Green Agriculture
December 20, 2008 |
Why Food Matters
Jon and I embarked on our New Mexico farm experiment based on our concern about the food industry contributing to our nation’s and the world’s most volatile issues. Like it or not, the way our food is grown, processed, and delivered to us has been at the crux of many of our issues, leading us to the economic, social, and public health woes that face us in the 21st century, and continuing to affect us in ways that may seem beyond our control.
The origins of many of these problems can be traced back about 60 years. Since then,
While the intent of the arms-to-fertilizer program probably started with good intentions—to feed many with the crops of a few—it defied time-tested farming practices such as crop diversity and quality. As Pollan writes, “synthetic fertilizer opens the way to monoculture, allowing the farmer to bring the factory’s economies of scale and mechanical efficiency to nature.”
The annual
Not everyone around the globe is a fan of our food industry, either. The U.N. and World Trade Organization have criticized U.S. farm trade subsidies as preventing fair competition from developing countries. Other programs have declined U.S. food aid, fearing that our business model diminishes traditional farming practices rather than supplying communities with the resources to sustainably feed themselves.
As a result of letting the arms-to-farms program go amok, America has a serious hunger and malnutrition problem with a lack in supply of whole, fresh, unprocessed foods, and increased homogeneity with reliance on processed corn and soy products increasingly pervasive in ingredients lists. Ironically, we are also among the most obese nations in the world, while eating disorders are a prevailing part of our culture. Diet-borne diseases such as diabetes and cancer are often linked to the high sugar, fat, and chemical content of our highly processed food.
Finally, the American people spend less than half the money on food than we did in the past century, replacing the former importance of considering what we put in our bodies and communal meals with a national addiction to “stuff”—and, subsequently, an abysmal debt crisis.
We're not alone in contemplating our unhealthy relationship with food production and consumption. In October The New York Times Magazine dedicated an entire issue to food, featuring Michael Pollan’s provocative letter to the president-elect titled “Farmer in Chief”. The Commonwealth Club of California likewise dedicated its December/January issue of its monthly magazine to food issues. On the literary front, Barbara Kingsolver documented her family’s move from urban to rural—and their vow to eat local for one year—in her best-selling book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. And fellow New Mexican Doug Fine, author of Farewell, My Subaru, has been writing about living off the grid and growing his own food for years. While we haven’t gone as extreme as Doug—and few people should have to in order to effect change in the food industry--it’s visionaries like him who lead movements of change for the rest of us.
Agents of Change
Despite our best efforts at patio gardens in San Francisco, once we arrived on our two acres of untouched farmland with the intention to start growing our own, we realized we have much to learn about water sources, soil enrichment, choosing what to grow, certifications, and animal husbandry. But while we’re still learning to be small-scale farmers, we can make some incremental changes to the way we think of, purchase, and interact with our food.
Social change often requires baby steps before becoming mainstream. Changing the way we eat is very much a social movement, as it affects something each and every human being must do several times a day to survive. A recent positive trend is that consumers are now demanding change in their food supply.
The first small steps toward sweeping change in the food industry start with each and every one of us committing to a small change. Here are some ways to start:
o Look for local foods at your supermarket: more stores are listening to growing consumer demand for whole, organic, and local foods. Major national chains such as Whole Foods and Safeway are publishing locally grown or sustainability statements where they express commitment to the environmental impact of their stores and products. The less food travels, the fresher and more environmentally sound it is.
o Educate yourself – arm yourself with knowledge about topics such as food labeling, food security, and sustainable agriculture. Being an empowered consumer can help you better understand where your food comes from, how it affects your health, and how your food choices affect the local, national, and global economies, starting right in your grocery cart. The Cornucopia Institute regularly publishes thorough consumer reports on topics such as baby formulas, rank of organic dairies by how they treat their cows, and other practical information to help us make informed choices.
Eat Well Guide: www.eatwell.org
Eat Wild: www.eatwild.com
Farm Foody: http://www.farmfoody.org/
Organic Consumers: http://www.organicconsumers.org/
o If you really want to know where your food comes from, keep a couple of chickens for eggs, meat, and excellent fertilizer. While this may seem extreme, urbanites around the country are joining the flock. See a
As we were making changes in our food choices, we realized that anyone can make similar changes-- whether you're in the heart of downtown
'Efficient' Irrigation Tool May Deplete More Water
By Ben BlockAn Israeli water engineer was sitting under a tree one day when he noticed a leaking faucet slowly drip water to the tree's roots, a nearly 50-year-old irrigation tale says.
The idea inspired the invention of modern drip irrigation, also known as micro-irrigation. The method runs water through plastic tubes that release the flow through small holes directly to crop roots or stems.
The precise application allows drip-irrigated crops to be watered more frequently than with traditional sprinkler methods. Yet farmers waste fewer resources because most water is absorbed through transpiration. As a result, many governments have encouraged drip irrigation as a water-conserving technology that can boost crop yields.
But drip irrigation may have a downside, according to a study published in last week's Proceedings of the National Academies of Science. In traditional flood or sprinkler irrigation, "wasted" water - the water not absorbed by crops - seeps into the ground and recharges the below-surface aquifers used by area farmers. As drip irrigation becomes more common, recharge of groundwater may be less frequent, the study said.
"I think it's very true that drip irrigation and drip irrigation subsidies definitely contribute to food security and increased farm income," said Frank Ward, the study's co-author and a professor of water resource economics at New Mexico State University. "The only downside...is that drip irrigation could be using more water."
