tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-90937532401489068762024-02-19T06:33:47.131-05:00Volunteer Migrant FarmersNewlyweds abandon the city to work the land and explore the American Landscapejen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.comBlogger212125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-30931996318040504592010-09-27T16:17:00.001-04:002010-09-27T16:19:09.886-04:009-24-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >HELPS TO BE TALL</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8rQpXdEah1qpvnAbqcfILzuaEpaSajekKS1j09BLQrt0j8LxAxLkGBocefTWccb_dJ3u_x7vpD4Xu-Gnqm4fgLSdQX9qaazGPUn0xHnbw5U_9xTlF-_JneC15DBnAaFNRlYsCKRSJ40/s1600/DSCF8559.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg8rQpXdEah1qpvnAbqcfILzuaEpaSajekKS1j09BLQrt0j8LxAxLkGBocefTWccb_dJ3u_x7vpD4Xu-Gnqm4fgLSdQX9qaazGPUn0xHnbw5U_9xTlF-_JneC15DBnAaFNRlYsCKRSJ40/s200/DSCF8559.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521690090823920482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQC8ZEfgK676ANxUVAWsnqVLxoNirw0MQtqw2r0aNYryQogCE0ZIe-CAm7TBP3-DM7ECAh5jrMvC1uKPyHPAHPzFkfQn7uvCj3UFJ9Ak49a2Z83qUNkAS552zjMFJaZfm6PVPwKZmdGsU/s1600/DSCF8554.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQC8ZEfgK676ANxUVAWsnqVLxoNirw0MQtqw2r0aNYryQogCE0ZIe-CAm7TBP3-DM7ECAh5jrMvC1uKPyHPAHPzFkfQn7uvCj3UFJ9Ak49a2Z83qUNkAS552zjMFJaZfm6PVPwKZmdGsU/s200/DSCF8554.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521690085374541170" border="0" /></a><br />There's a famous expression, and it goes like this: "The honeymoon's over." As we write this last entry, we are no longer WWOOFing Pattaps. We are just Pattaps now.<br /><br />On our last day on the farm we harvested carrots, beets, tomatoes, chard, basil, leeks, and apples. It was a warm glorious fall day with a slight breeze and a crisp, clear blue sky. At the beginning of the trip, all we wanted to do was travel and learn how to grow food so one day we could plant our very own small vegetable garden. But after nine months on the road, and working at 20 farms, we are seriously struggling with how to take our next step. Giving up this life is going to be incredibly difficult and challenging, yet we realizing become farmers might not be our best next step. We don't have land, we don't have money, and starting a farm from the ground up is one awfully daunting task. Apprenticing on a farm for a year only makes sense if we are certain we want to one day become farmers.<br /><br />It's easy to feel low after being so high for so long, and feel nervous about what the future holds. But two things provide us with immense hope. The first is our love for one another; after 9 months of spending 24 hours a day with each other, we'd either realize this marriage was a huge mistake, or the best decision of our lives. The answer is overwhelmingly clear that we shouldn't have tied to knot...oh wait, we mean, we should have. The other, is that we can say with 100% certainty, we have zero obligations. We can do anything we please. Any sense of uncertainty can be viewed in a positive light, one of having total freedom. We aren't tied down to a mortgage, or a job that we don't love. We aren't required to live one place or be somewhere we can't stand. We're confident it will all work out.<br /><br />...and they lived happily ever after.<br /><br />THE ENDjen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-75585677687002273992010-09-27T15:55:00.000-04:002010-09-27T15:57:58.413-04:009-22-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >SUMMER OF '69</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYEgHVHdBQbnfUJdkknbULiz53wvzNsdXONlENhNpxoFAxLk7XItHO9msVZdu5VankofZiXZHBFszZWacv9O7qnxt0dhoHRfXq0H0nzZUTDac2hpADZ1ESsnvqU4FPRNY7K7YU5pNjak/s1600/DSCF8545.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTYEgHVHdBQbnfUJdkknbULiz53wvzNsdXONlENhNpxoFAxLk7XItHO9msVZdu5VankofZiXZHBFszZWacv9O7qnxt0dhoHRfXq0H0nzZUTDac2hpADZ1ESsnvqU4FPRNY7K7YU5pNjak/s200/DSCF8545.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521684644854405298" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >OLD WOODSTOCK</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88FAYBrld4uqsQPsdemcvjQmj3Adzevn3eE-zV9aI0m8OaqDSEm_pFv-hUt7kUCW138cM_n1jKpok5-nXX7LScTh6mUXV4kxZkUAJeeMXqLHxiEytnfjvQNq_YDgsOBcYsQQt78Y5Hok/s1600/DSCF8548.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg88FAYBrld4uqsQPsdemcvjQmj3Adzevn3eE-zV9aI0m8OaqDSEm_pFv-hUt7kUCW138cM_n1jKpok5-nXX7LScTh6mUXV4kxZkUAJeeMXqLHxiEytnfjvQNq_YDgsOBcYsQQt78Y5Hok/s200/DSCF8548.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521684639856825954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BUMPER CARS ANYONE?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphTKKTabxj-2BsCG2ApRQnr09IRqF76laUeqw99F1_799tbU-9E92a_gA0HCdVp6i6bmzXiP81OQesRYFqQOZwm4WSB5ndEzSpKNyq2lzvN9bR23lYgjJAaWILE8MQ4YjQeQhkckJH8o/s1600/DSCF8549.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjphTKKTabxj-2BsCG2ApRQnr09IRqF76laUeqw99F1_799tbU-9E92a_gA0HCdVp6i6bmzXiP81OQesRYFqQOZwm4WSB5ndEzSpKNyq2lzvN9bR23lYgjJAaWILE8MQ4YjQeQhkckJH8o/s200/DSCF8549.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521684634640961346" border="0" /></a><br />After pressing and bottling another 200 plus half gallons of cider this morning, we took off and headed to Woodstock for the afternoon. Hannah was going to Woodstock to make one of the bi-monthly CSA drop offs in town and she suggested we tag along. Right before we left we packed up a bunch of amazingly aromatic apple boxes for the CSA customers.<br /><br />Neither of us had ever been to Woodstock before, and given the town's history we were excited to check it out. There is one main street lined with stores and places to eat, shop, and reminisce. Posters of the musicians who put the town on the map and the famous bird sitting on the neck of the guitar which is now the symbol of the music festival hung in nearly every window. Middle aged hippies meandered the streets they flocked to over 40 years ago who never changed or left. It is safe to say the town is totally living in the past.<br /><br />In <span style="font-style: italic;">The Big Lebowski</span>, the Dude tells Walter he's living in the past and Walter screams, "Three thousand years of beautiful tradition, from Moses to Sandy Koufax...You're goddamn right I'm living in the fucking past!" We're not comparing Woodstock to religion, per se, but some people sure do live like Woodstock is the holy grail. Woodstock is a landmark that symbolizes culture, music, and freedom which some people will never be ready to let go of. The music of Woodstock was incredible but flocking to the city like it's still a cultural mecca makes no more sense than moving to LIverpool simply because the Beatles are our favorite band. The Woodstock Music Festival was arguably the best rock music festival of all time, but the city of Woodstock does not have any inherent value...it's just a town where something incredible happened a long time ago.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-2625806228612113492010-09-27T15:25:00.000-04:002010-09-27T15:26:09.427-04:009-21-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >FENCE FISHING</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMk42GRxNoYE70HyfRaSfjeawhWd6VGncsybDtH4fupqzrU6iWuVnVqtC1NgRTiDaQ6HqEQhax39qxwbCg3lSkapMNlJKFbMpUsoWVehLKiTI-lGnjesE2QvCX8afSBPZehPMfxBeCUo/s1600/DSCF8541.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhMk42GRxNoYE70HyfRaSfjeawhWd6VGncsybDtH4fupqzrU6iWuVnVqtC1NgRTiDaQ6HqEQhax39qxwbCg3lSkapMNlJKFbMpUsoWVehLKiTI-lGnjesE2QvCX8afSBPZehPMfxBeCUo/s200/DSCF8541.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521676730278013314" border="0" /></a><br />It's been a few days since we have taken down the fencing for the cows. For several days they have grazed on one of the largest pastures here and Hugh and Jonathan were moving the fencing within this field without our help. This morning we got back into removing fence posts and winding up the electric fence line. Reeling up the electric fence line, which is well over 500 yards long, sort of feels like reeling in a humpback whale. The struggle is ongoing; we keep reeling and reeling, with our arms tiring and making seemingly no progress at all.<br /><br />After harvesting carrots, leeks, lettuces, beets, chard, parsley, and arugula for the CSA, and once the cows were happily grazing on some fresh greens, we headed to the orchard to harvest. Up until today, we have picked up "drops" throughout the orchard to clean the ground but today we finally got to do some tree picking. For anyone who has gone apple picking at a U-pick before, you know that picking apples isn't brain surgery. However, picking apples at a U-pick is far different than harvesting at a biodynamic apple orchard in full production. Today we spot picked, which means we only picked the ripest apples, half those on the tree. The Liberties, Macouns, and Jonagolds were spot picked today and with lots of orders and more CSA fruit share demand, combined with the fact that these three varieties are ripening quickly, there is a chance we'll harvest more later this week.<br /><br />Harvesting vegetables is fun but harvesting fruit is much more enjoyable. The days on this trip we've harvested fruit have been highlights in our minds and we think back fondly to the times we picked berries, stone fruit, melons, and now apples. For us, harvesting and eating fresh, ripe, delicious fruit off the tree/vine/bush is unrivaled. All the hard work is worth it when you sink your teeth into the sweet, succulent, juicy flesh of fruit. Of all the chores we've completed as WWOOFers, harvesting fruit is our favorite.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-5945823399669340322010-09-21T14:28:00.004-04:002010-09-21T14:39:12.782-04:009-20-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >CARE FOR A PEAR?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycJfYVch6YxyRj2I_Tu4J0IYY-yfCZr2-k5SUAuxyMZmDwJtWOIKu8AtX9Via0sF5e6XJpfjR1WCXMcnbLOAYcdAUniEzOdvKpjYAT83OfZggPGYh4dhHcVYjnOvihP2LjJID7a6kujI/s1600/DSCF8516.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycJfYVch6YxyRj2I_Tu4J0IYY-yfCZr2-k5SUAuxyMZmDwJtWOIKu8AtX9Via0sF5e6XJpfjR1WCXMcnbLOAYcdAUniEzOdvKpjYAT83OfZggPGYh4dhHcVYjnOvihP2LjJID7a6kujI/s200/DSCF8516.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519437559128985762" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >HAY LOFT</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0vhk8kPilH_cq-TDlIzhdUMC4t-wmR1-0jzDtKhdUaXKzcZWx-F88DlaV9ptxttM98OBQJVLVoCdeLYCZ9s3R-bl8O0saPSHnd0kH8JGTkQzKLKTJjrCljwEsVxKnU3Ix6zUfM4L8XA/s1600/DSCF8519.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0vhk8kPilH_cq-TDlIzhdUMC4t-wmR1-0jzDtKhdUaXKzcZWx-F88DlaV9ptxttM98OBQJVLVoCdeLYCZ9s3R-bl8O0saPSHnd0kH8JGTkQzKLKTJjrCljwEsVxKnU3Ix6zUfM4L8XA/s200/DSCF8519.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519437549487943010" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >I JUST PICKED AN APPLE THIS BIG!!!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6dRzWSi7W0rmZALuMMEP_3hjHMIDVxPlj6DmG10RogD3SnUUcoTadTlEgXTYcCHOvmDO6PWU-Adb-zTJoNXQgvULaZIxUWzGV2296-aJzSlFjWglEZCVBHbm73EMU7o8CyJutWcjnus/s1600/DSCF8522.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx6dRzWSi7W0rmZALuMMEP_3hjHMIDVxPlj6DmG10RogD3SnUUcoTadTlEgXTYcCHOvmDO6PWU-Adb-zTJoNXQgvULaZIxUWzGV2296-aJzSlFjWglEZCVBHbm73EMU7o8CyJutWcjnus/s200/DSCF8522.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519436698724406930" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >PHILMONT RESERVOIR</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrT3E8Hl2HauNTS1wcHgfbUal-ZxlgY0_1SLYacrgrKodVVQp6BZ-CLN5biKUtsddK73Zqr01QQ8mllxrBNHrIfonygvo68aZMyU1QaaQQ4J1OiTYuwoC1Q1PAHc_yaa5_18JdrmesfFQ/s1600/DSCF8525.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrT3E8Hl2HauNTS1wcHgfbUal-ZxlgY0_1SLYacrgrKodVVQp6BZ-CLN5biKUtsddK73Zqr01QQ8mllxrBNHrIfonygvo68aZMyU1QaaQQ4J1OiTYuwoC1Q1PAHc_yaa5_18JdrmesfFQ/s200/DSCF8525.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519436693548719842" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >DAMN THAT'S A NICE DAM</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdnKYz3G1HPjA2wsxf2vW_yQH8LVN4uilpOHIMoRZtozcQLE1Mdd8EpH5Non9IgJhuZSLkstDuR9Q6dGuNH9gLyG_hAQZI34sPLkAu-va8tsGX6HDuaLdqf688MPKOYvHrMjVEHAgW4g/s1600/DSCF8530.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHdnKYz3G1HPjA2wsxf2vW_yQH8LVN4uilpOHIMoRZtozcQLE1Mdd8EpH5Non9IgJhuZSLkstDuR9Q6dGuNH9gLyG_hAQZI34sPLkAu-va8tsGX6HDuaLdqf688MPKOYvHrMjVEHAgW4g/s200/DSCF8530.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519436683984300194" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >EEEEEK</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKS1m-qyvowKSv3bS-rCigTy3MFT6uu_VFDchXsTnUPUqCjs210vyS3w25SUONLLoQCiAbVMqPwP-1s5GM9_88cBVXDdtq7g5i74VEP9ehPcx_1jIrrUw5whLqX2zHV4qCDgsWNXvR9KQ/s1600/DSCF8533.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKS1m-qyvowKSv3bS-rCigTy3MFT6uu_VFDchXsTnUPUqCjs210vyS3w25SUONLLoQCiAbVMqPwP-1s5GM9_88cBVXDdtq7g5i74VEP9ehPcx_1jIrrUw5whLqX2zHV4qCDgsWNXvR9KQ/s200/DSCF8533.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519436660937305330" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BISCUIT AKA BIZZY</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHVmfhCnytZCU0RslHjNSKyOaolyruGSDaIRLCXgYC6_hLzIohZ0tnsoPTY9uF2NkKIhyphenhyphenczJi7869Sn3BWEQUV3_OtpXGG-OqQVFc8-qUH05RB1M5XPOMzOLALsGY8SFa4TnM9Gs2vqw/s1600/DSCF8534.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHVmfhCnytZCU0RslHjNSKyOaolyruGSDaIRLCXgYC6_hLzIohZ0tnsoPTY9uF2NkKIhyphenhyphenczJi7869Sn3BWEQUV3_OtpXGG-OqQVFc8-qUH05RB1M5XPOMzOLALsGY8SFa4TnM9Gs2vqw/s200/DSCF8534.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519436641743869954" border="0" /></a><br />Aside from Hannah, Hugh, Christopher and Emma, Jonathan is often around. Jonathan is the sole employee of Threshold Farm, and has been apprenticing here for 4 years. He used to be a CSA member who enjoyed volunteering on the farm from time to time, but one thing led to another, and now he manages the orchard and vegetable gardens. He is 27 and we greatly enjoy his company in the orchard and in the kitchen, where he teaches us each day, and helps us prepare afternoon meals. He's taught us there are 11 apple varieties growing here, which are as follows:<br /><br />(1) cox-orange pippen<br />(2) paula red<br />(3) gala<br />(4) fuji<br />(5) jonagold<br />(6) jonafree<br />(7) golden delicious<br />(8) macoun<br />(9) baldwin<br />(10) liberty<br />(11) ida red<br /><br />We've learned from him different apples ripen at different weeks during the fall, and apples 1-3 in the above list were all harvested before we arrived. The macouns, liberties, and jonagolds are nearly ready and we may harvest some this week with him.