This is my first post in so many months. Not that I have not wanted to write or rather vent about what was going on in our world. My worries about COVID and so many Americans not getting the vaccine, fretting about the cancellation of our upcoming 2021 events and life in general. But this blog is supposed to be about THF and our adventures there, so I needed to wait until we had an actual adventure to document. Then I had another issue. Not really writer’s block, but our adventure was slow to be completed. Which meant I had to wait until we were done before I could finish writing my post. And it took longer than normal and then I got distracted by other things that needed to get done.

While we are not sure just how this year will turn out, there are still things that we need to get done on Tiny House Farm. There is always weeding, mowing, pruning, planting and now more rock picking that needs to be done. And we have no choice but to get 600 more logs inoculated. We have to keep the number of logs in play steady over the years.

In late 2020 we loaded up all of the first 200 logs we started way back in 2006 and drove them to the designated bolt graveyard. Most of the logs were so eaten up that they weighed next to nothing. Ron calls them punk wood at this stage. Now that we have gotten our use out of them, they will slowly decompose and add all sorts of good stuff back into the soil. As usual with any of our projects, this was a 3 person job. And one that we could not have gotten done without our 4 wheeler. Hard to believe but I was once very against getting one of those contraptions. THF could not function without it.

This year we are expanding our specialty vegetables selection. Found a few more tomatoes and a mini squash to add in. And we will be growing these on THF itself. On the 1st of May, Rudy, our Amish farming partner sent a couple of his boys out to plow up the part of field we are going to use. This was the area that we tarped last fall in order to kill off as many weeded as we could. And we shall see what comes of it. I can see more rock picking in our immediate future.

The boys also brought out the last of our 600 logs to be inoculated. This year we did not get the full 600 delivered all at once. They came in batches over the course of a month. Once again this work was being done by just the 3 of us. With brother Don popping in on the odd day to help out. Ron is still retired so he was able to get out to the farm during the week to nibble away at our stack. We got started on Saturday April 17 with the 3 of us pulling a full day. As usual, we were doing them all in 25 count blocks. Easier to stack and keep track of that way. They are just going to sit at our south end, letting the inoculation process work. They will not be in production until 2022.

Once again we learned more about making the inoculation process easier. Ron made each of us foil pouch lunches that were easily reheated on the grill. Then I had Jo buy a small crockpot to use for the waxing process. I still shudder when I look at my poor pan / double boiler. Cannot believe I was OK with letting Ron use this. Of course I do remember that I dropped the crockpot I was planning on letting him use. So I guess this is all on me after all.

The double boiler did work for us but remembering to keep enough water in the pan is a pain and both the pan and hot plate are now completed coated in wax. Some one made the mistake two years ago of setting the still hot pan down on the wax covered table and so we had to pry it off. Crockpot won’t solve all our issues, but if we start off with already melted wax and then add small chunks of wax slowly to it, we should be fine.

Our first day, April 17th, was a perfect day for working on the farm. Sunny and just warm enough. And that was our one and only nice day. After that we dealt with cold, wind, sideways rain and snow. SNOW. On May 1st.

While it looks beautiful, it does make work just that much harder. Mud is harder to walk in and slippery. And the rubber boots Jo and I wear don’t do much good at keeping the cold out. Nor did our smart wool socks. The logs were wetter and harder to move around too. But we drudged on. We had to get the logs done. Our other, much needed to get started projects could not start until all 600 logs were stacked safely on the south end.

We also had to learn how to take apart and fix the inoculators. Most of them were sticking and/or driving the spawn too deeply in the hole. They got a good soaking in mineral spirits and Ron put them back together. He had purchased replacement inner parts a few years back and finally used them. They will get a more through cleaning once we are done for the year.

Again this year, Ron pulled solo work days during the week. With Jo still working the overnight shift and me working from home; he was on his own. Ron also learned that his sole work days are much easier if he pre-drilled the logs the day before. So now he drills 25 logs and leaves them in the tent. This so they stay dry. Wet logs means the sealing wax does not stick. Next day all he has to do it is the inoculation and waxing. He takes the completed logs across the stream and then drills out 25 logs for the next day.

On Fridays he started drilled out 50 logs so all three of us could jump right into work. This made good sense for getting the work done, but really made our work area crowded. Especially when we needed to have the heater going first thing in the morning. But we will remember this and continue the practice of getting some work done before hand when we are able to hold our actual inoculation events in the future. We will have a stack of logs already drilled and a dozen or so already inoculated. Then we can have everyone jump in to their tasks. No standing around waiting for logs to be ready for one of the stations. Everything is a learning process with us. What we learn now will help us in the future. Fingers are crossed that 2022 will bring back our inoculation events.

