The day the greenhouse nearly burned down.....

It's taken me more then a month to recover from this incident enough to write a blog entry about it.  It's a good story and an important lesson in fire safety which is why I feel compelled to share it.  It's also just another little adventure on the farm that serves to keep us humble and appreciative of what we have going on here.
It was an early April evening and I'd just finished seeding dozens of flats of pepper and eggplant seeds in our newly built greenhouse.  As the sun set, I prepared to light a fire in our newly installed woodstove which we had put in with the hope of reducing our propane dependence (and costs!).  The stove had come from a friend's home and it arrived full of long dead ashes which we had shovelled out into a plastic pail when we had installed it.  Now, a few days later, the ashes had built up in the stove again and I thought it best to shovel them out before lighting the evening fire.  Without thinking (obviously), I grabbed the plastic pail and piled the fresh ashes in, placing it back beside the door when I was done.  After stoking the fire, I headed up to the house to get ready for an evening trip to the sugar shack.  About an hour later as I'm heading out the door for the maple bush, I decide to peek in at the fire to make sure it's burning well before I take off for the night.  As I approached the door, I immediately knew something was wrong...I couldn't see through the transparent plastic walls of the greenhouse.  When I threw open the door, I figured out why...the entire greenhouse was full of thick black smoke.  All I could see through the smoke was flames shooting up from the base of our electrical panel (not a good sight!).  I somehow had the good sense to run to turn off the breaker to the greenhouse and then promptly froze, not knowing what to do next.  I called my friend and told her the greenhouse was on fire....she (not so calmly) suggested I find the fire extinguisher and put it out.  Which I did.  When the smoke cleared, we assessed the damage.  Gone were the plastic pail of ashes, a hose, a fan, 10 trays of eggplant seeds and the wooden base of the electrical panel.  The conduit (containing the wires) was burnt to a crisp.  Amazingly the plastic greenhouse covering was undamaged as was the rest of the structure.  By all accounts if I'd been out there a mere 5 minutes later, the greenhouse (and hundreds of trays of seedlings) would have gone up in smoke.  A month later, and after a visit from the electrician, there is virtually no evidence of the blaze. 
Lessons learned:
-  Don't put live ashes in plastic pails
-  Own a fire extinguisher (and know where it is and how to use it)
-  Don't underestimate the destructive power of fire
Now that I've recovered from the trauma of almost destroying my livelihood in one evening, I can look back and appreciate the way things worked out, the lessons learned and the adventures I'm having pursuing this farming career.  On to the next one!  Stay tuned...

The many faces of community in agriculture

As a community shared agriculture farmer I often spout the benefits of community-based farming.  The CSA model is based on a mutually beneficial community model where the farmer supports the eaters by providing healthy, fresh produce; the eaters support the farmer by providing a steady market for their products; and the whole system supports the local economy and environment.  Basically it's a win-win situation and I would encourage anyone who eats to join a CSA to experience first-hand the benefits of being part of a local food system.  Now that I've got that mandatory spiel out of my system, I wanted to write about a few recent experiences that have gotten me thinking about the broader agricultural community. 
The first such experience has been my spring ritual at the maple sugar bush.  Since arriving in this community 5 years ago, it has been an annual occurrence of mine to help out at Don & Sheila Morden's sugar bush.  With over 1400 taps, and collecting sap the old fashioned way, with buckets and a horse-drawn sleigh, the harvest of maple sap is most certainly a community event.  When the weather is right and the sap is flowing, Sheila makes a few phone calls and by mid-afternoon the bush is full of bucket-toting sap collectors.  When the job is done, everyone gathers back at the sugar shack for snacks and conversation.  Many of the 'hired hands' are paid in maple syrup, which seems to suit them just fine.  I myself have a barter arrangement with Don who plants & digs my potatoes in exchange for my help during syrup season.  Maple syrup season at the Morden's is an event I look forward to every spring and a wonderful example of the type of community that makes rural areas thrive.
The other experience that has me pondering the meaning of community in agriculture has been my annual spring purchases of tools and equipment necessary to embark on the growing season.  Farming in an area with large Mennonite and Amish populations certainly has its advantages in this respect.  It's taken me awhile to get to know various members of these communities but now that I do, an amazing and diverse number of resources have presented themselves to me.  I used to have to source everything for my greenhouse and market garden operation from large suppliers down south but now have found a local source for just about everything I need.  It's a different way of going about it- you can't just google 'biodegradable plastic mulch' and come up with the name of the Amish family who supplies it (and an amazing range of other gardening equipment) out of the shed at their family farm.  Similarly, I would have had no way of finding Danny Schmidt on my own who supplied me with organically-raised Berkshire piglets (he doesn't have a phone).  When I ran out of potting trays this spring, it was a short trip to Elmira to buy a box from a Mennonite fellow who buys bulk greenhouse supplies to make them available to small farmers at a reasonable price.  I've been blown away by the strong agricultural community that exists in our area....if you know where to go looking for it.  And there's only one way to figure that out it seems...by talking to your neighbours. 
Oh yeah, and while we're on the topic of community in agriculture...if you haven't joined a CSA yet...now's your chance.

