Monthly Summary – November 2012

Posted By: TH Date: 11/5

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General Observations: first notations in log for the month are of the after math of Hurricane Sandy at the end of October. Eventually clean up began. Comparatively the farm did ok through the storm. Mostly it brought wind that wreaked some havoc on the green house plastic, but damages were minimal overall. The pace of the remaining work and harvests slowed considerably. There were many shorter days, some very cold and less tasks to occupy a crew.  

Equipment 0 hrs:

Administration 18.5 hrs: Kyle sustained a minor injury. Some of his teeth were chipped when a heavy-duty pin dropped, striking his face while replacing the tow bar on the Ford. The notes include the medical treatment and the farm insurance. We had a meeting around the bunkhouse fire on the 27^th to talk about the concluding season, the season to come, and the remaining tasks. On 11/28 there are notes about the increase in minimum wage. The regular payroll and bills practices are observed, amongst the compiling of data, and posting summaries. Seed order for 2013 is list as to do.

Infrastructure 39.5 hrs: Sandy knocked out the power from 10/30 until 11/11. on the twelth the water pump at the ranch was fixed. Chicken chores, storm clean up and repair, and end of season/winter readiness are all the tasks at hand. Storm “lessons learned” as logged include: Generator, at least three days of fuel, drinking water containers filled and stowed, and water for toilets. Also a note for catchment and hand pump as future options. The plastic on the ends of Ralph’s house were secured with staples through drip tape. Repairs attempted on rips in seedling green house. Some wind damage to small wood frame green house was repaired. The chickens required moving to new locations, fresh hay, and food and water. Along with taking care of the birds our newly residing cats needed care for their first winter in the seed shed. The cats have been named “Agua” (female), “Silky” (male, long hair), and “Skunk” (male, short hair). “Skunk” was later renamed “Ghost” do to his illusiveness and evading capture. Row cover is collected along with hoops and sand bags. There is notation on the 18th for draining the water system over night, and later the heater in the barn attic was turned on the prevent pipe freezing. Some time snow shoveling is also logged.

Greenhouse 0 hrs:

 Composting 0 hrs:

Planting 0 hrs: On 11/6 the last field (tomato field) for cover crop was prepared and seeded by Rita and Kyle. The flower field was also broad cast with cover crop then mowed, leaving the chaff as cover.

Crop Care 15 hrs: 11/14 Protected hazel nut and apple trees. The trunks were being nibbled.

Harvesting 73.5 hrs: We had our regularly scheduled Thursday and Friday harvests for West Windsor and Summit Farmers markets. 100lbs of carrots harvest from 1/3 of a big garden bed on the 14^th. Last harvest was cold and long on the 15^th and 16^th

Handling 35.5 hrs: crops could not be washed during power outage. As mentioned the last harvest weather was particularly cold. The task of washing took Mike into the night, having to be resumed the following day.

Marketing 52 hrs: On the 3^rd some roads are still closed on the way to a slow and cold market. On 11/10 Colleen goes to Gravity hill market with tea! The last two markets are both indicated as having been busy and a good end to the season, with excellent weather. At summit it is noted that we ran out too early of mushrooms and cider.

                West Windsor: 11/3 $776, 11/8 $912, 11/17 $1486

                Summit: 11/3 $1190, 11/8 $2600, 11/17 $3420            

                Gravity Hill: 11/8 $65, 11/17 $125

Special Projects 10 hrs: 11/19 Cedar post harvest as part of the wood lot management plan. The harvested cedar is to be used as fence posts around the fruit cluster and a small post and beam structure to be built in the same location. 11/20 Mike heads into the east woods for clearing dead falls. The log states the goal of establishing access lane and thinning deciduous trees to allow remaining cedar to reseed and establish a new stand. ATV worked well with the trailer in the logging configuration.

Weather:

Week 1: After the hurricane, wet, cold.  

Week 2: Cold, windy. Forecast Nor’easter. Hard freeze. Warm for weekend.

Week 3: Saturated, rainy, cool. Cold days, freezing at night.

Week 4: Excellent weekend weather. Cold and freezing nights. Partly sunny

Week 5: mild sunny day, just freezing at night. 11/27 Snow!

Monthly Summary – September 2012

Posted By: RR    Date:9/11/13

General Observations: Last year, the month of September gave us a bountiful harvest while operations were working smoothly!

