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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2005 11:04 pm Post subject: The New...Old Webster Farm |
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I can't imagine that these posts will be daily by any means. Or even all that frequent. But here we go...
The idea of starting up this farm was hatched a few years ago when I was still employed as a copywriter by an advertising agency in Milwaukee, WI. I was e-mailing back and forth with an old friend from high school and whining about how much I hated what I did for a living. Knowing my (at the time) newfound interest in eating organic and local food, she suggested that I become an organic farmer. I giggled. Then I went back to looking at graduate school brochures to be a school psychologist or an English professor or something.
But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Then sometimes it didn't make any sense at all. Then later it made a little more sense again. It still comes and goes, but despite that, I'm starting a farm. I have a family that seems to be pretty fired up about turning my grandma and grandpa's land into a working farm again. I have a lot of seeds. And I have a name. Old Webster Farm.
My grandparents, Harold and Vivian Webster, bought the place in the early 1940s. 117 acres of fairly sandy, but fertile, soil. 50 tillable. Much of the rest of the land has been reforested, which will, in the coming years, envelope the farmhouse and its surrounding outbuildings and seclude it from the ever-creeping spectre of progress. In my most idealistic fantasy, the farm will forever be my family's refuge from the 21st century and beyond.
In the near future, I hope to establish a small CSA (20 families, give or take), a few restaurant accounts and a weekly farmer's market. I'm also hoping to grow nothing but open-pollinated and/or heirloom vegetables. I've cautiously mentioned that last detail in the presence of other more experienced farmers, and have yet to be as much as smirked at. So that gives me a teensy bit of confidence that it can be done successfully. I want to be as sustainable as possible, and to me OP is the place to start. Maybe next season I'll have changed my mind.
This year, we're growing between a half acre and 3/4 of an acre of mixed vegetables. We're also planting an orchard full of apple, pear, peach, cherry and plum trees; setting up bee hives for honey and pollination assistance; and slowly adding to our collection of raspberry brambles, grape vines and blueberry bushes. Livestock of some sort is also a consideration for the future. Chickens, perhaps. Maybe sheep or goats. A duck might be nice. Who knows. I can't think about that stuff right now. I've got onion seedlings to start. Good day. |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2005 12:53 am Post subject: |
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Um...somehow there's like 2. The person behind the curtain can delete one of these, if they so desire. Probably the one that includes this lame reply... |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 12:41 am Post subject: |
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Well then. It appears that my two identical twin posts stay. At least for now.
Although I haven't been around this site for a couple of weeks myself (besides peeking in at what some of the other new farmers are up to from time to time), I've been pretty busy.
Between March 3 and yesterday (3/18), I started about 1,000 row feet worth of onion seedlings -- all OP...Clear Dawn, Riverside, Ailsa Craig, Rossa Di Milano, Tropea Rossa Tonda, Torpedo, Borretana, Bennie's Red, and even a leek or two -- in soil blocks. It normally wouldn't have taken me so long, except all that slopping around in potting mix was interrupted by the birth of our second baby (and first son), Conlan Emerson on March 12. So I spent the better part of the last week just fooling around with the little boy. But yesterday I finally got off my duff and finished the last 10 of those 26 total onion flats. Then today, I delivered them to the greenhouse of a local organic farm (Sweet Terra Farm, Cashton, WI), where I'll be helping out 2 days a week this summer. They've offered space in their greenhouse, plus whatever I take from running their La Crosse, WI farmer's market (plus eggs, plus goat milk, plus goat milk yogurt, plus lunch, plus potting mix, plus their valuable expertise, etc...) as payment for my 2 days-a-week labor. It's kinda like organic farm simulation training. We'll see how I do.
But back to Old Webster...my other farm. What do we plan to do with all of those onions, you may/may not ask? I hope to set up a few small restaurant and bed & breakfast accounts, and perhaps donate some to local food shelters or senior meal centers. Plus, I'll be growing out a surplus of the Italian variety Rossa Di Milano, which I hope to begin growing for seed starting next season. I suppose we'll eat a lot of them, too. And man, after hauling all those onion flats around...we really need to build our own greenhouse for next season.