Such a relief to have these 600 done. They were finished on May 7th. Ron and Don pushed hard and finished the last 53 off on Friday. They will now sit here until next spring when we will add them into the log soaking rotation. Ron still has to look them over and decide which ones will be our “pretties” . The ones we will set aside to sell to others so they can grow their own shiitakes. These have to be smaller so they can be more easily carried. These are the ones we sell at local events like the Garlic or the Flower and Herb Fests. I bought him special red construction crayons that he can mark them with, but am not sure he will actually do that. He does tend to get distracted and forget things.

Now we can get started with the rest of our 2021 projects. Growing flowers, tomatoes and squashes means more work. And Ron has some ideas about how we can improve our watering process. The tank and water pitchers get the job done, but it is work.

I have to admit that when the news first broke in mid January about this new and scary virus, my immediate reaction was worry about getting our new series of logs inoculated. Ron had ordered 600 logs again this year so we had a lot of work to get done. I tried telling myself that, surely this would all be over with by the end of April. Or that it wouldn’t be as bad as predicted. Obviously I should not quit my day job to become a psychic.

After looking at the calendar and checking previous dates, we had settled on Saturday, May 2nd and had started putting out feelers on Facebook. I had plans to change up our event this year. We were even thinking about having a two day event. Either Saturday and Sunday or two Saturdays. I had ready taken both the April 30th and May 1st off so we would have lots of time to get organized for the hoped for swarm of workers. Friend and seriously good worker, Josi recommended that we try pre-drilling a good supply of logs so we could jump right into the inoculation process. There was also thoughts of making sure every volunteer would be committed to working at least 4-5 hours. Having done this event many times over this years, and being comfortable with the process; watching the weather forecast was going to be my only major stress factor. We always warn folks; only blizzard or flood will stop Tiny House Farm from getting the inoculation done. And it was nerve-wracking. The May 2nd forecasting icon went from sun hiding behind cloud, to only a cloud to a large snow flake, back to cloud and sun, again and again and again. I finally had to stop looking at it every day.

We had never considered what a pandemic and stay at home orders would do to us and our plans for Tiny House Farm.

Saturday April 25th was a bright and sunny day so we decided to gather our supplies and make a stab at getting some of logs done. Ron had already been out to THF and pulled his oyster mushroom shelf out of the tent, but it was still full of things that we had moved from down the shed last fall. We just haven’t gotten around to moving it all back up. I have dreams of a set of shelves in the shed to hold all the small stuff. But that will have to wait until we get the logs done.

Keeping social distancing in mind, after all Jo is still pulling her overnight shift at Walmart, we got ourselves set up and starting working. Ron did the drilling, I was stuck with the inoculation and Jo was waxer and wagon loader. We had two tables in use, one at each end of our work tent. And we each had our own masks to put on when we had to work closer together. When loading 25 logs into the wagon for example. Those who talk about muscle memory have it right. None of us had done this work for a year, but we jumped right into each task. By the time we decided to call it quits, we had a respectable load of 30 plus logs across the stream and stacked up on south end of our property. Not a bad first time effort. But this was going to be a long month of May.

Sunday, Ron and I headed back out. This time it was cooler and raining, but the work needed to get done. We were still tweaking our work space trying to get it right for us. I was safely inside while Ron, in order to use his drilling rig-up, was outside in the rain. He insisted he was fine with his rain jacket and cap. He didn’t pull the hood as because that tends to make one hotter and less able to breath.

Monday morning, I was back to work at my in home office setup and Ron was on his own with the logs. He began his new routine. Loading up with water, spawn and supplies and heading out to THF. I was done with work at 330 pm and Ron would get home shortly after that. His goal was to get 25 a day done. The pile of undrilled logs is his elephant, and all he can do is take one bite at a time.

He was a faithful log inoculator, heading out morning after morning. I joined him on Thursday and Jo came, too on Friday. Saturday, May 2th was a bright and beautiful day. After our rainy Friday, it would have been a perfect day for our full fledged event. The work had been going nicely for just over an hour or so when we hit our first stumbling block. Trouble with the grinder. One of the blasted set screws that hold the bit in place unexpectedly fell out. Ron lost it in his pile of wood chips. This was not the first time flying set screws have caused issues. We really need to get one of those big magnets that is used to collect roofing nails. After a general search of the immediate area, he gave up and swapped bits so he could get back to work. Luckily one of his, slightly less than annoying habits, is to buy multiples of just about everything. He is one who always wants to have, not just plan B or C, but plan H, T and Z if needed.

