Another Video lesson. This time how to tie off the end of a drip tape section so the water doesn't all run out the end. I did this video because of a discussion on the Market Farming Email list about this and not one person had this suggestion. This is what we have done for well over a decade and it works well and does not cost anything.
Showing posts with label irrigation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label irrigation. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Laying drip tape and irrigation By Hand, 5 Videos
Here is a series of short videos I shot today that show how we at Boulder Belt get 4 beds ready for a hoop house. perhaps I should have broken this into 5 different posts, but that ain't happening.
Enjoy
Enjoy
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Growing in Climate Change
It's been a hot most of August/beginning of September here in SW Ohio. Dry too, we have not had much rain in about 5 weeks now. We got a down pour that gave us .5 inches August 24th which was the first rain we had had in 2 weeks up to that time and we have none since.
This is making it very hard to establish fall/winter crops. Eugene has resorted to hand watering the seeds because the drip irrigation does not put out enough water to get seeds to germinate. Drip irrigation is okay once the seed are transformed into become tiny plants with a root system But until than they need more water and hand watering with watering cans is the best way to do this. No it is the second best way, rain is the best.
The hot dry weather makes me think of climate change. Is this a symptom of climate change? Or is this simply the age old pattern of dry hot periods at the end of summer? Right now I am thinking it is simply the age old pattern, but if this dryness persists for another 3 to 4 weeks, into October I will be changing my mind as October should be coolish with some precipitation. Actually September should be coolish with some precipitation, especially the last half of the month. Time will tell. For now, though we are dry, bone dry. Anything that does not have a deep root system is stressing. the trees seem okay for now and our hops, which have long tap roots, don't seem to mind the lack of moisture all that much. But our peppers are bummed out without irrigation supplying water to them daily (and they do not get water daily because there are many other parts of the market garden than need water and we can only run so much per 24 hour period).
An email friend who is politically conservative and does not believe in man made climate change wrote me yesterday that because of the lack of sunspots for the past few months (actually for the past 11+ months, if one is visiting NASA's Space Weather.com site) the earth should be plunged into a mini ice age. he believes since we are dependant on agriculture this would be far worse than global warming. He is wrong. Global warming of just 2c would mean temps would rise to over 100˚F around here in the summer and that would be far too hot for most crops to thrive. Warming would also mean huge swings in the flood/drought cycle. we would either be flooding or in drought which makes planting very very hard to do-just ask the growers in the US Plain states that have had this exact scenario this year. Floods that wiped out early crops and now they have heat and no rain for months making it difficult to grow any thing. At least with cool one can grow under cover in greenhouses, high tunnels and hoop houses.
This morning I was reading an article about climate change and how we have just 100 months to change our ways globally and stop spewing carbon, methane, etc into the atmosphere before we reach the tipping point of no return. I think we have already reached the tipping point but even if we have not I do not see a global political movement happening to stop it. Our governments all seem to be influence heavily by corporate leaders who simply do not seem to care about the planet if there is money to be made. They can see no further than their greed and it is because of their greed they will take us all to Hell in a hand basket.
So we keep doing what we do. In the grand scheme of things what we do to stave off man made climate change is minuscule but as Margaret Meade once said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"
This is making it very hard to establish fall/winter crops. Eugene has resorted to hand watering the seeds because the drip irrigation does not put out enough water to get seeds to germinate. Drip irrigation is okay once the seed are transformed into become tiny plants with a root system But until than they need more water and hand watering with watering cans is the best way to do this. No it is the second best way, rain is the best.
The hot dry weather makes me think of climate change. Is this a symptom of climate change? Or is this simply the age old pattern of dry hot periods at the end of summer? Right now I am thinking it is simply the age old pattern, but if this dryness persists for another 3 to 4 weeks, into October I will be changing my mind as October should be coolish with some precipitation. Actually September should be coolish with some precipitation, especially the last half of the month. Time will tell. For now, though we are dry, bone dry. Anything that does not have a deep root system is stressing. the trees seem okay for now and our hops, which have long tap roots, don't seem to mind the lack of moisture all that much. But our peppers are bummed out without irrigation supplying water to them daily (and they do not get water daily because there are many other parts of the market garden than need water and we can only run so much per 24 hour period).