Equipment 63 hrs: KG and RR received various equipment training. The Billy Goat walk-behind mower arrived.  Fields were disk-harrowed for cover crop seeding.  Veg. B mid was chiseled and rototilled.  The Williams Tool Bar attached to the 265 was used successfully for crop cultivation.

Administration 36.5 hrs: General administrative chores were attended to.  

Infrastructure 66 hrs:  Baby chicks arrived early in the month. Their nursery was cleaned out, prepped and rat-proofed.  The new Big Garden Beds were finished by forming them into a usable shape with the rototiller.

Greenhouse 14.5 hrs: See Crop Care.

Composting 3 hrs: Compost went to the corner garden and the new Big Garden Beds.

Planting 57.5 hrs: Cover crops were seeded onto certain fields. Some cover crop seed required inoculation and the crew received training on how to use the innoculant.

By mid month, there was a push to get beds seeded for the new moon. The central field was seeded with kale, radishes, arugula, salad and tatsoi. This was an unusual practice.  With the exception of kale, the other crops are usually seeded in our raised garden beds, not a field bed, and they were watered for 6 hours instead of 4. But they grew well, as shown in the photo above.

At the end of the month, the new Big Garden Beds were seeded for the first time with salad mix. Also, the corner garden was planted with Bee Balm, Mountain Mint, Sweet William and Lovage.

CropCare 158 hrs: One notable message, written after a 5hr afternoon in the tomato greenhouse, stressed the importance of keeping up with pruning and trellising.

But many hours went into crop care. Beds were mulched with hay, others were weeded by hand or with scuffle hoe, flower beds were staked and strung, and one greenhouse was completely cleared out, just to name a few activities.

Harvesting 372.5 hrs: There was plenty to harvest in September 2012. Our vegetables included: kale, chard, fennel, beans, beets, carrots, salad mix and squash. Hay was harvested (it was noted that the 579 field was cut 3 times last year), tomatoes got picked several times a week and CH’s corner garden provided a lot of lemon verbena.

Handling 97 hrs: Tomatoes take a long time to sort.

Marketing 167.5 hrs:

Summit: 9/2 – $3300, 9/9 – $3358, 9/15 – $3285, 9/23 – $3380

West Windsor: 9/8 – $1945, 9/14 – $2048, 9/22 – $2043, 9/29 – $1541

Hopewell: 9/5 – $485, 9/12 – $383, 9/18 – $459.95, 9/26 – $297.90

Market Total as of 9/30/3012: $97,199.00

In addition to market sale records, lots of product-value calculations were written in the log this month. Our ketchup and tomato sauce had arrived from processing: 600 pounds of our tomatoes yielded 104 quarts of sauce at a cost of $361.00. If tomatoes are $1/lb, and worker pay at $15/hr with 12 hrs of work, and the cost of processing is $361.00, then total cost of labor is $1141. Divide by 104 quarts and the minimum value is around $11/quart.

Ketchup bottles had a similar calculation which put them valued at $8-9/pint. There were also calculations for flower bunches and salad mix values where the worker pay was raised to $30/hr. Flower bunches were found to be valued around $12/bunch and salad mix was valued at $10/lb.

Special Projects 2.5 hrs: Hay bales were collected for a winter project of building a hay bale dwelling.

KG experimented with micro-green production and switched from a three week seed to harvest time, to two weeks.

Weather:

 Wk 1: Overcast and rainy. Arrival of Hurricane Issac.

Wk 2:  Sunny, clear.

Wk3: Sunny, clear and cool.

Wk4: Overcast and rainy.

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 2^nd 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.

Monthly Summary– July 2012

Logs reviewed and summary prepared by Owen Spath, July 9, 2013

General Observations:  The month began with a heat wave reaching an unbearable 102* by the 7^th. The heat and dryness continued harshly throughout July killing our crop of fennel as well as some of our chickens in the coop. Midway through the month people from NOFA NJ stopped by to film tools being used for a video to raise money for tools for the incubator farms at Duke Estates. With multiple days of heat over 100*, and only three days of rain at the end of the month, July was very irrigation dependent month for us at North Slope Farm.

Equipment 11.5 hrs:  There was not too much use of equipment in July. A broken sprayer hose left KG smelling terribly while MR rechiseled the Veg C North and then rototilled it. 7/25 KG and RR tilled planted and cultivated Veg C NorthThe month ended with KG mowing production fields, edging two fields in the Veg Field; while MR chisel plowed Veg A’s and B’s which were the 1^st succession field for 2012.