<br /><br />Two other visitors arrived this weekend and left this afternoon. Kelsey and Dominic are workers at a beef farm in Vermont, and are interested in doing a season long apprenticeship next year when Jonathan leaves to start his own farm. Listening to Hannah and Hugh interview them was fun and interesting for us, because the idea of apprenticing at a farm has entered our heads over the past month. It's awfully hard for a farmer to find apprentices that fit into their lives, and it's equally challenging for young, aspiring farmers to find a farm that matches their needs. Learning and working in exchange for teaching and lodging is more the goal than making money, but compensation is a factor to consider. But the most important element of an apprenticeship seems to be having the right dynamic between the apprentices and the farmers. We suspect Hannah and Hugh will continue looking for apprentices. They suggested we stay as apprentices, and were shocked by this offer. With only 4 more days of WWOOFing, we are weighing all options.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-2645314410777562172010-09-20T21:41:00.003-04:002010-09-20T21:46:18.493-04:009-19-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >HANNAH NEEDS TO KNEAD</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcn59TbwEafQTRKXT5e5o0Q3TGbIgd6RDtBf_JeE3An2pOibp8YdukohTSIwkySist_teaEHjUAYHiIMeTUXROWsNv2KjtO2SAPIRTL9vZej8cTa-M_LWHieyQuInWSkkHriuvG6OTOCM/s1600/DSCF8493.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcn59TbwEafQTRKXT5e5o0Q3TGbIgd6RDtBf_JeE3An2pOibp8YdukohTSIwkySist_teaEHjUAYHiIMeTUXROWsNv2KjtO2SAPIRTL9vZej8cTa-M_LWHieyQuInWSkkHriuvG6OTOCM/s200/DSCF8493.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519176897288771266" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >PIZZA PIZZA!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifp3ZNHmFkHO1voLRm5wZmiElxZ2RslcXhe67sfxHlapdnMZN4j79oMziEV6vFXywzgcjl7C57FyVHoM72AXgHKJ4gxjF0PBUd2LPGHhgHC64rMQxUKGwgMDdsCmuPNiOV654LNwJVoRU/s1600/DSCF8495.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifp3ZNHmFkHO1voLRm5wZmiElxZ2RslcXhe67sfxHlapdnMZN4j79oMziEV6vFXywzgcjl7C57FyVHoM72AXgHKJ4gxjF0PBUd2LPGHhgHC64rMQxUKGwgMDdsCmuPNiOV654LNwJVoRU/s200/DSCF8495.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519176887188730402" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >LOADING THE OVEN</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-XwR_nhZ-VBvBpiQAoikVkB3H29LBTJet1b5_mid-NloWvrj8rn2YxP_hVouLXSLaXH6K9PJqOmZzBrvfiI80tyBw0E-TPlwKvxWO2jAh4ILfgh0QG-JJwXZavlj7WjfIpAjlMpUsQ8/s1600/DSCF8498.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7-XwR_nhZ-VBvBpiQAoikVkB3H29LBTJet1b5_mid-NloWvrj8rn2YxP_hVouLXSLaXH6K9PJqOmZzBrvfiI80tyBw0E-TPlwKvxWO2jAh4ILfgh0QG-JJwXZavlj7WjfIpAjlMpUsQ8/s200/DSCF8498.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519176871158269938" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >ARTESIAN BREAD</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYukCmgqK6H6zNtJgp3-N1myis4ZLdGd2wWYzQfpzsBgq-bSZUud11y1dJqaKGk8umzcNVSaPKujm1olJQA-OYVd0RhhTw3ArLvRz7-ruy3b5cEW2C_5aZJXVAxn1CmOC7KxUtZyUdII/s1600/DSCF8509.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYukCmgqK6H6zNtJgp3-N1myis4ZLdGd2wWYzQfpzsBgq-bSZUud11y1dJqaKGk8umzcNVSaPKujm1olJQA-OYVd0RhhTw3ArLvRz7-ruy3b5cEW2C_5aZJXVAxn1CmOC7KxUtZyUdII/s200/DSCF8509.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519176864273160706" border="0" /></a><br />One of the most important things we've learned on this trip is how to be flexible eaters. Every where we stay, everyone is accustomed to different eating habits. Our diet was stable in Brooklyn but since January we've been all over the map; meal sizes, times, and regularity all vary greatly from farm to farm. At times it's been wonderful and we've picked up new recipes and techniques we'll take with us after our journey ends. At other times, however, we have worked hard to make due. On our trip there was rarely a shortage of fruits and vegetables but the variety didn't often change until we changed locations. Even in the midst of some of the best summer produce, we had to figure out ways to cook eggplant in a different way every night. When eggplant, or any other food, is in season it is overabundant and we have to figure out ways of cooking and preserving it so we still want to eat it the next day. Here the main ingredients we've been working with are squash, carrots, chard, garlic, and apples. Of course we've harvested green beans, tomatoes, and onions which we've been steadily cooking but it's tough to come up with a new squash recipe every day. Especially since we're spending more time in the field than in the kitchen.<br /><br />But the truth is, none of this is a major issue at Threshold because we eat a very European diet: two very small meals usually consisting of not much more than bread, butter, jam, and cheese and a large lunch. Really, we're only cooking one meal a day so we've managed to keep creativity alive. Alas, with bread for breakfast and dinner, and several mouths to feed, we must keep a good supply of bread in the house. Hannah has been baking her own bread for years and today happened to be baking day.<br /><br />Hugh spent a few hours readying the outdoor brick oven he and a friend built by lighting a fire inside and letting it heat up for four hours. Hannah kneaded and kneaded the dough she made, which consisted of a sourdough starter and freshly ground whole wheat flour. When the time came, the fire in the oven went out and in went the pizzas. We cooked the pizzas first because they cook at a higher temperature than the bread. The oven was already that hot and had to cool a bit before the bread could go in, so it seemed perfect to utilize the hot oven to the max. The pizzas cooked quickly and once they were done in went the 12 loaves of bread. 45 minutes later they were crispy, aromatic, and delicious. As the oven continued to cool there was plenty of heat still trapped inside, so we cooked three clay pots of beans, two trays of squash, and garlic. It was a brick oven baking extravaganza!jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-12646822702775187752010-09-18T20:14:00.001-04:002010-09-18T20:17:30.765-04:009-17-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >THRESHOLD FARM CSA SHARE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx7tE20syQF5krx1LU-wp_cDIVByM9Xi6m_lmkE8Hl-NIkIkcvjA_6W21OG0g19_4jpOlVM-pV4SBoW3G1aXycfeM2OTBfY9h3fZJfceEKnzeYBBWiVjAz2mf-P5W8tkyrV6Cogtc_00/s1600/DSCF8479.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 97px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnx7tE20syQF5krx1LU-wp_cDIVByM9Xi6m_lmkE8Hl-NIkIkcvjA_6W21OG0g19_4jpOlVM-pV4SBoW3G1aXycfeM2OTBfY9h3fZJfceEKnzeYBBWiVjAz2mf-P5W8tkyrV6Cogtc_00/s200/DSCF8479.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518411961605121154" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />THE LEAVES THAT ARE GREEN TURN TO BROWN</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZelF_fyc20oudREyQl9mwL4fyv7jtGKwSxhRyC1eRH1-yK5JmhYTTVVtk6pzBcv5BpTCbEtlpIa1Ma313L1vKQ9Z_hzMY6LqWerMBwISDo47TBIsF-9Oe0yZ0Sf5FQr_oyGCXel1oFo/s1600/DSCF8482.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDZelF_fyc20oudREyQl9mwL4fyv7jtGKwSxhRyC1eRH1-yK5JmhYTTVVtk6pzBcv5BpTCbEtlpIa1Ma313L1vKQ9Z_hzMY6LqWerMBwISDo47TBIsF-9Oe0yZ0Sf5FQr_oyGCXel1oFo/s200/DSCF8482.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518411947853075602" border="0" /></a><br />We made more cider today. The nice thing about farming is that no day is like another; there is always variety in chores, and from season to season. Yet despite the variety, there is often incredible repetition unlike that in some other professions. Farming seems to be all about doing a new and different task every day, but sometimes you must complete that task hundreds and hundreds of times. You only harvest carrots a few times a year, but when it's time, you pull hundreds and hundreds on each of those days. Here, they only make cider a handful of times each season, and on this occasion, we poured liquid through a funnel for hours and hours, repeating the exact same motions for what seemed like an eternity; or dropping apples through the grinder, over and over, and over again until the insignificant weight of one apple began to feel burdensome. There is satisfaction in knowing when something gets too dull, you know you don't have to do it every day, for the better part of your life...unless you're a dairy farmer.<br /><br />Another thing that happened today was the CSA pickup. 27 people are members of the vegetable CSA and Threshold Farm also offers a CSA for fruit shares only. The theory is some CSA members may have their own apple trees, and don't want extra apples. Or some people may have a small vegetable garden, and just want the fruit. In addition to the vegetables and fruit, Threshold also offers for sale eggs from their chickens, meat from their pigs and cows, and yogurt and milk from their cows.<br /><br />There is some controversy about the way they sell certain items out of their farm store here, specifically as it relates to pasteurization of apple cider, apple cider vinegar, and milk products. In NY state, it is illegal to sell unpasteurized juices and milk. Hannah and Hugh are anarchistic in their farming styles. They don't pay for the USDA organic certification or the Demeter biodynamic certification, and they also don't care much for health board regulations. They believe their products are safe, and more nutrient rich than almost any product you can buy in a supermarket. We tend to agree, but because of the illegality of selling unpasteurized milk, they have a statement on their refrigerator door: This milk is for pet consumption only.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-74401125774860448792010-09-18T20:08:00.001-04:002010-09-18T20:13:47.083-04:009-16-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BOTTLING APPLE CIDER VINEGAR</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQJiBQqOUpXKlTH0-zTk9D9u-OJN9tFz4ED_8Kqzv0ZS78_umrFKLQBhSJ887KKNe3nPwkIL9IbqZ0dM7cAcmUJtrXst08s7cs9Tn-yLLeqCu-KyLJcEXNzpGkl1_VuN6NZayYg2yZfg/s1600/DSCF8470.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmQJiBQqOUpXKlTH0-zTk9D9u-OJN9tFz4ED_8Kqzv0ZS78_umrFKLQBhSJ887KKNe3nPwkIL9IbqZ0dM7cAcmUJtrXst08s7cs9Tn-yLLeqCu-KyLJcEXNzpGkl1_VuN6NZayYg2yZfg/s200/DSCF8470.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518410985950911650" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BUSHELS AND BUSHELS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHKr48Bha4PtIkpVjnH6rTRLDjiBlUIQS9z5IRVwCMTN0XSy7lh0mDOMayk_kq3ApC5EcdddRfQyQvTFAlskA02yhYbgnh6Dt8DfJgDg0poH3TDFBtgO_3ZaE1H0FP_M_7kf5JwAbmPQ/s1600/DSCF8471.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCHKr48Bha4PtIkpVjnH6rTRLDjiBlUIQS9z5IRVwCMTN0XSy7lh0mDOMayk_kq3ApC5EcdddRfQyQvTFAlskA02yhYbgnh6Dt8DfJgDg0poH3TDFBtgO_3ZaE1H0FP_M_7kf5JwAbmPQ/s200/DSCF8471.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518410978140233330" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />CIDER HOUSE RULES</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVuraJwh3EMID-4D4MTo49akf1-HYR6XVH18METUamAuGX95j4sMowIGNmCRmr5uiaknwNH25X0FaYTw8nEUkBPBSSOL0djz9njH-2WNqX36ouoou5uXOyHzfjCJwEe05ZSSe7IjHn30/s1600/DSCF8473.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqVuraJwh3EMID-4D4MTo49akf1-HYR6XVH18METUamAuGX95j4sMowIGNmCRmr5uiaknwNH25X0FaYTw8nEUkBPBSSOL0djz9njH-2WNqX36ouoou5uXOyHzfjCJwEe05ZSSe7IjHn30/s200/DSCF8473.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518410967520466290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GOT CIDER?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9JTmMKmKa5vEVyOAur3roBsIPSaHMYFfEBoZqThu1-XrXJhedIHeWk6I4DOQTljUNFaV6bhQVU82NFMFNGNbPxjgbKzHJALulR5NttQV8xvoVFoVfCLEEC2JTjebATZ2oK2T8ZoQrys/s1600/DSCF8476.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI9JTmMKmKa5vEVyOAur3roBsIPSaHMYFfEBoZqThu1-XrXJhedIHeWk6I4DOQTljUNFaV6bhQVU82NFMFNGNbPxjgbKzHJALulR5NttQV8xvoVFoVfCLEEC2JTjebATZ2oK2T8ZoQrys/s200/DSCF8476.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518410955813358034" border="0" /></a><br />Something we've learned along this trip is that farmers in general usually do a fine job selling their goods. But almost all could make more money by selling added value products. With their hectic lifestyles, most farmers don't have much free time on their hands, and definitely not enough time for processing the foods they harvest into sauces, jams, ciders, pies, dried fruits, or dressings for sale. One can sell tomatoes for three dollars a pound if you're lucky, but one can sell a jar of tomato sauce for much more. Here, you can buy "second" apples for 75 cents a pound (ones that have fallen off the tree and might be slightly damaged). Or you could buy a half gallon of apple cider<br />(made exclusively from seconds) for $4.50. Hugh and Hannah are not fools, and they are taking the time to add value to their product, and make lots and lots of cider.<br /><br />Today we spent the morning doing just that. With hundreds of pounds of apples in bags, we first washed, then picked through them, discarding the rotten ones. Next we sent them through a machine that chopped them up into pumice. The pumice then went into a press, which extracted the liquid from the skin, pulp, and seeds. Lastly, we funneled it into half gallon plastic bottles for storage. The press they use can hold a maximum of 10 bushels of crushed apples. Once filled with the chopped up apples, an expanding bladder in the core of the machine fills with water and presses the juice out of the apples and down through a spout at the bottom. We managed to fill over 400 half gallon jugs with delicious cider. And this was only one of the five or six cider pressings that will happen here this season. Each batch tastes different, because different varieties of apples are collected and and all mixed together. But no matter how many tastes we had, they were all uniquely delicious.<br /><br />By the end of the day, we all had sticky hands, and miraculously managed to escape the wasps. The yellow jackets swarmed every where, especially during the bottling. Whoever poured the liquid through the screen, through the filter, and into the bottle had at all times no less than 10 wasps swarming around their eyes, ears, mouths, hands, and the bottle lids. Some of us smushed them dead. Others swatted them with shoos. Some even threatened: "Wasp, if you sip but one drop of this here cider, we'll punish you by making you drink all 400 plus bottles of cider! Don't test me!"<br /><br />Now we are just left with one unanswered question: what is the difference between apple juice and apple cider anyway?jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-1635494223124647002010-09-17T15:51:00.003-04:002010-09-20T18:04:18.875-04:009-15-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >I CAN BELIEVE IT'S BUTTER</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyh2wkmgF969bGWL7RSpitKAx-pVqA9is_LGw0ecELzDgwYL2Br_urn7bghFbNEUkZrYUr6L6nzwgyPXNpMZlHrCYK713Lrr2UoQG8sL8T4xxCjxU4YT-vXEcC3cy3CC5MJamtJL3jo0/s1600/DSCF8432.