It really was a good day for working. The sun was shining, birds were singing and the stream was babbling. Can a stream babble the same way as brook does? We had a goal of 75 logs to get done. If Ron, as one person could get 25 done in a day, then 3 people should be able to triple that number. Ron had also come up a change in our process that made the work day much easier. He left our generator at the top of hill and ran extension cords down to the tent. I think he was just tired of hauling it down and then back up the hill. But what a difference that made. The noise level dropped to almost nothing. Especially when the drilling stopped. We could actually carry on a conversation without yelling.

With the three of us working, we easily met our goal for the day. It was a long day of hard work, but we kept at it. Because Ron was once again standing outside the tent, the sun was taking a toll on him. He ended up wearing my big floppy hat to give him some protection. I think it looks better on him, doesn’t it?

With the weather channel saying that rain coming our way again, I insisted we couldn’t leave until we got a tarp over at lease some of the remaining stacked logs. On Friday, Jo had worked with wet logs and hated it. The wax she covered each drilled hole with, tended to stick to everything but the log it was supposed to. We needed to make sure we didn’t run into that again. It is bizarre, the little things that can cause such aggravation. The list of things we need to get done before any project can be started seems to grow every year.

Ron worked all the next week; every day getting 25 more logs inoculated and stacked up on the southern end of THF. He decided not to try getting more of the plastic pallets to use for stacking. They were a hard thing to find and haul. He ordered 4 x 4 x 12 beams made of larch wood. They will hold 3 stacks of logs on each set of 2. On my last day out there with him, I took needed action to greatly improve his work environment. He is not one who enjoys working in the sun as it tends to wear him down quickly. For the last few years we had attempted to use the end flap of our tent to provide shade from sun or protection from the rain. As this involved trying the ends of the flap to a rope strung between two trees, it was happenstance at best. My brilliant idea, which Ron insisted was not necessary, was to use our old canopy frame as support for the tent flap.

It doesn’t look pretty, but it makes such a difference for Ron. We will need to figure out a way to attach the flap to the frame. Otherwise a good wind gust will send it flying. But that is for another day and for Ron to take care of.

On Friday Ron got 25 logs done again and came home to order more spawn. Once again his log to spawn ratio was off and he had to call Field & Forest with another order. This time we had about 125 logs still to inoculate and needed 5 more bags. The plan was for him to out again today and use the remaining spawn to get about 15 logs done. Waking up to winter once again today, changed his plans. The snow itself isn’t too bad, just a couple of inches, but the stinking wind is the worst part. Ron hates working in the wind just as much, if not more than in the sun.

The additional spawn will be in next Thursday and we will be able get back to work. Might even get all the logs done before June comes around. But it will be such a relief to have them all done. Then we can get started on the next project.

I do have to send kudos to Field & Forest for the quality of their spawn. We had some left off last year and planned to toss it in the woods just for the heck of it. But of course, we forgot all about it. While digging something else out of the shed, Ron found it and tossed it into the open field.

A few days later, he spotted these shiitakes. Slightly overgrown to be sure, but there they were. Nature is amazing and it almost always finds a way.

 

for working out on THF. After the last few weeks of rainy, snowy and freezing cold days, it looks like spring has finally decided to arrive here in upstate NY.
And what wonderful timing. Saturday morning was chilly. I know this because my 2007 Camry hit 150,000 miles as I was driving to the farm and the photo I took shows the temp as being 34 degrees.
I had stopped to pick up a box of coffee and morning yummies (got to feed the troops) while Ron headed directly to the farm. He was going to get the heaters, burn barrel and grill going. When I got there, he drove up to road to collect me and the rest of the food supplies. Then we got on with the business of final set up. I say final set up because we had being getting ready for Saturday since the previous weekend. There was a lot to do. We are still dealing the left behind trash from previous owner. The flooding we had last year pulled more of it out of the bushes. And the wind that hit this area played havoc with our rows of landscape cloth.

Ron and I took Thursday off and Jo joined us to tackle the biggest projects.  It was cold, cloudy and unfortunately windy which made our job that much harder.

We still have some tweeting to do with the landscape cloth, but by the time we were done, it looked much better as did the rest of the farm.  Fallen trees were cut down and chopped up, trash picked up and assorted things put away and into proper place.

Ron had taken Friday off too so he spent a few hours by himself puttering around on THF, getting the last minute things done.

