Saturdays & Sundays

 

Friends have asked what I do on weekends.  When I'm not in Albany visiting Mike, I'm usually attending one of the various workshops that are offered by The Pfeiffer Center.  The course fees are waived for the garden interns so I try to take advantage of as many of the offerings as possible.  Yesterday, there was a day-long workshop on beekeeping.  The 30+ attendees visited the garden apiary with Beekeeper/Development Director Bill Day and Beekeeper/Head Gardener Megan Durney.  That's Bill in the olive green coat on the left and Megan in the red vest on the right.  While Megan's headwear appears to be a tribute to the beehives of old, it's actually how she keeps her waist-long dreadlocks from falling into the hive.  Megan has been my principal instructor in the art of beekeeping; she's a very gentle soul and the bees seem to know this.

Bill keeps hives at a nearby farm.  He has a dry sense of humor and often travels about on his beloved BMW motorcycle.  He and Megan complement each other with their teaching styles.  The weekend workshops really help to round out the hands-on learning that takes place during the week.  

There are also some regular chores that must be done on the weekend.  I mentioned watering the plants in the greenhouse in an earlier post.  Today, I was on horse duty.  Weekdays, spring through fall, the horses are walked up to the pasture where they graze for several hours.  On the weekends, they stay in their paddock so they need to be given hay for their morning and evening meals. 

You reach the horses by walking across the field that's in the background in this photo.  When they see you at the field's edge, one of them typically lets out a loud whinny.  Then they come over to the paddock gate to check you over for treats.  That's Captain and his older sister Eva waiting for me to give them the apple halves I brought.

After throwing a small bunch of decoy hay over the fence to get them away from the gate, I gather as much hay as I can carry and place it in their stall (this is the same hay that I helped to gather from the pasture and rode on top of in a wagon back in May).

Then I put some salt crystals on the ledges in the stall for them.

Next, I get the hose in place and climb up a steep slope to the barn above and turn on the water to fill the horses' drinking bucket.  I wait up top until I get the signal to turn off the water.

Fortunately, we save mucking out the stall and paddock for the weekdays so that a few people can tackle collecting the manure and dumping it in the compost pile located nearby.

Glad to have a few shots of me in my LL Bean Wellies as I've now cracked a second pair and won't be ordering another; new Sorel boots are on their way.  The Carhartt flannel-lined, canvas shirt jacket is proving to be a more durable purchase.  Thank you to visiting Waldorf teacher Kimberly who accompanied me this morning because she was missing her horses back in Kansas.  

As for the rest of the weekend, I spend it cooking, reading, catching up on correspondence, and of course, blogging.  Thanks for keeping up with me.  It's much appreciated.

Soul of the Soil

To forget how to dig the earth and tend the soil is to forget ourselves.

-Gandhi

The concept of nutrition has taken on new meaning since I've been working in the garden.  Whereas at Food & Friends  I was concerned about the clients getting enough calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals to nourish their bodies while living with HIV or cancer, now I think about the microbes in the soil and whether or not they are getting the nourishment they need to support the growth and nutrient uptake of the plants.  There can be up to 6 billion microbial life-forms in a quarter-sized chunk of compost.  By attaching themselves to the root hairs of plants and creating large networks of tiny absorptive fibers, the fungi in the soil allow plants to take up more nutrients while using the sugars from the plants to feed themselves, a true symbiotic relationship.

Compost in garden = nourished microbes = healthy soil = healthy plants = more nutritious vegetables

This is why composting is so fascinating to me, besides appealing to my practical nature.  Every week I watch pounds and pounds of food scraps from the dorm, the cafe, the school, and the food co-op kitchen being layered with leaves and cut grass from the lawns then being transformed into a rich food for microbes and worms.  In biodynamic agriculture, this process is aided by special preparations made from dandelions, chamomile, oak bark, nettles, yarrow, and valerian which are added to the compost piles in small amounts.  Combining this "kitchen" compost with compost made from horse manure and some sand to improve drainage yields the potting soil that is used in the greenhouse where the plants start their lives.   The kitchen compost will also be used to fortify the soil in the beds where those greenhouse plants will be transplanted when they are large enough to withstand the elements.  Later, the vegetables from those plants will be harvested and eaten by the interns and the customers in the cafe and the scraps will go to the compost piles and the cycle keeps going.  I love this closed loop!