Administration 31.5 hrs:  KG presented on his special project of growing micro-greens in which he discussed farm sponsorship vs. individual venture. MR requested that KG publish a special projects proposal as well as accounting for every step accurately and completely. On July 10^th MR began working on the Juyly 2011 summary and works on payroll and bills. 7/19 the crop availiblity was updated on the website, and documents were prepared for a Workman’s Compensation Audit.

Infrastructure 55 hrs: About half as many hours were spent on infrastructure this year as there were in 2011. On the 4^th irrigation and fertilizer were put on the kale. 7/11 two chickens are found dead at different parts of the day, both of which look like they could have been killed by the heat. Ocho was found in the hoop house maybe assisting with the rat problem, while Diez remains hidden in the seed shed frightened. On July 12, while driving down rt. 31 to make a recycling run the fuel gauge went to completely empty and the gas light of the truck suddenly turned on, eventually the light went off and the gauge returned back to ¾ of the way full. Contiunally irrigating even into the late evening we had trouble keeping up with the heat and dryness. Chicken coops were cleaned and moved on the 17^th, 24^th, and the 31^st. Also on the 31^st the fruit in the walk-in cooler was mouse-proofed.

Greenhouse 36 hrs: With most of the seedlings planted the work in the greenhouse was minimal in July. KG and RR thinned chard and kale seedlings. On 7/18 CH seeded the early fall succession of herbs which included parsley, dill, bee-balm, lavage, mt. mint. July 24^th the 5^th succession of kale, chard, leeks, scallion, fennel, zinnias, sunflowers, and beets were finally seeded.

Composting 12 hrs: On 7/4, 6 cyds. of compost was spread on Veg C North 1^st bed. 7/17, 19.5 cyds. were spread on Veg C North finishing the bed, 7.5 cyds. were spread over the Big Garden Beds, and 3.5 cyds. were spread on miscellaneous furrows.

Planting 64 hrs: On the 4^th of July the poorly germinated beet beds were renovated and basil, beets, and nappa cabbage were planted. 7/5, Veg C North was planted with basil, chard, and parsley. On the 6^th the Big Garden Bed’s; 8 West and 8 East, were seeded with the next succession of salad mix. 7/9, the 3^rd planting of parsley was re-planted. On 7/12, MR and RR went out to find a spot for late tomatoes and winter squash along rte. 579, the beds were then mowed and ripped while KG planted the remaining succession. 7/13, zinnias were planted in the 579 bed, and a short bed of wrigley’s spearmint was also planted in the Corner Garden. On 7/18 KG and RR direct seeded two beds of field salad, two beds of carrots, and a partial bed of turnips; RR then planted two rows of winter squash in Veg B South. On the 19^th with a small amount of rain the night before 13 beds remained to be direct seeded: beans, beets, chard, cucumbers, and summer squash. 98 plugs of sweet william were planted in the corner garden also on the 19^th. 7/25, was filled with planting new girl tomatoes in the new 579 beds and in the farm house gothic, as well as planting chard, kale, leeks, and scallions in Veg C North finishing the planting for July.

Crop Care 196 hrs: Because the month was so dry irrigation became a very large part of crop care in July with 53 different entries in the systems log. Weeding in the Big Garden Beds began on the 3^rd as well as the stringing of tomatoes and the brewing of nettle compost tea for 6 beds of tomatoes. On 7/10 Ralph’s house was weeded and trellised and the newest carrots, Veg C South tomatoes, and 579 basil were hand weeded. On 7/12 the dreaded weeding of the strawberries took place, after that the west and east bed of asparagus was weeded. After a Field Moisture Test with the soil probe on 7/16 it was found that every major area of production needed irrigation. The month of July continued and passed with constant trellising, irrigation, and weeding.

Harvesting 417 hrs:  Basil 38 bn, beets 168 bn, beets 442 lbs, carrots 200 lbs, chard 392 bn, eggs 102 doz, field salad 276 lbs, cut flowers 103 bn, kale 137 bn, micro-greens 45, mint 5 bn, nappa cabbage 86 lbs, parsley 26 bn, scallions 16 bn, summer squash 378 lbs, strawberries 94 pp, sungold tomatoes 164 pt, cherry tomatoes 54 pt, turnips 88 bn, turnips 130 lbs. On the 12^th of July we harvested our Negovia carrot trial, with 80 days the carrots had medium germination, and decent growth however there about 1/3 of the crop that was subprime with many multi-branched carrots and many rodent chews on the tops. On 7/26 we harvested our first cabbage which was fairly eaten. Small salad plants on the 27^th kept us from harvesting salad mix.