The importance of a good fence.

We need some good fences.  As our roster of livestock grows, it's become clear that the makeshift fence situation we have on our hands is not going to suffice.  Last summer our neighbour's critters who were pasturing here had a very broad definition of free-range as they grazed across our whole farm, onto our other neighbour's fields and down the road.  This winter, with a little time for research I found a couple grant opportunities that will allow us to fence most of our pastures for free (lucky for us all of our pastures border onto a river, so the government is keen to help us keep critters out of the waterway).  I had booked an appointment for a fencing consultant to come out to the farm to take some measurements as soon as the snow melted.  Monday was that day.  The fencing man (who will remain anonymous) arrived at the farm a little early.  I looked out to see him pull up just as our one pet goat squeezed herself under the fence (for the 3rd time that day) to greet him.  Trying to play it cool, I joked about how she was demonstrating for him just how crappy our fences were.  Not wanting to waste his time, I told him I'd put her back in her pen when we were finished the measurements (secretly I knew she'd be back out again in 3 seconds so really there was no point).  We headed off towards the river with 2 dogs and goat on our heels.  Once we measured everything we could on our side of the river, we realized there was no way to get across the freezing, fast flowing water.  Our little bridge had long been washed away with the spring thaw.  No problem I told him, my neighbour has a bridge, we'll just walk along the river and cross there.  Well, the bridge was further then I recalled, and I couldn't help but feel bad as I lead him huffing and puffing through bush and fields and across the river into my neighbours maple bush (goat and 2 dogs still in tow).  As luck would have it, my neighbour happened to be back there tapping his trees at the time so he was able to take in the site of this motley parade through his bush.  Thirty minutes of trekking later, we arrive back at my property to measure the last pasture.  Feeling bad, I offer to try to construct a bridge out of branches while he finishes the measurements.  As soon as he is out of site, I call my friend who is up at the house and beg for help to remedy my desperate and embarrassing situation.  She heads down to the river with some hip waders.  The first one makes it across no problem, the second one rebounds off a tree branch and lands in the fast flowing water.  The fence man arrives back at the river just in time to see the two of us frantically chasing the boot along the banks.  Finally, the golden retriever comes to the rescue, jumps in and retrieves the boot.  We're back to square one with how to get across the river.  As soil man records his measurements I decide to risk a soaker in hopes of regaining a little of my dignity.  I amble my way onto a branch which promptly dislodges itself from the shore and drops me into the river.  I trudge across through the water anyhow noting just how cold the river is in March.  This leaves soil man, one dog and goat still stranded across the river.  After a few more hopeless attempts at bridge construction he declares he will just walk around back to the road through my other neighbour's field.  'Don't worry, I'll bring your goat' he calls out as he heads off.  At this point I'm wet, cold, and almost ready to die of embarrassment.  After quickly changing my clothes back at the house, I drive my truck over to where he'll come out at the road and casually offer him a ride back as he emerges (goat and puppy close behind).  He declines the ride (probably because he thinks I'm a lunatic by this point) and walks back.  I wrestle goat and puppy into the back of the truck and head home.  Of course the goat jumps out of the truck as we near the laneway, we've come way too far for her to be cooperative at this point.  I drag her back to the barn, explaining all the way just how tasty she might be for dinner if she keeps this up.  Soil man is very polite as he bids me farewell and promises to send me a quote for my fencing needs.  I have a feeling I may never hear from him again.  Just another day on the farm I guess.

GE alfalfa- a worrisome time for organic farmers

It's a worrisome time for organic farmers in Canada.  In January, the USDA de-regulated the use of genetically modified alfalfa, allowing its unrestricted planting throughout the United States.  The issue is now at the forefront for Canadian farmers as the House of Commons works towards a decision on the same issue.  To date, there are a handful of GE crops that have been approved for use in Canada including GE corn, soybeans, canola, and sugar beet.  These GE cash crops all present somewhat of a threat to the integrity of organic farms but the possible introduction of alfalfa brings a whole new set of concerns.  For one, alfalfa is a perennial commonly grown in pastures used to feed livestock, which means it is around for several years and able to produce viable seed that can contaminate organic pastures.  Here at reroot organic farm, we pasture-raise all of our livestock which means we would be susceptible to contamination from neighbouring farms choosing to grow GE alfalfa.  Secondly, alfalfa is pollinated by bees and other insects which increases the risk of contamination as bees travel from field to field collecting nectar and distributing pollen.  Although there is no research that I've found documenting the effects of GE alfalfa on honey bees, as a beekeeper this is also a major concern.  In recent years it's been challenging enough to keep our bees healthy and the unknown effects of these modified crops on the well-being of our important pollinators should be a concern to all who eat.  Finally, alfalfa is a legume which can be planted to help fix nitrogen in the soil.  Organic farmers commonly plant legumes to add fertility to their soils in lieu of the chemical fertilizers used in conventional agriculture.  If GE alfalfa is approved and the seed sources of alfalfa become contaminated with the modified gene, this will effectively remove alfalfa as a possible crop on organic farms. 