October gave me additional opportunities to ponder closed loop systems with a workshop on permaculture and biodynamics.  Permaculture is a contraction of the words "permanent" and "agriculture".  It was coined by Bill Mollison, an Australian who developed this form of sustainable agricultural design, along with David Holmgren, in the 1970's.  Permaculture's guiding principles are based on ways of working with the natural world that indigenous peoples have practiced for thousands of years.  It challenges "scarcity thinking" by looking at the world through a lens of sustainable abundance, which translates to planting perennial vegetables instead of the typical annual varieties, creating edible forest gardens, building soil on barren land through composting, and developing closed loop systems for homesteads and larger scale land use with thoughtful landscaping practices.  Are you getting all this?  Click here for a clearer explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture#Sustainable_designs

You can imagine that my mind was racing after this workshop.  Fortunately, 6 inches of snow arrived to clear my head later that afternoon.  This unseasonable weather allowed me to get out my cross-country skis ahead of schedule which I didn't mind one bit.  However, the 5-day power outage caused by the heavy, wet snow falling on the still leafy trees leading to branches falling onto the power lines was not quite as much fun as the skiing, especially when the hot water ran out in the dorm.  The candlelit evenings in the kitchens with my dormmates were rather nice though.  An unexpected bonus from the storm was learning how to use a chain saw.  Program Director Mac Mead took us through the inner workings of these intimidating machines before giving each intern some one-on-one time with the large oak branch that was blocking part of a driveway in the garden.  I'm not too keen on the vibration and the fumes from the saw, and OK, the possibility of cutting off a limb is a bit daunting, but I'm glad to have a basic working knowledge of the machine.

Also new on my growing list of skills, how to play a wizard with a long, fluffy beard, pointed hat, and oversized robe surrounded by smoking wood fires and torches while handling dry ice and standing in mud on a cold Halloween night.  This made my parading through the hot and humid streets of DC dressed as a bunch of grapes for the Pride parade seem like a relaxing walk in the park despite the fact that no one was trying to rip my costume off on Halloween.  I really need to get a job handing out fliers on a city street while dressed as a banana or a gorilla or something to get this penchant for costumes, which I'm certain is linked to my Hungarian heritage, out of my system.

BEE UPDATE- Several hundred pounds of sugar have been used to produce bee tea over the past several weeks.  The bees are lapping it up and turning it into honey to be stored for winter use, though not as quickly as expected.  Honey from one of the stronger hives was transferred to a weaker one to give it a boost.  Unused portions of the hives are being removed to reduce the risk of the bees freezing over the winter.  I received my 3rd sting of the season, a nice "kiss" on the cheek which has left my face looking a bit swollen and distorted.  Intern MaryAnn comforted me by noting all the money we're saving on Botox with these stings...

My roasted rutabaga dish is calling me, so I'll say so long for now.  Thanks for reading.

Out and About

Since my last post in September, I attended a 2-day workshop called "Regenerative/Radical Urban Sustainability Training" that featured the cultivation of mushrooms as a means of cleaning up toxic soil (mycoremediation), composting, keeping chickens in a city neighborhood, and aspects of solar greenhouse construction, among other topics.  If I've totally confused you with my description, this may help clarify: radixcenter.org

As luck would have it, this training was held in Albany, so I took it as an opportunity to network a bit.  Though there were not as many locals at the workshop as I expected, I did manage to connect with a staff member from Capital District Community Gardens, a longstanding non-profit that manages 46 community gardens and operates a produce market on wheels called the Veggie Mobile.  I've been invited to spend a day on the Veggie Mobile as it makes stops in neighborhoods with limited produce options.  I also met a pair of young women who are managing a new community garden in North Troy, which is across the Hudson River from Albany.  When they heard that I was in the midst of a biodynamic agriculture internship that has involved working with children, they expressed interest in getting together with me at a later date.  I'm hoping to reconnect with them when I'm in Albany during my winter break.   I figure it's better to start making connections now than waiting until I move to Albany permanently next April.  Being an intern is fun, but I haven't forgotten that I need to find a job in a town where I know no one other than my husband when the internship ends.

Shortly after returning from the workshop, I spent an evening in Manhattan at an exhibit hosted by Megan Evans, an Australian artist, whose honeybee-focused works were inspired by the  philosophy of Ron Breland, the "radical" beekeeper I mentioned in an earlier post.   Ron was present at the tiny gallery space along with one of his dodecahedron hives.  He spoke of the hive as a body and likened the opening of it to invasive surgery.  Megan stated that she would like to see honey be thought of something so valuable that it is given away rather than sold.  When I considered her comment along with Ron's, I concluded that honey is the "blood" of the hive body as it nourishes the bees the way our blood nourishes our cells.  Blood was the only thing I could think of that is so valuable that we donate it rather than sell it.  I shared my thoughts with Ron and he seemed to truly appreciate the analogy.  To view some of the pieces in the exhibit, click here: http://boxofficeprojects.com/Current.html

Here's Intern MaryAnn checking out 3 beds covered with oats, peas, and vetch

The New Zealand clover undersown around this chard
has been replenishing the soil.

Of course, we've also been busy in the garden.  With the passing of the autumnal equinox, there's been plenty of work to do getting the nearly 70 beds ready for the colder months ahead.  Cover crops of rye, oats, peas, and vetch, and also that lovely crimson clover I featured in an earlier post, have been planted to protect and nourish the soil over the winter.  We're still harvesting kale, lettuce, Asian greens, peppers, and parsley for the farmstand.  Thinking ahead to snowier times, spinach and chard seeds have been sown in the greenhouse with the hope that we'll be able to enjoy those leafy greens throughout the winter.   With morning temperatures in the 40's lately, those snowy days are not too far off.  The horses have grown thicker coats in preparation; I have my layers of warm clothing at the ready.