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCyh2wkmgF969bGWL7RSpitKAx-pVqA9is_LGw0ecELzDgwYL2Br_urn7bghFbNEUkZrYUr6L6nzwgyPXNpMZlHrCYK713Lrr2UoQG8sL8T4xxCjxU4YT-vXEcC3cy3CC5MJamtJL3jo0/s200/DSCF8432.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517973056528435874" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />PEACEFUL VALLEY FARM SUPPLY</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hkeAJm6iBVliY8tZA3DI1Ias2QYpOuHQ6DnTxRPpbWjKoMQpDb_z4bzb-uTQnyuDvulPIy8rSJECBjsCBwAAtNt7epmdWot0qae7Jbp40StMDybKtjCgW3_2KkVgShj9pbacv0VQwA4/s1600/DSCF8434.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hkeAJm6iBVliY8tZA3DI1Ias2QYpOuHQ6DnTxRPpbWjKoMQpDb_z4bzb-uTQnyuDvulPIy8rSJECBjsCBwAAtNt7epmdWot0qae7Jbp40StMDybKtjCgW3_2KkVgShj9pbacv0VQwA4/s200/DSCF8434.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517973047981957858" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />HUGH AND JOHN MAKING AN EARTH WALL</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWdleeYCjCMMTkwivcTdAoQUqwebkDklHfdphfVad58QYbsQX2e4PDm0fttrYJyjBmyHCy9Ny-56VZQYW4iKqBMRG4VbP0OV8CJdlwt1iuy_S0k3n70HAyRDs4jcKRUrtxikCiafHDKs/s1600/DSCF8449.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWdleeYCjCMMTkwivcTdAoQUqwebkDklHfdphfVad58QYbsQX2e4PDm0fttrYJyjBmyHCy9Ny-56VZQYW4iKqBMRG4VbP0OV8CJdlwt1iuy_S0k3n70HAyRDs4jcKRUrtxikCiafHDKs/s200/DSCF8449.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517973041839368914" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />EMMA DID ALL THE HARD WORK</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3Ig1WxbawRTxsYE07yk_RzUuh4wWLtwd6zMLWc3NSWLs8ZZgsgeqHxpV6k6M4iBdEa98SSy6f5fLLRCWb_xpJVtZbRD73fdiDEK4-OHKJzJ0K9G8PUj3VJjdPOzssN3jGsI20-iVF2o/s1600/DSCF8458.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV3Ig1WxbawRTxsYE07yk_RzUuh4wWLtwd6zMLWc3NSWLs8ZZgsgeqHxpV6k6M4iBdEa98SSy6f5fLLRCWb_xpJVtZbRD73fdiDEK4-OHKJzJ0K9G8PUj3VJjdPOzssN3jGsI20-iVF2o/s200/DSCF8458.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517973031595188866" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />CHICKEN LITTLE </span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpB157_kP-3YtCFtYyg78VbNpVA-pB_tQKduZrMkictpjfOGEfOQm2DXT6s1lui1BpqM5Lg9nUWrY1A8sfmkYqvFXRprsBL8sDh31_7ATTEb0PjaiQXUidS6-kXToBy1TSyXLRaxUymY/s1600/DSCF8460.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJpB157_kP-3YtCFtYyg78VbNpVA-pB_tQKduZrMkictpjfOGEfOQm2DXT6s1lui1BpqM5Lg9nUWrY1A8sfmkYqvFXRprsBL8sDh31_7ATTEb0PjaiQXUidS6-kXToBy1TSyXLRaxUymY/s200/DSCF8460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517973023378597890" border="0" /></a><br />Today was a sad day on Threshold Farm if you were a pig. Jen was making butter at the house with Hannah, trying to avoid the slaughtering, while Aaron was picking carrots when three gun shots were fired in quick succession. Next, all three pigs were taken away by the butcher for processing. Out of honor for the pigs, photographs and video were prohibited. Hannah and Hugh respect their animals, treat them very well, raise them with love, and believe their flesh is a sacrifice that shouldn't be taken lightly. As Jewish vegetarians, slaughtering pigs sits uneasy in our stomachs. But by noon, the crows were flocking over pools of blood in the pig pen and that was that. New piglets may arrive next week, and they'll have a happy life, for one year.<br /><br />After a somber morning, we had a nice group lunch, then returned to the farm to work on the addition to the barn. Hugh, with the help of his fellow Aussie friend John, are erecting a new room on the west side of the barn using mud as the walls. We essentially beat the crap out of dirt to pack it down, made very slow progress, then repeated. In three hours, we put up a foot and a half of wall, but it doesn't cost a dime for materials, and since our labor is free, everyone wins! And by everyone, we mean Hugh. The only trouble with a dirt wall is, in the case of a big storm, theoretically, the walls could wash away. Hugh and John have a plan for that, but we won't be around to find out what it is and how it gets implemented. Helping them build was physically exhausting, but we learned again that there are many ways to skin a cat.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span>jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-36242581774048953012010-09-14T21:02:00.001-04:002010-09-14T21:08:20.240-04:009-14-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BEET IT!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCItWAcAr5DKITsdJoBB_-xDiiyOk5XYr2sT7x5oL1RVBcyrgDlL3Z_Cp_Tam1z2vejaqVra74E01CJUHvOAD6VXbE224HqCutdtQnFMhybZF2154XA_lwABVgbyyHcnAfpm0xsEW6I4/s1600/DSCF8410.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXCItWAcAr5DKITsdJoBB_-xDiiyOk5XYr2sT7x5oL1RVBcyrgDlL3Z_Cp_Tam1z2vejaqVra74E01CJUHvOAD6VXbE224HqCutdtQnFMhybZF2154XA_lwABVgbyyHcnAfpm0xsEW6I4/s200/DSCF8410.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516940604101470594" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >EGG HATCHERS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwB7NkjIJy4fiSLQdcORcZOjVqBKeHX-tz2VV0Upg-lpMcKIlGCTFMRQ0RG_yLE3QLnQ54c1XNoRIx6jh39bQ9JJJ3eMQzlu31dsdRzpwQB7hsHcB6JHNi25Ij6VEGOUbB7h8H8qVQEU/s1600/DSCF8412.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikwB7NkjIJy4fiSLQdcORcZOjVqBKeHX-tz2VV0Upg-lpMcKIlGCTFMRQ0RG_yLE3QLnQ54c1XNoRIx6jh39bQ9JJJ3eMQzlu31dsdRzpwQB7hsHcB6JHNi25Ij6VEGOUbB7h8H8qVQEU/s200/DSCF8412.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516940589149697954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >AN APPLE A DAY KEEPS THE DR AWAY</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYuRs2F7R55u4dACicYyYH1-V-XI-D5Rhc71-pBpfGTqX-J4rP6dvVnlqVddMWf4Jt9O_s2PW00KEhclJLh-MavpQFzd7jKm3qZNPpvrGYQib_jjqrjzrLC8SJG0ibncWeeTL9RLx2s0/s1600/DSCF8416.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYuRs2F7R55u4dACicYyYH1-V-XI-D5Rhc71-pBpfGTqX-J4rP6dvVnlqVddMWf4Jt9O_s2PW00KEhclJLh-MavpQFzd7jKm3qZNPpvrGYQib_jjqrjzrLC8SJG0ibncWeeTL9RLx2s0/s200/DSCF8416.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516940582232244242" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >YOU'RE THE APPLE OF MY EYE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPscytAp5ShDoZpCeOwHvkxJ-pXwMoVdivNLOjy1HQQzJq10GeI8T9hAaWpklBZ-x-KRj293CqM7pDia8OBQSMd07OSQYAKj5JaJlEbrsnpdaAfGNcgwmiRWn7mU6PY2cq0EEEmUQZOVY/s1600/DSCF8426.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPscytAp5ShDoZpCeOwHvkxJ-pXwMoVdivNLOjy1HQQzJq10GeI8T9hAaWpklBZ-x-KRj293CqM7pDia8OBQSMd07OSQYAKj5JaJlEbrsnpdaAfGNcgwmiRWn7mU6PY2cq0EEEmUQZOVY/s200/DSCF8426.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516940572773474914" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >DRIED POLE BEANS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4qFFDPG3XOEaObzaLgm_GSjYfqs3FMTaGr07BMMdOsvO3YwdagK6nNZscjASlN5PZb2G4XMwP8hlZIlCMiFONIBdRZh6mpkH1RwJKCtccBo9vH9cPOlARCFvbc9vudYzWPmRcLULIc8/s1600/DSCF8428.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI4qFFDPG3XOEaObzaLgm_GSjYfqs3FMTaGr07BMMdOsvO3YwdagK6nNZscjASlN5PZb2G4XMwP8hlZIlCMiFONIBdRZh6mpkH1RwJKCtccBo9vH9cPOlARCFvbc9vudYzWPmRcLULIc8/s200/DSCF8428.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516940569403111410" border="0" /></a><br />Based on the morning activities of yesterday and today, we think every day will begin with us pulling up the fence stakes we put into the ground the previous day, rolling up the fence string and moving it to form a new pasture for the cows to graze. By relocating them regularly, the cows are happier because they get to eat fresh greens every day and the soil improves thanks to their fertilizer. All the plants in the field have days to grow and replenish themselves after visits by the cows; if the cows were never moved, the plants would never have time to recover and would instead die.<br /><br />Orchards, like cows, require lots of maintenance. Pruning, fertilizing, weeding, and harvesting barely scratches the surface. Today we spent hours ducking under the branches of many rows of trees gathering fallen apples. With 11 varieties of apples in one orchard, different trees ripen at different times. Right now, several varieties are ripe and ready to be harvested while other varieties need a few more weeks. Ripe or not, apple trees drop apples and these fallen apples require attention. Leaving apples to rot on the ground under the tree attracts bugs. These bugs procreate at incredible speeds and offspring can quickly overtake the entire orchard. A few insects eating a rotten apple can multiply into a million bugs eating all the apples on all the trees too quickly for comfort. Therefore, maintaining orchard hygiene is paramount.<br /><br />There are three things you can do with fallen apples, depending on their condition: 1) compost them, 2) press them into cider, 3) sell them. The ones that are completely rotted and infested with bugs must be composted; even the pigs won't eat them. The apples with a few bruises or the ones without bruises that have fallen before they ripen get pressed into cider. You can't sell an under ripe apple, but you can process the apple into sauce or cider and still make money. Some apples fall off trees when they are fully ripe and they taste and look perfect. Just like most other fruit, when one is totally ripe a soft breeze can make it fall. There's clearly no reason these apples shouldn't be consumed, as they taste delicious and oftentimes have been on the ground for less than an hour. In fact, as we were gathering apples off the ground, others fell right in front of our eyes. One even hit Aaron in the head, and he felt like Sir Isaac Newton for a moment.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-11956336673506315502010-09-14T20:55:00.003-04:002010-09-17T15:57:43.655-04:009-13-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >THRESHOLD FARM</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaYNbbF_XP88M_3ycK3pzxbXBXckCulobN_eeQSBnM4gq3mdUOhmbovk4UuzMGzCgHURbz0GZbG55N9P-qxai_m-0nuvwLNSvI0ZTu4rKtS4xoQ07S-eBWCBUFVBR9C9FYy7Phge8ci8/s1600/DSCF8405.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsaYNbbF_XP88M_3ycK3pzxbXBXckCulobN_eeQSBnM4gq3mdUOhmbovk4UuzMGzCgHURbz0GZbG55N9P-qxai_m-0nuvwLNSvI0ZTu4rKtS4xoQ07S-eBWCBUFVBR9C9FYy7Phge8ci8/s200/DSCF8405.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516938870309145906" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >WITH A MOO MOO HERE AND A MOO MOO THERE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEB0NYrYdKxccFI3y1LQJFBPYgGJVdWIuu_qyvIOxoR51tGeHU4NKK3iZSz19lbIPLdul1c2aOtb0qwH5AFaf2jy7r-deUaHjMBrhPuOoxwTdZgyTQrLfQNuOCb7HFxdjvrKKvfzG10Y/s1600/DSCF8401.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEB0NYrYdKxccFI3y1LQJFBPYgGJVdWIuu_qyvIOxoR51tGeHU4NKK3iZSz19lbIPLdul1c2aOtb0qwH5AFaf2jy7r-deUaHjMBrhPuOoxwTdZgyTQrLfQNuOCb7HFxdjvrKKvfzG10Y/s200/DSCF8401.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516938869105990818" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >THIS LITTLE PIGGY WENT TO MARKET</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGjC59sHyRZqOTBZDidsPm4aFMexSKDghCQ14dttDVgh4X_5KlChy4HNNWEybXLSac_XqjIhfa9ikF2JsvEC9vfOBqANyyW8tlEH2yQeCbCCltcSGQLxMjlgvXw78vgkilYKc8XC-hPo/s1600/DSCF8404.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXGjC59sHyRZqOTBZDidsPm4aFMexSKDghCQ14dttDVgh4X_5KlChy4HNNWEybXLSac_XqjIhfa9ikF2JsvEC9vfOBqANyyW8tlEH2yQeCbCCltcSGQLxMjlgvXw78vgkilYKc8XC-hPo/s200/DSCF8404.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516938858196861202" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >COMICE PEARS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx0jYGs-HoMDWu4zAQyhCJOLCBX0UwXb8ud2cYqRjoWSLxCidqqvUVZgIh4F4CraSkIcZWa0YA64ErjJaVlyyJxRC6vmjYHjr8EzKBjyzuYlub6wXCf_ObcSS0ml-2LslDa_arpSNTRw/s1600/DSCF8414.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyx0jYGs-HoMDWu4zAQyhCJOLCBX0UwXb8ud2cYqRjoWSLxCidqqvUVZgIh4F4CraSkIcZWa0YA64ErjJaVlyyJxRC6vmjYHjr8EzKBjyzuYlub6wXCf_ObcSS0ml-2LslDa_arpSNTRw/s200/DSCF8414.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516938852268222210" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >APPLE RECORDS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPfz0HPccdeTzMxTM2FplaKMllnvnMwkIt82m1CEOCcC88ARC1_CJBTqkbUQ9YGAN1ycd2C40YEM1B2zmO2LG6LFeF0DzmDG24bKXmiCmc3imxWdk3RTJ7zV5EW0vDmskzZxm4-WqGU4/s1600/DSCF8422.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPfz0HPccdeTzMxTM2FplaKMllnvnMwkIt82m1CEOCcC88ARC1_CJBTqkbUQ9YGAN1ycd2C40YEM1B2zmO2LG6LFeF0DzmDG24bKXmiCmc3imxWdk3RTJ7zV5EW0vDmskzZxm4-WqGU4/s200/DSCF8422.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516938845033080338" border="0" /></a><br />Threshold Farm is our new home. It represents the 20th and final farm on our WWOOFing adventure. In two weeks, we will no longer be volunteer migrant farmers. What we will be in two weeks remains up in the air, but seeing how we've lived the past 9 months of our lives floating in the breeze, we see no reason to panic and plan out our entire future. Let come what may!<br /><br />This farm just south of Albany is biodynamic. Hannah (originally from Germany) and Hugh (originally from Australia) know Jeff "The Barefoot Farmer" Poppen, who we stayed with this winter. They also know Luke Frye, the winemaker who purchases biodynamic grapes from Annelle and Thurston at Clover Creek Family Farm. The biodynamic farming community proves it is a small world after all.<br /><br />Perhaps the most important resource a biodynamic farmer uses and learns from is Steiner's <span style="font-style: italic;">Agriculture Course</span>. On this trip, we have looked for the famous work. We saw it once out west, but never had proper time to read through it. Of all the book stores we've visited and searched through, we have never been able to locate a copy for ourselves. But Eurika! At last, we have found not one, but three copies here. One edition is an advanced printing, one is a British translation, and one is an American English translation. Steiner delivered eight lectures during a week in the summer of 1924, and we intend to read one each night (from the American English translation) for the next several days, all the while asking Hannah and Hugh to help elaborate on topics and ideas we have trouble understanding. <span style="font-style: italic;">Agriculture Course</span> is a bible of sorts, and just like that slightly more famous text, people live obsessively by its words, re-reading over and over and over. We'll admit, it's a little crazy, but we must read it once in order to form our own opinion.<br /><br />The farm here is beautiful. There is an apple orchard, pear orchard, and peach orchard. There are 3 pigs, over 20 cows, over 20 chickens, several ducks, and many acres of vegetables. Hannah and Hugh have two young children, Christopher and Emma, who are in 3rd grade and 2nd grade, respectively. Our first day on the farm saw us changing a fence enabling the cows to graze in a new area, and harvesting carrots, tomatoes, and green beans. After a siesta, we cleaned onions and tied corn ears together for drying. Our initial impression here is extremely positive; we suspect we'll get along very well with this family, and learn a tremendous amount about biodynamic farming.