Handling 71.5 hrs: On the first day of July our second batch of Echinacea was stripped and stored. 7/13 the harvested garlic was cut, sorted, and put away by RR and TH. On 7/24 the first cutting of L. Verbeva was stripped and stored. The rest of the month’s handling time went to washing station where throughout the month of July the harvested hardy greens, salad mix, and root vegetables were cleaned.

Marketing 119 hrs:  On 7/1 after a very hot but still profitable market in Summit, we received the map of the layout for the market move on July 22^nd.  The first market of the month in Hopewell was moved to Tuesday July 3^rd, and was very slow, it was here that KG trained TH on filling out harvest sheets. 7/7 was the first sale of the micro-greens which sold slower than expected due to the fact that people did not know what to do with them. At WWCFM on 7/14 even with the market seeming busy and no other vendors having salad mix we still came out with only $844.

Hopewell– $170, $433, $348.50, $404, $382.50; Total: $1,738

WWCFM– $815, $844, $, $1,130, $1,140; Total: $3,929

Summit– $2,230, $2,030, $2,310, $3,150; Total: $9,720

Total July 2012 Market Income: $15,387

Special Projects 17 hrs: On July 5, a new special project was started, headed by KG, to introduced micro-greens into our selection at market. KG wrote a special project proposal and was asked to account for work hours, materials cost, handling description, an established wholesale value per unit, materials that have been already purchased. Micro-Mix seed $15/ #1/4 estimate seeds 10 trays; seed cost=$1.50 per tray. 7/6 the first succession of micro-greens was harvested, it was noted in the log that the trays need to stay level. On 7/8 KG planted his 3^rd succession of micro-greens and created a data sheet for the seeding dates, yields, etc. On 7/23 MR presented at the NOFA Twilight Meeting on the NSF Training Program and Farm Tour.

Weather:  Very Hot and Dry with Heat-waves threatening both crops and chickens, only three days of rain.

Week 1: Heat-wave all week +95*, 102* on Saturday.

Week 2: Dry conditions cause crop lose due to insufficient irrigation.

Week 3: Heat continues, dryness continues, high need for rain. Rain finally comes overnight 7/20, .9”.

Week 4: Still hot, rain 7/27-28 equaling 1.75”.

Monthly Summary – June 2012

General Observations: Life on the farm is on-going and it’s nice to look back and find that activities are much the same this year as with last.  Last June, the grass needed to be mowed or whacked regularly, hay fields needed to be cut and baled.  With three weekly last year, we spent most of our hours harvesting and caring for existing crops and planting more.

Equipment 44 hrs: On the first of June, new beds were ripped in Veg. C South using the IH140. It took .75hrs for a single rip of 16 beds. Later in the month, the Kubota mower had a broken belt that was fixed, the new 265 wouldn’t start, so the beds that needed to be roto-tilled were done with the BCS instead, and the hay baler broke which involved an intense fixing process.

Administration 27 hrs:A rainy day on the 12^th provided the crew with a pie break and a discussion of future plans. Meanwhile, CH began working on the organic certification forms which were copied and filed away when complete. RCM worked on the June summary for 2011, and the website got an update featuring new crop availability and invitations to the Solstice party.

Infrastructure 52.5 hrs:The first major hay cutting occurred on 5/31 and took approximately 5 hours to complete the Mulch field SE, Veg D and 579 field N. Then on the 10^th and 11^th respectively, the cut hay was raked in Veg D and MSE, then it baled in Veg D until the “bushing shredded on plunge center.” In the market garden, there was a second cutting of hay from a cover cropped field on the 16^th. Mowing and weed-whacking of various areas around the farm happened every week this month. There was an on-going fox watch from May, and one day while stringing tomatoes KG spotted it in the chicken fields and the crew promptly cut off our strings and chased it out. KG and TH went on a reconnaissance mission and found the fox’s hole and (if my memory serves correctly) set a trap. One chicken was injured due to a laceration and put into a recovery home.

