Wednesday I got home from work, changed clothes, pulled Jo away from her computer and headed out to harvest our garlic scapes. When you grow what is called hard neck garlic there is a yummy bonus. Ron calls it a Two-ferer. The scapes are a flower stem that garlic plants produce before the bulbs mature. They can be used in so many ways, even eaten raw if you get them young enough. We are still trying to figure out exactly when we should harvest them. Some say before they start to curl, but other sites show them all curled up. That is one of the problems with the internet. Everyone has their own opinion and does things differently. Sometimes it is information overload.
Ron had left instructions that now was the week to get them all picked. Before they straightened out and became too tough to use. He, of course was nowhere to be found when it came to getting this done. He is the one who ordered the garlic last fall and ended up with enough for four beds of the stuff. Since the day we dropped all those cloves into the dirt and covered it all with straw, all he has done is the occasional weed pulling. Jo and I spent just over an hour actual harvesting, but we also had to chop them into small pieces. Since our plan is to make lots of pesto and freeze it, we chopped up 10 scapes at a time and bowled them up.
This weekend will be pesto making time. Our first attempt at pesto was 3 years ago and that was interesting. I didn’t have a actual food processor and tried using the tiny food processor thingy Mom gave me years ago. So did not work. Ended up with a very chunky but tasty spread. But not really pesto. That was the final push I needed to get myself a proper food processor. We have to buy some spinach and basil before I can get going. While we do like the pesto made with just scapes, adding herbs or other greens gives it a whole new flavor. Ron tried growing spinach the first two years but did not have much luck. It bolted so fast. And my attempts at basil have not been good either. No matter how early I get it started inside, once it is planted outside things don’t go so well. This year we had a hard frost and even though I covered everything up, I still took a hit. Will have to figure it out eventually as Ron has long term plans for us to make and sell organic frozen pesto. Remember, he sold this farm idea to me with much talk of growing garlic. Such a liar.
A good day
On Saturday June 30 Jo and I spent the morning at the CNY Fiber Festival in Bouckville NY. I am a knitter from way back and have finally discovered a taste for the good stuff. Yarn, that is. Jo wanted to go so she could see an alpaca. For some reason she has decided that she would like to have one. And Ron, blast him is encouraging her, but Jo has conceded that she has to wait a few years. Apparently she has been researching this online and has learned just how much an alpaca will cost to take care of.
It was a lovely day and we had a good time. Jo bought some gluten free chocolate chip cookies and a pair of alpaca socks. I found a cute snowman Christmas ornament made out of fleece in the first tent we went to, but it took me three trips through all the tents to find the yarn I wanted to buy. I came home with enough to knit two hats, now I just have to decide which pattern I want to use. That’ll take awhile.
Ron wasn’t home when we got back, he had headed out to the farm before we left. His plan was to use the weed wacker to clear out some of the underbrush in a couple of spots. It really is a major production when he goes out to work. Has to take the high boots, 4 wheeler and trailer, bug spray, water bottles, assorted tools, hat, and his helmet. Then it all has to come back with him.
Ron was delighted to see us home already. We could now help him get two more of his mushroom cribs out to the farm. Did I tell you he is not only planning to grow shiitakes but also red wine caps? Which is a whole different procedure. More on that later.
Since he had come home with all his trappings he now had to make two trips back. One to take the wheeler back and then again with the cribs and us.
Don’t I look smashing? Ready for creek crossing. Had some serious rain Friday night and the water is running both high and fast. The waders got me safely across, but the current was much faster and it made for an unsteady trek. Then we had to get from the creek out to the hemlock forest. There is water everywhere. It comes from the creek, the swamp and the spring resulting in washed out paths, drowned new trees and mud and more mud. Ron underestimated how much trouble the muck was going to cause him. We almost had to take one of the cribs off so that he could get up one of the small hills. 
His innate stubbornness got him through though. Then we had to get them off the wagon and into the spot Ron had cleared for them. Six are out there so far, but we have 9 more to go. I may cry.
On the walk back I caught my foot in some roots and went down. Serious jolt through my whole body but no damage. Every time we go out to the farm it is different. Nature is amazing, but Ron is determined to figure out a way to reduce the flooding because it is going to continue to cause troubles.
Do you see the red flags? Each one is where we planted a tree. Anybody have a herd of goats they need to feed?
Mushrooms? Really? part 2
So we now had 100 bolts stacked next to our garage. These were all hardwood and about 40 inches long and between 4 – 6 inches in diameter. This is all based on one person being able to move them around. After dinner on April 3, Ron got his grinder out looking to get set up for the next day. He is taking Friday off and has brothers John and Don coming over to take the first crack at the inoculation process. Jo is not scheduled to work so she is part of the work crew too. As this is one of our projects, we have our usual and expected first glitch. The blankety blank shaft was the wrong size and the adaptor did not fit. He checked internet to see if he could find a fix. No such luck. So off to Lowes with bits and adaptor in hand to find solution. No surprise, he came home with another grinder. Cha Ching and Ron has a new toy.