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-29128335073983369082010-09-14T20:53:00.006-04:002010-09-17T15:51:26.859-04:009-6-10 **VIDEO INCLUDED**<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BETTY BEAVER</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QgyIdL1UAlmNJomMK4GL2KjmyV0bJ5se1FuBgvRQiUygyeUHV5g356mkE0UhS-D5kfieuh0Cj-CVkkiFX5_mHn5DWKiL3tcOIgyqQnZ1uD2mur6L136Yxwc0smxKrgQk19H-udwzO-o/s1600/DSCF8399.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QgyIdL1UAlmNJomMK4GL2KjmyV0bJ5se1FuBgvRQiUygyeUHV5g356mkE0UhS-D5kfieuh0Cj-CVkkiFX5_mHn5DWKiL3tcOIgyqQnZ1uD2mur6L136Yxwc0smxKrgQk19H-udwzO-o/s200/DSCF8399.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516937379590885330" border="0" /></a><br />After nearly three full weeks, today was our last day at Juniper Hill Farm. In order to finish what we started, we skinned the greenhouse today. With several extra hands on board, we managed to get the massive sheet of plastic over the bows and tightly secured around the frame. Adam remarked several times that this is the tightest skin he's ever seen on a greenhouse.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GREENHOUSE HIGH TUNNEL VIDEO </span><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxOCGSgn1RZ8vmQi0RBGM4OFvZAx4anu7fWYqUXBbQQF7ViQdHyFr6sROZs7Z9YvG3LoHI2r5EEb6X31FDSTQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />Juniper Hill provided us with a lot of firsts: first melon of the season, first tomato of the season, first time this season preserving for the winter, first tractor ride, and first farmer's market we worked at. We truly enjoyed all of those new things and all our days here, especially the companionship with Melody and Adam. We also spent our time at Juniper Hill reinforcing lessons we've learned along our trip. We realize the knowledge we have acquired on this trip is invaluable and will help us grow great fruits and vegetables of our own some day, but at the same time, we are not fooling ourselves into believing we are now equipped to run a farm of our own. Dream as we may, we are not nearly ready to start our own farm yet. We've basically just completed our freshman year of farming. In order to become a seasoned expert, you do truly need seasons of experience.<br /><br />Of all the new we've experienced here, there are some voids still left for us to hopefully fill at our next and final stop. Watermelons, apples, pears, and winter squash...we're coming for you.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-85875682732265287402010-09-06T15:58:00.000-04:002010-09-06T16:01:36.614-04:009-5-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >DON'T MAKE ME CUT THIS SQUASH!!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWBzRBrxnSWRvR5eadQwbDz_XhR5FNSOSEt4-t-9Fvu8YwCa92lCGoeR7bL1uSipERkZl_iTzePjMRuN4de64ZTNEBrelUjiow5tcy-Mhi5nkxcNISKtBTsUqsUYjuDCoFoGZq0OEpes/s1600/DSCF8372.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOWBzRBrxnSWRvR5eadQwbDz_XhR5FNSOSEt4-t-9Fvu8YwCa92lCGoeR7bL1uSipERkZl_iTzePjMRuN4de64ZTNEBrelUjiow5tcy-Mhi5nkxcNISKtBTsUqsUYjuDCoFoGZq0OEpes/s200/DSCF8372.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892883762716210" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >PATTY PAN</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKSoJx-ly7ssBchZZcnuOFUMCkDuJGY7MMiESb_GtQLHPG6NtsbU_-rmrpYbzZzLJYPrsq2WhmnN7CfmsLN1E-2o3V-DoFhAkOW68oskRg006xByLmfsPZita0PfYDf1cERHFOYkKfsA/s1600/DSCF8373.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLKSoJx-ly7ssBchZZcnuOFUMCkDuJGY7MMiESb_GtQLHPG6NtsbU_-rmrpYbzZzLJYPrsq2WhmnN7CfmsLN1E-2o3V-DoFhAkOW68oskRg006xByLmfsPZita0PfYDf1cERHFOYkKfsA/s200/DSCF8373.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892882875724146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >DRIVIN' ALONG IN MY AUTOMOBILE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1oOp8gP5YoecmSquuhwtdat1NU17KlRd1WHXGVaPTGVmD6dFP7p_8uvuBLnw2ZikRBnQEWasjouZAhdg62LLJ90OsqEkmbsoltmisiHEoX2czrVtiNCGwhx1VDJbKowSh_5eRqIebMc/s1600/DSCF8380.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1oOp8gP5YoecmSquuhwtdat1NU17KlRd1WHXGVaPTGVmD6dFP7p_8uvuBLnw2ZikRBnQEWasjouZAhdg62LLJ90OsqEkmbsoltmisiHEoX2czrVtiNCGwhx1VDJbKowSh_5eRqIebMc/s200/DSCF8380.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892870785291666" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >MEL PICKING HERBS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0kYRepNpE5RCh-fF5ZzlsHvsbBlJMiWN-Zl0BQ6u0RqyyZhiWRezWhB1kqicsttFdvmhJj1weiBmHbYkOLV7YAC8Am9IxxCvkP0pUbVu-Xd-j6cG5Qbqz_hnA9tZ_-Ckd9kZ4aHnqA0/s1600/DSCF8388.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO0kYRepNpE5RCh-fF5ZzlsHvsbBlJMiWN-Zl0BQ6u0RqyyZhiWRezWhB1kqicsttFdvmhJj1weiBmHbYkOLV7YAC8Am9IxxCvkP0pUbVu-Xd-j6cG5Qbqz_hnA9tZ_-Ckd9kZ4aHnqA0/s200/DSCF8388.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892869599367746" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >MEL'S HOUSE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2z5mIL-6ycW7q7e_K0DqRI3fjHRJGJRMb4xO5moRZPwoavtc-YD-2ij5QdIM0YREomE5cR14BvLQbFidZu3RiJKKNgvpRWtHPfXkPU8E5Vxfma7hdlK9rLsH-lemqkqZ2w-D4fM5hKes/s1600/DSCF8390.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2z5mIL-6ycW7q7e_K0DqRI3fjHRJGJRMb4xO5moRZPwoavtc-YD-2ij5QdIM0YREomE5cR14BvLQbFidZu3RiJKKNgvpRWtHPfXkPU8E5Vxfma7hdlK9rLsH-lemqkqZ2w-D4fM5hKes/s200/DSCF8390.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892860897622482" border="0" /></a><br />Sunday is a work day here because Monday is a market day. It's strange, even when we've worked on weekends at other farms, usually we'd work Saturday and have Sunday off. Here, it's the opposite. To get ready for Monday's market, we have to harvest everything on Sunday. It feels nice and Jewish not to work on Saturday.<br /><br />Today we harvested: peppers, eggplants. squash, zucchini, lettuce mix, broccoli, greenhouse tomatoes, spinach, and green beans. These will all go to market tomorrow, in addition to the beets, carrots, leeks, onions and potatoes we harvested the other day. When we first arrived at Juniper Hill, the produce growing all over these 15 acres was overwhelming and we had to walk around for a while just to find what we needed to harvest. But at this point, doing all that harvesting has become routine. We know where everything is, we know how much we need to harvest, we know just the right way to do it, and we know what to do with it once we've harvested it. For so long on this trip we did every chore possible besides harvesting. Due to the inclement weather we found nearly everywhere we stayed, we rarely harvested anything. Now, all we do is harvest. And it's great!<br /><br />Being the patient, good teacher he is, Adam taught us to ride one of his tractors. After some lessons and seeing how parts worked, we tilled in the summer's finished crop of sweet corn. No matter what happens from here on out, Aaron can always say he drove an old, beat up, rusty Ford tractor wearing dirty overalls with gunk under his fingernails. He sure was a real farmer for at least a half an hour, and nobody can ever take that away from him! And no matter what, Jen can always say she has never once in her first 28 years been taught to drive any sort of stick shift vehicle. Maybe in the next 28 years...jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-27573991552923682822010-09-06T15:55:00.000-04:002010-09-06T15:58:52.122-04:009-3-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >ELIZABETHTOWN FARMER'S MARKET<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6_MyxD8ZvUEkxklJZWpvSYr4IJ9Tf3rmJ_NyFheFAHF7_WlkpiPZuZsxdmHjaeIWqmlPrF5DGmCsVSogXZvGb_obCvet5YZP46Zfh9Bd39dVM_Po3lldT9befk4gbxk2FA8s0fxrgZ4/s1600/DSCF8361.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-6_MyxD8ZvUEkxklJZWpvSYr4IJ9Tf3rmJ_NyFheFAHF7_WlkpiPZuZsxdmHjaeIWqmlPrF5DGmCsVSogXZvGb_obCvet5YZP46Zfh9Bd39dVM_Po3lldT9befk4gbxk2FA8s0fxrgZ4/s200/DSCF8361.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892011240686722" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GOT ID?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX8oNiJyB1oXFKwX7aLzlWXsYalnL5BedouG5w0tolvZgZGrhBHTbaOMhB0zsQpCcpk8kEWh6-rH2mxB_2ray-5IHTF0nEMsQTWq9qcQ5FPYooypGaBvH6Ej-lBtKA5QUyGbEoHFvo6M/s1600/DSCF8370.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMX8oNiJyB1oXFKwX7aLzlWXsYalnL5BedouG5w0tolvZgZGrhBHTbaOMhB0zsQpCcpk8kEWh6-rH2mxB_2ray-5IHTF0nEMsQTWq9qcQ5FPYooypGaBvH6Ej-lBtKA5QUyGbEoHFvo6M/s200/DSCF8370.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513892022978405922" border="0" /></a><br />The Adirondack State Park is unique in that the park is livable; unlike the majority of state parks and national parks, you can actually live here. When one thinks of a state or a national park, ideas of recreation, hiking, learning, swimming, camping, etc abound. But no one ever thinks, "Hey's let's move into Yosemite National Park!" And why not? Well, for this obvious reason: it is illegal. On most state or national park service property, and you cannot buy land and build a house within their boundaries. But in the Adirondack State Park, you can. This park model was experimental back in the day, and apparently other countries are trying to create parks with livable communities in them. The idea of having protected land with recreational opportunities in an established community seems like an amazing idea. Or does it?<br /><br />Trouble is, these established communities were developed years ago for reasons very different than recreation. They were built on the foundation of logging, mining, fishing, and other natural resource stripping. Some time ago, people got upset, and exclaimed "You can't cut down all the trees! You can't mine all the metals! You can't bottle all the water! We're going to preserve this land!" But when that happened, almost all the jobs that citizens were dependent upon vanished. What does a coal mining town do when mining is prohibited? What does a logging company do when it can no longer log? Why, lay off hundreds and hundreds of its employees. And then what happens to those communities? Today, we are finding out.<br /><br />It is really an ongoing experiment. Across the lake, Champlain that is, VT has long been establishing its brand new identity. When people think of Vermont, they think of skiing, cheese, education, teddy bears. VT was clever enough to re-brand itself, and people love VT and visit and spend millions every year. Tourism is huge there, and they are proud to support only VT products. Here, it's a bit different. There are huge vacation areas in the Adirondacks, like Lake Placid, but mostly, all the sleepy towns scattered throughout this park are in serious economic trouble. Seems like half the homes we drive past are for sale; seems like only old timers live here. Everyone leaves, because everyone knows there is no future in a dead region like upstate New York. The average family income in "The North Country" hovers around $30,000 per year. People struggle for work, especially in the winter when tourists don't visit. <br /><br />Years ago, everyone only supported their local food economy, because there was no such thing as food from other states, let alone other countries. But now, with the advent of cheap food in supermarkets, cheap products at Wal-Mart, cheap gas, cheap everything, people find themselves living cheap, cheated lives up here. And so if everyone continues fleeing the impoverished rural areas all over the US and heads to the city for brighter pastures, who's going to tend those abandoned pastures, and feed all the billions of people in the city? Can city folk continue to expect 6-figure salaries and refuse to buy non-uniform shaped fruits and vegetables while 4-5% of America struggles to grow food for 95% earning barely 5-figure salaries?jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-12301753779720111872010-09-05T09:20:00.000-04:002010-09-05T09:23:12.192-04:009-2-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >WEIGH IN</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjzc4yZwZ4XtIBOCeLflyeou33pdXUiuL1ibg0s2TvnRhL-ESaarGu9d-Uk8DkhCM-g86DMwyl0y-rxXffCYmI-0iRPX-kHhj381UxvnLQSfSbFsgO1oS-RUfCUFTOsUomMFO7nMW4us/s1600/DSCF8324.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYjzc4yZwZ4XtIBOCeLflyeou33pdXUiuL1ibg0s2TvnRhL-ESaarGu9d-Uk8DkhCM-g86DMwyl0y-rxXffCYmI-0iRPX-kHhj381UxvnLQSfSbFsgO1oS-RUfCUFTOsUomMFO7nMW4us/s200/DSCF8324.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513419181840218658" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >BUCKETS OF FUN FOR EVERYONE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFGECQLkBe7suQ0TKdvIKCczjO4Udwgqk-LK-ZMl2T-rxoSaLGMGJom2b5bW6FBYZ2ZJMK_q2hyrKTzba4dON0vxz2yFUh4_6nxH8YjK4u1aNMX-txJgKC__y-fXGHI-DV1NVYlNldTo/s1600/DSCF8328.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsFGECQLkBe7suQ0TKdvIKCczjO4Udwgqk-LK-ZMl2T-rxoSaLGMGJom2b5bW6FBYZ2ZJMK_q2hyrKTzba4dON0vxz2yFUh4_6nxH8YjK4u1aNMX-txJgKC__y-fXGHI-DV1NVYlNldTo/s200/DSCF8328.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513419174094412530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GREENHOUSE SKELETON</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaClfVQYJRHmRGZaHHrLrkB_BrJu-0R4ucAF7i1ukedrH__3Up0ArOFTWilT-83pdJSrAPPuTwaXIKN0z9Is-Aoc6BPtXcfyugWkuubP1cpGFZxXf7S19w5bw2j8eIs8YTl1W0nnFpmU/s1600/DSCF8330.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAaClfVQYJRHmRGZaHHrLrkB_BrJu-0R4ucAF7i1ukedrH__3Up0ArOFTWilT-83pdJSrAPPuTwaXIKN0z9Is-Aoc6BPtXcfyugWkuubP1cpGFZxXf7S19w5bw2j8eIs8YTl1W0nnFpmU/s200/DSCF8330.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513419173121157602" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >DON'T CRY, THEY'RE ONLY ONIONS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H1AJeScGcqZmFpta9bBzwZTpIrA8_NpOPck0rSq0vMAB8zazE-0dsg_nzE-xx6gOFz9d7Y2xGksticLg_ulrw9NE05-qXqavMy_ho3U34RX91Q9PTQeYgaK28WArDNioQaKVF6fneco/s1600/DSCF8360.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H1AJeScGcqZmFpta9bBzwZTpIrA8_NpOPck0rSq0vMAB8zazE-0dsg_nzE-xx6gOFz9d7Y2xGksticLg_ulrw9NE05-qXqavMy_ho3U34RX91Q9PTQeYgaK28WArDNioQaKVF6fneco/s200/DSCF8360.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5513419164588459602" border="0" /></a><br />One of Aaron's favorite foods, or arguably his most favorite, is potatoes. So one would think that today would be his most favorite day on the farm: the day we dug them up.<br /><br />Although we didn't plant any potatoes on our journey, we cared for them at several farms. At two farms in Oregon we concentrated on covering the leaves of young potato plants with soil to encourage stronger root growth and more prodigious tubers. Digging potatoes here partially completed our understanding of the life cycle of the potato crop. Missing out on planting is a big gap we hope to fill one day. Traveling has been spectacular, but it's hard not being at the same place and watching the same plants for an entire year; however we do understand the basics by seeing crops at different stages on different farms and this knowledge is both rewarding and helpful.