It was  8:30 am and we were just about to say we were ready when I noticed that I had grabbed two boxes of plastic forks instead of spoons.  As we had chili and soup for lunch, a fork was just not going to work.  I headed to the store to correct this goof.  By the time I got  back, most of our crew was on site and Ron was well into the safely and work briefing.  Then I discovered the next gone wrong thing.  Just before I had to make the store run, I had put our foil wrapped sausage biscuits on the grill to warm up.  Did not notice that Ron had the burners on high.  Yeah, they were more than crispy.  A few were still eatable but most of the biscuits were too far gone.  I had to throw the left overs out when we got home.  Which made me sad.  But those were the only things that did not work out.

Turns out Ron’s use of social media was a good idea and he found a few more kooky people who were willing to drive a good distance to work in a tent for someone else while learning how to grow their own mushrooms.  With 18 people plus Ron and me on site, it was a bit crowded and we struggled at first to get a good rhythm going

Ron and I gave a quick demo of each job and everyone jumped in to work.  We made sure they traded jobs, wanting each of them to get a feel for all the steps this project entails.  They really liked Ron’s bungee cord set up and the rolling stands we had to hold each log.

Doug and Jim took over one of Ron’s normal jobs which is hauling the finished logs across the stream and down to the end of our property.  And then bringing down the next set of logs to work on.  That freed Ron to answer questions and keep an eye on the whole set up.  We had unexpected visitors that he spent about 30 minutes talking to. Neighbors from down the road who noticed all the cars and thought this was a good day to stop by and see what we were up to.  Any of you who know my husband, you know he was delighted to talk with them.

Our second wave of workers arrived about 10 am and that turns out to be a good thing.  If we again open this event to newbies, a schedule of arrival times might be part of the plan.  Along with a dedicated grill master.  Getting the food ready or keeping it available causes us no end of issues.  We need to figure out how to have what we are offering ready for anyone to grab when they need a quick bite.  We also struggled with our wax.  If we let it get too hot, it tends to be very runny and harder to work with.

As the day went out, people had to leave.  Some of them had an over 2 hour drive back home.  But we soldiered on with Jesse, Lynne, Jim, Diane, Sym, Hans, Vicki, Brittany and her young son, Dallas.  If that young man comes, I will have to lock up the donuts.  He really liked them.   I do wish he could have shared some of his energy with rest of us.  We had a wonderful surprise when Shelly arrived later in the day.  She thought she would not be able to make it but then just came anyway.  She gave us a needed boost to finish off the logs we had waiting in the wings.  And was a great help to Ron in the getting logs across the stream.  We were all on our last legs.

At 4:30 pm, we were down to Ron, me, Shelly, Jesse, Brittany and Dallas and we were done for the day.  Now the picking process began. This is my thing.  I know if I sit down before getting things put away, I will regret it.  So I just got started tossing things into boxes or a garbage bag.  Jesse took Brittany and a load of stuff up to the road and loaded it into my car.  Shelly helped us getting the last few things into the shed or wagon for the trip home.  I was done and left Ron behind to finish up.

Such a relief to get home. Jo helped me unload the car and for the first time, I just left everything where it landed in our kitchen.  When Ron got home, I warmed up a couple of hotdogs and we ate those with a beer and some chips.  It had been a wonderful day and with the help of our volunteers, we got almost 300 logs drilled, inoculated, waxed and moved.

We did miss our facilitator in the person of Ron’s brother Don.  He was not up to it this year and our work flow was just not the same without him.  He has the knack of seeing who needs a quick break or pep talk and what is needed at each station before those working there do.  And he was always happy to jump in where he was needed.

I am typing this while Ron and I are slowly getting ready to head out to THF today.  We have a bag of spawn and some logs that are waiting for us.

Just think we get to do this again next year.  Ron will be sending out the event details shortly.  He will want to get your commitment for 2019 as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

with our 2018 THF plans.  If only Mother Nature would cooperate.  She is determined to let the winter weather hang on here as long as it wants.   Woke up this morning to 1/2 inch of snow and again with the wind.   We shall push on though, even as we wait for the temp to get above 40 degrees.  Things have got to get done and our to do list never seems to get smaller.  Ron doesn’t help as he keeps coming up with new thoughts regarding what we should or could do.  This morning I have more calendula to get started and this blog post to get done.  We have 4 – 10 pound slabs of wax to bust into manageable pieces and a cardboard template to cut out.  Ron needs that so he can get his solar powered fans set up in our shed.  No way my perfectionist will cut a circle out of wood without a template.

