On Tuesday, Jennifer from CBC was driving past Golden Ears when her attention was captured by the bike shop sign. She kept driving, however curiousity made her turn around and stop in for a visit. We had a lovely visit while wandering around the farm looking for people to interview...here's what came of it. We're still reeling from the unexpected coverage and are quite giddy about it. First interview with Sam about the Bike Shop: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Shows/British+Columbia/ID/2462093282/ Second interview with Michelle and Tristan about the farm:
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It’s been remarkably busy here the past couple of weeks. So busy, there was no time to write! We’re in a steady rhythm now with weekly farm walkarounds on Monday mornings to orient ourselves to what stage the crops are at and what tasks need to be completed (e.g., weeding, drip taping, seeding, transplanting, weeding, singulating, de-suckering, bed prepping, more weeding). Market prep on Friday is ticking along smoothly. We are almost completely through harvesting the first run of crops in the greenhouse -- there are only a handful of beet green bunches left. Tomatoes and cucumbers have already been transplanted where the spinach, baby lettuce, arugula, and radishes used to be. Here is a lovely photo montage of what things look like on ‘market prep’ Friday mornings. Andrew came back for another day of working on the All Crop combine. When I returned from an errand, he commented that the whole process was “a battle.” Although it could be taken that the size of the repair job was disheartening him, Tristan confirmed that Andrew is all the more committed to the task. It just might take a bit longer than originally planned. And lastly, a farm ‘first’ happened this past Sunday. Golden Ears can say that it has its own forge now, thanks to Sam’s handiwork on his day off! Some spare metal pieces, a wheel rim, a bit of welding, and voila — a forge is formed. Tristan and Sam looked like giddy school boys as they gave it a try. Sam is drafting plans to make a knife and one can only guess what kind of crafty ideas Tristan has for this new-found tool. Who knows? Perhaps he’ll build a fancy market stand with it? A huge shout out to Anne and Annelise for providing all of the fantastic photos in this post!
Well, I think we figured out that the project for the weekend was a lot to squeeze into only two days! There was theory to cover, reading drawings, reviewing measurements, learning how to utilize sections from imperfect timbers, and then starting to use the tools at hand (circular saws, chainsaws, hand saws, chisels, mallets, and drills; really big drills). Whew, is your head spinning yet? We had a fabulous group of eight people attend the workshop, in addition to Paul and Tristan from Golden Ears. Everyone was diligent and keen to make their measurements perfect before starting to drill, chisel, and chop. Saturday was full of theory, tool familiarization, and measuring. The pace on Sunday picked up as people started cutting, making mortis and tenon joints, and piecing one section together to make sure that if fit snugly -- which it did! Feedback from the group let us know that people loved the amount of hands-on time they had to work with the tools and each other; learning the “centre line rule”; and learning how to read drawings and make measurements accurately. We had so much interest, we are thinking about running another workshop in late September. Dates are still to be confirmed, so if you are interested, please let Michelle know at goldenearsfarm@gmail.com. Special thanks to Kerwood and Jess for venturing out here for the weekend to share their skills and knowledge with the group -- discussing ideas and projects with people over meals and by the fire on Saturday evening and extending the day on Sunday to get to a certain point in the process -- you both went above and beyond! Spring on the farm is hard to keep up with -- in addition to seeding, potting up, and transplanting, there are usually a few construction/infrastructure jobs to get done, beds to prepare (which is what is happening in this photo), as well as weeding...loads of weeding. How has Golden Ears managed to stay on top of things? A phenomenal crew has helped us to stay ahead of the game! Kelsey and Paul have put together a fantastic garden plan for the season, with Kelsey managing the ongoing evolution of the market garden and mentoring our interns. In addition to doing rototilling, tractor work, fixing sprinklers, and so on, Paul is co-running the bike shop with Sam this year. Tristan is taking good care of the corn, field crops and baking, in addition to organizing the pasture management for the cows -- and it’s a brilliant system (perhaps another blog post just on that?). Annelise is keen to work on whatever jobs need to be done and will be managing the berry picking. She is also the new Saturday Market Manager in Kamloops. I, Michelle, am not in the garden as much as I'd like to be as I figure out how to do the work while looking after Avé, so am focusing on keeping social media current, building CSA members, and selling our good food at the Saturday Kamloops market. And, our interns. In some ways, it feels like we are trying to keep up with them! As we get to know each of them, it is exciting to see their particular areas of interest and how they want to be more involved with certain aspects of the farm: Sam with the bike shop, Anne with the goats, Libby with the pigs, and Cornelia might help us get started with rabbit raising. Let me introduce you to two more interns who complete our crew for the season. Libby arrived at the end of April, already knowing Anne from their tree planting days (such a small world!). Her family has quite a garden operation in Northern Ontario, so she’s got great early and late season experience (the middle part having been taken up with tree planting, of course). We’re thrilled that Libby is interested in looking after our three little piglets, soon to be six. Cornelia arrived from Manitoba in early May, having freshly completed a diploma in agribusiness. Her family has raised rabbits and had dairy cows at one point. In one of her practicum placements, she spent four months on a sheep farm...helping out with 1,200 of them! We’re looking forward to getting to know Libby and Cornelia better as the days move forward. Welcome to them both! Being a part of the Young Agrarians -- South Interior has opened up so many opportunities. In addition to participating in some fantastic potlucks, connecting with an elder farmer will make it possible for us to repair our combine this season!