If Ward's study is true for areas beyond the study's focus area - the U.S. Rio Grande Basin - agricultural development organizations may need to evaluate whether costly drip irrigation is truly an efficient technique, the study said. This is of particular concern as global food crises and water shortages force many regions to decide between growing food or conserving water.
The Stockholm International Water Institute estimates that feeding the world's undernourished population and the additional 3 billion people expected by 2050 will require 50 percent more water resources than today.
The vast majority of the world's available fresh water - some 70 percent, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) - is withdrawn for agricultural usage. Most crops are not irrigated with the drip method due to higher costs. In the United States and Spain, where the technology is used most, it comprises 6.75 and 2.75 percent of the total irrigated area, respectively, according to the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage.
But drip irrigation is becoming more popular. More farmers in the United States, the Middle East, and North Africa are turning to the technology, especially to grow permanent tree and orchard crops.
Ward first became aware of drip irrigation's potential to diminish water reserves when several irrigation engineers, farming consultants, and water agency administrators in the Rio Grande Basin informed him of the problem. They told Ward that farmers who adopted the technology were using a larger portion of the region's groundwater. "They worried [that] farmers would conserve themselves right out of an aquifer," he said.
After initially dismissing the concerns, Ward and Spanish researcher Manuel Pulido-Velazquez created a model of the basin's hydrology. The model included the total water diverted from streams, applied to crops, evaporated into the air, and returned to the ground.
At maximum levels of drip irrigation subsidies (the U.S. government offers subsidies to offset the technology's higher cost), the analysis concluded that farmers in the irrigation district would apply 40,000 acre-feet (49.3 million cubic meters) less of water per year. Yet due to the loss of "wasted water" and the additional water demands associated with the higher yields of drip irrigation, the entire district would face a deficit of 36,700 acre-feet (45.3 million cubic meters) of water per year.
"Farmers themselves believe they are using less water," Ward said. "They apply less, but because plants unknowingly may use more, they deplete more."
Not all researchers are convinced. "It's an absurd proposition," said Mahbub Alam, an irrigation specialist at Kansas State University. "Drip is the answer to be able to manage water much better and still have good production and do more with less."
In addition to questioning the study's model, Alam said that irrigation water obtained directly from a stream is more valuable than any runoff harnessed downstream, due to the mix of chemicals applied to most farmland. "Assumption that degraded water from return flow has the same value as the pristine water left in the stream by [increased use of drip irrigation] cannot be correct," he said.
But the efficiency of drip irrigation varies considerably by region and crop. In some Great Plains states, for instance, farmers who use a spray irrigation method known as central pivot often lose much of their water to evaporation. In contrast, if drip irrigation is used, the application often occurs below the surface and very little water evaporates, said Charles Burt, chairman of the Irrigated Training and Research Center at California Polytechnic State University.
"In Kansas and Texas, it is entirely possible, but not guaranteed ...that evapotranspiration under drip is less than with pivot because it depends on the management and design of the sprinklers," Burt said. With less water vanishing into the air, he explained, crops would lose less water than Ward estimated in his study of New Mexico.
In California, however, Burt supports the study's findings. "Let's face it. You don't irrigate to save water," he said. "[With drip irrigation], overall there is higher consumption."
Yet drip irrigation's significant boost for crop yields cannot be ignored. California has become the world's No. 1 producer of almonds over the past 30 years, due in part to the increased reliance on drip irrigation. Almond farmers have required some 15-20 percent more water, but average yields nearly doubled, said Blake Sanden, an irrigation farm advisor with the University of California Cooperative Extension.
"You cannot produce high-yield crops without a fairly significant input of water," Sanden said. "In the end of the day, hungry people will win the game."
In addition to irrigation technologies, farmers' crop decisions play a significant role in water conservation outcomes. Rice, for example, uses about twice as much water per hectare as wheat, according to the FAO.
Ben Block is a staff writer with the Worldwatch Institute. He can be reached at bblock@worldwatch.org.
Biodynamics: Farming on Sustainability Steroids
It is funny how the human mind works. While researching biodynamic farming, I had a continuous loop of Sam Cooke’s song Wonderful World playing in my head. We haven’t recently watched Animal House or Hitch nor did we hear this tune on the radio, so I do not know how I tapped into this particular song. All that I do know is that the trademark lyric of “Don’t know much about” is embedded in my psyche somewhere and became background music while we sifted through the world of biodynamics.It is true that we know very little about biodynamic agriculture. Our only discussions about biodynamic practices came during a visit to Erda Gardens—a local farm—sometime ago and the occasional wine tasting chat with a certified winery. But the more we looked into an organic certification the more we asked ourselves, “Is this really sustainable?” If following organic practices is good, is there something else out there that is great? Biodynamics may be that “great” and we needed to investigate.
Don’t Know Much About Rudolf Steiner
In the days of yore—prior to television—some folks distracted themselves with a lot of activities. Our move from urban life to rural living seems silly compared to the accomplishments of these people past. (Those familiar with Bill Bryson’s Short History of Nearly Everything will recognize my appreciation of his work in this section.)
