Farm Report, by Hall Gibson
A Transition Year
Some of you longtime members of our CSA must have noted some changes from previous years. There have been many such changes, so I cannot cover all of them in detail in this sketchy newsletter. The most significant change was my releasing Fuad after nearly eight years of his service as field manager of our vegetable crops. Many factors influenced his release, two of them being high net operating costs and my strong desire to guide our field operations toward the radically new methods of creating permanent growing beds separated by permanent sod strips. I have called this the “sod strip experiment.”
While I released Fuad at the end of February 2004, he remained at Ryder Farm because Betsy Ryder then employed him in her flower and vegetable operation here. In the meantime, Fuad’s status as an aspiring U.S. citizen is much improved. With the help of an immigration lawyer and my posting of a $5000 bond for his release from a Homeland Defense detention center, his prospects for U.S. citizenship are bright. Not so bright is the refund of my $5000 bond, which remains stuck in confinement at an INS bureaucratic “detention center” of unknown location.
The “sod strip experiment” has not actually begun. Assembling the special and custom-made implements is even now not completed. A major item, a three-row seeder, arrived late in the summer yet proved to be too long even for my stretch-modified tractor. With a few more modifications, I expect to begin this autumn to lay out some of the permanent beds for the 2005 season.
In the autumn of 2003, I began a serious search for a successor to Fuad. Several qualified individuals and couples responded, but, in the end, none accepted my offers. Finally, in the spring I decided to proceed with this growing season as well as my rusty skills and octogenarian energy would allow.
Helping Hands
Understanding my needs, many friends of Ryder Farm have stepped forth to help the CSA operation continue without serious delay or interruption this year. Early among them were Corina and Gary Hohenstein. Corina, having been at Ryder Farm as an inter-exchange student in the early ‘90s knew what needed to be done, and she and Gary did it with their exemplary skill and industry. Our CSA members have benefited from their efforts in many crops, most notably lettuce and carrots.
Another notable pair is Evelyn and Beverly, both local garden enthusiasts. Mostly, they have shown up each Wednesday morning to work a half-day in the greenhouse or do direct seeding in the fields. Two new members, Erica and Lauren, with recent college (Smith & Hampshire) experiences in organic growing, have demonstrated their skills and energy on many days in our fields.
As for the past 20 to 25 years, undergraduate students have also helped us, by spending most of their summer vacations working with us. Bogdan came to us in early July from a university in Romania, and will stay until the end of September. He is very innovative and energetic, and is liked by everyone. Our “Farm Cadet” from John Bowne High School, Queens, is 17-year-old Jian. Jian has an intriguing background of being from Beijing and Budapest before arriving at John Bowne. She seems to be “having a ball.”
Closer to home is Kathleen, who has been living with us at “Kay Hall” for the past few years. Like the others, she has made an extra effort this year, becoming the key person in timely harvesting and getting the weekly share bags properly marked, filled, and ready on time.
Then there are the heavy-duty helpers. Three young Ecuadorian women, Gladys, Tanya, and Cecelia, who now live in Carmel and take a taxi to work, do the heavy hoeing and weeding plus a major share of the harvesting. I provide them a hearty lunch, good hourly pay, and a ride home in the afternoon.
Finally, I have made a most fortunate friendship with an expert mechanic, Peter, whose hobby is rehabilitating farm tractors and implements. Since April, he has visited Ryder Farm many times from his Bethel, CT, home. Among other things, he repaired and improved my Tuff-bilt tractor, 500 gallon water trailer, and 25 gallon foliar sprayer, to cite only a few of his many good deeds. In return, I am giving him my old tractor-operated backhoe.
The Season
Fortunately, the season has been wetter than normal, but punctuated by the inevitable dry spells that forced us into frantic watering to save vulnerable crops (e.g. carrots). Also, in early spring, I discovered a dismaying fact: the major underground water supply pipes of my drip irrigation system had burst, apparently from winter freezes. They must be replaced before our next season.
Wet seasons can have their downsides, such as the encouragement of plant diseases and the flourishing of weeds and grass in the fields. Both effects hit us hard, affecting such crops as cucumbers and summer squash with disease, and smothering much of our second carrot crop with weeds and grass. Heavy weed and grass growths also delayed the planting of several fall crops. Some of the weeds and grass can be countered by using black plastic covers. Right or wrong, I have chosen to drop such modes of weed/grass control because it creates an unnatural, and eventually harmful, effect on the living topsoil.
Uneven crop production
As we get into September, I anticipate a temporary drop in the quantity and variety of the vegetable shares we provide you. If this drop is too severe, I am thinking of extending the regular season to take advantage of some crops that may not mature fully before November. We will see this option more clearly as the season develops.
Terra Madre
Through a fortuitous association with food writer, Terri Vinton, I have become one of about 500 delegates to a first-of-its-kind international conference on community development. It is called “Terra Madre.” The conference, to be held in Turin, Italy, between the 20th and 23rd of October, is expected to be attended by many thousands of farmers, vintners, cheese makers, and other food-related activists. We are hoping that Prince Charles of the British Royal Family will accept an invitation to address the conference.
Our CSA Web Site - http://www.ryderfarmcsa.org
As some of you may have discovered, our web site address is www.ryderfarmcsa.org. If you haven’t already visited the site, please do so. On the web site, you will find more information about the “sod strip experiment,” answers to frequently asked questions about Ryder Farm and CSA, and recipes for most of our vegetables. We welcome your contributions.
CSA Picnic
Despite its shortcomings, I don’t want this CSA season to slip by without at least one picnic at Ryder Farm. Our picnics are a nice, pleasant, relaxing way to spend an afternoon. Do make an effort to join us at the farm.
All CSA members, their families, and close friends are invited.
Date: Sunday, September 12, 2004
Time: 1:30 – 4:30 P.M.
Place: Backyard of the “Sycamores”
(The 1795 Ryder Family Homestead)
at Ryder Farm
Program: Raspberry picking
Farm tours, as desired
Social mingling among CSA members
Details: Bring food & drink, plus ground covers and/or lawn chairs
