This week we processed our spring batch of freedom ranger broiler chickens. In addition to me and Randy and our friends Chris and Claire we had three college students plus one of their dads come help out! Kudos to them for taking an adventurous interest in food and experiencing an important part of the food system first hand. We managed to get 77 chickens ready to be bagged up by lunch time. And yes, it was raining.
Between rain storms we have started getting our summer crops planted. Some of the tomatoes are finally in the ground but the lion’s share is still waiting not-so-patiently in the greenhouse! There are a lot of steps to planting tomatoes. Two weeks ago we made the tomato beds in the field. We intentionally make them early to allow any weed seeds close to the surface to germinate. Then we flame-weed the beds to kill the small baby weeds. Next we put t-posts in the ground and put up the wire fencing that will support the plants. We amend the soil with chicken manure compost and finally we are ready to plant! These beds will also get a line of drip-tape for irrigation and a thick layer of straw mulch. About half of the tomato beds are getting a black woven ground cover instead of straw mulch. We hope to reap some of the benefits of black plastic but with a reusable material. For these beds, the drip-tape must be rolled out and the ground cover put down before the trellis is put up. We are banking on the fact that by spending a little more time getting the beds ready we will save a lot of time weeding and trellising later!
Co-Dependent Saps and Storm Clouds
I admit I was dreading going to the farmers market the Saturday of our first CSA distribution. Lily Rose was due to kid at any moment. I know there are loads of people who keep goats (and pigs, cows, sheep, etc.) and have day jobs that take them off the farm for ten hours a day. Frankly, I don’t see how they do it. The anxiety would kill me. Moreover, the abysmal weather this spring means I had near to nothing to sell. I hate sitting at an empty table. I feel like I am letting customers down and letting the market down. Just for the record, all you farmers market shoppers, never comment on a farmer selling out like it’s a good thing. It is always a bad thing. Unless it is five minutes before the end of the market, then it’s okay. And being friendly is tiring. I have never been a naturally outgoing person. Those of us behind the table are on display, too. Being “on” comes naturally to some people: people who are perfectly at home at a party where they don’t know anyone. Not me.
I’m like a little kid who doesn’t want to get into the bath but has a great time once they are in there. Of course I love going to the farmers market. I get to see friends I haven’t seen in months. I love talking shop with other farmers, and I love meeting and talking with our customers. It feels good to be part of this community.
When I got home I had to admit to Randy that I had a good time. He endured my complaining Friday night. He knew I would enjoy myself, I always do (except some of those sweltering days in August). “Besides,” he said, “being around people makes you happy. You sounded really happy when you called me from the market.”
I know he meant it in a good way. Still, I felt instantly guilty. Has Randy been getting all the grumpy Josephine while I give away all the cheerful Josephine to people who are not nearly as important in my life? There has been a lot to grump about lately. The wet weather meant our spring garden is only half as big as we had planned and everything got planted late and may or may not have time to produce before it gets too hot. My favorite crop, the carrots, did not germinate well. The cold and wet meant a record number of broiler chickens died. We lost a lot of hens over the winter to predators and now we have some egg eaters in there so we aren’t getting as many eggs as we should. The pigs are not gaining as well as we thought. And it is still raining. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room in our farm budget this year so losing money on everything is a wee bit stressful. I am optimistic that we’ll have some bumper crops to pick up the slack, but right now it’s hard to imagine what those might be.
Yes, farming makes me happy in a big picture sense, but does it make me an unpleasant person to live with in the moment? In college, I knew some husband and wife teams that taught and did research together. I thought that sounded horrible. You have to really like someone to spend all your work time and personal lives together. What co-dependent saps they must be. Oops, I guess I’m one of those co-dependent saps now, too. I think the hardest part for me is bringing my best self to the table and being aware of the energy I am putting out. I can still take time to complain and vent and pull my hair out without skulking around the farm in my own personal storm cloud.