Imagine the time it took to learn to be a physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, theologian, and the first to describe gravitation and motion—as Isaac Newton did during his days of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He also created calculus in frustration to the limitations of his time—and then he didn’t tell anyone about this new form of math for almost 27 years. Now that is holding a secret very well. Similarly John Dalton, who ran a Quaker school at 12 and later laid the foundation for atomic theory, and Albert Einstein, who ironically, paved the way for television with his theories of light, had mind blowing achievements by taking the time to explore the depths of their minds. (If you feel down comparing your accomplishments to these folks, also consider Thomas Midgley, Jr. Outcomes are not always rosy when gifted folks pursue the meaning of life and how to make living better for the world. Brilliant, but unfortunate, while on a noble quest for quieter cars and safe refrigeration he developed the lead additive for gas and chlorinated fluorocarbons.)
This brief history of accomplishment leads to Rudolf Steiner, the founder of biodynamic farming. In his days (1861-1925), Mr. Steiner dabbled in philosophy, wrote mystery dramas, and designed buildings (the first and second Goetheanums) as well as promoted the separation of culture, politics, and economics as a balance for healthy societies (a notion we should all listen to in these times of economic woe).
In 1924 a group of concerned farmers in the Germany/Poland area—worried that modern agricultural practice would destroy soils, crop health, and biodiversity—asked Rudolf Steiner for help in redefining sustainable farming practices. Does this dilemma sound familiar to you? In turn, Rudolf Steiner provided a series of lectures and follow-up lessons that became the foundation of biodynamic farming practices. Few have matched the vibrant purity—with a spiritual bent—of Steiner’s wisdom regarding farming practices. Unfortunately for humanity, Rudolf Steiner died the next year.
Rudolf Steiner’s lectures and lessons were published in a book called Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture (the first English title An Agriculture Course was too boring to be successful). We are in the process of obtaining this book as well as supplemental pieces to help us understand biodynamic agriculture practices. The people at the Natural Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) provide a good overview—complete with resources—of biodynamic farming.
How did biodynamics cross the pond to America? In the 1930’s, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer—who worked closely with Rudolf Steiner—brought the biodynamic principles to the United States. With his help, The Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association (its shortened acronym is BDA as the full BDFGA might be confused with the Beer Drinkers Frisbee Golf Association) formed in 1938.
Don’t Know Much About Biodynamics
What we do know about biodynamics is that it is not organic farming. It is more like organic farming on sustainability steroids—very natural indigenousness steroids. While many procedures are integrated in each practice (cover crops, composting, crop rotation, and more), biodynamic agriculture concepts upgrade your relationship with the land. In biodynamic farming, you protect the soil not because of obligation—you protect the soil because it is the same as you.
Even more, you are a participant in the organism known as your land which is part of the greater organism known as the earth. Your particular organism includes everything that walks, grows, eats, and dies—a circle of life package—on your section of this earth.
There are specific principles in practice—a few Alan York of Benziger Winery explains in these short videos—but understanding the self-contained living organism and the search for balance are very important concepts in biodynamics.
The farmer or gardener also consults a prepared calendar that identifies optimum times to work the soil, tend to the plant, or harvest. This biodynamic guide follows stellar influences to determine the moments of concentrated intake or output in your soil, vegetation, and compost. Many farmers follow a similar guide in the Old Farmers Almanac as it also follows solar and lunar phases.
There is a twist to biodynamics. Biodynamics also includes anthroposophy—with a dash of alchemy—in its practice. Anthroposophy—a philosophy developed by Steiner himself—basically centers on a journey to lucid thought and observation beyond the reach of our senses. This “supersensory consciousness” is achieved through discipline and learning (inner and outer). Alchemy also pursues a similar type of supreme wisdom, only it often searches for transformation with the aid of elements and/or ingredients.
The mysticism in biodynamics often frightens people away from its practice. We share these concerns of the spirituality aspect of biodynamics, but still have much to learn before we can make final decisions (I had a hard enough time trying to decipher anthroposophy and alchemy). I know that my third eye needs a little exercise these days or maybe even a monocle. We can see what the anthroposophy practice is doing for biodynamics as the discipline requires intense focus in the participant’s activities or intense focus on the land. This focus is what every farmer should do all of the time.
The alchemy part of biodynamics includes nine special preparations for field and compost applications. While we are hesitant to acquire animal innards and horns for assistance in fermenting ingredients—these are some of the aids from the original Steiner prescriptions—there seems to be practical uses for ingredients such as Yarrow and other plants to both attract beneficial insects and repel the bad insects.
Don’t Know Much About Biodynamic Certification
And then there is biodynamic certification. In the macro-world we live in, certifications are the warm handshakes of days past. Certifications are marketing and connection tools. Farms achieve certifications to help the consumer decide on what to buy without having to actually meet the farmer. It is scary to admit—for me at least—that certifications are pieces of papers or authenticating stamps of trust.
In biodynamic agriculture, certification is granted through the non-profit Demeter organization. The process for biodynamic certification is the same as the organic certification process. For more details, please scroll to the bottom of this Demeter page to view the process document.
The certification baseline for biodynamic agriculture is compliance with the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), which we somewhat covered in our previous installment. This is a bit puzzling for us due to the “self-contained organism” concept of biodynamic practices. With organic certification, you can bring in truckloads of approved material. Again, we have a lot to learn before making any conclusions. We reached out to Demeter for their Grower and/or Processor Guidelines and Standards for Certification packet and look forward to continued reading—with coffee in hand.
In theory, we would love to have a mix of both organic and biodynamic practices—maybe in the form of a Sustainable Organic Certification. But before we can take up that cause, we must learn the basics of farming. Until we know the language of nature we should stay away from appropriate barriers or farms as individuals. We are determined that our practices will follow natural soil nourishment and well-being for those that eat our produce—with or without a certification.