Up next...brassica seedlings, celery seedlings, more goo-goo's and ga-ga's. And after that -- if you thought I started a lot of onions for such a small farm -- 20-something varieties of OP tomato seedlings.
Between this farming thing, that other farming thing, some freelance writing things, those little baby things...and all of the other things we've got going on, this looks like it's going to be a pretty fun summer. |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2005 12:27 am Post subject: |
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Thirty even. That's how many varieties of tomatoes I'm growing this year. About 200 plants in all, give or take. Got a little carried away with saving and collecting seeds over the winter I guess.
Since my last entry, I've loose-seeded a couple of flats with celery and celeriac, which are now up and just about ready to transplant into 2 inch soil blocks. Same with a few different kinds each of eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. I've been slacking a bit on starting my brussels sprouts, but as long as I get the blocks seeded this weekend, they should be fine. I don't need them until October or November anyway, which is when they're at their best. I'm also a bit behind on my peppers, but like the sprouts, I'll take care of them this weekend.
I've been going in to help out in the greenhouse at Sweet Terra two or three days a week with my 2 year old daughter. They will supply the vast majority of the produce I'll be selling at market this season -- which only makes sense, seeing as it's their booth -- but I'll bring some of my own produce along as well. I'm hoping to scare up some adventurous customers with my kaleidoscope of tomatoes. And some of those 'maters might just go to a few local restaurants and B&B's that I've recently begun to make contact with. If nothing else, I'll occasionally drop by a box of produce with them this season, in hopes of establishing the name of our farm and what we grow for next season, when I'll be off on my own.
Well, I'm just finishing up seeding the last of my tomato blocks, then bedtime. I'm off to Sweet Terra in the morning to give them a hand with whatever they might have to do. Then my dad and I are going to start planning the building of a machine shed and a timberframe barn at the farm. And of course, we'll probably discuss that greenhouse we'd like to get by this fall. Mix in a little time with the wife and kids. Oh yeah, we'll also be getting about a half-dozen chickens within the next few days, too.
But other than that, not much going on around here. |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 11:47 pm Post subject: |
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Today was a great day to plant fruit trees and strawberries. At least until our dog ran off for 6 hours...and then it started raining.
We spent most of the morning and early afternoon combing the surrounding countryside for Lucy, our 4 year old Brittany, who apparently decided to take a hike. While it was relief that she came trotting back to the farmhouse at about 2:45 pm, we'd wasted most of a good planting day searching for her. We had 150 strawberry plants and a few fruit trees to get in the ground.
Once I finally started plotting out the beds for the strawberries, it began to rain. So I slogged through the muck with my broadfork until about 8:30 pm getting the beds prepared for planting, which will hopefully take place in my absence tomorrow. It really was a lot of fun working the broadfork into that soil, which hadn't been worked in decades...if ever. That area was the site of my grandma and grandpa's chicken coop many, many years ago.
The peach trees went in pretty quickly, (along with a few varieties of apples), I just hope they survive this year, unlike the ones we tried last year. The current ones are from Fedco, so I have a little more confidence that they will be cold hardy enough to make it up here.
Thursday, I planted about 20 blueberry bushes. Had I known how easy they were to plant, I'd have ordered 100 of them or more. They're in a pretty remote location, though, so irrigating 30 (my dad planted 10 last year) all summer will be enough of a task, I guess. That day we also hauled about a dozen or more loads of horse manure (rotted and otherwise) to spread on the gardens -- all free from a local horse farm.
Things are beginning to take shape, this is the fun part. Soon enough though, it will seem like work. |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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Even when my wife and I just had a small garden in our backyard, I was always really bad about checking the weather report before planting. I've lost a lot of seedlings that way over the years. Well, I guess I didn't learn much from that.
Last week I transplanted about 400 row feet of onions...two days before we were hit with a few days of 20 degree night time temps. It turned them a little streaky white, but I think they'll survive. I dunno...I've just never been one to pay much attention to the weather report. One of my farmer friend's cats is named after a meteorologist on the Weather Channel, so I maybe should have taken that as a not-so-subtle hint about paying attention to that sort of thing.