On Thursday, March 10, the House of Commons Agriculture Committee will vote on a new Liberal Party motion for a moratorium on the approval of GM alfalfa. Your actions before March 10 could make this moratorium happen.

If this issue concerns you, please take time to contact your MP in the next couple days.  Information can be found on the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) website http://www.cban.ca/alfalfa.

Calm before the storm

I'm sitting on a screened porch of our friends beautiful Georgian mansion, listening to the birds sing and basking in the sunshine.  March is coming fast and with it the busyness of the season begins with seeding in the greenhouse, preparing the fields for planting and the barn for new critters.  A new commitment of mine is to get away every February for a little rest before the excitement of the new season is upon me.  This time we headed south with many stops along the way.  I won't bore you with tales of our time on the beach but instead tell you a bit about our first stop at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture annual conference.  What an inspiring group of farmers!  I took in many workshops on topics from beekeeping to apple orchards to post-harvest handling techniques.  The one that blew me away the most was one on mob-grazing by Greg Judy.  He's a farmer who brought himself back from the brink of bankruptcy by implementing this new type of grazing on his land.  Basically it involves concentrating a fairly large number of livestock on a fairly small portion of pasture....which may not sound like a great idea.  But the trick is he moves them so frequently to new pastures that the animals always have more then enough to eat.  The benefit you ask.....the natural processes of livestock grazing heavily on an area while also depositing large amounts of manure and working it into the ground with their hooves revitalizes the soil and stimulates the microbes so much that a mediocre pasture soon becomes first class and your ability to graze more animals without increasing your landbase is constantly on the rise.  This fellow grazes cows, sheep, goats and pigs all together in his mobs and has found a very profitable way to raise very high quality meat.  Needless to say this workshop left me ruminating about all the possibilities on the pastures at reroot organic farm.....

Tractor Shopping

Farming is full of new challenges and steep learning curves for me, but by far my biggest challenge is understanding the world of mechanics.  It simply is not my strong suit and although over the years I've become quite adept at driving these big machines, buying one is a totally different can of worms.  After moving to our new farm last year, we've been in the market for a loader tractor to do our field work and other chores around the place.  I've spent hours pouring over website listings and used equipment catalogs finding myself ever more intimidated by the terms and numbers and the prospect of buying a lemon.  Enter Hal, my secret weapon.  Hal is a middle-aged friend of a friend and a tractor genius.  He smokes a lot, drinks a lot, swears a lot and spits a lot.  The first time I met him (okay, the first three times I met him) I was scared of him.  But he's turned out to be an incredibly helpful and supportive resource in the hunt for the perfect tractor.  A case of 50 is your ticket through the door of his shop, and once you're in, you're there for the afternoon to hear lots of stories, check out the latest piece of equipment he's working on and drink probably too many 50's.  All fall when I came across a listing that I thought sounded like the perfect tractor I'd call Hal, give him the name and model number and listen to his critique.  It took me 4 months to find a tractor that Hal would even agree to come and look at (he refuses to fix John Deere's so that eliminated a large portion of available used tractors).  Finally, one January afternoon after a few beers, we load into my truck to head out for a look at a Massey Ferguson 165.  On the way, I get a lesson about bargaining.  Once there, Hal puts the tractor through the third degree, looks at everything, teaches the guy selling it a thing or two and gives me a discreet nod to offer the previously agreed upon bid.  The guy won't budge so we're off again to see the next tractor.  An afternoon with Hal is an educational experience to say the least.  At the end of the day, my lungs and liver are a little worse for the wear, but I know a whole lot more about tractors and have a bid in on a great little Massey Ferguson 265 that passed Hal's tests.  I'll find out tomorrow if I'll get this tractor....if I do, I think I'll name it 'Hal'.

Welcome to our blog...

It's winter and a season when farmers' have lots of time on their hands and big plans for the coming season.  We're hoping this blog will provide an opportunity for us at reroot organic farm to share some of the stories from our fields, barn and beyond.  We can't promise how frequently we'll find the time to make posts here, especially once the season is in full swing, but we can promise that farming is a lifestyle full of adventure, hard-work, innovation, heartbreak and fulfillment.  We'll share as much of that here as we can.