[Market-farming] Introduction
Beth Spaugh
lists at rhomestead.com
Thu Dec 11 20:43:37 EST 2008
You seem to have collected an excellent set of tools. The only things I
could offer are 1) yes, you need to general more income to support yourself,
and 2) maybe look at a walk-in cooler a la "CoolBot".
Beth Spaugh
Rehoboth Homestead
Peru NY
http://rhomestead.com
"How we eat determines, to a considerable extent, how the world is used." -
Wendell Berry
"Without power over our food, any notion of democracy is empty." - Frances
Moore Lappe
_____
From: market-farming-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:market-farming-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Leigh Mae
Friedline
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 9:42 PM
To: Market Farming
Subject: [Market-farming] Introduction
Hi Folks,
We joined a while back and have been reading. Thank you all for your
postings.
By way of introduction-
We grow 50 or so crops for a 20 member CSA, and 1 farmers market
in southern NH on clay soils, zone 6. We have about an acre in Certified
Organic production in a small valley pocket. What we lack in light we make
up for in shelter from the winds. It was land passed to me through my family
(it is broken into many small irregular shaped pieces and has a town road, a
neighbors driveway right of way, and two power line over and through it).
But until we are able to afford better land we are making the best of it. We
would love to be able to grow on more land but we haven't figure out how to
afford it from farming income. We are concerned about the appropriate or
natural scale for our CSA vegetable farm. Rented, lease or borrowed land
seems to be at a premium in our area. We have been growing for three years
and have put most of our profit back in. Leigh Mae worked for two seasons
prior on a couple of local farms. To give some idea of our cultural
techniques her is a list of most of our important tools: a BCS 850 (with
attachments: a cart, a manure spreader, a flail mower, a snow thrower, a
single bottom plow, a tool bar with chisels, a york rake, a tiller box, a
disc harrow), an Earthway seeder, a variety of hand hoes, remay, an on dirt
21x48 heated (propane 100K BTU) vented twin wall envelope Ledgewood
Greenhouse, bought in organic starting mix, various plug trays, a big 'ol 3
bay sink, a hand crank honey capping extractor (for greens), a 1920's Palmer
hydraulic cider press, a s.s. bulk tank and bottler, 4 residential reach in
refrigerators, plastic totes and bags, 20 or so 4 by 8 hardware cloth
covered tables, a bunch of hardwood grade stakes, and even more sisal twine.
We get some cont. ed during the winter from NOFA and Extension. The
production work pretty much consume us during the growing season. Our CSA
season is from early june through Thanksgiving, we offer free choice, free
quantity pick-ups twice a week for family shares ($585) and once a week for
single shares ($395). I haven't totaled our crop quantity production records
from last year but I have the weigh ins in the little book (LOL). Really our
record keeping is pretty much down and tax time is a breeze. Our pest
problems have been minimal, and our fertility seems to be well managed with
minimal soil amendments and covercroping. Our challenges are labor (there
are only two of us and we would rather not bring in sharecroppers
(interns/apprentices)), land, and profitability (scale). We are looking
forward to being able to fill out our equipment needs in the next year or
so. We keep a hive of bees and a 50 flock of layer chickens. We have done
hogs (feeders and breeders) and various poultry but we just don't have
enough land for the animals no matter how much of a complete on farm input
circle cycle (biodynamic) they make. We started out thinking diverse was
good and then we realized we couldn't do everything, we are still learning.
We have probably missed some finer points but that can give you all a bit of
an idea. Mostly we are winter dreaming now a days and plugging away at that
bit of off farm employment that carries us through financially.
All of our best
Zebadiah Kellogg-Roe & Leigh Mae Friedline
Darling Hill Community Farm
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