A few years ago, Tristan and Kelsey made a trip to the prairies; Kelsey stopping off in her hometown of Vermilion, Alberta and Tristan carrying on to Big River, Saskatchewan to pick up an All Crop 60. What a trip it was. Tristan took a meandering route up to Big River and then intended to make good time on the way back...the only trouble was that the maximum speed at which they could travel, towing such an implement, was about 80 km/hr! Needless to say, it was a 36-hour trip home. The All Crop 60 will serve Golden Ears as a combine and seed cleaner. Eventually, we hope to grow malting barley and utilize the All Crop to harvest it. Before all that can come to fruition, however, there is a lot of work to be done on it...starting with getting rid of mouse nests galore! Belts need to be replaced, oak connecting rods need repair, and sheet metal work will need to happen. Thank goodness Golden Ears was introduced to Andrew Heinrichs through a collaborative effort between Young Agrarians and the Armstrong Food Initiative Society. Andrew is a retired grain farmer from Manitoba, who worked 1,500 acres in the 70’s and 80’s. A mechanic and inventor, Andrew now lives off the grid and is building his own recumbent bike from scratch. We’re looking forward to lots more time with Andrew as he and Tristan restore the All Crop 60 to its former glory! So many wonderful things come out of sharing food together, including safeguarding our valuable land and soil. At a dinner attended by permaculture aficionados in late 2013, it was mentioned that there might be a possibility for young trees to be adopted the following spring. Sadly, the trees would be coming from the agriculture research station in Kamloops, which was closed by the federal government. (http://www.kamloopsnews.ca/article/20130510/KAMLOOPS0101/130519948/-1/kamloops/feds-to-shut-down-ag-research-station) As the months progressed, there was a wondering about whether this plan would materialize into something -- circumstances change all the time. Well, with a week’s notice, a group of 20 people mobilized to dig up approximately 2,000 trees from the research station on Good Friday. Golden Ears Farm saw many friends there that day and it’s nice to know that these trees are going to good homes. Golden Ears planted 175 trees (a mix of Red Oak, Chinese Chestnut, and Black Walnut) over the course of only two days -- an excavator and many helping hands make light work! In terms of land stewardship, the intention behind planting these trees was to make a wind block and to create a shaded lane that borders pasture land for our cows. Also, in the long range, if the farm ever needs to supply its own wood, the oak and walnut will provide wonderful hard wood options. What incredible things are yet to come from the many potlucks that will be happening this season (in addition to time with awesome folks and amazing farm fresh food, of course)? I know I can’t wait to find out! Here is Tristan discing on our Zone 2 farm as it would be classified if Bill 24 is passed. We don't believe that Bill 24 is being brought forward with the best interests of farmers or food sovereignty in mind. COABC (Certified Organic Association of BC) has issued an open letter with respect to Bill 24: "Organic Producers Not in Support of Bill 24 April 10, 2014 - The Certified Organic Association of BC (COABC) is the voice for the organic Agriculture Sector in the province, with a membership of 650 operations across BC. COABC feels there was not adequate consultation with farmers before the introduction of Bill 24 and does not support the loss of agricultural land from the ALR, particularly in the North and Kootenays. "The highest percentage of acreage in organic production is in the North. If we lose any of our grain producing land in Northern BC it will impact our ability as a province to have agriculture as a high income producer." states Susan Snow, Co-Chair of COABC. The COABC agrees with the latest statement from the BC Food Systems Network that BC must protect its Northern agricultural land for the food security of the entire province. According to BC Ministry of Agriculture statistics, the province of British Columbia is not even producing 50% of its current food requirements. Areas in the North and in the Kootenays are the only acreages left that can be brought into more intensive production to meet the rising demand for local food. "We believe that consumers want the cleanest, healthiest food that farmers can grow," Snow proclaims. "Any type of non-farm activity around agriculture increases the possibility of pollution of water, land and air." In addition, COABC would like to see small parcels of agricultural land embraced and not marginalized. It is not fair that smaller plots of agriculture land need a higher income per acre than larger operations to receive the tax breaks. Many of our members are making their living farming small plots. We can’t afford to be giving away productive or marginally productive land. Once it’s given away, we are not going to get it back." Two more members of our crew arrived yesterday! Sam and Anne will be joining us for the season from Vancouver. Although that is where they were living most recently, Anne is originally from Ontario and Sam from Scotland. Anne lived in Scotland for 10 years, part of which was spent completing her Master’s degree in Human