An email friend who is politically conservative and does not believe in man made climate change wrote me yesterday that because of the lack of sunspots for the past few months (actually for the past 11+ months, if one is visiting NASA's Space Weather.com site) the earth should be plunged into a mini ice age. he believes since we are dependant on agriculture this would be far worse than global warming. He is wrong. Global warming of just 2c would mean temps would rise to over 100˚F around here in the summer and that would be far too hot for most crops to thrive. Warming would also mean huge swings in the flood/drought cycle. we would either be flooding or in drought which makes planting very very hard to do-just ask the growers in the US Plain states that have had this exact scenario this year. Floods that wiped out early crops and now they have heat and no rain for months making it difficult to grow any thing. At least with cool one can grow under cover in greenhouses, high tunnels and hoop houses.
This morning I was reading an article about climate change and how we have just 100 months to change our ways globally and stop spewing carbon, methane, etc into the atmosphere before we reach the tipping point of no return. I think we have already reached the tipping point but even if we have not I do not see a global political movement happening to stop it. Our governments all seem to be influence heavily by corporate leaders who simply do not seem to care about the planet if there is money to be made. They can see no further than their greed and it is because of their greed they will take us all to Hell in a hand basket.
So we keep doing what we do. In the grand scheme of things what we do to stave off man made climate change is minuscule but as Margaret Meade once said "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"
Thursday, November 08, 2007
The 2007 Season Was a Good One
Our regular marketing season is over for 2007 and it was a good one. Despite drought, high heat, insect hoards and other environmental ills we had a great season. The garden produced well for us (thanx to drip irrigation and a lot of skill, especially on Eugene's part) and we broke our one day sales record at least 5 times this season. We did not break our yearly sales records due to slow sales in July and early August but we are working on that.
I give a big round of applause to Larry the OFMU manager. He did a really nice job of managing the Saturday market. I had my doubts about him early on when our sales were lagging, lots of changes were made to the Saturday market that involved craft people setting up and selling and it seemed that the attendance was down. I was against this letting a lot of crafter/artisans set up at market idea due to horror stories from other market farmers about how the artisans took over the farmers market and pushed the farmers out completely. But, after watching how the market grew because of craft vendors I am not as against this idea any longer. Still, I must take a wait and see attitude as the artisans could usurp the market from us farmers 5 or 10 years down the line. For now, the artists nicely fill space and attract customers to the market (though food is definitely the main reason for going to the farmers market).
The Tuesday market was not quite as good as past years as far as sales go but it was far better as far as farmer attendance. Not once did we have a week where we were the only people setting up. We always had at least 2 stands and usually 4 to 6 set up. There were a couple of weeks when no one came to market due to weather, but what can you do? I believe that next year the Tuesday market will do better than in the past. One thing I noticed this fall was that a lot of Miami Students are suddenly interested in local and organic food and were thrilled to find a farmers market that was open when they were awake (early Saturday mornings are not good for most undergrads and quite a few grad students).
The Tuesday market was a lot more fun than Saturday because it is smaller and far less busy. On Saturdays we would get to market set up for 15 to 20 minutes (a quick set up as we have around a ton of food to get out on the tables) and than do nothing but sell, sell, sell until after 11:30. No socializing with the other farmers, no buying from other farmers, just selling. And this is a good thing. But Tuesdays were a lot more laid back. we would show up around 4pm, haul our tables, shelter, produce, signs, etc., from the van to the grass and take about 20 minutes to set up (often making a couple of sales while setting up). We would get done with setting up and if there were no customers around (common) we would socialize with Debra and whomever else was there (Don, The Ellises, Dan the Tee Shirt man, J Harris). Around 5pm Eugene would be sent for malts at UDF as the three of us would get malts every Tuesday. I usually got a peanut butter malt made with chocolate milk. Debra would get a chocolate malt and Eugene got whatever was on sale. Some weeks we would be pretty busy during the market other weeks would would talk of all sorts of things from politics to opera to birding. And of course there was the 3rd of July market when we got removed from the park for the day so the City's Parks and Recreation Dept could have their 4th of July kids carnival on July 3rd without letting us Farmers know about the change (it's not like we didn't have a permit for that park for every Tuesday evening may through October). Yeah I am still pissed off about that glitch. but overall I am really pleased with both markets.