(Image courtesy of Krinklewood Biodynamic Winery
More of our continuing series about the greening of a farm in Bosque Farms, New Mexico:
To Organic or Not To Organic, That Is the Certification
A Sustainable Farm Prepares for Winter
To Organic or Not To Organic: That Is the Certification
The dance with nature that we had enjoyed over the summer suddenly turned into a boxing match on Oct. 11.That Saturday found us on the outer edge of Hurricane Norbert and we felt the hard winds of its stroll. Returning home from visiting the Santa Fe Ski Basin, we were greeted by a shredded garden tent and plants knocked flat by 60 mph winds. I spent the evening stubbornly repairing the tent and fruit-laden plants. I wasn’t about to let some silly wind destroy our gardening season.
For our tomato and pepper plants, however, this was just the first of a one-two combination that brought the season to an abrupt close, while leaving them on the canvas for good.
A day and a half later, the tomatoes and peppers lay KO’d in their beds. We never saw the second punch coming, but we would have if we’d been playing closer attention to the weather. In the early morning hours of Oct. 13 we had our first frost. While we slept and dreamed of better economic times, our plants’ circulation froze and they died a quiet death.
Carnage greeted us in the morning. We had never seen the damage that a sudden frost can do. We were stunned by the boiled leaves and smell of rotting vegetation that undid months of work in a matter of hours. But these are the lessons that greenhorns growers need to learn. The remains of our tomato and pepper plants—with fruit still attached—are hanging in our garage, where I thank them for their efforts every time I visit. They can’t hear me anymore.
During a natural growing season, the terms “early” and “late” have different meanings depending where you are in the calendar. At the cooling end, you enjoy “late” because it usually means a delayed first frost and a continued season. “One more week” seems to be the universal plea for gardeners and farmers alike. I truly thought we had at least “one more week," but much like hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock you are only postponing the inevitable.
The inevitable happened again with the frost a couple of days later. Our new reality is to tackle the off-season project list that just got longer. For our opener, we chose the more mind-stimulating (we thought) chore of organic certification study.
Doing this reminded me of my days in risk management when I was in pharmaceutical product advertising. The biopharma industry was my introduction to the “codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.” This “codification” comes in a neat bureaucratic verbiage package called the Code of Federal Regulations. For those unfamiliar with the CFR, they are the standard operating procedures for government involvement in everything from agriculture to the
And for the most part I think these codes are necessary to ensure that society runs smoothly, because their premise is the same as it is for government: The people are best served with the enforcement of logical codes.
But these protections fall short when faced with those unscrupulous types who exploit loopholes to cheat the system. Only when they’re caught and punished can legislation catch-up and close the “codification” shortfalls. Sir Albert Howard would be sad to learn that the same kind of abuse occurs in the organic production business.
A Crop Organic Vodka advertisement that I found in the Oct. 12, 2008 food issue of The New York Times Magazine is an example of misleading people about organic products. This was the first time that I’d heard of Crop vodka. Maybe it’s the best vodka ever produced. But using the USDA organic certification to tout its quality is misleading.
Organic certification guarantees only the process, not the final product. So when Crop claims that the organic corn gives the vodka its taste, it misrepresents the certification program.
Claims like these give rise to watchdog groups such as
Despite the loopholes and failings of the National Organic Program (NOP), it would be a mistake to ignore the USDA organic label while shopping. Whatever else it does, the certification provides a general assurance of good practices.
The organic program does not seek to balance recent scientific innovations; rather it takes us back to the days before synthetic compounds replaced human interaction. Even if the organic certification doesn’t necessarily equate to sustainability, it certainly beats the destruction of conventional practices.
It also provides an excellent business guide and reminder of good practices. Think of the program as a codified conscience that accompanies the producer at every step in the growing process.
In fact, its rules may best serve the consumer when the producer is facing difficult cultivation periods. Anyone can follow the organic model when growing conditions are positive. Even greenhorns can be successful if they have great soil, perfect water and no pests. It is when the dynamics are not in your favor that the organic model is tested. This is where the NOP comes into play.
We were tested early in the growing season and failed. After losing the squash seedlings because of bad timing and an inability to start new seedlings, our frustration prompted us to grow seeds in soil with synthetic fertilizer. We also have a container of marigolds that sit in the same soil.
These are knee-jerk reactions, since corrected, reflecting my lack of skill and understanding in the moment. Had I been part of the organic program this year, that type of soil would never have been used. We are comforted—after reading through the certification sections of the CFR—that these amateur mistakes won’t set us back on the certification timeline. The program certifies growing areas; our garden for this year will not be our commercial production areas in the future. Thank goodness for the invasive garden tent. In the garden tent we used a mix of certified organic compost with our own soil (so we aren't totally evil).
With the decision to proceed for certification, we began reading CFR Title 7 (Agriculture), part 205 (NOP). We fell asleep. We drank some strong coffee and then started again. Our mistake corrected, we are in now compliance with the 36-month moratorium on substances prohibited for use on organic production areas. That gives us 14 months remaining towards the organic certification process. We believe the certification timing will work out well and we should be ready by the time we are inspected by a certifying agent.
Unfortunately, we are required to construct a buffer zone to separate our organic practice with the practices of our neighbors. It isn’t that they are regularly synthesizing, but we need to protect our certification in case one of them decides to lower his standards during a difficult season.