While I am busy getting ready for our upcoming sales event in June by making soap and lotion bars (more on this later), Ron is focused on our 2018 shiitake crop.

April 21 is now our planned date for the inoculation of our 400 logs.   After the March storm that bush wacked us last year, we decided on a later date.  We still have issues to deal with though.  Lots of water from our melting snow

We have lost a few of our experienced workers. For some reason they did not check with Ron before making plans of their own.  Ron has been slow to understand that.  Not one to let incidentals thwart his plans, Ron has reached out and posted to a few local social media sites.  Going to  – New York State Veterans in AG, Mohawk Valley locavores and organic growers, Slow Food Mohawk Valley, Central New York Mushroom Club/Central New York Mycological Society, Rome, N.Y. Area Vegan And Plant Based Lifestyle and Central New York Permaculture Meet-up.   The response he has gotten is amazing.  Turns out here is a lot of interest in our area for mushroom growing in forest settings.  Which is great for our work crew needs.

 

For those friends/followers/viewers who don’t use FB, here is Ron’s ad for our shiitake inoculation event.

Attention to all our Forest Grown Shiitake Friends

Have an interest in the Forest Grown Shiitake mushroom process and maybe even taken a few classes? Come out of the classroom and have a real-life, hands-on experience.
Are you tracking?

We’ve entered our fourth season in this process and we’re at the point and are excited to, share our hard-learned knowledge and experience with our friends, our new friends, in fact, anyone willing listen and learn. Ourselves; we’ve attended multiple classroom and hands-on training sessions led by the Cornell team and others, and now, we want to share. We are the only Certified Naturally Grown mushroom grower in the state. Whether you’re just new, just curious, or are planning full scale Shiitake production, this might be the perfect way to spend a few hours outdoors on a Saturday.

We are on track now for this month and we’re all set for your company. Thanks to our Amish neighbors, we have over 400 sugar maple bolts that have been delivered. Our mushroom spawn order is currently stashed in our frig.
Overhead cover, tools, heat, power, food, check, check, check!

In addition, we have all sorts of yummies (breakfast and lunch) and will have safety glasses and gloves for everyone. Dress warm with layers to take off and bring some rubber boots. A burn barrel will be roaring and hot drinks will be available.  Work environment will be in a large, all weather heated tent.

For the ladies, a heated comfort station awaits you. For the gents; man up, guys, you’ll get plenty of fresh country air.

We hope you’ll be able to come out, learn something new, take a tour, have a bite to eat, and enjoy some good conversation at the Tiny House Farm Augusta NY. All stages of the outdoor Shiitake mushroom bolt inoculation process will be covered. Everyone will have the chance to rotate through each work station and gain some insight into what it takes to grow Shiitake mushrooms for themselves. Farm tours will also occur as part of the workflow process.

For the more advanced, we are willing to discuss our outdoor Oyster, Red Wine Cap and Nameko mushrooms. Discussion of the benefits and requirements of the Certified Naturally Grown program available.

Second time participants will receive their “limited edition” Tiny House Farm t-shirt. Let us know in advance if you’re returning and needed T-shirt size.

GPS’s, Google, and phones will easily track to our farm’s established address in the Oriskany Falls / Augusta NY (southern Oneida County) area (sitting between Rome, Vernon, and Oriskany Falls). Roadside parking is available.

We have a thing about being prepared – so give us your name and phone number so we can establish a head count for gift logs and refreshments.

Contact us via Facebook: TinyHouseFarmAugustaNewYork (and like us please) or by email: thfaugustany@gmail.com and you can call Ron at: 315.264.8969

Attendance will be limited, so reserve your space now.

Planned for Saturday, April 21, 2018
Augusta NY – southern Oneida County
Hands on experience, farm tour
For a few hours or stay all day
Start time: 0900 hours
Food, comfort stations, new friends
Follow announcement on our Tiny House Farm Augusta New York Facebook page
Reminder: Second (2nd) time attendee, you’re entitled to a Tiny House Farm T-shirt New attendees, one ready to spawn, Shiitake mushroom bolt

Veteran Owned, Homegrown By Heroes
Ron Delaney
US Army (MSG, E-8) Retired
Please let us know ASAP if you wish to attend.  While many hands make light work and our work space is a very large tent, work space is limited .  We will have to say no to any late comers.  We want to have enough volunteers to get the work done with no one sitting around waiting their turn.  And unless we have another No’Easter, flooding or a tornado on  April 20, this plan is set.