Now, if we can get the farm store off the ground we will be golden. The farm store, I am afraid, is not thriving the way the other markets are. I believe a lot of this has to do with lack of publicity. The people who need to know about us do not. The local population (PC/Eaton) simply does not care much about local and organic foods. Most seem to be very content to shop at the local Wal-Mart and eat awful processed food. I suppose in another 10 to 15 years the locals will realize that local and organic is the only safe way to eat. But for now, they do not. So I have to get the word out to people in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas that we exist and are well worth the effort to find. I don't know if paid ads are the way to go or to just depend on the local Harvest/New farm/Boulder Belt Website listings. I have recently found a great list serv called Cincinnati Locavores that is full of people seeking local foods. they only problem is few on the list seem willing to drive out to the farms to get food off season. They all want the food no more than 5 to 10 minutes away, just like Wal-Mart or Kroger's
As long as the FDA and USDA keep on providing all of us with scary suspect food I can see only growth for local food and that should mean better and better sales in 2008.
I give a big round of applause to Larry the OFMU manager. He did a really nice job of managing the Saturday market. I had my doubts about him early on when our sales were lagging, lots of changes were made to the Saturday market that involved craft people setting up and selling and it seemed that the attendance was down. I was against this letting a lot of crafter/artisans set up at market idea due to horror stories from other market farmers about how the artisans took over the farmers market and pushed the farmers out completely. But, after watching how the market grew because of craft vendors I am not as against this idea any longer. Still, I must take a wait and see attitude as the artisans could usurp the market from us farmers 5 or 10 years down the line. For now, the artists nicely fill space and attract customers to the market (though food is definitely the main reason for going to the farmers market).
The Tuesday market was not quite as good as past years as far as sales go but it was far better as far as farmer attendance. Not once did we have a week where we were the only people setting up. We always had at least 2 stands and usually 4 to 6 set up. There were a couple of weeks when no one came to market due to weather, but what can you do? I believe that next year the Tuesday market will do better than in the past. One thing I noticed this fall was that a lot of Miami Students are suddenly interested in local and organic food and were thrilled to find a farmers market that was open when they were awake (early Saturday mornings are not good for most undergrads and quite a few grad students).
The Tuesday market was a lot more fun than Saturday because it is smaller and far less busy. On Saturdays we would get to market set up for 15 to 20 minutes (a quick set up as we have around a ton of food to get out on the tables) and than do nothing but sell, sell, sell until after 11:30. No socializing with the other farmers, no buying from other farmers, just selling. And this is a good thing. But Tuesdays were a lot more laid back. we would show up around 4pm, haul our tables, shelter, produce, signs, etc., from the van to the grass and take about 20 minutes to set up (often making a couple of sales while setting up). We would get done with setting up and if there were no customers around (common) we would socialize with Debra and whomever else was there (Don, The Ellises, Dan the Tee Shirt man, J Harris). Around 5pm Eugene would be sent for malts at UDF as the three of us would get malts every Tuesday. I usually got a peanut butter malt made with chocolate milk. Debra would get a chocolate malt and Eugene got whatever was on sale. Some weeks we would be pretty busy during the market other weeks would would talk of all sorts of things from politics to opera to birding. And of course there was the 3rd of July market when we got removed from the park for the day so the City's Parks and Recreation Dept could have their 4th of July kids carnival on July 3rd without letting us Farmers know about the change (it's not like we didn't have a permit for that park for every Tuesday evening may through October). Yeah I am still pissed off about that glitch. but overall I am really pleased with both markets.