Sending you warm thoughts on a chilly evening...thanks for reading.

Winding Down

The move to Albany was completed just in time for the monthly biodynamic gardening workshops that The Pfeiffer Center allows me to attend for free.  September has brought a shift from hands-on experience to more classroom-style learning and also the clearing of the garden spaces.  Gone are the zucchini, cucumber, and tomato plants and their trellises that filled much of the summer landscape.  The basil is starting to get a bit moldy from the longer, cooler nights as we move closer to the autumnal equinox, and the butternut squash is ready to harvest.

We have about a dozen fruit trees, including apple, pear, peach, and quince.  Unfortunately, the woodchucks, squirrels, and chipmunks have been snacking on much of the fruit.  Below is a photo of some apples I picked earlier this week:

These came off the tree with the bites already in them.  I particularly like the two neat puncture marks created by the woodchuck's incisors on the middle apple.

I mentioned earlier that we've been checking the hives to see if the bees have enough honey stored for the cold and flowerless months ahead.  Late August examinations showed inadequate supplies so we checked them again yesterday.  The decision was made to combine some of the weaker hives with stronger ones and also to start feeding "bee tea" to those hives that do not have enough stored honey to get them through the winter.  This tea is a sort of syrupy mixture of honey, sugar, water, thyme, chamomile, and other herbs that is placed in a jar with tiny holes in its lid.  The jar is then set in the hive where the bees dip their tongues through the holes to drink it.  This allows them to continue making honey when flower nectar is in limited supply or simply no longer available; it will be provided to the bees weekly until November.

In the process of checking the hives, I was finally stung by one of the bees.  The stinger was squarely planted in my forehead, in the space just above and between my eyes (This is sometimes called "the third eye", the gate that leads to inner realms of higher consciousness).  It's a strange place to be swollen and itchy, but I'm keeping the scratching to a minimum and hoping for some spectacular enlightenment. 

I must say I was a bit awestruck by this swallowtail butterfly caterpillar's decision to shed his skin while traveling on my sleeve.  That's not something you see everyday, and especially not on your shoulder.  I'm guessing that it was getting ready for hibernation.  

Speaking of hibernation, it's time for to me to have my temporary session, so I'll sign off for now.  Have a good night.

Cores, Skins, & Cobs

In those August highlights, I forgot to mention that the interns spent a couple of mornings up the road at the Fellowship Community helping them process their harvest.  The Fellowship is an intentional community that focuses on the care of the elderly; it is surrounded by a farm that provides food for the "members" (residents) and "co-workers" (staff) as they are called.  We helped peel, core, juice, and can about 500 pounds of tomatoes the first morning.  The second morning found us stripping nearly 300 pounds of corn kernels from the cobs for freezing.  Josh's girlfriend Mary was visiting from California that week and she joined us for this food processing extravaganza.  Her artistic contribution is pictured below:

I'd like to see the tomato fish swimming in a sea of basil.

Looking Northward

Sorry for the delay.  Moving from DC to Albany took up most of my weekends last month, so there wasn't much time for blogging.  I'll be gone again this weekend because the moving truck will be arriving in Albany tomorrow afternoon.  Which do you think is easier, packing or unpacking?

August highlights

• The Pfeiffer Center covered the registration fee for the Northeast Organic Farming Association's 37th Annual Summer Conference at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, so I was able to spend 3 days learning about cover crops, using mushrooms to clean up toxic waste, school and community gardens, the Farm Bill, and other interesting topics.  This allowed for some good networking opportunities too.

• Fellow intern MaryAnn and I visited Amawalk Farm in Katonah, NY and learned about growing raspberries and the best-looking salad greens you've ever seen.  Westchester friends- the greens are sold in food co-ops around the county and they taste just as good as they look.

• I harvested the baby pan pumpkins that I helped plant in May.  Fellow intern Josh has already made a couple of pies with them.  I'm surrounded by bakers here and loving it.

• I spent more time with the bees.  Here's a photo of Elexis and me examining a frame.  Since summer is winding down, we've been checking the hives to make sure the bees have enough honey stored for their winter food supply.

Of course, there's been plenty of harvesting, weeding, and planting succession crops.  We're now discussing what will be in the garden next year and which beds to use.  This is quite challenging as there are many variables to take into account: which crops were previously grown in a bed, amount of sun/shade, air flow, pests, etc.  I have a map of the garden that I've filled in with my ideas, in pencil.  The eraser will most likely be gone before I finish this project.

Though my fair skin has often made me feel rather fragile next to the other interns who are sporting tank tops and shorts while they work, I'm pleased to have made it through the summer without getting burned.    Insect bites and stings are another story however: I'll spare you the story of the wasp in my pants.

Hope you've had a good summer too.  Best wishes for a relaxing Labor Day weekend!

Dodeca-what?

Check out these unique dodecahedron (12-sided) hives I visited today.  They were created by Ron Breland, who has been called "the most radical beekeeper in Rockland County".  We all agreed he's the most warm and friendly radical any of us have ever encountered.  The bees really seem to like him too: