A Quick Trip To The Barn

I went out to the barn to see the animals and got a lesson on tack.  Each leather piece has a specific job.  Each time the tack is taken off the horse it is replaced the same way to the wall...the same way it was taken off.  Andy says all farmers do it the same way. That way if one farmer goes to a different farmers barn, he doesn't have to look for what he needs.  It is in the same place it would be in his barn.

 

 

I thought this floppy horned cow was funny.

Rows, and rows and rows of garlic.

Spring News From The Farm

The following is the newsletter that Andy had sent to all the CSA Shareholders. 

 

 Cedarmore Farm Spring Newsletter

 

  Greetings everyone! Spring is finally here! At least that's what the purple martins are telling me now that they've arrived from their winter homes. We spotted the first ones two days ago and they've been hanging out by the gourds that we've provided for them. They are probably 10 days later than they were last year which makes sense. Everything else seems to be later this year too.

 

  We've had a wet and colder than normal March, delaying us in getting our crops planted. At this time we are about 2 weeks behind schedule. We still need one more day of sun and no rain in order to be able to get back into the fields to work the ground and plant. The farmer in me is getting really anxious to get out there and get some stuff planted. But it simply doesn't pay to work the ground while it's wet. It causes compaction in the soil and then nothing does well.

  Hopefully the weather will remain dry for enough days for us to get very busy working the ground and planting and everything that goes with it.

 

 I mentioned that we are about 2 weeks behind schedule. Now some of you are probably wondering how that will affect the harvest. At this point my guess is that the first few weeks of the season will be rather lean. However I've been farming long enough to know that if we get good enough weather in April we could easily gain back everything that's been delayed up until now. Like I said it will depend on the weather like farming always does. We will do what we can to make this a good buy for you.

 

  On a positive note we had a very good year for maple syrup. All the freezing and thawing we had this winter made for a lot of maple syrup. Perhaps we'll have to substitute some maple syrup if we don't have the desirable amount of produce those first few weeks.

 

  For those of you who visit the  Cedarmore farm blog you'll notice that the Spring and all season shares we are now selling begin on the last week of May which makes a 6 week Spring season instead of our normal 10 weeks. We want to let all those who have purchased Spring and all season shares know that your start date will still be April 30th for Tuesday pick ups and May 3rd for Friday pick ups and you will get a full 10 weeks of the Spring share. We are currently selling a 6 week Spring share because of the crops being delayed by the cold wet weather.

 

  The little greenhouse which we built back in January is still working out very well. We have a large wood stove set up in it so everything is growing well although it is nearly overflowing with plants that are ready to plant out. We are also building another larger greenhouse to plant tomato plants into. This one should be ready to go in a few days. Thank  You again all of you for your donations last year to help us replace the one that was lost in the big wind storm last Summer. We really appreciate your help and have used the money toward these two greenhouses. Wishing you all a happy and enjoyable season with us this year.

 

  Thank You,

   Andy H. Hershberger

I am so looking forward to the first delivery that is coming up really soon.  I'm planning a trip to the farm in a few weeks and I will be excited to see the differences in the fields and in the greenhouses.

 

 

'Growing' Chickens In The Greenhouse?

This is the second greenhouse Andy was about to build from the generosity of the CSA shareholders.  Right now it is housing chickens.  Chickens, you might be wondering?

The brown chickens are the egg layers and the pretty grey ones will be dinner at some point. They are now living in the greenhouse because they are being used to fertilize the land.  The frame is built on skids.  The horses are hooked up to the greenhouse and are able to pull it to another section of the field when the chickens continue to do their job. 

 

When the time is right the ground will be tilled up and buckwheat will be planted.  It is considered a cover crop.  The buckwheat will then be plowed under to be used as fertilizer to balance the soil.  Eventually it will be another garden plot.

 

I think he is too pretty to eat.  Andy just shakes his head and laughs at me when I say things like that.

One New Greenhouse

The old greenhouse is still somewhat standing.  It can't be used for anything.  Andy hopes to have a frolic in a few weeks to get the big greenhouse up.  You ask...what is a frolic?  It boils down to an Amish work party.  Andy and Lizzie invite men and women from the community to help rebuild Usually the 'helpers' have had a frolic at their place and it is a way of Paying It Forward.

 

 

 The good news is that this is the starter greenhouse.  The seeds are planted and nurtured here.  The best part about this greenhouse is that it is closer to the house.  At night when Andy needs to stoke the fire, when it is really cold out, he doesn't have to go as far as he did when they were using the larger greenhouse.  It is nice for Lizzie and the children also.  Easier to keep track of the little ones playing on the front porch.