<br /><br />The potato harvest at Juniper Hill was no easy task. Two factors were hinderances to the quantity of potatoes we harvested: 1) weeds 2) sandy soil. The massive amounts of weeds that were allowed to grow at least three and a half feet tall made it nearly impossible to find the raised beds the potatoes were planted under, let alone find the potato plant itself. Also, the plant leaves had died, so locating the withered leaves after ridding the area of the weeds was like trying to find Waldo in "Where's Waldo?" The weeds stole precious nutrients in an already nutrient deprived sandy soil, so the potatoes themselves were on the smaller side. These were no Russet Burbanks. We still managed to harvest hundreds of pounds of taters.<br /><br />We harvested new potatoes, which should be eaten immediately. Storage potatoes are harvested later in the fall. Their extra time in the ground toughens their skins and readies them to last throughout a long winter. When harvesting storage potatoes, the leaves have long since stopped photosynthesizing and despite the dead looking leaves, the tubers below are fine and developing their thick skin. During the Great Irish Potato Famine, blight attacked the potato crop and when all the potato leaves wilted and died the Irish farmers believed their crop was unharmed, as leaf wilting was not an unusual occurrence. The blight didn't just cause the leaves to look withered as they always do, and nobody suspected anything was wrong. Unfortunately it hadn't only harmed the leaves but killed all the roots as well. Fortunately for Adam and Melody their tubers were all in tact below their dead leaves, it was simply a matter of locating them and then digging, digging, digging.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-77925582784531613352010-09-02T22:24:00.000-04:002010-09-02T22:27:33.713-04:009-1-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >MIND THE GAP</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpYU0K0uSYiXwAj-RisqBno4IyLkEBm7b7r01rBOvBtwmueCl7CtGpz17UCU65MnyiCuYat1l17BBc9xJ2OUEI9TqFCjm99EfTJA5SLb5u-0i1zwT9hdx-P9ozQHTlcwDr2JowQxqCO8/s1600/DSCF8335.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwpYU0K0uSYiXwAj-RisqBno4IyLkEBm7b7r01rBOvBtwmueCl7CtGpz17UCU65MnyiCuYat1l17BBc9xJ2OUEI9TqFCjm99EfTJA5SLb5u-0i1zwT9hdx-P9ozQHTlcwDr2JowQxqCO8/s200/DSCF8335.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512508093686655410" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />GERONIMO!!!!!!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0OE2edeaeeLf-A0vfNbiNkfNLOcw9oMigU-itZsJ49ZUR5JhW5HUxZNdY6mKRe3TXDhpZfoTxLiC7R-RBK98ZzJiZCC8jqieoASdMcqEcdEgqTEJOtcuY5vC4LgoDXbPYFLATgx9z8g/s1600/DSCF8340.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ0OE2edeaeeLf-A0vfNbiNkfNLOcw9oMigU-itZsJ49ZUR5JhW5HUxZNdY6mKRe3TXDhpZfoTxLiC7R-RBK98ZzJiZCC8jqieoASdMcqEcdEgqTEJOtcuY5vC4LgoDXbPYFLATgx9z8g/s200/DSCF8340.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512508085645546290" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />DOGGY PADDLE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGD4L5eh4jd76xC-iexW1oIVpgGREeLklHY03Kh9L4WmDqnvuKqUyEx6rv_BD2WQEtsRFcM5Ng4QS_y3UodF5Wagy6XnvO5fU7n4skn23uRtbl8yXK2Wwlq32bUpWNhno7FsB7ZMmTSXA/s1600/DSCF8343.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGD4L5eh4jd76xC-iexW1oIVpgGREeLklHY03Kh9L4WmDqnvuKqUyEx6rv_BD2WQEtsRFcM5Ng4QS_y3UodF5Wagy6XnvO5fU7n4skn23uRtbl8yXK2Wwlq32bUpWNhno7FsB7ZMmTSXA/s200/DSCF8343.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507896492269730" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />WORKING HARD</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgWYRJripI91oxPyXYReyr5_Ft5Pu2kOkX80eOl9eQbE5YBNTc8hCE1BPI97cawgbqrHJFmQ3CkhyphenhypheniQj_ZnCiJeG1pu9CGVIYBbEHobRftWxp7TPFz9KrXvFddF9ZLbHtOXffUNkdEJI/s1600/DSCF8346.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgWYRJripI91oxPyXYReyr5_Ft5Pu2kOkX80eOl9eQbE5YBNTc8hCE1BPI97cawgbqrHJFmQ3CkhyphenhypheniQj_ZnCiJeG1pu9CGVIYBbEHobRftWxp7TPFz9KrXvFddF9ZLbHtOXffUNkdEJI/s200/DSCF8346.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507888589497810" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAHe45kLf2UlekjFccFuI_GtMHjHcClyV-lIKGlgAVbeYejU8AnMQn7kAzDdNp8jIXTMkpIYN0DOBDxLoJTPtMmzMN7oOy2BuzzBIfRlbkEdw7g37oaOjIdQX_sFLMb1bGF5qLvvyX18/s1600/DSCF8355.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAHe45kLf2UlekjFccFuI_GtMHjHcClyV-lIKGlgAVbeYejU8AnMQn7kAzDdNp8jIXTMkpIYN0DOBDxLoJTPtMmzMN7oOy2BuzzBIfRlbkEdw7g37oaOjIdQX_sFLMb1bGF5qLvvyX18/s200/DSCF8355.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507876123732290" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />ON AN ISLAND IN THE SUN</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhQ2m6LYQzvkhCvtpm4lhnPvKCfclF24ZI3R_wZflwdf1qF2Unqh57-uxaNA2_XQMmjAZLIcgyKgK-hUzlvuRjkbFvsxMpfDtOb-so0Jh0tXjWYODuFNCqJk40evQhEyAlr5pTSf7Kro/s1600/DSCF8354.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhQ2m6LYQzvkhCvtpm4lhnPvKCfclF24ZI3R_wZflwdf1qF2Unqh57-uxaNA2_XQMmjAZLIcgyKgK-hUzlvuRjkbFvsxMpfDtOb-so0Jh0tXjWYODuFNCqJk40evQhEyAlr5pTSf7Kro/s200/DSCF8354.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507863532453698" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />STAND BY ME</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9Gq2NNTcAdXSHjtl6mFcWffJjWF-_qNlKU3beiXlvC1hhdxp2MLgEvKNyYhYc3tNp6CKO-pKTULPI5i8gIbdCtg4E-lxjQgeQQXAiuXoXqQCvQ9tPH8D6-7RzeoZjW2-zh8ERbSAfAU/s1600/DSCF8359.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9Gq2NNTcAdXSHjtl6mFcWffJjWF-_qNlKU3beiXlvC1hhdxp2MLgEvKNyYhYc3tNp6CKO-pKTULPI5i8gIbdCtg4E-lxjQgeQQXAiuXoXqQCvQ9tPH8D6-7RzeoZjW2-zh8ERbSAfAU/s200/DSCF8359.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507860267898738" border="0" /></a><br />It was so brutally hot today, we left the farm around 3pm and went swimming. At Little Falls, we jumped off the rocks and plunged our bodies into cool clean water. It was so badly needed.<br /><br />Something that is questionably needed is plastic. Juniper Hill Farm has, under the majority of their crops, black plastic. The plastic is laid over entire rows, directly after tilling and fertilizing with manure and compost. Immediately after tilling the soil and adding compost and fertilizer, weed seeds germinate. Normally at this time they grow out of control and begin to take over, but the plastic wrap blocks the sunlight and suppresses their growth. After a two week period, all the weeds die back and the soil underneath the plastic is warm, nutrient rich, and ready to receive transplants. Melody and Adam transplant their starters in holes they dig through the plastic. If you tried putting the plastic down over the transplant, it would be a nightmare situation. By transplanting through the plastic, you create a weed free environment that retains moisture and heat, both beneficial to encouraging the crops you transplant to thrive.<br /><br />The only problem with utilizing plastic in your field, aside from the cost spent on the material and the time spent laying it down, is what to do at the end of the season. The plastic must be changed each year to be fully effective. In Lewis County, there is a free plastic recycling program, where county workers come and pick up the plastic for free and recycle it. It is a system that works very well here, but other farmers in this area frown upon the practice. We've seen plastic used on other farms, and there's no doubt, it does wonders for stopping weeds, and in our opinion, melons, tomatoes, and okra could never grow so well in this north country climate without the plastic. The black plastic makes the soil warmer, attracts sunlight, and creates a micro-climate well suited for growing heat loving crops. We're learning that "organic" doesn't always mean old school. State of the art techniques are used on organic farms throughout the country to meet the demand and match the output of conventional farms. Progress should be celebrated. But for some reason, it's just hard to ignore all the environmental implications of all the plastic use.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-16665383597479486502010-09-02T22:22:00.000-04:002010-09-02T22:24:18.921-04:008-31-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >SAMMY TIME</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF6wPDQvVrOZ1NlvBSL6gsE6MRaa19XD5o9GMhBb2YHSsFBqf9hyphenhyphenRpWAfsGpni9atjPF0UhkOPo8-Ob1GYpD1iDZRv40LHEeEZSUpSFOBIaez-4cxHTAbvchLAhc-nWFoUMf4tVWEWLY/s1600/DSCF8312.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF6wPDQvVrOZ1NlvBSL6gsE6MRaa19XD5o9GMhBb2YHSsFBqf9hyphenhyphenRpWAfsGpni9atjPF0UhkOPo8-Ob1GYpD1iDZRv40LHEeEZSUpSFOBIaez-4cxHTAbvchLAhc-nWFoUMf4tVWEWLY/s200/DSCF8312.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507253485944962" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />DID YOU WASH YOUR HANDS?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS90khdVt58STNYFROvHMwpTywU9H3Ns6CDGJuD_8-wzq-HTTgGaIm8CjhyphenhyphensTGwrboRJqIBIhmSj2gUiskDeKSKbDp6i1Io3IDCxGfCMa8Crf8tjnH-wNB7G3XqamlkvlFu72Hgs0g08s/s1600/DSCF8314.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS90khdVt58STNYFROvHMwpTywU9H3Ns6CDGJuD_8-wzq-HTTgGaIm8CjhyphenhyphensTGwrboRJqIBIhmSj2gUiskDeKSKbDp6i1Io3IDCxGfCMa8Crf8tjnH-wNB7G3XqamlkvlFu72Hgs0g08s/s200/DSCF8314.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507237638365186" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />PICKIN' PEPPERS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocNLQ64Wb_UwHCA23d8Qi-XrJ7wNyDaWPMu3SyVRnq87WXv37xAla7JVQgVzqgHPKtzCmmJjqPc_jF6h_KLFspTUnsmJYFuPaGZoKZomDqtuW-AjrqR8BLScME0h1b5NGoBzYNeb41ns/s1600/DSCF8317.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiocNLQ64Wb_UwHCA23d8Qi-XrJ7wNyDaWPMu3SyVRnq87WXv37xAla7JVQgVzqgHPKtzCmmJjqPc_jF6h_KLFspTUnsmJYFuPaGZoKZomDqtuW-AjrqR8BLScME0h1b5NGoBzYNeb41ns/s200/DSCF8317.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507228350016962" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br />ERNEST & TAMMY'S LOVE CHILD</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk10wmWUni9B_AXIgPm0ul6bEmZhU8sLcpVxtzVC-XaHRnPUykbwlfBfPpt6102h6rsmJbyNfzapKJBkJywlANPjdTz-3MGfQYuZDHSKgcAcJBz0gWBiqFWQ7gJ-C9C2gjvuidtknACz0/s1600/DSCF8322.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk10wmWUni9B_AXIgPm0ul6bEmZhU8sLcpVxtzVC-XaHRnPUykbwlfBfPpt6102h6rsmJbyNfzapKJBkJywlANPjdTz-3MGfQYuZDHSKgcAcJBz0gWBiqFWQ7gJ-C9C2gjvuidtknACz0/s200/DSCF8322.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512507221819753586" border="0" /></a><br />The heat wave has officially hit. It's been in the upper 90's since Saturday and there is no sign of it breaking. We had such a cold, wet winter and spring we finally feel like we've found summer. Working in the fields in the blazing heat and humidity turns already physically demanding work into physically exhausting work.<br /><br />We are not the only ones feeling the effects of the heat: the crops are too. Certain plants, specifically sungold tomatoes and lettuces are not tolerant of the heat. The lettuces are wilting and the sungold tomatoes get soft and crack, rendering them useless. The only time to harvest these two crops are first thing in the early hours of the day, before the sun is beating down on them. If you harvest lettuce early in the morning and immediately submerge it in cold well water, the heat of the fields is washed away and the crisp lettuce can live in the cooler for several days. If you harvest this same lettuce in the middle of the day, under the noon sun, it won't even make it through the evening. For the sungolds, the heat not only alters their texture, but also their flavor. Typically sungolds are the sweetest, most wonderful burst of deliciousness imaginable, but in the sun not only do they get mushy and crack, they lose much of their trademark flavor.<br /><br />The squash, field tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and okra, on the other hand are thriving in this tropical climate. If Adam and Melody knew to expect this heat, they would have planted mangos! All these vegetables are growing so vigorously they must be harvested every day now, instead of every few days in normal summer temperatures. The heat has also worked wonders for the melons. The asian sun jewels are all ripe and harvested and the cantaloupes are finally ready. Next up: watermelons. Any day now...jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-76841439400844035852010-08-31T23:17:00.000-04:002010-08-31T23:18:24.478-04:008-30-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >HIGH TUNNEL HERE WE COME</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNdlw-Kmc-kr8IqMvfd6_HLlxpdxRU3pFBI3MP0YFcWr6cv5792yMOcef2GRV4IVdnlCHxYv67MJHPAf4uRhTSt-bErsMiZpFroz4y-AbjYZQc1BolvDvko7kku_gj4hkOwfuJpiTu80/s1600/DSCF8308.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyNdlw-Kmc-kr8IqMvfd6_HLlxpdxRU3pFBI3MP0YFcWr6cv5792yMOcef2GRV4IVdnlCHxYv67MJHPAf4uRhTSt-bErsMiZpFroz4y-AbjYZQc1BolvDvko7kku_gj4hkOwfuJpiTu80/s200/DSCF8308.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511779064473029714" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >THAT'S ONE PROFESSIONAL TOOL POUCH</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYNTZltLaFwiJ8pYGn4LD7BOGNN3WXMaA7WDzvGY8R2BSbUbNLoxMQ25vWC3GX66T9bxIsAJty56dXiApuW813vyDSbMxnR2Y2xIh5w0AY6ub28TRtj8iCaGprMdAr1eAdaXXynouaWo/s1600/DSCF8309.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJYNTZltLaFwiJ8pYGn4LD7BOGNN3WXMaA7WDzvGY8R2BSbUbNLoxMQ25vWC3GX66T9bxIsAJty56dXiApuW813vyDSbMxnR2Y2xIh5w0AY6ub28TRtj8iCaGprMdAr1eAdaXXynouaWo/s200/DSCF8309.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511779058758727314" border="0" /></a><br />The other day, we assembled all the bows for the new high tunnel greenhouse and today we stood it up. Erecting the skeleton took the better part of the day and unfortunately we ran out of sunlight before getting the last two bows up. Overall, the process was more time consuming than challenging, although there were elements that required intense physical exertion. So many places we've volunteered have had existing greenhouses in place, and it's a delight to see how one is set up.<br /><br />First we took measurements and drove rebar stakes into the ground in each of the four corners. We ran string along the perimeter, and double checked the angle measurements using the pythagorean theorem. Adam said being an inch or two off here or there could lead to a disaster in the end. Once we knew exactly where the greenhouse would stand, we mowed the grass to ensure if and when we dropped equipment, we wouldn't have to needlessly rummage through high grass to find an important part. We then started raising each bow, one at a time, and secured them to each other using purlins as supporting beams. Each bow has five purlins that get attached, and we used a template to assure each bow is precisely four feet apart at all five locations. We quickly realized if we only used the template near each base and on the top, the bow could still bend, and it would be bowed out, which would compromise the overall integrity of the structure.