To understand the nature of the required buffer zone, I visited our state certifier at the New Mexico Organic Commodity Commission (NMOCC). After a brief discussion regarding what “sufficient” means, I walked out of the office with some helpful resources, including an organic production overview from ATTRA, but didn’t get a complete answer.
The overview says that “most agencies require a minimum 25-foot buffer along….” If we built a 25-foot buffer zone we would lose approximately 41 percent of our production area. That type of zone is impractical for our operations.
So we are devising an organic production plan to include our definition of a buffer zone—the plan includes non-production trees surrounding the growing areas—and hope that it will be enough to satisfy the certifying agent. Relying on a single person's interpretation of compliance demonstrates the fragility of the NOP.
We are out of compliance in another part of the process, too: We need a business name -- a name for our farm. (Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.)
Organic certification or not, we will follow good farming practices on our land. Beyond the marketing benefits of official organic approval, our goal is to leave the soil better than we found it. If we take care of our land it will take care of us, and we will prosper. Isn’t that what we are all supposed to do for future generations?
Photo by Flickr user tiarescott
A Sustainable Farm Prepares for Winter
"For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned it is the season of the harvest." This timeless Talmud quote has dual wisdom: foremost, cherish and learn from those with experience. If you are fortunate enough to have a good relationship with a seasoned adult, ask them about the Great Depression and what a real economic crisis was like. Their descriptions will likely make our current situation seem laughable. Learning from the past can help us better shape the future.
Second, this ancient tenet holds wisdom about living sustainably, particularly about establishing a sustainable farm. The summer harvest truly begins in winter.
During our first year here in Bosque Farms, our approach toward winter has changed tremendously. Last winter, we stored ourselves in boxes for the season, like summer clothes stashed away for warmer weather. This year, we exercise different muscles -- mental and planning muscles--to get to work.
Our winter "down time" will be spent disassembling the garden tent and digging a communal fire pit around which to start warming fires, reflect, chat, roast sundry treats, and come back into the house with plans to build our sustainable farm.
A well-thought-out plan can guide any endeavor into reality. We've outlined our plan -- or list of winter activities -- on a dry-erase whiteboard in our office. The projects appropriately lack low-hanging fruit, so we have no delusions of ticking our accomplishments off quickly. Each activity on our winter list challenges our developing skills and demands consultation with experts as well as testing our tolerance for the cold. This winter is dedicated to scaling up (production) and out (away from our living quarters). Most activities are outside, but on very cold days we will devote indoor time to organizing our education and business plans -- while enjoying a little spiced cider from local apples.
Below are some highlights for our Winter 2008 Sustainable Farming Plan.
Greenhouse Construction
I must confess that I immediately saw the greatest potential on our property in a lean-to shed. Forget about the living quarters or our three-source water supply. I saw our success in a shed. My Italian farmer grandfather had a shed on his property that served as his retreat from an enormous, vivacious Italian family, and as a place to invent new efficiencies for his home and farm. Carrying his example with me, I always wanted a shed to disappear into, too.
The 20'x30' frame south-facing shed is ideal for a greenhouse as the spring sun fills the area with warmth and light. With the frame intact, half the project is complete for us. We now need to select the appropriate materials to create translucent walls and install an entrance. We must also decide if the solid metal roof should be replaced with clear materials or if we only need to cut out a few sunlights.
The basic objective for this makeshift greenhouse is to house seeds to become seedlings for planting season. We plan to move our 1650-gallon water tank just outside the greenhouse to supply water for the seedling operation. We also plan to experiment with various smaller cold frames to grow cold-weather crops such as lettuces, tomatoes, and asparagus.
Raised Garden Beds
As it's time to scale up, we must first break down. Adjacent to the future greenhouse were three cement slabs that were foundations of old out buildings and a crude basketball court. Last winter I demolished the basketball court and removed the hoop to make more room for planting. This winter, I'll remove the two remaining slabs. We'll attempt to make use of the jagged cement blocks in an effort to recycle materials around the farm.
Raised gardening beds will replace this roughly 70'x30' area of cement and decorative rocks. The new beds will be our growing locus for next season. This area will be approximately twice the size of our experimental tent and the next step in our learning process. The 4'x15' beds will be oriented north-south and filled with a mix of organic certified compost from our local supplier, Soilutions, and our own native soil. They will become experimental areas for sustainable techniques in pest management and growing a variety of herbs and produce.
The beds will be dug 3'-4' deep and lined with animal barriers and cardboard. The frame will consist of stacked and secured 2"x6" wood planks treated with natural resin such as Rainforest Sealer from Earthpaint. I used this product on our porch posts and feel comfortable with its low impact on the environment, both in non-toxicity and distance traveled.
Water Catchment Plan
We are moving to version 2.0 of our water catchment plan. The water plan seems to be naturally growing outward at the same rate as our growing locations. For the first step, we are expanding coverage from the back porch to the greenhouse area. As I mentioned, the 1650-gallon water tank will be moved to cover our new growing area. We will also install a gutter on the greenhouse to feed directly into this tank. Moving the tank, the black tent, and the raised beds will also improve our yard's aesthetic significantly, a nice, but not necessary, benefit.
We plan to purchase four 300-gallon water tanks that will be placed at the corners of the porches on our home and install gutters on those porch overhangs to feed the tanks. This water supply will feed the garden areas and our trees adjacent to the main house. If we are blessed with another abundant monsoon season next spring and summer, the excess water will be transferred to the 1650-gallon tank for use in our raised beds.
