Alabama Organic Farm

That is the beginning of my blog.  It is about my organic farm in northern Alabama.

It is actually not owned by me. I just have the privilege of working there. YAY.

So now one of my new assignments is to create a web presence for the farm.

By way of using a blog.  So this is the beginning of something great for us.

During the plant and harvest seasons the posts may be short but I am certain they will be

interesting. 

In the meanwhile you can go see the bird blog that a friend of mine runs.

Pecans–Organic Pecans

Organic Pecans.

Who would have thought they would be our biggest and most profitable crop this year?

Wow. Abundance. Affluence. Omega 3′s and when some get crunched on the ground the chickens LOVE them.  And their eggs are really great and rich in Omega 3′s too we presume!

We packaged LOTS of LOTS of Pounds of Pecans in all sizes of biodegradable cellophane bags and went thru all of the certified organic labelling procedures and wholesaled a  LOT of pecans.

Did I mention we are eating a lot of pecans these days too?

And YES we shelled them and gathered them by hand. But this is not our video.

Perhaps the drought followed by flood was a catalyst for the trees to put out. Funny we never seem to notice the flowers on the pecan trees but when their branches came down from stormy weather we felt awful.  Now we know there is an abundance of pecans this year but cannot predict what the next season will bring.

I guess that is part of the mystery and wonder of organic farming.

January Flooding 2009

January Flooding 2009 is of biblical proportions!  After almost a month of rain in December, we were hoping to see relief from the drought.  Maybe some people prayed too hard for rain.

We GOT it.     Did you know our land is adjacent to Flint Creek?

Bottomlands. Wetlands.  Sections of this lovely place were covered with 4 feet of water just a few days ago. It is surely a mess.

Yes, sediments are supposed to fertilize the land, but I think that was in days of old. In this case, it covered the driveways with trash and debris like old tires, broken toys, styrofoam, plastic trash of every imaginable sort.

Yes, we lost LOTS of pecans. I wept to know a major crop was floating away. Sure, we tried to retrieve some, but whole BAGS were floating.  And who knows what else was in the brown silty water besides us.

Four beehives did not make it. They did not float away but the bees drowned.  Sad. Another crop and lots of tiny lives. No one thinks about these little creatures in a storm. We did. The beekeeper is sad too.

Flint Creek flows into the Tennessee River which is due to crest at 18 ft. tomorrow. I have never seen it that high.  People who live in the lowlands or cotton fields will be devastated by this. Another unreported sadness in our news. 

Today the sun shines and we clean up from the mess and remember our brothers and sisters who struggled through flooding in New Orleans not that long ago. 

Agricultural forecast for this season is grim too. Let’s take it one day at a time. Hardly can keep up with anything more than that. More than once we have thought of Noah. 

The small greenhouse was destroyed by winds. Thankfully the large greenhouse is still in place and the greens are alive and doing well, just high enough above the floodlines.

Christmas Birth in a Barn

In Alabama People talk about church often. The most frequently asked question when you meet someone is :

What church do you go to?

And so I share the Christmas Story with you in its simplest organic form.

It’s a BOY!

Name: JESUS Born in Bethlehem Announced by Angels Adored by Shepherds He Came in Love to Be Love for all who believe. He came to serve and live among the ordinary people and teach them extraordinary ways of being and living. As he loved us, he invites us to love him and live as he did with simplicity and humility.

painting by Dewey Full story found in Luke Chapter 2

---

sponsored message

Shitake Mushrooms

I have always been curious about growing Shiitakke Mushrooms on those famous plugged oak logs.

A recent workshop showed us how to do it.  Now I am eager to get these little babies going. I dream of enough mushrooms for the family and some to share with friends.

Just knowing they are home grown and natural is wonderful.  I do have some learning to do about their proper care, but from what I have heard already it will be a relatively easy crop to raise.

Perhaps the biggest issue will be to keep them protected from the free range chickens!

Election Day and Leaves are Lovely

Election Day and Leaves are Lovely

VOTE.
GO VOTE.

Rake Leaves.
Go Vote.

Clean Greenhouse.
GO VOTE.