My potatoes came the other day, but I'm not planting those babies until I know it's going to stay warm around here. Another week or two. Lots of varieties of those, as well...8 or 10, I'd say.
I found a farm in Minnesota with the name "Webster Farm Organics". I called them up and told them how I came about my farm's name and asked if it bothered them that it was similar to theirs. They figured that, as long as I wasn't marketing in their same area (Minneapolis), that there shouldn't be a problem. It was a good call, they are very nice women. I discovered that we had similar ideas about sustainability and utilizing OPs and heirloom vegetables. I had entertained thoughts of perhaps marketing to Minneapolis one day, but I've decided that if I ever did market to a large metro area, it would probably be Milwaukee...as it was our adopted hometown for about 10 years. So hopefully both Webster-named farms can coexist here in the Midwest.
My market doesn't begin until early June. Seems like a long way off...but there's so much to do before then. |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2005 6:58 am Post subject: |
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All of the onions are officially in the ground as of yesterday. 1000 row feet in all. Now...anybody think they might need some onions this winter? I'm sure we can work something out...
Today: potatoes. Quite a variety of those, as well. All Blue, Kennebec, Huckleberry, Butterball, Caribe, Prince Hairy, Island Sunshine, yadda yadda yadda. Quite a selection anyway.
I may drop some carrot seed into the ground as well and get them going. I probably should have started those a couple of weeks ago, but (even though this phrase rarely applies to farming) better late than never. Same with peas. They need to go in the ground today or tomorrow.
I guess this is less of a post and more of a list of things to get done for myself over the weekend.
Found a black plastic comb in the soil after tilling yesterday. Anyone else found anything interesting this year...? |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 12:03 pm Post subject: |
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I think the fact that I'm the only farmer on here without a reply from someone other than myself is beginning to give me a complex. It can be so very very lonely here in the depths of cyberspace. Virtually lonely, anyway.
Well, many potatoes are planted (all of them), along with peas and onions (4 full dead beds, courtesy of the frost, however). Never got around to planting the carrots...but this afternoon I need to head over to the field and get them in. Yesterday was full of freelance writing work (cha-ching), filling in some bare patches in the sugar snap rows and tilling up new beds. The writing job will probably pay for my greenhouse, which is nice. |
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crw13755
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Posted: Wed May 04, 2005 9:31 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Pat ,
I understand the cyberspace I am often reminded of the drive through comercial where it is just a menu box in middle of nowhere with someone going hello hello LOL. Well I am new here and have been reading on an off and learning from the post plus I read from other forums as well. You asked if anyone finds things I usually find like old metal buckets and old farm equipment. Sofar here in West Texas it has just been cold (30's and 40's) and rainy but sofar my squash, watermellons, greenbeans and tomatoes are trooping through it woo woo worries me but happy they are alive |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 8:06 pm Post subject: |
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Hi crw! West Texas sounds a lot like Western Wisconsin was the past week or so -- cold as hell. However, I think my dead onions are among the living...or undead, or whatever. So I'm back to 1000 row feet of onions, instead of 800. Buckets and combs are pretty routine, when you sink into the foundation of an old chicken coop with your moldboard plow, as I did when I broke ground for my strawberries a few weeks ago. Boi-oi-oi-oi-oing!
Hilltop was mentioning bees. I have a distant interest in bees myself, but know virtually nothing about them. My brother in law has started two hives at the farm this year, though. Hopefully, it will help with pollination and give us a winter's worth of honey. Can't wait to help with the uncapping and extracting.
Hilltop was also mentioning chickens, now that I think of it. We have 7 Red Dorkings...but we may be down to 6. Sarah, our only laying hen at the moment, took a pretty bad hit today from what we think may have been a hawk. All we can do is squirt her open wounds with a little iodine and hope she can tough it out.
