Agropraxis Farm

Michigan has been enjoying a mild and humid Holiday week. The humidity has been high for us, in the 60% range, since we typically enjoy 40%. Which means dew to soak boots and pants in the mornings and sweaty days in the field.  I like the humidity with the top reason being the smells of summer carried generously on the air.

The farm smells are a blend of pungent and pleasing. The smell of cut and drying hay is a sensory trigger for pleasant childhood memories. The hay mow has similar associations. Each vegetable has its own unique scent. Tomatoes have a pleasing, pungent fresh smell that lingers when the leaves are brushed or the plants are being worked. Potatoes are being dug regularly and the earthy smell is ever present. The corn crib has drying racks set for the recently harvested garlic and the smell is a prelude to months of stinking rose enjoyment. The summer squash are now producing a nice crop and the scent among the plants is unique and unmistakable. The smells are a treasured part of the season.

The pungent smells are equally a part of what we experience. The barn stalls seem to harbor the pungent part of animal life. We move that waste to the compost piles and find it renders a less offensive compost when nature works its magic. We experience little whiffs of animal waste at Tiller’s International, not the overwhelming barnyard stink like confinement animals or CAFO’s. When scouting the squashes for stink bugs the smelliest farm specimen is at hand. The stink bugs are easy to catch and a quick pinch releases the acrid, lingering aroma that makes this insect worthy of its name. Pewww!!! Next to animal decomposition the stink bug wins the smelly award.  

Flowers abound and scent the air. Right now we can enjoy the muskiness of milkweed as it blooms. A few weeks ago the tea rose by the Clapp Homestead scented the air. We missed it last year as it took the drought year off.  What a joy! The smells that accompany the growing season are one reason to visit and savor the farm during this season.

Farmer Pete