Greenhouse 16.5 hrs: Ralph’s house was cleared and prepped for tomatoes. Sungold, Brandywine, and Corsalo were all transplanted in. There was a general seedling clean up, and the 4^th succession of veggies, 2^nd succession of flowers, and another succession of tomatoes were seeded.

Composting 6 hrs: After ripping the beds in Veg C South on the 1^st, 8 of them were composted with 1.75cyrds ea. Totaling 2.35 hrs. The other 8 beds in Veg C S were composted later with the same amount. A couple big garden beds were composted this month as well.

Planting 125 hrs: BGBs were prepped and direct seeded with salad. Beets, fennel, basil and the rest of the 3^rd veggie succession got planted in Veg C S. Flowers were planted in the 579 field, though they were planted late. Other BGBs were prepped and seeded with turnips, carrots and transplants of scallions. 7 beds of Veg C S were direct seeded with beets, beans, squash and radishes. Veg C North received primary tillage with the chisel plow and was then roto-tilled.

Crop Care 215 hrs: Lots of time weeding, sometimes the soil was too wet and the weeds need to be cut instead of pulled to avoid pulling out clumps of mud. There was also a lot of trellising and stringing for the flowers and tomatoes, and cleaning out irrigation lines and other debris from Veg B. The Williams tool bar was used on the 265 to cultivate small beets, chard and kale. One major issue regarding the field tomatoes was that their trench was dug too deep and it wouldn’t drain so they got flooded with water.

Harvesting 249.5 hrs: 6/1- Salad mix 96.5lbs, 6/2- Strawberries, scapes, and various herbs. 6/6- salad, tatsoi, peas, chard, turnips, strawberries, beets. 6/7- Kale, chard, beets, tatsoi, peas, scapes. 6/8- Salad mix 67lbs, cut flowers. 6/12- Cut flowers. 6/13- Beets, kale, chard, salad mix, tatsoi, strawberries. 6/14- Kale, chard, radishes. 6/20- Salad mix, chard, kale, beets, turnips, carrots, flowers, hay. 6/21- Hardy greens, turnips, carrots, hay. 6/22- Salad mix 90lbs. 6/28- Hardy greens, carrots. 6/29- Salad 79.5lbs.

Handling 76.5 hrs: KG and RR handled/washed produce a lot this month.

Marketing 103 hrs:

Hopewell: 6/6- $422, 6/13- $459, 6/20- $302.5. 6/27- $530

WWCFM: 6/2- $1150, 6/9- $817, 6/16- $830, 6/23- $1019

Summit: 6/3- $1713, 6/10- $2220, 6/17- $2460, 6/28- $2130

Total June 2012 Market Income: $14,052.5

Special Projects 8.5 hrs: RCM delivered watermelon seeded trays, KG seeded first round of micro-greens, KG, RR planted tomatoes in “auxiliary tomato field.”

Weather:

Week 1: Thunderstorms early in the week with hail on the 3^rd, then clear skies

Week 2: Sunny and warm, but with heavy rain on the 12th

Week 3: Sunny and warm again, with promise of more

Week 4: Beginning of heat wave, soil “getting too dry”

Monthly Summary – May, 2012

Posted By, Owen Spath;    Date; 5/28/13

General Observations: May is a busy month for North Slope Farm and 2012 was no exception. With the first harvesting of salad, field kale, field chard, and radishes; the planting of the 4^th succession, and the fox that kept stealing chickens the crew had their hands full. The unpredictable May weather gave a little flexibility with short periods of rain with sun in-between.

Equipment 79.75 hrs:JD:9.5, Ford:13, Case:11, Kabota:24, IH140:8.75, Walkin Mower:4.5, BCS:0.5, Weedwacker:8.5. On 5/8 a bolt was tightened on Big Red ending the squealing noise. 10 days later KG found the Ford Rototiller was overheating, the engine was then cleaned from all debris.

Administration 45 hrs: On 5/1 there was a crew meeting discussing ‘special orders’. 5/3 KG finished the monthly summary for May, 2011. On 5/15 MR discussed ‘cost of production’ which derives from the total work hours of harvesting and handling.

Infrastructure 142 hrs: May began with a heavy amount of mowing, weedwacking and protecting the chickens from the devious fox. 5/3 the walk in cooler was cleaned. 5/8 half of the MSEN was mowed to prepare for the chicks move, the fence was tended and the chicks were secure from the fox. 5/9 Hens were moved into the fence. On 5/13, 30 minutes after sunset the chicken pen was about to be closed when there was evidence found of a fox attack, electric fence did not deter the fox. 5/16 fence tested with amp meter, weak spots were found and repaired.