Getting Back to the Well
In case we are not graced with abundant rain, we will rely on our well water to feed the aforementioned garden, trees, and raised bed areas. We already have a Monarch SPHE-S200 Type A (with a Type B conversion kit) two-HP well pump that can be used until the solar powered pump becomes a reality. The Monarch pump is mainly used for sprinkler systems, but we will adapt it for a targeted drip irrigation system.
Our winter project is to reconnect the well pump and build insulating housing around the outdoor pump. Within a month of moving in last year, the well pump broke (hence the conversion to a stronger Type B) and we removed the impractical housing while trying to fix the pump. It was challenging to wrestle with this house built large enough to accommodate a horse, but with so much poorly installed reinforcement and stucco could only fit a Chihuahua. We will build a little more of a basic insulating cover this time.
Most likely, we will hire an expert to reconnect the pump and advise us on where and how to lay the drip lines. We simply haven't achieved a sufficient level of expertise to work with water and electricity simultaneously.
Whither Organic?
We must review and assess a lot of material prior to making a decision about our organic plan. This includes the decision to pursue certification or not. As we have learned in our brief journey to building a sustainable farm, "organic" does not always equal "sustainable" or "fair." We will update you on our organic certification process and deliberations in a future installment.
Worming Our Way into Composting
This task is exactly as it sounds. We will build a box and throw some worms in to eat our trash. We have an ideal south-facing location on our property that is protected by a fence and horse stalls on the back side, complete with awning to shade the fragile process of vermiculture. We will construct the approximately 3'x20' bin the same as our raised garden beds, so the project will most likely follow along our progress with the beds.
Once we have built the bin, we will begin to throw our scraps into it and then add redworms supplied from -- guess who? -- Soilutions.
In Pursuit of Education
We are firm believers of solidifying hands-on experience and intuition with an educational foundation. This winter we plan to join our county Master Gardener program to learn more about local plants and environment. I am also looking into degree programs in environmental science and hydrology to increase my knowledge, our credibility, and our chances for success as a sustainable farm.
Farm Plan Bailout
While our primary focus in building our farm is to be able to feed ourselves, our goal is to feed our local community as well. This project is to visit with our local Small Business Administration (SBA) office for assistance in writing out our business plan, grant and loan applications, and organize progress reports. The SBA could also be a resource for funding if we decide to accelerate the process. Other loan sources could be the USDA and even Whole Foods Markets and other small local or regional grocery stores.
Building this business plan together is another project to mull over spiced cider by the firepit.
Mobile Chickens
For those readers wondering how animals would play a part in all of this, we plan to design and build a mobile chicken coop as early as next springtime. Why portable? The mobility will help spread their fertilizer and assist in clearing areas of unwanted vegetation and pests (e.g. grasshoppers).
We plan to use the same wood-and-sealant approach for the coop as planned for the raised beds and vermicompast bins. And this will be our first time to actually use chicken wire for its original purpose: to corral chickens. We are excited not only about the fresh, beta-carotene-rich eggs we'll receive from these chickens, but also about their pest control qualities and fertilizer opportunities.
Curb Appeal
I mowed the front property of dead weeds and dry ground the other day. The weed patch formerly known as the lawn has been in a tailspin since its glory days as a acre of pampered, manicured grass. It's reminiscent of the "before-and-after" pictures of methamphetamine users posted in liquor stores and police departments. While I feel terrible for letting the aesthetic deteriorate in my stubborn disdain for grass, I feel worse for the people that let themselves deteriorate in their stubborn disdain for life. I figure a little temporarily dead grass won't ruin anyone's life.
This winter project is more about masking the fallow ground as we prepare it for use in the next couple of seasons. The plan is to surround the perimeter with the same shade cloth we used on the garden tent. This will also protect the land from our spring winds while I begin to work the dirt and connect to the water system next season.
Back Property Irrigation Plan
To begin the water and tree line design from our irrigation plan, our winter project is to seal up our north and south acequia openings and begin digging a grid of trenches. This will be the last of our outdoor winter projects as it depends on our budget to purchase all matter of trees in the spring. We may also postpone this project until the start of monsoon season next year because of the disruption in using the river water while we dig the trenches. We recently seeded a legume called hairy vetch to grow through the late winter and early spring to supplement the fallow soil with nitrogen, so water supply will be critical during those dry months.
As always, Mother Nature may play a role in derailing our intentions. We recently overheard two resolute predictions of a cold and wet winter: one from a dairy goat farmer chatting with a cashier at the feed store, the other from the village barber as he snipped away at my hair. Oddly enough, we're more likely to trust these predictions than those of a meteorologist reporting out of headquarters on the East Coast. Truly, "For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned it is the season of the harvest."
Disasters aside, weather is a lot of fun. It offers all of the speculation and surprise of national elections. Only, it happens every day of every year.
Our ambitious list may prove to be another lesson in inexperience, but we look forward to the challenge.
As American citizens prepare to cast their votes for the country's 44th president, we also welcome readers to cast their bets on our odds of conquering all of these winter plans. You'll read whether we were over- or under-achievers in subsequent updates through the winter months. Until then, take pleasure in your local harvest.