Now, if we can get the farm store off the ground we will be golden. The farm store, I am afraid, is not thriving the way the other markets are. I believe a lot of this has to do with lack of publicity. The people who need to know about us do not. The local population (PC/Eaton) simply does not care much about local and organic foods. Most seem to be very content to shop at the local Wal-Mart and eat awful processed food. I suppose in another 10 to 15 years the locals will realize that local and organic is the only safe way to eat. But for now, they do not. So I have to get the word out to people in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas that we exist and are well worth the effort to find. I don't know if paid ads are the way to go or to just depend on the local Harvest/New farm/Boulder Belt Website listings. I have recently found a great list serv called Cincinnati Locavores that is full of people seeking local foods. they only problem is few on the list seem willing to drive out to the farms to get food off season. They all want the food no more than 5 to 10 minutes away, just like Wal-Mart or Kroger's
As long as the FDA and USDA keep on providing all of us with scary suspect food I can see only growth for local food and that should mean better and better sales in 2008.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
It's Hot
I thought it was hot for the 127 Yard Sale (and it was) but this week is even hotter. Yesterday took a half day off and went to Richmond, IN for a late lunch and a movie (saw The Simpson's-an okay movie, not as good as many TeeVee episodes but the A/C was cold and kept us comfortable for 95 minutes or so) and it was 103F (41C) at 4pm.
This kind of heat makes farm work difficult. I work early before the heat sets in and try to get everything done before 11am. Today, for example, I have to harvest strawberries, haricot verts and tomatoes at the very least. I will also try and get some leeks in as a woman mentioned Tuesday she wanted to buy some leeks from us either today or tomorrow. Eugene is very bothered by the all weeds (mostly Queen Anne's lace, which is quite pretty) in the tomato/pepper area so he will likely get out the weed eater and whack weed this morning after the done with watering chores. By noon we will be done with work as it will likely be right around 100F and the humidity will be high (it already is at 6am) making it hard to move or think
So we will retire to the house for the afternoon (except for forays out to the store whenever a customer comes by). In heat like this we shut the house up during the day and close all the curtains. This keeps the hot air out and the house will stay below 84F even when it gets above 100F. With ceiling fans running it is pretty comfortable, even with 2 humans, 3 dogs and a cat generating heat. At night we open all the windows and put fans in a few (some are exhausting air others are bringing cool air in) to circulate cool air into the house. What I find ironic, is we do exactly the same thing when it is cold in winter-close all curtains/windows (only to keep heat IN, not out) only we do not open the house up at night in winter.
I am so glad we do not have chickens right now. This kind of heat is literally murder on the rock cornish cross birds. Once the temps get above 95F these birds get really miserable and if the temps are above 100F they will start dying in droves unless hey are kept cool. Since we have no AC out here in the sticks I guess we would run cold water on their portable coops to bring down the temps in those and make life bearable for them. The only thing is, we are in a drought, our well has to be getting low with all the irrigation we do and I don't believe would have the water to cool chickens, irrigate the garden and have water for the house. So it is just as well we don't have chickens at this time-fewer things to worry about.
I see the dawn is breaking so it is time to get motivated
This kind of heat makes farm work difficult. I work early before the heat sets in and try to get everything done before 11am. Today, for example, I have to harvest strawberries, haricot verts and tomatoes at the very least. I will also try and get some leeks in as a woman mentioned Tuesday she wanted to buy some leeks from us either today or tomorrow. Eugene is very bothered by the all weeds (mostly Queen Anne's lace, which is quite pretty) in the tomato/pepper area so he will likely get out the weed eater and whack weed this morning after the done with watering chores. By noon we will be done with work as it will likely be right around 100F and the humidity will be high (it already is at 6am) making it hard to move or think
So we will retire to the house for the afternoon (except for forays out to the store whenever a customer comes by). In heat like this we shut the house up during the day and close all the curtains. This keeps the hot air out and the house will stay below 84F even when it gets above 100F. With ceiling fans running it is pretty comfortable, even with 2 humans, 3 dogs and a cat generating heat. At night we open all the windows and put fans in a few (some are exhausting air others are bringing cool air in) to circulate cool air into the house. What I find ironic, is we do exactly the same thing when it is cold in winter-close all curtains/windows (only to keep heat IN, not out) only we do not open the house up at night in winter.