Greenhouse 105.5 hrs: Things in the greenhouses started off slow for the first two weeks of May. On 5/9 nettle tea was applied to the tomatoes seedlings which were then sprayed for aphids and taken out of the greenhouse. 5/13 Neptune’s Harvest fertilizer was added to the tomato seedlings that would be for sale. The second half of May became more interesting with the discovery of jewel weed growing in the east edge of the greenhouse, the potting on of the black eyed Susan’s and the 4^th succession of seedlings for sale on 5/16. On May 30^th, the 4^th succession of veggies was started.

Composting 26.25 hrs: In addition to the compost sifted for potting and seeding the garden and flower beds got their fair share of composting as well. On 5/9, the Big Garden Beds, and Veg. B North were each given 3.5 cubic yards, while 4 cubic yards was given to the Corner Garden. On 5/17, the Big Garden Beds were given 3.5 more cubic yards and on 5/20 the flower field was given 7 cubic yards using the spreader.

Planting 162.5 hrs: In May the planting began on 5/7 with the planting of flat leaf parsley, and curly leaf parsley in the corner garden. On 5/11 three rows of tomatoes were planted, one sungold, one striped german, and one brandywine. 5/13, two Big Garden Beds were planted with salad mix and on 5/18 the beds were replanted due to poor germination. May ended with the planting of ½ a row of Echinacea, dill, stevia, chamomile, bee balm, and hyssop on the 28^th; and on the 29^th five beds of tomatoes, one bed of eggplant, and one bed of peppers were planted.

Crop Care 300.5 hrs: Crop care took some attention in May as the aphids attacked and the weeds still grew. On 5/1 KG sprayed second M-PEDE application to control aphids, and remay and mulch were laid over Veg B South for weed control. 5/4 the entire crew was dedicated to hand weeding pea beds in Veg B South. On 5/7 the pathways in the corner garden were weed wacked and the peonies and Echinacea were stalked and strung. 5/8 plastic was spread over BGB’s to protect from rain. 5/9 hand weeded fruit trees from pears to apples. 5/18 BGB’s irrigated and weeded, weeding revealed that the carrots need to be replanted; rerototill and replant!  On 5/24 while weeding workers were chased off by lightning and forced to weed gothic flower beds, stake zinnias, and sunflowers.

Harvesting 347.25 hrs: May is a busy month for harvesting, for the workers this made up the majority of their time. 5/2 was the first harvesting of the first salad succession, and the last of the spinach. On 5/4 the first harvest of field kale & chard, also the first harvest of radishes though some were damaged by slugs and insects. 5/18 harvested comfrey and catnip, comfrey filled solar dryer and catnip filled the greenhouse. The remainder of harvesting in May was spent with strawberries, field salad, chard, kale, turnips, asparagus, radishes, and arugula.  

Handling 105.5 hrs: 5/1 began with the washing of eggs which yielded 28 dozen ex-large and 4 dozen large eggs. On the 4^th the walk-in cooler was set up again after being washed the day before and the wash are was arranged, this was followed b a demonstration on washing lettuce. 5/18 a demonstration was given on washing tender greens which included sanitizing, plunging, draining, spinning and finally bagging.

Marketing 166 hrs: The first Market of May was a slow one due to rain. 5/5 began North Slope Farm’s 9^th year at the WWCFM. As May pushed on the Hopewell market continued to be slow and rainy, however on 5/12 WWCFM had a beautiful day which was very busy. 5/13 in Summit a record amount of salad was sold at 63lbs, as well as 70lbs of kale, and 70lbs chard!

Hopewell: $257, $317, $514, $516, $523.90; Total: $2,127.90

WWCFM: $913, $1,037.25, $1,134, $1,110, $1,150; Total: $5,344.25

Summit: $2,240, $2,220, $1,920, $2,070; Total: $8,450

Total May 2012 Market Income: $15,922.15

Special Projects 14 hrs: On 5/11 Nettles were bagged for Cherry Grove Cheese to make Nettle Jack Cheese. On 5/16 Ben from Highland Gourmet supplied the seeds for approximately eight flats of watermelons, and on 5/17 the watermelons were seeded.

Weather: No mention of frost in log, total rain fall 4.25’.

Week 1: wet and rainy, sun just peaking through, and back to rain.