Related articles:
The Experimental Garden Tent
Hipsters Turn to Harvesting
Flooding the Farm
Reining In the Rain
Free Water Doesn't Come Cheap
Farming: It Takes a Community
The Experimental Garden Tent
We were recently enjoying a calm Bosque Farms morning when a flock of sandhill cranes interrupted the silence as they made their way south to Bosque del Apache, a snowbird's mecca. The loud calls of these cranes sparked fond memories of our introduction to these large birds during our first days in New Mexico. Migrating birds this early in September reminds us of the term "early bird" and the reality is that winter does seem to be approaching early. The sky is gradually turning a darker shade of blue. Our hot summer days have become mild. Precipitation has waned. Evening breezes have cooled significantly. Autumn has arrived. It's time to say goodbye to my farmer tan (no love lost), to flooding the field, and to the Amaranth weed party in our back property. We rented a brush mower to cut down the weeds, which we will till under and replace with hairy vetch seed to further nourish the soil for next spring. And at the end of October, the final release of Rio Grande water into our irrigation ditch, we'll say good riddance to waiting for water pressure while flooding our field.
The end of summer ushers in a myriad of off-season activities in preparation for production next year. Our hope is to join established growers in selling our produce at summer markets. While we produced a small, experimental crop this season, we harvested a bounty of experience that we will apply to next season.
One of our goals in moving to New Mexico was to be a part of the supply side after years of dependent consumption. The simple action of handing a neighbor flavorful, all-natural tomatoes from our very own garden has given us immeasurable optimism and confidence. However, rather than the usual sense of pride that comes with producing such fruit, we have been continually humbled by the power of nature and how we must work together for survival.
Our classroom for the 2008 summer season stands 10 feet from our back porch. A 20'x30' black tent covering an approximately 600-square-foot section of lawn (the other large section of the lawn is occupied by our 1650 gallon water tank), it's a structure Valerie endearingly calls our Bedouin tent. While she initially protested placing the unsightly tent so close to our home when we have two acres of land, she eventually agreed that it's best to start these things close to the home and eventually expand out, despite the fact that the tent would temporarily block our view of the majestic Manzano Mountains.
I do admit that placing this big tent right next to our house was the equivalent of surrounding a Rolls Royce with Gremlins in an empty parking lot, but it's been the best location to kick off our first growing season for many reasons. First, as the only consistently watered area on the property, it was the only place with immediate soil potential. Second, its proximity to the house has allowed us to gather water from our rooftop and collect it in the nearby tank, which abuts the house until we install our gutter system this winter. Currently without a pump, we have hand watered our small crop.
In the absence of mature trees on our property, the house also provided afternoon shade to cool the plants in the late afternoon. Overall, the tent's close proximity to our home has made it easier to experiment with rainwater catchment, soil amendment, planting, tending, and monitoring without having to haul equipment across a field two to three times a day.
So why a tent? The main objective was to produce the best crop possible by protecting our plants from harsh elements such as the sun and hailstorms and to take a shot at controlling the flora and fauna without the use of pesticides or chemicals. The tent acted as artificial shade to reduce sunlight hours on the fruit and protect the plants from scalding. We equate sun exposure in New Mexico to a microwave oven; a little shade can slow the ripening cycle to more modest speed of a conventional oven. On stormy days, it was a buffer from damaging, driving rain and hailstorms.
We didn't have a blueprint for a "tent" nor did we have a clue where to find the most important part of this structure -- the shading material. We first tried a soft plastic weed barrier, but our spring winds shredded that material in a matter of minutes. Eventually, I found a 50% wind/shade fabric from Greenhouse & Garden Supply that has proven perfect for the job. It's been the ideal material to protect our plants from the elements.
Following is a list of materials (reused from our supply and purchased) that went into the 20'x30' tent and garden area:
| Material | Quantity |
| Cardboard (from our move to New Mexico) | ~400 square feet |
| Plastic Zip Ties | 50-75 |
| Plastic Snaps for Wind/Shade Cloth | 25 |
| Bungee Cords | 15-20 |
| 4'-6' Metal Posts | 12 |
| Expandable Curtain Rods (used as roof supports and bean stalk support) | 5 |
| 50' of 6' Tall 50% Wind/Shade Cloth | 2 |
| 50' of 4' Tall Metal Fence (coated) | 2 |
| 50' of 4' Tall Metal Fence (coated) | 2 |
| 9' Decorative Trellises (bookend roof supports) | 2 |
| 50' of Clothes Line | 1 |
Being first-time tent builders, we made some good decisions (using cheap curtain rods for roof support) and some bad decisions (using more expensive coated wire fence and decorative trellises). The approximate price of these materials totaled between $400-450. It was an expensive endeavor, but most of the supplies will be reused for later projects.
The actual tent construction took some time but was basic in its plan. We laid out the cardboard to prevent weed growth (permaculture style) and then hammered in the metal posts at the corners of the cardboard layout. We placed dirt and rock over the cardboard to hold it down. Then we wrapped the metal fencing around the outline and secured it to the metal posts and trellises with plastic zip ties.
Next, we secured the wind/shade material around the metal fence using plastic snaps and zip ties. For the roof supports, we pounded in one half of the curtain rods and filled them with rocks to our desired height before inserting the second half. From there, we tied the clothes line to the trellises and placed the line atop the curtain rods, securing it to the rods with zip ties.
We then cut the remaining wind/shade material into four sections and placed it over the clothes line, securing the material to the metal fence with bungee cords. The structure was sturdy yet flexible enough to ride out spring gusts up to 50mph.
