facebook page and mailing list) keeping our bounty will enable us to supply our own pantry and to be charitable with what we no longer have room to keep. After a year of excellent crops and enthusiastic customers, it was a bitter-sweet conclusion to make. All the same, we feel it is the best decision for our family.

What’s Next

We may not be continuing our CSA into 2014, but we’re not going away! We still feel passionately about natural, local, sustainable food and want to help others to experience that successful feeling of bringing in a bounty from the backyard. The focus of our farm is shifting to helping others grow their own food rather than growing it for them. Though we still believe in the CSA model, this “teach a man to fish” approach is more sustainable overall and fits squarely into our mission. In 2014 you can look forward to the following from Arcadia Farms:

• Gardening classes, especially for beginners, renters and apartment dwellers
• Food preservation classes
• A virtual farmers market through social media
• Brokerage services to connect producers and commercial customers
• Customized and affordable garden plans for those who need help getting started
• Consistent blog posts with quality content about gardening and sustainable living

Who knows – maybe someday we will return to the CSA business. But for now, it’s time for our business plan to take a new path. We remain exceedingly grateful to all of our supporters, but especially to our members. Your investment in Arcadia Farms has enabled us to explore a dream that could never have happened without you! Thank you for the enthusiasm you have shown for the work we are doing and our vision of eating natural, local, sustainable food! You and your families have our deepest gratitude.

Best Wishes,

The Shanks

School started a couple of days ago. That means many things for me. It means I can get back to blogging with regularity. It means Pandora doesn’t have to be perpetually set at the Alvin & The Chipmunks channel. It means I can walk through the glass section of Hobby Lobby without worrying that a precious but energy-filled person half my size will topple an entire display with one curious, clumsy touch. And it also means that I have time to do some maintenance projects in the garden which are long overdue.

Any guesses as to what facet of my garden needs the most attention? If you guessed aisle space, then you’d be right! This year my aisles are especially overgrown with weeds (crabgrass, blackberry vines, clover, tall things that look like saplings, etc.). One reason is that last year’s mulch has deteriorated – decomposed, blown away, washed away, carried away – who knows exactly where it went. Despite having black landscaping fabric down in 50% of the aisle space, weeds are still growing through overlapped sections, on top of and sometimes through the fabric. And honestly, I’m just not interested in using wood mulch. The cost to purchase enough to cover my large garden effectively (several inches deep) and then to continue to replenish it every year or two is more than I want to spend.

On the other side of the garden, I have hardly anything in place to control weeds (and you can tell!). This 50% is comprised of the hugelkultur beds we put in last December. Some (maybe half) of these aisles are defended by a layer of cardboard which works reasonably well despite looking very tacky. The others look like… well… this…

I spent a couple of hours today clearing away weeds from one of the beds most aggressively surrounded by tall weeds. The process got me thinking again about something I had considered last year: Intentionally covering my aisles with perennial ground cover. Something that stays green all season long, keeps other weeds at bay, will be pleasant to walk and kneel on, won’t be completely crushed by foot traffic, and won’t grow tall enough to overcrowd (or send seeds into) my raised beds. I’m also looking for something I don’t need to mow, which takes grass out of the equation. I’m not sure if its possible to find a ground cover aggressive enough to be the blanket I need without being so aggressive that it weasels in under the raised sides and takes over my beds from the ground up. (I have determined that I absolutely want to add sides to my hugelkultur beds to help keep the weeds away.)

So…

Who has ideas?

I’m currently thinking about violets. We have gobs of them in the wooded section of the property so I think I could transplant and propagate them for free. They don’t get very tall at all, they certainly spread, and in the spring I can actually harvest food from aisle space. The violets currently found on our property are very small and low – likely because they grow in shade and only receive water when it rains. I do worry a smidge about how tall they will get in full sun and with consistent watering. (I irrigate with an oscillating sprinkler.)

What do you think? Would violets work or am I crazy? Any other plant you think I should look into?

Did you enjoy this article? Visit www.arcadia-farms.net for more info on eating healthy, saving money and buying locally. 

One of the icons of summer is a backyard campfire. And that icon conjures up images of another summer must-have: S’mores.

This year, I decided to try to make all the ingredients needed for homemade s’mores. Crazy, I know…

To get things started, I created marshmallows. I’ll be honest… I’m not personally a very big fan of marshmallows. (I am, however, a big fan of fire, so I’m obliged to eat each one that I burn in the backyard.) The thing about marshmallows is that they are loaded with high fructose corn syrup AND often contain artificial blue dye. (Seriously…) These factors make them a big no-no in our household and we eat them rarely. (See confessions above…)

Our homemade marshmallows are made with honey instead of corn syrup. I think they taste just like the store-bought version and Owen loves them. We’ve yet to try roasting them, but mostly that’s because I haven’t finished making chocolate and graham crackers yet. Can’t wait to share those adventures with you!