<br /><br />From an engineering standpoint, the skeleton isn't too fancy. It's mostly just tightening lots of nuts and bolts. But when we put the skin on in a few days, Adam's custom design will shine through. Most greenhouses have a small door on each end with a fan to circulate air, but the flow is often limited and the air is stagnant. This design features entire roll-up walls, so the air never hangs heavy. That combined with its rolling ability makes this particular greenhouse revolutionary...or so Adam keeps insisting.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-63965358570986537752010-08-31T23:15:00.000-04:002010-08-31T23:16:51.917-04:008-28-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >THAT'S A LINE DRIVE TO CENTER FIELD!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMb1bvD0SyKkUBiKM2yqHAylGn__S8KIVHjJog9OZXAzbntFlvEH8MVa9jo0_kA_ialWiee39CcDvj8Jg_qhztpFRbKAowxdgTq0uQyBoTyid-d-AdxhP1OQT5BkaSGrIGn255JkKR1cI/s1600/DSCF8304.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMb1bvD0SyKkUBiKM2yqHAylGn__S8KIVHjJog9OZXAzbntFlvEH8MVa9jo0_kA_ialWiee39CcDvj8Jg_qhztpFRbKAowxdgTq0uQyBoTyid-d-AdxhP1OQT5BkaSGrIGn255JkKR1cI/s200/DSCF8304.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511778693364847362" border="0" /></a><br />Waste not, want not isn't just an expression for us, it is how we live our lives. We really take reusing to a whole new level. What most people would put into the trash we find uses for; what people would put directly into the recycling bin, we find second lives for before it hits the blue bin.<br /><br />On a farm, there is a very fine line between having far too little and having far too much. If a farmer plants too few crops. he or she will have a hard time meeting the demand, and the supply will always fall short. On the other hand, if a farmer plants an overabundance to ensure meeting the demand, sometimes there will be excess and thus food is wasted. Food is not wasted when it's turned into compost, but it is wasted in the sense that it is rendered unconsumable, at least in the short term. For us, who are not used to seeing hundreds of pounds of every vegetable under the sun, we cannot help but think of hungry people yearning for those blemished tomatoes or misshapen squash that make it into the compost bin. We are wired to try to find a use for things before they rot. Melody and Adam think we're kind of crazy, as they are used to all the excess and routinely compost what isn't at the absolute peak of freshness. We're doing our very best to consume and preserve as much of their bounty as possible. But we realize that no matter how hard we try, there will be an abundance of food that we'll never be able to eat, jar, freeze, preserve, pickle, and/or turn into sauce. Being the creative people we are, we found a new way to use unripe and overripe tomatoes: tomato baseball!<br /><br />Sunday, we went hiking to a few Adirondack swimming holes with some other local farmers Adam and Melody know. It was fun to explore the territory and to cool off in the crystal clean mountain water.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-62163795475436933162010-08-28T10:04:00.000-04:002010-08-28T10:07:52.807-04:008-27-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >AMAZING AUGUST</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEc2TLIdwYGVjIrpwy43msPuS9LeGVGLsGzdVtH-wgUzwYvfVz-A22Cb4pHMvVRuDvMqG7EBvLV3nBD8zfw-nnrXf9t1t68Npgp7I2a1DMJZvER41o7y6h0h5vjnL3QkTuvoUZyBmkfM/s1600/DSCF8269.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOEc2TLIdwYGVjIrpwy43msPuS9LeGVGLsGzdVtH-wgUzwYvfVz-A22Cb4pHMvVRuDvMqG7EBvLV3nBD8zfw-nnrXf9t1t68Npgp7I2a1DMJZvER41o7y6h0h5vjnL3QkTuvoUZyBmkfM/s200/DSCF8269.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461852445723330" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >AND ON HIS FARM HE HAD A....</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60leZnsB_DDH4aIPugXiMDo3qhL80Symoo4lJcgOLLEpOzLeFpMez4X6Alf3MhWE6Hh_-Nm71P5N1NwmBqGyf8HrBy1KUg3QYOA2tpqwI7jkmXSQ-_oar9BQ1EeZyXKbl2gRDiJpgDyE/s1600/DSCF8271.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60leZnsB_DDH4aIPugXiMDo3qhL80Symoo4lJcgOLLEpOzLeFpMez4X6Alf3MhWE6Hh_-Nm71P5N1NwmBqGyf8HrBy1KUg3QYOA2tpqwI7jkmXSQ-_oar9BQ1EeZyXKbl2gRDiJpgDyE/s200/DSCF8271.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461834312338066" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >OKRA BLOSSOM</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJ1aMsAQnnL1JFabXzjsCzOYLi121Wuk3_jQAjXP9Gu_mBoNbiRFMHQZ06lLeg5fsuZcsz5J-Tk2rFXGfcdaeesKOsK1r0FFsPHKEGRmwypXgQDP-wrJQs-txCzs-TD6gRXc-7VGRK8c/s1600/DSCF8284.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpJ1aMsAQnnL1JFabXzjsCzOYLi121Wuk3_jQAjXP9Gu_mBoNbiRFMHQZ06lLeg5fsuZcsz5J-Tk2rFXGfcdaeesKOsK1r0FFsPHKEGRmwypXgQDP-wrJQs-txCzs-TD6gRXc-7VGRK8c/s200/DSCF8284.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461817609947954" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >SWEET PEPPERS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2ofs4RcMQBXLpuhCWYHbIRSbOuIPqZXAgjMX1fTMi_WHE2PYZAbHOgneo7baOlkesGaYWp3HpHYBLJb8ER_apV258CZMdvYkQFWiNvja4SZdClgDXFg7kUpilaeTkZYf0vgU2WsMmE0/s1600/DSCF8288.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz2ofs4RcMQBXLpuhCWYHbIRSbOuIPqZXAgjMX1fTMi_WHE2PYZAbHOgneo7baOlkesGaYWp3HpHYBLJb8ER_apV258CZMdvYkQFWiNvja4SZdClgDXFg7kUpilaeTkZYf0vgU2WsMmE0/s200/DSCF8288.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461797458314242" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GREENHOUSE AT DUSK</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5RtoeOVzgutB6KVJYJ3ExHGbVaIYgNcgADVrgMsuj9yF3CPXRLImcoXDKHTQVZK8uV5xBTpbgHmyG1z26MPxY1owCprlnRxPxdA91U8yq6Balzu1i4Ntb9Bl8iLhI8LKb3OAUELHuec/s1600/DSCF8300.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv5RtoeOVzgutB6KVJYJ3ExHGbVaIYgNcgADVrgMsuj9yF3CPXRLImcoXDKHTQVZK8uV5xBTpbgHmyG1z26MPxY1owCprlnRxPxdA91U8yq6Balzu1i4Ntb9Bl8iLhI8LKb3OAUELHuec/s200/DSCF8300.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461790796200274" border="0" /></a><br />There is a strange sensation here we're feeling that we did not feel at any other farm. It's an urge to do as much work as the farmers. At all other places, the WWOOF hosts have worked more than us, and we felt comfortable with that, seeing no reason to break our backs, since we were only volunteers. Here however, the combination of Melody and Adam being our same age, in addition to it being the peak of summer and produce needing to be harvested each and every day compels us to go above and beyond the call of duty. Trouble is, on a day like today, when we worked 13 hours, from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm with a short lunch break, we worked less than both Melody and Adam by a solid 4 hours. They keep saying "it's not your farm, go home," but there's work to be done and how can we sit at home, not learn, and do nothing when there is so much needing attention? It's great for us to see how maniacally they work; is this something we really want to do? Is it something we even can do? But it's only the summer, and they probably have 4-5 months of snowy weather here when they cannot do an ounce of work on these beloved, belabored fields.<br /><br />Tomatoes. That one word sums up today pretty well. When we agreed to come here, it was under the impression that there were 6 acres of tomatoes that needed our attention. This statement proved so true today. There are several varieties of tomatoes growing here, in two separate areas: in the rolling greenhouse, and in the lower fields (there are three field areas: the upper, that has clay soil, the middle, that has lush, loamy soil and the tomato greenhouse, and the lower, with amazing soil in a flood plain). The tomatoes in the greenhouse grow in a managed, magnificently cared for manner, and less than 5% of these tomatoes are lost to rot, fungus, or other undesirables. The field tomatoes however, grow in a more Vietnam jungle type atmosphere, and unfortunately, nearly 50% of these tomatoes fall victim to, for lack of a scientific term, smushing. Because they are so densely packed in and not staked, the vines are literally falling on each other. Many plants crush other plants, many obstruct sunlight preventing even ripening, and others are crushed by the soles of our shoes as we wade through the thicket trying to harvest others. In the greenhouse, one can harvest 100lbs of tomatoes in less than 15 minutes. In the field, it takes well over two hours. It's so hard to find them, and half the ones you find that are red and seemingly ripe are rotten on the underside. It's tragic to see so many tomatoes that are 3/4 flawless, with one big soft rotten spot, assuring no sale could ever take place.<br /><br />With hundreds of pounds of organic tomatoes harvested, some for CSA customers, most for wholesale at local restaurants, the crop was divided into three levels of quality. The most pristine ones are off to the restaurants for $2-$4 a pound, depending on variety. The middle level is given to the CSA. This middle level of tomatoes is far superior to any tomato you will find in a supermarket, because it ripens fully on the vine and tastes so sweet and delicious. It might just have the smallest spot or blemish somewhere. The third division is bruised or most often, slightly cracked and soft tomatoes. These in theory are the ripest, sweetest tomatoes, but because they don't look perfect, people don't want them. Consumers are so used to perfect, unblemished produce, they would never consider purchasing a cracked or bruised piece of fruit. Luckily for us, we got to take them and make one killer tomato sauce for dinner. Mamma Mia, we made a lot of sauce!jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-20537919815066042382010-08-28T10:01:00.000-04:002010-08-28T10:04:44.859-04:008-26-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >JUNIPER HILL'S STAND AT THE NORTH CREEK FARMER'S MARKET</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-kua0xlPfsmFzXoHJAlqbVV2XLWzea-0pxgq5Z97Ku9uQN5nRQvE3rRGvYDxsje6SDxXaUMN9xt-WIL_KDGUObOgi6aaudU0f0lZ38pvqf2AjqHHWHoKaZldJEqzWWv25skTTooU9Ak/s1600/DSCF8253.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE-kua0xlPfsmFzXoHJAlqbVV2XLWzea-0pxgq5Z97Ku9uQN5nRQvE3rRGvYDxsje6SDxXaUMN9xt-WIL_KDGUObOgi6aaudU0f0lZ38pvqf2AjqHHWHoKaZldJEqzWWv25skTTooU9Ak/s200/DSCF8253.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461177963636050" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >MELODY SLICING SAMPLES</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrL9Eo6cDxnAxqVwio2QcIjfbhH1VkG0G3Gtfpy-Rd7lz1m1hmcYfkAEgecROw6vTLCDGhIh8m6pzc6y4uTuK9ROzU_R1P96TBE0rV8K16K6_V7tspeGb6WD3G49HuuRXkAxJtjptONbM/s1600/DSCF8254.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrL9Eo6cDxnAxqVwio2QcIjfbhH1VkG0G3Gtfpy-Rd7lz1m1hmcYfkAEgecROw6vTLCDGhIh8m6pzc6y4uTuK9ROzU_R1P96TBE0rV8K16K6_V7tspeGb6WD3G49HuuRXkAxJtjptONbM/s200/DSCF8254.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461167382783474" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >I'M STRONG TO THE FINISH 'CAUSE I EAT ME SPINACH...</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifO72vV3EH7A4autn_CJyZf-bWKSLIJLgm2V-xBPWhghEeuOfY_zHm9-LX5tLPnYtRWW9Q7JDQlv-TmvuZ8J6X4JyPxtJ_WjmzKPAGAldvLSE-SBbl-MPtNmz8TQQWjzb77-oj1Ohdc4A/s1600/DSCF8256.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifO72vV3EH7A4autn_CJyZf-bWKSLIJLgm2V-xBPWhghEeuOfY_zHm9-LX5tLPnYtRWW9Q7JDQlv-TmvuZ8J6X4JyPxtJ_WjmzKPAGAldvLSE-SBbl-MPtNmz8TQQWjzb77-oj1Ohdc4A/s200/DSCF8256.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461156254570690" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >ERNEST AND TAMMY TAKE A FIELD TRIP</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4iQ4t_SD0SsZ3BnGxVpalneKN40Qf13i6vjjPK1wGTEMhczIL6SkeheCEsv8l2S8w1_fmcmLWlpoX0wq8iuS12d5xhKU3LMjmPVF-OKrTi1Kx3WyDRs5QuPoyMIwX13yosEUIAMSEJk/s1600/DSCF8257.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4iQ4t_SD0SsZ3BnGxVpalneKN40Qf13i6vjjPK1wGTEMhczIL6SkeheCEsv8l2S8w1_fmcmLWlpoX0wq8iuS12d5xhKU3LMjmPVF-OKrTi1Kx3WyDRs5QuPoyMIwX13yosEUIAMSEJk/s200/DSCF8257.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461151684665378" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >NORTH CREEK TRAIN STATION</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCP64WIrg6B0RzW21LU2VoM9Z6S264VZzjTSouew6ZBs18NybGkoAZda0aNza_ZkiPrkY-p8OsBOSv9lEy4JMsqrE_4ONpAsH_WdQAImSgxb4AhhTM7AC0IS9Z0Vwx-8TbF7wUz8xpJA/s1600/DSCF8260.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCP64WIrg6B0RzW21LU2VoM9Z6S264VZzjTSouew6ZBs18NybGkoAZda0aNza_ZkiPrkY-p8OsBOSv9lEy4JMsqrE_4ONpAsH_WdQAImSgxb4AhhTM7AC0IS9Z0Vwx-8TbF7wUz8xpJA/s200/DSCF8260.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510461142021358802" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><br /></span>Jen spent the afternoon with Melody at the North Creek Farmer's Market. This market is one of the five Juniper Hill currently sells at and it was fun to go help. After working hard in the fields it is a real treat to experience the another side of farming and to watch consumers sample and ogle the fresh produce we are providing. Obviously after a summer of market after market, Melody has her system down. The way she sets up her table is very clever, putting boxes on angles, ensuring the color of the tablecloths contrast with the food on the table, and using unique holders such as old bicycle seats and fun baskets, guaranteeing everyone who visits the market will stop by her table. Fighting high winds and traces of rain, we held down the tent, literally, and sold nearly everything we brought to market.<br /><br />The North Creek market is small, with only 10 vendors. There was only one other vendor selling vegetables, while others sold meats, chocolates, jams, cheeses, and locally baked goods. Adam and Melody are doing alright, but they are killing themselves to sell their produce and flowers at five farmer's market each week, on top of having a CSA and selling produce wholesale to restaurants. What they are producing is outstanding and if they were in a larger market, near a larger city, they would sell out of everything in no time at all. Instead, with such a small community and population in the surrounding towns, they are struggling. Almost their entire annual income is based on the two to three months. They harvest and sell their produce and flowers almost exclusively in the summer when tourism is at its peak and there are more people in town at these markets to purchase their offerings. It's incredibly inspiring to watch people younger than us running a large operation so well, and it gives us hope that one day we could actually have a farm too. But watching them work 15 hour days, six or seven days a week reinforces the need to live near a large city where there are plenty of people willing and able to pay for good, nutritious, organic goods.