Bio-Intensive and Bio-Extensive Practices at North Slope Farm
MikeR 8/28/13
Click on Image below to view in detail…
Attended by Farmers from:
The Seed Farm
Chickadee Creek Farm
Hillside Farm
Red Hill Farm
Longview Farm
Snipes Farm
Lima Farms
Monthly Summary– August 2012
Logs reviewed and summary prepared by MR, August 10, 2013
General Observations: Eight Thunder storm events noted and 21 irrigation applications. Electrical fire near farmhouse after powerline broke along route 579. It seemed like a lot of tractor activity with late season plowing and haying, and lots of planting as the crew prepares for the end of the season. Finally MR expands the Big Garden Beds, plowing in a new section to the south of the Blackberries.
Equipment 85 hrs: Up from 30 hours last year, 15 hours mowing with the Kabota, 25 hours with the Ford, 10 hours with the JD (it was only 5 last August) and 12.5 with our new Case 265. Seemed to be lots of Tractor time for our 2nd year Trainees KG and RR, cultivating and bedforming, also chisel plowing for KG. Haybine required removal of blade and reriviting of two cutter teeth. Observed and assisted by KG, RR and TH.
Administration 25 hrs: As ever, accounting and payroll. Payroll for the month was $5,987 for 6 workers ($3,000 less than ’11). Cash coming in is regularly deposited and quarters and ones retrieved for the cashbox. Significantly less hours than last August, probably too busy in field.
Infrastructure 100 hrs: Hard predation of chickens noted, down to 55 birds total. Field edges and Diversions mowed. 8/16 the fence lines and irrigation valves were weed wacked. MR pointed out clear example of soil erosion at the end of a newly planted field beds to crew. Emphasized the significance of soil loss even on a small scale – imagine how bad on a large scale. New BGB’s! finally plowed into shape by MR with JD using moldboard plow. Fairly roughly done, enough to clearly delineate the beds for excavator to finish the job. While Moldboard plow attached, MR modified the layout of the Fields in Veg. C, moving the central field to the North, to accommodate a poorly drained area between the south and mid sections. Disc harrow in use at end of month for rough tillage of fallow fields.
Greenhouse 14.5 hrs: RR and KG slogged thru “hard work!” of clearing zinnias from Farmhouse Gothic in order to plant Tomatoes. During rainy days, transplants thinned. Weekly thereafter members of the crew trellised the House Tomatoes, pruning and clipping. By end of month, House Tomatoes yielding well but losing more than half to rodent damage – Critical to control rodent population – Cats adopted, but too late to protect this years crop.
Composting 6 hrs: 10.5 cubic yards applied to fields, pre-planting.
Planting 78 hrs: Training for KG and RR; bed forming and the associated tractor ‘Set-up’ of straight shanks and spyders. Ordered Cover Crop Seed; 1,200# Triticale Rye, 250# Hairy Vetch and 320# Winter Pea. CH filled out edges of Corner Garden with perennial Sweet William flowers. Nice notes of crew working well together, tuning up BGB’s for big direct seeding push on 8/17.
Crop Care 174 hrs: Hand weeding in Salad mix, with heavy weed pressure and poor germination. Weeding and cultivating, Tomato Trellising both field and greenhouse. With increased irrigation towards end of month. Late Blight discovered in Ralphs House, MR cut down and buried effected plants under hay and plastic tarp in order to reduce spore distribution – seemed to contain the Blight from spreading.
Harvesting 376 hrs: Down 200 hours from last year, was it increased efficiency or less to harvest? Multiple entries of Harvesting being disturbed by heavy t-storms in first half of August. Carrot yields from 100’ BGB’s of 500#! Special harvest and discussion of the ‘Wild Greens- Purslane’ from beds that had poor yield of the intended squash crop. Tomatoes yielding well, over 50 trays harvested on 8/21. Late cutting of Hay in Veg. D and Central Northeast fields, and raking too, hoping to get crop in before arrival of Hurricane Issac. Crew introduction to harvesting zinnias – stem size, where to cut and handling into buckets.
Handling 82 hrs: Friend of RCM asked to use our facilities for upcoming event, needed space for many sunflowers. Full training review for crew regarding selection and sorting of ripe vs ripening, handling trays and calculating the cost of labor into the actual yield 8/21.
Marketing 187 hrs: There was a “market assessment” done on 8/14 as we tried to identify the cause of decreasing sales as compared to last year. The most significant finding was that the amount of produce sold, compared to what it should have earned was consistently inaccurate, sometimes more, sometimes less. One clear difference was the impact of having SO Blueberries last year and not in 2012. The take home message was despite a decent effort to accurately record crop sales, we need to do a lot better recording sales info.