I am so glad we do not have chickens right now. This kind of heat is literally murder on the rock cornish cross birds. Once the temps get above 95F these birds get really miserable and if the temps are above 100F they will start dying in droves unless hey are kept cool. Since we have no AC out here in the sticks I guess we would run cold water on their portable coops to bring down the temps in those and make life bearable for them. The only thing is, we are in a drought, our well has to be getting low with all the irrigation we do and I don't believe would have the water to cool chickens, irrigate the garden and have water for the house. So it is just as well we don't have chickens at this time-fewer things to worry about.
I see the dawn is breaking so it is time to get motivated
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Harvesting for Winter
I am waiting for rain that is not coming. A cold front is moving through the region this morning and it was supposed to bring a lot of rain our way but it seems that the rain has fizzled out. C'est la vie. The market garden will have to continue to depend on well water irrigation for now.
It is Wednesday and we have no markets to deal with today and we did not sell many strawberries yesterday at the Tuesday market so today I am going to make strawberry jam, something I have not done in years. I think I will also freeze some green beans and can the apple sauce Eugene made last night since it is going to be reasonably cool today and tonight.
A big part of gardening is being able to put food up for winter. This seems to be a foreign concept to most Americans and that is a huge shame. When I had a CSA, early on I would purposely give members a lot of food and instructions on how to freeze, dry or can the extra food so they would have pure local food in winter time, thus stretching their food dollars. In the ten years I ran a CSA I had maybe 3 members who got that idea. Wot a shame.
I take great joy in putting food by. Yes, it takes time and is often hot sweaty labor but come winter when we are feasting on beans, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, corn, pesto, dried herbs, garlic powder, peas, jams and jellies, applesauce, etc., it is well worth the work done in the heat of summer. It saves us boat loads of money in winter when money is always in short supply for us and we do not have to worry about where our food came from or with what it has been adulterated. That and it is very satisfying to have shelves full of beautiful jars of homemade food and freezers full of produce and chicken that we raised.
If you raise a garden and do not already can dry freeze and otherwise preserve your harvest you should start because otherwise you are not taking full advantage of what your garden is producing. If you buy at farmers markets buy extra and freeze or can it. If you belong o a CSA and cannot eat all the food each week, instead of giving it away or trashing it, put it up for winter. It takes just a few hours per week to do this. Your co-operative extension office will have loads of information on putting food by.
It is Wednesday and we have no markets to deal with today and we did not sell many strawberries yesterday at the Tuesday market so today I am going to make strawberry jam, something I have not done in years. I think I will also freeze some green beans and can the apple sauce Eugene made last night since it is going to be reasonably cool today and tonight.
A big part of gardening is being able to put food up for winter. This seems to be a foreign concept to most Americans and that is a huge shame. When I had a CSA, early on I would purposely give members a lot of food and instructions on how to freeze, dry or can the extra food so they would have pure local food in winter time, thus stretching their food dollars. In the ten years I ran a CSA I had maybe 3 members who got that idea. Wot a shame.
I take great joy in putting food by. Yes, it takes time and is often hot sweaty labor but come winter when we are feasting on beans, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, corn, pesto, dried herbs, garlic powder, peas, jams and jellies, applesauce, etc., it is well worth the work done in the heat of summer. It saves us boat loads of money in winter when money is always in short supply for us and we do not have to worry about where our food came from or with what it has been adulterated. That and it is very satisfying to have shelves full of beautiful jars of homemade food and freezers full of produce and chicken that we raised.
If you raise a garden and do not already can dry freeze and otherwise preserve your harvest you should start because otherwise you are not taking full advantage of what your garden is producing. If you buy at farmers markets buy extra and freeze or can it. If you belong o a CSA and cannot eat all the food each week, instead of giving it away or trashing it, put it up for winter. It takes just a few hours per week to do this. Your co-operative extension office will have loads of information on putting food by.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Tempting Rain
Another weather post.