Week 2: started off with rain, finally getting sunny, heavy showers.

Week 3: clear and sunny, ground started to get dry and in need of irrigation.

Week 4: rain in the forecast, thunderstorms on the 24^th and 29^th totaling 2’.

Monthly Summary – March 2012

General Observations:

Last March we recorded long periods of warm and dry weather during the first few weeks. At night, temperatures sometimes dropped below freezing, especially toward the end of the month. The warmer weather made more outdoor work possible, and crop care was in full swing. But indoor work and training also needed to be done as the season began.

Administration 87hrs:

The office was tidied up, website worked on and apple trees were ordered. With the full crew around, MR gives an introduction to the farm by explaining the elements task list, and discussing the specifics of the crop plan and crop rotation. The March 2011 summary was posted on the website.  Seed orders and supply orders were made. The Quick Books Payroll was set up.

Infrastructure 87.5hrs: 

Road trip to buy supplies! They came back with a new tractor (named: Big Red), irrigation supplies and a new mulch spreader. RCM cleaned out and organized the walk in cooler. Everyone got training on the farm’s water system. Mowing occurred. The fence was repaired.

Equipment 27hrs:

Second year interns got tractor training including a review of engine systems, safety and operating procedures, and drove them for the first time.

Compost 23hrs:

Always needs to be sifted for greenhouse potting mix.

Marketing 31.5hrs:

Hopewell Market was every Wednesday.

3/17- 122.00

3/14- 199.00

3/21- 145.00

3/28- 184.00

Total: 650.00

There was one run to Solebury orchards for apple sauce and juice for Hopewell Market.

Crop Care 325.5hrs:

Remay over strawberry beds. Weeded asparagus beds. Weeded and mulched strawberry beds. Pear trees were thickly mulched.  Water to fruit trees.  Greenhouses were weeded. Weeded strawberries again. Garlic beginning to be freed from crab grass. Big Garden Beds were cleared of plastic and hoops. Blackberries were securely trellised. Garlic still being freed of crab grass. Pruned older apple trees. Garlic was easier to free after a pass from a tractor.

Greenhouse 140hrs:

Seed orders for seedling sales were made. Inventory of supply. Salad tables were slowly cleared out to allow for an extended salad harvest.

1^st succession field veggies done: beats, chard, kale, scallions, peas

1^st succession field tomatoes done

1^st succession greenhouse flowers done

Aphids noticed on floor weeds, those plants were removed.

Planting 57hrs:

Hazelnut, Almond and Walnut and Apple tress were planted. KG proposed a slightly modified crop that factored in beans and leeks. Peas were planted and radishes and turnips were direct seeded in Ralph’s house.

Harvest/Handling 48.5hrs:

New interns got training on harvesting kale. Table top lettuce and spinach was harvested for wholesale accounts.

Weather:

Week 1:  Mild days, just freezing at night

Week 2:  Clear, windy, mild temperatures, feels like spring, but freezing at night still.

Week 3:  Sunny, warm, 70F during day, 40F at night

Week 4:  Warm, sunny, windy, with freezing nights at the end of the month.

Monthly Summary – November 2011

General Observations-

Last year at the beginning of November we were just recovering from a bizarre October snow storm.  This year we had another oddly powerful storm wreck havoc over our state, whose aftermath will need to be dealt with for a long time to come.  It seems odd that people still debate the change in our weather, regardless of opinion, it seems wise to invest in systems which are not electrically dependent, or at very least, a working generator.

Besides for November being a time to contemplate the ever changing climate of our world, it’s a time for cleaning up, finishing markets and beginning to settle down for the winter months.  Infrastructure was improved upon and fields tidied up for winter.  Extra hoops, remay, irrigation lines, etc. were cleaned up, labeled and stored or tossed if not suitable for use next spring.  Administration was also a major focus, assembling end of the year wrap up summaries and posting on the website.  November also marks my anniversary for arriving at North Slope, now three years later, I look at November as a pleasant month.  It is a calm month of finishing up to prepare for the coming holiday season.

Equipment 8hrs-

The weedwacker needed some attention, a new starter pulley was needed but successfully replaced.  The crew moved the old, broken down box truck to its ‘final resting place’ by the farmhouse and 579, the truck had to be hauled by tractor since the engine does not run any longer.  KG and RR also began training on tractor, rototiller use and had to take the BCS tire to be fixed.