Hopewell– $383, $553, $467, $507, $661; Total: $2,571 (decrease of $1,490 from 2011)
WWCFM– $1,231, $1,297, $1,415, $1,549; Total: $5,492 (decrease of $3,216)
Summit– $2,556, $2,670, $3,284, $3,555; Total: $12,065 (increase of $3,316)
Total August 2012 Market Income: $20,128 (decrease of $1,400 from 2011)
Special Projects 8.5 hrs: Delineation of ‘Permaculture Field’, mowing a section to be renovated into hay and defining the remaining area to be planted with Orchard and Perennial Plantings. KG took on the preparations for ‘Tomato Fight’, mowing paths. RCM culminated long hours of planning and prepping with a successful delivery of Flowers for her friends wedding. Last of the “ranchettes” killed by marauding raccoon. End of month Tomato Processing run – 650 pounds of ripe tomatoes for sauce and ketchup.
Weather: Drought conditions at beginning of Month
Week 1: Heavy shower associated with Thunder Storm.
Week 2: More Thunder storms, noted 2.5 inches in ½ hour, then another 3.5” three days later.
Week 3: Finally, Clear weather, conditions drying.
Week 4: Dry until last days then saturated with heavy shower. Weather turning cool. Hurricane off Coast of Louisiana approaching.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Michael Rassweiler
Summit Downtown Inc., Board of Trustees, voted on Wednesday, June 19th – ‘To maintain the Summit Downtown Farmers Market, at the Lot, located on the corner, of Deforest Ave and Maple Street.’
North Slope Farm represented the basic, stated opinions, of the Five Long Term Produce Farmers, at the Board Meeting, and we thank everyone for their time and attention.
Summit, like any City, is always seeking ways to support and foster it’s “Downtown”, as a place that citizens will come, eat, shop and socialize. The Farmers Market is a big part of supporting the environment.
Thinking about these issues, one item remains clear – To foster a “Farmer Friendly” Farmers Market – Listen to your Farmers!
Good Luck Everyone!
West Amwell, NJ
Certified Organic Farm
Field Report, MikeR May 16, 2013
Lesson: If planting tender crops before all risk of Frost is past – Agricultural Fabric / “Remay” must be utilized or at least on hand for easy application!
We were vigorous in our staking, when we should have been setting hoops and laying out the remay…
Frost Free date for our Field is now officially back to May 20….
North Slope Farm Trainees – Guilders 2012
posted 2/6/13 MR
Trainee, Apprentice, Intern on Tractor
click on photo to see the whole Crew (set)
By Mike Rassweiler, www.NorthSlopeFarm.com
Jan 30, 2013
NOFA-NJ did us all a favor by bringing Eliot Coleman, Author of The New Organic Grower, to speak as our Keynote. His focus on “Anything is Possible” was inspirational and photos of his operation profound in their simplicity and beauty. Eliot grounds the organic community in the power of principle, that building healthy soil, and minimizing stress to our crops, will yield bounteous crops over the long haul, without expensive off farm inputs or environmental degradation. According to Eliot’s example, small land holdings not only can feed our communities, but they should be our Societies Primary (food) Focus.
I was honored to be a presenter at this Conference, speaking both Sat and Sunday. I was joined in the discussion of Mentoring Apprentices by Judy VonHandorf of Genesis Farm, Eve Minson of NOFA-NJ and Christy Asbee of Law for Food, LLC. Legal issues were laid out for future discussion and review, and North Slope Farm’s and Genesis’s Training programs were presented in detail.
In order of their scheduling, I also attended the following workshops:
I was struck by the awareness of how much Michael was prepared to share of his experience and wisdom, and that the hour was not enough to get but a taste. My take home impression was the importance of building a ‘fungal soil’. Organic farmers as a rule are invested in building the organic matter in the soil, which in turn feeds and sustains the Fungal Life, which in turn serves the health of crops. He recommended liberal, annual applications of small piles of (hardwood) wood chips to the orchard, piles that add fungal vigor to the soil. Likewise the management of diverse species of grass and broadleaf plants below the trees to promote a nutrient replenished soil within the top 10” (monocrop grass leads to nutrient poor surface soil). He recommends scything the undergrowth down, when farms are cutting their first hay, leaving the organic matter on the soil surface as mulch. Michael also recommended cutting prunings into small pieces under the tree to be broken down naturally. Apparently the small branch tips have the most benefit for sustaining fungal properties of the soil due to their high percentage of juicy buds to woody core, and don’t need to be removed unless severely diseased.