Ecology. Sam has a solid background as a bike mechanic and we’re excited to see what transpires in the shop this season. The combined brainstorming and experience between Paul and Sam will culminate in some fantastic ideas for the shop -- stay tuned as they are launched! Sam will be working half-and-half in the bike shop and the market garden, whereas Anne will be farming full-time. Anne brings experience with community gardens in Scotland to Golden Ears and we’re looking forward to a great season ahead. Welcome, Sam and Anne! Oli and Naomi are back on the farm this season. Oli is focusing his time on completing the straw bale building, the progress on which is beautiful. He has been smoothing over gaps in the cob along with farm friends Johnny and Roz. It is looking fantastic! Naomi will be managing her own garden plot, growing vegetables for winter storage for her and Oli. She was a key helper in planting our new patch of strawberries...it's wonderful to have them back here! Oh, scrumptious strawberries. Approximately 4,500 crowns were planted -- a balanced mix of four varieties: Benton, Cavendish, Honeyoye, and Kent. The slideshow illustrates the transplanting process from orienting the group, feeding the planter, to having a tail person cover up any exposed roots or fill in gaps. We can’t wait to harvest them next year! Farm Life These Days It’s going to be a full house on the farm this season! In addition to the core crew on the farm (Tristan, his sister Annelise, Paul, Kelsey & Pia, Michelle & Avé), we are expecting more babies. In February, we sent our goats to 4 Bar Ranch to get friendly with the billy there. We believe both goats are pregnant, but it’s really hard to tell. We expect to see kids in June sometime. Two of our cows are also expecting which is great news for us. Our personal milk supply has been lower than usual after April was slaughtered mid-February. Daisy continues to supply 5 litres a day, however she is 15 years old, has been milking continuously for the past few years (yes, you read that right) and probably wants to retire soon! Mid-March saw 63 chicks arrive on our doorstep. They will be joining our existing flock of 32 laying hens, so watch out! We will have a ton of eggs in the next few months. Final numbers are still being decided, although we are sure to be getting at least 4 weaner pigs this spring. What’s Growing There is lots of new life on the plant side of things as well. Spinach and radishes have been growing in the greenhouse for a few weeks (fingers crossed that they’ll be ready for the first Kamloops Farmers’ Market on April 19th), in addition to tomato, pepper, cucumber, and lettuce starts that will be transplanted later this spring. Just this week, salad greens (e.g., arugula, mustard and mizuna) were planted in the field. Peas went in today and early corn will be planted tomorrow. Love this time of the season — so much anticipation! In partnership with TRU, Golden Ears will be growing barley sprouts to use for feed in an effort to determine if the sprouts bring omega 3 fatty acids to optimal levels. Sprout biscuits will mainly be for the cows, however we might split our flock of laying hens to see if their omega 3 levels are different depending on whether they have sprouts in their diet or not. Who would have thought that our farm would be part of research projects at the university? We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to use the Fodder Box which is on loan from the university. CSA Program is Back
We will be running our Community Supported Agriculture weekly food box program again this year. Please visit the CSA section of our website for full details (including our application form)! We're headed to the Enderby Seed Swap tomorrow and for the occasion we threshed and winnowed some of the black turtle beans we've had hanging up to dry since fall. Since many people are used to buying canned beans and are unsure how to cook dried beans. There are a million recipes online, just search dried bean recipes and you'll get soups, and salads, bean dips and probably burritos. If you don't presoak your beans they will take hours to cook, unless you have a pressure cooker. So I put them in a bowl and cover with lots of cool water, they soak up a lot! The next morning I drain the water and rinse them in a colander. Then cook them that day. Here's a recipe, I haven't used this exact one, but if YOU try it, let me know how it went! Black Bean Soup 1 lb dried black beans 3 tablespoons oil 1 large onion, chopped 4 -6 carrots, sliced 4 stalks celery, chopped 1 teaspoon garlic powder 6 chicken bouillon cubes, or chicken stock 1/2 teaspoon black pepper salt, to taste Directions: The night before, soak the beans in cold water. The next day, drain the beans and cover them with fresh water. Bring the beans to a boil. Reduce the heat. You want the beans to simmer gently for most of the cooking process. Cover the pot and simmer until beans are tender. Can take 30 min - 1 hr. Add water as necessary. Add the vegetables now. When the beans are perfectly tender add the vegetable oil, chopped vegetables and seasonings. Put the lid back on and simmer the soup for another 30 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. When everything is tender, it's ready to serve. |
Photo credit: Martín Bustamante
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