I planted 2 beds worth of carrots yesterday -- a pretty good mix of them. One of the varieties is Scarlet Keeper, although we will probably over winter some of our carrots in the ground under heavy straw and dig them out a bit at a time on warmer days. The wire worms will certainly appreciate that. |
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Lazy B
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 8:41 pm Post subject: |
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Hello I accedently used crw13755 thinking at the time my e-mail address LOL well I dont plant as much as you do I dont have that much land here just a small bite :} I first got my bees as a hobby to play with and make honey for me but I have been reading and talking to folks in http://beemaster.com and just been having fun with them learning and talking seems the Beekeepers are just fun folks, You said your brother in law is getting hives and bees woo woo I see you doing the same once you help him make some and tend LOL.
I like the Journels here imformative as well for me this year I just messed with watermellons, squash, pumpkins, and a variety of beans sofar alot are doing good I wanted to get the bees down first and just concentrate on a few things this time and then incorporate everything together later but seems the bee business is going to get better today I got a jar of it and was told of some places that have swarms that want removed, 1 is looking for hives to rent to pollinate their fields and so on :} |
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krwizwork
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2005 5:23 pm Post subject: |
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Greetings to you from another Wisconsin farmer!
I'm in southern Wisconsin (Green county) and wondering if spring is here for certain. I don't have access to a greenhouse - yet - but I am going to a Farmer's Market down here. I went ahead and planted anyway, potatoes, strawberries, fruit trees and blueberries so far. I'll be tilling up the horse paddock for the row vegetables since they did such a great job of stomping out all of the weeds over the winter. ;)
Guess the major difference 'tween me and the rest of the farmers here is that I'm doing it with draft horses. Sure it is slower, but I like it so much, that it is still worthwhile.
As ever,
Karen |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Karen!
Glad to see your post. I know about as much about horses as I do about bees (see above), but I am beginning to feel as though horsepower (in the original sense) is the way to go. All the talk of sustainability, in relation to organic agriculture, kind of falls ker-plunk out the window when you burn fossil fuels to help grow it. (Something, I am guilty of myself, by the way.) I just read a great essay by a guy named Stan Goff concerning the end of the Petro-chemical Age (the Petro-calypse, maybe?) and the grim fallacy of "sustainable growth". But I digress...
I may come to you (in my decidedly fossil-fuel burning Honda Odyssey) for a primer in gee and haw one of these days.
Before I close today's salute to the parenthetical phrase, I'll add that the garden is beginning to teem with life. And it isn't even half planted yet. It looks like I may have a restaurant client for my salad mixes...and hopefully salad fixins. I spent Monday doing about 11 hours of work I should have been doing at my own farm at Michael Fields Ag Institute's Stella Gardens in East Troy. It was a nice break from the monotony of my own place...plus I learned a lot of useful stuff. The end. |
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krwizwork
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Posted: Tue May 17, 2005 8:24 pm Post subject: |
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Greetings Pat,
"...I know about as much about horses as I do about bees..." That's okay, you are in the middle of horsefarming country up there near Cashton - I envy you that! Lots of horse farmers there, probably Amish, but they are a great source of information once you get to know them.
Horsepower is truly sustainable, that's why I'm doing it this way. I figure if the whole world goes to heck, the first things to disappear will be gasoline and electricity. Knowing that, I'm learning the old ways as fast as I can. There are some resources if you'd like, let me know, since once I get started listing that kind of stuff it may never end. ;)
I'll start your primer on gee and haw right now. "Gee" means turn right. "Haw" means turn left. "Get in there!" means there is a big pull coming, put all your strength into it. Mostly just start reading and go to a stable to learn about horses. If you don't like them, there are always mules and oxen if you are serious about animal power for agriculture.
If you have any other questions, or just want to hear more horse stuff, check out my journal under Wizard's Workshop.
As ever,
Karen |
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Pat Yourell
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Posted: Wed May 18, 2005 11:02 am Post subject: |
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Hey Karen...thanks for the lesson. Maybe this time next year I'll be talking about horses of my own.
As an almost-related aside, there's a great book about Cuba's organic ag revolution called "Sustainable Agriculture and Resistance: Transforming Food Production in Cuba". It chronicles how Cuba has gone 100% self-contained organic since the early 90s, and how successful it is has been. They mainly rely on non-mechanized tillage, like horse, oxen and people power. If the guy I mentioned in the previous post is right about fossil fuel's upcoming scarcity, we may need to figure these things out sooner than later ourselevs. |
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