Cabbage, chard and some other things I can't remember

But I do know that these are tomatoes.

I love the way that materials that have lost their first use are now repurposed into something else.  The black on the door just happens to be old soaker hoses.  The hoses give more support where it is needed.  The blue barrel is full of water that is drawn from the well and then it is used to water the plants.

Andy watering the zucchini.

The big stove that keeps the greenhouse warm.  And the yellow thing is a thermometer.

The small brown door when where Andy stokes the fire.  That way no warm air escapes when the doors are opened like in the old greenhouse.

The life of a farmer is a hard one.  There are so many variables that must be considered.  I know that I would not like having to get up two or three times a night to put wood on the fire to keep the plants warm.  I'd want to be warm under my covers in a nice warm house.

 

Andy is getting anxious to be in the fields but the weather is not permitting much of that now.  Soon, very soon things will be underway and our boxes will be delivered.

 

 

Saturday's Visit

It has been a long time since I have been on the Farm.  It felt great to be back at my happy place.  I was greeted by Sim (the big black, not scary, watch dog)  I opened the door and the guineas greeted attacked me.  Not really attacking me, just running as fast as they could to the van door.  The clucked (if that is what they do) and then were off to something else.  I think they might have some ADHD tendencies!

 

But the greeting I got when I opened the front door made my heart really happy!  All the kids, except the baby, came running!  Chattering in Pennsylvania Dutch, of which I know very little, but I am learning, they attached themselves to my legs.  I eat it up!  Lizzie had five pair of black shoes lined up on the table and most of them had a spit shine.  Tomorrow is church.  She finished that and handed me Lovina.  She has grown so much but she is still like a little baby doll.  And I got a peek at her hair.  It is pretty long and has a little bit of red in it.  She must get that from Andy because his beard has a little bit of red in it.  She wasn't feeling to well.  Lizzie thinks that she has a earache.  While I was holding her Lizzie got some medicine ready for her.  First she got two of Andy's handkerchiefs and folded them into little squares, just the size to cover Lovina's ears.  She then placed them on the stove to get warm.  While they were warming Lizzie got a jar of menthol and camphor.  Oh the smell was so 'clearing'...like smelling Vick's VapoRub.  Lizzie then began rubbing it all around Lovina's little ears.  Then she covered the ears with the warmed handkerchiefs and then she placed a little think cap on her head and safety pinned it on.  It took less that 2 minutes for her to settle down and go to sleep.  Thinking I could use some of this stuff.

 

Andy and I went out to walk around the farm...which you can read about coming up later this week.

 

 

And I Thought I Was Busy!

I got this letter this afternoon in the mail...

Hello Jan,
Greetings from the farm.  This leaves me Tuesday morning.  Andy left for Hillsboro and our helper is pulling taps today.  So that will be the end of another sap season.  I made pumpkin pies this morning and the bread dough is rising.  My baby is sleeping so I want to wash Anna's hair and braid her when I am done here.  Anna and Dennis are carrying wood and I am holding Moses.  I am hoping to do the laundry this afternoon.  Last Friday we did a beef at Adam's and this week we made bologna so I need to stuff those into cans this week.  Tomorrow is a quilting bee for the community woman so I want to go help with that.  The children are looking forward to seeing you on Saturday the 16th.  X-cuse my scattered letter.
Lizzie

I love the way she writes. I love that she takes time out of her very busy, jam packed days to take the time to write to me.  I appreciated it more than she could ever know.  When I read her letters I see what she is writing about in my head.   I can see the helper with the horse and wagon in the woods behind the house pulling taps.  I can feel the warmth of the house because of the pies in the oven.  The the yeast smell of the bread...makes my mouth water.  I know where the wood pile is.  I can see Anna telling Denis what to do...she is such a good big sister.  And the bologna is delicious!  My ears perked up when I read quilting bee in the community)...got to get invited to that (might have invited myself to the next one)  And all those sweet little faces with their caps and hats on.  Nothing better than knowing they are waiting for me.  Can you feel the love?  I can!

Deadline for CSA Shares

I got word from Rue last week and then Andy on Saturday that the new sign-up deadline for the CSA is now April first.  As it stands I believe there are already 115 shares.  Andy hopes to have 150 for the Spring Share .  With more organic Amish families becoming involved in the growing part, Andy feels that the CSA can have enough produce for 175 shares.  So if you have been waiting to sign-up better not wait much longer.  I am here to tell you that it is worth every single cent you spend.  If you need any info, please email Rue (he lives just down the road from the farm and he is our computer/go between.  He will let Andy and Lizzie know of your plans.) at

cedarmorefarm@TDISP.com

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