My 50th Birthday Epic Partay

The Beginning of the semi-informative Farm Tour

Spring Chickens

A Rare Shot of the Blogger (and one of her hens)

Putting in a Bed of Cabbage

Cabbage seedling hardening off in a cold frame

Here they are in a hoophouse where we quickly put them due to a thunder shower that postponed planting them for an hour

The flat of cabbage seedlings ready to transplant

Eugene is raking the bed after tilling it a final time

Bringing in bricks to weigh down the row cover that will go over the plants after they are in the ground

Adding phostrell and a general fertilizer

cabbage seedlings ready to go in the prepared holes

But before the seedlings go in the ground the fertilizers need to be mixed and the hole depth needs to be a little deeper

Mixing

Eugene popping cabbage seedlings into the soil

Transplanting complete

This is of a wire hoop in the fore ground. The rocks are what we use to keep the row covers down. We do 6 to 7 hoops per 50' and need 14 to 16 rocks to keep the covers in place. We have all these things in place before we plant the seedlings so they go on ASAP after the transplanting is done.

Laying out a piece of row cover. We buy 1000'rolls and cut what we need and than reuse it as long as possible. This cover is on its' second use

All done.

Happy Spring!

Go Global, Think Local at Boulder Belt Eco-Farm

Written by Lauren Schwab

Sunday, 17 March 2013 20:00

Go Global, Think Local at Boulder Belt Eco-Farm Find health and renewal in a farm couple's philosophy to sell the best and compost the rest. Learn how their traditional approach to farming is protecting our planet one bite at a time.  The Boulder Belt Eco-Farm provides local, sustainable organic food for Tri-State residents From the farm gate to your table plate, Boulder Belt Eco-Farm is committed to growing local, sustainable organic food. "We are committed to raising the best, sustainably grown food you can buy and to growing local food systems in South West Ohio," says owner Lucy Goodman. Eugene and Lucy Goodman own and operate a small Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm. The couple produces a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs and pastured poultry for Farm Share Members. Boulder Belt is located in Preble County, just one mile north of Eaton on US 127. Boulder Belt Eco-Farm began in 1993. The first garden consisted of a few pepper plants, a small row of blue lake green beans and pears trees. "Suddenly we were faced with growing piles of food. Being from town, I had no idea about putting up food other than some vague romantic notions of homesteading. Romance became pragmatism and soon we owned a chest freezer. I froze a lot of beans and peppers that year and we joked about finding a farmer's market and selling veggies the next year," Goodman says. The couple learned about sustainable market farming for 12 years then bought their farm in 2005. They soon grew from a small garden plot to several acres of beds scattered over a 10-acre space. They began raising chickens for pastured meat and eggs. "We have lots of other plans that will be revealed as time goes on. We plan to have several commercially made greenhouses, as opposed to movable, unheated and homemade hoop houses. We are growing our Farm Share Initiative as we go away from farmers markets and more towards all on farm sales," Goodman says. Boulder Belt Eco-Farm sells 90 percent of their product to direct customers and 10 percent to the Moon Co-Op farm market store in Oxford. They supply a farm share for CSA subscribers. This is a way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. A farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. The share consists of produce, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share or subscription and in return receive seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. Eugene and Lucy Goodman, owners of Boulder Belt Eco-Farm The couple has learned the growth and financial success network marketing and social media can bring to a business owner. Facebook has increased their ability to market and promote local sustainable farming. They can tell their farm story through photographs, videos and writing. Lucy Goodman knows first-hand the challenges women can face in business. "Women tend to give a lot away; I think it is a care giver thing. We tend to undersell. I learned you have to be a price leader and maker at your market," explains Goodman, "Some women think they are not good enough to earn more money. When you raise your price, people will know it is worth more." Boulder Belt Eco-Farm believes in doing what is right for the planet. "We are committed to growing our food sustainably and locally because food grown sustainably and locally is healthier for both us and the planet. Animals raised on wholesome food, fresh air and sunshine are happier and healthier," explains Goodman, "We invite the public out to our farm to see how we do what we do and ask questions. This is how you can learn more about the food you eat and how to eat wholesome, local nutritious food." To learn more about CSA and Boulder Belt-Eco Farm, visit localharvest.org. Learn more about the farm, view pictures and videos at boulderbeltfarm.com, "Like" their Facebook page, call (937) 456-9724 or email boulderbelt@embarqmail.com. Lauren Schwab - Lauren Schwab is a Cincy Chic editorial intern. Contact her at lschwab@cincychic.com.