Administration 97 hrs-

End of the year summaries were worked on; greenhouse summary, harvest and market summaries, a winter market summary/proposal and payroll. There was work on the website and summaries were added.  Also there was continual clean up of office odds and ends.

Infrastructure 92 hrs-

The end of October snow storm left snow to shovel and structures to uncover and fallen trees/branches to clear away.  The snow also knocked out the power, which returned at the beginning of the month, allowing us to run water and refrigeration again.  However, with the cooler temperatures, especially at night, the water situation has to be continually monitored to make sure pipes won’t freeze.  Screens on the farmhouse porch were measured and paneling was cut to fit in to create a ‘sun room’ on the porch and to help heat up that area to add to heat trickling in from the outside to heat the house.  General upkeep on the farm was a continual effort, with jobs like fixing fence line and trimming overgrown plants and branches.  The chickens also needed care, feeding, coop moving, etc.

Greenhouse 6 hrs-

Clearing out of old seedlings and bringing potted perennial plants into the heated greenhouse for over winter.  The greenhouse tomatoes were also cleared out and hoops were cleared from the farmhouse gothic.  Also, table tops were set up and seeded in the heated greenhouse for winter production again.

Composting 12 hrs-

Woodchips and manure were piled up for future seasons, several loads of horse manure was brought in from a nearby horse farm.

Planting 4 hrs-

The garlic order was cancelled so North Slope provided all of it’s own seed for 2012 garlic.  Planting the garlic went well, the ‘garlic challenge’ game was created to test who can consume the most fresh, raw garlic.  Some final BGBs were also prepped and seeded with spinach, covered and left for spring.  Also, cover crop was spread over fields for the winter.  And heated greenhouse tables were prepped and seeded for winter production.

Crop Care 56 hrs-

Blackberry plants were staked, a bit late as they should have already been trellised at this point to help control their wild growth but sometimes (more often than not) perennials get put on the back burner during the busy summer months.  Fencing for small trees was also needed and set to help protect the young plants against deer and other nibblers.  Some spinach, lettuce, carrot and kale beds were covered with layers of remay and/or plastic to help preserve into the winter and in some cases, next year.  Remaining hoops, remay, sandbags, etc. were collected and stored for the winter.

Harvesting 113hrs–

The harvest continued for end of the season markets and storage over the winter, including salad mix, radishes, scallions, kale, chard, a one time harvest of our enterprise apples, carrots, baby fennel, arugula and tat soi.

Handling 52 hrs-

Washing of roots and greens becomes a very cold job in November, cold air, burning winds and constant hand submersion makes for a chilly job even in the sunny afternoon.  But the cooler weather of November does help one to appreciate the warmth from the fire in the bunk house.  Egg washing continued, selling out at markets, eggs continue to be popular.  And 1^st years are trained on salad washing.

Marketing 102 hrs-

The end of the season of weekend markets. West Windsor had their last regular market in October with a special market the weekend before Thanksgiving.  With Thanksgiving comes, the end of the season and both weekend markets are over until the Spring.  Hopewell continued, weather permitting, through the winter time but still by the end of November profits slow.  However, cool customers that love the Hopewell market continue to visit and even bring gifts of old farming books from the turn of the century, very interesting to see how things change.  Meanwhile, JR is trained on driving the box truck and taking on marketing tasks for the coming season.

West Windsor Thanksgiving Market: 11/19: $800

Summit: 11/6: $2530, 11/13: $2500, 11/20: $2560

Hopewell: 11/2: $386,, 11/9: $313, 11/16: $361, 11/22: $164, 11/30: $393

Total November Income: $10,007

Special Projects 29 hrs-

Panels for the farmhouse porch were installed to help heat the house.  The seed shed loft was worked on.  A chicken slaughter was scheduled at the Wilkinson’s property after Thanksgiving.  The remaining flocks were consolidated with the healthiest looking birds left to over winter at the farm.  The 11 birds which were culled were taken to be slaughtered and used by the crew for soup and other eating.  We must give a big thanks to Matt Wilkinson for allowing us to use his equipment and teaching us how to do the job correctly.

Weather:

Week 1: Recovering from an October snow storm, with nice sunny, warm days to melt the snow

Week 2: A heat wave came in to give a break from the chilly fall, days up to 70s but a windy front brought rain and a change in weather.

Week 3: Rain starts off the week, cool weather to follow

Week 4: Cool weather ending the month of November