Being Ron, (I do tend to say that a lot) he does an enormous amount of research on any project. Youtube videos are his favorite learning tool. In one video, the guy had used a spring pole and rope to hang his grinder from. That meant he did not have to put it down and pick it up every time. As Ron wants to find a better, faster, well actually easier way to do things. He used bungie cords to hold / suspend the grinder and to ease the weight and repetition of drilling 40 – 50 holes per mushroom bolt.
He was right, this rig up did make it easier on him. And when he shared with other mushroom growers, they thought it was brilliant.
Being no fool, I did not take the day off and escaped bright and early the next morning for work. I had no idea what the plan was or what I would come home to find.
He spent a lot of time thinking out the procedure but not so much on the end result. It was still April and weather not warm enough to be totally outside. He doesn’t yet have a generator (anybody got a spare 2 grand so he can buy his dream one) so he had to have access to power and they set up in our garage. He shoved everything out of his way and set up two long work tables. They are another example of his wheeling and dealing. Bought them from Woodstock Rome and have put them to use many times over the years.Now a garage is not by nature neat and tidy and ours is no exception. But this project left a huge mess. Wood chips were flying everywhere. I expect we will be finding them for years to come. When I got home, I jumped into the fray with my camera first and then with the actual work. We finally did the last bolt about 6 pm with a huge sigh of relief. The four of them were totally wiped. Hugs all around and Don and John headed home.
First half was done, but now we needed to get the other 100 bolts home. On Easter Sunday Ron and I headed north to pick them up, again we had to make two trips but it was a nice day. Much warmer than the last time. We were on our own this time when it came to the inoculation process. That meant getting it done over several days.
Ron rigged up a lighting system for us using bamboo poles and more bungie cords. Made it much easier to see what we were doing. We had a good system going and by Friday night we had them all done. Just in time as Josi and Ryan were going to bring a 4 wheeler and help us get the bolts out to the farm on Saturday.
We started out with one load on our trailer and then using Ron’s new wagon to haul about 5 bolts at a time across the field and into the woods with the wheeler. Ryan decided we would make quicker work of it if he drove to our house and loaded up his pickup and then down the path to where we entered the woods. Boy, was he right. By 11 am we were done and heading home. Sadly the wagon was already a bit worse for wear. Ron not sure that it was going to hold up.
to be continued …. again
Mushrooms? Really?
Last year Ron not only decided he wanted to be a farmer, he wanted to be mushroom farmer. Shiitakes no less. This was not going to be your normal American family farm with all hands on deck working 24/7. Oh no, this was going to be a low effort farm. Drill some holes, fill them with mushroom spawn, cover with wax and haul out to the woods. Then just wait for nature to take its course. That is how he described his plan to me anyway. There was no mention of the hard work involved in just getting our hands on the 200 logs, known as bolts that he needed to get started. And boy, does he owe me. Not only did I agree not to have him committed when he thought up this plan, but because I went to work everyday looking for sympathy from my friends, they heard all about Farmer MacRonald. Josi, bless her heart, volunteered Ryan to supply the bolts. But that was just the beginning. Ron had himself a list of things that he either needed to buy or do before “the work” part was done. He advised me to go out to the backyard and dig up some of the jars I had buried there. Blast, I didn’t think he knew about them.
In order to get the bolts to Augusta, Ron needed to have a trailer hitch installed on his Transit. Then he had to find the right trailer. He spotted a great one on the Home Depot website, only problem is that they did not have one in stock. For Ron, that was no obstacle, just another chance to share the whole grand plan. Not only did they special order the trailer for him, he got the sale price and his military discount.
There’s our trailer, right on top. Took two different fork lifts and some serious skill on the part of the Home Depot guys, but they got it down and hooked up and off we went. That was March 20.
By that time his order from Field & Forest Products had arrived. 30 pounds of cheese wax, two inoculators (we call them plungers) a bag of 100 wax daubers, special drill bits and 12 bags of mushroom spawn. 6 each spring and winter. Organic of course. Too bad it didn’t come with a couple people to help with the process.
They had to be stored in the frig until used. In the meantime we had to put together the wagon he ordered. That was needed that in order to move all sorts of stuff from the road, down the path and across the creek. Not only the bolts themselves, but tools, water bottles, bug spray, and assorted things that are needed for every work event. Not to mention the camera I use to document it all. He found one described as a contractor grade wagon that could also be used with 4 wheeler and haul 500 pounds. Made in the USA sealed the deal. It arrived at our house in huge box. I thought it was the cat tree I ordered so Jo and I proceeded to get it inside. That was more great fun as it weighed about 70 pounds and the box was about 5 feet long. Lots of sweating, laughter and some minor swearing later we had it in the family room. Then I realized it was the wagon. Guess I should have read the name on the box. Had to be inside anyway. Too cold outside for any detail work. Ron and I put it together, whoever wrote the directions had a good sense of humor which helped as was a bit complicated.
Now it was time to get the bolts from Ryan.
Ron and I drove out to Ryan’s place where he had the bolts waiting for us. Josi and little Ryan were also there and helped us load up. We were limited on the number we could take in each load. Which made for a long day, but while it was bitter cold, sky was clear and so were the roads. Public Service Announcement – don’t ever take an unknown road called something Hill. Our GPS sent us down Potato Hill road. So not a good idea. Unloaded at home and headed back up for next run.