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-16568866397717216282010-08-28T09:59:00.001-04:002010-08-28T10:01:50.757-04:008-25-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >LOVE IS TWO BODIES GROWING INTO ONE</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMG1gYutD2nYMJxUOEEphUh-yczZxeZIGsPOWx7wwJRcht3_Bzw_ifnI8MXbeH9ygu__sdlguT5tLmGHOcqpcxLfuZoWahgdOfFYzNOrkdbCXnFqzwpmX3cLWz49B1ie8I1y_cykmD898/s1600/DSCF8240.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMG1gYutD2nYMJxUOEEphUh-yczZxeZIGsPOWx7wwJRcht3_Bzw_ifnI8MXbeH9ygu__sdlguT5tLmGHOcqpcxLfuZoWahgdOfFYzNOrkdbCXnFqzwpmX3cLWz49B1ie8I1y_cykmD898/s200/DSCF8240.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510460494057403474" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >TOM WASHING CARROTS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYorpJh4ktsvsr014pjM6BulyGtLxY1zLxtqEPOxxaKZPh51syghNmGrhRLph1lVehmnDu63-iRe88V44PutrVB4e8Zwmd1WCtMejv0xfH6xPsLGu9BLa95P9Be2Two-HWmtds_W5s91s/s1600/DSCF8244.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYorpJh4ktsvsr014pjM6BulyGtLxY1zLxtqEPOxxaKZPh51syghNmGrhRLph1lVehmnDu63-iRe88V44PutrVB4e8Zwmd1WCtMejv0xfH6xPsLGu9BLa95P9Be2Two-HWmtds_W5s91s/s200/DSCF8244.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510460488333588706" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GREENHOUSE FRAMEWORK</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-vapW50l5u3QtIr70uVdrdqvu1kIsvyjUCbHGq289Q7tNnR4FO8lEcKKIsRrcnJ8ARlvR-2XpPIMeSf0TirhMJh3E_6YJB2ocis6J5Kk1hFjvXoI08Ekp_Whzua4XBUUGsWEU_zuiFU/s1600/DSCF8245.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-vapW50l5u3QtIr70uVdrdqvu1kIsvyjUCbHGq289Q7tNnR4FO8lEcKKIsRrcnJ8ARlvR-2XpPIMeSf0TirhMJh3E_6YJB2ocis6J5Kk1hFjvXoI08Ekp_Whzua4XBUUGsWEU_zuiFU/s200/DSCF8245.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510460479062150514" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >WHO KNEW OKRA GREW IN NY??</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGO-OFuikumFtdMZNicJQBREvmasiGfl8m8aC3fa1t64gfdt2fN558u32ACTb4Hv0u1gnD2WN2HMxhMq5nPZTY4uRGMbAgEQg-JvHxdi8def2nTpS1FbzkewTqoJvUSeTcjR1qQO4imlU/s1600/DSCF8250.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGO-OFuikumFtdMZNicJQBREvmasiGfl8m8aC3fa1t64gfdt2fN558u32ACTb4Hv0u1gnD2WN2HMxhMq5nPZTY4uRGMbAgEQg-JvHxdi8def2nTpS1FbzkewTqoJvUSeTcjR1qQO4imlU/s200/DSCF8250.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5510460470548510850" border="0" /></a><br />With one rolling greenhouse in place, Juniper Hill Farm is expanding their operation and building rolling greenhouse number two. After applying for a federal grant, they waited and waited, as bureaucratic decisions are slow to process. Getting tired of waiting, they just built a greenhouse. The logic was if they waited, the greenhouse would go up too late in the season and serve no purpose. Later in the season, they received notice they had been awarded the grant and decided to construct another greenhouse. The catch is, they had to front the money, erect the structure, and have it approved by government agents before receiving the subsidizing funds. In theory this prevents someone from earning this grant and spending the money on something unrelated, but in practice it puts farmers who don't have thousands of dollars at their fingertips in a tight spot. Raising that kind of capital is no easy task. The farmers are taking a major risk and hoping their building will be "up to snuff" and their funds reimbursed. Adam and Melody intend to plant strawberries, raspberries, and spinach in their new greenhouse, enabling them to extend their season and have fresh berries in spring before anyone else, and also in the fall, later than anyone else, something impossible under normal conditions in a cold climate such as the Adirondack Mountains. We're excited to help construct the greenhouse and we're taking careful notes; this rolling design seems excellent and it's something we'd like to emulate on a smaller scale in the future.<br /><br />We're not the only ones helping Melody and Adam at Juniper Hill. There is one other WWOOFer, Haley, who comes from North Carolina and is 21. She has also been WWOOFing all summer. Juniper Hill Farms also employs a few young kids to help out, some who are still in school. The operation they run is simply too big and demanding for just the two of them. Without WWOOFers, and on days their workers mysterious don't show up, getting by seems mindbogglingly difficult.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-88610851375009888542010-08-25T07:37:00.000-04:002010-08-25T07:43:07.007-04:008-24-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >HALEY, MELODY & JEN ARANGE FLOWER BOUQUETS<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDRklgUriPR4UBTQ6han5KlJN63d8ENb2T8c-AOTpHW0x_HE57IC-2Y1KRRR9iSZbugha_lOjSqrAad_QKdPjZoS7k_tuftLeNT8bagAwqv_g0jNcF40jyCoPo5feDw9koBUdUHwOX_w/s1600/DSCF8196.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyDRklgUriPR4UBTQ6han5KlJN63d8ENb2T8c-AOTpHW0x_HE57IC-2Y1KRRR9iSZbugha_lOjSqrAad_QKdPjZoS7k_tuftLeNT8bagAwqv_g0jNcF40jyCoPo5feDw9koBUdUHwOX_w/s200/DSCF8196.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310941646978530" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" > VIEW FROM JUNIPER HILL FARMS RIDGE<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvClqyVnX_sI9XTEuYqnFt6HrrB4KYx1BWFGsps1NeRoq1PikMV3z1_ERVCvNntP5BV9I31m6Gm4FbfPAX7R05wE4ejL_wLLvuQS_ZZF01MI5i28sbtRMnBdsHVXIQuBG0gQED2KMHvU/s1600/DSCF8218.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpvClqyVnX_sI9XTEuYqnFt6HrrB4KYx1BWFGsps1NeRoq1PikMV3z1_ERVCvNntP5BV9I31m6Gm4FbfPAX7R05wE4ejL_wLLvuQS_ZZF01MI5i28sbtRMnBdsHVXIQuBG0gQED2KMHvU/s200/DSCF8218.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310632021052322" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" > ERNEST THE EGGPLANT<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWObFneYxUf09WvQO8Q_NBA4vt4aozkNlneMr0i0RH39keryIRxs1BfLfLjvPHP1ypDnryG1Qqmfp8JPgatc2xBQnNJFIelSc4zhjzuDj0c6KKFsxxExP-v37lWD5QF7mHDNMcrIwhN4/s1600/DSCF8212.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkWObFneYxUf09WvQO8Q_NBA4vt4aozkNlneMr0i0RH39keryIRxs1BfLfLjvPHP1ypDnryG1Qqmfp8JPgatc2xBQnNJFIelSc4zhjzuDj0c6KKFsxxExP-v37lWD5QF7mHDNMcrIwhN4/s200/DSCF8212.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509311561324431586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >TAMMY THE TOMATO<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2r2gPMXqbNlYVgiPRJztyHuLSxyZeDwua8s7qYLZ1dJ26z9qMaEENLnKatmbCZvOf7kscX4-a1rNfGGjWM2XFkC4jISValmsCKC90z_Y3S6Agmd-VRTMpba1_6wu_EadmNgj_hxL_kPE/s1600/DSCF8226.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2r2gPMXqbNlYVgiPRJztyHuLSxyZeDwua8s7qYLZ1dJ26z9qMaEENLnKatmbCZvOf7kscX4-a1rNfGGjWM2XFkC4jISValmsCKC90z_Y3S6Agmd-VRTMpba1_6wu_EadmNgj_hxL_kPE/s200/DSCF8226.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310617581043506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >MATCH MAKER MATCH MAKER MAKE ME A MATCH<br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmz22-3NfIXNbwSu-nZrh8CEqf2nczqSWY4X8ATIy1dzChE2-ED2hI5vJGthtAjbI8xYS9wBsgnjucS_RwW-zy645TqbyBK9y-44d1Pdm8NBTVVWS1Lef_ocQUfm_Wam8SN0a6otqdRk/s1600/DSCF8223.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnmz22-3NfIXNbwSu-nZrh8CEqf2nczqSWY4X8ATIy1dzChE2-ED2hI5vJGthtAjbI8xYS9wBsgnjucS_RwW-zy645TqbyBK9y-44d1Pdm8NBTVVWS1Lef_ocQUfm_Wam8SN0a6otqdRk/s200/DSCF8223.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310640060871474" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >GRASSHOPPER</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPrWzK-8QLPu6h7xIaYzXFHk-AWPFB_dAdT4RIpSMOO2n4PFcGZVx93ayGHBwx-nXWP_fqJQe7kT3Z-bcyzfwzal_g6Q-6z69iOLW1-hOVuJOsTmRcYQqjrRZAATzcV87R5H7NnZjgzA/s1600/DSCF8232.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPrWzK-8QLPu6h7xIaYzXFHk-AWPFB_dAdT4RIpSMOO2n4PFcGZVx93ayGHBwx-nXWP_fqJQe7kT3Z-bcyzfwzal_g6Q-6z69iOLW1-hOVuJOsTmRcYQqjrRZAATzcV87R5H7NnZjgzA/s200/DSCF8232.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310612633661586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" > PEPPERS HERE, GET YOUR PEPPERS HERE!</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NeKDKOhzmC4iKhmWM79LFRur70jMOnuusqAb3eHeOUg11eP9fZSTgp43Lz4CMpNM2sCTdgrmIpOvLJMR67o1iokjSk-gJgxKZcTzAqywohP8fNFH8PjkfooyzLr8PS5sNIeuAhA8h90/s1600/DSCF8237.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7NeKDKOhzmC4iKhmWM79LFRur70jMOnuusqAb3eHeOUg11eP9fZSTgp43Lz4CMpNM2sCTdgrmIpOvLJMR67o1iokjSk-gJgxKZcTzAqywohP8fNFH8PjkfooyzLr8PS5sNIeuAhA8h90/s200/DSCF8237.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310604269538514" border="0" /></a><br />We harvested haricot verts, field tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, summer squash, okra, bell peppers, jalepeño peppers, habeñero peppers, and flowers today. We worked hard and long, but the highlight of the day was having fun with Ernest and Tammy.<br /><br />Ernest comes from a long line of flat nosed eggplants. Growing up, everyone made fun of him for his funny hook shaped nose. None of his friends or family had a nose like his, and he was sad and self conscious all the time. Meanwhile, across the garden lived another long nosed lonely plant, Tammy. All the big mean tomatoes made fun of her long nose since none of them had noses like hers. She would blush terribly at their insults, and she blushed so much she turned bright red.<br /><br />Then one day, a beautiful enchanted lady traveled a long and weary road to Juniper Hill Farm. This woman was wise beyond her years, and knew better than to look simply at the surface of what she encountered. "Skin deep is no way to judge living beings," she thought. When she was playing in the garden one day, she met Ernest the Eggplant. Ernest told her how sad he was, but she cheered him right up. She complimented his suave eyes, his dashing haircut, and explained how in some cultures, a long nose was a very desirable attribute. She told Ernest he was talented, and if he put his mind to it, he could one day be eggplant parmesan on the King and Queen's table. She left Ernest and he was much happier. But before leaving, she promised to remain faithful friends and return soon.<br /><br />Time passed, and the enchanted lady continued her sojourn. One hot summer day she happened upon a tangled tomato patch. The lady was delighted to make the acquaintance of so many new friends, but one new friend in particular stood out: Tammy. Tammy and this lady both had something in common, and that is that they both get rosy cheeks in the summer heat. As they were talking about sauces and gazpacho, she told Tammy, "I have a friend that you simply must meet. You have so much in common, and I think you two would look divine together." Tammy was reluctant at first, worried how a stranger would react when seeing her Pinocchio shaped nose, but she was excited at the prospect of a new friend. The lady convinced Tammy, and so she met Ernest one fine summer evening for a picnic. It was love at first sight. They fell deeply in love with each other, and the two lived happily ever after.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-63657379008993446212010-08-25T07:34:00.000-04:002010-08-25T07:37:35.552-04:008-23-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >EGGPLANT SQUASH ROLLATINI</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mUxA4ROG2uzb8m_WVKTs3UW79MoTtp77nqE-hIlMtErc3vRmYUYtscw57jrpEciFj2knM_ewTRKMJ-n-liugD1fR0MifccB8Lm6e-jmsW5dRHMh1tLI5cPMFmubcIr4XfYpMR6JkENc/s1600/DSCF8192.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4mUxA4ROG2uzb8m_WVKTs3UW79MoTtp77nqE-hIlMtErc3vRmYUYtscw57jrpEciFj2knM_ewTRKMJ-n-liugD1fR0MifccB8Lm6e-jmsW5dRHMh1tLI5cPMFmubcIr4XfYpMR6JkENc/s200/DSCF8192.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509309614674003858" border="0" /></a><br />Serves 5-7<br /><br />Ingredients:<br />4 small eggplants<br />1 zucchini<br />1 summer squash<br />2 tomatoes, sliced<br />1 onion, chopped<br />several cloves of garlic, chopped<br />handful of sungold tomatoes (the more the better)<br />cheese, grated or sliced<br />saffron<br />broadleaf thyme, chopped<br />olive oil<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />1) Slice eggplant, zucchini, and squash lengthwise, thinly. Parboil in salted water.<br />2) Caramelize onions and saute garlic, and sungolds in olive oil until it cooks down and becomes saucy. Add saffron, thyme, salt & pepper to taste.<br />3) On a flat surface, stack layers of eggplant, zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. Roll into concentric circles and place in baking dish. They should look like sushi rolls.<br />4) Cover with sauce and top with sliced tomatoes and cheese.<br />5) Bake at 350 degrees until cheese melts and becomes slightly crispy.<br /><br />Note: We do believe this dish would taste even better if the eggplant slices were battered and fried before stacking. We didn't do this because frying is time consuming and/or not healthy, but we imagine the taste and texture would be vastly improved.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >ASIAN PAC CHOI AND STRING BEANS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-w42uTJX2uqBpUPV8bSE-Q3GA_oAdrnxakDkkbrDJCjn-yRLFKyy-_ZcbVCYhzO6O3v8_i8klW88UVnya9nAbx-BBk3yrmEQR0bcFtOiGEjoFjd9IvM3ky4-PLAj-m09_BYPD-rm66c/s1600/DSCF8193.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-w42uTJX2uqBpUPV8bSE-Q3GA_oAdrnxakDkkbrDJCjn-yRLFKyy-_ZcbVCYhzO6O3v8_i8klW88UVnya9nAbx-BBk3yrmEQR0bcFtOiGEjoFjd9IvM3ky4-PLAj-m09_BYPD-rm66c/s200/DSCF8193.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509309837471149778" border="0" /></a><br />Serves 5-7<br /><br />Ingredients:<br />2 large heads pac choi<br />large bunch of green beans<br />several cloves of garlic, minced<br />fresh ginger, roughly chopped<br />sesame oil<br />bragg's<br />sesame seeds<br />nutritional yeast<br /><br />1) Remove bottoms of pac choi so leaves are separated. Cut ends off beans if necessary or desired.<br />2) Saute garlic and ginger in sesame oil. Add greens.<br />3) Once pac choi has cooked down, season with Bragg's to taste.<br />4) Remove from heat and top with nutritional yeast and sesame seeds.<br /><br />Note: Don't be stingy with that nutritional yeast!!! Also, this dish would work equally well with any other leafy green. If you don't have access to Bragg's, you can substitute soy sauce. Bragg's is a natural alternative that contains no soy, no sodium, and no GMOs. It also contains 21 essential amino acids. If you don't currently have Bragg's in your refrigerator, go out and get some!<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">***In response to a recent comment, heirloom seeds and varieties of plants are open pollinated, organic, non-hybrid, non-industrialized crops. Heirlooms were the only type of crop grown and produced until the Industrial Revolution. They are often less vigorous not resistant to diseases, and as such are not being grown by conventional, large scale farms. Often heirlooms have strange and unusual shapes but taste far superior to conventional and hybridized varieties of crops. They are always more expensive. In our opinion, they are certainly worth their price.