David educated me about how the whole Fungi being good for plant growth works. He described the process by which sustaining a healthy, vigorous, fungal soil actually works with plants. The Fungi develop “microscopic tree like structures in the plant root cells (arbuscules)” that grow out into the soil farther than root hairs. These fungal branches (hyphae), into the soil, can hugely increase the potential of plants to take up nutrients and water, especially in adverse conditions. The good news is that standard Organic Management practices are perfect for protecting the Fungal vigor of soils. The one exception is tillage, and repeated tillage, especially “stale seed bed techniques” can kill off the fungi in our cropping areas. To address problem areas (lack of fungal population), David is focused on a simple process any grower can manage – though of course there are details to consider. Once you know what type of AM Fungi is native to your soils, and establish that they are beneficial for the crops you plan to grow, we can foster their growth in controlled settings (grow bags planted with an annual grass), then mix the resulting fungal rich media into our potting soil for transplants. The AM Fungi will quickly reestablish its beneficial effects in the field, growing out from the transplants. These interactions between Fungi and soil foster the development of “glomalins” (glycoproteins), the magic of decomposed organic matter, that holds our soil texture together.
Andrew is clearly a man driven by his awareness of the world around him. Knowledgeable about the harm that humans have done, he is an inspirational speaker about examples and potentials for humankind to do a whole lot better. He had a lot of information to share and ended the talk with some great examples of his main point – We need to design our Development, and redevelopment, to capture the real value of living systems. Biological filtration of waste and ecologically sound utilization of nutrients and energy. The power of compost to regionally manage what otherwise is treated as Waste. The potential for Urban settings to capture and utilize rainwater and waste to sustainable foster human settlement. The take home message – don’t wait for someone else to come up with the solution, put common sense practices to work in your home and communities. Capture rainwater, grow food, compost, use plants to filter air/water, reduce heat and cooling extremes and then separate grey and black water and handle them as resources not waste!
This was a testament to the growing commitment of Government Resources to address the topics that Organic Farmers have been talking about for generations. My thanks and appreciation to the following folks who contributed their time and expertise to the Panel; Karen Kritz – NJDA, Erich Bremer- NJDA, Matthew Pavone-FSA, Jack Rabin-NJAES, Justine Cook-NJDA and Gail Bartok-NRCS. Jack Rabin pointed out that he is frustrated by Organic Farmers not taking advantage of the wealth of accumulated knowledge of conventional agriculture. Two resources he touted were The Rutgers Commercial Vegetable Production Recommendations, and an On-Farm Composting web resource on the Rutgers- NJ Agricultural Experiment Station website. In general, these agencies will respond to the expressed needs of regional Agriculture, breaking down the barriers between serving Conventional Agriculture and Ecological Agriculture will only lead us to a better place. Karen has been working for years, trying to make the recycling of waste agricultural plastic a reality in NJ. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has been a leader in adopting the principles of Organic Management and offers programs designed to incentivize Transition to Organic Practices, Nutrient Management and Cover Cropping. As always, Erich of the NJ Organic Certification Program offered real time understanding of the challenges facing Organic Farmers and serves as our advocate in the NJDA (poor guy, it’s lonely in there). The NJDA has yet to include the Organic Certification Logo on their website home page, embarrassed I guess, to be associated with a bunch of counterculture hippies.
North Slope has invested a lot, recently, in fruit trees, and getting advice about their pruning and management is greatly appreciated. It is always nice to have an expert bring the task to life. These guys brought multiple samples of branch and trunk development on which to demonstrate pruning techniques. It was the end of the weekend yet they still were able to get me excited about going out and getting started on the Pruning!
Another excellent Winter Conference, attended by a great crowd, with many more workshops than I was able to attend.
Farm Manager MikeR completed a 3 hour NJ Department of Agriculture “Third Party Audit Training” course, organized by NOFA-NJ. The take home message was;
Click on the Photo below to access a short set of Photos to highlight our 2012 effort to improve our Food Safety situation;
The following items are significant additions to the Equipment of North Slope Farm’s Training Program and basic production systems. The Cultivating Tractor has a three point hitch which finally allows us to utilize our Williams Tool Bar for close crop cultivating.
The Earth and Turf Multi Spreader has proven to be an excellent, reliable (Ground Driven) compost spreader. It allows one worker to accomplish what previously took three workers to do by hand. In first gear on our Tractor, and fully open (beaters removed) on the spreader, a full load empties nicely over two beds (down and Back). Each bed needs two passes to apply our typical 1.5 cyds per bed, I do one pass in one direction and the return in the other direction to average out vagaries in spreading.
Finally, I broke down and bought a new model, walk-behind mower, because our old Bachtold mower was viewed with such disdain and fear by Trainees as to be worthless. After asking around I went with the Billy Goat Outback, Brushcutter and in the few times we’ve used it, the BillyGoat was easier to use, though not as aggressive. We will modify the skids to get the deck closer to the ground for a more aggressive cut. The new mower allows the Manager to assign any trainee mowing jobs without fear of accident or burnout!