Meanwhile, click here for the video that inspired my marshmallow creation. They were pretty easy to make. FYI, I used cornstarch to dry mine. Next time, I think I’ll use powdered sugar. Also, they barely dried. And lastly, mine are a lot lumpier on the top than the pretty pieces you’re about to see. But they still taste good!

For a printable recipe, click here.

Last year I shared this post about my great love for zucchini and my complimentary great hatred for squash bugs and vine borers. I also shared about my equally passionate distaste for white powdery mildew and anthracnose. All of these pests/problems plagued my curcurbits (zucchini, melons, squashes) in our 2012 season. Since then I’ve taken steps to minimize the impact of these Axis of Evil members on my garden, including:

1. No mulch around squashes (it provides a place for bugs to hide)
2. Companion planting of radishes as a trap crop for vine borers
3. Companion planting of beans to provide extra nutrients to cucumbers
4. A bi-weekly application of neem oil

I can’t comment on how effective my no-mulch system has been because it’s difficult to measure how much squash bugs hide. However I can say that with all of these methods combined, I have seen only one case of vine borer damage and only recently (last week) have I seen any squash bugs. Also, I have had zero anthracnose issues and only a limited powdery mildew issue on some golden zucchini. (The golden zucchini are planted in a hugelkultur bed where the soil is 100% native, sandy soil. These plants – presumably – are suffering from having fewer nutrients than our compost-planted crops in other hugels and they have struggled the most of all the producing plants this summer. That being said, they are still producing, even if only a small amount.) Though I clearly still have work to do regarding the insect invaders in my garden, I’m pleased to say that I seem to have found just the right trick to keeping mildew and anthracnose at bay: Neem oil.

What is Neem Oil?

Last year’s issues with these diseases was awful with a capital BAD! In researching the issue, I discovered that neem oil can be a natural solution. What is neem oil? So glad you asked…

According to Wikipedia:

Neem oil is a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of the neem (Azadirachta indica), an evergreen tree which is endemic to the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced to many other areas in the tropics. It is the most important of the commercially available products of neem for organic farming and medicines.

The site goes on to say:

Formulations made of neem oil also find wide usage as a biopesticide for organic farming, as it repels a wide variety of pests including the mealy bug, beet armyworm, aphids, the cabbage worm, thrips, whiteflies, mites, fungus gnats, beetles, moth larvae, mushroom flies, leafminers, caterpillars, locust, nematodes and the Japanese beetle. Neem oil is not known to be harmful to mammals, birds, earthworms or some beneficial insects such as butterflies, honeybees and ladybugs if it is not concentrated directly into their area of habitat or on their food source. It can be used as a household pesticide for ant, bedbug, cockroach, housefly, sand fly, snail, termite and mosquitoes both as repellent and larvicide (Puri 1999)[not specific enough to verify]. Neem oil also controls black spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and rust (fungus).

Where to Get Neem Oil

You can order neem oil online or you can buy it at most home improvement stores. I purchased Natria Neem Oil from Home Depot for about $15. Options include a concentrate which you mix with water or a ready-to-spray formula that has already been diluted with water. I selected the concentrate because I felt it would stretch farther based on the quantity in each bottle. (I also purchased a 1 gallon sprayer similar to this one so I could have a dedicated container.) The Natria Neem Oil says “for organic gardening” right on the package, however I’ve noticed since that other neem oils are listed as being organic themselves while this is not. The next time I purchase neem oil, I’ll select something from the OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) approved list, which you can find here. The OMRI website also has a “Where to Buy” section.

How to Use Neem Oil

The most important thing to keep in mind is that you must follow the direction on the container! My neem oil is concentrated so I combine a small amount with water. Because neem oil can burn plant leaves under lots of sun exposure, its best to spray plants early in the morning or late in the afternoon. I usually spray in the afternoon because there is still enough daylight/warmth to dry the leaves but I don’t have to worry about a noon-day sun showing up a few hours later. I use neem oil on plants which tend to have disease or pest issues in my garden: Broccoli, cauliflower, squashes, melons, cucumbers and tomatoes. Although the packaging gives no limitations regarding spraying greens, I don’t spray it on any crops where the leaves are going to be eaten. The packaging for my neem oil says that weekly applications are permissible and recommends use either once a week or every-other week. I started in May with weekly applications and transitioned to bi-weekly in June. (On off weeks I fertilize the garden with diluted fish emulsion. With that said, things grew well in July and I confess that I haven’t fertilized in over a month.)

More Info

For more info about neem oil – including info on toxicity in humans and animals (hint: there is little to none) check out this link: http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/neemgen.html#whatis

So far, I’m thrilled with the results. Neem oil has enabled me to effectively stave off white powdery mildew and anthracnose in my garden. Although I can’t say for sure that it has been effective at warding off vine borers and squash bugs, its effectiveness might increase if I used it weekly instead of bi-weekly. Before I go there, my next attempt at squashing squash bugs is going to involve a hungry chicken! I’ll let you know how that goes…

Anyone else use neem oil? Other natural fungicides or pesticides? I’d love to hear your ideas!