While we hunted down the tent materials at various garden and home supply stores, I began to plan what we would grow. I contacted the certified organic Seeds of Change and ordered a six-pack variety of tomato seedlings (Arkansas Traveler, Chadwick Cherry, Double Rich, Stupice, Thessaloniki, and Yellow Pear), a six-pack variety of sweet pepper seedlings (Tangerine Pimiento, Purple Beauty, Nardello Sweet, Corno Di Toro, Summer Orange, and Red Ruffled Pimiento), and packs of Round French and Golden Bush zucchini seeds as well as a packet of Straight Eight cucumber seeds. The cost for the seedlings and seeds was approximately $80, including shipping.
Once our seeds and seedlings arrived, our lesson on the importance of timing began.
We learned how important it is to prepare the planting area before seeding or transplanting. The ground proved to be a bit more unruly that we had anticipated (including large river rocks approximately two feet down and clay content so thick you could build a house with it), so we dug large root zones for each plant and supplemented with a mixture of organic compost, peat moss, and the original dirt.
Meanwhile, we seeded the zucchini and cucumber seedlings in our garage window and had to watch them grow too large and die because the tent and ground were not ready in time. It was devastating to watch their demise and our fragile greenhorn farmers' egos took a big hit. Our initial plans of what to grow in the tent changed because of our mis-timing, but at least the limp tomato and sweet peppers plants ultimately thrived.
We chose an east-to-west orientation for the tomato and pepper plants and cut out the beds to accommodate the seedlings. Many farmers in our region prefer a south-to-north orientation for better sun exposure. We discovered this information, of course, after planting. We also received two tomato seedlings from Valerie's father and placed them in their own north-to-south bed.
We planted the tomatoes and peppers (add $40 worth of cages for the eight plants) in early June (late in the season here) and we kept the shade cloth over them for a month while they grew. Once they looked strong, we removed the cloth and let the roof shade the plants from the scorching afternoon sun. We did use the roof covering a few times during the season due to threatening storms, including a tornado a few miles west of us. The plants continue to produce gorgeous fruit through mid-September, a somewhat late harvest season here.
In addition to the tomatoes and peppers, we also dug beds to plant seeds of eggplant, red cabbage, cauliflower, and kohlrabi. Unfortunately, grasshoppers wiped out the eggplant, and mysteriously, not one of the seeded plants germinated. Our assumption is that because we planted the seeds mid-summer, it was likely too hot for them to grow even with the protective shade cloth.
We then discovered a great way to grow seedlings by reusing eggs shells. We used half shells with a hole punched in the bottom as root protectors and nutrient feeders to raise the seedlings in small containers, then transplanted them in the ground. We now have several types of lettuce, kohlrabi, and red Swiss chard growing in the beds under the shade cloth. We also threw in some bean seeds and they are happily climbing up the clothesline.
Overall, the garden tent experiment has been a success, but it's time to take it down to expand into our intended growing area (and to landscape the backyard for neighborhood barbeques around a communal firepit next summer). We will miss the bounty of the tent while we welcome back our views of the mountains. But we will use the lessons we learned from the tent throughout the property in coming seasons, just as we will share them here:
| Challenge | Lesson |
| Timing | Make sure you meticulously account for timing in your plan. Growing vegetation is a recipe that requires the timely application of ingredients. Make a timeline for composting, growing seedlings, tilling soil, planting, watering, and pruning, and commit it to paper. |
| Sun Shading | If your area gets too much sun, shading can be a valuable technique to protect your plants. Buying material in large scale production would be too costly and too demanding with maintenance. Use buildings and tree as alternatives (an added bonus: increase production with fruit trees). You can also use shading to influence fruit maturity and extend your harvest. We planted two tomato plants at the same time, but are enjoying their fruit at different times: a yellow pear tomato plant with great sun exposure ripens fruit early in the harvest season, while its neighbor, a Chadwick cherry tomato plant with less sun exposure, is ripening later in the harvest season. |
| Wind/Precipitation Protection | As with shading, try to find natural ways to protect your plants. If you deal with strong spring winds, you may plant late or protect seedlings individually. Try using shrubs or trees as windbreaks. |
| Plant Row Spacing | Make sure you know the final size of the plants you are growing. What we considered broad plant spacing was quickly eclipsed by robust tomato plants. |
| Rust or Blight | If you see a plant suffering from rust (yellow leaves), cull it quickly. We kept a tomato plant with rust because of its good fruit set, and it spread to neighboring plants. This is also a lesson in plant spacing. Make sure plants are separated enough to prevent the easy spread of disease. |
| Trellising | Train new growth on your plants to give them adequate air circulation, room to grow, and prevent lost branches due to fruit burden. |
| Pests | The enclosed tent has worked pretty well in protecting plants and providing habitat for those that eat the bad bugs (toads, spiders, praying mantis). Birds are also wary of flying into the enclosed area for tasty fruit. |
| Companion Planting | Study plants that are naturally beneficial for each other. For example, our bitter Swiss chard seems to protect the sweeter neighboring lettuce from insects. Pretty cool. |
| Peppers | There is a reason why most people in our area grow hot peppers versus sweet peppers. A recent study shows that hot pepper plants require pest activity to increase their heat. We will continue to grow both sweet and hot peppers. |
There is so much more to share about what we learned from this first season, but I have to visit our Bedouin tent and water and harvest some vegetables right now.
Please feel free to email us for more details about our summer activities or share your thoughts and suggestions for our future harvests. We would love to receive feedback as part of our continued learning process.
Related articles:
Hipsters Turn to Harvesting
Flooding the Farm
Reining In the Rain
Free Water Doesn't Come Cheap
Farming: It Takes a Community