Every Tortilla is an Individual

Screaming Ghost

Some Guy

Moonscape

7 Reasons to Eat Ethically

I was interviewed for this several weeks ago and I am reason #4

7 Reasons To Eat Local, Sustainable Food

Posted on Dec 2012 By Eden Canon Interviews, Issue 4 Holiday 2012

Are you debating whether local, responsibly produced food is worth the extra expense and effort?  Here’s what farmers, producers and restauranteurs want you to know.

Wake up and connect food back to medicine. Eating the Standard American Diet is the shortest road to obesity, cancer, autoimmune disorders, inflammation, asthma…you name it. Unconscious, government trusting, corporate trusting people are going to die pretty darn quick…all in the name of long shelf life and FOOD INC profits. Darwin will figure this whole thing out in just a few generations. It is truly sad. Those that learn to cook and eat whole organic foods again will thrive. Simple as that. Get to know your farmer and get to know your food. Your life is at stake.

Mark McAfee, Organic Pastures

Getting back to the sustainable and local, I think it’s a no brainer. Maybe that’s because this is my world but if you could buy things in season and locally, you’re king of the hill.  You’re getting it fresher and its going to be the most nutritious, and most likely the most delicious.  You’re keeping the money within the community.  You’re supporting small-scale family farming.  You’re helping to maintain agricultural land instead of letting it turn into a strip mall.

Andy Powning, Greenleaf

I would say it is absolutely worth it.  You can taste the difference and feel good about doing it.

Clayton Chapman, The Grey Plume

It is so worth it—the food is much, much better (fresher and varieties that no grocery store will ever sell); you are directly supporting farmers who are farming in a way that is not detrimental to the Earth and not to faceless middle people. Plus it is really fun to get to know the people who grow your food, which you can do if you shop at your local farmers market or join a CSA (a real CSA that has a farm that the members can visit and is not just a buying club for Organic foods with no farm/farmer connection). Maybe 1 in 10 people in the US know a real farmer—be a part of that minority!

Lucy Owsley-Goodman, Boulder Belt Eco Farm

It’s your responsibility as a citizen on this planet.

Maria Hines, Tilth Restaurant

Every bite supports a local farm. Every bite keeps that farm from being sold and turned into another crappy strip mall or cul de sac development.

Steven Grasse, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

 What you put into your body is really important and so I think it behooves anybody to at least do their research to find out where that food is coming from, how it’s raised, how it’s processed.
And if you don’t care you might be buying a product from somebody who might not care either.

Mary Rickert, Prather Ranch

Pastured Chickens and Snow

We recently got 18 laying hens in short noticed and we were not at all prepared other than we had some chicken food, fencing, feeders, waters and chicken tractors designed for meat birds. So we used what we had and Eugene quickly put together a mobile chicken coop out of stuff lying around the farm. We introduced the hens to their 2nd new living situation in under 2 weeks and they liked it and settled in and all was well for about 3 weeks.

The weather was mild and mostly dry with low winds but as Christmas neared rumors of a winter advisory started circulating on the weather TV stations and websites. As time marched on that advisory became a winter storm watch, than winter storm warning. Than about 24 hours before the snow hit us a Blizzard warning was issued.

A Blizzard! What to do about the chickens as we knew from past experience chickens do not like snow at all and high winds were predicted and that meant that snow would get up into the mobile coop itself as it has hardware cloth for flooring to allow the poop to fall to the soil below and fertilize the ground. A great concept in any weather but snow, especially a blizzard.

So what does a farm that specializes in season extension using simple hoop houses do when a big snow is predicted? Put up a hoophouse over the chickens and their mobile laying tractor plus two other smaller tractors, that what. And it worked. The hoophouse has kept the snow and wind off the hens who have stayed warm and dry and quite happy walking around eating grain and the greens we harvest for them out of hoophouses that have greens growing in them.

This has been an excellent and cheap solution to heavy snow conditions for us.

Cold and snowy outside

But inside we have happy birds

Eugene is checking for eggs and Nate is hunting chicken "by products"

Melon came in too much to the hens' dismay

Closing up the hoophouse

Good Bye

Getting Ready for The Boxing Day Storm

It is Christmas today according to both the Christian religious calendar and the capitalist economic calendar and that means for many people around the world, a day off. But it is not a day off for the Boulder belt farmers. We did try to take the day off, we really did. I even postponed the Winter Share pick ups that should have happened this week to Feb 5/7th. But the weather has dictated that we work today, at least for a few hours harvesting and washing rutabagas, carrots, parsnips and golden ball turnips for the Winter share pick up that will happen next Thursday January 3rd. This is because we are now under a winter storm warning that predicts we will get at least 6" of snow tomorrow. A Boxing Day Storm. And 6"+ of snow means it will be quite difficult to harvest anything and about impossible to get at the root crops. And the mice and voles will get quite active under all the snow cover and will likely start eating the roots, especially the rutabagas and turnips

Rainbow carrots, They may not look like much now but they clean up nicely

So this morning we dug and pulled a lot of roots out of partially frozen earth and under very frozen and quite stiff row covers (with about 1/2 the rocks stuck firmly in place)

Freshly Pulled Golden ball Turnips

The Chickens get a hoophouse to get through the storm. This will keep the snow and wind off and hopefully the will be happy.

Golden Turnips under a very frozen cover

The roots will be topped, we will save the greens for the laying hens (that's right we have layer again after a 9 year absence) so they can have greens even though there is snow on the ground covering up everything. Than they will be washed and put in the fridge for safe keeping.

 Merry Christmas!

We Have Layers

After 10 years without laying hens and 7 years on this new farm without them we finally jumped on the Eggmobile and now are the proud stewards of 18 golden comet hens. Right before Thanksgiving my friend and fellow farmer, Debra Bowles, emailed me asking if I wanted to take 40 laying hens that an octogenarian wanted to get rid of. I thought abut it for a minute, asked Eugene if he was interested and we decided that it was time to get back into pastured eggs. So after several days of phone tag with a guy named Brian with whom we were going to split the hens we ended up going straight to the farm where the hens lived and picked up 18. We were supposed to get 20 of them but counted badly so ended up with 18. We got the girls home on Saturday morning and that is when they started their new lives as pastured poultry, something completely new to them. The first few hours were obviously terrifying to some of them but all of them have come around and now seem to be happy being outside where there are always interesting things to do and eat. Already they have learned wings are for flapping (something they could not do in their tiny coop), dust/dirt baths are great and chickweed is a wonderful thing to eat. Unfortunately we were not at all set up for layers when we got the message that these hens needed a home so right now they are living in tractors meant for meat birds that we have cobbled nesting boxes and roosts into. But by this evening or sometime tomorrow they will have a brand spanking new mobile egg house to in which to live. As it is we lose a couple of eggs a day due to poor laying conditions for the girls but considering we get an average of 15 eggs a day we can afford to lose a few at first

Eugene brings the first crate of hens into their pasture

The hens did not want to leave their crates

So we lifted them out and they soon started wandering around checking out their new digs

Temporary living quarters

The first 13 eggs laid