Did you vote yet?

Organic Food in the News

We are busy putting the farm into a fall season mode. Cleaning up old beds. Clearing out greenhouses and preparing for winter cover crops. Even preparing for some selected winter crops. We will tell you more about that in another post.

For today, take a few minutes to find out what is happening in the world of organic food… all over the world. OR NOT. LET us try just one location instead.

Tarnish Bugs are Pests

We did and it was really devastating to our potato crop.  Here we were prepped against the infamous Colorado Potato Beetle and the darn TARNISH BUGS crept into our awareness so fast and furious it was a real disaster for the potatoes.  We were caught in the REACTING phase of response.  The impact was shriveled potato plants which produced about half of the crop that we had last year.  AND then during this disaster we learned these darn bugs eat tomatoes and melons and other things in the field that we did not want them to.

So we went on a major rampage to mow and get rid of lots of excess cover and trap crops.  NOW I learn that ALFALFA is what we needed to have in there in between the potato sections.  At least that is what RODALE suggests. Each season the process of integrated pest management becomes ever more complex.  And we learn.  The potatoes are delicious, just not as great a cash crop as it has been in the past couple of years.

Potato Beetles are Pests

The best way to control insect pests at an organic farm is to get rid of the eggs and pupae before they emerge.

That means getting to know the pests in all stages of their lives.  Fortunately there are many references that include photos of most insects like the Colorado Potato Beetle.   I will not pretend to be an expert. Just experienced. There is a difference.  But if you speak with a voice that sounds like you know what you are talking about often people get confused.  Well. That happens often and it is really their problem, not yours.

There is a CPB (Colorado Potato Beetle) photo in its adult form and an article about how to reduce the damage they do to your organic crops at a companion site where I just wrote about them in more detail.

Please enjoy your organic root crops. If you are going organic and do not know where to start. Start with root crops and greens.  The top and the bottom.  The roots concentrate whatever pesticides were introduced onto the land and the leaves are where they got sprayed. So, start with roots and leaves.

Beekeeper Inspires

Today I talked with our beekeeper friend.  I mentioned that I am writing about beekeeping online and his first response was, What do you need to know?

Now THAT is the character of every beekeeper I have ever met. 

Ever willing to help and share. There must be some sort of self-selection.

My primary question was quick and answered swiftly with more detail than I can recall.

What are the Primary threats to honeybees in this area?

Mites, (and he named them all) small hive beetles, and wax moths.

Each has its own special devastating effect on the honeybees.

Each requires its own special TLC to protect the bees. David prefers, like

most beekeepers, not to use any insecticides.

Usually what kills the pest also kills the bees.

And if it did not, the honey could be tainted.

So he uses a special home made mixture of menthol and oregano for

mite management.  And rarely has any problems with the wax moths, though

this year he lost one hive to them.  He plans to clear the grassy area near the

hives this fall and spread some milky spore out in the area because it has

deleterious effects on many ground dwelling beetles and larvae.

He has already harvested some honey from these hives this season and plans

to gather more before he gets involved with fall cleaning of the hives and areas.

This was one of my most enlightened and engaging conversations in days.

(I know… you don’t get out much do you?)

But the passion and devotion and reverence were palpable and I felt blessed to be part of it just as a listener and processor of information.  That is why I felt I absolutely HAD to write about it tonight. To share the blessings with others. Honeybees are SO good for our organic farm and I like honey too.

Gustav Hit the Pecan Tree OH NO

In North Alabama we did not have much damage from the recent huricane GUSTAV, but we did have some wind of significance.  The mess all over the farm surely told the overnight story.

Plus the 30 foot limb that broke off the huge pecan tree in the driveway, now blocked more than the driveway.  It was so sad to see SO MANY green pecans all on the ground. What a loss. I imagine the insurance company will call it an Act of God and we will simply see it as a loss in income for the season, just as we did with the tarnish bugs mentioned in the previous post.

NOT good news for us. But of greater concern is the health of the Pecan Tree and the process now of clearing the storm debris from the driveway and the yard and field.

Not like we had all that extra time to spare! Never enough time on a farm!