***<br /><br />***In reference to another recent comment, raw okra isn't so grand. It's too firm and doesn't have much natural flavor. It tastes stringy and gooey only after it's cooked for a long time, and that is the consistency that makes it so wonderful.***<br /></span>jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-70987651492418558182010-08-23T17:02:00.000-04:002010-08-23T17:03:57.486-04:008-22-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >WHERE WAS SMOKY THE BEAR?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBan8nZzFVifCQ9fdfOGJL-UCHXbJqtiDOwkcbZdyBStImvlTq-HJRTJZxIPGJEB3F8t3Pwiv5toyhdt5c5WjPK2rAT3EuEYNQaL855z5F3hi2DcADWaMcMvYysZeajVyfs7-uRYPofbs/s1600/DSCF8187.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBan8nZzFVifCQ9fdfOGJL-UCHXbJqtiDOwkcbZdyBStImvlTq-HJRTJZxIPGJEB3F8t3Pwiv5toyhdt5c5WjPK2rAT3EuEYNQaL855z5F3hi2DcADWaMcMvYysZeajVyfs7-uRYPofbs/s200/DSCF8187.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508713932535758546" border="0" /></a><br />As previously mentioned, Melody and Adam's apartment directly on Lake Champlain had a bit of a disaster last week. Their neighbor is the only cab driver in town, and apparently, he is a well known drunk. Rumor has it he likes to cook, and rarely cooks without several beers at his fingertips. He also saves his grease, since he believes cooking with old grease enhances the flavors of his food. Unwisely, he stores his grease in a pan on his stove, and when he accidentally turned on the wrong burner in an alleged drunken state, he started a grease fire. The grease fire quickly spread, swallowing up his entire apartment in fiery flames. In an almost unbelievable fire response time, less than three minutes, water hoses were soaking the fire engulfed apartment and the whole surrounding area to prevent spreading. Trouble is, Melody and Adam's apartment touched the neighbors apartment, and in the process of extinguishing the flames, the fire department poured 20,000 gallons of water into their place. The neighbors house was totally decimated, 2 pets in fact deceased, yet while this tragedy luckily left Melody and Adam unharmed, the fact remains: their apartment, where we were going to stay while WWOOFing here, is completely unlivable, many possessions soaked and/or ruined, and the place must be gutted to prevent mold damage. Yesterday we helped them move to another apartment instead of working on the farm. Shouldn't there be some sort of friend time prerequisite for helping someone move? But how could we not help? Everyone in town is helping them in their own way by donating furniture, funds, and physical labor on the farm. Adam's dad owns a defunct pizza shop with an apartment above in town, and the four of us are now living there. Anyone want to open a pizza shop in Westport? It's near Wadhams!<br /><br />The rains started last night, and didn't let up all day. It is a thorough soak, and tonight, there seems to be no signs of it letting up. But just like the postal service, neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor...stands in the way of a harvest. At the farm, we bravedy the bugs and rain to harvest sun jewel melons, eggplants, zucchinis, okra, broccoli, yellow summer squash, peppers, tomatoes, spinach, salad mix, arugula, basil, and carrots for the market tomorrow. They participate in 3 markets each week, but will sell at a 4th until Labor Day. Some of the squash is starting to show early signs of powdery leaf mildew, and there is growing concern that some of their crop will be lost. In a conventional farm system, farmers would spray pesticides and fungicides preventatively so this disease wouldn't occur. But then when you eat the skin of the conventional summer squashes, you'd be a fool to think there are no traces of these chemicals found. Juniper Hill Farm, not wanting to employ such non-organic methods, is toying with the idea of spraying a copper solution, allowable under organic guidelines, to prevent the onset and spread of the mildew. We are interested in learning how this problem gets attention and is or isn't resolved.<br /><br />Tonight, we went to a farmer potluck with live music and six, count em', six kegs. Farmers sure aren't like city folk. There were babies running around, people playing with fire, and of course, amazing organic food. It was really fun to mingle with the locals of the Adirondacks, something we never would have done, had we not signed up to WWOOF.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9093753240148906876.post-87046736979921596392010-08-21T10:28:00.000-04:002010-08-23T17:12:40.747-04:008-20-10<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >FIELD TOMATO HARVEST</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0i2tMTqyBqJfysYUDN-z_p3UT8CGlqNHdgGUPBqhxtVPgGLOLogtWeFcbY7LJVzDh8hyphenhyphenOuHCFQF8etOVIcB72yKpKvEHyeRsNp-J4zseYE_scsJwgPiofu0mfnc6qEi9kizlE0Sz-3Zs/s1600/DSCF8145.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0i2tMTqyBqJfysYUDN-z_p3UT8CGlqNHdgGUPBqhxtVPgGLOLogtWeFcbY7LJVzDh8hyphenhyphenOuHCFQF8etOVIcB72yKpKvEHyeRsNp-J4zseYE_scsJwgPiofu0mfnc6qEi9kizlE0Sz-3Zs/s200/DSCF8145.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870799052508290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >WHICH DO YOU PREFER?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFE51IbStdYui4CLxXRKTFPFfm8btAVjSRBHf2GUU8zzXFsbJzoZlshRScFbGmlHURhnScPFIIVGvyESrVDG0KnS7OW6Hub8q7E_Zt_d5tg_D1Qq7hkOv5A4p_MznkhTUczhDMvxvMEeI/s1600/DSCF8146.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFE51IbStdYui4CLxXRKTFPFfm8btAVjSRBHf2GUU8zzXFsbJzoZlshRScFbGmlHURhnScPFIIVGvyESrVDG0KnS7OW6Hub8q7E_Zt_d5tg_D1Qq7hkOv5A4p_MznkhTUczhDMvxvMEeI/s200/DSCF8146.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870791496397474" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >CSA PICKUP</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTPoyJ8B-CzIG8oK4WTjOaZcjkX1F0N0VpkFonap4J6tczJm39zkMJNyueLxkGn9l1ytlCoGQgk6uv6EoDVvHSKZCoyJEd0lfvupjx0PbQ4Kytz5L96ArohaHk2-6C5QPIiTMdcNQ7Y4/s1600/DSCF8152.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyTPoyJ8B-CzIG8oK4WTjOaZcjkX1F0N0VpkFonap4J6tczJm39zkMJNyueLxkGn9l1ytlCoGQgk6uv6EoDVvHSKZCoyJEd0lfvupjx0PbQ4Kytz5L96ArohaHk2-6C5QPIiTMdcNQ7Y4/s200/DSCF8152.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870784878785058" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >MELODY CUTTING FLOWERS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaly39QL14rrJoad0GukhJef9Ws1Ks2VOSwKNAQNnrLGpCGdBGN0RqtPQFXXMeOHjKOu2yb4xIn9jvPKtht2kGkhG5kbVeJRGn6G_-JjrI0LNtR7fXQujyEWNZ8aO_U2oufUKwt6DhPR0/s1600/DSCF8157.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaly39QL14rrJoad0GukhJef9Ws1Ks2VOSwKNAQNnrLGpCGdBGN0RqtPQFXXMeOHjKOu2yb4xIn9jvPKtht2kGkhG5kbVeJRGn6G_-JjrI0LNtR7fXQujyEWNZ8aO_U2oufUKwt6DhPR0/s200/DSCF8157.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870270896905730" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >WHO IS DOING WHOSE BIDDING?</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfSuttpffZKdLkFg9wmdfSxFM7iB0OOGALuPgJ3pImyHNIeBzP3ZPcNZJw0dh0kgpbAa7sxC48vMepTadcNZENI7QhHTulCS9M8NwK6eEWAszoPKI-oJU2sZJzH0xvreIa0uVA0n_V4c/s1600/DSCF8168.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCfSuttpffZKdLkFg9wmdfSxFM7iB0OOGALuPgJ3pImyHNIeBzP3ZPcNZJw0dh0kgpbAa7sxC48vMepTadcNZENI7QhHTulCS9M8NwK6eEWAszoPKI-oJU2sZJzH0xvreIa0uVA0n_V4c/s200/DSCF8168.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870262784502146" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >ZINNIAS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT1mMfvZtVz1lDB8UToJy4G4utVRnDFT1hd1V_QXBOBJ9njKpw7C_xKiBDCXiGClnlNBSVjQrP9etuX307Gw1Xg9rPK24oycG3oGccDTdzI6DWfMyw7cWY2F3myBn_CIj9ufA3GXjPbM/s1600/DSCF8170.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilT1mMfvZtVz1lDB8UToJy4G4utVRnDFT1hd1V_QXBOBJ9njKpw7C_xKiBDCXiGClnlNBSVjQrP9etuX307Gw1Xg9rPK24oycG3oGccDTdzI6DWfMyw7cWY2F3myBn_CIj9ufA3GXjPbM/s200/DSCF8170.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870256464166178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >THE EARTH LAUGHS IN FLOWERS</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgeEGpM-P4Rw85sTT47EVzG3kwzdnd3LNoxYZeEucaRea6peXQm3FKj8VVq1sSt15WigWNtIND6UMxM63PaJHki78CGXy_SudpnwVPlvAjlSeSLRKUU3iTXH8HMK89hYf3Qn-qvoAhAs/s1600/DSCF8175.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMgeEGpM-P4Rw85sTT47EVzG3kwzdnd3LNoxYZeEucaRea6peXQm3FKj8VVq1sSt15WigWNtIND6UMxM63PaJHki78CGXy_SudpnwVPlvAjlSeSLRKUU3iTXH8HMK89hYf3Qn-qvoAhAs/s200/DSCF8175.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870247785405010" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" >ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER NO DOLLAR</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fYimMvb1Tp_NS5a9JeLnlYKO74kxJRUb4e3uqm1zg0nwBGcXhj_XBEMU-cr0fYrJRB1CaFr_QzbJx139oJmrm9EBLThOOb9UwkG4s6Evw-BlKLq-9lUKFhgVWrZ3unUtV_dtTZdWRic/s1600/DSCF8181.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9fYimMvb1Tp_NS5a9JeLnlYKO74kxJRUb4e3uqm1zg0nwBGcXhj_XBEMU-cr0fYrJRB1CaFr_QzbJx139oJmrm9EBLThOOb9UwkG4s6Evw-BlKLq-9lUKFhgVWrZ3unUtV_dtTZdWRic/s200/DSCF8181.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507870241909793314" border="0" /></a><br />Wasting no time, since there isn't a moment to waste around here, we were in the fields by 8 o'clock this morning and worked virtually nonstop until 7:30pm. Literally, we didn't even stop to eat a normal lunch, and Jen didn't even have time to find a bathroom all day! In lieu of lunch, we nibbled on raw fruit and vegetables all day long. If you've never eaten raw sweet corn, you have never lived. If you are buying quality corn, there is absolutely no reason you should have to cook it. Despite not stopping for a proper lunch or having many breaks it was a good day.<br /><br />We're staying in an apartment in town, 10 minutes from the farm. By the time we arrived at the farm, Melody, Adam's girlfriend, already had the van packed and ready to take off to the market while Adam had already harvested over 100 ears of sweet corn. No matter how much we work here, and it will be more than we've worked on any other farm, Adam and Melody will always be at work before we arrive and will always work well after we've finished for the night. We started the day by harvesting 40 bunches of beets, each bunch containing 4-7 beets depending on their size, for the CSA. We harvested golden beets, candy striped beets, and bull's blood. We spent the rest of the morning and the beginning of the afternoon pruning, tying, and suckering the tomatoes in the greenhouse. This was no small task, since Adam's greenhouse is almost 15 feet tall, and so are all his tomatoes; we've never seen anything like it. The rope system Adam has devised for his tomatoes to climb up is inventive and so effective that it makes tomato cages and wooden stakes seem like child's play. Sometimes people affix the stalks of a tomato plant onto ropes or stakes for support, often using zip ties or string, both cumbersome and disposable, while Adam uses reusable plastic clips that snap onto the rope and around the stalk, supporting the plants as they grow. Adam has given each plant nearly 50 feet of rope, leaving about 30 extra feet wound up at the top. Tomatoes develop first at the bottom of the plant and bear new fruit clusters towards the top when the first fruit is ripening. With his system, Adam can harvest the first tomatoes at the bottom and then unwind some rope down, essentially lowering the entire plant onto the ground and giving it more room to grow vertically. This means he can grow a 30 feet high plant in a 15 foot tall greenhouse.<br /><br />Later in the afternoon we harvested field tomatoes, anana melons (yellow oblong melons with white mild flavored flesh), and peppers. Juniper Hill's CSA members come to the farm between 4 and 7pm each Friday to retrieve their produce. This CSA is different than others we've seen because no boxes are made and brought to a central drop off point. Instead, all the produce is laid out on tables and people come and pick and choose what they like best. They're offered everything, but today plenty of people didn't take all that was available. In addition to the beets, field tomatoes, melons, and peppers we harvested, on today's table was: oriental eggplant, salad mix, carrots, onions, squash/zucchini, sungold tomatoes, and sweet corn. We'd sure be thrilled if we were offered this bounty for $23. Reflecting on what we've seen from past CSA operations, we think although this method of having people come to the farm has definite benefits, if we were to have a CSA, we'd probably drop off boxes to customers. Timewise, both ways of operating a CSA are probably similar: either you spend time packing boxes and taking them to town or you spend time setting up a stand on the farm and bringing all your produce there and staying there for three hours to monitor it all before breaking it down and putting everything away. For Adam and Melody, this works because their customers all live quite close and none of them mind coming to get their goodies. However in a larger CSA in a bigger city, a huge benefit is food gets delivered directly to customers and they don't have to go out of their way to pick it up. The plus of Juniper Hill's way is members don't ever get food they don't want or won't eat since they simply don't take home carrots if they don't like carrots. This system felt more like a farmer's market to us, but with fewer customers; but on the flip side, we bet those customers enjoy coming and seeing a bit of the farm and being able to talk with Adam and Melody. Almost all of these members are family and friends and are all very supportive of this relatively new start up farm, but we can't help but think the hours Adam and Melody spend manning the tent could be better spent elsewhere.<br /><br />Just before sun fall we helped Melody harvest flowers. In addition to fruit and vegetables, Juniper Hill is also growing certified organic flowers. Melody makes bouquets and sells them at farmer's markets throughout the week and just like the vegetables and fruits, the flowers require care and massive amounts of attention. Her bouquets are beautiful, her flowers are magnificent, and it was fun as well as interesting to talk with her. We're really happy to be here and we know we'll learn a lot from our contemporaries (Adam: 27, Melody: 25) who are running a successful, small organic farm. It's a huge eye opener to be here, to see the endless work they do, and the ever growing list of needs they have is staggering; how they manage it all as young farmers is impressive.jen & aaron pattaphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12597453884760766481noreply@blogger.com0