A couple of weeks later with much warmer temps we headed back up to get the second 100 logs. Let me tell you, it is hard to get an accurate count of logs.
To be continued.
Ginny, I’ve had a wild thought
These are words I have learned to dread. He says that or some variation and I know there will be a change of my plans or a change in our lives.
I have a good view of Ron’s internet searching from where I sit on the couch in our family room. Drives him nuts when I ask him what he is looking at now, but that is usually my first indication of an upcoming change. For years he has casually talked about wanting to buy a certain piece of land near Lake Delta NY. And insisting that all he needed was a cabin in the woods. I like sidewalks and easy access to people and places so his wacky plans were not going to include me.
In 2014 his searches started focusing on properties in our area and hydro-power. I watched for months as he bounced from site to site, muttering and sending emails. So much fun to watch his two finger typing skills at work. In the fall he finally broke it to me that he was actually looking to buy some land and start a small farm. He was actually pleased that I was not surprised, that I had been paying attention. He wanted to met with realtors and start looking at land. He had a list of specific needs and assured me that it might take up to 2 years for him to find the right place. After all he wasn’t retiring until 2018 so there was no rush. I lost count of the number of places he looked at. Some were great, others not so much but none were the right one. He couldn’t get the realtors to understand what he wanted so he kept looking on his own. FB and Craigslist and signs along the road were all checked out. He had brother Don looking too.
Can you imagine my horror when he told me in October that he had found his farm? I was so not ready for this. He found it on Craigslist and it was just 15 minutes away from us in Augusta NY. Right off route 26. Being so close has turned out to be the best news.
On December 11, 2014 Ron and I became the proud (Ron) and nervous (me) owners of a 10 acre property. Which he plans to call “The Tiny House Farm”. Did I mention that he is also obsessed with the whole tiny house movement? Again, not something I am interested in. Are you sensing a trend here?
It was too late for Ron to get any real work done but we did have some great fun hauling out the trash.
Too bad that trunk was falling apart. Don wanted us to keep the hot tub and find a use for it. No way. Though I managed to salvage one cool bottle and we still use the table.
It was hard and please don’t tell my fellow recyclers, but all this crap got tossed into big black garbage bags. Even with gloves I didn’t want to touch any of it.
We didn’t have the trailer yet and Ron didn’t want to leave the trash on side of road by farm. He was worried that others might decide to dump more. So we hauled it all back to our house. That was fun. You would not believe how much we got into the Transit. We got a good chunk of it out, but still have more to pull out of the bushes. Should take a year or so. Craigslist purchases, they do tend to have a few downsides.
So here we are – just over six months in and we have the first two batches of mushrooms set up and the 3 acre field has been plowed and rock picked. Oats are growing there now, amid all the weeds. That will be plowed under and then buckwheat planted. All this to get field ready to grow garlic in a few years. And whatever else Ron decides to grow. Can you spot the oats below?
Visitors are welcome, even encouraged. Just bring your knee high rubber boots (for creek crossing) , bug spray, long sleeve shirt, long pants and expectation of some work to be done. Give Ron a call and he will give you the grand tour. Be warned, it will take a while. The man does love to talk.
Upgrading our defenses
Last year Bugs Bunny and friends did major damage to our pole beans. We only saw a couple of them at any one time, and never actually eating anything. But they ate almost all the new shoots from the bean plants. They didn’t have the decency to wait and eat the bean themselves. And we didn’t get to harvest enough to do one run of canning. Ron was annoyed at me because I didn’t let him trap the blasted things. He had waited too long and I was worried about any baby bunnies being left behind. Being the non violent folks that we are, Ron had been using humane traps do to some relocating. He had earlier caught five all told, one at a time and took them on a lovely car ride, leaving them 20 miles away in a same nice wooded area. Just so they wouldn’t be lonely.
After they killed all the beans, Ron started muttering about hasenpfeffer. So I knew that this year we had to do something different. Ron’s attention is focused on his new farm, so much so that I had to tell him flatly that he could not decide that we were not going to have a garden this year. I know that is what he was thinking. After he got, not only us, but all my friends at work hooked on our fresh veggies, no way was I going to let him quit cold turkey. I did have to agree that Jo and I would pick up the slack. Course, Jo had no idea I had just promised her time and energy to the garden gods.
So after I talked Ron out of planting 4 beds this year, we got the beans in two weeks ago. Two beds of beans is going to be enough for us to have both fresh beans for dinner and to do maybe two runs of canning. We started thinking about what we could use to keep the bunnies out, and Ron came home with rolls of chicken wire. Last night we went out with the wire, staple gun and hammer and got’er done.
I defy any bunny to get into these beds. If they do, they will have earned all the beans they can eat. And my undying admiration. But they would still be rewarded with a 20 mile car ride. This fence should actually keep the squirrels out too. They have been digging around all the beds looking for whatever they buried last fall. They don’t do too much damage, just annoy Ron.