The last decent rain we received was May 16th.
Late last week we were supposed to get big storms. We were even under a severe Thunderstorm watch most of the day Friday but got nothing more than a trace of rain around 1pm.
My theory is, because we keep getting too prepared for the rain by removing all 40 or so row covers, rolling up car windows, bringing things in that should not get wet like full chicken feeders, tools, water soluble amendments, etc., the rain purposefully misses us.
Instead of bringing in things and removing row covers we need to be putting out laundry, washing cars, running irrigation-basically scoffing at Ma Nature and her withholding of the rain.
In past dry years we have noted often, within 24 hours of getting the irrigation system totally set up and functional it starts raining and keeps on doing so. The more difficult the job the better the long term rain chances.
This year the job is difficult because we are trying to use the system from the other farm and it is not the same size. It's maddeningly close to fitting in but not quite there. So new feeder lines have been needed to be cut to get the drip tapes where they need to be and a lot of new drip tape has been cut to accommodate all the additional beds we now have. Sometime today or tomorrow the system ought to be completed. So we should be getting good rains by mid week.
If not, we have a good well and a lot of irrigation to keep the crops growing
The last decent rain we received was May 16th.
Late last week we were supposed to get big storms. We were even under a severe Thunderstorm watch most of the day Friday but got nothing more than a trace of rain around 1pm.
My theory is, because we keep getting too prepared for the rain by removing all 40 or so row covers, rolling up car windows, bringing things in that should not get wet like full chicken feeders, tools, water soluble amendments, etc., the rain purposefully misses us.
Instead of bringing in things and removing row covers we need to be putting out laundry, washing cars, running irrigation-basically scoffing at Ma Nature and her withholding of the rain.
In past dry years we have noted often, within 24 hours of getting the irrigation system totally set up and functional it starts raining and keeps on doing so. The more difficult the job the better the long term rain chances.
This year the job is difficult because we are trying to use the system from the other farm and it is not the same size. It's maddeningly close to fitting in but not quite there. So new feeder lines have been needed to be cut to get the drip tapes where they need to be and a lot of new drip tape has been cut to accommodate all the additional beds we now have. Sometime today or tomorrow the system ought to be completed. So we should be getting good rains by mid week.
If not, we have a good well and a lot of irrigation to keep the crops growing
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
We Got Rain
After several weeks of hot, bone dry weather we had some severe storms roll through our area last night giving us over an inch of rain.
The storms made Nate very nervous as they always do. He alternated between sitting on my foot and pacing around whining.
We got lucky as the storms were just winding up as they passed over us and got much worse when they hit Dayton, OH and points east. We got some good 40mph gusts but no hail and no 'nados. So no harm, no foul and in the morning a lot of happy plants.
This is a good thing as we find ourselves short of irrigation supplies and the few beds were have been irrigating with drip tape have caused a constant wet spot around the font. This leak is not good and Eugene feels he must dig a hole and see if the pipe has come loose or if it is just the pressure valve malfunctioning because of all the back pressure caused by running low flow drip tape for 10 hours at a stretch. Now if we are entering into a wet period this will all be moot because we will not be running irrigation very often.
The storms made Nate very nervous as they always do. He alternated between sitting on my foot and pacing around whining.
We got lucky as the storms were just winding up as they passed over us and got much worse when they hit Dayton, OH and points east. We got some good 40mph gusts but no hail and no 'nados. So no harm, no foul and in the morning a lot of happy plants.
This is a good thing as we find ourselves short of irrigation supplies and the few beds were have been irrigating with drip tape have caused a constant wet spot around the font. This leak is not good and Eugene feels he must dig a hole and see if the pipe has come loose or if it is just the pressure valve malfunctioning because of all the back pressure caused by running low flow drip tape for 10 hours at a stretch. Now if we are entering into a wet period this will all be moot because we will not be running irrigation very often.
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